Wanchun Street Author: Xiaomai S

【Friendly reminder】
1. Realistic group drama, daily diary, started in 1970.
2. Region: Shanghai. Some dialect lines will appear with translations and annotations.
3. All the real historical events and figures of modern times quoted in this article are from
relevant memoirs and online materials, and no one-to-one annotations are given.

【Copywriting】
The growth story of a group of people born in the 1970s.
One alley, two families, four generations of women, fifty years of youth, half a century.
"You know what? Wanchun Street is the soul of Shanghai."
The days and nights of Wanchun Street, the spring and autumn of you and me.

【Special thanks】
Thanks to Mr. Runkuan for writing the title of this article.
The words in the copy "Wanchun Street is the soul of Shanghai" come from the words of the
famous writer and painter Mr. Yu Jun.

【Author's Column】
"Big City Little Spring" - A love story of the post-80s generation in an old house (completed)
"Wanchun Street" - Growth and struggle of the post-70s generation in the shantytowns
(serialized)
"Spring in Bianjing" (completed, transferred to other platforms due to expiration of the contract,
can be read on ZY, WX reading, etc.)

Content tags: drama

Main characters: Chen Sijiang, Chen Sinan
Supporting roles: men, women, young and old
Others: Farming Literature Shanghai Educated Youth Born in the 1970s
One sentence introduction: childhood sweethearts
Concept: Life is a flower, and love is the nectar (Victor Hugo)

Chapter 1
Wanchun Street is a small road of 200 to 300 meters, which is about one centimeter on the map
of Shanghai. It starts from Kangding Road in the north and ends at Wanhangdu Road in the south.
There are many winding alleys and many branch alleys. During the Anti-Japanese War, many
refugees settled here and built wooden houses, forming a large shantytown, which is neither
beautiful nor sanitary.
When the sky was turning pale, cargo ships on the Huangpu River blew their whistles, the
sunflowers on the clock face of the Customs Building shone with golden light, and the song that
announced the time had long been changed from "Westminster" to "The East is Red", and the
power of the forty-eight loudspeakers was enough to resound throughout the city. "The East is
Red, the sun is rising, China has produced a... Hu'er Haiyo, he is the people's great savior, the
great savior." As the song rang out, pigeons began to circle on the red brick roofs of the Shikumen
houses on both sides of the Suzhou River, and the braided rope of the No. 23 first bus at the
entrance of Wanchun Street was hung with cables, and various sounds gradually rang out in the
alleys.
The coal-brick stove sizzled across the cement floor of the kitchen, the tap flames sizzled across
the red phosphorus, the steel wok hit the enamel cup with a crisp sound, the toilet hit the door
with a dull thud, the last cough in front of the spittoon, the clothesline banged on the windowsill,
gradually converging into a symphony, drowning out the weather report on the radio. The white
smoke rising from the coal-brick stove slowly rose and faded, and the street lamps revealed the
half-black bulbs and the tungsten filaments that were still trying to glow, trying to redeem their
important position in the dark night.
Three-and-a-half-year-old Chen Sijiang squatted on a small stool next to the coal-bread stove and
yawned. She looked up and saw a crescent moon still hanging obliquely in the sky, like the last bit
of popsicle, translucent and thin, as if it would melt at any time. Sijiang thought of her parents
whom she had never seen before. She wondered if they could see this moon in Xinjiang. It was
strange that there was still a moon in the morning.
"Thirty-five degrees?" From the kitchen came her grandmother Chen A Niang's sigh: "There's still
half a month before the plum rain season begins, right? I've lived for so many years and have
never encountered such a strange thing!"
"You are not even sixty years old, how could you possibly encounter this? This is a high
temperature that only occurs once in a hundred years, and it happens to be a hundred years. Tsk,
tsk, tsk, we just happened to encounter this, it's so hot!" Grandma Li on the first floor speaks like
singing, with ups and downs, spicy and crisp. People in the alley say that she is the real "Grandma
Li". She can sing loudly at any time and place with just a lift of her arm: "We must settle accounts
with the enemy, and blood debts must be paid with blood."④
The volume of the radio was turned up, and the announcer explained the principle of subtropical
high pressure and frontal warming in a steady manner: "Today, Xujiahui is expected to experience
the highest temperature since 1873..."
Si Jiang jumped up from the low stool: "Mother, I want to wear an overalls skirt, the blue plaid
one that Mom sent me."
Chen A Niang was frightened by her, and the soy sauce bottle shook, and the soy sauce soaked
rice turned into rice soaked in soy sauce. She was reluctant to scoop it out.
"Little thing, you scared me. Why are you wearing an overalls? A vest and shorts are so cool."
"Today is Children's Day! My uncle is coming to pick me up to go to Meilan Photo Studio to take
pictures to send to my parents. I want to wear a skirt." Chen Sijiang was a small man with a loud
voice, and he was righteous and confident. After he finished speaking, everyone in the kitchen
laughed.
Grandma Li clicked her tongue again: "Your Sijiang is a late talker. He speaks in a long sentence.
Unlike my Gaoxing, he can call mom and dad at ten months old. Now he goes to kindergarten,
but he still speaks incoherently. I don't know what the teacher teaches him every day."
Aunt Kang, who works at the Labor Bureau, said cheerfully: "Si Jiang is good-looking, and she
looks very good in a skirt. What's wrong with a little girl like her wearing one? She's not a petite
bourgeois."
Chen Sijiang walked through the kitchen and went upstairs with a bang: "Mother, I don't want to
eat soaked rice. My uncle said he would take me to eat wontons and steamed buns."
Aunt Chen was so angry that she banged her bowl loudly: "Go, go, go, just go. I've said this
dozens of times since yesterday, you are so great!" She turned her head and sighed to Grandma
Li: "It's true. A bowl of wontons is 12 cents, four pan-fried dumplings are also 12 cents, and a
meal for the two of them costs 50 cents! (A meal for the two of them costs 50 cents) Look, is
there anyone who lives like this? Money falls from the sky? Others only know to praise her uncle
Gu, but in fact, it is not the money that her parents have worked hard to save."
Aunt Kang thought for a moment before she calculated the fifty cents. She laughed at Chen A
Niang for being illiterate but being able to calculate money very quickly. She lowered her voice
and asked, "Do Donglai and his wife still give money to the Gu family every month?"
"Ten dollars, not a cent less, alas." Chen A Niang sighed again and lowered her voice: "I have to
come here specially to get the money every month, as if I owe him a debt. I really don't know
whether I married a wife or he recruited a son-in-law. Ten dollars, the child only stays there for
one night every month - (I come here specially to get the money every month, as if we owe him a
debt. I really don't know whether I married a wife or he recruited a son-in-law. Ten dollars, the
child only stays there for one night every month)"
Upstairs, Chen Sijiang yelled to his mother to go upstairs to find a skirt. Seeing Chen's mother
trembling and moving her bound feet upstairs, Aunt Kang and Grandma Li exchanged meaningful
glances and laughed. Chen Donglai and his wife sent thirty yuan back every month as Sijiang's
living expenses, and ten yuan was indeed not a small amount for the Gu family, but Gu Beiwu,
the gangster, spent all the money on his niece. The two families lived on the same Wanchun
Street, and the neighbors saw it. The key is, what's the use of having money without
connections? Whose little girl is as lucky as Sijiang? She was given milk powder when she was
born, and later she ordered milk with a doctor's certificate, two eggs every day, and the Chen
family could eat chicken, duck and fish two or three times a week. Others bought discounted
pork by tael, while her family bought by jin⑤, and saved all the oil coupons, grain coupons,
sugar coupons and cloth coupons. Tsk tsk tsk tsk, it's still unclear whose family got the advantage.
——
Gu Beiwu came out of Lane 63 in a nonchalant manner. The former Jin Situ Temple at the
entrance of the lane, now the Wanhang Cultural Station, had just opened. Two young female
comrades were standing on tiptoe to hang a banner: Celebrating Children's Day.
"Come, come, I'll help you. I wish you a happy Children's Day too." Gu Beiwu walked over with a
smile and lent a hand: "In the past, when we were destroying the four olds, we only focused on
burning the door plaques and demolishing the temple gates, but didn't tear them down and
rebuild them. That's why your gate is so high. The young revolutionary warriors are still lacking in
awareness."
When he smiled, the two female comrades blushed: "Bah, Saning (who) is a child!" But they
ignored his sarcastic words. Gu Beiwu was the most famous and difficult gangster in Wanchun
Street. The leader said that he had ideological problems, refused to participate in labor, and had
many bad habits. Unfortunately, he was too good-looking, and his words and deeds did not look
like a "gangster". In order to unite all the forces that could be united, everyone had to unite with
him as a young man who needed to improve.
Gu Beiwu hung the banner up easily in his hands.
"Gu Beiwu, there is a performance at the cultural center today. You can bring your niece to watch
it. No tickets are required." In order to promote revolutionary propaganda, Comrade Xiao Wu
made a loud invitation.
Gu Beiwu bent down and plucked a handful of clary hibiscus from the flowerpot by the wall. He
picked up a long one and put it in his mouth to take a sip, smiling: "It's quite sweet. I'll bring her
here later. Can you please save a copy of "Little Red Soldiers Pictorial" for me? Thank you." His
eyebrows were dark and sharp, and his skin was white and a little transparent. The petals of the
clary hibiscus were rotten at the corners of his lips, so bright that people were embarrassed to
look at them for a second.
"No, no problem." Comrade Xiao Wu stuttered a little.
Gu Beiwu took two steps, turned around and waved the flowers in his hand: "This red sage is a
good thing, it can cure dysmenorrhea, you two can have a few bites, after all, health is the capital
of revolution."
He quickly ran into Lane 74 across the street, leaving the two female comrades looking at each
other in bewilderment.
"Rogue! Ah Fei!"
"There is something wrong with my thinking!"
The author has something to say: The Bund Clock Tower started in 1928. The timekeeping song of
the Customs Clock on the Bund in Shanghai was Westminster, England. In May 1966, it was
changed to The East is Red to avoid the clock tower being smashed. It was restored to its original
state in 1986.
There is a shared kitchen with 2 kitchen stoves and steel woks.
3 The plum rain season begins.
4 In the Peking Opera model play The Red Lantern, Grandma Li’s aria: Blood debt must be paid
with blood.
During the 5 Shanghai g period, meat tickets are not needed because "the whole country
guarantees Shanghai", and discounted pork is often available for sale.

chapter 2
Chen's family lived in Lane 19, Lane 74, Wanchun Street. When Gu Beiwu turned in, the crisscross
clothes drying poles were already covered with flags of all nations, vests, sweatshirts, two-
purpose sweaters, wool sweaters, cotton-padded jackets, quilts, and sheets for all seasons. He
was tall, so to avoid the crotch formation above his head, he could only walk close to the wall.
There was a row of "minefields" along the wall. The honeycomb coal that was clamped out would
scatter a pool of white ash when touched. The flushed wooden toilet was grinning with a big
mouth, not benefiting itself but benefiting others. The cactus in the broken flowerpot was baring
its teeth and claws. The cement platform had just been brushed by people in turn, wiped their
faces, and washed their clothes. The water on the platform was still dripping down, making him
walk out with the momentum of "the winding Five Ridges are like fine waves, and the majestic
Wumeng Mountains are like mud balls."
"Little Gu is here." When Chen's mother saw Gu Beiwu, she remembered that the five cents for
breakfast money was about to disappear. She felt upset and rubbed her clothes hard on the
washboard a few times before slowly standing up.
Gu Beiwu smiled at everyone. "Well, good morning, mother. Where is Si Jiang? I took him out for
a day. My mother missed him and asked me to take him back for a night and bring him back
tomorrow."
"Okay, okay." Just as A Niang was about to say a few polite words, Chen Sijiang rushed out and
hung directly on Gu Beiwu.
"Uncle, uncle, why did you come just now? My skirt is wrinkled from waiting for you." Chen
Sijiang pouted and complained.
Gu Beiwu reached out and pulled her skirt up. "It's my fault. Uncle, please cut the ice cream for
me, okay?" The uncle and nephew were face to face, as if they were printed from the same mold.
The nephew looks just like his uncle, it's true.
"The cream popsicle is too cold, be careful of stomachache, don't cut it." Aunt's eyes widened. A
cream popsicle is five cents, and a two-cent popsicle is not sweet.
Gu Beiwu smiled so hard that his eyes curved. "Today is the hottest time of the century. It's okay
to eat one. Mom, please give me the change of the ten yuan you gave me today. It will be
convenient for me to use."
Oh my, what this person said is really true. Chen A Niang rubbed her wet hands on her apron
twice, took out a handful of bills from her trouser pocket, counted one, touched it, and handed it
to Gu Beiwu, "Here, take it. Here, one."
"Two."
"Three, four, ten, please order some more." Chen A Niang said goodbye to the female tractor
driver on the pink one-yuan banknote again and again. Her heart was bleeding. Tick, tick, tick, it
dripped ten times. She closed her eyes, turned around and sat back next to the washtub, picked
up Grandpa Chen's old pants and rubbed them hard on the washboard.
Aunt Kang went out to work with a black leather briefcase, and saw Gu Beiwu jumping over a pile
of coal cakes with Chen Sijiang on his back. "Oh, Xiao Gu is gone."
"Just take the money and don't say a word." Chen A Niang laughed.
Aunt Kang paused, "The National Cotton Mill No. 20 at the entrance of the alley is recruiting a
group of young people. Gu Beiwu is a graduate of the class of 1966, so he is just in his twenties.
He can't stay out of the labor force. I'll go find him."
Chen A Niang shook her head and said, "It's difficult, too difficult." In her eyes, Gu Beiwu was a
typical lazy and backward person. If he was willing to go to work in the countryside, he would
have gone there long ago.
Aunt Kang chased him out of the alley with full confidence. "We must overcome all difficulties to
win. There are 70,000 young people in the city who have not participated in labor. He is the only
one in Wanchun Street. He believes in the masses and the Party. Why can't he make progress? I
don't believe it."
Chen A Niang smiled and sighed, "I don't believe it either." If you don't believe it, then forget it.
Good-looking people have an advantage everywhere. Chen Sijiang raised his head from the bowl,
his eyes sparkling, and whispered to Gu Beiwu, "Uncle, I cut twelve small wontons, and the
remaining two must be given to me by that big sister. She is looking at you."
Gu Beiwu took a bite of the last pan-fried bun and sucked up the soup. "Everyone is learning from
Comrade Lei Feng. Hush, do good deeds without leaving a name, don't tell anyone."
"Big sister will definitely write it in her diary." Chen Sijiang nodded and happily announced,
"When I go to kindergarten, I will also write a diary."
Gu Beiwu almost choked with laughter. "Okay, remember to write to your uncle every day."
"Okay, Uncle treated me to ice cream, Uncle treated me to cake, Uncle took me to the movies,
Uncle gave me a Red Guards pictorial."
Gu Beiwu sighed, "Look, it's not difficult for a person to do good things, but it's difficult to do
good things all your life. That's too difficult."
"Serving the people is not difficult at all." Chen Sijiang, who grew up listening to Chairman Mao's
Quotations every day, responded loudly.
The public-private joint-venture Meilan Photo Studio is located on Yuyuan Road, next to the Ninth
Department Store, Xinhua Bookstore and the Jing'an Temple converted textile dyeing factory.
Chen Sijiang comes once a month and is familiar with the place. As usual, he stops in front of the
photo studio's window, presses his face against the glass and laughs, "Uncle, your photo is still
there. Your mouth is red, not pretty, like a monkey's butt."
"We'll take a color photo of you today." Gu Beiwu peeled her off the glass. "Come on, come on,
let's take a photo of your little monkey's butt to show your parents."
"I won't hesitate," Chen Sijiang struggled to object.
More than a month later, Gu Ximei from the 11th Company of the 2nd Regiment of the 1st
Agricultural Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in Shajingzi Town, Aksu,
Xinjiang, received a letter from her younger brother Gu Beiwu. The letter contained a black-and-
white photo of the uncle and nephew, as well as a large color photo measuring nine centimeters
by six centimeters.
Chen Sijiang, with her flowery hair, rode on a tricycle, wearing a blue plaid suspender skirt she
made by herself, smiling like a flower. Gu Beiwu was very talented. The color photos he hand-
colored had natural light and shadow, and a flowing beauty. In the lower right corner of the
photo was written "Sijiang June 1, 1973 42". She looked at it again and again, with a smile on her
lips and tears in her eyes. She couldn't help but kiss the photo several times, but was afraid that
her saliva and tears would smudge the colors, so she took out a handkerchief and carefully
pressed it before putting it under the glass table. There were densely packed photos underneath,
and Sijiang's solo photos had been stacked up several layers. This was the 42nd one. She wanted
to find a photo frame to hang this photo on the wall, so that when Chen Donglai came back from
Urumqi, he could see what his daughter looked like last month. Beiwu always said that Sijiang
was well-behaved and gentle, and very cute. The family of three has been separated for four
years since Si Jiang's full-month birth. Fortunately, in five months, they will be able to return to
Shanghai to visit relatives and finally see their most beloved daughter.
This Children's Day was so fulfilling. Chen Sijiang watched a cultural performance at the Municipal
Children's Palace, took five electric train rides at Fuxing Park, and went to the Harbin Food
Factory to eat two ice creams and two small cakes. He could hardly walk with his bulging belly.
"Uncle, can you carry me on your back?"
"Don't move your back, you cut too much, you're fat." Gu Beiwu sat on the curb under the shade
of the sycamore tree, biting the ice cream stick, and pulled the little man on his back forward
with his backhand. Si Jiang giggled and stuffed the assorted candies in his arms into the collar of
his shirt.
Four or five young men on the opposite side suddenly slowed down their pace and quickly
crossed the road. Gu Beiwu caught a glimpse of them, and then he lifted Si Jiang up on his back
and walked away.
"Gu Beiwu, Gu Beiwu, please don't leave!"
"Why are you running so fast? We haven't seen you for months. Are you hiding from us?"
"Oh, my little girl is so pretty, and she's wearing a dress." A Fei with a furry mustache reached out
to lift Si Jiang's skirt. "Let uncle check whether the skirt is shorter than the prescribed length."
3ah”
Chen Sijiang, who was well-behaved and extremely polite, waved his little paw and scratched the
bearded Ah Fei on the face with lightning speed. At the same time, there was a sound that was as
powerful as the loudspeaker of the Customs Building in Wanchun Street. "Chen Sijiang
loudspeaker" "Catch the gangsters, gangsters"
Then Gu Beiwu raised his leg and kicked Ah Fei in the chest, "Go to hell and get out of here!"
The author has something to say: A member of the Red Army is not afraid of the difficulties of an
expedition
2From the archives of Shanghai Municipal Archives.
3After 1974, Shanghai set up observation points at the Bund, Huaihai Road and other places after
the sun went down to check the length of female compatriots' skirts and how many of them
wore seersucker fabrics. The reference books are very similar to those written by Jin Dalu,

Chapter 3
Except for Chen Sijiang, everyone else who was taken to the police station by the militia seemed
to be doing this for the first time and was very familiar with the place.
Chen Sijiang was not afraid. He looked around for a few times and looked at the police curiously:
"Uncle police, do you have a gun?"
"Of course."
"is that true?"
"Of course it's true. Are you scared?"
"I'm not afraid. Your guns are only used to shoot counter-revolutionaries and big bad guys. Uncle,
please shoot that gangster. He is a big bad guy." Chen Sijiang pointed his little finger at Hu Zi A
Fei.
"Hey, police comrade, I was just joking with the girl. It's not a rude thing to say." Hu Zi A Fei
shuddered and quickly defended himself.
Gu Beiwu sneered, "Last year during the National Day holiday, a group of people were joking
around at the Bund and in front of the Xinhua Cinema. They stripped off the clothes of a
beautiful girl. What happened next?"
A female police officer with thick eyebrows and big eyes walked out of the police station in a
heroic and arrogant manner. She slammed a stack of documents in her hand on the table and
answered Gu Beiwu's question loudly: "The principal offender will be shot! All the accomplices
will be sent to Baimaoling Prison for reeducation through labor and will not be able to get out for
15 years. According to the opinions of the people, these gangsters should stay in Baimaoling for
life!"
Sweeping at her searchlight-like eyes, Bearded A Fei looked at the portrait of the great man on
the wall with a guilty conscience and managed to laugh out loud: "It's two different things." Just
as the people next to him were about to chime in, the policewoman slapped the document:
"Being a hooligan is being a hooligan, how are they two different things? Isn't this little girl
pretty? Isn't she a lesbian? Or did you not try to lift her skirt? She was still a child and you did
this, it's simply insane!"
Seeing that things were not going well, the leader quickly stood up and bowed to Gu Beiwu and
Chen Sijiang: "Xiao Huang is only sixteen years old. He didn't know any better and just wanted to
scare the kids. He didn't mean to be a hooligan. I apologize to you on his behalf. Please forgive
him. We are all revolutionary masses. We should fight with words instead of fists. Xiao Gu, you
kicked him over. Look, there is a big bruise on his chest. I don't know if his internal organs are
injured. He has learned this lesson. Let's forget about it and don't bother the people's police."
Gu Beiwu sneered: "Revolution is not a dinner party. You can't defeat it unless you fight it. You
can never let it run rampant."
The police couldn't help laughing. This sentence sang three-quarters of the second batch of
quotations from the People's Daily. They were indeed genuine revolutionary masses. When they
were asked why the gangsters were looking for trouble with Gu Beiwu, they became speechless
and only laughed dryly. In the end, the sixteen-year-old boy was stepped on twice and thought of
a quick solution: "Gu Beiwu looks down on us, so we want to ask Yi Qie to lead the team. (Teach
him a lesson)"
"What do you mean by looking down on you? Tell me the truth."
After hesitating twice, the little yellow-haired boy stiffened his neck and said, "My sister wants to
date Gu Beiwu. He obviously flirted with my sister, and then he looked down on her! My sister is
a loom blocker at the No. 9 National Cotton Mill, and she has very good conditions." Anyway, this
was not a lie, and he would not be afraid if his sister really came.
Now it was the police's turn to look at each other in bewilderment. Revolution was revolution,
and the organization did not stop young people from falling in love. Getting married and having
children were all about creating productivity for the country. In this way, this little hooligan was
not provoking trouble without reason.
The policewoman softened her tone, "Your sister's personal problems are taken care of by the
labor union and the Youth League Committee of the National Cotton No. 9 Factory. How come it's
your turn to talk about it yourself? Tell me, how did Gu Beiwu offend your sister?"
"He came to the blind date conference and talked to my sister for quite a while." The little yellow-
haired boy looked at Chen Sijiang with his eyes wide open and his mouth wide open, and couldn't
help feeling a little proud. Then he saw Gu Beiwu's subtle expression and hurriedly continued to
expose: "It was last year, when Fuxing Island Fisheries Company and National Cotton Mill No. 9
and National Cotton Mill No. 17 jointly held a reading quotation exchange conference. Don't
pretend you don't remember it. A lot of people saw you. You even gave my sister a
commemorative medal for 'Sailing the Sea Depends on the Helmsman', right? Later, my sister
wrote you several letters, wanting to build socialism with you, but you didn't reply to any of
them!" He turned his head to seek support, and a bunch of gangsters nodded in agreement. They
admired the little yellow-haired boy very much. His sister looked exactly like him. If Gu Beiwu
could take the initiative to provoke his sister... Anyway, he was the best at lying with his eyes
open.
Gu Beiwu rubbed Chen Sijiang's head, which was about to explode, and said, "That's true, but I'm
talking to your sister on behalf of Mr. Cai, the chief engineer of the fishery company, to ask her if
she is willing to work with him for a common goal."
The little yellow-haired boy was stunned.
"Have you ever seen the badge that says 'Sea Sailing Depends on the Helmsman'? It's a special
commemorative badge of 'Long Live Sino-Japanese Friendship', made in Japan. The ship on it is a
10,000-ton bulk carrier, different from the ones we make in China. Besides, didn't the city stop
producing badges two years ago? Where can you get an out-of-print commemorative badge like
this without five dollars? Do you think I'm a young man on sick leave, do I look like someone who
has a badge or a rich person? Only seamen like Lao Cai have that. By the way, your sister
obviously went to the movies with him, so why did she write to me again?" Gu Beiwu leisurely
presented the facts and reasoned with him, and even turned the tables on the little yellow-haired
boy.
The little yellow-haired boy felt something was wrong, but he couldn't figure it out. He
stammered, "You, you, it's very rude of you to not reply to the letter anyway."
Gu Beiwu was happy: "I can be considered a person with decent features, but because I am a
martyr's relative, I receive dozens of letters every month from people who want to date me. In
order to be a moral person, a pure person, and a noble person①, I have no choice but not to
reply to any of the letters." In fact, he didn't even open any of the letters.
Hearing him claim that his facial features were barely regular, the serious policemen's mouths
twitched, and they couldn't help but look at the little yellow-haired man with very irregular facial
features. Chen Sijiang pouted at him, scratched his cheek with his fingers and made a face:
"Shame on you, old man, shame on you!"
From fighting and being a hooligan to discussing how to get rid of vulgar tastes and jointly build
socialism, the police officers in the police station are of course happy to see it. After giving the
little yellow-haired gang a profound ideological education, the big things were reduced to small
things, and the contradictions among the people were smoothly resolved. The happiest person
was Chen Sijiang. The heroic female police officer heard that she and Gu Beiwu had not eaten
lunch yet, so she took the lunch box directly to the canteen and got two servings of cold noodles
with pork chops. The sesame sauce was poured thickly, mixed with the fragrance of sesame oil,
and the fragrance could be smelled on the street outside. The cucumber shreds and bean sprouts
were refreshing, the pork chops were crispy, and there were two cups of iced sour plum soup,
which made Chen Sijiang very happy. Gu Beiwu took out a one-yuan banknote to pay for the
meal, and the female police officer was so angry that her eyebrows stood up, asking him if he
wanted her to be punished for corruption.
After reluctantly leaving the police station, Chen Sijiang burped and yawned, and couldn't help
but laugh at the little yellow guy behind him: "The police aunt asked Alaqie to lead the queue,
and the police uncle asked Nongqie to lead the queue, tut tut." Gu Beiwu couldn't help but laugh.
Laughed loudly.

Chapter 4
The sun outside is already showing its fatigue, and the road after the high temperature has
exhaled the heat accumulated throughout the day, making people feel sleepy. The sunlight
passes through the gaps in the sycamore trees and casts fine golden fragments on the bluestone
bricks. The breeze blows and slips past people like a sun-baked cat, leaving behind its furry
warmth.
Gu Beiwu carried Chen Sijiang on his back and headed west. Si Jiang summoned up his last
energy and reminded him: "Uncle, remember to go to Yugu Village to see Mother Mei and Sister
Fang. I will also give assorted candies to cut Ila. (I will also give assorted candies to them.) )——”
"Okay, hold the candy tightly and be careful not to drop it--." Gu Beiwu hadn't finished his
sentence when he heard her slight snoring. A piece of candy slipped into her collar. He smiled,
shook his head and slowed down his pace.
"Brother! Brother!" The yellow-haired boy was pushed and ran up in a hurry. He was sweating
profusely after being looked at by Gu Beiwu: "Uncle, you are my uncle, okay?" He saw Chen
Sijiang fell asleep, and his voice became softer: "I'm sorry, I didn't see that my sister fell asleep.
Don't worry, Uncle, I promise that my sister won't send you any more letters. But you received
the money, and there has been no news for more than two months, and I didn't see a cigarette,
this is not good, right?"
"Are you the Xiao Huang who sold a hundred peonies in three days? Ten for one, there's no other
like you in Shanghai, a model man." Gu Beiwu complimented him lightly.
Huang Mao was stunned. This was what he was most proud of, but the big brothers didn't think
so. They said he was just lucky to meet a big customer. He didn't expect to be praised by the
legendary Gu Beiwu. It meant that his ability to ship goods was so famous that he could leave the
district. He felt his face getting hot and the hot blood in his body rushed to his head: "Ahaha, ah,
ah, it's me, it's nothing, I'm just lucky."
"There is no such thing as luck in this world. It all depends on ability. Luck is also an ability." Gu
Beiwu looked at his chest: "How did you sell it?"
The yellow-haired man took two quick steps towards Gu Beiwu, looked around, and suddenly
pulled open his shirt: "Brother, do you want cigarettes? Look, we have genuine Peony Daqianmen
and Pegasus hardcover paperbacks." He quickly closed his shirt: "This is my own idea. It's the
most convenient way to sell cigarettes. I happened to meet a wealthy man from Wenzhou, and
he bought eighty packs by himself. Hehehe."
Gu Beiwu was stunned, and suppressed his laughter, which made Chen Sijiang tremble on his
back: "Yes, you have ideas and methods, effective strategies and flexible tactics, no wonder——"
The yellow-haired shirt has a row of buttons on the outside, but they are actually decorations.
There is a zipper on the inside for easy opening and closing. There were more than a dozen small,
narrow pockets sewn into the shirt, which contained four kinds of cigarette shells and many
scattered cigarettes.
Gu Beiwu stopped, and a string of "hairy crabs" behind him were also nailed to the road.
"Shh-" Gu Beiwu smiled and held up Tuosujiang with one hand, and took out the assorted
candies from the back of his neck with the other hand and threw it to Xiao Huangmao: "Be
gentle, Ala'nannan is sleepy (she's sleeping) ”
The little yellow-haired boy grinned as he watched Gu Beiwu's shadow slowly lengthen. He
wanted to throw away the candy in his hand, but somehow he peeled off the candy wrapper and
stuffed it into his mouth. As a result, he was hit twice by a few cowardly brothers behind him, and
the candy almost choked his trachea.
"What are you doing? It hurts so much." The little yellow-haired boy rubbed his arm unhappily.
"Hey, the little red man has a bad temper. Did you ask about the cigarettes?"
"I asked! He said to slow down first." The little yellow-haired boy swallowed his saliva, it was so
sweet.
"Slow down, slow down. How long? It's already five o'clock."
The little yellow-haired boy rolled his eyes and followed Gu Beiwu westward: "How should I
know? Why don't you ask? I'm the one who gets hurt all the time. Why am I always the one who
gets hurt? I'm not an idiot."
They were noisy, but no one wanted to be a gangster and go up to trouble Gu Beiwu. After all,
the kick Huang Mao received was really scary, but they refused to let it go, so you pushed me and
followed Gu Beiwu.
Gu Beiwu entered Yugu Village on Yuyuan Road, and when he reached the iron gate of an old
bungalow, he turned around and waved to Xiao Huangmao. Xiao Huangmao couldn't help but ran
over.
"Wait for me here for half an hour." After Gu Beiwu explained, he opened the iron door and
walked inside. Chen Sijiang woke up on his back and struggled to get off and walk on his own.
A group of people watched helplessly as the uncle and nephew disappeared. They became bolder
at the iron gate and the house number on the iron gate, and hurled a series of curse words at
them. However, there was so much noise inside the iron gate that Gu Beiwu didn't hear it at all.
The old house looked very impressive from the outside, but the yard was a mess, with
clotheslines hanging all over the place, and a bed sheet with a large yellow flower cluster was not
straightened out, with irregular wrinkles, and was buried in the lush weeds half a person high.
The towering trees beside the gables were entwined with white roses in full bloom, and the two-
story flower waterfall vaguely retained the scenery of the past. After the house occupation
movement, dozens of families moved in, demolished the original flower beds under the red brick
walls, marked out the land for each household, and piled up basins, cupboards, coal cakes,
stoves, honeycomb coal and other sundries, and flies were flying above the dried radishes,
pickles and salted fish on the sieve.
A dozen children were playing hopscotch, jumping rubber ropes, playing marbles and throwing
sandbags in the open space in front of the villa, and the screams and quarrels were deafening. On
the bamboo lounge chairs nearby, before the rainy season arrived, a few old men were already
shirtless, fanning themselves with cattail leaves and chatting.
"Oh, Xiao Gu is here. My niece is getting more and more beautiful." An old man stood up, waving
a palm-leaf fan in one hand and patting her white chest with the other hand, showing waves of
flesh. He also did not forget to pick up a handful of old man's pants hanging on the lifebuoy.
"Look, she's wearing a skirt--" one of the children playing shouted.
Gu Beiwu took Chen Sijiang's hand and quickly walked up the stairs, avoiding the old man's big
hand that was stretched out towards Chen Sijiang's head, and hummed indifferently.
With a dull "puff" sound, a sandbag suddenly hit Chen Sijiang's butt from behind and fell at her
feet. The boys and girls laughed and someone whistled.
"Hey, why did you throw it on your sister? Really." An old man happily scolded his grandson: "Go
pick it up quickly, don't peek at your sister."
Gu Beiwu frowned and stopped. It was okay to kick a yellow-haired kid or a naked kid. It was just
that these old bastards were a bit difficult to deal with. Chen Sijiang pulled him in and whispered,
"Uncle, leave him alone." Although it would be okay to beat him, it would be bad if Mei's mother
and Sister Fang saw it.
There was a banging sound on the stairs inside, and a young girl rushed down in a few steps,
holding a thick and long rolling pin in her hand, and she banged on the door fiercely. The old door
banged against the wall and bounced a few times, and a broken mailbox also shook. The noisy
laughter and murmurs outside suddenly disappeared.
"Come here and say sorry to your sister! You! It's you! Hao Aiguo from 104, come here and
apologize!" Fang Shuren, the daughter of the former owner of this old villa, the capitalist boss
Fang who committed suicide out of fear of punishment after being overthrown, shouted loudly
outside with a frown on her face, her volume louder than that of Chen Sijiang's loudspeaker.

Chapter 5
Chen Sijiang's little head immediately recalled her grandmother's catchphrase: "Guaiguai
Longdidong!" She straightened her small waist, which did not yet exist, and looked at Fang
Shuren with admiration. If she had such a beautiful and powerful sister, no one in Wanchun
Street would dare to call her "Little Xinjiang" or "No one wants her". Gu Beiwu's mouth twitched.
Fang Shuren had always been sarcastic and unfriendly to him, but he did not expect that she
would take up the rolling pin to defend Chen Sijiang. He wanted to see how powerful this young
lady could be outside the home.
A short, fat, ugly boy of about eight or nine years old ran to his grandfather and pretended to cry,
"Grandpa, I'm scared. She's going to beat me."
The old man who specifically reminded his grandson "not to" peek under his sister's skirt yelled
with an unhappy face: "Xiao Fang, what are you doing? Children often throw sandbags at people,
it's not intentional. What are you afraid of for being patriotic? Auntie Xiao Fang is just talking
nonsense, trying to scare you, go, go pick up the sandbag."
The child twisted around and made faces at Fang Shuren and Chen Sijiang.
Fang Shuren was so angry that her face turned red. The rolling pin trembled slightly and fell
down. She took a breath and said, "I saw it clearly from the window. Hao Aiguo obviously did it
on purpose. He should apologize when he does something wrong. The younger the child, the
better he should be educated. He smashed my window last week, and yesterday his hands were
covered with coal cake ash and my bed sheets were full of handprints. Someone saw it. My
mother came to our house several times to talk about it, but the adults in your family just
pretended that nothing happened. People should always be reasonable, right?"
Several children aged four or five shouted loudly: "It was Hao Aiguo who threw the stone. He
made the bed sheet dirty. We saw it." The other old men covered their mouths and tried to
smooth things over.
Old man Hao couldn't hold back his face. He stood up and dragged his grandson to Fang Shuren.
"Why? You blame him for all the bad things that happened to your family? I think you are holding
a grudge. Didn't Aiguo's father beat your father a few times? Who in this yard hasn't had a fight?
It seems that your desire for revenge is deep-rooted. Come on, hit him. Try to hit our Aiguo!"
Fang Shuren's eyes felt hot, and a feeling of depression surged in his chest. He opened his mouth
but then pursed it tightly. Mom had repeatedly told him to be patient, to be patient, and that
there would always be a time when the clouds would clear and the sun would shine.
Gu Beiwu laughed and reached out to pull the rolling pin out of her hand: "Xiao Fang, you keep
telling the truth. The truth is not always pleasant to hear. Go back first."
Old man Hao almost poked Gu Beiwu's nose with one finger, and the saliva sprayed out was only
one centimeter away from Fang Shuren's face. "Tell the truth, right? Who wouldn't tell the truth?
His father, Lao Gu, was your father's driver. He was the first to stand up and expose your father.
His eldest brother, Gu Dongwen, who you used to ride like a horse, led everyone to rush in. Why
don't you want to take revenge on them? Just because Gu Beiwu is good-looking? Everyone
knows what your mother is thinking. Why? If you marry a martyr's family, you don't have to go to
the countryside to reform your thoughts?"
Fang Shuren's tears rolled around in his eyes. Finally, he glared at Gu Beiwu fiercely, turned
around and went upstairs.
Gu Beiwu smiled and stuffed the rolling pin into the confused Chen Sijiang's hands: "Hey, Old
Hao, Xiao Fang calls me uncle and you grandpa according to age, what does it mean to marry a
martyr's family? Your grandson is ignorant, and you are even more ignorant than your
grandson?"
Old man Hao glared, but his arm was firmly clamped. Hey, hey, it hurts. Gu Beiwu, the little
bastard, looks gentle and handsome, but he has such great strength! I just didn't say anything. It
doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt.
"Your grandson threw a sandbag and accidentally threw it into my Sijiang River. It's a small
matter. Did I say anything? We men should be more tolerant. Why should we bother with little
girls and children? Forget it." Gu Beiwu smiled more sincerely.
Old man Hao sucked in a breath and forced a laugh: "Ha, ha, why would I bother with her. Kids
are just playing around, don't bother with it." Then why don't you just let go? Why are you
pushing harder?
Gu Beiwu laughed: "That's good. Si Jiang, go ahead and throw the sandbag back." He emphasized
the word "throw". He has always been confident in his niece's IQ.
Chen Sijiang has been influenced by Gu Beiwu since she was old enough to understand things.
She is well-behaved and sweet-talking when adults are around, but she will not offend others
when adults are not around, otherwise she will definitely fight back. When people call her "Xiao
Xinjiang", she calls them "little jerk". When people pull her braids, she scratches them with her
claws. As for throwing coal cakes, waving toilet brushes, glass marbles as darts, and small stools
as weapons, she often practices and never loses her skills. When she heard "Sijiang, go", she
immediately swung the rolling pin in her hand and "threw" it out reflexively, not even thinking of
the sandbags on the ground. My uncle has said countless times that when you rush up, don't
think about anything, just throw whatever you have in your hand and hit randomly.
The rolling pin fell to the ground with a clang, and Hao Aiguo covered his chin and screamed like
a pig being slaughtered. The children watching the fun laughed and clapped their hands.
Gu Beiwu was really surprised by the effect of getting twice the result with half the effort. He
pulled the old man Hao and his grandson together and smiled very kindly: "Si Jiang, why are you
so careless? Although Grandpa Hao said that you were just playing around and he won't take it
seriously, people in our family can't be so wicked. Come over and apologize to your brother."
Chen Sijiang blinked his big eyes, bent down to pick up the rolling pin, and frightened Hao Aiguo.
But the pretty girl took out a candy and handed it to him: "Thank you, fat brother. I'll treat you to
a candy, and you won't feel any pain. You're welcome. Goodbye."
Gu Beiwu praised his daughter with satisfaction, took Chen Sijiang's hand and turned to leave.
Outside, Old Man Hao hadn't come to his senses yet. Who the hell is so wicked? What does
"thank you" and "you're welcome" mean? Is this how you apologize? What is the use of "sorry"?
"Hey! Gu Beiwu——"
Gu Beiwu turned his head and smiled: "By the way, Lao Hao, if you have nothing to do, don't
hang around the door of the public toilet in the building. The gaps in the door are too narrow and
you can't see anything. If you really want to see, sign up for duty at the entrance of the cinema so
that you can openly check whether the young women are not wearing underwear.①"
After a moment of silence outside, it suddenly became a mess.
"Poke that motherf*ck, it turned out to be you, the old rascal! My wife has been saying that it
seemed like someone was peeping at her bathing—— (Five-character curse, it turned out to be
you, the old rascal, my wife has been saying that it seemed like someone was peeping at her
bathing)"
"Old Hao, how can you be so wicked!"
"Beat him, beat this shameless old man to death!"
——
Room 202 was originally the study room of the old house, and now it is the residence of Fang's
mother and daughter. The cramped space was separated into a living room and a bedroom by an
old indigo cloth, and it was very tidy. Fang Shuren's eyes were red, and it was obvious that she
had been crying. She felt a little embarrassed in front of Chen Sijiang, so she took the assorted
candy and hugged her. Just as she was about to let go, Chen Sijiang hugged her with his two little
arms and kissed her twice. The big and the small were intimately whispering to each other.
Gu Beiwu was always very friendly. He looked inside and sat back at the dining table. "How can
we paper over the broken glass? In a few days, it will be rainy season, and there will be typhoons
in July. The house will be in a mess."
Fang Shuren did not respond. Her mother Mei Yuhua brought a tray and opened the bamboo
door curtain, bringing in a strong aroma. Chen Sijiang's little nose was sharper than a dog's, and
she immediately shouted, "Yellow croaker soup, yellow croaker soup!" Her grandparents were
from Ningbo and settled in Shanghai more than 40 years ago. In recent years, all the fish coupons
were used for yellow croaker. She could smell this eyebrow-dropping smell four or five times a
year, and it was the most impressive. It was not her turn to eat the yellow croaker meat. Every
New Year and other festivals, her two uncles and three cousins would go back to Wanchun Street
and pick up the fish meat with a few chopsticks, leaving a small bowl of fish soup for her to make
rice. The smell washed over her, and she was already drooling even though she hadn't digested
the pork chop noodles in her little belly.
Mei Yuhua's Wu dialect is as gentle and amiable as the small bridges and flowing water of
Suzhou: "Come on, come on, today yellow croaker is only 4.8 cents a pound, I'm lucky, I bought a
big yellow croaker, the tail of the fish is dragging on the ground when I go up the stairs. I made
yellow croaker noodles, yellow croaker wontons, and fish ball soup, you can cut whatever you
want (you can eat whatever you want), and there is also sour plum soup, which is not made with
sour plum powder, but I use black plums, rock sugar and hawthorns to make it, it's really good.
Nannan, go get the canned luncheon meat② and open it, Sijiangding is happy to cut it (my
favorite food)."
Chen Sijiang smiled so much that his eyebrows were not visible: "Sister Fang, you are also a girl."
Mei Yuhua scratched her nose and said, "Even if you are sixty years old, you are still my
daughter."
Chen Sijiang was overjoyed: "She is still a little girl at the age of sixty! What? My mother is also a
girl?!" All the people in Fangshu couldn't help laughing.
Four people sat around the dining table. Fang Shuren and Gu Beiwu ate yellow croaker noodles
with pickled vegetables. The noodle soup was snow-white, and the hand-rolled small wide
noodles were crisp and refreshing. Mei Yuhua and Chen Sijiang ate yellow croaker wontons. Each
wonton looked like a goldfish, floating in the milky fish soup. Chen Sijiang ate wontons twice a
day without getting tired of it. He blew on them and took a bite. His mouth was full of yellow
croaker meat. He was happy.
Mei Yuhua also put two slices of luncheon meat in Gu Beiwu's bowl: "I just heard it, I'm really
sorry that I need your help, Old Hao is really - ah. But Nai and Shu Ren are of the same
generation. I used to call Nai Ye (your father) "Big Brother Gu", how can Nai become Shu Ren's
uncle? Don't come. (But you and Shu Ren are of the same generation, I used to call your father
"Big Brother Gu", how can Nai become Shu Ren's uncle? No way.)"
Gu Beiwu shook his head and smiled: "If you are afraid of gossip in Ningga Port, you'd better call
me Uncle. (If you are afraid of gossip, you'd better call me Uncle.) Ge Huangyu Ha Ling, how can
you still have fish coupons? (This yellow croaker is so good, how come you still have fish
coupons?)"
Every time he comes to Yugu Village, in addition to eating delicious food, Chen Sijiang also likes to
listen to the adults chatting. They are not like grandmas, grandpas and uncles who always say
boring things. They will say many strange things that cannot be heard on the radio. . Last year, an
American man named Ni Roufong (Nixon) came to Shanghai. The Friendship Store was full of
good things, but he didn't even buy it. He was so stupid and stingy. This year, another man
named Sihanouk came to Shanghai. In order to make a bowl of chicken and duck blood soup in
the City God Temple, he killed 108 chickens. As a result, he only played tennis and did not eat.
Tian had no choice but to kill another one hundred and eight chickens. Tsk, tsk, tsk, the chickens
were so pitiful. They would also talk about her parents. It turns out that Aksu in Xinjiang is called
Little Shanghai, and people there gossip about Shanghai. Yunnan, where my uncle went, was
even more magical. He had to get up at three o'clock in the morning to cut bananas (rubber), and
he even encountered peacocks. It's a pity that she came too late today, so she secretly ate two
more pieces of lunch meat, a cup of sour plum soup and three candies. Before she heard
anything interesting, her uncle was about to take her home.
After seeing off Gu Beiwu and his nephew, Mei Yuhua started to clean up the table. She picked up
the tray and saw a letter underneath. Inside was a doctor's certificate that she had been running
around for but couldn't get. With this, Fang Shuren could take sick leave and didn't have to go to
the countryside. There was also a stack of big unity bills, at least ten in a pinch. She quickly put
the money back in the envelope and told Fang Shuren to chase after it.
When Fang Shuren went downstairs, he only saw Chen Sijiang and a few little girls playing
hopscotch happily. Next to them was a group of old and young people, plus a few female
comrades who had just returned from get off work, who were grabbing old man Hao and were
going to the street to expose his hooligan crimes, but there was no sign of Gu Beiwu.
"Where's your uncle? Si Jiang."
"He's chatting with some gangsters outside. He'll be here soon." Chen Sijiang pointed at the big
iron gate with a smile.
Fang Shuren trotted to the iron gate, and just as he was about to open it, he could not help but
hesitate. She could not explain how she felt about Gu Beiwu. She had hated the Gu family before,
the seemingly honest Uncle Gu, who was the first to stand up and accuse her father of spending
enough money on cars every month to support an ordinary family for two years, and Gu
Dongwen, who broke in with so many people, moved her favorite piano away, smashed the
fireplace, and even removed the radiator in the bathroom. There were also so many books, all of
which were loaded into the truck and transported away by him. But Mom said they were good
people, because Gu Dongwen was there, Dad hid the last watch, those books were not burned on
the spot, and the piano was sent to the state-owned second-hand store on Huaihai Road. Last
year, she pretended to go shopping to try it out, and the tone was still accurate.
Gu Beiwu's lazy and teasing voice came from outside: "When you delivered the eighty cartons of
cigarettes, did you take anything away?"
Fang Shuren's hand trembled and she let go of the door handle. She seemed to have heard
something big and terrible. It was fatal.
Huang Mao was stunned for a moment, then looked at the others. The leader laughed and said,
"No, nothing."
"A large yellow manila envelope. Think about it."
"Uncle, how could you know that?" the yellow-haired man exclaimed and immediately betrayed
his companion: "Yes, yes, yes, a yellow-colored one, a bulging one." Then he received two slaps
on the back of his head.
The leader was a little embarrassed: "Well, we saw that no one wanted it, so we just helped take
it away."
Gu Beiwu laughed out loud: "3,500 kilograms of national food coupons, two blank letters of
introduction, 100 bicycle tickets, and 80 watch tickets. No one wants these things? Do you know
how many years you will have to stay in Baimaoling after taking these?"
"Uncle Ya! I got nothing!" the yellow-haired guy yelled.
"Today is my niece's holiday, and I don't want to talk about this kind of dirty stuff. Since you've
followed me, let me make it clear. Later, the 500 yuan deposit you gave for cigarettes was all
returned to that Wenzhou man. If you ask me, you still made a profit, right?" Gu Beiwu stretched
lazily: "By the way, the Wenzhou man reported the case. If you don't believe me, I'll accompany
you to the Huangpu District Public Security Bureau."
A bunch of hooligans were frightened. Most of them were the youngest members of working-
class families in the Yangshupu Road area. They went to school for three days and spent three
days fishing and two days drying nets. After graduation, they refused to work or go to the
countryside. They just caused trouble in the streets and neighbors. There was a lot of petty theft,
teasing and colluding with young women to ship goods. It was okay to quarrel and scold, but it
was not allowed to fight (it was okay to curse, but not to fight). Gu Beiwu was brought to
Dayangpu by another "big brother". He only heard that he was old and rough (with a wide
network of connections) and was very tricky (with powerful methods). They had just come out of
the police station. Who would want to go to the police station to seek death? Groups of people
coming off work in Yugu Village came one after another, all very vigilant. Staring at them made
them feel weak and weak, and finally left in despair.
Gu Beiwu put his hands in his trouser pockets and turned around leisurely: "Open the door, Fang
Shuren."
Fang Shucai ran away for two steps, and had no choice but to turn around and open the door in
embarrassment. After handing over the envelope, he coughed twice: "This -"
"I'm lending it to your family." Gu Beiwu walked past her and headed toward the yard. "Doesn't
your mother have to undergo surgery in September? Pay it back to me later."
Fang Shuren held the envelope, gritted his teeth, and stuffed it into his trouser pocket: "Gu
Beiwu, are you——"
"Yes, a bad guy who did bad things." Gu Beiwu shrugged: "Si Jiang, let's go."
"Hey - I'm here." Chen Sijiang said goodbye to her playmates, jumped for the last time, and ran
towards Gu Beiwu contentedly. She ran only two steps before suddenly stopping, bending over
and vomiting. She had eaten too much and too many kinds of food today, and she was still
jumping around after eating. When she ran again, she vomited out all the good food that had
reached her throat.
Si Jiang, who was lying on her uncle's back, cried so hard that her tears and snot were all mixed
together. Her face was covered with sweat. She looked back every step of the way and was
reluctant to leave: "Wuge yellow croaker meat! Luncheon meat! Wuuwuwu--ooh--" Her heart
was broken. She had finally gotten to eat the yellow croaker...
Gu Beiwu carried Si Jiang back to Wanchun Street. It was already dark, but the cultural station in
Lane 63 was still brightly lit. Dozens of children were running around trying to catch the tail of
Children's Day.
"Chen Sijiang! Sijiang!" Three boys ran over dripping with sweat. The youngest was Chen Simin,
the youngest son of Chen Sijiang's second uncle. He grinned widely: "My mother cooked yellow
croaker and stewed tofu today, hahaha, don't you?" Cut it! (You’re not eating it)”
Chen Sijiang burst into tears again. While crying and sobbing, he turned around and shouted: "I
cut it! I cut it and handed it over! (I ate a lot)" and left all the food in Yugu Village.
The author has something to say: I had mixed feelings when Chen Sijiang saw the yellow croaker.
This is indeed the case. In order to prevent a few young women and sailors from secretly having
unspeakable relations in the cinema, there were inspectors at the entrance of the cinema in that
era.
2. The Merlin brand canned luncheon meat was developed in series in the 1960s and was a best-
seller in domestic and international markets in the 1970s.
The Chen family is from Ningbo, the Gu family is from Yangzhou, and the Fang family is from
Suzhou. In 1927, Shanghai welcomed the first wave of Ningbo migration. At one point, the
number of Ningbo people exceeded that of native Shanghainese. Most of the people migrated
from northern Jiangsu during the Anti-Japanese War. The people of the Greater Bay Area have
been loving and killing each other for a hundred years. The Shanghainese "Ala We" is actually
Ningbo dialect. I pronounce "Wu" and "Nong" in Suzhou dialect.

Chapter 6
The Gu family lived in Lane 35, Lane 63. The house was actually built by Grandma Gu's family
when they fled during the Anti-Japanese War. It was very close to the Jin Situ Temple. Dad Gu was
considered a son-in-law.
Grandma Gu's surname was Xu, and her maiden name was Xunfang. The Xu family's ancestors
were salt merchants, and they had quite a lot of wealth. In order to let her marry into a good
family like her three older sisters, her mother tied her to the bed and began to bind her feet
when she was four years old. Even when her toes were broken, rotten, and festered, she could
not give up halfway. In the three or four years, she cried countless times and rolled on the
ground, banging her head against the bed frame and looking for scissors everywhere to cut the
binding cloth. Her mother also cried, and while crying she beat her with a thin rattan stick. When
she was nine years old, she had a pair of three-inch golden lotus feet, which were curved, thin,
small, and pointed, and there was nothing to fault with them. When she was thirteen or fourteen
years old, the matchmakers who came to her house would exclaim: She is really the most
beautiful girl in Slender West Lake, and she must marry into a good family.
Every time this was mentioned, Chen Sijiang would ask worriedly: "So who does the matchmaker
want you to marry?" She knew what the matchmaker looked like. Her uncle had painted her face.
There was a piece of shitty plaster on her forehead, a big mole next to her nose with two hairs on
it, and her mouth was painted blood red like the photo of her uncle in the window of Meilan
Photo Studio. Tsk tsk tsk.
Granny Gu held her hair and dipped it into the wash basin. She gently rubbed it for more than ten
times and applied scented soap. "Here, there is the third young master of the Wu family. His
grandfather was a prefect, and his father was an official in the Ministry of Agriculture and
Commerce of the Beiyang Government. There is a library at home."
Si Jiang wiped the soap bubbles off his forehead with a small towel and shook his head solemnly:
"Don't come here, officials in the old society are all bad people and must be overthrown."
"Well, it's a good thing it didn't come to fruition, otherwise I would have had to go to Heilongtan
to farm." It was Grandma Gu who heard about the fact that Wu San from Yangzhou was demoted
to Heilongtan in Kunming to farm from Gu Dongwen's letter the year before last. Although
nothing had happened back then, she had once gone to the Taotai Mansion for tea. Mrs. Liu was
very kind. She showed them the "Song of National Salvation" written by Wu San in the school
magazine of Yangzhou Middle School, and tactfully advised her mother to bind her feet, and it
would be best if she could hire a teacher to teach her to read. She was a good person.
"What else? I want to hear about that great marshal--" Si Jiang burped with a smell of yellow
croaker and continued to show concern, smacking his lips, still feeling aggrieved.
"What Grand Marshal? He is the young master of the Lu family. His father was a lieutenant
general of Grand Marshal Sun. His family lived in a cockfighting arena, but they were a little
poor." Granny Gu washed Si Jiang's hands that were covered with soap bubbles. "He later
married a cousin of mine from Nanhexia."
"Because your cousin doesn't have bound feet? She's still studying in school, right?" Si Jiang
asked with a smile.
"Well, it's a good thing that it didn't happen, otherwise I would have been considered a traitor."
Grandma Gu also laughed. The Hu family's cousin went to Taiwan with the Lu family on the eve of
liberation.
After talking about several former backup grandpa candidates, Si Jiang said sweetly as usual: "Tsk,
tsk, tsk, our grandpa is still the best." After hesitating for a few seconds, she couldn't help but
betray her own mother: "Grandma, my mother was bragging about you some time ago. She said
that your family has been poor in Yangzhou for a long time."
Granny Gu smiled and said, "There's no money. My father only knows how to smoke opium, and
my four brothers are also useless. We have a troupe of actors at home who perform operas every
day. When the Japanese attacked, we only had eight large yellow croakers (large gold bars) to
escape. There were more than a hundred people when we left Yangzhou, but when we arrived in
Shanghai, there were less than ten people left in a house."
When Chen Sijiang heard about yellow croaker, his face fell. He didn't understand why his great-
grandparents wanted to escape with the yellow croaker and cook yellow croaker wontons to eat
on the way?
Grandma Gu shook her head and sighed: "You little Xiazi (children) are lucky. You were born in
the new society. You don't have to worry about food or clothing, and you don't have to worry
about war. We had such a hard time. At that time, your great-grandfather used two large yellow
croakers to exchange for a few tricycles to load furniture. When they arrived at Huangqiao, they
were robbed, and the mahogany boxes and yellow croakers were gone. It was with the pair of
eight-liang gold bracelets sewn in your great-grandmother's cotton-padded jacket that we
exchanged for twenty or so Huangqiao sesame cakes and finally made it to Shanghai." She spoke
excitedly: "Look, my pair of bound feet were so big that they rotted after walking less than ten
miles. I bled all the way, but I didn't dare not to walk because the Japanese would come later. My
three sisters, your aunts, all had bound feet and couldn't walk fast. No one in their husband's
family took care of them, so they all died in Jiangbei."
Si Jiang finished washing his hair, sat up from the bamboo recliner, held his grandmother's face
and kissed her several times: "Grandma, you are so pitiful." He bent down to touch the little feet:
"Your little feet are so pitiful too, are they still painful?"
Granny Gu narrowed her eyes in a smile, hugged her and kissed her again and again: "Our Si Jiang
is the one who knows how to care for others. Your mother, uncle and aunt are all bad people.
They despise my feet when they see them, and think they are ugly, smelly and that my small feet
are embarrassing to them. Their consciences have been eaten by dogs."
"You scold them and beat them, please let them take the lead." Si Jiang was angry and sad:
"Grandma, you are the most pitiful."
Gu Beiwu stood quietly outside the door. It was the first time in more than 20 years that he heard
his mother complain. His mother was right. The consciences of his brothers and sisters had been
eaten by dogs.
He couldn't remember how old he was when he noticed the deformed feet. Was he scared or
disgusted? Probably both. Anyway, he didn't want to think about it anymore. Later, when the
Four Olds were destroyed, only Chen A Niang and his mother were women with bound feet on
Wanchun Street. They were dragged out and had their foot bindings cut off in public. Then they
swept public toilets together for three years. The eldest sister married a seaman early and moved
to Fuxing Island. The second sister signed up to go to Xinjiang as soon as she graduated. When
they were at home, they hardly talked to their mother, and even avoided looking at her. It
seemed that seeing her would make them become feudal, capitalist, and revisionist, or at least
be tainted by the remnants of feudalism. When he was in junior high school, someone threw
something like foot binding on his head. That was the first time he fought hard and became
famous. But even if he had to sweep the public toilet every day, his mother never complained.
After returning home, she would hide behind the tent and wash for half a day. The pair of
crippled and deformed feet were never exposed again. He is not even as good as Si Jiang. Even a
three-year-old child knows that it was not her fault. Those little feet caused her so much pain and
blood. She is the most pitiful one.
Si Jiang's usual struggling voice could be heard from the other side of the door: "Grandma, please
add some more cold water. It's scalding the color. It's scalding to death."
"What nonsense are you talking about, little kid? Where is it hot? I've tried it before." Although
Grandma Gu was an old lady with bound feet, she had great strength in her hands. She lifted Si
Jiang up like a chicken and stuffed him into the wooden bathtub: "It's so hot and comfortable. My
house is the only one in the whole Wanchun Street that has such a big bathtub. It's so hot."
Now it was Si Jiang's turn to scream like a pig being slaughtered: "Hot, hot, hot - Uncle, help -"
Gu Beiwu knocked on the door: "Guaiguai bang bang, it's Si Jiang's fried green onions. Don't
worry, you won't be burned to death." Anyway, he had been burned like this since he was a child.
After a while, Granny Gu called from inside: "Old Four, it's ok, come in and get some water."
Chen Sijiang, who was not scalded, was lying on the footstool in front of his grandmother's bed in
a vest and shorts, flipping through the Red Little Soldier Pictorial. When he looked up and saw his
uncle coming in, he sat up and asked in a low voice, "Uncle, can we turn on the electric fan at
night?"
Gu Beiwu touched her head and said, "Okay. Don't tell anyone." The Watson brand electric fan
hidden in his attic was brought back by Gu Dongwen from Fang's house. It was not on the list but
it was not to be seen by others.
Chen Sijiang nodded vigorously, but saw that his uncle did not lift the bathtub to pour water as
usual, but instead carried a small stool and sat next to the bathtub.
"Uncle? Do you want to take a bath? You are a man, so you should go outside or go to the
bathroom." Chen Sijiang chuckled.
Gu Beiwu lowered his head: "No, I'll help your grandma wash her feet. (I'll help your grandma
wash her feet.)"
Granny Gu got so startled that the soap in her hand slipped into the bathtub.
"Old Four, you are crazy today!" Grandma Gu held the edge of the bathtub tightly, neither
laughing nor crying, and cursed in Yangzhou dialect, but she couldn't resist her son's strength.
She watched helplessly as the children's shoes and socks on her feet were thrown aside, and a
few balls of cotton stuffed in the shoes fell out, smelling sour. The pair of small feet that she
herself hated but couldn't get rid of were exposed and slowly immersed in hot water. She was not
mistaken, her son didn't even frown, she was not wrong, this psychopath was her youngest son
Gu Beiwu, and something hit her heart hard in an instant, sour and painful. Grandma Gu stopped
scolding, she stretched out her hand to touch the top of her son's head, she remembered that
the fourth son had two whorls on his head. When she was about to touch the black and shiny
hair, she stopped, pretended to get the soap, and rubbed it in the water a few times.
"Oh my goodness, it's really hot." Granny Gu was stunned: "Oh my goodness, Si Jiang, why didn't
you tell me earlier! It's so hot that it can kill me."
Chen Sijiang: ???

Chapter 7
There is no clear boundary between day and night in Wanchun Street. After dusk, the street
lamps hanging on the high electric wires cast a dim yellow glow under the enamel lampshade,
like egg yolks soaked in water, gradually becoming less clear and blurry, dyeing the high and low
roofs of the shantytowns with a layer of tired light gold, the mottled old wooden doors, the
fragmented lattice roads, and the mossy cement platforms were stained with a gentle flavor, and
even the stench of the simple public toilet at the entrance of the alley became much lighter.
The electric fan was turning slowly. A corner of the movie poster on the wall drooped down and
rustled in the wind. Three oval-faced actresses on the poster smiled brightly at Chen Sijiang.
Sijiang pointed at the poster and read, "Grandma, it says that spring is in full bloom."
"Yes, that's right. Si Jiang is very amazing. Just like your uncle, he has recognized a lot of words
since he was a child." Grandma Gu praised the two.
Si Jiang was honest: "I only know three: Wan, Qian, and Chun. Grandma, you are the most
beautiful (you are the most beautiful), why are you not in the picture magazine?"
Grandma Gu waved a palm-leaf fan to carefully drive away the small flies: "Haven't I told you
many times? Only big stars can be in magazines. People like me, your mother, and Grandma Li are
called extras. We just act as extras. We carry baskets and walk back and forth. When they make
toy cars, we sit at the back and pretend. It's exhausting. But it was pretty good back then. They
only looked at the face and not the feet. Anyone with a decent appearance could sign up."
"Can we still eat in the cafeteria?" Si Jiang clapped her hands together, and when she opened
them again, she saw nothing. She sighed, "It's so nice not to have to cook at home. Everyone in
the cafeteria eats the same thing." She wouldn't have to eat only fish soup and rice.
"Little children don't like to sigh." Grandma Gu slapped Si Jiang's head with her fan. "What's good
about it? If the canteen in the alley is closed, what will everyone eat? To make way for Marshal
Steel, all the pots and spatulas in each household have been handed in for steelmaking. Your
uncle picked up a piece of scrap iron at the door of the dormitory of the nearby film studio to
exchange for money, and was almost caught as a thief. He was only ten years old, and he didn't
know it was hard to pick up! He was so hungry every day that his eyes were shining green like a
wolf."
Si Jiang helped his grandmother put down the mosquito net: "Did my uncle really eat a belt?"
Granny Gu was amused. "He told you? Bullshit, he was just bragging. The one who ate the leather
belt was the second son of my third brother's family, your seventh cousin from Yangzhou. During
those years of natural disasters, all the tree barks and grass roots were eaten up. There was really
nothing to eat. He heard that eating cowhide would not cause defecation and would keep you
from starving for a month, so he ate a piece of it and almost died."
This was the first time Si Jiang heard this "news". His eyes widened and he exclaimed several
times before he uttered, "This cousin is a bit stupid."
"He was a fool from the beginning. He had bad luck. He had a high fever when he was born and
his brain was burned out. If he wasn't a boy, your third uncle would have drowned him in the
toilet long ago. It was useless later. There was really nothing to eat at home. His whole body was
swollen like he was blown up. He died of illness before he even got married. I raised him for more
than 20 years in vain."
Si Jiang's eyes turned red: "Oh, his mother is going to cry to death."
"Why not cry? She gave birth to and raised her own children. She gave birth to eleven children,
eight of whom survived. That's already very good."
"Eleven!?" Si Jiang exclaimed.
"People in the country, what else can they do besides farming and giving birth to children? Your
ninth cousin was born in a cornfield. Her mother cut the umbilical cord with a sickle, took off her
coat and wrapped it up, and then cut a row of corn stalks before carrying the baby home. That's
why her nickname is Corn. And your eleventh cousin is so hilarious. His mother was sitting on the
toilet and gave birth to him with a plop. He fell into the toilet, but luckily they got him out quickly.
Hahahaha." Grandma Gu laughed so hard that tears came out.
Si Jiang was very confused: "Is this cousin's nickname Ma Toilet?"
"Of course not, call me Gouzi." Grandma Gu hugged Si Jiang into her arms and rubbed him
several times before laughing: "Dogs eat shit."
Gu Beiwu, who was in the attic, listened attentively to the gossips of the grandparents and
grandchildren downstairs. It seemed that his mother's hearty laughter and endless narration only
occurred when Si Jiang was with her. Suddenly, he understood a little why his mother had started
to sell white jasmine flowers in front of the Kaige Cake Shop (Kai Sling) with a basket and a
martyr's certificate in her pocket in the past two years. The neighborhood committee had often
used this matter to persuade him to go to work. He always thought that his mother was trying to
make money. Two strings of white jasmine flowers only cost one cent, and she was reluctant to
take the tram. It took her half an hour to walk from here to Nanjing Road with her small feet. He
said countless times that the family was not short of those few cents, and he gave her a big unity,
but she didn't say a word, hid the money, and went out early and came back late every day as
usual, just like going to work.
Gu Beiwu turned over, the heat in his eyes slowly faded away, condensed into a little frost in the
dark night, crystal clear. The radio next door started playing "The Internationale": "There has
never been a savior, nor do we rely on gods or emperors! To create human happiness, we must
rely on ourselves!..."
——
Time flies by fast. A few days after Children's Day, the plum rain season arrives. When the plum
rain season ends in July, every household is busy drying their quilts when the sun is shining
brightly. When a typhoon blows, every household is busy scooping water out. The public toilet
stinks before noon, and there are many flies. There are fewer people soaking water in front of the
tiger stove. When the weather gets hot, people get angry. In the morning, people fight for the
faucet to brush their teeth and wash their faces. People who are in a hurry to go to work quarrel
and curse at each other. At night, old men and women quarrel and curse at each other when they
fight for space to set up reclining chairs and dining tables. Of course, this kind of quarreling and
cursing is limited to people who don't have a good relationship with each other, and it is
controlled to a level that will never cause physical conflict.
For example, Aunt Chen, Grandma Li, and Aunt Kang have lived in the same doorway for decades,
and have long since developed a deep revolutionary friendship. Every minute of the faucet and
every stone on the Dange Road have been fully and reasonably used under the tacit
understanding of the three families.
Chen Sijiang likes summer but also dislikes it. She likes it because the National Cotton No. 20
Factory on Kangding Road starts making ice water after the rainy season ends and supplies it to
the surrounding residents. Her mother gives her one cent a day and lets her carry a thermos after
breakfast and follow the large group to get ice water.
I don't like it because the big group is really a big group. During the winter and summer vacations,
the three grandchildren of the Chen family would condescend to visit "Chen A Niang Nursery". Si
Jiang could only give up the attic and sleep on the floor next to his grandfather and mother's bed.
Grandpa Chen snored loudly, and when he was not snoring, he would lean out to spit. He would
never pick up the spittoon because he thought it was dirty. He coughed twice and the spittoon
flew out, just like his shooting style when he was young, but the accuracy was not guaranteed.
The spittoon was either against Si Jiang's head or against Si Jiang's feet. In short, it was very
dangerous to sleep in either direction. A Niang had to get up in the middle of the night to use the
toilet. The toilet was behind the bed. If she was dazed, she would step on or kick Si Jiang, so it
was also very dangerous.
Last summer, Si Jiang secretly told her grandmother that she wanted to live in Gu's house. Gu
Beiwu came to pick her up. Grandpa Chen frowned so hard that a fly could be pinched to death:
"Gu Lao Si, go ask your brother-in-law, if the daughter he gave birth to changes her surname to
Gu, you should take her away immediately." Chen's mother was so angry that her face turned
red: "What kind of talk is this? How can my granddaughter, Alag, live in my maternal family! Si
Jiang, your mother treats you badly! You little brat!"
Gu Beiwu was good at dealing with hooligans with his hands, and he was also good at dealing
with neighborhood committee cadres with his mouth, but he had no temper towards Grandpa
Chen and Aunt Chen. After returning home angrily, Grandma Gu muttered the truth: "The Chen
family is afraid that your brother-in-law's twenty yuan every month will end up in my pocket."
This year, Sijiang's third aunt Qian Guihua was pregnant again. She had severe morning sickness
and no one to take care of her, so she moved in. The Chen family suddenly returned to the past
ten years. The eleven square meters of room plus the four square meters of attic, three
generations of seven people squeezed together. Even so, in Wanchun Street, the per capita
housing area is still among the best. When there are more people, there are more things. Soon, a
major event happened in the Chen family that shocked Wanhang Street.
The author has something to say: A Thousand Colors Always Come to Spring, produced by
Shanghai Film Studio in 1958, starring Zhang Ruifang and Sun Daolin, filmed in Jinsitu Temple.
Because of this film, Jinsitu Temple was later renamed Wanchun Street. Shanghai Film Studio has
an actor dormitory on Wanchun Street.
Gu Beiwu and Gu Sijiang are also pretty nice.
Si Jiang, I think it’s okay.
Sinan, who am I, where am I, and what am I doing?

Chapter 8
The year before last, the country began to promote the population policy of "no less, two just
right". Grandpa Chen conveyed the central spirit to his three sons: the second son, Chen
Dongfang, had two sons, which was 100% up to the standard, and he should devote himself to
building socialism. The third son, Chen Donghai, had only one son, who was 50% up to the
standard, one step short of "just right", and he should work hard to improve productivity for the
country. The eldest son, Chen Donglai, was in Urumqi, and his wife, Gu Ximei, was in Aksu.
Although they were in the same Xinjiang, they were thousands of miles apart and only saw each
other for two days a month. It was understandable that they had not harvested anything in the
past three years, but since they already had Sijiang, half of the sky, they had to seize the
opportunity to create the other half.
As for the three married daughters, Grandpa Chen had no control over them and would not care
about them, so he naturally ignored them. So when the third daughter-in-law Qian Guihua got
pregnant again, Grandpa Chen was very happy. He waved his hand and distributed ten big unity
pills to supplement nutrition. Unfortunately, the daughter-in-law did not appreciate it.
Qian Guihua's five generations of ancestors were all Shanghai natives. She grew up in a Shikumen
house on Huangpi Road. Although three generations of her family lived together, the
independent bathroom was small but complete with a washbasin, flush toilet, and bathtub. She
was not a good student and would get a headache at the sight of books. She would have a fever
every time she had an exam. She barely managed to graduate from junior high school. She ate
free meals at home for several years and was forced by her parents to work in a textile factory.
The three-shift work was terribly hard, and she only earned twelve yuan a month. When she
heard the introducer say that Chen Donghai worked in a vegetable market, she was 50% willing
to go there, because everyone knows that it is better to work in a vegetable market than in
officialdom, and there is a lot of oil and water.
When the two met in People's Park, Qian Guihua saw that Chen Donghai was tall and handsome,
and her willingness turned into seven points. After further understanding, she found out that his
eldest brother was a top student of Tongji University and went to Xinjiang to build oil fields; his
second brother was a financial staff member of the School of Finance and Economics (Lixin
Accounting College). Although the Chen family moved from Ningbo in 1927, his father, Mr. Chen,
was a talented person. He first worked as a gatekeeper for Pan Xulun's Lixin Accounting Firm, and
then entered the office with his good handwriting. He taught himself to be an accountant before
liberation. His family has always lived in a shantytown, because Mr. Chen had audited anti-
Japanese patriotic donations for the Kuomintang, which was a historical legacy. Every time he
was allocated a house, he wrote a letter to the organization to give it up voluntarily. He had a high
level of consciousness and was rewarded, otherwise Chen Donghai would not have been able to
work in the vegetable market. After understanding the family situation, his willingness turned
into twelve points, and the matchmaker turned back to remind her mother: Little girl, don't be
too enthusiastic.
The enthusiasm came and went quickly. After she visited the Chen family's shanty town house, it
quickly dropped to eight points. After she met Gu Beiwu at the cultural station at the entrance of
the alley, it was only five points. She had never seen such a good-looking person. When he smiled
at her, her mind went blank and her face was so hot that she was terrified. Chen Donghai must
have seen it too. He was not very happy at the time. He sent her to the No. 23 bus stop and
turned around and left. She didn't even notice that he had left. She sat there until she was urged
to get off by the ticket seller at the terminal.
Soon, the matchmaker conveyed Chen Donghai's words with a look of contempt, telling her that
Gu Beiwu was his eldest sister-in-law's younger brother, still a high school student, and had been
to the police station several times for fighting. That night, she was slapped twice by her mother,
and cried and swore to the quotations of great men that she had no other ideas, but that she felt
that Chen's house was too small and too shabby to accommodate her. Her mother believed it.
After all, it was not a feudal society or an old society, so there was no such thing as love at first
sight. A few days later, the matchmaker said that as long as they got married, Chen Donghai could
apply for a new public housing unit built by the unit, and he could also find a way to help her
transfer to another position. The willingness that had faded to five points immediately returned
to twelve points.
After getting married, Qian Guihua's life was really comfortable. The public housing allocated by
the district vegetable company was not large, but it was fully equipped, with an independent
kitchen and bathroom, which was very comfortable to use. She was soon transferred to the
logistics department of the textile factory, where she no longer had to work overtime, and her
salary tripled. This time she moved to Wanchun Street, and she was very unhappy about it. She
had to use a toilet to go to the bathroom, which was not only smelly, but also had to announce it
at least five minutes in advance. The old man had to rush the young one downstairs slowly, and
she was so anxious that she urinated several times. Her pants were wet, and she had to pour
water and clean up, which was very troublesome. Sleeping was also a big problem. Grandpa Chen
built a wooden bed for her by the window. It started to get hot in the afternoon, and she couldn't
sleep at night. Chen Donghai specially brought the electric fan from home and blew it on her
alone. Chen A Niang specially left a thermos of ice water for her to wipe the mat. She still
couldn't stand the heat. In the middle of the night, she rubbed one foot on the belly of Chen
Donghai who came to serve her, and complained in a low voice that she couldn't live. In the small
room of 11 square meters, even Si Jiang could hear the complaints clearly.
Si Jiang found it strange and asked her one day: "Aunt, your room is a public housing, which is
very suitable. Why do you want to come to A Niang's room?" (Aunt, your room is a public
housing, which is the most comfortable. Why do you want to come to A Niang's room?)" She had
never been there, but she had always heard Aunt say that the public housing was spacious and
bright, and had its own bathroom and kitchen, which was very comfortable.
Qian Guihua felt uncomfortable after hearing this. It was hard to explain why she came to
Wanchun Street. Her sister-in-law got pregnant with her second child at about the same time as
her. Her mother had to stay in Huangpi Road to take care of her daughter-in-law and couldn't
take care of her daughter. She herself took three months of sick leave early to get through the
dog days of summer. With her mother around, she could still pretend, but without her mother,
she had to cook and take care of her son every day. There were many people from the same unit
living in the corridor. She had finally been transferred to the logistics department to enjoy the
good life. Many people were jealous of her. It would be terrible if she was found out to be faking
sick leave. That's why she followed her son to Wanchun Street to take a "sick leave".
"I have a poor appetite. I can only eat the food cooked by my mother." Qian Guihua responded
casually to Si Jiang.
"Uncle Ya can cook too, and he cooks better than my mother." Si Jiang was telling the truth.
"Little boy, what does it have to do with you? You are so talkative. Where is your uncle? Why
doesn't he come to see you?" Qian Guihua took out the sour plum powder and said, "Si Jiang, go
and get the thermos with ice water. I'll make a cup of sour plum soup."
Si Jiang climbed up the stool to pick up the thermos, and said something very true: "Aunt, you
have an uncle now, so don't miss my uncle anymore. Be careful that my uncle will beat you
again."
The bottle of sour plum powder fell on the table with a bang, and Qian Guihua held it tightly with
both hands, shaking it a few times. She was annoyed and embarrassed. She looked around to see
if there was anyone around, took two steps forward, twisted Si Jiang's arm, snatched the thermos
and uncorked it: "You are an unwanted little thing, you are talking nonsense! No wonder your
parents want to raise another brother, and he will never come back, and you will never see your
parents in your life! It's so annoying! (You are an unwanted little thing, you are talking nonsense,
no wonder your parents want to raise another brother, and he will never come back, and you will
never see your parents in your life, you are annoying)"
Si Jiang was stunned for a long time before he felt the pain. He swung his arm at the thermos in
front of him and said, "You are a bad guy! I'll ask my uncle to beat you! I'll ask my uncle to beat
you! (You are a bad guy! I'll ask my uncle to beat you.)"
After all, she was small, and the hot water bottle brushed Qian Guihua's belly and fell to the floor.
Fortunately, it didn't break, but the ice water spilled all over the floor, which scared her. Grandpa
Chen just came back from get off work and was very angry: "How can this be!" (What's going on!)
Qian Guihua sat back on her bed, hugging her belly, and said, "It's all my fault. I just told Si Jiang
that her parents are going to have a baby boy next year, so they won't be coming back to
Shanghai to see her this year. I didn't expect that she would have such a bad temper and dropped
the thermos. Luckily it was ice water. If it was boiling water, I and the baby in my belly would be
finished."
Si Jiang sniffed, tears welling up in his eyes. He ran to Qian Guihua and looked up at her, "You're
lying! My parents love me the most!"
Qian Guihua reached out to pull her: "Well, I like you, but I also have to like your brother. I can't
just like you, right?"
Si Jiang's little chest rose and fell, she shook her head and nodded desperately, tears falling from
her eyes, she tried to wipe them away randomly, but she couldn't wipe them away completely.
Grandpa Chen took out a bamboo ruler and said, "Chen Sijiang! Are people in my Chen family so
barbaric? You have no sense at all? Your parents are going to give birth to a younger brother, you
should be happy, understand?! Why are you so angry? Huh? You even threw things around, your
aunt is pregnant, what do you want to do? I think you are going against the rules, you follow your
uncle every day and don't learn your lesson, you are going to be a worthless hooligan in the
future, right?"
Si Jiang stretched his neck and cried out, "I didn't! I didn't lose my temper——!"
"You haven't lost your temper yet? You still dare to yell at Grandpa? Why are you crying? You are
unreasonable and feel wronged? I have to set rules for you. Stretch out your hand!"
With two slaps, the bamboo ruler hit Si Jiang's palm. Si Jiang was shaking and sobbing, trying not
to cry. With two more slaps, one of the strings was broken, and she finally burst into tears.
Qian Guihua looked away, thought about it and started crying. She was crying for herself. Last
year during the National Day holiday, she said a few more words about Gu Beiwu's basket of hairy
crabs, and was slapped and scolded by the drunk Chen Donghai for the whole night. Even a child
like Chen Sijiang remembered it. She really had no place to put her face.
As a result, no one expected that Chen Sijiang disappeared the next day.
The author has something to say: Mr. Pan Xulun, the father of modern accounting in China,
founded the Lixin Accounting Firm in 1927, and later developed a series of industries, including
the Lixin Accounting College. It was merged into the Shanghai University of Finance and
Economics in 1952 and restored the name of Lixin Accounting College in 1980.
Chen Sijiang, who caused me to be beaten?
Chen Sinan is not me. I didn’t do that. Don’t talk nonsense.

Chapter 9
The first person to discover that Chen Sijiang was missing was her younger cousin Chen Simin.
Si Jiang has three cousins: 10-year-old Chen Sijun and 6-year-old Chen Simin from his second
uncle’s family, and 7-year-old Chen Siqiang from his third uncle’s family. Little Chen Simin is 134
cm tall and weighs 34 kg. He is the closest in age to Si Jiang, and his parents always compare him
with Si Jiang: he walks later than Si Jiang, and is not as steady as her; he speaks earlier than Si
Jiang, but she can recite Chairman Mao’s quotations at the age of two; he is not good at
counting, Si Jiang can count to 100 at the age of three, while he can still count to six when he is
six years old; let alone recognizing words, he can recognize words but he can’t. Only when it
comes to eating, his appetite is far ahead, and his grandparents treat their grandchildren
differently, he eats meat while Si Jiang drinks soup, this overwhelming victory every day greatly
soothes his injured heart.
That morning, Si Jiang and his three cousins, along with two grandchildren from Grandma Li's
family, were led by Kang Jian, a high school student, and Kang Lan, a junior high school student
from Aunt Kang's family, and filed out of a doorway. They joined the other ice-making teams in
the alley, and about 50 or 60 people rushed from the narrow Dange Road to the Kangding Road
National Cotton No. 20 Factory like a tornado. Toilets, spittoons, coal cakes, stoves, dining tables,
and small stools were all destroyed along the way. The old men and women stomped their feet
and shouted "little bastards" behind them, but unfortunately the feather dusters could not catch
up with those naughty dogs.
After getting some ice water, a dozen middle school students stuffed the thermos bottles into
their younger brothers and sisters, and then went to the Pudong District Cultural Palace at No. 71
Wuning Road to have fun. Kang Jian and Kang Lan amiably brought Chen Sijun with them. In
return, Chen Sijun stuffed their two thermos bottles into the arms of their younger brothers and
ordered them to take them back. Chen Simin and Chen Siqiang resisted for two minutes as usual,
and then happily walked back with the thermos bottles in their arms after receiving the two cents
Kang Jian stuffed into them. They took a few steps to rest, and did not forget to glance at the two
little friends from the Li family. It felt good to have a brother, and they would soon be able to buy
another ice cream cone.
While taking a break, Chen Shimin couldn't help touching the penny in his pocket and humming
happily: "I picked up a penny on the side of the road--" He stopped and waited. Hey, it was
strange. Why didn't he hear Chen Sijiang's response: "You wish!" nor did he hear her giggling
today?
He looked back for a long time before he realized that his little tail Chen Sijiang was gone. He
asked the two little Lis, but they said they didn't see him. The two brothers panicked and quickly
ran back to Lane 74 with the thermos. Grandpa went to work, and mom went to buy groceries, so
there was only one adult, Qian Guihua, in the house. Qian Guihua had always felt that Sijiang was
poking her in the face, so she casually replied, "Maybe he went to his grandmother's room." She
took the thermos from her son's arms and poured it into the basin, put a small watermelon in it,
and poured a large cup of malted milk that had been prepared in the enamel cup into the basin
of ice water, and then stuffed a small cup of malted milk into her son's hand: "Come on, drink it
quickly, you didn't even finish the egg for breakfast, what are you doing?"
When Chen Shimin saw this, he climbed onto a chair and reached out to grab the enamel cup in
the basin: "I want to cut malted milk!" But Qian Guihua slapped him on the back of his hand.
"Eat, eat, eat, you only know how to eat. You are so fat, the stairs are going to be broken by you.
This is specially bought for me by your uncle. If you want to eat, ask your parents to buy it for
you." Qian Guihua pulled the little fat boy down. The little fat boy held the basin tightly and didn't
let go. With a clang, the basin fell to the ground. Malted milk dyed the ice water and the broken
watermelon into light brown. This was good. Before Qian Guihua could lose his temper, Chen
Siqiang rushed up and wrestled with Chen Simin without fear of the height and weight difference.
When A Niang came back from buying groceries, the room was a mess, and the little fat boy and
the little dwarf had bruises on their faces. Qian Guihua had never thought that the little fat boy
would be so difficult to deal with, and he was panting and sweating profusely because of the bias.
When A Niang asked, she was very angry, but her hands were made of flesh, and she couldn't
bear to scold or hit her two grandsons. Thinking about Li Shijiang's swollen palms last night, she
felt even more uncomfortable, and could only sigh to Qian Guihua: "A harmonious family is the
foundation of everything. You are the elder, and you are always fighting with the little girl. If the
neighbors know about it, they will laugh at you."
This stirred up a hornet's nest. Qian Guihua jumped up and slapped the basin loudly: "Mother-in-
law, you should speak with conscience. I have a big belly and it's hard to cut some nutritional
supplements. He came up to grab it, and the basin was thrown over and the watermelon was
smashed. I had a cup of malted milk, Lekoufu brand, and I didn't take a single bite. It was a waste.
My husband Qiangqiang went up to reason with him, but he was pinned and beaten by the fat
man. The neighbors laughed at me, but I couldn't do anything. Anyway, it's not my turn to laugh
at me! (Mother-in-law, you should speak with conscience. I am a pregnant woman and it's hard
for me to eat some nutritional supplements. He came up to grab it, and the basin was knocked
over and the watermelon was smashed. I had a cup of malted milk, Lekoufu brand, and I didn't
take a single bite. It was a waste. My husband Qiangqiang went up to reason with him, but he
was pinned and beaten by him. The neighbors laughed at me, but I couldn't do anything. Anyway,
it's not my turn to laugh at me!)"
Chen Simin threw himself into A Niang's arms to tell her about his grievances, and Chen Siqiang
also threw himself over to show how pitiful he was. Chen A Niang's ears were buzzing from being
shaken by her daughter-in-law. She finally persuaded the three of them. She picked up the
watermelon and rinsed it with ice water so that they could eat it quickly. It was already eleven
o'clock, and it was her turn to use the faucet. She hurried downstairs to wash vegetables and
cook. After she finished cooking lunch and set the table, she remembered to ask, "Where's Si
Jiang?"
Qian Guihua replied casually: "I haven't seen her since I got back from getting ice water. She must
have gone to her grandmother's room."
"There's no one at the Gu family during the day!" A'niang was anxious. She asked her grandson a
few more questions, then ran out with trembling feet, very nervous: "Sijiang - Sijiang - have you
seen Alasjiang?"
Chen Simin grabbed the biggest piece of pork ribs and put it in his bowl, glaring at Qian Guihua:
"Aunt, I told you that my sister was gone as soon as I came back, but you didn't go looking for her.
You just thought about cutting malted milk. Eat, eat, eat, you just know how to eat, you fat
person -" Unfortunately, he didn't remember the rest of the words. If Si Jiang had remembered,
he would have returned everything to her, hum!
Qian Guihua: “???” I couldn’t help but look down at myself. Am I fat? Not fat, am I?
After searching all the lanes of Wanchun Street for an entire afternoon, they still couldn't find
Sijiang. A Niang asked Qian Guihua to go to the entrance of the lane to call the men on the public
phone. Qian Guihua reluctantly went with the change in her hand. After two of the three calls
went through, her grandfather came up and scolded her, saying that the child might have gone to
someone's house to play and forgot the time. Could it be that she hadn't come back for dinner
yet? It was really making a fuss to call for such a small matter. Chen Donghai was a little
concerned and asked her and A Niang to go to the Cultural Palace to find Chen Sijun and the two
children of the Kang family. Maybe she was too playful and ran away with her older brother.
A Niang dragged Qian Guihua to the Cultural Palace. The Cultural Palace was so huge that the
artificial lake inside was 20,000 square meters. It would take half a day to row a boat there. In
addition to the library, basketball court, football field, swimming pool, theater, and the Children's
Palace next to it, it would take a young person a whole day to walk around. They were an old lady
with bound feet and a big belly. After walking for 20 minutes in the 37-degree heat, they were
exhausted and stopped by the artificial lake to catch their breath. A Niang heard someone in the
shade of the tree nearby say that a little girl was fished out of the lake that morning. She couldn't
catch her breath, rolled her eyes twice, and was about to faint. Qian Guihua saw that things were
not going well, and screamed before A Niang, then carefully and softly lay down on the grass. The
first thought after closing her eyes was: Will Gu Beiwu rush over to kill her? The sun was shining,
the grass was warm, and she was shivering.
By seven o'clock in the evening, the entrance of Chen's house was crowded with people. The
neighborhood committee and the street police station all came. Some people wanted to take Si
Jiang's photo, some were investigating the specific circumstances of the morning, and some
explained to them that the person fished out of the water at the Cultural Palace was a middle
school student who had jumped into the lake to swim. Some people asked for the phone number
and address of Chen Donglai and his wife. It was a mess.
Gu's grandmother cried so hard that her face was covered with tears and snot. She grabbed
Chen's collar and said, "Did my child Xiao Xia go to the hotpot? She disappeared at 10 o'clock in
the morning, but your husband went to work as usual. No one cared. You are bullying our Ximei
in Xinjiang! If your grandson was lost, you would have turned Wanchun Street upside down long
ago! Do you Chens have any conscience?" She took out the wrinkled martyr's certificate and
cried to the police, "Comrades, look, my husband is a martyr! He died to protect the public
watermelons. My granddaughter Si Jiang is also a martyr, right? You must find her."
Grandpa Chen's brows were furrowed so much that they could kill a group of flies. He suddenly
reached out and slapped Chen Sijun hard on the back of his head: "You are the eldest, how can
you take care of your younger brothers and sisters like this? You went to the Cultural Palace to
play by yourself, what's wrong with you, what's in your mind? Ah?" Chen Sijun was only ten years
old, and he was stunned by the slap. His parents were still on their way, and he had no one to rely
on, so he burst into tears immediately. Chen's mother was flustered and busy all day, and was
hurt by Grandma Gu's words. Thinking of such a beautiful little girl like Si Jiang, who was raised by
her with great effort, how could she not feel distressed? But she couldn't say a word in reply, and
she fell on Chen Donghai and cried until she almost died. For a while, the 74th Lane was filled
with loud and small cries.
Because Kang Jian and Kang Lan were also involved, Aunt Kang came over to help: "Grandpa
Chen, please stop beating the children. They go to the Cultural Palace every day and nothing has
ever happened to them. Why don't you find Gu Beiwu quickly? He will definitely have a solution."
Granny Gu sat down on the ground, slapped her thighs twice, and cried: "Old Fourth, you
bastard, you've gone to a place called Lakuai (where) and you haven't come back yet! My
sweetheart Si Jiang, you've gone to a place called Lakuai——"
When Qian Guihua heard the name Gu Beiwu, her eyelids twitched, and her mouth, which could
not be closed even with a zipper, opened again. She timidly said to the policeman, "Si Jiang was
naughty yesterday, and my grandfather spanked her a few times. Comrade, do you think this little
girl is hiding on purpose?"
“Who hit my Si Jiang?!” A clear shout came from outside the crowd, breaking gold and jade.
Qian Guihua shuddered, and when she saw her husband's eyes, her mind immediately went
blank.
"Old Fourth Gu is back!" Neighbors hurriedly made way for him.
The author has something to say: Putuo District Cultural Palace is commonly known as Xigong,
the Shanghai West Workers Cultural Palace, and was originally the Shanghai West Workers Club.
Covering an area of 70,000 square meters, it was definitely the first spiritual sustenance holy
place for young people in Shanghai West in the 1980s.
2. Eat. In Shanghai dialect, we don’t say “drink water, tea or old wine”, but “eat water, tea and old
wine”, including eating the head of the pie.
small theater
Chen Sijiang said, who hit me?
Uncle Chen, it was I, your grandfather, who beat you.
Uncle Chen Sijiang, my grandfather beat me.
Gu Beiwu, tomorrow you will be called Gu Sijiang.
Hello, Chen Sijiang.
Chen Sinan I think Gu Sinan is also pretty nice. Where are you going? Wait for me, wait for me.

Chapter 10
In the impression of the people in Wanchun Street, Gu Beiwu always smiles. Others who smile
like that are frivolous and disgusting, but he is sunny and amiable. The key is to look at his face.
Today, Gu Beiwu is also smiling, but there is a layer of ice on his face, which makes people think
of his boss Gu Dongwen, who is a man of great influence who has fought all over Putuo and
Yangpu and stepped into Shiliupu. He is no longer in the class of gangsters. Before liberation, he
was Huang Jinrong and Du Yuesheng. Fortunately, he suddenly ran to help the people of Yunnan
with construction. The residents of Wanchun Street are worried about the people of Yunnan.
Everyone's heart was lifted, and there was a hint of hope. It had been a long time since anything
serious had happened in the alley, not even a small incident. Looking again, there was a furry
little head lying in the crook of his shoulder. Who else could it be but Chen Sijiang?
"Oh, my Sijiang is back, Sijiang!" Grandma Gu quickly got up from the ground, took Chen Sijiang
from Gu Beiwu's back, hugged him and rubbed and kissed him: "You little kid, you scared your
mother-in-law to death, didn't you know that?! It's good that you're back, it's good that you're
back!"
Si Jiang was overwhelmed by his grandmother's crying, laughing and kissing. He stretched out his
little hands to hug her neck and pat her back: "Grandma, please don't cry. I'm not crying."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a little disappointed. Then they all started talking
at once: "Okay, okay, it's good that Xiaonan is back. It's good that she's okay."
"So he went to look for his uncle Ira, Hasenin. (So he went to look for his uncle, how scary.)"
"Little Gu Nong should have called back. Aunt Chen was so anxious. I went to the Cultural Palace
to look for her and got a heat stroke."
Grandpa Chen looked at the grandparents and grandchildren hugging each other affectionately,
then turned around to see Grandma's messy hair and tearful face. He was so angry that he said,
"Chen Sijiang! Help me get down! (Get down right now!)"
Si Jiang was startled and hugged his grandmother's neck tightly, wrapped his thin legs around her
waist, secretly glanced at his grandfather, and then looked at Gu Beiwu for help.
Gu Beiwu laughed: "Oh, Grandpa is really mighty, please speak softly, this is Wanchun Street, not
Wohu Mountain. It's not good to scare the little friends, Meibing Mountain will be scattered by
you, why don't we go to the neighborhood committee and talk nonsense, no matter who bullies
Alasjiang, I won't agree, no matter if he is grandpa or ancestor! (It's not good to scare the little
friends, Meibing Mountain will be scattered by you, why don't we go to the neighborhood
committee and make it clear, who bullies my Sijiang, I won't agree, no matter if he is grandpa or
ancestor!)"
The neighbors who were about to disperse stood still again and continued to watch the fun. Their
eyes were shining and it looked like something bad was going to happen. Old Fourth Gu
compared Grandpa Chen to a mountain eagle. Was he trying to defeat him?
Grandpa Chen didn't expect that Gu Beiwu, who was always polite, would not care about the
seniority of his relatives. He had been a man of his word for most of his life. When he met this
person who laughed, scolded, and pointed fingers at others, he didn't react for a moment, and
the veins on his forehead jumped several times. The father was insulted, and the son took the
blame. The 1.83-meter-tall Chen Donghai immediately stood up and said, "Little Gu, what do you
mean? The little brat ran away on his own, causing the whole family to be busy all day. We were
worried about her. She must have some work to do when she comes back. How can that be? My
little girl from the Chen family, grandpa scolded and beat her, but it was for her good. Are you so
angry? You can't protect her with reason, it will only hurt her. (Little Gu, what do you mean? The
little girl ran away on her own, causing the whole family to be busy all day. We were worried to
death. She must have some work to do when she comes back. What's wrong? My child from the
Chen family, grandpa beat and scolded her, it was all for her good. Are you so angry? You are so
unreasonable to protect her, it will only hurt her.)"
Chen A'niang held her son and said, "Don't talk nonsense. What are you teaching me? Sijiang,
baby, have you eaten yet? Are you hungry? Don't be afraid. Just come back. If anyone dares to hit
you again, I will fight him to the death!"
Gu Beiwu didn't even look at Chen Donghai, his eyes fell on Qian Guihua. Qian Guihua felt as if
she was hit by countless ice arrows, and she was so scared that she quickly shrank behind her
mother.
"Very good, very good, very good." Gu Beiwu nodded and smiled even more creepily: "Let's go to
the neighborhood committee together." He turned around: "Comrades, I'll bother you again to
explain the situation to them. If I can't completely solve the root cause of the problem today,
something similar will happen next time, and I don't know if my niece can come back alive."
Only then did everyone realize that there was a man and a woman in green military uniforms
standing in the shadows, with indignant looks on their faces.
The female soldier stood up and said, "Little girl Chen Sijiang boarded the No. 52 train to Urumqi
at Laobei Station alone today. Fortunately, the conductor found her in time and sent her to our
Revolutionary Committee—"
Amid the screams, no one tried to snatch the thing from Chen A Niang this time, so she fainted,
causing another round of screams.
——
There are two neighborhood committees in Wanchun Street, Wannan and Wanbei. The Chen
family lives in Wannan, while the Gu family lives in Wanbei. The two sides negotiated for ten
minutes about which neighborhood committee to go to. Finally, the police station came forward
and everyone went to the nearest neighborhood committee, Wanbei, Lane 35, Lane 63. The
neighborhood committee has not changed in ten years. The dark green iron mailbox on the wall
at the entrance is grinning silently. There are two eight-person tables in the middle of the office,
and the walls are covered with posters and slogans from previous years.
Unrelated people were stopped outside, and they formed teams automatically to make rich
associations and bold inferences. Who tricked the three-and-a-half-year-old girl to the North
Station? Who threw her on the train? More than 10,000 miles, 101 hours of train, this is
obviously not a robbery but murder, is it a big case? Who in the Chen family looks like the real
murderer? How will the murderer be sentenced after being caught? Why did they harm a little
girl? What happened? What is the truth? Someone muttered: "The little daughter-in-law of the
old Chen family is not a thing, she has never been peaceful since she came." Someone
immediately responded: "That's right, her chin is up to the sky every day, and you can only see
two nostrils on her face. How can Shikumen houses be good? How can public housing be good?
Cut, disgusting face!" Someone else watched too many movies and said in a low voice: "Wuha
Ganggang (nonsense) Oh, a corruption group was caught in the Zhongshan North Road vegetable
market last year, and embezzled 20,000 yuan! Will the little girl hear it——"
It was noisy and bustling outside, but it was quite quiet inside the neighborhood committee.
"Si Jiang, who sent you to the North Station? Don't be afraid, just tell us. Look, your
grandparents, your grandmother, your uncle, and the PLA uncles and aunts are all there. Just tell
me." The neighborhood committee cadre persuaded him earnestly.
Si Jiang hugged his grandmother's arm and blinked twice: "I went there alone. I followed my
elder brother to the Cultural Palace and then took bus No. 63."
After a moment of silence, the adults looked at each other in bewilderment. With a deep bloody
mark on her philtrum, Chen A-niang asked a bunch of incoherent questions: "Nan-nan, how could
you know bus No. 63? How could you know where the train station is? Who told you to go? What
did you do? How could you go? What could you do if you ran into a liar? What could you do? You
are so scared, A-niang—"
Chen Sijiang thought for a while and looked at Qian Guihua: "Aunt said my parents don't want me
anymore and will never go back to Shanghai, so I went to Xinjiang to find them by myself. (Aunt
said my parents don't want me anymore and will never go back to Shanghai, so I went to Xinjiang
to find them by myself)"
Qian Guihua's eyes were full of twinkling stars. She wanted to pretend to be dizzy, but she didn't
dare. She stammered twice: "I'm not--no--" She seemed not to hear herself. She looked to the left
and saw a sign on the wall saying "Resolutely refuse 'hand grenades', be careful of 'box guns'③".
Oh, my father and mother, she was terrified and looked to the right, "One is not afraid of
hardship, and the other is not afraid of death." No, no, no, she was afraid of both hardship and
death. She felt the urge to urinate, so she quickly stood up and pointed at her bulging belly: "I-I
need to go to the toilet."
The female officer in green military uniform came over quickly and supported her: "There is a
public toilet outside. I'll take you there."
Qian Guihua felt that the other person's hand was as strong as an iron clamp. Was he trying to
escort her to prevent her from escaping? Her legs softened and she almost slipped off the
ground. She was about to pee. She gritted her teeth and clamped her legs together, moving out
step by step.
Gu Beiwu's gentle voice came from behind, with undisguised pride: "Si Jiang, how are you going
to find my parents? (How do you plan to find my parents?)" Qian Guihua stepped out of the door
and took two quick steps, then burst into tears at the door of the toilet: "Comrade! I have to go
home and change clothes--" Under the dim street lights, the color of the irregular pebbles and
tiny gaps gradually deepened.
Chen Sijiang puffed out her chest and said, "When I get to Urumqi, I will first look for the
conductor, and then the policeman. The policeman will ask Yila to pick me up." She looked at the
policemen and spoke soft Mandarin, "Uncle, my father's name is Chen Donglai. He works at the
Xinjiang Petroleum Administration Bureau's Urumqi Office. My mother's name is Gu Ximei. She is
a kindergarten teacher in the 11th Company in Aksu. Can you please help me find them?"
Seeing such a pretty little person pleading so sweetly and heart-wrenchingly, the police officers
were so moved that they nodded repeatedly without delay: "No problem, no problem!"
Chen Sijiang smiled with satisfaction, turned to Gu Beiwu, and spread his hands: "Okay, our
family is together, and we will never be separated again. (Our family is together, and we will
never be separated again.)"
Chen A'niang cried and fell on Chen A'ye's shoulder, hitting him non-stop: "It's all your fault! You
hit her, you hit my baby for a stranger! (It's all your fault, you hit her, you hit my baby for a
stranger!)"
Grandpa Chen shook his head: "Impossible, police comrades, please investigate carefully. My Si
Jiang is a smart child, but there is no way she can take the bus to the train station alone. She is
only three and a half years old! The farthest she has been to is--" He really couldn't tell where she
had been with Gu Beiwu, and he didn't really care.
The male cadre in green military uniform tapped the table with his fingers. "Little girl Chen Sijiang
is very good. Although she is only three and a half years old, she already knows more than a
hundred Chinese characters, can do simple addition and subtraction math problems, and can
read the directions on a map. She can accurately point out the locations of Urumqi and Aksu, and
is also very familiar with where the bus routes near your home can go."
Chen Sijiang's little face was shining, he nodded vigorously like a chick pecking at rice, and smiled
as bright as a flower.
The female cadre who had to let Qian Guihua go came back and rubbed Chen Sijiang's little head:
"Yes, she has been to many more places than I have. She knows Chenghuang Temple, the Bund,
the Great World, Xujiahui, and even the Friendship Store. You must take good care of this child
and train her well. Don't ignore her or even discriminate against her just because she is a girl.
Men and women are equal, and women in our new society have already held up half the sky. You,
as the elders, must seriously reflect on your own thoughts and see if there are any remnants of
the old feudal society. Although the situation in the country is very good now, we, the entire
revolutionary masses, will not agree to your treating a child like this a thousand times, ten
thousand times!"
Faced with such harsh accusations and criticisms, the Chen family remained silent, saying that
everything they said was wrong, was just quibbling, and was an act of hostility towards the
revolutionary masses.
"I think it would be more appropriate for Si Jiang to move to my house first." Gu Beiwu glanced
around and said, "There are only my mother and I living in my house, and Si Jiang can get the
best care when she comes. Now there are seven or eight people crowded together in her
grandfather's house, and it is inevitable that there will be neglect. Her grandfather said before
that if Si Jiang wants to live in my house, she must change her surname to Gu. Si Jiang's
household registration is in Aksu, and I can't make the decision on this surname change. Since the
comrades from the street and neighborhood committee police station are here today, please
come and judge, should you insist on the surname and disregard the child's safety, or--"
Before she could finish her words, Grandpa Chen had already stood up and almost pushed her
mother down.
"No need to ask, Si Jiang will go to live in your Gu family tomorrow." Grandpa Chen pursed his lips
and said, "Why change her surname? She has always been surnamed Chen. She is a girl from my
Chen family."
A Niang burst into tears and reached out to Si Jiang. Si Jiang hesitated for a moment and buried
his head in his grandmother's chest. Grandma Gu hugged her tightly and called her several times
with love: "Don't worry, grandma will no longer sell white jasmine flowers. I will cook delicious
food for you at home every day. Look how thin you are. Your brothers eat meat, but you can only
eat meat soup and rice. Oh! Grandma, my heart is in pain--"
Now Chen Donghai couldn't sit still anymore, so he helped his mother up and walked out.
"Wait a minute." Gu Beiwu took a few quick steps and stopped in front of Grandpa Chen.
"Grandpa, you used to be a famous accountant in Shanghai. One is one, two is two. What is right
cannot be wrong, and what is wrong cannot be right. I have always respected you. But you
listened to people's nonsense and hit Si Jiang without knowing the reason. This matter is indeed
wrong for you. Don't you think you should apologize to the child?"
"You!" Grandpa Chen was unable to catch his breath and his fingers were trembling. He turned
around and looked at Xiao Sijiang with tears in his eyes, and the revolutionary cadres whose faces
were full of blame and sympathy. He was silent for a long time before he sighed: "Nannan, it's
grandpa's fault. I shouldn't have hit you--" But he couldn't squeeze out the three words "I'm
sorry".
Si Jiang said softly, "It's okay." Then she buried her head in her grandmother's arms again. She
was so tired. She was really tired today.
Grandma Gu touched her head and said, "It's okay, it's good that you're back." She had a lot of
questions in her mind, and she would ask the fourth child slowly in the evening.
——
Small flies were desperately hitting the light bulbs around the street lamps. Both sides of the
Dange Road were filled with people taking a bath. A bucket of water was poured over their
heads. Their boxer shorts stuck to their fat and thin legs, and the fabric was twisted into various
deformed "川" characters. In order to save water, children usually stood in a large red foot basin.
The water from their bath could also be used to wash clothes. The naughty little ones
deliberately stepped on the water and splashed it out of the basin, and they were inevitably
slapped by their parents. The sound of the radio, the sound of water, and the sound of chatting,
Wanchun Street has returned to its former bustle, with excitement that was not usually there.
After all, the Chen family's story was really eye-catching. It ended just like that, and no one was
fine. It was really unexpected and incomprehensible.
Ten thousand kilometers away in the town of Shajingzi in Aksu, the gentle and delicate Gu Ximei
stood up and threw dozens of brand new menstrual belts that she had prepared to exchange
with Weimin for eggs on her husband Chen Donglai's face: "Did you do it on purpose? There were
several condoms in the drawer, but you took that one. You washed it three times but you still
didn't throw it away. The talcum powder was all over it! You deliberately wanted me to not go
back to Shanghai and not see Si Jiang, right? You even picked a name for me! Si Nan Si Nan, Nan
Nong Zhi Tou! (Did you do it on purpose? There were several condoms in the drawer, but you
took that one. You washed it three times but you still didn't throw it away. The talcum powder
was all over it! You deliberately wanted me to not go back to Shanghai and not see Si Jiang, right?
You even picked a name for me?)"④
The author has something to say: In 1970, every street health center in Shanghai had a "chicken
blood injection service for residents". It is said that injecting chicken blood into the human body
has magical effects. If you are interested, you can search it. The author ran away first, please
spare my life.
2 The Old North Station was built in 1908 at the intersection of Tianmu Road and Baoshan Road.
It was renamed Shanghai North Station in 1916. It was renamed back and forth between
Shanghai Station and Shanghai North Station many times. People are accustomed to calling it the
Old North Station.
3A propaganda slogan after 1972, aimed at the increasingly serious phenomenon of backdoor
dealings and bribery. "Hand grenade" refers to alcohol, and "box gun" refers to cigarettes.
4. Let's learn about the Guilin brand BYT from the 1960s and 1970s. It is not disposable. Wash it
after each use, apply talcum powder and store it well. It can be reused. Popularize historical
unpopular knowledge. Please ignore the review.
Chen Sijiang, Chen Sinan. Meaning of "Thinking of Jiangnan". It comes from the poetic and
picturesque words of Comrade Chen Donglai. In fact, there is no

Chapter 11
At 9:30 in the evening, the night finally came to Aksu County. In the distance, there was a hint of
gorgeous blue and purple where the Karatek Mountains met the sky. Four large signs with the
words "Unity, Tension, Seriousness and Liveliness" were hung on the red brick building of the
kindergarten opposite the Corps dormitory. The white letters on the red background were still
clearly visible.
Chen Donglai was very nervous and Gu Ximei was very serious. One wanted to be more lively to
relax the atmosphere, but he couldn't argue. The other wanted to severely punish the "criminal"
without destroying unity, and was full of resentment.
"To be honest, I did hesitate when I took the tools—" As a college student in the 1960s, Chen
Donglai was still a little embarrassed to say the word "condom" even after being married for
many years. He bent down to pick up the pile of "tools" for women and tried to help sort them
out, but the long and thin straps became tangled and became more and more tangled. He
couldn't put them down, and he couldn't hold them.
"I knew you did it on purpose. Your brother's family all have sons, and grandpa urges you in every
letter. You also want a son! You Ningbo people are patriarchal!" Gu Ximei accused while snatching
the menstrual belt and pulling it a few times. The mess in her hands was even more tangled than
her heart. She was wavering between crying and not crying, and it was also difficult to strike a
balance between being fierce and very fierce.
"No, no, no. Rubber is hard to come by. Gu Dongwen has to go to tap rubber before dawn in
Jinghong. I really just want to save some resources for the country." Chen Donglai's face turned
red. It was a bit weird and embarrassing to involve his brother-in-law in this matter of
revolutionary friendship between husband and wife.
Gu Ximei spat at him, turned away and shoved the menstrual pad into the basket: "You were still
thinking about my brother when you were doing that? Are you crazy?"
"Yes, there is a problem." He was sure that there was nothing wrong with the words, otherwise
how could it be more powerful than drilling? The vitality of the fish that escaped the net was so
strong that the spark had already set the prairie on fire.
Gu Ximei snorted and punched the cotton. She had no place to vent the anger in her chest. There
were footsteps outside and someone shouted, "Chen Donglai, are you in the house? Come and
see Ximei."
Chen Donglai secretly breathed a sigh of relief, the savior finally came. The couple looked at each
other and tacitly put aside the internal conflicts of the people. As soon as the door opened, seven
people from two families rushed in, and their house was immediately crowded. Shanghainese
chattered and it was very lively. Their wedding room is basically the standard configuration of the
Corps Youth Dormitory, 28 square meters, with the main door facing south. On the left hand side
of the entrance is a simple kitchen, filled with kerosene stoves, steel woks, enamel rice bowls,
and small cupboards. In the corner, there is a three-layer washstand with two sets of washbasins
and foot basins. Under the west window is a dining table and four benches. On the east wall is a
world map and a map of China, with a portrait of a great man in the middle. Under the map is a
double sofa made by Chen Donglai himself, with springs. It caused a sensation in Aksu at the
time. I don’t know how many eggs, brown sugar, lard, and toilet paper were exchanged for the
sofa production drawings alone. Gu Ximei lies on the sofa every day, and when she closes her
eyes, she feels like she has returned to Shanghai. Now there are three adults and three little girls
squeezed on the sofa, all talking to her and asking her questions. You can't even see anything in
her belly, but she is definitely pregnant with a little baby.
Cao Jingzhi, a primary school music teacher from Jiading, and Gu Ximei were on the same train
and sat in the same row when they arrived in Xinjiang in 1965. They were close friends. She
picked up a net bag at her feet and said, "Do you see a chicken? Ask Chen Donglai to kill it and
make soup for you." The chicken probably understood and struggled and screamed. Cao Jingzhi's
son Shen Qingping was the most mischievous. He sat on the armrest of the sofa and pulled the
chicken's feathers, "Mom, I want to make a shuttlecock!"
Meng Qin, who worked at the supply and marketing cooperative next door, dodged and
screamed, "I told you not to bring it in! Is chicken shit disgusting? It smells so bad, ah my, it hit
me!" She is from Changning District and came to Xinjiang in 1968. She got married and had
children, but she is still as coquettish as a little girl.
Gu Ximei didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She took the mesh bag and found two puddles of
chicken poop underneath. She put the chicken outside the door, hooked the broom into the
mesh bag, and called Chen Dong to come and mop the floor. Back in the house, Meng Qin's son
Zhu Zhenning and Shen Qingping were already twisted into a ball on the back of the sofa,
grabbing a toy car. These two were both in Gu Ximei's class. After being shouted down by Teacher
Gu, they obediently returned to the armrests of the sofas they occupied and gasped for air. Only
then did they reveal the little girl they were innocently holding underneath. Cao Jingzhi pulled
her daughter and then slapped her son: "Look, my sister Segufa? (Look, is my sister pitiful?)"
Her husband Shen Yong leaned over and stroked his son and laughed: "Gu Ximenong has made
great achievements and will soon contribute productivity to the motherland. Congratulations."
Gu Ximei glared at Chen Donglai angrily: "Good luck! You guys came in such a timely manner. Did
someone snitch on you? Good things don't go out and bad things spread thousands of miles."
The three men stood up with a chuckle. "Come on, let's go out and have some cigarettes. Do you
have Peony? A Pegasus is also fine."
Only the woman and the child were left in the room. Gu Ximei brought out the cantaloupe, cut a
large bowl of it, and took out some cloud cakes and assorted candies, inviting everyone to eat.
Then she remembered to ask Cao Jingzhi, "Where did you get a chicken?"
"Last month I bought 100 sanitary pads and two dollars of toilet paper in exchange for a chicken.
Is that a good deal?" Cao Jingzhi laughed so hard: "I don't understand the Uyghurs. I don't know
how they calculate. Usually, they only exchange 50 sanitary pads for 20 eggs. You're lucky."
Gu Ximei thought for a moment and said, "Thank you, I haven't eaten chicken for four months."
Meng Qin said proudly: "Hey, chicken is not that good, come and have a look at our wool blanket,
Daguang brand, pure wool. It's the first one I bought in Shajingzi, I like it very much."
Pure wool blankets are rare goods. Aksu County is the headquarters of the First Agricultural
Division. In 1959, with the support of Shanghai, Shengli Woolen Mill was built. Daguang brand
wool yarn is comparable to the quality of Shanghai Hengyuanxiang. This year, pure wool blankets
were only produced to ensure export first, and then sold to the capital and major cities. Others
can't buy them except for cadres or leaders in the factory. Gu Ximei touched it again and again, a
little embarrassed: "Nong Diege (this) favor is really too precious."
Meng Qin couldn't reveal that Chen Donglai had given her money privately, so she patted her on
the shoulder with a smile and said, "It's just a favor, so don't bother with it. Just stay in Aksu and
wait for the birth of your baby. Give birth to a son, and he'll be the younger brother of Qingping
in Zhenning. How nice would that be?"
Cao Jingzhi quickly replied, "That's right. If you don't trust the doctors in Aksu, you can go to
Urumqi with Lao Wang and his car after three days of hard work. Chen Donglai works there
anyway and can take care of you. It won't be hard to go back to Shanghai." She turned her head
to look at her two children and smiled, "It's not good to be separated from my daughter all the
time."
Gu Ximei shook her head: "I won't say polite words to you. I will definitely not let my children
suffer the same hardships as us. You also know that no matter how good Aksu is, it can't compare
with Shanghai." She lowered her eyes and paused, her tone firm: "Ala is Shanghai Ning, not
Xinjiang Ning. Alag Xiaonan is also Shanghai Ning, not Xinjiang Ning. Yila should go to Shanghai
——(We are Shanghainese, not Xinjiang people. Our children are also Shanghainese, not Xinjiang
people. They should stay in Shanghai)"
Everyone was silent for a moment. Meng Qin lowered his voice and asked, "Do you know? There
was a male educated youth in the county who had been here for 1966. He cut off his little finger
and was considered disabled. He returned to Shanghai due to illness and abandoned his wife and
children. It was a sin. The child was only one year old. His wife was the one who danced the solo
"Why Are Flowers So Red" in the National Day performance two years ago."
Gu Ximei was shocked. She was a music teacher and participated in the performances every year
during holidays. She remembered the Uyghur girl, who was very young and beautiful. She played
the accordion to accompany the dance. She wanted to go back to Shanghai, thinking about it day
and night, but she couldn't bring herself to hurt herself. Besides, she couldn't leave Chen Donglai
alone and go back.
"I've been here for eight years and have been self-reliant. I can't say I have enough food and
clothing, but I've achieved a lot, right? When I first came, I relied on my bare hands and a shovel
to dig a hole in the ground to live in. There was sand under me when I slept and my mouth was
full of sand when I woke up. I worked seventeen or eighteen hours a day, but I managed to
survive, didn't I? Now brick houses have been built, and there are kindergartens, primary schools
and middle schools. I heard that electricity will be available in two years, and there will definitely
be running water and flush toilets in the future." Cao Jingzhi picked the melon seeds from her
son's mouth and sighed, "I can't bear it if I don't see my son and daughter for a few years." Her
daughter Shen Xingxing hugged her waist and called her "Mom" softly.
"Oh, good girl." Cao Jingzhi bent down and kissed her daughter twice.
Gu Ximei turned aside to pick up the fruit peels and candy wrappers, wiped the tears from her
cheeks, took a long breath and said softly: "I took the initiative to come to Xinjiang. The
admission letter from the Conservatory of Music was sent to my home, and I tore it up myself.
The district also awarded me a certificate. When I listened to the lecture at the Cultural Square, I
thought that here, the wind blew the grass low and I could see cattle and sheep, and there was
endless beef and mutton to eat and endless Hami melons to pick."
Meng Qin laughed: "Everyone thinks so. But when I arrived at the regiment, the first meal was
cabbage soup without any oil. The second meal was still cabbage soup with a corn bun. The third
meal was still cabbage soup and corn bun. I ate it for a month. I thought I would die of exhaustion
and starvation in the desert, but I didn't expect that I was still alive and well."
Gu Ximei sat down and poured them some water: "A lot of people died. We were just lucky. You
still have cabbage soup. On the first day we arrived, a large bowl of steamed buns was placed on
the ground. Before we could eat them, the wind blew and a layer of sand covered them. We
peeled off a layer, and another layer of sand came with the wind. We couldn't eat them at all.
Anyway, I cried at that time."
Cao Jingzhi couldn't help laughing: "Aqin, you came late, and the conditions had improved. Ximei
was the first one to cry, and I cried too. All the female educated youth cried together. The
company commander took Ximei out to criticize her, and asked her to criticize herself at night.
She cried and shouted, 'She shed blood and sweat, but not tears! Put an end to arrogance and
pride.' We all cried with her and couldn't help laughing at her."
"The first three years were the hardest. The monthly allowance was three yuan in the first year,
five yuan in the second year, and eight yuan in the third year." Gu Ximei took out a basket from
the bed behind and began to organize the menstrual belt: "Three yuan, I bought some
toothbrushes, toothpaste, towels and soap, and that was it. I saved all the money and spent it on
envelopes, stationery and stamps. My mother sent me packages twice a month. When I left, I was
very stubborn and said that I would never spend a penny on her again in this life and I didn't want
to see her again. Idiot, are you crazy? (Idiot, are you crazy?)"
"It's all in the past." Cao Jingzhi said with emotion: "Now you send money back home every
month. I heard that your salary will increase next year."
"The two of us send 30 yuan a month, and my Beiwu gets 10 yuan, and still sends two parcels a
month." Gu Ximei pointed to a row of bottles and jars on the shelf next to her: "Falling cream,
sugar, lard, malted milk, White Rabbit, toilet paper, scented soap, biscuits, various cloths and
food coupons, frostbite medicine, gloves and woolen sweaters in winter, there is only what I
don't need, nothing he can't think of. If Si Jiang and the second child are in Xinjiang, who will
send parcels to them in the future? Will they rely on their uncle and grandmother for the rest of
their lives?" She pulled out the large color photo of Si Jiang on Children's Day from under the
glass: "Seeing my Si Jiang like this now, I feel that it is worth it to be separated from her. She is
now a very smart and gentle girl, a girl from Shanghai."
Cao Jingzhi took the photo. The little girl in the photo had a flowery hairstyle, white skin, a plaid
suspender skirt and black leather shoes, and bright eyes. She was riding a tricycle and smiling like
a flower. She turned her head to look at her own little girl, Shen Xingxing, who was dark, thin, and
young and naive. She was indeed a little girl from two different worlds. Alas, it was sad, but as
parents, every decision they made was good or bad for their children? Only God knew.
The men outside finally came back slowly. Meng Qin and Cao Jingzhi winked at Chen Donglai, and
Chen Donglai smiled bitterly. If Gu Ximei made up her mind, even ten cows couldn't pull her back.
It seemed that not only would he not see Si Jiang forever, but he would also not be able to see Si
Nan who was about to arrive.
——
The next day was another hot day. The heat had not subsided at night. Chen A Niang, holding a
large bag of Si Jiang's clothes and daily necessities, walked towards Lane 63 with her bound feet
in a daze. She ignored the neighbors who greeted her and did not hear the discussions behind
her. Before she reached the door of Gu's house, she heard the laughter of Si Jiang and Gu A
Niang, and almost sprained her ankle.
Grandma Gu greeted her warmly: "Come on, come on, mother-in-law, have some watermelon
that has been soaked in ice water." Si Jiang also happily ran over and hugged her legs, calling her
"Mom, Mom" all the time.
"Mom, the watermelon is very sweet. Please cut a little before you go back." Si Jiang carefully
picked out the watermelon seeds one by one with pointed chopsticks and handed them to Mom:
"It's the sweetest in the middle. So sweet." Ever since Qian Guihua came, no one else could eat
the center of the watermelon.
Aunt took the watermelon, tears streaming down her face, "Darling, remember to come back and
see me. Your aunt will go back to her private room tomorrow."
"I go back to see you every day. Grandma, please don't cry. If you cry, I will cry too." Si Jiang lay
on his mother's knees and started crying.
A Niang wiped the watermelon juice and took two big bites. She didn't find it sweet. Xu Xunfang,
the old lady, was still not good at choosing watermelons. She would go to the market tomorrow
to carefully select one and send it to her. After eating the watermelon and wiping her face, Chen
A Niang got up and went back. When she reached the door, she turned around and shouted, "Xu
Xunfang, come out. I have something else to tell you."
Grandma Gu asked Si Jiang to go to the attic to play with his uncle, and then followed Chen A
Niang out. The two old ladies with bound feet walked in tacit understanding, one after the other,
through the doorways, and stopped at the entrance of the Jin Situ Temple.
"Afang, do you remember that you worshipped the heaven and earth at the entrance of the
temple when you got married? (Do you remember that you worshipped the heaven and earth at
the entrance of the temple when you got married?)"
"Yeah." Granny Gu sighed, "Didn't you expose this to me before? Because of feudal superstition,
half of my hair was cut off. It took a lot of effort to grow it back. It was a sin."
Chen A Niang laughed and said, "I thought that if I exposed you, I could escape easily. (I thought
that if I exposed you, I could escape easily.)"
Granny Gu laughed, "Who doesn't think so? I was so angry that I went to expose your old Chen's
accountant for the Kuomintang. You were so angry that you came to my house and had a fight
with me. Well, my eldest brother said it well, they are all crazy, all crazy, dogs biting each other
and getting fur in their mouths." She shook her head, "Look, my Ximei hated me so much that
she ran to Xinjiang to marry your son. I didn't behave like a human being, and I gave your family a
daughter."
Chen A Niang smiled and looked at the moon in the sky. It was clear and bright. Tomorrow would
be a hot day. How could she have gained anything? Anyway, she had been toiling all her life. She
had never enjoyed the blessing of a wife, and she didn't know when her son would come back.
"Afang, when Alas Jiang was raised, he was only slightly bigger than a kitten. He didn't even have
the strength to suck milk, so he had to pinch his mouth to feed him milk powder drop by drop.
You were so worried at that time, right?"
"I know, it's you, my mother-in-law, who's working hard." Granny Gu sighed, "Raising a child is
not easy."
"Meat is fire, fish is phlegm, green vegetables and tofu are for safety. Sijiang has a delicate
stomach, if you cut too much he will vomit, and he is allergic to seafood, so cut some soup at
most, you have to control his little mouth. The doctor is angry, he would rather cut five meals a
day, and cut less each meal."
"Oh - okay, okay, I'll remember it." Grandma Gu shouted, thinking that no wonder Si Jiang had a
stomachache for a long time after eating a small bowl of braised pork at noon.
"The milk from the dairy company will be delivered to your house at a new address next month. I
will deliver it one of these days, at ten o'clock. Remember to make a cup of malted milk and a box
of biscuits. You saw it. Three small pieces will be enough. If it is Keuge chestnut cake, you will
have to cut it in half. At three o'clock in the second half of the day, after she has a good nap, I will
give her some biscuits. Don't cut the candies, or her teeth will get damaged." Thinking of Chen
Siqiang's cavities, Chen A'niang sighed again.
"Okay, okay." A thin layer of sweat appeared on Grandma Gu's forehead. She counted silently.
Today, Si Jiang ate two White Rabbit in the morning, a popsicle at noon, and four or five or six
Zongzi candies in the evening. Oh my goodness, I won't let her do whatever she wants tomorrow.
"Remember to stew an egg every day, put some minced meat in it, stew it tender, she will be very
happy. Don't bring braised pork, it's too oily, she will have a stomachache when she cuts it, ribs
and black fungus soup is the best, but Sijiang doesn't like to cut it. Oh, black fungus is so good, it's
6.7 yuan a pound, it's so expensive, she will vomit when she eats it, really!" Aunt Chen lifted up
her coat and took out an envelope from her trouser pocket: "Donglai and his wife sent back 720
yuan in three years, 130 yuan for repairing the attic, and 150 yuan for food expenses. I used 240
yuan, and I still have 350 yuan in the bank. Now I have 400 yuan, including the principal and
interest. Take it." She wiped her tears and choked up: "Ningga is stingy behind our backs (people
say we are stingy behind our backs), how can we do it if we are not stingy? If I come back from
Donglai Ximei, will I have a unit? A house to share? Where will my 36 legs come from? If I don't
have some money, how can I do it in the future? (Where will the 36 legs come from? If I don't
have some money, what will I do in the future?)"
Granny Gu held the envelope and grabbed Chen A Niang's hand. She didn't know what to say for
a moment and sighed: "You - ah, how can I remember so much, come and remind me when you
have time."
The hands of both of them were full of wrinkles and calluses due to years of hard work. The
cracks on the fingertips from winter had healed, leaving a few thorns. Chen A Niang smiled and
said, "I know. I will come to see Si Jiangge again. Anyway, it's close. (So close)"
Granny Gu watched Chen A Niang walk slowly into Lane 74, lowered her head to look at the
envelope in her hand, and sighed again: "Gu Lao Si, you are really a piece of shit." Thinking of
little Si Jiang, the more she thought about it, the more scared she became, and the more she
thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt. Yesterday, when Si Jiang walked to the
Cultural Palace, he happened to meet Gu Beiwu. This bastard took Si Jiang to the Laobei Station
on the No. 63 bus, and asked a female passenger to take her to the No. 52 train, and told her to
find the conductor who had been helping to carry things to Urumqi as soon as she got on the
train. He was really bold, not afraid that Si Jiang would be deceived, kidnapped, or taken away.
She scolded him for teaching children to lie, and he asked Si Jiang which sentence was a lie. How
could she remember what she said last night? It was a mess. What about not denying does not
mean admitting, a tongue twister, and a mother, bah, bah, his mother is me, Xu Xunfang? ! Alas, I
just hope Si Jiang doesn't learn these bad things from him. What a sin! I have been an honest
man all my life, how could I give birth to these two evil stars, Dong Wen and Bei Wu!
The author has something to say: Kerosene lamps were first connected to electricity in the towns
of Aksu around 1978. Before that, the educated youth used horse lanterns, kerosene lamps, small
oil lamps, etc.
2 Toilet Paper In the early 1970s, most places across the country had no toilet paper, not even
straw paper. Female educated youth in Xinjiang used plant ash in their menstrual belts and white
newspapers to wipe their wounds. It was only 50 years apart, which shows how rapidly my
country has developed since the reform and opening up.
3 Thirty-six-legged bed, three-door cabinet, chest of drawers, dressing table, sofa, and four stools.
Gu Beiwu doesn't have a single line, but I, Emperor Beiwu, am everywhere. Hehehe.
Uncle Chen Sijiang, isn't lying a good idea?
Gu Beiwu didn't. My uncle only asked how you would find your parents if you arrived in Urumqi.
Think about it again.
Chen Sijiang Skills Chen Sinan
I've exhausted myself to write 5,800 words. Thank you for your support. Please leave a message.
Chapter 12
With the addition of Chen Sijiang, the Gu family's life has changed dramatically.
Grandma Gu no longer went out to sell flowers. She got up at six o'clock to heat milk and bought
soy milk pancakes from outside the alley. She had both sweet and salty options. She cut the fried
dough sticks into small pieces and put soy sauce and peanut butter on small plates. After
breakfast, she picked up the basket and took a pair of pancakes with fried dough sticks that she
had bought specially. She went to find Chen A Niang and asked her to help her finish the food so
as not to waste food. After two trips, Chen A Niang understood what was going on. At night, she
lamented to Chen A Ye that Grandma Gu was an "old lady who knew how to behave on the
road", no wonder Gu Beiwu was doing well. The next day, she pretended not to know. After
eating the pancakes and fried dough sticks, she took the initiative to take Grandma Gu to the
Changshou Branch Road vegetable market to buy side dishes. Grandma Gu was beaming with joy.
The two old ladies with bound feet walked out of the alley side by side, scolding their son and
lamenting that their daughter loved her grandchildren, chatting animatedly along the way. The
two in-laws had been at odds for decades, and they had never been so close.
"Remember to buy side dishes at this comprehensive stall in Diege, so you don't have to go to so
many stalls. We have fish, meat, tofu, and vegetables. We also have mushrooms on Mondays.
Please make an appointment in advance and ask him to save three or four chicken breasts for
you. The sliced and fried chicken breasts are so delicious. This is the dish that Alasjiang likes the
most. We like this dish the most in Alasjiang." Aunt Chen pointed to the young vegetable sellers
in front of her. "These girls who just graduated are smart and quick. They rely on mental
arithmetic and never make mistakes. Girls, come on, help me get two bunches of chicken greens,
half a catty of green peppers, one and a half catties of edamame, eight taels of ribs, and two
cents of green onions and one cent of ginger."
"Come here, come here. Two bunches of green vegetables are two cents, half a pound of green
peppers are five cents, a pound of edamame is 14 cents, and a pound and a half is 21 cents. A
pound of rib meat is 9 cents. Mother, a piece of meat is 8 taels and 3 cents. I'll give it to you for
75 cents."
"Come on, come on, all right, all right." Chen A Niang inherited the fine tradition of her
accounting family and counted quickly and accurately in her mind. "One dollar and six cents,
right?"
The little girl smiled and said, "Yes, not a penny is wrong. An Niang Nong Ha Qiang."
Grandma Gu looked at Chen A Niang who was calm and unconcerned. It was incredible. The price
of her ribs was not even calculated. No wonder Si Jiang could already do addition and
subtraction. It must have been passed down from the Chen family.
After paying the bill, Aunt Chen turned around and instructed Grandma Gu on how to prepare
the right dishes.
"Mother-in-law, Sijiang doesn't like eggplant." Grandma Gu was a little embarrassed.
"Don't be picky about food. Eat everything. Buy some more onions and carrots. The little girl
must keep up with nutrition. Alas Jiang is one year younger than Li Gaoxing downstairs, and three
centimeters taller than him. Mushrooms, don't forget mushrooms." Chen A Niang was very
proud. When she was young, she was brought into the home of Mr. Pan, the boss of Lixin
Accounting, as a maid by her husband. During the Anti-Japanese War, Mrs. Pan asked her to go to
the Shanghai Refugee Children's Hospital to help wash the sheets and take care of the sick
children. Later in 1940, she went to the Children's Hospital again and was praised by Dr. Su Zufei
for being "careful, patient and loving." Influenced by her, she could say vitamins abcde at will, but
it was a pity that she had bound feet and could not read, otherwise she could at least be a head
nurse. There were also benefits. She gave birth to six children, all of whom grew up well, and
their height and physique were outstanding in Wanchun Street. This is also the reason why Gu
Ximei was relieved to hand Si Jiang to A Niang.
Grandma Gu quickly took out a small notebook and a pencil, flipped through a few pages, found
the lifelike onions and carrots, drew two not-so-round circles below, added a crooked mushroom
next to the carrot, and drew another circle. She looked up and smiled sheepishly, explaining, "My
fourth child drew it. He said I have a bad memory, so he can buy different vegetables every day."
Now it was Chen A-niang's turn to be convinced. "You are thoughtful. Your fourth child has been
able to draw since he was a child." The Gu family was lucky. The eldest child was good at fighting
and was a bully; the second child was a tailor and married a sailor; the third child could play the
piano and almost entered the conservatory of music; the fourth child could draw and was a smart
man. The four children looked like Xu Xunfang, each one more beautiful than the other. Who
would believe that their father was born a rickshaw driver? After buying the side dishes, the two
old ladies went together to buy non-staple food, and their revolutionary friendship was
unbreakable from then on.
After lunch, Gu watched Sijiang listen to the radio and take a nap, sewed soles to make cotton
shoes, embroidered handkerchiefs to make clothes, and embroidered a white orchid on each
handkerchief. After Sijiang had afternoon snacks, she followed Gu Beiwu to go out to play, and Gu
started to collect clothes, cook dinner, boil bath water, light mosquito coils, and spray floral water.
At night, everything was tidied up, Sijiang was bathed, and the two went to bed and chatted until
after ten o'clock. Compared with the past, they were busier and more tired, but they were more
energetic every day. They woke up happily and fell asleep laughing every day. They didn't get up
in the middle of the night and slept until dawn. Chen A Niang saw it with her eyes and felt sad in
her heart. Fortunately, Sijiang would come back every day after dinner to massage her back and
shoulders, recite a few quotations, and tell her what interesting things she heard on the radio.
Holding her little hand and sending her back home became Chen A Niang's most anticipated
thing of the day.
Gu Beiwu was no longer elusive every day. After breakfast, he would take out books and picture
magazines, and pull Si Jiang to learn reading and counting. After they finished learning, he would
teach her boxing.
"What kind of punch is this?" Si Jiang swung his two little arms around like a windmill and
laughed.
"Turtle bastard punch." Gu Beiwu held the buckwheat pillow as his target for her. "I only hit turtle
bastards. Tomorrow when you go to kindergarten, if anyone dares to bully you, you rush up and
hit them like this. Do you know how to use force? Use more force and faster."
Si Jiang stopped panting and laughed so hard that he doubled over. "Waipang Ajiunong is a
bastard."
Gu Beiwu sighed, threw away the pillow, lifted her up onto his shoulders and spun her around like
a windmill. "Are you rebelling?"
"Ahhhh, uncle, uncle, I am a bastard"
"You are a bastard, what am I? Keep spinning, you little fool, you are not allowed to listen to the
radio today."
In order to take Si Jiang out for fun, Gu Beiwu went to Qiujiang Road to assemble a bicycle. He
spent an extra thirty yuan, and bought a Forever 13 model for one hundred and eighty yuan. The
frame was made of manganese steel and could bear the weight. In the morning, Si Jiang sat on
the front fork to go to kindergarten. While singing "The sun is shining in the sky, the flowers are
smiling at me, and the birds are saying good morning," he kept ringing the bell, and he was so
happy and proud. Chen A Niang was so angry that she told everyone that Gu Beiwu was
extravagant. It was only fifteen minutes to walk there, but he insisted on buying a bicycle. One
hundred and eighty yuan, A Niang's heart was broken, and no amount of chicken blood could
make up for it. The boat of revolutionary friendship with Gu A Niang almost capsized.
On the evening of National Day, three generations of the Chen family gathered in Wanchun Street
to listen to Grandpa Chen's teachings as they did in previous years.
Grandpa Chen sat upright with a white enamel cup with red characters on it, "Grasp the
revolution with one hand and production with the other hand", and a feather duster beside his
legs. He first asked about his sons and daughters-in-law's work situation, saying that they must
not make mistakes in their thoughts and accept bribes, and that fake sick leave like Qian Guihua's
was even more unacceptable. Then he asked about his grandchildren's summer vacation life,
whether they knew more words, and whether they had improved in addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division, mental arithmetic and abacus. After all, no matter how revolutionary,
money and various bills must be spent, and accounts must be calculated. A skill is enough to have
a good life in times of famine. The three grandchildren of the Chen family were not good at
studying. They knew nothing about anything and had to be beaten every year. After beating his
grandchildren, Grandpa Chen remembered that the only good student in the family, the eldest
son, was far away in the frontier, and he only had a daughter. He couldn't help but drink a few
more glasses of wine at night and sighed that there was no successor to the Chen family.
This year, Chen Sijiang, a student in the kindergarten class, also attended the class as an auditor.
She has moved to her grandmother's house for more than a month. Sometimes she is happy and
sometimes she is sad. Of course, she is happy, but she is sad because her uncle keeps asking her
to learn words and do math every day. She is just a baby under four years old, so pitiful. But her
uncle is right. Everyone outside praises her as a child prodigy, so she has to pretend to be decent.
In this month, she has learned dozens of Chinese characters.
"Si Jiang, what should you do when you go to kindergarten?" After taking care of his three
grandchildren, Grandpa Chen handed the feather duster to his mother to put away and asked
casually.
"Listen to Chairman Mao's words, study hard and make progress every day." Si Jiang puffed out
his chest and responded loudly.
"Well, that's good. What kind of job do you want to be in the future? Worker, teacher or doctor?"
Grandpa Chen picked up the cup and took a sip of strong tea.
"Grandpa, I want to go to college and become an engineer and computer engineer."
The room suddenly became quiet, and the three brothers who were still sobbing stopped crying.
Everyone has heard of engineers, and Si Jiang's father is an engineer, but what is a computer?
Grandpa Chen leaned forward slightly and frowned, "What's the matter?"
"Electronic computer" Si Jiang smiled and looked at his three brothers beside him, and proudly
threw out the "explosive bag" that had already shocked the kindergarten again. "Xinhua News
Agency reported that on August 26, 1973, China's first integrated circuit electronic computer with
a calculation of one million times per second was successfully trial-produced by Peking University,
Beijing Cable Plant and other units. I want to be an electronic computer engineer in the future."
"What, what, what?" Chen A'niang felt dizzy. She looked at the people around her, including the
knowledgeable Grandpa Chen, and everyone looked dizzy.
Many years later, when Chen Shimin mentioned this story about the computer, Chen Sijiang
looked bewildered and said, "What the hell, you just talk nonsense. What the hell, you just talk
nonsense." He completely forgot that in order to pretend to be a "child prodigy", he recited the
extremely difficult long sentence dozens of times every day for more than 20 days.
Gu Ximei had a very hard time carrying this baby. During the National Day cultural performance
in Aksu County, the children in the 11th Company Kindergarten rehearsed the milk tea song for
two months. When they sang "The milk tea is full of love and affection", the children lined up and
shouted "Dedicated to my dear" in unison. Before she could say the last three words, she
vomited all over the accordion with red dates and white fungus tea, almost causing a serious
accident. At night, she cried and vomited at home, and cursed while writing a self-criticism,
cursing Chen Donglai for being a bastard and cursing that there was only a debt collector in her
belly.
Everyone said that Gu Ximei was pregnant with a son. Sour boy, spicy girl. When she was thinking
of Sijiang, she couldn't stand the spiciness. She asked for leave and took a ride to Hami to meet
the Hunan elder sisters 2 to eat chopped pepper with rice. Now, she is like a vinegar jar
overturned. She puts vinegar in everything she eats, including noodles, steamed buns, and
vegetable porridge. She can't control her saliva when she sees sour beans. She wrote several
letters to her elder brother Gu Dongwen, asking for support for pickled vegetables and sour
beans. In addition, her belly is pointed, not round like when she was thinking of Sijiang, and there
are many pimples on her face. Meng Qin and Cao Jingzhi are both experienced people. They
guarantee that she will definitely complete the revolutionary mission of the old Chen family this
time and give birth to a boy with a penis to make a good name with Sijiang.
By the Spring Festival, Gu Ximei finally got over her morning sickness. She weighed only 105
pounds, and from behind, she couldn't be seen as a pregnant woman. She had gestational
diabetes, swollen calves, and frequent urinary incontinence. She could only pad her menstrual
belt with thick toilet paper. The stretch marks on her belly were like spider webs, with a hideous
look that was about to break. She cried every time she saw them. Thinking of Huai Sijiang's easy
life, she hated him more and more. It was hard to sleep. If she slept on the left side, her heart
would beat like a drum. If she slept on the right side, her liver would ache like cramps. If she lay
on her back, her waist would not be good. If she slept on her stomach, she would harm the
future flowers of the motherland. In short, she suffered all kinds of hardships.
Winter turned to spring. At the end of March in 1974, Gu Ximei traveled light, carrying a small
luggage bag and took the Corps' car to Urumqi to meet Chen Donglai. National Highway 314 was
bumpy due to the heavy trucks passing by, making it extremely difficult to drive. You could only
drive at a speed of 20 to 30 kilometers per hour, and it was still very bumpy. You had to stop and
go along the way, and picked up a full car of educated youth going to Urumqi. The truck drove for
three days and three nights to reach Urumqi. Gu Ximei was exhausted, and there was no part of
her body that didn't hurt. In addition, Chen Sinan's debt collector was churning in her stomach.
When she saw Chen Donglai, she couldn't say a word. Chen Donglai was distressed and flustered,
and cautiously suggested, "Why don't you not go back? It's hard to take a train for more than a
hundred hours. Just stay in Urumqi and live."
Gu Ximei was so angry that she fainted before she could slap her husband on the arm.
Author's words: Dr. Su Zufei is one of the founders of Shanghai Refugee Children's Hospital. He
graduated from Peking Union Medical College in 1932 and received a doctorate from the State
University of New York. He is the founder of modern pediatric nutrition in my country.
In 1951 and 1952, 8,000 Hunan women went to Tianshan. Most of them were assigned to troops
in Shihezi, Hami, Kuitun and other places with difficult conditions. The oldest girl was 19 years old
and the youngest was only 13 years old.
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Chen Sijiang I am my mother’s sweet little cotton-padded jacket.
Chen Sinan I
Chen Donglai I am my wife’s filial husband.
Chen Sinan I
Sister Gu Dongwen, the pickled vegetables have been sent, and the mooncakes made with
Yunnan ham are not worse than our Shanghai fresh meat mooncakes, and they have a different
taste. You're welcome, because I am the most protective elder brother.
Chen Sinan I
Sister Gu Beiwu, the bed has been prepared at home, and Si Jiang A Niang said she would come
to take care of you during the confinement period. In addition, I took 300 yuan to buy nutritional
supplements, haha, who made me the Emperor Beiwu.
Chen Sinan I
This article is also called The Life of the Disliked Chen Sinan

Chapter 13
Chen Donglai sat on a bench outside the ward in a daze. The light in the corridor was a little pale.
A husband who was accompanying him at night passed by him with an enamel pot filled with hot
water and yawned. He bumped into his legs and the hot water splashed on his arm. Fortunately,
it was not hot. Chen Donglai frowned. The man glanced at him numbly without any intention of
apologizing, leaving him with a turbid back.
He remembered that he hadn't eaten dinner and didn't feel hungry. Gu Ximei was fine, just tired.
The doctor said the fetus had entered the pelvis, but fortunately there was no sign of premature
birth, so it would be best not to take a train for more than a hundred hours.
He was not sure he could convince Simei. He was full of guilt and gratitude towards her. He had
too little to give her and received too much from her to have the courage to go against her
wishes.
When Gu Ximei first wrote him a letter saying that she would come to Xinjiang to find him, he
didn't take it seriously and didn't reply. He couldn't even picture her clear face in his mind, nor
could he recall any interactions he had with her. In the impression, she grew up on Grandma Gu's
back. In the years before and after liberation, people in the alley commented with envy that the
four children of the Gu family were all very lucky and stayed with their parents in the big house in
Yugu Village every day. The popular drink is spicy. He and Gu Dongwen have always been
classmates. Maybe she once saw him following Gu Dongwen. But he didn't pay attention.
When he received the letter, he had been on the drilling team in Jiashi for a year. He was
exhausted from lifting and lowering the drill and drilling the tongs 200 times a day. The
conditions were too harsh. The food was transported back from Aksu. The meat provided by the
oil company had been bumping in the desert for three days and was not cooked. It was all rotten.
The vegetables were green when they got on the bus, but they became dry when they got off the
bus. If they didn't stink, they could just sprinkle some salt on them and eat them as pickles.
Occasionally, there would be precious tomatoes, but they would be turned into tomato sauce
when they arrived in Jiashi. Adding some cabbage leaves would make it taste like borscht.
The tents were not warm at night, and everyone was shivering in their military coats and quilts.
Less than a year later, a brother from Beijing was forced to return to Beijing due to illness, but he
could never stand up again.
After he got the news, he got drunk in front of the Quotations Monument for the first time. He
had great doubts about himself, life and the world. Who was he? Why did he go to the desert to
do a job that had no hope at all? Did he go to college for this? Could he go back to Shanghai? He
thought he had thrown himself into a passionate era, but what he felt was the cruelty of being
abandoned by the times. The friendship of revolutionary partners was definitely ranked in an
unexpected corner. Who would be willing to forge a revolutionary friendship with him? He could
not possibly fantasize about the enthusiasm of an 18-year-old Shanghai girl. Any enthusiasm
would become a negative number after traveling 10,000 kilometers in the desert.
So when he received the angry long-distance call from Gu Dongwen saying that his sister had
arrived in Aksu and was assigned to the 11th Company of the 2nd Regiment of the 1st
Agricultural Division, he was stunned for a long time and asked several times, "Who? Who? Who
came to Aksu?" Gu Dongwen threatened him that if he didn't treat his Ximei well, he would rush
from Jinghong to Karamay and beat him so hard that he couldn't find the way back to Shanghai.
In fact, he couldn't find the way back to Shanghai in the first place because the desert was too
big.
He occasionally replied to Gu Ximei's letters. They would meet in Aksu County every three or four
months. Since they had no experience of being alone with the opposite sex, his two Shanghai
colleagues and her two good friends would be present at each meeting. When his colleague
asked him if he was in love with Gu Ximei, he denied it at first. This colleague went to pursue Gu
Ximei, but was rejected sternly, and he never wanted to attend their Aksu gatherings again.
Later, he applied to the organization to jointly build socialism with Spain and the United States
because of a few pieces of fat meat.
That year during the Spring Festival, he was invited to spend the New Year in their company. She
said that there would be meat to eat on New Year's Eve. Unexpectedly, everyone gathered in the
open-air playground for the New Year's Eve dinner. The dishes were placed in a circle on the
ground. People were only allowed to eat but not take away. Looking at the fat meat in the basin
that had frozen into a big lump, Gu Ximei said sorry to him with a sad face. Her eyes that were
full of affection for everyone were filled with tears because of embarrassment. He suddenly
realized that she was another self. She devoted herself to him, but he abandoned her just like the
era that abandoned him. And she was undoubtedly abandoned by both the era and him.
He was embarrassed, as if he had used her for those pieces of meat, which made her feelings
cheap and his shameless. Meng Qin and Cao Jingzhi lamented that the Corps was only rationed
two taels of oil a month, and had not distributed a drop of oil for three months, but they could
only look at the bowl of fat meat and feel sick and couldn't eat it. When the show was over, he
didn't know where he got the courage from, he lay down and took a large piece of meat from the
bowl of fat meat. In Gu Ximei's panicked and unbelievable eyes, he covered half of his face with
gloves and ran towards their dormitory with big strides. The piece of meat was later boiled into
two spoons of lard and a few pieces of dregs. Gu Ximei used the dregs to stir-fry cabbage and
cooked a large pot of noodles. The boiling lard was poured into the soy sauce noodle soup,
making a sizzling sound and emitting a faint smoke. He suddenly realized how precious and
beautiful she was, and how stupid and vulgar he was. That night, he kissed her forehead almost
devoutly.
Later, they had Si Jiang. She wanted to give birth to Si Jiang in Shanghai and keep him there. Of
course, he supported her. They all thought that they would be able to go back and reunite one
day. Four years passed in a blink of an eye. Now he knew that the hope of going back was too
slim. They and Si Jiang were already two different worlds. The only thing connecting the two
worlds was the photos under the glass table. He had not even had the experience of being a real
father. This time he thought about it for ten months. He didn't want to miss Si Nan. At least he
didn't want to be abandoned by his two children.
——
When Gu Ximei woke up, it was dark. She thought she had given birth. She felt light and her belly
didn't seem to exist. For a moment, she felt a sense of emptiness after being relieved. She had
been complaining for seven months, but now that she had unloaded the baby, it felt unreal
without any pain. It was like watching an open-air movie, and suddenly flickering white lines
appeared on the screen, and the next second the scene and characters had changed. She had a
vague sense of guilt deep in her heart, and then she was overwhelmed by the huge sadness. She
doubted that her insistence on "being born in Shanghai and raised in Shanghai" was meaningless.
This child named "Chen Sinan" is still registered in Xinjiang like Si Jiang. Even if he lives in
Shanghai all his life, he is still a "Xinjiang person" in the police station.
When she came back to her senses from this empty thought, her eyesight gradually adapted to
the dimness of the ward. She saw Chen Donglai on her right. He was sitting on a square stool,
folding his tall body to 90 degrees with the difficulty of a gymnast, so that the edge of the bed
could support his head. Gu Ximei turned her head and did not see the baby. There seemed to be
someone lying on the bed next to her. A pale light leaked in from under the door, vaguely
illuminating someone lying on the ground.
Chen Donglai suddenly woke up and stood up abruptly. He didn't know what he bumped into. He
said sorry. Someone was mumbling on the ground. The woman in the next bed turned over with
a rustle. The light in the ward came on. The same pale light was very dazzling. Gu Ximei put her
hand to cover her eyes: "What are you doing--" She was about to ask where the child was, and
she was kicked hard in the stomach. She gasped in pain and curled up on the side. She gritted her
teeth in hatred, but she breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. This little bastard, you are smart
and didn't run away! All the self-doubts just now were immediately wiped out by the powerful
and irresistible desire to "return to Shanghai". Gu Ximei half-propped herself up, lifted the sheets,
and gently stroked her uneven abdomen caused by the fetus turning over, feeling a kind of joy of
regaining what she had lost.
This joy did not last long. After the doctor's rounds in the morning, she turned into anxiety and
anger. Because there were only two empty beds in the eight beds in the ward, she could only
lower her voice and negotiate with Chen Donglai.
"You go and complete the discharge procedures. I'm fine now and can catch the train tomorrow."
"Ximei, forget it, let's give birth in Urumqi. The doctor said the baby's condition is unstable and
there's a high chance she'll be born prematurely."
"I know my body well. There are still two weeks left. It won't be that fast. Besides, the train is
much more comfortable than the truck." Gu Ximei lifted the quilt and got off the ground: "You're
not going, right? Then I'll go by myself."
Chen Donglai quickly stepped forward to support her. After leaving the ward, the nurse not far
away turned her head to look at them and continued to work. The couple walked towards the
emergency exit at the other end in tacit understanding.
Gu Ximei supported her waist: "Chen Donglai, what do you mean?"
Chen Donglai was a little afraid to look at her: "Ximei, can't we just let Sinan grow up in Xinjiang?"
"Are you crazy?" Gu Ximei was so angry that she was shaking all over. "Why? Why! You've been
here for ten years, and I've been with you for eight years. And you still have to follow your child
for the rest of his life? If you want to be a Xinjiang person, you have to do it yourself. My son and
daughter definitely can't!"
"I know you've always wanted to go back to Shanghai." Chen Donglai was silent for a moment:
"What if you can't go back in ten years? What if you can't go back forever?"
"Why can't I go back? I'm here to support the construction! Why can't I go back after the support
is completed? My home is in Shanghai, my mother is in Wanchun Street, my sister, brother and
daughter are all here, why can't I go back?!" Gu Ximei was a little desperate, her hoarse voice was
intermittent with sobs. It was as if the fact that she vaguely understood but had always been
unwilling to face was suddenly pulled out. Among the more than 50,000 Shanghai educated
youth in Aksu, everyone thought that they would be the next to return to the city, and she was
looking forward to it.
"Don't be so stubborn, Ximei." Chen Donglai hugged her gently, "I'm sorry, Ximei, I'm sorry. Just
listen to me, okay? Give birth here, Sinan can follow you or me, I can take care of him. At least
our family can be together to take care of him, at least we can see him and touch him, at least the
two of us can be real parents for once."
"Bullshit! My pregnancy is fake? Si Jiang is fake?" Gu Ximei took two breaths, pushed him away
and held her belly: "How can you take care of him? Do you have milk? Don't you want to go to
work?"
"There is always a way. Let's think of a solution together. Maybe I can be transferred to Aksu—"
"Chen Donglai, I just want to ask you one last question. Are you going to reply? If you don't, I will
reply myself." Gu Ximei lost her patience and walked out directly.
Chen Donglai could not persuade Gu Ximei with words, and he dared not and could not take
action. He watched her complete the discharge procedures in a hurry. When he returned to his
dormitory, he found that he had not packed his luggage yet. Gu Ximei just sneered twice and lay
down to rest, leaving the back of her head for him.
——
On April 1, 1974, Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei boarded Train No. 53 from Urumqi to Shanghai.
The author has something to say:
small theater
Chen Sinan Ding ding ding ding, ding ding ding ding, sister, we are about to meet.
Chen Sijiang hehe.
Reference materials: Interviews with Shanghai Educated Youth and a series of books on Shanghai
Educated Youth.

Chapter 14
The green-skinned No. 53 train was a famous "robber train" with many people and even more
belongings. The luggage racks and seats were full of people and luggage. The educated youth on
home leave had their tickets purchased by the Corps and had seats, but many educated youth
who "ran away" or asked for leave were reluctant to spend 54 yuan and often boarded the train
without paying. When they were checked, they would hide under the small platform and rely on
the military coats or quilts on the knees of the Shanghai compatriots for protection. In the second
half of the journey, no matter how cold it was, the windows would be open because the toilets
were too smelly.
It was warm in April, and it was not the peak time for people to return to Shanghai during
holidays, but the train was still crowded. After Chen Donglai settled Gu Ximei, he got up and went
to the conductor to ask for a sleeper ticket for extra money. The conductor said, "You are lucky.
There will be a lot of sleepers available after passing Hami." Chen Donglai guessed that it was
because of the mysterious "Malan Base". He and the conductor exchanged a knowing look and
immediately took out 40 yuan to buy a sleeper ticket.
Shortly after leaving Urumqi, we passed the Sanshilifengkou of the Lanxin Railway. The train
rattled and didn't slow down, and the carriage swayed forward. Chen Donglai hadn't come back
yet, and Gu Ximei felt a little dizzy. She asked a sister opposite to help her take a small cushion
from the luggage rack. She buried her face in the cushion and took a deep breath of the smell of
the sun. A stack of newspapers on the small table shook violently, scratching her cheek and then
covering half of her face. She didn't move her hand away. The smell of ink was so pleasant, like a
barrier to isolate all the mess in the carriage, leaving her a safe little world.
After a while, Chen Donglai came back and was startled to see Gu Ximei lying among a pile of
newspapers. He quickly opened his luggage, took out a teacup and canned oranges, and peeled a
boiled egg. Gu Ximei ate in the swaying carriage, suppressing her nausea. It would take another
eight hours to get to Hami, so she had to eat even if she didn't want to, as it was necessary to
save her energy.
The seats opposite were occupied by three men and two women, all from Shanghai. One of the
couples was from Putuo District, the man worked in the Tenth Farm Reclamation Group in Aksu,
and the woman worked in the county town cotton mill. After their son was born, they sent him
back to his grandparents' home in Shanghai. After chatting with Gu Ximei, they found that they
were close fellow villagers and got along well. When they learned that she was going back to
Shanghai to give birth to her second child, they nodded repeatedly, "That's right, it's better to
send the little girl back."
Another family of three was at the Chaiwopu Forest Farm on Bogda Peak in Urumqi, and naturally
they chatted with Chen Donglai. The man brought a flute with him, and it was rare that he did
not forget to build cultural life during the revolutionary period. Gu Ximei looked at the half flute
for a few more times, and Chen Donglai couldn't help but boast, "My wife used to play the
piano," and was immediately stepped on by his wife. As expected, the couple didn't pay much
attention to them, probably knowing that if they could learn piano before the revolution, their
family background must be problematic, and they basically belonged to the "five black
categories."
Chen Donglai had no choice but to go and talk to a Uyghur uncle sitting next to him. The six or
seven-year-old boy was half leaning and half standing in front of his father, staring at the canned
fruit in Gu Ximei's hand. Suddenly, a long, muddy snot slid down. He pulled it back abruptly,
skillfully tightened the skin of his upper lip and pulled it down, and his tongue whizzed up the half
of the snot that was not sucked back and swallowed it. Gu Ximei shuddered, holding back the
urge to vomit, silently holding the can and looking down at the Xinjiang Daily on the small table.
The quotation in the upper right corner today was "The just struggles of people in all countries of
the world are mutually supported." Well, she really wanted to ask the child opposite to eat less
snot along the way, which was also considered mutual support.
Chen Donglai and his fellow villagers across the street talked about the newly elected president
of Romania and the glorious victory of the Cambodian people in resisting the US and saving the
country. Gu Ximei had no interest in these things, and she didn't understand why Chen Donglai
cared so much about these things that had nothing to do with them. Her eldest brother used to
like to talk about these things. No one in the family listened, and he would hold up the
newspaper and talk for half an hour at the dinner table. Maybe Beiwu listened to it, but she
turned a deaf ear to it. Men, haha.
At Turpan Station, Chen Donglai went down to smoke and bought some raisins. Gu Ximei put it in
the toasted buns and ate it in small bites. It felt like the grape bread she had eaten when she was
a child. She suddenly remembered the old bungalow in Yugu Village. That Mrs. Fang often drank
"afternoon tea" in the afternoon from a gold-rimmed teacup and a small plate. There was a snack
called scone that was particularly delicious. There were several leftovers every time, both sweet
and salty. Her mother-in-law They will happily say that the wife asked them to finish eating and
not waste it. She was ignorant before, but later she felt the anger of having eaten "food that
came to her", and the shame of being grateful after being deceived by the capitalists. The Fang
family only cares about making money and has no patriotism or national morality. They do
business with the American imperialists and the British, as well as the Japanese and the
Kuomintang. It is natural for them to be knocked down. Her mother's ideological consciousness
was low, and she always thought about how good the Fang family was to them. Before liberation,
wages increased with prices, and millions of French currency 2 had to be packed in sacks every
month. She also cared about their brothers and sisters and allowed her to He practiced on the
piano in the dance studio and sympathized with the Fang family and their daughter for their
suffering. What hardships have they endured? Compared with the hardships of a hundred
thousand educated youths working in Xinjiang, they are nothing. They have not even made any
contribution to the country and the people, but they do not have to be exposed to the sun, wind,
sand and wind, and they are eating fixed interest rates in the bank. , there is also a flush toilet,
and even the nails have never been cracked. Gu Ximei took a big bite of the toasted bun and
completely threw away the thought deep in her heart that she wanted to be a fashionable,
refined and elegant woman like Mrs. Fang.
After Hongqikan Station, it is the Baili Wind Zone, which is more frightening than the Sanshili
Wind Outlet in front. The wind is particularly strong today, and the carriage shook violently and
slowly began to slow down. Chen Donglai took out the two thin blankets in the luggage and put
them behind Gu Ximei's waist. The wind and sand hit the window, and nothing could be seen
outside except a chaotic gray-yellow color. In view of the horrible history of the No. 53 train being
blown over by the wind, the carriage was temporarily quiet.
The violent sandstorm roared like thunder, the carriage tilted and then swung back, the keyword
"level 12" was faintly heard on the radio, and some people suddenly burst into screams and cries
that could not be covered by the sandstorm. A bag on the luggage rack suddenly loosened, and
the burnt yellow steamed buns, deep red dates, and dark green raisins all fell down. Some people
laughed nervously, some began to recite quotations loudly, and some sang "Mountains are
connected to mountains, seas are connected to seas, proletarians of the world unite" But at this
time, no matter how united and supportive they were, they could not stop the wind.
Chen Donglai was feeling sorry for the owner of the raisins when he suddenly felt something
damp on his thigh. He lowered his head and saw a puddle of water under Gu Ximei, which looked
like an inconspicuous map and was silently invading the edge of the seat. He calmly picked up the
Xinjiang Daily and covered it with it, whispering, "Ximei, pee, you seem to be leaking urine."
"What?" Gu Ximei was holding the last two bites of baked bun with a bewildered look on her
face. After sitting on the train for several hours, the numbness of her calves slowed down the
reaction of her entire nervous system. Even the occasional contractions seemed as distant and
unfamiliar as if they were separated by the Huangpu River. After a while, she came back to her
senses. The dampness and slight heat brought her with the familiar loss of control, which brought
her overwhelming shame. However, this kind of shame also slowly reached her brain after being
separated by several streets. She only had time to instinctively hold up the Xinjiang Daily on her
knees and said, "Oh my god, this can't get wet. Tenon wants to make a big mistake." Then she
was hit by the strong pain of contractions and her face twitched. Finally, she realized that it was
not urinary incontinence, but amniotic fluid rupture.
The train shook violently in the storm and suddenly stopped. The conductor shouted loudly on
the radio, "Emergency, emergency, there is a pregnant woman in car 5 who is in premature labor.
The situation is critical. Which passenger is a medical staff? Medical staff, please go to car 5
immediately."
Gu Ximei lay on the chair, her hair wet with sweat, her face covered with tears and snot, her
vision was bright and dark, the pain of being almost torn apart kept getting worse, she could only
pinch his palm tightly to prove that she was still alive.
The older sister on the opposite side pulled out a new bed sheet to cover half of Gu Ximei's body,
and asked her loudly, "How are you? Are you okay? Does it hurt?"
Gu Ximei turned her head drowsily, and the straight creases on the red and white flowered bed
sheet caught her eyes, with the unique fragrance of printed cotton cloth. She wanted to laugh a
little. "It hurts, it hurts so much." Is there any need to ask?
The eldest sister looked at her beautiful face which was distorted into something hideous. After
thinking for a while, she encouraged her with the leader's words, "It's okay. The first time is new,
the second time is familiar. The future is bright, the road is tortuous, and nothing is difficult in the
world as long as you are willing to climb."
Gu Ximei tried to smile, then numbly turned her head and looked at the army green chair back.
She cursed Chen Sinan fiercely in her heart, "You little bastard, if you dare to run away from the
train, you'll have to stay in Xinjiang."
Chen Donglai, the little red man's biological father, really thought that she had gained supreme
courage from the leader's words, and held her hand tightly, "Come on, you can do it, you can
definitely do it."
"I can't do it, I can't do it. I'm going to die in pain." Gu Ximei grabbed his hand and blocked her
mouth, gnashing his knuckles with her teeth and biting him to death. "But I want to die in
Shanghai."
"Don't talk nonsense, we still have to go back together to see Si Jiang. Si Jiang has been waiting
for his brother or sister. Hey, hey, hey, be gentle, it hurts."
Gu Ximei relaxed, still stiffening in pain.
"The doctor is coming, the doctor is coming, make way." The conductor and the train attendant
led two men in military uniforms to push through the crowd of onlookers. When they saw Chen
Donglai, the conductor blurted out, "Oh, comrade, you are so lucky." A sleeper ticket was paid for
in vain.
Train No. 53 was forced to stop on the track for five hours, swaying violently and irregularly. The
sandstorm suddenly left. When the train gradually accelerated and sped away again, a new life
suddenly came after five hours of intense squeezing. As soon as Chen Sinan came into contact
with the cold air, he was caught by a pair of warm hands and burst into tears. The carriage was
filled with warm applause and the tears of some sentimental female comrades.
"Long live Chairman Mao, long live Chairman Mao"
"Congratulations, you've given birth to a little one." The female soldier who helped Chen Sinan
deliver the baby smiled and brought the baby to Gu Ximei's side. Gu Ximei's heart sank, and she
turned her head with difficulty to look at the baby who was waving and crying in a pool of blood.
She was stunned for three seconds and then burst into tears. It wasn't because she had given
birth to another little one, but because she suspected that she had given birth to a winter melon.
Many years later, Chen Sinan saw the yellowed newspaper clippings in her father's notebook. On
the platform of Hami Railway Station, there was a close photo of two soldiers and her father
Chen Donglai. Chen Donglai was holding a swaddling cloth wrapped in a sheet, with an oval head
exposed inside. It was a very long oval object, about 20 centimeters long. At first glance, it really
looked like he was holding a winter melon. The text next to it was very interesting. The PLA
veterinarian bravely delivered a baby girl in Aksu.
The author has something to say: The Malan Base, an atomic bomb base in Hami, was classified
as confidential in that era.
2 The French franc was the currency in circulation before liberation, and its value depreciated
extremely severely. 49 years ago, a worker's salary of 3 million French francs was not enough for
a month's living expenses.
small theater
Chen Sinan, author, what do you mean, winter melon, Hami melon, am I the funniest heroine in
the history of Jinjiang?
Chen Sijiang hehe.
Gu Beiwu hehe.
Gu Ximei hehe.
Chen Donglai: Nannan, come to daddy.
Chen Sinan, thank you so much
Chapter 15
Gu Ximei was lying on a bed in the Hami Military Region Health Center, bleeding, with tears in her
eyes, holding "Hami Melon" in her arms, and her mind was a mess. Every time the nurse put
"Winter Melon" Chen Sinan in her arms to suck milk, she didn't know where to look. If she looked
at the nurse, she felt that she was holding back her laughter, and if she looked at "Winter Melon",
she was afraid that she would do something that even scared herself.
After going through all the hardships that pregnant women have to endure, she then went
through all the hardships that women have to endure after giving birth. The doctor also said that
she was lucky to meet a veterinarian, so she did not have postpartum hemorrhage and only had
seven stitches. Only seven stitches? Gu Ximei had a numb face, but she repeated the words
several times in her heart. When she was in confinement at Chen's house, her mother-in-law
slept on the left side of a camp bed, her mother slept on the right side, and her husband slept at
the foot. The three of them worked in three shifts in the winter, and she slept soundly for more
than 20 days. It seemed that she had never heard Si Jiang cry in the middle of the night.
When it was Chen Sinan's turn, she realized that the saying "first time is new, second time is
familiar" was all bullshit. Each child was the same. They couldn't suck milk at first, and their little
faces turned red with anxiety. They cried loudly. When their pink mouths opened wide, they
actually took up half of their faces. It looked like a winter melon with a hole in it. They poured
mushrooms and chicken cubes into it and steamed the winter melon stuffing. When she asked
the doctor to buy milk powder, the "winter melon" suddenly got the hang of it and sucked milk in
a few mouthfuls. So Gu Ximei's more miserable life began. She had to feed milk eight or nine
times a day, and she had to drink the left side and the right side, each time for half an hour. She
was worse than a cow. She could only sleep for one or two hours. When she was feeding milk in
the middle of the night, she heard Chen Donglai's ancestral snoring, which made her furious.
Unfortunately, she didn't even have the energy to scold him. Even if he woke up, what could he
do to help? The man who claimed that he wanted to be a real father would leak shit when he
took a diaper.
The days in Hami became the darkest days of Gu Ximei's life, more painful than when she first
went to Aksu. At this time, the grand wish of "making the child a real Shanghainese" was no
longer important. When she opened her eyes during the day, she thought about "how to get
through this day", and when she closed her eyes at night, she thought about "my ancestor, I beg
you to sleep more." Chen Donglai was not feeling well either. He had served his wife in
confinement once, and thought he could do it. However, after getting started, he found that he
still couldn't do it. He fought and failed again and again, and fought again and again, showing the
enthusiasm of a young man who was competing with drilling. Could it be that Sinan was more
difficult to handle than the pliers? He still didn't believe it. After a week of tossing and turning, he
believed it. This little baby was soft and difficult to handle, extremely difficult to handle.
After the confinement in the guesthouse, Gu Ximei decided to use the remaining ten days of
vacation to send Chen Sinan back to Shanghai. Chen Donglai was a million times reluctant. Every
time he saw his daughter's melon-shaped hair, he felt guilty. He felt that it was all his fault that he
did not insist on staying in Urumqi, which caused her to suffer so much. Compared with Sijiang's
flawless beauty, this guilt immediately multiplied a million times, and his eyes were wet. His
fingers were tightly pinched by Sinan's small hands, and she suddenly smiled at him. Chen
Donglai was instantly knocked down by the huge sense of happiness and satisfaction. He turned
around with his back to Gu Ximei while holding the baby and cried softly. Gu Ximei glanced at his
trembling back and rolled her eyes silently.
The two of them argued, and this time Chen Donglai refused to give in and insisted on taking
Sinan back to Aksu. Gu Ximei found it hard to believe that he would not agree to send the child
back to Shanghai, but what was even more unbelievable was that he actually did not listen to her.
"Okay, you take her back to Urumqi, I'll go back to Shanghai to see Sijiang." Gu Ximei sneered and
began to pack her luggage. Now it was Chen Donglai's turn. He couldn't believe she could be so
cruel. Chen Sinan in his arms burst into tears, his long face flushed.
"Okay, then you feed her for the last time, and I'll go buy some milk powder or something." Chen
Donglai was silent for a few minutes, then he decided to go for it. He stuffed his daughter into her
arms, picked up his bag, slammed the door, and rushed out.
Gu Ximei was stunned for a moment before she came back to her senses. What consequences
this contest would lead to seemed to be beyond her imagination. Chen Donglai has always been
docile, obedient, and presentable. As a woman and a wife, she could feel his subtle guilt and
gratitude, which made her more willing and adept at controlling him. She tore up the acceptance
letter from the Conservatory of Music, broke off all ties with the piano, and drew a clear line
between everything she had enjoyed, owned, and even been influenced by in the Fang family.
She broke the shackles of fate with her own hands, fought side by side with her ideal "lover",
reclaimed wasteland and settled on the border, and made contributions to the motherland and
the people. What could be more romantic and noble than this? Even though she later discovered
that Chen Donglai was not the "Chen Donglai" she imagined, she was deeply moved by her own
courage, innocence, and persistence. She carried out an unprecedented revolution on herself,
and succeeded.
Seeing that this success seemed to be ruined in Hami, Gu Ximei became hesitant. She held Chen
Sinan and began to feed him. She found that the head of the one-month-old "Winter Melon"
seemed to be tilted when he slept, and the left side was obviously flattened, which made him
look even uglier. The two or three rashes on his face yesterday suddenly appeared a lot more
today. When Chen Donglai hurriedly bought some baby products and came back, she couldn't
help but mention the rash. Chen Donglai held the child in the bright window and looked at him
for a while and decided to go to the health center to see a doctor.
"Ximei, you think it should be okay? Is it more than yesterday? Why didn't I notice it yesterday..."
Chen Donglai kept muttering, taking two diapers here and three towels there, and was so anxious
that he kept running around and refused to go out.
Gu Ximei lowered her head to fold her clothes, unsure of how to respond to this. She was a little
confused, not knowing whether to force herself to go back to Shanghai alone, or to follow Chen
Donglai. The former might have serious consequences, and the latter would undoubtedly make
her very angry. She raised her head and saw Chen Donglai looking at her with a pleading face,
and then looked at Si Nan in his hand, with his wrinkled little face pursed and looking pitiful as if
he was about to cry. Suddenly her heart softened, and she covered her face and cried, crying for
her weakness and her lost family status. She was actually controlled by Chen Donglai. Ten years in
the east, ten years in the west, the enemy advances and I retreat.
——
Chen Sinan's birth caused quite a stir in Wanchun Street and even in Shanghai.
This is the first little girl born on a train in Wanchun Street. She was published in the newspaper
as a model of promoting the close relationship between the army and the people. Through the
three-pronged approach of the Revolutionary Committee, the military region, and the railway
system, it was quickly sent from Xinjiang to Shanghai. Each district posted the newspaper on the
propaganda wall to encourage more educated youth to take root in the countryside, and golden
sentences emerged one after another. ᭙ꪶ When parents encounter those who use various
excuses such as "exams, sick leave, only child, and job replacement" to apply for their children to
return to the city, they will use Chen Donglai's family as an example to do ideological work. Taking
root in the countryside and dedicating to the frontier is not a matter of one generation, but a
matter of generations.
For the Chen family, this is not just a one-generation thing. When Chen Sijiang learned that her
mother had given birth to a sister, she was the happiest. She was so excited that she said, "Sister,
I have a sister. My sister is called Chen Sinan. Nannan, Nannan (same as Nan in Shanghainese).
Sister can wear my skirt and my little leather shoes. I will braid her hair and tie two beautiful
bows."
Grandma Gu advised her, "You can pretend for a while, anyway you can't be so happy in No. 74
Lane. If you are happy, your grandparents will be unhappy."
There is no need to pretend. Young aunt Qian Guihua was concerned about Sijiang the first time:
"Oh, what a sin! Alasjiang is the most pitiful. The eldest brother and his wife have to stay in Hami
for a long time, and the family visit leave is wasted. The next time they come back, it will be -
1978? Alasjiang is eight years old and in the second grade of primary school!"
Si Jiang had never thought about this before. She had always thought that her parents would be
back with her sister soon. She was stunned for a moment. She didn’t need to pretend to be
unhappy. She turned around and ran to the kitchen, hugged her mother’s legs and started crying.
Qian Guihua was so scared that she quickly hugged her second daughter who had just turned 100
days old and chased downstairs: "Si Jiang, Si Jiang, don’t cry. There are many children who can’t
see their parents in the alley. " She just said a few truths, how could she cause trouble again?
What if Gu Beiwu blames her again? Daddy and mom, please don’t cry! (I can’t bear it)
Aunt Chen slammed the spatula on the edge of the pot, hugged Si Jiang with one hand, turned
her head and shouted to this troublesome daughter-in-law: "If you don't know how to gossip, just
say less! Stop it! Wasn't the trouble you caused last year big enough? (If you don't know how to
gossip, just say less. Stop it. Wasn't the trouble you caused last year big enough?)"
Qian Guihua muttered as she carried her daughter out of the house, excitedly discussing the
details of Chen Sinan's birth with the neighbors. She was more interested in showing off her
daughter's plump and good looks, while Gu Ximei, the prettiest girl in Wanchun Street, actually
gave birth to an "ugly winter melon". Oh, I couldn't understand it, it was a pity, it was a sin. The
four children of the Gu family looked so impressive back then, but I didn't expect each generation
to be worse than the previous one. Sijiang? Sijiang was still okay, like Gu Beiwu, but I didn't know
what she would be like in the future, girls change a lot when they grow up... She could talk about
this topic for a hundred years, Qian Guihua had never liked Wanchun Street so much.
Grandpa Chen suddenly had two granddaughters this year, and one of them changed from a
grandson to a granddaughter. The two glasses of white wine in the evening suddenly became
three glasses. Thinking of the newspaper on the wall of the neighborhood committee, he sighed
a dozen times more.
Si Jiang returned to Lane 63 in a depressed mood at night.
"Don't listen to your aunt's nonsense. She has a bad heart and a mean mouth. Pah, pah, pah."
Granny Gu was so angry that she cut a melon with a knife: "Maybe in two years your parents will
be transferred back. Your father is an engineer and your mother is a teacher. They must be in
good companies. They will be given a big house, a public housing, with a flush toilet. You can
bring your sister with you. You and your sister can live in one room--"
Si Jiang hugged his grandmother's legs and said, "We will live in the same room with grandma.
Grandma is so nice, my sister will definitely like her too. Mom can come too and live with us."
"Oh, I'm so lucky. My granddaughters are so filial to me." Grandma Gu said happily, "They can
even wake up laughing when they fall asleep."
After Si Jiang fell asleep, of course, Granny Gu couldn't laugh. She sighed to Gu Beiwu, "Alas,
didn't they always say it was a son? How come it turned out to be a girl? Do you think someone
accidentally took the wrong child?"
Gu Beiwu raised his head from a pile of electronic parts, his mouth twitching: "On the whole
train, Gu Ximei is the only one who gave birth to a baby. What's the difference? Grapes or
cantaloupe?"
"What Gu Ximei, Gu Ximei! She is your second sister, but you always call her by her full name at
home, without any respect for elder or younger." Granny Gu slapped her son on the back, "What
grapes and cantaloupe? You are crazy! Alas, this second child is really ugly, not like Si Jiang at all,
but like her father. Alas, it's all fate, your second sister has a miserable life. Look at your eldest
sister, she gave birth to three, all sons, you can't say that there is something wrong with my
daughter in the Gu family, right? Do you think it's possible that your second brother-in-law
messed up the oil field? Go and ask, does oil have any effect on whether a child is a boy or a
girl?"
Gu Beiwu looked at the ceiling and sighed. Before he could criticize his old mother's idealistic
words, Miss Gu, who had given birth to three sons, suddenly rushed back to her parents' home in
the middle of the night.
"Gu Nanhong, why did you come back so suddenly? Were you beaten again?" Grandma Gu was
startled. Gu Beiwu frowned and rolled up his sleeves.
The author has something to say:
Regarding Wanchun Street, I think I wrote a period novel, but it does not meet the definition of
Jinjiang period novels, so I can only mark it as a realistic urban farming novel in the copy. The
whole text is about "one alley, two families, four generations of women, fifty years of youth, and
a hundred years of vicissitudes." Sijiang Sinan is not a "double heroine" in the sense of romance,
but it is a double heroine in terms of the word count ratio, mainly about personal struggle, family
changes, and changes in the times. Of course there is a love line, but it won't be so fast.
Thanks again for reading Wanchun Street together. The current number of readers has exceeded
my expectations, and I am very satisfied. Every day of writing and editing is a very pleasant time.

Chapter 16
Gu Nanhong is only four or five points similar to Gu Ximei, and is far less beautiful than Gu Beiwu.
She has plain eyebrows and eyes, and the single eyelids she inherited from her father give her a
unique charm. The white shirt she wears looks ordinary at first glance, but a closer look reveals a
distinctive small round collar. The waist is very thin, two or three centimeters shorter than
ordinary clothes. The black Dacron pants underneath are extremely close-fitting, completely
different from the fat waist and low crotch of others. The trouser legs are wider at the calves, and
are several centimeters longer, covering half of the leather shoes. If the color was not so plain, I
am afraid that if she walked on Huaihai Road, she would be taken to school by the inspection
team as a female hooligan. Hearing the words "being beaten", she glanced at her brother,
lowered her eyes, stuffed the two packages in her hands into her mother's arms, and whispered:
"No, the fourth brother beat him so hard last time that he couldn't go to sea for three months.
Now he doesn't dare to do it."
"Then what's going on with the redness on your forehead?" Grandma Gu didn't believe it, so she
pulled her over and looked under the light bulb carefully, then lifted up her sleeves and trouser
legs to check. She was not satisfied with her sailor son-in-law at all, but Gu Nanhong was even
more stubborn than Gu Ximei. After eleven years of marriage, she only came back to her parents'
home to give gifts during the New Year holidays, and left immediately. Only on the second day of
the Lunar New Year this year did Si Jiang... Stayed for a meal. If Gu Beiwu hadn't gone to Fuxing
Island several times before and discovered something was wrong, the family would not have
known that she had been beaten. It's all because of Gu Dongwen, a piece of shit, who went to
Yunnan, and it's also because she didn't educate her two daughters well. Each of them wanted to
be independent young women in the new era, but they ended up free to fall in love and marry
randomly, and their natal family couldn't rely on them, so they had to save face and suffer. In the
past, when her three older sisters were wronged and went back to their parents' home to cry,
even if their brothers were useless, they would immediately bring thirty or forty people to the
door. Which family's girl was wronged when she married? It's not the girl who's being slapped,
but the family's face. However, she only dared to mutter these words in her stomach, but she did
not dare to say them out. If she did, it would be a mistake in her thinking.
"Oh, I just wanted to perm my bangs, and I accidentally touched it. I got burned. Mom! Oh, mom,
let go, let me go in and see Si Jiang." Gu Nanhong finally broke free, went around to the back and
lifted the curtain, carefully sat on the edge of the bed, looked at the sleeping Si Jiang, and
couldn't help but reached out and touched the dimples on the back of Si Jiang's hand. The little
girl is getting more and more beautiful, and she looks more and more like Gu Beiwu, how
wonderful. Her three sons also look like their uncle, but unfortunately they are not similar in
appearance, but in temperament and personality. They are all noisy monkeys, and she gets a
headache when she hears their voices. If she had a daughter, how could she bear to not take care
of her herself? She is so happy just dressing her up every day. Thinking of Gu Ximei, Gu Nanhong
shook her head and sighed silently. After watching for a long time, she reluctantly tucked in the
quilt, pressed the curtain, and returned to the living room.
"Si Jiang is so beautiful. Will Ximei and her husband come back? Lao Si, take a look at the bigger
package. I used old clothes to make some small bellybands, small jackets and small shoes, but I'm
not sure if the color will work. There are also twenty diapers, all of which have been used in the
water. If they don't come back, please help me mail them over. I won't pay for the postage." Gu
Nanhong's voice was soft, which was totally inconsistent with her stubborn character.
Gu Beiwu opened the package and said, "They said they would not come back, so they asked me
to mail the package to Urumqi. They are waiting there. I don't have to pay for the postage. I won't
lose out if I get a few kilograms of yellow croaker. The color is pretty good. The little girl looks
good in this blue. She looks very fashionable. Hey, big sister, your diapers are really good. They
are much softer and absorbent than those made by mom."
"It's just a little extra fabric from the factory. I've already told the director about it." Gu Nanhong
smiled, "The three new seersucker skirts below are made for Si Jiang. Take them out and don't
mix them up and send them away."
Grandma Gu slapped her son's big hand away: "Look at the mess you made. Go away, go away.
Hey, these little clothes are made of your old cheongsam?" In order to make some fashionable
Yindanshilin blue cheongsam, Sixteen-year-old Gu Nanhong was quite noisy. She looked really
good after putting it on, and the whole Wanchun Street was lit up.
"Well, it's useless to leave it alone." Gu Nanhong clicked on another smaller package: "Fourth,
this is for Mrs. Fang from Yugu Village. Please help me deliver it when you have time." She
paused. , lowered his voice, but still insisted on using the old title.
Gu Beiwu stretched out his hand and opened the package: "Hey, let me check it first. Sister, don't
you always send weird things to me? Maybe someone with a heart will report it. They are
unlucky, and so are you."
Gu Nanhong was too late to grab it, and could only hold down the exposed lace fabric. Her face
turned red with anger: "How can you just look through women's things? I'm so angry! You
deserve to be single. Besides, things are much better now than before. Who has the time to stare
at people and report this and that every day?"
Gu Beiwu's ears suddenly turned red. He tried to pull back his slender fingers, but they got
hooked on a strap. A piece of white lace bra was unexpectedly pulled out by him and was
dangling in front of the mother and her two daughters.
Granny Gu was so scared that she rushed over, pulled off her underwear, rolled it up into a ball
and stuffed it back into the package: "Nanhong, are you crazy? What lipstick and stockings did
you give me last time? What kind of shabby things did your man bring back from abroad? You
have been staring at these useless things all your life, and you are obsessed with them! Don't
hurt Mrs. Fang and the others. No wonder your man is always worried about you--"
The room was silent for a moment. Granny Gu awkwardly let go of the package and pinched her
daughter hard.
Gu Nanhong tied the package again with tears in her eyes and glared at Gu Beiwu fiercely: "What
do you care! Mrs. Fang naturally knows what this is. This is a matter between me and her. Gu
Beiwu, are you going to send it or not?"
"No, that won't work. If you don't explain clearly, I definitely can't let the fourth child send it
over." Grandma Gu was so angry that she was shaking: "Gu Nanhong, Gu Nanhong, Mrs. Fang
and Mr. Fang treated my family so well. Your father, your eldest brother, and the fourth child have
been repaying their kindness. You remember their kindness. It shows that you have a conscience,
unlike Ximei - but you can't -"
What can't be done? Granny Gu couldn't explain it clearly. Of her two daughters, Ximei was
prettier, but more than a decade ago, Nanhong was the most fashionable and popular one in
Wanchun Street. Ximei was so angry that she didn't want to compete with her sister. She could
not compete with her sister, so she just satirized her vanity in both open and covert ways. As a
mother, she beat and scolded her, but she couldn't stop Gu Nanhong from secretly using the fire
tongs for honeycomb coal to perm her bangs, or from cutting and embroidering her own
cheongsams. She was only sixteen or seventeen years old and ran to the shed of the Shanghai
Film Studio next door every day. She also skipped school to watch foreign movies like "Waterloo
Bridge". She was really heartbroken. She was obviously the daughter she gave birth to and raised,
but she always said that only Mrs. Fang could understand her. Chen A'niang was right to gossip
behind Gu Nanhong's back, otherwise why would Gu Nanhong marry the seaman for those
beautiful things? God knows that the seaman only invited her to a Western meal at Deda
University, to a movie at Cathay Pacific, and gave her a lipstick as a gift. After only meeting her
twice or three times, she dared to steal the household registration booklet and get married.
"Mom, don't compare me with Gu Ximei." Gu Nanhong raised her chin, revealing the arrogance
she had when she was young and looked down upon Wanchun Street: "She has been dreaming
all her life, regretting every step she takes, she is just a weird person. Only honest and stupid men
like Chen Donglai can be trapped by her. It is her greatest luck in this life to be able to trap Chen
Donglai."
Gu Beiwu chuckled, went to the side and poured himself a glass of cold water and took a few
sips: "The pot calling the kettle black when you are fifty steps away."
Gu Nanhong took a breath and said slowly, "Then let me make it clear to you. I didn't steal or rob,
nor did I ask men to smuggle things from abroad. I just returned the things to their original
owners. Mom, do you remember? A long time ago, a film company invited me to participate in an
event. I was short of a skirt, and Mrs. Fang lent me one. Gu Ximei wore it secretly, and it got
caught on the chest of drawers and tore. You took it out several times but no master could mend
it, and later you didn't have a chance to return it. This time I dug it out at the bottom of the box,
and I simply changed it into a suspender nightgown and two of that, and returned it to Mrs. Fang
to settle the matter. Who can report this? Who can see if you wear it to sleep?"
Gu Beiwu rubbed his eyebrows. She was his own sister, what else could he do?
The three of them talked for a long time. Gu Nanhong looked at the clock and said, "I'm leaving
now. Lao Zhao is still waiting at the entrance of the alley."
Granny Gu was startled: "Your man followed you, why didn't he come in together?!"
"What is he doing here? How can I steal someone in Wanchun Street?!" Gu Nanhong sneered
twice: "He was actually scared by Lao Si's beating and didn't dare to come in."
Seeing her mother staring in shock, Gu Nanhong gathered her hair as if nothing had happened:
"By the way, tell Gu Ximei that if she doesn't want her Chen Sinan, she can give him to me. My
family just needs a girl."
Even Gu Beiwu was speechless. Gu Nan's eyes were red and she said with a smile, "I guessed that
Gu Ximei would not come back. She thought Si Nan was too ugly and ugly, and it was
embarrassing for her. I don't mind. As long as she is a girl, I like her."
"Aunt! Don't try to steal my sister!" Chen Sijiang ran out barefoot and threw herself on Gu Beiwu:
"Uncle, uncle, take me to Xinjiang. I want to find my parents and my sister." She turned her head
and shouted at Gu Nanhong: "Sister, don't be ugly! In Annangang, babies are born with long
heads, but they will be fine after a few months. Aunt, don't understand!"
Granny Gu reached out to hug her and tried to coax her, but Si Jiang put what he had learned into
practice and told Gu Nanhong what his mother had said about Qian Guihua: "Mother will
definitely not think my sister is ugly. Auntie, you don't know how to gossip. Just say less or better.
I'm angry!"
The author has something to say: In the dialect of Taizhou, Yangzhou in northern Jiangsu, aunt is
called "Yiniang".
small theater
The most unfortunate thing was that the eldest daughter of the neighborhood Gu family married
and became the wife of a sailor on Fuxing Island.
Gu Nanhong, you guys know shit. When I was wearing bell-bottom pants and smoky makeup, you
guys hadn't even heard of what fashion is.
Gu Beiwu Alas, woman
Chen Sijiang I have a strange relative.
Chen Sinan I have a strange relative who might become my mother
Dividing line
To add, marrying a seaman was a choice for many fashionable girls. First, seamen had high
salaries, second, their families did not have to go to the countryside, and third, seamen could
bring back many imported goods secretly. Soulbroken Bridge was shown in Shanghai in the
1940s, and became popular again in the 1950s. In the early 1960s, it became a "fashion" that
young people talked about and yearned for. I would post Shanghai movie pictorials from the late
1950s on my Weibo, which were actually quite fashionable.
Thank you for supporting Wanchun Street.

Chapter 17
"Okay, Auntie, I won't say anything more. Don't be angry, Nannan." Gu Nanhong smiled and
pinched Si Jiang's little face. Si Jiang turned his head away unwillingly, and didn't want his
grandmother to hug him. He just hugged Gu Beiwu's neck tightly. When he saw the three new
skirts on the table, he turned around and asked, "Are these skirts for me, Auntie?"
"Yes, isn't it beautiful?" Gu Nanhong held up the goose yellow skirt with white polka dots to show
off her beauty. "You can't buy this seersucker material outside. Auntie made you puffy sleeves.
Look, the big bow on the waist can be removed and used as a hair ornament. There's also a circle
of white lace on the hem. When you put it on, turn around a few times. I guarantee it will look
amazing."
"It's really beautiful. Thank you, Auntie. But I'm still angry." Si Jiang puffed up his cheeks like a
little pufferfish. "No matter how beautiful the skirt is, it can't buy me."
Gu Beiwu burst into laughter, holding her up high and spinning her around twice: "My Si Jiang
Fugui cannot be promiscuous, well said!"
Gu Nanhong pretended to be very nervous and distressed: "Then Si Jiang, what should I do to
make you not angry? I like you so much. If you ignore me, I will be sad." Her thin eyebrows were
slightly frowned, and her eyes were misty in a second. Her round cherry lips pouted slightly, and
the thin and soft tail sound rose, dragging out a small hook. Si Jiang had never seen such a lively
and charming woman in his life. He was stunned for a moment before he came back to his senses
and reached out to touch her cheek: "Aunt, don't cry, I will pay attention to you." She slipped off
the ground and ran quickly to the back.
Gu Nanhong glanced at Gu Beiwu with pride, and raised her chin slightly. Gu Beiwu looked at the
roof and shook his head and sighed: "Gu Ximei is living in a dream? Then you are living in a play."
He really thought that she was beaten by her husband and was so angry that she beat him to
death. Who would have thought that she would act out such a sad drama in front of her own
brother. She is such a coquettish girl, with a soft voice, too deceptive. Even if he told the police
that it was actually her who hit the man with a rolling pin and accidentally dropped it and hit
herself, no one would believe it. It would also hurt him. The internal family conflict of "venting
anger for her sister" would rise to a social security issue. Fortunately, her seaman husband was
extremely filial and well-behaved and took all the blame. His own mother? Even less would he
believe it. Gu Nanhong is Gu Nanhei in front of men, and Gu Nanhong in front of women. Haha.
But Si Jiang came back holding a newspaper and said, "If you do something wrong, you should
apologize. Aunt, if you say sorry to your sister, I won't be angry with you. And you have to
promise not to steal my sister!"
Gu Nanhong looked at the photo and tried her best to hold back her laughter: "Okay, okay, little
Chen Sinan, I was wrong. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said you were ugly, and I shouldn't have
wanted to take you home. Is this okay?"
Si Jiang stared at her: "You still have to apologize to my mother. My mother doesn't think my
sister is ugly, because my sister is not ugly at all!"
Huh? This seems to sound reasonable. But if Gu Nanhong had to apologize to Gu Ximei, even
behind her back, she couldn't open her mouth. But seeing the "little pufferfish" in front of her
looking at the "big winter melon" in the newspaper with a loving face and then looking at herself
with a critical face, Gu Nanhong sighed: "Okay, I apologize to the mother who will never think her
daughter is ugly. I'm sorry, I hope I didn't misunderstand you."
Gu Beiwu shrugged his shoulders with joy. Si Jiang thought about it, but didn't quite understand,
but it was good to feel sorry. She held Gu Nanhong's hand and said, "Well, I'm not angry
anymore. I like my aunt again. Thank you for making so many beautiful skirts for me. Our teacher
was so envious and asked me if I could give them to her if I couldn't wear them anymore. I
promised her, but I regretted it last week because I wanted to leave the skirts to my sister, so I
had to tell the teacher that I was sorry."
Gu Nanhong was so surprised that she hugged Si Jiang and kissed him several times: "You little
rascal, how can you be so eloquent? What do you mean by 'but because it's good'? You keep
saying one sentence after another. Who taught you that?"
Gu Beiwu walked up with his hands in his trouser pockets and a smile on his face. Hey, who
would bother to teach a child? Isn't it just for this moment? All it lacks is a flash.
"The great leader Mao Zedong taught me!" Chen Sijiang answered loudly: "The power of example
is infinite!"
Gu Nanhong laughed as she watched Gu Beiwu pause and walk toward the door pretending
nothing had happened.
Gu Beiwu stopped and turned around amid Gu Nanhong's mischievous laughter: "It's settled.
Uncle will take you to Xinjiang to see your sister in July."
“Ahhhhhh——Uncle! Uncle uncle uncle——Ahhhh! Uncle uncle——”
The militiamen on duty in the Wanchun Street area were startled by the loud "Help!" cries,
thinking that a serious public security incident had occurred. As expected, they arrested a
suspicious person at the entrance of the alley. It was Zhao from Fuxing Island Marine Fisheries
Company. He had a family conflict because he suspected that his wife Gu had a personal problem
while he was out at sea. He beat his wife with a stick on impulse, and then had an argument with
his wife's brother who came to reason with him. He fell down and broke his bones during the
conflict and was hospitalized. This made Gu Nanhong a new legend in Wanchun Street.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, did you hear that? It's a problem of behavior. As soon as her man got off the boat,
he followed her around every day, keeping a close eye on her. He knows more about business
than a special agent!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, in the entire Wanchun Street, only Gu Nanhong deserves to have a personal style
problem, okay?"
"Dieger's gossip makes sense."
——
At the end of June, Gu Beiwu brought Si Jiang and the bag of "hot potatoes" to Yugu Village.
Unexpectedly, Mei Yuhua went out. Gu Beiwu hesitated for a moment and told Fang Shuren:
"This is what Gu Nanhong gave to your mother, please keep it."
Child Chen Sijiang, the human-shaped white rabbit toffee, immediately used his sweet-talking
broadcasting function: "It must be an old beautiful plaid skirt. My aunt is a tailor and can
embroider. Sister, please open it and take a look."
As soon as Fang Shuren touched the package, he was held down by Gu Beiwu.
"Ahem, it's better to let your mother see for herself." Gu Beiwu's face was reddish and his eyes
were twinkling. He could only add a few words: "I don't know what it is, but Gu Nanhong told me
again and again that it was just... I can show it to your mother.”
Fang Shuren's face turned even redder. He pulled his hand away twice in confusion and quickly
turned his back to pour drinks for them. He felt a wet and sticky feeling starting from the back of
his hand, like the dampness of the plum rain season. It spread to the back of his arms, shoulders,
and then rushed to the back of his neck, giving him goose bumps.
"Are you really going to Xinjiang? Is it tiring to take such a long train ride?"
"Not tired! I don't feel tired at all to see my parents and sister." Chen Sijiang picked up the orange
juice in front of him and took a sip with satisfaction: "Sister, do you want to go with us? Xinjiang is
so nice, there are endless grapes and Hami melons, and there are cows and sheep everywhere.
My parents' house is very big, and there is a sofa. I told you that it was made by my father
himself, the kind with springs!"
Fang Shuren smiled and said, "I'll go there again when I have the chance. I can't do that now. I
don't have a letter of introduction and can't buy a train ticket."
"My uncle has it! My uncle has a lot of letters of introduction, you can use them at will. My uncle
also has a lot of money, and Da Tuanjie has so much, you can use it at will. Sister, let's go
together." Si Jiang was generous on behalf of Gu Beiwu, and without any politeness, he made a
very warm invitation.
Gu Beiwu sighed and pinched her little face: "How can you conscript men like this? Why do you
have to drag your sister Fang along?" This guy is really rebellious, as if his letters of introduction
and money were rained from the sky.
"What is a Zhuangding?" Si Jiang asked curiously, then ignored it. He blinked his big eyes, a little
embarrassed, and whispered: "My aunt said that I am already four years old. I have to go to the
toilet by myself outside. I can't always ask my uncle to accompany me. The toilet on the train has
no toilet or spittoon. I'm afraid I can't use it. If my sister goes with us——"
Gu Beiwu really didn't expect this. He clenched his fist and covered his mouth, feeling both
amused and sad. His Si Jiang seemed to have grown up in the blink of an eye. He stroked Si Jiang's
head with a smile: "What are you afraid of? Have you forgotten the conductor sister from last
year? Don't worry, I'll ask her to accompany you to the toilet, okay?"
Si Jiang clapped his hands: "Uncle, you are awesome!"
"That's right."
"There are big sisters who love their uncle everywhere!"
Gu Beiwu almost spit out a mouthful of orange juice: "Chen Sijiang!"
"I was wrong, uncle. I will never eat candy again today." Si Jiang looked at him eagerly: "I
remember that you can eat candy as you like, but you can't say anything you want."
Fang Shuren gave Gu Beiwu an awkward yet polite smile, and the lingering wet feeling of the
plum rain day receded like a tide.
The rain outside suddenly got heavier. Chen Sijiang kept talking about his kindergarten life. Fang
Shuren listened attentively. Gu Beiwu simply stood up, turned on the radio on the chest of
drawers next to him, and tuned in.
"Sister, you may not know this, but I was selected by the TV station!" Si Jiang suddenly
remembered this important event, his eyes sparkling: "I'm going to be a little actor!"
"TV station? Little actor?" Fang Shuren was really surprised this time.
"Yes, I will go to the TV station to participate in a performance during the National Day this year.
You can see me on TV." Si Jiang hesitated for a moment, turned around and asked, "Uncle, can
you see me?"
"Well, if you have a TV, you can definitely watch it. The National Day Gala will definitely be
broadcast." Gu Beiwu explained with a smile: "Gu Nanhong has a friend who is a director at
Shanghai TV Station. They set up a children's art performance group and used a back door to get
Si Jiang in."
Si Jiang frowned and protested loudly: "Uncle! I didn't use any backdoor! I performed singing and
dancing, and the director said I was the best kid at reciting quotations!"
"Okay, okay, you didn't go through the back door, you went through the front door, okay?"
Fang Shuren smiled and said, "Ah, what a pity that I don't have a TV at home. Sister will definitely
go to the neighborhood committee to watch your show."
"Sister, come to my grandmother's house and watch. Uncle said he would buy a TV after
returning from Xinjiang. A color one, a color one!" Si Jiang got excited: "Uncle, you won't lie,
right? You will buy it, right?"
Gu Beiwu pointed at her and gave her a chestnut: "Buy, buy, buy. When has your uncle ever
cheated anyone?"
Si Jiang covered his forehead and thought seriously: "Well, uncle, you didn't lie to me--" As for
her grandmother, her aunt, Aunt Liu from the neighborhood committee and so on, forget it, she
still has to talk less so she can eat more candy.
Fang Shuren pretended not to understand and asked casually, "Are color TVs very expensive and
hard to buy?"
Gu Beiwu listened attentively to the sound on the radio: "It's OK. The Municipal Revolutionary
Committee got some from Tianjin and asked someone to help. It will take a few months." He
slightly turned up the volume of the radio and turned to ask Fang Shuren: "Have you heard of this
channel?"
Fang Shuren was stunned for a moment: "Is this - English?" After she came to her senses, she
jumped up suddenly and almost overturned the dining table. The sound on the radio stopped
abruptly.
"You are eavesdropping on the enemy's radio station! This is a counter-revolutionary crime! You
will go to jail if you are caught!" Fang Shuren had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.
Gu Beiwu leaned his elbows on the chest of drawers, lowered his eyes and looked at her quietly.
Fang Shuren realized that half of his body was pressing him down, and his other hand was half
raised, probably to cut off contact with her, but she stopped him in an even more awkward
position. This was more frightening than eavesdropping on the enemy radio station. She stepped
back two steps, turned around and jumped behind the curtain, sitting on the bed with her heart
beating like a drum. As far as she could see, heavy rain hit the window glass, and the water
ripples were flattened into strange shapes, flowing down one after another, but the speed
seemed very slow. The blood rushing in her veins was also rushing up one after another, but the
speed was so fast that she felt a little dizzy.
When Fang Shuren remembered that she had many things to ask Gu Beiwu and that she had to
return the thirty yuan she had saved, there was no one in the living room, only a small half cup of
orange juice on the table. Si Jiang had just said goodbye to her but still didn't say goodbye. He
was also compressed in a strange space, which seemed real and unreal. She walked to the chest
of drawers and saw a torn corner of Wenhui Daily under the radio. On it was written in pencil:
Voice of America, try to listen to it, the world is big, people have gone to the moon, everything
will be fine.
Gu Beiwu's handwriting is like his personality, elegant but sharp. There was a crossed-out "we"
before the word "everything", and there was probably no room left after that, so the last "good"
was squeezed together, just like she and him just now. Fang Shuren slowly tore up that corner of
the newspaper, and poured a cup of boiling water into it, and the strokes quickly became blurred,
even blurrier than her vision.
The world is big. The Americans landed on the moon five years ago. Of course she knew that, but
what did it have to do with her? Everything will be fine. Can it be fine? Her world is in these
twenty-odd square meters. Her father jumped into the Suzhou River, the factory was gone, and
dozens of strangers moved into her home. She is the only daughter in the family, but she has
been "mobilized" to support the border areas. It is not easy to stay in the city on sick leave. If she
encounters political review, she can't find any better job. The thirty yuan she saved after a year of
hard work is her salary in the street production comprehensive group. She was assigned to the
lead wire spring group. The iron shell was all rusty. Facing thirty or forty "chamber pot faces" aunt
Ge mothers, seven cents a day, she was only twenty years old, and her life seemed to have come
to an end. Mom always said that everything will be fine, and it will be fine slowly. In fact, this is
no different from the past Amitabha God bless.
The door rang. Fang Shuren squeezed the paper ball in his hand, threw it away, and stuffed it into
his trouser pocket, but his mother came back. Mei Yuhua was carrying two boxes of cake
dumplings in his hand: "Old Songsheng has a long queue today, but it's raining heavily again. Hey,
Xiao Gu and Si Jiang have already been here?"
"I've been here." Fang Shuren remembered the package and pointed at it: "His eldest sister gave
it to you. She doesn't know what it is, and she won't let me open it."
Mei Yuhua opened the package and didn't say anything for a long time. Fang Shuren picked up
this shocking lace suspender dress and looked at the two lace underwear underneath. He
suspected that Gu Beiwu must know about it, and felt his fingers and face burning hot. Mei
Yuhua took it and compared it with her: "Nan Hong's craftsmanship is very good, and Nannan's
clothes are very good. (It's very good for you to sleep in them)"
Fang Shuren blushed, threw away his hands and turned over into the inner room: "Saning wants
to wear plaid! (Who wants to wear this thing!)"
From outside, I heard my mother talking to herself happily. This wedding dress was designed by
her. The material was shipped from London to Shanghai and waited for three months. It took
another three months to ask a Suzhou embroiderer to sew it. It was originally long-sleeved, a bit
like a cheongsam, with a high slit on one side, and the tail was a semicircle when it was spread
out. Unfortunately, the design can no longer be found. She not only wore it at the wedding, but
also liked to wear it when entertaining guests at home. She also took a photo with her father
under the rose waterfall. Later, since she couldn't keep it anyway, she gave it to Gu Nanhong,
which was like a sword given to a hero and a rouge given to a beauty. She must look better in it.
The children of the Gu family are all good-looking, but it's a pity that Nanhong was born 20 years
later, otherwise the calendars in Shanghai would have been full of her advertising pictures. She is
really something. She said it was given to her before, but she insisted on returning it after so
many years. She is smart and clever, and really fashionable. Nannan, where did you hide the
foreign magazines she asked Xiao Gu to send to her before? It seems that I have seen similar
styles on some pages. Hey, my dear, try these two pieces of underwear. Where can you find such
beautiful ones in women's goods stores? Even in Friendship Stores...
Fang Shuren fell down helplessly and pulled the quilt to cover his head. Mom could probably live
her life happily in misery relying on memories, but what about her? And Gu Beiwu, what kind of
person is he, and how bad is he? She actually knew nothing about him. Every time he came, he
would talk about news in the newspapers and various "legends". Was he telling her? He seemed
to be twenty-six years old. Was he planning to be a speculator and criminal for the rest of his life?
What would Si Jiang and his mother do if something happened and he was caught? She lifted the
quilt and sat up again, pinching her thigh hard. What did she want to do with Gu Beiwu? He
called himself her uncle, bah, shame on her. She was scolding herself. But she still couldn't help
wondering, who was the "we" he originally wrote about...
——
In the years when "man conquers nature", Gu Ximei had actually unconsciously fallen into a
potential idealist. When feeding Chen Sinan, she often thought of her mother's words "it's all
fate", which triggered her rage. She used a lot of knowledge from books and the words of great
leaders to try to correct her mother's thoughts, but she was no match for two rhetorical
questions.
"Only the Communist Party can save China. Isn't that the life of us Chinese? All of humanity is
waiting to be liberated." Who can say no to this?
"Without Chairman Mao, would there be Chairman Wang and Chairman Chen? Leading the Party
to liberate the world is the destiny of the great leader." Who can say no to this?
What does it mean to be fate? Gu Ximei is beautiful, serious in study, upright in thought, and
good at playing the piano, but she is not as popular as Gu Nanhong, who is vain and lazy. Is this
fate? She responded to the call and went to the frontier to reclaim wasteland, but she was not
well fed and clothed, while Gu Nanhong sat in the office of the cotton mill, eating in the canteen,
blowing the electric fan, and wearing the best clothes. She earned 36 yuan a month, and she had
to send 10 yuan back home. She lived frugally and even had to use menstrual bandages to
exchange eggs, while Gu Nanhong spent her seaman husband's salary outside. Is this the
different fate of the two sisters? She disdained to be a parasite like Gu Nanhong, but she still felt
resentful deep in her heart. Whether it is a movie or a novel, people like Gu Nanhong should
suffer setbacks and be unable to recover, and then turn over a new leaf and become a young
woman striving to get ahead.
Chen Sinan, who had been born a hundred days ago, still did not receive any celebration
ceremony. When she was one month old, she started to have rashes. When she was two months
old, her eyes, nostrils and mouth were all covered with rashes. When she drank milk, her throat
probably hurt, so she would give up after a few sips. She was extremely hungry but unwilling to
give up. She would spontaneously throw her big head back to gain acceleration and pounce on
the baby. She would give up again in pain after a few sips, and would cry hummingly. She was not
too noisy, but it was a vicious cycle, causing Gu Ximei to have frequent attacks of mastitis and two
high fevers. If it were not for the enthusiastic help of Meng Qin, Cao Jingzhi and other friends, the
mother and daughter would probably have died several times. Chen Donglai, who was
determined to be a "real father", was thousands of miles away. He had applied for a transfer, but
the transfer was nowhere in sight. It was easy to leave the Karamay Bureau and go to the Urumqi
Office, but it was difficult to return to the Bureau.
In this shared suffering, Gu Ximei's feelings towards her little daughter became more and more
complicated. The rash gradually formed scabs, but the speed of falling off was very slow. For such
an ugly little creature, she really couldn't boast against her will that "my daughter is very
beautiful". She was not even cute and healthy, and it was not easy to take care of her. But she did
everything from beginning to end and was serious and responsible, so although she complained
to everyone, she had to work hard to take care of this daughter whom she didn't like.
That day, she carried her basket to the kindergarten as usual. Thirty or forty children of different
ages gathered around the basket as usual, exclaiming: "Teacher Gu, your daughter is so ugly."
"Your daughter is still as ugly as ever." "No, look, she is even uglier than yesterday."
Teacher Lin, the homeroom teacher, tried to hold back her laughter and rushed them over: "Okay,
okay, it's time for class. Have you brought your handkerchiefs? The teacher is going to check. Go
sit down, hurry up."
Gu Ximei hid the basket behind the filing cabinet with a wooden face and drove away the older
children who were holding on to the basket: "Just because you guys gossip too much. Nannan
will become beautiful when she grows up."
Cao Jingzhi's son Shen Qingping kicked the basket: "Ugly?" The basket shook but didn't fall over.
Chen Sinan, who was sleeping inside, frowned and opened his mouth. He suddenly vomited a
bubble of milk and fell asleep again. Shen Qingping couldn't help but squat down and poke
Sinan's cheek. He poked a scab on the rash. He was so scared that he squatted on the ground. His
sister Shen Xingxing screamed: "Teacher Gu! Brother kicked me again!"
"I didn't kick my sister, I kicked the basket!" Shen Qingping turned her head and screamed. There
was another commotion, and finally it calmed down. The class started, first singing "The East is
Red", then singing the national anthem, followed by "One Cent", "School Song", etc. Several two
or three-year-old children wet their pants. Fortunately, it was summer, so after changing their
pants and cleaning up the classroom, Teacher Lin shouted commands to direct the children to
take their lunch boxes and line up to go to the cafeteria. When they heard that they would eat
vegetable porridge instead of steamed buns today, the children were very happy.
Gu Ximei had just dragged the last few little tails out of the classroom when someone shouted
from far away outside: "Teacher Gu - Teacher Gu, someone from Shanghai is here to see you.
Your brother and your daughter are here to see you."
It took Gu Ximei a while to come back to her senses, and she rushed over like the wind.
The line of kindergarten children immediately became chaotic. The older children, aged five or
six, ran out, banging their lunch boxes: "Someone's coming from Shanghai, the White Rabbit
candies are here—" Several teachers were so anxious that they pulled and shouted, and the
whole place was in chaos.
Soon, before the teachers had to work hard, the scene fell silent. Gu Beiwu and Chen Sijiang, who
had finally arrived at Shajingzi Town after a ten-day journey by train, car, and tractor, appeared at
the entrance of the kindergarten cafeteria with three large packages. Shen Qingping's lunch box
was crooked, and most of the precious vegetable porridge spilled out. Many years later, he still
remembered the shock: there were people who were better looking than those in the pictorials
and movies, and there were people who were so white, so white that they glowed.
Gu Ximei was surprised, happy, crying and laughing, and she kept hugging Si Jiang and kissing her
face, and she felt that she could not see him enough. She complained that Gu Beiwu did not send
a telegram or call first, and she felt sorry for Si Jiang when she thought of such a long journey and
how hard it was, but seeing Si Jiang's happiness, satisfaction and pride filled her whole body and
mind, and her heart was boiling and hot like burning oil, and it turned into tears and sweat that
rushed out.
"Hey, did you bring me some presents?" Sweat broke out on the tip of her nose, and her voice
trembled uncontrollably as her brain only had time to process the reaction for a second.
"I've got it." Gu Beiwu took out a big bag that was specially placed outside.
Gu Ximei's mood became even more excited. She hurriedly opened the bag, held Si Jiang's hand,
and gave the cloud cake candied fruit to the teachers, including the auntie who cooked in the
cafeteria, and then distributed assorted candies, rice dumplings, and white rabbit milk candies to
the children. Because of being too excited, the candies spilled. Si Jiang quickly picked them up,
dusted them off, and handed them to Shen Qingping and his sister: "Sorry, there are candy
wrappers, and the candy inside is not dirty, okay?" She pointed to Shen Qingping's feet: "Be
careful, your porridge is spilled."
Shen Qingping, who was busy catching the candy, spilled the remaining half of the porridge, and
the porridge was splashed on Si Jiang's red leather shoes. Shen Qingping turned and ran away
with red ears, raising a cloud of dust. When he ran back with a clean handkerchief he found in his
sister's military schoolbag, both Teacher Gu and the red leather shoes were gone. He looked at
his black toes exposed outside the plastic sandals, and suddenly he felt indescribably sad.
On the way back to the dormitory, Gu Ximei kept asking Si Jiang questions. She was eager to
compress four and a half years into these five minutes. In fact, she didn't listen to what Si Jiang
answered. Her brain delayed the reaction, making her still immersed in the scene just now, and
those words of praise kept echoing. "So beautiful", "So sensible", "Looks exactly like you",
"Carved from the same mold", "Si Jiang is so good at talking", "How can you be so smart", these
compliments nourished her and lit up her haggard self. The moment she took out the key and
opened the dormitory door, Gu Ximei returned to the right time point, and became a little
cramped, subtly afraid that Si Jiang would dislike the simplicity here.
"Where's my sister?! Where's my sister?!" Si Jiang happily and impatiently ran to the bed behind
the curtain: "Sister, I'm here to see you."

Chapter 18
For a few seconds or maybe more than ten seconds, Gu Ximei's mind was in a mess.
"Where's Xiaonan?" Gu Beiwu squatted down to look under the bed and turned it over. There
were only two old camphorwood boxes covered with dust, a deflated black leather luggage bag,
and a few pairs of old shoes leaning against the luggage bag.
"Mom? Where's my sister?"
"In the classroom." Gu Ximei murmured, and she turned her face away: "My bag is also in the
classroom." She herself didn't understand why she added this sentence. The irritability was like a
row of dense needles, which were quenched and poked upwards from her stomach, poking her
internal organs with a throbbing pain.
In July in Aksu, the temperature was 31 or 32 degrees at noon, but unlike the 31 or 32 degrees in
Shanghai, the sun here shines on the sand, with the power to burn everything. After eating
vegetable porridge, the children in the kindergarten were driven to the north-facing classroom to
take a nap like sheep. The original classroom door was still open, and it seemed that there was no
baby crying. Gu Ximei's heart was hanging in the air, empty, and she tripped on the low
threshold, one foot twisted and turned sideways, screamed and fell on the door frame, but Gu
Beiwu grabbed her with one hand. But Si Jiang rushed in from behind them very quickly.
The basket flipped over at some point, covering most of the baby's body. Sinan's long, crooked
head was half exposed, with the sparse, soft yellow hair on the back of her head slightly curled. A
small fist was clenched tightly beside her head, and a small thin leg outside the basket was still
kicking slowly and hard, once, once. Half of her face was also rubbing slowly on the ground, but
unfortunately she did not have the ability to turn over, and could not get rid of the basket
pressing on her.
Si Jiang squatted down and opened the basket, and picked up her sister. She had never held a
baby before, and she didn't know that the weight of such a small piece of flesh was all on the
head. As soon as it left the ground, the big head in her hand fell down again, making a muffled
"thump" sound, and Si Jiang, who refused to let go, also half-prostrated on the ground. Si Jiang
cried loudly, and her little arms were cushioned under her sister's body, not daring to move. Soon
Si Nan also burst into tears.
“I’m here!” Gu Beiwu left Gu Ximei who had sprained her ankle and rushed over to pick up Si Nan
and pulled up Si Jiang. He took one look at Si Nan and turned away without mercy, yelling at Gu
Ximei: “Go get a basin of water! Help the little girl wash her face!” He then looked at his hands:
“She peed and pooped.”
People's memories are always biased, even if they are four people who experienced the same
thing at the same time and place. As a three-and-a-half-month-old baby, Chen Sinan certainly has
no memory of this. After she grew up, someone occasionally mentioned that she was forgotten in
the classroom when she was a child. Gu Ximei said lightly: "Sinan was very well-behaved when
she was a child. She slept in the basket by herself and didn't cry. But I was so anxious that I
sprained my ankle. Do you remember? Fortunately, there was no fracture. From the bottom of
the calf to the entire sole of the foot, it was all bruised. The next day, it was swollen like a pig's
foot. I was lame for a whole month." The topic turned to the fact that she should not use hot
water to apply to the wound, but ice water. Should the ice water be applied for 24 hours or 48
hours? They couldn't help but argue, and then they forgot about Chen Sinan who was listening
next to them.
Gu Beiwu was deeply impressed: "How long were you forgotten? About forty minutes or an hour.
Your mouth was full of mud and you had eaten a lot of dirt. I picked out a lot of mud from your
mouth, and you were still smacking your lips. Alas, you don’t have any teeth, and your fingers
hurt so much from biting you. The most pitiful thing was that after you peed, the poop on your
butt had hardened into a big pancake and couldn’t be washed off. Chen Sijiang used her hands to
pick it off for you piece by piece, and she was afraid of hurting you, so she sang several songs to
comfort you. All the children who were taking a nap in the kindergarten came to watch her
singing and clapped their hands. Wow.” Chen Sinan really didn’t want to recognize this little
uncle.
Chen Sijiang remembered something different: "It was all my fault for being careless. I threw you
to the ground again. I was scared to death. It hurt more than if I fell down myself. But it was really
magical. Mom and uncle didn't see it. Sinan, you were lying on the ground and it was very
difficult to turn your head to look at me. You must have been looking at me. Then you arched
your little butt hard and moved forward so far!" She stretched out her finger to compare, it was
about three centimeters: "I was crying at that time, I must have cried, but after you moved out,
you smiled at me, really, with your mouth wide open, there was still wet mud on the corners of
your mouth, but your smile was like a flower. How can I have such a lovely sister!" Sinan was
kneaded into Sijiang's arms and rubbed for a long time. He pushed her away impatiently:
"Impossible, you are just imagining it. You are only four years old. You remember shit. I can't even
remember things when I was five or six years old."
Gu Beiwu laughed beside him: "Like a flower? A flower covered with rashes, or a cornflower?"
——
Fortunately, Chen Sinan was not seriously injured. He ate some dirt, peed, and defecated. After
washing, he was still able to drink milk and sleep. At seven or eight o'clock in the evening, the sky
was still bright, and the sunset burned the sky red. All the children of the educated youth in the
11th Company crowded to Gu Ximei's place. There were children inside and outside the house
and under the windows. Shen Qingping acted like a little master and kept giving orders: "Zhu
Zhenning, you go out now, let Jiajia and the others come in."
Meng Qin's son Zhu Zhenning has always been against him, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge
the agreed upon procedures. In front of Chen Sijiang, Shen Qingping didn't want to quarrel with
him, so he turned around and directed his sister: "Then Xingxing, you go out and call Jiajia in. It's
her turn to sit next to Sijiang." Shen Xingxing refused resolutely, and was pulled out by Shen
Qingping. Half of her leg was still clinging to the armrest of the sofa, crying loudly. As soon as she
cried, Sinan, who was sitting next to Sijiang, also began to cry. Sijiang quickly pulled the brother
and sister apart: "Xingxing, Xingxing, don't cry. Brother Pingping, don't be so fierce. We can just
squeeze together. Please ask sister Jiajia to come in. Xingxing, be careful not to crush your sister.
Okay, you can sit on the ground, lean on my legs, Xingxing sister, you are so good."
The adults at the dining table didn't care about them, they were all talking to Gu Beiwu. Cao
Jingzhi turned around and shouted, "Shen Qingping, if you bully my sister again, you will be
locked up in the public toilet for a quarter of an hour at night!" Shen Qingping blushed, but for
the first time he didn't argue.
Zhu Zhenning and several other boys laughed and made a noise: "Shen Qingping, Shen Qingping,
fell into the toilet and ate feces. Si Jiang, you know, he was locked in the public toilet by his
mother last year, and he escaped secretly and fell into the pit, hahahaha, his body was covered
with feces, disgusting!" Normally, Shen Qingping would have rushed up to fight when he heard
this, but now his eyes turned red and he clenched his fists. He stared at Zhu Zhenning's grimace,
took a few deep breaths, pushed the crowd away, and rushed out. Si Jiang's clear and loud voice
came from behind: "If you make fun of him again, I will not be friends with you. You are so mean!
Do you always make fun of my sister's rash and say that my sister is ugly?"
"No, no! Your sister is not ugly."
“We are very kind…”
"We won't laugh at him anymore. Please be our friend." Zhu Zhenning asked weakly.
Shen Qingping squatted on a small pile of sand not far away, picking at his clean toes. He cut his
fingernails and toenails after school, and now they were stained with sand. He reached out and
brushed them off, and his hands were also stained with fine sand. He looked back at Si Jiang's
house, his eyes reflecting the gradually turning purple sunset, and he felt an indescribable
sadness in his heart, which was different from the sadness of not seeing the red leather shoes at
noon. He also felt an indescribable happiness and pride. Suddenly he remembered that Wu Xu
from Class 3 had just shouted "ugly" to Si Jiang's sister and was driven out by her. Wu Xu was
really too unkind. Shen Qingping set his life ideal on this day: to be a very kind person.
Zhu Zhenning squeezed out, raised his hands like a small trumpet and shouted at the top of his
voice: "Shen Qingping - Si Jiang asked you to come back and help him pour orange juice for the
children."
Shen Qingping stood up suddenly, almost sinking into the sand. His chest felt a little swollen and
his eyes felt a little sore. This was a completely different feeling from the time he was beaten by
his parents. He jumped off the sand and ran, squeezing in as if nothing had happened. He first
washed his hands carefully in the basin, opened the big bottle of orange powder, put out two
small enamel cups, picked up the thermos of cold boiled water and started to make orange juice:
"Is there any orange juice for Saning?"
Si Jiang smiled and raised his hand: "Brother Pingping, sister Alana Nannan hasn't had orange
juice yet, but I'm going to cut the orange juice into pieces." The children all laughed, and some
asked why Sinan couldn't drink orange juice, and whether she didn't know how to drink it. Shen
Xingxing knelt on the ground, watching Chen Sinan trying to kick her legs, and felt that she was
really not ugly anymore. It would be great if she also had a sister instead of a brother.

Chapter 19
On the dining table, two packs of Mudan cigarettes were long gone, only two Kunlun cigarettes
were left, five bottles of Wuwu Daqu were finished, and the third watermelon was opened. The
radio began to play concise news, and Gu Beiwu had almost finished all the recent news and
gossips, and even the internal reference films released by the Shanghai Film Translation Studio on
Wanhangdu Road this year. He was different from others. The more he drank, the paler his face
became, the darker his eyes became, and his smile was like a star. When he talked about the
news, he was easy to understand, and he went straight to the core that ordinary people could not
see. Any topic he casually threw out could trigger a heated discussion.
Talking about the self-defense counterattack in the Xisha Islands at the beginning of the year, the
male educated youths enthusiastically discussed the equipment of the 271st and 396th
formations and the exciting process of sinking the Vietnamese destroyer, and shed tears for the
martyr Guo Yudong, the "Huang Jiguang of the Sea". Gu Beiwu sighed: "It is not a good thing for
Le Duan to come to power. He is pro-Soviet revisionist. He unified North and South Vietnam.
Without the restraint of the US military, it may cause trouble for Yunnan." Speaking of Soviet
revisionism, everyone was indignant and cursed Khrushchev, but Gu Beiwu smiled and said:
"Everything must be viewed dialectically. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Maybe one day
we will interact with the United States and fight against social imperialism together."
Even Gu Ximei was lost in thought. The last time she saw Gu Beiwu, he was in confinement after
giving birth. They didn't talk about anything except Si Jiang and her health. She didn't expect that
after four years, she would be impressed by him. She had always been worried that Beiwu would
pick up Nanhong's bad habits and waste his life. Now it seems that although he doesn't go to
work, he is also aware of his concern for the country and the people. His roots are still good and
his seedlings are still red. Gu Ximei decided to seriously save the only gangster A Fei in Wanchun
Street.
"Xiao Gu, since you said that the relationship between the two countries has eased in recent
years and the Canton Fair has been very successful, then our Fourth Ministry of Machine Building
went to the United States for inspection and gave money to the United States to buy their color
TV production line. Why did they also give us glass snails to ridicule us for developing too slowly?
Isn't it too much of a sign of weakness if we don't fight back when they mock us? It's just a
production line. Tianjin has also produced color TVs, and so has Shanghai Venus, right? What's so
strange about that?" Meng Qin's husband Zhu Guangmao works in the Aksu County Supply and
Marketing Cooperative and is well-informed about product news.
Gu Beiwu smiled with his eyes curved. "The gap between producing one or a few thousand TVs
and a production line is too big. The American production line can produce 200,000 color TVs a
year. We developed TV technology at the same time as the Japanese, but we have fallen far
behind them in the past decade. I went to Radio Factory No. 18 to observe for dozens of days,
and tinkered with it at home for three to five months before I realized that the gap between
electron tube and transistor technology is at least eighteen Huangpu Rivers. The chief engineer
said that their transistor black and white TV joint design team may need three to four years to
complete the plan."
Everyone present was amazed. Zhu Guangmao sighed, "Shanghai is still the best. I have the
opportunity to see a lot. We are the real snails here. We don't know when the electricity will be
available. How many decades can a person have? Look, Xiao Gu is only two or three years
younger than us, and he looks like 18 years old. What about us? A 30-year-old man, a 40-year-old
face, a 50-year-old heart, and a 60-year-old body."
Everyone was silent. Gu Beiwu stood up and toasted him with a glass of wine: "Thanks to the
national support for Shanghai, Shanghai can develop industry and production without worries.
We who can stay in Shanghai are all thanks to you brothers and sisters. Thank you. Brothers,
sisters, parents and relatives are looking forward to your early triumphant return."
After finishing his glass, Zhu Guangmao shouted, "Okay, I hope we will have a place to stand after
we go back. Thank you for your hard work, comrades!" The phrase "Serving the people is not
hard" did not appear. Everyone at the table laughed and shouted, "Thank you for your hard work!
Thank you for your hard work!" The atmosphere became lively and warm again.
But when talking about the gossip, Gu Beiwu was serious: "Now the Municipal Revolutionary
Committee is very cautious. I heard that the chairman said: 'She does not represent me, she
represents herself.'" He frowned and spoke Mandarin with a Hunan accent, which made
everyone laugh. They were also extremely excited, mixed with the tension of suddenly being
exposed to top secrets.
"Anything else? Anything else? What else did you say?"
"She also said: 'She is a dictator, you should be careful not to form a small sect of four people.'"
Gu Beiwu concluded with a sullen face: "Comrade Jiang Qing was so scared that she didn't even
dare to wear a dress recently, and she didn't dare to come to Shanghai. She didn't even send the
translated version of Che Guevara to him."
The educated youth burst into laughter. Gu Ximei came back from feeding her two daughters and
putting them to sleep. Just then she heard this. She looked out the window and knocked Gu
Beiwu on the head with a pair of chopsticks: "You are the one who talks too much. Trouble comes
from your mouth, don't you understand?" This aroused public anger. The educated youth
protested and asked Gu Beiwu to say more. Gu Beiwu smiled and finished the wine in his glass.
The bottom of the glass was shining: "No more, I'm done." This caused another round of laughter.
"Besides spending money on eating, drinking, having fun, what else can you do!" Gu Ximei
knocked down another chopstick.
Cao Jingzhi's husband Shen Yong took out the last two cigarettes and put them behind his ears.
One cigarette on each side was just right. He raised his hand to stop Gu Ximei's chopsticks:
"Ximei, you don't understand. Xiao Gu is a model ( Powerful person) Ah! Let’s talk about bicycles,
either permanent 13 ‌ or Phoenix 14. Old man Alaye (my dad) is the old master Gu Ximei of
Shangsanchangge. It’s not that I look down on you lesbians. , You really don’t understand this. If
you don’t understand, you just criticize Xiao Gu for spending money indiscriminately. Alas, this is
not spending money indiscriminately, he has earned it.”
Cao Jingzhi took a cigarette from his ear and put it in front of Gu Beiwu. She rolled her eyes at her
husband and said, "You are the only one who talks a lot. My sister said that brother, it's none of
your business."
Gu Beiwu smiled and put the cigarette back behind Shen Yong's ear: "Brother, please tell me. I
just heard that the Manganese Steel Forever 13 won the award, so I tried to get one. How can I
get the inspiration? I want to follow Brother, please be more knowledgeable."
Shen Yong got excited: "Hey? I'm seeking truth from facts. What do you mean by begging? The
leader said that begging means research. The permanent 13 more likes in 1964? Manganese
steel, nickel plating, six colors of paint, and cowhide saddle , with a permanent 13-inch crank and
a round mouth, it surpasses the British Lanling, and there are only 200 of them, and it won the
national silver medal! How many of you male compatriots here understand it?” Shen Xing
blushed as soon as he drank, and waved his right hand a little excitedly: "My dear friend,
Comrade Gu, don't listen to your sister. Your price, even if it is assembled, is definitely a bargain.
Keep it, keep it, keep it. Stay.”
As soon as the door outside opened, a man walked in with a dusty face, it was Chen Donglai.
——
The broadcast on the radio ended long ago. The head of the family rushed back overnight. The
educated youths greeted Gu Ximei and helped Gu Ximei put away the dishes and wash the
dishes. They also asked Gu Beiwu whose house he would go to tomorrow. We were guests, and
they fought and laughed for a while before they dispersed one after another. Gu Beiwu and Chen
Donglai exchanged a few words, picked up their belongings and went to the empty dormitory
arranged by the company to spend the night. Shen Yong was still half-drunk, half-drunk and half-
awake, he put his arm around his shoulders and insisted on sending him there. He kept talking
about the doorway to the bicycle all the way, even his son and daughter who were sleeping on
the sofa. Cao Jingzhi was so angry that she dragged him up. Shen Qingping picked up Shen
Xingxing and chased him out to scold him.
Chen Donglai met Gu Beiwu and Si Jiang at the Urumqi Railway Station a few days ago and
severely criticized his brother-in-law until Si Jiang said with tears in his eyes that he didn't like his
father anymore. Finally, he had to promise not to tell Gu Ximei about this "surprise" in advance.
He finally took four days off to rush back to Aksu. Thinking of the reunion of the family of four, he
didn't even feel the bumps on the gravel road of National Highway 314.
The couple looked at the sleeping faces of the two girls in front of the bed. Chen Donglai was
filled with joy and sorrow. Si Jiang's beauty made Si Nan's ugliness stand out. The beautiful one
grew up in Shanghai, which was icing on the cake. The ugly one would grow up in the village of
Shajingzi, which was simply adding insult to injury. At this moment, Chen Donglai was shaken. He
wondered if it was an absurd mistake for him to insist on keeping Si Nan by his side. There are too
many parents in this world who gave birth to children without having time to think about
whether to have children or how to raise them, and the children grew up on their own. But not
thinking is also a kind of "luck". However, Chen Donglai read a few more years of books, and
inevitably got infected with the bad habit of "thinking", which brought him a lot of troubles. He
looked at his wife with a satisfied and happy face, and another mountain of troubles was added
to his head: "I regret it now."
More than three months, not too short, a quarter of a year has passed, not too long, the child is
only more than a hundred days old. But Gu Ximei's alienation and indifference to him can be felt
even from thousands of miles away. He wrote a letter to Aksu every two days, feeling ashamed
that he could not help, and he had to ask about her well-being, recalling the good and bad times
with deep affection, and occasionally put some food coupons in it, but never waited for a reply.
When asked why she didn't reply, Gu Ximei sneered and said that if she had the time to write
letters, she might as well lie down and sleep, and asked him to try not to sleep for a whole year.
He combined his vacations every month and rushed back to help take care of Sinan. He
accidentally sprained his waist after washing three basins of diapers and clothes. Gu Ximei was so
angry that she asked him if he did it on purpose, and the more he helped, the more trouble he
made, causing her to serve him, the master, after serving the child.
"Ximei, let's go outside and talk, shall we?"
"Let's talk about it tomorrow when we're free. I'm so tired. I sprained my ankle today. I applied
the compress for half an hour, but it still hurts." Gu Ximei leaned onto the bed, carefully
supported herself and moved to Si Nan's side, lying on her side. "They all want to come to see Si
Jiang. It's so annoying. They've destroyed all the food at home. Get up early tomorrow and take
Zhu Guangmao's tractor to the county. Bring some extra money and go to the south end of
Wangsan Street to find the Uyghurs to get a chicken and some ribs. Old Zhu's supply and
marketing cooperative still has two taels of black fungus. Buy one or two and make soup. Aunt
said Si Jiang needs this for nutrition."
"Sprained your ankle? Let me take a look. It's quite swollen. Wait a minute. I'll go boil some water
and apply some compress on it."
When he boiled the water and brought the foot basin back to the bed, Gu Ximei had already
fallen asleep, frowning slightly in her sleep. It was probably because her feet hurt a lot. In order
to facilitate breastfeeding, she unbuttoned the two buttons on her chest, revealing a small piece
of white. Chen Donglai sighed, covered the small blanket that Si Jiang had kicked off, and wrung
out a hot towel to help Gu Ximei apply to her feet. When she covered her feet with the scalding
hot towel, Gu Ximei's feet twitched, she opened her eyes, said "thank you" vaguely, and fell
asleep again.
Oddly enough, this night turned out to be the first full night of sleep for Gu Ximei in a year. As
soon as Chen Sinan started crying, Gu Ximei immediately opened her eyes and sat up, only to find
that it was already daybreak. She was a little confused, thinking that she was taking a nap, but
then she remembered that she should have classes in the afternoon, and her heart suddenly
hung in the air and she broke out in a cold sweat. Looking again, Si Jiang was lying next to Sinan
with a smile on his face, pinching her little hand and coaxing her: "Don't cry, little sister, be good,
mommy is here, and grandma (na softly) will be there soon. Mommy! Little sister is hungry! She
didn't pee all night! She is really, really, really good."
Gu Ximei was delighted: "No way. Mommy, come and have a look." She touched the diaper and
found it was really dry, something she had never experienced before. She opened the diaper to
see if there was any feces. Chen Sinan pouted and twisted his face.
"Don't move." Gu Ximei held Si Nan's two thin legs and lifted her little butt. Great, the new diaper
that Gu Nanhong gave her was a little bit smart, and it was clean. Before she could praise Si Nan,
a piercing pain made her gasp and lean directly on the diaper. When Chen Si Nan stopped crying,
the urine that had been held back all night gushed out and poured directly on her mother's face.
Si Jiang screamed, and held his sister's small body with great joy, saying, "She peed! Mom, your
hair is wet—Uncle, Uncle!"
Gu Beiwu and Chen Donglai rushed in from outside and saw Gu Ximei lying on the bed in an evil
(extremely) weird posture, with her head and face wet. She was holding Chen Sinan's two bare
legs and pointing at her feet that were swollen bigger than three buns stacked together, gritting
her teeth and saying, "Chen Donglai! Is this the result of your compress for me?"
Gu Beiwu frowned: "For soft tissue contusions and sprains, you can only use cold compresses,
not heat."
"Dad, dad, come and help!" Si Jiang looked expectantly at his tall and powerful-looking father.
Chen Donglai felt as if he had been stamped with a red seal for making things worse.
Gu Ximei severely criticized Chen Sinan for decades for this tragic experience that was
comparable to Shen Qingping's falling into the cesspool: "You! You are just a lazy person with lots
of shit and piss! Since childhood, you either peed on me or defecated in the wash basin. You
always put a spittoon on your head and couldn't take it off. You are so greasy, you don't look like a
little girl at all. Look how easy your sister is to take care of! Do you have the nerve to do that?!"
Chen Sinan rolled his eyes: "I didn't pee on you, okay? I clearly peed on your face, and you
pounced on me. I have a witness. Chen Sijiang——"
Gu Ximei really didn't want to acknowledge this daughter.

Chapter 20
In just two days, the dormitory area of the 11th Company has become a celebrity social place in
the "Little Shanghai" of Aksu. Gu Ximei's daughter Chen Sijiang has inherited her mother's
reputation as the "Flower of Aksu" and brought the latest Shanghai fashion.
The Shanghai educated youth, regardless of gender, had the blood of pursuing fashion in their
bones. Thousands of miles of travel could not stop them, and ten years of time could not make
them spend it. In their eyes, common goods such as thrift collars, elastic-band sandals, scarves,
and woolen coats were not fashionable. High-top Huili sneakers, small puff-sleeved shirts, rocket
leather shoes and miniskirts were "fashionable". In Aksu, which had more than 50,000 Shanghai
educated youth, the speed of these "strange clothes" was only one or two months behind
Shanghai, and far ahead of other major cities in the country. After all, the Shanghai educated
youth in Aksu could even make spring sofas and sheepskin-legged chests by themselves.
Chen Sijiang didn't know about the fashionable elements that appeared on him. Although Gu
Ximei loved beauty, she always controlled herself from being vain and knew very little about it. So
the female educated youth had to ask Gu Beiwu casually, and no one expected that Comrade Gu,
who was concerned about the country and the people, was actually quite knowledgeable.
"Yes, the miniskirt that Si Jiang wore yesterday was very well made. The key was to have hidden
pleats and fine pleats with thin lines." Gu Beiwu had a wide range of interests and never fought a
battle unprepared.
The sisters in the room immediately became excited. How could there be a man as good as Xiao
Gu in the world? Although good tailors are all men, there is not one in Aksu. They worked so hard
to save money for four years, but when they go back to buy a ten-yuan Dacron shirt, they are still
complained by the men. You hold up half the sky, and you still can't spend a few dozen yuan? Get
lost!
"Xiao Gu, what material was Si Jiang's dress made of the day before yesterday? Cotton? It's not
tight at all, so it must be cool."
"That's seersucker, which was first invented by the British in India. Now the No. 9 Cotton Mill
mainly exports it to the United States. It uses two kinds of warp beams to weave, with different
warp feeding speeds, which creates these bumpy bubbles. They don't wrinkle after washing and
are very cool to wear. My husband Si Jiang is very happy." Gu Beiwu transformed himself into a
salesman at the No. 9 Cotton Mill's stall at the Canton Fair. He spoke slowly and in a gentle and
amiable tone. With a face that was always successful, he put all the women in the room into the
bubbles, which floated up, and everyone's face reflected a colorful smile.
"Oh my, Lingguangge, is it sold in the First Department Store? I didn't see it when I went back
during the Spring Festival."
"It will be sold at Hongying Clothing Store on Nanjing Road in August. A shirt will be two yuan
cheaper than Dacron." Gu Beiwu took out a few pieces of fabric from a package half his height
with a smile: "Like this one, with a width of 52 meters and a piece of 2.5 meters. My eldest sister
said it can just make two short-sleeved shirts. In the end, I worked hard to carry it here, but my
second sister didn't like it. She thought the light blue and pink pinstripe colors were too tender,
so I had to carry it back."
One stone caused a thousand ripples, and the room suddenly became boiling.
"Xiao Gu, you are really smart in face but stupid in mind! Are you stupid? What are you going to
do with it? Give it to me, give it to me, the one with light blue stripes, and I'll pay with the
money." What kind of shirt can I make? It's only two meters and five centimeters, just enough for
a dress. If it's cut well, I can even make two pairs of shorts for the little one.
"It's terrible. In August 1968, my sister-in-law went to Hongying to buy a Dacron shirt. It cost ten
yuan each, but there were so many people that the window glass was broken. One person died
and six were injured! My sister-in-law was just unlucky. She is the one-sixth person who got
lucky! She will definitely not go to Hongying again. Hey, Xiao Gu, give me the pink stripes. I'll give
you 20 yuan for the price of Dacron. Forget about the cloth coupons, okay?"
"The gray stripes are a bit old-fashioned, forget it." "Are you the only one who understands? Gray
is more fashionable, half and half."
Gu Beiwu looked at each piece of fabric with embarrassment as it quickly found its owner. Two of
them had already found Gu Ximei's tailor's scissors and started to split the fabric in half.
"No, no, I can't take the money!" Gu Beiwu blushed slightly and pushed Da Tuanjie out.
The sisters looked stern and said, "What are you doing? We asked you to bring this, so why are
you afraid? We won't give you any travel expenses or hard work fees. Bring Si Jiang to sing in the
evening and we'll give you an extra egg!"
Gu Ximei gently put down Si Nan, who had fallen asleep after drinking milk, and asked Si Jiang in
a low voice: "When did your uncle tell me about this seersucker material?" She was a little
suspicious that she had forgotten it after hearing it. After all, he could even forget his own
daughter in the classroom.
Si Jiang blinked and said, "My uncle didn't tell my mom. He said that there must be someone who
wants to buy it here. He specifically asked my aunt for the seersucker and said that he could sell
train tickets for it."
Gu Ximei's jaw nearly dropped, and she lowered her voice and asked, "Do your aunt and
grandmother know about this?" Damn it, this is a crime of speculation and profiteering, and
you'll go to jail if caught!
Chen Sijiang thought about it and shook his head: "I don't know whether they know or not. Oh,
Mom! My sister grabbed my fingers again and wouldn't let go. Aaaaaaaa——"
Gu Ximei was so angry that she took two quick breaths. She also hated Chen Donglai for being
useless, which prevented her from saving Gu Beiwu. The gangster A Fei hadn't been straightened
out yet, so how come he was jumping back and forth on the edge of breaking the law again?
Outside, Gu Beiwu reluctantly accepted the twelve large unity cards, a blush spread across his
face, and he ran out in embarrassment as if he had been teased. He really couldn't pretend to be
blushing. He was surrounded by a gang of hooligans and he could keep his face calm. This was
the first time he was surrounded by a group of women. He didn't know who they were. They
pinched him when they stuffed the money. Thinking of this, Gu Beiwu frowned, dusted off the
non-existent dust on his arms, and strode to Shen Yong's house. He hoped to get the division
march map today. He wanted to see the red stone forest in Kuqa. ‌Look‌, I also want to see‌Populus
euphratica, it would be better if‌I could bring Sijiang with me. The brilliant sunset on the horizon
has slowly turned into a thick blue-purple, and a piece of light cloud hanging in the air has been
dizzy into light purple. For some reason, he suddenly remembered that rainy day, when Fang
Shuren looked like a frightened rabbit. With the same back view, I couldn't help but laugh.
The women in the room were laughing, happy that they got the nice fabrics by accident, and
even happier that they had a financial relationship with Xiao Gu that made him blush. The more
they looked at him, the more they loved him. In their minds, they thought of all their sisters,
nieces and nephews in Shanghai, and when they thought of their own partners or lovers, they
couldn't help but compare themselves to others.
Gu Ximei was planning how to save the misguided young man when a group of people came in
and started talking at once.
"Ximei, you are so lucky. Your husband knows everything. He is good-looking and has a good job.
Sijiang is pretty and sensible. Sinan doesn't need to be fed at night when he is only three months
old. You also have a younger brother like Xiaogu. Oh, you don't know my brother. He really
doesn't want to talk about it. He refuses to go to work. He combs his hair like a gangster every
day and wears sunglasses when walking on the street. He even wears them when it rains heavily.
What a fool!"
"Sinan is a very well behaved little girl. She can sleep even when we are so noisy. Unlike my son,
he doesn't sleep for four or five hours and wakes up once every hour. It makes me tired!"
"That's right. We live next door and never hear Xiaonan crying. Sinan was forgotten in the
classroom for several hours that day and didn't cry, otherwise Teacher Lin would have found out
long ago."
Gu Ximei barely showed six teeth: "Well, you are quite well behaved." How can it be a few hours?
It was clearly half an hour!
"The rash is nothing serious, it's all scabbed over. This is because you ate too much sour food and
pickled food when you were pregnant, Ximei. The toxicity is too strong. It came from your
mother's womb, and it will be fine after it comes out. You will definitely be a beautiful Xiao Ning
in the future. Your facial features look just like Xiao Gu, with long eyeliner and a very straight
nose."
Gu Ximei maintained her smile and nodded: "Yes, yes, you are right, everything you said is right."
Then what about the fact that she ate such spicy food when she was pregnant with Wei Sijiang,
but her baby girl was white and tender?
"Are you sending Sinan back to Shanghai to be raised? He has to rely on his grandmother, right? I
heard from your Lao Chen that his father's heart condition didn't seem good after the checkup? It
seems your sister-in-law also gave birth to a daughter and needs your mother-in-law's help?"
Gu Ximei's heart skipped a beat. It seemed that outsiders knew more about her parents-in-law's
family than she did. "If I don't send him back, Si Nan will stay with me. I can't rely on my parents
for everything. The old people are old too."
Si Jiang's eyes widened: "Mom! I want to stay with you too! I want to be with your sister."
"Stop talking nonsense and go back to kindergarten. You will soon go to the TV station to
rehearse the National Day performance. The teacher at the Children's Palace asked you to go
back on August 20th. You and your friends will go to the airport to present flowers to foreign
leaders. You will be able to see the giant airplanes then." Gu Ximei pretended to be angry and
frowned.
Amid the amazement and envy, Si Jiang shouted, "Then Mom, please take my sister back to us.
Grandma has milk, and she and I will take care of my sister together, along with my uncle. The
three of us will take care of my sister!"
Amidst the laughter, Gu Ximei hugged Si Jiang and said, "Stop talking nonsense. Don't worry
about adult matters. Go out and play. There are many people waiting for you to play hopscotch."
Si Jiang bent down and kissed Si Nan who was still sleeping soundly, and squeezed out of the
crowd to go out and play. Then countless sincere and insincere praises and envy hit Gu Ximei
dizzy, and even the pain in her feet was relieved a lot. It's a pity that there is no electricity and no
TV here, so she can't see how glorious her daughter is.
——
Seeing that Chen Donglai was about to return to Urumqi, the couple had no time to have a good
conversation. Gu Ximei could only put aside her plan for Gu Beiwu's education and asked Si Nan
to take him out to sing in exchange for eggs, leaving her husband to ask questions. Unfortunately,
a call came from Shanghai, and it was from Gu Nanhong, who had not contacted for 520 years.
"Ximei, I'm Nanhong."
Gu Ximei was startled, feeling mixed emotions: "Well. What do you want to do?"
Gu Nanhong went straight to the point: "You are so poor and miserable there, don't drag Xiaonan
down. Bring the second child back to Beiwu, I will help you raise him, I won't ask for a penny from
you, I promise to raise him no worse than Sijiang. You and your wife can go back to Shanghai and
take him away directly, I won't say a word."
A raging rage rose from Gu Ximei's belly, and she almost gnashed her teeth and cursed: "Gu
Nanhong! Are you crazy? My daughter's surname is Chen. I gave birth to her on a train after ten
months of hard pregnancy and almost lost my life. Why should I let you raise her? No matter how
poor and hard it is, I can afford to raise her well! Don't think of corrupting my daughters with
your decadent bourgeois ideas. They will never be parasites of society like you! Beiwu will be
ruined by you, do you know what he is doing? "
Gu Nanhong was scolded by her stormy voice, and her temper also rose. Her voice was not loud,
but every word was sharp: "What Beiwu does is none of my business. He is 26 years old, not 6
years old. You are crazy. You don't go to the music college and go to Xinjiang. Do you dare to say
that you have never regretted it? Didn't you regret asking your family to send you so many
packages? Who shouted loudly when he left, without spending a penny of his mother's money.
The fourth child is now trying to make money every day for your family. If he gets into trouble, it's
all your fault. You are useless and can only rely on your mother's family. What's the point of
holding on to this face? You have no substance. The only thing you did right in the past ten years
was to send Si Jiang back to Shanghai to be raised. Look how good Si Jiang is now? If the second
child looks a little ugly, he will become a little Xinjiang? Eat sand with you? I am kind enough to
help you, but you are still corrupt and rotten. There is something wrong with your brain!"
The two sisters argued on the phone for a full quarter of an hour and slammed the phones at
each other. Back in the dormitory, Gu Ximei, with red eyes, looked at the uneasy Chen Donglai
and suddenly became very determined.
"How's your dad's heart condition? Why didn't you tell me earlier? I only knew about it when
others mentioned it."
"His heart stopped beating on the way to work, and he passed out. Fortunately, he was sent to
the hospital in time. He probably won't be able to work next month." Chen Donglai was sweating:
"Ximei, I thought about it and decided to send Sinan back. My dad will be resting at home, so my
parents can take care of Sinan alone. We can send another 20 yuan back--"
Gu Ximei folded the diapers on the bed one by one with her limping legs, lowered her head and
interrupted him: "No, I can take care of Sinan myself. We are going to give birth to her, so we
should take care of her ourselves and can't rely on the elderly. Didn't the third brother's family
have another daughter? It would be hard for your mother to help them take care of her. Besides,
where can we spare 20 yuan? You only make 54 yuan a month now. A man can't be without some
money. People who work have to smoke and drink."
She picked up the soft jacket, put it to her face and smelled it. A hot scent of the sun came up to
her. Her tears soon soaked the jacket, and the Indanthrene blue turned into the impenetrable
blue of the deep sea.
"This is Sinan's fate." Gu Ximei murmured in her heart.

Chapter 21
If fate is likened to a river, some people go downstream, while others go upstream. For Sijiang
Sinan, the fate of children is in the hands of their parents, and they have no power to influence it.
Adults always think that they will have experience as parents for the second time, and their
decisions will be wiser. Or they may have doubts in their hearts, but because time cannot be
reversed and there is no comparison, they can only bite the bullet and go on. Little do they know
that being a parent has little to do with experience, but depends more on knowledge, vision and
goals. So even if Sijiang cried several times and wanted to stay with his mother and sister, it was
just a trivial cry and act of spoiled child in the eyes of adults.
Gu Beiwu mentioned that he could take Si Nan back to Wanchun Street, which immediately set
off Gu Ximei, and even he himself was lectured all night. The next day, he took a donkey cart to
Aksu County with nothing, accepted the invitation of Xie, the propaganda officer of the 11th
Division, and went with the team to the Tianshan Highway that was about to be built to mobilize
the entire army and conduct propaganda and folk songs. In between, he wrote two letters to Si
Jiang, with pictures and texts, which can be said to be the pioneer of travel notes. Unfortunately,
time flies, and it was more than ten years later when Chen Si Nan was found in the rusty
mooncake box.
"Sister, let me tell you, I finally found my uncle's weak spot this time! He's finished!" The 13-year-
old girl Chen Sinan laughed like Ouyang Feng, the Western Poison in the 1983 version of The
Legend of the Condor Heroes. Si Jiang showed disdain, and when he saw a page from the thick
stack of letters, he rolled on the bed with laughter. The letter read:
"I don't know if it's because we ate too much Hami melon or the pork from the 54th Regiment
went bad, but we've all had diarrhea these past few days. Fortunately, we can solve the problem
anywhere in the wild, otherwise we would be as miserable as Sinan. What's worse than Sinan is
that she has diapers and I don't, and there's no toilet paper. I chose a wider blade of grass to use,
and it was burning after I wiped it once, and it hurt a lot to walk. But my comrades seemed to be
fine. Could it be that their butts are made of stone and mine are made of tofu? I can only force
myself to keep up with the main force and not let them look down on us Shanghai youth. I heard
that Indians wipe their butts with their left hands. I think everyone can learn from this and save a
lot of paper. Fortunately, there were no other people along the way except us, otherwise we
would not see any cattle or sheep in the wind blowing the grass, but would see a bunch of butts,
which would be too depressing. Attached is a page of sketches of butts seen in the wind blowing
the grass, so that you won't be surprised if you see them on your journey in the future."
In the end, Gu Beiwu was forced to buy Chen Sinan a Sony Walkman with wireless headphones
before he could redeem the stack of letters, but that is a story for later.
——
On the eve of departure, Gu Ximei rushed to give Si Jiang the last ideological education lesson.
She would never allow her daughter to slide into the abyss like Gu Nanhong.
"Si Jiang, uncle's money doesn't come easily, so don't always ask uncle to buy this and that, okay?
If you need anything special, tell mom."
"But uncle said that you, mom and dad, have worked so hard to support the two of us. He likes
me and my sister, and he has nowhere to spend his money." Si Jiang felt a little aggrieved: "Uncle
gave you money, why don't you want it, mom? Uncle was angry. I coaxed him for a long time
before he calmed down."
Gu Ximei put Si Nan in her arms on the bed, stuffed a rattle into her hand, turned around and
held Si Jiang on her knees, and played a few tricks on her forehead: "There is a sentence in the
quotations: Do it yourself, and you will have enough food and clothing. Nannan, do you know
what this sentence means?"
Si Jiang blinked and nodded, not quite understanding.
"Each of us should rely on our own efforts to get what we want, such as clothes, food, and
televisions. We should be new socialists with ideals and love to work. We cannot be lazy and
become parasites of society. If Mom uses Uncle's money, Mom is a parasite of Grandma's family,
understand?"
Si Jiang pursed his lips: "Then I am my uncle's parasite?"
Gu Ximei couldn't help but laugh: "You are still a little girl, your uncle likes you and buys you some
snacks, which is certainly not a borer, but buying a bicycle to send you to kindergarten and buying
a color TV to watch you on TV is a borer. The neighborhood committee has a TV, and everyone
goes to watch your performance together and applauds you. Compared with the three of you
watching at home, which one do you think is happier?"
"It's more fun to watch it together." Si Jiang nodded vigorously.
"Yes, you see, we don't have electricity here, and there are no lights. You know, electricity is very
precious. Watching TV with everyone can save electricity, right?"
"Then why is there electricity in Wanchun Street?" Si Jiang was puzzled: "Is it because it gets dark
here at nine o'clock, so there is no need for electric lights?"
"Because Shanghai is the largest city in our country, the people of the whole country protect
Shanghai, so that the large factories in Shanghai can produce a variety of products for the people
of the whole country to use—"
"We in Shanghai are so great." Si Jiang hugged his mother, and looked at his sister who was
holding a rattle but didn't know how to play it. He became sad again, and continued to resist the
fate of separation with tears in his eyes: "Mom, can I stay here? I don't want to go back. I like it
here with mom and my sister. The house is big, the road is flat, the public toilet is very clean, and
there are many fun places, such as sand piles, basketball courts, and horizontal and parallel bars.
Brother Pingping and sister Xingxing are so nice to me. I can also be your little helper to teach the
children to sing. No one calls me Little Xinjiang. We are all Little Xinjiang!"
Gu Ximei's smile froze on her lips. She hugged Si Jiang, smelled the scent of soap on her hair and
took a deep breath: "Si Jiang, stop making trouble. Just go back with your uncle and study hard.
Soon, mom and dad will bring A Mei back to Shanghai, and then we will be together as a family
forever."
"Mom, how fast is soon? Can we celebrate the New Year?" Tears hung on Si Jiang's cheeks. She
looked at her mother cautiously and pinched her skirt tightly.
Gu Ximei turned away, held Sinan's little hand and shook it. The two strings of the rattle swung
weakly a few times, and the small wooden beads hit the drum randomly, making her even more
upset: "One or two years, you won't understand this even if I tell you, you will understand it
when you grow up, you just need to know that mommy is doing this for your own good, okay, go
to bed."
Si Jiang hurriedly held her arms, put his little face against hers, and begged with sobs: "Then
Mommy, can you let my sister go back with me? Grandma will definitely like my sister. My sister
and I will wait for you and Daddy to come back at grandma's house, okay? Please, Mommy,
please, I beg you--" She really didn't want to be alone. She didn't want to be left alone in
Shanghai. If her sister was with her, she wouldn't be lonely. She wanted to protect her sister. She
would take good care of her sister. Mommy and Daddy would definitely come back to find them
soon.
Gu Ximei frowned and pulled her arm out: "Si Jiang, what's wrong with you? Haven't I told you
many times? Grandpa is not in good health, and Mom has to take care of Grandpa and your third
mother's little sister. How can grandma take care of two babies? It's too much. Mom has told you
these truths many times. Don't you say you understand every time? Why are you being
unreasonable again? "
Si Jiang lay beside Si Nan, holding her soft little hand, and cried, "Nan Nan is so pitiful alone. She
will be scared if no one is with her."
Gu Ximei stood up and put the pillows in order: "Nonsense, my sister goes to kindergarten with
mom every day, so many sisters and brothers are there, how can she be pitiful? What is there to
be afraid of? There are people I know everywhere."
Si Jiang cried even harder. Sister Si Nan, who was connected by heart, grabbed Si Jiang's hair and
started crying too.
Gu Ximei sighed, pulled Si Jiang into her arms, wiped her tears and snot, and patted her back
gently: "Okay, okay, Si Jiang, don't cry, dear, you are the most obedient, you are mom's good
baby, okay, don't cry, your eyes will be swollen and it won't look good. Come on, mom will wash
your face, and you can't cry anymore after washing it, understand? Go to bed early, we have to
go to Urumqi early tomorrow morning, Dad will wait for you in Urumqi, and I will take you to eat
delicious food."
"I don't want delicious food, I want my mom and my sister." Si Jiang cried and shook his head,
making his last insistence.
"Mom is here, and my sister is here too. Oh, my sister has peed. Okay, Sijiang, come here, get the
small towel and wipe your face, be good." Gu Ximei turned around and lifted up Chen Sinan's legs
again: "You, why did you pee again? Didn't you just pee? You pee all day long, and you don't gain
any weight. You're really a worry." Chen Sinan raised his head and cried, kicking his legs hard, as if
protesting: Is it my fault?
The boundary between day and night in Shajingzi is not obvious. Although the endless daylight
has temporarily left, the edge of the cloud mountain in the blue-black sky is still clearly visible.
The stars in the sky are like a star map tent opened, connecting with a pile of snow on the top of
the Tianshan Mountain in the distance. The occasional barking of wild dogs makes the night seem
even quieter.
Seeing Si Jiang leaning against the wall and still sobbing, Gu Ximei's heart felt like it was being
fried in a frying pan. She raised her arms to cover her face and felt her tears seeping into the
texture of her skin. She had made this choice several times, and she was definitely right.
"Mom?" Si Jiang turned over gently.
"Hmm?" Gu Ximei rubbed the corner of her eyes, turned her head, and saw that Si Jiang's eyes
were swollen like light bulbs.
Si Jiang picked up a diaper that Si Nan had left beside the pillow and rubbed it in his hands, then
asked softly, "Mom, can I take one of my sister's diapers back with me? It smells like my sister's
milk, and I won't feel sad or cry when I touch it, is that okay?"
"Okay." Gu Ximei's eyes were blurry: "Okay, Si Jiang is really good."
"How can I take one more?" Si Jiang quickly explained: "If grandma washes this one, I can still use
that one. It doesn't matter if it doesn't work—"
"Okay, take two back." Gu Ximei reached out and touched Si Jiang's little face: "Sister has a lot of
diapers, it's okay."
"Well, thank you, Mom." Si Jiang let out a long sigh of relief, then lowered his head and kissed Si
Nan's little hand: "Thank you, sister. Sister, sister loves you so much. Don't forget sister. I will call
you. (Sister likes you so much, don't forget sister, I will call you.)"
When she woke up early the next morning, Gu Ximei looked in the mirror and saw that the two
light bulbs on her head were bigger than Si Jiang's.

Chapter 22
If the farewell is said on the platform, the railway tracks stretching into the distance, the urging of
the whistle, and the reluctant faces will naturally bring about tears of sorrow, which is very
romantic and dramatic.
When Gu Ximei boarded the special train for educated youth at the old North Station with her
household registration transfer certificate to leave Shanghai, she was full of vigor and vigor. When
she saw her mother standing on tiptoe and leaning against the window with tears on her face,
she even felt ashamed and didn't want people to know that it was her mother. After the train
started, no one in her team cried, and they all sang the Soviet song "Goodbye, Mom" loudly, so
she didn't hear Gu Beiwu's shouting on the platform at all. Later, she learned that her mother ran
after the train and fell. Later, she didn't know how many times she fell, and she became numb.
However, at the gate of the 11th Company dormitory area, the tractor of the county supply and
marketing cooperative was rumbling with white smoke. In order to save space in the back bucket,
Zhu Guangmao stuffed a goose and three hens into a bamboo cage. The hens were pecked by the
goose and fluttered their wings and screamed desperately. The occasional flying chicken feathers
made this farewell less elegant and more funny.
Chen Sinan, with a bald head, leaned on his mother's shoulder and secretly bit his fist, his saliva
soaking Gu Ximei's shirt, not caring about the first farewell in his life. Shen Xingxing, however,
held Si Jiang's hand and cried heartbreakingly, as if she was Si Jiang's biological sister: "Sister!
Please stay, please stay! I won't let you go!" Si Jiang was embarrassed by her crying and shouting,
and temporarily stopped crying. After finally getting rid of her hand, he pulled Gu Ximei's clothes
and tears came down.
Gu Ximei freed up one hand to straighten the triangular scarf on her head: "Be good, go up, okay,
say goodbye to mommy."
Si Jiang shook his head and sobbed, "No, no, no, no, I have to see you again! I want to see my
mother and my sister."
Gu Beiwu carried her to the back bucket and jumped on himself. He came with three full bags
and returned with one more bag, which was comparable to the grand occasion of the Silk Road
thousands of years ago. He carried three woolen blankets, as well as raisins from Turpan and
apricots from Kashgar, and a dozen baked buns to eat along the way on National Highway 314.
Everyone waved goodbye to the sound of geese and chickens. Si Jiang suddenly remembered
something and grabbed the lid of the backrest and cried, "Mom, mom, remember to help my
sister peel the scab off her head - use sesame oil, use more sesame oil."
The people who were seeing him off couldn't help but laugh. Gu Ximei nodded with tears in her
eyes and removed Si Jiang's fingers from the flip cover one by one: "Got it, Si Jiang, be careful on
the road, go sit down quickly, hold on to your uncle, and remember not to stand up."
"Well, I'm good. Goodbye, Mom! Goodbye, sister!" Si Jiang wanted to grab Mom's fingers but had
to be a good boy and let go. The tractor made a sound, shook violently a few times, and started.
Mom's hand was getting farther and farther away, and she couldn't reach it no matter what. She
could only wave her hands desperately and shout goodbye.
In the crowd, Shen Qingping bit his lower lip, watching Si Jiang leave in tears. For the first time, he
felt sad, a feeling that was more painful than being beaten by his parents and laughed at by other
children. It was sore and heavy, but he couldn't cry and didn't want to cry. He turned around and
ran to his home, trying to find the small bottle of sesame oil that his mother had hidden to
prevent him from stealing. There were only a few scabs left on Si Nan's sister's head, so he must
pour more sesame oil on her and peel them off carefully.
The tractor had not gone far when two large-covered military vehicles suddenly came speeding in
the opposite direction. Dozens of soldiers with live ammunition jumped out of the vehicles and
stopped the tractor. Gu Ximei and the others were startled and ran over quickly. They were from
the headquarters of the First Agricultural Division. It turned out that there had been many cases
of educated youth escaping in the past few days, from all divisions and regiments. More than a
hundred people escaped from the Second Agricultural Division yesterday. All national highways
began strict inspections today. Si Jiang burst into laughter because he saw his mother and sister
again. He said "goodbye" and they saw each other again soon.
The documents and passes were checked, and the package was opened for inspection. Finally, Gu
Beiwu chatted for a few words, handed over a few cigarettes, and was finally allowed to pass. Gu
Ximei stood by the road holding Si Nan, watching the two arms waving up and down, and the
dust and sand raised by the tractor soon blurred them. Si Jiang shouted goodbye, but this time he
didn't see his mother and sister again for a long time.
On the tractor, Si Jiang cried for a long time before asking, "Uncle, why don't we take Mom and
Sister with us?"
Gu Beiwu sighed: "Because——"
Zhu Guangmao, who was sitting on the front seat of the tractor, turned around and answered
loudly: "Your mother's household registration is here. Where can she go without approval?
Unless she runs away secretly like those people."
Si Jiang bit his lip and said, "Then Mom and Sister can also run back to Shanghai secretly."
Zhu Guangmao couldn't stop laughing: "Silly girl, you can't run away secretly. You have no
household registration, no work, and no money. You can only hide like a mouse. Running away is
a crime. If you are caught, you will be sentenced to prison. Every year, people die on the way to
escape. There are also those who want to escape to the Soviet Union, but they are shot to death
at the border. They deserve to be beaten to death by the Soviets."
Si Jiang shrank into Gu Beiwu's arms: "Forget it, let's not run away."
Gu Beiwu touched her head and said a few words of comfort, feeling heavy in his heart. It was
only when he went to Tianshan that he heard from Secretary Xie that the situation of the Corps
was not optimistic. In the first half of this year, it consumed 8 million kilograms of grain returned
by the state, and everyone was still not full. The number of educated youth returning to the city
for various reasons and escaping at all costs increased year by year. The Corps in other places
were also similar. Secretary Xie hinted that there might be huge changes next year. What kind of
huge changes could there be? He knew that Yunnan would abolish the Corps and change it into a
farm, and other places would also be abolished sooner or later. But where would the 17 million
educated youth go? If they returned to the city, where would there be a place to accommodate
them? If they did not return to the city, who of the educated youth who had selflessly dedicated
themselves for so many years would be willing to never return home.
Si Jiang looked haggard when she arrived in Urumqi. No matter how Chen Donglai tried to
comfort her, it was useless. Of course, he was not good at comforting people. He just asked the
following questions: "Are you hungry?" "Are you tired?" "Do you want some water?" "Are you
feeling uncomfortable?" "Are you missing your mom and sister?"
Si Jiang leaned against her uncle dejectedly and kept shaking her head, with tears falling down
her face. Seeing her tearful eyes, Chen Donglai felt a lump in his throat and a sour heart. In Aksu,
it was natural for a daughter to be close to her mother, but when her mother was not around,
she was closer to her uncle. He could only say that he, as a father, had not fulfilled his
responsibilities.
Gu Beiwu did not offer any words of comfort, and let Si Jiang cry for a few more times. Before
boarding the train, he said two words to Chen Donglai: "You reap what you sow. Children get
what they give. You already owe Si Jiang, so don't owe Si Nan any more."
Chen Donglai smiled bitterly and nodded, watching Si Jiang's little face pressed against the car
window, his nose and mouth flattened, his tears sticking the glass into irregular clumps, like
translucent clouds. He choked up and chased after him, waving goodbye, but never heard the
words "Goodbye, Dad."
Si Jiang already knows that not all goodbyes can end quickly.
——
By September, newspapers, television, and radio all reported that the construction corps in
Yunnan and other places would be disbanded in October, and the disbanding of the Xinjiang
Construction Corps was almost certain, and rumors of educated youth returning to the city were
rife. Wanchun Street was stirred again.
Qian Guihua came more frequently, shouting whenever she got the chance, "Oh my god, it's
been ten years, Ala elder brother and elder sister are finally coming back. Alasjiang is so evil, they
cry every day after coming back from Xinjiang, as a child, they miss their parents, now the old
people are finally relieved."
When the enthusiastic neighbors finally picked up Lingzi and asked who would take over after
Grandpa Chen retired, Qian Guihua patted her daughter in her arms and sighed, "After grandpa
and mom retire, their children will take over. But grandpa is an accountant, and my husband is
the only accountant in our family. There's nothing we can do. We sold vegetables for a living a
long time ago, and now we sell vegetables for the revolution. We are reluctant to leave the
revolutionary post. But how can we do it? After all, the eldest brother is a college student who
became an engineer. If he comes back to take over the job at the School of Finance and
Economics, the school leaders will definitely have objections, right? Don't you think this is the
truth?"
When her words reached Grandpa Chen's ears, he was so angry that he slammed the table and
said, "Fuck you! Bullshit! You want to eat from the pot and still look at what others have?
Whether the eldest brother comes back or not, I don't want you, Chen Donghai, to take over my
job! Just do your revolutionary work! Who said that when parents retire, their children must take
over? Bullshit! I will retire, and none of my three sons and three daughters can take over my job!"
Qian Guihua was slapped twice by her husband at night, and she ran back to her parents' home
crying and hugging her daughter. Chen A Niang was so angry that she felt depressed in the
kitchen for several days.
Si Jiang became happy when he heard about this. He would hold Si Nan's diaper and whisper to
her every night, asking her if she had grown taller, if her rash had gone away, when she would
come back with her parents to see her sister... He would often giggle in his dreams.
Grandma Gu was also very happy, but she was also worried that her daughter and son-in-law
would take Si Jiang back to Chen's house after they returned. She asked Chen's mother about her
feelings, and the friendship between the two families was in jeopardy again. Only Gu Beiwu knew
what was going on, but he couldn't bear to let the happiness of the old and the young be too
short.
On the National Day, Gu Nanhong went back to Wanchun Street specially and brought a lot of
clothes, shoes and socks for Si Jiang and Si Nan. She was disappointed when she saw that the
color TV had not arrived yet. Si Jiang hurriedly repeated what his mother had said. Gu Nanhong
was indirectly educated by Gu Ximei and it was difficult for her to refute, so she became even
more depressed.
Gu Beiwu laughed: "It is better to share happiness with others than to enjoy it alone. You have
read too few books and are not even as good as Si Jiang." Gu Nanhong kicked him twice, but
outside they heard the neighbor shouting: "Yes, it's that doorway, and there is another one over
there. Grandma Gu, there are guests at your house." It turned out to be Mei Yuhua who brought
Fang Shuren to join in the fun.
"Sorry to bother you." Mei Yuhua put down the cake and fruit with a smile: "Xiao Gu asked Shu
Ren and me to join in the fun and applaud Si Jiang's performance. So we came here shamelessly."
After not seeing each other for many years, Grandma Gu was at a loss. She picked up a feather
duster to dust off the chair and was busy pouring drinks. She changed the word "Madam" into
"Thank you so much. It's just that our house is very small. There is no place to sit. It's
embarrassing. Fourth son, go and peel two apples."
Gu Nanhong was pleasantly surprised and chattered non-stop while holding Mei Yuhua's arm.
"Look at my newly permed hair. Does it look good? I spent three hours perming it at a barbershop
in Nanjing." "I used that Max Factor thing today. Can you tell?"
Mei Yuhua looked at it carefully and asked with a smile: "Is it Pan-Cake powder or Pan-stick
powder? It looks more like powder to me. It'd be better to put some on the ears as well."
"Where is it? Mom! Where is the mirror? Bring it here so I can look at myself!"
Fang Shuren had never heard her mother say this before, and she didn't understand the meaning
of the other two English words. She was dumbfounded and couldn't get a word in. Gu Nanhong
was happily talking about lipstick and eyelashes. When she talked about happy things, her little
daughter showed her attitude and leaned on Mei Yuhua's shoulder with satisfaction, her face
beaming with joy.
Si Jiang looked at her in surprise and couldn't help but make a face and shouted, "Aunt, why do
you look like Mama Mei's daughter? Shame on you, it's obviously Sister Fang who is Mama Mei's
daughter!"
"Do I look so young? Si Jiang, your little mouth is so sweet, follow me, tsk tsk tsk." Gu Nanhong
was overjoyed and turned to praise Fang Shuren: "Little sister Fang looks more and more like
mom, she is so beautiful, do you have a boyfriend?"
Fang Shuren blushed, suppressed his gaze towards Gu Beiwu and lowered his head: "No, no."
"Thank you for the compliment." Mei Yuhua smiled and said, "Shuren is only pretty among the
girls in Suzhou, but she can't compare to all the beauties in your family. She works on the streets
every day, and has a lot of male mosquitoes, but no gay men, so where can she find a boyfriend.
Nanhong, if you have a suitable one, help me introduce her to someone. If she can solve her
personal problems and stay in Shanghai safely, I can also give an explanation to her father."
Gu Beiwu paused while peeling an apple, almost cutting his hand. He turned his head slightly, but
met Fang Shuren's shy gaze. Fang Shuren was so scared that he quickly turned his head and
pinched his mother: "Mom——!"
Gu Nanhong saw the flirting between the two of them, and when she thought about how Mrs.
Fang was such a perceptive person, and suddenly came to her house without any reservation, she
was immediately happy and said, "Oh, what a coincidence, my husband's eldest nephew is 22
years old, and he has just been assigned to be a doctor on their ship. The sailing allowance alone
is two yuan a day. His family background is nothing to say, a poor peasant. The Youth League
Committee of the Fishery Company is most concerned about their personal problems, and gives
priority to solving the employment problems of their family members. Otherwise, think about it, I
didn't even finish high school, how can I be qualified to work in an office?"
Fang Shuren turned his back with a red face and ignored her, listening to Gu Nanhong suddenly
turn the gun around and talk about Gu Beiwu again: "By the way, Mom, didn't you always ask me
to help Lao Si find a girlfriend? It just so happens that a little girl has been assigned to my office, a
worker-peasant-soldier college student. She is not pretty, but has a good personality. You see,
why don't we make an appointment together, and I will treat you to a Western meal at Deda.
How about Xiao Fang and my nephew, Lao Si and my colleague, and establish revolutionary
friendship together?"
Grandma Gu was puzzled. How could she be the boss of the bastard Lao Si? She couldn't
remember when she had mentioned this to Nanhong, but it sounded like she was doing well.
Mei Yuhua hesitated for a moment before pressing Fang Shuren's hand and saying, "Then I'll
trouble you, Nanhong."
Gu Beiwu slammed the plate on the table, and the apple slices inside jumped. He looked at Gu
Nanhong coldly: "Don't worry about it. You don't need to worry about my affairs."
Gu Nanhong smiled sweetly: "Don't worry! I will definitely eat these 18 pork trotters."
Gu Beiwu didn't bother to pay attention to her. He invited Fang Shuren to eat some fruit and
asked casually, "Did you receive the letter I sent you from Xinjiang?"
Fang Shuren was startled, glanced at her mother, coughed twice and nodded: "I received it, I
didn't expect Tianshan to be so beautiful, and the stamps are so beautiful." Or maybe he drew it
too well, with high mountains on one side and green grassland on the other. She ate the apple in
small bites, her heart beating wildly, fortunately she didn't hide his letter from her mother, and
she was a little glad that she secretly hid his photo, otherwise she didn't know what her mother
would think.
Unexpectedly, a pink and tender little face suddenly came over and said, "Sister Fang, isn't my
uncle handsome? The photo he sent you is really beautiful! The blue sky, white clouds, and green
grass, my uncle spent most of the day painting the colors!"
Fang Shuren had half a mouthful of apple resting on his lips. Si Jiang hugged her and asked
reluctantly: "Does it look good? Does it look good?"
Gu Nanhong held back her laughter and came to Rasjiang: "Little girl, let your uncle develop
another photo of that photo. My aunt will show it to your future aunt. Your aunt has the final say
on whether it looks good or not."
Si Jiang's eyes lit up: "I don't want an ugly little aunt! Sister Fang, please be my little aunt! Uncle,
do you agree? I like Sister Fang the best!"
Grandma Gu's mind could no longer turn around, and Mei Yuhua looked at Gu Beiwu expectantly.
Fang Shu's head almost hid under the table. He was shy, scared and a little hopeful. Gu Nanhong
happily hugged Si Jiang and kissed her a few times.
Gu Beiwu smiled and blocked Si Jiang's small mouth with the peeled orange in his hand: "Hey
little girl, it's no use what my uncle promised. Your uncle is not a good person. He doesn't even
have a job. Who is willing to be your little girl?" Auntie is a fool."
Fang Shuren suddenly remembered his conversation with those gangsters outside the iron gate,
and remembered eavesdropping on the enemy radio station and the huge sums of money from
unknown sources. His heart sank, and he was speechless for a moment, with the half-eaten apple
in his hand stuck to his fingertips.
Mei Yuhua sighed secretly and turned to Grandma Gu and said, "Sister-in-law, don't worry too
much. Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Let's just wait together."
Fang Shuren could not hear anything in the background of other people's chatter and laughter.
She mustered up her courage and looked up, but there was no one in front of her. She turned her
head suddenly and saw Gu Beiwu walking out the door. She didn't know whether it was the
moonlight or the street lamp that cast a light on his head, separating him from her.

Chapter 23
It was not that hot in the October night, but Fang Shuren was sweating all the time. She only had
a vague impression of how she got to the neighborhood committee and how everyone found Si
Jiang among the rows of children on the small black and white screen. Fortunately, everyone was
chasing after Gu Nanhong and Si Jiang and asking them questions, so no one noticed her.
She was confused and a little annoyed at her silence. She couldn't help wondering if Gu Beiwu
was expecting her to say something. But her Chinese was not good. The words and text were too
complicated. She always had to think for a long time or think about it for half a day before she
could give an answer. And it was never a perfect answer. Math was much simpler. One plus one
equals two. Even if she only looked at the formula, she could be addicted to it. When facing
paper and math problems, she was calm and happy. She could always quickly get the answer
using several methods. There was only one standard answer.
Fang Shuren raised her head and looked around, but couldn't see that person. She was panicking.
She was afraid that she had missed something or that she had misunderstood something. Her
father died early, and she had no experience in dealing with men. The men in Yugu Village were
automatically classified into another world and lost the meaning of gender. In the past ten years,
she seemed to have only known Gu Beiwu. , but he is an alien in this world, beyond her
imagination, and instinctively makes people feel unsafe.
After the laughter and bustle, the party ended. Gu Nanhong pulled Gu Beiwu to see off the
guests. She took Mei Yuhua's arm and pushed her across the street, her laughter spreading all
over the floor. Fang Shuren was two steps behind. When he lowered his head, he could see Gu
Beiwu's shadow following behind him. She was slow and her shadow was slow, and she was fast
and her shadow was fast, but neither of them spoke.
When they got on Wanhangdu Road, Gu Nanhong's husband Zhao Yanhong came up to them
quickly. After a few polite words, they waved goodbye. Fang Shuren mustered up the courage to
look back at Gu Beiwu. Gu Beiwu seemed to have been looking at her all along. He nodded and
smiled at her naturally. The moonlight fell into his eyes, which made people tremble with fear.
Yesterday was the 15th day of the eighth month. Today's moon was particularly round, hanging in
the middle of the city, brighter than ten thousand light bulbs. Fang Shuren's eyes were swollen by
the light. He took two quick steps forward. Inexplicably, a kind of anger rose from the bottom of
his heart. Why did someone as good-looking as him do such a bad thing?
"Okay, Xiao Gu, don't see me off. We can walk back by ourselves, it will be quick." Mei Yuhua
smiled and waved.
"Then I won't see you off. Goodbye." Gu Beiwu watched them go away. The faint sweet scent of
osmanthus came from nowhere. He smiled, lightly shrugged, and put his hands in his trouser
pockets. , walked slowly back to Wanchun Street. There are several golden osmanthus plants
planted in the garden of the Fang family in Yugu Village. There is a very spacious maid's room on
the first floor. There are many magazines, books and toys in it. Mrs. Fang asked the maids to take
the children. Three meals a day are provided to allow them to work with peace of mind. In the
afternoon, the old bungalow is often very lively. "Songstress from the End of the World" and
"Scent of the Night" are played from the record player, as well as English songs such as "Auld
Lang Syne". Occasionally, Mrs. Fang and Mr. Fang sing a piece of Shaoxing opera and Kunqu
opera. Raise money for children's hospitals or welfare homes. Fashionably dressed men and
women sometimes dance in the dance studio, with their arms around their shoulders and their
backs, or even cheek to cheek. His eldest brother once ran out to take a peek and was caught by
his father. After returning home, he hung him from the beam and gave him twenty belts.
Thinking of his elder brother being beaten while stubbornly shouting "I'll watch it next time", Gu
Beiwu couldn't help laughing again. Who could have thought that in just a few years, the record
player would be covered in dust and the house would change hands. In his impression, Fang
Shuren has always been the little girl who pulled her mother's skirt under the rose waterfall and
kept asking where her father was. She was the little girl who kept shouting that she hated his
family after losing her father and house, but couldn't hate him. It was probably when she rushed
down with a rolling pin to protect Si Jiang that he realized that she had grown up and was right in
front of him. But who can know what will happen in a few years? He just sees a little further than
her, so how can he guarantee anything? It was he who was confused. She was probably scared by
him. Who made him carry the name of a gangster and not do his job properly?
"Tuber-primrose, I sing for you, tuberose, I think for you..."
The patrolling militia suspected that he heard someone humming a traitor's song, so he chased
into the alley and almost tripped. The moon was bright in the sky, and on both sides of the bright
alley, there were only a few grandfathers listening to revolutionary literature and art on the radio.
Going south from Wanhangdu Road, passing the Ninth Department Store, Mei Yuhua and Fang
Shuren turned right onto Yuyuan Road. The intersection was the former Paramount, now the
Xinhua Bookstore. Fang Shuren couldn't help but look to the other side. There was a photo of Gu
Beiwu in the window of Meilan Photo Studio. She sneered when she first saw it, but she couldn't
help laughing every time she saw it afterwards. Now she felt a little sad when she thought about
it.
"Nannan." Mei Yuhua suddenly asked: "Do you remember the eldest mother in Dongshan? She
loved you very much and always made embroidered shoes for you--"
Fang Shuren came back to his senses: "Hmm? I remember. We haven't been back for seven or
eight years, but she still sends us cotton shoes every year. What happened to her?"
"She is actually your father's wife, the first wife." Mei Yuhua smiled and said, "Your grandfather
arranged this marriage a long time ago, but your father didn't want to, so he came to Shanghai to
open a factory."
"Mom?!" Fang Shuren felt as if his little world had split open and he didn't know how to lift his
feet.
Mei Yuhua held her hand and said, "I've only known your father for a few days, and he took the
initiative to tell me. But the old society is different from the present. He went back and proposed
to publish a divorce in the newspaper, but she actually hanged herself. Fortunately, she was
rescued. She said that she was a member of the Fang family in life and a daughter-in-law of the
Fang family in death, and her reputation was important."
Fang Shuren was dumbfounded.
"Later, your father and I got married in Shanghai, and she even embroidered a mandarin duck
quilt cover and had it sent to me." Mei Yuhua patted her daughter's arm and said, "In order to let
her live a peaceful life, your grandfather adopted a child to her and registered it under your
father's name so that he could take care of her in her old age and see her to the end of her life."
"Brother Shushan?!" He brought cotton shoes and chicken rice every year. In the most difficult
years, he came to our house like a thief, put the things at the door, knocked and left. He never
stopped. Fang Shuren was a little confused: "But you, Mom?"
"Many celebrities had this kind of thing at that time, and it was quite common. Plus, I liked your
father, so I quickly put an announcement in the newspaper to get married." Mei Yuhua smiled,
"Maybe because we were young, we didn't look back and forth, and long live love. There were
many divorce and marriage announcements in the newspapers every day, and the social
atmosphere encouraged people to break the feudal shackles of parental orders and freely fall in
love and get married."
"Nannan, if you really like someone, even if you are together for only a few days or months, you
can still be happy for the rest of your life." Mei Yuhua said softly, "Although the world is different
now and you have grown up, Mommy still hopes that you can live a happy life. Happiness is the
most important thing."
Fang Shuren lowered his head and remained silent. How could happiness be the most important
thing? Living a peaceful and stable life was the most important thing.
The leaves of the sycamore trees on Yuyuan Road have grown to the size of a palm. The shadows
of the trees sway in the moonlight, with the fragmented moonlight sandwiched among the
shadows, waiting quietly, not knowing what will come.
——
Autumn passed and winter came, winter ended and spring returned, and another Spring Festival
passed quietly. In March, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps was abolished and
transferred to the agricultural reclamation system. As Gu Beiwu expected, the rumors of the
educated youth from the Corps returning to the city soon came to an end. Si Jiang's expectations
were dashed and he cried several times. Grandma Gu and Chen A Niang sighed several times, and
resumed their daily routine of shopping together, and scolded their son for cherishing their
daughter and grandchildren as usual. Of course, Si Jiang was the one who talked the most.
Sijiang went to the airport to present flowers to the leaders several times and performed well. He
was highly valued by the teachers at the Children's Palace. However, Gu Beiwu smelled an
unusual political atmosphere and deliberately arrived late twice, thus relinquishing this glorious
task. . The TV station is also very busy. They have to rehearse every Sunday. In addition to the
chorus, teachers from the dance school come to select the young talents. Si Jiang practiced for
half a year after being selected. Although she is young, her expressions are natural, flexible and
expressive. She gradually moved from the back row of the chorus to the front row of the group
dance. There are performance tasks every holiday, so there is no time to go to Yugu Village. I go
to the neighborhood committee door and call Shajingzi every month, but I can't stop it.
Seeing that Chen Sinan was about to have his first birthday, Gu Beiwu took Si Jiang and Grandma
Gu to take photos in advance. He spent two days coloring them and told him in the letter:
Remember to point to the photos every day to identify people, Grandma, Grandma. Uncle and
sister, referred to as the three gangs. Si Jiang laughed so hard that he asked all kinds of questions
on the phone.
"Did you receive the photo? I've grown taller again, can you tell, Mom?"
"Got it. I can see that you have grown a lot taller."
"Has your sister grown taller? Does she still fall when she walks?"
"She's also grown a little taller. She doesn't like to walk very much. She always likes to crawl on
the ground and won't wash her hands. It's very annoying."
"My sister is not annoyed. She is still young and doesn't understand. When she grows up, she
won't be like this anymore. Mom, don't blame her. Did my sister drink milk today?"
"You've drunk twice and you still don't want to sleep. You're so annoying." Gu Ximei bent down
and pulled Chen Sinan, who was crawling out at her feet, back. She gasped when she
straightened up. She didn't take good care of herself during the confinement period and
developed a history of back pain. She has been taking care of the child alone day and night for
the past year. Now, whenever she exerts force, her right waist hurts terribly.
"Amei must miss me." Si Jiang said happily: "Just like I miss my mom."
"Of course I thought about it. When I asked her where my sister was today, she immediately
pointed at you in the photo and smiled." Gu Ximei simply used her legs to hold the restless little
thing: "By the way, she didn't call me grandma today. You tell grandma to make her happy."
However, Chen Sinan only had eyes for a basketball on the ground behind the gate. Under his
mother's control, he shook his head and babbled, and rushed out using his hands and feet.
"Ah? Didn't you call me sister?" Si Jiang turned around disappointedly and told his expectant
grandmother the good news. Grandma Gu smiled so hard that her eyebrows were not visible:
"My dear, my daughter is so smart, just like a sister."
"Can I still come to see you in the summer?" Si Jiang asked cautiously with a glimmer of hope.
Gu Ximei sighed and held the rope on the back of Chen Sinan's dirt-proof smock with one hand:
"Didn't your uncle say that you have a lot of performances in the summer? There will be chorus
and dance performances, right?"
Si Jiang pouted: "I don't want to sing and dance anymore. I'm so tired. I want to go to Xinjiang."
Chen Sinan screamed and wailed, her body tilted 45 degrees to the ground, and she flapped her
hands desperately. Gu Ximei was so angry that she dragged her back, and the collar of her blouse
strangled her little neck, choking her and making her cough. After coughing, she screamed again
and ran forward.
"Don't give up halfway. If you just want to come to Xinjiang to have fun without singing or
dancing, then won't all your previous efforts be in vain? Your uncle drops you off and picks you up
every day, it's so hard, but all his hard work will be in vain?" Gu Ximei reluctantly let go of Chen
Sinan and watched her crawl towards the basketball on all fours at an incredible speed.
Si Jiang grumbled a few words reluctantly and asked, "Then when will you and Dad bring my
sister back to Shanghai to see me, Mom?"
Gu Ximei watched Chen Sinan bite the dirty basketball, and frowned anxiously and shouted,
"Chen Sinan! Don't bite it!" Si Jiang on the other end of the microphone was startled, and the
basketball was covered with a sparkling saliva. Chen Sinan looked up at his mother proudly and
chuckled, revealing two small white teeth as big as rice grains: "Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma--" and
lowered his head to chew the basketball again.
"Si Jiang, okay, we've been talking on the phone for a long time today. The phone bill is so
expensive, let's talk about it next time, okay? It will be quick. When mom and dad go on their
next family visit, I will definitely bring my sister back to see you. Be good and say goodbye to
mom."
"Okay, mom. Goodbye, mom." Si Jiang listened to the click sound coming from the other end of
the receiver and murmured, "Goodbye, sister."
Grandma Gu paid the money and took Si Jiang home. As soon as she entered the house, she saw
two lines of tears rolling down the little boy's face. She sighed, took out her handkerchief and
bent down to comfort Si Jiang. Adults are really like this. Four years is four years. It's already been
a year. They just said that he could come back in three years. It also gave the child something to
think about. Every time, he came back very quickly. Damn it, mom, hurry up.
Si Jiang took the handkerchief and quickly wiped away his tears, trying to smile: "I'm just a little
sad. I haven't had time to say happy birthday to my sister - wuwuwuwu, grandma, I miss mom
and my sister."
When Gu Beiwu returned home, he saw the old and the young huddled together, crying with
tears and snot.

Chapter 24
"Oh, how could that be? The Suzhou River is flooded?" Gu Beiwu took out the qingtuan in his
hand: "qingtuan with lard and red bean paste filling, who wants to eat it?"
Si Jiang rubbed his face in his grandmother's arms, turned his head and said softly: "I'll be fine
after crying for a while, uncle, can you leave two for me?"
Granny Gu complained, "Where have you been these past few days? I can't even see your
shadow."
Gu Beiwu's voice was a little muffled: "The mother of one of my brother's friends is not mentally
normal. She got lost when she came to Shanghai from Suzhou. We helped to look for her for a
few days."
"Uncle, have you found her?" Si Jiang ran to him and pulled his clothes: "You should find the
police uncle, and the militia uncle will help you."
Gu Beiwu touched her head and turned to get the chopsticks and plate, but the plate in his hand
shook slightly involuntarily: "Well, I found it on the Bund later."
Si Jiang clapped his hands happily and sat down to eat the qingtuan. Granny Gu scolded Gu
Beiwu for being crazy and abandoning them, the old and the young, and staying out for days and
nights without coming back. At the same time, she reminded Si Jiang that eating glutinous rice
would make her stomach bloated and she must not eat too much. Then she whispered to Gu
Beiwu in Yangzhou dialect why Si Jiang was crying.
Si Jiang asked curiously: "Grandma, what are you talking about me with uncle?"
"I'm not talking about you, little brat."
Si Jiang smiled: "Grandma, you speak Yangzhou dialect, but you don't want me to understand
you. I understand, I understand."
Gu Beiwu was amused by her, and sat opposite her, stuffing a whole green dumpling into his
mouth, puffing his cheeks with hatred, and the two veins on the side of his temple were bulging.
Granny Gu was so scared that she slapped him on the back several times in a row: "You're going
to die, be careful not to choke!" Si Jiang was so anxious that he called him uncle.
After swallowing it with great difficulty, Gu Beiwu held onto the table and took a few breaths:
"Mom, I didn't choke to death on the qingtuan, but you beat me to death. Si Jiang, I'm here to tell
you something, grandma is criticizing your mom for always telling you that she'll be back soon.
They can't be back soon."
Si Jiang became nervous: "Ah? Is that very slow?"
"Not too slow. Wait another three years and your parents will be able to come back for home
visit leave." Gu Beiwu cut the Gordian knot: "1978."
Si Jiang's big round eyes blinked twice, and were instantly filled with tears. The lard and bean
paste left a dark mark at the corner of her mouth.
Granny Gu hugged her in her arms with a look of concern: "It's all your Third Mother's fault!"
Gu Beiwu and Si Jiang: "Huh???"
"It's all her fault that she has such a bad mouth. Good things don't work, but bad things do!"
Grandma Gu slapped her thigh and shouted to the outside, "Go away, you stinky and unlucky
crow, get out of here. If you come and talk bad about my Si Jiang again, I will use a broom to fill
the spittoon and toilet with boiling water and throw it on him!"
Gu Beiwu raised his eyebrows. She was indeed his biological mother, definitely his biological
mother.
Qian Guihua, who came to Lane 74 specially to please her parents-in-law, suddenly shuddered
and felt that autumn had really come.
——
May Day is approaching, and Gu Nanhong continues to enthusiastically arrange a blind date for
the four people on Labor Day. It's rare that Fang Shuren and Gu Beiwu did not refuse, and the
match actually took place.
In order to create a better blind date atmosphere, Gu Nanhong carefully arranged a full day's
schedule and called Gu Beiwu two days in advance to teach him the secret of blind date: "Ah
Sitou! I came to inform you on purpose, you have to be aware of this. I can only help you up to
this point. I have already greeted Xiao Zhao and the girl in the office. They watched a movie
together in February and both of them are interested. If you don't work hard, I can't do anything
if Miss Fang really falls in love with my stupid nephew. I heard from Mrs. Fang that if they don't
get married this year, Xiao Fang will have to go to Dafeng Farm in Yancheng. I don't know whether
the two years of training will be two years or ten years or whether she can't come back. There are
three farms over there. If she is unlucky enough to be assigned to the same farm with the
reeducation through labor prisoners, it will be the end, a mess."
Gu Beiwu thanked him with a smile.
"Well, let's go to Changfeng Park at ten o'clock and row a boat in Yinchu Lake. Isn't it romantic?
It's a good opportunity to show off your physical strength as men. Physical strength is very
important. In the future, carrying rice and honeycomb coal will be men's jobs. At twelve o'clock,
go to the Red House Western Restaurant for Western food. Be gentlemanly. Remember to open
the door and pull out a chair for Xiao Fang. Let her order whatever she wants. It will be a meal in
the future. You won't eat steak every day. Don't be stingy about the price. I've seen a lot of men
who give people a cold look for a steak. Just leave after the meal. When it comes to paying, you
have to be quick and show your solidarity. Don't pay one or two dollars at a time. It's ugly." Gu
Nanhong showed off her life experience leisurely and knew all the details by heart.
Gu Beiwu studied hard and admired her sincerely: "Sister Nong is indeed worthy of her
reputation. She loves what she does and is dedicated to it." She is definitely the female leader in
the romantic world.
"Nonsense. Your sister has met more men than you have walked across bridges - cough cough."
Gu Nanhong's face flushed: "After eating a good western meal, we will go to the Cathay Pacific
across the street to watch a movie. It doesn't matter what movie we watch. What's important is
that you sit next to Miss Fang. When you should hold hands, hold hands boldly, and when you
should put your arm around her shoulder, put your arm around her shoulder confidently. There's
no one checking in the cinema. If she doesn't want to, she will definitely shake you off and run
away, and then there's no hope. Do you understand?"
Gu Beiwu sighed: "In the past, my elder brother always sent you to the entrance of the cinema
and sternly warned the men who invited you to watch a movie. It seems that he was too naive.
He should have gone in and watched it with you."
Gu Nanhong made a few "Pooh" sounds, "You know shit! After Gu Dongwen's ugly remarks, all
the men who invited me to the movies became like wooden statues. I pretended to be scared
and moved closer, but some of them immediately ran away to sit in the back row." It was a great
shame for her, Gu Nanhong!
Gu Beiwu smiled with his eyes curved. He had read a lot, but it was the first time he knew that
there were so many twists and turns in the relationship between men and women. No wonder
the ancients said that there are different levels of knowledge and different specializations.
On Labor Day, by the Yinchu Lake, Gu Nanhong held a parasol, wore sunglasses, a white silk scarf
with black polka dots wrapped around her curly hair, a white shirt with small sleeves and a black
knee-length pleated skirt, and a pair of red pointed high-heeled leather shoes on her feet, which
were obviously imported. Passersby looked at her sideways, as if she was the one who came for a
blind date.
When the five people met, they realized that no one could predict people's hearts. Xiao Yuan, a
girl in Gu Nanhong's office, couldn't move her eyes away from Gu Beiwu. Who would have
thought that Nanhong's brother was so handsome? Zhao Da, the nephew of Gu Nanhong's
husband, also immediately noticed the huge difference between the two girls. Fang Shuren's
smooth skin, white and neat teeth, trimmed hair and nails, snow-blue silk shirt, two ribbons tied
with bows at the collar, and her beautiful facial features, reserved smile, and cautious behavior all
showed her original class background, which was the class that Gu Nanhong, the most beautiful
woman on Fuxing Island, always missed, and was full of attraction to him.
So after a fight, both overt and covert, Gu Nanhong watched helplessly as the four people
boarded a boat and gradually sailed away. She was so angry that she folded her parasol and hit
the air hard: "Don't bother with your face, you two bastards!"
Gu Beiwu was not angry. He watched his nephew Zhao trying to strike up a conversation with
Fang Shuren, and he learned a lot of secrets about the secret of taking care of Nanhong's friends.
Miss Yuan asked him more than a dozen questions and found that Gu Beiwu was really good-
looking, polite and smiling, but his answers were at most two words: "Really?" "Really?" or even
one word "Oh." She was bored. Although she was not very happy that a sick and unemployed
young man neglected her, a worker-peasant-soldier college student and factory cadre, she was
unwilling to give up. She knew that Gu Beiwu was the most handsome man she could meet in her
life. Nothing is difficult for those who set their minds to it.
The sun was shining in the sky, the lake was gleaming with golden light, the wind ruffled Fang
Shuren's hair, and she felt a bit upset. Comrade Zhao's excessive hospitality made her feel a bit
uncomfortable, and she glanced across and saw that Comrade Yuan was even more enthusiastic
about Gu Beiwu, which made her feel even more uncomfortable, but she had no reason and no
right to feel uncomfortable, so she made a few random responses and then suggested rowing
back, using the excuse that it was too hot.
Although nephew Zhao was on the ship, he was a doctor and didn't know how to row. When he
heard Fang Shuren's words, he swung the oars vigorously. The boat swayed left and right, and the
bow turned around and around in place, making Fang Shuren dizzy and nauseous. Comrade Zhao
rowed even more chaotically in a hurry. Miss Yuan couldn't stand it and gave a few pointers, and
the two of them started arguing. You paddled and I paddled, you said something and I said
something, and the little revolutionary friendship that was fostered by a movie had long been
hoeed away by Yinchu Lake.
Gu Beiwudu leisurely put down his oar, took out a bag of candied fruit from his trouser pocket
and gave it to Fang Shuren across from him: "Be careful of seasickness."
Fang Shuren's face was sunburned, and he sucked two plums before he felt his swollen and
aching head relieved a little. He held onto the side of the boat and asked, "If you can row, then
help out. Let's work together and get ashore as soon as possible."
Gu Beiwu smiled and shook his head: "Comrade Xiao Zhao is a seaman, a professional, so I won't
embarrass myself. Besides, I don't want to go ashore."
Zhao's nephew patted his bulging pectoralis major muscles and said, "Yes, it's right to leave it to
me. Comrade Xiao Fang, don't worry. In fact, if no one had made trouble, I would have brought
everyone ashore long ago."
Miss Yuan was furious: "Some people pretend to be competent, and pretend to know when they
don't. I just turned the boat around, and he turned it back again. We should be realistic, okay?"
The two men were bickering and rowing at the same time. A boat came by quickly with four PLA
soldiers on board. A young soldier with thick eyebrows, big eyes and a square jaw smiled and
asked loudly, "Comrades, do you need help? We can help you!"
Zhao's nephew raised the oar and said, "No, no, thank you, thank you!"
Miss Yuan raised her oar and stood up to push down his oar: "Yes, yes, please come and help us,
the men on our boat can't do it! It really can't do it!"
"Who is weak? Why are you talking nonsense? It's you who is against me." The two oars were
waving up and down. Fang Shuren dodged left and right, Gu Beiwu stretched out his hand and
pulled, Fang Shuren fell straight forward into his arms.
"Be careful, don't get hit by the oars." Gu Beiwu held her lightly and shouted to the boat next
door, "One of our female comrades is seasick. We need the People's Liberation Army to help take
us ashore. Can you two come over and we two go over?" He lowered his head and whispered,
"You can't pretend to be sick to row the boat, right?"
Fang Shuren felt embarrassed, annoyed, and a little indescribable happiness. He closed his eyes
and didn't care about anything else.
Soon, the two boats changed crews and rowed towards the dock one after the other.
"Is this female comrade okay?" The young soldier with thick eyebrows and big eyes quickly took
off his army green shirt and handed it to Gu Beiwu: "Use this to block the sun for her. The sun is
very hot today."
"Thank you." Gu Beiwu was not polite and directly held the shirt over his head. A shadow
covered the two of them. Fang Shuren secretly opened one eye and saw Gu Beiwu looking at him
and smiling.
"Thirteen o'clock." Fang Shuren cursed in a low voice, closed his eyes and turned away, not
wanting to pay attention to him.
"Little fool." Gu Beiwu smiled and whispered back that the little girl looked pretty after dressing
up.

Chapter 25
After landing, they thanked the dear PLA soldiers and the blind date plan of the four people was
cancelled. Nephew Zhao insisted on sending Fang Shuren to the hospital for a checkup, and Miss
Yuan insisted on going to Red House with Gu Beiwu. Fang Shuren and Gu Beiwu had no say and
didn't want to. Gu Nanhong spread her hands and said, "Okay, okay, Xiao Fang is someone I
specially invited out, so I'll take her to my mother's house to rest. Forget it today, Red House
won't fly, let's make an appointment next time."
Watching the three people walking away, the two young comrades Zhao and Yuan finally realized
that Gu Nanhong's family was Gu Beiwu's family. The two looked at each other and said in
unison: "It's all your fault--"
When she returned to Wanchun Street, no one was home. Gu Nanhong asked and learned that Si
Jiang was performing at the Children's Palace today, and that Grandma Gu and Chen A Niang
were going to watch the show and would not be back until three or four in the afternoon. She left
immediately and gave Gu Beiwu a look before leaving, telling him to hurry up and make it a done
deal. She was also worried that her younger brother was a virgin and wasted a great opportunity.
She sighed all the way: This generation of young men is no good, they are so revolutionary that
their brains are ruined, and they still have the nerve to be called a gangster, which is a complete
insult to gangsters.
Fang Shuren saw that she and Gu Beiwu were the only ones left. She was sweating all over again.
She took the towel that Gu Beiwu had wrung out and wiped her face: "I'm fine - I'm leaving too."
Gu Beiwu raised his eyes and said, "I don't eat people. Have a drink of water before you leave. I'll
take you there."
Fang Shuren didn't know where to put his hands, so he pretended not to hear and looked
around.
Gu Beiwu poured her a cup of warm water, opened Si Jiang's snack box and pushed it to her: "Do
you have a crush on Comrade Zhao?"
Fang Shuren almost choked and coughed until her face turned red: "None of your business." She
put down the cup and took out an envelope from her bag: "I have to pay back the hundred yuan I
lent you. I never had the chance to give it to you, so I'm giving it to you today."
Gu Beiwu was not polite, he took it, lit a cigarette, and suddenly remembered to ask: "Can I have
a cigarette?"
Fang Shuren blushed again: "It's up to you. This is your home, not mine. Why are you asking me?"
Gu Beiwu smiled: "I'm afraid you'll be disgusted."
Fang Shuren's heart was beating fast. What is the antonym of disgust? Favorability? She felt a
little dizzy.
Neither of them spoke any more. Gu Beiwu finished his cigarette, stood up and moved a
cardboard box down from the large wardrobe that served as a partition. Fang Shuren was
startled, but sat upright again, pretending not to see it. Gu Beiwu opened the cardboard box and
pushed it next to her: "Look, this is my belongings.
”
Fang Shuren turned her head and felt even more dizzy. Her mind went blank. The box was full of
big unity stacks, only two centimeters away from being level. She might have had a heart rate
that was too fast and her brain was burned out, so she actually estimated the volume of the
cardboard box with her eyes.
"About 20,000 yuan." Gu Beiwu looked at her silly look and laughed: "Although I have not been
working, it is not a problem to support the family. Don't worry."
Fang Shuren's face flushed. She swallowed and felt a little ashamed that she looked like she was
drooling over so much money. She turned her face away and murmured, "What does it have to
do with me?" Why should she be reassured? It sounded like she was worried about something.
Gu Beiwu said softly, "I probably won't be able to learn the romance that Gu Nanhong taught me,
and I can't make people happy, but I can always make sure my family has good food and clothes,
and they don't have to worry too much about buying anything. If I want to go to work, I can go. If
I don't want to go to work, I can do something I like. The work of the street work group is too
hard and meaningless, so I might as well not do it."
The fever on Fang Shuren's face slowly faded. The cement on the ground was probably not
spread evenly, so it was a little uneven, and it showed different shades of color in the sunlight.
She stared at a sunken pond under her feet for a moment, pursed her lips and raised her chin:
"What's wrong with the work of the street work team? Although I have a bad class background, I
also know how to earn a salary with my own hands, and every penny is clean. I paid back 120
yuan of the 100 yuan I lent you. You probably don't like this little interest, but I can't take
advantage of you."
Gu Beiwu was startled and smiled bitterly: "It's because I don't know how to speak that I made
you angry."
"I'm not angry. Gu Beiwu, I know you are very capable and there is nothing you can't do. Thank
you for taking care of me and my mother for so many years." Fang Shuren lowered his eyes and
said, "I'm going to say something you don't want to hear. You'd better not do anything dangerous
again. If something goes wrong, what will happen to your mother and Si Jiang? You will be ruined
too."
Gu Beiwu rolled his eyes and explained patiently: "The two thousand here are the money from
the Yunnan ᭙ꪶ specialties sent back by my elder brother. The two thousand and five thousand
are the money from the sales of the things Gu Ximei sent back from Xinjiang. I plan to give the
money to them this year. In addition, I have done nothing but bribery, theft, and stolen goods. I
have prepared it for my mother. Five thousand yuan for retirement. My eldest brother has a son
in Yunnan, and together with Si Jiang Sinan, I give each of them a thousand yuan. I still have
about seven thousand yuan, which is enough for the Revolutionary Committee and the Housing
Management Bureau to get married and start a family. I've already said hello. The dance room on
the first floor of your house in Yugu Village can be transferred to me for a thousand yuan room
card——"
Before he finished speaking, Fang Shuren stood up suddenly. The bag in his hand overturned the
glass and hit it on the cement door with a bang. Gu Beiwu saw her angry face with tears falling
down, and he sighed secretly, feeling distressed and helpless.
Fang Shuren's hands were shaking as she held the bag. She couldn't form the right words and
stood there for two minutes before she managed to utter a few words: "You are committing a
crime! You will go to jail for speculation. I don't want a penny of your money, and it has nothing
to do with me where you get the room card!"
"Why is it a crime?" Gu Beiwu showed a trace of sneer on his face. "One is willing to buy, and the
other is willing to sell. What crime is committed? Not selling to the government, or selling
cheaper than the government is a crime? My mother's selling of white jasmine is also considered
speculation. If it weren't for the martyr's certificate, she would have to go to jail for making a few
cents a day. Gu Ximei can only do it secretly to exchange two eggs for menstrual belts. Farmers
raising a few chickens, ducks and geese are called the tail of capitalism, and selling eggs laid by
their own chickens for money is also called speculation. All kinds of things like this, don't you
think it's ridiculous?"
Fang Shuren was stunned: "You ask me, who should I ask? Anyway, this is the rule."
"Just ask yourself, honestly, don't you think this rule is ridiculous?"
"I don't think so!" Fang Shuren straightened his chest firmly.
"What about your father? Isn't his experience ridiculous?"
Fang Shuren's tears began to fall again, but she raised her head higher: "My father - my father
was killed by your father!" She regretted it as soon as she said it, but she just turned her head
and wiped her tears. She wanted to run away, but she wanted to say a few more words to make
up for the hurtful words she had just said.
Gu Beiwu looked at her, was silent for a while, and nodded: "You are right. My mother and Chen
A Niang, two old ladies with bound feet, would report each other. Children would report their
parents, and students would report their teachers. It was very common. There were also many
people who jumped off the building in the dormitory of the Shanghai Film Studio next door."
Fang Shuren took a breath and said, "My mother didn't blame your father or your brother. I -
that's not what I meant."
Gu Beiwu stared at her: "I know. What I mean is that because the world has become so bad and
absurd, people have become less human. Do you know how my father became a martyr?"
Fang Shuren lowered his head and said nothing.
"In those two years, citizens had to present a doctor's certificate that their fever was over 38
degrees before they could buy watermelons, but factories and enterprises could drive directly to
Jinshan Qingpu to buy watermelons from farmers. In 1969, the cotton mill ordered a boatload of
watermelons and asked farmers to deliver them to Suzhou River. A group of hooligans robbed the
watermelons and boarded the boat to beat the farmers. My father was in charge of receiving the
watermelons at the time. He saw an old man on the boat fall into the river after being beaten, so
he jumped in to save him. After he was rescued, he was hit on the head by a basket of
watermelons thrown by two hooligans and never came out. The factory said he was killed by the
watermelons, but the basket of watermelons was not considered an asset of the factory at the
time, so he could not be reported as a martyr."
Fang Shuren was stunned and couldn't help asking, "What happened next—?"
"I got a truckload of watermelons and went to the secretary's office to smash them every day.
After a month of smashing them, they reported that the people who stole the watermelons were
instigated by a small group of class enemies. My father died unfortunately for maintaining the
revolutionary order, so he was named a martyr." Gu Beiwu took a breath and twitched his lips:
"In fact, I didn't just eavesdrop on one enemy station. I listened to the Soviet Union, Taiwan, and
Germany. I found out that we are really backward. Culture, art, civilization, technology, economy,
and the lives of ordinary people are not a little backward. It will definitely get better in the future.
It is getting better slowly now, but I don't know when it will get better completely. Before that, I
won't go to work. These are also what I want to confess to you today. I will not and cannot hide
my true thoughts and plans from you." If two people are going to get married and start a family
and live together for the rest of their lives, he has a kind of self-compulsion to confess all his
thoughts to her. He does not expect her to resonate with him, but hopes that she can understand
him. However, this seems impossible.
Fang Shuren turned around in shock and lowered his voice: "Gu Beiwu, are you crazy?!"
Gu Beiwu looked at her and frowned twice: "Is it crazy to speak out what's in your heart?"
"You are simply a counter-revolutionary! You——!" Fang Shuren's hands and feet were cold.
Gu Beiwu narrowed his eyes: "My brother knows a girl from Suzhou. Your mother also knows her.
She was a top student at Peking University. Because she said that she felt that the organization
and her conscience were in conflict, she became a counter-revolutionary and was shot in
Longhua. Her father committed suicide with her, and her mother went crazy." He was silent for a
few seconds, and his voice became hoarse: "Last month we found her mother's body on the
Bund. She also committed suicide."
Fang Shuren opened his lips but said nothing.
"There was also a female comrade who was imprisoned for six years for criticizing the leader and
believing that personality cult should not be carried out. She was tortured to the point of going
crazy and was publicly sentenced to death last month." Gu Beiwu looked at her and clenched his
fists: "Who do you think is crazy? I often suffer from my inability to ignore these things, and I also
worry about why I can't go against my conscience, so that I won't suffer. But what I am more
ashamed of is that they said what I wanted to say, but I just dared to live in shame."
Fang Shuren shuddered and shook her head: "These have nothing to do with me - I only want to
get things done, and only take care of myself and my mother. I can't and don't want to care about
other things." She walked quickly to the door, and turned back when she stepped over the
threshold: "Don't worry, I won't report you. But - please don't contact me again in the future."
She stumbled out of Wanchun Street and almost ran away. The sun was so bright, but she still got
goose bumps all over her body, and her heart seemed to have fallen into ice water.
Gu Beiwu looked at the sunlight outside the door indifferently. The sunlight was still bright and it
would rise as usual tomorrow. Maybe he was indeed crazy.
——
After more than half a year, no one cared about these little love affairs anymore. For every
Chinese, 1976 was a year of tears, and Wanchun Street was no exception. At the beginning of the
year, the Prime Minister passed away, and the whole country was heartbroken. Gu Beiwu went to
Nanjing in March and Beijing in April, and participated in two overwhelming mourning activities.
Fortunately, he was not arrested. He did not return to Wanchun Street until May. He was much
thinner and had a scruffy beard, but he was very excited, as if he had been injected with chicken
blood. Gu Granny, his biological mother, almost did not recognize him. Si Jiang cried like a tearful
man, hugged him and asked him not to leave again.
However, the Chairman died in July, and then the Tangshan earthquake occurred. Gu Beiwu
called Yunnan and Xinjiang, gathered seven or eight friends with 20,000 yuan, bought three
trucks of canned food, water, and biscuits, and rushed to Tangshan with letters of introduction
from the Revolutionary Committee and the Garrison. After he stayed in Tangshan for a month,
the great leader died. Gu Beiwu went to Beijing again, and when he returned to Shanghai, the
"□□" had already begun to be exposed and criticized by the people across the country.
After experiencing the ups and downs of this year, Gu Beiwu felt that although he had become a
true proletarian, he felt that he had been reborn. He spoke out his true thoughts without fear in
both Nanjing and Beijing, and was prepared to go to jail. However, he discovered that he was not
alone. More and more people had the same thoughts as him and shouted out. The more, not a
few, not dozens, but hundreds, thousands. He will never forget the days when millions of people
mourned the Prime Minister together. They took oaths, observed moments of silence, gave
speeches, recited poems, laid wreaths, and grieved, were angry, and resisted together. From that
day on, he gained confidence in people's hearts and the future.
At the end of the year, Gu Beiwu went to Yugu Village carrying chestnut cakes, hoping to talk to
Fang Shuren again, but the person who opened the door of Fang's house was an energetic young
soldier with thick eyebrows and big eyes.
Fang Shuren was introduced by the director of the neighborhood committee to Tang Sicheng, an
outstanding soldier in the Communications Department of the Garrison Command. She became a
glorious military wife and will become a glorious people's teacher after the new year.
When Gu Beiwu walked to Jing'an Park, he realized that he had made a mistake. The chestnut
cake was still in his hand. He sat on a bench in the park, unwrapped the cake, scooped a large
piece and stuffed it into his mouth. The rich chestnut aroma filled the air, with a kind of
attachment and charm. Si Jiang's favorite carousel rang the bell, and the children rushed in with
laughter, occupying beautiful horses or ponies, and then the carousel took the children and spun
high and low. There were two young parents standing by the carousel, looking down and talking
to their children, with happy smiles on their faces.
The winter sun is still very bright.

Chapter 26
Chen Sinan grew from a three-head baby to a four-head baby around the time she was one year
old. Thanks to her preference for sleeping on her stomach, her long and crooked head finally
returned to normal, but the smell of sesame oil filled her daily life. Shen Qingping probably stole
all the sesame oil from the 11th Company, applied it to her head tirelessly, and insisted on
removing the last scab while she dodged left and right, so as to live up to Si Jiang's trust.
The "love" from her neighbor Lei Feng was ineffective despite her resistance. As a result, the first
Chinese character Chen Sinnan learned to say was "no."
"Chen Sinan, don't pick up bugs from the ground and eat them!"
"No!"
"Chen Sinan, come and wash your hands and eat!"
"No!"
"Chen Sinan, come and wash your butt!"
"No!"
"There's poop on your butt. Doesn't it stink if you walk around with it?"
"No!"
Gu Ximei often wanted to stuff her back into her stomach. Because too many educated youth had
run away, she responded to the call and transferred to a primary school to be a Chinese teacher.
Her salary was still 36 yuan. The advantage was that the school would give her a lot of daily
necessities during festivals, and sometimes even pork, and she had winter and summer vacations
that kindergarten teachers did not have. The disadvantage was that she had to ride a bicycle for
an hour to go to and from get off work every day, and she could no longer bring three-year-old
Chen Sinan into the classroom. But she still chose to leave the company kindergarten despite the
opposition of Chen Donglai and her friends. She was afraid of something bad happening.
Since the corps was abolished and replaced by the agricultural reclamation system, the educated
youths have been lost and confused beyond words. Unlike the educated youths who went to the
countryside to work, their cultivation of wasteland was closer to joining the army. They called
themselves corps soldiers, had allowances and wages, strict military management, deep feelings
for their comrades, and devoted their sweat, tears and blood to this land. Ten years later, they
were suddenly not as good as the educated youths who went to the countryside to work, and
their home leave was still very tight. Almost all the grievances and contradictions broke out in the
past two years, and conflicts continued. The educated youths gradually realized that they could
only rely on their own struggle to return to the city, and gradually formed a group centered on a
few clear-headed and capable people.
In the spring of 1978, a leader came to inspect Aksu. When he arrived at the 11th Company, he
found all the children lying on the ground, crying and shouting, "We want to go back to Shanghai!
We want to see our grandparents! Our home is in Shanghai!" The educated youth said that if the
leader did not agree, the children would not get up or eat.
Gu Ximei was shocked. She only knew that Shen Yong, Zhu Guangmao and the others were
making trouble in order to return to Shanghai, but she never expected that such a big thing
would happen. When she found that Chen Sinan was also lying among a pile of children During
the middle of howling, her mood was broken. She didn't think much about it and immediately
ran over to pick up Chen Sinan and went back to the dormitory. That night she almost fell out
with Cao Jingzhi and Meng Qin.
"We mentioned it to you. Didn't you agree to participate together?" Cao Jingzhi was also angry.
Because of Gu Ximei's "escape", the children got up and ran around, causing their long-planned
tragic petition to come to nothing. .
Gu Ximei spoke righteously: "You didn't say this is how you do it. You can make demands and
write letters. What are you doing? This is a threat to the organization! You are making a big
mistake."
"Everyone in Heilongjiang and Yunnan is doing this." Meng Qin disagreed: "Now that the Gang of
Four has fallen, if we don't become more intense, the higher-ups won't even notice."
The argument lasted for a long time and ended unhappily. Chen Sinan chased after Cao Jingzhi
and asked, "Grandma, Brother Pingping said that if you cry a few times, you will get White Rabbit
candy. I haven't finished crying yet - do I still have candy?"
Chen Sinan, who was happily holding a handful of candy, was once again beaten by her mother.
She was hit on the buttocks three times and the candy was confiscated. She drew a simple life
experience from this: if you are bound to be beaten by life, you must eat the candy first.
——
In the summer of 1978, four-year-old Chen Sinan returned to Wanchun Street with his parents for
the first time.
Before this, she had run away from home three times: when she was one year old, she crawled
out of the house under the eyes of dozens of people, inspected the entire row of dormitories,
and almost fell into a manure pit. When she was two and a half years old, she sneaked out of the
kindergarten in a big way, walked a kilometer, and tricked a meal of potato soup from an old
Uyghur grandmother in the village. When she was three and a half years old, she hid in the back
of the tractor of the supply and marketing cooperative, and heard chickens and ducks crowing all
the way. After arriving at the county supply and marketing cooperative, she was taken out by Zhu
Guangmao, listened to the legend of her wise and powerful uncle Gu Beiwu, ate a whole plate of
beef pilaf in the most upscale state-owned restaurant in Aksu County, and finally went back to
Shajingzi Town with a hiccup.
It was seven or eight days later that the people in Wanchun Street realized that the Chen family
had produced a remarkable little bully. The old people said that this child looked just like her
uncle Gu Dongwen. If it had been ten years ago, she would have been able to go to Chongqing,
the capital of armed struggle, and come back alive.
Chen Sijiang's mood was very complicated. She was already an outstanding primary school
student in Wanhangdu Road Primary School. She was appointed as the class monitor and cultural
and arts committee member by the class teacher. She also had four years of performance
experience in the TV station. She had met at least 800 children. But she had never met someone
like her own sister. Of course, this did not affect her heartfelt love for her sister.
On the first day after Si Nan came back, the Chen family had a reunion dinner. The three cousins
had already arrived, and Chen Simin and Chen Siqiang surrounded her and laughed: "You are a
boy, right? Si Jiang, it turns out you have a younger brother in Xinjiang, not a younger sister.
Hahahaha."
Si Jiang jumped up immediately: "Nonsense! Si Nan is my younger sister, and girls can also cut
their hair very short!"
Chen Sijun, who is already in middle school, was flipping through a comic book. He looked up and
glanced at her with a look of disgust: "How does she look like a sister? She is dark and thin, like a
monkey, just a little Xinjiang girl. Chen Sijiang, don't call her my sister when you take her out. It's
embarrassing."
"That's right, little Xinjiang, little monkey, black monkey!" Chen Shimin made faces and laughed,
but Si Jiang stepped hard on his foot. He hugged his foot and jumped a few times, shouting even
louder.
Si Jiang turned around and called Si Nan: "Sister, let's go downstairs to play and ignore them."
Chen Sinan sat in a reclining chair, her legs dangling, a saltwater popsicle in her mouth, and
pointed a little finger at herself and retorted vaguely: "I'm the younger sister." Then she pointed
at Si Jiang: "You are the older sister." Then she pointed at her three cousins: "They are--" She
deliberately dragged out her voice.
Chen Shimin and Chen Siqiang suddenly felt a little expectant. After all, they had never heard Si
Jiang call them brother.
Sinan took out the popsicle from his mouth and made a face: "You are three big fools, big asses
and big idiots!"
The three cousins were stunned. Were they scolded by a four-year-old kid? Chen Simin stretched
out his hand to teach her a lesson, but was stopped by Si Jiang.
Si Jiang laughed happily: "That's right! Anyone who can't even tell the difference between boys
and girls is a fool." Haha, Si Nan was indeed her biological sister, and looked a lot like her when
she was a child.
"How dare you curse?" Chen Shimin was not convinced and wanted to lift up his sleeves to scare
her, but he found that she was wearing short sleeves today, so he had to rub his bare arms twice:
"Chen Sinan, curse again and try!"
Si Jiang turned around and shouted: "Don't be afraid, sister! He doesn't dare to hit you. Uncle is
back." The world is so big, but Gu Beiwu has the greatest reputation in Wanchun Street. Children
with a backer are not afraid of anything.
Chen Sinan, however, stood up on a chair and began to curse at him in a condescending manner:
"Stupid, blind, fool, idiot, pig——"
"Chen Sinan! What are you doing?" Grandpa Chen appeared at the door of the living room with a
sullen face.
Si Jiang was about to explain for his sister when he saw Si Nan straighten his chest: "My brother
asked me to try swearing. If I don't swear, he will beat me. This is all I know. Grandpa, swearing is
not good for a child. Can I not swear?" Swearing is really tiring, beating is easier.
Chen Shimin, who was still rolling up his bare arms in protest, immediately said in a deflated
tone: "No! I mean, try to curse me again—" Eh? Why did the two brothers beside him
immediately step back?
Grandpa Chen picked up a feather duster and said, "You three are rebelling, aren't you? How dare
you teach your sister to curse? How old is your sister? You don't learn well yourselves, but you
want to teach her bad things?! I'll break your legs today--"
Sinan clapped his hands: "Just smash their mouths!"
Gu Ximei, who followed him upstairs, shouted, "Chen Sinan, get down here! Are you bullying me
again?"
Chen Sinan immediately slipped off the chair and hid beside Si Jiang, blinking her big eyes and
crying: "Mom, don't hit Nannan, don't hit Nannan, Nannan's face is covered in blood, Nannan is
scared——"
Grandpa Chen held the feather duster high in the air and stopped it. He felt his heart twitch for
two seconds. Although he didn't like this little granddaughter who grew up in the countryside of
Xinjiang, he couldn't accept that Chen was beaten by Gu and her face was covered with blood.
When did the eldest daughter-in-law become so cruel? What happened in these years?
Si Jiang's tears immediately burst out. She looked at her mother in disbelief: "Mom, you hit my
sister? Sister! Sister——" Her lovely sister Nannan, whom she thought about day and night, was
beaten by her mother until she bled. Si Jiang began to doubt her life. The two sisters hugged their
heads and cried together. One cried sincerely, and the other made faces and pretended to cry at
the top of her voice. The scene fell into chaos.
When she returned to Gu's house at night, facing the stern accusatory looks from Grandma Gu
and Gu Beiwu, Gu Ximei felt very aggrieved: "Chen Sinan, tell me clearly, how did your nose bleed
that time?"
"My mother beat me." Chen Sinan answered firmly and unyieldingly, but he held on to Si Jiang
tightly.
Gu Ximei had a splitting headache and rubbed her temples: "You were the first to hit someone in
the classroom. Mom asked you to stand outside the classroom as punishment, but you acted like
a spoiled child and refused to go out and cried loudly, right?"
"Yes." Chen Sinan blinked and didn't deny it, but hugged Si Jiang's arm even tighter. Si Jiang
comforted her a few times, tears in his eyes, thinking that his sister must be like her when she
was a child, hitting others because she was bullied. Mom only saw her hitting others and
punished her without asking why. His sister was really pitiful.
Gu Ximei breathed a sigh of relief and said earnestly, "Mom told me dozens of times not to cry,
but you didn't listen, did you?"
"Yes. Mommy slapped my daughter in the face."
"I was wiping your snot and tears, I didn't hit you in the face. It was you who kept shaking your
head and hitting my hand with your face." Gu Ximei felt guilty just listening to this.
"Nannan is bleeding."
"Mom used too much force when wiping your nose. Your nose tends to bleed easily!"
"My daughter was in pain. She bled so much. It kept on bleeding for an hour."
Now it was Grandma Gu who hugged her two granddaughters and burst into tears: "My dears!
How could your mother be so cruel! My little sweethearts——"
Gu Beiwu gave Gu Ximei a look of comfort and understanding. It's OK. The Gu family has a
successor. It seems that it is a generation that is both civil and military. The waves behind the
Huangpu River push the waves in front, and the waves in front continue to jump on the beach.
——
Gu Ximei couldn't help but complain to Chen Donglai in the middle of the night: "I told you long
ago that this little brat is very bad. She makes me worry all day long! Everyone protects her. Si
Jiang looks at me with a strange look. Do you know what Si Jiang said to me? She said she didn't
expect me to be such a mother. She was sad!"
She turned over irritably: "I didn't do well. I was both a father and a mother, worked hard day and
night, was sick, and didn't do well in the college entrance examination." She choked up when she
talked about this: "That was my last chance, did you know? This year, you have to be under 25 to
apply for the exam. Beiwu even sent me the set of "Self-study Series of Mathematics, Physics and
Chemistry" in advance! I asked you to help me take care of her for two months, but you couldn't
do it——"
Chen Donglai sighed and gently embraced her, but she struggled to break free. Last May, the
Kecan Well in Yecheng County gushed out a high-yield oil and gas flow. The geological conditions
of the oil and gas field are complex, with bottom water, edge water, an oil ring in the middle, and
a gas cap on the top. Almost all the technical backbones of the Karamay Oilfield Administration
have been transferred there. Autumn is the time for full-scale trial production, and it is
impossible for him to leave his post. But he was also very puzzled as to how Si Nan looked like
this, and it certainly couldn't be blamed on Xi Mei. Thinking of his brother-in-law far away in
Yunnan, Chen Donglai sighed secretly again. He thought it was normal for Si Jiang to look like his
younger brother-in-law, after all, he was brought up by Gu Beiwu, but he was really dissatisfied
that Si Nan looked like his older brother-in-law.
——
Chen Sinan, who slept in the same bed with his grandmother and sister, gently broke free from
his sister's arms, threw away the "diaper of love" in his arms with disgust, and rubbed himself
into the corner and lay down like a little frog.
"Nannan? Nannan? Is it too hot?" Si Jiang crawled over like a shadow and began to fan her:
"Sister won't hold you, just go to sleep, dear."
Sinan opened his eyelids and turned his head away: "I hate being good."
"Okay, then sister also hates being good." Si Jiang smiled, his sister is so cute.
"..." Sinan was depressed for a few seconds and couldn't help but turned back and asked: "Why
are you so nice to me?"
"Because I am your sister and you are my sister." Si Jiang leaned over and kissed her on the face.
Sinan shrank back: "Everyone likes you, but no one likes me." Including the people in Shajingzi.
"I like you." Si Jiang said anxiously: "Sister likes Si Nan the most."
Sinan blinked, then turned his head after a while and muttered, "Oh."

Chapter 27
"Make the quilt, put the pillow in place, whisper something, we'll meet at night." Si Jiang
hummed the Shanghainese nursery rhyme "Wake-up Song" and taught Si Nan to make the quilt.
Si Nan giggled and messed up the quilt: "Sister, sing it again, sing it again!"
"Okay! Fold the quilt, put the pillow in place..." Si Jiang folded the quilt again without getting
tired. Si Nan rolled into the quilt and laughed: "Sister, sing it again, sing it again--"
They folded and flipped, flipped and folded, over and over again, and the two sisters burst into
laughter almost as soon as they opened their mouths and stretched out their hands. Si Jiang
didn't understand why Si Nan laughed like that, but when she saw Si Nan crawling in and out like
a little mouse, laughing until she was exhausted, often falling down halfway through crawling and
struggling to continue crawling, she couldn't stop laughing either. How could her sister be so
cute, how could she have such a good sister, just thinking about it made her so moved that she
wanted to cry.
Grandma Gu shouted from the living room: "Two little crazy kids, it's time to have breakfast. You
have to fold the quilt dozens of times, and you can't finish it even if you fold it until dark."
Si Nan heard her grandmother's words and rolled over on the bed with laughter. Si Jiang climbed
up and pulled her: "Nannan, let's go eat. Come and kiss my face."
Sinan opened his eyes wide: "What does Xiang Yi's face mean?"
Si Jiang kissed her on the face twice: "It's just a kiss. Come, it's your turn to kiss Sister."
Sinan pushed her face away: "No."
Si Jiang was very hurt and chased her for a kiss: "Girl, girl, sister loves you, come and kiss me."
Si Nan slapped Si Jiang on the face. With a snap, both of them were stunned. Si Jiang rubbed his
face and said, "It's okay, it's okay. You are not careful. Just give me a kiss and it won't hurt. (If you
kiss me, it won't hurt.)"
Si Nan turned his head awkwardly, carelessly touched Si Jiang's face, slid off the bed, and
muttered: "Mom has never kissed my face."
Si Jiang's heart was broken, and he quickly chased after her: "Nannan, kiss your sister again, come
on. Then give me another kiss, come on."
The two sisters started chasing each other around the dining table again, laughing uncontrollably.
——
Although Gu Ximei and her husband did not come to have breakfast, Gu Beiwu rode his bicycle
out early in the morning, eating all the sesame seed cakes, deep-fried dough sticks and tofu paste
from the alley entrance, beef fried buns from Yuyuan Road, fresh meat wontons from Huashan
Road, and pan-fried steamed buns and sweet and salty cakes from Lao Songsheng. The 30-year-
old man rode back to Wanchun Street with two steel woks and two baskets hanging from the
handlebars, attracting the children who admired him to chase after the bicycle and scream.
Si Nan climbed onto the chair and was stunned by the table full of food. She looked at Si Jiang in
confusion. Si Jiang wanted to stuff all the delicious food in Shanghai into her sister's belly. Her
sister was too thin. Her elbows were as sharp as fish bones at night and it hurt her. She
enthusiastically recommended: "Nannan, what do you like to eat? What do your uncle buys are
delicious. How about a pan-fried bun first? There is meat inside. Bite the skin first and suck out
the gravy inside. Be careful of the burn--"
Si Nan was so burned that he covered his mouth and hissed. Half of the steamed bun rolled onto
the ground, and the soup made the cement glossy. Si Jiang was distressed: "Oh, it's all my fault
for not telling you earlier. Nan Nan, are you okay? I'll make you a glass of iced orange water - Nan
Nan! Don't eat anything that falls on the ground -!"
Sinan was extremely agile, crawling back to the chair with half a fried dumpling in his mouth,
chewing vigorously with his mouth puffed out, holding a green bean cake in his left hand and a
long fried dough stick in his right hand, with a rather wild and arrogant tone of a young man. He
also did not forget to explain why he did not waste food: "Meat! Fragrant! Delicious!"
Granny Gu wiped away her tears and said, "What a sin! No wonder she is so skinny. There must
be nothing to eat in that kind of countryside. She was so anxious over such a small snack. If she
went to Yangzhou, wouldn't Xiaoxiazi (the child) be so upset? Gu Ximei, she has never been able
to cook since she was a child."
Gu Ximei, who had just stepped into her mother's house, felt a headache again: "Chen Sinan!
How many times have I told you? You are not allowed to squat when eating, sit down! Sit down
and eat well! Eat slowly, don't look poor and never full——"
Chen Sinan turned around, slowed down his swallowing, and looked at Si Jiang pitifully: "Nannan
has never been full, and Mommy won't let her eat."
Facing the condemning looks from his mother-in-law, brother-in-law, and eldest daughter, Chen
Donglai quickly coughed and explained, "That's because every time you eat meat, you eat until
you vomit, which is bad for your stomach. Mom is doing this for your own good, you know?"
Gu Ximei walked over angrily, picked up Chen Sinan and asked her to sit down: "You don't even
count what you eat, okay? I left six dumplings for you, and told you dozens of times to eat two in
the morning, two at noon, and two at night. How do you eat them?"
Sinan looked innocent: "I ate it bite by bite. I ate it all. Nannan didn't waste anything."
"You ate all six in the morning. Did your stomach hurt so much in the afternoon? You were crying
and howling on the ground. If the eldest mother of the Cao family hadn't heard you, you would
have been choked to death by the dumplings!" Gu Ximei was so angry: "You lay in the clinic all
night and I didn't get any sleep."
"Well, my daughter's stomach hurts so much, and mommy just wants to sleep, and she hits me."
Everyone in the room looked at Gu Ximei again.
"I just pulled your ears twice! Who told you to be disobedient?" Gu Ximei's eyes were full of
stars: "Chen Sinan, don't always talk about being beaten——"
"Mom!" Si Jiang shouted, "Please leave my sister here this time. I will take good care of her.
Grandma, uncle, is that okay? Can my sister live with us? I can take her to kindergarten and then
to school. I know the way. I can wash my sister's hair and bathe her. I know everything. I can also
teach her to study."
When Chen Sinan heard the words "wash hair and take a bath", he looked towards the roof.
When he heard the word "study", his eyes almost popped out.
"Stop talking nonsense." Gu Ximei scooped two small wontons and put them in Si Jiang's bowl:
"Don't just focus on your sister, eat quickly. We are going to the Bund together today, and your
uncle will take a lot of photos for you and your sister."
Sinan blinked and looked at his uncle: "Do you eat so much every morning?"
Gu Beiwu smiled and was about to answer when he was interrupted by Gu Ximei.
"You're dreaming, because this is your first time to eat at grandma's house, and you're a guest.
We bought so much to entertain guests. You usually eat the same as us, soaked rice, pickled
cucumbers, pickles, and steamed buns." Gu Ximei was very disappointed: "You won't gain weight
no matter how much you eat, so what's the point? I don't even know where all the food went."
Sinan grinned, revealing a row of small white teeth, and shook his head, which was still bigger
than other children his age: "Here. Teacher Lin said I'm very smart."
Gu Beiwu picked up a beef fried bun and gave it to Sinan: "I think so too. Alasnan looks very
smart. Come, try this. It's stuffed with beef. The boss is from Xinjiang and the taste is very
authentic."
Sinan took a few bites and shook his head: "Uncle is lying, we don't have this kind of food in Aksu.
This is delicious. Our Xinjiang beef pilaf is even better."
Grandma Gu slapped Gu Ximei and said, "Look, look, look, Xiazi is talking about 'our Xinjiang'
now. I don't care. Sinan won't leave this time. Just stay with grandma, okay?"
"Not good." Sinan stuffed the remaining half of the beef fried bun into his mouth, shaking his
head like a rattle: "Your house is too small. I have to walk a long way to the toilet. I almost wet my
pants. The toilet is dirty and smelly. I don't like it."
"My sister is here!" Si Jiang said anxiously, "I will sing you a wake-up song every day, and we will
play together. It's so fun. There is also a TV at grandma's house, where you can watch many
programs. There are also many delicious foods."
"Okay, okay, eat quickly. Everyone is waiting for you two." Gu Ximei urged them.
——
Gu Beiwu borrowed a military jeep from somewhere and went out to get it. Ten minutes later,
Chen Donglai and his family walked out of the alley to meet him. At the entrance of the cultural
center, a group of children, big and small, dropped the stone bullet wheels they were playing
with and followed them.
"Si Jiang, where are you going?"
“To the Bund.”
"Si Jiang, aren't you going to the TV station to perform today?"
"No, I'll go on Sunday."
"Si Jiang, what time will you be back? We'll wait for you to play hopscotch together."
"Okay, we'll be back at six o'clock. We'll go to Grandpa's house for dinner. We'll do hopscotch
after dinner, okay?"
"Si Jiang, is that your brother?"
"No, it's my sister. Sister, sister, sister!" Si Jiang's delicate brows frowned.
"Little Xinjiang——" A shout came from the crowd, and many children laughed. Chen Donglai
frowned and stopped, and the children behind him took two steps back, and there was another
burst of laughter. Gu Ximei pulled him back: "Let's go, let's go, why are you angry with the
children? Didn't they call Si Jiang like this before?"
The family quickened their pace. Sinan turned his head to look at the crowd, revealing a mouthful
of white teeth, but said nothing.
"Si Jiang, your sister is so ugly. She doesn't look like you at all! Was she picked up from Xinjiang?"
Someone else shouted with a smile. Si Jiang turned around angrily and saw that it was indeed
Yang Guang, the troublemaker in Wanchun Street, who sat in the back seat behind her and liked
to pull her braids, tug on her schoolbag, kick her stool, and snatch her papers. His parents were
both in Heilongjiang, and he was sent back to live with his grandmother when he was young. No
one cared about him, and he was thick-skinned and foul-mouthed, causing trouble everywhere.
But his grandmother was extremely protective of him, and he had no way to reason with her.
Seeing Si Jiang was angry, several boys in the crowd chased Yang Guang and beat him: "You made
Si Jiang angry, let's see how we deal with you."
Gu Ximei frowned and pulled Si Jiang over, whispering, "Ignore them. They don't study hard.
When they grow up, they will become hooligans and people will hate them. Stay away from
them."
"What is a gangster?" Sinan asked curiously.
"What does it have to do with you?" Gu Ximei glared at her unhappily, "If you don't learn your
lesson, you'll be a female gangster in the future."
"Then I want to be a female gangster." Sinan made a vow with a smile: "Female gangster, female
gangster, it sounds really nice."
Along the way, she inevitably ran into many neighbors in Wanchun Street, with curious eyes,
surprised expressions, inquiring tones, regretful smiles, and meaningful nods and greetings. Gu
Ximei was already sweating when she walked out of the alley. The first thing she thought of was
that it was a good thing that she didn't bring "Cantaloupe" back to Shanghai four years ago,
otherwise she would never want to go back to Wanchun Street in her life.
Si Jiang waved and called out, "Uncle—Uncle!"
Hey, why is the person holding the steering wheel a person she has never seen before, a woman,
a woman who looks particularly friendly.

Chapter 28
"Come over here." Gu Beiwu smiled and opened the car door for them: "This is my friend Zhou
Shanrang. Please help her drive us today after working hard all day."
Zhou Shanrang smiled and waved at them: "Hello. Sijiang and Sinan, right? Nice names, and cute
looks."
Gu Ximei couldn't help but look at the rare female driver with curiosity, smiled meaningfully at
Gu Beiwu, and said thank you. After getting in the car, she wiped the sweat off Si Jiang's forehead
and said, "Hurry up and say hello to Auntie."
Si Jiang smiled sweetly: "Hello, Aunt Zhou."
"Hello Si Jiang, I saw you on TV on May Day. You bent down, turned over, and did a split. It was
amazing."
Si Jiang was very happy, blushing and straightening her back: "Thank you, Auntie." She practiced
the back flip followed by the splits for more than a month, fell countless times, and cried several
times, but her parents never saw how hard she worked, and never saw her perform. She usually
received a lot of praise, all of which were words like "beautiful, sensible, good at dancing and
singing", but they didn't feel anything. No one knew how painful it was for her to be stepped on
by the teacher to stretch, and no one could understand the joy and excitement she felt after
completing a set of movements. Si Jiang unexpectedly found someone who could understand her,
and she fell in love with Zhou Shanrang at once.
Si Nan grabbed Si Jiang's skirt and twisted it: "I want to learn too. Sister, teach me!"
"Okay, okay." Si Jiang smiled like a flower.
Zhou Shanrang started the car and saw Si Jiang's smiling face in the rearview mirror. Next to him
was a pair of large eyes that were clearly black and white and full of vigilance. He couldn't help
but smile: "Hello, Si Nan. I heard that you took a train for five days and five nights? Are you
tired?"
Chen Sinan tightened his grip around Si Jiang's waist and shook his head silently.
Gu Ximei patted her lightly: "Why are you so rude? Auntie is talking to you, come on and say hello
to her, see how sensible your sister is."
Si Nan let go of Si Jiang without saying a word, squeezed over Chen Donglai's knees, and leaned
on the car door to look out the window. In front of outsiders, Gu Ximei couldn't teach her a
lesson, so she smiled awkwardly and leaned over to remind her: "Don't touch the door handle or
anything like that, okay?"
Si Jiang lowered her voice: "Mom, Nannan didn't move." She also squeezed over Chen Donglai's
knees and sat next to Si Nan: "Oh, look, the police uncle is going to change the green light, can
you see it? In that high sentry box, there is a small electric fan next to his hand, and the control
switch is on the iron box under the electric fan. He saw us--"
"The red light is on!" Sinan shouted, "How did he do that? Is it like turning on a light?" The two
sisters began a heated discussion.
The jeep had an open top and no windows, unlike the common military jeeps in the Corps.
Fortunately, there was wind when the car moved, and it was not too hot under the shade of the
sycamore trees. Gu Ximei secretly paid attention to Zhou Shanrang, guessing where she came
from. She was obviously from the army because she could drive a military car. She was dressed
very simply, with neat features and short hair. She wore a pair of weird khaki shorts under a
white shirt, with a large trouser pocket lying across her thigh, and she didn't even wear a pair of
socks in her Warrior sneakers.
Gu Ximei frowned, her eyes fell on the old Shanghai brand steel watch on Zhou Shanrang's left
wrist, guessing that her family might be driving for the army leaders, or a junior cadre in the
military district's driver class. This made her feel relieved. At least their class backgrounds were
similar, and no one was trying to get close to the other, and no one had to compromise with the
other. She was firmly opposed to a bourgeois lady like Fang Shuren who couldn't carry anything
on her shoulders or hands. Only Gu Nanhong was stupid enough to want such a sister-in-law.
Haha, she just wanted to make herself beautiful so as to wash away the stigma of the five black
categories. Let alone love, there was not even revolutionary friendship. Fortunately, it didn't work
out.
Married women usually take on the mission of matchmaking on their own initiative. Although
most of the husbands they choose are not very satisfactory, they have no doubts about their own
vision, or they like to equate their own unrealistic views on marriage with happiness, and they
hope that others will follow and practice them. Of course, happiness is the credit of her
matchmaking, and unhappiness is the responsibility of the parties involved.
Gu Ximei was no exception, and with the desire to repay her brother over the years, she
immediately became motivated. In front, Zhou Shanrang was chatting casually with Gu Beiwu
with a smile.
"Why didn't you call me yesterday? If I had known, I would have accompanied you to the train
station to pick you up."
"53 times, I'm often late. I can't tell the time. Why am I dragging you to wait with me?"
"You are so kind? Are you planning to use me today?"
Gu Beiwu smiled and unscrewed the lid of the military water bottle for her: "Come on, comrade
driver, you have worked hard. Have a drink of water while the light is red."
Zhou Shanrang turned his head and drank a sip of water from his hand before shifting the car into
gear and starting: "You have a conscience. Serving the people is not hard work."
Gu Ximei weighed it in her mind, then moved forward and asked Zhou Shanrang with a smile:
"Xiao Zhou, how did you know my Beiwu?"
Zhou Shanrang glanced at Gu Beiwu with a smile: "Can you confess? Do you want to confess or
should I?"
Gu Beiwu also smiled: "I am friends with Shanrang's second brother. She was admitted to Peking
University last year. We happened to be in the Economics Department."
Gu Ximei was silent for a moment, then smiled and sighed: "Why haven't I heard you mention
this before. Xiao Zhou is also from Shanghai? You speak Mandarin very well, and it's amazing that
you were able to get into Peking University. Come to our house when you have time. Aram's
mother is from Yangzhou, and the Yangzhou dishes she cooks are delicious."
Gu Beiwu turned his head to look at his second sister and raised his eyebrows. Gu Ximei turned
his eyes 180 degrees in front of him and did not take the feather.
Zhou Shanrang turned on the turn signal and turned the steering wheel. "My father is from
Hubei. I was born in Nanjing, so I am half a Nanjing native. Eh? Let me tell you a secret. Gu Beiwu
just didn't explain it thoroughly and avoided the important issues. Old classmate Gu, I think you
have a problem, and it's a serious problem. Concealing something is lying, and the revolutionary
masses will not tolerate being fooled. How about I supplement it for you?"
Everyone in the car except Sinan burst into laughter. Si Jiang urged anxiously: "Auntie, please tell
me quickly, uncle never talks about his youth!"
Gu Beiwu was helpless, he stretched out his long arm and scratched Si Jiang's nose: "Your uncle is
still very young, okay? Why did Zhou Shan ask you to take the entrance exam for Peking
University? You should go to Tsinghua University."
Zhou Shanrang was overjoyed, and her hearty laughter attracted the attention of passers-by. She
patted the steering wheel and said, "When Gu Beiwu went to Chongqing in 1967, he had a fight
with my brother. Luckily, both of us survived and became fellow patients in the hospital. After
being discharged from the hospital, we went to Beijing to fight side by side. In the end, we lost at
Peking University? Both of them were injured, and they fled back to Nanjing and stayed at my
house for a month. I was responsible for taking care of the two injured. My brother suffered the
most. My father beat him with a belt 30 times, and his buttocks were rotten. Hey, didn't you tell
your family about your glorious history? Sorry, I accidentally exposed your true face. It is not a
crime to expose and criticize!"
Gu Beiwu scratched his forehead helplessly, and looking back, Si Jiang looked shocked, Si Nan
looked adoring, Gu Ximei and Chen Donglai were dumbfounded, and couldn't help but smile
bitterly: "It happened more than ten years ago, don't tell grandma when you go back, I'll treat
you to a meal."
Chen Dong came and sighed: "Beiwu, Beiwu! You are really..." He always knew that there was
something wrong with Gu Beiwu, but he didn't expect it to be so serious. During the armed
struggle in Chongqing for 6 or 7 years, even fire bombs and machine guns were used, and they
even killed each other's prisoners. It was horrifying to think about it.
Gu Ximei cursed angrily: "Thirteen o'clock, you are out of your mind!"
Si Jiang nodded: "I won't tell you. If I tell you, grandma will cry and beat you with a feather duster
again."
Zhou Shanrang chuckled and glanced at Gu Beiwu: "Tsk tsk tsk, a top student from Peking
University was brutally beaten by his loving mother during the summer vacation. This can make
the news."
Gu Beiwu shook his head: "How old are you and still so poor? You only know how to cheat
people, what a swindler."
Seeing how intimate their conversation was, Gu Ximei felt that this matchmaker was holding a
snail with three fingers, and was very stable, so she became even happier: "Then, Xiao Zhou, is
your second brother serving in the army in Shanghai?"
"My second brother? He was sent to Yan'an by my father to farm. My father is in the garrison
area. He is in poor health and can only retire and return to Nanjing at the end of August. I took
advantage of the summer vacation to visit my old father and took him back."
"Oh, step down and take good care of yourself. Xiao Zhou, you are really filial. After all, daughters
are caring." Gu Ximei was even more satisfied. If Zhou Shanrang married Gu Beiwu, she would be
devoted to her husband without her parents' home in Shanghai, and of course she would not
embarrass Si Jiang. At this time, she would not think about how much help she had received from
her parents' home.
Zhou Shanrang was glanced at by Gu Beiwu with a smile, and secretly stuck out his tongue, and
then ordered Gu Beiwu: "Spit more. Are you hot? Do you want to be exposed to the sun? Do you
want to put up the canopy? I can put it up in five minutes."
Sinan clung to the driver's seat and shouted, "No, no, no, it's comfortable like this, not hot, I'm
not hot, there's wind."
Chen Donglai hugged her and said, "Don't make trouble, Sinan. Auntie is the driver. You have to
listen to the driver, understand?"
"Okay, you're not afraid of the heat at such a young age, so I'm not afraid of the heat either. By
the way, Sinan, I heard that the Sanshili Wind Outlet and the Baili Wind Area have strong winds of
level 10 or above all year round. How is it this time? Is your train going smoothly?" Zhou
Shanrang asked, following Sinan's words.
Sinan stood up and said loudly: "Force 12! Force 12 gale, the train is shaking like this, and it's
shaking on the rails, this and that, empty, empty, empty bucket, empty bucket, it's so fun." She
shook and swayed: "A lot of food fell from the shelf, bang, bang, dang, dang. You definitely don't
know, I fell out of my mother's belly with a dang like this."
Zhou Shanrang laughed so hard that his hands softened, and the front of the train shook a few
times: "Sinan, why are you so cute? You are so amazing. Were you born on a train?"
"Yes, yes, my sister is super cute!" Si Jiang smiled with his eyes curved: "My sister was born on a
train and was even reported in the newspaper."
"Newspaper? Where is it? I want to read it!" Sinan's eyes lit up.
"What are you looking at? Look at your head. Hurry up and look at the Bund. We are here." Gu
Ximei pressed Chen Sinan down and said, "It's almost nine o'clock. The customs clock will
broadcast "The East is Red". The East is Red, the sun is rising——"

Chapter 29
He visited Chen Yi Park, Peace Hotel, Great World, and People's Park throughout the day. In the
evening, Zhou Shanrang drove straight to the International Hotel, the tallest building in the Far
East.
Si Nan stood downstairs with his neck tilted up, his little body leaning back on Si Jiang, and
counting loudly: "One, two, three, four, wait, let me count again, one, two, three, four, five, six, it
seems I got it wrong again, one, two, three - I can't count anymore!"
Si Jiang counted halfway, his eyes became blurry, and he gave up immediately: "I really can't
count. Uncle! Tell us how many floors there are?"
"There are 24 floors in total, and the 22 floors you can't count are 22." Gu Beiwu smiled and took
a photo of his nieces counting the floors. He almost lay on the ground, and knocked on the floor
tiles before getting up: "There are two more floors below."
Zhou Shanrang squatted down and hugged Si Jiangsnan, whispering mysteriously, "There is a big
vault two floors below, which is used to store gold. It is filled with gold bricks! Tsk tsk tsk tsk, you
need to wear big sunglasses when you go in, otherwise your eyes will be blinded by the golden
light."
The two sisters opened their mouths wide. Si Nan suddenly covered her eyes with her two little
hands and looked at Gu Beiwu through her fingers: "Uncle, will I still be blind like this?"
Zhou Shanrang laughed so hard that he kissed Sinan's hand fiercely. Sinan jumped away in shock
and hugged Sijiang, then turned to look at Zhou Shanrang, made a face and shouted, "Auntie,
you are not allowed to kiss my face. Only my sister can kiss me!"
Si Jiang was so happy that she was bubbling with joy, and she held Si Nan's face and kissed her
several times. Si Nan pushed her away with disgust: "You smell too good, it's just saliva, I stink too
much!" She hid behind Chen Donglai.
As the group approached the gate, talking and laughing, Gu Ximei suddenly remembered that a
meal at the International Hotel cost 20 to 30 yuan. There was no reason for her family of four to
let Gu Beiwu pay. Chen Donglai, however, was not self-conscious and happily pointed to the
bakery next door and said, "You know? The best butterfly cakes in Shanghai are here. Dad used to
buy them with his grandfather when he was a kid. They taste really good."
Zhou Shanrang smiled and said, "Dad Si Jiang, you are so fashionable. I'll go buy some butterfly
cakes. You guys go in and wait for me. By the way, no one should fight with me for dinner tonight.
Let me welcome your family. I'm so happy to see the little stars on TV and meet the little star who
was born on the train and was in the newspaper." She waved and ran straight into the bakery.
Gu Ximei nudged Chen Donglai and complained in a low voice. Chen Donglai quickly took out the
twenty yuan he had in his pocket and said, "Beiwu, take this. There are so many of us, how can
we let Comrade Xiao Zhou treat us? She has been driving hard all day, and we should treat her to
a meal. If it's not enough, please pay for it first, and I'll give it to you when we get back."
Gu Beiwu smiled and shook his head: "It's okay, let her treat. She ate a lot of my food in Beijing."
He ruffled Si Nan's short hair: "Nannan, eat as much as you can and make up for your uncle's loss.
It doesn't matter if you vomit, you can continue eating after that."
"Vomiting again after eating?" Sinan was a little hesitant. This strenuous work sounded a bit hard.
Si Jiang protected his sister with an unhappy look on his face: "Uncle is annoying. It will be very
uncomfortable if he vomits after eating. I don't want that. Sister, don't pay attention to uncle. No
matter how delicious the food is, we just need to eat until we are 70% to 80% full. This is what
mother taught us." However, Si Nan had already made up his mind not to be afraid of sacrifice.
His eyes lit up, he smacked his tongue, straightened his chest and raised his head, ready to go to
the battlefield. However, he was inevitably taught a lesson by Gu Ximei for being in a bad state.
Zhou Shanrang ran in carrying a few bags, pointed to a spot on the floor of the lobby and said,
"Look there, that's the origin of Shanghai's coordinates, the exact center of the map. Let's go,
let's all be the center of Shanghai!"
Si Jiangsnan cheered and followed her.
Going up to the skyscraper on the 14th floor, Zhou Shanrang skillfully ordered the dishes and
took the two girls to see the night view. Gu Ximei looked around nervously and asked Gu Beiwu in
a low voice: "Is her father a military leader? A big leader?"
Gu Beiwu was changing the film in his camera and answered without even looking up: "Yes. I will
leave immediately."
"Then forget it."
Gu Beiwu was stunned: "What do you mean?"
Gu Ximei sighed: "Originally, I thought Xiao Zhou and you were a good match, so I wanted to
bring you two together to be a matchmaker, but now——"
Gu Beiwu laughed: "Her father is a leader, so your brother is not worthy of her?"
"You are a man, how can you live your life depending on your wife's mood? You are not a live-in
son-in-law." Gu Ximei said seriously: "My words may not sound good, but I am your sister and I
will definitely not harm you. Now that you have been admitted to Peking University, you will
definitely have a great future. It's good to rely on your own efforts. There is no need to get
involved with such a family. No matter how well you do, people will think you rely on your wife,
which is not worth it." She paused, lowered her voice and said: "Besides, the higher you stand,
the harder you fall. Look at the Gang of Four and □□. How glorious they were before? Now they
are all criminals. You didn't behave yourself before, and now it's time to concentrate. There is no
need to get involved with her--"
Chen Donglai stopped her from talking: "Ximei, Beiwu knows what's going on, don't - Okay, I
won't say any more, Xiao Zhou is back."
Gu Beiwu smiled and asked Sijiang Sinan to sit next to him. After a while, pomfret in tomato
sauce, braised pig's trotters, four-happiness roasted gluten, crab paste and tofu were served.
Sinan exclaimed with joy as each dish was served, which was very festive and appropriate. Zhou
Shanrang ordered a bottle of eight-yuan Maotai for Chen Donglai and Gu Beiwu. Gu Ximei was
busy picking up food for Sijiang Sinan, and she felt more and more that what she said just now
was right.
Si Nan gulped down half a cup of orange juice in one breath, opened his mouth wide and stuck
out his tongue to show Si Jiang: "Sister, look, is it yellow?"
Si Jiang smiled with his eyes curved: "It's yellow, it's yellow. I want to be yellow too." Zhou
Shanrang also wanted to join in with great interest. Like Gu Beiwu, she was good at dancing with
long sleeves, had a humorous way of talking, and was particularly willing to talk to Si Jiang and Si
Nan, without being arrogant. Even Si Nan, who was difficult to deal with, gradually became casual
with her. Even though Gu Ximei had crossed her off the list of her brother's wives, she still
couldn't help but admire her for being a good person.
When they were almost done eating, Zhou Shanrang took out a box from the bakery bag and
opened it to reveal six small cakes with a thick layer of powdered sugar pastry embedded with
almonds.
"Today is Comrade Gu Beiwu's birthday. On behalf of our 77th Economic Department students, I
wish him a happy birthday, good academic performance, and that he will soon become a pillar of
the country." Zhou Shanrang distributed the cake to everyone with a smile: "Europeans and
Americans have the habit of making a big cake for the birthday boy to cut, and they also light
candles and sing birthday songs. We are just doing it for the sake of our own good intentions,
mainly to try this drunken cake. Sinan Sijiang, I guarantee that the cake is super delicious, but
there is a little bit of alcohol in it. Are you afraid?"
Sinan burped: "I'm not afraid!"
Si Jiang was a little sad: "Uncle, is today your birthday? July 18th? How come I never knew your
birthday! You never told me."
Gu Ximei asked in surprise: "Beiwu's birthday is today? Who said that? Didn't Mom always forget
when you were born?"
Everyone at the table stared with wide eyes. Is there any mother in the world who doesn't
remember her child's birthday? Gu Beiwu smiled and pinched Si Jiang's face: "My uncle doesn't
have a birthday. My grandmother can't even remember the month I was born. When I registered
my household registration, I just reported July 18th."
When Zhou Shanrang saw the mist in Si Jiang's eyes, he quickly raised his hand to explain: "It's my
fault! I peeked at your uncle's student ID and found out that his birthday was only three days
different from mine. If he had been more patient and waited for me, he would have had the
same birthday as me, so I accidentally remembered it."
Si Jiang blinked and smiled: "Auntie Zhou, your birthday is in three days?"
"yes."
"Then I also wish you a happy birthday, academic progress and good health." Si Jiang smiled
sweetly: "Thank you, Auntie, for caring about my uncle. You are so good to my uncle. Please
continue to be good to him. My uncle is so good, he is smart, kind, capable, and helpful. He is
also very handsome, much more handsome than the host of our TV station. By the way, my uncle
is also good at painting, and he can repair electric lights, radios, televisions, cameras, there is
nothing he can't do. He is also very filial, and he will help grandma wash her feet in winter. He is
also very strong. The bathtub in my grandma's house is so high and very heavy when it is filled
with water. My uncle can carry it outside with both hands. Aunt Zhou, you and uncle will go to
college together, and work together in the future. If you have a baby-"
Gu Beiwu covered his niece's mouth with his hand and said, "Little Chen Sijiang, that's enough.
What have you been learning for the past six months? You will have to do a math test every day
starting tomorrow."
Zhou Shanrang took a big bite of the cake: "Hey! Gu Beiwu, let go of Si Jiang. Si Jiang, go on.
Auntie really likes to hear it. Don't be afraid. I will help you with the math test." She smiled at Gu
Beiwu with her eyes curved.
Gu Beiwu's face suddenly felt hot. He let go of Si Jiang and took a bite of the cake. The pastry was
crispy and sweet, the cake was soft, and the liquor offset the sweetness of the pastry, mixing into
a mellow and intoxicating taste, which returned from the throat to the tip of the tongue, with an
exceptional fragrance and a little bit of hidden and crisp spiciness.
——
When they got down to the lobby, Si Nan shouted that he wanted to go to the toilet. Gu Ximei
was furious: "I just asked you if you wanted to go to the toilet, but you refused to go. Now you
are wasting everyone's time! You have always had a lot of poop and piss since you were a child."
Sinan's neck stiffened: "I didn't pee just now! I can't pee!"
"Be quiet! Others can hear it!" Gu Ximei stretched out her hand suddenly, but when she saw Si
Jiang, she retracted it again: "Go away, you annoying little thing."
Si Jiang led Si Nan to the toilet. Si Nan's face turned red from the little bit of liquor in the cake,
and he stumbled as he ran, bumping into someone at the toilet door.
"I'm sorry - I'm sorry -" Si Jiang was surprised: "Sister Fang?"
Fang Shuren was also surprised: "Si, Si Jiang? Is it Si Jiang?"
Sinan was feeling suffocated, so he shook off his sister's hand and went in by himself.
After Si Jiang was surprised, his face turned stern. After thinking for a while, he couldn't help
complaining: "I don't like you anymore."
Fang Shuren was startled, feeling inexplicably sad. He bent down and chuckled, "It's okay. Sister
Fang still likes you, Si Jiang. She likes you very much."
She had already made up her mind not to have children in this life. Si Jiang was the only child she
had ever come into contact with. In her mother's words, Si Jiang was a little angel. Perhaps
relying on this lovely little angel, she could easily spend the rest of her life. At least she had a
good life in the past two years.
Si Jiang's eyes were red: "Then why don't you want to be my aunt?! Uncle clearly asked me if I
wanted you to be my aunt!"
But only two years have passed, but it seems like a lifetime ago for Fang Shuren. She sighed softly
and pursed her lips: "I'm sorry, Si Jiang."
Si Jiang shook his head, walked past her and went into the bathroom, then suddenly turned
around and said loudly: "I have a little aunt now, she is very kind to me and my sister, and even
better to my uncle! She even celebrated my uncle's birthday today and treated us to cake!"
Fang Shuren was a little distracted as he looked at her extremely beautiful face that resembled
Gu Beiwu. She opened her mouth but didn't know what to say. She suddenly wanted to learn
how to say the right thing at the right time, and it would be best if she could say it perfectly to
satisfy everyone and herself.
"Congratulations." In the end, two meaningless words came out of her mouth.
"Sister, sister!" Sinan's voice came from the toilet.
Si Jiang clenched his fist and said, "Goodbye!" She ran over to see Si Nan squatting on the toilet
lid, crying, "My urine leaked out."
"It's okay, it's okay. Just wipe it clean."
Si Jiang turned around and saw Zhou Shanrang holding out his hand with a smile: "Come, it's
okay. Si Nan, auntie will carry you down first and clean you up. Then we will clean the floor
together with straw paper. After we go out, tell the waitress and she will come back to clean it
carefully."
Sinan stood up with trembling little legs, fell into Zhou Shanrang's arms, and burst into tears: "I
didn't mean to do it, I didn't want to, I won't, it's too late, don't, don't tell Mom!"
Zhou Shanrang patted her back gently: "Okay, this is a secret between the three of us, no one will
tell it, okay?"
Si Jiang flushed the toilet, took a stack of toilet paper and started to wipe the toilet seat, and
somehow she burst into tears. She cried and felt very upset. It was her uncle's birthday, and she
was so happy all day, so how could she cry? The more upset she was, the sadder she became,
and she couldn't stop crying.
Fang Shuren stood outside quietly for a moment, then turned and left. Gu Beiwu was probably
not far away, and she didn't want to see him. She regarded the set of "Self-study Series of
Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry" placed at the door last year as a gift from Brother Shushan.
She hurried through the lobby along the corner. Gu Beiwu was standing at that point, looking up
at the rooftop. Her husband Tang Sicheng was working on the rooftop, monitoring the city's radio
waves.
The heat outside hit her face, drying up the tears that may not have existed. Fang Shuren walked
a few dozen steps quickly before looking back at the roof of the International Hotel. She suddenly
hoped that Gu Beiwu had stopped eavesdropping on the enemy radio station. But the moving
song broadcast on the Taiwan radio station a few days ago lingered in her mind.
"The south wind brings coolness, the nightingale sings softly, the flowers under the moon are all
dreaming, only the tuberose is exuding fragrance."
Oh, by the way, she didn't get the drunken cake that Mom wanted to eat today. The chef said that
they only make it twice a day, and the batch at 2 o'clock this afternoon was just sold out. She just
happened to be a step late.

Chapter 30
Wanchun Street in late July is the most difficult time of the year, except for the rainy season,
when there is no typhoon. Early in the morning, the alley is filled with dining tables and small
stools, and people come and go. The new bride carries the toilet and the little girl holds the
spittoon pot, going to the public toilet at the entrance of the alley.
Chen Sinan has been the "spittoon emptying officer" for almost a week. She is thin and dark, and
has lost her usual agility. She walks three steps and takes two breaks. She squats on the roadside
to watch what other people eat for breakfast. It is inevitable that she will be despised by the old
men and women: "Go away, little brat, the spittoon is placed next to our dining table. It's
disgusting. Go away, go away." (Go away, little brat, the spittoon is placed next to our dining
table. It's disgusting...)
Sinan laughed, showing her neat little white teeth, bent down and picked up the spittoon and
moved forward. When she saw people taking out coal balls, she put down the spittoon and
rubbed her hands to try it. She also wanted to touch the red-hot coal balls, which scared people
and made them shout: "Don't touch it! Don't touch it!" When she saw people living in the same
doorway quarreling and cursing over the faucet, she started to make a fuss and punch and kick
beside them, hoping that the world would not be in chaos: "Hit him! Hit him! Kick him!" It was so
funny.
After the long queue had been emptied, she had more things to do. She dropped the spittoon
and found a faucet that was closer. She stepped on a low stool to wash her hands and wandered
to the entrance of the cultural center. She disdained to play games like tumbling, kicking
shuttlecock, and hopscotch. She played marbles, rolled hoops, and hit candy wrappers and
cigarette shells. When she left, her trouser pockets were bulging and heavy, almost falling into
her knees. Chen Sinan pulled her belt and sighed. Oh, the level of these idiots in Shanghai is
really not good. She played marbles in Shajingzi. She and Shen Qingping and Zhu Zhenning dug
out sand paths, piled up sand dunes, and added water to make small mud pits. The difficulty was
interesting. She could still enter any hole she wanted. Of course, many years later, when she
swung on the golf course, she always had an indelible sense of familiarity, and she didn't think it
was the influence of her virgin kung fu.
On the first day, all the boys in Wanchun Street thought she was lucky, but now half of them
backed out when they saw her. They lost all those beautiful marbles, candy wrappers they had
collected for half a month, and cigarette shells they stole from adults’ drawers to a four-year-old
kid from Xinjiang. Whoever tells others about it would be a fool! Some people refused to admit
defeat and called their friends from Yan’s house in Kangjiaqiao, Heping New Village, across the
street to wait for Chen Sinan to win and split the spoils in half. In the end, they returned empty-
handed and were completely wiped out.
That day, Yang Guang and four or five older children were waiting at the entrance of the cultural
center. When they saw Chen Sinan coming, they walked up to him and asked with a smile, "There
is a water tower in Heping New Village. Today we are having a competition to climb the water
tower. Whoever climbs the water tower first will be the leader, and all the marbles, candy
wrappers, and cigarette shells in his hand will belong to him. Do you dare to go?"
Sinan blinked and looked around. Two girls who were good friends with Sijiang shouted,
"Nannan, don't go. It's scary. The water tower is so high. Come and play tumbling with us."
A few little boys laughed and shouted: "That's right, little Xinjiang, aren't you a little girl? Go play
with the flower rope, you don't have a penis, you don't have the guts!"
Yang Guang bent down and stretched out his hand to pinch Si Nan's face, but Chen Si Nan turned
his head away and his hand was empty.
"Forget it, forget it. We thought you were so powerful that we waited until now. Let's go. Women
are women, useless." Yang Guang took out a leather slingshot and waved it: "If you can climb up,
this is yours."
"Give it to me, give it to me! Yang Guang, give it to me!" Four or five little boys rushed to grab it.
Yang Guang laughed: "Whoever climbs to the top first gets it! I keep my word!"
A dozen boys walked out in a group. The little boys stuck out their tongues, glared at Chen Sinan,
and made faces.
Sinan blinked and followed the team silently. Tsk, she had been to the drilling sites of her father's
unit, so the water tower was nothing.
Yang Guang turned around and saw her, and smiled triumphantly. He thought he could scare her
when climbing the water tower. If that didn't work, he would lock her up in the water tower and
let her out after dark. Then he would see if she dared to beat them again in the future.
——
Si Jiang dragged Chen Donglai and hurried to Heping New Village, tears and sweat streaming
down his face. Nannan was too bold, Yang Guang, that bad guy, would definitely do something
bad.
A group of children gathered under the water tower and were screaming. When they saw adults
coming, they screamed even louder.
Si Jiang spotted Si Nan in the middle and rushed over: "Nan Nan, are you okay?!"
Sinan shouted loudly: "Dad! He cheated. He said he would give me the slingshot if I climbed up
the water tower!"
Yang Guang held the slingshot high, dodging left and right in the siege of a group of five or six-
year-old boys, shouting at the top of his lungs: "No! I didn't say that—" Who would have thought
that this little monkey from Xinjiang could climb so fast, and she had already slid down before
they could catch up with her. It was so infuriating!
"You said it, we all heard it! You want to cheat? You have no shame!" The boys were unhappy.
Sinan said that whoever got the leather slingshot and gave it to her would be given all the
marbles, candy wrappers and cigarette shells she won.
By the time Chen Donglai figured out what had happened, Yang Guang was already outnumbered
and was pinned to the ground with mud all over his face.
"Nannan, you came here to climb the water tower and didn't go home for a long time. Mom is
very angry. Let's go home quickly. Don't pay attention to them." Si Jiang dragged Si Nan away.
"My slingshot! My slingshot! I won it!" Sinan broke free from his sister's hand, took out
everything in his trouser pockets and gave them to the minnows, then happily went to receive
the spoils he wanted most.
Chen Donglai snatched it away with a stern face and threw it back at Yang Guang: "Don't take it!
It's someone else's stuff, go home! Look at the dust all over you, where's the spittoon? Where did
you throw it? And you—" He turned around and lectured the naughty kids: "Do you know that
climbing a water tower is dangerous? If you fall, you'll have to go to the hospital or even die. Who
led you there? I'm going to find his parents."
Yang Guang caught the slingshot and swung it at Si Nan viciously, then ran away. Seeing that the
adults were angry, a dozen children scattered like birds and beasts.
Sinan shook his hand off, panting and baring his teeth like a little wolfhound: "My slingshot! My
slingshot!"
"You're still stubborn?" Chen Donglai took a breath, looked at the tall water tower again, and his
heart ached. "You're a girl, why do you play with boys all day? You were lawless in Xinjiang, and
you didn't go home after dark, so your mother had to look for you everywhere. You're still so
unruly after coming back to Shanghai. Do you know how serious it is to fall? You can kill people,
understand? How many times have I told you? Don't do dangerous things, you'll die, understand?
If you die, you'll never see your father, mother, and sister again!"
"My slingshot! What I won is mine!" Si Nan had tears in her eyes, but she held them back with
her neck tilted up and her face red. She turned her head and looked at Si Jiang: "Sister, it's mine! I
was the first one to climb to the top, and I won the slingshot! Dad is unreasonable!"
Si Jiang hugged her lovingly and comforted her: "Dear girl, I know you are the best. Uncle also has
a slingshot in the attic. Let's go home and get it, okay? Uncle will definitely be willing to give it to
you."
Si Nan's tears rolled out of her eyes. She pushed Si Jiang away with force: "I don't want it! I want
that! I want that!"
Si Jiang staggered and almost fell to the ground. Chen Donglai slapped Si Nan on the butt: "How
dare you hit your sister?! Dad has never hit you before, but today I really have to teach you a
lesson. Do you know you are wrong? You lose your temper and are unreasonable!"
Si Jiang was stunned, and suddenly remembered that when she was a child, she was wrongly
accused by her grandfather and beaten. She rushed over and hugged her father's hand: "Don't hit
my sister! My sister is not wrong - nannannannan!"
Chen Sinan cried and shouted, "I hate my dad! I hate my sister, I hate you all! Hate, hate, hate!"
He turned around and ran away quickly with a thump.
"Chen Sinan - stop! Don't run!" Chen Donglai and Si Jiang hurriedly chased after him.
Bicycles, buses and cars were coming and going on Wuning Road. Chen Sinan was running very
fast along the upper edge of the street. As soon as he turned a corner, he disappeared.
Si Jiang cried anxiously. When she ran away from home as a child, she was very familiar with the
surrounding roads, and she met her uncle when she walked to the Cultural Palace. But Si Nan had
only been back for a few days and didn't know the way at all. Her uncle was out again. If she met
a bad guy, Si Jiang didn't even dare to think about it.
"Don't worry, don't worry, don't panic, she can't walk far, she's still young and can't run fast, Si
Jiang, don't cry." Chen Donglai didn't know whether he was comforting Si Jiang or comforting
himself. He stretched his neck, but his heart was hanging.
——
Sinan didn't dare to cross the street, so she ran into the alley next to her, crying as she ran. After
exiting several dead alleys, she realized that every alley was similar, with messy clothes hanging
on the top and messy things piled up below. Children on summer vacation were running around.
She suspected that she had returned to Wanchun Street, so she asked where the public toilet
was. She found the toilet, which was also dirty and smelly, but there was no spittoon pot she had
thrown in the corner near the toilet. She walked back to the alley and asked an old lady.
"Wanchun Street?" The old lady shook her head. "It's Lane 11, Kangjiaqiao, not Wanchun Street.
Who are you, little girl? How old are you? How can you run around? Do you know the way? If not,
I'll take you back. Which lane and number is your home on Wanchun Street?"
Sinan thought of the slap she had just received, shook her head and turned to run. She was afraid
that her father would catch her when she left the alley, and that her mother would really hurt her
when she beat her, so she simply found a cool place to squat. There were ants moving in the
corner, and a group of ants carried a dead cicada past her feet. She was so fascinated by the sight
that she forgot about the pain in her butt and the anger of not being able to get the slingshot,
but she didn't know that the family had been turned upside down.
"You hit her?" Gu Ximei was stunned for a few seconds before she understood what Si Jiang said.
She frowned and threw down the cotton shoes in her hand, furious: "Why did you hit her? How
old is she? Is it her first time climbing the water tower? Or is it her first time losing her temper? I
worked so hard on the train to raise her, and you slapped her like this? I didn't sleep for many
days to raise her alive and well, and you helped outsiders beat her? Chen Donglai, if you can't be
a father, don't be one. Can't you please not cause trouble for me? Why did you come back to find
me? Hurry up and find the police to bring Si Nan back to me! If she loses a hair, I will - fuck her,
let's divorce!"

Chapter 31
Chen Donglai didn't expect Gu Ximei to say such a thing. He searched for her on several streets
around, and tried to comfort Si Jiang, who was even more anxious than him. He was already dizzy
and swollen under the sun, and was hit hard by these sarcastic words. The frustration of being
neglected and ignored as a husband in the past few years suddenly found a way out, and rushed
out like the tide of Qiantang River, and his voice became louder: "She has grown up so much,
speak with your conscience, have I ever touched her with a finger? You are the one who beat and
scolded her. If she hadn't climbed up the 20-meter-high water tower today, acted unreasonably,
and pushed Si Jiang, would I have spanked her? It was just a light slap! You accused me of a sack
of crimes, and you want a divorce?"
Gu Ximei snorted, ignored him, and pulled Si Jiang over to wash her face.
The tide came and receded in an instant, leaving nothing behind. Chen Donglai calmed down and
sat down on a chair in despair: "You said I can't be a father? I only keep five yuan of my monthly
salary and hand it all over. I don't smoke or drink. I work twelve hours a day in the oil field. I have
four days off a month, and we all go back to Aksu to accompany you and Sinan——"
Gu Ximei sneered and glanced back at him: "You are amazing, right? Your salary is more than
twenty yuan more than mine, so you are a good father if you give it to me? You should also speak
with your conscience, I took your salary plus my salary, how many yuan did I spend on myself?
The vanishing cream I use is sent by Beiwu! You took four days off to accompany us, did I take a
day off? You also call this being a good father? It's too easy to be a father in this world."
"You are a good mother. You went to teach in the kindergarten and left Si Nan next to the
cabinet. Later, she could crawl, and you tied two straps around her and tied her to the desk. She
acted like a puppy every day, and there were two bruises on her chest." Chen Donglai choked up,
"You went to teach in the elementary school, and you had someone lock her in the dormitory
after school. Teacher Lin clearly said that she could help you take care of her for a few hours, but
you refused, insisting that she could be independent. How much did she suffer? She cried until
her voice was hoarse, and she had a high fever. Later, she hid under the bed holding a biscuit box.
Later, she broke the window frame until her palms were full of splinters, and she kicked the door
and broke her toenails. Is this what you call being a mother? You scolded her, scolded her, and
beat her every day. She is such a smart child, but in your eyes, nothing is good. Only Si Jiang is
your precious daughter, right? But how many days have you taken care of Si Jiang? Did you bring
Si Jiang up?"
The wet towel in Gu Ximei's hand knocked over the basin. Her lips trembled for a while, and she
sneered, "I knew it long ago. No matter how hard or tired I am, I deserve it and I don't get a single
good word. You have a lot of complaints in your heart, and finally you have the opportunity to
speak them out, right? Chen Donglai, I am blind. I only recognize you clearly today. All good
things are yours. You are filial, loyal, honest, you care about your family, you love your daughter,
and you are a good father. I am a bad person if I am hypocritical, fierce, and I beat and scold my
children. I can't take care of children, I can't be a good mother, okay, I will teach you and raise
both of them in the future, okay?"
"Mom, Dad, please stop arguing, stop arguing." Si Jiang squatted on the ground holding the
washbasin, his legs were numb and he couldn't stand up.
Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei both fell silent.
"Si Jiang, get up, are you okay? Were you hit by the washbasin?" Gu Ximei wanted to stop Si
Jiang, but Si Jiang held the washbasin and lowered his head sobbing.
"Be good, Si Jiang, get up. Your legs are wet. Mom will help you wipe them." Gu Ximei softened
her voice.
Si Jiang raised her face: "Mom, Dad, can you go find my sister first? Go find my sister first, and
stop arguing. It's all my fault!" She tried to open her eyes wide to see every expression of her
mom and dad, but tears fell down in strings, and the faces of the adults remained blurred.
Gu Ximei was stunned, squatted down and twisted a towel to wipe her legs: "What nonsense are
you talking about? It's none of your business. It's all your sister's fault for being too naughty and
some useless people."
Chen Donglai couldn't help but pick up her words again: "Can you stop being so sarcastic in front
of your daughter? You blame others for everything. You are always right. You are never wrong."
"Did I tell you? You don't have time to claim it yourself?" Gu Ximei chuckled and pulled Si Jiang
up: "Come on, Mommy will take you out to find Si Nan. When you find her, I will beat her butt to
pieces."
"What else can you do besides hitting her? Can't you talk to the child properly?"
"How many words have you spoken to your daughters? You can probably count them on your
hands and feet. How dare you talk about me?"
Si Jiang suddenly shook off his mother's hand, ran two steps toward the door, turned back and
shouted, "You guys keep quarreling, you guys keep quarreling, don't bother me or my sister! It's
okay if you quarrel until dark, I will go find my sister myself!"
"Si Jiang!" Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei finally stopped fighting.
"I hate you, I hate dad, I hate mom!" Si Jiang ran out without looking back.
The couple looked at each other, neither of them willing to show weakness, and they chased out
together. In the narrow doorway, neither of them gave way. Finally, Chen Donglai took a step back
and let Gu Ximei go first. They didn't even look at each other, but they had the same thought in
their minds: one just ran away, and I haven't found him yet, and now another one has run away.
This life is really unbearable.
Si Jiang ran under the sun, leaving behind the calls and greetings from all around. She wanted to
find her sister, only her sister was hers, that mother and that father were not hers. She had
always felt that she was not like their daughter, she was like a guest, always receiving the most
polite treatment and the most beautiful compliments, but always outside the door of that
"home".
No one knew how much she envied Sinan. Her sister talked to her parents like a family, just like
her cousins and uncles and aunts, and just like her uncle to her grandmother. They could say and
do anything. But she couldn't do that. She had to find something to say.
She envied Sinan for being constantly scolded by her mother. From morning till night, her
mother's eyes seemed to be fixed on her sister. She was not allowed to squat to eat, her back
should be straight, she was not allowed to show her teeth when eating, she was not allowed to
make noises when drinking soup, she had to brush her teeth up and down, left and right, inside
and outside. She had to be polite, she had to say please and thank you. She was not allowed to
run around when emptying the spittoon, she had to wash her hands after emptying the spittoon,
she had to cover the lid after using the toilet, she was not allowed to walk with her belt in her
hands, she had to check if there was mud in the gaps between her fingernails, and if her hair
smelled from sweat.
But her mother always said the same thing to her: Si Jiang is so pretty, Si Jiang is so obedient, Si
Jiang is so nice, Si Jiang should not spoil her sister too much. The most common phrase she used
in her mother's words was "Si Nan, look at your sister." If she were not pretty, obedient,
excellent, and did not spoil her sister, she would not be Si Jiang, and she might not even have
these words.
She even envied Sinan for being scolded and beaten by her mother, and for her screaming and
crying. Only when Sinan leaned on her and called her sister, and looked at her with disgust and
didn't give her a good look, did she feel the intimacy, and felt that she was not alone, she had a
sister. Only when she was good to Sinan and made Sinan happy, did she feel that she was the
elder sister of this family, she had a mother, she had a father, and she had her own family. She
shouldn't have told her mother that her father beat Sinan, she shouldn't have stopped her father
from beating Sinan, and she shouldn't have not accompanied Sinan to empty the spittoon. It was
all her fault. It was because of her that Sinan ran away and caused her father and mother to
quarrel.
Si Jiang thought of the lake in the Cultural Palace, shuddered under the scorching sun, and ran
towards Wuning Road crying.
——
In the eleventh lane of Kangjiaqiao, Chen Sinan followed the ant colony and took two steps.
Suddenly, a strong wind blew, and there was a sound of rustling above her head. A clothes-drying
pole shook and slid down. She jumped away, and the clothes-drying pole fell to the side of her
wind-proof sandals with two clangs. There was a buzzing sound, and a pink bed sheet with a red
peony pattern rolled down from the air and covered her from head to toe.
In the pink, Sinan heard a high-pitched and clear singing voice coming from the doorway next
door: "A girl named Lin fell from the sky, like a light cloud just emerging from a mountain."
She grabbed the bed sheet and pulled it down, but the powder seemed to flow endlessly. A
female voice sang from outside: "I thought he was a frivolous and unsophisticated person, but it
turns out he has a noble character."
Sinan got goosebumps for some reason, and she pulled at them twice, and suddenly her eyes lit
up. A boy of seven or eight years old held the bed sheet and smiled at her: "I said it must be you,
but they didn't believe it!" He looked up and shouted: "Look, the champion of climbing the water
tower is here!" There was a cheer from above and the sound of stairs banging.
Zhao Youning smiled and asked Sinan: "Little sister, did you get the leather slingshot later?"
When the sad things were mentioned, Chen Sinan's eyes misted up. She turned around and
squatted against the wall, continued to look at the ants with wide eyes, and replied: "What's it
got to do with you?"
"Wow, how old are you? Three, four, or five? How can you crawl so fast?"
"Yang Guang must have wanted to scare you. I saw him crawling towards you and trying to pull
your feet."
"Are you Chen Sijiang's sister? Will you live in Wanchun Street from now on?"
"Can we play with you? Can you teach us how to play marbles?"
"I just helped you beat Yang Guang, and hit him hard on the back."
The three boys surrounded Sinan and talked in a buzzing voice, casting a large shadow over her
head.
Seeing that Si Nan ignored them, Zhao Youning also squatted down: "My name is Zhao Youning,
and your sister and I are in the same school and grade. Do you want me to take you home?"
Sinan stared at the ant and shook his head: "No!"
"Then - do you want to come to my house to play? I have iced sour plum soup. It's iced."
Sinan hesitated for a moment and looked at Zhao Youning: "My grandma's house has iced orange
juice." But he couldn't help licking the corner of his lips. He hadn't drunk any water all morning,
and now he realized that his mouth was very dry and his throat was a little sore.
"The sour plum soup is delicious too. Come on. We'll take you home after you finish drinking it."
Zhao Youning stretched out his hand towards her.
"Yes, let's go together and tell your father to stop beating you."
"Your father is really tall. We were scared to death when he lost his temper just now."
Si Nan's eyes were sore. She sniffed and stood up: "My name is Chen Si Nan, my sister is Chen Si
Jiang, do you really know my sister?"
"Of course, your sister is famous, she's a big star." Zhao Youning smiled and held Si Nan's hand.
"Your sister appears on TV every month. She is also the lead dancer of the Little Star Art Troupe.
She danced "Embroidering the Red Flag" on May Day, right? She is also very good at studying. She
is the second in the grade and has won many awards. She will also host the opening ceremony
next semester."
Sinan couldn't help but ask, "My sister is second? Then who is first?"
Zhao Youning held the bed sheet tightly with a bit of pride and puffed out his chest: "Me. I will be
the flag-raiser at the opening ceremony of next semester."
Sinan shook his hand off and raised his chin: "Humph!"
"Hey, sister, sister?"
"My sister has me. I am the best at climbing the water tower! The best at playing marbles! The
best at rolling hoops! The best at patting candy wrappers! Do you have a sister as good as me? Do
you have a sister as good as me?" Sinan put his hands on his hips, his eyes fell on the sour plum
soup in the brushed glass on the dining table, and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Zhao Youning was stunned: "No——"
I lost again. I'm so angry. This sister is really extraordinary.

Chapter 32
Sinan straightened her back, put her legs together, and sat in the front half of the armchair,
sipping the iced sour plum soup. How could this glass be so beautiful? She held up the glass and
looked left and right at the window.
"My grandma's house also has a color TV." Si Nan looked at Zhao Youning and raised his chin
slightly.
"I have one at home, but it's in black and white!" "I have one at home, too." "I don't have a TV at
home, so I watch it at Brother Ningning's house. My grandma said it saves electricity for the
family."
Zhao Youning turned his head to look at his own black-and-white TV on the chest of drawers, and
also held up the glass and shook it towards the light: "My father said that he would replace it
with a large Japanese color TV by the end of this year, a Sony brand. Do you know Sony?"
Sinan's eyes widened: "What mud?"
"Sony. Made in Japan. There's a big billboard on Nanjing East Road." Zhao Youning stood up and
took out a photo from the chest of drawers to show Sinan: "Just buy this one, model KV2010CH.
Do you know the English alphabet? This one is pronounced K, and this one——"
"We are Chinese and we don't need to learn English! When we grow up, we will be able to defeat
American imperialism and liberate all mankind!" Sinan thought of Teacher Lin's words, snorted,
clenched his fists, raised his arms and waved them a few times.
Zhao Youning laughed out loud: "Your Xinjiang is really fun. My dad said we should make friends
with the Americans. Our school no longer shouts this slogan."
Sinan couldn't think of a reply. His face turned red and he rolled his eyes. "My father is a college
student, and my uncle is also a college student! You are just a primary school student, how do
you know?"
Sheng Fang, who didn't have a TV at home, raised his hand: "I know, I know, because Uncle Zhao
is a university professor! Professors are teachers in universities who specialize in teaching college
students. He knows a lot."
Zhao Youning nodded with a smile.
"That's the teacher." Sinan was unconvinced: "My mother is also a teacher!" But his momentum
weakened.
"Oh? Which grade does your mother teach?" Zhao Youning asked with a smile.
Sinan stopped talking.
"Fifth grade?" Sheng Fang came over and asked. The other two followed suit and asked, "Are you
teaching middle school or high school?"
Sinan put down his glass: "My mother teaches the most important grade!"
"Third year of junior high school? Third year of high school?" Zhao Youning asked deliberately. He
already knew that Chen Sijiang's mother was an elementary school teacher.
Sinan laughed proudly: "My mother teaches the first grade, which every child has to go to! She
teaches Chinese!"
The four boys stared at each other: "What's the most important thing in the first grade?"
Sinan said calmly: "Can you all go to college? My uncle said that it is very difficult to get into
college. He was admitted to Peking University, the number one university in the country, out of
5.7 million people. His grades were ranked third in Shanghai! You will definitely not be able to get
in, but - you must have all been in the first grade, right?" Oh, she was so smart. She remembered
it in her mind after her elder sister said it once. She didn't want to remember it, but these words
had to sink into her mind, and she had no choice.
Except for Zhao Youning, the other three boys nodded silently. What she said really made sense.
"Next year I will be able to enter the all-important first grade!"
“I’ll be able to start in September!”
"I just finished the most important first grade! Hahaha."
Zhao Youning felt that he needed to be alone.
——
Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei caught up with Si Jiang on Wuning Road. Si Jiang cried and said there
was a big lake in the Cultural Palace and she was worried about her sister. Before she could finish
her words, Chen Donglai was so scared that he picked up Si Jiang and ran inside.
Gu Ximei only felt a buzzing in her ears. She gritted her teeth and uttered the three words "Chen
Sinan", and ran after Chen Donglai like a gust of wind. In the past six months, she no longer
locked Sinan up, because she couldn't lock her up anyway, and she didn't get angry and yell at her
at night. She kept her meals and concentrated on preparing lessons and reviewing. When it was
dark at eight or nine o'clock, she would always come back by herself after being outside, eat
when she was asked to, take a bath when she was asked to, and come to massage her back
obediently.
She finally understood that she was here to pay her debt. She had always thought that she didn't
like and couldn't like this daughter. This child made her suffer so much. She would complain when
she thought about it, get angry when she saw it, and explode at the slightest thing. But the pain
of her internal organs being fried in oil when Sinan got lost several times was so real. It was
snowing so heavily that someone said that they seemed to see Sinan climbing onto a tractor to
Aksu. She didn't even think about it, and ran from Shajingzi to Aksu, taking one step deep and
one step shallow. She used the strength she had gained from the years of camping and training in
the Corps, and walked 20 kilometers in six hours. Fortunately, she met a donkey cart. When she
found Zhu Guangmao, she found out that this little bastard actually ate, drank, slept well, and
was already wrapped in a thick quilt on the tractor back to Shajingzi. Who could resist beating
her? Her feet were soaked in the snow for more than ten hours, and she never recovered from
the frostbite. Her lungs were also sick, and she coughed from winter to spring every year. She
couldn't stand being accused of being a bad mother.
Chen Donglai carried Si Jiang and ran to the lake. The lake was shining silver, and more than a
dozen boats were paddling. Someone was singing on the boats. He put Si Jiang down, panting
and carefully checked along the lake. He caught anyone he met and asked them, but found
nothing. After walking for five minutes, he remembered to look back, and saw Gu Ximei standing
by the lake motionless.
"What are you looking at?" He led Si Jiang to meet them. Gu Ximei didn't even look at him. Chen
Donglai realized that Gu Ximei's sunburned face was covered with tears. She squinted under the
scorching sun, and the fine lines at the corners of her eyes were particularly obvious. When the
wind blew, a few strands of white hair shone on her temples. Gu Beiwu is only one year younger
than her, but he looks ten years younger than her. The bright eyes with tears in them standing on
the playground on New Year's Eve grabbed Chen Donglai's heart, twisting it left and right, and it
was so painful. He was suddenly filled with sadness and annoyance. He was just a useless
bastard, what a bunch of bullshit he had just said. She was right in scolding him.
"You wait here, I'll go look around the lake." Chen Donglai wiped his face.
"Dad, my stomach hurts. Can I stand for a while?" Si Jiang asked while holding his stomach and
crying.
Gu Ximei raised her hand and felt something sticky on the back of her hand. She lowered her
head and raised her shoulders to rub it on her shirt, trying to pull the corners of her mouth: "It's
okay, your sister can swim. She has such a bad temper, you can't tell her, she will run away at any
time. It's okay, Si Jiang, don't cry, she will come back by herself every time it gets dark."
"My sister doesn't know grandma's house!" Si Jiang cried out. His stomach hurt even more and
he had to bend over.
Gu Ximei was shocked to see beads of sweat on her forehead, "Did your father strangle you?"
"I didn't..." Chen Donglai's voice started high and then went down: "Pay attention, Si Jiang, let
Daddy see where you are hurting?"
Si Jiang fell to the ground, curled up and twitched a few times, his face wrinkled into a ball: "I - I
just need to rest for a while."
Gu Ximei slapped Chen Donglai on the back and said, "Pick up our daughter! Go to the hospital
first! It might be acute appendicitis." There was a girl in their company who had a stomachache
like this. She held a hot water bottle and said she would be fine after enduring it. However, her
appendix perforated and she died two days later.
"Mom, no, go find my sister first, I'll be fine in a while." Si Jiang hugged her father's neck and
cried. She had never made a mistake at a critical moment. What happened today? Where did her
sister go...
——
Zhao Youning and the others sent Chen Sinan back to Wanchun Street. Sinan did not forget to
find the spittoon in the corner. She wrinkled her nose and carried it far away from herself. She
also boasted that her uncle's bicycle had two bells, and that iced orange juice was more fun than
iced sour plum soup and could make her tongue yellow. Her uncle took them to the International
Hotel, standing in the center of Shanghai. When her uncle came back, he would definitely help
her find Yang Guang to get back the slingshot she won. As soon as she finished saying this, she
bumped into Yang Guang at the entrance of the Cultural Station.
"Scamp! Give me the slingshot!" Sinan threw down the spittoon and ran up to shout.
Yang Guang stretched out his hand and pushed her away: "Little Xinjiang, get away!"
Si Nan fell to the ground, her knees and palms aching. Zhao Youning and others caught up with
Yang Guang and tried to reason with him, their faces red. Si Nan got up and looked down, and
saw that her blue Dacron pants were torn, and her little head buzzed. Mom had said several
times that this pair of pants cost eight yuan, and even if she sold herself, it wouldn't be enough.
When Zhao Youning was worrying about telling the teacher and telling your grandma had no
effect on Yang Guang, he was dumbfounded when he saw Si Nan approaching him quietly from
behind. Yang Guang saw his strange expression and was about to turn around, but with a "bang",
the back of his head was hit firmly and fiercely by a spittoon. He shook and smelled a foul odor
fermented by the sun, and even felt two drops of suspicious liquid flowing down his neck. After
seeing clearly what it was, he roared in anger: "Chen Si Nan! You are dead! I will beat you to
death--"
Zhao Youning subconsciously hugged him around the waist and said, "Sister, run!" The three
younger ones nearby also hurried to help, some holding his legs and some pulling his arms.
Yang Guang struggled desperately, Si Nan saw the opportunity and pulled out the leather
slingshot he had on his waist. He hit Yang Guang hard on the butt before turning around and
running away, not forgetting to wave the slingshot at Zhao Youning twice: "Thank you, Brother
Ningning!"
Sinan ran back to her grandmother's house as fast as she could, remembering Yang Guang's fierce
look just now, and hurriedly looked for someone to back her up: "Sister! Dad! Mom! Uncle!
Someone wants to beat me!" Unexpectedly, the door of the house was open, and no one was
there. She hurriedly put the slingshot into the mooncake box in the chest of drawers, climbed
onto a chair and looked out the window. Yang Guang and four or five older children had already
rushed in from the entrance of Lane 63 with great momentum. Zhao Youning and others were
chasing after them. Seeing that she couldn't go to her grandfather's house, she went downstairs
with a bang, and rummaged around in the kitchen. She found that every household locked their
kitchen knives and rolling pins in the cupboard. She ran out of the doorway, looked left and right,
and wondered where to hide, only to find that a boy who was darker and thinner than her was
sitting on the ground next to her, staring at her intently.
Chen Sinan shrank back half of his body in vigilance: "Who are you? What are you doing here?
Are you going to hit me?"
"Chen Sinan -! You little bastard, you little Xinjiang guy, are you looking for death?" Yang Guang
had already turned into the alley and was running towards Sinan, waving his fists.
Usually there was only a big lock hanging outside the kitchen, and each household had a key in
the doorway, but the door could not be locked from the inside. Si Nan's thin arms and legs held
the old wooden door for only three seconds before she was pulled out by Yang Guang. She had a
bad temper since she was a child, and would fight over a disagreement. She had fought countless
times, and her feet were lifted off the ground without a word. She pounced on Yang Guang and
bit his waist, grinding the soft flesh with her back teeth. Yang Guang was so painful that he
jumped up and wanted to throw her off.
"She's a Xinjiang dog!" Yang Guang was already in tears after saying this, and he hit Sinan on the
back and head with both hands: "Quick, pull her down, ah ah ah ah - don't pull, don't pull - don't
bite - ah ah ah."
Zhao Youning and his gang rushed over and a group of boys started fighting.
Sinan fell to the ground with a thud, not caring about the bleeding scraped knee. She rolled over
and half-pronely fell on the ground like a runner, kicking her legs on the small stones with all her
strength, intending to hit anyone who dared to come up to her with a headbutt. There was no
fear in the eyes of the four-year-old girl. She pursed her lips tightly, with a trace of blood hanging
from the corners of her mouth.
Opposite him was Yang Guang, who lifted his sweatshirt and cried bitterly: "Look, look, my flesh
was bitten off by her. It's all bloody! Beat her! Beat this little Xinjiang girl to death!"
Later, Zhao Youning read all the novels by Jin Yong, Gu Long, Liang Yusheng, and Huanzhu Louzhu,
and seriously concluded: Chen Sinan, you had a murderous aura at that time, but your martial
arts skills were a bit ugly, and you looked like a dwarf killer.
Finally, an old man and an old woman from next door intervened, but they were no match for the
group of young bastards from the alley. Si Nan knocked two of them over, and was finally pinned
to the ground by Yang Guang. This big guy was much heavier than Shen Qingping and the others.
Si Nan almost couldn't catch her breath, and she scratched two more bloody marks on Yang
Guang's arm with her backhand. He pressed her hard, and her chin hit the gravel directly. This
time her mouth was really full of blood, her own blood.
Yang Guang was furious and raised his arm to hit Si Nan's head, but was kicked in the chest and
fell to the side. He didn't see anything clearly, but found a strange-looking small curved knife on
his face. There was also a gloomy face less than one centimeter away from his nose, darker and
thinner than Xiao Xinjiang. If he traveled to a few years later, he would probably feel the same as
the sentence often used in martial arts novels: "Those eyes were cold, looking at him was like
looking at a dead person."
Sinan turned over with difficulty and lay on the rough ground. He saw the boy who was sitting by
the door just now pounce on Yang Guang. Time seemed to freeze for a few seconds, followed by
screams and crying.
"Murder, murder!——"
Gu Jingsheng stood up slowly, looked around, and turned the rubber knife in his hand twice in
the sun. He lowered his eyes and looked at the shivering Yang Guang, with a vicious smile on his
face: "This is a rubber cutting knife. It is very convenient for cutting blood vessels, and it doesn't
stick to the skin."
Yang Guang shook twice on the ground, rolled his eyes and fainted, with a puddle of water under
his butt.
In the chaos, Chen Sinan stood up with his eyes wide open: "Who are you?"
Gu Jingsheng put away the rubber knife and turned around, frowning: "Is Gu Beiwu here?"
Si Nan limped and kicked Yang Guang, then shook his head: "He doesn't dare to come because
my uncle is here. Do you know my uncle?"
Gu Jingsheng frowned again: "I only know Gu Dongwen."
Sinan thought for a moment and said, "That's my uncle from Yunnan. You are..." Her eyes lit up,
"Cousin? You are so awesome. You scared this scoundrel to death. Can you really kill someone?"
Gu Jingsheng looked at Chen Sinan, who was covered in dirt and had blood on his mouth, with a
look of disgust: "I am not (your eldest cousin), I did not (kill anyone), don't talk nonsense."

Chapter 33
Wanchun Street, which had been quiet for a long time, became lively again.
"The little bastard from the Gu family is really scary. He stabbed him with a knife. It's unlucky for
Yang Guang to have a hole in his belly, and blood is dripping!"
"Tsk tsk tsk, the ground was covered in blood. When Old Lady Liu saw it, she fainted
immediately."
"What nonsense! How did all the blood come from? It was clearly all urine! Ala Xiaogang was at
the scene, does the eyewitness understand? Yang Guang was bitten on the belly by Chen's little
Xinjiang, and he couldn't get rid of it no matter how hard he tried."
"Bite? Oh my god! Do you want a tetanus shot? Or a rabies shot?"
"I heard that the person who stabbed the man was Gu Dongwen's son. This is unbelievable. As
the saying goes, a dragon gives birth to a dragon and a phoenix gives birth to a phoenix. The son
of Boss Gu stabbed people with a knife and carried a knife with him. He should be arrested and
locked up."
"What are you catching? Gu Beiwu's girlfriend has been dealt with. I heard that she is the
commander's daughter. She drove an open jeep and brought several PLA soldiers. She had a Type
59 pistol on her waist. It was a Type 59, not a Type 54. Can you tell it apart? The police from the
Public Security Bureau smiled and went up to shake hands with her. It was useless for Old Lady
Yang to cry."
"Tsk, Yang Guang deserves to be punished. He bullies my daughter at school every day. Last year,
he poked my daughter under the eye with a pencil and almost poked her eye. There was a deep
hole. What did his grandma say? Ah, it didn't go blind, what's the big deal! Bah! He deserves it!"
"Yes, yes, yes. I heard that it was actually Yang Guang who injured Xiao Xinjiang. Xiao Xinjiang was
sent to the 85th Hospital. A group of doctors and nurses were surrounding her."
The 85th Hospital is a military hospital located on Huashan Road. The ward is large, with several
large octagonal windows, the window frames painted light green, the room is very bright, and
the dark wooden floor is shiny.
Chen Sinan opened her mouth wide and looked curiously in the small mirror. Her lower lip was
swollen and purple, and saliva was dripping down her mouth. A small part of her left front tooth
was broken. She reached out and touched the broken cross section curiously. It was prickly and
sandy, a bit like eating sand. She licked it with her tongue and it was astringent.
Granny Gu pulled her hand down: "Don't touch it, your mother will be here soon."
Chen Sinan dropped the mirror, rolled down to the ground, and crawled under the bed. Grandma
Gu grabbed her belt and pulled her out: "You little girl, you are so naughty, what are you doing! Is
your bottom dirty--" The children and parents in the next bed laughed.
"Chen Sinan!" A muffled roar came from the door of the ward.
Sinan broke free from his grandmother's hand and ran to the innermost part.
"Come out here." Gu Ximei bent down to pull her. Si Nan scurried to the other side. Gu Ximei
went around to the other side, and she scurried to the diagonal line again. This cat-and-mouse
game, the mother and daughter have been fighting for three years, cooperating smoothly.
"Are you coming out or not?"
"Mmmmm, no rough milk..." Chen Sinan made a slurred request: "Mommam, please don't hit
me."
Grandma Gu tried to smooth things over: "Grandma is here and won't let your mom beat you.
Come out quickly. Be good."
Gu Ximei took a deep breath: "I won't beat you, come out. I'll take you to the ward upstairs to see
your sister."
Sinan poked his head out: "Sister was also beaten?"
Gu Ximei grabbed her under the ribs and dragged her out: "You didn't obey and ran around, and
your sister was anxious to find you everywhere. You have acute appendicitis and have had
surgery."
“What is the appendix?”
"It's something in the belly. You won't understand even if I tell you." Gu Ximei picked up Si Nan
and asked Grandma Gu to go together.
"Does the surgery involve cutting open the belly?"
"nonsense."
"Will my sister die? I don't want my sister to die!"
"Bullshit. She'll be fine after the doctor performs the surgery. She just has to stay here for two
weeks before she can be discharged."
"Then I have to live here. I want to accompany my elder sister." Chen Sinan suddenly shouted:
"Cousin! Mom, cousin is there!"
Gu Ximei turned around and saw Gu Jingsheng sitting at the staircase of the fire escape, leaning
against the wall. He was a small, dark and thin man with a pair of frighteningly bright eyes. She
couldn't help but frowned and hesitated for a moment: "You - come here, go upstairs with us."
Gu Jingsheng said nothing, stood up and walked out of the darkness quietly. Gu Ximei frowned
again and quickened her pace. Granny Gu glanced at Gu Jingsheng and sighed, "Let's go. Go see
your sister Si Jiang."
——
Zhou Shanrang greeted and arranged a double room for Sijiang, leaving the bed next to her
empty so that the person who stayed with her at night could sleep comfortably. At this time,
Chen Sijiang had already woken up, but her whole body was still numb. She rolled her eyes at the
people around her and tried to smile.
Chen A-niang, Chen Donglai, Gu Beiwu, Zhou Shanrang, Gu Nanhong, plus a doctor and two
nurses, the huge ward was packed. The doctor was still explaining the precautions after the
operation: "You can drink water only after you have exhausted the gas. Drink a little at first.
Massage your legs more. Do you remember the massage techniques just now? If there is
anything, ring this bell and the nurse will come. Two people can stay with you at night, no more."
Chen A-niang said with tears in her eyes: "My baby has suffered so much. A-niang will come to
accompany you every day."
Chen Donglai comforted his mother, thanked the doctors and nurses, and thanked Zhou Shanrang
for his timely help. Seeing Gu Beiwu's cold eyes, he couldn't help feeling guilty. Gu Nanhong was
busy talking to Zhou Shanrang. When she saw Gu Ximei and the others coming in, she said a few
words to Si Nan out of pity, and her eyes fell on Gu Jingsheng. Ah, this kid is dark and thin, and his
facial features are really good, but he doesn't look like someone with the surname Gu at all.
Gu Beiwu sent the doctors and nurses out, then returned to the ward and saw Si Nan lying on the
bedside, with her little face gently resting on Si Jiang's hand: "I'm not in pain, really. Sister, do you
feel any pain? I'll blow on you and it will stop hurting."
Si Jiang's tears flowed into his ears like a broken string, and he murmured softly: "Sister is back,
what's wrong with my mouth?" Gu Ximei took out a handkerchief to wipe Si Jiang's tears and
coaxed her a few words.
Gu Jingsheng stood behind the door without saying a word. Gu Beiwu pulled a chair over and
asked him to sit down. He shook his head and took out a crumpled letter from his trouser pocket.
After reading the letter, Gu Beiwu frowned and pondered for a moment. Seeing that the whole
family was gathered in the ward, he did not avoid Zhou Shanrang and directly told him the
general meaning of Gu Dongwen's letter.
Granny Gu was horrified: "Boss, are you planning a rebellion?!"
Gu Nanhong curled her lips, "Mom, you don't understand. It's called petitioning, not rebellion.
Didn't the educated youth say that the more you join the queues, the more right you are; the
more you join the fields, the longer you join; the only way to change the status quo is to petition.
Educated youth in many places are making trouble, going on hunger strikes, lying on the railway
tracks, etc., otherwise what can they do? They can't come back. Gu Ximei, you educated youth in
Xinjiang should also make trouble. Only the crying child gets the milk."
Chen Donglai was also shocked: "Tens of thousands of educated youth are going to strike
together and go to Beijing to meet with Vice Premier Deng? This is nonsense, and it will cause
trouble. Beiwu, you should write a letter to your eldest brother and persuade him not to join the
riot."
Gu Beiwu asked Gu Jingsheng: "Where's your mother? Is she going too?"
Gu Jingsheng suddenly tensed up. He stared at his toes for a moment and shook his head: "She's
gone."
"What do you mean missing?" Gu Nanhong and Gu Ximei asked in unison. Gu Beiwu glanced at
Zhou Shanrang, who nodded and quietly left, closing the door gently.
Gu Jingsheng pursed his lips, looked at the light green wall beside him, and lowered his head: "It's
been one hundred and twelve days since I last saw her. She went to the bathroom at night and
didn't come back. I couldn't find her."
Everyone in the room had never heard of such a ridiculous thing. They looked at each other and
then at Gu Beiwu.
Gu Beiwu poured a glass of water for Gu Jingsheng: "Sit down and talk slowly. Your father never
mentioned this matter - did you report it to the police at that time?"
Gu Jingsheng refused to take the cup: "Gu Dongwen is not my father."
Si Jiang and Si Nan both widened their eyes.
Granny Gu couldn't help crying: "What's going on? My son doesn't recognize me. Boss! Gu
Dongwen, why don't you just come back?"
"Gu Dongwen is not my father!" Gu Jingsheng's voice became louder.
"Then who is your father?" Chen Sinan's voice became louder.
The room was silent. After a long while, Gu Jingsheng managed to utter, "I don't know."
Grandma Gu almost fainted on Aunt Chen.
"You were born before Gu Dongwen married your mother, right?" Gu Nanhong was well versed in
the ways of the world and was the first to react.
Gu Jingsheng didn't look at her either, he just lowered his eyes and nodded.
"How old are you now?" Gu Beiwu was silent for a moment and then asked him softly.
"Ten years old."
Gu Nanhong couldn't help but ask, "Then did your mother tell you who your father was? Was he
an educated youth, a local, or someone from the military corps?"
Gu Jingsheng let out a few low wheezing sounds from his throat, his dark, thin face twisted a few
times, a layer of sweat broke out on his forehead, and Gu Nanhong was so scared that she took
two steps back.
Gu Beiwu patted him on the shoulder gently, "It's okay. We have always regarded you as my
eldest brother's son, and he has always said that you are his son, so you are his son. Come, meet
the family. My name is Gu Beiwu, and I am your uncle. This is your grandmother. This is the eldest
aunt Gu Nanhong, this is the youngest aunt Gu Ximei, and this is your uncle-in-law. The person on
the hospital bed is Si Jiang from your youngest aunt's family, your eldest cousin. The one you are
protecting today is your young cousin Si Nan. The old woman sitting next to Si Jiang's bed is Si
Jiang Si Nan's grandmother. You can just call her grandma."
Gu Jingsheng's eyelids twitched and drooped, and he recognized all the relatives in the room, but
he didn't call any of them. The adults were silent. Chen A Niang whispered to comfort Grandma
Gu, and sighed in her heart that although her family couldn't have a son like Gu Beiwu, it was
fortunate that they didn't have a troublemaker like Gu Dongwen. If such a cheap grandson came
to her family one day, like a wild man, the old man would have to skin his son alive.
Si Jiang weakly called out "cousin", and Si Nan's eyes lit up as he chattered: "Cousin, cousin, I like
you so much. You are so awesome, you scared that ugly fat guy so much that he peed his pants. Is
that a real knife? What is a rubber-cutting knife? What is non-stick leather?"
"Chen Sinan!" Gu Ximei scolded her in a low voice: "Uncle is talking to him, children should not
interrupt."
Si Jiang felt an unprecedented crisis. Si Nan only showed that expression when she watched her
dancing and doing homework. She wanted to hold her sister's hand tightly, but her fingers would
not obey.
Si Nan made a face, let go of Si Jiang's hand, jumped to Gu Jingsheng and pulled his hand:
"Cousin, have you eaten? Are you hungry? Drink some water, the water in the hospital is
delicious, without that weird taste. Can you show me your knife? Don't worry, I won't ask you for
it. I'll just take a look."
Gu Jingsheng broke free from her hand, took two steps towards the door, frowned and ignored
her.
Gu Ximei dragged Chen Sinan back to the bedside and pressed him on a chair: "If you keep
talking, I'll show you how I'll deal with you! Your front teeth are still broken, right?"
Si Nan covered her mouth, stared at her mother unconvinced, and then lost her temper and
threw herself on Si Jiang's hand and hummed. Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, tried to move his
fingers, and touched Si Nan's face: "Sister, dear, can you stay here with me?
Gu Beiwu opened the door: "You stay here with Si Jiang, I'll take Jingsheng to eat something."
After the door was closed, the sound of Granny Gu's no longer suppressed sobbing and the
voices of the crowd's consolation could be heard from inside. Gu Jingsheng turned his head and
followed Gu Beiwu out silently. Zhou Shanrang was chatting and laughing with the nurse, and
when he saw them coming out, he came over and said, "Where are you going? I'll drive you
there."
"Let's go eat something. Let's go together." Gu Beiwu turned around and said, "This is my good
friend Zhou Shanrang."
Gu Jingsheng pursed his lips and raised his eyes: "Hello, Aunt Zhou."
Zhou Shanrang smiled and replied, "Hello."
Gu Beiwu couldn't help but look at him twice more, this kid.

Chapter 34
The ward was in chaos. Granny Gu was furious and spoke in Yangzhou dialect, but Gu Dongwen
was far away in Yunnan and couldn't hear a word she said. She was born with a soft voice and
didn't have any momentum when she scolded. She was just aggrieved and crying.
"Tell me, is that woman a deity? He's already forty years old and has no children, but he insists on
helping others raise their wives and sons! How can you be intimate with someone through their
belly? Even their own children may not be good, so how can I face his father? He has no
conscience at all, throwing someone else's son to his own mother to raise. He is not my son, he is
my ancestor! I owe him a debt for several lifetimes. Tell me, I have suffered for more than sixty
years, have I ever enjoyed a day of happiness? Boss, if you have the guts to come back from the
dead, and explain things to your mother face to face."
Gu Nanhong raised her eyebrows, thinking that she was not really filial, she sighed and shut up.
The eldest brother was sure that my mother was soft-hearted, so he acted first and asked for
permission later. This was really not a decent thing to do. Gu Ximei looked at her two daughters.
Not to mention letting their mother enjoy a good life, she herself had never made her mother
worry, and she felt ashamed.
Chen A Niang also burst into tears: "My dear mother-in-law, as the old saying goes, children are
all debts. We women live to suffer. You should at least think about how filial your fourth son is. He
washed your feet, cut your nails and combed your hair. He went to Beijing to study, and in winter
he even asked the bathroom lady to come to your house to rub your back and pour water. Look
at me, I have a lot of sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren. If anyone thought of taking care
of me like this, I would close my eyes and kick my legs without any resentment now."
Chen Donglai's face flushed with embarrassment. He didn't know whether to persuade his
mother or his mother-in-law. He subconsciously looked at his daughter on the hospital bed for
help, but he felt even more ashamed when he changed his mind.
Si Jiang raised his hand and grabbed his grandmother's sleeve, saying tearfully, "Grandma, I will
be filial to you, and so will my sister." He then pulled the corner of A Niang's clothes and said, "A
Niang, when I'm discharged from the hospital, I'll wash your feet, cut your nails, comb your hair,
and rub your back, okay?"
The two old ladies with bound feet burst into tears. They turned around and hugged Si Jiang's
hands, crying and laughing.
Granny Gu came to her senses and started to worry about Gu Dongwen's safety again. She asked
Chen Donglai, "What do you think we should do? The eldest brother is a restless bastard. No one
can stop him from doing what he wants to do. Can you help the fourth brother think of a way to
stop him? Going against the government will never end well. If anything happens to him - oh my,
what a sin I have committed!"
Just as Chen Donglai was about to speak, he discovered that Si Nan had secretly crawled to the
door and was standing up to reach for the door handle.
"Chen Sinan! What are you doing?"
Sinan trembled when her father yelled. Her little hand just touched the door handle and stopped
there, not daring to turn her head: "Dad, I want to go find my uncle. I haven't eaten yet and I'm
hungry."
Gu Ximei grabbed her and pulled her back: "You deserve to starve to death. I let you run around
and fight, and you even ate half of your teeth. Why are you hungry?" She tore open the bag of
biscuits she had prepared for Si Jiang and stuffed it into her hand, then picked up the thermos to
make malted milk for her.
Gu Nanhong burst out laughing: "I didn't expect that you, Gu Ximei, look like a mother now."
"Thank you, at least you are better than me. I haven't met my three nephews to this day. I guess
Mom only sees your husband and three grandchildren during the Chinese New Year. The Zhao
family in your family is as good as the emperor, haha." Gu Ximei handed the malt milk to Si Nan:
"Drink slowly - hey! I told you to drink slowly, where are your ears? You deserve it if you get
burned."
Si Nan hissed and stuck out her tongue. Granny Gu felt sorry for her and took the cup to blow it
for her. She forgot about her son and her adopted grandson for a moment. Si Jiang held Si Nan's
hand and said, "Come here, sister. I'll blow it for you and it won't hurt. Be good."
Si Nan quickly lowered her head and moved closer to Si Jiang. Si Jiang blew on her a few times:
"Are you feeling better?" Seeing her sister's tearful and expectant face, Si Nan blinked and kissed
Si Jiang on the face: "I'm fine. How about you, sister? The operation must be very painful. Don't
be in pain, sister, don't be in pain, be good." She touched Si Jiang's cheek with her little hand in a
serious manner, as gently and softly as Si Jiang usually did when he coaxed her to sleep at night.
Si Jiang was stunned for a moment, his eyelashes trembling, tears rolling down his cheeks,
forgetting that he had answered dozens of times before that it didn't hurt: "Yeah, yeah, it hurts so
much. If my sister slaps her face a few more times, it probably won't hurt anymore."
Sinan generously gave several kisses, but couldn't help complaining, "Is that enough? My mouth
hurts."
Si Jiang burst into laughter and said, "Yes, yes, it's okay, I don't need to feel any more pain, I don't
need to feel any more pain."
Watching the two sisters kissing each other, the adults in the room were thinking about their own
things, some sighed, some were happy, but no one mentioned Gu Dongwen and Gu Jingsheng
again. Chen Donglai peeled apples. Gu Ximei broke up biscuits and fed them to Si Nan. Gu
Nanhong massaged Si Jiang's legs. The two old ladies surrounded Si Jiang and Si Nan and asked
them about everything that happened that day, and turned all their attention to Yang Guang and
Yang A Nai.
——
Gu Beiwu and the other two bought food in the hospital cafeteria. Gu Jingsheng wolfed down a
large steamed bun smeared with fermented bean curd, scrambled eggs with green peppers and
twice-cooked pork, and he finished two in three minutes.
Gu Beiwu saw that he slowed down after the third steamed bun, so he asked him: "Have you
been to school?"
Gu Jingsheng nodded and glanced at the empty bowl of cabbage soup. Zhou Shanrang smiled and
picked up the bowl: "I'll get you another bowl."
"You took the train by yourself? Was there anyone with you?"
Gu Jingsheng shook his head, swallowed the steamed bun in his mouth, drank a sip of water and
then answered: "I can read." He paused and said: "I walked from Jinghong to Kunming without
buying a ticket."
Gu Beiwu estimated that he was about 1.5 meters tall. If he didn't buy a ticket, he would be
considered a fare-skipper. Even a child like him couldn't buy a ticket.
Gu Jingsheng seemed to know what he was thinking. He turned around to look at Zhou
Shanrang's back, took out another envelope from his vest and gave it to Gu Beiwu: "He asked me
to bring 300 yuan, saying that he would definitely come to pick me up next year." He paused: "I
still have to go back to see my mother."
Of course, this "he" could only be Gu Dongwen. Gu Beiwu hadn't figured out how to settle this
child, but such a huge sum of money certainly couldn't be left to him, so he took it and stretched
out his hand to him again.
Gu Jingsheng was stunned for a moment, then silently handed over the rubber knife in his
trouser pocket: "I was just trying to scare him. This double-edged chisel has never been
sharpened."
Gu Beiwu examined it carefully, then wrapped the rubber knife in the envelope containing the
money and put it away: "You can also tap rubber?"
"Yes. I started cutting rubber when I was two years old. My mother was in poor health and would
faint after cutting for a while. If I didn't cut rubber, she would beat me." Gu Jingsheng picked up
the fourth steamed bun silently: "Can I have another one?"
"You eat." Gu Beiwu's eyes were sore. A two-year-old child had to go tap rubber. One could
imagine the situation of his mother. He couldn't help but ask again: "Do you still go tap rubber
now?"
"Well, let's go with him." Gu Jingsheng's mouth twitched. After all, he was still a child, so he
couldn't help but say: "When he first came to Jinghong, he refused to wear high-top overshoes.
He went into the forest and got his legs bitten by insects. He was so sick, but he still refused to
leave the forest. If it weren't for my mother, his legs would have been sawed off."
Gu Beiwu's eyelids twitched, but he felt relieved. It seemed that although he didn't recognize Gu
Dongwen as his father, their relationship was not bad. Zhou Shanrang put the cabbage soup next
to Gu Jingsheng and smiled at Gu Beiwu, "I'll go to Director Liu's office to call my father back. I'll
meet you in the ward later."
Gu Beiwu waited until Zhou Shanrang walked away before he took out a cigarette and lit it.
"You did a great job today. This is what men in our Gu family should do. Don't be afraid. I will beat
you up next time I meet you." Gu Beiwu said with a smile, "You can't win against the crowd,
understand? If the other side has more people, don't force yourself to fight, you have to run. And
if you can't win, don't insist, you have to run. I see that you have long legs and are thin, so you
must be able to run fast, and you can climb trees and swim, right?"
Gu Jingsheng's eyes lit up, and he nodded while pinching the steamed bun: "Yes. I can run very
fast. No one along the Lancang River can run faster than me. Even adults can't catch up with me. I
can stay in the water for a long time without taking a breath." After that, he smiled slyly: "You are
smarter than him."
"What?" Gu Beiwu was stunned.
"He just knew how to force his way through. He was tied up and hung up by the soldiers and
beaten many times, but he just wouldn't give in or run away." Gu Jingsheng narrowed his eyes
and shook his head: "Silly."
The cigarette in Gu Beiwu's hand was crushed between his fingers, but he didn't feel the heat at
all: "Who hit him?!"
Gu Jingsheng lowered his head and ate his steamed bun, saying nonchalantly: "He always
meddles in other people's business. Last year, a soldier slept with a female educated youth, and
he went to beat him up. He was recognized because he didn't cover his head. He was a regiment
commander, so he was arrested and beaten. Soldiers have guns and are very bad." He thought for
a moment and said: "Auntie Zhou is a good person. I know. There are many bad people where we
are."
The cigarette butt in Gu Beiwu's hand broke into powder and fell on the dining table. Gu
Dongwen had never mentioned it in his letters for more than ten years. He actually thought that
with his elder brother's ability and the dried mushrooms he sent back every year, he must be
living well in Yunnan. At this moment, he understood why his elder brother went to petition and
why he handed Gu Jingsheng over to him. He didn't even think about retreating. How could
anyone retreat after experiencing these things? And he was just thinking about how to stop this
matter and how to prevent him from getting involved.
"——That team leader is in jail now, he deserves it." Gu Jingsheng comforted him.
"Jingsheng, I'll be waiting for your dad in Beijing." Gu Beiwu opened his fist and slowly pushed a
pile of cigarette shavings into the empty bowl: "You can stay in Wanchun Street and live with your
grandma. I'll take you to register for school in a few days."
Gu Jingsheng raised his head and hesitated: "Oh."
Gu Beiwu remained silent. After Gu Jingsheng had finished eating, he spoke again: "Your father
will definitely be able to return to Shanghai. If you really can't find your mother, you should stay
in Shanghai too."
Gu Jingsheng wiped his mouth and looked at Gu Beiwu for a moment. He wanted to say
something, but he just lowered his eyes and nodded.

Chapter 35
At night, Chen Donglai and his wife stayed to keep her company. Si Jiang passed gas and drank
some water. The anesthetic wore off, and the incision hurt a lot, but she gritted her teeth and
insisted that it didn't hurt. After the doctor finished his night rounds, the nurse gave a few
instructions, and the lights in the ward were turned off. Only the pale light in the corridor shone
through the small glass window on the door, spreading on the floor and walls. The dark coffee
ceiling fan turned slowly on the ceiling. Every time the blades turned to a new place, they had to
use all their strength, otherwise it seemed to stop halfway. The shadows on the wall also swayed
slowly and quickly.
"Mom." Si Jiang called softly.
"What's wrong? Where does it hurt?" Gu Ximei sat down beside the bed, her heart almost
broken: "If it hurts, just tell me, I'll ask the nurse if there's any way to relieve the pain, okay?"
"Mom, give me your hand."
Gu Ximei held her little hand, which was icy cold in the summer.
"Dad, can you come over here too?" Si Jiang pulled hard on his mother's hand which was about
to let go.
Chen Donglai felt a pang in his heart, and walked to Gu Ximei and extended his hand as he was
told.
Si Jiang put Mom's hand into Dad's big hand and squeezed it tightly: "Mom, Dad, can you two
make peace?"
The two adults were silent.
Si Jiang squeezed it tighter, using too much force, and the cut was burning and painful, causing
her face to twitch twice. She endured the pain and asked carefully: "Mom, Dad, can you stop
quarreling? It's all my fault——"
"Don't talk nonsense. What does it have to do with you?" Gu Ximei pulled her hand out and put
Si Jiang's hand down: "Okay, no more quarreling. Aren't we not quarreling now? Have a good rest
and don't think too much."
Chen Donglai put his arm around Gu Ximei's shoulders, but Gu Ximei froze and didn't break free.
"Si Jiang, Dad was so hot today that he didn't remember what he said. Adults sometimes get
confused and say things in anger, but it will be fine after it passes. Listen to Mom and have a good
rest. Tomorrow, your uncle will bring your sister and grandmother to see you. Mother said she
will make black fish soup for you. Don't you like fish soup the most?"
Si Jiang closed his eyes, his long eyelashes trembled a few times, and then opened them again
worriedly: "Then - you won't get divorced, right?"
Gu Ximei was stunned and glanced at Chen Donglai. Chen Donglai said hurriedly: "No!"
"Mom?" Si Jiang was still worried.
Gu Ximei sighed, lowered her head and kissed her face: "Of course not, okay, go to sleep."
Si Jiang stared carefully into her mother's eyes in the dim light, and tears welled up in her eyes for
no reason. At that moment, she seemed to sense her mother's difficulties, and the dull pain also
cut into her heart.
"Be good, don't cry. Tears after surgery will damage your eyes in the future." Gu Ximei found the
desk lamp and turned on the switch. She wiped her tears and found the baby diaper under the
pillow and put it in her hand: "Sinan always won't let you sleep with this cloth in your arms.
Today, the little bad boy is not here, so it can accompany you."
Si Jiang tightly grasped the diaper and burst into laughter: "Mom, are you happy with me?"
"Of course I'm happy. Mommy loves you the most. You are mommy's most precious sweetheart
and mommy's pride." Gu Ximei couldn't help but hug her gently. She felt sorry that her daughter
had grown so big and she hadn't had the chance to hold her properly for a few days.
"Does Mom like her sister?"
Gu Ximei frowned: "Sister, she is not naughty and doesn't cause trouble for Mom. Of course Mom
likes her."
"My sister is naughty, and I like her too. I'm very happy about her." Si Jiang said seriously.
Chen Donglai laughed: "Silly boy, who would use the word 'a mess' here? Go to sleep quickly, and
when your sister comes tomorrow, you can tell her yourself."
"I want to be with my sister." Si Jiang blinked: "Dad, that older cousin can stay at grandma's
house, why can't my sister?"
Gu Ximei and Chen Donglai were both startled. Si Jiang secretly said sorry to the cousin who
didn't admit that he was his cousin.
——
The lamp was still on, and Si Jiang's breathing gradually became even, with occasional humming
sounds. Gu Ximei sat by the bed, gently massaging her daughter's legs, thinking about something.
Chen Donglai nervously brought her a glass of warm water, but she just pretended not to see it.
He peeled and cut the apple into pieces and handed it to her, and she said coldly, "You're blocking
me."
"It's my fault today." Chen Donglai sighed and sat down at the foot of the bed: "Don't be angry."
Gu Ximei twitched the corners of her mouth, as if she was smiling: "How dare I be angry."
The couple reunited every month in the past few years, but there was no such thing as a reunion.
On the first day, they were still polite and courteous, but on the second day, they basically started
to hold their grudges. On the third day, they always had a few words, and Chen Donglai
apologized and gave in at night. On the fourth day, they had breakfast and said goodbye as if
nothing had happened. As long as Gu Ximei said she was not angry, she must be angry. Now she
said she dared not be angry, which meant she was very angry. Chen Donglai fought and failed
again and again. He could do ideological work for his subordinates, but he had no way to do
ideological work for his wife. Fortunately, he was familiar with this process, so he quickly made a
detour.
"Do you think it's appropriate to leave Jingsheng's child at your mother's house? Your mother
also has to take care of Si Jiang. What if the two children don't get along?" Chen Donglai changed
the subject.
Gu Ximei paused, she had been thinking about this: "What should we do? Si Jiang and grandma
are so close, the old and the young will cry if they are separated. If Si Jiang is sent back to your
grandparents' home, your father is not in good health, and the third family asks your mother to
help her pick up her son and daughter from school and cook dinner every few days. Hum, your
mother goes out at three or four o'clock, takes an hour-long bus to Zhabei District to pick up the
children, cook dinner, and get home at eight o'clock. What should Si Jiang do?"
Chen Donglai sighed: "I'm not worried about the child's personality. How can he be obedient?
What if it affects Si Jiang's studies? Alas, it's difficult for children to learn good things, but it's too
easy to learn bad things."
Gu Ximei remained silent. Gu Nanhong and she didn't get along in any way, but they rarely
agreed on this matter. Gu Jingsheng was a wolf cub. When he caused trouble, he was not the
same level as Si Nan. He was even scarier than his elder brother when he was a child. His mother
was an old lady with bound feet. It was useless to beat him if he didn't listen. She was not a
proper relative. She saw Si Jiang every day. She was worried and couldn't sleep. Her baby Si Jiang
must not be left with such a wild child. Thinking of this, Gu Ximei couldn't help but feel a little
resentful towards her brother. Si Jiang was also raised by him, but he didn't think about her. Such
an arrangement was a waste of Si Jiang's kindness to her uncle.
Chen Donglai suddenly had an idea and said, "How about we take Jingsheng to Xinjiang?"
Gu Ximei raised her head and said, "What a psycho!" She was exhausted from taking care of Si
Nan alone, and if there was another Gu Jingsheng, she would just jump into the Tarim River.
"Didn't he say that he can ride a bike, cook, climb trees, swim, and do everything else? If he were
in your school, right under your nose, what could happen? After school, he could help you cook
or look after Sinan. Look, he even drew his sword to help Sinan today, he shouldn't bully a child as
young as her." Chen Donglai's face heated up: "Well - didn't Beiwu say that his elder brother gave
him 300 yuan for a year's living expenses? He and Sinan are so thin, and the two children and you
can replenish their bodies, ahem, get some nutrition together."
Gu Ximei sneered, "Chen Donglai, have some shame, I still have some. I have relied on my
mother's family and Beiwu for so many years. Isn't it enough? You even want to think about my
eldest brother's money. You Ningbo people are really calculating."
Chen Donglai was so ashamed that he hung his head for a moment and said, "Just pretend I
didn't say anything."
Gu Ximei looked at him coldly for a while, and said calmly: "I will go ask my mother first. If she
doesn't want to take him, Gu Jingsheng can follow us back to Aksu."
——
A few days later, Grandma Gu grumbled to Gu Beiwu privately that it was too difficult for her to
take care of Gu Jingsheng. Grandma Yang was extremely protective of her own shortcomings and
unwilling to suffer any loss. When she was young, she was a prostitute. Seeing her grandson
suffer a loss and the police siding with the Gu family, she was unwilling to give in. She specifically
waited for Gu Beiwu and his friends to leave the house and lay down downstairs to cry and howl.
The words she cursed were so ugly that Grandma Gu was embarrassed to listen to them. She also
stopped Gu Jingsheng from going out to cause trouble, so as to prevent Grandma Yang from
pretending to fall or faint. At least six or seven families in Wanchun Street had suffered from her
and paid money for the humiliation. Otherwise, Yang Guang would not have been raised to be
that kind of person.
Gu Beiwu also encountered difficulties. Gu Jingsheng did not have a household registration and
was from Yunnan, which was a sensitive identity. The policy for educated youth was still unclear
at the time. He went to three primary schools, but none of them were willing to accept this
transfer student. Zhou Shanrang hinted several times, but he did not want to owe her a favor, and
did not want to implicate her if something happened to Gu Dongwen, so he refused outright.
Chen Donglai and his wife just felt that the time had come to speak up, but unexpectedly Gu
Jingsheng came to them first.
"Second aunt, second uncle." Gu Jingsheng spoke politely when they returned to Wanchun Street
after taking a bath, eating, and cutting watermelon.
Gu Ximei was stunned. This was the first time he called them that. She smiled and handed him a
piece of melon: "What's wrong? Jingsheng."
"I want to ask if I can go to Xinjiang with you for a year." Gu Jingsheng lowered his eyes and
rubbed his thumbs along the edge of the melon rind: "I heard that my second aunt is a teacher. I
want to go to school, but I'm afraid it's not possible in Shanghai. I don't have my household
registration certificate with me."
Gu Ximei and Chen Donglai looked at each other. She and the principal had just confirmed two
days ago that it was okay for Gu Jingsheng to transfer to the class for a year even though he
didn't have a hukou. What a coincidence!
The place where the melon flesh and skin met in Gu Jingsheng's hand was covered with fingernail
marks. Chen Donglai sighed and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't be afraid, we are all family.
It's not impossible for you to go to Xinjiang, but I'm afraid your uncle won't allow it."
"I'm not used to it here. The alley is too crowded and there are too many people. That damn old
woman comes to scold me every day, but grandma won't let me go out to deal with her. I'm so
suffocated." Gu Jingsheng was very upset: "I don't want to implicate grandma and make her
unhappy. My dad always says that one has to take responsibility for one's own actions, and one
should be a hero, not a coward." After saying that, he glanced at Gu Ximei and took a big bite of
the watermelon.
Well, he brought up Grandma Gu and Gu Dongwen, who had not admitted that he was the
grandson of the Gu family before. Gu Ximei sneered in her heart and looked at him carefully. He
didn't seem to be lying with his carefulness, and there was no need to lie. She had been a teacher
for so many years and had a pair of sharp eyes. She could not hide whether the child was telling
the truth or a lie.
"Aksu is very poor, are you really willing to go there?" Gu Ximei asked him with a smile.
Gu Jingsheng raised his head, wiped the watermelon juice from his mouth, his eyes shining:
"Well, Sinan said there are snow-capped mountains, large grasslands full of wild flowers, glaciers,
deserts, donkey carts and tractors to ride. Well, there is also endless beef and mutton to eat, and
endless grapes and Hami melons to pick. The Shanghai kids in Xinjiang are more fun than those
here, and they are all her good friends. She also said that if I go to Xinjiang, I can go and see how
my uncle extracts oil!"
Gu Ximei and Chen Donglai looked at each other in bewilderment. Haha, Chen Sinan, your
parents really didn't realize that you are a big swindler who only cheats acquaintances. It's a pity
that the propaganda department of going to the countryside is missing you!

Chapter 36
When Si Jiang thought back to the grudge between himself and Gu Jingsheng, oh, there was no
grudge, only resentment. He always felt that it started from the moment he knew that he was
going to Xinjiang.
He not only took Sinan away, but also her parents. He easily replaced her position as the "sister"
in the family without realizing it.
What a terrible species "brother" is, she discovered it in her three cousins since she was a child.
She was worried that boys like Shen Qingping and Zhu Zhenning would occupy the position of
"brother" in Aksu, making Si Nan forget her and not be close to her. She would write to Si Nan
every week, and on every page she would draw her imagination of her and her, them and their
parents.
She pestered her uncle to teach her how to draw the green rice dumplings from Wangjiasha, the
cakes from Laosongsheng, the pancakes and fried dough sticks at the entrance of the alley, and
the steamed buns and wontons. She wanted to show her sister the distinct four seasons and the
fragrance of flowers and fruits in Shanghai, such as the crabapple blossoms in spring, the loquat
trees in early summer, the golden osmanthus and mooncakes in autumn, and the roasted sweet
potatoes and popcorn in winter. She also drew the stage of the TV station, the dancing partner,
the makeup mirror with light bulbs, and the exquisite and beautiful performance costumes over
and over again during the rehearsal. She thought that maybe Sinan would like something or a
place very much, and would like Shanghai very much, and would resolutely refuse to go back to
Xinjiang. She and Sinan hugged each other and cried. Could it be that her grandmother, uncle,
parents and mother were willing to separate them?
She didn't expect that Si Nan wanted to go back to Xinjiang after eating the delicious food she
drew, climbing the loquat and mulberry trees in the alley, and watching her rehearsal at the TV
station. She always complained about the smell of tap water, the disgusting feeling of emptying
the toilet and spittoon, the slow running on the boulevard, the broken roofs in the attic, and the
flocks of pigeons circling in the sky. Not only did she want to go back, she also wanted to take Gu
Jingsheng with her.
She chose her brother, and she didn't want her sister anymore. She never even asked her sister if
she wanted to go to Xinjiang with her. Si Jiang was heartbroken, but it was certainly not Si Nan's
fault. She was just a four-year-old baby, what could she understand! Of course, the one who was
wrong was Gu Jingsheng, he was a mistake.
——
At around seven in the morning, Gu Jingsheng and Si Nan followed Gu Beiwu to the hospital to
change shifts. As soon as his parents left, Si Nan strolled to other wards on the upper and lower
floors, greeted various children, uncles and aunts, and then returned to Si Jiang's ward.
"Sister, the fat kid in Room 105 has a tin rooster, which is different from our tin frog. They get
along very well. He said he can lend it to us to play with for a while at ten o'clock. He also asked if
you can go to their ward to play today." Si Nan hugged Si Jiang's arm happily: "They call you a
little fairy! My sister is a fairy! The most beautiful fairy!"
Si Jiang's broken heart was temporarily glued together. She glanced at Gu Jingsheng who was
talking to her uncle and said, "Okay, we'll go together later. Uncle——"
Gu Beiwu walked over with a smile: "What's wrong with the eldest daughter?"
"I want to eat the soybean sauce, stir-fried dried shredded vegetables and millet porridge in the
cafeteria." Si Jiang turned his head and looked at Si Nan eagerly: "Sister, can you help me see if
there are any fried eggs? Dad always buys me the hard fried eggs."
Sinan jumped up and puffed out his chest: "I'll go, I'll go. My sister likes to eat fried eggs with only
one side fried! The old man in the cafeteria likes me very much. His son is also in our Aksu! Last
time, he secretly gave me a tea egg!"
Si Jiang held Si Nan's little face in his hands and slapped her cheek hard, but before he could kiss
her a few more times, Si Nan had already run out of the door, shouting "Ah, Ah, Ah" and drooling,
looking disgusting.
Si Jiang and Gu Jingsheng were the only ones left in the ward.
Si Jiang climbed back onto the bed as if nothing had happened, and glanced at Gu Jingsheng
through the window: "Xinjiang is not fun at all."
Gu Jingsheng turned around and looked at her, then suddenly grinned, revealing a row of white
teeth. He looked very much like Si Nan.
Si Jiang suppressed his anger and said, "I went to Xinjiang once. There was sand everywhere. The
sun was too strong during the day. It was so hot that people had to cover themselves with quilts
at night. Si Nan lied to you. We only had Hami melon twice in the summer. There was no meat in
the canteen, only cabbage and steamed buns. The best thing was vegetable porridge. My uncle
had to take a tractor for three hours to go to town to buy meat."
"The sand is good, and the steamed buns are good." Gu Jingsheng turned around and squatted
under the window, leaning against the wall, and said with a smile: "I think it's fun. Anyway, you
can't go."
Si Jiang held his breath and raised his chin: "I don't want to go! Shanghai is the best, it has
everything, food, entertainment, daily necessities and study. Shanghai ranks first in the country!
My sister also wants to stay in Shanghai!"
Gu Jingsheng stared at her for a while and suddenly smiled: "Anyway, Shanghai is not fun, and
you are not fun at all. I don't want to stay in Shanghai or in your house. I want to go back to
Xinjiang with Sinan to play in the sand."
Si Jiang blinked, suspecting that he had heard it wrongly: "Huh?"
——
Gu Beiwu and Si Nan were chatting and laughing as they pushed open the ward door with their
lunch boxes and were dumbfounded.
Under the big window, Chen Sijiang, wearing a small hospital gown, rode on Gu Jingsheng's body,
waving his two small fists and shouting with gritted teeth: "You are not allowed to go to Xinjiang!
You are not allowed! You are not allowed to go to my house!"
Gu Jingsheng held his head and dodged left and right: "Just go, just go, just go! It's none of your
business!"
"Brother! Sister!" Si Nan ran over in great grief to stop the fight. The two tea bags in his belt hit
Gu Jingsheng on the head with a bang, which was not much better than Chen Sijiang's fist.
Gu Beiwu held Si Jiang up, and said in a weird tone: "Little fool, what are you doing? Why are you
practicing boxing with your cousin? It seems that you practice a lot in school."
Si Jiang struggled in the air and stood on tiptoe to kick Gu Jingsheng: "He is a bad guy, he is not
allowed to go to Xinjiang! Uncle, send him back to Yunnan! I don't want to see him! He is not
allowed to be with my sister!"
Gu Beiwu's face darkened: "Si Jiang, stop messing around. Explain what's going on."
Si Nan helped Gu Jingsheng up, frowning and shouting, "Sister, you are unreasonable! Cousin can
knock you down with just a little finger, he let you go, but you bullied him! We will ignore you!
Brother, let's go, I will take you downstairs to play with the tin rooster, not sister."
She kept her word and ran out with Gu Jingsheng. Before leaving, Gu Jingsheng turned back and
smiled proudly at Si Jiang, baring his white teeth again.
Si Jiang's little heart, which had just been glued together, was shattered again. No one
understood her, no one could understand her sadness. Si Nan called him brother, but he ignored
him for that bad guy. The sky fell.
"He is not your cousin! Your uncle is not his father! His last name is not Gu, come back, Nannan!"
Si Jiang ran out to chase him, but was carried back to the bed by Gu Beiwu.
Looking at his uncle's stern face, Si Jiang burst into tears: "I hate him, I hate him, I just hate him!
Don't let him go to Xinjiang! Don't let him take my sister away! My sister is mine! Uncle, can you
take him to Beijing..."
Gu Beiwu's heart softened, and he gently touched Si Jiang's head: "He was only gone for a year,
and the uncle came back. He didn't take my sister away. Be good, my sister is Si Jiang's sister, and
no one can take her away. Don't worry."
Si Jiang shook his head desperately: "Sister, please ignore me! Come back, sister. Come back,
sister."
Gu Beiwu sighed, hugged her and patted her back gently: "Sister will be back soon, please stop
crying, okay? What if your wound ruptures if you cry too much? You have to stay in the hospital
again and can't go back to sleep with your sister."
Si Jiang's crying gradually subsided, and he hugged his uncle's neck and sobbed: "What should I
do if my sister doesn't want me anymore? What should I do if my parents want to divorce? No
one wants me anymore. I am all alone, only my grandma and my uncle."
Gu Beiwu stopped and said: "???"
——
That night, downstairs in the inpatient department of the 85th Hospital, Gu Beiwu beat Chen
Donglai.
Chen Donglai, who was over 1.80 meters tall and weighed 160 kilograms, was knocked to the
ground by Gu Beiwu's two kicks and three punches. He was unable to recover for a long time.
"It's fine if you want to divorce my second sister. Sijiang and Sinan will belong to my second sister.
She will send half of your salary back to them every month for their living expenses until they
graduate from college." Gu Beiwu squatted down and announced coldly.
"Who?! Who said we want a divorce?" Chen Donglai was 50% annoyed, 30% wronged, and 20%
guilty: "Ximei and I just had a quarrel. What did she say to you? Why would I divorce her? She
wanted to divorce me!" He suddenly became very flustered and asked with a sob: "Ximei - does
she really want a divorce? What did she say? Didn't we reconcile? We still have to take Jingsheng
back to Xinjiang."
"She didn't say anything. Si Jiang said it." Gu Beiwu reached out and pulled him up, handing him a
cigarette.
Two men sat by the flower bed and smoked. There was a waning moon in the sky, and the lights
in the wards upstairs were turned off one by one.
"Are you short of money?"
Chen Donglai was stunned, rubbed his chest, and sighed: "Who doesn't need money? I have no
ability and rely on a fixed salary. It's reasonable for Ximei to complain."
"I spent 2,500 yuan on the Tangshan earthquake. I will pay you back 3,000 yuan in two years." Gu
Beiwu asked calmly, "Where do you want to spend the money?"
Chen Donglai shook his head: "No, really no, you called me and told me that the money was for
disaster relief, Ximei and I were willing to give it. If you give it back to us, who would we be? My
mother always said that spending money will get rid of disasters and good deeds will be
rewarded. Now that I think about it, it makes sense. When Sinan was one year old, he climbed to
the edge of a manure pit. He was only three centimeters away from falling in, but he fell asleep
like that and didn't even notice the stink."
Gu Beiwu thought about it and found it hard not to laugh.
"She has made us nervous a lot in the past few years, but she has been able to escape danger
every time. I thought that maybe it was the result of doing good deeds." Chen Donglai took a
deep puff of his cigarette. He hadn't smoked for several years, and every hair on his body seemed
to relax after taking a puff. "I know I am sorry for your sister. It is very hard for her to raise the
children alone. She failed the college entrance examination last year, and she is not sure whether
she can pass the normal school examination this year. If she can pass the Urumqi First Normal
School, I will find a way to transfer to Urumqi again, so that our family can be together. Whether
she gets promoted or not is not a big deal. It would be the best if I could find a way to let her
return to Shanghai."
Gu Beiwu was silent. Every family has its own problems.
"Si Jiang is alone here. Grandma and you have worked hard. She must be sad." Chen Donglai
smiled bitterly: "I was assigned to the oil field. According to the policy, I can only come back after
retirement if there is no transfer. If Yunnan is in turmoil, Xinjiang will definitely be in turmoil too.
It would be best if Ximei could come back, but your mother and you will have to work hard. Don't
worry, I will send all my salary back."
Gu Beiwu also felt a little depressed: "Let's talk about it later. No one can predict what will
happen in the future. Now the situation changes day by day and year by year. We can only take it
one step at a time. Don't quarrel in front of the children in the future. It's not easy for you, and
it's not easy for my sister either. How can it be easy for the children?"
Chen Donglai bowed his head and admitted his mistake.
"Do you know how hard Si Jiang works? She has to practice dancing, chorus, rehearse and
perform. She has to yell exercises and host programs at school, but she is still the first in the class
and the second in the grade. You have never even seen her head teacher or entered her school.
Have you seen her diary? How many words can she write? How many paintings has she drawn?
In order not to lose to the first in the grade, she even wants to learn English by herself." Gu Beiwu
paused, turned his head and glanced at Chen Donglai: "She wants to get your mother. She goes
to talk to your mother every night. As adults, can't you think about the feelings of the children?"
Chen Donglai covered his face.
In the ward, Si Jiang turned away and didn't look at Si Nan. Si Nan was glared at by his mother
again and walked to the other side of the bed. Si Jiang turned over again, threw the baby diaper
into the air, and held it against his chest.
"Sister?" Si Nan climbed onto the bed, pressed on Si Jiang's body, and leaned over to look at her
face: "Don't be angry, okay?"
Si Jiang closed his eyes and ignored her, but he couldn't help but open his eyes and choked up to
accuse her: "You don't want a sister if you have a brother. Do you want a brother or a sister?"
Sinan blinked: "I want both! Sister, I am your brother too."
"I don't want it, I don't want it, I don't want it! I only have one sister!"
Sinan received a light slap on his butt from his mother, and could only sigh: "Well, I only have one
sister."
Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, hugged her and started crying: "You are so mean, you even said
you would ignore me, I am so sad!"
Sinan imitated the adults and gently patted his sister's back, then looked helplessly at the electric
fan, thinking to himself, I only have my cousin Jingsheng. Alas, my sister is such a stingy sister.
"I lied to you. My sister and I are the best. We are the best, right?" Si Nan imitated Shen
Xingxing's tone. Every time Shen Xingxing and her had a quarrel, she would come back and say
this. But in her heart, she remembered that every time Uncle Zhu and Uncle Shen had a drink
with her father, they would sigh and say: Women! What a trouble.

Chapter 37
Most people don't like hospitals. First, they feel like they are on the chopping board when they
enter a hospital. Second, seeing a doctor is not a pleasant, relaxing, and peaceful process.
However, Si Jiang has always liked the doctors and nurses in hospitals and the smell of
disinfectant, thanks to the two weeks she spent in the 85th Hospital. It seems that when she lives
in the hospital, surrounded by her parents and accompanied by her sister, her little world is
normal.
One day when there was a typhoon and heavy rain, Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei rushed back to
Wanchun Street early in the morning to participate in the "flood control". At around nine o'clock,
no one came to their house. The nurse said that a comrade Gu called and would not be able to
visit her until four or five o'clock in the afternoon. Si Jiang said thank you softly, and then leaned
on the windowsill and looked out through the window glass.
It was as if an invisible giant hand was pouring water down in basins, splashing, splashing, and
every time it splashed onto the glass, Si Jiang couldn't help but blink, unable to close his eyes. He
could vaguely see the trees in the flowerbed as if someone was pressing their heads to bow,
which was very funny. They would scramble to the ground with their heads, bounce back, and
then scramble to the ground again, and suddenly they would break, with half of the trunk
shaking sideways in the strong wind and heavy rain.
Si Jiang looked back at the empty ward, and felt that her heart was broken, and she couldn't lift
her spirits. She crawled under the bed with the tin biscuit box in her arms, and thought of what
her father had said about Si Nan's childhood, and felt very sad. Then she thought that she was
also very sad, so she started crying, and no one knew anyway. When she was tired of crying, she
opened the lid of the biscuit box and stuffed a biscuit into her mouth. It tasted dry and not
fragrant, and even stung her throat.
"Chen Sijiang?" A panicked nurse's voice came from outside: "Little Chen Sijiang?"
Si Jiang wiped his face and lowered his head, but said nothing.
The nurse's Liberation shoes moved closer to the bed, she lifted the quilt, and shouted twice
again.
"Nurse sister - I'm here." Seeing her shoes moving out in a hurry, Si Jiang was afraid of causing
trouble for everyone, so he quickly climbed out.
The nurse was just giving her a false alarm, and said with a smile that she had never thought that
she was as naughty as her sister. She checked her wound, changed the gauze, and then left. Si
Jiang lay listlessly on the bed, watching the rain. After a while, the nurse pushed the door open
again, holding a Rubik's Cube in her hand: "Come, sister will give you a Rubik's Cube, playing with
it will make you less bored. What do you want to eat for lunch? I'll help you get some food."
Si Jiang held the Rubik's Cube, lying on the bed, lying on the wall, and lying under the bed,
fiddling with it over and over again, but always just a little short of the target. She was so angry
that she threw the Rubik's Cube to the end of the bed, and pulled the railing at the head of the
bed, trying to get her head into the gap in anger. She squeezed until her head hurt, but she still
failed. She lay on her back with her eyes wide open and gasped, and found that the pink and
green wall, whether it was old or because it was often hit by the railing at the head of the bed,
had peeled off a lot of powder, revealing the uneven white putty of different sizes inside, like a
dough that had not been kneaded in her grandmother's hands. She couldn't help but reach out
to pick it, and she peeled off a small piece of wall skin. The gaps between her fingernails were full
of white and pink and green crumbs, which tasted astringent. She picked at the gaps between her
fingernails again, and when the gaps between her fingernails were barely clean, she couldn't help
but peel off the wall skin again. Time passed quickly, and at three o'clock in the afternoon, the
door of the ward was pushed open and two wet people rushed in.
Sinan bent over in front of the bed and shook his head, shaking out circles of water droplets, and
was very happy: "I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming! Give you water, give you water, it's raining,
it's raining, hahahaha."
Gu Jingsheng in the back wiped his face and put the thermos in his hand on the small cabinet:
"Fish soup."
Si Jiang dropped the Rubik's Cube, hugged Si Nan, laughed, cried, and kissed her: "Sister! Sister!
Woo woo woo, I knew you would definitely come to see me. Nan Nan loves her sister the most,
right?"
Si Nan was suffocated by her chest and struggled for a few times before escaping from her
clutches: "Sister, I want to drink fish soup too! There's no food at home today, and the kitchen is
full of water, it's so deep!" She compared her knees, and felt it was not enough, so she gestured
to Gu Jingsheng's legs: "Here, here! Uncle put me in the foot basin, and I rowed from Lane 63 to
Lane 74! Hahahaha, I rowed with my hands like this, and later my second and third brothers also
wanted to row their foot basins, and the foot basins bumped around in the alley! It was so fun!"
Gu Jingsheng rolled his eyes at her and snorted, not saying who was behind her holding the basin
steady and pushing her over. Chen Shimin and Chen Siqiang flipped over after paddling a few
times, sitting in the water with the basin on their heads and crying, how could it not be fun?
"Nian Gang, you like my sister the most, right?" Si Jiang chased Si Nan for the answer.
"Okay, okay, I like my sister the most. We are the best." Si Nan found a small bowl and went to
hold the thermos. Gu Jingsheng snatched it away with disdain: "Go away, I'll do it." Unexpectedly,
Si Jiang also came to grab it: "You go away! I'll do it! I'm Nan Nan's sister! Don't let me do it."
Gu Jingsheng clenched the handle tightly, looked at Si Jiang with a sidelong glance, and refused to
let go.
Si Jiang grabbed it twice, the thermos shook and froze.
Sinan looked at his sister and then at his cousin, and had a bad feeling, so he simply let go,
blinked, and jumped onto the bed: "Rubik's Cube! The Rubik's Cube is fun!"
Si Jiang was no match for Jing Sheng in the wrestling match, and laughed in anger. He let go of his
hand and hugged his arm: "Here you go, just pour it out."
Gu Jingsheng grinned and poured out a small bowl of fish soup steadily. Just as he put the
stopper on the thermos, Si Jiang picked up the small bowl. Not feeling that it was not very hot,
his hand tilted and all the fish soup spilled onto Gu Jingsheng's arm.
"Oh, cousin! I'm sorry!" Si Jiang said innocently, "I didn't mean it!"
Sinan jumped out of bed: "Brother, brother! Are you okay? I'll go call the nurse!"
Si Nan yelled and left the house. Gu Jingsheng put down the thermos with a bang, and held Si
Jiang in his arms with his backhand. The piece of fish scalded by the fish soup was stuck at the
mouth of Si Jiang. Si Jiang tried to pry his hand away in panic, but it was impossible to do so, so
he just took a bite. Wow, the fish soup was quite fresh.
"Chen Sijiang!" Gu Jingsheng finally pried open Sijiang's teeth with his fingers, then he pushed
her to the ground. He looked at the teeth marks on his arm and took a breath of cold air. He
finally understood where Chen Sinan's bad temper came from. They were indeed biological
sisters.
Si Jiang picked up a small towel and wiped his face as if nothing had happened, then glanced at
him and said, "You deserve it!"
"What fairy?" Gu Jingsheng rubbed his teeth marks and said, "You just pretend. Disgusting!"
"I'd better make you sick to death!" Si Jiang lowered his head and straightened his hospital gown,
then sat down on the chair properly. He felt that he had won the battle, and replied with a smile:
"What cousin? I hate you, huh!"
The nurse came in with a trolley, checked and said that there was nothing serious. She applied
some burn ointment to Gu Jingsheng, cleaned the floor, and gave him a few more instructions
before leaving.
Si Nan took out the tin frog, toy car, and slingshot that he had brought. Si Jiang stood up and took
a towel to wipe her head, legs, and feet. He also poured her some fish soup and took out some
biscuits to eat, pretending that he didn't see Gu Jingsheng. Gu Jingsheng took the Rubik's Cube
and squatted in the corner. He quickly turned six sides, broke it apart, and turned it right again. Si
Jiang was so angry that he bit the biscuit in his mouth.
In the evening, Gu Beiwu and his friends came to the hospital and saw Gu Jingsheng teaching Si
Nan how to turn a Rubik's Cube, and Si Jiang telling Si Nan a story loudly beside him. They were
very pleased. That's right, a brother has a brother's manner, a sister has a sister's manner, and a
sister has a sister's manner.
——
On the day when Si Jiang was discharged from the hospital, the Chen family was very busy early
in the morning. Grandpa Chen and Aunt Chen took Chen Simin, Qian Guihua took Chen Siqiang
and Chen Siqi, and they were ready to go out in a grand manner. It didn't seem like they were
picking up a patient from the hospital, but more like they were visiting relatives and having a
drink.
On the one hand, Qian Guihua heard about Zhou Shanrang, a great Buddha, and she urged her
father-in-law to come and see him. The military hospital was great, and it would be even better
to have acquaintances or even future relatives and younger generations. In case of heart
problems, it would be convenient and reliable. On the other hand, she was very curious about
Zhou Shanrang and was not convinced. What was so great about reincarnation? If she was the
commander's daughter, she could go to any university she wanted. Not to mention Gu Beiwu, Da
Shichang could also be easily captured.
In order to show that her daughter Siqi was stronger than Sinan of the same age, Qian Guihua
spent 20 yuan two days in advance to buy her a pink dress with puff sleeves. The fluffy skirt was
decorated with small yellow and emerald green bows. She also bought herself a light red Dacron
waist shirt, paired with white flared pants and white high-heeled sandals. As soon as she walked
out of the door, Grandma Li downstairs exclaimed, "Oh! Little Qian, you scared me!"
Qian Guihua's heart sank as she smiled: "Oh my, how can I, Li's grandmother, do this?"
"You are so beautifully dressed that I thought you were Gu Nanhong." Grandma Li laughed
heartily: "Your hair is permed beautifully, and with these sunglasses on, wow, wow, wow, wow,
you look like an overseas Chinese from Southeast Asia in the Friendship Store. You look so
fashionable."
The smile on Qian Guihua's face rose as her high heels lifted up: "Oh my, Grandma Li, you are
really..." She was really good at talking. She wished that Grandma Li would say a few more words,
but Chen A Niang poked her from behind with an umbrella: "Hurry up, hurry up! If you go too
late, it will be too late. If the Gu family comes back, it will be so embarrassing!"
The six of them walked out of the alley like sardines in a string. After only a few steps, Qian
Guihua's high heels had been stabbed in the springy road countless times. She staggered from
side to side and was sweating. She was still very Nanyang, but her overseas Chinese style was
completely gone.
By the time we arrived at the 85th Hospital, Chen Simin was already on the road. Chen Siqiang
had a fight with Chen Siqi, and Chen Siqi's skirt was caught by the bus door and her two bows
were taken off. Qian Guihua scolded her and she cried. Grandpa Chen's heart beat fast and slow,
his face turned red and white, and he regretted bringing these troublesome little guys with him.
As soon as they entered the inpatient department, a nurse came up to remind them to be gentle.
When they went up to the second floor, Gu Beiwu was already walking out with a group of Gu
family members. Qian Guihua's eyes rolled around, but she didn't see "that woman". Chen
Donglai and Gu Ximei hurried up to say hello.
"Didn't we say that we were here to pick up Si Jiang from the hospital?" Grandpa Chen was a little
unhappy: "Why don't you wait for us before leaving?"
Chen Donglai lowered his voice: "It happens that two little patients are going to be admitted
today. They have been waiting for us in the corridor for five minutes. We are really sorry, so we
wanted to go to the first floor to wait for you." He was complaining in his heart. Yesterday, his
mother clearly only said that the old man was coming, so why are Qian Guihua and three little
ones coming today?
Granny Gu squinted at Qian Guihua and said, "Mother-in-law, is your third daughter-in-law
dressed like this to attend a wedding? She even came to the hospital specially. I really want to
thank her third mother on behalf of Si Jiang."
Chen A'niang was so embarrassed that she dragged her two grandsons back downstairs and said,
"Mother-in-law, let's go downstairs and talk. It's embarrassing to have so many people disturb
the doctors and nurses. Hey! You two, be quiet. Whoever makes noise again will go to the doctor
to get a tranquilizer injection and sleep in the hospital tonight."
Chen Simin stretched his neck and held his breath and shouted: "Sinan! Little sister, I ran into
Yang Guang yesterday and kicked him!"
Chen Siqiang was not convinced and shouted angrily: "Sister, she didn't kick me at all, and she
turned around and ran away even though she didn't kick me. She is a coward!"
The two of them scratched at the air through the grandmother. Others, including Si Nan himself,
were completely confused. They didn't know when these two troublemakers started to stick to Si
Nan. They even wanted to say a few provocative words to Si Jiang.
A dozen people came out of the inpatient building and met Zhou Shanrang. Behind her was a
square-headed military green Shanghai-brand flat-head truck. A young soldier was sitting in the
driver's seat, smiling and waving at them.
Si Nan howled twice, shouted "Long live Aunt Zhou", and then let go of Si Jiang's hand, dragging
Gu Jingsheng to climb into the back of the truck: "Cousin, hurry up! Let's sit here. Look, I can
stand here all the time without holding on to the side, and I won't fall when the car turns. You
can try it too. You are so capable, you can definitely do it!"
Si Jiang hurried over and said, "Sister, wait for me, I want to see it too!"
"And me! I want one too!" Chen Shimin and Chen Siqiang broke free of Grandma's hands and
climbed up. Chen Siqi was dragged by Qian Guihua and burst into tears.
Zhou Shanrang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She greeted Grandpa Chen and the others
first to get to know them, then had a discussion with Gu Beiwu and decided to cut the Gordian
knot by asking the three old men to squeeze into the cab. The rest of the people sat in the back.
She had borrowed this truck from the Political Department at Sinan's request to satisfy her, but
she had never expected so many extra people to come. She couldn't help but worry that her
good intentions might lead to bad results. Gu Beiwu smiled and said thank you several times. He
pushed his hands and legs, stepped on the tires and jumped into the back bucket from the side.
He was very cool and the children in the car cheered loudly. Shanrang helped Qian Guihua to lift
Chen Siqi up, and was about to climb up herself. When she raised her head, Gu Beiwu's hand was
in front of her: "Come on."
Shanrang smiled and handed him his hand, and easily entered the back bucket. Sinan waved
desperately: "Auntie, can you sit next to me?"
Gu Beiwu helped Shan Rang sit down: "On your left is your sister, and on your right is your
brother, where should Aunt Zhou sit? On your head?"
Everyone laughed. Qian Guihua tried twice but failed to climb up. Her sunglasses fell into the
bucket. She was angry and anxious, and slapped the car to vent her anger: "Damn this broken car,
it's so annoying!" Chen Donglai was pushed by Gu Ximei, and he quickly stood up and pulled her
in. As the truck started, all the children in the back compartment screamed.
Gu Ximei looked at the smiling red faces of Sijiang and Sinan, and was a little frightened that
Sijiang didn't seem to be her Sijiang anymore, and was even in danger of getting closer to Sinan.
Fortunately, under the encouragement of her brothers and sisters, Sijiang sang "Let's Row the
Boat" openly. Ximei breathed a sigh of relief, and Sijiang was her Sijiang again. After the typhoon,
the sky in Shanghai was particularly blue, the clouds were particularly white, and the sun was
particularly bright. It was a pity that she had to leave such a lovely, beautiful and excellent
daughter again in two days. Chen Donglai beside her seemed to know what she was thinking and
patted her hand gently.
Qian Guihua looked at Zhou Shanrang from behind her sunglasses. This girl Zhou obviously didn't
know how to behave. With such a shabby car, how could she please anyone? She didn't seem to
know how to dress herself up. She was dressed like a man. Her navy blue and white striped short-
sleeved sweatshirt was loose, and her navy blue trousers were rolled up. Her knees and legs were
stained with mud. She didn't even wear a pair of socks. She wasn't going to be a barefoot doctor.
She looked down. Her snow-white bell-bottom pants were covered with dust, which was much
more conspicuous than Zhou Shanrang's pants. She touched them and found a handful of dust.
When she thought of the miserable state of her butt after getting off the car, Qian Guihua
screamed.

Chapter 38
Gu Nanhong was in the Red House Western Restaurant when she saw a truckload of people
coming down. She felt dizzy and counted six people. Adding the people sitting opposite her, she
felt even more dizzy. Zhao Yanhong saw his wife's strange expression and looked outside. He saw
a woman standing on the back of a truck, bending over and trying to get off. Two large gray mud
stains on her buttocks were moving up and down towards the glass window, which was very
funny.
"Oh, my mother-in-law is here, my sister and brother-in-law are here, I'll go and meet them."
Zhao Yanhong slapped each of his three sons and said, "Behave yourself, and call people properly
later, understand! If you don't behave yourself, you'll be punished when you go back! (If you
don't behave yourself, you'll be punished when you go back)"
The three Zhao brothers piled up on the glass window to identify the person.
"Who is that old lady with bound feet walking with grandma?"
"Sijiang's mother."
"Sister Sijiang is so pretty, even prettier than on TV. Ada, the arts committee member of your
class is far inferior to her."
"Which one is the aunt? The one with mud on her butt? Mom, she's not as pretty as you."
"No, no, the one holding Si Jiang is my aunt, Mom. My aunt looks older than you."
"Bullshit!" Gu Nanhong leaned forward and gave the third brother a slap on the head: "Am I old?
What do you mean older than me? You don't look younger than me! Do you know how to
speak?"
"I know that guy, the one who broke my dad's leg - my uncle! Woohoo, why isn't my uncle my
dad? Oh, mom, why are you hitting me!"
"Look at those two skinny monkeys, hahahaha, they're even darker than us. Oh, the little one is
about to jump down - be careful -"
Seeing Sinan jumping off the truck, squatting on the ground, supporting himself with his hands,
and standing up proudly, clapping his hands, the eldest, second, and third brothers of the Zhao
family fell silent.
"That's your little cousin Chen Sinan who grew up in Xinjiang." Gu Nanhong smiled and took a sip
of coffee: "You must take good care of the two cousins. If anyone shows his true colors, hehe,
don't even think about getting a penny in the next summer vacation. Now, stand at the door and
say hello to the relatives!"
The three square faces of Ada, Aer, and San were crushed on the glass like playing cards.
Suddenly, a face rushed in from outside and came face to face with them. Two big white eyes and
a pair of pig noses were so close that they were scared and screamed to avoid it. Then they
remembered that there was a thick glass between them. The three brothers looked at Sinan who
was jumping outside, pulling his eyelids, touching his nose and sticking out his tongue. They
stood up silently and went to the door to greet the guests.
The originally assembled long table was not big enough to seat people, so the store manager and
Gu Nanhong discussed it and decided to put together an eight-person seat in the corner, and
crammed all nine kids in there, each with a set meal for one dollar and twenty cents.
Si Jiang was busy taking care of Si Nan: "Sister, do you want country soup or cream of chicken
soup?"
"Ala Aksu is the country head, I want to make Alag Soup." Sinan claimed the country soup with a
smile, and turned to be very interested in the three new cousins: "Brother, is Fuxing Island a good
place to go? Are there any big ships?"
"Sister, do you want beef or pork chops?" Si Jiang took the menu and pushed Zhao Asan's face
away.
"Pork chop!" Sinan asked again, "Do sailors live on boats? Do they watch the sea every day?"
Chen Shimin and Chen Siqiang squeezed over and said, "For those who live on a boat, the sea is
nothing to see. It smells fishy and makes you seasick."
"My dad doesn't get seasick!" Zhao Asan and the Chen family's two generals started arguing.
Zhao Ada and Aer, however, surrounded Si Jiang and said, "Sister, is it a waste to be in the
hospital? Is the food in the cafeteria good? My dad was very good when he was in the hospital
before. The food in the cafeteria was really good, much better than what Mom cooked."
"Amei, why doesn't my little sister look like you? Not like your mom or your dad?"
"I look like a Xinjiang person!" Sinan proudly put his hands together under his chin and twisted
his neck casually: "Everyone says I look like a Xinjiang person."
"Nonsense!" Si Jiang hugged his sister and glared at his two cousins: "She's still young, you can't
tell, but she'll be like me when she grows up! Look, the eyebrows are exactly the same, the
forehead is exactly the same——"
Si Nan bared her teeth: "Teeth are the same, missing!" She pulled Si Jiang's lips apart: "Sister was
eating an apple yesterday, and suddenly she said, "Oh, how come there is a tooth growing in the
apple? Eh, it looks familiar, as if it is her own, hahahaha."
"Wuwuwu, no, no!" Si Jiang shook his head, feeling both angry and amused: "Nannan, you are so
annoying!"
Everyone laughed. Gu Jingsheng and Chen Siqi, who had been sitting at the back, had been silent
the whole time, but when they saw Si Jiang's embarrassed look, they couldn't help but laugh.
Seeing Gu Jingsheng laughing at him, Si Jiang was so angry that he glared at him fiercely, then he
tightly shut his mouth and refused to speak again. He pointed at the menu and ordered cream of
chicken soup and braised beef for himself, so that his sister could taste more different flavors.
Even so, the Red House was still in an uproar. Other diners looked at them sideways, and Zhao
Yanhong, Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei would walk over and scold them from time to time.
——
The adults' table was very polite because there were two outsiders, Zhao Yanhong and Qian
Guihua. Qian Guihua didn't expect to have Western food and was very nervous. She had been to
the Red House once when she was a little girl and had long forgotten whether it was the right
knife and the left fork or the left knife and the right fork. She planned to follow Gu Nanhong for
fear of making mistakes and being laughed at.
Gu Ximei picked up her knife and fork and sighed, "Mrs. Fang taught us how to eat Western food
when we were little, but I've forgotten it all." The people at the table sighed and lamented the
fortune of the Fang family. Qian Guihua groaned inwardly, and glanced at Gu Nanhong, and saw
that she had changed again. Her hair was curled inwards, short in front and long in the back, and
fell fluffy on her shoulders. The slightly curled bangs and the hair on her temples were
connected, making her face look particularly small, especially gentle and pretty. She wore a puffy
mid-sleeve white short shirt with layers of hollow ruffles, and a long black skirt with a wide hem.
It was black and white, but she had a pastel-colored thin leather belt tied around her waist, like
the model in the Japanese Sony TV commercial in her twenties. Qian Guihua felt more and more
uncomfortable the more she looked at it, and she felt a little timid, like a fake Li Kui meeting the
real one. She only straightened her plump chest to feel confident. Unexpectedly, Gu Nanhong
leaned over, put the menu in her hand against her chest, and whispered, "Your shirt buttons are
broken." Qian Guihua blushed with shame, and buttoned it several times with shaking hands, and
her back hunched involuntarily. She didn't pay attention to the taste of this meal, and she didn't
care what Zhou Shanrang said or did. She stared at the two buttons on her chest, fearing that one
of them would be disobedient and open again.
It was the first time for Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei to meet their brother-in-law Zhao Yanhong.
They chatted about work and life. Gu Beiwu introduced Zhou Shanrang to everyone. Grandpa
Chen thanked him for Si Jiang's hospitalization. He felt that he was Gu Beiwu's elder. He took a sip
of black tea and asked, "Beiwu is not young anymore. When do you and Xiao Zhou plan to get
married? You still have many years to go to college. The organization will allow you to start a
family first, right?"
Gu Ximei couldn't help but frown. Gu Beiwu, however, was still smiling. He glanced at Zhou
Shanrang and said, "I have wasted ten years. Now I just want to finish college first. I'll deal with
personal problems after I get a job."
Chen Donglai quickly tried to smooth things over: "Yes, I don't know where I will be assigned in
the future. You Peking University students are all pillars of the country, and I'm afraid you will
have to stay in Beijing. Dad, you see, wasn't I assigned to the Xinjiang Oilfield? If Ximei hadn't
come to me, which Shanghai girl would be willing to marry to Xinjiang?"
"Oh, oh." Grandpa Chen nodded to show his understanding. After praising Gu Ximei for a few
words, he expressed his opinion: "However, Xiao Gu, you should strive to return to Shanghai. This
capital is the political center, and Shanghai is the economic center of the country. You study
economics, so you should think long-term."
Gu Beiwu hesitated for a moment and put down his knife and fork. "I always feel that I have
learned too little and my knowledge is too shallow. After completing my undergraduate studies, I
want to go to the United States for further studies for a few years. My teacher also supports my
idea."
Everyone at the table was stunned. Grandma Gu felt very dizzy. How old would the fourth child
be when he finished reading this book?
Zhou Shanrang smiled and raised his coffee cup: "Then I will have coffee instead of wine. I wish
you all the best. Let's strive to continue to be classmates in the United States."
Gu Beiwu smiled and thanked him, and the two of them clinked their coffee cups. Everyone at
the table came back to their senses and raised their glasses in response, but they all started to
mutter to themselves.
——
When we returned to Wanchun Street in the afternoon, the adults were tired, but the children
were still full of energy. Summer cicadas were singing desperately on the oleander and loquat
trees, and the song of "sharpening scissors and kitchen knives" came from the deep alley. In the
open space in front of the cultural station, there were uncles repairing parasols and leather
shoes, and an old man was repairing palm cloth. The small stools at the small book stall next to it
were full of children of all ages. These small businesses that were caught by the tail of capitalism
two years ago, people have no impression when they started again, but it seems that they have
never disappeared.
Granny Gu ran home in a hurry: "Oh, the ribs of the two parasols at home broke a few days ago,
and there are also kitchen knives that need to be sharpened. Ximei, go find the knife sharpener.
Nanhong, come with me to get the parasols." Granny Chen also quickly called Chen Donglai to go
back and carry the palm cloth down to repair them.
The adults were busy with their own things, and a bunch of children rushed to the comic book
stand. Si Jiang liked comic books the most, and she was a frequent customer who would borrow
two books for one cent. The old man at the bookstall waved at her from afar: "Si Jiang, are you
discharged from the hospital? Are you feeling better?"
"Okay, thank you grandpa. Do you have any new books?" Si Jiang took Si Nan's hand and greeted
grandpa.
Grandpa smiled and handed them a handful of melon seeds: "Give melon seeds, Journey to the
West is here, and there's also Dream of the Red Chamber, do you want to read it?"
A man in front of the bookstall turned around and greeted with a smile: "Chen Sijiang, Chen
Sinan, you are back?"
Si Nan took a look and saw that it was Zhao Youning, the top student in the grade in Kangjiaqiao
Alley, who had helped her beat Yang Guang last time.
"Brother Ningning! Hello, we're going to eat Western food! (We're going to eat Western food) I've
ordered some country tomato soup!" Sinan smiled and looked at the picture book in his hand.
Well, there were monkeys and pigs, which was very strange.
"Sinan, Sinan, shall we go roll the hoop together?" Zhao Youning's little followers dropped their
picture books and ran over.
Si Jiang nodded to Zhao Youning, said hello perfunctorily, and rejected their invitation: "My sister
has to go back with me to learn ABC, so she doesn't have time to roll the hoop. I'll play with you
guys next time, okay?"
"By the way, Chen Sijiang, have you studied the math for next semester in advance?" Zhao
Youning took out five cents and gave it to his grandfather to help pay for the books of several
younger brothers: "I have finished studying. If you want a math book, I will bring it to you
tomorrow."
Si Jiang smiled, and laughed in his heart: "Thank you, but it's not necessary. I have six older
brothers, and I have math books for every grade at home."
Zhao's eldest, second, and third sons, as well as Chen Shimin and Chen Siqiang, quickly lined up
behind Chen Sijiang with their heads held high, and all they had left to do was count one, two,
three, and four.
Zhao Youning scratched his head: "Oh - aren't we going to use new textbooks this year? My dad
specially got the new books from the Education Bureau." He already understood what his father
meant by fair competition and unfair victory, and wanted to share it with Chen Sijiang.
Si Jiang's heart skipped a beat, but he couldn't bring himself to change his words. Si Nan made a
face and said, "My sister doesn't need that! She's so smart, she can finish a whole semester's
worth of books in just one week, right, sister?"
Si Jiang coughed twice and said, "Nannan, we can't be so proud. We need to be more humble. It
will take at least a month to finish learning."
Gu Jingsheng, who was flipping through a book nearby, suddenly burst out laughing.
Si Jiang rolled his eyes at him, took Si Nan's hand and said goodbye to everyone: "Ala will go back
first, see you later."
Zhao Youning picked up the bucket at his feet and said, "Chen Sinan, last time I said I would take
you to Kaobang to catch fish. Are you going? If you don't want to go, I'll go."
Sinan could no longer walk and leaned back with his butt slumped: "Sister, sister! Let's go fishing
together!"
Zhao Youning smiled so hard that his eyes curved. He turned around and saw Gu Jingsheng
leaning sideways and looking at him coldly. He couldn't help but shudder in the hot summer
weather: "Are you going?"

Chapter 39
The Bank of China Villa on Wanhangdu Road is a new public housing estate that everyone
admires. There are two small rivers at the junction of Zhenning Road and Xinzha Road. There is a
folk song describing it: "Light rain makes you barefoot, heavy rain turns into a river, and
mosquitoes and flies swarm in."
Zhao Youning brought a group of ghosts to this place. Si Jiang pointed at the river and shouted,
"Look, sister, there are fish! There are really fish!"
A few days ago, a typhoon hit, and the water level of the river rose. The rotten mud sank to the
bottom, and the river water was very clear. Big and small fish swam around leisurely. Si Nan was
overjoyed, raised the lead bucket in her hand, and leaned on the shore to catch the fish. The fish
were scared away, and the lead bucket was filled with water. She was small and weak, and she
couldn't lift the bucket, and she was dragged under by the bucket. Fortunately, Si Jiang hugged
her waist, and Gu Jingsheng grabbed the collar of her sweatshirt, so she didn't fall into the water.
"Be careful!" Si Jiang didn't bother to compete with Jing Sheng, and hugged Si Nan tightly in his
arms: "You scared me to death!"
Zhao Youning, the eldest, second, and third sons of the Zhao family, and five or six other older
children had already taken off their shirts and trousers, plopped into the water, and discussed at
which two sections to cut off the water flow. Chen Simin and Chen Siqiang hesitated for a
moment, rolled up their trouser legs, and slid down from the shore. Their trousers were soaked
to the waist, and they shouted in frustration. Sheng Fang and a group of other little followers
were responsible for watching over clothes and handing out tools. Si Nan was shouting and
jumping, and wanted to take off his trousers and go into the water too. Si Jiang looked at the
deepest part of the river, which was up to Zhao Youning's chest, and was unwilling to do so: "Not
yet, wait a little longer, the water is too deep now."
"It's not very deep. Look, it only reaches the brothers' chests."
"But you just got to your sister's place. If you go down, your head won't be able to get out of the
water." Si Jiang coaxed her patiently.
"I can swim! I'm a great swimmer!" Sinan was unhappy: "I'm swimming in Huangguan Lake. Do
you know Huangguan Lake? It's so big, bigger than the entire Wanchun Street! I was born with
the ability to swim, and I'm really good at it."
"Okay, okay, sister is the best, but swimming is not the way to swim. Look, the brothers are
swimming in the mud. Look." Si Jiang pointed to the river with a smile.
The boys had already started using basins and dustpans to scoop up the mud from the bottom of
the river and build two horizontal dams from the shore. The river water became extremely
muddy, and the stench of mud made Chen Simin and Chen Siqiang nauseous. Seeing Gu
Jingsheng sitting on the shore without moving, Chen Simin shouted to Si Jiang, "Si Jiang, call your
cousin down as well."
Si Jiang glanced at Gu Jingsheng and answered loudly with a smile: "The eldest cousin won't go
into the water. Come on, brother! Come on, third brother! Come on, second cousin, third cousin,
fourth cousin, come on together! Come on, come on! Come on, Nan Nan, cheer for the brothers.
When they scoop out the water, we will go down to catch fish!"
Sinan shouted "Come on!" twice, pouted and ran to Jingsheng's side: "Cousin, you are the tallest
and the most powerful, why don't you go?"
Jingsheng glanced at Si Jiang's raised chin and smiled: "Let me take a look first."
"Oh, then I'll take a look too." Sinan squatted beside him and imitated him, looking seriously at
the dozen boys busy in the river.
Si Jiang watched them pile mud on the bank. The river bank was very narrow, and if they piled
mud at both ends, it should have been very fast, but the river bank was a little uneven. The mud
they shoveled out was ten centimeters high, and before it was compacted, the water flowed,
leaving only half of it. After struggling for a long time, there was still a meter-plus area in the
middle that couldn't be closed. Zhao Youning was sweating profusely. He looked at Si Jiang's five
brothers who were seven or eight meters away on the opposite side. They were piled even
slower. Chen Simin and Chen Siqiang held the dustpan and moved step by step like in slow
motion. The fish in the river were frightened and swam desperately towards the gap. It seemed
that there were not many left.
"What should I do?" Si Jiang was so anxious that she took off her shoes and wanted to help, but
she pulled back as soon as her toes touched the mud. She looked at her beautiful dress, then
thought of her mother, and couldn't help rubbing her muddy toes on her other foot, leaving a
dark blue mark on the instep. She sighed in frustration and stood on one leg, thinking that her
brothers would use a basin to scoop some water for her to wash.
"You can't do this."
Si Jiang was startled and turned around to see Gu Jingsheng standing beside her and shouting at
Zhao Youning.
"If you can do it, go down and tell me." Si Jiang curled his lips.
Zhao Youning panted and held a dustpan of mud and asked, "What should we do?"
Gu Jingsheng stretched out his arm, took off his shirt directly from his head and threw it to Si Nan
who was beside him. It was the first time Si Jiang saw someone take off his shirt without
unbuttoning it. She was stunned. Is this okay? She was still in a daze. Something touched her. She
was standing on one leg and shook. She screamed and fell directly into the river.
"Sister, sister!" Si Nan threw down his shirt and jumped down with a plop, splashing a large ball
of rotten mud, which directly smeared on Si Jiang's face, who had just staggered to his feet. Si
Jiang quickly suppressed the nausea that surged up, wiped her face with her arm, and pulled Si
Nan, who was staggering. She lowered her head and saw her two knees appearing and
disappearing in the rotten mud. She suddenly understood, turned her head angrily and shouted:
"Gu Jingsheng, you big bad guy! Bad guy!"
Zhao Youning and Gu Jingsheng each held one of them, trying hard to hold back their laughter:
"Are you okay?"
"Something's wrong, something's wrong, something's wrong!" Si Jiang shook off Zhao Youning's
hand, and with a raging rage, she bent down, picked up a handful of mud and threw it at Gu
Jingsheng's face. Gu Jingsheng hesitated for a moment, closed his eyes and mouth, and his face
turned into mud. Si Jiang was stunned, knowing that her face must be even worse, and she
couldn't cry or laugh.
Si Nan shouted loudly: "It's okay, it's okay!" She tried desperately to lift her legs and take a step,
but her legs were short and the mud was up to her chest, so she couldn't lift them. Gu Jingsheng
wiped his face, smiled and lifted Si Nan up and put her on the shore to sit: "You can come down
later." He turned around and picked up the lead bucket and walked towards the three Zhao
brothers: "Come on, let's block the hole on the top first, and then we can do this side."
All the boys gathered together. A dozen of them followed Gu Jingsheng's instructions, shouted
one, two, three, and piled mud together, quickly blocking the gap. From time to time, someone
would turn around to peek at Si Jiang and then quickly turn back to work. Si Jiang saw it clearly
and was furious. They must be laughing at him. His back was shaking from laughing.
"Sister, do you want to come up?" Sinan stretched out his hand.
Si Jiang's chest was about to explode with anger, and she shook her head fiercely, but she saw a
dozen boys cheering and holding tools and running towards this side. She could only pull herself
out with all her strength and lean towards the shore.
"Just like before, we'll shovel the mud together," Gu Jingsheng casually handed Si Jiang a dustpan,
"Come on, together, one, two——"
Si Jiang suddenly scooped up a dustpan of mud and threw it at Gu Jingsheng. Gu Jingsheng
couldn't even yell "three" because his mouth was filled with mud. He quickly spat and bent down
to scoop up river water to wash his face and head.
The boys laughed. Sinan and the children on the shore also clapped their hands and stamped
their feet and laughed.
Si Jiang raised the dustpan to shield her face to prevent Gu Jingsheng from fighting back. Gu
Jingsheng smiled and gave her a thumbs up, and continued to shout: "Don't stop! Hurry up, one,
two, three!"
Si Jiang was stunned for a moment, and the anger in her chest slowly subsided for some
unknown reason. She gritted her teeth, took a few steps forward and joined the army of people
carrying mud.
Soon, the dam on this side was also built and compacted. Zhao Youning was delighted: "Divide
into two teams and scoop water from both ends." The scooping was very fast. In ten minutes or
so, the water level dropped by half. Sinan couldn't wait to jump down and start chasing the fish.
After a while, the river bottomed out, and the little rascals on the shore cheered and rushed
down.
"Loach! Loach!" "There's a big crucian carp over here!" "Crab hole, come and see, there are crabs
in it!"
Si Jiang had long forgotten about her beautiful dress, and she and Si Nan were staring at a black
fish.
"Nannan, be careful, snakehead fish can bite people."
"I'm not afraid, if it bites me I'll bite it back too!" Sinan floundered in the mud heroically: "I
caught it! Aaaaaa, it's too slippery, sister, hurry up, catch it!"
Si Jiang leaped forward, pressed the black fish under the dustpan, and pressed himself on top of
the dustpan: "Great! I'm sure I've caught it this time - ahhh, it's swimming out again, Nannan,
here, here, quick!"
A fish basket drew an arc with a shadow and directly picked up the fish. Gu Jingsheng handed the
fish basket to Si Nan: "Hold it, there are two crabs in it. Don't turn it over."
Si Nan was overjoyed, holding the fish basket and following his wise and brave cousin to continue
fishing, completely forgetting that his sister was still lying on her back on the dustpan. Si Jiang
paddled in the mud angrily: Gu Jingsheng, you big bad guy! Bad guy!
"Turtle! Come on, turtle, don't let it go down!"
Zhao's eldest son shouted loudly: "Jingsheng, come here quickly, I have a turtle here!"
The boys ran over, shouting excitedly, and soon they all scattered, screaming and laughing. Si
Jiang sat in the river mud and saw a turtle hanging on Gu Jingsheng's finger, and he couldn't get
rid of it no matter how hard he tried. The turtle held on to the mountain and refused to let go,
with its entire head locked in its shell. No matter how hard he knocked, it wouldn't open its
mouth.
Si Jiang couldn't help laughing. Seeing that Gu Jingsheng's face was cramped with pain, he quickly
got up and said, "Put the turtle in the water quickly! It won't bite you if you put it in the water."
Gu Jingsheng quickly jumped onto the small embankment, fell on the spot, and put the turtle
into the water. Sure enough, the turtle quickly let go. He held the turtle shell with both hands and
carefully lifted it up, turning it over to show his victory. The children in the river cheered. Gu
Jingsheng saw Si Jiang, who was covered in mud, laughing so hard that he bent over, and he
couldn't help laughing too.

Chapter 40
As the sun sets, the children who are returning home with their loads of food run into Wanchun
Street with laughter. The mud stretches out on the shaggy road like railroad tracks. The old men
and women shout and scream, fearing that the dining table they have just set up will be splashed
with mud.
Si Jiang waved goodbye to Zhao Youning and his group at the entrance of the cultural center, and
then slowed down his pace. Chen Simin and Chen Siqiang ran happily into Lane 74 with the fish in
the basin. The three Zhao brothers held Gu Jingsheng's fish basket tightly and said, "Just say that
we caught the turtle together, okay? I saw it and asked you to catch it, right?"
Sinan held up the bottom of the fish basket to express his disagreement: "It was obviously my
cousin who caught the turtle by himself, and he was bitten. You didn't help him!"
"I helped!" Zhao Ada said happily, "I knocked on the turtle's shell. It didn't obey. What can I do?"
"Tsk!" Sinan made a face and looked down on her cousin Zhao. She turned around and found her
elder sister standing behind her talking to a grandmother. She quickly put down the fish basket
and went to find her elder sister.
"Sister! What are you doing?"
Si Jiang turned on the tap and started washing his face and hands: "Wait until I'm done washing
and then I'll help you wash. Otherwise, Mom will definitely scold you if you go back like this."
Sinan was bored and lowered his head to peel the dried mud off his arms: "Hehe, I'm not afraid
of being scolded by my mother."
Si Jiang washed for a long time and finally washed her face and arms clean, but there was no way
the dress could be restored to its original state. She thanked the grandmother with a bitter face,
carried Si Nan to the sink, washed her face and hands, and then slowly went to her
grandmother's house.
"Did you say that your uncle is back?" Si Jiang asked Si Nan. If the uncle was around, mom would
definitely not scold too harshly. It would be best if mom went to my mother's house.
"I don't know." Sinan asked, "Sister, how do you know that the turtle won't bite my cousin if it's
placed in water?"
"I learned it from books." Si Jiang did not forget to educate his sister: "Nannan should also learn
more words. Soon she will be able to read comic books and picture magazines like her sister. She
will learn a lot of knowledge and can help others, isn't it?"
"The eldest cousin is no one else." Sinan corrected her.
Si Jiang looked up speechlessly.
Things don't always go as planned. When the two sisters turned into the alley, they heard Gu
Ximei scolding her four cousins. Si Jiang's steps became lighter.
"What the hell are you doing! Get out, get outside! Come back after you've washed yourself! You
three don't even have clothes to change into, it's killing you! You'll be finished when your mom
comes back. Where are Sijiang and Sinan? Jingsheng, where are your sisters? Why don't you keep
an eye on them——"
The voice stopped abruptly. Gu Ximei pushed them away and grabbed Si Jiang in one step. Her
voice changed with anger: "How can you be true? Who pushed you into the river?" She turned
around and stared at Gu Jingsheng, then looked at the three aunts and nephews: "Who pushed
you? Did you see it? Who pushed our Si Jiang!"
"Mom..." Si Jiang pulled her hand and said, "I went down by myself. It's a good place to catch fish
in Kaobang. My sister and I caught a black fish."
"Tell me the truth, who pushed you? Don't be afraid, Mom will definitely go and settle the score
with him!"
"No, Mom, no one pushed me, really not!" Si Jiang's arm was pinched so hard that it hurt, and his
voice became louder.
Sinan chimed in, "Really? No, my sister and I jumped in by ourselves. It was so much fun in the
mud. My sister even threw the mud on my cousin's face!"
Gu Ximei's face flushed red, she grabbed Si Jiang and turned her around so that her back was
facing the boys, then squatted down and lifted up her dress. Si Jiang felt embarrassed, anxious,
and wronged, she bent over and covered herself, almost crying: "Mom! What are you doing?
Don't!"
"You just got out of the hospital, don't you know! Look, where is the gauze? The incision is all
covered in mud! Chen Sijiang, where is your brain? Where did your brain go? You jumped into the
river to catch fish? You——!" Gu Ximei threw her dress away, shaking off the mud on her hands
and body. She stared at Sijiang with regret. It had only been a few days, and her baby Sijiang had
been led astray by Gu Jingsheng. Such a pretty and well-behaved little girl actually jumped into
the dirty river and came back covered in mud. She stood up suddenly, feeling dizzy for a while,
shook her head slightly to calm herself down, and then looked around.
Gu Jingsheng walked over and blocked Si Jiang behind him: "Auntie, I pushed Si Jiang carelessly,
she didn't go down on her own. She was afraid that you would scold me."
Gu Ximei took two deep breaths, finally breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to look at Si Nan.
Si Jiang tightly grasped the hem of her skirt, tears falling down her cheeks. She whispered, "No, I
wanted to play later."
Gu Ximei ignored them and took two steps at a time, picked up the broom beside the wall,
grabbed Si Nan and slapped her on the buttocks twice: "You are always looking for trouble! You
have been good for only a few days and you are getting cocky, have you grown wings? You dare to
jump into the river, I will beat your buttocks to pieces, let's see if you can jump again!"
Sinan's eyes widened, and after a few seconds she felt a burning pain on her butt. She shouted in
grievance, "Just jump, jump, jump! I'm not the only one jumping!" Why should she be the only
one to be beaten?
Si Jiang rushed over and hugged his sister and cried, "Mom, please hit me, don't hit my sister, I
took my sister there. You are angry with me, right? Then you can scold me and hit me, I will be
good, don't hit my sister. Mom, please, don't hit my sister!"
Gu Ximei gritted her teeth and lifted Si Jiang away, then gave Si Nan two more broom handles:
"She must have been making a fuss to go! Don't I know her? As soon as she sticks her butt out, I
know what she's going to fart about! Chen Si Nan, if you know how painful it is, then you should
learn this lesson. Let's see if you dare to go next time!"
"I didn't fart, I didn't fart!" Sinan kicked his legs and feet and roared loudly: "You dare, you dare,
you will dare next time!"
Seeing her stubborn look and the fact that she didn't shed a tear even after being beaten so
many times, Gu Ximei became even more furious. She raised the broom high in her hand again,
but suddenly her hand was empty.
Gu Jingsheng grabbed Chen Sinan, threw him on his shoulders, and ran out of the alley without
saying a word. The eldest, second, and third brothers of the Zhao family saw this and chose the
former over the frightened aunt, and ran out with them. Si Jiang hesitated for a moment, looked
at his mother, gritted his teeth, and followed.
"Si Jiang! Si Jiang, come back here!" Gu Ximei quickly chased after him.
Si Jiang suddenly stopped, turned around with tears on his face and cried, "Mom, you are wrong.
You - scolding my sister and beating her is wrong, it is wrong."
Gu Ximei frowned and grabbed her arm and walked back, scolding as she walked: "Sister should
be beaten for getting into trouble. I see you haven't behaved well these past few days. What are
you thinking about? How come you have become bad? You are so disobedient and even talk
about Mom."
"I'm not naughty, I haven't become bad! I'm not disobedient!" Si Jiang cried and tried to break
free, but was held even tighter.
"Why are you crying? Don't worry about her. Let them go out and play. Are you listening? Then
come back with me and wash your hair and take a bath. Mommy will check your wound. If it gets
inflamed, you will have to go to the hospital. It's all your fault that you usually give in to Sinan too
much, allowing her to be lawless and unruly. Is it appropriate for a little girl to go fishing in the
bay? Who will she turn to if something happens?"
"We can go, too. We can catch fish, and we can catch fish. Mom, let me go. I want to find my
sister." As they were about to get home, Si Jiang's cry suddenly became shrill: "I can't go back, I
can't go back, I can't go back!"
Gu Ximei was extremely angry, and with a dizzy head, she just dragged Si Jiang home. Si Jiang's
half body was pressed against the ground, and his two feet were clattering as they walked on the
bouncy road.
Several old ladies nearby couldn't help but persuade her: "Come on, Ximei, your little girl's arm is
going to be broken, you better be nice to her (talk nicely), if it's dislocated, grandma will be so
upset when she comes back! (My heart aches)"
"Sijiang is such a good little girl, how could she come back like this? No wonder the adults are so
angry."
"Oh, what's the point of a little girl in the alley being beaten up? The rotten mud stinks. Sijiang
girl, hurry up and admit your mistake to your mother."
Si Jiang turned his head and shouted: "I'm not wrong! I'll go again next time!" The old ladies were
frightened and looked at each other: Oh, little brat, it's so easy to be led astray.
When Gu Ximei turned around, she saw a large-sized Chen Sinan, and she immediately exploded.
She quickly pulled Si Jiang to the sink outside the kitchen, turned on the faucet, filled a basin with
water, picked up the basin and poured it over her head. She then picked up the soap used for
washing clothes next to her and rubbed it hard on Si Jiang's head.
Si Jiang's hair was pulled so hard that it hurt, and soapy water got into her eyes. She couldn't
avoid the two hands on her head, so she cried until she was hoarse, hitting and pushing her
mother with her hands. Gu Ximei became more and more angry, almost heartbroken, and
slapped her hands hard several times: "You're still crying and hitting people! How did you
become so bad! Ah? Who did you learn this from!"
Si Jiang cried so hard that he couldn't catch his breath. He shook his head and wiped his face
desperately: "No, no, I didn't hit anyone!"
"Are you still being stubborn?" Gu Ximei gritted her teeth and raised her arm again.
"Gu Ximei! Are you crazy? What are you doing?!"
Gu Beiwu came over quickly, hugged Si Jiang in his arms, squatted down and took out a
handkerchief to wipe her face. He looked at Gu Ximei with a gloomy face and said, "Let's talk
inside."
A loud cry came from behind. Chen Sinan broke free from Gu Jingsheng's hand and rushed over
to hug Si Jiang, who was soaking wet. "Sister, sister! Mom is bad, Mom is the worst!"
Si Jiang hugged her uncle's arms and cried until she was shaking all over. Gu Beiwu picked her up
and went upstairs. Just from the sound of his footsteps, he could tell that he was very angry. Si
Nan and Si Jiang's crying floated down from upstairs, and the old men and women in the
neighborhood shook their heads and sighed, making some meaningless sighs.
Gu Ximei came back to her senses slowly, vaguely remembering that there were several swollen
red marks on the back of Si Jiang's hands and arms. She suspected that the woman who was
furious at Si Jiang was not herself. She took two steps back in a daze, then remembered that
there were still four children covered in mud outside. She turned around and stepped over the
threshold, but couldn't remember what to say or do for a moment.
The tap water in the sink was still running. Gu Jingsheng silently turned off the tap and squatted
beside the fish basket to look inside. There was a turtle, a black fish, three crucian carps, two
crabs, and dozens of shrimps. The black fish was so fierce that it had already killed two crucian
carps and many shrimps, and was fighting a life-and-death battle with the crabs.
The three Zhao brothers came to his side and looked around, asking, "Are they all dead?" Gu
Jingsheng shook his head, took a basin, and shook the fish basket down a few times, and the
basin was full of fish, shrimps and crabs. He went straight into the kitchen and took out a kitchen
knife. When he passed by Gu Ximei, he glanced at her. Gu Ximei had goose bumps on her arms
and turned to go upstairs.
Outside, the Zhao family's eldest, second, and third brothers screamed, "You can kill soft-shelled
turtles? Aaaaaaa, it's so disgusting! It's horrible! It's scaring the people to death!"
The blue plaid door curtain was still shaking slightly. Gu Ximei grabbed the door curtain with her
hand, paused, and unconsciously wiped her face with it. Then she remembered that it was a door
curtain and quickly threw it open.

Chapter 41
Gu Beiwu went to the neighborhood committee next door to make a public phone call, came
back to pack Si Jiangsinan's towels, clothes and shoes, and asked Gu Jingsheng to go to the attic
to get some more clothes. He said, "I'll take them to the bathroom to take a bath," and then he
took the six children out without even looking at Gu Ximei. Gu Ximei was busy packing her
luggage, and occasionally bumped into Gu Beiwu and quietly moved aside, pretending not to see
the crowd that was crowding the living room.
Before leaving, Si Jiang, who was still sobbing, turned around to look at his mother's back and
hesitated for a moment: "Uncle, why don't I stay at home and take a shower. I——"
"No need." Gu Ximei threw the folded clothes in her hand into the drawer of the chest of drawers
and said without raising her head: "I don't have the time to help others take a bath."
Si Jiang almost cried again. Si Nan hurriedly pulled her out and said in a low voice: "Run, Mom is
angry, very angry!" She went downstairs while sharing her experience: "Three days, it will take
three days for Mom to pay attention to us." Then she became happy again: "We will go back to
Xinjiang the day after tomorrow, you will be fine, I am fine on the train too, Dad is here, hahaha."
She had a lot of experience, Mom usually got better after scolding and beating, but if she spoke in
such a weird way, she would be stern for at least three days.
Zhao Ada behind him was very envious: "My aunt is so nice! If Alam's mother gives me money,
she can ignore me for three days."
"Give me two dollars and I can ignore her for a week." Ah Er replied.
Ah San shook his head and said, "Two dollars? I can ignore her for a month, hahaha."
Gu Beiwu, who was walking last, remembered to tell the three brothers: "Your mother has gone
to the movies. She will pick you up after dinner."
The three brothers screamed: "Old man (Dad) is useless! Didn't he promise to let us sleep over at
grandma's place for one night?"
Sinan turned around and asked curiously, "My grandma's house is small! Where are you
sleeping?"
"We slept on the floor of the living room." "They also lied to us and told us that we could go to
the China Welfare Fund Children's Palace with Si Jiang tomorrow to play the Brave Road." "Liar!
Adults never keep their promises." "Yes, big sister and little sister, don't believe them, we will
always suffer the consequences."
"My uncle's words always count!" Si Jiang was not convinced.
A row of clay figures followed Gu Beiwu across Wanchun Street and walked towards Xinzha Road.
When they passed the small river, the three Zhao brothers started shouting again, busy telling Gu
Beiwu about the exciting scenes just now, especially the scene where Gu Jingsheng was bitten by
a turtle. They wished they could jump down to repeat the case.
Gu Beiwu praised Si Jiang for applying what he had learned, looked at Jing Sheng's hands, and
asked them, "Did you dig the dam?"
"We dug it up. That Xiao Ning from Kangjiaqiao said we need to dig it up and restore it to its
original state. It's exhausting." Ah Da, Ah Er, and Ah San started discussing why they should listen
to Zhao Youning. Obviously Gu Jingsheng was the leader, but why did Gu Jingsheng listen to Zhao
Youning? That's not right. Zhao Youning also listened to Gu Jingsheng before... In the end,
because Zhao Youning also had the last name Zhao, he could barely be considered their brother.
It's not shameful for family members to listen to each other. Then they talked about Chen Shimin
and Chen Siqiang, who were not good enough.
As they walked along Xinzha Road and crossed Jiaozhou Road, Sinan could not help but come to a
conclusion: "Second cousin, third cousin, fourth cousin, if I were the eldest aunt, I would not
want to care about you."
Ah Da, Ah Er, Ah San: “???”
"You guys are like a bunch of flies, buzzing and making so much noise." Sinan rolled his eyes and
shook his head: "It makes my ears hurt!"
Si Jiang burst into laughter and pulled Si Nan: "It's impolite. You can't say that to brothers." She
turned her head and said: "Brother, can you please speak more quietly? People are looking at
us."
Ah Da, Ah Er, and Ah San shut their mouths in grievance.
Finally, after walking quietly for a while, Zhou Shanrang came up to me with a smile: "Wow, I
heard you caught a lot of fish? And crabs and turtles? You are really brave little warriors."
Si Jiang's eyes turned red again. He called out "Auntie Zhou" and lowered his head without saying
anything.
"Aunt Zhou, my sister and I caught such a big black fish! It bit all the crucian carps to death!" Si
Nankai gestured with excitement.
"Let's go to our army bathroom to take a shower." Zhou Shanrang smiled and held each of them
by the hand. "If I were your mother, I would be so angry. How much water would I have to boil at
home to wash you two little clay figures clean?"
Si Jiang seemed to be thinking about something, and looked at the four big clay figures behind
him: "We have six people to wash..."
Gu Beiwu led the four kids into the men's bathroom. Shan Rang gave them the bathing tickets
and led Sijiang and Sinan into the women's bathroom. As soon as they entered the dressing
room, someone screamed and ran away. It was the first time for both sisters to enter the
bathroom, and they were shocked to see so many naked women. Sinan looked around curiously,
and Sijiang held her hand tightly: "Nannan, don't look at them."
"I'm sorry, please make way." Shanrang smiled and led the two sisters into the shower area and
turned on the faucet: "Come, Sijiang, you can reach it by yourself, right? This is the hot water
faucet, and this is the cold water faucet. You can adjust the water temperature yourself. I brought
you soap and towels. Sinan, do you want your aunt to help you take a bath?"
"No, no." Sinan quickly took off his clothes and sat on the ground, kicking the water with his legs.
He raised his head and reached out to catch the water: "I could take a bath by myself when I was
two years old. This bathroom is great!"
Shan Rang looked at the puddles of muddy water flowing around her and smiled, "Okay, okay,
after you're clean you can go soak in that big pool. It's too hot in the summer, so don't soak for
too long. If you need help, call me. I'll be waiting for you in the locker room."
Si Jiang said thank you, and quietly noticed how the aunties opposite took showers, and decided
to imitate them to wash her sister's hair first. As a result, Si Nan laughed with a face full of foam,
puffed out several big soap bubbles, and clamored to wash her sister's hair. Si Jiang sat on the
ground and bent over to let Si Nan toss her around, ready to hurt her eyes again, but she didn't
expect Si Nan to completely imitate her, rubbing her very gently, and asking tirelessly: "Does it
hurt? Did it get into your eyes? Do you want a towel? Now I'm going to wash behind your ears,
wait a minute, I'll help you plug the ear holes so that no water can get in..."
Si Jiang suddenly hugged Si Nan tightly and started to cry. Si Nan was so scared that she
screamed: "Auntie Zhou, Auntie Zhou——"
Shan Rang ran in and saw two little girls sitting naked on the floor of the shower room, just like
the last time they fell in the bathroom of the International Hotel. Si Jiang was crying and Si Nan
was shouting. She didn't know what happened, and didn't care that her clothes would get wet.
She quickly picked up the two girls and carefully taught them how to bend down to wash their
hair, how to stand under the shower head so that the water would not splash on their faces, and
reminded them to be careful not to slip. Si Jiang and Si Nan washed themselves obediently,
wrung out the dirty clothes and towels, and followed Shan Rang to take a bath in the big pool.
"We also have a back-scrubbing lady in our bathroom. Do you want one?" Shan Rang asked with
a smile.
"I want it, I want it!" Si Nan splashed around in the big pool excitedly, sometimes suffocating in
the water, sometimes jumping out to complain about the heat, and sometimes swimming back
and forth. Si Jiang sat by the side and watched her and laughed.
Finally, Si Nan, with a red face, came out of the bathroom crying. When he saw Gu Jingsheng, he
rushed over and hugged his thighs: "Cousin! That aunt rubbed my skin off! It hurts so much!"
"Auntie asked you whether it was lighter or heavier, why do you always say heavier, heavier,
heavier?" Shanrang laughed so hard that he fell backwards. "Let's go to my house and have
something to eat. Are you all hungry?"
Sinan cried out in grievance: "She rubbed it too hard!"
——
We passed through a small iron gate behind the bathroom and entered the military compound.
Rows of red brick houses were neatly arranged from east to west. In the large playground in
front, soldiers were shouting "one, two, three, four" while running. There was also a whole team
practicing bayonet fighting. Even the three Zhao brothers unconsciously held their breath and
marched in step.
"Do you want to take a look?" Shan Rang asked with a smile when he saw everyone's envious and
yearning faces.
"think!"
"Come, this is the big canteen, 600 people can eat together. The soybeans with soy sauce and
fried dried shredded vegetables are delicious, and the steamed buns are more fragrant than
those in the 85th Hospital." Shan Rang laughed and said, "I used to love eating big steamed buns,
but I gained 10 kilograms in a month! My dad forced me to run on the playground every day, it
was so hard."
The children burst into laughter.
"Will eating steamed buns make you fat?" Si Jiang looked at her arms worriedly. She had to eat at
least four big, fragrant steamed buns every day in the hospital. Gu Beiwu pinched her face and
said, "It's okay. You'll look better if you're a little fatter."
Sinan nodded: "Sister has a circle of fat on her belly when she sits in the bath, and I am just a
circle of skin! Hahaha."
Si Jiang was so angry that he pinched her belly.
Shanrang smiled and pulled Sinan, who was circling around him, and said, "The two red brick
buildings in the middle are the headquarters office and soldiers' dormitories. Look, a very tall
office building is being built on the far west. The row on the east side, next to the Changde Road
gate, is the Political Department Building."
The four guards at the sentry box saw them passing by and immediately stood at attention and
saluted. Sinan often went to the Aksu Division Headquarters, so he also saluted with his belly
protruding: "Hello, uncles!" The guards could not speak and tried hard to hold back their
laughter.
"This row is a garage and a gas station. The one under construction outside the wall is the
dormitory for deputy battalion-level officers in the future. Families can live together. Each room
has a private bathroom and a telephone." Shan Rang told the story, and the children were
amazed and Gu Jingsheng's eyes lit up. The three Zhao brothers immediately changed their
ideals: "When we grow up, we want to join the People's Liberation Army and become battalion
commanders!"
After going around in a circle, he returned to the row of small bungalows on the side of Xinzha
Road. Shanzhang opened the door of one of them and said, "Welcome, welcome, warmly
welcome children to come and play at my house. Come on, come in. You don't need to take off
your clothes." shoe."
Two guards were carrying a big box downstairs when they saw Shan Rang leading a group of little
ghosts in and greeted them with a smile. There are dozens of boxes downstairs, and it looks like
they are preparing to move.
Si Nan walked around and opened his mouth: "Aunt Zhou, why is your house so big? It can
accommodate - well, it can accommodate a hundred people, for sure!" Shan Rang was amused
by her and laughed, and turned to call for the guard. The staff helped to get food and drink.
Sijiang blinked and held back her words. She remembered that her uncle had said that the old
bungalow in Yugu Village used to be lived by Mother Fang and Sister Fang's family. It was much
bigger than this one. There is such a big garden.
"Ahhh, it's so cool, so cool!" Zhao Ada shouted as he touched the goose bumps on his arms.
"Auntie, does your house have air conditioning?" Si Jiang pursed his lips and smiled, "We have air
conditioning at the China Welfare Foundation Children's Palace, too. It's not so hot during
performances in the summer."
Gu Beiwu smiled and said, "China Welfare Fund is the first place in China to have central air
conditioning, which is from York Company in the United States. Aunt Zhou's family uses this, you
can see."
"Radio! Such a big radio?" Zhao Asan shouted.
"Hahaha, this is not a radio, it's a window air conditioner, produced in our country, Chunlan
brand. Come, wave your hand." Shanrang smiled and picked up Sinan to reach the cool air from
the window air conditioner.
"It's so cold, cold wind!" Sinan danced with joy, but sneezed twice in a row. Shanrang quickly put
her down, turned off the air conditioner and turned on the ceiling fan.
The guards brought in several large plates with orange juice, watermelon, spiced beans, melon
seeds, candied peaches, biscuits, and cakes, as well as a small bowl of salted duck gizzards and
duck feet. The children were stunned by the sight.
Zhao Ada, Aer, and Asan had already scouted around and came back: "Auntie's house has a thing
called a refrigerator, it's even colder inside than here. I wish I could sleep in it."
"Freeze you to death!"
"I won't feel cold if I cover myself with a blanket. Just take whatever you want to eat and have a
bite. It's all icy and delicious!"
"What is a refrigerator? I want to go and see." Sinan jumped up again.
Si Jiang had not finished eating a peach cake yet, so he had to stay on the sofa and swallow it
quickly.
Gu Jingsheng stared at a square-headed object on the big desk for a long time. Seeing that
everyone had gone to the kitchen, he asked Gu Beiwu: "Uncle, what is this? It's not a TV."
"This is called a personal computer." Gu Beiwu smiled and turned on the computer. After a while,
a blue screen and lines of white English words appeared on the screen. Si Jiang put the last bite
of peach cake into his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and ran over curiously to see this new
thing.
"We also have one in our school. It was invented by an American named Steve Jobs. It's an Apple
computer." Gu Beiwu operated the keyboard skillfully. "The United States has an ARPANET that
allows computers in different places to share the same files. Three years ago, they connected the
United States, Britain and Norway at the same time. Two years ago, the Queen of England used
the ARPANET to send something called mail. There is no need to go to the post office, or use
paper and pen. Words written on a computer can be received on another computer. It's amazing
and will definitely change the world in the future."
He glanced at Gu Jingsheng and said, "You won't see this kind of thing in Xinjiang. Do you still
want to go to Xinjiang?"
Gu Jingsheng hesitated for a moment and nodded: "Well, isn't this only available to the
commander? You can't see it outside. I still like Xinjiang more."
Si Jiang said: "This is not as interesting as TV. What's so magical about it? Hey, do you want to go
check the refrigerator?" The next sentence was directed to Gu Jingsheng.
Gu Jingsheng was stunned: "Yes."
Gu Beiwu saw the two of them leaving one after the other, smiled, shook his head and turned off
the computer.
——
It was getting dark. The little kids who had had a big meal in the cafeteria burped and said
goodbye to Zhou Shanrang contentedly, and made faces at Gu Beiwu and Zhou Shanrang.

Chapter 42
Gu Jingsheng led his brothers and sisters into Wanchun Street. Si Jiang greeted his grandparents,
uncles and mothers who were enjoying the cool breeze at night. He was timid as he approached
home, so he walked slower and slower after passing the Cultural Station. As soon as he entered
the lane, he saw his grandmother waving a palm-leaf fan and turning around at the door of her
house.
"Nannan! Nannan!" Grandma Gu came over on her feet, hugged Si Jiang carefully, looked at him
again and again, breathed a sigh of relief, slapped her own legs with a fan, and said angrily: "It
was all the old lady from the Wang family next door who insisted on dragging me to watch Yue
Opera. If I were at home, if your mother dared to hit you, I would kill her first." She pulled Si Nan
to look at him, and then looked at the four troublesome boys Xiaowei: "You took a bath in vain.
Dad, Er, and San, your parents didn't come back so late, really, stop running around, sleep at
grandma's house, okay?"
The three Zhao brothers were overjoyed and immediately rushed over, hugged her waist and
shouted "Long live grandma", pushing Si Jiangsnan out.
As soon as the group entered the doorway, Sinan sniffed a few times: "What's that smell? It
smells so good!"
"Grandma made you grilled crucian carp with scallions, braised soft-shelled turtle, fried shrimp,
and black fish soup. Alas, the shrimps are pitiful, more than a dozen died. Salted shrimps are the
freshest." Grandma Gu waved her fan and urged them upstairs: "Hurry up and eat. We have been
waiting for you until now."
Zhao was so angry that he scolded Er and San: "It's all your fault! You took two extra buns and
insisted that I help you eat them! I'm so stuffed that I'm dying."
"Ah? Have you eaten?"
Si Jiang quickly squeezed Si Nan's hand and said, "Grandma, my sister and I are not full."
Sinan looked down at his bulging belly, then glanced at his elder sister, and thought to himself,
well, you have the final say over my belly, my elder sister treats me the best after all.
The electric fan in the living room was running loudly. A table full of dishes was placed on the
dining table. Gu Ximei sat in the middle with a sullen face, while Chen Donglai squatted beside
him and stuffed things into his backpack.
Granny Gu pushed the six children onto the chairs one by one and said, "Alright, eating is not
teaching children, today's matter is over, everyone, eat well, okay? Donglai, come eat first, don't
you have another day to pack tomorrow?"
Chen Donglai responded and sat down next to Gu Ximei, poking her: "Eat first."
Si Jiang looked at his mother timidly, lowered his head and slowly picked up the rice bowl.
Grandma Gu was busy dividing the crucian carp meat with bones picked out for her two
granddaughters, leaving Gu Jingsheng and the three grandchildren to do it themselves.
Sinan held his belly with one hand and picked up the chopsticks with the other hand: "Grandma,
uncle said he would be back later. He brought the key, so let's go to bed first."
Gu Ximei turned her gaze from Si Jiang to Si Nan.
Si Nan raised his chin, very proudly: "Uncle and Aunt Zhou went out for a walk. Aunt Zhou's
father is a commander, and they live in a huge house with three floors, and there are several
guards. The house is very cool, and the air conditioner is blowing cold air, which made me sneeze.
There are many delicious foods in her big refrigerator, which is icy cold. Tsk tsk tsk, my second
cousin put his head in and got stuck, and he almost couldn't pull it out! Hahaha."
Zhao Er wanted to argue a few words for himself, but after looking at his aunt's expression, he
wisely picked up a fried shrimp and slowly peeled the shell, thinking that after peeling the shell,
he might be able to make some room in his stomach for so many delicious foods.
Gu Ximei took a breath, tapped the large enamel bowl containing the braised soft-shelled turtle
with her chopsticks, and tried to remind Sinan calmly: "What should you pay attention to when
eating? Do you remember? Mom has told me many times."
Sinan sipped some of the stewed turtle soup perfunctorily, but after a while he couldn't help
himself and continued to brag about what he had seen and heard: "I'm not hungry at all. Aunt
Zhou took us to the canteen to eat. There were pork chops, chicken nuggets, pig's trotters, all
meat. I was so full. There were many PLA uncles eating together in the canteen, but not as many
as our Aksu Division Headquarters. There were hundreds of big watermelons piled up next to
them. Each watermelon was bigger than a winter melon. Really, I couldn't even hold it!"
Si Jiang nudged Si Nan with his elbow and said, "Sister, would you like me to peel a shrimp for
you?"
"No, no." Sinan looked at Chen Donglai with wide eyes: "Dad, Aunt Zhou's house has a big thing
that can wash clothes by itself. It's called a washing machine. Did you know? Oh, yes, Aunt Zhou
is very nice to us. She even took us to their military bathroom to take a bath. There is a big pool in
Aunt Zhou's bathroom, which is full of hot water. I swam around and it was so comfortable. Dad,
you said every winter that you would take me to the big bathroom in Aksu to take a bath, but you
lied every year."
With a "smack", Gu Ximei's chopsticks hit the table. Si Nan blinked and finally closed his mouth.
"Aunt Zhou, Aunt Zhou's family is great, why did you come back? Why don't you stay at her
house?" Gu Ximei suppressed her anger: "How many times have I told you not to talk too much
while eating? You are the one who talks the most. Grandma worked hard to cook a table of
dishes, and you all ate your fill outside. Don't you have any brains? When you went out, didn't
you say you wouldn't come back for dinner?——"
Si Jiang said: "I'm sorry, Mom, I'm sorry, Grandma."
Sinan was not convinced: "Then you should scold uncle, it was uncle who took us out."
Gu Ximei was so angry that she wanted to hit her with chopsticks.
Gu Jingsheng, who had been silent the whole time, raised his head and said, "My uncle called at
five o'clock, and the person at the pay phone promised to come and tell the family."
"Yes, yes, yes. We all heard it!" Zhao Ada, Aer and Asan hurried to testify.
Sinan immediately became proud: "Then go and scold that person."
Chen Donglai frowned: "Okay, okay. Chen Sinan, are you done yet? Every time mommy lectures
you, you always have a reason. It's not okay for children to talk in a roundabout way. Mommy and
Daddy are doing this for your own good. Look at you, you climbed the water tower, went to the
beach, and did dangerous things. Mommy didn't say anything to you, but what if something
happens to you next time? Isn't mommy the saddest?" He picked up a piece of turtle skirt for Gu
Ximei: "Come, mommy has worked the hardest today, eat quickly. I'll educate them later." Gu
Ximei took a breath, lowered her head to eat, and ignored Sinan.
Granny Gu tried to smooth things over: "Okay, okay, what's the matter? We have to burn these
things after we kill them, otherwise they will stink. If we can't finish them today, we can continue
eating tomorrow. Come on, Nan Nan, if you're not hungry, have some black fish soup."
Si Nan turned around and made a face at Gu Jingsheng beside him. Everyone at the table
pretended not to notice.
Si Jiang chewed the food in small bites, and suddenly a small bowl of fish soup appeared in front
of him.
"If you can't eat, give it to me." Gu Ximei leaned forward to take her bowl of rice. "Black fish soup
is the best for healing wounds. Drink this. Let mom take a look at the wound later and help you
put another piece of gauze on it."
Si Jiang's tears dripped into the soup bowl, and he whispered, "Thank you, Mom. I'm sorry..."
"Mum wasn't feeling well today either." Gu Ximei put the remaining shrimps into Gu Jingsheng's
bowl and said awkwardly, "I hit you when I got angry. I won't do that again in the future."
Grandma Gu poured the remaining two pieces of turtle meat and the soup into Gu Ximei's bowl:
"Well, I've beaten you. If Xiaoxiazi (child) doesn't listen, she should be beaten. Otherwise, she
won't remember. Your elder brother was hung on the beam and beaten with a belt before, so he
was broken. You should eat more. You will suffer again when you return to Xinjiang the day after
tomorrow, and you will have to take care of one more person. Oh!"
Si Jiangsnan and the three Zhao brothers all blinked: Grandma, you didn't seem to say that just
now...
——
Nanjing West Road was still brightly lit at night, and Gu Beiwu and Zhou Shanrang crossed the
Tongren Road intersection side by side.
"My dad once told me that the five-star was originally made of real gold, a golden five-star." Zhou
Shanrang smiled and pointed to the top of the Shanghai Exhibition Hall. "Later, when the Soviet
revisionists were overthrown, some Red Guard soldiers climbed up there in the middle of the
night to steal the gold, so they took it down in advance and replaced it with a copper red five-
star."
Gu Beiwu couldn't help but laugh: "Do you believe it?"
"Huh? Isn't it true?" Shanrang was surprised.
"I heard that it was plated with 24K gold." Gu Beiwu walked to the railing and looked inside: "My
eldest brother once tried to climb up to get a clear view, and was shot twice by the patrolling
militia. Surprisingly, he was not injured and was not arrested. At that time, it was still called the
Sino-Soviet Friendship Building."
The two of them looked at each other, as if they suddenly recognized something, and they both
couldn't stop laughing.
"Your elder brother - should be fine." Shan Rang took out two pages of folded documents from
his trouser pocket: "Don't report me, these are the documents in my father's study. You have to
take them back and put them away after you read them."
Under the streetlight, Gu Beiwu read it quickly and immediately gave it back to her: "Thank you
so much."
"So polite? How are you going to thank me?" Shanrang put away the two pages of paper with a
smile, turned his head and asked him mischievously.
Gu Beiwu loosened and clenched his hands on the railing, but suddenly asked, "What do you
think of Marx's class theory?"
Shan Rang was stunned. Looking at his serious face, he thought for a while and couldn't help but
sigh: "Classes will always exist, contradictions will not disappear, and transformation will not stop.
But my father is still a proletarian."
Gu Beiwu's mouth curled up: "Quantitative change leads to qualitative change. In terms of the
capital you own, you no longer belong to our proletariat."
"Then the mutual penetration of opposites is inevitable." Shanrang stared at the man she liked
and blushed: "You can penetrate me, or I can penetrate you."
"To complete the class transformation, you either rely on revolution, knowledge, or marriage."
Gu Beiwu said frankly: "Before I have the knowledge to change my destiny, I will not choose to
change through marriage, or be suspected of changing through marriage. You can laugh at my
incorrect male chauvinism-" He paused: "In fact, it is because I have a weird mentality that is a
mixture of inferiority and self-esteem. I have seriously examined myself for a while on whether I
care about this suspicion of climbing. It's a pity that I think I can say that I don't care now, but one
day in the future, I will inevitably care. Although I will never blame you for giving me this
opportunity, I am afraid I will still regret my choice. I said so many strange things, please forgive
me."
Shanrang was almost excited. She said eagerly, "No, I am very happy."
Gu Beiwu was stunned.
"I'm really so happy. You're willing to tell me your innermost thoughts. I'm very excited." Shan
Rang took a few deep breaths, rubbed his face with his hands, waved at him, stamped his feet
and said anxiously: "Wait a minute, let me organize my words."
Gu Beiwu was amused by her and almost wanted to reach out and touch her anxious face and
comfort her.

Chapter 43
Wanting to touch, Gu Beiwu stretched out his hand and lifted up the two hairs hanging on
Shanrang's eyelashes. His fingers seemed to be gently scratched by something and felt a little
itchy. Even when he put them back to his body, it seemed as if there was still an ant hovering
around them.
"Don't be in a hurry, organize it slowly." He smiled in the night, and the whole road was lit up.
Shan Rang was touched by him unexpectedly, her eyelashes itched, her face burned, and the few
words she had just organized flew away in an instant. She stared blankly at the young man she
had secretly liked since her teenage years. Yes, Gu Beiwu was not a good person, but she liked his
badness and his appearance that he was not bad at all.
Gu Beiwu had never seen Shanrang like this. He vaguely remembered that she used to be a bright
and proud girl who often made sarcastic jokes about him and Zhou Shanli, but she took care of
them seriously and responsibly. He didn't even recognize her when they met again in college. She
had become a well-informed and well-mannered young woman. And now this somewhat clumsy
and naive Shanrang seemed to have merged those two images together. She was no longer
Shanli's sister, no longer the commander's daughter, and no longer a top female student in the
Department of Economics at Peking University. She was just pure Zhou Shanrang, a woman he
respected, appreciated, got along with easily, and seriously considered as a marriage partner.
"Ahem," Shanrang tucked the hair behind his ears uncomfortably. "Wait a minute, I forgot."
Gu Beiwu laughed out loud and pointed at her red ears: "Did you stop because of a red light?"
Shan Rang could hardly catch his "joke". He rubbed his ears, turned around, and took a few deep
breaths before he calmed down.
"First of all - ah, not first." Shanrang laughed as he spoke: "No -"
Gu Beiwu smiled and bent over: "Are you in class?"
Shanrang kicked him lightly: "Hey, I'm serious."
"Okay, please let Secretary Zhou of the Youth League Committee speak." Gu Beiwu held back his
laughter.
"I'm just too excited, okay?" Shan Rang touched his cheek with the back of his hand. "You seem
to be smiling and polite to everyone, but in fact you have always been isolated from the masses
and never say what you think. So I am very happy and honored. Of course, you won't
understand."
Gu Beiwu thought for a moment and asked, "Am I such a person?"
"You are just that kind of person. Don't you know what people say about you behind your back?"
Shan Rang cleared his throat. "Old Gu? He looks like someone who has experienced a lot. He is
very secretive, unlike us farmers. When I received the notice, I was still working in the production
team. Look at me. I say whatever I think. I am not like Old Gu. Who of you can tell what he is
thinking? If you can't tell, who dares to ask? I don't dare."
"Old He?" Gu Beiwu smiled and shook his head.
"So, I should be the first person in our department to hear your thoughts." Shan Rang was a little
proud: "At least you regard me as a true friend."
Gu Beiwu was a little surprised: "I thought I had a lot of friends."
Shan Rang was also surprised: "Maybe you have some misunderstanding about the word 'friend'?
Or are there many 'friends' like my brother who couldn't find you after searching for seven or
eight years?"
The two of them walked to the intersection of Ping'an Theater while laughing, and tacitly chose
to continue walking east along Nanjing West Road.
Shan Rang felt relieved. "I completely understand your thoughts. If I were you, I wouldn't even be
friends with me. Being friends with me would be considered as climbing the social ladder, right?
Otherwise, why don't you ever call or write to my brother?"
"After I met you, I wrote Shanli an apology letter, but he didn't reply. He might still be angry with
me. I was in Nanjing in March of the year before last and went to your home, but it seems that
you no longer live there."
"Ah? The year before last? Did you go to Yuhuatai to mourn the Prime Minister? My second and
third brothers and I all went there, but we didn't meet you." Shanrang was a little melancholy,
and sighed, "There were hundreds of thousands of people, it was impossible for us to meet. You
also went to my house? After my father was transferred to Shanghai, we all came to Shanghai
with the army and lived in Changde Road for more than half a year. My mother couldn't get used
to the water in Shanghai and was always sick. My eldest brother happened to be transferred back
to the Nanjing Military Region, so my mother took us back to Nanjing and lived with my eldest
brother and his wife."
Then she became happy again: "It seems that you just didn't recognize me, not that you forgot
me." After saying that, she was afraid that the conclusion was just her own imagination, so she
secretly glanced at Gu Beiwu.
Gu Beiwu narrowed his eyes and smiled: "I haven't forgotten. You used that hard boar bristle
brush to rub the medicated oil on our backs. It was so painful that it's hard to forget."
Shanrang blinked, laughed guiltily, and took two quick steps. Fortunately, the brush that always
visited his father's military boots before visiting their backs would remain silent forever.
In the shadows at the entrance of Kaige Food Factory, an old lady bent down, picked up a small
stool, and walked towards them with a basket of flowers, passing Shanrang. Shanrang walked a
few steps and turned back to see Gu Beiwu buying white jasmine flowers. The old lady bowed
down repeatedly to thank him and forced the last bunch to be given to him.
"My mother used to sell white jasmine flowers here." Gu Beiwu handed her two bunches and
said, "Try pinning them on your buttons."
Shan Rang followed suit and lowered his head to smell it: "What a nice, comfortable scent. You
are such a good person. That mother-in-law must be very grateful to you."
Gu Beiwu laughed: "This good man is too worthless, he can be bought with two cents."
"She's here so late, she must want to sell all before going back, maybe she hasn't even had dinner
yet. You bought not only flowers, but also her mood." Shanrang smiled and said, "And my mood.
No one has ever given me flowers, this only happens in old movies. I am very grateful to you."
"I thought you would prefer taking class notes." Gu Beiwu teased her.
Shanrang nodded seriously: "Notes are what I want, and flowers are what I want too. Can I have
both?"
"Yes, I can." Gu Beiwu nodded hurriedly and raised his hands in surrender: "Secretary Zhou,
where is your first step? Or have you prepared the final summary?"
Shanrang was surprised to realize that they had talked so much, but it seemed like they had
talked about nothing. She thought about it carefully: "In fact, every decision made by a person,
like history, has both contingency and inevitability. For example, these two bunches of white
jasmine flowers, because of your mother, you must have bought them, but if we had turned onto
Shaanxi Road just now, we would not have met this old lady."
"If chance does not play any role, then world history will have a very mysterious nature?" Gu
Beiwu asked with a smile.
Shan Rang smiled and nodded: "I agree with Marx on this point. For example, when I took the
college entrance examination last year, why did I want to go to Peking University? It was because
you once told my brother at my house that you were going to apply to Peking University and
wanted to study economics and finance. But meeting you was completely unexpected to me."
Something in Gu Beiwu's heart was gently stirred. He looked at Shan Rang tenderly. The buildings
on both sides under the street lights blurred into the background, leaving only her young face
shining.
Shan Rang turned his head and glanced at Gu Beiwu: "After all, it's hard to forget someone
you've liked for ten years. At least I can't forget it, because when I liked this person, I didn't know
that it was called liking. I even Maybe I have never had the chance to express this kind of love in
my life, and I have never had the chance to let him know it. Therefore, I have been so happy in
the past six months.”
"Good at giving in?" Gu Beiwu was caught off guard and slowed down. He was very ashamed. He
was not worthy of her, but it had nothing to do with class or family background. It was because
she was so beautiful. And he never imagined that he would encounter such strong emotions. At
this moment, he was extremely worried about gains and losses, for fear that his current self and
future self would not be the "Gu Beiwu" she imagined.
Shan Rang turned around and blinked: "At least you have seriously considered the possibility of
living with me, right? So, classmate Gu Beiwu, I want to know if you have any feelings for me
now?"
Gu Beiwu pondered for a moment: "Of course I like it. I'm not a noble person, but I'm not mean
either. Maybe there's a qualitative difference between my liking and your liking—"
Shan Rang interrupted him: "That's fine. I will wait until the day when you create the future you
want on your own. If you still feel that there is a class difference between you and me, I will
forget you and leave you because you are not worthy of my love." She smiled and said: "Finally, I
hope you don't let me down, Gu Beiwu."
Shan Rang walked forward quickly, with a smile on her face. Yes, the past six months had been
the happiest time of her twenty-six years, and tonight was undoubtedly the happiest moment of
the past six months. The person she had been thinking about all the time finally responded to
her.
——
"It's time to go to bed and stop talking." Grandma Gu raised her hand and waved the fan twice in
a half-asleep state. The two little people beside her and the three cousins under her feet were
still chattering at each other.
Gu Ximei and Chen Donglai could be heard talking faintly in the living room outside. Granny Gu
yawned and asked loudly, "Ximei, is the fourth child back?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the door rang.
"Uncle! Uncle! Uncle is back." Si Nan and Si Jiang opened the mosquito net, slid down to the
ground and ran out. Zhao Ada screamed: "Who stepped on me!" A Er and A San were not far
behind: "My hand!" "My stomach! Chen Si Nan, you must have stepped on me!"
Grandma Gu quickly leaned over to pull the light cord. Snap, the light came on, and her three
grandchildren were twisting on the ground like three big earthworms, crying loudly.
Gu Beiwu washed his face, took Si Jiang and Si Nan in his arms, and saw that there was a bowl of
fish soup under the bowl cover on the table, and a jar of scallion oil without crucian carp, so he
took them out. Si Jiang stood on tiptoe and took out the key from the first drawer of the chest of
drawers: "Uncle, there is a pot of rice in the kitchen, I'll go get a bowl." Si Nan yawned, climbed
onto the chair, and lay down on the table: "Uncle, has my aunt gone home?"
Gu Beiwu almost choked on the fish soup. He coughed several times before poking Si Nan with
the tip of his chopsticks and smiling: "Ga Pi (so naughty)."
Ximei slapped Sinan on the back of the head, and the slap suddenly became much lighter when it
landed on her head, and turned into a casual slap: "What little aunt! Aunt Zhou, does Aunt Zhou
know? Little brat, you are talking nonsense, go to sleep! It's eleven o'clock in the middle of the
night and you are still not sleepy, are you itchy?"
Si Nan shook her head: "Uncle, Mom got angry when she heard me talking about Aunt Zhou, so I
called her little aunt." She squatted on the chair and got close to Gu Beiwu's face, looked at him
carefully, and asked: "Uncle, do you see his face?"
This time she received a solid slap on her butt.
"Where did you learn this?" Gu Ximei asked in a stern voice, fuming.
Chen Sinan covered his buttocks and shouted backwards: "Sister, teach me a lesson!"
As soon as Si Jiang walked in with the bowl in her hand, she felt as if something strange had
happened. The three big heads of her three cousins were stacked one on top of the other,
standing next to the wardrobe and making faces at her.

Chapter 44
Gu Jingsheng lay on the only bed in the attic and turned over quietly. There were bursts of
laughter and noise coming from downstairs. He reached out to open the curtains. The pots of
green plants outside the dormer window were shining under the dim street lights. Many times
when he woke up, he thought he was still in Jinghong.
At this time, Jinghong was still in the rainy season. Various insects crawled out of the red mud
after the rain, and the air was filled with the fragrance of plants. The tangled roots of strangler
figs could be seen everywhere in the rain forest. Parashorea chinensis stood tall into the clouds.
There were swarms of bees flying on the fruit-bearing figs. Deep purple flowers bloomed on the
mottled old trunks of the fork-leaved wood. Gu Dongwen said that the flowers looked like fallen
su, or eggplant. Every day, groups of wild elephants bathed in the Sancha River in Mengyang.
Green peacocks liked to appear in the woods near Mengla and Jinghong. The slow monkey curled
up into a ball and lay on the tree. He climbed up and it was scared silly. It stared with round eyes
and trembled, and didn't know how to escape. Even if it escaped, it was slower than a turtle and
could only be touched on the belly by him.
Gu Dongwen liked to take him along the Lancang River from Jinghong to Ganlanba. He could not
go any further because it was easy to meet people from the Communist Party of Burma. Since
the death of Chairman Mao, the educated youth who crossed the Menggu River to support the
Communist Party of Burma lost their nationality and refused to surrender to the Burmese
government. Many of them fled back to their hometowns as illegal immigrants or went to
Vietnam and Cambodia. Gu Dongwen said that there were not many people left in the
Communist Party of Burma. They had degenerated to the point of using drugs to support their
soldiers. If you were caught by the Communist Party of Burma and taken to the Menggu River by
accident, no matter how old you were, you would have to take an M21 semi-automatic rifle to
watch the poppy fields.
He and Gu Dongwen suspected that his mother had been captured by the Communist Party of
Burma, so they secretly went to Menggu River to investigate. There were fields of poppies, many
bamboo towers with anti-aircraft machine guns on them, and searchlights flashing everywhere at
night, making it impossible to get out of the forest. They hid in the forest for three days, but did
not see his mother. They were starving and had to return to Jinghong.
Gu Dongwen didn't like Burmese people, including those who believed in communism. He also
didn't like Vietnamese people, including those who believed in communism. He also hated the
cadres at the Golden Triangle Recruiting Station. He said that they were full of elephant shit, and
that the lives of three to five thousand Chinese educated youth were sent to the hands of
ungrateful wolves as cannon fodder. Gu Jingsheng didn't like these people either, because he had
never liked anyone, including his mother and Gu Dongwen. At least that's what he thought.
His mother might even be the person he disliked the most. She couldn't carry anything on her
shoulders or in her hands. She had been in Jinghong for more than ten years and she would cry
or get sick. Anyone could scold her and bully her. When he was five years old, he first understood
what a "slut" was. He ran home in anger and asked her why she didn't jump into the Lancang
River like Aunt Liu from the next door company to prove that she was not a "slut." She cried and
said she was not, she wanted to live, she just wanted to live and watch him grow up. She was
really a woman without any backbone. Because of this, Gu Dongwen hung him on a tree and
whipped him dozens of times. Gu Jingsheng put down the tent and turned over quietly. He was
very vengeful and would one day beat back all the beatings he had received.
But she disappeared so suddenly, and he had to find her and ask her no matter what: Why don't
you keep your promise? He is obviously not grown up yet. He and Gu Dongwen didn't believe
that she would commit suicide. If she dared to commit suicide, there would be no son like him.
There are many people who don't get along with Gu Dongwen, but after they beat them up, no
one admitted it. She has been missing for almost two years, and no one has looked for her
anymore. Even Gu Dongwen has given up. He doesn't blame her. He has emptied the manure pit.
When the company built a new wall in those two years, he always went to dig it open in the
middle of the night to see if anyone hid his mother in it. Most of his hair has turned white, and he
looks very pitiful. Gu Jingsheng stared at the top of the tent with his eyes wide open. He always
thought that his mother couldn't leave Gu Dongwen, but now it seems that Gu Dongwen can't
leave his mother.
This Gu family is very strange, Gu Jingsheng came to the conclusion, and the bitterness in his eyes
eased a little. He turned over and looked out the dormer window. Shanghai people are also very
strange, dormer windows, tiger stoves, tiger claws, do they like tigers so much? There is obviously
no tiger. There are tigers in the forest of Banna. They don't eat people, but they have stolen cows.
If Chen Sinan goes to Jinghong, she will probably be very happy. He can take her to climb the
parashorea chinensis, jump on the tiger jumping stone, and dig for the green hand and black
chicken mushroom. As for Chen Sijiang, thinking of her silly look of standing on one leg to protect
her dress, a bit like a lazy monkey, Gu Jingsheng couldn't help but pull the corner of his mouth.
The noise downstairs gradually calmed down, the door opened and closed, and there was a
thumping sound from the stairs. Gu Jingsheng closed his eyes. It was Gu Ximei and Chen Donglai
going back and forth to Chen's house. After a while, the ladder was placed on the floor, and Gu
Beiwu entered the attic, opened the window and jumped out.
Jingsheng opened his eyes and stared at the dormer window that was illuminated by a soft light
from the curtain. There was a faint smell of smoke outside, and suddenly he heard voices coming
from downstairs.
"Why isn't my aunt my mother? I like her." It was Chen Sinan's voice.
"You little fool! Mom is Mom, and Alam's mom is the best." Chen Sijiang said.
"No, my aunt is the best. If I were my uncle and aunt's son, I would listen to them even if they
didn't give me a penny for pocket money." Zhao's Ah San sighed deeply, and Jingsheng could hear
the sound of his head banging on the cement through the floor.
"Haha, you are attracted by the big refrigerator in her house, right? Those belong to the army and
cannot be taken away. I have secretly asked." Zhao Er showed his wisdom: "And if you are my
uncle's son, you have to live in Wanchun Street, sleep on the floor every day, and have to empty
the toilet."
Ah San hesitated for a moment and said, "Forget it. The ground is too hard and my waist hurts."
"You have a waist?" Ah Da laughed and slapped the mat. "There's only a belly between your
hands and feet. It's a big belly. How can you have a waist? Big sister, are you right?"
Si Jiang and Si Nan laughed loudly. A Da, A Er, and A San kept asking whether they would
definitely go to the China Welfare Fund Association to play the Road of the Brave tomorrow, and
whether they would watch a movie, go boating, and ice skating. This made Grandma Gu
impatient and she scolded them several times. But it was finally peaceful.
Jingsheng shook his head silently. There was a bunch of stupid little bastards downstairs, clicking
their tongues.
With a muffled thud, Gu Beiwu jumped in from outside. Jingsheng could feel that he was very
happy even with his eyes closed, so happy that he didn't know what to do. He secretly opened
his eyes a little, and saw Gu Beiwu rolled up the mat on the ground again, pulled out a chair and
sat in front of the desk, and soon there was a rustling sound of writing. Jingsheng looked at it for
a while and his eyelids drooped, thinking that the guy named Gu upstairs was a bit stupid.
Gu Beiwu also felt that he was a little stupid, no, very stupid. He was writing a letter to Zhou
Shanrang.
"Shan Rang: I am glad to see your words.
When you receive this letter, maybe I will be beside you, or maybe you will be at Weiming Lake
and I will be in Building 37. It is better to be the latter, so that I will not look so stupid, and I hope
to barely maintain the me that exists in your imagination.
It's late at night, everyone in the family has gone to sleep, but I really can't sleep. If I don't talk to
you for a few minutes, I probably won't be able to sleep the whole night.
I am very ashamed. Before your final brave conclusion, I almost thought that I was also a brave
person. However, before your pure and noble emotions, I only saw my cowardice, worldliness
and selfishness. I would like to ask you to forgive me for being like this.
Plato said: The greatest regret in life is to easily give up what should not be given up, and
stubbornly insist on what should not be insisted on. I hope I can be that stubborn person, and
one day in the future, I ask you not to give up on a selfish person like me easily.
Over the past decade, my life goal has been very simple: to make my family live a better life. I did
not go to work in the countryside, but instead took shortcuts and did many things that were not
glorious. If I were caught, I would probably be sent to a labor camp for reform. Before the charges
of speculation and eavesdropping on enemy radio stations were abolished, I was at risk of being
reformed, but I never thought I had done anything wrong. If we do not carry out reforms and
promote the development of the market economy, as Mr. Chen said, our country can only lag
behind and be beaten.
Unequal distribution of resources will inevitably lead to intensified social contradictions. Even in a
family like mine, we can already see huge urban-rural gaps, gaps in medical care and education,
gaps in information, and so on. Not to mention the gap between your family and mine. The
children at home have not seen a refrigerator yet, but you have already used a personal
computer. I believe this is also a microcosm of our country at present. Without reform,
contradictions among the people will also intensify. Under the guidance of Mr. Democracy and
Mr. Science, I am full of enthusiasm and anxiety for the future. This enthusiasm is not only to
change myself and my family, but also to see what our generation can do. It is far beyond my
expectations to be able to learn, grow, progress and struggle with you.
Finally, please allow me to use your "last". I was knocked down when I knew that such an
excellent woman had stubbornly insisted on something that she shouldn't have insisted on for
ten years. I felt ashamed and even more happy. So much so that in the four hours after I said
goodbye to you, I kept thinking about many things I wanted to say to you.
I firmly believe that I will not let you down. I hope that one day you will allow me to express my
love for you in the pure and childlike way of "liking" like Sijiang Sinan. Attached is a small photo of
the beautiful girl like the white orchid tonight. Sorry for writing so much nonsense.
I wish you a safe journey back to Ningbo, and I would like to ask that your parents, brothers and
sisters-in-law are all well.
Your loyal friend, Gu Beiwu."
——
Zhou Shanrang later asked Si Jiang curiously: "Do you and Si Nan have any special ways to express
your love for each other?"
Si Jiang was still in shock, Si Nan laughed out loud: "My sister sleeps every night with my
childhood diapers! And I used them before, not only for peeing, but also for pooping!"
Zhou Shanrang: ??? !!! I didn’t expect that you, Gu Beiwu, would be such a Gu Beiwu!

Chapter 45
The day before leaving Shanghai, Gu Beiwu and Chen Donglai led the team from the Children's
Palace of China Welfare Association to Jing'an Park, and then to the Shanghai West Workers'
Cultural Palace to watch movies, row boats, and skate. They did everything until the golden sun
set in the west before returning to Wanchun Street. Si Nan fell down countless times on the
skating rink. She was determined not to believe that she could sweep Wanchun Street with all
her skills, but she would lose on eight wheels. She gritted her teeth and fought hard. She was
defeated again and again. She held on to the railing and cried like a scoundrel and refused to
leave. In the end, Gu Beiwu carried her around the rink for seven or eight laps before giving up.
She fell asleep on Chen Donglai's back before entering the alley. She didn't say goodbye to the
three cousins of the Zhao family. She didn't wake up when she arrived at her grandfather and
mother's house. She snored up and down, quite like Grandpa Chen.
Chen A Niang had been preparing for this farewell meal for many days, and the dishes were
comparable to the New Year's Eve dinner. There were Ningbo yellow mud snails, red crab with
red paste, shrimp, jellyfish head, white-cut chicken with rice wine, roasted gluten and stinky
winter melon, and other cold dishes. A duck with eight treasures was roasted for a whole day,
and the braised pig's trotters were glittering with thick red soy sauce. Because Chen Donglai
loved eating the rice wine pot from Dexing Restaurant since he was a child, A Niang soaked the
refreshing pig tongue, pig lung, pig stomach and pig intestines in boiling water three or four days
in advance, and blanched them with the pig's feet in boiling water, and added Jinhua ham, green
onion, ginger, and half a bottle of fragrant rice wine, without adding a drop of water, and poured
a whole bottle of Huadiao wine into the pot, covered it with mud, and stewed it on the coal stove
for three hours. It was not ready yet, and after the pot cooled down, it was soaked in two
thermos of ice water every day.
Qian Guihua was so angry that she would mutter to everyone she met: "My grandma, your heart
has drifted to Songjiang, even further away than the Leaning Tower of Tianma Mountain. It is I
who stayed in Shanghai to serve my parents (it is us who stayed in Shanghai to serve my parents).
Tsk tsk tsk, after all, he is the eldest son, and one dish takes three or four days to prepare. My
grandma is so busy at work, but he still helps me buy things and bring them back, spending both
manpower and money. Oh, my parents don't feel sorry for me, only my wife Xiaoning feels sorry
for me. (My parents don't feel sorry for him, only my wife and children feel sorry for him)"
Aunt Kang advised her: "Donglai and his wife only come back once every four years, so it's only
natural that they cut the food more delicately. As a mother, what else can you do except cook
something good? And Sijiang is brought up by your grandmother, right? Aunt helps you pick up
Xiaoning and cook dinner every day, does Donglai and Dongfang have any gossip?"
Qian Guihua was upset after eating. That day, the three sisters-in-law started to harvest yellow
croakers and sort vegetables early in the morning. In the kitchen, Qian Guihua couldn't help but
turn her head to Gu Ximei with a sour look: "Alas, in the hearts of grandpa and grandma, the
eldest sister-in-law and eldest brother are still ranked first. Today's meal is great. Here, eight red
crabs and six yellow croakers. Ten days ago, I asked Ala Donghai to help the market to inform the
people in the market in advance, so that the fresh goods can be delivered early in the morning."
Gu Ximei said calmly: "Thank you Donghai for your trouble. How much did it cost in total? I'll let
Donglai give it to you later."
Li Xuejing next to her looked up and said, "Didn't Dad give the third child fifty yuan for food this
morning? The third child said that it only cost forty-three yuan in total." She was from Huai'an
and couldn't speak Shanghainese, but she could understand it. Although she was not on good
terms with her two sisters-in-law, she couldn't let the third child's family get some of the food
money for nothing.
Qian Guihua blushed and glanced outside: "Ah, Dong Hai is really something, why didn't he tell
me. But sister-in-law, your Si Jiang was raised by grandma, and Alas Qiang and Si Qi are really
incomparable. Second sister-in-law, you don't know, Si Qi and your Simin have been asking for
yellow croaker stewed noodles for half a year, but they just can't eat it. Look, as soon as Si Jiang
said he wanted to eat it, he made it immediately."
Li Xuejing smiled: "Oh, Xiaoqian, I thought you were my son Simin's mother. He likes to eat yellow
croaker and tofu the most, and he hates noodles the most. Thank you, Third Mother, for thinking
about him every day." She dumped the edamame shells heavily into the trash can: "I'm going to
wash the edamame first, you guys get busy."
The faucet outside started running. Qian Guihua rolled his eyes: "Gangboning (a person from
Jiangbei)! Bitch! Tsk—"
With a clang, it was Gu Ximei who threw the potato in her hand into the basin, which scared Qian
Guihua. Gu Ximei frowned and asked, "Did Gangbo offend you? The whole Wanchun Street was
obtained by Gangbo when he fled. You are a young lady from a poor family, married to a
shantytown, and Chen Donghai pointed a gun at you? (What? Did we Jiangbei people offend
you? The whole Wanchun Street was obtained by people who fled from Jiangbei...)"
Qian Guihua couldn't understand what made this usually slow sister-in-law so angry all of a
sudden. After a while, she remembered that Gu Ximei's parents were from Yangzhou, which was
of course also in Gangbo. She couldn't help but blush and stood there in a daze.
Chen A Niang came in with braised pork trotters: "Xi Mei, help me clear the pot for the pork
trotters. She is a fool. What can you do to help her? (Help me clear the pot for the pork trotters.
She is a fool. What can you say to her?)"
Qian Guihua was both ashamed and annoyed, but she couldn't vent her anger. She walked out of
the kitchen mumblingly, carrying a basket of greens, and was bumped into by her daughter.
"Mom, I want to go to the China Welfare Fund with my uncle Sijiang and the others." Chen Siqi
shouted with red eyes.
"Go away, go away." Qian Guihua slapped her daughter in the ear and said, "Who treats you as a
niece or a sister? The Ning family is the real family. We were picked up from outside."
"Qian Guihua! Stop talking nonsense, do you want to be beaten?" Chen Donghai leaned half of
his body out of the second-floor window and shouted, "Qiqi, the sun is so bright, don't go out,
come up and watch TV, the Monkey King's Havoc in Heaven is here."
Qian Guihua watched her daughter cry as she walked into the doorway, glared fiercely at the
upstairs, and reluctantly went to the side of the vegetable sink, muttering a few words aimlessly,
her tears dripping on the chicken feathers. She thought to herself that she was forced to marry
into the family by Chen Donghai, and they all couldn't stand the fact that she was a genuine
Shanghainese from an upper class family, and they ganged up to bully her. What could she do?
For the sake of the two Xiaonings, she had to watch her life go to hell.
Aunt Kang came out with a small notebook: "Xiao Qian, Xiao Qian, I just wanted to ask you about
the water bill for last month. Your two little girls stayed for 25 nights, and you stayed for Donghai
for eight nights, right? According to our rules, one day is counted as one night for guests staying
overnight. Look, did you miss 16 people? I checked, and the number of overnight days for
Ximeidong is correct."
Aunt Chen ran out with the big water bill book from the kitchen in her hand and compared it with
Aunt Kang: "Don't blame me, don't blame me. It was an undercharge." The three daughters-in-
law of the Chen family remained silent.
When Aunt Kang went back inside, Aunt Chen was so angry that she slapped Qian Guihua on the
back with the big book in her hand: "Everyone else remembered to draw the head, but you
forgot."
Qian Guihua was furious: "Every household in this corner of the country has its own water meter.
Why do you have to count the number of people? Siqi is also counted when she is four years old?
What a joke."
Li Xuejing sneered: "Then you can send the two children to your mother's house. Do you think
your mother's family will charge you for water?"
Qian Guihua was so angry that her lips pursed. She kicked over a small stool at her feet and then
curled up in anger. A daughter who is married off is like water spilled out. She sent Si Qiang back
to her parents' home during the summer vacation. After only two weeks, her sister-in-law kept
complaining about the high water and electricity bills. She wanted to settle the rice bill with her.
Her mother didn't say a word and didn't even think about how many small dishes she had sent
back over the years. None of them had any conscience. Well, now that meat tickets are required
to buy meat in the city, her mother and sister-in-law called her several times and asked her to ask
Donghai to bring some meat back. Bah, they don't deserve it. Thinking about how she was busy
running around and was not popular with either side, Qian Guihua was overcome with grief for a
moment, but she refused to show weakness in front of her two stubborn sisters-in-law. She
stretched out her hand and turned the faucet to the maximum. The cabbage in her hand was
squeezed into chicken skin, and it churned in the sink, making the pool of bitter water green. The
tap water flowed as if it was free, and her wet shirt stuck to her belly coldly, but she refused to
turn off the faucet. This was her last stubbornness and resistance.
——
The meal was not a relaxing one. After Grandpa Chen retired, his temper worsened and he was
not happy with everyone. If he didn't scold his children and grandchildren once a week, his heart
would become uncomfortable.
"Look at you guys. Gu Beiwu was able to get into Peking University at the age of 30. How come
you guys don't have any ambition at all?"
The sons and daughters-in-law were as quiet as chickens. They had a lot of rebuttals in their
hearts, but no one dared to express them out loud to make the old man too anxious.
"Boss, your Tongji University has resumed recruiting graduate students this year. I wrote to you in
March, but you didn't get any reply? Taking the postgraduate entrance examination is also a way
to come back. Why did you just give up like that?"
Chen Donglai had no words to say, and he casually agreed to apply for the exam next year. He had
been dealing with oil in the desert for more than ten years, and he knew how much knowledge
he had learned in college was left. Even if he passed the exam, could he leave Ximei and Sinan in
Aksu and come back by himself?
"My eldest brother's wife, I heard from my eldest brother that you were admitted to Urumqi No.
1 Normal University?"
"I didn't pass the exam this year." Ximei threw the crab shell on the table: "I'll take the exam
again next year. Our principal said that at the end of the year, Urumqi No. 1 Normal School and
the Teacher Training Department will be merged into Xinjiang Normal University. I can study for
two years through correspondence courses and get a college diploma."
Grandpa Chen nodded and took a sip of the white wine: "That's great, you can balance family and
career. The job of teacher is very good. It will be easy to arrange a job for you when you return to
Shanghai in the future." Ximei hummed vaguely.
"Second brother, your Director He said the day before yesterday that you didn't want to be
seconded to Baosteel?" Grandpa Chen frowned and criticized seriously: "The most important
thing at work is to obey orders and follow instructions. Don't think you can get away with it just
because you have passed the accountant exam. What is Baosteel? If you read the newspapers
and watch TV carefully, you will find that it is the first modern steelmaking base in our country.
The Japanese came here specifically to cooperate with it. It is a national key enterprise. It is a
great thing for you to be able to participate in the construction of Baosteel. What do you mean
you have to cook for the children and can't leave home? You are just messing around! Xiao Li, you
are the second brother's wife and the mother of the army and the people. If you don't take
responsibility for these things, how can the second brother feel at ease to contribute to the
country?"
Li Xuejing paused with her chopsticks, turned her head to look at her husband, and continued to
eat without saying a word. Chen Dongfang was born with a smiling face. He had worked in the
financial office for ten years. He was round and plump and looked very festive. When his old
father criticized him, he still nodded with a smile: "I really can't leave, Dad. Xuejing works three
days a week and rests two days at the airport. She has two long night shifts in a row. The two
little guys must eat, right? If I go to Baoshan to work, I have to catch the six o'clock bus in the
morning and come back at 7:30 at night. How can I do it?"
Chen Donglai could understand his second brother's idea. It was easy to say that he would
sacrifice his own family for the sake of the public, but it was too difficult for him to do so. He
spoke up to help: "If I am seconded, I won't be able to work in Baosteel with my personnel
relationship and household registration, which is not good, right? Baosteel should have a
collective household registration like our company."
Chen Dongfang stood up and poured wine for the old man, "That's right. Baosteel started
planning last year, and the financial staff were in place long ago. Unfortunately, two female
comrades got pregnant one after another and are about to give birth, so we wanted to
temporarily transfer them. After they have completed their maternity leave, the positions will
have to be returned to them. There is only one position for each person in the Finance
Department of our college, and I was just promoted to deputy section chief this year. If I run
away now, Director He's niece got her accountant certificate at the same time as me last year,
and she will be the perfect replacement. When I return to the college, I will have to wait until
Wang Ke retires to have a chance, which will take at least 17 or 18 years." Eight out of ten of his
words were true and two out of ten were false. Grandpa Chen could not find any fault with them.
In his heart, he resented his old friend Director He, who only wanted his son to make
contributions, but why didn't his niece contribute?
After this incident was exposed, Grandpa Chen was embarrassed again: "What do you think will
happen to Si Jun? I saw him reading comic books all day. He is a junior high school student and he
is reading the same book as Si Jiang. Is that reasonable? I heard that he only got 62 points in
Chinese last semester? Will he be able to pass the high school entrance examination or go to
college?"
Chen Dongfang sighed: "There is no hope for university, and I probably won't be able to get into a
technical secondary school. I need to get a high school diploma and then find a way to get into a
better unit."
Grandpa Chen felt upset. Si Jiang, who had outstanding grades, was said to have been taught by
Gu Beiwu by everyone in the alley. The remaining five were not even half as smart as Si Jiang.
After thinking about it, he thought that he had chosen the wrong wife. He looked at Li Xuejing
and Qian Guihua, shook his head, sighed, and poured another glass of old wine.
Gu Ximei raised her head: "Dad, you should drink less strong alcohol. It's not good for your heart,
and even worse for your liver." She took out a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to
Grandpa Chen: "Beiwu's friend Xiao Zhou introduced a doctor to me. He is an expert in cardiac
surgery at Ruijin Hospital. Go and make an appointment when you have time and have a
thorough checkup."
Grandpa Chen took the note and said, "Oh, I have to thank Xiao Zhou for his concern. You are my
sister, remember to pay more attention to Bei Wu's personal life and urge him. He has to get
married and raise a son. It's better to do it sooner rather than later."
Qian Guihua finished chewing a crab leg and pretended to be surprised: "Oh, the Cardiac Surgery
Department of Ruijin Hospital? It's very close to my mother's home. They did the first heart
transplant in Shanghai in April. The patient was only 38 years old. It seemed to be rheumatic
heart disease..."
Grandpa Chen was surprised: "Ah? The heart can be transplanted? Move it in or out?"
Qian Guihua frowned: "I don't understand, but the patient seems to have lived for only 109 days?
The first wave of August is gone. (The first wave of August is gone)"
The table suddenly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Chen Donghai's face flushed,
and just as he was about to explode, Qian Guihua had already gone downstairs with a small bowl
of shredded pig's trotters and duck meat, leaving everyone at the table looking at each other in
bewilderment. Grandpa Chen finally put away the note with great care, and as for whether to go
or not, we'll talk about it later.
——
While the adults upstairs were eating contentedly, downstairs, on the small table outside the
kitchen, grandma and her six grandchildren were smiling happily and harmoniously.
Sijiang took good care of Sinan, and did not forget to pick up food for Siqi next to him. He also
patiently explained the one-day recreational itinerary to the crowd. Ah San rolled down from the
single-plank bridge of the Brave Road. Because he wanted to be brave, he didn't cry even though
his knees and hands were scratched. Ah Er was so scared that he hugged the pillar tightly and
refused to come down from the height, blocking more than a dozen children. Only his uncle could
climb up and carry him down. He was definitely not a brave man. Gu's eldest cousin? He didn't
walk at all, so how could he be brave? Sinan disagreed and announced loudly that his eldest
cousin said that this Brave Road was meaningless. He was the bravest person and had faced a
tiger face to face in the forest. The three cousins were skeptical, and no one said the word
bragging. Sijiang talked about watching a movie again. Sinan and Ah San cried loudly, and the
rowing Ah Da and Ah Er fell into the water while grabbing the oars. Half a pig's trotter had not
been eaten yet, but everyone at the table had laughed their fill.
Ever since Chen Shimin and Chen Siqiang were convinced by Sinan, they really started to act like
princes.
"Can't you cut the crab roe? Brother, help me!"
"It's a pig's tongue. Yes, it makes me feel sick just thinking about it. Come on, give it to me."
"You'd better not cut off the duck wings. They will grow hair. Where will they grow hair? They
grow in the armpits and are black. Brother, don't be afraid. As a man, we must have a lot of hair.
Come on, give it to me."
"Chicken wings? Give them to Siqi. Siqi likes to eat chicken wings. Siqi, aren't you afraid of
growing hair? - Oh, you won't grow hair if you eat chicken wings."
Sinan always felt that something was wrong. Thinking about it, it seems that the brothers are no
longer stupid now.

Chapter 46
Parting is always sad, especially for Si Jiang. She was on the platform, calling her sister while
chasing the train. When she reached the window, she saw Si Nan had opened a bag of clove
hawthorn and forced it on Gu Jingsheng. After being hit by her mother with two chestnuts, she
turned her head and looked at her perfunctorily, waving her hand without any reluctance to part.
On the contrary, Gu Jingsheng stretched his neck and waved his hand several more times. She
suddenly felt wronged, sad and angry, and just stood there for a while, watching the train
gradually go away.
The people on the platform gradually dispersed, and the staff waved small flags and shouted: "It's
gone, it's gone." Si Jiang suddenly squatted down, leaned on her knees and cried. Gu Beiwu
sighed, bent down and touched her hair, and squatted with her for a long time. Occasionally, a
train hummed into the station, and a train roared out of the station. The crying gradually became
softer and turned into sobbing. Si Jiang finally stood up listlessly, looked blankly at the railway
tracks in the distance, sniffed twice, and walked out holding her uncle's hand.
"There are two kinds of people in this world." Gu Beiwu took out a handkerchief and gave it to
her. "One kind of people feel sad every time they get together, because they think separation will
come sooner or later. We call them pessimists. The other kind of people don't feel sad every time
they separate, because they look forward to the next reunion. They are optimists. I think Sinan is
very optimistic. Think about it. Jingsheng will bring her back for the summer vacation next year.
You two sisters can be together every day again. Doesn't it make you feel better?"
"No." Si Jiang pursed her nose and shook her head: "She only likes her cousin Gu Jingsheng now,
and has forgotten me as her elder sister. She didn't even say goodbye to me." Speaking of her sad
feelings, she wiped her tears again. She was so angry. Why did she have a brother when she
already had a sister!
Back at Wanchun Street, Si Jiang was depressed. She passed by the small bookstall in front of the
cultural station. She ignored Zhao Youning and several others who greeted her. When she got
home and saw her grandmother, she complained about what happened to Si Nan and started
crying again. After a long time of coaxing her, Grandma Gu remembered something and took out
a paper frog from the drawer of the chest of drawers: "Si Nan hid it here last night and asked me
to give it to him after they left. I almost forgot. Grandma is really confused."
Si Jiang looked at the paper frog, on which was a pumpkin with two eyes and a mouth, smiling
happily. She wiped away her tears, held the paper frog in her hands and kissed it several times,
and carefully opened it. There was actually a painting inside. Two little girls, one tall and one
short, were holding hands and laughing. They were called hands, but in fact they were two not-
so-straight lines crossed together, and they were called smiles, but they were two curved lines in
a circle with their ends curled up. The fish and turtle next to them looked more like fish scales
and turtle shell patterns. This painting comforted Si Jiang's heart. She fell asleep quickly at night
while holding the diaper and looking at the top of the tent.
A few days later, Gu Beiwu was going back to Beijing, and Si Jiang couldn't help crying again.
Before leaving, Gu Beiwu took out a thin booklet from his bag and gave it to Si Jiang. On it was a
picture of an eye with wings, and it smelled of ink.
"What's this?"
"A collection of poems written by a poet named Bei Dao."
"Is one word also called a poem?" Si Jiang was very surprised. He put aside the sadness of parting
and pointed at the poem titled "Life": "Network? That's it! This is also possible?"
Gu Beiwu smiled and said, "Oh, thank you Si Jiang for reading a poem to me."
Si Jiang was stunned, then burst into laughter and turned a few more pages, feeling a little
ashamed: "I don't know many words yet. Uncle, do you like poetry?"
"I like it very much." Gu Beiwu turned to "Answer": "I like these two sentences the most:
Meanness is the passport of the mean, and nobility is the epitaph of the noble."
Si Jiang raised his head, not quite understanding: "Then I like it too. I'll read you poems when my
uncle comes back."
Gu Beiwu smiled and rubbed her head: "Okay, I'll wait. It's not the same poem as the other one,
right?"
"Of course not!" Si Jiang placed the collection of poems next to the paper frog and treasured it.
Many years later, Si Nan accidentally came across Si Jiang's elementary school diary, in which
there was a poem that was particularly attractive.
""Life"
fish"
It's really profound.
——
Beijing was cooler than Shanghai in late August, but without the plane trees on the roadside, the
30-degree sun felt 7 or 8 degrees hotter than Shanghai. Beijing showed the solemnity and
refinement of the people of the capital everywhere, and the buses also had obvious differences
between urban and rural areas: routes 1 to 30 were city buses, and routes 30 to 60 were
suburban buses. As for the trams commonly seen by Shanghai people, they were all demolished
when the inner city widened Chang'an Avenue. Route 32 used a Czech Skoda diesel car, which
roared when it started, and towed a trailer behind it, which was very huge and majestic. It roared
all the way from the zoo to the Summer Palace, and the three stops on the way just bypassed half
of Yanyuan: Zhongguancun, Haidian, and Peking University. Gu Beiwu was used to getting off at
Zhongguancun to save five cents on the ticket. He got on the bus from Xizhimen with his luggage
on his back, bought a ten-cent ticket, and took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat. The Beijing
uncle next to him looked at him and grinned: "Young man, you are from the south, right? Where
are you from?"
Gu Beiwu smiled and nodded: "Shanghai."
"Oh, you're from Shanghai." The old man looked at the school badge on his chest: "You're from
Peking University. Did you get admitted as a worker-peasant-soldier student?"
"I passed the exam." Gu Beiwu responded politely. Knowing very well the habit of Beijing uncles
who care about everything on earth and even the entire universe, he took two steps into the car.
But the old man didn't intend to let him go, and he started a conversation with his neighbor:
"Hey, Shanghai people are very tight with money, stingy. Don't even look at the No. 32 bus going
to Peking University, people will definitely get off at Zhongguancun, which is one cent. If you
want to go one more stop and get off at Haidian, you will have to pay five cents more. You see."
Gu Beiwu frowned, took two steps back to the old man, smiled and took out the ticket: "Uncle,
you are right, not only me, but also the college students in our department only buy 10-cent
tickets to Zhongguancun Station. We have to be stingy because we are so poor."
The old man was stunned, but then he heard Gu Beiwu speak again. His voice was clear,
drowning out the roar of the diesel engine, and the passengers next to him could hear it clearly.
"Five cents can buy an old book at Xinhua Bookstore. Five cents can buy three taels of steamed
buns. But among the four college students admitted to Peking University, we may not even be
able to scrape together five cents. Why are we so poor? Welcome to the Weiming Lake to listen
to the hardships everyone has experienced." Gu Beiwu put away the ticket: "Zhongguancun,
Haidian, and Peking University stations can all take you to Peking University. We Shanghai people
would rather save these five cents and spend them on books and meals. There is nothing to be
embarrassed about."
The route of bus No. 32 is from the zoo to the Summer Palace, so there are bound to be some
tourists from all over the world. The southerners who heard Gu Beiwu talking joined in the fun.
"You're right. We Zhejiang people are not fools. Why would we throw money into the water if we
can save five cents?"
"That's right, it's pointless to pretend to be rich. We in Hu Jianling support you, young man."
"Oh, okay, okay, there's no need to do that. There's really no need for you to do that." The old
man turned his face away and chuckled to his neighbor: "Look, this little kid is still insisting on it.
It's boring, really boring."
Gu Beiwu ignored him, took out his English dictionary and started memorizing words.
——
Zhongguancun is near the east gate of Peking University and is a veritable village, with large
bungalows and alleys. When Gu Beiwu returned to the dormitory, he found that there were not
many people in the building. When he asked, he found that they had taken to the streets to
protest again. The protesters were divided into several groups, some exposing the Gang of Four,
some reflecting the problems of educated youth, and some criticizing their new students.
Gu Beiwu took the college entrance examination at the end of last year and entered the
university at the end of February this year. He was not in harmony with the workers, peasants
and soldiers of the 1976 and 1975 classes who were recommended for admission. In the spring, a
classmate from the Chinese Department posted a poem on the Sanjiaodi bulletin board, which
roughly said that because the Gang of Four was rampant, he had no horns on his head and no
thorns on his body, so he could not go to university. The students of the 1976 and 1975 classes
were not happy. This was a naked provocation and irony. Who had horns on his head and thorns
on his body? So a dispute arose. The workers, peasants and soldiers held several criticism
meetings, but the Red Guard organization of Peking University had been disbanded long ago, and
they could do nothing about this group of new students who came in based on their own
abilities.
Beiwu went to Zhou Shanrang's dormitory first, but he hadn't arrived yet. He casually asked
about the letters and found that his letter had arrived before Zhou Shanrang's. He couldn't help
but laugh at himself for being so stupid. In the evening, most of the classmates came back. After
washing his clothes and tidying up his desk, he was ready to continue studying, but someone
came to visit him. It was Xiao Zheng from the Biology Department. He was only sixteen years old,
a child prodigy, and a legendary figure in his class.
"Old Gu, you're back! Quick! Draw a movie ticket for me." The prodigy Xiao Zheng's eyes
sparkled, with evil intentions.
Gu Beiwu sighed: "What kind of movie is showing in the dining hall that is so popular? Why didn't
you buy a ticket?"
"Which show isn't in high demand? What's more, Murder on the Orient Express is showing
today!" Xiao Zheng was indignant: "This is so infuriating. The tickets were sold out three days ago.
Now those guys in the art department are charging for movie tickets. Five cents a ticket! Is this
reasonable? Are we still classmates?"
Gu Beiwu smiled and shook his head: "Then I'll give you a 20% discount, 4%?"
Xiao Zheng threw himself on Gu Beiwu, strangled him by the neck, bared his teeth, and spoke in
Hunan dialect: "Are you too arrogant? Be careful or we will go our separate ways!"
In the end, Gu Beiwu quickly drew two movie tickets and asked for a bottle of homemade chili
sauce made by Xiao Zheng's mother. The two of them went together to follow Mr. Poirot to solve
the case.

Chapter 47
Watching a movie is extremely pleasant, but after watching a movie, it is extremely painful. To
use a popular phrase decades later, it can be described as "Watching a movie is fun for a while,
but making up for it is like going to the crematorium." Of course, this movie is not that movie. If
Chen Sinan heard it, he would definitely laugh obscenely.
As a 30-year-old college student, Gu Beiwu felt the pressure of time all the time. After all, he was
surrounded by classmates who were in their twenties or even sixteen years old. No matter how
hard you tried, you couldn't catch up with the ruthless years, and Mr. Poirot couldn't do anything
about it. It seemed that there was an invisible pump hanging over Yanyuan, pushing the students
to desperately seize every moment to absorb knowledge.
Campus life is dull and even boring. At six in the morning, the loudspeaker called people to get
up, and the monitor went from dormitory to dormitory to catch people to go to Weiming Lake to
complete the running task. Gu Beiwu usually went to Snow's tomb at five o'clock to memorize
English words for an hour, and then joined the running army, memorizing Russian words for half
an hour and ancient poems for half an hour, which made many female classmates think that he
was from the Chinese department, and people often went to Building 32 to look for him. After
washing up at seven o'clock, he carried his lunch bag to the designated cafeteria of the first
school to have breakfast. After four classes and lunch, it was nap time from 12:30 to 2 o'clock,
and almost everyone was studying every minute. After dinner, because there were only two
tables in a dormitory for eight people, most people would go to the library and the Russian
building of the first and second teaching buildings to study. After the lights were turned off at
eleven o'clock in the evening, the street lights were full of students who were studying hard by
the light of fireflies.
Gu Beiwu's way of squeezing time was highly praised by his roommates. He got up earlier and
went to bed later than others because of his physical strength. He was in his prime and belonged
to the "rich peasant" group who could afford a 30-cent meat dish for lunch and the Long March
canteen outside the southwest gate for dinner. He had sufficient capital for revolution. After
equipping himself with a flashlight, he successfully gained two or three more hours of study time
in the morning and evening. The dormitory was not close to the classroom. Except for Beijing
students, students with a little more money would buy a bicycle, which could save half an hour to
an hour a day. However, the campus was also a small society, with frequent car thefts and many
cases of picking locks and borrowing cars. Gu Beiwu bought a rusty broken bike for 15 yuan in a
commissioned store in Haidian. Except for the bell, everything else was noisy. Except for the seat,
everything was rusty. There was no lock. He would pull the rusty chain wherever he rode, and no
one would patronize it.
"Little Gu is born with a good economic mind and can get the maximum output with the
minimum input." This is how the old professor in the department commented on Gu Beiwu.
Zhou Shanrang returned to school late, and the big white sign with red letters "Welcome Station"
that had just been used in February was put out again.
In October, the class of 1978 will be welcoming freshmen. They, who entered the school half a
year earlier, have become seniors in the blink of an eye. There are few female students in the
Department of Economics. Her roommates in Building 31 include students from the Department
of Chinese and History, as well as two top students from the Department of Library. Seeing
Shanrang coming back, her roommates smiled and asked her to go get the mail.
Recognizing Gu Beiwu's handwriting, Shanrang's heart started pounding like a deer running
around in panic. She wandered around the campus holding the letter, trying to find a quiet corner
to concentrate on reading it. However, the sun was glaring and the Yita Lake Library (Boya Tower,
Weiming Hubei University Library) was full of people. Finally, she ran to the back of the Linhuxuan
courtyard and found an empty piece of grass. She sat down cross-legged on the spot, flattened
the crumpled letter on her legs, took a few deep breaths, slapped her face twice, and was
surprised to find that she had been smiling the whole time and her cheek muscles had become a
little stiff.
The experience of reading this letter was a bit strange. After reading it for the first time, it was as
if she had never read it before. The words did not produce any projection in her mind. It was as if
when she was a child and was very hungry, her mother cooked a bowl of glutinous rice balls with
black flaky filling. She ate them one by one in a hurry, without tasting them at all, but the heat
from her tongue to her throat to her stomach made her jump.
So she hid the letter and the pen drawing of herself in her heart, closed her eyes and waited for
the heat to cool down, then chewed it word by word from the beginning, over and over again.
When she calmed down from the surging excitement, she found herself in tears. She was
surprised that her emotions fluctuated so much, but she suddenly got Gu Beiwu's past
experiences and thoughts, as well as what he said about liking her, and it was impossible not to
be excited. The gap of ten years was suddenly filled. She imagined what he had done and
couldn't help but hugged her legs and laughed. Which enemy stations had he listened to
eavesdropped on? If it was Deutsche Welle or Taiwan, she would have met him on the airwaves a
long time ago. The difference is that he was eavesdropping on enemy stations, while she was
eavesdropping openly. Thinking of this, Shan Rang's heart was filled with pity for him, and she
admired his courage even more.
Shan Rang folded the letter, put it in the chest pocket of her military shirt, and walked around the
Weiming Lake without feeling tired at all. She liked everyone she looked at, and kept nodding and
smiling to greet them. She reviewed the familiar sentences in the letter over and over again, as if
she had made up for ten years of time and returned to the age of sixteen or seventeen.
The setting sun cast a layer of gently undulating golden scales on the lake. The reeds and weeds
by the lake swayed in the wind. Only a few lotus flowers, which had passed their peak bloom,
were left. They were particularly extraordinary. Even the air was sweet and intoxicating. Shanrang
opened his arms to the wind, as if
If Gu Beiwu was right next to her, she would probably hug him tightly.
——
When Shanrang returned to the dormitory, his roommates gave him a second surprise: "Where
have you been? Just now, your department's old friend asked someone to tell him that he has
reserved a seat for you in the Russian building's study room. He asked you to go there after
dinner to study and make progress together."
Amidst the laughter, Chen Huizhen from the Library Department made a suggestion: "The
fluorescent lights in the Russian classrooms are not good. Some are on and some are not, and
several are flickering. Next time you come to the library, I will save a seat for you." Shanrang
thanked her generously and made an appointment to ask her to help save a seat on Saturday.
Compared to the overcrowded reading room in the library, where people are occupying seats, the
self-study classrooms in the Russian building are much less crowded. As Chen Huizhen said, it was
because of the extremely unstable fluorescent lights in the classrooms, and the clever students
who removed the starters from the good lamps and installed them only when they came, thus
immorally occupying seats. When Shanrang arrived, he saw Gu Beiwu at first sight. He was good-
looking and had an aura. Wherever he sat, it was brighter. Everyone loves beauty. Old Gu, who
looked to be in his twenties, always happened to have many female classmates sitting next to him
during self-study.
Shan Rang sat down next to Gu Beiwu with his schoolbag on his back, coughed lightly and asked
in a low voice: "Excuse me, classmate, can I sit next to you?"
Several female classmates not far away turned their heads and looked over in surprise.
Gu Beiwu raised his head, curved his eyes, moved back the pile of books that were occupying the
space, and smiled softly, "Welcome, welcome, warm welcome."
The female classmate next to him turned her head back, then back, and then back again. Who
would have thought that this male classmate would be so easy to talk to.
Shan Rang sat down and looked up at the ceiling, then he leaned closer to Gu Beiwu and
whispered, "You're so lucky today. Not a single light flickered."
Gu Beiwu glanced at her with a smile: "Nothing special, just my hands are skilled." He gently
opened the lid of the enamel pot beside him to indicate. Shan Rang almost laughed out loud, as
there were a dozen blackened starters that had been replaced.
"When you go back and write in your diary tonight, remember to write down these good people
and good deeds." Shan Rang leaned on his arms and tried hard to hold back his laughter.
Gu Beiwu pushed the new two issues of Economic Science and Economic Research magazine to
her and said, "Study hard."
Shanrang adjusted his expression, sat up straight, took out his notebook and pen, and said to
himself: I will do this to you every day.
After the lights in the classroom were turned off, the two packed up their lunch boxes, school
bags, and teacups, and unknowingly walked through the bamboo forest towards Weiming Lake.
Neither of them had any intention of returning to the dormitory.
"Do you want--"
The two suddenly asked in unison and couldn't help laughing.
"Linhuxuan?" The two proposed at the same time.
The Weiming Lake is rippling with silver at night, the Boya Tower stands quietly under the
moonlight, and as the breeze blows, many student couples are walking hand in hand by the lake.
"Except when the teachers are teaching, it seems that only when I come to the lake can I feel the
charm of the country's top university. The conditions of the school dormitory and canteen are far
inferior to your army." Gu Beiwu stretched his back: "But every day when I return to the
dormitory, I feel very ordinary and insignificant. There are too many talented classmates."
Shan Rang sat on his schoolbag and stretched his legs, then asked with a smile, "How many
people can there be? Then how come I heard that your male dormitory is notoriously dirty and
messy, and some people even go to the toilet with umbrellas?"
Gu Beiwu sat down next to her and laughed: "That's the geomorphology department of the
geography department in Building 39. There's nothing we can do. There are only four squat
toilets in one bathroom. Dirty and smelly is fine, but the ceiling is leaking. There's also a
bathroom upstairs. You can imagine what's leaking. It would be terrible if we didn't bring an
umbrella. It should be fixed this semester. Our floor is okay. At least the dormitories on duty are
being cleaned. How are the conditions in your female dormitory? Are you used to it?"
Shan Rang was stunned: "It seems that we have never cared about each other's dormitories in
the past?"
Gu Beiwu glanced at her sideways and said, "Secretary Zhou, you usually only care about our
import issues. Today is the first time you care about our export issues."
Shanrang didn't understand why he started talking about toilets right away, and he couldn't stop
laughing: "It's my fault, I'm sorry. Well, I received your letter today, I was so happy, so happy that I
was a little incoherent. Am I a little stupid?"
Gu Beiwu stretched out his hands in the moonlight: "There is no such thing as the stupidest, only
stupider. For example, I am Gu Beiwu, 30 years old this year, passed the political review, and was
admitted to the Political Economics Department of Peking University, Class of 1977, with the
student number XXXXXX. I hope to become Zhou Shanrang's boyfriend, make progress together,
and serve the motherland together in the future. If there is anything wrong in our relationship,
please point it out immediately, and I will definitely work hard to improve it."
Shanrang stared at his hands in a daze, wondering if he was dreaming.
"Are you willing to join hands with me?" Gu Beiwu raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile.
Shan Rang quickly grabbed his hand and shook it: "Of course! But, but are you sure? Really sure?"
"Sure." Gu Beiwu patted her hand. "My studies are too intense and I don't have enough time.
According to the knowledge in books and the cases of my classmates, guessing the feelings of
men and women and weighing the pros and cons seems to be a long stage that consumes a lot of
energy. I am a very utilitarian person. Shanrang, it's not too late for you to regret now.
and."
"Then we complement each other to some extent. I think I am a very romantic young woman. Gu
Beiwu, it's not too late for you to regret now." Shan Rang said with a smile.
Gu Beiwu said seriously: "I will do it once I have thought it through, and I will never regret it."
"Then maybe I will regret it in the future. By then you may be thirty-five, thirty-six or even forty
years old. You won't regret it?" Shan Rang asked mischievously with his head tilted.
Gu Beiwu frowned: "Mr. Zhou, please forgive me for reminding you in a very worldly way, you are
only four years younger than me. Men and women are equal."
"A woman is in her prime at 31. A man at 30 - well, a man at 40 is like tofu dregs." Shan Rang
laughed.
"You have the right to regret anytime and anywhere." Gu Beiwu held her hand: "And I will only be
glad that I am with you today, not next year or the year after next."
"Gu Beiwu, I think you should go to the Chinese department. You speak like you're reciting
poetry."
"By the way, a boy from the Chinese Department wrote a poem dedicated to you, the most
beautiful girl building No. 31. Have you heard of it?"
"No, is that true?"
"Really? Let me borrow it." Gu Beiwu stood up, straightened his chest and raised his head, looked
at the Boya Tower by the Weiming Lake and took a breath: "Ah, friend, have you been to the 31st
floor?" His voice was full of emotion and yearning.
Shan Rang laughed so hard that she fell forward and backward, and kept kicking him. Yes, now Gu
Beiwu really looked like her boyfriend.
Gu Beiwu turned around with a smile and said, "Would you like to listen to the Shanghainese
version?"
"you try."
"Hey, friend, have you ever been to the 31st floor?" Gu Beiwu asked himself with a serious face,
"What? My dear friend, this is the 31st floor. How could you imagine it?"
Shan Rang laughed until her stomach hurt, and she would never regret it, not for the rest of her
life.
——
In early September in Aksu, the sky was blue. In the square in front of two rows of red brick
houses, the bright five-star red flag slowly rose. The primary school students on the playground
sang the national anthem of the present generation loudly: "Forward! The heroic people of all
ethnic groups, the great Communist Party, lead us to continue the Long March. All of us are
united and rush towards a better tomorrow. Build the motherland and fight bravely to defend the
motherland. Forward! Forward! Forward! We will hold high the banner of Mao Zedong and
march forward for generations to come! Forward! Forward!! Forward!!"
school starts.
Gu Jingsheng was standing in front of the teacher's office, carrying a military schoolbag and a
lunch bag, waiting for Gu Ximei. He looked at a vast expanse of yellow sand not far away. About
ten meters away from the classroom, there were a dozen rows of sparse apple saplings. As for
the very beautiful Tianshan Mountain, it was very far away.
Shen Qingping told the truth that it would take three days to drive to the foot of the Tianshan
Mountains by truck.
The author has something to say:: Emperor Beiwu: Actually, I am quite good at it. In one word,
just do it. Don't think in the wrong way!
I have some personal matters to attend to at home tomorrow, so I will not update for a day. I will
give you 4,000 words to celebrate Beiwu’s ending of being single.

Chapter 48
After the flag-raising ceremony, after the principal finished reading two full pages of the opening
speech, Gu Ximei hurriedly sent Gu Jingsheng to Class 3 (1), said hello to the head teacher,
Teacher Wang, and rushed back to the office to get her own courseware. She was worried all
morning, but fortunately nothing happened. At noon, she saw Gu Jingsheng waiting at the office
door in an orderly manner with a lunch bag in his arms, and Gu Ximei couldn't help but breathe a
sigh of relief.
When they arrived at the cafeteria, Gu Ximei took out a few meal tickets and gave them to Gu
Jingsheng: "Grades three and four are at window number two. Go line up, report your class and
name, and get the lunch box with steamed rice delivered this morning. As for the dishes, there is
one meat and one vegetable every day. The meat dish is 20 cents, and the vegetable dish is 5
cents. Today we have stir-fried pork with green peppers and braised sweet potatoes. Remember
to order both dishes, otherwise you won't be full. After you get your dishes, come find me in the
second row by the window."
There were not many people at the teacher's window. Gu Ximei took the lunch box and opened
the lid. The chef smiled and scooped up a large spoonful of vegetables: "On the first day of
school, it's not meat fried with green peppers, it's authentic green pepper fried with meat."
The teachers all burst into laughter. Gu Ximei asked for an extra spoonful of braised potato soup,
paid twenty-five cents, and sat down at the long table by the window. Seeing that Gu Jingsheng
was still in line, she started chatting with the dean of studies, Mr. Liang, and Principal Chen in the
back row.
When the two leaders heard that she wanted to insert Sinan into the first grade to audit, they
readily agreed without any discussion. As for the children of faculty and staff, one more or one
less would not make much difference, and the school did not have to pay more money. At
present, there is a serious shortage of teachers. Gu Ximei is the head teacher of Class 2 (3). She
teaches Chinese to three classes, 18 classes a week, plus class meetings and labor unions. The
workload is huge, but she is very serious and responsible. This semester, she took the initiative to
teach the third grade music class, which solved the school's urgent needs. The National Day
performance she was responsible for last year won the second prize in the county. This year's
plan is even better, so there is no problem in winning the award. Maybe she can even be selected
to compete in Urumqi. Besides, after she moved into the faculty and staff dormitory, it was really
inconvenient for her to spend two hours every day to pick up and drop off her daughter. It is a
good thing to love the school as your home and treat the school as your home.
When Gu Jingsheng sat down with his lunch box, he heard Gu Ximei say happily: "Then I will take
her to Teacher Hu's class tomorrow. She won't take the exam. She doesn't even know a few
words. She should avoid dragging down the class."
Gu Ximei turned around and saw two steamed buns on Gu Jingsheng's lunch box, but no stir-fried
pork with green peppers. She was stunned and asked, "Why didn't you buy any meat?"
Gu Jingsheng lowered his eyes and broke open the steamed bun, put the sweet potato in it and
flattened it, dipped it in the soup and took a big bite: "This is delicious." After eating a steamed
bun, he wiped his hands, took out the meal ticket from his pocket and returned it to Ximei:
"There is still 15 cents left." He had already calculated that the 300 yuan given by Gu Dongwen
seemed to be a lot, but after deducting the winter clothes and winter shoes that he had to spend
money on, he could only spend 50 or 60 cents a day at most, otherwise Gu Ximei and her
husband would definitely have to pay him. Gu Ximei looked unhappy, but she was not stingy with
him. She had been here for more than ten days. Although her cooking skills were a little worse
than ordinary, she had meat every day. This morning, she simmered a pot of pig trotter soup on
the coal stove for dinner. It was enough for him to eat three taels of rice and two steamed buns
at noon.
There were many people sitting next to them. Gu Ximei didn't say much and gave him a small
portion of the stir-fried pork with green peppers from her lunch box. Gu Jingsheng bowed his
head and said thank you, then quickly mixed it into the rice and ate it. When Gu Ximei finished
eating, he collected the two empty lunch boxes and said, "I'll go wash them."
Teacher Wang at the side smiled and praised: "Your nephew is very good."
Gu Ximei stretched her neck to see Gu Jingsheng walk to the well outside the cafeteria, quickly
fetch a bucket of water, and followed others to the water table to wash their lunch boxes. Then
she turned around and said with a smile, "This kid has suffered a lot in Yunnan and is quite
sensible. By the way, Teacher Wang, how is Jingsheng's foundation? Can he keep up with the
class? Is he well-disciplined? Is he friendly to his classmates?"
"Well, you've greeted him several times. I just went to ask around. Teacher Yang said he's very
good at math and mental arithmetic. I asked him to read a passage in Chinese and he knew all
the words. He has good discipline in class. Shen Qingping lives with you guys, right? He seems to
be very familiar with him and keeps talking to him. I think he has strong self-control and doesn't
pay much attention to him."
Gu Ximei walked around again and thanked all the teachers in each subject before she felt
relieved.
It was a peaceful day for the family. In the evening, Gu Ximei rode her bicycle and took Gu
Jingsheng back to the company dormitory. As soon as Gu Jingsheng entered the door and put
down his schoolbag, he said, "I'll go find Si Nan."
"It's okay, don't worry about her, she will come back naturally when she is hungry." Gu Ximei
opened the lid of the pot, the pig's trotter soup was still warm, she moved the pot to the
kerosene stove and dug out half a cabbage: "You go do your homework first, finish your
homework and preview tomorrow's class, and ask if you don't understand. I have to mark
homework and prepare for class in the evening, and one table is not enough for two people."
Gu Jingsheng hummed, opened his schoolbag and took out his textbook.
At 7:30, Gu Ximei opened two rolls of noodles and prepared to throw them into the cabbage and
pig's trotter soup, when Gu Jingsheng suddenly stood up and said, "Auntie - wait a minute."
Gu Ximei was startled. Gu Jingsheng had already rushed over and took away the soup pot. He
then took an empty wok, poured water into it, covered it with a lid, and took over the noodles:
"I've done my homework. I'll cook the noodles. I'm moving to school in a few days. Auntie, go
pack your things."
Gu Ximei looked at him hesitantly, gave him a few instructions and went inside to pack her
clothes. After thinking about it, she couldn't help but gently lift the curtain and look outside. She
saw Gu Jingsheng taking out the pig's trotter meat from the soup pot. She frowned and thought
about going out to teach him a lesson. If he wanted to eat, he should eat openly. There was no
need to pretend to eat secretly. The meat was bought to ensure that he was full. Then she
thought about how this child was very thoughtful. He didn't even buy meat for lunch and only ate
steamed buns with potatoes. She shook her head and gently lowered the curtain.
After a while, even through the wall, the sound of children's footsteps could be heard coming
from far away. Some people screamed a few times, and then adults shouted at the little kids to
go home for dinner.
"Mom, I'm back." Chen Sinan scooped water to wash his hands wisely, took the water outside to
wash off the sand on his feet, and happily took out today's spoils from his trouser pocket:
"Cousin, look, I won two colorful glass beads today, don't they look good? A Mao brought five
single-color ones to exchange, hey, wishful thinking, I won't exchange!"
"Eh? Cousin, you really can cook? It smells so good!" She circled around Gu Jingsheng like a
puppy, praising him exaggeratedly, "You cook much better than mom. Really, I have a very
sensitive nose and can tell whether it is sensitive just by smelling it." She lowered her voice and
said, "Actually, when mom makes pig's trotter soup, I don't want to come back to eat it."
Gu Ximei heard everything clearly inside. Her specialty in recent years is pig trotter soup, and she
didn't notice when Si Nan got tired of it. But she heard Si Nan complaining outside: "The oil is
oily! The lean meat tastes like - like grass, no taste, and the fat is so big, like - like soap."
"Why did you come back if you don't want to eat?" The curtain was lifted and Gu Ximei walked
out with a sullen face.
Si Nan hid by Gu Jingsheng's legs, lowered his eyebrows and pouted: "I want to eat. I'm hungry."
"Hmm, have you washed your hands?"
"I washed it, and used soap."
"Did you wash your feet clean?"
"I washed it and didn't step into the mud again."
"Did you take a nap in kindergarten today?"
"I can't sleep. My pillow smells too good. It won't let me sleep." Sinan climbed up the stool and
took out three pairs of chopsticks and laid them out. "I didn't say anything, and I didn't go down
to play. I just lay there."
"Did it really not affect other children?" Gu Ximei glanced at her.
Sinan opened his eyes wide and shook his head firmly: "No!"
"What did the kindergarten eat for lunch?"
"Mom, scrambled eggs, and cabbage soup." Sinan looked at the cabbage on the stove with
resentment.
"No, we had cabbage and pig's trotter soup for dinner."
Sinan laid on the sofa with a bitter face: "Well, it's different."
Gu Ximei slapped her on the butt: "Tighten your posture and sit properly. When have you ever
seen your sister lying down like this? Doesn't it look ugly? Get up."
Sinan reluctantly slid down the sofa and reached for the sugar jar in the cupboard, praising
himself: "I didn't get into trouble today, so I can have a candy." Before he could open the lid, his
mother slapped him on the hand.
"Why are you eating candy after having a meal? It's natural that you don't cause trouble. What
other child gets into trouble every day like you? Are you proud of not causing trouble? And you
can even get rewards? Then how much candy does your sister eat every day?"
"If you eat too much, your teeth will get bad." Sinan stretched out his claws again unyieldingly:
"Dad said that if I don't get into trouble, I can have a candy. I haven't eaten candy for several
days."
Gu Ximei was so angry that she laughed: "You also know that you are not eligible to eat candy for
a few days? Hey! I told you not to eat candy before meals, Chen Sinan! Put it down! Do you want
to be beaten? Where are your ears!"
Sinan puffed up his cheeks and laughed, raising his two hands and then quickly putting them
down. Gu Jingsheng, who was holding the dishes, shouted, "Be careful, be careful, don't burn
yourself."
Gu Ximei dropped her hand that was about to twist her ear, and pulled Si Nan's arm, "Don't keep
making trouble here at the stove, go away."
Sinan took the opportunity to roll onto the sofa again, raised his two thin legs and shook them in
the air, humming a song contentedly while holding the candy in his mouth.
"I found ten dollars on the side of the road—"
Gu Jingsheng and Gu Ximei said in unison: "You wish!"
——
There were two dishes, one soup, and three bowls of cold noodles on the table.
"Wow!" Sinan said in admiration: "Long live my cousin!"
Gu Ximei was really shocked by Gu Jingsheng, and then she watched him quickly clean up the
stove. Thinking of the mess she usually made after cooking, she blushed. It seemed that the child
did not eat meat secretly. He was right when he said that he could cook. It was pitiful that
children from poor families had to take care of themselves early.
The original cabbage and pig's trotter soup was turned into cabbage clear soup, and the oil on
top was gone. The pig's trotter with skin and fat, with a finger-wide piece of lean meat, was cut
into thin slices of pork belly, stir-fried with green garlic and garnished with a few bright red dried
chilies, which was really fragrant. The lean meat was torn into small strips, and the chopped
green onion, ginger and garlic were stir-fried and poured on top, with a spoonful of sesame oil
and a little white sesame. I don't know what seasoning he added to the cold noodles, but it was
sweet and refreshing, and it was no less delicious than the cold noodles sold in Shanghai.
"What did you put in the cold noodles?" Gu Ximei couldn't help asking.
"Rice wine sauce. The wine wine that grandma stuffed into the jar before she left, saying that
Sinan loved to eat rice wine dumplings - well, there are also soy sauce, vinegar, peanut butter,
fermented bean curd and so on." Gu Jingsheng paused: "My mother always mixes the sauce like
this, isn't it delicious?"
"Delicious, delicious, delicious!" Sinan raised his thumbs up: "I was saying that you are a great
cook, cousin!"
Gu Ximei felt very embarrassed, but she was also convinced that she was not as good as others.
She was not particular about food, and she ate so much that she felt a little homesick. Sinan even
mixed the last bit of juice from the fried pork slices into the noodles, got off the chair and fell on
the sofa with a bulging belly, with a satisfied and happy face: "It's delicious. It's so delicious."
Gu Jingsheng washed the dishes silently and went out. Gu Ximei sighed, thinking that if Sinan was
half as self-aware and capable as this child, she would not complain. A few minutes later, Gu
Jingsheng came in with two buckets of water: "Auntie, the bath water is ready, and the coal
briquettes are changed outside. I'm going to go out and play for a while, and I'll be back at ten
o'clock."
Gu Ximei boiled some water and looked up at the sky, where clouds were reflected in pink and
purple by the sunset. She saw Gu Jingsheng had already walked to the parallel bars at the other
end of the dormitory. He raised his hand and jumped up, bent his waist and lay on the bars to
watch the sunset. On the first day of school, Gu Ximei suddenly realized that today seemed to be
her most relaxing day in the past few years. If Chen Donglai had half the self-awareness and
ability of this child, she would not complain.
"Mom." Si Nan hugged Gu Ximei's arm: "My cousin will still cook dinner tomorrow, right?"
Gu Ximei rolled her eyes at her and said, "Go, go, go out and take a walk. Mom will take a shower
first and call you back to take a shower later."
Sinan was very happy: "Then I will go play with my cousins Brother Pingping and Sister Xingxing."
Before the door was closed, Sinan heard her mother say with a smile: "By the way, you and your
cousin will go to my school tomorrow. You can go to the first grade."
Sinan was stunned for a long time, then turned around and knocked on the door: "I don't want to
go, I don't want to go, I don't want to go! I'm still young, I'm still a baby! I want to go to
kindergarten!"
There was a sound of scooping water from inside.
"Cousin - help!" Sinan ran towards the parallel bars.
Chapter 49
Chen Sinan remembered his first "conversation" in his life for a long time, including many details
that should not exist in the memory of a four-year-old child.
"The sky changed from pink to blue. The closer it got to the horizon, the bluer it became. Each
cloud had a bright edge. There was a light pink cloud floating above our heads, like a fluffy puppy.
I hung upside down on the parallel bars, and the pink puppy cloud kept shaking."
"Gu Jingsheng said that children have no choice anyway. If he could choose, he would first choose
not to be born."
"Gu Jingsheng also said that adults are actually stupid, but they don't think so. They think their
decisions are for our own good. We have to learn to forgive their stupidity, otherwise we will be
miserable."
"Gu Jingsheng said, just go to primary school, you can run out from the back door to play, there
are many apple trees in front of the school, you can pick up the apples when they are ripe and
fall, there is a well in front of the cafeteria, you have to be careful not to fall in, the toilet
squatting pit is a bit wide, you have to be careful not to fall into the pit. But the school toilet
smells much better than Wanchun Street."
Si Jiang felt that many of the things she recorded were imagined by Si Nan when she grew up. Gu
Jingsheng was only ten years old at that time. He was a very talkative person and it was
impossible for him to say those unorthodox words that were close to philosophy. Si Nan insisted
that he was gifted, had an excellent memory, and -
"My eldest cousin has always been willing to talk to me. He talks a lot. You don't know. But I
remember it clearly. I have a good memory."
Si Jiang was furious. He picked up the English book and patted her head: "You? Come on, Once
upon a time, there was a rich Emperor, keep reciting."
Sinan ran away in panic: "Sister, you should be broad-minded and don't be jealous of my
relationship with my cousin. There are some things that are useless to be jealous of."
Chen Sijiang, who had long since awakened from the habit of relying on blindly pleasing others to
gain humble love, sneered and chased his own sister across half the alley.
Four-year-old Chen Sinan reluctantly obeyed the arrangement that was “for her own good.” The
next day, she was placed on the front handlebar of a bicycle with sleepy eyes, and continued to
sleep with the handlebars in her arms like a lazy monkey. Half an hour later, she was thrown into
the last row of Class 1 (3) classroom, by the back door by sheer coincidence. When she woke up,
she wiped her saliva and looked around blankly. She found that the surrounding area was full of
children, all of whom were seriously shouting “Ah-ah-ah” with their mouths wide open. It was so
stupid. At the front was a female teacher wearing glasses and a short haircut, holding something
that Sinan was very familiar with: a bamboo ruler, a weapon that would automatically bounce
twice when hit on the buttocks.
Sinan got goose bumps on his arms. Thinking of his eldest cousin's words, he walked out of the
back door and opened up a new world.
The long corridor was paved with neatly arranged floor tiles, not rammed earth, and they were
staggered in small grids. Sinan tried not to step on the line, so he slid sideways like a crab from
Class 1 (3) to the back door of Class 2 (1) at the end, bent his knees, and jumped down three
steps directly.
Sinan crossed a wide dirt road and climbed up another corridor. There were the same classrooms
with class signs on the doors and rows of stupid people inside. She looked back with lingering
fear. It turned out that she had just passed by Class 2 (3) taught by her mother. Fortunately, she
was not caught. It was a close call. She followed the wall carefully as if she was playing a spy
game. When she saw the classroom door, she quickly ran over and finally saw the sign of Class 3
(1).
Gu Jingsheng was absent-mindedly flipping through his Chinese textbook when he suddenly felt a
small shadow blocking the light from the corner of his eye, which then suddenly disappeared. He
turned his head and saw Si Nan smiling at him ingratiatingly with his eyes narrowed.
Si Nan saw that he was also reading, so he made a face and realized that it was Shen Qingping
who was sitting in front of his eldest cousin and turned around, so he quickly slipped away. Shen
Qingping was stunned and asked in confusion: "I think I saw Nan Nan?"
Gu Jingsheng lowered his eyes and flipped through the book: "Hmm."
A piece of chalk whizzed over and hit Shen Qingping on the back of the head.
"Shen Qingping, get up. If you don't want to attend the class, stand outside."
Shen Qingping grimaced in pain and slowly moved the chair away, the legs of the chair making a
harsh noise on the ground. Another piece of chalk was hit on his forehead. Teacher Wang's move
was really "experienced", and it never failed.
Standing at the end of the corridor, Shen Qingping couldn't help looking around. A little head
suddenly popped out from the wall. Who else could it be but Chen Sinan? He stood on tiptoe to
look inside the classroom. Teacher Wang was writing on the blackboard. What a good
opportunity.
"Why did you run away from home again?" Shen Qingping grabbed Si Nan's collar and said,
"Come on, I'll take you to the teacher's office to find your mother. If you confess, you'll be treated
leniently, but if you resist, you'll be treated severely."
Sinan kicked back twice but failed to kick him, and retorted unconvincedly: "I'm an elementary
school student! My mother brought me here."
"Ha, you're an elementary school student, why are you hanging around outside during class
time?"
"Then why are you hanging around outside?" Sinan turned his head and glared: "I'm going to tell
your mother too."
Shen Qingping loosened his grip, and said, "Nannan, think about it, who treats you best?"
"Sister is the best to me." Sinan rolled his eyes at him.
"Eh? Ahem, I'm your sister's best friend. When you were a kid, you had a lot of rashes all over
your head, which was really disgusting. I stole a lot of sesame oil and helped you pick them out
one by one. Do you remember?"
Sinan walked out with disgust, wanting to find the legendary apple tree: "Brother Pingping, you
are disgusting. My sister has no friends."
Shen Qingping was stunned and ignored the first half of the sentence: "Who said that? Why?"
Sinan thought for a moment and said, "Brother Ningning said that my sister is too beautiful, too
capable, and too busy, so she has no friends. Oh, you don't understand."
"Who is Brother Ningning?" Shen Qingping was furious: "Is it Zhu Zhenning? He's asking for a
fight!"
Si Nan shook her head: "No, it's Ningning from Shanghai, my sister's classmate, top of the grade,
with a big color TV and shiny cups at home, and his father teaches college students, so
impressive." She turned her head to look at Shen Qingping and narrowed her eyes: "He's much
better looking than Ningning here, and better looking than you too."
Shen Qingping gritted his teeth and sulked.
"But not as pretty as my cousin's." Sinan looked at the rows of apple saplings with
disappointment: "Didn't my cousin say that I could pick apples?"
"It takes three years to grow peaches, four years to grow apricots, and five years to grow pears. If
you want to eat apples, you have to wait seven years. Jujube trees can be exchanged for money
in the same year." Shen Qingping gloated: "We only planted this apple tree last autumn. You want
to pick apples now? You wish."
Sinan was stunned for a moment: "My cousin is lying."
"You are so stupid, who else should I lie to if not you? Let's go, the bell has rung." Shen Qingping
took her hand and said, "The teachers will see us as soon as they come out. Let's go and hide
first. We will be safe when there are more people."
After four classes were over, Gu Jingsheng carried two lunch bags to the first grade. He pushed
aside the children fighting in the corridor and saw Chen Sinan lying on the desk, scribbling with a
pencil.
"go for meal."
Sinan yelled angrily, "You are lying! The apple tree is so small, there is not a single apple on it."
Gu Jingsheng picked him up and walked out: "I said that apples will fall when they are ripe. When
you are in fifth grade, the apples will be ripe."
Shen Qingping followed behind, dumbfounded. Is this even possible?
Sinan pounded his hands together: "Liar, lie, lie, I don't like you anymore, you big bad guy."
"You believe everything others say, are you stupid?" Gu Jingsheng breathed out through his nose:
"Learn this, don't trust anyone but yourself, understand?"
Shen Qingping looked at the noisy crowd and felt that his ideal of being a good person seemed a
little difficult to achieve.
——
A week later, Gu Ximei finally moved. Fortunately, the Corps was in a mess after being changed to
the agricultural reclamation system, and no one cared about the dormitory of the original
company, so she simply locked some unnecessary things in the old dormitory. Zhu Guangmao
arranged a tractor from the supply and marketing cooperative to haul the sofa, chest of drawers
and other furniture to the town's central primary school. He ran back and forth three times. On
the last trip, the old comrades asked their children to take a back tractor, just in time for a warm
wine in the evening.
Gu Ximei was very satisfied with the new staff dormitory. It was four or five square meters larger
than before. It was also a rectangle with windows on the north and south and walls on the east
and west. The brick-red cement on the ground was smooth and bright, and the walls were
uniformly painted in a tender light yellow, which made people feel happy. She specially made a
brand new dark brown corduroy sofa cover, and placed the sofa under the east wall, which was
very impressive. She also asked the master to re-paint the wood of the wardrobe and the chest of
drawers, and also provided a desk and two small square stools. It happened that the master had
a little extra paint on hand, so Gu Ximei asked the master to paint one in bright red and the other
in bright yellow, and put them outside for a few days to let the wind blow away the smell, so that
Jingsheng and Sinan could do their homework.
Sinan likes the new bunk bed the best. He climbs up and down it twenty or thirty times and never
gets tired of it. Sometimes he wants to sleep on the upper bed, sometimes on the lower bed, and
sometimes he wants to sleep with his mother on the other side of the curtain. Alas, what my
eldest cousin said is wrong. How can a child not have a choice? It would be even more
troublesome if he had a choice.
In order to be worthy of this more decent new dormitory, Gu Ximei held it in for a few days, but
finally she euphemistically claimed that she was too busy and asked Jingsheng to arrange room-
warming wine.
"See what other vegetables you need to buy. We'll have potatoes and pork ribs at the cafeteria
for lunch on Sunday. Or I can order ten portions back. Twenty pieces of pork ribs will be enough
for everyone."
Gu Jingsheng thought about it and shook his head: "It's not cost-effective. Ten small dishes cost
two yuan. In Jinghong, you can buy three pounds of ribs, which can definitely be cut into thirty
pieces. Why don't I ride my bike to buy vegetables in the morning? If the ribs here are expensive,
I can still get food from the canteen at noon. Miss, if you invite twenty people, just give me ten
yuan for the vegetables."
Gu Ximei stuffed fifteen yuan into his pocket and said, "We have cigarettes and alcohol at home.
You can buy more vegetables and feel free to eat any snacks you want. The candied dates and
raisins are much better than those in Shanghai."
"Mom! I want to go too!" The sound of candied dates and raisins floated into Sinan's ears, and he
immediately jumped down from the bunk bed.
"You just like to make trouble, go away, go to hell." Gu Ximei was annoyed: "Have you finished
writing the aoe I asked you to write? How many words have you written from yesterday to today?
Where is the notebook? Bring it to me so I can check it."
"I can't find my schoolbag. The notebook is inside it." Sinan spread his hands innocently: "You
took it away yesterday, Mom."
Gu Jingsheng picked up the basket and net bag and took Si Nan out with him: "Let her go
shopping with me. She can also learn some addition and subtraction. Don't worry, miss. I will
keep an eye on her."
Gu Ximei watched the two of them get on their bicycles. She heard Si Nan yelling in the distance.
She sighed and felt a little guilty again. If Jingsheng stayed in Shanghai, he should be able to help
his mother a lot and would not affect Si Jiang. But - he came to Xinjiang and helped her a lot. This
was a blessing in disguise.

Chapter 50
In the past two years, the management has been gradually relaxed, and the Hongqiao Bazaar
(market) in Aksu County has regained some of its old appearance. Sinan has been there twice
with her parents. For her, it is lively, delicious, and crowded. In Shajingzi Town, there are also
people setting up stalls next to the post office on National Highway 314 every Sunday. There are
fewer Uyghurs and more Han people.
The town was not big, and the cadres and the masses were familiar with each other. After the
military corps system was abolished, the educated youth from Shanghai were notoriously difficult
to manage, often sitting in, marching and petitioning. So the town cadres preferred to keep their
distance, turned a blind eye and let things go, and gradually more and more stalls were set up,
filling up both sides of the national highway.
Gu Jingsheng saw from a distance that a string of trucks were blocking the middle of the national
highway and honking their horns. There were people all around, but no one was panicking.
Everyone was busy with their own things. Dozens of stall owners near the post office were all
Uyghurs. The ground was covered with felt mats, and fruits and vegetables were scattered
around. There were several iron poles on a tricycle, and half a sheep was hanging on it, still
dripping blood. A tall Uyghur man wearing a small and exquisite flower hat and a black leather
apron was sharpening a knife. The Uyghur woman next to him had a big iron pot at her feet,
which contained mutton pilaf. A group of sheep blocked the truck line, bleating and refusing to
move. I don’t know if it was because of sympathy for their own kind.
Gu Jingsheng locked his bicycle to a tree, took out a net bag and put it around Sinan's neck:
"Come on, tell me what you want to eat today?"
Sinan said honestly: "I want to eat sweet and sour spare ribs, boiled chicken, lion's head, and the
duck my mother made last time. The rice in my stomach is also delicious. And -"
Jingsheng looked down at her with disdain: "You just wish for the best every day. Hey, drool is
flowing out."
Sinan stretched out his hand and wiped it away: "No! You lied to me again!"
"Why are you still so stupid?" Jingsheng held her hand tightly and squeezed in front of a Uyghur
man: "I wonder if the school dormitory allows raising chickens."
Sinan looked at the fluffy chicks in the bamboo cage and nodded eagerly: "Give them, give them,
raise them, raise them, I want ten!"
"Buy a rooster and four hens." Jingsheng squatted down to pick the chickens, not forgetting to
complete the task: "How many chickens should we buy in total?"
Sinan began to count on his fingers: "Five."
"Wrong." Jingsheng held back his laughter and said seriously, "A rooster and four hens can give
birth to a lot of chicks, so we bought a lot of chickens, too many to count."
Sinan opened her mouth for a moment and then got angry: "That's not what my sister said! 1+4
equals 5 equals 5 equals 5! I can count, 12345, 6789-10!" She stretched out her ten fingers and
moved them a few times, confirming that she was right. The old man selling the chicken laughed.
Jingsheng paid a dollar and gently placed a chick on her paw: "Hold it well, don't strangle it or
drop it to death."
Sinan held it in his hands, his nose and eyes wrinkled together, and he walked more lightly:
"Ahhh, little chicken, don't move. Ahhhh, if you move, you will fall to death."
"Little fool." Jingsheng sighed. Sure enough, whether in Jinghong, Wanchun Street or Shajingzi,
there were fools everywhere. His life was really not easy.
The chicken that was walking in the air with fear finally returned to the basket that Jingsheng was
carrying. Sinan ate two large candied dates and a handful of raisins, and put aside the anger of
being deceived. What annoyed Jingsheng was that this little fool would look at and ask questions
in front of every stall, and chat with people in a fake manner.
"Uncle, your cake looks delicious. Oh, uncle, your flower hat is really beautiful. The one sold by
the mutton uncle has no sequins and is not shiny at all."
Ding, Chen Sinan got a small piece of cake for free, 2 by 2 cm square.
"Auntie, I've never seen raisins as big as yours. Look, the ones my cousin just bought are so small!
He sold them for the same price as you. Oh!"
Ding, Chen Sinan got another free handful of extra-large raisins, which was estimated to be more
than ten.
"Ah! Shamusak? Brother Shamusak, I'm Nannan, sitting behind you, behind you, to the right of
you. Last time, you were -"
Ding, Chen Sinan got another free slice of watermelon.
"Uncle, brother Shamsak was praised by the teacher, and he gave me a name: Anarhan. Doesn't it
sound nice?"
"Anarhan? Hahaha, next time uncle will bring Anarhan (pomegranate), remember to come and
eat it."
"Yeah, yeah, goodbye uncle, goodbye brother Shamusak (Garlic)!" Sinan waved happily at
Shamusak who looked unhappy.
After buying the vegetables, Gu Jingsheng dragged Si Nan back with him. There were five
eggplants, a handful of coriander and two green onions in the net bag around Si Nan's neck. The
coriander leaves kept dangling under her nose, causing her to sneeze several times and complain
bitterly. Jingsheng used green onions to push the coriander away: "You look like a baby elephant
now."
"Why? Why? Why?" Sinan stared at the onion and felt that the onion was about to stick into his
nostrils.
"Stick an onion in a pig's nose to pretend to be an elephant." Gu Jingsheng laughed twice and felt
that it was a bit boring to apply the same things that Gu Dongwen used on himself to Si Nan. He
lowered his head and saw that Si Nan was still squinting and trying hard to look at the onion, and
he felt that it was still interesting.
——
Gu Ximei worked until noon, and just arranged the big furniture. She started to unpack the boxes,
and when she saw the five fluffy chicks and the pungent smell of chicken shit, she was a little
upset. She couldn't be mean to Gu Jingsheng in front of Si Nan, but her face couldn't help but fall,
and Si Nan was still looking proud and asking for praise. Chen Donglai came back at this
inappropriate time.
"Oh, Nannan is raising chickens? Let daddy see." Chen Donglai put down his bag and immersed
himself in the role of a good father.
Gu Ximei unpacked the cardboard box with a loud clang: "Yi Yang? In the end, it's all my fault. It's
smelly and dirty. Chen Sinan, why don't you wash your hands?"
"Dad, dad, I have a math problem. We bought a rooster and four hens. How many chickens do we
have now?" Sinan put the chick in his hand back into Jingsheng's basket and grabbed the old man
to learn and practice.
Jingsheng looked serious, found an empty box and went out to place the chicks.
"Oh, even elementary school students like Alasnan can make questions? This question seems a
bit difficult." Chen Donglai saw Ximei's unhappy face, and quickly found a basin of soap and a
towel to wash Sinan's hands: "Dad, think about it, I want to count on my fingers. 1, 1234 - that's
5, right? There are five chickens in my house, right?"
Sinan laughed: "Wrong, wrong, wrong! One rooster and four hens can raise a lot of chicks, so I
bought a lot of chickens, too many to count! It's a great deal."
Gu Ximei stuffed all her clothes into the big closet, poked her head out and yelled at her: "Where
did you learn all this nonsense? You wrote numbers so badly that you wrote a 3 twenty times and
it was still crooked (it was still crooked after writing it twenty times), huh? Don't write it again
tonight or you'll break your butt!"
Sinan said nothing, rolled her big eyes, and slipped out to see her new pet.
Chen Donglai was a little surprised when he saw Gu Jingsheng fetching water and cleaning the
vegetables outside: "Why is Jingsheng doing this?"
Gu Ximei said unhappily, "I wish I had eight hands, is that possible? Moving is such a tiring task,
luckily Lao Zhu helped me get a tractor. Don't you know to come back a day earlier to help?"
Chen Donglai squeezed in front of the big closet: "This year's new gas and oil field tasks are
particularly heavy. Starting from October, all of our home visits have been cancelled. I just
finished my home visit leave and I really can't ask for leave. I have to rush back to the well early
tomorrow morning." He put a few quilts on the top of the closet and sighed: "It will be fine when
the oil production stabilizes in May next year. By the way, Aksu County will soon be electrified,
and Shajingzi will also be electrified by the end of the year. I brought back two 60-watt light
bulbs. You can change them to brighter ones for homework review and exams. Kerosene lamps
hurt your eyes."
Gu Ximei said nothing and climbed onto the bunk bed to spread the sheets.
However, Chen Donglai dug out the culprit that enabled Chen Sinan's birth from the pile of
clothes: several packs of Guilin brand condoms.
"Will this-will it expire?"
Gu Ximei took a look and said, "Plastic, what are the expired ones?"
"Jingsheng is here now, where do you think is a good place to put it?" Chen Donglai did not dare
to act on his own and followed his leader's instructions.
"In the first drawer of the chest of drawers. Lock it up. Chen Sinan is so restless, don't let him get
into trouble again."
Although he felt it was a bit strange to put this thing together with the diploma, household
registration page, and money, Chen Donglai still obeyed the order. After thinking for a while, he
took out a new one and stuffed it under the pillow without looking away. This gesture with
obvious meaning fell into Gu Ximei's eyes, and she frowned and pretended not to see it. In the
past four years, the average annual consumption of this thing has been less than one, and Meng
Qin kindly reminded her that she should keep it in mind.
"I heard that several female college students have joined your bureau?" Gu Ximei continued to
spread the sheets on the lower bunk.
Chen Donglai locked the drawer and put the key under Ximei's coat: "Look, the key is still here.
Female college students? There are three of them, workers, peasants and soldiers, two from
Beijing and one from Shanghai, and they are all very hardworking."
"I called your office the day before yesterday. Was it the guy from Shanghai who answered the
phone?"
"Phone call?" Chen Donglai thought for a moment and said, "Oh - that day, yes, it was Xiao He.
She - asked me to apologize to you. I thought you wouldn't take such a small matter to heart." He
looked at Ximei's face and added weakly, "Really?"
The two of them were silent for a few seconds. Gu Ximei sneered in her heart. Whenever she
stood on the podium, her voice would be hoarse five days a week. She clearly said that it was
Chen Donglai's family who came to visit, but Comrade Xiao He insisted on asking if you were
Chen Gong's mother. Mom? Bullshit.
Meng Qin is right. If you don't treat him as a treasure, someone will always treat him as a
treasure. Karamay Oilfield has started to take off this year. Who knows if these men who have
only dealt with oil for more than a decade will have some unruly thoughts.

Chapter 51
At noon, the family of four had a simple meal in the cafeteria, and Gu Ximei continued to clean
the house. She asked the master for a few long wooden strips left over from making wooden
stools, hammered them herself, and put cardboard on them to make simple photo frames of
different sizes. She selected a few photos and put them on them. The more she put them on, the
more beautiful they looked. Thinking that the great ambition of liberating all mankind could be
put aside for the time being, she took down the world map behind the sofa and hung these
photo frames.
Sinan jumped on the sofa: "Sister, hello! Uncle, hello! Grandma, hello! Dad, hello, mom, hello,
daughter -"
"No big cousin! No, no, no." Sinan turned around and shouted, "Dad, there must be a big cousin!"
Chen Donglai felt a little sour in his heart: "Okay, let's take a photo together on National Day. But
Nan Nan, think about who is missing?"
Sinan sat on the armrest of the sofa and played with his body bent forward and backward: "Aunt!
Oh, don't call me aunt, Aunt Zhou, Aunt Zhou, my favorite Aunt Zhou, hehe."
"Think again?"
"Aunt? None of my three cousins know her either. Next time I go back to Shanghai, I'm going to
visit Fuxing Island. My brothers said they'd take me on a boat trip."
"Ahem, think about it again. Who made so many delicious dishes for you before you returned to
Xinjiang?"
"Mother!" Sinan rolled off the sofa: "Huh? There are several children outside. I'll go take a look."
Gu Ximei ran out quickly, but it turned out that several teachers from the school came with their
children to congratulate them on their new home. Of course, they were all holding things. The
most polite ones were the Dean of Studies, Mr. Liang and his wife, who directly brought an old
hen to the door.
After some greetings, the teachers drank tea and ate cakes, repeatedly praising Gu Ximei for her
cleverness in tidying up the dormitory so stylishly, and praising Sijiang and Beiwu in front of the
photos on the wall. As the mother of a little TV star and the elder sister of a top student from
Peking University, Gu Ximei was in a good mood. When she saw them off, she repeatedly invited
them to come for dinner in the evening. When she turned around, she saw Sinan queuing up
with other children under the fruit trees in the front row to jump into the mud pit, but he only
frowned and didn't yell at her.
"Auntie, should we kill the old hen or keep it?" Jingsheng stood up from the wall holding a knife
and the chicken.
Ximei suddenly got goose bumps on her arms. She had originally thought of adding some old hen
soup to the meal, but she couldn't help but spare the chicken: "Let's keep it for a few days and
see if it lays eggs."
Jingsheng said "oh" and took the surviving chicken to the back of the dormitory to settle down.
The kitchen knife in his hand had just been sharpened by the well, and the glare in the sun stung
Gu Ximei's eyes. She thought of the first day the child came to Wanchun Street, and always felt
that she really couldn't see what kind of child Jingsheng was.
After Gu Ximei wrote down all the favors, she remembered that she had invited five or six more
people to eat in the evening, so she quickly discussed with Jingsheng about adding more dishes.
They had to use all the treasures they brought back from Shanghai. Chen Donglai was ordered to
capture Chen Sinan and came back to wash his hair and take a bath. The family was busy. When
Shen Qingping led the soldiers of the Corps to rush into the staff dormitory area, Sinan was still
standing at the door of his house, bending over and shaking his hair dry.
"I shake my head, I shake it. I shake it, shake it, shake it." Sinan shook his head left and right, and
the towel in his hand also circled in the air regularly.
"Nannan, you splashed water all over my face! Hate it!" Shen Xingxing tried to pull Sinan's arm:
"Stop, stop now."
Meng Qin and his wife, Cao Jingzhi and his wife, and the educated youths they knew in the past
came in a mighty crowd of more than ten people and crowded into the dormitory. When
everyone sat down and found that the person cooking in the kitchen was Gu Jingsheng, they
immediately became angry.
"Gu Ximei, you are so good. After leaving the Corps dormitory, you were really infected by the
bad habits of the bourgeoisie? You used child laborers?" Zhu Guangmao laughed and scolded: "If
there is another revolution, I will be the first to stand up and expose you."
"Bah, your Zhenning has to cook breakfast and dinner for you two in the first grade, and you still
have the nerve to criticize me?" Gu Ximei threw him a cantaloupe and a watermelon: "Go, go, go
and cut the melons."
Chen Donglai, who was helping Jingsheng in the kitchen, laughed and chimed in: "My Nannan
knows that on Sundays, Uncle Zhu and Aunt Meng sleep until 1pm, and Brother Zhenning has to
cook for these two lazy guys."
Cao Jingzhi interrupted to express her envy and jealousy: "If you ask me, Xiao Meng is really a
smart person. Look at me, the whole family depends on me. I am so tired that I dare not get sick.
I suddenly had a fever last month, and I thought it was all over. But my Xingxing actually cooked
noodles and porridge for me, and Qingping rode his bike to the clinic to get medicine for me. I
really didn't expect it. It made me cry."
Meng Qin disagreed: "Tsk, didn't you get up and serve them the next day? Do you understand
that the mother is strong and the son is weak?"
Gu Ximei exposed her calmly: "That's right, your mother knows everything, so you know nothing.
Why don't you try to be strong?"
Amidst the laughter, the onlookers recalled the various embarrassing incidents that happened to
Comrade Meng Qin, such as not knowing how to fold his quilt and forgetting to bring his
backpack during a field training in the middle of the night.
——
At seven o'clock in the evening, Gu Ximei borrowed a long dining table and long benches from
the canteen and lined them up in the open space outside the dormitory. Seven or eight children
also gathered at one table. Chen Donglai opened white wine, yellow wine and beer, and ordered
two packs of Peony cigarettes, as well as various candies and candied fruits. Before the dishes
were served, the table was already full of dazzling items, just like a banquet.
Gu Ximei didn't expect that after spending 15 yuan on five chickens, she could cook so many
dishes. She really praised Jingsheng and treated him as her own nephew, which surprised Chen
Donglai. Comparing his treatment in the past few years, he realized that he was still a Ningbo
person at heart. After all, eight out of ten Shanghai men are responsible for cooking at home,
which is probably the root of the harmony between husband and wife and family happiness.
After Jingsheng left Jinghong, it was the first time he was being entrusted with a lot of trust. He
didn't show anything on his face, but in his heart he was really determined to get this thing done.
Gu Dongwen once said, either you don’t want to do it, or if you want to do it, do it beautifully.
Salted eggs and preserved eggs are the delicacies that educated youths must bring back from
Shanghai for home travel. Grandma Gu is not as good as Grandma Chen when it comes to buying
side dishes, but when it comes to pickled salted duck eggs, she wants to claim to be second. No
one in Wanchun Street dares to claim to be first. After all, Gaoyou Salted Eggs have been famous
for thousands of years. When each one is cut open, the eggs are golden red and oily, with a fresh
and slightly sandy taste. The preserved eggs were chosen by grandma, and they all had two or
three beautiful pine flowers. Jingsheng fried a jar of double pepper sauce to eat noodles a few
days ago, scooped out a big spoonful, mixed it with soy sauce, sesame oil, chopped green onion,
garlic, and peppercorn oil, mixed it well and poured it on top. This is what he learned from the
Sichuan educated youth in Jinghong. Come. Shen Yong and Zhu Guangmao were so full of praise
for a plate of preserved eggs with two peppers that they almost got into a chopstick fight in order
to get the second bite, and the dish was sold out in an instant.
Sugar tomatoes are the favorite of children. After being placed in well water for half an hour, they
taste icy sweet. Sinan's defense of the sugar tomato juice was not in vain. After the last few sips
of the sugar water, he wanted to lie on the ground and do a few backstrokes comfortably.
The other cold dishes, such as smashed cucumber, fried peanuts and cold eggplant, were not
rare, but the yellow mud snails and jellyfish heads brought back from Shanghai were rare
treasures, which attracted a rush of buyers. As soon as the hot dishes were served, the eight cold
dishes on both the adult and child tables were cleared out, except for the small bowl in front of
Gu Ximei, which had a bite of various dishes, which was specially left for Jingsheng.
Chen Donglai stood up to collect the dishes. Cao Jingzhi stopped him with a smile: "Let's do it,
you guys continue drinking."
Gu Ximei didn't feel too tired at the end of the day. She drank another glass of rice wine and felt
very comfortable. She glanced at her husband and said, "Let him go. Anyway, there is no food
now. What can we drink? We, comrades, are women. It’s time to take a break after a busy year.
“In the past, Mrs. Fang and the others were playing mahjong, and Mr. Fang and the others were
busy pouring tea, making coffee, changing records, directing the servants to cook chicken soup
wontons, and even drove to Kai. The commander is buying chestnut cake. Why do they still have
no need for men in the new society? They shouldn't.
Shen Yong rolled up his sleeves: "Good brothers, if you are in trouble, come from the east and I
will help you." The two of them smiled and carried a large basin of dishes to work at the well.
Jingsheng declined several groups of adults who wanted to help him, and used two kerosene
stoves and two coal stoves alternately, in an orderly manner. Hot and sour potato shreds, stir-
fried pork, and soy sauce stewed eggs, chopsticks rained down as soon as the last dish came.
When Chen Donglai and Shen Yong came back, there was nothing left of the three dishes. Ximei
felt sorry for them, picked up two chopsticks from the small bowl, and complained that they
worked too slowly.
Si Nan jumped up with joy when he saw the sweet and sour spareribs, and shouted "Long live my
cousin" several times. As Jingsheng estimated, there was only enough spareribs for each person,
and there was no second piece, which made the only piece seem even more delicious. Meng Qin
squinted and shook her head, thinking back: "Ximei, compared to your nephew, my Zhenning
cooks pig food. Comparison is the thief of anger."
Ximei laughed so hard: "Isn't pig food the right thing? It's good enough that your old pig and your
wife are fed by someone. Are you still not satisfied?"
Meng Qin was so angry that she wanted to tear her mouth apart, but when she saw that the next
dish was braised pork chop, she immediately put her personal honor aside and rushed to grab
the food. This was not a good count, because if you act early you can get something to eat, but if
you act late you can only get the soup.
After the eight hot dishes were served, and finally the rice dumplings with fermented rice wine
were served, Sinan was already so full that he couldn't move. After the adults cleared the table,
they went into the house, turned on the radio, chatted, and drank tea. At nine o'clock in the
evening, the sun was still shining, Shen Qingping, Zhu Zhenning, and several classmates from
school went to play table tennis, and Shen Xingxing curiously sat next to Jingsheng and watched
him eat.
"You cooked all these dishes? They are much better than what my mom cooks."
Sinan lay on another long table with his legs crossed and dangling: "Yes, my eldest cousin and I
went to buy the vegetables together."
"I didn't ask you, Nan Nan, don't interrupt." Shen Xingxing patted Si Nan unhappily, turned
around and continued to ask: "You also go to the Central Primary School? Which class are you in?
I'm in Class 2 (3), which is Aunt Gu's class. I'm the Arts and Literature Committee member."
Sinan shook his legs even more vigorously and turned his head to continue answering: "My
cousin is in Class 3 (1), and I am in Class 1 (3). Did you notice? We are all in Class 1 and 3, and you
are the only one in Class 2."
Shen Xingxing said unhappily, "Your first grade is fake, it doesn't count." She became happy again
and said to Jingsheng, "Then you are in the same class with my brother, but my brother didn't
even tell me when he came back, how annoying."
Sinan laughed: "Because Brother Pingping is punished by the teacher to stand in the corridor
every day."
"how do you know?"
"I check every day." Sinan made a face: "Check the discipline. I will report anyone who disobeys
to my mother."
"You're lying. You're a first grader and you can't check on us second and third graders." Shen
Xingxing smiled smugly: "You must not be attending class seriously and ran out of the classroom?
I'll go tell Aunt Gu now."
Sinan was anxious, and tried to somersault, but as the carp was too full, it could not stand up
straight, and could only flutter twice on the table.
"Hey! Sister Xingxing, Sister Xingxing, come back. I'll tell you a secret!"
Shen Xingxing hesitated at the door and walked back: "You said, don't lie."
Sinan rolled his eyes and said, "I have a Uyghur name, Anarhan. What do you think it means?"
Shen Xingxing snorted, turned around and walked towards the door again.
Si Nan quickly slipped off the table, ran two steps, and hugged Shen Xingxing's legs and shouted:
"Ah, my stomach hurts!"
Gu Jingsheng chuckled, washed the rice and vegetable bowls by himself, and returned the
borrowed kerosene stove and coal briquette stove to Director Liang's home. Mrs. Liang did not
come to dinner, and was furiously checking her children's homework. There were only two rows
of teachers' dormitories, and before the Gu family's banquet was over, Jingsheng's name had
already spread. Mrs. Liang caught "other people's children" and took the opportunity to teach
her three sons and one daughter a lesson. When Jingsheng finally got away and returned to the
door, Shen Qingping, Zhu Zhenning and a group of people were forced to play house with Shen
Xingxing and other girls, sweating profusely.
Sinan is protesting: "How can I be a mother when my sister is in Shanghai?"
"Suppose, suppose she is here." Shen Qingping never gave in: "If you want me to be your father,
you have to have Sijiang be your mother. Otherwise, I won't play with you anymore. It's boring."
Zhu Zhenning squeezed him away: "Come on, let's go, let me be the father. Sijiang will be the
mother. Sinan will be the baby. Xingxing, you and your brother are a family. Okay, now we are two
families. Let’s have a fight. Hey, Shen, don’t think you can bully Nannan just because her mother
is on a business trip—!”
Shen Xingxing shouted: "No, no, I am the mother, and someone else has to be the father. Si Nan,
come to my house. You are the baby of our family. Come on, baby, mommy likes you the most."
She looked at Gu Jingsheng and thought it would be best if cousin Nannan became the father.
Sinan felt dizzy. She pushed the toy car in front of her away and ran to Jingsheng: "I don't want to
be your baby. I also want to be a mother and my cousin to be a father. Who of you wants to be
the baby in my family? Daddy will make a lot of delicious food every day, and mommy will play
with you every day."
Friends, be quiet, this sounds pretty good?
Late at night, Sinanlai approached Jingsheng on the upper bunk and asked, "Cousin, why don't
you want to be a father?"
"Cousin, please pay attention to me when you speak."
"Playing house isn't fun, is it?"
Jingsheng was really tired after being busy all day, and he just hummed without even opening his
eyes.
"I don't think it's fun either. They always want me to be a baby, which is boring."
Gu Ximei wrung her hair dry, wrapped it tightly with a towel, and knocked on the bed frame:
"Nannan, come down and sleep, don't disturb your brother. He is exhausted."
"Then I'll keep quiet. I want to sleep with my cousin."
"Nonsense, the bed is so small, it's hard for your brother to turn over if you sleep on it. I won't
take care if you fall and get hurt. You have to lie down by yourself for three months while your
brother goes out to play every day."
Sinan climbed down with tears in his eyes and pouted: "Then I want to sleep with Mom."
Chen Donglai locked the door and went into the inner room: "Don't cry if you get hurt by Daddy's
legs at night."
Sinan lost his temper and yelled at him: "I don't want my dad! Go away. I want to sleep with my
mom!"
After a while of fussing, Gu Ximei gently moved Si Nan from her arms to the pillow and covered
her with a blanket. Si Nan was still frowning and pouting, looking unhappy, perhaps because Jing
Sheng refused to play house, or perhaps because he couldn't sleep on the upper bunk. I don't
know if it's because I drank tap water for a month in Shanghai, but I always feel that Si Nan has
become a little whiter and her facial features have grown a little.
She stood on tiptoe and looked at the motionless Jingsheng. She couldn't help but sighed, feeling
very melancholy. Why didn't she give birth to such a son? If Sijiang Sinan had a brother like this,
she would be relieved. She closed the curtains and lay on the bed. She couldn't help but sigh with
Chen Donglai. Chen Donglai smelled the fresh soap scent on her body, stretched out his hand and
hugged her in his arms: "It's the same if we treat him as our own son, right? Your eldest brother's
son is not an outsider."
Gu Ximei broke free from his hand, leaned over and blew out the light. After a while she became
annoyed: "Are you annoying? I'm so tired. This is the only thing you men have in your minds,
right?" She expressed hatred, but she didn't use any strength to push the man away.
Chen Donglai took advantage of the situation to hold her down, fumbled for the tools under the
pillow, and his hands began to tremble with anxiety: "It's been more than a year. Ximei, I really
want to--"
"Don't move, the children are all around."
"You're all snoring. I'll be quieter, both of us."
After a few rustling sounds, Gu Ximei's slight drunkenness was quickly gone.
"Are you ready? Hurry up." Only men can enjoy this kind of nervous intimacy. Gu Ximei was
sweating and annoyed. She had taken a bath in vain.
The moonlight shone through the glass window onto the wall. It was completely quiet on the
other side of the curtain. Jingsheng opened his eyes. The pale yellow wall next to him was not
painted very smoothly, and was full of tiny bumps and depressions under the moonlight. His
fingers slid across it, and were stained with rough wall powder. He closed his eyes quietly,
thinking of how Gu Dongwen seemed to want to shake down the broken house in Jinghong, and
told him seriously that men and women had to do that kind of thing, and asked him to go back
after ten o'clock in the evening. He put a toad and a gecko in his pants, but he didn't care and just
took it out and threw it away. As for Gu Dongwen's woman, she would find ways to make
delicious food for him the next day, as if she had done something wrong to her son. What a
psycho.
After she disappeared, it wasn't that no woman came to look for Gu Dongwen. There was also a
Miao woman who always came to bring food. Gu Dongwen didn't sleep with any of them. That's
what he said. He believed in Gu Dongwen.
Jingsheng opened his eyes and looked at the half-lit and half-dark ceiling, cursing in his heart for
the umpteenth time: You stupid woman, if you don't come back, your man will soon forget you.

Chapter 52
The winter in Aksu is not that cold. The foothills of the Tianshan Mountains block the cold wave.
It will be extremely cold only when the snow melts in January of the following year. In mid-
November, outdoor work in the entire county had to be suspended. Shajingzi Town was
connected to electricity before the suspension of work. Although the voltage was unstable, the
lights flickered from time to time, and the circuit breaker tripped frequently, at least we said
goodbye to kerosene lamps. In winter, it was dark after 8 o'clock in the evening. The educated
youth could not wait to turn on the lights after 7 o'clock to experience the light in the room and
relive the feeling of returning to Shanghai.
In the past two years, various places have gradually resumed the custom of celebrating the New
Year. As early as after the power was connected, the educated youth in Shanghai had agreed to
celebrate the Winter Solstice together. Because Chen Donglai was still rushing to work on the oil
well, Gu Ximei accepted Cao Jingzhi's invitation and took the children back to the company
dormitory on Sunday to have a reunion dinner with the educated youth comrades. She was
responsible for bringing the glutinous rice balls.
One hundred dumplings, half sweet and half salty, were placed on a sieve outside. They froze in a
short while. Fifty were taken to the company, and fifty were given to the principal and two
teachers in the office who were good friends. Jingsheng was repeatedly told to boil pork skin jelly
and wrap it in the pointed dumplings. He must eat it like a pan-fried dumpling, taking a bite first
and sucking the broth before eating. The negative example, Chen Sinan, consciously stretched
out his tongue with two blisters on it and babbled to show that the consequences were serious.
At three or four in the afternoon, Ximei brought Sinan and Jingsheng back to the company. It had
only been three months since they moved away, but they already felt very unfamiliar. The four
big signs on the wall of the kindergarten, "Unity", "Seriousness", "Tenseness" and "Livelyness",
were still hanging. The slogan "Down with American Imperialism" next to it had been painted
over with a layer of white, and it was barely visible. I wonder what new slogan would be
replaced. After all, the "Sino-US Joint Communiqué" had been out for almost a week, and it
would be a bit embarrassing to downplay one's own friends again.
The children in the company were all playing outside, with two red spots on their faces and a
half-yellow dragon hanging from their red noses. Sinan sucked his snot, stroked his burned
tongue, slid down the front bumper and shouted, "I—come back—" It should have been very
powerful, but he couldn't pronounce it, so he had to change it to "ah".
"Jingsheng, you have to take care of your sister." Ximei held the faucet and reminded him, "Don't
let her sweat, she will catch a cold if the wind blows. Don't let her jump in the sand pit, her
cotton shoes are full of sand and it's annoying. After playing for a while, remember to go back to
Uncle Shen's house to drink some hot water. By the way, take this small towel. If she sweats a
little, put it in her collar and cushion her back. Be careful too, don't catch a cold. Yunnan is spring
all year round - summer, right? Are you cold?"
Jingsheng looked at Sinan's back as he ran to join the "Huanglong Army" and shook his head: "I
know, miss. I'm not cold." He took the towel and walked slowly towards the group of children.
Although he would rather help the host cook, but, forget it.
At this time, he still missed Jinghong. Jinghong only had very hot summers and summers that
were not so hot because it rained every day. It was in Aksu that he experienced autumn and
winter for the first time, wearing a cotton jacket, cotton pants and cotton shoes. When the first
sandstorm came at the end of September, he leaned on the window and watched for ten minutes
before he remembered to ask Sinan: "Is this the endless sand you mentioned?"
Sinan pressed his face against the window glass, blew a breath, secretly licked off the white mist
with his tongue, and waited to feel the vibration of the next round of sand hitting the glass: "Is it
fun? Does it make a noise? Wow-wow-wow! Bang-bang-bang, no need to go to school!"
After the sandstorm, as soon as he opened the door, the sand piled up at the door rushed in and
flooded his ankles. When he saw Chen Sinan screaming and rushing out and rolling on the sand,
he understood Ximei's pain and really wanted to pick her up and whip her with a belt ten times.
Ten times seemed a bit too much, at least twenty times. He slept on the upper bunk that night,
but he could feel fine sand everywhere. Listening to Gu Ximei's recalling the hardships of living in
the cave while cleaning Sinan, Jingsheng suddenly felt that Jinghong's "broken thatched house",
"salt soup" and "muddy road" were better than Aksu. Thinking of what Chen Sijiang said about
the sand not being fun at all, he admitted that Sijiang was telling the truth. He seemed to have
become stupid when he arrived at Wanchun Street.
The reunion dinner in the evening was very rich. Shen Yong said that Jing Sheng of Gu Ximei's
family was a sinner, and he had raised the hospitality standards of the entire Shanghai educated
youth family in Aksu County, so that they did not dare to neglect, so each family specially pooled
money to serve from the family. Wang Sanjie bought half a lamb, stir-fried lamb tripe with green
onions, lamb soup, braised bone-in lamb, and almost had a whole lamb feast. In addition, there
was a pot of snow-white tripe and lung soup.
This was the first time Jing Sheng drank mutton soup, and he didn't feel any nausea at all. After
one bowl, his whole body felt warm. Xi Mei poured another bowl of intestines and lungs soup for
him: "Next year, you go back to Shanghai and ask grandma to make it for you. Our Yangzhou
intestines and lungs soup is the most popular one. This one is really not good. Please order it for
Aunt Cao." To save face, just have a drink if you can.”
Cao Jingzhi smiled and scolded her: "Gu Ximei and Nong Nong have such a beautiful face to hold
my bowl and scold my soup."
This intestine and lung soup looks white, but it does have a bit of fishy smell in the mouth, which
is indeed not as good as mutton soup. Jingsheng took a sip and silently poured a large spoonful of
chili noodles down, making the whole table laugh. Meng Qin said: "Practice is the only criterion
for testing truth. Cao Jingzhi, are you convinced?"
"It's all the fault of Aksu's pigs!" Shen Yong stepped forward to help his wife solve the problem.
Si Nan's tongue was still sore, so he just made some rice with mutton soup and swallowed it
wholeheartedly, then turned back to maintain his position as the little bully in the kindergarten.
After the adults here cleared the table, Zhu Guangmao went home and moved the TV. Shen
Qingping and Zhu Zhenning put the dining table against the wall and arranged two rows of small
stools, preparing to watch "Xinwen Lianbo" together.
"We also have a TV set in our school." Si Nan ran after Zhu Guangmao and gestured on the screen
with his little hand: "Unfortunately, it's black and white. My grandma's house has a color TV set,
which is bigger than yours. It's so much bigger. I My uncle bought it.”
Meng Qin gave her a slap on the face: "Hey, Chen Sinan, you are great. You know how to show off
at the age of four? Be more simple. Your grandmother's family is in Shanghai, and we are in the
poor countryside. It's hard to compare."
Sinan touched his forehead and said, "It's great in the countryside. The water doesn't have a
strange smell! There are things to do everywhere, and it snows heavily!"
"It snows heavily in Shanghai, too." Meng Qin hadn't realized that she had inadvertently switched
sides with Si Nan. "In Shanghai, you can go to the bathroom to take a shower in the winter, but
you have to wash your butt in a basin every day in the countryside, hahaha."
Sinan was startled, thinking of the big bathroom that Aunt Zhou had taken her and her sister to,
she sighed and shook her head: "Oh, it's hard to compare. I also want to go to the bathroom,
such a big pool, I can swim around."
Seeing her little girl talking like an adult, Meng Qin bent over with laughter and rubbed her messy
hair: "I'm going to the county bathhouse to take a bath on New Year's Day. I'll take you with me.
Do you want to go?"
"Do you want money?" Sinan rolled his eyes and asked, "If you don't want money, I'll give Aunt
Meng some face and go there casually."
The whole room burst into laughter.
——
The "News Broadcast" came as scheduled. Si Nan saw it, ran to the front and pointed at the
announcer's face: "Attention! Attention, you see this person looks like my dad!" After being
escorted back to the small stool by Shen Qingping, she asked neighbors for confirmation: "Big
cousin, do you think he looks like me?" "Sister Xingxing, don't you think he looks alike?" She
turned around and asked her mom: "Dad! Dad is on TV."
Gu Ximei was knitting a scarf with her hands. She raised her knees and pushed her back: "Shh,
you are the only one making noise. Be quiet. Your dad is so good-looking that I almost woke up
from laughing. This is Zhao Zhongxiang, the announcer of CCTV."
Cao Jingzhi was also knitting a sweater. When she heard this, she sighed: "How could they know
each other in this generation? Zhao Zhongxiang was only 17 years old when he joined CCTV! I
never expected that he has such a good voice and looks so handsome."
Shen Yong brought a hot water bottle and refilled tea for everyone, and said with a smile: "Zhao
Zhongxiang was elected to Beijing in 1959. He was the second announcer in the country. Shen Li,
the first announcer in the country, was from Wujiang, Suzhou, and My grandma’s hometown is
only separated by a road, so I can be considered her little cousin five rooms away.”
Dozens of people in the room were discussing the announcers' stories animatedly. Jingsheng
stared at the small screen and jotted down a few sentences from time to time. Meng Qin sighed:
"Ximei, why are your Sijiang and Jingsheng so smart? Jingsheng is so self-conscious, and he
doesn't forget to study while watching TV. My Zhenning knows nothing about studying, and we
are so worried."
Gu Ximei comforted her absentmindedly and asked her, "Last time you talked about the Yunnan
educated youth strike, how is it now?"
Zhu Guangmao and Shen Yong became excited when they heard this: "It's really big. The day
before yesterday, Lao Qin's brother called from Kunming and said that there was a powerful
educated youth in Jinghong who organized a collective strike of 50,000 people and wrote a third
letter to the above. There are already two groups of people going north to Beijing.”
Gu Jingsheng and Gu Ximei both stopped and looked at each other. Xi Mei asked: "Didn't you say
that the leaders and working groups of the state and province have gone down to do their
work?"
"It's useless. We can't reach an agreement. The meeting of the educated youths going to the
mountains and countryside is over. There is no result. It's useless if we don't make it big." Shen
Yong has always been an activist for returning to the city. He drank a little Jiu's face turned red,
and he ignored Cao Jingzhi's obstruction and explained the situation in Yunnan in detail. Finally,
he waved his arms and said, "Yunnan has already taken action. Everyone in our sixteen regiments
in Aksu wants to go back to Shanghai. Why can't we?" Twisted into a rope? I don’t believe it.”
"Yes, we did it!" Many people cheered.
"Ximei, isn't your eldest brother in Jinghong? Has he gone to Beijing?" Zhu Guangmao asked.
Ximei shook her head sadly, looked at the depressed Jingsheng, and sighed. In October, she heard
that a leader of educated youth in Jinghong, Yunnan, had written an "Open Joint Letter to Vice
Premier Deng", so she hurriedly called Jinghong, but they said that Gu Dongwen was no longer in
Jinghong, and no one knew where he had gone. Some said he went to Kunming, some said he
went to Banna, and some said he fled back to Shanghai or even to Beijing. She called Beiwu
again, but couldn't get anything out of her, and only asked her to take good care of Jingsheng and
not let him run around.
Gu Ximei's heart to return to Shanghai is no longer so hot, or perhaps all her enthusiasm and
courage were consumed in the year she came to Xinjiang, and all her efforts after that were just
visions and pillars. She did not object to such disturbances, and if she could make a policy, she
would always have a share of the credit, but she was unwilling to participate. Unmarried
educated youth, one person's fullness means the whole family is not hungry, and they will fight
hard even if they see a ray of light. She is different. She has suffered the pain of acting rashly and
impulsively, and always hopes to return to Shanghai properly, take the exam to go back, transfer
back, but she cannot go back to make trouble, escape, go back in the dark. She has to consider Si
Jiangsnan, and Chen Donglai, who is now a cadre of the Petroleum Administration Bureau and
cannot afford to have his family members commit crimes. Moreover, she herself is a people's
teacher. If she passes the normal school exam, she can be transferred from the agricultural
reclamation system to the education system. If she strikes and leaves, what will happen to the
students? She is too ashamed to see Principal Chen and Director Liang.
It was getting dark. After eating the dumplings, Zhu Guangmao and Shen Yong drove all the
children to Zhu's house. They put the tables and chairs against the wall to make a large space.
Then they took out a new weapon from their bags in a mysterious manner.
"Tape recorder?" Gu Ximei was surprised. "You two are really willing to spend money on this! My
Beiwu uses this to learn English. It's so expensive, it seems to cost two hundred yuan. The tape
that can record sound is not cheap either, more than ten or twenty yuan a box."
Meng Qin snorted, "Your brother has been chopped off! This is what my uncle brought to
Zhenning when he came back from Hong Kong to visit relatives. One is ninety-three Hong Kong
dollars, about thirty yuan. Many people in Shanghai have already got it and brought it to the park
to dance. They are very impressed."
Ximei hesitated for a moment: "Maybe the brand is different? He bought it in a department store
in Wangfujing, and the price was set by the government..."
Zhu Guangmao smiled: "Those were 10,000 units that the Ministry of Foreign Trade brought in,
and the price was set at 200 yuan per unit. We didn't negotiate with them, and they were sold
out in two or three days. Even the provincial capital didn't get a chance to sell them." He reached
out to turn off the lights and lit two candles.
"What is your husband doing? Go and take care of him." Ximei couldn't knit a sweater, so she
smiled and slapped Mengqin: "You two are the only ones who mess around all day long. Why do
you light candles when you have electric lights?"
"Be romantic. Now that no one is watching, you can be romantic." Meng Qin's eyes sparkled. She
smoothed her hair and asked with a low smile, "Am I drunk? Is my face blushing?"
"It's okay. It's so dark that I can't see clearly." Ximei laughed.
"Eh? I should drink more." Meng Qin stood up and took off her cotton jacket and threw it aside:
"Next year when I go back, I must buy vermicelli and lipstick."
Ximei was stunned, as if she saw their girlhood again.
A sweet but not greasy, delicate but not coquettish, sad but not complaining voice floated out of
the tape recorder: "I don't know why, sadness surrounds me. I pray every day, please drive away
the loneliness of love."
Someone in the room shouted: "Teresa Teng!"
"A thousand words!"
"Come on, come on, dance."
Neither the laughter nor the shouting could drown out the singing.
"From that day on, you told me that you would love me forever, and thousands of words and tens
of thousands of words passed by like floating clouds..."
Ximei didn't know why, but tears started to flow down her cheeks. Fortunately, no one noticed in
the dim candlelight.

Chapter 53
"What are they doing?" Sinan turned around and asked Jingsheng curiously.
"Dancing." Jingsheng could only see Gu Ximei knitting a sweater with her head down through the
crack in the door. She knitted three stitches and then backed off two. It was strange that she
could see it in such a dark place. She was not Monkey King with his fiery eyes.
"That's not how dancing works." Sinan thought for a moment and said, "My sister's way of doing
that is called dancing. This - my mother said it's hooliganism!"
Jingsheng bowed his head and gave her a slap: "Nonsense, this is dancing." Gu Dongwen once
drank too much at night and took his mother to the woods to dance. He didn't even wear shoes
and let her step on his feet. He deserved to be bitten by red ants and his feet and legs were full of
lumps. That was the first time he heard his mother sing, what about "Lang, we are of the same
mind, friends in need, and love each other deeply", disgusting.
"A man holding a woman and spinning around in the park, what else could that be but
hooliganism?" Sinan imitated A Niang's tone: "They were all arrested a few years ago!"
Shen Qingping and his sister and Zhu Zhenning ran over and crowded around Jingsheng to look
inside.
"What are they doing?"
"Playing hooligan." Sinan pronounced the verdict softly and without denying it. He glanced at
Jingsheng and added, "My eldest cousin said it was dancing."
Shen Qingping suppressed his voice and laughed: "Uncle Zhu and Aunt Meng are hugging each
other!"
"Nonsense, Aunt Meng is Uncle Zhu's wife, why would Uncle Zhu act like a hooligan?" Shen
Xingxing firmly stood on Gu Jingsheng's side.
"Women can also act like hooligans." Shen Qingping shook his head: "What Si Jiang did is called
dancing, you don't understand."
Zhu Zhenning snorted: "The adults are doing ballroom dancing. Foreigners all do it, you just don't
understand."
Shen Qingping took another look and was startled. He was extremely nervous: "Zhu Zhenning!
Why did my dad hug your mom? Where is my mom? Where did my mom go?"
Zhu Zhenning was shocked: "Impossible!" He quickly pushed Shen Qingping aside to look inside.
After a moment, he stood up straight and looked at Si Nan with a speechless look: "It's over, Nan
Nan, my dad is going to hug your mom."
Shen Xingxing was dumbfounded. The four of them huddled together again and looked inside for
a while, then looked at each other and said in unison: "They are really being hooligans."
Gu Jingsheng was too lazy to pay attention to them and walked towards the playground. Si Nan
stretched out his leg to kick the door, but kicked Zhu Zhenning instead.
"No! My dad said, if any kid runs in, break my legs!" He was also stunned: "No, why would he hit
me?"
"Forget it, I don't care anymore." Shen Xingxing pulled Si Nan and ran after Jingsheng.
"Let's go." Shen Qingping pulled Zhu Zhenning and followed.
After chasing for a few steps, Sinan suddenly shouted: "It's snowing!"
Jingsheng raised his head, and a touch of tenderness fell on his face, which was cold for a
moment and then disappeared in an instant, and then a few points appeared again. Under the
dim street lights, scattered white shadows could be vaguely seen. Gradually, the wind started to
blow, and snowflakes fell one after another. He couldn't help licking his lips, which was bitter and
prickly, and he quickly spat it out.
Sinan, who was looking up at him, laughed out loud: "A gust of wind brings a gust of sand, a layer
of snow and a layer of sand. Mom told you, cousin, you are also being stupid."
Before she finished speaking, the wind blew the sand and snow into her mouth. Sinan stared and
spat out the sand. Shen Xingxing covered her mouth and nose and bent over with laughter.
——
At the same time and under the same sky, Gu Beiwu and Zhou Shanrang were also dancing. Not
just the two of them, the whole class was learning ballroom dancing.
After the freshmen of the class of 1978 entered the school in October, Shanrang was transferred
from the most beautiful female student building to the International Student Building, where she
became roommates with a Japanese female international student. Many other freshmen who
moved into the International Student Building were from the Chinese and History Departments,
most of whom came from cadre families. Shanrang was unwilling to enjoy special treatment and
declined twice. The Youth League Committee asked her to cooperate with the organization's
request. Gu Beiwu speculated that it was to promote Sino-Japanese friendship, and joked that
Shanrang served as an exchange ambassador, and the title of "Secretary Zhou" gave way to
"Ambassador Zhou."
At the end of October, the International Student Building made international news. Several
Chinese and foreign female classmates held a birthday party together. Under the leadership of
the international students, they danced disco. The Western reporters who were squatting on the
Peking University campus reported it to the foreign media and also to the internal reference. The
International Student Office seemed to have been criticized, so disco was short-lived and
disappeared. However, the singing competition in the bathroom of the dormitory building
became more and more intense. One group insisted on singing a series of revolutionary songs,
from the Internationale to Crossing the Yalu River with high spirits, and finally ended with
"Forward, forward, the responsibility of the soldier is heavy and the hatred of the women is
deep." The other group claimed to be open and progressive, and Teresa Teng, the Beatles and
Elvis sang together, ending with "I'll shout and scream, I'll kill the king."
Shan Rang kept asking Bei Wu which school he belonged to. Bei Wu laughed and said that he was
old, and he didn't want to rock and nostalgia. Finally, he was forced to hum the song "Night
Jasmine" by the Weiming Lake. Shan Rang accidentally found a treasure and was overjoyed. The
next day, she borrowed a cassette from her roommate and asked Bei Wu to learn Elvis's song
"Love me tender". The next day, Gu Bei Wu handed her a page of paper when she was studying in
the library. The lyrics were copied in beautiful cursive characters. It was written on the top of the
paper for Shan Rang and signed by Gu Bei Wu.
"…For my darling, I love you. And I always will."
Zhou Shanrang was so shameless that he ran out of the library with the lyrics in his hand, his face
flushed, and he ran for most of the circle with a silly smile. Chinese people hardly mention the
word "love", but in English, the word love is approachable, gentle and amiable without any
obscene meaning, and even has some holy connotations. Of course, if the verb "make" is added,
it will be completely different. Shanrang patted her face hard, comforting herself that food, sex
and nature are all part of human nature. As an unmarried young woman of advanced age, it is
normal for her to associate it with a certain verb. But when she returned to the library, she really
couldn't look her boyfriend in the face. Gu Beiwu glanced at her several times, and seeing that
she was staring at the "Statistics" for a long time with a blushing face without turning the page,
he couldn't help but whispered to her: "What have you counted about love?"
Shan Rang lowered his head, buried his head in the book, and said in a muffled voice while
holding back a laugh: "Ignore me, leave me alone."
A woman's heart is as deep as the sea, even a woman like Shanrang is no exception. Beiwu came
to the conclusion and concentrated on his books.
Unexpectedly, after mid-December, the school's attitude changed drastically, requiring all
departments and classes to seriously learn ballroom dancing and to participate in the New Year's
Day welcome dance organized by the International Students Office. Chinese students living in the
International Students Building were especially required to complete the task as soon as possible.
Gu Beiwu was asked by Shan Rang to be his dance partner. After practicing for a few days, the
two of them had a good understanding of each other and then went to teach other students
separately.
"In Western countries, tonight is a very special day." Shan Rang sat back in his seat and took a sip
of water. "It's equivalent to our Spring Festival, they call it Christmas. There is also a dance party
in the International Students Building tonight, and it probably hasn't ended yet. Should we go
and practice?"
Gu Beiwu was a little absent-minded and looked at his watch several times: "I have something to
go out for later, how about you ask Lao He and the others to give it a try?"
Shanrang blinked: "Well - if I dance with other men, would you mind?"
"No." Gu Beiwu came back to his senses, smiled and shook his head: "Do you think I am such a
conservative person?"
"If a foreign student asks me to dance, would you mind?"
"I don't mind. It shows that my Shanrang has a lot of feminine charm, and I am proud of it."
"My classmate from Africa asked me to dance?"
"I have the impression that foreign students from Africa are particularly good at music and
dancing. Whether they ask you to dance ballroom dance or disco, I have no objection. I will join
you if there is a chance and take some photos for you as a souvenir." Gu Beiwu raised his
eyebrows: "Secretary Zhou, you tested my gender discrimination, regional discrimination and
racial discrimination in the above three questions respectively. Are you going to grade it now?"
Without waiting for Zhou Shanrang to answer, Gu Beiwu asked with a smile: "Is there still a
problem of religious discrimination?"
Shan Rang tried to nod seriously and replied, "Old Gu, you have to know that men and women
with too different values cannot coexist peacefully."
"I agree with Kant's theory: the foundation of permanent world peace is the freedom and rights
of citizens. You have the freedom to dance with anyone, and I have no right to discriminate
against others or interfere with yours." Gu Beiwu stood up with a smile: "I have to pick up my
eldest brother tonight, I'm afraid I don't have time to continue communicating with you, shall we
continue tomorrow?"
Shan Rang was curious: "Your elder brother? From Yunnan?"
Gu Beiwu did not hide it from her and gave her a rough idea as he walked out. Shan Rang had
been thinking about this matter for a while, so she took the opportunity to say, "From a private
perspective, your elder brother is your family member, and you have the right not to let me
participate in your family affairs. But from a public perspective, this is the matter of the educated
youth in Yunnan, the matter of tens of millions of educated youth across the country, and also a
major national event. I have the freedom to care about and participate in this matter." She smiled
and wrapped her scarf, "But if you don't let me participate for my own good, you must be
wrong."
This sentence surprised Gu Beiwu.
"Why?"
"I'm not sixteen years old, Gu Beiwu. I know what I want to do, and I dare to face the worst
outcome." Shan Rang took his arm openly: "You must have confidence in me, and also have
confidence in yourself. I don't want to miss any important event in your life. At least not to be
kept in the dark and not even qualified to watch."
Gu Beiwu turned his head and looked down at her. Shan Rang tilted his head and smiled: "Don't
you have confidence in our dear Vice Premier Deng and our party and our country?"
Secretary Zhou is Secretary Zhou. Gu Beiwu was convinced.
——
The first time Zhou Shanrang saw the legendary Big Brother Gu, her eyes widened. The man in
front of her was nothing like the Big Brother described by Beiwu. According to legend, Gu
Dongwen fought his way out of Wanchun Street, swept through Jingpuzha (Zhabei District,
Jing'an Putuo), dominated Shanghai, climbed over the Sino-Soviet Friendship Building, and fired
artillery during the Chongqing armed struggle. In Shanrang's imagination, he was a tall, burly,
brave and courageous man with a vicissitude of life. However, the man sitting opposite her was a
tired but gentle middle-aged man. His gray hair had probably not been trimmed for a long time
and had grown to his shoulders, but his facial features were clear and his eyes were fiery. The
most outrageous thing was that he had two long dimples on his cheeks, which Gu Beiwu did not
have.
Seeing Shanrang staring at him intently, Gu Dongwen couldn't help but smile, revealing a row of
neat white teeth, looking innocent and gentle. Shanrang was used to Beiwu's beautiful face, and
couldn't help blushing.

Chapter 54
The charcoal copper pot on the table was emitting steam and the water was bubbling.
"You must be tired. Hurry up and eat." Several plates of mutton landed on the table. Shanrang
then realized that the person serving the meat looked familiar. He seemed to be a classmate from
Beijing.
Classmate Xiao Jin enthusiastically put down the Erguotou and four glasses: "Have a drink,
Brother Gu? If you drink too much, just sleep at my house. Don't be polite."
"No more drinking." Gu Beiwu said with a smile, "Let's finish eating early and send my brother to
rest. We'll have a good drink in a few days. Sorry to bother you today."
"Come on, Brother Gu, you are so polite because you look down on me. Drink less, and try it."
Xiao Jin stood up and poured wine for Gu Dongwen: "Big Brother Gu, right? I am Brother Gu's
classmate, you can just call me Xiao Jin. Brother Gu and I have nothing to say, you are Brother
Gu's elder brother, so you are also my elder brother."
Gu Dongwen covered the mouth of the cup and saluted: "Thank you, I really don't drink, I
appreciate your kindness."
Xiao Jin and Gu Dongwen practiced pushing hands for a few times, then turned to Shan Rang
enthusiastically: "Sister-in-law, Big Brother Gu doesn't drink, so you should drink less."
Shan Rang readily agreed. Gu Beiwu snatched her cup and poured most of it into his own: "How
can she drink so much? Okay, I'll drink a little with you."
A bottle of Erguotou was empty, Xiao Jin was busy cooking hot pot, pouring wine and adding
sesame sauce and chives, his sleeves were flying, and he was also busy talking, digging up the
family history of his family in this city since the Daoguang period, and then he pointed out the
country and made speeches, and all kinds of secret histories came out of his mouth. It felt like his
family didn't live in a hutong next to the overpass, but in the □□. Finally, he praised Gu Beiwu's
character.
"I have to say, sister-in-law, you have a very sharp eye. You have to keep a close eye on my
brother Gu. Look at my brother, he is so energetic and a great person. In the first half of the year,
in order to help me learn English, he went to Wangfujing at 2 a.m. to help us queue up to buy a
tape recorder, and he sold it to us for 250 yuan. Bah! Our brother Gu didn't ask for a penny of
hard work fee. He is very generous and there is nothing to complain about him."
Gu Dongwen smiled and looked at his younger brother, who was eating meat. Xiao Jin's father's
cooking skills were indeed good. The hand-cut mutton was tender and juicy. He really hadn't
eaten good mutton for more than ten years. Jingsheng must have had a good time in Xinjiang. I
don't know if he had the chance to eat Luobu mutton. Thinking of Jingsheng, he couldn't help but
think of her again. He really couldn't think of her. When he thought of her, his heart was twisted
and his head was aching. Gu Dongwen looked up at Shanrang and felt that this girl was a little
wronged by following Beiwu.
No one can resist the enthusiasm of Beijing people. During the meal of shabu-shabu, Gu Beiwu
and Gu Dongwen barely exchanged a few words. After the three of them had their fill, they said
goodbye. Xiao Jin carried Gu Dongwen's luggage and escorted them out of the alley before
bidding them farewell.
Gu Dongwen took two steps and asked, "Do you have cigarettes?"
The three men stopped. Gu Beiwu took out a cigarette and lit it for him, then stuffed the
remaining half pack of cigarettes into his military coat pocket.
Shanrang noticed that he had long fingers with prominent knuckles, and the way he held the
cigarette and smoked was very similar to Beiwu's, both very delicate and gentle.
"How much money did the tape recorder make?" Gu Dongwen suddenly spoke again with a
smile.
Gu Beiwu smiled and replied, "More than 2,000."
"You are all classmates, it is right to earn money for the upper family rather than the lower one."
Gu Dongwen nodded: "The capital is a big place with many opportunities. You still have three
years to earn enough to get married, don't let other girls throw themselves at you." Dad Gu
married into the family's family. Although Granny Gu insisted that the children all have his last
name, he cared about her all his life and forced his son to be a man who can support the family
since he was young.
Shan Rang clenched Bei Wu's fingers and pinched him hard: "Confess and you will be treated
leniently. Hurry up and teach me the secret. Didn't you buy the tape recorders for them at 200
yuan each? How can you make more than 2,000 yuan? Why do I feel like I have learned
economics in vain!"
Gu Beiwu curled his eyes and stroked the back of her hand. "We were drinking tea at Mr. Chen's
house before, and we met an old schoolmate, Senior Brother Zhang. He worked in the Ministry of
Foreign Trade. It happened that there were about a thousand students from our school and
Tsinghua University who wanted to buy a tape recorder, so I went to him to try it out.
Unexpectedly, he was very enthusiastic and directly introduced a person in charge of Wangfujing.
He gave a collective purchase price, which was 20 yuan cheaper per unit. In the end, the total
profit was more than 24,000 yuan, and we, the group of students who were responsible for
organization, collection, inspection and delivery, distributed the profits according to our work."
"Shanrang, you have to see clearly that Gu Beiwu is such a person. He wants to make money, and
he will not let go of a penny no matter how hard he tries. He has been like this since he was a
child. My mother asked him to go to the alley to do some work, and he couldn't get any errand
money, so he relied on his face and mouth to cheat some candy back. He saw a piece of rotten
iron at the door of the dormitory of the Shanghai Film Studio next door, and he picked it up to
sell it. As a result, he was arrested and detained in the police station for a day. This person is
always obsessed with money, and he is a scumbag. He will not have any great future. You can't
just look at his face. It's not too late to regret it now." Gu Dongwen exposed his younger brother's
past without mercy.
Gu Beiwu elbowed his eldest brother in a somewhat embarrassed manner: "You are the most
noble person in our family, okay? You regard money as dirt and wealth as floating clouds."
Shanrang smiled and held Beiwu's hand: "Thank you for reminding me, brother. I'd better look at
the face. People who are ugly may not be unmoney-seeking, and usually have no future. Wasn't
Premier Zhou also a handsome man? Brother, you are also good-looking."
Gu Dongwen glanced at Beiwu with a half-smile: "People from the same family stick together. He
will be good-looking only if I look good."
Shan Rang couldn't stop laughing. But then he heard Gu Dongwen sigh again: "Sometimes you
can't refuse dirt. Tomorrow, Lao Si, lend me 2,000 yuan. It will probably take two years to pay you
back."
Bei Wu didn't ask the reason and simply responded with a "OK".
"It's embarrassing to say that our first group of 40 or so people arrived at Kunming Station and
found that Lao Wang had lost more than 1,000 yuan in funds donated by educated youth from
various production teams. He was also a radical member of the Northward Movement faction,
and he had several quarrels with Lao Ding and other moderates. He would definitely not have
thrown it away or moved it on purpose."
"What should we do then?" Shan Rang asked nervously.
“What else can we do? Now that we’ve arrived in Kunming, everyone went to the station to
demand free rides to Beijing. Who could and who dared to agree? In the end, the situation got
out of hand, and more than half of the people lay down on the tracks. The railway line from
Guizhou to Kunming was interrupted for three days. Fortunately, times are different now. We
weren’t beaten or arrested. Officials from the state and province came and persuaded them to go
back to Banna. I’m not going back. What’s the point of going back?” Gu Dongwen took the last
two puffs of his cigarette and put it out in his hand. Shanrang shuddered when he saw this and
felt his palms were burned.
"They are so poor that they would not throw away a pair of shorts until they are torn into pieces.
What can they donate?" Gu Dongwen yawned. "Including the second batch coming, there will be
about 100 people in total. They still need food and shelter in Beijing. It will take another 7 or 9
years. No matter what, we must have an explanation before the Spring Festival."
——
After placing Gu Dongwen in the guesthouse, Gu Beiwu and Shanrang went back to school
together. The lights in the dormitory had been turned off long ago and the singing competition in
the water room was over. The two of them were not sleepy, so they simply took a walk along the
frozen Weiming Lake in the winter night.
"I'm sorry." Gu Beiwu apologized softly: "I didn't tell you about the tape recorder."
"Why do you want to say sorry?" Shanrang's hand moved playfully in his coat pocket. "Because
you hid some private money? But I heard it was from a classmate's wife, so I'll just forgive him."
Gu Beiwu smiled and said, "I have to admit my hypocrisy and vanity. I want to maintain the image
of an intellectual youth who is not so mercenary in front of you."
Shan Rang was surprised: "Old Gu, you have scolded our entire Economics Department. I didn't
expect you to be this kind of person. You should correct your attitude towards study. Now you are
the only one in the department who always misses classes. How many classes have you audited
in philosophy, history, Chinese, geography, etc.?"
Gu Beiwu stopped, looked at Boya Tower not far away, and sighed: "Shanrang, I was indeed
distressed this semester, distressed that I had developed a greater interest in philosophy.
Nietzsche said that true courage is the courage to change and surpass oneself. But I suddenly had
great doubts about whether I can find my place in this world. The ignorant are fearless. The more
classes I attend, the more I see my own ignorance. When I see my eldest brother, I - not just feel
guilty, not just sad, not just angry and sad. Shanrang, I am guilty. The fact that I have not
experienced the pain of him and Ximei is a sin in itself. Even if this is not something I deliberately
pursued, I do have a deep sense of guilt. I'm sorry." This apology was because he unconsciously
confided his almost ridiculous troubles to her, and he could only confide in her.
Shan Rang stopped smiling and leaned against him quietly. At this moment, she could fully
understand his feelings. Gu Dongwen, a man with innocent and gentle eyes, had experienced
more suffering than Bei Wu could imagine. He felt pain because he stayed in Shanghai and stayed
with his mother without experiencing the pain of his brother.
"Conscience means that we ourselves are aware of the existence of the inner court." Bei Wu said
softly: "Shanrang, I must go all out to help my brother. If anything goes wrong, I will be very sorry
for you——"
Shanrang stood on tiptoe and kissed him. Gu Beiwu froze, and Shanrang's arms tightly embraced
him.
"Beiwu, suffering is the real test of life. I dare to face the worst outcome." Shanrang stared at him
and said softly.
Bei Wu whispered between her lips: "I can doubt everything, but I will never doubt the love
between you and me."
——
The next morning, Gu Beiwu accompanied Gu Dongwen to the State Agricultural Reclamation
Administration and handed him a petition letter and a large package of blood-written appeals. Gu
Dongwen spoke passionately and took off his shirt on the spot. His body was covered with
wounds, and he was immediately invited to the reception room with kind words. He was given a
brand new military coat, a doctor came to check him, and a bunch of oral and external medicines
were given. His accommodation was also transferred from Haidian to the guesthouse of the
Administration, and he was given 200 yuan for living expenses.
Gu Beiwu was confident: "There is hope." He had prepared sufficient and detailed materials this
year. There were more than 1,000 cases of tying up and beating educated youth in the Yunnan
Corps alone, with nearly 1,900 educated youth victims, two of whom died. Nearly 300 cadres
molested and raped female educated youth, and as many as 430 female educated youth victims.
The policy, which was originally intended to solve the employment problem, became a political
movement, giving people with ulterior motives the opportunity to harm educated youth. Not
only the educated youth were harmed, but also 17 million educated youth families, and even
more so the people's hearts and the glorious image of our party.
Gu Dongwen praised the petition letter he wrote and felt that there was hope of getting a
resolution, so he asked him not to go get the two thousand kilograms of manure first. The two
brothers talked in the guesthouse for a whole night.
Two days later, Lao Ding from Yunnan, who was ill, also rushed to Beijing with more than 20
people to meet Gu Dongwen, and the General Administration was busy again. Gu Beiwu
participated in their discussion throughout. In the end, the petition group boldly put forward a
request: they must meet with national leaders, members of the Standing Committee, vice
premiers and above.

Chapter 55
It was New Year's Day in a blink of an eye. It snowed heavily, and the sky was covered in white.
Beiwu Heshan accompanied Gu Dongwen to visit the Summer Palace and took a lot of photos.
When they returned to the campus in the evening, Gu Dongwen was surprised when he passed
the dining hall: "Is this the dining hall? There are no tables or chairs?"
Beiwu smiled: "At the beginning of the school year, everyone was given a small stool to eat on,
but our department eats in the cafeteria on campus, so there are tables and chairs."
Gu Dongwen looked at the groups of college students who were sitting on small stools with their
bowls and jars in their hands to eat, and he also smiled: "This place is good. If you want to eat
here, I can't sit here because I can't get any sunlight."
Bei Wu pointed to a poplar tree with icicles hanging on it and said quietly: "Nothing in the world
is difficult for one who sets his mind to it. There is nothing that cannot be beaten by brother."
After saying that, he was kicked in the butt by Gu Dongwen.
Shan Rang laughed, as if she was back in her childhood, when her brothers were always fighting
like this, but she could never catch up with them no matter how hard she tried. It was too
infuriating not to be led to play.
The three of them chatted and laughed as they walked out of the southwest gate, crossed the
road and entered the Changzheng Canteen. The canteen was small and crowded, and the long
blackboard on the wall was filled with dishes. Gu Dongwen looked through them carefully and
ordered braised liver tips, fried kidneys, fish-flavored pork shreds, and spicy soup with fried
pancakes.
"Did you bring enough money?" Gu Dongwen asked, "Can this be called a canteen? It's too
expensive. I really can't afford to live in the capital."
Beiwu added another stir-fried cabbage: "Northern vegetables are large in quantity, one plate is
equivalent to three of ours. If the money is really not enough, I will keep you here to wash dishes,
and don't go back to Jinghong."
"Okay, I'll eat here every day, and let my brother help me wash." Gu Dongwen smiled and
touched the back of Beiwu's head kindly: "Brother, do you understand?"
"Okay, you're the boss, you have the final say." Bei Wu accepted his fate helplessly.
Shanrang poured a glass of boiled water, and Beiwu took it and used it to heat the bowls and
chopsticks of the three people. There were also students from Peking University at the tables
next to them, and people kept coming to greet them, and some classmates asked Beiwu to hand
in the manuscript quickly.
"You write articles?" Gu Dongwen looked his brother up and down. "Nowadays, writing doesn't
make money. Are you still willing to spend time on it?"
Gu Beiwu, who was used to being teased by his elder brother, explained with a smile: "This
semester our department has started a journal, and everyone has to write articles. I just made up
the numbers. Shanrang was the main force, and he expressed many insightful views."
Gu Dongwen suddenly realized: "If you don't have money to support someone, then don't just
write the least number of words. Even if you pretend, you should pretend to be an active
participant."
Shanrang chuckled: "Zhi Beiwu, the eldest brother. He didn't write a single word - he was in
charge of the illustrations."
Gu Beiwu said calmly: "Art words are also words."
"Yes, yes, it's also a word."
Beiwu smiled slightly and approached her and said softly, "Fashionable English words are also
words. It's OK as long as people like them, right?"
Shanrang's ears slowly turned red, and she glared at Beiwu, but she couldn't hide her smile.
Beiwu couldn't help but smile and stretched out his hand to touch her earlobe, teasing her: "Why
are they so red? Don't tell me you have frostbite. Rub them quickly."
Shanrang knocked his hand with a chopstick and said, "I have to ask my boyfriend to help me rub
it."
Gu Dongwen tutted his tongue twice: "I'm full before I even start eating. I'm afraid I'll vomit if I
eat any more." He stood up and walked to the blackboard to continue pondering the menu. He
thought that college students in the capital were already using their hands when they were in
love, and they were not shy about flirting. It was obvious that the messy ten years had indeed
passed. He turned his head slightly and saw the two people leaning against each other, smiling
and talking. He was worried that Beiwu didn't know when he would be able to talk. The eldest
brother is like a father. Shouldn't he teach him some scientific knowledge? There is a sequence in
learning and a specialization in skills.
The four dishes and one soup were indeed served in large plates and bowls, filling the entire
table. Gu Dongwen ate more politely than Gu Beiwu, commenting on the food as he ate. Shan
Rang was surprised: "I heard that Shanghai men are very good at cooking, and it seems to be
true."
Beiwu said: "Not all of them. I can't cook, but I can take you to eat everywhere. I can tell whether
it tastes good or not."
Gu Dongwen said sadly: "I don't know how to do it either."
He tapped the plate of braised liver with his chopsticks: "Susu is very good at cooking - she is
Jingsheng's mother."
Beiwu and Shanrang both fell silent, not knowing where to start.
"Susu's ancestors were imperial chefs. Her father was a famous chef in Yangzhou. He was forced
by the Japanese to cook for several months but survived. Later, he became a traitor." Gu
Dongwen sighed and held the glass with his hand. "She was only seventeen years old and didn't
know anything. She took the initiative to break away from her father-daughter relationship and
signed up to go to Yunnan."
Beiwu poured him some hot water: "Can't you find her anymore? Jingsheng is missing his mother
very much."
Gu Dongwen narrowed his eyes. "It's no use thinking about it. Her father was hanged in a fight,
and her mother dragged her brother into the river. Now she is gone too. The family is extinct.
Forget it. Let's not talk about this for the New Year. Eat more."
Shanrang sighed, this kind of thing was not uncommon, and every time she heard about it, she
would feel the "guilt" that Beiwu had mentioned that night. She had the privilege of growing up
in peace without realizing it, and her kindness and sympathy for others were not enough to offset
this guilt.
Beiwu raised the boiled water in his glass: "Jingsheng is here. He is a very smart and capable
child. My second sister praised him highly on the phone, saying that my eldest brother and sister-
in-law taught him well. You have to take good care of him. New Year, new atmosphere. Brother,
do you want a bottle of wine and let's have a drink?"
Gu Dongwen shook his head: "I've given up drinking. Drinking makes things worse." He stared at
the water in the glass, forgetting what he had just said about not talking about these things
during the New Year, and recalled to himself: "If I hadn't drunk too much, I would have
accompanied her to the toilet that night, and she would definitely not have been in trouble. It
takes 465 meters to walk from our dormitory to the toilet, passing three broken thatched houses,
crossing the playground, and walking on a muddy road. There were no street lights, it was pitch
black, and there was no light in the toilet either. She was timid, so every time I would accompany
her with a flashlight."
The cafeteria was noisy, with people squeezing in and out from behind them from time to time,
and waiters banging away at the table. But Shanrang still felt a chill on the back of his neck, and
his heart was in a knot.
Gu Dongwen's brows were twisted into the shape of a "chuan" character. "It started to rain
heavily at 10 o'clock that night. Jingsheng and I went to look for her at 10:30. There was only a
pair of her cloth shoes by the toilet. We searched all the seventh and eighth battalions but
couldn't find her. The leader of the branch farm said that she might have fled back to her
hometown without permission, so I had a fight with him. Do you think she was looking for a
fight? Her husband and son were both there. She disappeared in the middle of the night, her
shoes fell off, and she fled back to her hometown? Later, we reported it to the headquarters, and
the higher-ups took it very seriously. On the third day, a joint task force came and sent police
dogs. Missing person notices were posted everywhere in the state. Sixteen battalions and 20,000
people from Dongfeng Farm searched the mountains every day, searched along the Damenglong
River, and did not let go of the Hongbao Reservoir. A group of brothers and sisters from the Ai Ni
and Miao ethnic groups were very enthusiastic and helped us salvage from the reservoir several
times. We even salvaged some hair."
Bei Wu held his breath. He dared not even think about how desperate his elder brother must be,
as so many people had been looking for him for years without finding him. He could not help but
look at Shan Rang. When he thought about Shan Rang disappearing suddenly one day, his heart
seemed to be tightly grasped by a pair of invisible hands. Shan Rang held his hand tightly, leaned
gently on his shoulder, and tears fell down.
"Then we started an internal investigation. Everyone was worried, and even I was suspected." Gu
Dongwen smiled bitterly, "Before, there was a Miao girl who liked me and came to see me a few
times. The task force suspected that I was crying wolf and was suspected of murder. Jingsheng
was still young, so his testimony didn't count. I was locked up in a thatched house for
interrogation, starved for three days, and then beaten a few times. Tsk, I screamed louder than
them. After six or seven days of detention, they couldn't find any physical evidence, so they had
to let me go, and they also followed me for half a month."
Bei Wu was so angry that he clenched his fists, and veins on his forehead popped out.
"I don't blame them." Gu Dongwen patted his hands: "It means that the higher-ups take it
seriously. If they catch me, the real murderer might be careless and reveal his tracks. If we can
find her, my hardship won't matter."
Shanrang couldn't help crying again.
"Jingsheng and I went to the Burmese border, fearing that she would be captured by the
Burmese Communist Party." Gu Dongwen smiled and said, "If she is still here, she will definitely
not let me out if I make a fuss about returning to the city this time, but I have to make a fuss. She
has always wanted to move her household registration back to Yangzhou. This silly girl, where
does she have a home? All her household registration books are gone. It's good this way. She can
only take Jingsheng back to Wanchun Street with me. Fourth brother, they will settle down in
Wanchun Street. Do you have any objection?"
Bei Wu shook his head: "What are you talking about, brother? Are you confused? Wanchun
Street was originally your home."
Gu Dongwen pursed his lips, his two dimples were sweet: "She refused to get a marriage
certificate with me in Jinghong. If she can go back to Shanghai, she will have nothing to say."
Beiwu was surprised: "Brother, you are not married?"
Gu Dongwen was disappointed: "She would never give up even if she died. I ran away twice out
of anger, but she still wouldn't give in."
Shanrang hesitated for a moment and asked softly, "Is it because of Jingsheng—that thing?"
Gu Dongwen looked at Shanrang, his gentle eyes filled with sorrow: "It was obviously the beast
who was wrong, why was she the one being scolded and bullied? She is beautiful and well-
dressed, so she deserves to suffer? She is such a good woman, but just because she was abused,
she will never be able to hold her head up again. Shanrang, what kind of world is this? The
people in the company and the camp are all educated youth, who have received a few years of
education, but why are they not as knowledgeable as the locals? She is so stupid, she won't even
let herself go."
Shan Rang felt that the innocent and gentle world in his eyes was probably only for that one
person.
——
Gu Dongwen didn't drink in the end. When he arrived at the guesthouse, he found that the
educated youth were all smiling. It turned out that the State Agricultural Reclamation
Administration issued Document No. 1 today, recognizing the legality of the petition group of the
educated youth in Yunnan, and arranged for an interview with the new Standing Committee
member, Vice Premier Wang, on the 10th. But only ten people can be received. This is really a
new year with a new atmosphere.
"Old Gu, you must participate." Old Ding held Gu Dongwen's hand: "But don't be too radical. This
is the vice premier. The country has heard our voice and values us. We must have a good talk."
Gu Dongwen smiled and nodded: "Don't I look moderate? What's radical about me?"
Everyone shook their heads silently. You have a temper that would flip the table when
negotiating with the state and province. Others would slit their wrists or lie on the railway tracks
and go on hunger strike when they get excited, but when you get excited, you want others to
have their wrists slit or lie on the railway tracks...
Beiwu and Shanrang returned to the campus, holding hands and walking in silence. Scar
literature has been popular in the past two years, and they don't like to read it. First, the
narratives are mostly repetitive, and second, the writing is indeed lacking. But half of such a
woman's life has become a few words from Gu Dongwen's mouth, so close to them, yet so far
away, weighing on their hearts, so light, yet so heavy.
They said goodbye in front of the International Students Building. Beiwu looked at Shanrang's
back and suddenly rushed over to her and hugged her, which scared Shanrang.
"What's wrong?"
Bei Wu leaned on her shoulder and whispered, "What if, I mean what if——"
"I won't." Shan Rang held his hand tightly: "Don't worry, I'll just think of it as a dog bite."
Bei Wu was silent for a moment: "If anything happens, please don't blame yourself. I will be here,
always."
Several overseas students returned home at night and whistled when they saw them, shouting:
"Come on, buddies!" "Long live love!"
Shan Rang bit his lip, his throat felt a little dry and itchy: "Ahem, I have a suggestion."
"You say." Bei Wu relaxed a little, but hugged her tighter.
"Today is January 1, 1979, and I have a New Year's wish." Shanrang looked nervously at the lights
in the building.
"I would like to hear the details, and I will go through fire and water without hesitation."
Shanrang blinked: "There's no need to go through fire and water, a double bed will do." She
quickly pulled Beiwu's arms away and ran into the building. Her heart was about to jump out of
her chest. She had already begun to blame herself. Was she too unrestrained? What would he
think of her? But she had an inexplicable confidence in him, which was probably born from his
hug and kiss. She might have been stimulated by Jingsheng's mother's incident. She thought that
if, if she was bitten by a dog before she had made any substantial progress with Beiwu, it would
be a bit disadvantageous. According to what she learned from medical journals, it would
definitely be more painful physically. She was also worried that she had spoken too softly and too
quickly just now, and he didn't even hear it clearly or didn't hear it at all. Thinking of this,
Shanrang couldn't help but feel uneasy and couldn't help but walk to the window to look down.
"ah!"
My roommate Minako came over curiously: "What? Wow! Wow! Shanrang, you proposed to
him???"
Shanrang: “???!!!”
There was a figure standing in the snow downstairs. Next to him on the snow were three English
letters that were bigger than him. He stood next to the letters, like an exclamation mark.
"I DO"!
Beiwu waved vigorously towards the lighted window where his beloved girl was.

Chapter 56
In the blink of an eye, the educated youth from Yunnan will embark on the journey back to
Yunnan. Before leaving, the two brothers Gu Beiwu and Gu Dongwen hosted three tables at Xiao
Jin's home to eat mutton hotpot.
The water was boiling. Xiao Jin kept calling out for more, but no one picked up their chopsticks.
Looking around, everyone at the tables looked dejected, so he advised, "Brothers, Brother Gu,
Big Brother Gu, people are made of iron and steel. If you skip a meal, you'll be hungry. No matter
how bad things are, you still have to live, right? Hurry up and eat more." He filled a glass of
Erguotou for Gu Dongwen, "Big Brother Gu, you met Vice Premier Wang yesterday, and I met you
today. So, I'll just round it up and consider it as me meeting the Vice Premier as well. What a
great thing. Come on, let's have a drink together, brothers."
Gu Dongwen smiled and shook his head: "You really don't drink. Come, sit down too, and let's eat
meat together. Let's eat, let's eat. We'll never be able to eat such good mutton when we return to
Yunnan." Xiao Jin happily dragged a stool and sat next to him.
A young man at the next table sighed, "I can't eat! I told you not to be impulsive, Lao Gu. We
were talking quite well, why did you suddenly jump out and yell at me?"
Another male educated youth immediately retorted: "I think Lao Gu did a good job. He talked for
so long and even invited us to watch a movie, but did he promise us any practical questions? Can
we go back? How will we get our jobs? Will there be a reckoning later? He didn't say anything
about these, just a few words of concern, and you're satisfied? Then why did you cry when you
were scolded in the beginning?"
"I—that's the old general. He's really vicious when he scolds people. Weren't you also confused
at the time? But wasn't the atmosphere quite good afterwards? He even called a doctor to check
on Old Ding and Old Gu."
Someone immediately objected: "Isn't this called hitting with a stick and giving a candy? Then he
said that Banna is a good place and asked us to build it well. Isn't this telling us that we must stay
in Banna until we die? He also said that he would invest a lot of money and even foreign
exchange could be used. Can this make us leave? If 60,000 of us leave, who will build it? You will
tap the rubber? You will open up the fields? I am useless. I can only mutter in my heart, "Old Gu
is brave. The old consultant has come out. Isn't he asking for all of us?"
"But the Vice Premier has already said that he will forward our letter to the Chairman, Vice
Chairman Deng, and Marshal Ye."
"And then?" Gu Dongwen tapped the copper pot with his chopsticks. The whole place fell silent.
"We have done nothing wrong to the country, and we have done nothing wrong to anyone," Gu
Dongwen said in a deep voice.
"Yes! That's it!"
"Sorry, I do not have it!"
"I'm so sorry to my mom!"
Gu Beiwu stood up and said, "Everyone, you may not know that starting from the 6th, Ye and
Zhou from Banna organized more than 200 people to start a hunger strike. Tens of thousands of
parents of educated youth in Chengdu took to the streets to show their support and demanded
that the educated youth be released home. The 8th was the third anniversary of Premier Zhou's
death. The educated youth went on hunger strike while mourning the Premier. The country
attaches great importance to the educated youth issue. The State Council's Educated Youth Office
has issued a death order that no educated youth should be allowed to die. I believe that your
petition this time will get a satisfactory response."
Those present had no idea that so much had happened in just a few days. They could not help
but become even more excited, and several of them could not help but pick up their chopsticks
after being so excited.
Gu Beiwu looked around and said, "Last year, General Xu Shiyou was transferred from the
Guangzhou Military Region to the commander-in-chief of the Guangxi Border Defense Force, and
General Yang, the commander of the Wuhan Military Region, was transferred to the commander
of the Kunming Military Region. General Yang served as our military advisor during the Vietnam
War against France. Add to that what my brother said about the border frictions and the
international news reports about Vietnam's troop deployment and preparations for war, and I'm
sure that this year the country will definitely take action to teach the Vietnamese devils a lesson."
When these words were spoken, the educated youth were furious.
"Are we really going to fight?"
"Nonsense, the Air Force is flying in the sky every day, can't you hear it?"
"Fuck these ungrateful Vietnamese bastards!"
"Fight! Be tough!"
Gu Beiwu smiled and said, "In the face of external enemies, we must first stabilize the internal
situation. Now we have to fight Vietnam in the southwest, and the Soviet Union and Mongolia
are eyeing us covetously in the north. Foreign media also reported that our South China Sea Fleet
is also preparing for war. If the 60,000 educated youth rioted on the Yunnan border, that would
be the worst thing. I believe that Vice Chairman Deng would never allow such a thing to happen.
After all, this is just a contradiction among the people, and appeasement is the best policy. So
yesterday's meeting was just a signal, no matter what you say or do, it will not affect the overall
situation."
Old Ding breathed a sigh of relief and gave a thumbs up: "Old Gu, your brother is a top student
from Peking University after all. What he said makes a lot of sense. Don't mind what Xiao Wang
says about you. You are too brave. Who dares to rush up and directly call the vice premier's name
like you?"
Xiao Jin was dumbfounded, his eyes shining: "Big Brother Gu! Did you really shout - shouted the
Vice Premier's name? Wang Wang Wang* Zhen?" He twisted the last word and spoke it as lightly
as possible.
Gu Dongwen glanced at Lao Ding and said, "Do we still need to make class distinctions among the
proletariat? I think that I, a Shanghai educated youth, am equal to him, the vice premier.
Everyone has a name, and I dare to call the chairman or vice chairman by name even if I see him.
Is it illegal to call names?"
Old Ding shook his head and sighed, "Old Gu, you are really - no wonder the old general was so
angry that he cursed in Hunan dialect. You are really a stupid boy."
Xiao Jin stood up and helped Gu Dongwen to pick up the mutton. After a few seconds, he was
pulled back onto the stool by Gu Dongwen.
"I have hands and feet, what are you doing? Don't forget that we are equal. Just eat yourself and
don't serve me. I can't stand it." Gu Dongwen scolded him with a smile.
"Hey! Brother! You are absolutely right. You are equal to the vice premier, I am equal to you, and
if we round it off, I am also equal to the vice premier." Xiao Jin's face was beaming, and he
scooped out a big piece of mutton for himself with great energy. While eating, he suddenly
started crying.
The people at the three tables looked at each other.
Xiao Jin covered his face with one hand and waved the other hand: "Don't bother with me, I'm
sorry to my brother, I embarrassed him, didn't I? I was just too excited. My big brother Gu is
really awesome!"
The educated youth burst into laughter, and as they laughed, many of them started to cry, and
gradually their tears turned into howling. Gu Beiwu's eyes were red. They had fought for so many
years, and they came with the determination to fight to the death. No one could have imagined
that the dawn would come overnight, and the bitterness and pain would eventually become a
thing of the past.
Only Gu Dongwen had a smile in his eyes and picked up his chopsticks quickly.
——
On January 15, the petition group of educated youth who had just arrived in Kunming heard the
"15-point speech" delivered by Secretary An of the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee. One
important point was that "educated youth who do not want to stay can go back." Lao Ding and
his friends burst into tears and quickly arranged to resume work. They also telegraphed Vice
Premier Wang to apologize for the educated youth's extreme behavior of hunger strike and
immediately disbanded the strike preparation group.
When Gu Dongwen returned to Jinghong in late January, the "Six National Regulations" of the
State Council's Youth League Office had already been issued. The offices of the 16 production
teams of Dongfeng Farm were crowded with tens of thousands of people rushing to complete the
procedures to transfer their household registration and return to the city.
"Lao Gu! Are you back? You've worked so hard!" The educated youths he met on the road were
extremely excited and urged him to hurry up and line up to go through the formalities. Along the
way, people sang loudly: "Goodbye, goodbye, three taels of white radish every day, goodbye,
goodbye, at most six taels of meat a year, goodbye, goodbye, not enough for three taels of oil
throughout the year, mom, we are going home, I want to go home for the New Year——"
Gu Dongwen smiled and shook his head. The company dormitory was indeed empty. The 27th
was New Year's Eve, and everyone was looking forward to returning to the city to celebrate the
New Year. He was not in a hurry. First, the overall situation had been decided, and returning to
the city was inevitable, just a matter of time. Second, Su Susheng was missing and her body was
not found. Her household registration was still in the company and had not been cancelled. He
had to find a way to move her and Jingsheng's household registration back with him. Third, if it
was really like Beiwu's analysis, and there was a fight on the border, he had been a militiaman
after all, and he was proficient in anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft fire bags. He was
also good at grappling and fighting, and killing a few Vietnamese would be a relief.
As soon as he entered the house, Gu Dongwen narrowed his eyes. The house was in a mess,
obviously it had been turned over and smashed. The pots and pans were smashed, the sheets
and mats were cut up, and the animal and insect specimens he collected and made were
scattered all over the floor. Many of the specimens were obviously crushed by someone. He
stood quietly for a while, bent down, picked up a chopstick, and gently walked out the door.
As soon as I went out, the sound of wind brought by the heavy object passing through the air
behind me came whistling.
Gu Dongwen tilted his head, and the wooden stick hit his right shoulder heavily. He didn't say a
word, and kicked his right leg backwards suddenly by feeling. The opponent groaned, his knee
was kicked in great pain, and he almost fell to the ground. The next stick lost its balance and
swept Gu Dongwen's lower back. It had no power, and Gu Dongwen grabbed it with his
backhand, and the wooden stick flew out.
The man made up his mind and rushed forward, tightly wrapping his arms around Gu Dongwen's
neck, trying to strangle him to death.
Gu Dongwen endured the severe pain in his right shoulder, grabbed his arm with his left hand,
raised his right arm, twisted his wrist, and the chopsticks in his hand broke into two with a pop.
The man's hand loosened, and he fell to the ground, covering his face and screaming in pain,
blood gushing out. Gu Dongwen held onto the door frame, gasped for a few breaths, his throat
ached, and his right shoulder bone might be broken.
Someone not far away came over after hearing the noise.
Gu Dongwen approached the man and without warning pulled out the half of the chopstick that
was sticking out of his finger. With a heart-wrenching howl, a round object fell from the chopstick
head, rolled a few times, and was covered with mud, which frightened the two educated youths
who had just approached and almost peed themselves to death.
"No, no, no, Lao Gu! Don't be impulsive! If you kill someone, you must pay with your life!" The
male educated youth who were a little braver did not dare to step forward and could only
dissuade him loudly.
Gu Dongwen had already picked up the man, and put half of the bloody chopstick against his left
eye: "Where's Su Su? You did it, didn't you?"
The man curled up and trembled, covering the bloody hole on his face with one hand, and
laughed: "Gu Dongwen, do you feel good sleeping with the slut I played with?"
Gu Dongwen sullenly punched him in the nose, blood spraying all over his head and face. The
educated youth next to him screamed, and more people from the playground ran over while
shouting.
"Hahahaha." The man spat out two teeth and spoke in a very light voice, like a hissing of a
poisonous tongue: "You want to find her? Dream on!" After saying that, he laughed viciously and
complacently.
"Where's the person?!" Gu Dongwen's forehead was bulging with veins. He grabbed his neck
with one hand and slapped him several times with both hands: "Where's the person! Where's
the person! Speak!"
"You're a fucking psychopath. I slept with her and she said she didn't want to, but she slept with
me anyway. If she really didn't want to, why didn't she jump into the river or hang herself?" The
man's head was swung back and forth after being hit, but he laughed: "Do you know how soft
and tight that bitch is, and how slutty she is when she screams and cries? Hahahaha."
Gu Dongwen knelt on his chest with one knee, narrowed his eyes, and the hand that was
pinching his neck suddenly tightened, and the palm of his hand turned white.
The man said hoarsely with a cough and a hoarse voice: "I have already said that I am willing to
marry her, and she is pregnant with my child. You still want to sue me? Make me go to jail?!
Where is my son? Where is my son? Give my son back to me!"
It took more than a dozen educated youths working together to pull Gu Dongwen away. The man
was completely disfigured. There was only a bloody hole on his face, bloodshot eyes, and a circle
of marks on his neck. He was lying on the ground gasping for breath.
"I'm going to sue him, he wants to kill me! He blinded me, you all saw it!" Jiang Hongbin raised
his hand and pointed at Gu Dongwen: "Now it's your turn to go to jail." He covered his eyes and
raised his head to ask: "Where are my eyeballs? Who saw my eyeballs?"
Gu Dongwen was hugged tightly by five or six male educated youths, and gradually calmed down:
"He killed Su Su, he must have hidden her body."
The crowd was in an uproar, and a group of armed soldiers were getting closer and closer.

Chapter 57
Gu Dongwen was locked up in an empty thatched house next to the camp clinic, with four armed
PLA soldiers guarding him. At night, someone brought him food: a bowl of vegetable porridge,
two glutinous rice cakes, a quilt, and some hygiene products.
After a few more days, many people came to deliver food and daily necessities every day. Bad
news also came from Banna one after another. He was extremely anxious, but he did not show it
on his face.
Jiang Hongbin behaved well in prison, made two meritorious services, and received three
commutations of sentence. He was released from prison at the end of last year. On the day of
Shu Su's disappearance in April of the previous year, according to the archives, he was indeed still
serving his sentence in Jinghong Prison. Puwen Town is 70 kilometers away from Ganlanba. In
theory, he did not have the time and conditions to commit the crime.
He was in charge of raising pigs in prison, and after being released from prison, he was arranged
by the farm to raise pigs in Pojiao Village. The joint task force dispatched more than 300 people,
dug deep inside and outside the pig pen, turned it upside down, but did not find any clues related
to Shu Su.
The testimony at the scene of the conflict was very unfavorable to Gu Dongwen. The witnesses all
confirmed that Jiang Hongbin came to look for his son, and was beaten by Gu Dongwen without
any ability to fight back. Jiang Hongbin is already going through the disability assessment process,
and it is certain that he is seriously injured.
According to in-depth investigations, Jiang Hongbin was subjected to violence by other criminals
shortly after he was imprisoned because of his identity as a former instructor and his crimes. He
was injured in key parts of his body during the conflict and became a "eunuch", no longer able to
have children. This also proves why he came to look for his son.
Gu Dongwen was even more certain that he was the one who did it. But there was no point in
being anxious, because the Chinese New Year was coming up in a blink of an eye.
The next afternoon, Lao Ding, who helped him to inquire about information every day, came to
visit him accompanied by Lao Lin, a cadre from the Agricultural Reclamation Bureau.
"You!" Old Ding said with red eyes and sobs, "I've told you so many times! Don't be radical or
impulsive! Old Gu, why don't you listen? We can go back now, and you still——"
Gu Dongwen sat cross-legged on the ground and looked up at them: "A real man should do what
he should do and should not do what he should not do. Where is that beast?"
Lao Lin sighed, "He's still in hospital in Banna. Yesterday the doctor said his right eye is definitely
incurable and is a serious injury. His eyeball was crushed to pieces by someone, so it's useless to
pick it up. The rest is fine, not even a minor injury. That bastard kept saying he was here to get his
son back, but you beat him so badly for no reason. We think he just wants you to go to jail. Don't
worry, the farm and the bureau attach great importance to the clues you mentioned. Captain
Ling, who was in charge of Shu Su's disappearance case, took people to the hospital the next day
to understand the situation."
Gu Dongwen had been in prison for these days and had already estimated the worst and best
outcomes. He was not surprised when he heard this: "Let me make a few calls and tell my family.
Don't worry, I won't run away."
Lao Ding sighed. "Still running? Where can you run to?"
Gu Dongwen first called the Wanchun Street neighborhood committee and asked them to tell the
Gu family that he had to go through the formalities and would not be back for at least a few
months, so that they could spend the New Year with peace of mind. The operator of the
neighborhood committee's public telephone missed the call to inform Gu Beiwu last time, and
got scolded. This time, as soon as he hung up the phone, he ran out: "Gu's mother - Gu's mother
- Jinghong, Yunnan is calling!"
Another call was made to Gu Beiwu's dormitory, and the person said directly: "The get out of
class hasn't ended yet, please leave a message."
The last call was made to Xinjiang. Coincidentally, Ximei was in the office next door, and the
principal came as soon as he called her.
Gu Ximei was surprised and happy: "Brother! I was really scared to death. I just received a letter
from Beiwu. You are really - you are - in Beijing! No matter what, it's good to be able to go back.
Can you rush back to celebrate the New Year? Oh - after the New Year, that's fine. Jingsheng is
still staying here to study with me? You may not be able to come back until May? It's okay, then
let him take Sinan back to Shanghai during the summer vacation. Jingsheng? You and sister-in-law
taught him very well. He is good at everything, has excellent grades, is hardworking, and even
ranked first in the grade this time. Want Jingsheng to answer the phone? Okay, it's okay, we will
have winter vacation tomorrow, I'll go say hello, you wait."
Jingsheng was lying on the desk, listening to Shen Qingping excitedly talking about the plan to set
off firecrackers and fireworks. When he heard Ximei say that Gu Dongwen called, he ran to the
principal's office without even putting on his hat or scarf.
"Jingsheng, slow down!" Ximei was startled and quickly chased after him.
Jingsheng ran faster and faster, the cold wind mixed with broken snow choked his throat, and a
bloody taste of rust surged up. He closed his mouth tightly and swallowed back his heart that was
about to jump out.
Gu Dongwen must have found his mother. She must still be alive. She will not die. Even if she was
bullied or injured, it doesn't matter. As long as she is alive, he can still see her. If anyone dares to
gossip about her behind her back, he will cut their mouths with a rubber knife. He will never lose
his temper with her again, and he will not mind her nagging. He can cook for her every day. It's
okay for her to dance with Gu Dongwen every day. He will never go against them again, and he
will not deliberately run into the woods so that they can't find him. He has a lot to say to her.
The principal's office was in front of him. Jingsheng's mind was in a mess, but his steps suddenly
slowed down, slower and slower, and finally stopped in front of the row of houses, his palms
were full of sweat. What if? He shook his head, but the terrible idea inevitably entered his mind,
and goose bumps immediately appeared on his back and arms. He gasped and held the brick
wall. The two steps under his feet seemed to be taller than the towering parashorea chinensis.
He raised his legs, but his legs were soft, and the toe of his shoe rubbed against the bricks weakly.
Endless fear enveloped him, and he almost wanted to turn around and run away immediately. He
didn't want to know anymore, and no news was better.
"What's wrong? Jingsheng, are you okay?" Ximei hurriedly chased after him.
"I-I'd better go back to the classroom." Jingsheng turned around with great effort and lowered his
head: "It's not over yet. He should tell you what he wants."
Ximei saw the crystal snow beads hanging on his long eyelashes and trembling. Thinking of his
mother, her heart sank. She was so happy just now that she didn't even think about this matter.
Adults are much more realistic than children. How could such a living person who has been
missing for almost three years come back alive? Ximei gently patted Jingsheng's arm and said,
"Let's go. We are here now."
Jingsheng forced back his tears, hesitated for a moment, and followed Ximei into the office. He
gently picked up the microphone, and his numb hands shook violently, and the microphone fell
back onto the desk with a "bang". Principal Chen, who was pacing beside him with a teacup in his
hand, smiled and said, "Don't panic, your father can't run away. Talk slowly, don't be anxious."
Jingsheng held the microphone firmly and said "Hello" softly.
"Jingsheng?"
"Um."
"There's something I want to tell you."
"Did you find my mother?"
"Jingsheng," Gu Dongwen pressed his fist hard against his forehead, "Yes, I found it. I'm sorry,
Jingsheng, it's my fault."
Jingsheng's hands began to tremble, and he didn't make any sound for a long time. Ximei gently
hugged his shoulders.
Jingsheng shook off her hand, slowly squatted down, covered his face, and asked in a muffled
voice: "She's dead? Is she?" If she was still alive, how could she not talk to him? Although he
asked this, he still hoped that Gu Dongwen would say that she was injured, that she was in the
hospital or that she was lying at home to rest...
"yes."
"died?"
"Yes."
"Really dead?"
"real."
Jingsheng let out a suppressed whine from his throat, and Ximei turned away reluctantly.
Principal Chen led Director Liang and several other teachers out of the office silently, and gently
closed the door for them.
After a long while, Jingsheng wiped his face and asked through gritted teeth: "Who killed him?
Who?"
"A local soldier who raised pigs. Captain Ling of the special task force caught him, and I blinded
one of his eyes."
Jingsheng was silent for a moment, then choked up again: "She-how did she die?"
"That man came to steal something and bumped into your mother at the toilet. He knocked her
unconscious with a stick. He was afraid that she would report him, so he carried her back. When
he found that she was dead, he buried her under the pigsty." Gu Dongwen closed his eyes: "The
body has been cremated and scattered in the Lancang River."
Jingsheng was silent for a long time, then suddenly asked him, "What about you? Will you be
okay if you blind him?"
"It's fine now. If there is any problem, you will just go to jail for a few years." Gu Dongwen said
softly, "Anyway, you little bastard don't want to follow me, so just stay in Xinjiang. Your mother
will definitely feel more at ease if you follow your aunt. You will always cause trouble if you follow
me."
"I want to go back to Jinghong."
"Why did you come back? The educated youth have all returned to the city, and there's no one
here when you come back." Gu Dongwen sighed, "Jingsheng, your mother has always said that
she wants to take you back, to let you go to school in the city, to let you go to college, and to
become a promising man. Do you remember?"
"I don't remember!" Jingsheng shouted angrily, "She doesn't keep her word! She lies all the time!
She always says she didn't have any complaints when she was scolded, she says she didn't have
any stomachache when she had one, she lets you go when she loves you so much - she said she
would watch me grow up - she doesn't keep her word! I'm going to go back and scold her!"
Ximei squatted beside him and covered her mouth, tears could not stop. Gu Dongwen said softly:
"Okay, I will talk to her for you."
"How could she be so stupid! Why didn't she call me? I would definitely accompany her to the
toilet! I was just saying that. I didn't really find her annoying or the toilet smelly. Why didn't she
call me?" Jingsheng burst into tears. The microphone fell to the ground, muffled.
Ximei hugged him, picked up the microphone and put it to his ear, patting his back gently. Her
tears and snot fell on Jingsheng's new cotton-padded jacket. She remembered that there were
several times in the summer when Sinan had diarrhea in the middle of the night and had to go to
the toilet. Jingsheng would jump down to accompany her no matter whether he was asleep or
not. She cried so hard that her whole body was shaking.
Gu Dongwen said softly with tears in his eyes: "It's my fault that I drank too much that day. It's all
my fault. It has nothing to do with you. Jingsheng, it has nothing to do with you. It's not your
fault, it's my fault. Do you hear me?"
"She is my mother - she can't abandon me. She said she wouldn't abandon me. She lied."
Jingsheng bit his lip, and the blood slowly seeped into his black cotton pants and disappeared.
"She didn't abandon you, she didn't lie to you, she gave you to me, Jingsheng, you still have me, I
am your father."
"You are not my father." Jingsheng murmured, "You are not."
"Your mother is my wife, I am your father, and you are my son."
——
After finishing the call, Old Ding returned to the thatched house with red eyes and couldn't figure
it out: "What on earth is going on? Shouldn't Jiang Hongbin be in prison? How did he get out?
And come to take revenge on you?"
Gu Dongwen remained silent. Jiang Hongbin was convicted of raping, illegal detention, and
attempted murder, and was sentenced to 18 years in prison and deprived of political rights for
two years. So when Su Su disappeared, both he and the special investigation team investigated
him immediately. They ruled him out after knowing that he was still in prison, and focused on
several other veterans of the Corps who had molested many female educated youths. Now it
seems that there must be something wrong, and he must find it.
"Old Ding, I want to ask you a favor." Gu Dongwen thought for a moment and said, "Can you help
me transfer my son Jingsheng's household registration back to my home in Shanghai?"
Lao Lin frowned: "You and Shu Su haven't obtained a marriage certificate, so you are not
considered a married couple. Now that Shu Su is missing, the child cannot be registered in your
household."
"Shu Su and I have been together for ten years. So what if we haven't got a marriage certificate?
The whole of Banna knows that I am her man and she is my woman! There are so many couples
in the country who live together without a marriage certificate. Can they be considered
mistresses? My father and mother didn't get a marriage certificate. How come my mother got a
martyr's certificate after my father died? The rule is that the dead are alive. If we are so strict, can
the 60,000 educated youth in Yunnan return to the city?" Gu Dongwen's voice rang out.
Lao Ding quickly held him down and said, "What mistress? What are you talking about? Really,
how can anyone talk about themselves like that? I'll find a way! I'll definitely do my best."
"You have to promise to help me get it done." Gu Dongwen smiled, his dimples were not sweet,
but a little creepy: "Otherwise I don't know what I will do. Anyway, I will always find a beast to
take the blame."
"Don't!" Old Ding was sweating profusely, "Calm down! You have to calm down! It's not that
serious yet, don't do anything rash. I promise, I promise to help you get it done before I go back
to Shanghai. Okay?"
Gu Dongwen smiled again: "Old Ding, we are comrades who went to Beijing to meet the Prime
Minister together. I have known you for more than ten years and I have only asked you for this
one thing. No matter what, you must do it well. I will keep it in mind."
Old Ding nodded in agreement, and together with Old Lin, he advised him to have a good talk
with Captain Ling and explain the whole thing clearly, especially the nature of self-defense should
be determined, and he should not meddle in Shu Su's case first, lest Jiang Hongbin would keep
biting him and it would turn into a revenge fight, which would be even worse.
Gu Dongwen responded absentmindedly.

Chapter 58
On the eve of winter vacation, Gu Beiwu called Jinghong back at night, but no one answered the
phone in the company office. He then called his mother and Si Jiang, saying that he would stay in
school for the New Year, and asked if Gu Dongwen had called back.
"He just called this afternoon. The operator on the phone told me that he hasn't completed the
paperwork yet and he definitely won't be back for the New Year." Grandma Gu was very sad. Last
Spring Festival, Beiwu was still at home. Sijiang went to Chen's house for the New Year's Eve
dinner and then rushed back. The three of them stayed up all night together to set off small
firecrackers and star fireworks. This year, she finally waited for the educated youth from Yunnan
to go home. Dongwen had been away for more than ten years before returning. She was looking
forward to celebrating the New Year together, but she didn't expect that she would have to eat
the New Year's Eve dinner alone.
Seeing her grandmother covering the microphone with her back turned to wipe away tears, Si
Jiang thought about how she had never spent the New Year with her father, mother and sister,
and couldn't help sobbing. But she didn't want to make her grandmother more sad, so she sniffed
and hugged her and advised: "Grandma, don't cry, the eldest uncle will be back in the spring, the
younger uncle will be back in the summer, and Si Nan will be back too. Then our family will be
lively and we will accompany you every day. Don't think we are annoying."
Grandma Gu bent down, hugged her granddaughter, and nodded repeatedly.
"Mom?" Bei Wu said softly, "Shan Rang and I are together. We will come back to see you together
in July."
Granny Gu was stunned, but Si Jiang had already grabbed the microphone and burst into
laughter: "Uncle! We are going to have a little aunt, right?"
Shanrang blushed when he heard this on the phone and pinched Beiwu.
"Yes." Beiwu smiled neatly and said, "When your aunt comes, remember to ask her for New
Year's money."
Si Jiang changed sides immediately: "I don't want it. I can't ask for lucky money after the New
Year. Uncle, uncle, remember to give all the money in your box to my aunt. She can buy whatever
she wants, right?" She had an idea: "Grandma gives me five cents every day to buy snacks, and I'll
put it in your box too, so you can have more money for your wife!" Grandma kept saying this, and
she didn't know when her uncle would be able to save enough money for his wife after he
finished his graduate studies. She had to make some contribution, too, because her uncle and
aunt were so good to her.
Shan Rang smiled and teased softly: "Look, your whole family is worried about your wife Ben."
Bei Wu couldn't help but reach out and scratch her nose: "Aren't your family members worried?"
Shan Rang wrinkled her nose and made a face, feeling sour in her heart. Her family seemed to
want to send her off with drums and gongs, especially her second brother Zhou Shanli, who
almost cried with joy. He also said that he should hurry up and send people off and money should
be given away. He just hoped that Gu Beiwu would not regret it. She was only 27 years old, how
could she be a difficult person? He also said that she would never meet anyone better than Gu
Beiwu in her life. Humph, why should he nag? Of course she knew it!
Reese Jiang started talking on and on about how hard she had been this semester, how much she
missed her mom, dad, and sister, how difficult the TV shows were, and how the school had set up
a choir for her to join. She really didn't have enough time. She only scored one point lower than
Zhao Youning in the final exam, but Zhao Youning had already learned Chinese and math in
advance during the summer vacation. But one point difference is one point difference, after all,
Zhao Youning is also very busy, he has to learn piano, abacus, English, and painting. So she must
work harder and strive to surpass him and become the first in the grade next semester. It's just
that Si Nan is too conscienceless. She only wrote that one "letter" and never wrote back again.
Every time she called, she always said "yes, yes, yes, yes", and within five sentences she started
talking about how great her cousin is, how capable her cousin is, and her mom, and then she
started praising Gu Jingsheng——
So angry. Si Jiang's tears fell down: "Uncle, do you think my mother and sister don't like me
anymore? They like him now."
Bei Wu comforted her softly and really wanted to reach out through the microphone to touch
baby Si Jiang's head. Perhaps people in love are especially soft-hearted. When Si Jiang cried, he
even wanted to give up his plan to stay in school for the New Year.
——
Chen Sinan, who had hurt her sister's heart, was completely unaware of it and was pretending to
read a Chinese textbook. She stole a glance at her mother, who was staring at a book in a daze,
just like her, not turning a page for a long time, and her nose and eyes were still red. Her eldest
cousin had been lying on the bed facing the wall since school, ignoring everyone.
Mom and her cousin had a quarrel. Sinan frowned and thought: Who should she help? It would
be great if Mom and Dad had a quarrel, she would definitely help Mom. Although Dad would
always speak up for her every time Mom scolded her, who made her live under Mom's nose
every day. Grandma said that she should be more sensible, learn to appreciate the landscape,
and not talk back when scolded or hit. But the last sentence is impossible.
But helping mom would make her feel so sorry for her eldest cousin, who was her most beloved
baby. With her eldest cousin, she was rarely scolded by mom, and had delicious food every day,
even boiled potatoes. The potatoes cooked by her eldest cousin were prettier than those cooked
by mom.
Sinan considered it carefully for a while and made the final choice of team. She quietly put down
the book and got off the stool, but unexpectedly the cushion under her butt fell to the ground
with a thud.
Ximei looked up and saw Sinan picking up the cushion with her back to her. She was about to go
inside. She wanted to scold her, but after thinking about it, she pretended not to see it. A child
trying to persuade a child might be better than her saying anything. She was a person who
couldn't speak, and she didn't know what to say. When her father died inexplicably because of
the watermelon, the family felt like the sky had fallen. The eldest brother went to Yunnan and
couldn't come back. Beiwu said nothing and was busy with the funeral and the procedures for
recognizing martyrs. Nanhong, who was usually heartless, took a leave to accompany her mother
from morning to night. The two of them cried for half an hour after talking for a few words, and
then continued to talk and cry.
She couldn't remember how long she had cried. She had certainly cried, but she stopped when
she was tired. She walked from her home to the bridge over the river, imagining what her father
would think when he jumped off the river, and what he would think before he died. Would he
think of his children, would he regret it? The river water was grayish yellow, like the dishcloth that
was always used in the kitchen, making people dizzy under the sun. A passerby kindly asked her if
she was okay, but she didn't know whether she was okay or not.
She didn't remember how long she stood there, until finally her mother and Nanhong found her.
Nanhong was so angry that she twisted her and scolded her, and finally hugged her and cried.
That was the time when the two sisters were closest to each other in their lives, and it was
because of their father's death.
Later, my father's workplace held a funeral. In the funeral home, the three siblings stood in a row
and bowed in return. Someone blew a trumpet. When the funeral music sounded, my mother
cried and fell on the coffin, hugging my father and refusing to let go. She didn't cry at all that
time. She faintly heard someone pointing at her and saying that it was the second child of the old
Gu family. She almost followed the old Gu and stood by the river for most of the day. It was
pitiful. She was so sad that she couldn't cry. She actually couldn't cry.
After laying the flowers, the funeral parlor staff asked her and her brother to nail the coffin. She
remembered clearly that she nailed it next to her father's right foot. Mum, Beiwu and Nanhong
chased the coffin to the incinerator. She sat alone in the mourning hall, staring at the several
packages of return gifts. The tofu banquet was also organized by the unit's labor union. Nanhong
accompanied Mum back first. Beiwu and she attended. The leader said a lot of polite words. She
didn't remember what she ate at all. Her father just became a photo, hanging in the living room
of Wanchun Street, smiling. She couldn't stand it, and she came to Xinjiang after graduating the
next year.
Ximei only has these memories of the death of her loved ones, and there are not many details
that can move herself or others. She even shed more tears for the death of her eldest sister-in-
law whom she had never met than when her father left. Maybe she couldn't stand it after
becoming a mother, or maybe she felt sorry for Jingsheng's child.
Sinan's voice came from inside, soft and sweet. It seemed that this little girl would only use this
tone when she was cheating for food and drink.
"Cousin, are you hungry? I got you some biscuits, have some."
"Cousin, did my mom scold you? Did you do as badly as I did? I got 3 points in Chinese and 12
points in math, but my mom didn't scold me. Are you worse than me? It doesn't matter. Let's
study hard together next year and make progress every day."
"Cousin, please pay attention to me."
"It's okay. It doesn't matter if you don't want to pay attention to me now. I'll accompany you. If
you want some cookies or water, just tell me and I'll take care of you."
"If you are angry with my mother, don't help her cook. Help her after you forgive her in a few
days."
No matter what Sinan said, Jingsheng remained silent. Ximei thought of how Jingsheng was still
discussing the New Year's Eve dinner with her last night, and couldn't help but sigh silently. She
turned her head and saw the Spring Festival couplets and blessing characters issued by the trade
union. She was not sure whether she could celebrate the New Year. Chen Donglai would not be
back until New Year's Eve. She had to send him a telegram tomorrow to ask him to be careful
with his words. And she had originally planned to go to the county town with Shen Yong's family
on New Year's Eve to take a bath and prepare some New Year's goods, but now it seemed
inappropriate.
After another half day, it was quiet inside. Ximei couldn't help but gently lift the curtain, only to
see Sinan, who was in charge of comforting people, had fallen asleep on Jingsheng's bed.
Jingsheng sat at her feet, leaning against the wall with his knees hugged, his eyes dark. The sun,
which had not yet set, shone through the glass window on his face, coating it with a layer of light
gold, and the wound on his lower lip was a little red.
——
No matter what happens, the Spring Festival still comes with great enthusiasm.
In the farm camp in Jinghong, soldiers, educated youth who had not yet returned to the city, and
local Aini and Miao villagers had a big party. The Agricultural Reclamation Bureau was unusually
generous, slaughtering pigs and cattle, and frying insects in dozens of pots. The big steam pot
was filled with hot chicken bone soup, rice noodles piled up into a small mountain, and the
aroma of braised chicken drifted down the Lancang River. Thousands of kilograms of fish were
caught in the reservoir, and the educated youth from Sichuan showed their skills, with pepper
fish and pickled fish shining. The provincial party committee and the educated youth office issued
a spirit to let the educated youth who had dedicated more than ten years of their youth to
Yunnan and were about to leave have a good last Spring Festival in Banna.
Gu Dongwen stood at the window, watching the hustle and bustle outside silently, and saw
several local girls dragging their children to look for someone. In order to improve their lives,
many educated youth married and had children with them in recent years. Some of them were
unscrupulous and secretly completed the procedures and ran back during the chaos, without
even telling their wives and children a word. Gentle as Lao Ding was, he got angry several times
for this, made phone calls, did ideological work, and comforted the women and children, and his
throat was hoarse. The special investigation team was too busy to communicate for a while, and
they only knew that there was no evidence and Jiang Hongbin was living in the State People's
Hospital as a victim.
The number of PLA soldiers guarding outside was reduced from four to two because of New
Year's Eve, and they changed shifts at nine o'clock in the evening. Gu Dongwen went over his plan
carefully from beginning to end, and was fortunate that he still had the letters of introduction
with big red official seals that Beiwu had given him in Beijing.
A real man has some things to do and some things not to do. There are some things he must do.

Chapter 59
Although the New Year's Eve in Shanghai is lively, it is like the red double happiness on a cigarette
shell, which is joyful, but neat and tidy, covered with a layer of plastic film, which has an
inappropriate indifference. Only when you enter the alleys, the film is torn off, and the smell of
fireworks is stained, and the flavor of the New Year is settled.
The tanged roads of Wanchun Street were clean and clear. The coal briquettes beside the coal
stoves were swept into the dustpan. The flags of all nations above were gone, revealing a blue
sky. The public toilets rarely smelled bad, and people were polite and yielded in front of the
public faucets. Spring Festival couplets were posted on both sides of each doorway. Little girls ran
from the beginning of the alley to the end of the alley holding fireworks sticks. Young people
agreed to walk from Jing'an Temple to the Bund. It is said that Nanjing East Road will be full of
red lanterns. The old men and women have been busy since Laba, and finally they can calm
down, put on new clothes and sit down to eat the New Year's Eve dinner. After the New Year's
money was distributed, the dining table was cleared, and some played mahjong and some played
poker. Once a year, the lights in the corridor were on all night long, and the TV and radio were
turned on regardless of whether anyone was watching or listening. With the sound of firecrackers
outside, it was very festive and lively.
In the afternoon, Grandma Gu sent Si Jiang to Chen's house. When Chen heard that she was
alone at home, she invited her to stay for the New Year's Eve dinner. It was a matter of extra
chopsticks. Grandma Gu smiled and shook her head to decline. It was hard to refuse such a kind
invitation, so she took some four-happiness roasted gluten and eight-treasure rice pudding home.
At around five o'clock, Gu Nanhong came to the door carrying large and small bags of New Year's
goods.
"Why did you come back? You are the daughter-in-law of the Zhao family, why don't you go to
your parents-in-law's house to help prepare the New Year's Eve dinner? Did you have a fight? Did
he hit you again? Let me see." Grandma Gu was angry and anxious.
Nanhong took off her hat, untied her scarf, and removed her gloves. She opened a pack of
Shanghai brand coffee and tea, shook the thermos, made herself a cup, and found a pair of
chopsticks to stir it. "He dared to attack you, aren't you afraid that Beiwu will beat him to a pulp
for the rest of his life? I came back specially to spend the New Year with you. Wow, what a filial
son you are."
"Gu Nanhong!"
"Um?"
Granny Gu circled around her again: "Honghong?"
"Mom, what are you doing? Are you too surprised?" Nanhong smiled and pulled her to sit down:
"Did you make anything delicious? It's even better if you didn't, I'll treat you to a good
restaurant."
Granny Gu slapped her in the face and said, "Let me see if you are possessed by some demon.
You came back to have New Year's Eve dinner with your mother. I dare not even think about it.
Oh my god, no wonder it didn't snow today even though it was predicted to snow heavily."
"What the hell, Beiwu called me early in the morning, and I just didn't want to go to his house for
the New Year's Eve dinner." Nanhong used the glass as a coffee cup with her orchid fingers raised,
rolling her eyes: "Nian Nian has such a big pot of meat, but it's still cold at night, with a thick layer
of white oil on it. No one would think of heating it up if I didn't tell them. The intestines,
stomachs and lungs have a stinky smell, not fresh, the fish is big, but it smells very muddy, and
the most annoying thing is that there is not a single vegetable to be seen. I have never been full.
It's only after I got married that I realized how good Aram's mother is at cooking."
Granny Gu was both angry and amused: "You deserve it. You picked your husband yourself. The
Zhao family's parents are not worthy. They married a greedy and lazy new wife who doesn't make
any money. Look at you. Have you ever taken care of the little girls for a day? You didn't even give
them a sip of milk. The eldest, second, and third sisters are not close to you at all. You will regret
it in the future."
Nanhong was not annoyed. She put down her glass and shook her mother's arm, saying in a
coquettish tone: "During the New Year, mother, you still want to be so mean to me. Aren't you
feeling sorry for me? I want to eat braised lion's head soup, 70% lean and 30% fat, with a handful
of frosted Suzhou greens in it, and -"
"What time are you going to order food? Why don't you call first? You have a lion's head, and
your hair is curled, so you already have a lion's head?" Granny Gu slapped her hand away and
went to the kitchen, and soon there was the sound of chopping meat. Gu Nanhong opened the
small bag energetically, took out a bunch of cosmetics and started to paint.
Si Jiang returned to her grandmother's house after the New Year's Eve dinner. The table was still
not cleared, and a stewed lion's head was waiting for her. When she heard that her aunt had
come, she asked where she had been. Grandma Gu said vaguely that she had gone out to see a
girl. Si Jiang pinched a handful of powder that was faintly visible on the table. Under the light
bulb, it looked a little rose red. She smelled it and it was fragrant, so she smiled and said, "My
aunt must have gone dancing."
"You little brat are talking nonsense. Where is the place to dance on New Year's Eve?"
"My three cousins said that if my aunt puts on makeup and goes out at night, she must be going
dancing. There is also a kind of black light dance, which is always scary. No lights are turned on."
Si Jiang smiled and said, "Grandma, how can you dance without turning on the lights? How can
you avoid falling?"
For some reason, Granny Gu's heart started beating like a madman after Nan Hong left. She
rubbed her chest when she heard this and said, "Don't believe what Ada, Er, and San say. Nan,
don't go out and tell others about it. Do you understand?"
Si Jiang didn't understand why he couldn't tell her, but he nodded obediently and poked the lion's
head with chopsticks. The pink, tender and smooth meat ball shook in the clear chicken soup, as
if it was dancing.
——
Chen Donglai returned to the dormitory on the afternoon of New Year's Eve. Compared with
Ximei, he was even worse at comforting people. When he saw Jingsheng, he asked dryly about
his grades in the previous semester, praised him a lot, and then curled up on the sofa to read the
newspaper and wait for the New Year's Eve dinner. From time to time, he looked up and asked,
"Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Go find Sinan." Ximei glanced at him while cooking, "He went out at twelve o'clock and didn't
even come back after four or five hours."
Before he finished speaking, Sinan pushed open the door and said, "I'm back. Where's my
cousin?"
Chen Donglai pointed to the inner room, and Sinan didn't even call out "Dad" and rushed over
like a gust of wind.
"Change your shoes! Change into cotton slippers! Chen Sinan!" Ximei knocked the spatula on the
edge of the pot.
A gust of wind blew back, made two tapping sounds, and then blew past again.
Jingsheng lay on the bed, his arms resting on his head, looking at the ceiling.
Sinan climbed up quickly and took out all the treasures in his four pockets: "Cousin, look at what I
won today, you can take any one of them."
Jingsheng glanced sideways at her red nose, sat up, took out a handkerchief from under the
pillow, and stroked her head: "Your snot is frozen, go wash your face."
Sinan sucked twice and laughed: "No wonder I can't suck it anymore! Then you can take your
time to choose." She turned over her legs, half of her body hanging outside the bed, and then
stepped on the bed railing below, stuck her head out and said with a smile: "If you like them all,
I'll give them all to you!"
She ran out with a stampede.
"Dad, please help me wash my face."
Outside, there were sounds of cooking and wash basins clanging. Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei
played the good cop and the bad cop respectively. Si Nan was talking back while screaming from
being burned. Jingsheng listened carefully, looking at the mess of toys on the quilt, and his mood
seemed to be ironed and warmed.
"Jingsheng, I think I sliced the fish fillet a little too thick. Come and have a look." Ximei lifted the
curtain and asked with a smile, "Is it okay?"
"Yes." Jingsheng pushed all the toys under the pillow, supported himself with his hands, turned
over and jumped out of bed: "Auntie, let me do it."
After the New Year's Eve dinner, Ximei took out two new cotton-padded jackets: "Come on,
change into new clothes, a new year, a new look."
Jingsheng didn't respond: "Auntie, you bought me two new cotton-padded jackets."
"That's for everyday wear, and this is for the New Year. Look, it's made of fur inside, so it's very
warm." Ximei stuffed the cotton jacket into his hands.
Sinan came over holding a bright red new cotton-padded jacket and asked, "Why don't I have any
hair?"
"Isn't your curly hair real hair?" Ximei pulled her hair. Sinan had the same yellow hair as her
father. It was naturally curly after the ears, and it was quite curly. She hadn't had her hair cut for
half a year, and without a hat she looked like a shaggy lion. In addition, she had dark skin, her
facial features had grown a little, her eye sockets were sunken, her eyes were big and bright, and
her eyelashes were very long and curly. She was always mistaken for a local Xinjiang kid when she
went to the bazaar.
Sinan shook his head cheerfully, roared like a lion, took off his old coat and put on a new one, and
held out his hand: "New Year's money, New Year's money!"
Chen Donglai took out two red envelopes from his pocket, with the words "good luck and good
fortune" written solemnly on the red paper.
Sinan tore open the red paper and found a stack of brand new pale yellow one-cent bills. She
counted them happily and sang: "I found ten yuan on the side of the road. Hi, I was dreaming--"
Jingsheng was amused by her. He took the lucky money and bowed: "Thank you, uncle, and thank
you, aunt."
"Cousin, show me how much New Year's money you have." Sinan's eyes widened: "Mom and
Dad, you must not give less to my cousin!"
Jingsheng smiled and opened the red paper envelope. Inside was also a stack of new money, but
it was two dimes with the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge pattern on it.
After all, Sinan was a "genius child" who scored 12 points in the first grade math test. He put two
stacks of new money on the table and compared them, then burst into tears: "Why! Why! Why is
my New Year's money so little?"
"Ah! Why are you crying on New Year's Eve?" Ximei laughed so hard: "You are a little kid, and
your cousin is a big kid, so of course he has more than you. Besides, your cousin's New Year's
money also includes a share from your uncle, so what does it have to do with you? You are crying
like a scoundrel, aren't you embarrassed?"
Si Nan sniffled and snorted, remembering what Jingsheng said about her snot, and quickly ran to
pull off her small towel and wiped her face: "Then you have to give sister the same amount of
New Year's money, sister is also a big child!"
Jingsheng looked at Si Nan with new respect and felt that Si Jiang's love for this sister was not in
vain. But then he thought again that he had been nice to this little brat in vain.
"Let's go to Karamay together on the second day of the New Year." Chen Donglai waved his arms
happily: "Jingsheng, you have to wear more clothes. It's minus 15 degrees Celsius there, much
colder than Aksu. Our oil field is the first large oil field independently explored in New China, and
it has produced many great heroes."
"So, Dad, are you a hero?" Sinan asked with shining eyes.
Chen Donglai smiled and said, "Dad has been struggling in the Gobi Desert for more than ten
years. He has shed blood, sweat, and tears. He is not a hero, but he is certainly not a coward."
"I am not afraid of the sky or the earth, I don't care about the wind, snow, thunder and lightning,
I will dedicate oil to my motherland," Sinan waved his arms and sang loudly: "Wherever there is
oil, there is Allah's house!"
Chen Donglai also got excited, and he and Sinan saluted and sang: "The beautiful mountains and
rivers are as beautiful as a painting, and the motherland is building a steed... The snow on the
Tianshan Mountains is overhead, and we are facing the sandstorms in the Gobi Desert. We are
welcoming the sunrise by the Jialing River and the sunset at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains...
Wherever there is oil, that is our home!"
Jingsheng smiled unconsciously. Ximei breathed a sigh of relief, as the New Year was finally over.
——
The capital's New Year's Eve is a different scene. There are fewer homemade sleds on Shichahai
than usual. Only the children in the neighborhood are still running around. Fashionable guys and
girls are busy celebrating the New Year, and there are fewer wool hats and red scarves. Since
Beihai Park was reopened to the public, the Beihai Lotus Lake Ice Rink, which is usually crowded,
was much quieter on this day. There were fewer people than the ducks on the north side of the
ice rink.
A huge new billboard was hung on the Bund in Beijing. A beautiful Jiangnan girl was holding a
skin care product and smiling at passers-by. A row of elderly people were sitting under the
billboard basking in the sun. A child was walking by, holding a super long candied haws stick with
more than twenty hawthorns strung together, and his eyebrows were hidden from his eyes.
Wangfujing Department Store was bustling with people. There were long queues at the clothing,
shoes and candy counters. The counters for large items had posted notices of out-of-stock a few
days ago. The boxes of snacks at Sanhe Daoxiang Village had also been sold out long ago. The
major cultural palaces were decorated with lights and colors, and large trucks were unloading
fresh cabbages at the vegetable market.
The door gods in the courtyard were in high spirits, the hanging money on the door frame was
noisy, fireworks were piled up outside the house, children were running in and out laughing and
shouting, and the sound of chopping dumpling stuffing was heard one after another. At the
entrance of the alley, an old man set up a small table and wrote red couplets for the neighbors
who didn't have time to write couplets.
That afternoon, the tallest building in the capital, the Beijing Hotel at 33 East Chang'an Avenue,
welcomed a stylish Japanese student.
Shanrang and Minako checked in in the afternoon and lived in the middle building. In the
evening, Gu Beiwu hosted a New Year's Eve dinner for the three of them, and after dinner,
Minako winked and dragged Shanrang back to the room to tinker with skin care and body care.
"Really, there's no need to bother." Shanrang looked at the pile of bottles and jars that Minako
took out, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Minako shook her head vigorously: "No no no! Thanks to you, Kitatake-kun is so generous. He
treated me to delicious food and let me stay in the best hotel in China. I must help him. You
should enjoy this wonderful night. Shanrang, this is your first time, right? The first time is very
important. My first time was so bad, so rude. You can't imagine the pain that would kill me in the
next second. Shanrang, you must take this with you."
Shanrang looked at the thing in Minako's hand, his mind buzzed, his face flushed all the way to
his neck, and he stammered, "What, what, what is this?"

Chapter 60
Gu Beiwu used a letter of introduction from the Ministry of Foreign Trade, and his room was in
the New East Building. After dinner, he went to the coffee shop to taste the most high-end coffee
in the country. Unfortunately, he was not as good as Gu Nanhong in this aspect. After adding milk
and sugar, he could not feel much difference from Shanghai brand coffee and tea. But when milk
and sugar were not added, the coffee was bitter with a sour aftertaste, which seemed to be
better. A waitress smiled and asked him if he needed another sugar cube. He smiled and shook
his head and said Happy New Year.
New Year's Eve is just an ordinary Saturday for foreigners, and there are still many people in the
cafe. Beiwu sat in the corner quietly waiting for Shanrang to join him. He listened carefully and
found that the song played seemed to be a French song. It seems that a large French tour group
has recently checked in.
Shanrang mentioned to him that she wanted to visit France if she had the chance. Women
seemed to prefer France to Britain and the United States. I wonder if it was because of the label
of "romanticism". Her two favorite Catherines were Catherine Deneuve, who was French. She
had watched all the movies from Belle de Jour to Go or Die. The other was Katherine Hepburn, an
American actress who looked like a French woman. She had watched Guess Who's Coming to
Dinner at least three times. This was probably the source of her racial discrimination problem.
But Beiwu preferred Ingrid Bergman and Casablanca. He felt that Shanrang's facial features were
50% similar to Ingrid Bergman's.
Beiwu once teased her whether she loved the Kaige Food Factory because of the white orchid in
front of the factory, but she didn't know. When he said that the Kaige Food Factory was originally
called the Kaisling Coffee House, she laughed and nodded repeatedly. When Beiwu thought of
this, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up again. What he didn't say was that Kaisling
had nothing to do with Catherine or Katharine, but had a real relationship with a certain warlord
commander.
Pulling back this leap of thought, Beiwu was shocked to find that he was a man who was 100% in
love. Every little thing around him would always remind him of Shanrang. What she had said,
done, thought, her smile, her frown, her anger, her foolishness, naturally came into his mind.
However, this kind of "thinking" did not take up any effort or space, which doubled his confidence
in life and made everything beautiful. In the past, he always thought too badly of ordinary
people, and always sneered and disdained because he had predicted the meanness in their
human nature. But now he is willing to make a more kind assumption, which is undoubtedly the
power of "love".
At this moment, Shan Rang's lips, which were very similar to Ingrid Bergman's, suddenly
appeared. Even in the cold winter in Beijing, her lips were still as plump and red as rose petals.
She loved to laugh, and when she laughed, her cheeks puffed up and her nose wrinkled, which
made her look childish and made him feel uncomfortable.
Beiwu changed his sitting position and lowered his eyes. There was a dark mark on the edge of
the coffee cup. He wondered if he should brush his teeth before kissing her. Since he had no
practical experience, tonight he would rely on what he saw and heard and a few copies of the
newly re-published "Popular Medicine" to achieve Shanrang's New Year's wish. Although Beiwu
was confident in his ability to understand and imagine space, the nervousness of sharpening his
gun before the battle still came uninvited.
Like thousands of other girls in the alleys, he was forced to learn about sex when he was four or
five years old. The Gu family didn't have the money to build a loft at that time, so opposite his
parents' bed was a bunk bed, with Nanhong and Ximei sleeping on the top and him and his elder
brother sleeping on the bottom. The two cloth curtains separated the worlds of men and women,
adults and children.
He was awakened by the creaking sound of the bed, and sat up in a daze, but was pushed back by
his eldest brother. The eldest brother was already in high school at the time, and he overheard
two sisters and a younger brother from the corner of the room, and covered his mouth very
skillfully: "Shh, the adults are doing something, don't make a sound." Later, a misunderstanding
occurred in the kindergarten. A child shouted that his parents always fought in the middle of the
night, and the newly graduated young teacher asked the neighborhood committee director to
mediate. After he understood the true meaning of doing something or fighting, every time he
heard these two words, he couldn't help but feel a little speechless.
When Gu Dongwen was 20 years old, he had already dated several girlfriends. He had done all
the things he should have done and fought all the fights he should have fought.
Gu Nanhong knew how to take advantage of the opposite sex's affection for her since she was
young. She was very secretive about her boyfriends because she had once stepped into the film
industry. Her first requirement for choosing a partner was that he was tall and handsome. Also,
because she encountered the Cultural Revolution when she was young, her second requirement
was that he was a "three-have youth": a good family background, a good job, and a good income.
Gu Ximei had a face like Xi Shi, a beautiful girl from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but a heart like Jiang Jie.
Her hands were busy with the piano, but her heart was focused on patriotism. She went straight
to Chen Donglai to build the motherland together with him.
Gu Beiwu himself, at the age of 18, joined the armed and literary struggles in various places. In
the next ten years, he made money by speculating and profiteering to support his family. He
finally experienced the taste of love with Fang Shuren, but was poured with a basin of cold water.
He encountered constant natural disasters and man-made disasters, and the love between
children became extremely insignificant. He stepped into the realm of worrying about the
country and the people of middle age. Therefore, he was still blank in terms of relationships
between men and women.
A gap of 31 years is not a glorious thing. Another 32-year-old classmate in the department is
already a father of two children. At first, everyone was reluctant to talk to him. He was exposed
to more Western information, and some people even used the excuse of "that's your freedom" to
inquire whether he had a special liking for the same sex. He definitely didn't have a special liking,
but he was very disgusted by this kind of inquiry. Later, when he and Shanrang made their
relationship public, someone pretended to be mysterious and reminded him of Shanrang's family
situation. He was surprised that he had no reaction to this. It can be seen that his love for
Shanrang outweighed his inferiority and self-esteem.
Seeing Shan Rang appear in the coffee shop, Bei Wu quickly stood up, but a young man with a
high nose, deep eyes and curly hair got there before him and started talking to Shan Rang in
Japanese.
Shanrang smiled and shook his head: "I'm sorry, I'm Chinese."
The man was a little disappointed and switched to Mandarin: "Oh, so you are Chinese too."
Gu Beiwu went up to Shanrang and held his hand: "We are all Chinese, so don't be polite. It's
New Year's Day. Is there anything you can help me with?"
The man was a little embarrassed: "Sorry, no, nothing, just getting to know each other." Under Gu
Beiwu's sharp eyes, he smiled again: "I'm an actor from Beijing Film Studio, my last name is Li,
and I specialize in playing foreign roles in movies. I think this lady has a good temperament, and I
want to ask her if she is interested in playing a Japanese friend."
Beiwu smiled and asked Shanrang, "What do you think?"
Shan Rang declined the invitation and took his arm and walked towards the elevator.
"This guy is really strange." Shan Rang was a little nervous in the elevator: "He does look a little
familiar, as if I've seen him in a movie."
"He wanted to go abroad." Beiwu smiled and squeezed her hand. "After finding out that you
were not a wealthy foreign woman, he was very disappointed. He was also afraid that your
boyfriend would beat him up, so he made up a story to invite you to play the Japanese friend."
"Ah?" Shan Rang was dumbfounded: "How did you know that?"
Bei Wu couldn't help but raise his eyebrows: "I saw through it at a glance. If you don't believe me,
take a look when you leave tomorrow. I guarantee that he comes here every weekend - to fish."
Shan Rang laughed: "Your word is very accurate, vivid and humorous. I never thought that one
day I would become a fat fish."
Despite this little episode, the atmosphere remained very relaxed after the two entered the
room.
That night, the firecrackers on Chang'an Avenue almost never stopped. Gu Beiwu found that it
was indeed not easy to fulfill New Year's wishes. Sometimes it did require the strength of a fight,
and it was even more strenuous than fighting. Shanrang was indeed a fish that loved to flutter,
fresh and beautiful. To achieve the goal of being like a fish in water and helping each other,
physical strength alone was definitely not enough.
Comrade Shan Rangyu said afterwards: Dear Minako, you will be my friend forever. If possible, I
would like to give you a banner of Dr. Bethune's international humanitarian spirit. If I could do it
again, could you give me two more bottles of that magical oil? (Referred to as magic oil)
On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Shanrang woke up to the sound of
firecrackers and found Beiwu turning on the bedside lamp and looking at his hand-drawn
marriage certificate. Probably because of the Chinese New Year, there was no waiter on the floor
to check identity documents last night, so this lifelike marriage certificate was not used.
"Gu Beiwu, 31, and Zhou Shanrang, 27, are voluntarily getting married. After examination, this
marriage certificate is issued in accordance with the provisions of the People's Republic of China
on marriage. January 2, 1979."
"Gu Beiwu, you are under arrest for forging a national certificate." Shan Rang pinched him and
buried his smile in the quilt.
"This is not forgery." Beiwu explained seriously: "This is called advance payment." He reached in
and tickled her.
"Who said I wanted to marry you voluntarily?" Shanrang twisted his body a few times and
laughed: "Last night was just an advance payment."
"That's right. According to the popular credit card usage method abroad, the money drawn in
advance must be returned. I can draw the advance last night and return it now."
"rogue."
"My name is Gu Beiwu, 31 years old, a student of the Economics Department of Peking
University, a full-time hooligan, and I am now applying for an advance payment for being a
hooligan once."
“Hahahahahaha.” Shan Rang turned defense into offense and pinned him down: “Come on, let’s
play hooligans on each other!”
At noon that day, when leaving the Beijing Hotel, Shan Rang could not help but glance at the
coffee shop, and actually saw the actor Li from last night, who was having a great conversation
with a middle-aged foreign girlfriend.
——
On the second day of the Chinese New Year, Jiang Hongbin heard that Gu Dongwen had escaped
from the Xishuangbanna Prefecture People's Hospital, and he overturned the plate that the nurse
was about to use to change his medicine.
"Where's Captain Ling? I want to see Captain Ling!"
"I want to be discharged from the hospital. Please help me with the discharge procedures."
"No, no, no, I don't want to be discharged from the hospital. Wasn't there someone from the
Criminal Police Team outside the day before yesterday? Why didn't I see him today?"
He had been hysterical and unreasonable since he was admitted to the hospital, but the doctors
and nurses pretended not to see or hear him. The head nurse brought people to clean up the
mess and sternly lectured him, "Do you think this is a pig farm? Why are you yelling?"
“I’m a patient!”
"What's wrong with the patient? The patient is a human being, and so are our nurses and
doctors. It's wrong for you to throw things. I think I need to ask Dr. Sun to give you an injection so
you can have a good rest."
"No, no, no, don't! Someone is coming to kill me." Jiang Hongbin covered his injured eye and
rolled off the bed: "Head nurse, please help me contact Captain Ling of the Criminal Police Team.
Really, there is a madman who is going to kill me." He saw Doctor Sun and two comrades from
the Youth League Office come in, and he howled again: "Gu Dongwen ran away! How did they let
Gu Dongwen run away? He is a prisoner, he beat me blind, why don't you lock him up? Why don't
you let him go to jail! He will come to find me, he is a madman, do you know that!"
Doctor Sun frowned and said, "I don't know if that person is crazy or not, but if you don't calm
down, it will be very dangerous."
"Yes, I am in great danger now. Really. He wants to kill me. Believe me."
"Why did he want to kill you?" Old Xu from the Youth League Office adjusted his glasses and took
out a pen and paper.
Jiang Hongbin was stunned: "Because - because I want to take my son away!"
Old Xu's pen stopped on the paper: "Why are you so afraid that Gu Dongwen will come to find
you? Didn't you take the initiative to go to his dormitory to find him before? You quarreled and
he injured you. He has to bear certain criminal responsibilities. What reason does he have to
come to trouble you? Let me ask you again, are you related to Shu Su's disappearance?"
"No! No! Just because I raped Shu Su, he wants me dead!"
"You need evidence to speak. You deserve it. You have been in prison for twelve years. Why
would he want you dead? If he wanted you dead, he could have killed you when he saved Shusu
from you, but he didn't do that."
Jiang Hongbin refuted incoherently, and finally he was the only one in the ward who was
fidgeting. The ruthlessness and pride of sending Gu Dongwen to jail disappeared completely. The
two of them switched places. Originally, Gu Dongwen was in the light and he was in the dark, but
now it became him in the light and Gu Dongwen in the dark. When he thought of Gu Dongwen
becoming a reckless desperado, Jiang Hongbin's injured eye hurt again, and the fear of being
strangled to death once again enveloped him. He even suspected that the task force deliberately
let Gu Dongwen go. What did they find? It's impossible, absolutely impossible.
By the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Jiang Hongbin, who had been worried about something
every day, was exhausted. The people from the Youth Office came and went with the same old
talk, and no one cared about his safety. After three sleepless nights, he could not hold on any
longer and finally checked the doors and windows before closing his eyes. In the middle of the
night, he dreamed that he was being strangled by the iron-like hands again, and he couldn't
breathe at all. He sat up panting, but almost bumped into someone in the dim light. As soon as
he opened his mouth, he was covered and pushed back to the bed. A knee hit his chest hard, and
with a click, he felt that he had broken a bone, and then a pillow pressed down on his head and
face.
Jiang Hongbin confirmed in despair: It was definitely this madman Gu Dongwen.

Chapter 61
After realizing that there was still a gap for breathing, Jiang Hongbin struggled desperately and
shouted: "Shusu Shusu——"
The weight on my chest and pillow was a little lighter.
"In August 1974, you rescued Luo Hongxing, a cook in the prison cafeteria, from the swamp at
the Jinghong Prison pig farm." Gu Dongwen's voice was a little hoarse, but calm, as if this incident
had nothing to do with him.
Jiang Hongbin's scalp exploded.
"The prison has recorded your significant meritorious service and reduced your sentence by four
years."
"Luo Hongxing worked as a cook at Ganlanba Farm for two years in 1965. You are the battalion
commander."
"He is a habitual thief who was caught for corruption on the farm. You took two packs of
cigarettes and let him go."
"He embezzled 700 to 800 kilograms of pork from the prison cafeteria every year. You caught him
and forced him to help you 'do merit' when transporting pig fat, and promised to give him five or
six piglets every year."
Jiang Hongbin's hands and feet went limp, and he kept shouting in his heart, "Impossible,
impossible!" Only he and Luo Hongxing knew about this, so how did Gu Dongwen know about it?
Why did he find Luo Hongxing? Luo Hongxing, that son of a bitch, confessed everything!
The pillow was suddenly taken away, and a little moonlight came in from the window. Gu
Dongwen's eyes were cold, without even a trace of anger. Jiang Hongbin shuddered and
subconsciously denied: "No! I didn't!"
Gu Dongwen's knees suddenly became heavier. Jiang Hongbin just wanted to call for help, but
the word "help" was drowned out by the pillow as soon as he opened his mouth.
"After your sentence was reduced, you used the corruption and conspiracy to "make merit" cases
to ask him to find a way to deal with me and Shusu for you. He was the one who told you about
Jingsheng. You didn't even know Shusu was pregnant when you were in prison."
"He was forced into a corner by you, waiting for an opportunity every month, but he never
succeeded. He kept waiting for more than a year until she was left alone before the heavy rain.
He then knocked her out and brought her back to Puwen Town, where he hid her in a truck
loaded with pig manure and sent her to the prison pig farm."
"You tortured her to death and dumped her body into the swamp." Gu Dongwen's voice finally
fluctuated and then fell silent: "The swamp was not searched back then, and Jinghong Prison was
not thoroughly checked either."
"Now Luo Hongxing is willing to serve as a witness for meritorious service. Jiang Hongbin, I will
not kill you. I want to see you being shot with my own eyes." Gu Dongwen stretched out one
hand to press the back of his head, with a little expectation and pleasure in his voice: "Have you
ever seen a death row prisoner being shot? The pistol is pointed at your foramen magnum. If the
shot is accurate, the brain stem will be damaged and the prisoner will die within ten seconds.
Unfortunately, the executioners in Banna have poor eyesight. Often, they will not die after one
shot. The deputy gunman will then shoot again. If the prisoner still does not die, he will shoot
again. If he is lucky, he will not die for thirty minutes. -
Jiang Hongbin kicked his legs and struggled desperately, and the pillow loosened its grip again. He
was shocked and terrified, and shouted hoarsely: "I didn't kill her. She was already dead when
Luo Hongxing brought her here! He was the one who beat her to death without any mercy!"
Gu Dongwen moved the pillow away.
Jiang Hongbin took the opportunity to shout: "Murder, murder! Help, help!"
The lights in the ward came on, and team leader Ling from the task force rushed in with a dozen
people. As soon as the cloth stuffed in the mouth of Luo Hongxing, who was tied up like a
dumpling, was taken away, he shouted with his eyes wide open: "You're talking nonsense! You
killed her! I just knocked her out, and you said you wanted to force her to promise to return your
son to you. She was clearly awake at the time, and you kept saying that you and her were a real
couple and a family, and you could discuss anything. In the end, you killed her that night, and it's
none of my business! I was bewitched and got on your pirate ship--"
Jiang Hongbin was dragged down from the windowsill by the criminal police, and fell face first
onto the ground. He raised his twisted face and shouted at Captain Ling, "He was the one who
killed me! Luo Hongxing, you bastard, you want to frame me!" After struggling and shouting, he
suddenly looked at Gu Dongwen fiercely, "You! Even if I die tomorrow, you will go to jail if you
blind my eyes! You will know when you go to jail—"
Captain Ling slapped him in the face: "You kidnapped and killed Shu Su, and then tried to kill Gu
Dongwen to vent your anger. He acted in self-defense, do you understand self-defense? You
bastard, you haven't been reformed for more than ten years, and now you are wasting the
country's bullets."
"We have the witnesses and evidence, and you're still trying to argue!" Old Xu from the Youth
Office kicked him in the waist: "Fuck you, the bones we fished out were broken in several places,
you inhuman dog, you deserve to have your balls kicked in..."
"You can't hit me!" Jiang Hongbin shouted, "You are breaking the law knowingly - ah!"
The wooden chair in the ward was smashed to pieces, wood chips flew everywhere, and the
people holding Jiang Hongbin took a few steps back. Gu Dongwen pursed his lips, raised the
remaining chair leg in his hand and hit him again. Once, twice, three times, four times.
The sound of the leg bone breaking was very clear.
Captain Ling reached out to stop Gu Dongwen: "Old Gu, that's enough, leave it to us."
Jiang Hongbin curled up, holding his broken leg and crying: "My leg, my leg is broken! The bone is
cracked, you——"
"Jiang Hongbin, the suspect in Shu Su's murder case, jumped out of the window out of fear of
punishment and accidentally broke both legs. Did you all see it?" Captain Ling asked with a sneer.
"I saw it! The son of a bitch still wants to run away!" everyone shouted in unison.
Luo Hongxing stuffed the cloth into his mouth again and nodded desperately.
Gu Dongwen walked out of the hospital alone, and there were sounds of firecrackers nearby. A
thin crescent moon hung coldly in the sky, and the mountains and jungles in the distance were
dark green. He had nowhere to go.
He walked for a while, then suddenly raised his head and roared at the moon with all his might.
"ah-----!"
Finally, the strength was exhausted and the voice was torn apart, turning into the dying wail of a
dying beast.
Gu Dongwen sat on the ground helplessly, holding his head and twitching. A group of educated
youths came over with bottles of wine in their hands, laughing and staggering, surrounding him
and shouting, "Brother, we are home, be happy. We are going home!"
His Su Su will never be able to return home. In the past two years, he has thought about what if
countless times, but there is no if.
——
The last year of the 1970s was a year of great gathering and also a year of great change.
On February 17, thousands of artillery pieces were fired on the border between Guangxi and
Yunnan, and the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam officially began. The war lasted only
28 days, and after clearing and destroying the infrastructure of northern Vietnam, the People's
Liberation Army withdrew smoothly.
After the educated youth who rushed back to the city left, the major farms in Yunnan were
almost empty, and farmers had to be deployed from all over the country to provide assistance. It
was not until mid-April that rubber tapping began.
In May, Shu Su's ashes were scattered into the Lancang River. Gu Jingsheng was transferred to Gu
Dongwen's household registration as his adopted son. After filling out a sick leave form, Gu
Dongwen boarded the train back to Shanghai.
It had been fifteen years since he left Shanghai, but the city had not changed much, nor had the
alleys. The public toilets were still dirty and smelly, the missing stones on the paving stones had
not been replaced, the flags of all nations still swayed in the wind, and the old men sitting in
rattan chairs, bent over playing chess, were stunned when they looked up and saw him, and soon
called out his name.
"Hey, Dongdong is back?"
"All the people from Yunnan have returned, and so have the Zhang family. They go to the factory
every day to make trouble for replacements."
"People from Heilongjiang have also returned. Two of the Chang family members have returned,
along with their children. They have nowhere to sleep, so they spread mats in the kitchen at
night. Oh, it's so difficult."
"Dongdong, are you going back? Where's Xiaonan?"
Gu Dongwen, however, had already turned into Lane 63 with his bag on his back.
The sign on the public telephone at the entrance of the neighborhood committee had been
changed, and the person sitting in the booth looked familiar. Gu Dongwen glanced at him again,
but the man jumped out and shouted at the Gu family: "Grandma - Grandma Gu! Brother
Dongdong is back! Oh, brother, I am Xiao Weimin, Xiaomin, do you remember? Box number 16."
"You broke your leg climbing the water tower in third grade?"
"Yes, yes, yes! It's me! Even now I still have a little long legs." Xiao Weimin's face was full of red:
"Brother, you are still very good. Model!"
Granny Gu rushed out from the kitchen in a hurry, "Boss!"
When they really saw the person, Granny Gu couldn't help but slap her son on the arm again and
again: "You debt collector, why are you going to Yunnan! Why are you going to Yunnan! You still
remember to come back."
Gu Dongwen smiled as he was beaten: "I finally managed to get back here, but I still have to be
beaten by my mother. I'd better go back to Yunnan."
"You dare!" Granny Gu wiped her tears, grabbed his sleeve and dragged him home: "If you run
again, I will follow your father's example and break your legs. At most, I will serve you for the rest
of your life."
Si Jiang came back in the evening and was very curious about this legendary uncle.
"Uncle, your dimples are so beautiful." Si Jiang expressed envy.
Gu Dongwen smiled and moved closer to her: "Want to poke?"
Si Jiang blushed and poked him gently with his finger: "Uncle, why are your dimples so big? They
are as deep as a ditch."
"Well, just mark it a few times with a pencil every day and it will come soon." Gu Dongwen
blinked.
"Ai?"
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Grandma Gu threw the towel in her hand on the back of
her son's head: "Children will take it seriously!"
"Grandma, I'm not a child anymore. I'm almost ten years old!" Si Jiang protested with a pout.
"Soon, soon. There's still one year left." Grandma Gu smiled and sighed, "When you're little, you
always want to grow up soon. When you grow up, you want to go back to your childhood."
Si Jiang shook his head: "I won't. When I grow up, my parents and sister will come back. I don't
want to go back to my childhood. Uncle, why haven't my mother and father come back yet?"
Gu Dongwen pondered for a moment and smiled: "They will come back. They are working hard."
"Will hard work be useful?" Si Jiang asked expectantly.
"It's useful." Gu Dongwen thought for a moment and said, "Last year, my uncle and some friends
from Yunnan went to Beijing."
"I know, you met the Deputy Prime Minister!" Si Jiang held his chin with admiration, his eyes
shining with stars.
Gu Dongwen smiled: "Yes, you see, hard work is still useful."
"Well, if you don't work hard, it will be useless!"
Gu Dongwen rubbed her head with his eyes bent, but sighed in his heart. In March, a petition
group of more than 40 people from Aksu went to Beijing. It is said that an investigation team will
enter Xinjiang this month. Beiwu is not sure about the situation. He is busy watching Jiang
Hongbin's trial and neglected the situation of Ximei and others.
——
At this time, Gu Ximei was even more worried. She had to take the exam in less than two months.
However, Shen Yong and Zhu Guangmao both joined the Shanghai Youth United Committee, the
core organization of the back-to-city movement. They attended the meeting two days ago. The
Youth League didn't know who started it, and rushed directly into the office building of the
Bureau of Agricultural Reclamation. There were parades, big-character posters, and banners
everywhere in the county, saying that they wanted to give a warning to the investigation team
that was about to arrive, and that 40,000 Shanghainese must be allowed immediately. The
educated youth returned to the city. In a word, everyone worked hard to get a Shanghai
registered residence. As family members, Cao Jingzhi and Meng Qin were mobilized to participate
in blocking cars and planes on highways and airports, kneeling down and crying. Since yesterday,
there have been five carrot heads crowded into her small dormitory.
There were five hundred ducks in one Si Nan. Fortunately, Jing Sheng didn't say much, but Shen
Qingping, Shen Xingxing, and Zhu Zhenning together had more than a thousand ducks.
It was ten o'clock in the evening, and fifteen hundred ducks were still quacking. She was dizzy
from studying, and her ears were buzzing. Sinan, however, kicked off his slippers and opened the
curtain, his eyes sparkling: "Mom, I need to go to the bathroom."
Ximei's face darkened: "You just went there at nine o'clock, why do you want to go again?"
"I went there with Sister Xingxing. I didn't have any pee myself!"
"Aunt Gu, can I go with Si Nan?" Shen Xingxing timidly stretched her head out from beside Si Nan.
After a few thumps, the boys on the upper bunk also jumped down.
"Aunt Gu, let's go too."
Ximei waved her hands helplessly: "Go ahead, go ahead, come back and go to bed early! You
have to go to school tomorrow, Monday. Be quiet, don't disturb others."
Jingsheng leaned out and looked at the toilet team, sighed, turned over and closed his eyes
against the wall. He hoped that the summer vacation would come soon. He didn't know if Gu
Dongwen had returned to Shanghai yet. He had a lot of questions to ask. He wanted to ask him
how he knew Mom and why he always took care of Mom. Jingsheng thought about it countless
times and felt that he knew too little about Mom, so little that he couldn't bear to think about it.
He was afraid that he would forget her one day, and occasionally he wanted to forget her. Maybe
if he knew more, he would feel better and forget faster.
He also wanted to know why she had to give birth to him.

Chapter 62
By the time the toilet squad ran to the toilet, they had already turned into a large toilet squad.
There were always kids who were forced to go to bed by their parents and couldn't sleep. When
they heard the chirping outside, they also felt the urge to pee. Sinan had a lot of experience in
this, but of course they might not be able to pee once they really went into the toilet.
A group of children had just finished using the toilet and were not allowed to go to the
playground. If they were caught, their butts would be in trouble. So they wandered around the
dormitory with flashlights, singing the Young Pioneers' song to Rowing the Oars, and Shen
Xingxing took the lead in singing "Sister Looking for Brother with Tears in Her Eyes".
A child who had overheard the adults' gossip laughed out loud: "Sinan, could it be that you are
not Teacher Gu's biological child like in the character "Little Flower"?"
Sinan thought about it seriously and said, "My mother used to say that I was picked up from a
trash can, and then she said that I was born on a train. Which one do you think is true?"
Shen Qingping ran to her side and said, "Nonsense! Si Jiang treats you so well, of course you are
Teacher Gu's child! If Xingxing was picked up, I would definitely beat her ten times every day."
Shen Xingxing's singing stopped abruptly, and she burst into tears as if she had been beaten: "You
are the one who was adopted, I want to go find my real brother!" Now the sister really looked for
her brother and tears flowed.
Si Nan held her hand and stroked it gently a few times, imitating Si Jiang's example: "Ignore him.
Brother Pingping is the worst. Even if we were adopted, it doesn't matter. We have two fathers
and two mothers. We can get an extra portion of New Year's money."
When Shen Xingxing heard this, it seemed to make some sense. After thinking about it again, she
cried even harder.
Shen Qingping scratched his head and pouted: "I'm so annoyed. I was just saying it casually. Of
course you are my mother's biological child, stupid! You look exactly like me, okay?"
Sinan, who looks completely different from her sister and mother, was fascinated: "The grandma
at the bazaar said I look like Awarguli."
"There are eight Awarguli in the county!" Zhu Zhenning said happily: "The oldest one is over 60
years old, and she sells naan in front of the county hospital."
Sinan rolled his eyes at him and said, "Of course it's the most beautiful one, Awarguli! Brother
Shamushak said that he wants to go to Beijing University, and ethnic minorities can add extra
points, a lot of extra points! If I were a Uyghur child, I would definitely be able to get into Peking
University. My uncle is from Peking University. My sister also wants to go to Peking University,
and our whole family wants to go to Peking University!"
Shen Qingping thought for a moment and said, "My dad said that if I don't get into Peking
University, it would be good to get into Tsinghua University, and then we will all be in Beijing."
"Are you stupid?" Sinan's eyes widened. "Tsinghua University is in Tsinghua! Not in Beijing! Only
Peking University is in Beijing!"
The more Shen Qingping thought about it, the more it made sense. He was very indignant at the
old man's "deception": "Okay, he wanted to trick me into going to Tsinghua! How cunning."
"Forget it. It's hard to get into Peking University. Since your grades are not good, you can apply to
Shanghai University." Sinan waved his hand and made the final decision: "Our universities in
Shanghai are also pretty good."
"No! I want to go to the same university as Si Jiang." Shen Qingping strode forward with his head
held high and his chest puffed out: "I want to sit next to Jingsheng in the final exam this year."
Sinan ran up and said, "My cousin won't show you the answer!"
"Jingsheng and I are good brothers!"
The team returned to the dormitory noisily. Gu Ximei sneered, "Why did you guys come back?
Why don't you just go to the classroom and wait until dawn to have class?"
Sinan went up to her and hugged her waist: "Everyone says that I am actually a Uyghur child.
Mom, who is my father?"
In the middle of the night, crackling sounds were heard in the staff dormitory, as well as the
wailing of classmate Chen Sinan.
"I want to find my dad! I want to find my dad—"
Jingsheng glanced at Shen Qingping calmly, and Shen Qingping felt a chill on his back. He
defended himself innocently in a low voice, "It wasn't me, it really wasn't me, it was Zhang Feng
from Teacher Zhang's family who said that."
Jingsheng ignored him and lay down on his side. He thought of the time when his uncle said at
night that Sinan looked more and more like a Uyghur girl, and his aunt suddenly got angry, and
then started crying, and then she had a gloomy face for a whole week.
——
Two days later, all the teachers in the school knew that the investigation team from the central
government would not come to Aksu because the Youth Federation was causing trouble in the
county. Instead, they went to the 29th Regiment of the Second Agricultural Division of the
Advanced Regiment Field and sent the investigation team from the Youth Federation to Aksu.
Representatives of the Communist Party of China are invited to go to the 29th Group to hold a
symposium. Shen Yong and Zhu Guangmao both went. They stopped the car and knelt down to
cry that the plan was aborted. The three Shen Qingpings each went back to their respective
homes with their respective mothers. Gu Ximei finally felt clean again.
Day by day goes by as usual, there is noisy outside, one big news every day, or even several big
news, today overthrows yesterday's, and tomorrow overthrows today's. Within a month,
everyone was exhausted and insensitive.
Gu Ximei simply told Chen Donglai not to return to Aksu, and also kept a tight control on
Jingsheng and Sinan. They were not allowed to go to the bazaar in the town, and had to eat in
the canteen three times a day. Fortunately, every household in front of the dormitory planted
vegetables in the spring. If you want onions, garlic, coriander, green vegetables, peppers, etc.,
you can just pick a handful. Jingsheng built a small fence next to the chicken coop. Cucumbers,
loofahs, and tomatoes have all borne fruit. There are two small mounds under the fence, with
two small wooden pieces inserted, one written on them and the other two, and buried there are
the bones of a pair of chickens who sacrificed gloriously in the pot. The newly bought chicks in
the chicken coop have grown up again. Whenever Sinan was ordered to pick cucumbers, he
would sigh: "Chickens come and go, and the chickens are still chirping."
June passed by in a flash, and at the end of the month, the three children of the Shen and Zhu
families were entrusted to Ximei again. Ximei was packing Jingsheng and Sinan's luggage to
return to Shanghai. Knowing that they were going to the 14th Regiment to petition the
investigation team, she couldn't help but persuade them a few words: "Since there are thousands
of people going, you four won't be a big deal. You have to make kindergarten children kneel and
cry to write a fuss. It was useless last year, but it will be useful this year?"
Meng Qin pinched her and said, "Aren't you the one who is left here to guard the rear? Only the
crying child gets the milk. I heard that the investigation team will return to Urumqi in early July.
Nothing has been resolved in two months. How long will it last?"
Cao Jingzhi stuffed an envelope into her hand and said, "I'll give you a week's worth of food
money. If this doesn't work, we'll join a group of 100 people to go to Beijing to petition. Why can
people from Yunnan, Heilongjiang, Anhui and northern Jiangsu go back, but we can't? Aren't we
Shanghainese? Aren't we educated youth?"
Shen Yong also said categorically: "Yes, we have thought about it. Either the investigation team
agrees to let us return to Shanghai in the past few days, or we will go to the capital like your elder
brother and others and ask to see the deputy prime minister. Thousands of blood books!”
Seeing Ximei's disapproving expression, Zhu Guangmao sighed: "Ximei, among all of us back
then, you were the most insistent on returning to Shanghai. Whenever there was a policy, you
went to the group camp to ask. I didn't expect you to be here now. On the contrary, you can get
through it. It is much better for you to enter the education system than our farming system, but
shouldn’t you think more about Si Jiangsinan?”
Ximei's face turned red and white: "The country has allowed educated youth to return to the city.
Isn't this propaganda that it will be gradually arranged in two or three years? What's the use of us
keeping up and working face to face? My eldest brother, they have educated youths in Banna. Of
those who have been back for half a year, eight out of ten don’t have an employer. Where do
they get their salary?”
Shen Yong and Zhu Guangmao frowned and said nothing.
"No company is willing to accept us! Age and education are both problems." Ximei choked up and
said, "My father is a martyr, and the company is unwilling to accept my eldest brother as a
replacement. My mother has been there five times, and she kept saying the same things over and
over again. The factory is also in trouble. More than half of the more than 700,000 educated
youth in Shanghai have now returned. Where will the jobs come from? There are also graduates
and unemployed young people queuing up to be assigned jobs. My eldest brother is in his forties.
He can retire after working for another ten years. Who would want him?"
Meng Qin raised her eyebrows and said, "That's it, we have to fight even harder! If you don't fight
for it, who will take us seriously? After all, your eldest brother has met the vice premier—"
"Then do you know how they can be received!" Ximei's chest rose and fell a few times, and she
lowered her head and said, "There were dozens of them, holding signs and kneeling in
Tiananmen Square in the heavy snow, from morning to night. My brother didn't kneel, but he sat
for a whole day and was frozen. Is it interesting for women here who only want to have children
to kneel and cry?!"
Everyone fell silent.
——
Grandma Gu was indeed very worried about the work of Gu Dongwen's company. Gu Dongwen
himself was not in a hurry. Every day after sending Si Jiang to school, he would go out to wander
around, and no one knew where he went. However, he was very punctual in picking up Si Jiang
from school, and accompanying her to the Children's Palace TV station had become his uncle's
daily job.
Si Jiang said she could do it on her own, so Gu Dongwen smiled and praised her, rewarded her
with a set of Children's Literature, and continued to pick her up every day, with two shredded
radish cakes, two glutinous rice balls, a bag of popcorn, and two ice cream bars. Si Jiang gradually
began to like this kind of life.
Once, Gu Dongwen bought a portion of stinky tofu and urged Si Jiang to try it. The result was that
her eyes, nose and eyebrows wrinkled into a ball because of the stinky tofu, but he laughed. That
day, Si Jiang was criticized in the Children's Palace. The teacher said that she smelled of stinky
tofu when she opened her mouth, and asked her to go to the bathroom to rinse her mouth. She
rinsed seven or eight times, but she didn't practice a single word of the song, and the training
ended.
When she got home, Si Jiang did her homework with a stern face, and didn't ask her uncle to
carry the bath water. Gu Dongwen smiled and watched her trying to be stubborn, but was beaten
by Grandma Gu with two feather dusters.
"How old are you? You're still teasing my daughter! She's already been criticized by the teacher.
What a disgusting person!"
"I don't want my uncle to pick me up anymore." Si Jiang dropped the bucket and glared at his
uncle fiercely.
Gu Dongwen smiled while chewing spiced broad beans: "Little Sijiang, uncle wants to ask you, do
you really like going to the choir?"
Si Jiang was stunned and turned his face away, ignoring him.
"Jingsheng's mother likes to sing very much. She sings when she cooks, sings when she taps
rubber, sings when she takes a bath, and can sing for an hour to coax Jingsheng to sleep. She
even made Jingsheng run away and climb a tree to sleep. She actually just made up the lyrics and
hummed them, but that's what she means by liking to sing." Gu Dongwen picked up the bucket
of water and poured it into the bathtub: "Si Jiang, if you don't want to sing while taking a bath,
then you really don't like singing. It's very painful to keep doing something you don't like."
Si Jiang quietly turned around and looked at his uncle's back. The eldest uncle had only been back
for more than a month, but he could tell that she didn't like singing. She only rushes to review in
the school toilet before training, but the choir is a very good thing, it is amazing to be selected by
the teacher, and her mother and father are very proud of her. Everyone likes her singing except
herself.
Gu Dongwen rubbed her hair: "You like to read, and there are your books on the bed, on the
dining table, and even next to the toilet. You like to write diaries, and my uncle will write a few
sentences no matter how tired you are. You like Eat delicious food, chat with your grandma, and
talk to your sister. When your sister is away, you will pretend to be her with a doll. Just spend
your time on the things you like. It doesn’t matter if you get first place as a cadre on duty in
singing or dancing, really.”
"I want to be number one." Si Jiang bit his lip: "Mom said that cousin Jingsheng always gets first
place in every exam, and is number one in the grade."
Gu Dongwen squatted down and said, "Your uncle has never won first place. Do you think he is
good?"
"Of course he's awesome! My uncle ranked third in Shanghai in the college entrance
examination!" Si Jiang was a little surprised. His uncle never got first place in school?
"If you don't believe it, write to him and ask him." Gu Dongwen stood up, picked up the empty
bucket and walked out with a smile.
Si Jiang heard that he was humming "Sister Looking for Brother with Tears in Her Eyes", and his
eyes lit up: "Uncle, do you like singing too? Do you like watching movies?"
Gu Dongwen sighed, "This song is playing on the speakers wherever I go. I can't help but hum
along. What a joke."
"Uncle, do you like Chen Chong? Our teachers all like her and say she is very beautiful." Si Jiang
couldn't help but chase after her and ask. The teachers also said that she looked like the famous
star Chen Chong.
Gu Dongwen thought for a moment, then turned around and said seriously, "Is Chen Chong
pretty? I think she's just average, not as pretty as my Si Jiang."
Si Jiang blushed: "Uncle is so annoying! How could I——"
"Oh? You hate it when you tell the truth?" Gu Dongwen laughed. Then he had to say a few more
words.
Granny Gu came over fanning herself and urged Si Jiang to take a bath: "Of course Si Jiang is
prettier! My Si Jiang obviously looks like Xia Meng, what's with that look in your eyes?"
Si Jiang refused to give in: "I like Chen Chong! I like Little Flower!"
"What small and big flowers? I only know young and old men." Grandma Gu warned her, "Hurry
up and take a bath. Don't read while taking a bath. The book will get wet!"
"No! I always dry my fingers before turning the pages of a book."
"It's still wet even after wiping it. Look, is this side wrinkled?"
“…”
Granny Gu closed the door and chased after Gu Dongwen: "Boss! Boss! I have something to ask
you——"

Chapter 63
Gu Dongwen sat at the entrance of the cultural station smoking. Ever since he heard Si Jiang's
vivid description of Si Nan's hegemony, he couldn't help but smile as he looked at the group of
girls who were having fun. If nothing unexpected happened, Jingsheng would definitely not
participate with a straight face, and would wait until he had observed carefully and practiced
privately to make sure he could make a big splash before taking action.
Seeing his mother trembling towards him from a distance, Gu Dongwen smiled bitterly, shook his
head and sighed, and put out the cigarette on the ground. Mothers are sinners. When children
are born, they just hope that they grow fatter and taller and don't get sick. The older the children
are, the more worried the mother is. They want them to study well and be obedient, and they
make a cute and lively girl like Si Jiang suffer. Later, when the children grew up, the mother still
couldn't let go of the two major things of work and marriage. She worried about her
grandchildren when she was old. It seemed that if she didn't worry about them, she would lose
the meaning of being a mother.
But he really couldn't do anything about such a mother, nor about his mother or Su Su.
"Why are you hiding from me?" Granny Gu swung her fan at his shoulder and said, "I will eat
you!"
Gu Dongwen reached out and brushed off the dust on the steps, then supported her elbow and
said, "A monk recites a sutra: women are tigers. You are the biggest tiger in our family."
Granny Gu couldn't hold back her laughter and gave him another fan: "You've been smooth-
talking since you were little, but what good is it to say to your mother? Let me ask you, Aunt Kang
from Sijiang Auntie's doorway wanted to introduce you to a girl, why didn't you go to meet her?
That female comrade works in an office, she's in good condition, 34 years old, her husband has
been dead for five years, she has a seven-year-old daughter, and the unit just allocated a house--"
"Alas." Gu Dongwen reached out and took the fan and fanned her a few times: "I will learn from
my mother and be faithful to her husband for the rest of my life. I will just watch my son grow up.
When my mother marries a good man, I will consider myself."
Granny Gu was stunned for a long time before she came to her senses. She started pounding her
hands together, "You beast, you're making fun of your old mother. I'm a woman, I won't stay a
widow. If I invite a bad guy to my house, how can you four survive? You're a man, you're the
eldest of the Gu family, you don't even care about the continuation of the family line, what are
you doing back here? Do you want to piss me off to death or to piss off your father? Your son,
your son, which one is your son? He doesn't even recognize you as his father, you heartless dog."
Gu Dongwen dodged left and right with a smile, and continued to fan himself: "I can also count
myself as having made my dad angry. Don't we have Beiwu at home? He will be back in July to
get married. The couple is in their prime. If they work hard, they can have two children in three
years. Why are you staring at me? I'm already in my forties. Even if I can still have children, the
child will be 18 and I will be 80. He should pretend to be a filial son in front of the bed. What's
the point?"
How could Granny Gu stand his constant talking? She asked about Beiwu and Shanrang, thought
about it carefully for a long time, and angrily slapped her legs several times with the fan: "Gu
Dongwen! You gave birth to a son in your forties. When you are eighty years old, your son should
be in his thirties. Why can't you be a filial son?" She was so angry that she choked and coughed
continuously.
Gu Dongwen quickly calmed his mother down: "Alright, alright, didn't the ancients have to
observe mourning when their wives died? Jingsheng's mother was only found in February, and
you're forcing me to go on a blind date now. I'm afraid she'll come looking for me in the middle of
the night to settle the score."
Granny Gu shuddered and pinched her son in anger: "She is a fairy, right? You are still mourning
for her! I didn't even see you mourning when your father died."
"I have been guarding her for a year and haven't eaten meat. I was so hungry that my chest was
sticking to my back and my eyes were dizzy. When I was tapping rubber, I almost leaned over to
drink a few sips, but Jingsheng's mother slapped me." Gu Dongwen sighed, "When you saw her in
Yangzhou, you fell in love with her at first sight and even asked someone to propose marriage to
her. How come she is not a fairy?"
Granny Gu was stunned and thought for a long time: "Is she the girl from the Shu family in
Yangzhou? The niece of your aunt's next door? She was engaged to your seventh cousin?"
"OK."
Grandma Gu fell silent. The older people get, the easier it is to forget things, but the more they
remember the little things in the past. She turned her head and looked at her son. This heartless
bastard had kept it a secret from her for more than ten years, and he was still smiling.
Xu Laoqi had a bad fate. Not long after she was born, her brain was burned out. Her brother and
sister-in-law took the initiative to cancel the child marriage and recognized the girl from the Shu
family as their goddaughter. The two families still had a warm relationship. Later, in the disaster
year, Laoqi accidentally ate Guanyin soil and died of abdominal swelling. She and Dongwen went
to Yangzhou to send funeral gifts. He really liked the girl at first sight. She was so beautiful, and
she was very gentle and gentle in her words and deeds. Only such a girl could tie down Dongwen,
a stubborn donkey, but she was too thin. But who didn't lose weight in those years? Eating rice
and meat will make you fine. Fat people are all swollen, which is not good.
Fortunately, Dongwen carried 100 kilograms of water to wash the rice, otherwise the relatives
would not even have a mouthful of porridge. The Daqianmen cigarettes and towels that the Xu
family gave as a return gift were also brought by Dongwen. She still remembered that the girl
came to Dongwen later, and she was too embarrassed to raise her eyelids. She blushed and asked
if she could exchange half a kilogram of rice to go back and cook porridge for her parents and
brother. Her brother also ate Guanyin soil and collapsed due to abdominal swelling. Dongwen
gave her 20 kilograms of rice without saying a word and sent her back.
The next day, Shu girl sent five embroidered handkerchiefs as a thank you gift, her face flushed,
but it was not respectful. The handkerchiefs were made of the best silk from Suzhou, but they
had turned yellow due to age. The embroidery was done at the last minute. Although the thread
had faded, the pattern had not been soaked in water, and it was still hard to the touch. When
asked, it turned out that she had embroidered it overnight. The rice was not valuable. It was
drained from the rice washing water in the alleys, and the city collected it according to the first,
second and third grades. Dongwen collected third-grade rice at 65 cents per hundred catties at
that time, and could collect five or six hundred catties a month, but it was only a few dollars. It
was not worth her so much trouble. Her craftsmanship was good, but she could not earn a living.
It was a pity that the prettier the girl, the harder her life. Gu's eyes were red. Thinking of the
hardships Ximei had suffered over the years, she was really lucky compared to the girl from the
Shu family that Dongwen mentioned.
After thinking about it, Grandma Gu suddenly realized something: "Did you go to Yunnan to
follow her?"
"Hmm." Gu Dongwen picked up a piece of wild grass at his feet and started chewing it. He found
out too late. When he arrived there, he was first assigned to Kunming. It took some effort to be
transferred to Jinghong. But if it was a few days later, she might have died at the hands of Jiang
Hongbin.
The mother and son sat quietly for a long time. Grandma Gu's legs were numb from sitting so
much. She looked at the moonlight, sighed, and stood up with her son's shoulder: "I'll go back
first. Si Jiang must have wrinkled her hands and feet from soaking in the water again. She can't
remember anything when she reads. Come back later to pour the bath water."
Gu Dongwen hummed.
——
Soon the summer vacation came. On July 8, Gu Dongwen and Si Jiang picked up Jingsheng and Si
Nan at Laobei Station. The train ride was smooth, and Bailifengkou was not affected. It took five
days to reach Shanghai. Jingsheng was carrying a large package that was taller than him and
looked a little tired. Si Nan carried a military schoolbag on each side and two nylon bags in his
hands. He jumped off the train in high spirits.
Gu Dongwen took the bag from Jingsheng's back and said, "You two took a 10,000-kilometer train
ride by yourselves. That's amazing."
A beautiful female conductor ran after him, shouting Sinan's name: "Sinan! Didn't Auntie tell you
to get off the train last?"
She and Si Jiang met, and they quickly recognized each other.
After a flurry of activity, Gu Dongwen took the three children on the bus and said with a smile,
"Wow, I never knew that our Si Jiang dared to run away from home and get on the train alone at
the age of four."
"I ran away from home, too! Uncle!" Sinan quickly raised her hand: "I was also four years old! I
ran to the Kangjiaqiao alley next door and met a brother. Brother Ningning even treated me to
delicious sour plum soup!"
"Sinan is the smartest!" Si Jiang happily pinched his sister's face: "My sister is the most beautiful,
the cutest and the smartest!"
Sinan looked around and immediately informed his sister seriously: "Sister, I'm going to tell you a
secret! You may not be my biological sister!"
“???!!!” Si Jiang was stunned.
Jingsheng, who had heard it countless times, looked out the window expressionlessly, while Gu
Dongwen listened to the nonsense with a smile on his face. Everyone within a one-meter radius
around them pricked up their ears, shocked! My sister revealed her bizarre life story on the bus
——
Sinan, whose face was twisted red, pouted and got out of the car, chasing after his sister: "Sister,
please pay attention to me, pay attention to my daughter."
Jingsheng held back his laughter and followed Gu Dongwen into Wanchun Street.
——
As soon as Sinan and Jingsheng came back, the whole Wanchun Street became more lively. The
entrance of the Cultural Station was busier than the small vegetable market every day. Chen
Sinan, who was going to be a repeater in the first grade next year, knew a little math after all.
Every evening, she spread out the plastic wrappers and took out her unwanted trophies, which
could be exchanged or sold. At Jingsheng's suggestion, a discount package was created. For
example, five candy wrappers cost one cent, but five candy wrappers plus a cigarette case and
two single-color glass marbles only cost two cents. In less than a week, Chen - the little rich
woman - Sinan - Awarguli already had a huge sum of 24 cents. You can buy six fried dough sticks,
or just a bowl of wontons and a serving of fried steamed buns.
When Gu Beiwu brought Shan Rang back, he witnessed with his own eyes the development
potential of Si Nan, his niece who was a college student majoring in economics.
"Don't miss it if you pass by. Two children's literature books can be exchanged for ten candy
wrappers and five colorful glass marbles. Yes, you also want the old ones. Sister, you want all of
them, right? This issue of new books can be exchanged for two more sandbags."
"Your book is not good. It's scribbled all over and dirty." Sinan pointed at the book in the boy's
hand with a look of disgust: "Are you still a primary school student? How can you not take good
care of your books? My sister covers every book with New Year pictures, it's so beautiful."
"Brother Ningning, no, no, I've already given you a very low price. You want all three piles? Two
cents plus two cents plus two cents, that's six cents. Sister, did I calculate correctly? Eh? My uncle
is back, my uncle! My aunt - Brother Ningning, I'll give you all this pile, and I'll charge you ten
cents, okay? I quit, I'm closing the stall!"
Shan Rang smiled so hard that he bent over, and hugged Si Jiang who rushed over, and freed his
hands to catch Si Nan.
Gu Beiwu also laughed: "Of course, Jiang Sinan, the country just issued a policy to develop the
individual economy in April, and you guys are doing it right away."
Jingsheng, the volunteer who quietly packed up his stall, frowned at Zhao Youning, who was still
lingering with a troubled look on his face: "What's wrong?"
Zhao Youning pointed to the "big pile" in front of him and said, "There are four piles here, and
they only cost eight cents—"
Jingsheng's eyes twitched twice, and he looked at Chen Sinan who was jumping around
Shanrang: "Then let's say 90%. I'll pay 1 cent for you."
Zhao Youning's eyes widened, thinking how could your family be so deceiving...

Chapter 64
Beiwu and Shanrang returned to Wanchun Street. Grandma Gu was both happy and worried. She
was happy that the fourth son could finally solve the issue of marriage, and that such a good girl
as Shanrang was willing to marry him. But she was worried that her family was too poor and they
were not a good match.
When the neighbors in the alley heard that the prodigal son Gu Jinbuhuan Beiwu had brought
back the daughter of the former commander, they all went to the Wanbei Residential Committee
for a half-day tour, used the public phone to make some random calls, or asked if the college
entrance examination results were out. They passed by the Gu family's doorway back and forth,
and by dinner time, the gossip had gathered into a vast ocean, rushing into every doorway and
kitchen in every alley.
Aunt Kang smiled and praised Chen A Niang: "No wonder Si Jiang often mentions her little aunt. I
saw it now. She is so smart. After all, she is a special one from the commander's room. Wow, she
is really impressive."
Grandma Li also went to join in the fun and added: "No need to gossip, the two are a perfect
match. They are both talented and good-looking, you should stay with them and enjoy the
happiness. (No need to say, the two are a perfect match... you should also enjoy the happiness
with them)"
Aunt Chen also praised Shanrang highly: "The little girl is really good at dealing with people. Last
year, she helped me find a good doctor at Ruijin Hospital. This year, after the Spring Festival, it
was not suitable, so I called to try. Oh, doctor Lin is so polite. It has never been convenient for
him to treat illnesses."
Qian Guihua happened to visit her son and daughter on Sunday. They had to have dinner, but
they couldn't stay overnight, otherwise they would have to pay for the water bill for two more
people, which was not cost-effective. Listening to them praising Zhou Shanrang one after another,
she couldn't help but curl her lips. Lucky? Of course she was lucky. She called Chen Donghai back
from work in the cold weather and asked her to go to the hospital in advance to queue up for
registration. The hard work was done by their youngest son and daughter-in-law, but the credit
went to outsiders who could not be touched by eight sticks. For so many years, she never heard
the old man and the old woman say a good word about herself. The more she thought about it,
the more frustrated she felt.
She reached out and stirred the bean sprouts in the sink, looking up at her newly permed hair in
the reflection of the glass window, regretting not bringing powder and lipstick. Her face looked a
little pale and didn't match her hair. She couldn't be lazy for a minute to look good. Qian Guihua
thought carefully about Zhou Shanrang's appearance, and inexplicably felt a little more
complacent.
Granny Gu went in and out and heard several carriageloads of compliments. She smiled so hard
that her eyebrows were hidden. She scolded Bei Wu for not informing her earlier to prepare
some dishes, but her hands were busy. They sliced each piece of dried tofu into twenty slices
horizontally and cut out a pile of dried shreds that looked like steamed buns. She also took out a
small piece of Jinhua ham that was left over from the New Year, cut it into shreds, and fried it in
oil.
Shan Rang went into the kitchen to observe and learn, but Granny Gu refused to let her do
anything: "It's so hot here, go upstairs and turn on the fan. Si Jiang talks about you every day, go
talk to the two sisters. Yes, yes, yes, come here, Xiao Zhou, taste the saltiness. Bei Wu eats a lot,
we will ignore him, it depends on your taste." Shan Rang smiled, took a bite and said it was just
right. She was amazed at her future mother-in-law's way of making Yangzhou hot dried shredded
vegetables and asked how long it would take to learn how to make this dish.
Granny Gu smiled and said, "If you work for one or two years, you can make eight or ten slices of
dried tofu without much trouble. If you work for seven or eight years, you can make more than
twenty slices." She looked at Shan Rang's disappointed and surprised face, and quickly said softly,
"Hey, you are all female comrades of the new era. You can do whatever you want as long as you
can eat your fill. People like us can't read a single word, and it's troublesome to go out. What else
can we do if we don't do these things? Beiwu is very filial. He won't let me sell white orchids, and
he won't let me go to the street production team to make matchboxes or pick pig bristles. I have
no choice but to be busy every day to make food."
Shan Rang was pushed out by Grandma Gu, but saw Jing Sheng took the knife and chopping
board, holding two chopsticks horizontally, chopping quickly, picking up the coir cucumber,
swinging it and spinning it, and placing it on the plate like a dragon. Jing Sheng raised his eyelids
and pursed his lips, and Shan Rang forgot to even say words of praise.
Upstairs, Gu Beiwu was distributing presents to the children. Seeing her dejected look, he asked
with a smile, "Did Secretary Zhou fail in his attempt to become a kitchen master?"
Shanrang felt ashamed: "I can't even compare to Jingsheng's little finger. You really didn't see that
his cucumber dragon is so beautiful——"
“Shrimp Cloth Cucumber!” Sinan couldn’t speak clearly with pea yellow stuffed in his mouth: “My
aunt’s grandfather’s grandfather cooked for the emperor, and everyone in her family can cook -
cough cough cough -”
Si Jiang quickly went to pour her some water and told her to finish her meal first.
Si Nan stroked Shan Rang's hand and said, "Ahem, little aunt, don't be sad. My mother and my
father can't even compare to the nail of my cousin's little finger. My cousin cooks for us. He can
cook more than a dozen dishes by himself! Ahem, my cousin is the best in the world!"
Si Jiang took the cup away with a stern face: "Didn't you say you wouldn't mention your cousin in
three sentences?"
Shanrang and Beiwu burst out laughing.
Sinan was stunned, his eyes rolled, and he raised the kite in his hand: "This swallow kite that my
uncle brought back is really beautiful. Shall we go to the park to fly a kite tomorrow? Sister, can
you fly a kite?"
"I don't know how to do it either." Si Jiang was embarrassed by the adults' laughter. She thought
that Jingsheng's mother was really dead and he must be very sad. She really shouldn't treat
Jingsheng badly, so she turned around and took the initiative to say, "My eldest cousin knows
everything. Go ask him."
Sinan blinked and said, "This time it was you who said it, sister. I didn't say it."
"I said what I said, what's the matter?" Si Jiang coughed twice: "Isn't he also my eldest cousin?"
Beiwu and Shanrang were laughing so hard. Gu Dongwen came back from the market with some
vegetables and asked casually, "What are you talking about? You look so happy."
Sinan grinned: "Talking about how great my cousin is. I already knew that my uncle and aunt are
the most amazing, otherwise how could my cousin be so amazing and always get the first place in
the exams?"
When she heard the first place, Si Jiang's face fell involuntarily. She was still second in the grade
this time, and the total score difference with Zhao Youning was six points.
Gu Dongwen's eyes curved when he was suddenly flattered. He took a piece of jujube flower
crisp from the snack box of Daoxiang Village, broke it in half, gave half to Sinan, and took a bite of
the other half: "Oh, I wish Jingsheng's words were as sweet as yours, Sinan."
Sinan happily took the jujube flower crisp, broke it in half, and gave half to his sister: "Uncle, my
eldest cousin is also very good at talking, and he always uses it wisely."
Everyone in the room was surprised, but Sinan smiled and said, "My mother said that every time
she wanted to scold or beat me, my cousin would always save me. She couldn't even remember
what he said. He either didn't say anything or saved me when he did. I'm not like me who talks a
lot of nonsense. She always wants me to learn from my cousin and use my words wisely. Uncle,
where is the sword?"
There were several sounds of "dong dong dong" on the stairs. Gu Dongwen turned around and
saw Jingsheng lifting the door curtain and leaning most of his body in, then stopping at the door.
Just as I was about to ask him what was going on, Jingsheng lowered his eyes, coughed, and said
softly, "Dad, grandma wants you to go downstairs."
The door curtain was lifted up and then dropped down, and Gu Dongwen's heart rose and fell
with it. He didn't know whether he was happy or sad, surprised or relieved. The remaining jujube
flower crisp in his hand was crushed into powder. He came back to his senses after a few seconds,
and suspected that he had heard it wrongly: "Old Four? Did you hear what he called me?"
Si Jiang replied with a smile: "Uncle, my eldest cousin just called you dad."
Sinan raised his head and asked in confusion: "Uncle, are you a little silly? If cousin doesn't call
you dad, does he call you uncle?"
Gu Dongwen picked up Si Nan and lifted him up several times: "Hey, uncle is so happy that he is
silly. I will take you to fly a kite tomorrow."
——
At night, Grandma Gu called the two brothers Dong Wen and Bei Wu out to "take a walk to digest
their food."
"Back then, Nanhong packed up her bags and ran away. She didn't open a wine shop or invite any
guests. I couldn't control her." Grandma Gu sighed, "Ximei and Donglai got their marriage
certificate in Xinjiang. The Chen family felt bad about it, so they invited me to dinner and gave me
200 yuan as a betrothal gift. Beiwu, you and Shanrang must do a good job no matter what. It's
not easy to raise a daughter, and you have to be worthy of your in-laws. Your mother is from the
countryside and can't read. She can't do anything except help you pay for your wife's money. You
two should discuss how many guests to invite and where to invite them. But the wedding room is
really not decent. Sijiang and I, your eldest brother and Jingsheng, will move to the attic to sleep
first, and you and Shanrang will live in the room. Otherwise, you should repaint the walls, and
you have to buy thirty-six legs as soon as possible-"
Gu Dongwen put his arm around his brother's shoulders and said with a smile, "Look, Mom is just
worrying about nothing. Tell me what you are planning. Tell me the truth."
Gu Beiwu also smiled: "Mom, don't worry about it. Shanrang and I will come back to get the
marriage certificate, and then go on a trip to get married. This is very popular in foreign
countries. We don't need to invite guests, just be happy. We plan to go to Suzhou, Wuxi,
Zhenjiang, go to Nanjing to have a meal with Shanrang's family, and then go to Anhui from
Nanjing. We just happen to go to Xiaogang, Fengyang to investigate the feasibility of the
development of the new rural household contract responsibility system, which is also our
research topic for the summer vacation. Nothing else is needed. Next Sunday, our whole family
will go to the photo studio to take a photo as a souvenir."
Granny Gu was speechless for a long time. She knew in her heart that she couldn't win against
Bei Wu, and she really couldn't give him a decent show.
"Whatever you want, it's all your mother's fault anyway." Grandma Gu sighed and tears welled up
in her eyes. Gu Dongwen quickly took her arm and said, "Mom, what do you always say? It's all
fate, right? How great! Beiwu is really filial. He is thirty years old and has established himself. If he
is still waiting for me to give him money, labor and a house, you might as well put him back into
your stomach."
Granny Gu glared at him and lowered her voice: "And you, the three of them didn't hold a
wedding, you must hold one for me in two years!"
As the mother and her two sons were talking, they ran into Qian Guihua. Grandma Gu disliked
the third mother of the Chen family the most, so she turned her head to talk to her sons and
pretended not to see them. However, Qian Guihua smiled and pulled Chen Donghai to greet
them: "Grandma Si Jiang! Uncle Si Jiang, have you had dinner?"
Granny Gu forced a smile and nodded: "Are you guys going back?"
Chen Donghai enthusiastically handed out two cigarettes: "Brother Dongdong, long time no see,
what unit are you working in now?"
"Still hanging out at a community college, a community university." Gu Dongwen said with a
smile. In his impression, Chen Donghai was still a little fat boy with a tuft of fuzz on his mouth. He
hadn't seen him for more than ten years. Now that he wore black-framed glasses, with his belt
tied under his chest and a briefcase under his arm, he looked like a small leader in an office.
Qian Guihua pulled Granny Gu: "Congratulations, congratulations, I heard that Uncle Si Jiang is
getting married, right? Which restaurant is it? Xinghualou or Xinya Cantonese Restaurant?"
Without waiting for Granny Gu to speak, she started to talk happily: "My son's new wife is a top
student from Peking University, and the bride is also from a prominent family, so we need to set
up at least 18 tables, right? Remember to invite Alaqie for the wedding wine. By the way, Wang
Kai Photo Studio has started to provide wedding photo service again. The bride looks so beautiful
in her white wedding dress, which is very praised, but the price is very high, it costs more than
ten dollars for a set of photos——"
Gu Dongwen interrupted her with a smile: "Donghai, your son is not going to get married yet, is
he? I see your wife is very knowledgeable. Are you going to upgrade to become grandparents?"
Chen Donghai's smile froze, thinking about Qian Guihua's recent perming of her hair, wearing
glass stockings, and asking someone to bring her some powder and lipstick from abroad, he
couldn't help but overthinking.
Qian Guihua felt goosebumps when she saw her husband's expression. She quickly took two
steps back and explained, "Alas, I was transferred to the factory union. Young people need to
solve their personal problems, and it's always our union that needs to worry about it—"
Watching the couple walk away, Granny Gu spat, "Why are you going to do it? My family won't do
it. You learned from foreigners how to travel and get married. You want me to treat you to a
wedding banquet? Dream on!"

Chapter 65
The wedding banquet will definitely not be held. Although Grandma Gu didn't say anything, she
felt very unhappy in her heart. When she and Old Gu got married, they at least set up eight
tables of wine at the entrance of the temple. Why don't the younger generation care about these
things at all?
At night, Beiwu and Dongwen took Jingsheng to sleep in the attic. Grandma Gu wiped the cool
mat and pillow on her bed again and again, and asked Shanrang to take Sijiang Sinan to sleep on
the bed: "You three sleep on the top, I, an old woman, sleep on a hard place and it's comfortable.
Don't fight with me."
Shan Rang had already occupied the mat on the ground, and Si Jiangsinan lay on her left and
right, asking her to tell him about the interesting things that happened in college.
Granny Gu was unable to persuade them and finally had to give up. She tossed and turned in
bed, unable to fall asleep. The two brothers in the attic kept talking, and Si Nan and Si Jiang on
the floor kept laughing. She closed her eyes only when everything quieted down in the middle of
the night. She woke up in the morning before dawn and saw Si Nan's legs resting on Si Jiang's
stomach. Si Jiang was lying on his side with half of his body sleeping on the cement. Shan Rang
was nowhere to be seen. She looked at the clock on the wall and it was only half past four.
Thinking of how Shanrang wanted to help in the kitchen yesterday, Grandma Gu quickly opened
the curtain, moved the two little ones neatly, opened the door quietly and went downstairs. The
street lights outside were dim, and there was a big padlock on the kitchen. She breathed a sigh of
relief, went back upstairs, climbed up the ladder to look in the attic, and Beiwu was not there
either. There were too many children in the house, so it was no wonder that the two children
went out in the middle of the night. She just didn't know where they went. What would she do if
they ran into the patrolling militia? She went back downstairs, but Jingsheng on the floor woke up
and said softly, "Uncle and the others went to the Bund to watch the sunrise."
Gu Dongwen kicked Jingsheng lightly on the buttocks: "Go to sleep, you are a thief eavesdropping
in the middle of the night."
Jingsheng kicked back without any hesitation: "The sound got into my ears by itself, what does it
have to do with me? Didn't you hear it too?"
Both Grandma Gu and Gu Dongwen laughed.
The door of the kitchen creaked open, and Gu Dongwen turned over. The skylight outside the
dormer window slowly showed a crab-belly blue. Jingsheng was right. The sound also ran into his
ears by itself. He didn't want to listen. It was probably Shanrang who proposed to watch the
sunrise. Young girls always have strange ideas when they fall in love. Susu was the same. She
climbed on him in the middle of the night and bit his ear. He thought she had an idea and his
neck was numb with excitement. In the end, she asked him if he would like to accompany her to
climb a tree. She wanted to know why Jingsheng would rather stay in the tree than stay under
her nose. What could he do? He carried her on his back to climb. The strangler fig was the easiest
to climb. After climbing up, she thought it was too short, so she changed to the parasol tree. She
still insisted on climbing by herself. He supported her from below and sent her up. She would sit
on his head at any time, and she would giggle. They also saw the sunrise in Jinghong. She was
only concerned with watching the morning glow and the sun, and he was only concerned with
watching her.
Gu Dongwen almost greedily recalled every minute and every second of the past. In the past
three years, he dared not even think about it. If he thought about it, he would die. Now, if he
didn't think about it, he would die. He had no choice.
——
Beiwu and Shanrang left the house at three o'clock, riding their bicycles eastward along Beijing
West Road. Shanrang hugged Beiwu's waist and yawned: "Old Gu, are you 31 or 18 years old?
How did you suddenly think of taking me to see the sunrise?"
"In this life, at the first dawn, I want to kiss your pure forehead. The light ignited by my
passionate kiss will surge brilliant waves in your heart. The flame that never calms down leaps
and roars in my heart." Gu Beiwu finished reciting loudly, turned around with a smile and said:
"Thank you Master Tagore for writing "Ode to the Sun", which speaks out my heart."
Shan Rang laughed so hard that he no longer felt sleepy, tightened his arms, and put his face on
his back: "You really took the exam for the wrong department. The country has lost a philosopher
or a poet. It's a pity."
"You are philosophy, you are poetry." Gu Beiwu said with a smile.
Shan Rang gave him a hard squeeze: "You are using your words on the edge. Who is too modest
to say that he is not good at words and will not please girls?"
Gu Beiwu laughed loudly: "I have been influenced by you a lot, and I understand a little bit, but it
is far worse than you."
When the first ray of sunlight shone on the green spire of the Peace Hotel, Shan Rang stood up
on tiptoes with a smile and pressed a kiss on Bei Wu's lips: "What I want to kiss is not just your
pure forehead."
Gu Beiwu hugged her tightly, turned around and shouted to the Huangpu River: "Zhou Shanrang!
Please marry me!" But the last five words were drowned out by the sudden sound of the whistle,
and the three words "I love you" could not be shouted out. Beiwu looked at the ship not far away
with resentment, and was silent for a moment facing the river. He turned back to look at
Shanrang and said with a red face: "This kind of proposal doesn't seem very romantic, it's a bit
silly, isn't it?"
Shan Rang smiled so hard that he doubled over. He rushed forward and hugged him tightly: "I do.
I do."
The bell of the Customs Building rang, and the prelude of "The East is Red" sounded. Not far
away, the old men and women who were pointing at the two of them raised their heads and
chests and began to sing loudly: "The East is Red, the sun is rising--"
Next to the morning Tai Chi and Tai Chi sword training team, Beiwu kissed Shanrang's forehead
devoutly: "You are my sun, I love you, Shanrang."
——
At noon, Beiwu and Shanrang returned to Wanchun Street. They saw that the house was in
chaos. It turned out that Nanhong had sent Zhao's eldest, second and third children here early in
the morning. Chen Siqiang and Chen Simin also dragged Siqi to play with Sijiang and Sinan. The
sun was too hot outside, so Jingsheng went out for a walk and then quietly hid in the attic to
read. Sinan looked for him for a long time, and even pretended to read when he came back. Of
course, Sijiang had to accompany his sister, and was busy washing her face and making iced sour
plum soup for her. He also read to Sinan seriously. After reading for a while, he became confused
and asked indirectly to confirm that Amei seemed to have wasted this grade.
Siqi, who squeezed in, was very happy. She was about to enter the senior class of kindergarten
and knew many words that first-grade students did not know. Simin and Siqiang comforted Sinan:
"You will stay for two more grades anyway, so don't worry."
Zhao's second son laughed happily: "Nongbi A Ge Wu Laisai (You are better than me, my brother).
I got 8 points in my first math test!"
Being despised by his cousin and then being treated as a friend by his cousin from the Zhao
family, Si Nan was unhappy: "I will be able to move up to the second grade next year!"
All the monkeys in the room shouted in unison: "You wish!"
Si Nan sobbed and threw herself into her elder sister's arms and stamped her feet. Si Jiang held
back his laughter and picked up his old first-grade Chinese textbook: "Don't be afraid, don't be
afraid. Come here, elder sister will teach you."
After learning three or five words, Si Nan couldn't sit still even with his older cousin around, so he
slipped downstairs under the pretext of going to the bathroom. Si Qi followed him down the
ladder: "Nan Nan, I'll teach you to recite ancient poems, goose, goose, goose--"
Sinan escaped and climbed onto a chair to help grandma pick cold noodles and blow the electric
fan, pretending not to hear anything. Sijiang also brought his brothers downstairs and
surrounded grandma to help, some pinching bean sprouts, some peeling garlic, and if they didn't
make a fuss about throwing the bean sprout tips and blowing the garlic skins here and there, it
would be a happy time.
Granny Gu complained to Gu Dongwen about Nan Hong: "She doesn't have the fate of a young
lady, but she has the style of a young lady. I have worked for the Fang family for decades, and
now I have to be their servant. It's really amazing! She is rich."
Shanrang quietly asked Dongwen what happened. Gu Dongwen blinked and smiled as she
pushed a bag of edamame to her: "The revolutionary masses have high consciousness. Anyone
who gives her food money is insulting her personality. Working like a slave makes my mother
noble."
Granny Gu wiped her hands on her apron, asked Sinan to raise the long chopsticks, and turned
her head to glare at Beiwu: "Have you taken Shanrang to have breakfast?"
"I've eaten. We had wontons and pan-fried buns. They were delicious." Shan Rang quickly
stepped in to help.
Si Jiang raised his head and said, "Aunt! Have you ever counted how many wontons there are in a
bowl?"
Shan Rang was stunned: "I didn't count, maybe a dozen? Ten or twelve?"
Si Jiang smiled mischievously: "When my uncle took me to eat wontons before, the waitress
would always give me two extra ones because she liked my uncle!"
Beiwu tapped Sijiang on the forehead with a chestnut: "Hey, why are you telling tales?"
Sinan retorted seriously: "Uncle! Saying it in front of me is not called snitching." She threw down
the noodles, ran to Shanrang, turned her back to Beiwu and raised her palm to cover her face:
"Aunt, I'll tell you in secret, uncle likes a sister named Fang. When he came to Xinjiang, he wrote
letters to her, drew many pictures for her, and sent her photos."
Several boys started to make noises without any care. Granny Gu and Gu Dongwen were stunned
and looked at Beiwu. Gu Beiwu touched his nose helplessly and shook his head with a smile.
Si Jiang stood up with his face flushed, and pulled Si Nan over and said to her with a stern face:
"Nan Nan, what are you talking about? It's not true! Uncle only likes Aunt Shan to be alone!"
Sinan stretched his neck and shouted, "Why not? That's not what you said last year! In that
beautiful hotel, you clearly said you met Sister Fang—"
Shan Rang squatted down, hugged the two sisters and said with a smile: "Okay, okay, what's the
big deal? I knew about this a long time ago. Your uncle told me a long time ago, and I was there
that day. You probably forgot that we met in the toilet, right?"
Si Jiang held back his tears, glared at Si Nan, and broke away from Shan Rang's hand: "Amei, you
don't keep your word! We agreed that this is a secret and no one can tell it. You are so annoying!
I don't like you and I don't want to be with you anymore!"
Sinan blinked, turned around and muttered, "If you don't like me, then don't like me. If you don't
want to be with me, then don't be with me. Don't be surprised. (What's the big deal)"
Si Jiang wiped his tears and climbed up the stairs. The living room was quiet, with only the
whirring of the electric fan.
Si Qi thought for a moment and chased after Si Jiang: "Sister! If you like me and are good friends
with me, I won't say anything nonsense."
Now it was Sinan's turn to cry. The living room was in chaos.
The sisters' disagreement was quite a big deal. The boys quickly took sides. Simin and Siqiang
supported Sinan and despised Siqi. The eldest, second and third brothers of the Zhao family
stood with Sijiang and blamed Sinan for being a "traitor". If it was the revolutionary era, she
would definitely be the first to become a traitor. Sinan quarreled with the Zhao cousins and was
not at a disadvantage even if she fought three of them alone. However, when she went to seek
the support of her eldest cousin, Jingsheng said she was wrong and asked her to apologize to
Sijiang. This stirred up a hornet's nest. Sinan burst into tears and accused her eldest cousin of
being a traitor and a traitor.
"My dear cousin, you are so annoying! I don't like you anymore. I don't want to be friends with
you anymore!"
Jingsheng flipped through the book calmly: "If I don't like it, I don't like it. If it's not good, then I
don't like it. Don't be too curious." He raised his eyelids: "Anyway, I'm going to transfer to
Shanghai to study next semester."
"???!!!" Si Nan was stunned for a long time, and asked Gu Dongwen doubtfully. After getting a
positive answer, he immediately lay on the ground and rolled around crying.
"My eldest cousin is mine! My eldest cousin is mine - I don't want to be separated from my eldest
cousin! My eldest cousin is annoying! I don't like my eldest cousin anymore!"
Granny Gu couldn't drag her or hold her, so she asked her helplessly, "So do you like your cousin
or do you hate him?"
On a hot day, Lisnan's face was covered with snot, tears and sweat. She stretched her neck and
yelled towards the attic: "Hate, hate, hate!" She turned around and lay on the ground and kicked
her legs desperately: "Wuwuwuwu, I don't want my cousin to go back to Shanghai. I don't want
my cousin to go back to Shanghai - I hate my cousin!"
Grandma Gu sighed and said there was nothing she could do.
Bei Wu and Shan made people laugh and cry, only Gu Dongwen was calm and composed, holding
the steel wok to mix the sauce for the cold noodles: "By the way, Mom, do you have any
fermented rice? I need some fermented rice and vinegar so it can be cut."
Jingsheng slid down the ladder, crossed his arms, and looked coldly at Sinan who was still rolling
on the ground. Sinan glanced at him secretly, and the noise gradually became quieter. She turned
her face away and lay on the cement, sobbing. Ah, the cement was really cool, she couldn't help
but stick to it.
A wet towel was thrown on her face.
"Get up. Go outside and wipe your face under the faucet." Jingsheng kicked her butt.
Sinan covered his face with a towel and pretended to be dead, but was hit on the butt again.
"If you don't get up, I won't take you to fly a kite."
Watching Jingsheng and Sinan go downstairs one after the other, Granny Gu shook her head and
said, "Everything can defeat something else. I didn't expect Jingsheng to be able to defeat Sinan."
Gu Dongwen saw Si Jiang sitting on the ladder in a daze, and said with a smile: "It's useless to just
please and obey Fu Si Nan, this little rascal. Jing Sheng was even more rascally than her when he
was a child, and it took me a year to discipline him."
Si Jiang bit his lip and climbed back to the attic.

Chapter 66
That night, two large mats were laid out in the living room of the Gu family, and the four boys
slept sideways in a row. The eldest, the second, and the third were swatting mosquitoes, drinking
water, and going downstairs to urinate together. They were very busy.
There was another commotion in the inner room. Shan Rang took Si Jiang and Si Nan to lie down.
Si Nan pestered Shan Rang with a hammer and a stick, and quarreled with the Zhao cousins
outside at the top of his voice. Si Jiang said nothing, and closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.
Si Nan would poke his head out to glance at her from time to time, and became listless in less
than half an hour. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He got up and went to sleep
on his grandmother's bed. She deliberately crawled over Shan Rang and stepped lightly on Si
Jiang's foot. Si Jiang opened his eyes slightly, and when he saw it was Si Nan, he retracted his foot
and pretended nothing had happened.
Sinan stood beside the mat and stared at her sister for a few seconds. She snorted, raised her
head, twisted her butt, and ran towards the big bed. Unexpectedly, she stepped on the mosquito
coil tray and the mosquito coil burned her instep. She screamed and jumped twice, and the
mosquito coil ash was all over the floor.
"How could that be?" Grandma Gu quickly turned on the light and got out of bed.
Si Jiang stood up suddenly, held Si Nan and brushed the dust off her feet. He saw that her big
eyes were blinking and she was crying miserably without a single tear, yet she looked sly and
complacent. He was so angry that he snorted and walked out with his hands spread out.
Sinan lost his balance on one foot and fell on top of his grandmother: "Hey, hey, hey!"
Shanrang was stunned and reached out to hold Sinan, then he remembered what Beiwu said
about letting the children solve their own problems, and he swallowed back what he was about
to say.
"Why are you feeding me? All you know is to cause trouble to others. What a trouble!" Si Jiang
deliberately complained loudly.
Seeing that Sinan’s mouth was pursed and he looked like he was about to cry, Shanrang turned
his head away and tried hard to hold back his laughter.
"Brother, please make way. I need a rag and a towel. You are clumsy and there is mosquito coil
ash everywhere." Si Jiang sighed and his voice became louder: "Alas, sister Si Qi is sensible. She
accidentally spilled the orange juice and still remembered to wipe it clean by herself."
Jingsheng was lying on his side with his eyes closed, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help
twitching.
"I'll do it." "I'll go! Let's go in together!" "Who's so stupid? It must be Nannan, hahahaha." Ada,
Aer, and Asan became excited and soon surrounded Si Jiang and ran in holding a rag and towel.
Sinan pushed his grandmother and Shanrang away and sat on the ground alone, crying while
holding his "injured foot".
"I miss my mom. I want to go back to Xinjiang." She swept her other leg left and right, scraping
the mosquito coil ash everywhere. Then she looked at her sister who had no reaction and said
angrily, "Shanghai is not a good place. There are so many bad people!"
Si Jiang ignored her and squatted down to wipe the floor: "Brother, there is some on the mat too,
wipe it with a towel."
Ah San crawled on his knees to wipe the mat, and made faces at Si Nan on the way: "Little
crybaby, cry quickly, where are your tears? Hehehe."
Si Nan was so angry that he kicked Zhao Asan with his legs: "Go away! Go away!"
Si Jiang held down her legs and showed the authority of a squadron leader: "Chen Sinan, you are
unreasonable, you don't keep your word, you don't apologize when you do something wrong,
you caused trouble and your brother came to help, but you still made trouble. You should go
away and face the wall behind the bed!"
Sinan opened her mouth for a long time before she realized that her elder sister, who had always
obeyed her in everything, had really turned against her. She put her injured foot on her thigh,
supported herself on the ground with her hands, and moved to the living room: "I don't care
about my elder sister. Anyway, I am a Xinjiang girl picked up by my mother. I want to go back to
find my Xinjiang parents! I'm leaving now!"
Si Jiang threw the rag down, rushed out of the room before Si Nan, rummaged in the chest of
drawers, took out a newspaper clipping and put it in front of Si Nan: "Mom gave birth to you with
great difficulty on the train. This is Hami Railway Station! Look! Your head is like a long winter - it
is a little long because it is squeezed. This is you. What do you mean you are an adopted Xinjiang
child? Why do you always talk nonsense? You don't even want your mom? How sad will your
mom be if she knows?"
Sinan took a glance, got startled, was stunned for a moment, and shook his head violently: "You
are talking nonsense, I don't believe it! This is definitely not me."
"It's you, it's you, it's you!" Si Jiang threw the clippings back into the drawer, took out some
cooling oil, rubbed a large piece of it on the red spot on her instep, Si Nan grimaced in pain: "It's
not me! It's not me! It's not me!"
Si Jiang left her behind: "It's up to you. If you don't recognize me, then don't recognize me. If you
want to go back to Xinjiang, then go back." She slammed the curtain angrily and went back to her
room.
Ada, Aer, and Asan came out holding rags and made faces at Sinan.
Jingsheng opened his eyes, bent his legs, and made way for the wide road, the only thing he did
short of saying please.
Sinan stretched his neck and tilted his head, feeling trapped in a dilemma. He looked back at the
swaying curtain, then looked back at his eldest cousin's face, gritted his teeth and said, "Hmph, I
don't have any money! I'll leave tomorrow!" He stood up, limped back to his room, climbed onto
the big bed and curled up into a ball.
Ah Da, Ah Er, Ah San laughed so hard that they each kicked Jing Sheng in the face.
"Sleepy Gao!" Jing Sheng shouted.
When the elder brother spoke, the younger brothers quickly suppressed their laughter and
silently beat the ground on the mat.
The room gradually became quiet, and Grandma Gu sighed and turned off the light.
Si Nan suddenly said in the darkness: "I'm going to sleep! (I'm going to sleep.)"
Si Jiang immediately replied: "Don't make any noise, I'm already asleep."
"Why are you still talking when you are asleep?"
"I'm talking in my sleep!"
"you're lying."
"What's wrong with just lying to you?"
"..." Sinan thought about it carefully, and it seemed that there was nothing she could do. She was
so angry, this must be a fake sister! Maybe she was transformed by a monster, and the eldest
cousin was also a fake eldest cousin, and the two monsters were in the same group. She has
become Tang Monk now, so pitiful, thinking about it, she was so angry that she fell asleep. In her
dream, she rode the swallow kite that she released in the afternoon and returned to Aksu, but
her mother said with a stern face, "You only know how to talk nonsense, I don't know you, go
find your grandparents in Xinjiang." After that, her mother took a foot basin and poured water on
her.
Sinan was so anxious that he burst into tears. After he opened his eyes and calmed himself down,
he cried even more miserably.
Five-year-old Chen Sinan wet the bed after falling asleep from an argument with her sister. Of
course, Chen Sinan really has no memory of this incident.
"Argued with you? Impossible. Sister, you are so nice to me, how could you quarrel with me?"
"I told my aunt that my uncle likes Sister Fang? Impossible. I'm not a fool."
"I've seen that newspaper? Impossible. The first time I saw it was in Dad's notebook."
"Bedwetting? You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. Don't
slander me just because I'm so pretty. I can sue you for defamation, understand? You have the
right to remain silent, but everything you say will be used as evidence in court!"
——
Sunday came in a flash, and the Gu family went to Wang Kai Photo Studio on Nanjing East Road
to take photos. Qian Guihua was finally put to use, and after Gu Beiwu and Shanren discussed it,
they planned to take a set of wedding photos as a souvenir.
Without the support of her two cousins from the Chen family, although Si Nan was still unwilling
to reconcile with Si Jiang, she was tactful enough not to act naughty again. She had realized that
her eldest cousin had changed since returning to Shanghai.
Si Jiang always found it funny and sad to see her being so stubborn, but she couldn't figure out
how to make Si Nan realize his mistakes. However, what her uncle said made sense. She was so
good to Si Nan before, but Si Nan was heartless. Now that she ignored her, Si Nan would sneak a
peek at her from time to time and always follow her. When she found out, the little guy would
look around and pretend nothing happened.
In the photo studio, everyone focused their attention on Shanrang, but Si Jiang was paying
attention to his sister. Seeing her squatting beside him and struggling with the buttonholes of her
new leather shoes, he finally couldn't help but walk over to her.
Sinan tried hard to poke for a long time but couldn't get through the buttonhole of the leather
shoelace. Seeing his sister coming, he deliberately turned away and kicked his leather shoes
away: "I don't want new shoes, grandma - grandma -!"
Si Jiang silently brought the brand new red leather shoes over, poked the buttonholes hard, and
held Si Nan's feet to put them on: "Haven't you always wanted a pair of bright red leather shoes?
This is a gift from your aunt. If you kick it off casually, she will be sad."
Sinan pursed his lips and said nothing, and somehow his eyes gradually turned red.
Si Jiang picked her up and tied the bow of her new dress for her: "We are going to be the flower
girls for my aunt today. We have to be pretty, okay?"
Sinan looked down at the big bow and suddenly started crying and complaining: "I hate my elder
sister! I hate my elder cousin! You all ignore me, I am so pitiful! No one likes me, no one wants
me!"
Grandma Gu was startled, but was pulled back by Dongwen and Beiwu, who took the three Zhao
brothers away.
Si Jiang looked at his sister's tears, his heart ached and he couldn't help sobbing: "You promised
me to keep that secret, how come you forgot? You promised to write to me every month, did you
forget it all? You promised to call me once a month, did you forget it too? You always break your
promises, so I'm sad too. Nan Nan, do you not like your sister anymore? You also said that you
don't want your sister or your mother anymore, then my mother and I must feel sorry for you
and cry too."
The two sisters talked to each other, and gradually they talked more and more, and cried less and
less.
——
Shanrang changed into her wedding dress and walked out of the dressing room with a red face.
Ada, Er'er and San started screaming and whistling.
"Sijiang Sinan, come and see your aunt! Your aunt is so beautiful!"
Shanrang laughed and shouted, "Where are my two little fairy flower girls? This skirt is too long, I
need your help!"
"Here I come!" Si Jiang took Si Nan's hand and ran over.
Jingsheng took out a handkerchief and covered Sinan's face, rubbing it roughly: "Don't let your
snot drop on your skirt." Sinan screamed in pain.
Si Jiang snatched the handkerchief: "What are you doing? Be gentle, won't it hurt Nan Nan? I'll do
it, I'll do it!"
Sinan took the opportunity to hug her sister: "Nannan, I'm happy, sister! My cousin is so
annoying."
"Sister likes Nannan too." Si Jiang smiled with eyes curved in the corners of his eyes. It's just that,
my cousin is so annoying.
Jingsheng glanced at Si Jiang with a look of disappointment, and then walked to Gu Dongwen and
sighed: "You are not doing your best, you deserve it."
A smile appeared in Gu Dongwen's dimples.
Sinan was very happy, her cousin was still her cousin, and her elder sister was still her elder sister.
Ah, Shanghai was great, and grandma's house was great.

Chapter 67
Taking wedding photos is a physically demanding job. The children's initial excitement and
anticipation are completely exhausted by the repeated instructions of "Smile more, come closer,
tilt your head..."
"My neck was clearly stretched forward, but he kept asking me to stretch it out, and then asked
me to pull my chin back. Should I stretch it out or pull it back?" Zhao Ada finally finished taking a
few group photos, stepped back and stretched his stiff neck, and said indignantly: "I'm not a
goose, how can I sing to the sky?"
Ah Er demonstrated by stretching and retracting his neck forward: "Master said that Sister Sijiang
looks like a swan. Gemoala is her cousin, so it's not surprising that she is mistaken for a goose."
Ah San added: "Sijiang is a swan, the eldest brother is a big goose, the second brother is a
medium goose, and I am a little goose. What is Sinan?"
Jingsheng somehow thought of the ugly duckling in Andersen's fairy tale. Whether it was ugly or
not was another matter, but it was indeed a duck. After Sinan and Sijiang reconciled, they wanted
to say all the things they had not said in the past few days in one breath. It was really too noisy.
As soon as Sinan finished taking a photo with his sister, he ran down to retort: "I'm not a goose,
I'm a human. You geese are the most annoying. You're noisy, and you poop everywhere. It stinks."
And that ancient poem about geese, geese, geese, I hate it too.
Unexpectedly, Si Jiang took the opportunity to impart cultural knowledge: "Nannan, come on,
why don't we recite an ancient poem together. Goose, goose, goose——"
"Help! Big cousin, help! I don't want the goose, I don't want the goose!"
The elders shouted in unison: "Geese, geese, geese, singing with their necks bent to the sky—"
"It's not a curved neck, it's a curved neck!" Si Jiang quickly corrected: "Don't teach it randomly."
"That's the curved neck!" The three Zhao brothers expressed their dissatisfaction, saying that this
is how they have been reading it since childhood.
"No goose, goose shit is the greasy thing, chickens are better, I can recite poetry, chickens chirp
—" Sinan was not convinced, chickens are not good enough? Why must we have geese?
The photographer who was busy taking pictures turned around and said, "Children who have
finished taking pictures can go outside and wait. I will call you in when it's your turn, okay?"
Sinan shook his head: "No, I want to see my uncle and my aunt! My aunt, you are so pretty! Even
prettier than Awarguli, the prettiest girl in Aksu. You are like the moon in the sky, like the snow on
the top of the Tianshan Mountains, like--" I forgot the lyrics. How did the uncle selling mutton in
the bazaar sing it...
Kitatake and Yoshirang, who were very nervous in front of the camera, smiled with their teeth
showing. The shutter clicked. The photographer looked at the camera with satisfaction and said,
"This kid is quite helpful. You can stay. Other kids can go out. Bride and groom, look here. You just
smiled very naturally. Yes, yes, yes, come closer. Groom, don't press on the bride's face. It's too
far. Just gently touch it."
Shan Rang couldn't help but snicker, "Thank you for your hard work, Lao Gu. I didn't expect taking
a photo would require so many details. It's so difficult to get the distance, weight, and depth
right."
Beiwu lowered his head and gently touched her face: "It's not hard, it's quite happy - and very
rewarding." He just couldn't control his impurity for a moment, and felt that sometimes he could
guide Shanrang to make it clear about the requirements of distance, nearness, importance and
importance. Gu Beiwu felt ashamed for his mind wandering in public, and he also felt some
secret happiness, so that he subconsciously moved a little further away from Shanrang to avoid
his uncontrollable wandering, but was immediately corrected by the strict master, and his palms
were sweaty.
Sinan was very proud of successfully pushing the four cousins out of the door: "All of you go out,
go out, I can help you, sister, come with me!"
Jingsheng rolled his eyes at her, turned around and saw Gu Dongwen flipping through a book he
had brought, so he quickly went over and snatched it back.
Si Jiang watched Jingsheng being pushed out, and vaguely felt that he had won again, and
couldn't help but show his teeth.
Gu Beiwu was tossed around several times. The lights were hot and sweat was oozing from his
forehead. Even Shan Rang found that he was a little too tense. He couldn't help but look at her.
Today's Shan Rang looked different than he had ever seen or even imagined. She was not only
beautiful, but also had a holy sense of ritual. He even began to waver in his decision to travel and
get married. Shan Rang always supported his proposal and would find more reasons to support
his decision. But if such a beautiful Shan Rang wore such a beautiful wedding dress and married
him with the blessings of many relatives and friends, it would indeed be more grand and formal
as her mother said, and it would better reflect his love for her.
"Groom! Please look at my camera, don't keep looking at the bride. You will have to look at her
for the rest of your life. It's okay to look less." The photographer teased, "Can you look less? The
bride, you won't be angry, will you? You won't make him kneel on the washboard when he gets
home?"
Shanrang burst out laughing and gave Beiwu an elbow: "Hey, if you don't look at the camera, the
photographer will bring out the washboard."
Si Jiang couldn't help shouting, "Aunt, don't blame uncle. His eyes don't listen to him and want to
look at you. He can't do anything about it. Who made you so beautiful? Nan Nan, right? We can't
help but keep staring at aunt."
Sinan added seriously: "Yes, yes, sometimes I want to get out of bed, but the bed won't let me go,
and I really can't do anything about it."
Beiwu was manipulated into another pose by the photographer, with his back to back. He smiled
and whispered, "I think we should set up dozens of tables in Xinya so that everyone can come
and see how beautiful and good my wife is."
Shan Rang's face turned red and he gently squeezed his hand: "It's enough for you to know."
"It's not enough. I felt it was not enough when I saw you walking out in your wedding dress. I was
so selfish."
"I hope you can be a little more selfish in this regard." Shanrang raised the fake flower in his hand
higher as instructed: "Because I will definitely be more selfish than you."
The photographer reminded helplessly: "You can say less whispers, go back and talk slowly, come
on, smile——"
Sinan sighed and shook his head: "Alas, their mouths are not obedient, and they can't do
anything about it."
——
At the end of July, there was a double happiness. Beiwu and Shanrang received their marriage
certificate and wedding photos. Before Beiwu could publicize it, most of the residents of
Wanchun Street had seen his and Shanrang's wedding photos from Grandma Gu.
Grandma Gu went to Lane 74 to invite Grandpa Chen and Aunt Chen, and returned to Lane 63
with her son's wedding photo, smiling from ear to ear. Everyone's praise was absolutely right. The
fourth son was kind and gentle, oh no, he and his new wife were both talented and beautiful, a
real match made in heaven.
The second good news is that Gu Ximei received an admission notice and will officially join the
correspondence course of Xinjiang Normal University in September. She will be able to obtain a
diploma from a normal college in two years.
"Nannan, you must also study hard. Your parents are college students, and your uncle and aunt
are also college students. You and your sister will also go to college in the future, do you know
that?" Grandma Gu used this to encourage Sinan. Even she found that this child did not love
learning as much as Sijiang.
Si Nan pouted and rubbed against Gu Dongwen: "Uncle, are you also a college student?"
"Me too." Gu Dongwen put down the documents and forms in his hands with a smile: "Social
university is also a university. You can learn until you die. Be a good primary school student first,
and then you can be a good university student."
Jingsheng raised his eyelids and chuckled twice, thinking to himself, "You are so shameless that
you even lie to children."
Si Jiang came over with a first-grade Chinese textbook: "Nannan, you even know how to use
metaphors. These are very simple. Come, let's continue learning pinyin."
Si Nan was dragged away by his sister with a bitter face. Gu Dongwen raised his eyebrows at Gu
Jingsheng, revealing his sweet dimples: "Why? Is your father not social enough?"
Jingsheng rolled his eyes and turned around silently to watch Sinan learn pinyin.
The next night, the two large round tables at Xinya Cantonese Restaurant were full. Although
Grandma Gu repeatedly told Grandpa Chen and Aunt Chen that they were just having a meal
together as a family and that it was not a wedding banquet and that they should not give gifts,
Grandpa Chen still gave Shanrang a big red envelope of 100 yuan. Gu Nanhong and his wife also
gave a gift of 100 yuan, which Beiwu accepted generously. Grandma Gu put the red gold bracelet
that she had hidden for more than ten years on Shanrang's hand. Thinking that it was originally
left for Dongwen's wife, but it was a pity that the girl from the Shu family had a bad fate, her eyes
were red and she choked up again.
Chen A-niang smiled and joked, "A-fang, other people's mothers are crying because they can't
bear to let their daughters go. Why are you crying because you're getting married? You're so
excited. But it's no wonder. This is my first time to have a wedding feast at your house. Even I'm
so excited that I'm about to cry. Beiwu, your mother has had a hard time. She finally made it
through."
Si Jiang hugged his grandmother and wiped her tears. Si Nan said loudly: "The mother of my aunt
is going to cry."
Everyone burst into laughter.
——
At night, Gu Dongwen called Beiwu out, and the two brothers walked out of Wanchun Street and
headed towards Jing'an Temple.
"I'll owe you the red envelope first." Gu Dongwen took out a cigarette, lit it, and threw another
cigarette to Beiwu.
"You went to the street to get so much information, do you have any plans?"
"Well, I heard you say that the country has a policy, so I went to the street to ask if I could open a
small private restaurant. I didn't want to work in a textile factory, and of course the factory didn't
want to accept me. The country is in trouble now, and the city is not easy either. Hundreds of
thousands of people are returning to the city, and it's only right for young people to have jobs."
Dongwen approached a closed state-owned restaurant on the roadside, leaned on the glass and
looked inside: "In addition to fighting, tapping rubber and farming, I only learned a few dishes
from Susu. She always said that if she returned to Yangzhou, she would find a way to open a small
restaurant or become a chef, so I did it for her."
He turned to Bei Wu and smiled, "The secretary of the street is quite supportive. He said that we
can apply for a private restaurant license, but there is no precedent in the city. We need to
discuss with other units how to operate it, and we have to submit a report to apply. It will
probably take four or five months to get a reply. So not only do I owe you a red envelope, but I
also have to borrow some money from you to open the store."
Bei Wu pondered for a moment and said, "Brother, do you want to join Radio Factory No. 18? I
have been in contact with their chief engineer."
Gu Dongwen shook his head and continued walking: "You don't know your brother yet? You
might as well kill me than let me stay by the assembly line. What, do you think I can't open a
restaurant? You still think so after eating the dishes cooked by Jingsheng?"
Bei Wu laughed and said, "That's not the case. Running a restaurant is really too hard—"
"No matter how hard it is, it's harder than living in Yunnan. I've eaten less meat in Yunnan in
more than ten years than I have in the past two months." Gu Dongwen glared at him, "Are you
afraid of borrowing money? Don't worry, I'll write you an IOU and calculate the interest based on
the bank's interest."
Bei Wu was anxious: "Brother, what are you talking about? It's because you had such a hard time
in Yunnan that I don't want you to have to suffer even more when you come back. No matter how
hard it is to work, it's always less laborious than running a restaurant."
"Why do you become fussy after getting married? Lend me 500 yuan first, and I'll pay you back
600 yuan in two years. The red envelope is extra." Gu Dongwen kicked Beiwu.
Bei Wu smiled and brushed off the shoe prints on his pants: "I'll give you one thousand, five
hundred is a loan to you, and the other five hundred is for me and Shan Rang to invest in the
stock together. If you make money, you will share 30% with us."
"Then you're at a big loss."
"You still contribute your efforts, people and technology." Bei Wu said with a smile: "It is the
same when our country introduces foreign investment. Technology should also be considered as
investment. If you really can't make money, Shan Rang and I will give you some advice."
"Okay, then we brothers have to settle accounts in black and white." Gu Dongwen was not polite:
"I have already looked at more than ten shops. Let's go and have a look together before you
leave."
"Okay." Bei Wu was relieved. His elder brother never did anything without confidence. As long as
he was willing, he would do anything.

Chapter 68
Zhou Shanli drove an olive green Volga produced in the Soviet Union in 1962 from Yan'an in a
hurry, but still arrived in Shanghai a day late.
After he entered Henan, he was particularly craving for the legendary Yellow River carp baked
noodles. He asked around in Kaifeng before he could eat it. The higher his expectations, the
greater his disappointment. As a result, he ate too much and his stomach ached. He was delayed
for most of the day before he rushed to deliver Shaanxi yellow millet and jujubes to his father's
fellow villager and old leader General Chen. When the old leader heard that he didn't have the
delicious carp baked noodles, he didn't let him leave and insisted that he stay to try the carp
baked noodles and braised lion's head made by his nanny. So, in the end, two bowls of carp
baked noodles and a bowl of braised lion's head made him miss the meal at Gu's house.
Zhou Shanli felt guilty, but he was not flustered. After exchanging pleasantries, he sat down and
took the sour plum soup handed over by Gu Beiwu. He gulped down a few mouthfuls, wiped his
mouth and began to boast: "Shanrang, do you know how tired your brother is? I drove 2,000
kilometers across six provinces, 18 cities and 58 counties. It rained heavily in Anhui. There were
hundreds of cars lined up on the national highway. I drove at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour. It
was really difficult. Fortunately, I was only one day late!"
Shan Rang glanced at him unhappily: "Brother, you must have worn out the map, right? It's so
accurate. I want you to drive here? Can't you take the train?"
"I'm here to be your and Beiwu's driver, so of course I know it's easy to take a train. How can you
travel on your own two feet? With four wheels, you can stop wherever you want and for as long
as you want. We can travel regardless of wind or rain. How convenient. Do you want to see the
car I drive? Old Volga, it was your favorite when you were a child."
Shan Rang put down the store budget made by Gu Dongwen and glanced at his brother with a
smile: "You are the light bulb that we need for our wedding trip? So many relatives and friends
had dinner together last night, but none of my family members came. I am so proud."
Zhou Shanli stood up and bowed humbly to Grandma Gu Dongwen, apologizing repeatedly. Gu
Beiwu didn't expect that Shanrang, the most considerate person, still liked to bully Shanli as he
did many years ago. He didn't feel pity for Shanli, but felt that Shanrang was even more lovable.
Granny Gu was so embarrassed that she kept shaking her hands: "Xiao Zhou, don't be like this.
It's our fault. We haven't even had the wedding banquet yet. We are so sorry for letting you go. I
told you yesterday that you hadn't arrived yet, so why don't you go another day? Beiwu and the
others insisted that it was okay. How could it be okay? Really."
Gu Dongwen took the cigarette from Zhou Shanli's hand with a smile: "Shanrang was quite happy
yesterday, don't panic. I didn't invite anyone, but my second sister's parents-in-law live in front,
so we see each other every day, so we got together for a simple meal. My mother just discussed
with me that we should go to Nanjing together, and the two in-laws must meet each other--"
Shan Rang said with a smile, "Mom, big brother, don't be fooled by my second brother. He must
not have told the truth! I know his driving best. He is allowed to overtake others, but never
others. Why would he need five days to drive 2,000 kilometers? Maybe he was delayed because
he met a beautiful lesbian on the road." She sighed to Shan Li seriously, "Second brother, I won't
be angry if you tell the truth. After all, you are the only bachelor in our family. But if you are
delayed for a few bites of food, I will remember it for the rest of my life."
Zhou Shanli laughed seven or eight times. It is impossible to explain in a lifetime. Carp baked
noodles and lion head are more important than my sister's marriage? The old man can shoot him
in the head when he is angry. A big red envelope was stuffed into Shanrang's hand. Zhou Shanli
showed a sincere smile: "Look, my sister knows me best. Come on, give your brother some face
and take the red envelope first. Is this thickness sincere enough? My dear lovely and beautiful
sister, you haven't told the old man that I didn't come last night, right?"
Shan Rang accepted the red envelope and smiled slyly: "Second brother, you know I never lie."
Shanli was so anxious that he jumped up and down: "Hey! Didn't I send a telegram to Gu Beiwu
the day before yesterday? Did you receive it, Old Gu?"
Beiwu smiled and nodded.
Shanli walked around the dining table, scratching his head and ears. "It doesn't matter if the old
man hits me a few times, but what if my mother gets mad? Zhou Shanrang! Can't you make it up
for me? You said that second brother has been very good to you for so many years? Don't forget
that without me, would you have known Gu Beiwu?"
"Beiwu has prepared pork knuckle for you, but you don't come." Shanrang rolled his eyes at him,
"I'm kidding. I haven't called home yet. I'll call when you come."
Shanli was overjoyed: "Then let's go to eat together again tonight? Beiwu, let's take a few more
group photos."
Beiwu understood: "Are there any witnesses or evidence?"
Everyone laughed. The six little girls came back from outside to have lunch. When they saw a PLA
uncle suddenly appeared in the house, they surrounded Shanli and asked him all kinds of
questions, arguing whether to call him uncle, uncle or uncle. Shanli had a headache when he saw
children. When he met Sinan and the three Zhao brothers, he felt dizzy. When he heard that
Beiwu and Shanrang were going out with Gu Dongwen, he volunteered to be the driver.
——
Four wheels are of course much more convenient than the two-legged No. 11 bus. After an
afternoon of traveling, Beiwu and Shanrang agreed that the small store on Wurumqi Road was
the most suitable. Opposite it is Huashan Hospital, next to it is Huashan Middle School, and to
the north is Jing'an Hotel, which will open next year. It is surrounded by old residential areas and
people come and go.
Gu Dongwen also liked this store because it was a private property. It was a bit small, with only
about 20 square meters able to accommodate four tables at most, but the cost of opening a store
was not high. The one thousand yuan he had now was barely enough, and as long as he signed a
contract with the landlord, he would have nothing to worry about. If it was a company's house, it
would be easy for the previous things to be invalidated if a leader changed. If the business was
good and someone with ulterior motives took a fancy to it, they could just occupy the place with
a document. He couldn't always rely on his fists to do everything.
There are also disadvantages. The landlord is still waiting for the city to implement the policy, and
he can only really get his private house back around the Spring Festival. Although the unit that
occupied this "capitalist tail" more than ten years ago moved away the hardware products, it still
left four empty shelves inside, with the unit's seal and a big lock on the door. The next day,
someone was sent to tear off the red paper posted by the landlord for rent.
The landlord, Xiao Zhong, was quite young, only 27 years old. He was an educated youth who
returned from northern Jiangsu due to illness in 1975. He had chatted with Gu Dongwen twice
and they got along very well. He had also heard about the deeds of their petition group in
Yunnan and admired them very much. He took Gu Dongwen's cigarette and patted his chest with
gritted teeth: "Brother, don't worry. If they don't move out during the Spring Festival next year, I
will knock down the door and throw everything out. If you are in a hurry, I will not delay your
business. But if you are willing to wait for me for more than half a year, I will charge you 800 yuan
a year for rent. How can I sign a five-year contract in one go? (Brother, don't worry. If they don't
move out during the Spring Festival next year, I will knock down the door and throw everything
out. If you are in a hurry, I will not delay your business. But if you are willing to wait for me for
more than half a year, I will charge you 800 yuan a year for rent...)"
This price is indeed cheap, almost one-third cheaper than other storefronts, and Gu Beiwu knows
the reason. Although there are documents in various places to return the occupied private
houses, it is difficult to implement. Most of the occupying units are unwilling to return, and the
occupying households are unwilling to move out. Many private house owners are like frightened
birds, and some simply donate their houses to the country to put an end to it. In addition, the
policy of encouraging the development of individual economy has just been introduced, and
there are very few people in the city who are willing to take risks and work alone. Those who
want to make a living by their own ability will only choose to rent a house from a unit because
they feel it is reliable.
Seeing that Gu Dongwen smiled but didn't respond, Xiao Zhong hesitated and lowered the
annual rent to 750 yuan. Gu Dongwen sighed and said that he had just returned from Yunnan and
was really poor. He asked him if he would rent for 700 yuan a year. If he was willing, he could sign
the contract now and pay 200 yuan in advance, and then pay the rest after getting the house, and
he didn't need to collect rent every month.
Shanrang was surprised, but seeing Beiwu was calm, she kept silent. Zhou Shanli pulled her aside
and said, "Tell Brother Beiwu not to worry. The Central Column of the Political Department of the
Headquarters has so many storefronts. If not ten thousand, there must be eight thousand. Let
the old man make a phone call and a room can be vacated on Huaihai Road. Borrowing a private
house is too risky and not worth it."
Bei Wu patted his shoulder gently, smiled softly and said, "My brother is afraid that Shan Rang
will have to work hard after paying the money, so he is in a hurry to finalize it first. We appreciate
your kindness, but my brother will definitely not agree."
Shan Rang smiled and said, "If it were you, you would agree?"
"Of course I didn't agree." Beiwu smiled. Zhou Shanli shook his head disapprovingly. He had no
choice. Gu Beiwu had this temper. Otherwise, he wouldn't have never contacted him after leaving
his home. Although he scolded him all the way, he still admired him. He was very satisfied with
this brother-in-law. From the tone of the old man, he was quite satisfied with his son-in-law even
though he hadn't met him yet. He had made great contributions and could be transferred back to
Nanjing from Yan'an.
Xiao Zhong hesitated for a moment and decided to charge 50 yuan less for one year and 300
yuan less for five years. However, after he posted the rental advertisement for four months, only
Gu Dongwen came to ask for rent and offered to pay a year's rent. 700 yuan a year meant that he
could have one more person working without any expenses, and it was more than enough to
support his mother. After thinking it over, he gritted his teeth and agreed.
——
The first step of the Long March was taken. Gu Beiwu hosted the four of them and they went to
Lao Dachang on Huaihai Middle Road to have snacks.
Seeing that Beiwu ordered a club sandwich with milk, whipped cream, cream Napoleon, and four
cups of ice cream coffee, Zhou Shanli said sourly, "Shanrang, your living conditions have obviously
improved since you got married. When the old man brought us here before, he asked us to share
a portion of whipped cream. He didn't even buy us coffee. Tsk, tsk, tsk, how stingy."
Shan Rang pushed a whole portion of whipped cream to him and said, "Then Bei Wu and I will
help you report this to your father?"
Shanli picked up a finger of whipped cream and rubbed it on Shanrang's nose: "How dare you! Do
you want me to stay in Yan'an and farm for a few more years?"
Bei Wu smiled and took out a handkerchief to wipe the cream off Shan Rang's nose. Shan Rang
was so angry that he kicked Shan Li several times under the table, then turned around and asked
Gu Dongwen why he didn't pay the rent month by month. Gu Dongwen smiled and asked Shan
Rang: "You majored in economics, help me calculate how much interest I can get if I put 700 yuan
in the bank in a year?"
Shan Rang listed all the details: "The interest rate was raised to 3.96% in April this year. Brother, if
you deposit 700 yuan for a year, you will get less than 28 yuan in interest."
Gu Dongwen smiled and said, "So there's no point in leaving it there. It's better to rent it at a
lower price. If it was just after the founding of the country, we couldn't do this. I remember that
the bank interest rate was more than 200% when the country was just liberated."
Shanli almost choked on his coffee. "What did you say? Deposit one hundred and get three
hundred? Is there such a good thing?"
"Yes, at that time, everything was in ruins, and the one-year interest rate was 252%." Shan Rang
also smiled: "Brother, the rent is reduced by 50 yuan, which seems to be a good deal for you, but
I am worried that you may not have enough working capital, otherwise we can pay a little more
money."
Gu Dongwen was confident: "It's okay, let's buy some necessities for the store first, it doesn't cost
much, I can paint the walls, tables and chairs myself, and there's still time to buy a refrigerator in
the summer. If we don't make money in the first half of the year, there's no need to buy a
refrigerator."
Beiwu also laughed: "Opening a restaurant should be one of the industries with the least lack of
working capital. The rental cost of two yuan a day is not difficult to earn."
"Isn't that difficult?" Shan Rang sighed, "Our cup of ice cream coffee only costs 50 cents. If we can
make 20 cents per cup, we have to sell 10 cups a day just to pay the rent."
Gu Dongwen smiled with his eyes curved: "It seems that you will be too worried to sleep tonight.
If Big Brother loses all his money, you will punish Beiwu by making him kneel on the washboard."
Shan Rang smiled: "I can't bear to let him go, so I'll just let him make ice cream coffee for me
every day." She looked at Zhou Shanli opposite with a smile. Zhou Shanli drank his coffee in two
gulps: "If you can get the old man to help me transfer back to Shanghai, I'm not bragging, I will
definitely bring my brothers to eat at Dong Wen's place every day."
Gu Dongwen's dimples deepened. "If you only think about doing business with people you know,
your business will most likely fail. You'd better not come. Yan'an is really good for farming.
Nanniwan is a good place, with crops and cattle and sheep everywhere."
Shanrang laughed so hard that he fell on Beiwu.

Chapter 69
Reunion and separation always make people feel emotional. Happiness or sadness in a person's
life is like gravel in water. Apart from life and death, it is difficult to stir up thousands of waves.
Even the ripples are only momentary and disappear in the blink of an eye.
For Si Jiang, it was probably during the summer vacation of that year that she finally accepted all
the separations. It might also be that Gu Dongwen's return gave her a more reliable sense of
security than having her father by her side. Of course, it had nothing to do with Jingsheng going
to the same school as her. She even secretly hoped that Jingsheng and Si Nan would switch
places. This fleeting thought made her ashamed, and Si Jiang said sorry to her aunt who had
passed away early.
The farewell to my uncle and aunt was not sad, Si Jiang was very happy for my uncle. Si Nan
asked: "Sister, it's not your wedding, why are you so happy? You smile every day, all the time,
doesn't your face feel sore?"
His cheeks were indeed sore. Si Jiang rubbed his face and couldn't help laughing: "Nannan, you
are still young, you don't understand, I am so happy. Uncle likes Aunt, Aunt also likes Uncle, they
are married. How wonderful."
Sinan yawned and shook his head: "Sister, you are stupid. How can you get married if you don't
like someone? You don't understand."
Si Jiang smiled. Of course, his sister didn't understand. The kind of love that uncle and aunt had
was real, the same as how she loved her sister, and the same as how grandma and aunt loved
them. Dad and mom didn't have this kind of love, nor did the second uncle and second aunt, the
third uncle and third aunt, and so many uncles and aunts in the alley. When they saw each other,
their eyes lit up, their smiles were sweet, and their voices were as beautiful as if they were filled
with sugar.
"Anyway, I'm going to marry my eldest cousin in the future." Sinan turned over and yawned
again.
Si Jiang suddenly got up and shook Si Nan vigorously: "What did you say!?"
Sinan slapped her in the face and said, "I like my cousin, and he likes me, so of course I want to
marry him. Go away, I want to sleep."
Si Jiang shook her a few more times and said, "You little fool! Your eldest cousin is your cousin,
you can't marry him."
"Why?"
"We are a family, and family members cannot get married."
"Dad and Mom are also a family, aren't they married?" Sinan kicked his sister away: "Don't bother
me, I want to sleep, I want to sleep!"
Si Jiang was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses. Dad and Mom became a family
after they got married, so of course they were different! But Si Nan was already snoring.
Granny Gu combed her hair and went to bed. Seeing Si Jiang in a daze, she patted her and said,
"Why don't you go to bed? Your sister is already asleep."
The lights went out, but the lights were still on in the attic. From time to time, Gu Dongwen's
laughter could be heard. Si Jiang stretched his neck and saw that the top few steps of the ladder
against the wall were glowing. He couldn't help but ask softly, "Grandma, can my cousin get
married?"
Grandma Gu smiled and said, "Of course, it's a good thing to have a close relationship between
aunts and cousins."
"What does cousin mean?" Si Jiang was flustered.
"Well, your mother is Jingsheng's aunt, and you and Sinan are Jingsheng's cousins. Your eldest
aunt's family, Ada, Er, and San, are your aunt's cousins. Speaking of which, your eldest aunt is also
your eldest uncle's distant cousin." Grandma Gu sighed, "It's good to grow up together, and the
family knows everything about each other."
Si Jiang, who was confused, couldn't sleep well that night. The next day, he felt displeased with
Jingsheng no matter how he looked at him. Then he paid attention to Si Nan, who saw that his
eyes lit up, smiled and his lips were filled with honey when he saw his cousin. He was so angry.
——
In mid-August, Sinan was sent by her family to Liang, the train attendant on the No. 54 train. She
liked Aunt Liang, who was pretty and gave her a lot of candy. Aunt Liang liked my sister and
always said she wanted to take her as her goddaughter. My sister said that Aunt Liang used to like
my uncle very much. But there was nothing she could do because she and my sister liked my aunt
more, and my uncle only liked my aunt.
Si Nan couldn't help but quietly take credit: "Sister, last time my uncle invited Aunt Liang to
dinner, I didn't tell her that she liked my uncle."
Si Jiang blushed with embarrassment, but he still had to praise his sister: "You are awesome."
Jingsheng came over and stuffed a dollar into Sinan’s pocket: “Here, if you want to eat melon
seeds, buy them yourself.”
Sinan looked at the one dollar in his hand, threw himself into Jingsheng's arms and asked
tearfully, "Cousin, are you really not going back to Xinjiang with me? The chickens will miss you."
Jingsheng rarely pushed her away, letting her snot and tears all over his shirt. He reached out and
turned the sign hanging around her neck back to the front. He carefully checked that the names
of Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei and their work units and contact numbers were correct. He patted
her head and said, "Come back next summer and we'll play together."
"It's boring to take the train alone. Cousin, would you like to come to Xinjiang to play? Brother
Pingping and sister Xingxing all miss you." Sinan asked while sobbing.
"No, I need to buy a ticket. You don't need a ticket, and you can sleep in Aunt Liang's berth. How
nice." Jingsheng compared her height and said, "If you work harder and grow taller, you might
have to buy a half-price ticket. It's better to buy a ticket."
Si Jiang pushed him away, hugged Si Nan and coaxed him again and again.
"Alright, alright, get off the train. The train is about to leave, be careful or I'll take you all to
Xinjiang." Conductor Liang came to chase people away with a smile.
Granny Gu reluctantly led Si Jiang out of the car. Si Nan leaned out of the window and cried at the
top of her lungs: "Big cousin! Big cousin! You have to think about me!"
Si Jiang's eyes turned red with anger: "Chen Sinan! Don't come back next year!"
Sinan tightly grasped the one dollar in his hand: "Sister - you have to think about me too!"
The train rumbled out of the station. Si Jiang looked at the two passengers at the rear of the train
still waving towards the platform and realized that he didn't cry this time.
Jingsheng glanced at Si Jiang and saw that her eyes were red. He said casually, "Let's go. She must
have cracked some melon seeds."
He was right. Chen Sinan wiped her tears and climbed down the berth. She opened a bag of plum
candy and put it in her mouth. It tasted delicious. Then she thought of her cousin and elder sister,
and tears started to fall. Then she thought that this was her first time to sit in a berth on a train. It
was great. Then she thought of her cousin and elder sister again, and tears started to flow. Chen
Sinan kept wandering in this ocean of pain and happiness.
——
Adults always say that children don't remember things, they cry and laugh for a few days and
then forget them in the blink of an eye. However, Chen Sinan feels that he has been unhappy
from the 1970s to the 1980s.
"I crossed the era with sadness." Si Nan later wrote this sentence in his notebook, feeling very
proud, and asked Si Jiang if it looked like a poem. Si Jiang laughed. Si Nan was indignant: "It's
much better than your one-word poem, Yu? Hahaha."
But Gu Ximei really found that Si Nan seemed to have grown up overnight, and seemed to have
become a different person. Si Nan has always been heartless, and the words delicate and
sensitive have never appeared in her dictionary. One night before school started, she woke up
and found that Si Nan had slept on Jingsheng's upper bunk without knowing when. Her messy
curly hair had grown a lot and spread on the pillow. There were tears on her cheeks. The moon
shone coldly on her face, and her little brows were still tightly furrowed.
Like a sad little angel. When Ximei applied this word to Sinan, she herself was a little bit
unbelievable. She stretched out her fingers and gently picked away the tear. For the first time, she
felt a strong maternal love for Sinan. She thought about it many times and felt that Sinan's
gradually growing facial features did not look like a Xinjiang girl. At least her big forehead and
heroic eyebrows came from her grandfather Gu Adie. Her curly hair and fleshy earlobes were
exactly the same as Chen Donglai's. Her oval face was exactly the same as Sijiang's. Even the
sunken eye sockets actually came from her grandfather if you look closely. It was only when these
were combined together, plus her dark skin, that she looked exotic. Ximei stroked Sinan's messy
hair and felt that if Chen Donglai really doubted her for this, she would never live with him. Of
course, Sijiang and Sinan followed her.
"Nannan seems to have two dimples?" Chen Donglai hugged his wife and whispered softly.
Simei looked at it carefully again, pushed him away and got off the ground: "You still can't see
that a child looks different every day. She was so ugly when she was a child, like a winter melon."
Chen Donglai followed her back to the bed: "I don't know how Old Shen and Old Zhu are doing."
"Everyone has been sent back, what else can we do?" Gu Ximei thought of the bad things outside
and couldn't help but sigh: "It's no wonder they are emotional, now we are the only educated
youth from Xinjiang left. I’m not going. I heard that five to six million people from various places
have returned to the city.”
Chen Donglai held her tightly in his arms: "If you really can go back, you take Sinan Sijiang back
first. I will go back to Shanghai to see you as soon as I have a day off."
"The petition group didn't even leave Xinjiang. I heard that all the provinces along the way were
looking for people who had come to Beijing. Those who were repatriated were considered lucky.
Some were taken in by the locals, and it was hard for them to be locked up in the shelter." Ximei
turned over and said, "Well, whatever. If they can go back, they will go back. If they are not
allowed to go back, there is nothing we can do. My eldest brother and his friends are willing to
risk their lives and have good luck. I have never had good luck in my life."
Chen Donglai posted again: "Why not? We have such a good daughter like Si Jiang, others envy us
to death. And Si Nan, several leaders in our bureau say that she is smart and will definitely have a
bright future."
"If only she could have one tenth of Jingsheng's intelligence." Ximei couldn't help laughing,
thinking of how Sinan always proudly said that his parents were not as good as one of Jingsheng's
fingers. It was true that people of the same family were alike, and they disliked each other so
much.
"What are you doing?" Ximei pried Chen Donglai's hand apart and said angrily, "I just came here
yesterday, why are you thinking about it again?"
Chen Donglai held her face and kissed her: "It's okay if you never come, but after doing it once, I
really want it. Don't you want it?"
"No." Ximei pushed it twice again: "I don't have that anymore. What if I get pregnant? Now the
family planning policy doesn't allow me to have children. I don't want to suffer."
Chen Donglai was so passionate that he turned over and pressed her down: "Didn't the doctor
say that it was unlikely that we would have another baby after Sinan gave birth? Besides, at our
age, we may not be able to have one even if we want to. Don't worry, I won't do it, there won't
be any."
"Pooh..." Ximei was so overwhelmed by his enthusiasm like a young man that her hands and feet
became weak. For a moment, she felt that he loved her. As for the female colleague she met in
Karamay after the Spring Festival, she was so rough and unsophisticated that she was not even as
good as her.
Ximei put her arms around her husband's neck and bit his shoulder.
Four months later, Gu Ximei, who was busy preparing the final exam papers, suddenly
remembered that she hadn't had her period for a long time.
Chapter 70
After giving birth to Sinan, Gu Ximei didn't have her period for half a year due to breastfeeding.
When it hadn't come for ten months, she panicked and went to the county people's hospital for
treatment. The doctor said that she was normal, but she still didn't believe it and suspected that
she had entered menopause early. After the examination, the doctor said that it would be
difficult for her to get pregnant again, but she didn't take it seriously.
A year and a half after giving birth, Sinan, who would crawl on her every night for milk, had not
yet gotten rid of her. Her period finally came, but it was irregular, sometimes it would be gone in
a day or two, sometimes it would come every ten days, or even every two or three months. She
drank a lot of motherwort, but it didn't seem to work.
How could someone die like this? Gu Ximei's heart was colder than a snowy day. She didn't tell
Chen Dong first, but took Cao Jingzhi to the county hospital on Sunday. After a checkup, she was
found to be pregnant.
Dr. Huang from the obstetrics and gynecology department was also a female educated youth
from Shanghai. She was familiar with Cao Jingzhi and kindly reminded them: "Last month, all
provinces and cities announced policies to ensure the one-child policy through economic,
administrative and legal means. Now only Xinjiang, Qinghai, Yunnan and Ningxia allow two
children, but it's hard to say for next year. Is this your second child?"
Ximei shook her head in a daze: "This is the third child."
Cao Jingzhi lowered her voice and asked, "The eldest and second child are both daughters. Can
you tell now whether this one is a boy or a girl?"
Doctor Huang raised his eyebrows: "How can you not tell? It's already four and a half months old,
and it has a penis and fingernails."
Cao Jingzhi cried out, "Can she give birth? Her first child was born in Shanghai, and her second
child was born on a train. The hospital here definitely doesn't have any records of that."
"You need a household registration certificate, otherwise the obstetrics department won't admit
you. Or you can get a certificate from the Women's Federation. Didn't Meng Qin transfer to the
county Women's Federation a few years ago? There's been a lot of fuss about returning to the
city recently. Hurry up and get a certificate and go to Urumqi Maternal and Child Health Hospital
to give birth. No one will know you, so who knows how many babies you have. When the time
comes, find Dr. Lin from the obstetrics and gynecology department and tell her my name. I'll call
her in advance." After Dr. Huang gave them instructions, she couldn't help but say to Gu Ximei,
"You are a very old pregnant woman. You have low blood pressure and you need to gain weight,
otherwise the fetus won't develop well." She pointed to her head, "The fetus needs special
nutrition to grow here."
Ximei suddenly asked, "If I induce labor now, is it dangerous? Will I die?"
"You're crazy!" Cao Jingzhi pinched her arm fiercely: "Gu Ximei, are you crazy? Induced labor after
four and a half months!"
Doctor Huang was also surprised and looked at Ximei carefully. "Have you thought it through? Of
course you can induce labor, even at eight months. Does your wife agree? Does your family have
any objections?"
After leaving the hospital, Ximei got on the tractor. Cao Jingzhi put a blanket behind her waist,
gathered her military coat, and tidied her hat and scarf for her: "You were just scared by giving
birth to Sinan. The third child is so well-behaved and worry-free. You don't know what's going on.
When you were pregnant with Sinan, you vomited whenever you ate and you vomited even if
you didn't eat. You were so thin." Seeing Ximei lowered her eyes and said nothing, Cao Jingzhi
sighed: "Ximei, let me tell you, don't listen to what men say about boys and girls being the same.
It's still different when you really have a son. Chen Donglai is already in his thirties. This is a child
born in old age. Don't be confused for a moment. At most, you can endure five months, and
when you give birth, you can just leave it to your grandparents to take care of. They have been
waiting for a grandson for more than ten years."
Simei buried her face in her knees, and after a while her shoulders began to twitch.
Cao Jingzhi sighed and stopped trying to persuade her. Meng Qin had always wanted to have
another daughter, but even if she couldn't get pregnant, it would be her fate.
——
Chen Donglai received a call from Shen Yong the next day. He was happy and surprised. He was
happy because he had never thought that he would have a son and be a father again. He was
surprised that Ximei didn't tell him that she wanted to induce labor. She was so anxious that she
asked for leave immediately. Rush back to Aksu.
Xi Mei didn't expect Cao Jingzhi to be able to hold back, so she wasn't surprised to see Chen
Donglai. She told Chen Donglai bluntly: "I will not give birth to this baby."
Chen Donglai's mental preparation collapsed in an instant. During the more than 1,000
kilometers from Karamay to Aksu, he seemed to have developed a deep father-son relationship
with his unborn son, and even planned a blueprint for his son to be admitted to Tongji University
and become an engineer in the future. At this moment, there was only one sentence left in his
mind, and he asked tremblingly: "Are you going to kill your son?"
Ximei shuddered and avoided his tearful, accusing eyes: "Why are you talking so horribly? The
policy doesn't allow for three births. I've asked before, and even if you're eight months pregnant,
you'll still be sent to the hospital for induced abortion and an IUD."
Chen Donglai was silent for a moment: "Is it that you don't want to have children, or is it that the
policy doesn't allow you to have children?"
"The policy doesn't allow me to have children, and I don't want to have one either. Even if it's a
correspondence course, it's not easy. I passed the exam with great difficulty, and I can't delay any
longer."
"My parents will take care of the baby after it's born, okay?" Chen Donglai took out a cigarette,
but couldn't smoke one for a long time as his fingers kept shaking.
Ximei frowned and said loudly, "I don't want to give birth! It's not you who gave birth, you just
said it with ease, but I'm the one who suffered! I didn't want Sinan at the beginning, but you
insisted on giving birth. How many days did you take care of the baby after it was born? How
many times do you see her a year? And you said that it's no big deal that you can take care of the
child by yourself, it's ridiculous! What did you use to take care of the baby? White belt?"
When the old matter was brought up again, Chen Donglai felt guilty and softened his tone:
"Ximei, you also know that my father has always wanted a grandson--"
"You have three grandsons with the surname Chen. Aren't they enough to carry on the family
line?"
"That's my brother and his family. My father meant—"
"I am marrying you, Chen Donglai, but my gestation still has to obey your father?"
"I, I want a son too." Chen Donglai crumpled up his unlit cigarette and said, "I don't agree with
you killing our son. I absolutely don't agree."
Ximei sneered: "What did you say that night? It wouldn't happen if it happened outside? You feel
good for a while, but you want me to suffer for decades? Chen Donglai, what qualifications do
you have to disagree? I haven't blamed you yet——"
"You blame me, I have nothing to say. But you can't induce labor." Chen Donglai's face flushed, he
took off his glasses and pressed his sore eyes: "I really can't, I beg you, Ximei, inducing labor will
also be dangerous for you, and he is already a person! He has a head, hands, feet, everything.
The doctor said he even has fingernails. How can you bear to kill him alive, Ximei? You are
simply!"
"Murderer? Executioner?" Ximei cried and yelled at him: "He hasn't even been born yet, what
kind of person is he? He is just a piece of meat on my body, I just cut off a finger like cutting
vegetables!"
"He is a human being. He is our son and the younger brother of Sijiang and Sinan. We are blessed
to have a son and a daughter. Ximei, just think about it. He will be able to take care of Sijiang and
Sinan for us in the future. They can discuss and support each other. How wonderful is that?"
Chen Donglai choked up and said, "I have already thought of a name. His name is Chen Sihao. He
will study hard, grow up well, and get along well with his sisters. He will definitely look like you,
very handsome. Sons look like their mothers--"
Ximei couldn't stop crying and beat Chen Donglai desperately: "Don't say it! Don't say it, I hate
you so much! I don't want to have a baby--"
Chen Donglai hugged her tightly and said, "Please, Ximei, my mother said that confinement can
cure all diseases. You will give birth to Sihao in May next year. You should have a good
confinement and cure your back pain, leg pain and headache. Give your son a chance and let him
make a contribution. Think about it, Sinan was so naughty when he was a child, but now he is so
close to you. You are just hard-mouthed but soft-hearted, I know."
At this time, Ximei felt something in her abdomen move slightly, like a heartbeat. She looked
down and saw that her abdomen was only slightly bulging. She didn't feel her cotton pants
getting tight before. Ximei suspected that she was too nervous because of Chen Donglai, but
there was another movement there soon, and her internal organs seemed to twitch along with it.
An indescribable feeling knocked her down. Thinking that the forceps would clamp the child's
head and pull it out bloody, Ximei was terrified. Or maybe it was because Chen Donglai gave this
fetus a name, and it had an inseparable connection with Si Jiangsnan and herself, and she could
no longer just regard it as a piece of meat that could be cut off at any time.
She succumbed once again and lost to fate.
——
The first spring in the 1980s came very late. It started on February 5th, and winter vacation
started on the 8th.
Gu Dongwen has already got the key to the storefront. The landlord, Xiao Zhong, is very easy-
going. He starts to calculate the rent on the 16th day of the first lunar month. He has been busy
these days preparing tables and chairs before the New Year. Two pine boards are leaning against
the brick wall outside the kitchen. A tabletop on a long bench has just been polished and
varnished. The smell of pine and paint are mixed together. Next to him, Gu Jingsheng is nailing
the legs of the bench.
"Be careful, the legs of the stool yesterday were of different lengths." Gu Dongwen squatted
beside him, took out a cigarette and lit it.
"The length depends on how you saw it." Jingsheng didn't even raise his head, but turned the
stool over to take a look.
"Stupid, it's you who made one of the stool legs crooked." Gu Dongwen saw his mother and Si
Jiang coming back from the neighborhood committee next door and waved to them.
Si Jiang ran to his uncle and said with a frown: "Mom is going to give birth to a younger brother
soon!"
Gu Dongwen and Gu Jingsheng were both stunned.
"Sinan is so angry." Si Jiang was about to cry: "She said that if Mom dared to give birth to a
younger brother, she would strangle him to death!"
Jingsheng chuckled, and was glared at by Si Jiang. He turned around and continued to observe
whether the four legs of the stool were straight.
Grandma Gu sighed, "After the Chinese New Year, Ximei will be 33 years old. She should be a
careful mother and have a baby. I am so worried about her. A son is not the only thing missing."
She felt bad, but she couldn't blame her in-laws. After traveling thousands of miles, Ximei wanted
to get pregnant, and not having a baby wouldn't necessarily mean she would be safe.
Fortunately, after taking such a big risk, she finally had a son.
"Children and grandchildren have their own blessings." Gu Dongwen pushed his mother to the
kitchen: "Go and check the pot quickly. I smell something burnt."
Granny Gu ran in on her tiny feet and opened the lid of the pot. The stewed eggs inside had
already swelled up high.
Si Jiang tugged at his uncle's sleeve: "What if Si Nan really strangled his brother to death?"
Gu Dongwen smiled and said, "What about you? Are you happy or unhappy to have a new
brother?"
Si Jiang thought about it and was a little confused: "I don't know, I'm not very happy, but I'm not
unhappy either."
"Then let's think about it after we meet each other." Gu Dongwen touched the painted wooden
board: "It's the same with Sinan. She will understand what she is thinking after she meets her
brother. People will change. For example, you didn't like Jingsheng before, but now you two are
pretty good friends, right?"
Si Jiang glanced at Jingsheng, raised his head and shook his high ponytail: "Who said that he and I
are good friends? I'm not!"
Jingsheng turned his head and saw Si Jiang banging on the stairs. He snorted and glared at Gu
Dongwen again.
Gu Dongwen stretched lazily and said, "If you don't wait for Si Jiang to finish school together next
semester, do you believe I will beat you with a belt?"
Jingsheng raised his eyebrows and stiffened his neck, but heard Gu Dongwen say quietly: "I heard
that there was an old hooligan in the street garden. He stared at female students and took off
their pants. It was disgusting. Damn it, if I run into him, I will castrate this bastard."
Jingsheng choked, and after a long while, he lowered his head and replied, "I know."
Chapter 71
In the words of Gu's grandmother, Jingsheng and Sijiang are two enemies. In the morning, they
went to school together, but when they came back at night, they were all scornful. When asked,
Sijiang could talk for two or three days about trivial matters. This is very similar to Ximei, but she
is obviously a girl who does not bear grudges and is kind to everyone. Jingsheng is a taciturn
person. He doesn't say anything except "um" and "oh". He only speaks to Gu Dongwen.
Si Jiang was also helpless. She wanted to get along with Jingsheng, but she couldn't do it. When
school started, she waited for him to go to school together every day. As the class monitor, she
had to arrive fifteen minutes early every day, but this cousin was so slow to brush his teeth and
wash his face, and he took the initiative to let others use the faucet, and then he ate slowly and
even walked slowly. When she urged him, he said with a stern face, "You go first." Humph, if it
wasn't for her uncle and aunt, she wouldn't wait for him, but she was very responsible, loving,
kind, and kept her word, so she could only accompany him and walk slowly.
The eldest uncle clearly told them to go home together after school, but every time she finished
cleaning the class, she couldn't find him. He always ran away secretly, and no one knew where he
went to play, and then he came home later than her. He was completely irresponsible, unloving,
unkind, and unfriendly. But every time her uncle yelled at him and wanted to beat him, she
couldn't bear to complain the next day. She tried to go to the fourth grade to block him after
school. The boys in their class sang something weird like "Sister Looking for Brother with Tears in
Her Eyes" and "Goodbye Sister", and surrounded her and asked whether Gu Jingsheng was her
cousin from Xinjiang or Yunnan, each one more annoying than the other. After she finished her
round of scolding, the man disappeared again.
Moreover, the weather forecast clearly said it would rain, but he refused to bring an umbrella.
She waited downstairs with an umbrella. When it was dark, her uncle came to the school to find
her, only to find out that he had already gone home to take a shower and finish his homework. It
was so infuriating, he deserved to be beaten with a feather duster. It was not only these that
bothered Si Jiang. Since Gu Jingsheng transferred to their school, every time after class, girls from
other classes would come to her to ask what her "cousin" liked, and some even asked her to
deliver letters, which made it impossible for her to do her homework during breaks. When she
went to the toilet, she would meet female classmates who rushed over to make friends with her,
and she could only smile.
Of course, the most annoying thing is that she still failed to pass Zhao Youning in the exam this
semester. The total score of the three subjects of Chinese, mathematics and English was five
points lower, which made her, the leader of the Young Pioneers, feel a little guilty. But the
transfer student Gu Jingsheng took the first place in the fourth grade. He had never learned
English in Yunnan and Xinjiang. No one knew how he did it. At home, Si Jiang hardly saw
Jingsheng studying. He didn't go out to play with the children in the alley. He was reading all day
long or listening to the tape recorder in the attic.
One time, Si Jiang couldn't help asking him how he learned English. Jing Sheng looked at her as if
she was a fool, and replied after a long while: "Memorize." Nonsense, who doesn't memorize? Si
Jiang was so angry that she ignored him for two days.
Si Jiang couldn't figure out why Jingsheng and Si Nan got along so well. When he thought of Si
Nan saying that she liked her cousin and that her cousin also liked him, he became even more
alert. Once, he deliberately handed someone else's "love letter" to Jingsheng in front of his uncle
and said loudly, "Cousin, XXX from Class 4 (3) likes you very much. Can you let her come to you
directly? She always comes to me and I don't have time to do my homework during breaks."
"Oh". Jingsheng actually wrote a reply. The uncle laughed and wanted to see what he wrote to
the girl, but Gu Jingsheng rolled his eyes at him. Si Jiang was also curious, but he was too
embarrassed to ask. Later, he heard that several girls always went to Class 4 (2) to ask Gu
Jingsheng math questions during breaks. When Si Nan called back, Si Jiang told her about this
with a smile, hoping that she would change her not-so-great ideal of "marrying her eldest
cousin". As a result, Si Nan yelled, "Sister, why are you delivering letters for others for free? You
should charge at least one cent! At least! My eldest cousin is worth five cents! You are so
stupid..."
Si Jiang silently looked at the 2, 5, 0 on the number plate. He turned his head and saw Gu
Jingsheng's white face cracked, with a clear message written on it: "Chen Sinan, you little bastard,
are you looking for death?"
Chen Sijiang felt that he had missed out on his first pot of gold in vain.
——
The Spring Festival of 1980 was not much different from the previous ones. The leaves of the
plane trees had already fallen, and the cold wind blew, and the dead leaves swirled and drifted
away. Long queues formed in front of the major food stores on Huaihai Road and Nanjing Road,
and the queue at the Wangjia Shagaotuan window turned a corner and stretched all the way to
Shimen Road.
On the wall of Cathay Cinema hang large posters of foreign films such as Rebecca and The Crystal
Slipper and the Rose. The merry-go-round in Xiangyang Park carries children on their winter
vacation, and there are fewer elderly people playing mahjong. Tables for writing Spring Festival
couplets on a voluntary basis are lined up. The trash cans on the street edge are still used as
fitness equipment. Middle-aged and elderly men in the east, west, south and north are bending
over and slapping their legs on the green hats of the trash cans, discussing various news while
stretching their legs. A tram comes with a ding-dong sound. The conductor opens the window
and slaps a small red flag on the body of the tram: "It's coming to the station, it's coming to the
station, make way, make way!" The old man who was standing on the road stretching his legs
calmly retracted his legs, stood on the street edge, hummed a few lines of Shanghai opera lyrics
and continued to press the trash can.
Li Guyi's singing has been heard everywhere in Wanchun Street recently: "Your singing voice will
be forever imprinted in my heart. Although yesterday has passed and it is difficult to meet again
after separation, how can I forget your deep love."
"Song of the Week" plays this song "Homesickness" every day. Si Jiang copied the lyrics in a new
notebook as a new starting point for the Year of the Monkey. Although Si Nan often sings about
her picking up ten yuan on the side of the road, her singing is indeed imprinted in her heart. It is
really difficult for the two sisters to meet after they separated. As for deep or shallow affection, Si
Jiang feels that she is definitely the deeper one. As for the brother who fell from the sky, Si Jiang
still feels a little unreal. Usually, he doesn't think about it. When he thinks about it, he is worried
that Si Nan will become the "murderer of his brother".
Thinking of the tape recorder in the attic that always played Teresa Teng's songs at night, Si Jiang
couldn't help asking: "Uncle, who do you think sings better, Li Guyi or Teresa Teng?"
"I like Teresa Teng." Gu Dongwen was directing Jingsheng to stick the word "Fu" on the wardrobe,
and turned to Si Jiang and smiled: "Why, our Young Pioneers captain doesn't allow uncle to like
decadent music?"
Si Jiang blushed, pouted and shook his head: "I think they all sound good. Why can't we listen to
Teresa Teng? What do you mean by pornographic songs and decadent music?"
Gu Dongwen smiled: "It seems that our Sijiang has learned to think for himself, which is not easy.
Why do you two ask such good questions, Jingsheng, why do you say?"
Gu Jingsheng pushed the word "Fu" in his hand upwards again: "I'm afraid that everyone will like
songs like hers, and no one will listen to songs by old men and old women. In fact,
"Homesickness" sounds similar to "When Will You Return?" or something like that."
"These two songs are different!" Si Jiang protested loudly, but he couldn't think of how to refute.
After a long while, he remembered what the choir teacher said, and then he muttered: "Li Guyi's
singing is half-voice, not breathy, and it's very beautiful. Anyway, you can't sing, you don't
understand, hum."
Jingsheng stood on the chair and turned his head to look down at her. Si Jiang felt inexplicably
despised, so when "Homesickness" was banned soon after as a decadent song, she was very
angry when she saw Jingsheng. Those old men and women must think that these songs are all
the same as Jingsheng, which is hateful.
Seeing that the two of them were about to quarrel again, Gu Dongwen quickly shouted, "Hey, Gu
Jingsheng, the word 'Fu' is still crooked. Why are you always crooked to the east or the west?
Can't you just keep it straight?"
Jingsheng turned around and asked calmly, "Then why don't you call Gu Zhengwen?"
Gu Dongwen gently slapped Jingsheng's cotton pants with the feather duster in his hand, and
scolded him with a smile: "You are such a big mouth, please cut my mouth."
Si Jiang narrowed his eyes and laughed, "Well done, he deserved it. It was his fault for making
him so angry."
——
Sinan, who lost her older cousin but gained a younger brother, was listless throughout the
semester. She no longer ran out of the classroom to hang out. She listened to the class in a
distracted manner, and suddenly found that she understood everything. She read the Chinese
and math books for a few days and understood them all. At first, the teachers did not give her the
test papers, thinking that it was a waste of paper. She stretched her neck to look around, raised
her hand and took the initiative to ask for a try. When the test papers were handed in, the
teachers thought they would see scribbled chicks, ducks, rabbits and various irregular lines.
Unexpectedly, except for some Chinese characters that she could not write, she got all the other
answers right, and got 100 points in math. In the final exam in February, Sinan scored 100 points
in both exams, becoming the youngest first-place student in the first grade.
Gu Ximei was surprised and delighted by the series of praises from her colleagues. After all, Si
Nan was only five and a half years old and had already become smart. It was really rare. It
seemed that she would not be worse than Si Jiang in her studies in the future. Perhaps Director
Liang was right. Her family had four college students, so her child must be an excellent student.
After Chen Donglai knew about it, he went to the bank to exchange 100 new one-cent banknotes.
He spent several hours folding them into a light yellow pineapple ball as a reward for Si Nan. Si
Nan felt it was heavy in his hand. After thinking carefully, such a big ball only cost one dollar. He
couldn't help but sigh and put it on the bookshelf for display.
"Do you like it? Dad has been folding it for a week." Chen Donglai asked happily, "It seems that
your younger brother is quite lucky for you. With Sihao, Nannan got the first place in the study.
Can you teach him to read and count in the future? Just like your sister taught you."
Sinan raised his eyebrows, climbed onto the chair, took the pineapple ball and threw it into his
arms: "You want to bribe me with one dollar? Don't even think about it! If you dare to give birth
to him, I will strangle him to death!"
Ximei put down the review materials in her hand, raised her eyelids and looked at the angry
Sinan: "Humph, do you have a grudge against your brother? You strangle him to death every day,
and your brother is scared of you."
Chen Sihao kicked twice in his mother's stomach and turned over, indicating that he was
trembling with fear.
Sinan ran to Ximei, poked the churning belly, and threatened the unborn child with his eyes wide
open: "You are not allowed to come out! Chen Sihao, go back! Who allowed you to come? Now I
give you a chance to choose, you choose, I tell you I am very fierce, if you come out I will beat you
and pinch you, make you cry every day! Throw you in the snow——"
Chen Donglai grabbed Si Nan and slapped her on the butt twice, laughing, "Hey, stinky Nan Nan,
where did you get such a bad idea? He is your brother, the closest person to you and Si Jiang,
how can you bully your brother?"
Sinan bit his knee, her jaw ached, and her cotton pants were drooling. She stamped her feet
angrily: "Bully him, bully him, bully him! I hate him!"
"Chen Sinan, are you being unreasonable?" Ximei shouted, "Why did your brother do that to
you? You beat and kill him every day. Look at how your sister treats you. Is she mean to you,
beating, pinching, or trying to kill you? Are you ashamed? Do you know what kindness and
friendship are? You are so good to your cousin Jingsheng, why do you treat your own brother like
this? I think you are out of your mind. Do you want to go to the hospital to see a doctor and get
an injection?!"
"My elder sister is different from my eldest cousin!" Si Nan held back tears and tilted his head
stubbornly: "I am also good to my elder sister. I write to her and call her every month. I also got
two perfect scores in the exam and can recite geese, goose, goose! My eldest cousin - my eldest
cousin can do everything. I like my eldest cousin the most. You - you are all traitors!"
"You can be unreasonable just because you got 100 points on the test?" Ximei slapped the table,
and the fountain pen beside her jumped up, splashing out a string of blue ink: "You can be nice to
your sister and cousin, why can't you be nice to your brother?"
"No, no, no! You just can't! Why don't you give me a brother? I don't want a younger brother or a
younger sister!" Sinan yelled even louder.
Sinan watched her mother's belly grow bigger day by day, watched her mother lying on the bed
touching her rolling belly and smiling, watched her eldest cousin's upper bunk gradually filled
with new baby clothes, shoes and hats, watched the pictures of Guo Kaimin and Tang Guoqiang
on the wall behind the sofa, watched the remittance slip of 500 yuan sent by her grandfather,
watched her father hammer and pound to make a rocking crib, and her ears were filled with the
sympathetic words of friends such as Shen Qingping, Shen Xingxing, and Zhu Zhenning. The
sadness across the ages is indeed very sad. She missed her elder sister and eldest cousin very
much. They would never betray her and would definitely stand by her side and hate her younger
brother. This is Sinan's wish for the Year of the Monkey.
Chen Sihao was always grateful to his second sister Sinan for not killing him, but he had no way to
repay her.

Chapter 72
During the Spring Festival of the Year of the Monkey in Aksu, everything seemed normal when
the school gates were closed. Every household in the staff dormitory posted new Spring Festival
couplets written by Director Liang, and there was an upside-down blessing character on the well.
Firecrackers started to go off sporadically from the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month. Children
played from the playground to the classrooms every day, and every blackboard had evidence of
being played with. The canteen would emit a rich aroma of bone soup every few nights. At eleven
or twelve o'clock in the middle of the night, teachers and their wives would go to the canteen in a
row with woks, eat a snack in a noisy manner, and then take a wok of bone soup home.
Chen Donglai performed well in the gas and oil fields last year and had a two-week holiday. In
order to supplement calcium for his pregnant daughter Ximei, he pricked up his ears every night
to listen for any noise. Fortunately, Teacher Li next door would always knock on the wok at the
door and shout, "Engineer Chen, go and cut the midnight snack." The next morning, he would
use the bone soup he brought back to make noodles with tomatoes and potatoes, or stew a pot
of rice with cabbage and lay two eggs. It was delicious, and the flock of chickens behind the
window were very grateful to the owner for not killing them.
With a successful career and family, Chen Donglai smiles every day and feels more and more that
his son brings good luck to the family. In fact, he has always been highly respected by teachers.
Every National Day, primary and secondary schools in Urumqi, Aksu, Yili and Shihezi will welcome
the tour speeches of oil heroes. Chen Donglai has participated twice and has appeared in
newspapers and on TV, telling about the hard battles in the desert. Mrs. Liang was in tears and
held Ximei's hand to let her rest assured and take care of the baby: "Don't worry, no one can plan
the family planning plan for you. Engineer Chen and others have made such great contributions
to the country, and it is because there are strong people like you, Teacher Gu, who firmly support
him! How can we let heroes down?"
Gu Ximei suspected that she was too narrow-minded to feel the greatness of her husband. After
being bombarded by the principal and colleagues, she gradually developed a sense of pride as a
hero's family. When her father was posthumously recognized as a martyr, she had no such pride
at all, and she even thought it was ridiculous, because the title of martyr was returned by Beiwu
smashing watermelons, and the pension became a more real attic and deposit certificate. Chen
Donglai, the "hero", was recognized by the state, selected by the unit, and admired by everyone
around him. She was born with a love for following the crowd and consciously responding to the
call, so she easily convinced herself, became much more amiable to Chen Donglai, and began to
actively understand and care for her husband, as if she had returned to more than a decade ago,
and she liked it no matter how she looked at it. The man in his early forties was calm and kind,
tall and straight, he didn't smoke, drink, gamble, or have affairs, he turned over all his salary, he
was a hero in the oil field, he was a skilled furniture maker, he also took care of his daughters'
emotions, he spent so much time folding banknotes to make pineapple balls. Ximei felt like she
had "fallen in love" with Chen Donglai again, which made her transfer from the agricultural
reclamation system to the education system seem less surprising.
In addition to the certificate and letter of introduction that Meng Qin obtained, the school labor
union also issued a letter of certificate and letter of introduction, with a big red seal on it.
Principal Chen claimed to be Chen Donglai's elder brother with the same surname. He didn't
even call her Teacher Gu anymore, but directly called her younger sister-in-law, "As soon as the
Labor Day holiday comes, you can go to Urumqi to give birth to your son. Sinan will be taken care
of by Mrs. Liang, and Teacher Pan will take your place in class for two months. Don't worry,
younger sister-in-law, a hero like Engineer Chen has shed sweat and blood for the country, and
we will never let him cry again!"
The hero stopped crying, but Ximei and Sinan both cried. Ximei was deeply cared for by the
organization, leaders and colleagues, and was moved to tears. But Sinan was shocked. She called
Sijiang on New Year's Eve and cried that her parents were going to take her hateful brother away
and leave her alone in the sand well.
"Sister, if I strangled my brother to death, would you still stand by my side?"
To be, or not to be, that is the question. Facing such a soul-searching question, the ten-year-old
Chen Sijiang hesitated for a while before answering: "Can I pinch him with you? Pinch him every
day. You can't say the word death during the New Year—"
Sinan asked Jingsheng again: "Brother, if I strangled my brother to death, would you still stand by
me?"
Jingsheng looked at the 2, 5, and 0 on the number plate and raised his eyebrows: "Do you want
to go to Jinghong to play? You can climb trees, catch fish, pick mushrooms, watch elephants
bathing, peacocks spreading their tails, and see slow lorises and so on."
"You're just taking me alone? Without mom, dad and brother?"
"No." Jingsheng glanced at Si Jiang who was dumbfounded beside him.
Sinan's howling broke out from the microphone: "Wow, woo, woo, woo, cousin, I love you the
most! When I grow up, I must marry you, and we will have a bunch of monkeys - no, no, no, have
a bunch of children, just sisters!"
Jingsheng moved the microphone away with disdain: "That's not necessary."
Si Jiang lowered his head, suddenly raised his foot and stomped hard on Jingsheng's new shoes,
then turned around and ran away quickly.
Jingsheng lowered his eyes to look at the shoe print, raised his foot and rubbed it on the other
trouser leg. It seemed that this was not necessary.
——
However, after leaving the school gate, Aksu was not peaceful in the Year of the Monkey. Before
the Spring Festival, the "Minutes of the February Symposium" were sent to all divisions,
regiments, enterprises and institutions. The autonomous region government required illegal
organizations such as the Shanghai Youth Federation Committee and the Shanghai Youth Liaison
Headquarters to be disbanded immediately, and required Shanghai educated youth to
immediately stop all illegal activities. Violators would be dealt with according to law.
Everywhere in the county and town there were marches of educated youth, and some were
making angry speeches calling for people to go north. Shen Yong and Zhu Guangmao followed
Ouyang and the others every day, and it wasn't until the sixth day of the Lunar New Year that the
two families came to sit here in Ximei. The two of them were sent back directly from Urumqi last
year. Their fighting spirit is still high, and they did not forget to bring new year's goods and gifts.
"The intellectual youths who support the border are not intellectual youths? Can't they enjoy the
policy of returning educated youths to the city?" Zhu Guangmao lost weight, but his voice did not
lose weight: "We came earlier, earlier than the hair moved to the mountains and countryside. On
the contrary, they are not considered educated youth. What do you think this is?”
Cao Jingzhi looked at her son and daughter playing with Si Nan, and sighed, with red eyes: "My
brother went back from Heilongjiang in the first half of last year, and my sister went back from
Jiangxi in the second half of the year, so I was the only one left to go back." No. My mother writes
several letters a month to remind me.”
Ximei also sighed. When her elder brother returned to the city, she thought she would be able to
return soon. The 100,000 Shanghai educated youth in Xinjiang are now angry and anxious. Their
brothers and sisters have returned to the city, leaving only them, supporting the border areas,
like immigrants.
Meng Qin handed the three stamp albums in her bag to Ximei: "These are issued by the
company. I gave some extra to Sijiang Sinan and Jingsheng to play with. Stamp collecting is quite
popular nowadays."
Sinan came over and asked, "What is stamp collecting?"
"It's just collecting stamps. Don't you have to put stamps on your letters to your sister every
month?" Chen Donglai smiled and opened the stamp album to show Si Nan, and then went to
the drawer of the chest of drawers to take out two full sheets of stamps: "Come here, Si is born in
the year of the monkey, Gengshen Year of the Golden Monkey, auspicious. It just so happens that
the post office said that this year's New Year's Eve will issue zodiac commemorative stamps for
the first time, and they are Huang Yongyu's original paintings, so I bought some extra and plan to
give them to relatives and friends. You can also take some to use. Isn't it beautiful?"
"Hey, let me count. Eighty pieces per edition. You spent more than ten yuan on these two
editions of stamps." Shen Yong gave a thumbs up.
Meng Qin took the Twelve Square Company that Chen Donglai tore off, and when he saw the big-
eyed golden monkey sitting on the bright red background, he smiled: "Hey! My Lao Zhu is also a
monkey, and I was at the county post office yesterday. I wanted to buy a set as a souvenir, but I
didn’t buy it. It turned out that they were all taken away by you, Old Chen. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk,
tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, you love your son, okay, thanks to your family, save it. I’ll pay you one dollar, and
I’ll give you double red envelopes when the time comes.”
Everyone laughed. Sinan stood on tiptoe to look at the stamps. She thought monkeys were really
annoying. She didn't want to go to Jinghong with her cousin to see the slow lorises at all. She
turned around and saw her father laughing so hard that his eyebrows were not visible. One of his
hands was on her mother's belly, gently stroking it. The two of them were leaning against each
other and talking. Suddenly, she was furious. She snatched the stamps on the table, tore them
up, crumpled them into a ball and threw them on her mother's belly: "Monkeys are so ugly! I
don't want them! No one is allowed to have monkeys!"
Chen Donglai looked at the tears in his daughter's eyes and her stubbornness, and stopped Ximei
from swinging the ruler: "Forget it, it's just two sets of stamps. Don't hit her during the New Year.
When the younger brother is born, Nannan will like him."
Si Nan ran out of the door and shouted in the cold wind: "Impossible! I don't like my brother! I
hate Chen Si and I hate monkeys!"
Shen Qingping, Shen Xingxing and Zhu Zhenning quickly chased after him, not forgetting to turn
around and shout: "We hate monkeys too!"
——
At the end of 2010, Jingsheng asked Sinan: "I remember that you seemed to have torn off two
whole sheets of your brother's zodiac stamps? In 1980?"
Chen Sinan, a middle-aged girl who had not yet won the bitter battle with her third zodiac year,
thought about it and said, "It seems so. My mother was so angry that she wanted to beat me, but
my father had some conscience and stopped her."
"Then you can now give yourself a good beating on behalf of your mother." Jingsheng said with a
smile: "The latest auction price of a complete set of 1980 monkey stamps is one million yuan."
That night, Sinan gloomily quoted a line from Stephen Chow: "I once had two million in real
money in front of me, but I didn't cherish it. If God could give me another chance, I would say I
want it. If I have to add a number, I hope it would be 10,000."
Zhao Youning smiled and said, "What's yours is yours, and what's not yours can't be kept. I
collected stamps seriously for four or five years, but later I moved twice and couldn't find a box of
stamp albums."
Si Jiang rolled his eyes at Si Nan and poured out four glasses of sour plum juice: "That's right, you
also stole my younger uncle's bicycle and my older uncle's motorcycle. Where are the cars now?"
Jingsheng served the flat wontons and old duck soup and said quietly, "Forget about the car. A
yellow A motorcycle license plate is only worth a few hundred thousand now."
Si Nan screamed and stabbed Jingsheng's arm with a pair of chopsticks like flying knives: "Gu
Jingsheng! It's a pity that I'm so good to you!"
Jingsheng took out his chopsticks and knocked her on the head: "You are almost 40 years old, so
why don't you face the fact that 'you deserve to be poor'? The truth always hurts people's
hearts."
Sinan was so angry that he fell backwards: "What can we do when the moon shines on the
ditch?"
Zhao Youning and Si Jiang looked at her silently, with five big words clearly written on their faces:
You are the ditch.
fall!
The children who were playing in the yard came running back: "Mom! Dad—Aunt and Uncle—we
are starving. Can we eat now?"
Sinan's eyes widened as he shouted, "You only know how to eat. Are you a bunch of pigs? Go
wash your hands and faces! Go, go, go, you are not allowed to sit at the big table. Go eat on the
sofa."
Si Jiang sighed: "You still talk about Mom, aren't you exactly the same as Mom used to be?"
Sinan blinked: "You traitor! Ignore me."

Chapter 73
In the first month of the lunar year, Gu Nanhong took her sons back to her parents' home, but
Zhao Yanhong unexpectedly did not come with them. Gu Nanhong left the New Year's money
given by Si Jiang and Si Nanjingsheng and hurried out again. The women in Wanchun Street were
talking about her dazzling red woolen coat all day long.
Before Granny Gu could ask, the eldest, second and third had already given the whole story one
by one.
"Grandma, my grandparents are quarreling and fighting with each other."
"Little brat, stop talking nonsense." Grandma Gu opened the snack box, which was filled with
melon seeds, pumpkin seeds, spiced broad beans, various peach cakes, small cakes, and assorted
candies. She frowned and looked at her three grandchildren: "It's normal for adults to speak
louder. It's not a quarrel, you know."
Ah San was quick to grab a piece of cake and said, "I'm not kidding. Yila quarrels every day and
Mommy beats Daddy."
Si Jiang was shocked: "Aunt beats uncle? Impossible!" Aunt spoke in a coquettish voice, and uncle
was so tall and strong, it would be almost the same if it happened the other way around.
Ah Er stuffed his mouth with candy: "Yeah, he beat me so hard. My dad's face was all bruised."
Ah Da sighed and shook his head: "No, women are too weak." He stood up and gestured: "Mom
hits me like this, Dad blocks it lightly--"
The three brothers said in unison: "Mom fell to the ground."
Ah Da was happy: "Dad rushed to help her, but Mom scratched him. Tsk tsk tsk, a string of blood
beads came out. Old Alaye was so angry that he went back to the boat the next day."
"I didn't even have time to check my winter vacation homework." Ah San laughed: "Not bad, not
bad, I haven't done a single page yet."
Granny Gu looked at Gu Dongwen, who raised his eyebrows calmly and shook his head. He had
heard Gu Beiwu talk about the incident of Zhao Yanhong's broken leg. Besides, Gu Nanhong's
temper was that of a man-eating flower. Only men would suffer from her, and she would not
suffer from men. It was difficult for a judge to judge family affairs, so he would not help her vent
her anger like Beiwu. Nanhong was almost 40 years old, and she had to think clearly about
whether she was confused or not. She had to live her life, and no one could replace her.
Si Jiang couldn't figure it out, so he poked the three of them fiercely: "Mom and Dad are arguing,
aren't you worried? And you're still laughing!"
Ah Da shrugged: "It's not because of our quarrel."
Ah Er leaned over and said to his grandmother, "The quarrel was over lipstick."
Ah San was so eloquent and clear-headed that it was rare for him to speak so eloquently: "My
dad brought two lipsticks for my mom from the boat." He gestured to his lips a few times: "My
mom asked him where the other two went when he clearly bought four. My dad said he brought
them for someone else. My mom asked him who he brought them for. My dad said my mom
didn't know him and it was no use telling her. My mom said how would you know if I knew him if
you didn't tell me, and whether you had something to hide. My dad said whoever had something
to hide who knew, he was dancing outside every day——"
Granny Gu covered Ah San's mouth with her hand and said, "Okay, okay, you are only a few years
old, why are you memorizing these things? Why don't you go and memorize the Chinese
textbook? Nan Nan scored two perfect scores in Xinjiang, how about your brother? Did your
grades improve last semester?"
When talking about grades, the three Zhao brothers stammered and slipped off their chairs to
the attic to drag Jingsheng out to play.
Jingsheng was dragged down by them and saw Si Jiang sitting in front of the table with his chin in
his hand, staring blankly, not knowing what he was thinking about, with a frown on his face.
Granny Gu and Gu Dongwen went downstairs one after the other, talking in low voices.
"Let's go," Jingsheng handed Sijiang's bright red wool scarf and gloves to her, "Let's go ice skating
in Xigong."
By the time Si Jiang reacted, he was already walking on the bumpy road.
The five of them walked to the intersection of Wuning Road and saw from afar a number of food
stalls outside the gate of Xigong, including one selling small toys. Er and San bought five fried
dumplings, three baked sweet potatoes, and a bag of popcorn.
The fried dumplings were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. When you took a bite,
your mouth was covered with oil, the stuffing was steaming, and the aroma of shredded radish
went into your stomach, making you want to take another bite. Si Jiang ate half of it, and his
throat was burning. When the cold wind blew on his face, he felt like his nose was about to run.
He reached into his pocket and found that he didn't bring a handkerchief. He sniffed his nose
quickly, and then sniffed again, preparing to make a difficult choice between the oil paper
wrapping the fried dumplings and his sleeves or gloves and scarf.
Jingsheng was peeling a sweet potato. He glanced at her, held back his laughter, and took out his
handkerchief: "Here." He knew that Si Jiang would easily have a runny nose after eating hot or
spicy food. Gu Dongwen said it might be rhinitis.
Si Jiang awkwardly took the handkerchief, said thank you, and ran to the side. When he came
back, his nose was red, and he mumbled shyly: "I'll return it to you after I wash it."
Jingsheng put the peeled baked sweet potato in her hand: "No need, give it to me, I'll wipe my
hands."
Seeing the black and sticky stuff on his fingers, Si Jiang took out the crumpled handkerchief with a
red face and almost cried: "Sorry, it's too dirty." And he was very disgusted...
Jingsheng didn't expect that her snot could make the whole handkerchief like this. He finally
wiped it on the slightly clean corner, spread it out a little, and wiped the tip (fingertip) of the
handkerchief with a piece of booger. He quickly rolled the handkerchief into a smaller ball and
stuffed it back into his pocket. His eyes twitched several times. In fact, he didn't mind the dirt. He
and Gu Dongwen used leaves as toilet paper in the rain forest. He regretted asking for the
handkerchief back.
Si Jiang's long eyelashes fluttered several times, and she turned her back to eat the baked sweet
potato carefully. She absolutely did not want to wipe her mouth with that handkerchief again. As
for the booger and the pile of snot, she didn't look at it or think about it, and just pretended it
never happened.
But behind him, Ah San spoke frankly: "Wow! So Si Jiang, you also have snot and boogers!
Hahahaha."
Ah Er held up a popcorn and said, "Nonsense, Si Jiang is still pooping, fairies have to poop too,
right?"
Si Jiang turned around and glared at them angrily: "It's so disgusting to say these things while
eating!"
Jingsheng said calmly: "A'er, the popcorn in your hand looks like chicken shit, eat it quickly."
Ah Er stared at the popcorn in his hand, not knowing whether to eat it or not. Ah Da and Ah San
laughed so hard that they clapped their hands and stamped their feet, and Si Jiang couldn't help
but burst out laughing.
At this time, a couple passing by suddenly quarreled. The woman cursed the mountain gate in a
sharp voice with tears in her voice. The man swung the bags in his hands and suddenly raised his
hand to slap the woman. The woman put the child on the ground and ran away. The man cursed
a few more times and turned away angrily. The two or three-year-old child was left crying loudly
on the spot, and the tiger hat on his head was tilted and shaking.
Si Jiang quickly ran over and squatted down: "Little boy, don't cry, don't cry, sister will help you
find your mother."
Many people gathered around, pointing at the child and sighing, and some even said they wanted
to call the police. Si Jiang stood up and saw that the child's mother had already crossed the road,
with no intention of looking back. She handed the child to her cousins and ran across the road to
chase him.
"Auntie! Auntie! Your baby is still there. He is crying so hard alone. You should go back to find
him." Si Jiang almost trotted after the woman, shouting as he ran.
The woman wiped her tears, covered the half of her face that was beaten, and walked faster: "I
don't care, let his father take care of it."
"Your husband is gone, and the baby is all alone!" Si Jiang became even more anxious, pulling her
clothes back and saying, "If he hits you, you can ask the police to arrest him, or you can hit him
back. How could you leave the baby there? How can you be a father and mother? He must be
scared all alone!"
The woman was stunned for a moment, then turned around and saw a group of people gathered
at the intersection over there. Some people were pointing at her, and in the distance she could
hear voices shouting "Hey" and the cries of children.
Si Jiang and the child's mother returned to the intersection, and Jingsheng and Ada also came
back with the man. The woman cried while holding the child, and the man stood by silently. The
people around were talking at once.
"Okay, okay, kid, you did something bad, you're crying. Don't do this next time. If you run into a
bad guy and take the child away, it will be too late for you to cry."
"It's okay for a couple to quarrel, but why don't they want their daughter anymore? How can this
be justified? I really can't understand how young people today become parents!"
"You are a mother, and you don't want your child anymore after being beaten by your husband.
That's really..."
"Exactly. How could you have the heart to make a child cry like this?"
"Only useless men beat women." Jingsheng shouted. He looked at the man who beat his wife and
abandoned his son with disgust, and said to the woman who was crying while holding her son,
"Do you want me to help you find the police?"
The woman was stunned, looking at the half-grown children in front of her. The man was
annoyed, and came over and pushed Ah Da: "Go away, go away, our family affairs have nothing to
do with you."
Jingsheng asked again: "Auntie, do you want me to help you find the police?" Si Jiang's eyes were
bright, and he said loudly: "We can testify that he beat you!"
The woman shook her head in panic. The man was furious: "Get out of here, you little bastard!"
Si Jiang stepped forward and said, "It's wrong to hit someone. She's married to you, so she's also
a human being. You have no right to hit her! If you continue to be violent, we'll report it to the
newspapers and TV, and let the citizens of the city judge for themselves."
The woman suddenly got excited, she stood up holding her son and said, "Who asked you to
care? It's so annoying." She lowered her head and turned around and walked towards the
intersection, and the child's legs swung. Jingsheng pulled Sijiang away, and the pair of cotton
shoes rubbed against Sijiang's hair and drew a semicircle. The man followed with the bag,
cursing, and turned around to glare at them.
Si Jiang was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Jingsheng: "What kind of person is this
——!?"
Jingsheng pursed his lips and said nothing, leading Si Jiang and the Zhao brothers out of the
crowd. Someone nearby sighed with a smile: "Okay, little friend, please stop interfering. Why
would you call the police when a couple is fighting and scolding each other? The police don't
have time to deal with such things. Let's go."
"Little Pangyou is very nice, he is a good person and does good things."
"That woman deserved to be beaten. This is definitely not the first time, and it certainly won't be
the last time."
"Well, she's like that. She didn't even want her son after getting slapped. If it were me, I would
definitely slap her a few more times."
Si Jiang glared at the man fiercely, but was pulled by Jingsheng and took two quick steps.
The five of them all felt a little depressed amid the laughter and shouting on the skating rink.
Si Jiang suddenly asked: "Second cousin, has your father ever beaten your aunt like this?"
The three brothers said in unison: "No! No! Never!"
Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief. "Shua shua shua", a group of boys came over like the wind and
slammed into the railing beside her. They turned around and laughed and shouted: "Chen Sijiang!
Gu Jingsheng! Zhao Ada, Aer, and San! Happy New Year——"
Si Jiang took a look and saw that it was Zhao Youning and several boys from their class and
Kangjiaqiao.
"Where is your sister Sinan? Didn't she come back to Shanghai for the New Year?" Zhao Youning
asked with a smile.

Chapter 74
Si Jiang smiled the kind of smile he would perform on stage: "He hasn't come back yet." This is
just a nonsense question.
“She’s in Xinjiang?”
"Yes." Si Jiang nodded politely, wondering why this guy was still asking nonsense.
"With your parents?"
Si Jiang turned around impatiently and raised his chin: "Haha, what else?"
Zhao Youning smiled sheepishly: "Will she come back for summer vacation in July?"
"What are you doing?" Si Jiang glanced at him warily. What is this guy doing? He doesn't have a
sister but he is staring at her sister. Does he like being a brother so much?
Zhao Youning blushed: "Oh - then tell her that the colored pencil is a gift to her and she doesn't
have to return it."
Si Jiang was startled: "What colored pencils?"
The little follower Sheng Fang immediately skated over on his skates, "The last time Chen Sinan
set up a stall, she said she wanted to draw, so she borrowed a set of colored pencils from Brother
Ningning, with twelve colors, but she forgot to return them. They were brought back from
Germany by Teacher Zhao, and they were from some gray brand, and they weren't even sold in
the First Department Store."
Zhao Youning scratched his head in embarrassment: "Nothing, no nothing, really no need, Si Nan
is so cute, I wanted to give her a gift -" He didn't mean to ask for the colored pencils back, he just
wanted to talk to Si Jiang a few more words, he felt that Chen Si Jiang seemed to have a problem
with him, several times when they met in the corridor, she pretended not to see him and turned
to talk to other students. Before the holiday, the team committee held a meeting, and it was clear
that he and she were the only two team committee members in the third grade, and I don't know
why she just didn't want to work with him.
Si Jiang's face was flushed, and he stammered, "Is it the brand with F at the beginning?"
"Yeah, it's really okay." Zhao Youning was keenly aware of something and quickly waved his hand:
"I've already bought a new one, it's okay."
Si Jiang blushed and stammered, "I'm sorry, I didn't know that set of pens was yours. I've been
using them all the time. I'll go buy you a set!" She thought it belonged to her uncle, as the
colorful notebooks, diaries and stationery were almost used up. It was all thanks to that set of
pens. They were so easy to use.
Zhao Youning touched his nose and said, "It's really okay. My dad is going to Germany for an
exchange this summer. He said he would bring a few more sets to give away. By the way, if your
sister comes back during the summer vacation, can we go to Longhua to have fun together?"
Si Jiang took advantage and nodded repeatedly: "Okay, I haven't been to Longhua yet, I only
know Longhua Temple, but I still have to return the pencil to you."
Zhao Youning ignored the last sentence and became excited: "Longhua is a good place to watch
trains and planes. You can also catch crayfish in the river without going to the river. To the east of
Longhua Airport is the Huangpu River. You can swim in the river. The water is very clear and there
are no ships. The fried dough sticks opposite the Longhua Temple are the most delicious. They
cost five cents for one or two grain coupons, which is one cent cheaper than the ones at the West
Palace Gate. There are also glutinous rice and red bean paste dumplings." He mentioned all this
to Sinan last summer. The little sister was particularly interested in catching crayfish. It turned out
that she had never seen what crayfish looked like. Unfortunately, she didn't go later.
When he mentioned the oil dumplings and thought of the dirty handkerchief, Si Jiang sniffed and
became even more embarrassed: "Okay."
"By the way, how much have you done with your winter vacation homework? Yesterday, the small
class came to my house to do homework, why didn't you come?" Zhao Youning finally asked the
main question. Starting from the first grade, during the winter and summer vacations, the
children who lived nearby obeyed the teacher's arrangement and formed small classes, taking
turns to do homework together at the spacious homes of children. The third grade school put
students from different classes of the same grade together according to the location. Wanchun
Street and Kangjia Bridge are close to each other. Zhao Youning and Chen Sijiang are the first and
second in the grade, so they were arranged into a small group. In the words of the grade leader,
the first and second grades can lead the poor students, and the third grade will widen the gap.
Let the students with good grades compete with each other and make progress together, so that
excellence can become a habit. Without Sijiang, the most powerful competitor, Zhao Youning
always felt a little uncomfortable.
Si Jiang couldn't admit that he was jealous of him for being the first and didn't like him, so he
deliberately didn't go, so he smiled with six teeth: "Yesterday I practiced dancing (I practiced at
home too), tomorrow the little class will come to my house, are you coming?"
Zhao Youning smiled and said, "Come on, I brought a set of math papers for the fifth grade of
Shanghai International Studies University Elementary School. We can do it together."
Si Jiang was stunned: "Aren't we promoted to the fourth grade in September?"
"My dad said that elementary school math is very simple, so he asked me to finish all the fifth
grade math during the winter vacation." Seeing Si Jiang's expression, he quickly added, "I've
looked at it, it's really not difficult."
"..." Si Jiang's slight apology was gone. Haha, Zhao Youning's tone was the most annoying.
Jingsheng made a very beautiful turn without slowing down, and braked directly through the
crowd. After nodding to Zhao Youning, he asked Si Jiang: "Are you still going? If not, go back and
eat."
"Let's go home." Si Jiang, who had not yet recovered the ticket money, resumed his politeness,
said goodbye to Zhao Youning and the others with a smile, and stretched his neck to call on his
second cousin and the other three to leave.
Suddenly, a group of people came over laughing and screaming. Someone bumped into
Jingsheng. Jingsheng bent his knees and slid backwards for two steps. He stabilized his body and
looked up. Fortunately, Zhao Youning pulled Si Jiang to the railing in time and he was not hit. At
the end of the group was a tall girl. She turned around and stretched out her arms. She bent her
knees slightly and slid backwards. She slid back suddenly and circled around Jingsheng. She
smiled and asked, "Gu Jingsheng, do you dare to compete with me for four laps? If you lose, you
will recognize me as your sister. If I lose, I will call you my brother."
Gu Jingsheng frowned, ignored her, and waved to the three Zhao brothers in the field: "Let's go."
Si Jiang was shocked. Recently, the bad trend of forming gangs and acknowledging sworn
brothers and sisters has suddenly become popular in and outside the school. The teacher said
that it was the little hooligans and gangsters who led the primary and secondary school students
astray. There were also junior high school students who followed the permed afro, wore glasses,
danced disco, smoked, drank, and dated. The girl in front of him had a permed afro, no coat, and
a rose-red mohair sweater and bell-bottom pants that were particularly eye-catching. She applied
rose-red lipstick and chewed bubble gum in her mouth. After she finished speaking, she spit out a
big white bubble that shook in the wind.
Zhao Youning whispered to Si Jiang: "This is Wu Xiaoli from the sixth grade. She's a little bit..."
"Which one?"
"I heard what Teacher Lu and the others said in the office. They didn't mean to say bad things
about her." Zhao Youning was a little embarrassed. "She is a little barbaric and often bullies
classmates. She has many foster brothers and sisters from Xiang Qun and Changzheng Middle
School. She has adopted more than a dozen foster brothers and sisters in the school. Yang Guang,
who was beaten by Jingsheng in your alley, seems to have recognized her as a foster sister." Zhao
Youning hesitated for a moment and said, "I heard that she has several foster brothers in Putuo
Work-Study School. Tell Gu Jingsheng to ignore her, and we will all leave together."
Si Jiang went over and took Jingsheng's hand: "Brother, grandma and uncle asked us to go back
early, let's go." The three Zhao brothers slid back: "Let's play for a while, the ticket money hasn't
been returned yet."
A group of people nearby started to make a noise: "Wu Xiaoli, Gu Jingsheng! Compete with
them! Compete with them!"
Wu Xiaoli laughed, kicked her legs, slid to Si Jiang's side, and reached out to pull her hair: "Chen
Sijiang, what are you doing? Are you reluctant to let your cousin have another sister?"
Si Jiang tilted her head and her face darkened: "We don't know you and don't want to know you,
what are you doing?" She waved to the outside: "Uncle, uncle, something's going on here--" The
staff outside, wearing red armbands, put out their cigarettes and walked over here slowly.
Wu Xiaoli narrowed her eyes: "Oh, you look down on me, don't you? Having good grades and
good looks is a big deal? Being the team leader is a big deal. I just want to get to know Gu
Jingsheng and be friends with him, how can that be possible?" She turned her head and shouted
to the crowd: "Yang Guang, do you want to be friends with Chen Sijiang? Otherwise, you can
recognize her as your godsister."
Yang Guang waved his hand towards Si Jiang like a servile boy: "Sister! Sister - come here, call me
brother."
Jingsheng glanced over coldly, and Yang Guang immediately shrank behind someone else.
Two staff members came in and said, "What are you kids doing? Spread out. You're blocking
other people from skating."
Wu Xiaoli crossed her arms and smiled: "Uncle, our classmates are preparing for a competition."
"Don't cause trouble here, get out." The staff was not surprised and drove the man out directly:
"Return the shoes."
Wu Xiaoli slid into the backstage: "Gu Jingsheng, if you don't dare to compete, don't bring people
to Xigong in the future. Otherwise, if you have the ability, transfer to Chen Sijiang's class, hahaha.
Do you understand?"
Si Jiang was so angry that his face turned red: "You are simply -! I'm going to tell the teacher and
the school!"
"Go ahead and sue me. It's just a warning or something." Wu Xiaoli said nonchalantly, "Little
sister, I don't care. I will graduate in half a year anyway. You can give it a try. I have many brothers
out there who want to recognize a beautiful celebrity as their sister."
Zhao Youning stood in front of Si Jiang and said, "Wu Xiaoli, don't always team up with people
from other schools to bully your classmates. The school, teachers and us will protect Chen Sijiang.
Besides, there are the police. Those hooligans eventually went to work-study schools and went to
farms for reform. If you don't learn your lesson now, you will regret it later."
Five or six boys suddenly bypassed the staff and slid towards Zhao Youning, forcing him and Si
Jiang in front of the railing and making fun of them.
"Oh my, a hero saves a beautiful girl! So touching."
"Are you guys dating?"
"Come on, protect us. We are so scared, we are so scared - we are not afraid of you."
Before he could finish his words, the staff grabbed his collar and pushed him out of the venue.
"Little bastards, you are lawless, aren't you? Get out of here. Look at where this is. This is the
Huxi Workers' Cultural Palace! You dare to come here to bully little girls. Are you looking for
death? Do you want to be a gangster and go to jail?" The middle-aged uncle had a gloomy face
and slapped them on the head with his backhand: "You are not afraid, right? You are not afraid,
right? You are not afraid, right?"
These boys in the fifth and sixth grades were only slightly taller than Si Jiang. They had no power
to fight back in front of the adults and were beaten dizzy. When they heard laughter from the
skating rink, they blushed, dropped their skates, and ran away holding their shoes.
When the dozen or so other boys and girls who followed Wu Xiaoli saw that the situation was not
good, they all slipped out to change their shoes.
Wu Xiaoli was so angry that she frowned. She looked at Zhao Youning and Gu Jingsheng, two
groups of people with more than ten people in front of her who looked defensive, and the uncle
outside who looked fierce. She reluctantly threw out a few harsh words.
Gu Jingsheng stretched out his hand and stopped her: "Let's compete four times. Whoever loses
will have to stay ten meters away from the winner from now on. Do you dare?"
Si Jiang was stunned: "Cousin?!"
Wu Xiaoli had already forgotten why she had provoked Gu Jingsheng in the first place. She
stiffened her neck and said, "Let's compete! Let's compete!"
Zhao Youning curled the corner of his mouth. This student Wu was indeed a simple-minded
person with well-developed limbs.
This time the staff did not stop them. Instead, they came in to clear the area for them. The four
laps were finished in a flash. Gu Jingsheng arrived at the exit after leading by most of the laps. He
calmly watched Wu Xiaoli, with her afro, slowly approaching.
"Hey, ten meters." Gu Jingsheng reminded her to pay attention to where to stop.
Wu Xiaoli's face flushed, and she desperately grasped the railing beside her. She stomped her
skates twice, and watched them walk to the place where they changed shoes. Suddenly she
shouted loudly: "Gu Jingsheng, I'm also from Yunnan. We met before in Banna--"
Jingsheng turned around and looked at her.
Wu Xiaoli shuddered from a distance of more than ten meters. She had seen this look before. At
the market in Banna, a group of children, big and small, surrounded him and called his mother a
"slut". He also looked at her fiercely, and finally left with blood all over his head and body. Several
of those people had broken bones, and there was also a big child with a hole in his head, but no
adult dared to ask his father for revenge. His father was the best fighter in the state, and he could
beat more than a dozen people. Her mother was also called a "slut", and even her father called
her that and beat her and her mother. She fought with those children who scolded her mother,
but she couldn't beat them.
She just wanted to be good friends with Gu Jingsheng. Ten meters, how far is ten meters?

Chapter 75
On the way home, Ada, Aer, and Asan flattered Jingsheng with great joy. Speaking of the group of
aggressive young men who were dragged out of the skating rink, the staff member of Shengfang
School asked more and more questions, each one more threatening and more realistic,
accompanied by the action of patting the head, which made everyone laugh until their stomachs
hurt.
After everyone said goodbye at Kangjiaqiao Lane, Jingsheng and the others turned into Wanchun
Street. Si Jiang couldn't help asking, "Hey, why do you want to compete with her? What if you
lose?"
"I won, and the garbage stayed away from me." Jingsheng glanced at Si Jiang and said, "I lost, and
I stayed away from the garbage."
“???!!!” It took Si Jiang a while to come back to his senses. Looking at Jingsheng’s back, he
suddenly felt a little sympathy for classmate Wu. Alas, there was nothing he could do, she was
just so kind.
Ah Da was slapping his thigh in front and laughing: "Hahaha, what a jerk! She is so shameless,
saying that if she wins, she will be your sister and if you win, you will be her brother. She just
wants to build a relationship with you, bah. Female hooligan!"
Ah Er looked at Jingsheng's face carefully and said, "The boss is too good-looking, so he easily
attracts the wind - that big wasp."
Jingsheng's face darkened, and Ah Er shrank behind Si Jiang and laughed.
Ah San corrected his brother: "It's not a bumblebee, it's to attract bees and butterflies. Dad said
that Mom made it so beautiful every day just to attract--woo woo woo."
His head was clamped in the armpits by Jingsheng, and he started to cry out.
Si Jiang ran up two steps, lowered his head and said seriously: "You are not allowed to talk
nonsense about your parents, understand?"
Ah San's head was pinched so hard that he kept saying "OK, OK, OK". Ah Er touched his head and
thought, "That was a close call".
When they got home, the three brothers couldn't help but recount the incident at the skating
rink. Grandma Gu was very worried: "Next time, ignore these little hooligans, okay? What if they
rush up and beat you up? Find an adult first, find a teacher at school, remember?"
Si Jiang said "Oh" obediently and glanced at Jingsheng. But Jingsheng just lowered his head and
ate his meal.
Gu Dongwen picked up a piece of braised pork and put it into Jingsheng's bowl: "Ah Jingsheng is
very good at taking care of the sisters. Come, thank you, you have worked hard, cut more meat."
Jingsheng raised his eyes and saw Gu Dongwen smiling, with her long dimples deeply sunken and
very sweet, and she even winked at him.
Thirteen! Jingsheng's mouth twitched, he lowered his eyes and raised his chopsticks. There was a
piece of meat in the bowl with thick red soy sauce, 70% fat and 30% lean, the skin was shiny, the
crystal fat was flicked by the chopsticks, trembling, and the gravy slowly flowed down and seeped
into the rice. He lowered his head and took a big bite, confirming that today's braised pork was
cooked by Gu Dongwen, with plums, which was a Yunnan dish. Unfortunately, the plums in
Shanghai were not the sour plums in Dali, which were sweet enough but not sour enough. His
mother liked the carved plum meat very much. She had eaten it at the wedding banquet of a Dali
cadre organized by the educated youth. It was so delicious that he almost swallowed his tongue.
Unfortunately, they could not eat more than a pound of pork throughout the year. His mother
was only willing to cut it into shredded meat or minced it into meat sauce to eat for several
meals. Only during the New Year's Day would she be willing to make meat slices. Such a large
piece of braised pork could only be imagined.
That night, Jingsheng couldn't help asking Gu Dongwen, "That girl named Wu said she came back
from Banna to study, and she knew me. She's very tall, with a rectangular face. Have you seen
her?"
"A little girl from Shanghai named Wu? Banna——" Gu Dongwen really knew about her parents.
He frowned and asked, "What else did she say?"
Jingsheng turned over: "No more."
No words were spoken that night.
——
The new semester has begun. March 12 is the first Arbor Day in New China. All major enterprises,
institutions and schools in the city attach great importance to it, and publicity work has been
carried out in waves. Thinking of his parents and Sinan, Sijiang made a special blackboard
newspaper for the class on sand prevention and forest protection, which was rich in pictures and
texts, with both scientific knowledge and touching stories, and won the first place in the Arbor
Day blackboard newspaper competition of the whole school. The article "Nannan, the little apple
tree angel from Shanghai, insists on protecting the Aksu Oasis" was also published in Wenhui
Daily.
Si Jiang happily cut out the newspaper and pasted it in his notebook, and mailed another copy to
Aksu. Jing Sheng watched coldly, laughing in his heart. With Chen Sinan's character, he would
definitely climb trees to pick apples, but it would definitely be impossible for him to plant trees
and love forests.
However, after three days away from the south, one should look at it with new eyes. Six-year-old
team leader Chen Sinan, wearing a bar, actually participated in the anti-sand and forest
protection activities carried out every spring in Xinjiang at school, and it was not just for one day,
but for a whole month, two hours every day after school.
Sinan received a letter from his elder sister at the end of March. He read the story in the
newspaper with a dictionary, then took out a piece of paper and wrote a reply.
"My dear girl, I have been in the field for thirty days! Not just one day! Three hundred trees have
been in the field. We are like apples in the field, and the trees in the field are the same as mine.
The dust is 5.53-7.59, which is the best."
In mid-April, Sijiang received a letter from Sinan. After ten minutes of decoding, he got the
answer: "Sister, I planted trees for thirty days! Not one day! Three hundred trees. We didn't plant
apples, but sycamore trees. The dust retention rate is 5.53-7.59, the best." The dust retention
rate was thought up by Jingsheng, who had lived in Xinjiang for a year. The dense rows of " 丫"
characters at the bottom of the letter were confirmed to be saplings. The apples looked very
similar, and the sycamore leaves also looked like saplings.
Sinan also sent a newspaper clipping. It was a news report from the Xinjiang Daily on Arbor Day.
In the photo of the workers, peasants and soldiers planting trees, in the corner of a small black-
and-white photo, there was a small human head circled in red.
"WO!" The red pinyin is full of vigor and vitality.
Si Jiang could imagine Si Nan's proud look, holding the newspaper to his grandmother, and then
taking it to Chen's house to show his mother. When he got home, he pasted it together with the
page of Wenhui Daily, and did not forget to show off to Jingsheng: "Some people even said that I
made up the story. Look, Nan Nan is really amazing."
Jingsheng looked at the calendar and said, "I'm on duty tomorrow. Wait in the classroom after
school and I'll take you to the China Welfare Foundation."
"Hey, where are my two newly bought boxes of colored chalk?" Si Jiang looked everywhere.
"Tomorrow the choir rehearsal is over, and I can go to my uncle's store to draw a menu for him.
Also, my keys, blackboard eraser, and rag are missing. I clearly put them together."
"I've put it away." Jingsheng walked up to the attic: "Put it in my schoolbag. Just take your hands,
your brain and your eyes with you."
Si Jiang raised his hand and looked at it, then glared at Ge Lou fiercely. Humph, so inexplicable
and sarcastic. Who asked him to go home with her every day and send her to the China Welfare
Fund and the TV station? He made her eat less oily dumplings and rice cakes this semester.
"Hey!" Si Jiang climbed up the ladder and poked his head out of the attic: "Zhao Youning will have
a computer class at the China Welfare Association tomorrow. We agreed to go together..."
Jingsheng glanced at her and said, "Then let's go together. But you can't eat the food at the stalls.
Zhao Youning gave you diarrhea last week. Did you forget?"
Si Jiang stepped onto a step of the ladder and muttered weakly, "Maybe it has nothing to do with
that bowl of sugar porridge."
"We are all fine, but you drank an extra bowl of sugar porridge and had vomiting and diarrhea the
whole night." Jingsheng walked past her head, then stepped back and squatted, exposing her
scars expressionlessly: "Miss, in the middle of the night, I helped you empty the toilet twice and
the spittoon three times, and it was raining."
Si Jiang slid down the ladder in a red face and was almost crying. Compared with the most hateful
and infuriating Gu Jingsheng, the usually elegant Zhao Youning was simply an angel.
Si Jiang lifted the door curtain and jumped onto the bed, wrinkling his nose at the ceiling angrily:
"Devil!"
The devil Gu Jingsheng was trying hard to hold back his laughter in the attic. He was still too
young to know that fate had already secretly marked the price of his laughter. Of course, this
price could not be paid with a bowl of sugar porridge and a few fried dumplings and rice cakes.
——
Zhao Youning was actually a little nervous. He looked straight ahead when passing by the row of
food stalls at the back door of Shixi Middle School and almost bumped into the bicycles of middle
school students several times.
Si Jiang endured the heartache and held the fifty cents in her pocket. Goodbye to the oil
dumplings, sesame balls, steamed buns with rapeseed, malt sugar and red bean paste, and sugar
porridge. Hey, there are already popsicles and ice cream for sale. She couldn't help but turn her
head to look at Jingsheng beside her.
Jingsheng glanced at her, and seeing her trembling eyelashes and pitiful swallowing of saliva, he
showed no mercy at all: "Don't even think about it, let's go."
Zhao Youning turned around and comforted her: "Forget it, we won't eat today. It will be terrible
if you have diarrhea again. You managed to make it home last time. Sheng Fang couldn't make it
once and he pooped in his pants. His mother was so angry on the bus--" Noticing Si Jiang's
expression, Zhao Youning laughed: "We'll eat after Labor Day. Hey, Si Jiang, go slowly, be careful
with the bicycle."
Si Jiang trotted into the door of the China Welfare Foundation. Zhao Youning asked quietly, "Is
Chen Si Jiang angry?"
Jingsheng shrugged: "Probably."
Watching Jingsheng turn around and head towards Urumqi Road, Zhao Youning sighed. It was
really not easy for Chen Sijiang to have such a strict cousin.
After Si Jiang finished rehearsal, Zhao Youning was waiting at the gate: "Jingsheng just said he
was waiting for us at your uncle's restaurant. Let's go find him."
Si Jiang ignored him with a straight face. Zhao Youning talked about computers, model airplanes,
and the songs for their choir's Labor Day performance. Si Jiang reluctantly answered a few words.
At around five in the evening, Urumqi Road was very busy. Bicycles and trams competed for the
road. The ticket seller waved small flags and slapped the body of the tram and cursed. Jing'an
Hotel had just opened. A few uncles at the door saw people dressed better and approached them
to ask if they had remittance coupons or Japanese yen and US dollars. Crossing Huashan Road,
groups of Huashan Middle School students were crowded at the intersection with food and
drinks in their hands. The smell was overflowing, and Si Jiang was so hungry that his stomach was
aching.
The small storefront across from Huashan Hospital was closed but the lights were on. The
Dongsheng Canteen had been cleaned up in early March, but the license had not been issued, so
the sign could not be put up and the business could not be opened. Several groups of people
from the district came to persuade Gu Dongwen to wait patiently. This was the first individual
restaurant license in Shanghai, and it was a rented private property. There was no precedent to
refer to since the reform and opening up. The industrial and commercial taxation, food hygiene,
finance and trade, prices, fire protection, district committee, housing authority, educated youth
office, street committee, and every unit were very nervous, fearing that they would make
mistakes. I heard that leaders from the central government were paying attention to this small
restaurant. "Banyuetan" and "Liaowang", which were founded in April, both published editorials
on supporting the development of the individual economy, but no one dared to easily give a
clause and sign and seal how to support it specifically and put it into practice.
After running to various units more than a dozen times in March, Gu Dongwen could only wait.
Just then, Yunnan informed him that Jiang Hongbin would be executed in mid-April. He found an
excuse to return to Jinghong, gave the key to Jingsheng, and assigned a few small tasks to him
and Si Jiang.
Si Jiang gently pushed open the door, but it was empty inside. Jingsheng's schoolbag was on the
table, and there seemed to be a familiar fragrance coming from it.
"Gu Jingsheng? Gu Jingsheng?"
Si Jiang pouted and took out a piece of chalk: "Hey, is this person weird? We came to look for
him, but he's not here."
Zhao Youning became a little nervous: "Yeah, I see that Wu Xiaoli has been following him from a
distance this semester, and even asked someone to send a letter to your cousin. Could it be that
she asked someone outside the school to cause trouble for him?"

Chapter 76
As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Jingsheng pushed the door open, his face not looking good,
nodded to Si Jiang and Zhao Youning, and went into the back kitchen.
Si Jiang ran out of the door and looked around, vaguely seeing a person with an afro under the
traffic light at the intersection. She returned to the house nervously and whispered to Zhao
Youning, "It seems to be that Wu Xiaoli." Zhao Youning frowned and looked around, deciding that
if the gangster from another school came to cause trouble, he would take turns to protect Si Jiang
on the stool. Si Jiang's eyes also stopped on the stool, and the two of them had a tacit
understanding, looked at each other and nodded, and the only thing left was to swear an oath of
blood.
"Hey, eat something first." Jingsheng came out with a tray. His face seemed a little better than
before. The faint fragrance became extremely strong and hit his face.
Three bowls of small wontons, with pickled mustard tubers, shrimp skin, egg skin, and chopped
green onions floating on top. A spoonful of lard had just melted, and the floating light flickered
under the light. The small wontons looked like goldfish, with almost transparent skins, and pink
dots of meat filling could be seen inside. On the plate next to them were golden fried dumplings
and rice cakes.
"You made it?" Si Jiang swallowed and sat on the weapon he had just taken a fancy to
involuntarily.
Jingsheng took out chopsticks and spoon from the cupboard beside him: "Yeah, I'm hungry." This
was definitely not made specifically for these two greedy old bastards who had no willpower at
all.
Zhao Youning almost shed tears of happiness while holding a glutinous rice cake in his mouth. He
instantly understood how Si Nan felt every time he mentioned his cousin’s cooking: “Gu
Jingsheng, you are amazing. This is ten times, no, a hundred times, better than the ones sold at
the stall!”
"Sinan likes to eat rice cakes with sugar, what about you?" Jingsheng took out a vinegar dish and
spicy soy sauce, his hand stopped on the sugar jar and asked Sijiang.
After eating half a fried dumpling, Si Jiang sniffed and said, "I want vinegar." Fortunately, these
three things were not too hot, and fortunately she brought a handkerchief today.
Zhao Youning smiled and said, "Hey, Chen Sijiang, you like to be jealous."
"You don't like it?"
"I don't like it. I'm never jealous." Zhao Youning laughed. It was the first time he had the chance
to use a pun he had heard, and it was really quite funny.
Si Jiang narrowed his eyes and dipped the remaining two dumplings into the vinegar dish.
"Hey? No, no, no, I don't want to dip my fried dumplings in vinegar - you?" Zhao Youning reacted
so fast that he only had time to pad his chopsticks in the vinegar dish.
Si Jiang raised his chin and smiled very earnestly: "Everyone in my family loves to be jealous. This
one is for my cousin, and this one - you are not jealous, I will help you eat it, no thanks."
Thank you for visiting your family! Zhao Youning muttered in his heart, and quickly picked up the
second piece of rice cake. Hey, I didn’t expect rice cake dipped in sugar to be so delicious!
——
Zhao Youning wanted to help Jingsheng wash the dishes, but was pushed out by Jingsheng.
"The table and the stools were all made by your uncle himself. They look really nice. Your uncle is
so awesome." He praised.
Si Jiang was measuring and marking on the blackboard: "Of course, my uncle knows everything.
Look, the menu is written here, isn't it fun?"
"That's interesting. Let me help you."
"No, no, you're a guest, why don't you go home first." Si Jiang chuckled: "The level of your class's
blackboard newspaper needs improvement, so don't help."
How could he just eat a meal for free and leave? Besides, there were dangerous and suspicious
people. Zhao Youning turned around with shame and guilt, but saw that the Mingxing calendar
on the south wall had forgotten to tear off the month. Chen Chong, who was wearing a white
sweater, pointed his index finger at his chin and smiled sweetly. He flipped through the calendar
and asked Si Jiang: "Do you want to turn to April?"
Si Jiang shook his head: "No, my uncle said Chen Chong is the best in the whole book. This was
given to him by his fellow educated youth, and I would feel embarrassed if I don't put it up."
Zhao Youning went to look at the dozen or so photo frames of varying sizes nearby.
"Group photo of Shanghai educated youth at Jinghong Dongfeng Farm. Hey, does Gu Jingsheng's
name mean that he was born in Jinghong?"
Si Jiang took out the chalk from Jingsheng's schoolbag and was stunned when she heard this. She
had never thought about this before.
"The Yunnan petition group took a group photo on their way north. Your uncle is the member of
the petition group that was reported in the newspaper? He met the vice premier?!" Zhao Youning
was a little excited. His parents had once marveled at this amazing event at home.
"Yeah." Si Jiang was a little proud: "My uncle said that the vice premier and he are equal. He was
even mean to the vice premier, and the vice premier also scolded him."
Zhao Youning was shocked, but became excited again after a moment: "Peking University! Your
uncle and aunt!"
Si Jiang stepped onto the chair and glanced at the back kitchen. He couldn't see what Jingsheng
was doing inside. He turned around and called Zhao Youning who offered to help: "Hey, can you
help me get a ruler?"
Zhao Youning took a while to come back to his senses. He handed the ruler to Si Jiang and
pointed to a black and white photo of a person on the wall: "Is this Gu Jingsheng's mother?"
In the photo, a young woman who had just washed her hair was sitting by the window, with a
towel in her hand twisting the ends of her long hair. She turned her head to look at the
photographer, looking a little surprised, a little embarrassed, but unable to hide the joy in her
eyes, as if smiling but not smiling, and a little angry but not angry. The photo was old and a little
faded, but her half-bright and half-dark profile was still so beautiful that people could not take
their eyes away.
"Yes, this is my aunt." Si Jiang nodded. In fact, Gu Jingsheng is very similar to his mother, but he
doesn't smile much. If she didn't have her mother and Nan Nan, she would never be able to
smile.
"Your aunt is prettier than all the actresses on that calendar!" Zhao Youning came to a scientific
conclusion.
Si Jiang nodded and said, "Of course."
When she saw the photo for the first time, she said that her aunt was so beautiful, so beautiful,
so beautiful that she was like a ray of light. Since she was a little girl, Si Jiang has heard people
praise themselves for their good looks, but compared to her aunt, well, it must be because
everyone has not seen a truly beautiful person. The uncle smiled and praised her for her good
description. Jingsheng even got angry with his uncle for this. He firmly opposed hanging the
photo in the hotel, but his uncle said, "This is the small restaurant your mother wanted, and she
wants to see it." He also said, "Gu Jingsheng, your mother will only feel at ease when you can
look at the photo and smile one day."
Si Jiang felt that his uncle must be lonely working alone in the restaurant, but he would not feel
lonely after seeing the photo of his aunt.
——
Grandma Gu was worried about her two children, and since it was past eight o'clock and they still
hadn't returned home, she and Chen A Niang came together to look for them.
"Grandma! Mom, look, is my painting good?" Si Jiang, with chalk dust of various colors on his
nose and forehead, excitedly pulled them to look.
The two illiterate old ladies squinted their eyes and looked at it for a long time.
"Nannan's shrimp is very good." Chen A Niang recognized the word "water" on the water bill
book: "Is it saltwater shrimp? One yuan and eighty cents, and three or three taels of food
coupons?"
"Mom, you are so amazing. You can recognize every word I write." Si Jiang smiled with his eyes
curved.
Granny Gu was not to be outdone: "This fish tail looks so lively, it must be braised. The boss
braised it well, without any earthy smell. One dollar and fifty cents, three taels of food coupons,
right? It's so expensive, a whole herring weighing four or five catties only costs a little over three
dollars, who wants to eat it?"
Si Jiang was very sure: "Of course there will be, and many people will come to eat it. This is the
best paddling in Shanghai, number one!"
Grandma Gu clapped her hands and said, "Okay, okay, oh, these are spare ribs, sweet and sour
spare ribs?"
"I drew this." Zhao Youning boasted with a smile: "Grandma can tell it's Xiao Pai."
"You drew a pig's head on the back." Granny Gu narrowed her eyes: "The pig's nose is very
obvious."
Aunt Chen pointed at the four round balls in the bowl and said, "How about braised lion's head?
Five cents each? If I spend five cents on four of them, I'm going to lose a lot of money. The meat
coupons have been cancelled this year, and the price of pork has risen sharply. Even pork belly
costs one cent a pound."
Grandma Gu looked at the little pig head again and said, "Nannan, you should draw a lion on the
back of your head as well. It should be a male lion. The hair is messy and it will be obvious that it
is a lion's head."
Si Jiang and Zhao Youning laughed out loud, and Jingsheng, who was collecting chalk nearby,
couldn't help laughing and curled the corners of his mouth.
"What is this?" Granny Gu stared at a chicken below her and looked left and right: "What kind of
chicken? Braised chicken? Boiled chicken? This word doesn't sound like white."
Aunt Chen pointed to a bunch of shallots on the chicken's head and said, "See those many
shallots? This must be scallion chicken."
Si Jiang bent over with laughter and pointed at Jingsheng: "Yes, yes, scallion chicken, this is what
my eldest cousin came up with."
Jingsheng straightened his back uncomfortably: "The plate of green onions you originally drew
doesn't even tell what's underneath."
Si Jiang nodded hurriedly: "Yeah, yeah, you're the smartest and the best."
Jingsheng's eyelids twitched. This didn't sound like the truth.
"This shopping basket is really lifelike." Chen A-niang looked left and right and said, "It's exactly
the same as the one in my room."
"Whose vegetable basket is not like this? Mine is like this too." Grandma Gu carefully identified
the various vegetables in the basket: "Cucumbers, carrots, basil, pumpkin——"
Aunt Chen continued, "Green vegetables, wild rice stems, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms.
Wow, my daughter is so smart. She must have spent a lot of time drawing (how can my daughter
be so smart? She must have spent a lot of time drawing). How could I have imagined this? The TV
station should come and film it. Is it Port Avonlea?"
"That's right." Granny Gu couldn't help but scold Gu Dongwen again: "The eldest son is a bastard.
He ran off to Yunnan by himself and left the mess to the two little girls. It's so late. How hard it
must be. When he comes back, I'll beat him to death!"
Si Jiang protested with his eyes wide open: "Grandma! This is not a mess! This is a golden, silver,
and heaven-level mess!"
Aunt Chen touched Si Jiang's head and said, "That's right. Just for this blackboard, you can earn at
least ten or eight yuan a day!"
Granny Gu did the math and laughed, "You're dreaming. A skilled worker only earns 600-700
yuan after working for a year. He runs a small business and it's good enough if he doesn't lose
money. He can make 10-8 yuan a day, so he can make 200-300 yuan a month? 2,000-3,000 yuan
a year? If the boss can earn this much, I won't beat him up and will keep him as a treasure!"
Later, Gu Donglai asked, "I only earned 3,000 yuan a day, where are you going to support me?"
Granny Gu gritted her teeth and raised the feather duster: "Put it on your father's grave! If you
don't go on a blind date, your mother will beat you to death anyway!"

Chapter 77
In May, the white snow on the glaciers gradually melts, pouring into the Aksu River from the west
side of the Tianshan Mountains, all the way to the Tarim River, the mother river of southern
Xinjiang. Camel thorns and tamarisks are everywhere on the edge of the Taklimakan Desert, and
the poplar euphratica trees in Shaya County are lush. , reflected in the clear water of Paman Lake,
it is hard to imagine how beautiful this endless golden Populus euphratica forest is in autumn.
However, children's perception of natural beauty is really limited. Si Nan and the others are still at
the level of knowing how many flowers are falling from the sound of wind and rain at night. They
are not interested in the legendary beauty of Moon Bay. However, the wild watermelons in the
Populus euphratica forest can still make them happy. Roar twice happily.
Chen Sinan, who was sitting on the tractor, kept kicking the melons at her feet. Still unhappy, she
climbed to the front and asked Zhu Guangmao and Shen Yong: "Has Aunt Meng finished your
meeting today?"
"We'll go back to Shajingzi tomorrow afternoon." Shen Yong rubbed her head: "Why, you've only
been out for a day and you already miss your parents?"
Si Nan pursed his lips, crawled back and lay down, watching the white clouds slip away in the sky,
and let out a long sigh. In a few days, she will move to Uncle Shen's house in the eleventh
company dormitory. The eldest brother of Mrs. Liang’s family is going to take the college entrance
examination this year, and the third brother is entering junior high school. My mother will not let
her go to Mrs. Liang’s house to cause trouble. It just so happened that she didn't want to go. The
sister from the Liang family kept mentioning her eldest cousin. The eldest cousin was her eldest
cousin. They were always thinking about it, which was annoying. What did Uncle Zhu say? Don't
be afraid of thieves stealing, just be afraid of thieves missing you. Alas, it would be great if my
eldest cousin was here.
"Are you really going to strangle your brother to death?" Shen Xingxing was a little worried and a
little disbelieving, but also had the advantage of being a survivor: "My brother is not good to me
at all, but he doesn't seem to want to strangle me to death. He wants to If you dare to strangle
me to death, my father will definitely strangle him to death."
What Si Nan believed was that Aunt Cao was partial to Brother Pingping, and Uncle Shen was
partial to Sister Xingxing, which could be seen with his buttocks, unlike her parents, who both
favored the younger brother who had not yet come out.
"I'm not good to you? Do you have a conscience? Shen Xingxing! I won't be too good to you."
Shen Qingping was so angry that he slapped his sister on the leg: "Zhu Zhenning, do you think I'm
good to her?"
Zhu Zhenning yawned: "Not bad."
"You hit me again! You call that being nice to me? You're so stupid! Brother Jingsheng treats
Nannan so well," Shen Xingxing complained confidently, "I just want a brother like him, so that I
can be pretty, as good-looking as Sijiang Sinan. I don't want to look like you."
Shen Qingping sneered, "I'm ugly? I'm not good-looking? I've always been the best-looking in the
11th Company! During my nap time in kindergarten, there were kids from other classes who
came to visit me. You look like your dad, who can you blame? Me?"
Zhu Zhenning raised his hand: "That's right. I prove it. Shen Qingping, you are getting uglier as
you grow older. No one comes to visit you in your class now, right?"
Shen Yong in front of him patted the side of the car vigorously with his backhand: "Little red guy!
How can you look ugly like me? Alas, Xingxing is so cute, how can a girl become so smart in her
18th century? Look at Si Nan, he is now our Aksu's Ah Valgul IX."
Shen Qingping stuck out his tongue, and Shen Xingxing took advantage of her father's influence
and kept talking about her brother's daily life. Si Nan sighed again, as if he saw how Chen Sihao
would bully her in the future because of his parents' favoritism. No, we still have to strangle him
to death!
——
Man's calculations are not as good as God's calculations, and plans cannot keep up with changes.
At the end of May, when Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei returned to school carrying Chen Sihao, who
was two weeks old, many students immediately went to the first grade to find Si Nan.
"Your mother is back with your brother. Come and see him."
"Your brother is so fat, with all kinds of fat."
"Your brother is fun and can laugh."
Sinan ran back home, and found the house full of people and the floor full of things.
"Nannan is back, come and see your brother." Mrs. Liang pushed her to the side of the crib with a
smile.
Chen Sihao spit out a bubble of milk to greet the murderous elder sister.
Chen Donglai was busy distributing the red eggs when he saw Si Nan reaching out her claws
towards her brother. He was shocked when he remembered his daughter's usual harsh words and
asked, "Nan Nan, what are you doing?"
It was the first time Sinan saw such a small baby. His face was only slightly bigger than her palm,
his thick hair stood up, his mouth was wet, he was ridiculously white and ridiculously fat. The
problem was that he had no neck at all. How could she strangle this guy to death?
Chen Sihao suddenly showed her a flattering smile, his toothless mouth opened wide and saliva
dripped down. Sinan poked his cheek with her finger, which was stained with saliva: "You are so
disgusting!" The finger slid across Chen Sihao's double chin, his round lotus-root arms, and
landed on his small hand like a steamed bun, which was immediately grasped by Chen Sihao.
Si Nan's heart was struck by lightning, and he just let this most annoying guy pinch his fingers. Gu
Ximei came out after squeezing milk: "Nan Nan?"
"My brother won't let go of my hand!" Sinan shouted, "He is so strong! Mom, look--" She raised
her finger, and Chen Sihao's lotus-root forearm was lifted up, and he giggled.
Ximei ruffled Sinan's curly hair and pushed Sihao's hands away: "All children are like this. You
were even stronger when you were a child. You pulled a large clump of your sister's hair out. Only
Sijiang has a good temper. She didn't blame you when she cried because of the pain. But you
complained first and cried loudly, but she hugged you and comforted you instead. Really."
Si Nan stuffed his fingers into Si Hao's little fist again, and sure enough, he squeezed it tightly
again: "Chen Si Hao! I warn you, if you dare to pull my hair, I will beat your butt."
As if sensing the terrifying murderous aura of the elder sister, Chen Sihao suddenly burst into
tears. Sinan pinched his face in a panic: "Don't cry, don't cry, I was just scaring you, okay, okay, I
won't spank you, I won't spank you anymore, don't cry."
Mrs. Liang and others burst into laughter.
"Chen Si, well, this guy has had a strong desire to survive since he was born, but he has no
ambition." Si Nan commented on his younger brother.
Chen Sihao sneered: "What is ambition? I have never seen these two words. I can be corrupted
by wealth and status, I can be changed by poverty and humbleness, I can bend by power and
force. After all, living is the hard truth." What a joke! As the only person born in the 1980s in the
family, his eldest sister is a white and black, his second sister is a violent flower girl, and he has
two brothers-in-law who have no principles and only obey their wives. These are four huge
mountains clanging down on him. Life is already so difficult, some things should not be exposed.
——
In mid-June, the plum rains began in Shanghai. Dongsheng Canteen was finally approved to open
first, and all the licenses and certificates could be obtained in early July. Gu Dongwen paid half a
year's rent for nothing, and the landlord Xiao Zhong was very embarrassed. He came to visit and
comfort him every few days, but Gu Dongwen didn't take it to heart, nor was he impatient. He
still smiled every day. Almost every day, educated youth returning from Yunnan came to the store
to visit him, eat small dishes and drink old wine, but he refused to accept a penny, which made
Grandma Gu so angry that she waved a feather duster at home and scolded him for spending
money.
During this month, Gu Dongwen made some changes to the restaurant. He added a long shelf
under the blackboard, four thermoses, two for boiling water and two for ice water, cups, bowls,
chopsticks, etc., for customers to help themselves. Above the four tables, two nylon ropes were
pulled like the way money was collected in the market, and a dozen large iron clips were clamped
with printed menus, with table numbers written on the clips and pencils tied to them. After the
customers ticked the names of the dishes, the iron clips slid to the kitchen at the back, and there
was no need to hire waiters in the restaurant.
On Sunday, the 22nd, the shop was packed with educated youth from Yunnan who came to
congratulate. There were more than a dozen flower baskets at the door, the sound of firecrackers
was deafening, and newspapers and magazines such as Wenhui Daily and the city TV station
came to interview. Passers-by were very curious, and after asking around, many people joined in
the fun. The queue gradually stretched to Huashan Road. The more people lined up, the more
people lined up. The lunch market was busy until after three o'clock. In the evening, Zhou Shanli,
who was transferred to the headquarters in early June, came with his comrades to show his
support, and the fun lasted until after nine o'clock in the evening before closing.
Jingsheng worked in the kitchen all day and was so tired from washing dishes that he didn't want
to say a word. Si Jiang was in charge of collecting money. She didn't dare to leave the mooncake
box where the money was placed from six o'clock. She didn't even go to the toilet. The math
notebook next to her was full of addition and subtraction formulas. Every time she collected
money and made change, her fingers trembled. She used the abacus to check the answer twice
before she was satisfied. The customers laughed and waited patiently for her to check the
calculations. The reporter from the newspaper also smiled and took several photos of her.
After checking the kitchen, Gu Dongwen washed his face and came out to see the two children
still arguing with each other about the accounts. He smiled and said, "It's not a good idea to
settle the accounts clearly on the first day. It's auspicious if you can't settle them clearly, which
means you can make endless money."
Si Jiang was nervous and excited, her face flushed as she carefully handed him the accounting
notebook and the mooncake box: "Report to my uncle, today I collected a total of 238.5 yuan,
218 kilograms and 6 ounces of food coupons, I guarantee that not a single cent is wrong!" She
seemed to understand what her uncle said: if you do business with your own abilities, there is no
upper limit to the amount of money you can earn.
Gu Dongwen looked in the box and saw that the bills of various denominations were clearly
divided and tied in a bundle of ten with rubber bands. He could not help but praise Si Jiang. Si
Jiang blushed and said that he learned this from the bus ticket seller. Gu Dongwen took out two
big unity notes: "Si Jiang and Jingsheng have worked hard today. Come, each of you can get a big
unity and buy some snacks. Unity is strength, this strength is iron, this strength is steel--" He sang
with a smile.
Jingsheng frowned and put the money back into the box: "I don't want it."
"I don't want it either!" Si Jiang said, "Uncle, you are the one who works the hardest. I am not
tired at all!"
Gu Dongwen stuffed the money into their hands again: "Do you understand that distribution
should be based on work? If you work hard, you must get something in return. Otherwise, I won't
allow you to help me next time. Leave it to me to do your homework at home. I'll hire a waiter."
Si Jiang quickly accepted it: "No, no, no, I came to help. I finished all my homework during the
break and can come as soon as I get out of school! Uncle, don't hire a waiter." Grandma was
determined not to let uncle hire a waiter, and she said it would be better to hire her, an old lady,
instead of a waiter. Anyway, she would give the money to grandma when she got home.
Gu Dongwen smiled and turned off the power: "Let's go home." He knew that on the first day,
friends from all over the world came to support the restaurant, and the real customers who
passed by only spent about 100 yuan. It was Sunday, and it was good to have 40 or 50 yuan a day
on normal days. There was still hope of earning 4,000 or 5,000 yuan a year.
No one expected that the TV news program would broadcast a report about Dongsheng Canteen
that evening: unemployed educated youth responded to the call of the Party and the country,
raised funds on their own and actively explored and tried individual economy, and won the favor
of customers with their own skills. The store was clean and crowded in the camera, the
handwritten blackboard menu was unique and interesting, and the braised scallion chicken and
other dishes on the table were mouth-watering, and there were cute little stars from the Little
Star Art Troupe performing abacus performances.
The next morning, the newspapers also published the story of the birth of Dongsheng Canteen.
Citizens in front of the newspaper racks in major parks and streets were talking about this first
"experienced" educated youth who returned to the city. Some people even took the ferry from
Pudong and then the bus to Wurumqi Road to try it. Before the lunch market opened, there was
a line at the door. Fortunately, Grandma Gu was shocked when she saw more than 200 yuan last
night and insisted on helping in the store, otherwise she would not have had time to turn over
the table.
"The rice tastes great, the portions are generous, the prices are more affordable than those in
state-owned restaurants, and the boss's presentation is very good." As word spread among
customers, more and more people came to eat at Dongsheng Canteen. Many family members of
patients hospitalized in Huashan Hospital across the street often came to reserve meals, and
foreign guests also came because of its reputation. In early July, TV stations and newspapers
followed up again and reported that the small restaurant with four tables was very busy, and no
one made less than 100 yuan a day.
The plum rains finally ended, and when the license of Dongsheng Canteen was put up on the
wall, Gu Beiwu and Zhou Shanrang returned to Shanghai from Beijing, and Gu Ximei also
returned to Wanchun Street with Si Nan and Si Hao.

Chapter 78
At the intersection of Nanjing West Road and Jiangning Road, the Meilong Town Restaurant,
which reopened two years ago, is bustling with activity. The carved gatehouse is magnificent, the
restaurant is surrounded by cypress trees outside, and there are rockery and ponds inside the
gate, with dozens of carps swimming around. The Dragon and Phoenix Hall on the second floor
has dazzling colorful screens and hanging palace lanterns, and the walls are covered with relief
murals, depicting a prosperous and peaceful world.
Grandpa Chen tapped his chopsticks on the crystal glass, and the people at the three tables
gradually quieted down. The children who were running around were pulled back to their seats
by the adults.
"Dear relatives and friends, Donglai is still in the oil field and can't come back to Shanghai. Today,
I will thank you all for coming to Alashao's double full moon party on his behalf." Grandpa Chen
looked at his grandson beside him with satisfaction and said with a smile: "Although Sihao is
Donglai's late son, I still have to personally strictly require him to educate him well. I hope that he
will inherit his father's business, be admitted to Tongji University, become an engineer, and
contribute to the country's early realization of the four modernizations. Come on, everyone, eat
and drink well."
The people at the three tables clapped and cheered. Qian Guihua rolled her eyes upwards,
glanced at Gu Ximei, and exhaled silently from her nose. The old man and the old woman were
obsessed with Waibaidu Bridge. Which of the three grandchildren in the family had ever held
such a grand banquet? The dry-fried prawns and crystal shrimps with fish noodles on the table
would cost at least 30 or 40 yuan per table, and more than 100 yuan for three tables. Thinking
back to when her family's Si Qiang was one month old, two months old, and one hundred days
old, they never invited guests. They just got a few side dishes at Wanchun Street, and Chen
Donghai had to find a way to get yellow croaker and hairy crabs from the market. It was said that
the old man had remitted 500 yuan to Xinjiang before the little thing was raised. When she gave
birth to Si Qiang, she only rewarded him with 50 yuan. Even if it was a piece of pork belly, it
would not have increased tenfold in the past ten years.
Ximei turned her head and smiled as she answered Li Xuejing: "Well, the third child is very well
behaved. He didn't make any noise when I was pregnant with him. He was in pain for two hours
before he came out. He weighed 15 pounds and 200 grams. Yes, he eats a lot. Otherwise, why
would he be so fat?"
"She sleeps well, too. These days, she can sleep through the night and her diaper is dry. Of
course, Sijiang was hard to raise when she was little. Her mother worked really hard. She only ate
a spoonful of milk powder each time and was as thin as a mouse. What about Sinan? Don't
mention her. I suffered the most when she gave birth to me. I lost half my life."
Grandma Gu reached out and poked her big fat grandson's little face: "Oh, he is so lucky to be
reborn. His two sisters love him so much that a bunch of people surround him every day, and
they have to queue up to hug him."
Sinan turned around at the next table and said, "I don't! I don't like my brother! I only like my
eldest cousin and my elder sister!"
Si Jiang glanced at her: Haha, just pretend, pretend as if it were real.
Jingsheng also glanced at Sinan who had a flattering smile on his face: Haha, you keep
pretending, you keep pretending.
Si Nan poked at the shrimps on the plate without looking away, once, twice, three times, but
didn't get a single one. Zhou Shanrang next to her laughed so hard that he scooped a small
spoonful of shrimps into her bowl.
"Thank you, aunt!" Sinan followed suit and quickly picked up his spoon to scoop a spoonful for his
sister, and then scooped a spoonful for Jingsheng as well.
"There are too few shrimps on this plate! Aunt and auntie, please eat them quickly, or we will eat
them all." Si Nan looked at the three cousins from the Zhao family across from him who were
eating very quickly and quickly reminded everyone.
Jingsheng put the vinegar dish next to Si Jiangsnan.
"I'm not jealous!" Si Nan sniffed and moved the vinegar dish between Si Jiang and Jing Sheng:
"It's sour, sister, you like to be jealous, you can eat it with your eldest cousin."
Jingsheng and Sijiang looked at each other. Sijiang raised his chin and said, "No, I don't like to dip
shrimp in vinegar."
Jingsheng: Haha, just pretend. Pretend it makes it look real.
——
The banquet was coming to an end and the little ones went downstairs to play. Gu Nanhong went
into the bathroom, only to see Si Nan and Si Qi whispering to each other in front of the mirror
with their heads together.
"What are you two doing?" Nanhong was amused when she saw it: "Oh, where did you steal the
lipstick from? It's pretty good-looking. Hmm, it's applied evenly."
Sinan turned around and laughed: "It looks like a monkey's butt!"
Nanhong bent down to wipe off the red that had spilled over for her: "Nonsense, where can
there be such a beautiful monkey's butt? Find one for me to see. My Nannan is really an ugly
duckling that has turned into a white swan. Alas, if your mother had been willing to send you to
your aunt's house to be raised, there would be no Chen Chong and Zhang Yu in Shanghai. Siqi,
can you show your lipstick to your aunt?"
Siqi clenched the lipstick in her hand and hesitated for a moment, but still handed it to her:
"Auntie, please don't tell my mom! I will return it to her when I get home tonight."
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Nanhong took the lipstick, looked at the color number, and
smiled and gave it back to Siqi: "Oh, it's imported from Japan. This brand is not sold in China.
Don't take it out secretly in the future. If you lose it, it will be gone forever. Your mother will
definitely be very angry."
Siqi looked at the lipstick left and right, carefully put it in her pocket, and pouted in front of the
mirror: "Mom has two. She doesn't like this color. It makes her skin look yellow. Nannan, do you
think I've turned yellow?"
"No. Hey, why is it so hard to wipe? I'll get some water to wash it." Sinan stood on tiptoe, dipped
a handkerchief in water and started to wipe it carefully, his cheeks turning red.
The two girls went out, talking to each other. Nanhong stood in front of the mirror for a while.
The woman in the mirror had a fair face and red lips, her chin raised high, and a hint of sneer on
the corner of her mouth. Someone pushed the door open and saw her, startled: "Do we have to
queue?"
Nanhong shook her head lightly, and took out a tube of lipstick from her small purse, which was
exactly the same as the one in Siqi's hand. She slowly twisted out the paste, touched it up in front
of the mirror, pursed her lips, and bit them again. This lipstick was advertised by Shiseido's
"Hanatsubaki" magazine cover girl Koda Masuyako, and she liked it very much. What a pity.
The woman who had just finished using the restroom chased out: "Lesbian, your lipstick fell into
the trash can——"
Nan Hong didn't even turn her head: "No more."
——
The next night, the four Gu brothers and sisters gathered with their children in the Dongsheng
Canteen. A few days ago, a red paper was posted outside the canteen saying that the restaurant
was closed for a day because of a happy event. At this moment, someone came over from the
hospital opposite with a wok lunch box. Gu Dongwen went out to greet them several times.
Granny Gu was crying inside: "What a sin! It's been more than ten years. Today you brothers and
sisters are finally together. Either Dongwen or Ximei is missing. It would be great if the old man
was still here."
Si Jiang quickly hugged his grandmother to comfort her. Si Nan rolled his eyes and said, "East,
south, west, north, grandma's house is always short of things, hahaha."
Grandma Gu burst into laughter. Gu Ximei raised her hand and knocked her on the head with a
chestnut: "What a thing, no matter how young you are!"
Sinan covered his head and protested: "Uncle is the east, you are the west, how come you are
not the east?"
"You are nothing! Little thing, you are still talking nonsense?" Ximei was so angry that she wanted
to hit her again, but was stopped by Dongwen.
Gu Dongwen smiled with his eyes curved: "Ala Nannan is right, how can we not be things? We
are things, good things. Your father's name is Chen Donglai, and he and your mother are also a
good pair."
Jingsheng's mouth twitched, he clenched his fist, coughed twice, and stood up: "I'll go to the back
to see if the soup is ready."
"Why didn't the three cousins come?" Si Nan asked Gu Nanhong: "We clearly agreed yesterday to
have dinner together today!"
Nan Hong's slender fingers peeled the June Yellow gracefully and elegantly: "Well, they went to
their grandparents."
"Then next week we're going to Longhua to catch crayfish, will you guys come?" Sinan widened
his eyes.
"Of course they will come." Nan Hong smiled: "They've already made a scene if they're not
allowed to come today."
Si Jiang thought for a moment and asked softly, "My second cousin said that today is his
grandfather's 69th birthday. Would it be bad if you didn't go, aunt?" My uncle didn't come
yesterday, and my aunt isn't going today either. What if they quarrel or even fight again?
Granny Gu knocked the crab shell in Nanhong's hand with her chopsticks: "Shanghainese people
don't do ten things for the sake of perfection. Today is your grandpa's birthday. What's wrong
with you as a daughter-in-law? You still have the mind to eat. Now hurry back."
Nan Hong sneered and threw the June yellow in her hand onto the table: "What's wrong with me
as a daughter-in-law? My son gave birth to three children for their family. She is very marketable
and has a good job and earns money. Many men would beg for her."
Ximei sneered: "You ran back to your parents' home on New Year's Eve just to go dancing. Who
would want you to be their daughter-in-law?"
Nan Hong raised her eyebrows and said, "Gu Ximei, I rush to dance because I like dancing, but it's
not as good as you rushing to Xinjiang to find Chen Dong. If you say anything more, I will have
nothing good to say."
Granny Gu was so angry that she slapped her on the arm: "You bastard, the girls are here, why
are you talking nonsense? We are all doing this for your own good!" She blushed and said
helplessly to Shan Rang: "Fourth son's wife, I'm sorry to make you laugh. Nanhong has been like
this since she was a child. She never listens to anyone and even the eldest son can't control her.
It's so annoying."
Shanrang smiled and picked up half a June Huang for Nanhong. "How could that be? It's good
that the eldest sister is true to herself. Ballroom dancing is also a kind of sports, and there are
often competitions abroad. The second sister pursues freedom of love and marriage, and has
been building the frontier for more than ten years. It's really amazing."
Ximei's face flushed, and she was about to say something harsh to Nanhong, but Shanrang
smoothed it over with a few words. Then, seeing Sijiang Sinan's expression, her heart softened
and she sighed, "I don't care about your business. Anyway, every family has its own problems.
Just know it yourself."
Bei Wu also sighed: "You two have been arguing for half your life. Is it interesting?"
"Interesting!" Nanhong and Ximei retorted in unison.
Beiwu raised his eyebrows and shook his head. Shanrang smiled and hugged his arm: "Old Gu is
so pitiful. It's because we women have such strong waists." Gu Dongwen just looked at them and
smiled without saying anything.
Nan Hong's eyes suddenly turned red: "Brother, do you have any beer in the refrigerator? Drink
two bottles with me."
Gu Dongwen stood up and said, "Thank you for sending me a refrigerator. Brother, I'll have a
drink with you."
After three rounds of drinking, six bottles of beer were opened. Shanrang praised the dishes and
Jingsheng. Gu Dongwen smiled and said, "Since you and Beiwu will stay in Fudan next semester,
come and eat often if you are not busy."
Bei Wu smiled and continued, "By the way, I'll help your boss Gu wash the dishes."
"That's a must." Gu Dongwen laughed: "Is it okay to eat and drink for free without getting paid?"
"Sure." Shan Rang said seriously, "I'm not good at cooking, but I'm good at washing dishes."
When talking about the two of them, they couldn't stop talking. Jingsheng, Sijiang and Sinan
listened with great interest, interjecting from time to time, and the adults also answered
patiently.

Chapter 79
In the torrent of the times, most people are like mud and sand being carried along, or ignorant
drops of water, but the students of the 1977 class of political economy are the ones riding the
waves. They have witnessed how the reform and opening up began, they clearly know that the
times are undergoing earth-shaking changes, and they see new changes in the world pattern.
They have experienced too much, and the many wasted years, the degenerate civilization, the
distorted humanity, and the lives that have been lost have all become the dead that cannot be
chased away. They are eager to rush towards a bright, brilliant, and infinitely possible future.
After entering his junior year, Gu Beiwu took more courses in Western economics, such as
international trade, economic geography, etc. However, due to his age, he was not included in the
only three places for government-sponsored exchange students to the United States. Shan Rang
was even more disappointed than him. She knew best how much time and energy he had
invested in his studies in the past two years. Beiwu quickly let go of the matter. At the end of the
semester, he specially visited Mr. Chen and proposed that he wanted to go to the United States
for further studies in his senior year, hoping to go and come back early. The old man in his
eighties explained the reason: China and the United States have different education systems, and
the United States does not recognize all Chinese credits. If you go there, you will have to study for
at least two more years to get a degree. Peking University is the best university in China. As the
first batch of students admitted after the 1980s, it would be a pity to give up the degree of Peking
University easily. Gu Beiwu, who was humble and willing to learn, finally decided to wait until
graduation before setting off.
Shanrang also faced an important choice in life. The department hoped that she could stay on to
teach after graduation. At first, she suspected that she had heard wrongly. How could she, who
had graduated from undergraduate school, be qualified to teach undergraduate students?
Teacher Zhang laughed and said that there was nothing wrong with that. She could work and
study for a master's degree at the same time. The school was in urgent need of talents. As long as
you had real talent and hard work, academic qualifications were not that important. She learned
privately that in order to expand the team of young teachers, each department had four to five
places for staying on.
After three years of in-depth study, Shanrang knew that her passion for Western economics was
not as high as Beiwu's. She was not sure that she could apply to the same university as Beiwu to
continue graduate courses. But if she just accompanied her husband to the United States as a
wife, that was not the life she wanted. At the same time, the country was in a state of rapid
development. In April, the first batch of Sino-foreign joint ventures were established in Beijing. In
May, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou and Xiamen became the first batch of special economic zones.
However, the "big contract responsibility system" of farmers contracting production to
households still triggered heated debates across the country, and there were many besiegers.
The country was in urgent need of people everywhere, so many classmates in the class gave up
studying for a master's degree or taking the exam to study abroad, and chose to go directly to
work after graduation. So Shanrang wavered between studying abroad, staying in school to teach,
and working in a unit.
In life, we are not afraid of not having choices, but we are afraid of having too many choices.
Shanrang has been worrying about how to choose recently.
After hearing this, Ximei was envious and sighed: "I never thought that even at this stage, you still
have such troubles."
"Of course there are. Every family has its own problems." Shanrang also sighed and looked at
Beiwu.
Gu Beiwu smiled and squeezed her hand: "Be true to yourself, and have more faith in me about
love and marriage. No matter what you choose, I support you."
Ximei glanced at Nanhong who was lost in thought, and thought for a moment: "Actually, it
would be great if you could follow Beiwu to the United States. I heard that foreign women are
very passionate, and they don't care if you have a partner, are married, or have a family. If they
fancy you, they will pounce on you. It's scary."
Shanrang laughed out loud: "I often meet Beiwu at school. He also said that being married does
not mean losing the right to pursue love. Everyone has the right to make a choice at any time.
This is an innate yearning for freedom."
Granny Gu and Ximei were dumbfounded. Ximei murmured, "Isn't this just nonsense? Why do we
need the government to issue marriage certificates? Even if we are dating, we can't have two
boyfriends at the same time. Are there any girls like this in Beijing now? Have they been
corrupted by bourgeois ideas?"
Granny Gu glared at Bei Wu fiercely and assured Shan Rang, "Don't worry, Xiao Zhou. If the fourth
child dares to do anything unkind, I will hang him up and break his legs. You will be the only one
in our family!"
Shanrang was surprised and amused. She shook her head and said, "Thank you, Mom, but please
don't do this. It's against the law."
"What's wrong with me beating my son?" Grandma Gu just felt sorry for Beiwu as a kind gesture:
"In our family, we don't like to beat girls, but we beat our sons as we like, from childhood to
adulthood. We don't hit them in the stomach or head, and it's okay to break their legs. They will
be fine after three months of rest. They all remember to eat but not to be beaten, so it's useless
if you don't beat them enough."
Shanrang smiled and said, "Those girls are right. Everyone has the right to choose freely,
otherwise no one would get divorced. And even parents, children, brothers and sisters often
become enemies. Husband and wife are just two strangers with no blood relationship. Who can
guarantee that two people will be happy forever? If Beiwu likes someone else, he just needs to
not hide it from me."
Nan Hong interrupted: "My eldest brother and Bei Wu are both stubborn. Once they set their
eyes on someone, they will never turn back. What if Shan makes you like someone else——"
Grandma Gu was so angry that she slapped her on the thigh.
"It hurts! What are you doing, mom? I'm just asking you the truth, and you still say you don't like
hitting girls." Nanhong twisted her mom's waist unwillingly.
Shan Rang smiled calmly and said, "Then I will tell Bei Wu first."
Nanhong raised her chin towards Beiwu and said, "Hey, what are you going to do?"
Beiwu leisurely filled Shanrang's beer tank: "It's not up to me if it rains or my mother gets
married. If Shanrang falls in love with another man, I will definitely respect her choice, and I will
also respect my own choice."
Ximei couldn't help but ask: "What's your choice?"
Beiwu turned his head to look at Shanrang: "Let Zhou Shanrang be happy."
"So as long as she's happy, that's fine?" Nan Hong shook her head. "I can't do that. If Zhao
Yanhong has someone else outside, I'll castrate him and find someone who's ten times stronger
than him. I have to be happy first."
Ximei sneered: "Anyway, there is no one else in your heart except yourself. Your husband, son
and us are nothing."
"What? Is it illegal?" Nan Hong sneered, "You talk as if you have a husband and a child in your
heart. You lied so much that you even believed it yourself."
Jingsheng ate his meal in silence, pretending he heard nothing. Sinan's eyes kept turning around,
still not understanding what they were arguing about, why they were arguing, and whether this
could be considered a quarrel. He also didn't understand what his aunt and uncle were talking
about, and why he liked someone else.
"I will always and forever only like my eldest cousin!" Sinan looked at Jingsheng expectantly:
"Eldest cousin, you only like me too, okay?"
Jingsheng: "???" Thank you. He couldn't help but look at Gu Dongwen across from him. If you
have chosen someone for your whole life, you won't turn around...
Si Jiang leaned between Ximei and Nanhong, holding one with each hand: "Aunt, Mom, please
stop quarreling, okay? You both care about us. Aunt, you always buy us new skirts, new leather
shoes, and beautiful hair ornaments. You don't just care about yourself."
Nanhong looked a little better, and Ximei turned her head away.
Si Jiang said with a smile: "Aunt, my elder brothers say they are afraid of you, but they really like
you. You are not like other mothers who only focus on their grades and performance all day long,
and you never slap them (just don't give them pocket money). They dress very fashionably every
day, their hair has never been cut, their shorts have no holes, and they have pocket money to buy
snacks. When relatives in Fuxing Island say that they are strong in body, simple in mind, poor in
grades, and have no future, you will scold them back immediately. Moreover, you are prettier
than movie actors, know many knowledgeable people, and have been on the "Popular
Photography" magazine. My elder brother said that his classmates like you very much and hope
that you are their mother."
For the first time in her life, Nanhong was praised for being a good mother. She almost began to
doubt her mother's child. Moreover, she was praised by her favorite fairy Sijiang in front of the
whole family. She felt guilty and proud. She glanced at Ximei and couldn't help laughing. "Okay,
okay, Sijiang, please don't praise me. I'm so embarrassed - although I am such a good aunt." She
raised her orchid finger and posed like Wang Wenjuan, shy and annoyed. Everyone at the table
laughed so hard.
Ximei hugged Sijiang and kissed him twice: "Don't praise her, your aunt is the most annoying,
why praise her, come here, praise your own mother."
Nan Hong pushed her away and grabbed Si Jiang into her arms: "Bah, you are jealous, and you
need to cure your red eye disease. Even Si Jiang knows how good I am, but you have been blind
for decades."
Si Jiang smiled and said, "My mother is also very good. She gives my father five dollars every
month to buy cigarettes. My father said that it is not necessary because there is no place to
spend money in the oil field. My mother said that she is not worried when she has money in her
hands--"
Nanhong covered her mouth: "Stop, stop, stop. Your mother is a negative example. Don't praise
her. Our female compatriots have finally stood up. With a virtuous woman like your mother, we
have regressed a hundred years to the Qing Dynasty." She raised an eyebrow at Shanrang:
"Shanrang, Beiwu has a lot of private money. You have to keep a close eye on him. Men will
spend money as soon as they have it. Brother, why are you looking at me? You too, every
morning on the beach, there must be at least 40 girls following you, if not 50?"
Gu Dongwen's dimples gradually disappeared.
Jingsheng raised his eyelids and glanced at him indifferently: "I'm done eating, you guys take your
time. I'm going to go out for a walk." Then he got up and left.
Shan Rang smiled and said, "Beiwu's money is Beiwu's money. How he uses it is his business. I am
just his lover, but I don't want to be his wallet."
Gu Beiwu glanced at Nanhong helplessly: "Sister, you are able to live until now, the people
around you are so kind."
Gu Dongwen raised his eyebrows, gulped down a glass of wine, and put it on the table: "How
kind."
——
At the end of July, Zhao Youning led the Kaobang Squad to Longhua for a visit. Zhou Shanli
learned from Shanrang that the kids were going to catch lobsters and swim in the Huangpu River,
and he immediately wanted to join in. He raised his arm and called on many officers in the
headquarters to have their families and children with them, so a truck carrying more than a
dozen people rushed to Wanchun Street, and the Kaobang Squad became the Kaobang Brigade.
Chen Sinan, who claimed that he would always love only his eldest cousin, understood a truth
eight hours later:
People really do fall in love with others, and they can like two people at the same time.
Si Jiang's comment is: Chen Sinan, you have been a bad girl since childhood, falling in love with
everyone you meet and then abandoning them. Chen Sinan was powerless to refute this. She
actually wanted to be faithful to one man, or two men, or three or four men, but she really
couldn't do it.

Chapter 80 (Catching Bugs)

At four o'clock in the morning on Wanchun Street, a few flying insects were still trying to circle
the light bulbs. The small stones on the Tange Road reflected the moonlight faintly. The mosquito
coils on the tin plate had long been burned out. The old man in the recliner was snoring with his
mouth open, and the fan in his hand rose and fell on his belly with his breathing. Poker cards,
military chess and chess were everywhere on the small tables along the way. I don't know which
building's faucet was not closed tightly, and water was dripping. Someone would quarrel about
this in the morning.
Zhao Youning and Sheng Fang walked silently through Wanchun Street and knocked on the door
early in the morning. Si Nan got up and was stunned when he saw Zhao Youning, who was fully
armed, at the door. The little boy wore a beige wide-brimmed hat, a navy blue sweatshirt and
beige old man pants, with a white shirt tied around his waist, looking very fashionable.
"Brother Ningning, you look, well..." Sinan was no longer sleepy and circled around Zhao Youning
several times: "Looks like he's quite powerful." And he looks very good, very good-looking.
"Zhao Youning, you look a bit like the foreigners in my magazine today." Ah Da concluded: "Mom
also bought us this hat, but we don't want to wear it, it's sissy."
Zhao Youning blushed: "This is called a fisherman's hat. We are going to be fishermen today." He
was afraid that Si Jiang would think he was a sissy, so he explained: "The sun is too strong, and
the skin on my face will peel off. It hurts a lot."
Sinan tugged at the large light green nylon bag on his left: "Brother Ningning, your bag is also
beautiful and feels very comfortable. It also has a place to put the kettle, which is really
convenient."
Sheng Fang proudly answered, "This was bought by Mrs. Zhao in the United States. It's TUMI
brand. It's very expensive. It costs dozens of dollars - a lot of US dollars." Sheng Fang thought that
dozens of dollars didn't sound expensive at all, and that a lot of dollars would be more expensive.
Another little follower added, "Mrs. Zhao is a teacher at the music college, teaching piano, so
Brother Ningning has been able to play the piano since he was a child. He plays very well."
Zhao Youning scratched his head awkwardly. He wanted to explain but felt it would be
superfluous.
Sinan snorted and raised his chin unconvincedly: "My mother also played the piano since she was
a child. She was admitted to the music college, but my mother didn't go. She went to build
Xinjiang for the motherland. She is so great."
Zhao Youning nodded repeatedly: "Yes, you are right, your mother and father are both great and
amazing."
Si Jiang carried the wash basin to Lasnan and went downstairs: "Stop talking nonsense, hurry up
and wash your face and brush your teeth. We still have to go to my mother's house to call
Brother Simin and the others."
Sinan turned around at the stairs and asked, "Brother Ningning, what are the glass bottles in the
net bag on your right?"
"Bait for catching crayfish." Zhao Youning waved to the three Ah Da brothers and Jingsheng,
"Don't worry, I have everything ready. Chicken intestines, duck intestines, snail meat, and a small
piece of bacon. There will definitely be enough for more than a dozen of us."
Ah Da hugged Jingsheng's shoulders and said, "Of course you don't have to worry. Our boss is
here. Boss, Xiaolong is depending on you today."
Jingsheng slapped his hand away and rolled up the mat: "I don't know how to catch crayfish.
There's no such thing in Yunnan or Xinjiang."
Zhao Youning felt that Jingsheng seemed a little lacking in energy, but when he thought about
how he was like this last time, he felt relieved and encouraged him loudly, "Don't worry, Gu
Jingsheng, there must be turtles in the small river next to Longhua Airport! If they bite you again,
just put you in the water."
Jingsheng: "??? Thank you."
"You're welcome." Zhao Youning smiled brightly.
Si Nan ran to his grandfather's house to call Chen Simin and others. This time, Si Qi insisted on
going with him. When Chen A Niang heard that they were going to the river to show off, she
refused and turned around and said, "There is no veil on the Huangpu River. Little girls, don't go
there! Nan Nan, you are not allowed to go either." Si Nan stuck out her tongue and made faces, Si
Qi cried, Simin and Si Qiang argued with them, and Si Hao woke up and cried loudly. It was only
when Gu Ximei said that Bei Wu Shanrang would also go with them that A Niang showed mercy
and let the four little kids go out.
——
It was only 4:30 in the morning when the military truck rushed from Changde Road to Wanchun
Street. The seven or eight big and small idiots in the truck bed were in high spirits, but the
initiator Zhou Shanli was lying on his back, snoring with his mouth open. Amao, the grandson of
Chief of Staff Liu, pinched Shanli's nose and said, "Uncle Zhou, wake up, we're here!"
Zhou Shanli got up quickly and waved his hand: "Get out of the car! Get out all your weapons
——"
The carrots cried out, carrying simple fishing rods, bamboo baskets and nylon nets and jumped
out of the car. Zhou Shanli woke up and waved his hand again: "We are wrong, we are not in
Longhua yet, get in the car, get all the stuff back!"
Xiao Yuan, the car soldier, was so happy that he leaned out and knocked on the car door:
"Brigade Commander, can you help me? Otherwise, tell me the house number and I'll go in to
pick them up. You can continue to sleep."
Zhou Shanli jumped out of the car in a cool manner: "Stinky boy, if I can't do it, you can?" He
turned around and walked towards Wanchun Street, but unexpectedly, the fishing rod of a little
kid tilted and hooked his shirt collar. He staggered, grabbed the hook with his backhand and
shouted: "Hey! Which of you little bastards did this? This won't do!" Xiao Yuan and the children
laughed.
When Zhou Shanli arrived, he was shocked. There were so many children in the Gu family's room
that there was no place to stand in the living room. There was also a strong fishy smell that made
people feel dizzy even in the not-so-hot early morning of midsummer.
"Brother Ningning, can you give me some of your intestines?" Chen Sinan grabbed Zhao
Youning's net bag and refused to let go.
The eldest, second, and third members of the Zhao family laughed wildly: "Zhao Youning, you
have lost your intestines!"
"Okay." Zhao Youning was sweating and took out a few chicken and duck intestines from the glass
bottle and put them into the tin box in Chen Sinan's hand: "It's just a little smelly, is it okay?"
"Okay, okay, okay!" Sinan held it tightly as if it were a treasure, and raised his head again:
"Brother Ningning, I want your meat too."
Ah Da, Ah Er, Ah San pounded the table and laughed until they fell down. Si Jiang pinched his
nose and shouted angrily: "Chen Si Nan, can't you ask for it after you get to Longhua? The house
stinks!"
"No, no, there won't be enough to share!" Sinan firmly believes that the early bird catches the
worm.
Zhou Shanli led the team downstairs in a daze. He couldn't count the number of people for a long
time, so he simply ordered a group of children to line up from tallest to shortest and count.
"One, two, three... twelve, fifteen!"
"Chen Sinan, you are obviously thirteen, why did you report it as fifteen?" Shanli felt even more
dizzy.
Chen Sinan held the enamel pot with his head held high and answered confidently: "My mother
and grandmother always said that the thirteenth is unlucky and the fourteenth means death, so I
have to be fifteenth! If I am thirteenth, what if I can't catch crayfish?"
Shanrang and Beiwu came downstairs carrying dry food and water, and were amused by Sinan.
Shanli's face darkened: "Everyone, pay attention, turn right, and march in step! One, one, two,
one."
When the three and thirteen children got on the truck, it was already dawn. The noisy kids in the
truck suddenly quieted down and stared at Si Jiang and Si Nan. When the truck turned onto
Wanhangdu Road, a big boy suddenly shouted to Si Jiang, "Hey, I've seen you on TV. You dance
really well."
Si Nan glared at him and said, "Hey, my sister's name is Chen Sijiang, not Hey."
The boy blushed and said, "I'm sorry, hello Chen Sijiang, I'm not called hello either, my name is
Ren Xinyou, I'm in the fifth grade at Beijing West Road Primary School, what's yours?"
Si Jiang answered politely. Two or three more boys came up to her and asked if it was fun to be
on TV. She was used to being surrounded by people since she was a child, so she answered them
patiently. Si Nan and Si Qi added a few words from time to time. Everyone in the car was having a
great time, except Jing Sheng, who was lying in a corner and continued to sleep with Zhou Shanli.
Ren Xinyu extended an invitation enthusiastically: "Come to our headquarters in a few days. You
can hang out in my dad's office at night. There is air conditioning, so it's not hot at all. You can
play table tennis and play games on their computers."
Si Jiang smiled and shook his head: "Thank you, but I'm going to Dalian with my teacher soon.
Can I come to your place next time?"
Ren Xinyu was a little disappointed. Sinan's eyes lit up: "What game? Can I play it?" Games are
her strong point, and she must be the best.
Ren Xinyu scratched his head: "I don't remember the name, but it's very fun. I'll teach you how to
play when you come."
Zhao Youning couldn't help but ask Si Jiang: "What competition are you going to participate in?"
"The first national dance competition! Organized by the Ministry of Culture." Sinan rushed to
answer: "It's amazing. All the people who can dance in the country will go. The competition will
last for more than ten days. My sister will perform a solo dance!"
"Wow!" All the children in the car stood in awe.
Si Jiang blushed slightly: "I'm not from a dance school, I just went with the teacher to learn and
observe." Her teacher is a teacher at the Shanghai Dance School, and has always wanted her to
join the dance school's folk dance class after graduating from elementary school, but Si Jiang was
determined to go to junior high school, high school and take the college entrance examination, so
she declined several times. This time, the teacher must take her and the students from the dance
school to participate in the competition to see the world and feel the boundless charm of the
booming art.
Sinan patted her knees and said, "It's okay, sister. If you can't get first place, second place is also
good. If you can't get second place, third place is also good. If you can't get third place, forget it."
Si Jiang: "??? Thank you."
——
Arriving at the riverbank near Longhua Airport, it was already daybreak. Zhao Youning ran to the
river, took a closer look, and sighed: "We are late. If we were half an hour earlier, there would be
a lot of crayfish lying on the water. You can catch them at will without fishing."
"Ah?" Sinan stamped his feet: "It's all my mother's fault!"
Zhao Youning smiled and comforted her: "It's okay, it's okay. I was afraid that you wouldn't be
able to catch any fish, so I thought of coming early to catch a few baskets first. Now it's good. The
time to test us has come. Come, let's put on the bait first. Bring all the hooks over."
More than 20 children swarmed in, laying nylon lobster baskets or nets in the shallow water,
putting bait and hooks in them, and some confidently took fishing rods to find places to catch
crayfish. Jingsheng squatted on the side and opened a pack of biscuits, eating while watching
them busy. After eating, he walked slowly along the river bank and found two eel holes, as well as
many small crabs and river shrimps.
"Plane!" Sinan shouted loudly, pointing to the sky.
The plane was getting closer and closer, its roar drowning out the children's screams, and it
landed on the runway next door. Sinan dropped the fishhook that hadn't been hooked yet, ran
over and pulled the wire and shook it: "Plane - fly - fly -!"
Shanrang stood behind her and couldn't help rubbing her little head: "Sinan likes airplanes so
much?"
"Yeah!" Sinan turned his head happily, his eyes sparkling: "I want to go to heaven."
Shanrang chuckled: "Of course it can be done. Humans have already landed on the moon, and
they will land on other planets in the future."
Sinan blinked and said, "I want to go to the Heavenly Palace and take a look at the Peach
Garden."
"Little fool, that's the cartoon about havoc in heaven." Si Jiang pulled her back: "Everyone is going
to catch crayfish, hurry up."
Zhao Youning had already helped Sinan prepare the chicken intestines and hung them in the
shrimp basket: "Let's go, let's go to the shallower area over there and try it out. Be careful not to
get your hands pinched by crabs."
"Brother Ningning, how come you know everything?" Sinan asked curiously.
"I grew up on the seaside in Fengxian when I was a child." Zhao Youning smiled and bent down to
wash his hands. "My parents were sent to the cowshed of the May 7th Cadre School. I rolled in
the mud every day. Unfortunately, there were no turtles there. I came back to attend primary
school when I was seven years old."
"You--" Si Jiang had never heard of Zhao Youning's childhood, and asked in surprise: "Then didn't
you learn piano since you were young?" No wonder she had never met him before even though
they lived so close.
"Oh, my mother drew the piano keys with several pieces of cardboard together, and she sang the
notes. If I didn't practice well, she wouldn't let me eat." Zhao Youning laughed: "Later, my
eyesight was not good, so I went back to see a doctor. The doctor said I couldn't practice the
piano like that anymore, so I was relieved. As a result, my mother returned to the music college
soon, and took the piano back home, so I had to continue practicing."
Sinan lowered his voice and asked nervously, "Just now in the car, my brother Shengfang said that
if you don't practice the piano well, your mother will prick you with a needle? Is that true?"
Zhao Youning blushed: "Well, sometimes I doze off or can't play a piece of music well, she will
prick me a few times, but it doesn't hurt much." But if his father sees the needle holes on his
back during bathing, he will have a big fight with his mother. They haven't spoken to each other
for almost a month. And every time his mother pricked him, she would hug him and cry
afterwards. She bought him a lot of clothes, shoes and music scores, and his father would let him
go out to play and give him a lot of pocket money. He really didn't understand what the adults
were thinking.
Si Jiangsnan looked at each other, and suddenly felt that their mother was the best mother in the
country. The two sisters developed an indescribable feeling for Zhao Youning.
"I really didn't expect that—" Si Nan touched Zhao Youning's arm lovingly: "Brother Ningning, you
are so pitiful."
A yellow eel suddenly jumped out of the water and swam past Sijiang's feet. Sijiang jumped in
the water: "Snake! Snake!" Zhao Youning lifted Sinan onto his shoulders.
Jingsheng in front of him leisurely picked up the bamboo basket in his hand and said, "We can
have eel cold noodles tonight."
Sinan screamed: "Ahhh, Brother Ningning you are awesome!"

Chapter 81
It was past nine o'clock, and the sun was blazing. They hadn't caught many crayfish yet, but the
boys had already taken off their coats and started playing water fights in their shorts. Ren Xinyou
and his team were from the little army, and Zhao Youning and his team were from the alley
militia. Jingsheng found a shady place to watch the fun, while Si Jiang and Si Qi cheered for the
militia under the shade of a tree.
The militia was outnumbered and weak in combat effectiveness. The three Zhao brothers had
difficulty walking in the water, their eyes were covered with mud and they screamed. Chen
Shimin and Chen Siqiang fell more than they walked. Sheng Fang was too small and was caught
and pressed into the water, coughing and gasping. Only Zhao Youning was left to rescue people.
Although the only female militia member, Chen Sinan, was not attacked, she was soaked all over
her head and body when she raised the basket in her hand. The little water she splashed had no
deterrent effect.
Jingsheng couldn't help but shake his head when he saw her running around the field shouting
excitedly like a dried shrimp.
"Sister, Siqi, come down, come down and defeat them!"
Siqi shook her head: "Mother, please don't let me go into the water."
Si Jiang called her: "Nannan! Didn't you say you would only play for five minutes? It's already
been fifteen minutes, come up quickly!"
Zhao Youning saw Sinan's blushing face, so he took off his fisherman's hat and put it on her: "Go
ahead, don't worry, I will never surrender even if I am the only one left."
"No, no, no, surrender, I surrender!" Chen Siqiang next to him raised his hands and slowly walked
towards the shore.
Si Nan watched Zhao Youning run to rescue the poor little Sheng Fang, and instantly felt that
Brother Ningning was too great. She gritted her teeth and turned to run towards Jingsheng.
Jingsheng suddenly had a bad premonition, and just as he stood up, he was grabbed by Si Nan.
"Cousin, come and support us. You are the best. We will definitely win if you come."
Jingsheng looked at her red nose under the brim of her hat, squatted down and smiled: "Your
brother Ningning is very capable, you can do it."
"You are as good as brother Ningning. And my second cousin, third cousin, fourth cousin and
brother Simin are not very good. On average, we are not very good." Sinan shook his clothes:
"Come on, come on. It will be so embarrassing for you if I lose. Cousin, please, come on." She
leaned back and dragged Jingsheng into the river with all her strength.
Si Jiang ran over and said, "Nannan, come up. Stop playing. If you lose, you lose. Let's play
something else, okay?"
“No, no, I want to win, I must win!” Sinan screamed, using all his might.
Jingsheng sighed, raised his hand, took off his shirt directly from his head, jumped into the river,
bent down and carried Sinan to the shore, and shouted to Zhao Youning and Ren Xinyou: "Our
team needs a change."
Seeing Jingsheng fall into the water, Ah Da, Ah Er, and Ah San became more courageous. They
stood up from the water with a splash, and six palms flew out at the same time. They took the
opportunity to grab an opponent in the water curtain and push him into the water.
"Boss! How can you come just now? Aaaaaaa, hold him down, hold him down, don't let him get
up."
With Jingsheng, a new force who is very good at swimming, the militia team immediately turned
the situation around. Ren Xinyou was not convinced and fought with Jingsheng for several rounds
in the middle of the river. Jingsheng did not use any force and just dragged him down by the
ankle. He could hold his breath in the water for several minutes and almost appeared and
disappeared along the riverbed, which made Ren Xinyou very embarrassed.
Zhou Shanli finished smoking half a pack of cigarettes and chatted with Gu Beiwu for a long time.
Seeing that the boys in the water were having so much fun, he couldn't help but take off his coat
in a few seconds, revealing his muscular body. He patted his chest and said, "Beiwu, how about
it? We were evenly matched more than ten years ago. Let's have a fight today? The loser will buy
everyone lunch."
Gu Beiwu smiled and asked Comrade Xiao Yuan to come over and watch out for the children's
safety in the water, and handed the shirt and trousers to Shan Rang: "It seems that it is a bit
difficult to pretend to be gentle, and your true colors are about to be revealed."
Shan Rang pinched his lean waist, blinked, and whispered, "My brother is ticklish on the right side
of his waist. Don't lose. If you lose, I will lose face."
Beiwu asked softly: "What's the reward for winning? Thirty-six moves?"
Shanrang kicked him on the butt: "You rascal!"
With the addition of two adults, the creek was in turmoil. Zhou Shanli rushed forward, but Gu
Beiwu turned over and dodged, swimming towards the center of the river, leaving a white line
behind him.
"Escape without fighting? Come on, guys!" Zhou Shanli laughed and waved his hand. He led Ren
Xinyou and a few other men who were good at swimming to chase after them, splashing water
everywhere.
Jingsheng appeared silently beside Beiwu. Beiwu whispered a few words in his ear, and Jingsheng
disappeared into the water again, leaving behind a circle of expanding ripples.
Zhao Youning quickly led Ah Da and the others to swim to the middle of the river: "Protect our
commander Gu, comrades, charge!"
Sinan climbed up the tree in a few steps and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Come on, uncle!
Uncle is the best! Come on, cousin! Come on, cousin is the best! Come on, brother Ningning!
Brother Ningning is the best! The militia will win!"
Si Jiang asked Shan Rang nervously: "Is Uncle Zhou good? He looks so strong, like Mike in "The
Man from Atlantis"."
Shan Rang laughed so hard that he doubled over, and shouted into the river: "Second brother! Si
Jiang said you look like Mike from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean!"
Zhou Shanli turned around while stepping on the water and waved to Si Jiang: "Si Jiang, you really
have good vision - hey hey!" He was suddenly attacked from behind by Gu Beiwu and pushed into
the water. He finally broke free. He surfaced and wiped his face. Seeing Beiwu smiling brightly, he
pointed at the shore and shouted angrily: "Zhou Shanrang, you two are working together to plot
and scheme. Let me show you how I will deal with your man! Get out of the way, guys."
Shanrang and Sijiang followed Sinan and shouted loudly: "Come on, Uncle Gu Beiwu!"
Zhou Shanli's swimming ability was trained in Xuanwu Lake. He was originally slightly better than
Gu Beiwu. In addition, he had been in the army for many years and was strong. The two chased
and fought in the water. He suppressed Gu Beiwu several times, but unfortunately Shanrang had
exposed his weakness early on. After being caught twice and counterattacked by Beiwu, he came
to his senses and finally got rid of Gu Beiwu, who was as slippery as a loach. He took a deep
breath and swam quietly to the shore by feeling the bottom of the river. He wanted to scare
Shanrang, but was discovered by Si Nan, who had a sharp eye on the tree: "Uncle Zhou is here!
Uncle, come quickly."
Shan Rang knew his elder brother's temper very well, as he was often tricked into falling into
Xuanwu Lake by him when they were children. He immediately picked up the bamboo basket
dropped by Si Nan and threw it at Shan Li who had just shown his head.
Shanli gave way, and the basket was put on his shoulder, which turned red. Beiwu, who was
chasing behind him, pounced on him, and the two fell into the shallow water, splashing mud and
water. The water fight turned into a mud fight. The little rascals in the middle of the river
screamed and moved to the main battlefield. Jingsheng took advantage of the chaos and dragged
several people to drink half a bellyful of water.
"Beware of an ambush!"
"If you are a real man, come out and fight!" Ren Xinyu looked around but couldn't find Jingsheng.
He was also exhausted by Zhao Youning's guerrilla warfare.
Zhao Youning laughed loudly: "When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy retreats,
we advance. The regular army cannot defeat the guerrillas. Just admit defeat."
Zhou Shanli sat in the muddy water on the shore, laughing so hard that he couldn't stop. He
patted Gu Beiwu who was pressing on his shoulders and said, "Okay, okay, I admit defeat. But you
won with more people, so it's not a fair victory."
"This is called shooting the horse first when shooting a man, and capturing the leader first when
capturing a thief." Gu Beiwu said with a smile.
Sinan, who was lying in the water holding onto Shanli's leg, suddenly jumped up and said, "We
won! We won! Big cousin, Brother Ningning, our alley militia team won."
Si Jiang, who was on the shore and kept poking Shanli's right waist with a fishing rod, also
laughed so hard that he fell forward and backward: "I'm sorry, Uncle Zhou, I did it on purpose!"
Shan Rang raised his hand with an innocent look on his face: "Who told you, a tiger, to join our
flock of sheep?"
Si Nan rushed towards Bei Wu for a victory hug, but she slipped in the mud and fell into the arms
of the enemy commander. She was picked up with her face wet. She touched her nose curiously
and pointed to Zhou Shanli's abdomen: "Uncle Zhou, why do you have two scars here?!"
Zhou Shanli patted his bulging chest and squeezed his arms in it: "See? This is not a scar, this is
called a groove, it is a symbol of a good figure, firm, amazing, right?"
Sinan stretched out his hand and poked it, stunned: "It's amazing, it's hard! My dad's is soft, and
there are two small circles of meat here——"
"Your father's is called fat, it has its own life buoy, it doesn't work, I am all muscle, don't you
understand?"
"Why is it called chicken? My cousin said goose meat is better, goose meat is very firm." Sinan
turned his head to look at Jingsheng who was walking towards the shore: "Cousin, do you have
chicken? Brother Ningning, do you have firm meat?"
Gu Beiwu's kindness made Si Jiang laugh. Zhou Shanli looked up to the sky and sighed, "Alas, only
women and villains are difficult to raise. The ancients were not deceiving me."
Chen Sinan never imagined that the first time she touched the mermaid line in her life would be
in such a situation where everyone respected the elderly and loved the young. She felt so
ashamed.
——
At noon, more than 20 people rushed to Longhua Temple, but found that the temple was under
renovation and was not open to the public. The Longhua Pagoda could not be climbed. Zhao
Youning was dumbfounded. The Longhua vegetarian noodles that he had eaten once when he
was a child and had been thinking about were definitely gone. Everyone turned to the opposite
side of the temple and found a restaurant. The oil dumplings were indeed well-deserved, and the
fried glutinous rice bean paste buns were also delicious. Zhao Youning ate while looking at the
Longhua Pagoda opposite, feeling very upset. Seeing that he was blaming himself, Si Jiang and Si
Nan comforted him several times.
A waitress couldn't help but start to babble: "What's so good about a dilapidated temple? It's
useless. The colors of the four great Vajra have faded. There's nothing but mud and straw inside.
There's not even a trace of a monk. How can anyone have time to cook vegetarian noodles?
There are only a few peonies in the northeast corner. They've been there for hundreds of years.
What's so good about peonies? They're not good for rice. How can you like plain noodles?"
Zhao Youning felt even worse. When his parents brought him here before, they had vegetarian
noodles, black fungus, mushrooms, gluten, and day lily, which tasted very good. How could the
peony flowers not be beautiful? They were very beautiful. They climbed the Longhua Pagoda
together, and you could see the Huangpu River from the pagoda. His father also told him many
stories about the Three Kingdoms and the Eastern Wu. The family was very happy. Unlike now,
they would quarrel after just a few words.
Jingsheng looked at Zhao Youning, then turned around and casually asked Ren Xinyou if he knew
whether this Olympics was over. The boys immediately talked about the various events they had
learned about through various channels with great interest. Zhao Youning came back to his
senses and couldn't help but sigh that it was a pity that our country didn't go to Moscow to
participate this time.
"We will participate in the next one. One day we will be able to host the Olympics. Now our
country has more friends than the Soviet Union, and there will definitely be more countries
participating." Ren Xinyu raised his fist and expressed his ambition: "I will participate in shooting
competitions in the future to win glory for my country."
"You can shoot a gun?" Sinan asked excitedly.
Ren Xinyu blinked and shook his head honestly: "Not yet, but my dad has a gun and he will teach
me. Uncle Zhou, when can I practice target shooting?"
Zhou Shanli laughed: "Just wait until you join the army."
"My uncle can also fire a cannon." Sinan smiled proudly and made a face at Ren Xinyu. Lilulu, we
won again, hahahaha.
Going upstream along the small river, you will reach the Huangpu River. The swimming
competition is very serious. They are divided into three groups according to age. Jingsheng, Zhao
Youning, Ren Xinyou and other eight big boys form one group. When Gu Beiwu blows a whistle,
eight frogs jump into the water with a splash, and white waves roll. The children nearby roar
loudly.
After swimming out for more than 20 meters, Jingsheng, Zhao Youning and Ren Xinyou were
clearly in the first echelon, far ahead of Ada, Aer, Simin, and Siqiang. The three of them were
freestyle, moving quickly towards Zhou Shanli who was waving his shirt. Shanrang sighed: "It's
really like a white shark in the waves, each generation is stronger than the previous one."
Beiwu smiled and held her hand: "If the youth are strong, China will be strong."
Si Nan listened to Shan Rang's explanation of what a white shark in the waves was and shook his
head: "Brother Ren's is very dark, so it should be a black shark."
No one expected that in the last twenty meters, Zhao Youning suddenly accelerated and sprinted,
surpassing Jingsheng and reaching the finish line with a body length ahead.
Si Nan ran over, screaming: "Brother Ningning, you are awesome! How come you are so amazing?
You swim like flying." She ran to Ren Xinyu and said with a smile: "Brother Ren, you are third,
which is amazing. You are the first in your army!" When she saw Jingsheng bending over and
shaking his hair, Si Nan quickly went over to comfort him: "Cousin, you swim so fast. Being the
runner-up is also great."
Jingsheng raised his head and saw that the heartless boy had returned to Zhao Youning and was
busy delivering towels and water bottles to him, his smile more beautiful than flowers.
Snob. Jingsheng really felt that he had loved this little thing in vain.
Zhao Youning didn't expect that he could win, and answered Sinan's question excitedly: "Well, I
trained at the swimming pool on Wanhangdu Road for two years. My coach is a retired player
from the city team. He teaches very well. You can also learn. Yes, the ticket for swimming is only
three cents, and you have to pay extra for the coach's lessons."
Sinan lost his enthusiasm as soon as he heard that he had to pay tuition: "Forget it, I'll participate
in marble competitions in the future. Brother Ningning, are there marble competitions in the
Olympics? No? That's so unfair! It's hard for us to play marbles, isn't it? It's much harder than
swimming!"
"Cousin, do you think the two of us can definitely win the championship?" Jingsheng rolled his
eyes at her, took the towel from Si Jiang's hand, wiped himself, put on his shirt, and walked
towards the truck.
"Cousin, cousin, please wait for me!" Sinan shouted after him.
——
Back in the city, the evening market at Dongsheng Canteen hadn't opened yet, and more than 20
people crowded the small shop. Crayfish were cooked in scallion and ginger water, river shrimp
were fried in oil, crabs were fried with rice cakes, noodles were taken out of the big pot and put
outside in front of the electric fan to dry, a large yellow eel was used to make a garlic eel stew,
three small ones were cut into eel shreds, fried on high heat until 80% cooked, sprinkled with
plenty of chopped green onions and raw garlic, and then poured on a large spoonful of hot oil,
making a sizzling sound. The hungry wolves outside howled when they smelled the aroma.
Si Jiang quickly finished a plate of cold noodles with shredded eel and concluded: "It's a hundred
times better than the plain noodles across from Longhua Temple." Everyone agreed. Gu Dongwen
stood in the kitchen listening to Si Jiang's vivid description of today's games. He was moved and
asked Zhao Youning carefully what he had learned outside of class.
"I learn computer science, model airplanes and Go at the China Welfare Fund Association on
Fridays and Saturdays. I practice piano at home every day, and learn swimming on Mondays and
Thursdays." Zhao Youning said with a smile, "On Sundays, I will go to the Second Affiliated Middle
School of East China Normal University to study C language programming." He scratched his head
helplessly, "My mother wants me to apply to the Affiliated Middle School of the Conservatory of
Music, and my father wants me to go to the Second Affiliated Middle School of East China Normal
University. They haven't decided who to listen to yet, so I have to learn from both."
Sheng Fang quickly added: "Brother Ningning has always been the top student in our school, the
top student in his grade."
Si Nan looked at her elder sister and refrained from speaking. It seemed that Brother Ningning
was really amazing. She was very unconvinced before, but now it seemed that she had no choice
but to accept it. In order to show her friendliness and acceptance, Si Nan gave the two crayfish
that her elder sister had peeled for her to Zhao Youning: "Brother Ningning, I give you these
shrimps that my sister peeled. Eat more of them. You must beat Brother Ren and the others next
time."
Si Jiang: "???" She really loved this little thing Chen Sinan for nothing!
Jingsheng raised his eyelids. Who were "they"? Sinan immediately gave him a flattering smile.
At night, it was almost ten o'clock when Gu Dongwen returned home. He had just poured a basin
of water on himself when he saw Jingsheng strolling back from outside.
"By the way, we'll sign up for what you like to study next semester." Gu Dongwen put down the
washbasin and asked him.
Jingsheng leaned against the door frame and thought for a while, then said, "Computers, my
uncle (Gu Beiwu) said the future is the world of computers. I'll practice swimming by myself. Zhao
Youning said the district swimming team has coaches who will watch me in various swimming
pools. If I swim fast, they will ask the school to recruit me, so I don't have to spend money to
learn." He paused and said, "I think I can do it."
"Want to learn Go or something?"
"No."
With a splash, Gu Dongwen splashed himself with another basin of water and wiped his face:
"Don't worry about the money, I can support you."
Jingsheng rolled his eyes at him: "I don't like Go, it takes time." He turned and went upstairs,
muttering: "You've only made a few bucks and you're already bragging, haha."
"Little bastard." Gu Dongwen laughed and stamped his feet, grabbing the edge of his shorts and
wringing out the water: "You look down on my few small coins? Just wait and see."
He packed up his towel and washbasin and was about to go to bed when three or four people
came running over from the alley entrance and shouted from a distance: "Boss Gu, Brother
Dongdong, your brother-in-law and Old Third Chen are fighting and they can't stop them——"
The people watching the excitement in Lane 74 were not afraid of the number of people or the
small matter. When they saw Gu Dongwen and Gu Beiwu coming, they immediately made way.
Behind them, Si Jiangsinan, Ada, Aer, and Asan all followed them, each more anxious than the
other.

Chapter 82
Gu Dongwen pushed aside the people in the inner circle, took a quick look, and frowned.
The entrance to the Chen family's building was in chaos. Chen Donghai was pinned to the ground
by Zhao Yanhong. His eyes were red, and there was blood on his cheeks under his nose. He was
grabbing his legs and kicking, spitting out a string of curses. Zhao Yanhong, who was born as a
seaman, had three red finger marks on his face. He looked bitter and vengeful. He raised his fist
high, but was hesitating whether to let it fall. Gu Ximei beside him pulled his arm: "Brother-in-
law, what are you doing! Let's talk it over nicely. Let him go. You all have some shame, okay? You
don't have shame, but my family still has!"
Grandpa Chen stood at the door with a dark face and shouted: "Let them beat you, they can beat
you however they want, they deserve to be beaten to death."
Chen A-niang held the crying Si Hao and stomped her feet beside him: "What a sin! Stop hitting
him! Dong Hai is injured. Dong Wen, Bei Wu, quickly pull him away!"
Qian Guihua, with a black eye and swollen nose and tears, was half lying and half sitting at Chen
A Niang's feet. She held two tubes of lipstick tightly in her hands and stared blankly at the two
men in front of her. She felt very unreal. For the first time in her life, two men fought for her, but
it was not the reason she had imagined. Gu Beiwu's face suddenly appeared in the crowd under
the street light. She shuddered and shrank to Chen A Niang's legs. She turned her head again and
saw her two children hiding in the shadow behind Chen A Ye with terrified faces. She shook her
head involuntarily and whispered in defense: "It's none of my business! No, I didn't--"
Zhao Yanhong felt a pain in his wrist. Seeing that it was his brother-in-law with a smile on his face
but cold eyes, he immediately let go of Chen Donghai and stood up. He pointed at Qian Guihua
with red eyes and said, "This woman has screwed me to death! Nanhong--" He almost choked up
and sniffed several times before he could say, "Nanhong said she wanted to divorce me. She
disappeared."
Gu Dongwen smiled with his dimples deep. He stretched out his arms, and the two brothers
hugged him affectionately and walked into the doorway. They did not forget to turn around and
confess to the neighbors who were watching the fun: "It's a misunderstanding. Don't be
embarrassed. Let's call it a night." ”
The legs of the residents who had been swept by Gu Dongwen's eyes slowly began to move
outwards, their eyes still glued to Qian Guihua, and their hearts were rolling back and forth like,
yo yo yo, ahem.
There are also people who know how to look at landscapes, and they are very considerate to Gu
Dongwen: "Allah knew that he must have made a mistake (we knew that he must have made a
mistake), the rabbit hasn't eaten the grass beside the nest, let's go." ‌It’s time to go back and
sleep.”
"Gu Nanhong's man Ning must have made a mistake in looking at this."
"But Chen Laosan's daughter-in-law has been having problems in the past two years. She looks so
charming in her dressing up. If I want to make her calm down," someone else whispered.
Ximei sighed and wiped the sweat off her face. She bent down to help Qian Guihua up, only to
find that she was trembling. Qian Guihua grabbed her hand and said, "Sister-in-law, I'm really
dead!" Her pink nails were broken and pinched the back of Ximei's hand. Ximei finally broke free
and went to pull Chen A Niang, "Mom, come up."
Chen Donghai was so angry that he jumped at the backs of Gu Dongwen and Zhao Yanhong, but
Gu Beiwu held down his shoulders.
"Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels a thousand miles." Gu Beiwu pulled him into
the doorway: "Let's talk about it first."
Shan Rang led Sijiang Sinan and the three confused and flustered brothers into the building. Aunt
Kang sighed, "What a sin, how pitiful!" She closed the door, exchanged a glance with Grandma Li,
and approached the stairs at the same time, pointing upstairs, and began to listen tacitly.
The living room of the Chen family was full of people. Chen Donghai was furious when he saw
Zhao Yanhong sitting down with his arms and legs clenched. However, Gu Beiwu grabbed his shirt
collar and refused to let go. In the end, he could only swing his legs towards Qian Guihua who
was leaning against the chest of drawers. Fortunately, he could still move his mouth: "Adulterer!
How many gifts have you given her? You are still pretending? Rabbits don't eat grass near their
nests. You even touch your sister-in-law's sister-in-law. You still have the nerve to come to my
house? You dare to fight with me?! Just wait, I don't believe that your fishery company doesn't
care about personal conduct. Bah!"
Zhao Yanhong also became excited: "I told you I didn't give it to you, but you didn't believe me!
Your wife is not even as good as my wife, why would I like her? She secretly asked someone to
buy things from me, and she wanted to buy the same things as my Nanhong, and I didn't even
know it was her! As a result, my Nanhong thought that there was something going on between
me and her--" He repeated to Gu Dongwen and Gu Beiwu again and again: "Really not! I have
never seen her, I don't know her at all, really not!"
Gu Beiwu sneered and asked, "You buy it just because someone asks you to?"
"She! She - is willing to pay ten dollars more for each item!" Zhao Yanhong blushed: "I -" He just
wanted to hide some pocket money, who would have thought that such a huge misunderstanding
would occur.
Everyone in the room was stunned and looked at Qian Guihua. Qian Guihua cried so much that
her mascara was smudged, and there was a dark circle around her eyes, and two black streams
crisscrossed her face. She raised her head blankly. Her parents-in-law, husband, Gu family, son
and daughter, and unrelated children were all laughing at her, as if she had really done something
to let Chen Donghai and the Chen family down. What did she do wrong? How could she not be as
good as a strand of Gu Nanhong's hair? Why did they all look down on her!
"I-I just want to look better!" Qian Guihua argued hoarsely. She raised her hand to wipe away her
tears, and her hand was also covered in black. "Nanhong knows how to dress up and is
fashionable and stylish. I just want to learn from her. Why can't I do the same?" She cried so hard
that her shoulders shook. "Why can't I do the same?"
The men were all silent. Gu Dongwen didn't expect that what he said just now was a
misunderstanding was really a misunderstanding, but it didn't end well.
Shan Rang looked at Qian Guihua sympathetically, and motioned Si Jiang and Si Nan to keep
silent. Si Nan raised his eyebrows, pursed his lips in a grumble, and swallowed his words. Si Jiang
breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that what the eldest uncle said was true. She would never
believe that the eldest uncle would be with the third mother, but the third mother - she could
dress like the eldest aunt, she could ask the eldest uncle to buy things, she could buy the same
things as the eldest aunt, but why couldn't she tell the eldest aunt first? Why did she secretly ask
others to find the eldest uncle? Si Jiang couldn't figure it out, and she was worried about where
the eldest aunt would go if she didn't return to Wanchun Street.
"I came here just to ask her to help me explain things to Nanhong." Zhao Yanhong complained,
"Our union vice chairman said that the sisters in her cotton mill union just like Nanhong's
dressing style, and it's easiest to go shopping with Nanhong. If I had known she was Ximei's
sister-in-law, I would never have helped bring her home!"
Gu Dongwen asked with a fake smile: "So you also feel that you have done nothing wrong and
you are being wronged? If you change to someone you don't know, you will still be able to take
care of him? Have you told Nanhong? Did Nanhong agree?"
Zhao Yanhong was stunned. This unexpected disaster came from nowhere. In the final analysis, it
was all caused by greed. He pursed his lips and said nothing out of guilt. The three Ah Da brothers
who were stopped by Shan Rang were not happy and started to shout at each other.
"Where's Mom? Where did Mom go?"
"Every time Mom asks you to bring something, you have to do your homework for a long time,
and the magazines are all torn to pieces."
"Mom hates wearing the same clothes and using the same things as others. Grandpa, please
don't be so picky."
"Last time, you pushed Mom so hard over lipstick that she fell down."
After being scolded by his sons, Zhao Yanhong couldn't help but yell at them: "Little bastards, you
are annoying!"
Gu Beiwu crossed his arms and said, "Zhao Yanhong, you are so arrogant in front of your wife and
son. Where is my elder sister?"
Zhao Yanhong stood up anxiously: "She slapped me and ran away after the quarrel. I thought she
went back to her parents' home——"
"No! Mom didn't come to grandma's house." A Da shouted.
Gu Dongwen said hello to Grandpa Chen: "Everything is clear, let's go back to find Nanhong first.
Grandpa, don't worry, your heart is not good, take it easy." Grandpa Chen responded tiredly,
shook his head and waved: "You guys go."
Gu Dongwen patted Chen Donghai on the shoulder again: "You need to change your temper. Even
if something like that really happens, you should fight with men. If you can't win, you take it out
on women. That's meaningless."
Chen Donghai's face turned red and he hummed twice vaguely.
Gu Beiwu talked to Ximei for a few words, asking her to rest assured and stay at Chen's house
with Sihao, and then he led Shanrang and the children downstairs one after another. At the stairs,
Grandma Li and Aunt Kang were playing in the mountain lake as if they had just met. When they
saw them coming down, they smiled and nodded and went their separate ways.
Under the meaningful eyes of the neighbors who were enjoying the cool breeze on both sides of
Tange Road, everyone walked back to Lane 63 from Lane 74. Except for Gu Dongwen and Gu
Beiwu, everyone felt uncomfortable, especially Zhao Yanhong. When they entered Gu's house,
Grandma Gu came up to them hurriedly, fanning herself and asking what was going on.
Gu Dongwen smiled and said, "It's okay, it's just a misunderstanding." He turned around and
swung his arm, and without any warning, he punched Zhao Yanhong in the left cheek.
Zhao Yanhong staggered and took several steps back, covering his face without saying a word.
"Boss, what are you doing? Why did you hit me? You're crazy." Grandma Gu screamed.
"Dad! Dad!" The three Ah Da brothers rushed over to support their grandfather and looked at
him sympathetically: "Dad, your nose is bleeding. Your uncle was really cruel. Who made you
make Mom angry and lose her?"
Zhao Yanhong wiped his nose and admitted dejectedly: "Brother, it's my fault. I deserve to be
beaten."
Gu Dongwen shook his fist, looked up and saw Jingsheng's face at the entrance of the attic. He
suppressed what he wanted to say and asked calmly: "What did Nanhong say? Have you asked
her sisters, colleagues and friends?"
Zhao Yanhong's eyes turned red. "She--she cut up all the things I bought for her from abroad and
scolded me for a long time. I mentioned her dancing and she slapped me and said she wanted a
divorce. I haven't asked anyone else yet, but I came here first."
Si Nan stuck out his tongue, pulled Si Jiang's ear and whispered, "Aunt is so amazing."
Si Jiang covered her mouth: "Shh." Yes, the eldest aunt is very powerful, unlike the third aunt
who always seems to be bullied by the third uncle.
"How long has she been on the run?" Gu Beiwu took out a pen and paper and started asking,
"Did you hit her back? Who saw her running away? Did she take a car or a bike? Which direction
did she go? What was she wearing? Did she take her bag? What did she take with her?"
Zhao Yanhong was dumbfounded, and it took him a while to come to his senses: "Beiwu, what
are you doing——"
Gu Beiwu stared at him with his dark eyes, not caring about the old and young present: "Yes, I
suspect you. There are many men who accidentally hurt others because of love and hatred, and
then cry "Catch the thief". Tell me, tell me in detail."

Chapter 83
Gu Nanhong had a falling out with Zhao Yanhong and left the house with a small suitcase that she
had packed long ago. She hadn't decided where to go. If she went back to Wanchun Street, she
would inevitably be questioned by her family. If people knew what good things Zhao Yanhong had
done, her first half of her life would be wasted. Her face was exposed on the street and trampled
on by everyone. It would be a lie to say that she wasn't sad, but it would also be a lie to say how
sad she was. She just felt very embarrassed, and there was a ball of anger in her heart. No matter
how much she scolded or beat him, she couldn't vent even one ten-thousandth of it.
She had almost no impression of what Qian Guihua looked like. When she looked at the same
sex, she would glance from head to toe. If there was something outstanding about them, she
would remember them naturally. If she couldn't remember them, they must be mediocre and
vulgar. This was the most infuriating thing. If the woman Zhao Yanhong hooked up with was
prettier and more fashionable than her, she would be convinced. But why would someone who
had been looking at pearls for more than ten years suddenly go for fish-eye pearls? She couldn't
figure it out. In addition, such a woman who was not as good as her was actually Ximei's sister-in-
law. She felt ashamed just thinking about it. When she thought about what Ximei would say and
how she would look at her, she felt sick.
She made a few phone calls and ended up going to a dance on Maoming Road.
In recent years, underground dances have emerged in Shanghai one after another. Any organizer
with a bit of reputation will warmly invite Nanhong to participate. Nanhong knows that she
represents the old Shanghai style that everyone likes: she is well-dressed, has exquisite makeup,
speaks well, and has proper etiquette. She is good at waltz, tango, cha-cha, and rumba, and
knows all kinds of foreign dance music. With her, the speed sequence of the dance music will not
be wrong. The most important thing is that the seven or eight men who revolve around Nanhong
are all handsome and well-off. They are all engaged in cultural and artistic work and are good at
it. A dance party with such a group of people is worthy of being called a dance party. The kind of
party with loud speakers and young people in their teens and twenties shaking their heads and
hips is not up to standard in the eyes of these organizers. Anyone who holds such a disco party at
home would have been reported to the police station by neighbors long ago.
This old house on Maoming Road is close to Fuxing Road. The house was returned last year.
Seventeen names are written on the property certificate, fifteen of whom are abroad, and the
one in China is a brother and sister. The sister Jiang Wei returned to Shanghai due to illness from
Dafeng Farm in 1973, and the brother Jiang Xiao returned to the city from Heilongjiang in 1975.
Neither of them is married and has no plans to get married. He gets along very well with
Nanhong.
When Nanhong arrived, the first half of the dance had already ended and the dancers were
chatting in groups of three or five.
"I haven't seen you for a few days. Where have you been?" Jiang Wei came up to him and said
with a smile, "Manager Zhang was just looking for you."
Nan Hong's eyes moved as she scanned the twenty or thirty people present, and something in
her heart moved.
"Gu Nanhong!" Speak of the devil, Manager Zhang came over with a smile: "Have you made up
your mind? Will you come to work in our clothing company? We are about to do something big!"
Nanhong met Manager Zhang from the clothing company at the Pierre Cardin fashion show last
spring. When the blonde beauty lifted her long skirt, the audience leaned back in shock, as if the
skirt would hit their faces. Only Manager Zhang and Nanhong remained motionless. That's how
the two got to know each other.
Manager Zhang thought Nanhong was a designer who had returned from overseas, and
enthusiastically invited Nanhong to visit the clothing company. Nanhong laughed so hard that she
said she was just an ordinary female worker, but they had similar interests and hobbies, and they
became dancing partners. Manager Zhang praised Nanhong's dresses every time she wore them.
He even took photos of several styles and asked the designer to make patterns for production,
which were extremely popular. In Manager Zhang's words, there are many more sources of
information about foreign fashion now than before, but there are very few that are suitable for
the body shape and skin color of Chinese people. Nanhong has a talent for turning stones into
gold. The styles she wears are very flattering. It is the person who wears the clothes, not the
clothes that wear the person, which is particularly suitable for mass production.
Nanhong was tempted to work in a clothing company to do what she loved most, but she knew
her own limitations. She had not studied hard even in high school. Although she could cut and
use a sewing machine, compared with designers who graduated from formal schools, she had no
other strengths except a better vision. She was also lazy by nature, and her professional title
would definitely not be promoted. If the new leader disliked her, she might lose her job and
become unemployed in middle age. Zhao Yanhong's parents would not know how to blame her.
Nan Hong raised her eyebrows and asked with a smile, "Are you really going to form a fashion
performance team?"
"Yes, the city has agreed. We will select people from the 80 factories under our jurisdiction and
strive to have them perform next year." Manager Zhang invited enthusiastically: "Come on, the
position of leader of our performance team is vacant and waiting for you."
——
Nanhong was so excited after coming out of Maoming Road that she almost forgot about Zhao
Yanhong's troubles and unknowingly returned to Wanchun Street. Under the dim street lights in
the summer night, there were crowds of people playing mahjong, poker, and chess, and they
were having a great time. Some children who refused to go to bed were still playing hopscotch
and rolling hoops. Many houses still had lights on, and the sound of televisions and radios could
be heard faintly, making it very busy.
I don't know who saw Nanhong first and greeted her. Many neighbors on the street raised their
heads and followed Nanhong's figure. After a while, everything returned to normal, except that
there were more whispers. Being stared at by these sympathetic or gloating eyes, Nanhong
became alert. She frowned and quickened her pace.
"Nanhong?" Chen Donghai passed by Nanhong with a briefcase in his hand. He was stunned for a
moment before turning back and calling out.
When Nanhong saw such an embarrassed person, and then looked again to see Qian Guihua
huddled behind Chen Donghai with his face covered and his head lowered, she reluctantly
nodded: "Yeah." After saying this perfunctorily, she was about to turn into Lane 63.
Chen Donghai quickly stopped her and told her about the misunderstandings of the night, with
three parts of regret, three parts of anger, three parts of shame, and a sense of inexplicable
pride. Nanhong really didn't expect it to be like this. It took a lot of effort to hold her face and not
laugh out loud. She glanced at Qian Guihua from time to time, and was glad that she had cut her
own pair of leather shoes that were the same as hers. From Chen Donghai's tone, it seemed that
she should share the same hatred with him, criticize her lover for being sneaky and not going out,
and be proud of her lover for not having the courage to do anything. She couldn't help but raise
her eyebrows and sneer: "What the hell does it have to do with me?"
"Why not?" Chen Donghai was startled, and saw Gu Nanhong disappear around the corner in the
blink of an eye. "Why not her business?" He turned around, and when he saw Qian Guihua, he
got angry again: "It's all caused by you, a woman! Learn, learn, can you learn to be like her? What
a joke!"
Qian Guihua hung her head and said nothing. Somehow, she remembered a joke Aunt Kang had
made: on Wanchun Street, there were so many men who liked Gu Nanhong that even a cultural
station couldn't accommodate them all.
——
Zhao Yanhong had a splitting headache from being interrogated by Gu Beiwu and Gu Dongwen.
His three sons kept making trouble for him and exposed all the grievances that Nanhong suffered
at home.
"Grandma said that if Mom doesn't obey, she should be beaten a few times. Only after being
beaten will she behave herself."
Zhao Yanhong quickly explained: "I really didn't hit her. How could I bear to hit her?! She always
hits me. Last time she insisted on scratching my face. I really had no choice but to push her away.
It was a very light hit-"
"Grandpa said that Mom has spent Dad's money for so many years and always buys clothes for Si
Jiang and his family to support her family. Dad gives his salary to Grandpa and Grandma."
Zhao Yanhong blushed: "I just give my parents my salary. I secretly give Nanhong the subsidies
and bonuses of more than 100 yuan a month. She always uses this to make my mother angry
——"
"Grandma always brought my second mother and two aunts to steal my mother's clothes, shoes
and bags. My mother locked her things in the cupboard, and they picked the lock."
Zhao Yanhong was speechless for a long while before he whispered, "Didn't the door lock get
changed later?"
“They’re still prying!”
He was still disoriented when he heard footsteps on the stairs. Then the curtain at the door was
lifted and Nanhong came in.
Everyone in the room was busy. Nan Hong didn't even look at Zhao Yanhong, she patted the
heads of her three sons, dropped her bag and said, "I'm so tired, I'll lie down for a while."
Zhao Yanhong chased to the side of the wardrobe, feeling guilty under the gaze of his brother-in-
law. He called Nanhong's name softly, but there was no response from inside.
Granny Gu sighed, and seeing her son-in-law's foolish look, she wanted to comfort him, but was
afraid that Nanhong would be embarrassed, so she waved to Si Jiangsinan.
——
"We can quarrel from now on, but never in front of the children." Si Jiang proposed this before
getting married. She had always seen the elders around her quarreling, never caring about them,
the younger generation, and the word divorce was always on their lips, uttered easily and taken
back quietly, but they didn't know how long this casual remark in anger would keep them
worried.
"We will never quarrel again." Sinan proposed something more advanced than Sijiang before they
got married: "Because I won't fight after a few words." Without waiting for the other party to
answer, he immediately added: "If I hit you, you can't fight back."
The sisters' memories of the night are a little distorted.
"My aunt was very angry and ignored my uncle all night. My uncle was thinking about his
mistakes." Sinan remembered that night my uncle slept on the cement board in the living room
with the three cousins of the Zhao family. She got up in the middle of the night to use the toilet
and saw a pair of big feet under the curtain next to the wardrobe. She screamed in fear and woke
up the whole family.
"The aunt wasn't angry at all. She was still laughing when I went in." Si Jiang remembered that
night when the aunt hugged her and said something like men are afraid of choosing the wrong
profession and women are afraid of marrying the wrong man. She told her to cast a wide net and
choose carefully when she grows up. It would be best if the man didn't have parents or siblings to
save her a lot of trouble. She said that she would choose Sun Wukong, who jumped out of a
stone, and the aunt laughed so hard that her whole body shook.
The sisters had no memory of how the incident ended. In late August, Sijiang won the
performance award in the children's group at a dance competition in Dalian. Ximei was going to
take Sinan back to Xinjiang, and the family gathered together for a celebration and farewell
dinner. Only then did they know that Nanhong had applied for unpaid leave and went to work at
a clothing company, and she also moved into the company dormitory.

Chapter 84
Every turning point of fate actually has no signs. Looking back later, you may be able to
remember some clues, but because there is no way to compare the results of choosing different
routes, it is impossible to judge which is better or worse.
Gu Nanhong occasionally recalled the summer of 1980, and always felt that the lipstick incident
was just the last straw. Sooner or later, she would leave the factory and Fuxing Island, but she had
never thought of leaving Zhao Yanhong and her sons. She never denied that she was a lazy,
selfish and mean woman. At that time, the city was in chaos and her family was short of money
and food. She chose Zhao Yanhong without hesitation in exchange for a relatively rich and stable
life to maintain her only hobby in her life.
She didn't feel ashamed. She gave herself and gave birth to three sons. She also endured the
contempt and hostility from her parents-in-law, the jealousy and rumors from her sisters-in-law,
and the malicious covetousness and obscene hints and harassment from some men in the
factory. She didn't complain about these. She just had to hold on to Zhao Yanhong. He was the
man she chose, her husband, and he had to treat her well. She scolded him for staring at her with
a chicken stomach, but she felt relieved in her heart. She liked to focus on the outside, on those
many interesting male friends, but her man's eyes must only be on her.
However, more than a decade has passed, the world has changed, the city has changed, and
people will always change. On the peaceful Fuxing Island, the attractiveness of the identities of a
seaman's wife and a cotton mill worker has dropped sharply. The colorful old city has burst into
new power, and the blue and military green ocean has become colorful. The young people in
Shanghai are as keen on chasing fashion from the United States and Japan as she was decades
ago. She can calmly cross the age of 40 and tolerate fine lines at the corners of her eyes, but she
cannot be unfashionable, cannot become a rustic "ordinary person", and cannot tolerate herself
slowing down and being left behind by this new Shanghai, because she is Gu Nanhong.
Leaving Fuxing Island was inevitable. Her only hesitation was her fear of returning to the city to
live alone. However, this hesitation of just a few months made her intolerant of her parents-in-
law, sisters-in-law, sister-in-law, and people and things in the factory that she used to not care
about. All her dislike and disgust suddenly became magnified. These in turn became the reasons
that pushed her to leave.
Nanhong always felt that her eldest brother Gu Dongwen was the only one who understood her.
Ximei and her mother were shocked and thought it was unbelievable, as if she had become a
modern female Chen Shimei, vain and greedy to the point of abandoning her husband and
children. Eight out of ten sentences were blaming her. Beiwu, as a younger brother and a man
who had supported her family in Wanchun Street for more than ten years, of course defended
her. But his understanding of women was too poor. Although he said he respected her decision,
he still thought she was too cruel and inconsiderate to Zhao Yanhong and his sons. Shanrang said
something that made her feel relieved.
"Sister, you are Gu Nanhong first, and then our daughter, our eldest sister, Zhao Yanhong's wife,
and the mother of Ada, Aer, and Asan. She must first become the person she wants to be."
It is said that this statement came from a foreign female philosopher, and it was so true. Gu
Nanhong toasted Shan Rang and said, "Thank you. I just want to be Gu Nanhong in my life."
"You only think about yourself!" Ximei felt that she was hopeless.
Nanhong didn't care what she said, and what she said was not wrong.
Gu Dongwen really understood this sister very well. She was the same as him in her bones. Once
she made up her mind to do something, no one could stop her. When the old man was alive, he
was strict with her. He had locked her up and scolded her, but it was useless. The materials that
Gu Nanhong wanted to buy, the movies she wanted to watch, and the meetings she wanted to
meet were all engraved in her bones. He could stop her for a while, but not forever. He could only
let her go and watch her carefully. It was better to warn those men than to warn her. Gu
Dongwen knew that Gu Nanhong would leave Fuxing Island and return to the city sooner or later
than Nanhong herself. As for whether she would leave Zhao Yanhong, Gu Dongwen didn't care.
As long as his sister was happy, they knew the affairs between husband and wife. Those who
didn't care would leave sooner or later, and those who couldn't be kept would have to be let go
sooner or later.
He was only worried about whether she was safe in the dormitory and whether there were
people with ulterior motives around her, so he took time out to visit the dormitory several times.
After a few visits, he became acquainted with the security uncle, the cleaning lady, and the girls
on the same floor. Who doesn't like Gu Dongwen? The eldest brother of the Gu family has a good
appearance, a smiling face, sweet dimples, and is kind to everyone. When he comes to visit
Deputy Team Leader Gu in the dormitory, he always brings a bunch of fruit drinks, and everyone
he sees has a share. He never asks for money, and often invites young people to watch movies
and drink coffee with a big wave of his hand. Because of the eldest brother of the Gu family,
everyone is much friendlier to Deputy Team Leader Gu, who seems to be difficult to approach
and a little aloof and arrogant.
There were still rumors. Manager Zhang's lover came to the dormitory several times under
various pretexts. Team Leader Xu's wife also came twice. There were even more cadres from the
higher-level units who came to see her. Nanhong knew it all. She was promoted to deputy team
leader out of nowhere. Director Liu of the Handicraft Bureau personally took half an hour to talk
to her before making the decision. She was considered to have "someone above her." Manager
Zhang never concealed who had the connection. He happily boasted to everyone that he was a
talent scout. Nanhong didn't have time to pay attention. She was experienced. It was useless to
pay attention to such things. It was useful only when things were done and done well.
There were only two months left before the official establishment. The company had to select
about 20 male and female actors from more than 30,000 workers in 80 factories under the
clothing company. It could not be announced publicly, so the company could only communicate
with the factory director and the secretary, and visit each factory and workshop one by one. If
they found someone they liked, they would call him out for a face-to-face interview and do
ideological mobilization. Most of the female workers in the factory who were good-looking had
hunched backs and hunched chests. The seed of demeanor had not been sown yet, and it would
take at least 10 to 10 years for it to bear fruit. After finally convincing people, they had to discuss
with the teachers of the drama academy where to train them, which teachers to train them, and
what content to train them. In the entire company, except for Manager Zhang, almost no one
knew what "fashion" was, what a press conference was for, why people were not wearing clothes
on clothes racks and models, what standards were used to select people, and whether the
performance team would go astray. A hundred questions popped up and everyone had to ask.
There were only seven or eight people in the preparation team, and they were all busy as a
spinning top. Nan Hong was so anxious that she got a mouthful of blisters and didn't care about
makeup or hairstyle. She put on a pair of black-framed glasses, changed a hat every day to cover
her shapeless hair, put on lipstick and wore flat shoes before going out, and was busy until late at
night before returning to the dormitory. On Sundays, she usually had to spend half a day with
several old designers to look at pictures and patterns. In her eyes, these were not "fashion", but
the clothing company did not want what she thought, but what the dealers thought, what they
wanted was national sales, and what they wanted was styles that could be sold and sold well.
For the first time, Nanhong understood what Beiwu said: No matter how much you like
something, you will inevitably not like it as much after it becomes a job. Because it is no longer
something she can decide on her own. There are too many aspects, too many trivialities, too
many constraints, and she has to adapt to others, the company, and the products. After arguing,
doubting, and explaining again and again, Nanhong will also waver, and even feel that she may
not really be suitable for working. This job is far from what she imagined. It is not free and
glamorous at all. It is extremely hard and tiring, and she is angry every day.
Several years later, Si Jiang asked curiously, "Aunt, how did you persevere at that time?"
Nanhong rolled her eyes and said, "You have to save face. If you quit after a few days, I don't
know how your mother will laugh at me."
Si Jiang never expected that the biggest contributor to his aunt's business empire was actually his
own mother.
No one expected that the three Zhao brothers were the happiest about Nanhong's departure to
Fuxing Island. Mom moved to the city and arranged to take them to the movies, stroll the streets
and have dinner every Sunday afternoon. So every Saturday afternoon, the three brothers would
go to Wanchun Street with their schoolbags after school, eat the food cooked by Jingsheng, help
out at Dongsheng Canteen, and go to the Children's Palace of China Welfare Fund with Sijiang. In
one month, they played in Changfeng Park, Zhongshan Park and Xigong. Each of them had two
yuan of pocket money given by their grandfather in their pockets. They were rich and free, and
they could eat, drink and have fun. They were so happy. My uncle and aunt lived in Fudan
University, and they took time to come back and pick them up to play at the university. They
could brag about it for another month when they returned to Fuxing Island. The best thing was
that my mom treated them better than before and no longer threatened to deduct their money.
Nanhong felt guilty: "There is no other way. Mom is very busy at work, so I have to give you a few
more dollars for pocket money."
Ah San leaned against Nan Hong and said, "Mom, please be a little busier and give me more
money. Just give me two more dollars."
"You wish!" Nan Hong ignored her son's push and pulled his ear to warn him: "Don't eat snacks,
don't eat sweets, how can you gain so much weight? Your pants are torn, you are so
embarrassed."
"I'm not fat, I'm strong." Ah San squeezed his chest and said, "Uncle Zhou said this is called strong
groove."
"Bullshit!" Nan Hong slapped the sturdy groove into an airport shape with a slap: "If you are fat,
you can't grow tall. If a boy is under 1.7 meters tall, he is disabled. Do you understand?"
Ah Da straightened his chest and said, "Mom, I'm 1.65 meters tall, and my uncle said I can still
grow taller."
"How tall is Gu Jingsheng?"
"He's just a little taller than me."
"How much higher?"
"Just a little bit, really."
"How much fatter are you than him?"
"A little bit. Really, I'm just a little fatter than him."
"Twenty kilograms of fat meat is just a small piece of meat. How dare you even ask for a small
reward?!" Nanhong was so disappointed with them that she didn't allow the three of them to
have dinner and sent them back to Wanchun Street to sleep.
In the middle of the night, all the biscuits, peach cakes, rice crackers and osmanthus cakes on the
Gu family's cupboard were swept away, and even half a bottle of peanut butter did not escape
their clutches.

Chapter 85
As in previous years, Si Jiang asked his mother if Si Nan could also stay in Shanghai to study. As in
previous years, Xi Mei still answered no. No matter how much he begged or cried, it was still
impossible.
There are always those things that cannot be brought to the table, money is one thing, people
are another. Si Hao is with Grandpa Chen and Grandma Chen. Although the old people said that
they don't need to give money, Si Jiang's living expenses were 30 yuan a month and never
stopped. Now ten years have passed, and the amount given to Grandma Gu is still 30 yuan. It's
impossible for Si Hao to stop giving money. So 60 yuan a month must be taken out without fail.
Chen Donglai's situation in the oil field has improved a lot in the past two years. He can earn
more than 100 yuan. Ximei has entered the education system and earns 31 yuan a month, which
is a few yuan less than in the company. If Sinan also stayed in Shanghai, he would have to go to
kindergarten for another year before he could enroll at the age of seven. The street kindergarten
next to Wanchun Street costs 5 yuan a month, not counting the food expenses. But in Shajingzi,
Sinan can already go to the second grade of elementary school smoothly, starting two years
earlier than others, and in the future he can also go to work two years earlier than others.
Ximei knew that Sinan was at a disadvantage compared to Sijiang and Sihao, but there was
nothing she could do. It was not right for the uncles to raise their niece. She had to save face.
Sinan didn't care. She had just found the way to go to school. She didn't want to go back to
kindergarten and repeat the first grade. But she would never admit that she didn't want to leave
and couldn't leave her mother. It was only her mother who couldn't leave her.
"I have to accompany Mom." Si Nan sighed and comforted her elder sister: "Grandma has you,
Mom has Si Hao, my eldest uncle has my eldest cousin, and my youngest uncle has my youngest
aunt. If I were gone, Mom would be so pitiful."
Si Jiang shed tears silently: "Mom has a dad. We are all in Shanghai, and you are alone in Xinjiang,
how pitiful!"
"Dad only came back four times last year! Even during the Chinese New Year, it was less than 20
days." Sinan shook her head: "Sister, don't miss me too much. If you really miss me, just write a
letter or call me." She turned her head to look at Jingsheng who was stuffing snacks into her bag:
"Cousin, you have to miss me. You must miss me very much, understand?"
Jingsheng rolled his eyes at her with disdain and patted her small bag: "Don't bring the five-spice
broad beans. You have two missing front teeth. If you chew broad beans, your front teeth will
easily come out and you will turn into a rabbit. When you go back, chew less bones and don't eat
crabs."
Sinan, who had just lost a tooth, was happy: "We have never caught crabs! Brother Pingping can't
do that - not the Brother Pingping here, but the Brother Pingping from Shen Qingping. Maybe we
don't have crabs in Aksu?"
Si Jiang was so angry that he found a hammer, wrapped it with two thick layers of cloth, and
smashed the broad beans into powder. He put it in a glass bottle and handed it to Si Nan: "Now
you can eat it. Go and put it away."
Si Nan was overjoyed, hugged Si Jiang and started to chew him: "I know that elder sister is the
best to me! I love elder sister the most."
Si Jiang felt relieved: "That's right!" He couldn't help but glance at Jingsheng with pride.
Jingsheng handed her a bag of walnuts with a smile: "There's still room for another bottle in the
bag. You're the best to Nannan, right?"
Si Jiang: “???!!!”
Jingsheng returned to the attic with a smile on his face. He listened to the angry sounds of
hammers and Sinan's happy roars coming from downstairs. He felt that the northern dialect that
Gu Beiwu and Shanrang often used to joke about was particularly pleasing to the ear: Little guy,
can't I cure you of this?
——
With a little thing like Chen Sihao, Grandpa Chen's heart beat very regularly for several months.
He would walk around the alley with his grandson in his arms with a smile every day, and
thoroughly implemented the principle of holding grandchildren instead of children. Even if
Grandma Gu had nothing to do during the day, she would go to see her little grandson. Grandpa
Chen quietly started a guerrilla war. There was no other way. The little boy was just a piece of
meat. If others held him more, he would hold him less. His mother-in-law was illiterate. When
she held Chen Sihao, what else could she do except kiss him? But he was different. He had a strict
plan every day when he took Sihao out.
Every day when the grandparents go out, they first talk about the weather, then recognize the
house numbers. They read the international news, domestic news, and Shanghai news in front of
the newspaper rack. The retired cadres in each lane are well-informed and can help their
grandchildren see the world. They are exposed to chess, go, and military flags from an early age.
Mahjong is not easy to play, and playing cards are not interesting. There are many little kids born
in the alley this year. They should have good friends from an early age, but they should also be
carefully selected. If the parents are uneducated, they can just nod and shake their hands and go
their separate ways. If the parents are educated, they should stop and have in-depth exchanges.
The children shake hands and babble about the mountains and lakes. They will definitely be more
familiar with them when they grow up.
In order to reduce the influence of Grandma Gu, Grandpa Chen saved his grandson in a
roundabout way. He often invited old colleagues from the unit to have a meal and drink in
Dongsheng Canteen. When Gu Dongwen was busy, Grandma Gu couldn't help but go to help for
two days. Chen's mother couldn't stand it and said that he was getting more and more stingy as
he got older, and he was sorry for his mother-in-law. So she simply took Si Hao to visit Gu's house
at night to save Si Jiang from running around.
The new semester has begun. Sijiang, who often sees Zhao's cousins, has written three letters to
Sinan. Four-month-old Chen Sihao has become fat as a ball from eating milk powder. His three
chins are stacked on his chest, his mouth is crystal clear, and he lowers his head to bite his fist
desperately. The summer heat has not yet subsided. A Niang has put a small crochet vest on him
at night. His hair and big eyes are wet from the heat. Sihao probably remembers Sijiang. Every
day at a certain time, he stretches his neck to look out, babbling in his mouth, waiting for A Niang
to hold him to see his sister.
Si Jiang admitted that Si Hao was much cuter and prettier than Si Nan when she was a baby, but
the strange thing was that although she liked Si Hao, she didn't like her as much as she liked Si
Nan. Maybe it was because she had grown up, she was ten years older than Si Hao, she had too
many things to do, or maybe she was no longer as eager to be a good sister as she was when she
was a child. Si Jiang blamed herself for this several times, and even couldn't help but secretly ask
her uncle.
"Am I not a good sister anymore?"
Gu Dongwen laughed and scratched her nose: "Think about what your aunt-in-law said about
your aunt-in-law. You should be a good Chen Sijiang first, and then think about other things."
Si Jiang was puzzled: "I am Si Jiang, why should I do my best first? How else can I do it well?"
"Then you should learn from Jingsheng. He doesn't want to be your good cousin, nor does he
want to be my good son. He just wants to be Gu Jingsheng."
"But cousin Jingsheng is Sinan's good cousin." Si Jiang still didn't understand: "He-he is not good
to you, uncle?"
Si Jiang felt that cousin Jingsheng was secretly nice to his uncle, a bit like the way his younger
uncle was nice to his grandmother. He didn't really listen and was always annoying, but he was
much more considerate than what he said. Cousin Jingsheng washed his uncle's clothes, and he
sewed the buttons when they fell off. After working hard all day, his uncle could drink soup when
he came back, sometimes sweet soup, sometimes salty soup. Cousin Jingsheng helped his
grandmother with breakfast. He also prepared the meat and ribs for the lion's head in the
restaurant after school every day. He would go to the restaurant to help whenever he had time.
Compared with Jingsheng, Si Jiang was ashamed. She did too little. But every time she wanted to
help, he always disliked her, either because he thought she was slow, or because she didn't have
enough strength, or because she couldn't do any work.
"You should go read some books." Then he would add: "Don't you want to pass Zhao Youning?"
"You'd better go and have fun with Si." Then he would add: "Don't make things worse."
"You should go practice your exercises." Then he would add: "Don't scream when you stretch
your muscles."
It's so annoying. This person either keeps silent or makes her angry when he speaks. Si Jiang
couldn't help but secretly admire Si Nan. Si Nan can sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor.
Her catchphrase at home is "Cousin, come and help me with this, cousin, come and help me with
that." She never gets angry no matter what Jing Sheng says to her. She can always come up with a
bunch of retorts. Si Jiang vaguely feels that Jing Sheng's tone when talking about Si Nan is
different from his tone when talking about himself. After he finishes talking about Si Nan, he likes
to scratch her nose and rub her hair. He is very close to her and treats her like a family member.
Si Jiang thought about it and secretly joked with his grandmother: "Nannan, you have wanted to
marry your eldest cousin since you were a child. It's so funny. How can a cousin get married?"
Granny Gu laughed, "Why not? They are not in the same household registration book. Jingsheng
is your eldest uncle's adopted son, not your biological cousin. Hey, Nannan is a smart kid with a
good eye. Only Jingsheng can control her temper. Tsk tsk tsk tsk. If you can give her to Jingsheng,
your mother will laugh to death."
The next day, Si Jiang looked at Jingsheng with displeasure. The two became enemies again.
Although they went home together and went to the China Welfare Fund together, they ignored
each other and were at least five meters apart. Fortunately, there was the tireless Zhao Youning
at the midpoint of the straight line.
Before the National Day holiday, the three Zhao brothers followed Zhao Youning and Jing
Shengsijiang to the Children's Palace. When they walked to the intersection of Wanhangdu Road
and Yuyuan Road, they met a group of junior high school students.
"Gu Jingsheng——!" A tall girl ran over from afar.
Si Jiang recognized Wu Xiaoli, who lost to Jingsheng in skating, and immediately became alert.
Zhao Youning also asked nervously: "Is she here to cause trouble for us?"
Jingsheng put his hands in his pockets and said calmly: "You go first, I'll be there in a moment."
Wu Xiaoli approached with a smile, and greeted Zhao Youning and Si Jiang. Si Jiang took two
steps slowly, and couldn't help looking back, but saw that the girl was smiling happily. Jingsheng
took something out of his schoolbag and handed it to her. She carefully put it away, and the two
said a few more words.
Soon Wu Xiaoli trotted past them and looked at Si Jiang proudly.
Jingsheng also caught up.
Ah Da put his arm around his shoulders and said, "Are you close to her? The gangster girl wants
you to be her boyfriend, right?"
Jingsheng slapped his hand away: "You are talking nonsense."
"So what did you talk about?" Ah Er also came forward to ask.
"Nothing."
"What did you give her? I saw it all, a piece of paper, hahaha." Ah San was very happy: "It must
be a love letter she wrote to you, but you returned it to her."
"No, not that kind of mess." Jingsheng quickened his pace impatiently.
Si Jiang turned his head and saw Wu Xiaoli still waving at him from the opposite intersection. Her
afro had been straightened and cut short, making her look fresh and she looked pretty when she
smiled.
Si Jiang hurriedly took a few steps and caught up with Jingsheng. He coughed twice and said,
"Didn't you say to stay away from garbage? What?"
Jingsheng was startled, and replied slowly: "What does it have to do with you?"
Si Jiang turned his head suddenly and glared at him, then raised his chin and snorted, "It's none
of my business."
From now on, if I care about Gu Jingsheng again, I will be a puppy. The eleven-year-old Chen
Sijiang swore fiercely, she forgot that she was born in the year of Gengxu, the year of the dog.

Chapter 86
That night, Lis Jiang lay on the bed and wrote in his diary:
Saturday, September 27, 1980 Sunny to light rain
The wind blows a leaf, and all things are startled into autumn. - Du Mu (Tang Dynasty)
It was sunny in the afternoon, but suddenly it started to rain in the evening. The raindrops
fluttered on my face and it was chilly. Autumn is here. There are three performances during the
National Day, one in the city, one in the district, and one in the school. I also have to go to the TV
station to record a program. I don't really want to join the choir. If I can only choose one between
dancing and singing, I would rather choose dancing. It would be even better if I could choose
neither.
Dancing is really hard, and I feel like I can't dance better. This trip to Dalian made me realize the
meaning of "there are always people who are better than you". Those uncles, aunts, older sisters
and older brothers danced so well that the performance award I won was just a consolation
prize. They practiced for eight hours every day, and I definitely couldn't stick with it. And
compared to those sisters, my head-to-body ratio is not that good. I have to blame my dad for
that. Both Snans and I have big heads. Alas, my dream is not to become a dancer anyway.
Sometimes I think that Zhao Youning and I are a bit similar. He doesn’t like playing the piano
either, but there’s nothing he can do but keep playing. I don’t like singing and dancing that much,
and there’s nothing I can do about it. Although no one has ever stabbed me with a needle, when I
just said that I didn’t want to continue to participate in the choir, my mother felt like the sky was
falling. In fact, the performance is just like that, nothing great. Alas, I don’t even dare to say that I
don’t want to dance. If I don’t sing or dance, I don’t know what else to learn. Forget it, there’s a
singing and dancing section behind the “good at” column, which seems pretty good. Alas.
There are four "Alas" today. Alas, let's just say them together in one slap. Who made me
encounter such a bad luck? That female gangster, Wu Xiaoli, suddenly became someone's
"friend". It's really strange. Of course, it's none of my business who he wants to be friends with.
He is not my biological brother, not even my biological cousin. Why should I care about him?
Anyway, he has good grades, and the teacher doesn't care whether he makes bad friends or not.
As for my uncle, I won't tell tales. My second cousin and the others talked a lot, but I don't think
my uncle cares about this matter. He always thinks that someone is doing a good job as himself.
Well, if he is really influenced by bad people and cheated in the future, it is none of my business.
It's all his own fault.
Tomorrow is another new day, the first day of not talking to someone. I have to hold on. By the
way, I also need to tell Sinan that people change. It is difficult to change for the better, but it is
easy to change for the worse. She also needs to be careful in Xinjiang.
The big wardrobe was knocked several times, and Si Jiang quickly closed the diary.
"Chicken soup wontons?" Jing Sheng opened the door curtain and poked his head in, only to see
Si Jiang stuffing the diary under the pillow and turning around to look at him warily.
"Eat it!" Si Jiang felt a little guilty. He turned over and sat up cross-legged. He spread out the
towel and was shaken twice: "I'm going to be sleepy. (I'm going to sleep.)"
Seeing her angrily lying down with her back to the outside, Jing Sheng said calmly: "It's just one
bowl for each person. The chicken I brought back from the restaurant at night was shredded and
there was some dry shreds. I simmered it with chicken soup and spread it out just now. Zhang
Danpi——"
After swallowing several times, Si Jiang stood up: "Don't waste it, grandma will feel sick again."
Forget it, tomorrow is the first day of not talking to him, tonight Doesn’t count.
Jingsheng turned away, but Si Jiang's freshly washed hair still made his face wet.
"Oh, thank you!" Si Jiang gathered his long hair and smiled slyly. Si Nan's catchphrase is really
useful, hehe, you deserve it.
Jingsheng picked up the towel from his neck and wiped it inexplicably. This guy ate gunpowder
before eating wontons? Hehe.
Four bowls of wontons were steaming, and the fried peanuts and dried radish left over from the
morning looked very tempting now. Gu Dongwen pushed aside the account book and the rolls of
banknotes and food coupons, and stood up to wash his hands. Si Jiang took a closer look and
found that he had made more than 3,000 yuan in September. He was very happy for his uncle.
"Uncle, I can go to the bank tomorrow to queue up for change." Si Jiang volunteered: "The TV
station will rehearse in the morning and will end around 11 o'clock."
"It's okay. Jingsheng will go change tomorrow. After he's done, he'll pick you up at the TV station.
You can come to the store to have lunch together." Gu Dongwen said with a smile, "He has
classes at the Welfare Club this afternoon. After class, he'll go swimming. Do you want to go
swimming with Jingsheng? Last week, your aunt-in-law gave you a swimsuit. Have you gone in
the water?"
Granny Gu blew on the yellow chicken soup in the spoon and said, "I washed it the next day after
it was delivered. After all, it is a genuine product bought from a sporting goods store. The quality
is very good and it doesn't fade at all. The swimsuit of the granddaughter of the old Liu family
next door, after washing it, a basin of red water appeared. It was scary."
Si Jiang sighed bitterly: "I can't swim." Otherwise, she would definitely have participated in the
last Longhua water battle.
"Let Jingsheng teach you."
Jingsheng raised his eyelids and said, "I only know your teaching method."
Si Jiang laughed: "No, no, I'd better go back to practice dancing. The teacher said there are a few
details that need to be worked on carefully."
Gu Dongwen thought about how he had thrown Jingsheng into the water again and again and
refused to let him get out of the water. He rubbed his nose and said, "By the way, did you give the
little girl from Banna your things?"
"Well, I happened to meet you today, so I gave it to you."
Si Jiang accidentally swallowed half of the wonton, burning her mouth, throat, and heart. She
hissed, put down her spoon to get some water, and pricked up her ears nervously. The two
people opposite her, one big and one small, just kept eating without saying anything. This
midnight snack made Si Jiang very anxious. After eating, she sat at the table to settle the bill with
Gu Dongwen. After Jingsheng finally finished cleaning up and went upstairs, she finally couldn't
help but whispered, "Uncle, what did you give to that little girl from Banna?"
Gu Dongwen was stunned, and his dimples slowly became deeper and deeper.
Jingsheng's mocking voice came from the attic: "It's none of your business, Chen Sijiang."
Gu Dongwen smiled helplessly and shrugged: "That guy doesn't allow me to say it, Nannan, don't
be angry."
Si Jiang's face flushed red, and her hands and feet felt numb: "I'm not angry." She heard her voice
tremble a little. She wanted to stand up and go back to the inner room, but she felt it would be
too embarrassing to leave like this.
"Uncle, let me help you count the food coupons again." Si Jiang brought over stacks of food
coupons. He couldn't open the rubber band for a long time, and suddenly a small dot became
wet on the food coupons.
After a while, Jingsheng slid down from the ladder, poured a glass of water, and rummaged
through the drawers of the chest of drawers. He walked around the dining table several times.
Seeing that Sijiang kept counting the food coupons with his head down, he didn't lose his temper
or glare at him as usual. Instead, he felt a little uncomfortable. Seeing that Gu Dongwen was
blinking at him with a gloating look on his face, his eyelids jumped and he jumped back to the
attic in a few steps. He took a book and lay down, flipped through a few pages, and felt that he
was right to keep his promise to others. It was just that he seemed a little rude just now, but who
made her deliberately throw her wet hair in his face? Usually everyone pampered her, let her,
and praised her, and spoiled her. She couldn't stand a harsh word, but he didn't let her, praised
her, and pampered her. Jingsheng snorted and put down the book, but he couldn't fall asleep.
The next day at breakfast, Si Jiang said to Grandma Gu as if nothing had happened: "Grandma, I
almost forgot. I won't go to my uncle's store at noon. I'll come back for lunch. Several classmates
in my class have agreed to come to do their homework."
Jingsheng looked up and glanced at her.
Granny Gu was busy peeling eggs: "Oh, then Jingsheng doesn't have to wait for you at the TV
station?"
"Well. No need." Si Jiang finished the porridge in a few mouthfuls: "Grandma, I'm leaving first."
She put on her training bag and hurried out the door.
"Hey! You haven't eaten the eggs yet! Nannan——" Granny Gu chased after him for two steps.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong. She turned around and
looked at Jingsheng: "You two are not doing well again? Did you have a fight?"
"No." Jingsheng continued to drink his porridge slowly. Childish, who would quarrel with her?
——
During the National Day, Beiwu and Shanrang took Grandma Gu and Sijiang to Nanjing in Zhou
Shanli's car to meet Zhou's relatives and friends and have some fun. Jingsheng stayed at home to
help Gu Dongwen.
Because CCTV, provincial TV stations, newspapers and magazines have reported on it, Dongsheng
Canteen is comparable to a major tourist attraction. Many tourists have taken time to experience
the taste of Shanghai home-cooked dishes. Many people from provincial and municipal
organizations have come to observe and learn. The two fathers and sons are busy from morning
to night. The city, districts and streets also attach great importance to this publicity opportunity.
The vegetable market staff who deliver vegetables to the relatives of martyrs and widows on
holidays provide door-to-door service, pork is offered at unit group prices, and aquatic products
are guaranteed in quality and quantity, fully ensuring that this red flag of "individual economy"
can represent Shanghai and shine.
When Beiwu and the others came back from Nanjing, some went to school, some opened shops,
and some took care of their children. Winter came in the blink of an eye. Sijiang and Jingsheng
had been at odds for two months, and it was so obvious that even Zhao Youning noticed it. He
tried to persuade them from both sides, but they both said it was okay, but they still didn't talk to
each other and hardly even looked at each other. Zhao Youning persuaded them twice more and
found that Sijiang had become distant from him. There were two other girls from the school who
participated in the choir walking with her. The girls walked in front, laughing and talking, while he
and Jingsheng left them hanging behind. However, Ada, Er, and San got along well with both
sides. Every time they bought some snacks and gave them to them, they would be thanked a lot.
For the first time, Jingsheng realized that a girl's mind could be so small. It was unbelievable that
she could be so angry and angry for so long for something that had nothing to do with her. He
used to think that his mother was a little unreasonable when she was angry with Gu Dongwen,
but now he realized that his mother was really reasonable. She was angry for hours, and would
ignore Gu Dongwen for a day or two at most, but she would still remember to cook for him. How
could she be like Chen Sijiang who could hold back and not talk to anyone for weeks or months?
Did he have a grudge against her? But Jingsheng also knew that Sijiang was so angry that she
might continue to be awkward with him. He met her on the stairs of the school several times and
wanted to say a few words to her, but she looked at him as if she saw a ghost, and either
hurriedly turned her face away and passed by, or turned around and walked away. It was really
ridiculous and infuriating. Did the whole world have to go along with her? Why? Jingsheng
gradually became angry and ignored Sijiang.
Grandma Gu was worried privately: "Alas, what happened to these two little enemies again?"
Gu Dongwen laughed: "Grown up."
"Go talk to Jingsheng. He's the older brother and he's a boy. He should be more considerate of his
younger sister. It's not nice for them to stay in the same room without saying a word."
Gu Dongwen smiled and said, "Let them go. It's so much fun."
He saw it all. The two kids pretended to not care about each other, but they actually paid
attention to what the other was doing every day, and their ears were perked up. It was so funny
that they had to discuss the plot of "Garrison's Gorillas" with him and the old man. It was so
funny. Only when they were young and carefree would they be so bothered by such trivial
matters. Gu Dongwen couldn't bear to watch the show, let alone Jingsheng's good show. But this
guy had no playmates since he was a child, and he had never been with girls of similar age. He
was obviously a bit stupid, and it was unknown when he would be able to open up. He didn't
even know how to appease his sister for such a small matter. He would have a hard time finding a
girlfriend in the future.
Granny Gu was worried about Sijiang. How could a girl who was usually the most talkative get
stuck in a rut and vomit for so long? She was a bit like Lin Daiyu played by Wang Wenjuan. Not
good, really not good. As for the female Xiaoning, it would be best if she was as shameless and
heartless as Sinan, who would not hurt her heart, mind or body. Granny Gu thought that it was
not only Jingsheng who could control Sinan, but also only someone like Sinan could handle
Jingsheng. When she was as old as Sijiang, her family had already started to look for a marriage
for her. The old lady would teach her from time to time about the ways of getting along between
men and women and the ways of managing a household, and her sisters would also tell her when
they came back. Unfortunately, Nanhong Ximei's generation disliked her as the feudal dregs of
the old society as soon as they heard her speak. What dregs? When a woman is born, she has to
get along with her parents, elders, brothers and sisters, husband, parents-in-law, sisters-in-law,
and aunts. She wants to be comfortable in everything. Who can live alone until old age? She
wanted to say something to Si Jiang, but her son stopped her. Okay, okay, children and
grandchildren have their own blessings and difficulties. As an illiterate old lady, she won't say any
more.

Chapter 87
Children are very strange creatures. When they don't hold grudges, they forget them after crying,
but when they do, they can remember them for a lifetime. Jingsheng, this "someone", did not
appear in Sijiang's diary again. For Sijiang, the details of the incident and the feeling of shame had
gradually blurred. Only "ignoring him" overlapped and accumulated day after day, and became a
habit.
Every day when going to school, Jingsheng followed Sijiang from a distance, watching more and
more female classmates around her, and the group of them entering the school gate chatting and
laughing. After school, he watched the group of them gradually dwindle. Finally, when Sijiang
turned into Lane 63 alone, he often looked back. At this time, Jingsheng would stop in front of
the comic book stand to flip through the books. He felt that no matter how unreasonable Sijiang
was, he still had to keep his promise with Gu Dongwen. As long as he could see her with his eyes,
it would be considered "walking together".
November 7th was the beginning of winter, which happened to be Jingsheng's twelfth birthday.
Gu Dongwen said that he had not celebrated his birthday since returning to Shanghai, so he
wanted to celebrate it well this year. He specially notified Bei Wushan and asked Nanhong to
come back for dinner. Grandma Gu reminded Si Jiang early to prepare a birthday gift for his
cousin.
Si Jiang was very unhappy, but she had to go to Xinhua Bookstore with the copy of the book given
by her grandmother. After wandering around for a long time, she bought a lot of books for herself
according to the list of books Shan gave her.
Before the beginning of this semester, Shanrang gave Sijiang a set of "Gone with the Wind"
published by Zhejiang People's Publishing House. After Sijiang read it hastily, she completely bid
farewell to "Children's Literature" and "Youth Literature" and became obsessed with novels.
However, there was no one around her to discuss the contents that she could not understand yet.
She could only write many complex and contradictory reading notes in her diary. Sometimes she
admired Scarlett's courage and strength, and sometimes she blamed her for continuing to like
Ashley, after all, he was already Melanie's husband; sometimes she felt that Rhett Butler was an
American gangster who was not worthy of Scarlett, and sometimes she felt that Rhett Butler was
really a good father and husband. Many words and paragraphs about kissing and lust in the book
made her blush and her heart beat quickly, because Scarlett's name sounded a bit similar to her
own. Sijiang unconsciously substituted into the novel, feeling a sense of satisfaction and
excitement, and a little ashamed for no reason.
"We are truly made for each other, for you are like me, cold-blooded, greedy, and reckless. Of all
the people who know you, I am the only one who still loves you after seeing your true self. I fell in
love with you because I wanted to try my luck."
Si Jiang copied a lot of sentences from the book. She couldn't imagine or understand what Rhett
Butler said. Of course, everyone likes Scarlett O'Hara. She is so beautiful and brave. Nothing can
defeat her, but she does have so many shortcomings. What is love? Why does it depend on luck?
Si Jiang tried to dig out similar people or similar emotions from her own life, but found nothing.
She felt that Jingsheng was cold and reckless, but once she associated him with the novel, Si Jiang
couldn't stand it. Is he worthy? Bah! He just looks good and looks a bit like him.
Books are good in every way except that they are too expensive. A nearly 600-page copy of Jane
Eyre costs two yuan, four volumes of The Count of Monte Cristo cost four yuan, and four volumes
of A Dream of Red Mansions cost three yuan and seventy yuan. A large unity ticket can be eaten
for a month with wontons, steamed buns, and fried dumplings, but it will be gone after a few
rounds in the bookstore. But my aunt-in-law said that some books can be borrowed and read,
while some books must be bought and read anytime and anywhere, and each time you read
them, you will gain something different. Finally, Si Jiang gritted her teeth and chose a fifty-seven-
cent Star Trek for Jingsheng. She guessed that boys would like this type of book.
While Jingsheng was out for a walk every night, Sijiang carefully selected a set of Huangshan
scenery calendars and began to wrap books. She had not planned to wrap the last book left, "Star
Trek", but wrote "Happy Birthday" on the title page. She thought that since it was a gift, she
might as well wrap it for him. Before she finished wrapping, Zhao Youning came to her house in a
hurry and said that Sinan called his home from Aksu because the public telephone on Wanchun
Street was closed. Granny Gu was afraid that Jingsheng would not be able to get in when he
returned home, so she had to let Sijiang go to Youning's house to answer the phone.
"Hello, uncle, hello, aunt." Si Jiang calmed his breath and greeted politely: "Sorry to bother you.
I'm really sorry."
"Si Jiang, right? Hello. I'm fine." Zhao Yan smiled and put a cup of warm water next to the phone:
"Take your time. There's no rush."
Zhao Youning's mother Wu Xi smiled and nodded, and the feather duster in her hand gently slid
across the piano. Si Jiang's sweat suddenly turned cold, and she felt like she had just put down
the big needle for sewing the quilt cover.
Si Nan chattered on the phone for two minutes before Si Jiang realized that the educated youth
from Shanghai in Aksu had caused trouble again. Mum was called out by Aunt Meng and Aunt
Cao in the afternoon and has not returned yet. Shen Qingping and his friends all ran to the
dormitory. The four children had not yet had dinner and the school was in chaos. Principal Chen
and Director Liang could not stop the teachers who wanted to go to the county town, and there
was a lot of noise.
Si Jiang was sweating anxiously and asked her if she had called her father and uncle. Si Nan said
that no one answered the phone in her father's office and she didn't remember her uncle's
phone number. Si Jiang asked her to take Shen Qingping and the others to stay at Director Liang's
house. She first asked Mrs. Liang for some food to fill her stomach. Mom would definitely be back
soon. She repeatedly told her not to run out of school or take a ride to the county to watch the
fun. Si Nan promised that she would wait obediently at school, and finally asked if her cousin was
there. She wanted to say happy birthday to him.
"I drew a picture yesterday and sent it to him. It's really good." Sinan sighed, "It's a pity that I
don't know when he can receive it. Sister, remember to ask my cousin to write back to me. Tell
him that if he still likes me as much as he did last month, he has to write me three letters in
return. I have written four letters. I'll hang up now."
After hanging up the phone, Si Jiang realized that there were a few more snacks next to the
phone. Zhao Youning asked with concern, "Is Nannan okay?"
"It's okay, it should be okay." Si Jiang didn't know what was going on, and tried to smile: "Excuse
me, can I call my uncle again?"
"Sure, go ahead." Zhao Youning enthusiastically picked up the phone and handed it to her, but Si
Jiang didn't answer.
Zhao Yan raised his head and saw this very pretty little girl hesitating and waiting for the adults to
speak, so he put down the book in his hand and said softly: "Call, my home phone can directly
dial long-distance calls, do you know how to dial the phone number in Beijing?"
Si Jiang then took the phone and said, "Thank you. No need to make a long-distance call. My
uncle and aunt are studying at Fudan University this semester and will not return to Beijing until
after the Chinese New Year."
Zhao Yan smiled, what a coincidence.
Unable to find his uncle, Si Jiang hung up the phone disappointedly, thanked him and said
goodbye.
"I happen to work at Fudan. How about you tell me your uncle's name and phone number, and I'll
go to the school tomorrow to tell him for you?" Zhao Yan could see what his son was planning
when he was hanging around him.
Si Jiang's eyes lit up: "Thank you, Uncle Zhao!"
Zhao Youning sent Si Jiang into the alley of Wanchun Street before walking back. Before he even
entered the house, he heard his parents arguing again.
Mom's voice was a little sharp: "He doesn't pay attention to the piano, but is concerned about
the female classmate's home affairs. Even Xinjiang people know the phone number. You have to
talk to him! You have time to help, why don't you have time to supervise him playing the piano?
(He doesn't pay attention to the piano, but is concerned about the female classmate's home
affairs. Even Xinjiang people know the phone number. You have to talk to him! You have time to
help, why don't you have time to supervise him playing the piano?)"
Dad's voice was still cold: "Out of ten thousand children learning piano, only one can win a prize.
You have played for decades. How many people recognize you? Scientists and engineers are
different. They are truly contributing to the country. You don't understand. Your education
method is too bad. If you continue like this, you will have no more life. (Out of ten thousand
children learning piano, only one can win a prize. You have played for decades. How many people
recognize you? ... You don't understand even if I tell you. Your education method is too bad. If
you continue like this, you will have no more life.)
Mum sneered and said, "If you don't want to, then don't. I'll go get a divorce certificate tomorrow
and my son will be mine."
"My son, don't follow me. You will kill me."
…
Zhao Youning stood quietly at the stairs for a while, then walked downstairs lightly, with the cool
breeze blowing across his face. He envied Si Jiang a little bit, because her grandmother and uncle
were so kind to her, and her parents were not around. He also longed for that kind of freedom,
but other classmates envied him very much. The quarrel upstairs gradually stopped, and Zhao
Youning deliberately slammed the door, stepped on the stairs and made a loud noise. When he
entered the house, he sat on the piano bench, opened the music score, and took a few deep
breaths: "It's not nine o'clock yet, I'll practice the piano for a while."
Wu Xi was startled, glanced at her husband, and gently stood behind her son.
The black and white keyboard jumped quickly, a series of notes flowed happily, and Scarlatti's
"Sonata in D Major" sounded in the Kangjiaqiao alley, adding a bright glow to this slightly cool
autumn night.
"Watch out for the quick cross below—"
"Support your finger joints better and make the melody part brighter."
"Strengthen the power of the four fingers, strengthen it, and strengthen it a little more."
Wu Xi's advice was much gentler than usual.
——
After returning home, Si Jiang hurriedly told Jingsheng about Aksu and Si Nan's request for
Jingsheng to reply. Granny Gu sighed, turned her head and shouted to the attic: "Jingsheng, Si
Jiang said that Si Nan asked you to remember to write three letters back to her." A "Yes" came
from upstairs.
Only then did Si Jiang notice the calendar spread out on the table.
"Hey? Where's the book? Grandma, do you see the book on top? That's the gift."
"Oh, Jingsheng took it up. He said it doesn't need a book cover, it's troublesome. He also said
thank you, he wanted to buy it originally, but it was too expensive, so he never wanted to."
Si Jiang's mouth twitched. Why is it so expensive? It's only fifty-seven cents.
Granny Gu sighed again, "Books have been more expensive than meat since ancient times. Those
books are not very thick, but they can buy four pounds of pork. I see that you are quite generous
to Jingsheng, so why are you still making a fuss? Brother and sister are family, so hurry up and
make peace, understand?"
"???" Si Jiang took away the top calendar picture and found that the set of "The Count of Monte
Cristo" she had wrapped was also missing, leaving only four ugly torn book covers.
Jingsheng poked his head down from the attic: "Thank you."
Thanks for the head!!!
Si Jiang held the brand new torn book cover in his hand and stared at someone with wide eyes,
almost unable to catch his breath.
Jingsheng was really touched by the four dollars and took the initiative to make peace: "Uncle
said that The Count of Monte Cristo is very good. I will lend it to you after I finish reading it." But
you must remember to return it.
Mine! The Count of Monte Cristo is mine! Si Jiang screamed in his heart.
That night, someone with a face thicker than a city wall appeared in Si Jiang's diary again.

Chapter 88
At 4:30 in the morning, Jingsheng woke up with a start. The book under his arm fell to the
wooden floor with a dull thud.
The bed in the attic was low, so he reached out and picked up the book. He listened carefully, but
it was pitch black downstairs and there was no sound. Gu Dongwen should have gone to the
Changshou Road vegetable market.
It was hard to fall asleep again after waking up at this time. He couldn't remember what he had
dreamed about, probably about his mother. Last night, Gu Dongwen talked about a lot of messy
past events and blamed him for only reading and ignoring him.
Jingsheng frowned and turned over. He still couldn't talk about her comfortably. It was okay if he
didn't think about her at other times, but when he thought about her or saw her photos, he felt
indescribable pain and couldn't shed tears. It wasn't the dull pain like before, but he just felt
stuffy and couldn't breathe. He couldn't think too much about it.
He actually didn't want to celebrate his birthday. She almost died giving birth to him. He
shouldn't have been born. He was a "bastard" in the eyes of others, bleeding the blood of a
traitor. He was a living sin and evil. He started to avoid her after he could remember things. He
would rather she beat and scold him, because that was what he deserved, and he would feel
better. But she was always so good to him. She always talked to him gently, taught him to cook,
felt sorry for him to go to tap rubber, worried about him going to the Lancang River to play in the
water, was ten times more nagging than Gu Dongwen, and even sang to coax him to sleep. But he
never treated her well. When he wanted to treat her well, he no longer had the chance. He didn't
need to remember her by celebrating her birthday, he always remembered her.
Wu Xiaoli said that her father seemed to know about her mother's past, but he didn't want to
know. He sternly warned her not to ask, guess or talk nonsense. She was scared and swore
several times that she would not. Her father drove her and her mother away and found another
woman to marry. He was a bastard. He didn't want to hear his mother's name from such a beast.
He just hoped that the phone numbers of the leaders of the Dongfeng Farm that Gu Dongwen
wrote to her would be useful, at least to prove that her mother had obtained a marriage
certificate with her father in Banna.
Fortunately, Si Jiang was no longer angry about this matter. Jingsheng, who was moved by "The
Count of Monte Cristo", thought about it and got up before dawn and worked in the kitchen for
more than an hour.
Gu Dongwen came back from the store after preparing the dishes and buying tofu paste and
steamed buns. He saw a table of breakfast: freshly fried noodles with eight-treasure chili sauce
topped with a soft-boiled egg, golden fried glutinous rice cakes steaming, and three side dishes:
stir-fried shredded green pepper, stir-fried cabbage with lard, and smashed cucumber. He
couldn't help but look at the calendar carefully: "Hey, is it your birthday or my birthday today?"
"Do you want to eat it? There are also rice porridge and pickles." Jingsheng glanced at the cloth
curtain beside the big wardrobe, and heard the rustling sounds of Grandma Gu and Si Jiang
murmuring from inside.
Si Jiang, who had been annoyed by "The Count of Monte Cristo" all night, deliberately lingered in
bed. He wanted to wait for Jingsheng to leave before going out for breakfast, but his nose was
not able to control itself. The fragrance rushed straight in and went all the way down, making all
his internal organs become active. Then his hands and feet also failed to control itself and he got
out of bed unconsciously. Even his brain naturally began to distinguish the types of food.
"Nannan, hurry up." Granny Gu urged outside: "The dough is getting too mushy. Oh, I'm so
embarrassed. Jingsheng, you're the birthday boy today. Why did you get up to make breakfast for
us, and you made so much."
Jingsheng ate the noodles slowly and hummed vaguely.
Gu Dongwen poked him with a smile: "Are you reconciled?"
Jingsheng pretended not to hear.
Si Jiangbei came out with three lines on his face, glanced at the table, hesitated for two seconds,
sat down and picked up the chopsticks: "Grandma, can I brush my teeth and wash my face after I
finish eating?"
"That's right. You should eat well before brushing your teeth, otherwise it will be in vain." Gu
Dongwen smiled and pushed the tofu paste he bought over: "Nannan, uncle bought salty paste
specially, oh, and pan-fried buns, come on, you like it the most."
Si Jiang's chopsticks stopped on the eight-treasure spicy sauce and she was reluctant to move
them away. However, she didn't want to let her uncle down. Why did she only have a head and a
mouth? She envied Nezha, alas.
Jingsheng finished his noodle soup in silence: "I'm done, you guys take your time, I'm going to
school first."
Granny Gu knocked Gu Dongwen's hand with her chopsticks: "How old are you? Are you
annoying? Take it over, your mother wants to eat tofu milk."
Gu Dongwen suppressed his laughter and moved the bowl of tofu paste, making a face at Si
Jiang: "Okay, okay, we should respect the elderly, and I am the most important. Nannan should
just make do with it and eat the breakfast cooked by Nong Age."
Si Jiang looked at Jingsheng's back and reluctantly praised him casually: "The spicy sauce noodles
and rice are very good."
The door curtain fell, and the stairs stepped on the stairs in a brisk rhythm.
——
After school in the afternoon, Si Jiang went to the public telephone booth in front of the
neighborhood committee to ask if there was a phone for his home.
Xiao Weimin, who was on duty, was extremely enthusiastic: "There was a call from Aksu at noon,
and your grandmother answered it." In order to find Grandma Gu to answer the call, he ran from
Lane 63 to Lane 74 in one breath. He was really responsible. It was no wonder that the other two
phones kept ringing and no one answered them, because it was because something happened at
Brother Dongdong's family.
Si Jiang thanked him, but when he turned around he saw Jingsheng. The two of them stared at
each other for a few seconds, and it was Jingsheng who spoke first.
"Is everything alright over there, aunt?"
"Yeah." Si Jiang walked towards home: "I don't know, grandma received a call at noon."
Jingsheng fell behind by two steps, was silent for a moment and said, "It will definitely be fine."
"Um."
Fortunately, they soon arrived at the door of their home. Si Jiang ran up the stairs, feeling
extremely annoyed. Why did he talk to this guy? Obviously, the new and old grudges have not yet
been resolved. Humph, forget it. Today is his birthday, so let's not count it for now. I will start
ignoring him again tomorrow.
The house was already bustling with activity. Beiwu and Shanrang were talking to Grandma Gu
Dongwen. When they saw the two children coming back, they smiled and said happy birthday to
Jingsheng. Beiwu gave Jingsheng a Hero 100 gold-tipped fountain pen. Gu Dongwen took it and
looked at it for a long time: "Real gold? You really are willing to spend money like this, Jingsheng,
take a bite of this pen tip."
Shan Rang laughed so hard: "Brother, do you have such a strong attachment to gold? Have you
ever bitten the five-star gold on the Sino-Soviet Friendship Building?"
Gu Dongwen was startled, and kicked Beiwu under the table: "Gu Beiwu, you sold out your
brother."
Bei Wu smiled and put the tip of the pen into his mouth: "Brother, you are so accurate. Let's see
how much karat gold it is. Jingsheng is still young and can't tell the quality."
The two brothers wrestled with the golden pens, dubbing the words back and forth. Si Jiang
laughed so hard in Shanrang's arms that his stomach hurt.
Gu Dongwen finally grabbed the golden pen and stuffed it into Jingsheng's pocket: "Tsk tsk tsk,
your uncle really made a fortune. He made a lot of money. If I had known, I should have
celebrated it last year. I should do it every year in the future. Remember, you must remind me."
Jingsheng held the pen, and his thick long eyelashes trembled a few times: "Uncle, this is too
expensive--" He was embarrassed to accept it.
Gu Dongwen slapped him on the back and said, "Silly Xiaoning, why is it so expensive? This is
made of 14K gold. One gram of gold can melt three pen tips. A pen weighs at most 0.33 grams.
It's worth at most thirty yuan. This gift from your father is a good thing. Take it."
Everyone came closer to see that what Gu Dongwen gave Jingsheng was a brand new imported
Ingen watch. Jingsheng looked at it carefully, put it on, and didn't say thank you. Gu Dongwen
winked at Beiwu proudly, and Beiwu bowed his hands in defeat.
Shan Rang gave him two pairs of swimming trunks and a pair of swimming goggles. "Luckily Si
Jiang told me you were learning to swim, otherwise I really wouldn't be able to think of a good
gift. Jingsheng, what do you like? You're welcome. Next year, your uncle and I should prepare
early. We can't let your father lag behind us."
Jingsheng's face flushed: "No need, actually I don't need anything, thank you."
Si Jiang couldn't help but say, "He also likes to read novels."
Shan Rang smiled and took out a dozen books from his bag: "This set of foreign literature books is
quite good, you two can read it together. By the way, the love between Rhett Butler and Scarlett
O'Hara mentioned in your last letter, Si Jiang -"
Si Jiang quickly gathered the pile of books into his arms: "Aunt! Only you and I can talk about this
quietly!"
Shan Rang laughed and flicked her nose: "Then let your uncle pick you up on Sunday to have
dinner at Fudan University. The boys will go play basketball and we can chat, okay?"
Jingsheng looked at the pile of books: The Plague, American Short Stories, and Don Quixote.
Before he reached out his hand, he saw Si Jiang looking at him warily, with a clear expression on
his face: "Mine, all mine."
"I'll read it after you finish." Jingsheng's mouth twitched and he finally managed to hold back his
laughter.
Gu Dongwen was the chef for dinner, and Granny Gu was helping him. She would not let
Jingsheng start cooking no matter what. Jingsheng and Beiwu started talking about The Count of
Monte Cristo. Si Jiang took Shanrang into the inner room, took out his diary, and turned to a book
review he had written some time ago: "Aunt, you can only read these two pages and the next
one! The rest is my diary, and no one else can see it, okay?"
"Okay, okay, okay." Shan Rang took the diary with a smile and took two deep breaths: "Ah, it's
more nervous than reading the test paper. Thank you, baby Si Jiang, for sharing your diary with
me!"
"This is not a diary, this is a book review!" Si Jiang corrected with eyes wide open: "It's just a book
review written in a diary."
Shan Rang teased her deliberately: "Lei Feng's diary can be read by people all over the country. Si
Jiang and I are so close, baby Si Jiang will definitely be willing to show her diary to auntie in the
future, right?"
"No, Lei Feng only remembers good things——"
"It seems that Si Jiang has done a lot of bad things, such as having a quarrel with Jing Sheng?"
"No!" Si Jiang was as stubborn as a sticky candy. He pulled Shanrang's clothes and frowned:
"Aunt, do you want to see it? If not, give it back to me."
"Look now!"
Si Jiang blushed as he watched his writings welcome their first reader. His heart was beating very
fast, but he could hear the story of The Count of Monte Cristo outside. Humph, Gu Jingsheng did
a lot of bad things, making friends with a female gangster, mocking other people's friendly care,
not talking to her, and stealing her four-dollar book. This man is so annoying, but he actually
received so many good birthday gifts. Si Jiang felt that he was at a loss. He should celebrate his
birthday next year and see what gift he gave her. Well, there was also Si Nan, who also had a
birthday.
"What is love?" Shan Rang reluctantly put down the diary and gently repeated the last sentence
in Si Jiang's review. The eleven-year-old girl has already begun to think about such a profound
question. Thinking that she didn't know anything at the age of eleven or twelve, Shan Rang was
full of emotion. She didn't want to use a sentence "You will understand when you grow up" to
perfunctorily answer Si Jiang. Since she gave "Gone with the Wind" to Si Jiang, Shan Rang felt
that as the initiator, she had the obligation to do her best to solve the little girl's doubts, but she
didn't dare to teach her.
"Uncle has written you such a letter before?" Si Jiang was very surprised. He covered his mouth
and asked in a low voice, "Then uncle revealed his true face - is his true face bad? I think
everything about my uncle is good!"
"Well, I also think he is good in every way." Shanrang smiled and lowered his voice: "But other
people's views on us are different from what we think of ourselves. For example, I think your
uncle is very wise in handling interpersonal relationships, but some people say he is worldly and
smooth. For example, many of the things he did at that time, I think are nothing, but maybe
others can't accept them, otherwise why would some people say your uncle is a gangster?"
"My uncle is not a gangster!" Si Jiang was very angry: "He just doesn't want to go to work in the
factory. Besides, everyone listens to those radio stations. My mother and the educated youth in
the corps all listen to them."
"This is a difference in measurement standards. In the eyes of some people, this is an
unforgivable mistake. For example, if Scarlett killed someone, Melanie would keep this secret
forever because she loves Scarlett, but if it were a stranger, she might report her."
"Well, I understand this. But they are all women, can it still be called love?"
"Of course, parents' love for their children is love, your love for Sinan is also love, friendship
between friends is also a kind of love, and love between men and women is also love." Shanrang
thought for a while: "No matter what your uncle did, no matter how others see him, I will support
him and want to be with him. I am very happy to see him. When he is happy, I am happier than
him. When he is sad, I will be sadder than him. I think this is also a kind of love. Anyway, loving a
person will definitely not only love his good points. Even if he is a bad person, there will be
people who love him."
Si Jiang seemed to understand something, and after a while he sighed: "This is too difficult."
——
Gu Nanhong arrived late and had already eaten more than half of the birthday dinner. She
hurriedly took off her coat and left her bag, went to the table and ate a lot, and even drank two
small glasses of white wine, then she took a breath and took out a piece of clothing from a big
bag and gave it to Jingsheng: "Try it on."
Jingsheng was only wearing a white shirt in the room, so he stood up and put on his coat,
buttoning it up. He looked around and saw that everyone was staring at him without saying a
word. He felt unusually awkward, and the tip of his ear turned a little red. He coughed softly, "Are
you ready? Then I'll take it off first."
Si Jiang was almost a little jealous. Gu Jingsheng's strengths were just good looks, okay, and tall,
okay, and good grades, okay, and he could cook, and he could swim fast, that was it. The rest
were all disadvantages.
Granny Gu took a closer look and said, "It's not very good. It's like a sack, loose and shapeless.
Only our Jingsheng looks good. If someone else wears it, they'll look like a beggar. You don't buy a
better piece of clothing, really!"
Nanhong yelled, "Mom, what do you know? This is a famous Japanese brand. None of the men in
our performance team can dress as well as our Jingsheng. Not even half as well. Look at what a
good-looking and fashionable boy Xiaowei is!"
Gu Dongwen snorted: "Don't you see how good-looking I am, your elder brother? Really, a good
father will have a good son, don't you understand?"
Shan Rang drank a few more glasses and leaned on Bei Wu and smiled: "Yeah, Bei Wu will
definitely look good in something like this. Where did you buy this, big sister? I want to buy one
for my Bei Wu."
Nan Hong sighed: "You have good taste, but it's a pity that there is only this one. I got it with
great difficulty. No one in our clothing company knows how special it is."
Jingsheng took off his coat and put it away carefully: "Thank you, ma'am, I'll wear it tomorrow."
Nan Hong hesitated and waved her hand: "Yes, wear it, wear it casually, wear it every day. No
matter how good the clothes are, they must be worn by others. Don't worry, Jingsheng, I promise
that you can still wear it even if you grow ten centimeters taller. Even if you wear it ten years
later, it will not be out of date. This dress is so magical!"
Many years later, Si Jiang discovered that Gu Jingsheng's black coat, which looked like a sack, was
a Homme by Rei Kawakubo. Si Nan had found it and put it on. It was still very fashionable in 1997.
Si Jiang relived the jealousy caused by this coat and made another note in his notebook.

Chapter 89
After cleaning up the table, Grandma Gu heard her children talking about serious matters, so she
sent Si Jiang and Jing Sheng to bed, but the two children stayed at the table. Si Jiang said she
wanted to read for a while, and Jing Sheng said he wanted to read for a while too. Si Jiang glared
at Jing Sheng fiercely, and Jing Sheng was in a good mood, gently raised the "Count of Monte
Cristo" in his hand: "I'm about to finish the first one, it's your turn tomorrow." Si Jiang's eyes
widened, and his cheeks bulged, like a pufferfish. Jing Sheng couldn't hold back his laughter, and
quickly put the book up to cover his face.
Bei Wu poked Si Jiang's face, went upstairs and moved the table lamp to the dining table, so that
the two of them could sit together and watch. Gu Dongwen placed two apples next to them:
"Come on, sit in a row and share the fruit, one for you and one for me." Si Jiang and Jing Sheng
looked up at him, looking very fierce. Gu Dongwen's dimples deepened, and he placed another
apple in front of Shan Rang: "Leave one for this drunk girl."
Shan Rang, who was slightly tipsy, still held a half-cup of beer in his hand, and touched the apple
with his free hand: "Brother, I'm not drunk, really, I'm very happy that things are finally settled. By
the way, Si Jiang also showed me her diary today, you envy this treatment, right?"
Beiwu put the back of his hand against her face, which was burning hot. He smiled and took the
cup from her hand, drank it all in one gulp, and stuffed her a cup of warm tea: "I am envious and
jealous."
"Uncle, what my aunt read was my book review, not my diary!" Si Jiang explained again
helplessly.
Bei Wu smiled and nodded: "I understand. Si Jiang will only write it down in his diary for me to
see if he has done something good."
"What other pretty sisters or beautiful aunts like him? Si Jiang, don't forget to write it down and
show it to me secretly." Shan Rang blinked at Si Jiang and made a face.
Granny Gu pinched her son hard and asked in a low voice, "Did you offend anyone by coming
back this time?"
"No!" Bei Wu turned around and held Shan Rang's head and rubbed it hard: "What are you
talking about? Are you still not drunk? Not drunk?"
"Uncle only likes you, aunt. Really, really, it couldn't be more true!" Si Jiang remembered the leak
that Si Nan had made before and announced loudly.
Shan Rang shook his head, then raised it from Bei Wu's hand. His usually bright eyes were now
misty. "Liking you is not enough. Really, really. I need to like you more than just liking you. I need
to love you."
Bei Wu smiled and lowered his head to kiss her forehead: "Love, love, I am Gu Bei Wu, I only love
Zhou Shanrang, and I estimate that loving him for another ten or twenty years would not be
enough."
Shanrang's already flushed cheeks turned even redder. She smiled and hugged Beiwu's neck
tightly, "Well, it's not enough, I need a lifetime!"
Jingsheng and Sijiang stared at each other blankly, their faces suddenly turned red, and then both
of them buried their heads in the book. Sijiang was confused, she really shouldn't be here, she
should go into the room, but she couldn't help but secretly glance at her uncle and aunt, and
suddenly her chest was swollen and sore, and she wanted to cry. She lowered her head and tried
to read the book, but the words were blurred into pieces, like clouds.
Nan Hong finished the last bit of the liquor: "Tsk, tsk, tsk, so disgusting. Gu Beiwu, how can you
say such a thing? Did going to college make you speak like this? It's horrible."
Granny Gu poked her with her elbow and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Aren't
husband and wife supposed to love each other? Husband and wife are one, one, don't you
understand? Don't always be busy with fashion and performances, and don't care about your
family? You will regret it in the future."
Nan Hong sneered: "Zhao Yanhong went to Shantou to work on a ship. Who doesn't want a
family? Besides, I will never know how to write the word regret in my life."
Gu Dongwen was a little bit surprised and a little bit surprised: "When did you go?"
"He came to tell me the day before yesterday." Nanhong held up her chin, "He said a boss in
Shantou wanted him to work on a ship, offering him 3,000 a month, with bonuses not included.
Humph, he's either a traitor or a thief, who knows what he's up to. Anyway, I told him clearly that
if anything goes wrong, just don't let me and my sons get involved, and he wrote a letter of
guarantee."
Bei Wu hugged Shan Rang into his arms and frowned: "As long as it's not smuggling."
"I don't know." Nan Hong said angrily, "His murder has nothing to do with me, but it's like I forced
him to go. What a psychopath, thirteen o'clock."
"To make money, I think he is afraid that he can't support you." Gu Dongwen sighed.
Nan Hong frowned and sneered, "Look, even my brother thinks that he gave me so much money
and I am well-fed, can you help me? The little money he has left after his parents took it away is
not even enough for me to buy two pairs of shoes."
Granny Gu became nervous: "Who gave you the money you spent over the years?" She was most
worried that Nanhong would do something extravagant.
Nanhong glanced at her mother and said, "As the saying goes, 'Everyone has his own way. If you
live by the mountain, you can eat the mountain. If you live by the water, you can eat the water. As
for me, I live by the cotton mill, so I have some tricks. Is Gu Beiwu the only one in my family who
can make money? Don't worry, if a man outside gives me money, I will definitely not accept it. (As
for me, I live by the cotton mill, so I have some tricks. Is Gu Beiwu the only one in my family who
can make money? Don't worry, if a man outside gives me money, I will definitely not accept it.)"
Gu Dongwen blinked: "You don't take the money, but will you take the things?"
Nanhong brushed her hair uncomfortably and said, "It's common for friends to give each other
gifts. It's not that easy to calculate."
Gu Dongwen smiled without comment.
Nanhong's eyes wavered, "I know that you can't accept rewards without merit, right? I also help
people when they have something to do. Newspapers need to promote it, TV stations need to
report it, products need to be photographed and models and photographers need to be found.
What can't be solved by spending some money? Don't be too simple, people are eager for it. I
don't have any other skills, but I have many friends and connections——"
Gu Beiwu smiled and added: "Anyway, when a wild goose passes by, you have to pluck its
feathers."
"That's right." Nanhong poured herself a cup of tea and spoke with confidence.
On the other side, Shanrang suddenly started whimpering in Beiwu's arms, which scared
everyone.
"Gu Beiwu!" Shanrang shook his head and suddenly punched Beiwu.
"Yes, I'm here." Bei Wu stroked her back and asked with a low smile, "What's wrong?"
"Why don't you hold on?" Shan Rang raised her head suddenly and bumped into Bei Wu's chin.
Tears were about to fall. She was stunned for a moment and then continued to rage: "Just tell me
that you can't leave me, that you want me to go to America with you, that it doesn't matter if I
don't pass the exam, that it doesn't matter if I don't work, as long as you say you don't want to be
separated from me, I will definitely not stay in school or in Beijing, and will definitely go to
America with you. Why didn't you say it? Why!"
She asked all of these questions in one breath, then she felt pain on her forehead. She reached
out and touched it, then buried herself in Beiwu's arms and sobbed softly, "Why? Why..."
Facing the eyes of his entire family that were questioning his soul, Beiwu smiled helplessly.
Why? Because kindness will make you never say the same words or use the same reasons to keep
me. Love that is more than liking, this is probably it. Don't be wronged, don't sacrifice, don't
make do, only then can it last.
Nanhong stood up and said, "Ce Na, Gu Beiwu is just a fool, and you don't understand women.
You will regret it in the future."
Beiwu smiled slightly: "I don't know how to write the word regret in my life."
Jingsheng and Sijiang looked up at each other at the same time.
I will use this sentence in the future, Si Jiang raised his eyebrows.
Jingsheng also raised his eyebrows. You want to eat alone? You little brat!
——
In mid-November, the costume performance team that Nan Hong was in was officially
established. The twelve girls and seven boys all came from button factories, raincoat factories
and other factories. The long march finally took the first step, but she was even more anxious.
First, she reluctantly took out her collection of foreign magazines. It was obviously to popularize
the concepts of fashion and models, but many people secretly reported to the higher authorities
that it was suspected of spreading pornographic content. The female models showed their
shoulders, breasts and thighs, and some only wore two thin pieces of cloth, which could easily
lead young people astray and cause adverse effects on society. The cadres from the bureau came
to talk to her, and the talk lasted for an entire afternoon, twice a week.
Nanhong turned her face to Manager Zhang and said that she didn't want to work anymore.
Manager Zhang was so anxious that he held several meetings, repeatedly emphasizing the need
for reform, opening up, and emancipating the mind. Any opinions should be raised in person, and
no one should hold back or make mistakes, let alone accuse or report others. This went on until
the end of December. However, several young people from the performance team came to
Nanhong and said they wanted to leave. It turned out that the performance team had no
independent organization, and these kids who graduated from the factory were considered
amateurs. Their salary was still 45 yuan, without overtime pay and bonuses. They could only get a
subsidy of 1.5 yuan for a performance, and their parents said they were not doing their job
properly. They always felt uncomfortable and thought that fashion shows were improper work
and they were a little ashamed. In addition, the eight-hour training every day was boring and
hard, with endless standing and walking, and the training venue was not fixed. Since the three
months of preparation, the training had moved three times. They felt it was boring and wanted to
go back to the button factory and umbrella factory to continue working as workers. There were
also girls who wanted to go back and study on their own while working, and they would take the
entrance exam for Shanghai International Studies University next year.
Nanhong had finally selected these few people, and could only grit her teeth and do ideological
work on them.
"How is it improper? We are carrying the hopes of the entire clothing company." Fortunately,
Nanhong has been exposed to the ways of the cotton mill's party committee secretary, women's
federation director, and labor union chairman: "Do you know how much fabric the company has
in stock now? There are 600,000 pieces of plaid and striped fabric alone."
The young people looked at each other in astonishment.
Nanhong took a sip of chrysanthemum and wolfberry tea with rock sugar, and persuaded people
with emotion and reason: "These fabrics must be designed into styles that ordinary people like,
beautiful and comfortable to wear, so that they can be turned into money and guarantee the
wages and bonuses of more than 30,000 employees of the company. How to sell them? People
will buy them just by talking? You wish for it, dream on."
Her soft and coquettish voice suddenly uttered such a fierce sentence, and the young people
burst into laughter.
"Only when our performers wear them first and confidently and generously show the most
beautiful side of these styles to dealers, will they be impressed and place orders. Think about it,
dealers from all over the country will come to see your internal performance on the fifth day of
the New Year. You are the company's god of wealth. Isn't it a heavy responsibility? Who can be
more legitimate and more important than Allah?"
The young people couldn't help but nodded in agreement.
"Think about it again. You have worked so hard for so many days and finally achieved some
results. If you quit now, all your hard work will be in vain. You will not be the one who makes
great contributions to the company. Are you angry? When you go back, people will gossip about
you. Are you going back because you did not do a good job and failed to meet the standards? Is
there anyone in the factory who does not gossip?"
The young people burst into laughter: "No!"
In this way, the morale of the troops was finally stabilized. Nan Hong threw the plan she made to
Manager Zhang: "Old Zhang, you decide. It's not okay to only pay 1.5 yuan per show. The kids
don't have a shuttle bus, and they have to pay for the bus tickets every day. The company must
reimburse them. Also, if we can't sell the products after the performance, it's fine, but if we help
the company sell the products, we have to give the kids bonuses. You leaders can decide how
much to give, and there must be a reason for this."
Manager Zhang was so annoyed that he had to go to the meeting again. Finally, the new
regulations were finalized at the end of the year.
——
At this time, Aksu had experienced several ups and downs. During this period, more than 1,300
educated youth had gone on hunger strike for 100 hours, a truck overturned on the way to
Urumqi, killing three educated youth from Shanghai. On December 11, the Aksu Prefectural
Committee issued Document No. 232, issuing household registration to all educated youth from
Shanghai.
Gu Ximei and Chen ᭙ꪶ Donglai discussed again and again and decided to go through the
household registration transfer procedures and return to Shanghai with Si Nan first. She only
completed the procedures on the 23rd. The education system completed the personnel relations
transfer for her on the 24th. As for how to implement the work when she returned to Shanghai,
Ximei didn't know, no one knew. She hurriedly packed her luggage and went to the post office to
mail several boxes of clothing. Unexpectedly, on the 26th, Shen Yong, Zhu Guangmao and
Ouyang, the leader of this movement of educated youths returning to the city, were arrested.
Cao Jingzhi and Meng Qin brought their three children over and asked Xi Mei to help take them
back to Shanghai.

Chapter 90
Brother and sister Shen Qingping and Zhu Zhenning were carrying big bags that were taller than
them. They stood in a row eagerly. They must have been taught a lesson by their mother in the
company. They shouted with tears streaming down their faces that they just didn't dare. I caught
up with them and watched as Meng Qin and Cao Jingzhi walked away without looking back.
Ximei held the two envelopes, feeling a great sense of responsibility. She didn't want to shoulder
this responsibility, but she had to. She was forced into a situation where she couldn't say "no". If
she did, it would just make things worse. More than a decade of fighting friendship would go
down the drain. She couldn't live like this anymore.
Sinan was very happy to have a companion along the way. Thinking back to the long journey from
Shanghai to Aksu alone, it was really boring. In order to boost the morale of the returning team,
Sinan hugged Shen Xingxing and said, "Sister Xingxing, don't cry. Let's go back to Shanghai
together, and you can see your grandparents and uncle."
Shen Xingxing burst into tears: "Dad—Dad! My dad is a good man, why did you take her away?
Aunt Gu, why?"
Gu Ximei was speechless and could only bend down to help her take down the big bag. "It's okay,
your father and Ningning's father will be fine, don't worry. Go back to Shanghai with your aunt
first. Xingxing, you and your brother will stay at your grandparents' house first, and Ningning will
go to Grandpa's room?"
Shen Qingping and Zhu Zhenning sobbed and nodded silently.
Shen Xingxing shook her head in Gu Ximei's arms: "I don't want to go to grandpa's room. My aunt
doesn't like us, and my cousins always make fun of us for being Xinjiang Ning."
Gu Ximei sighed. The Shanghai people in the city looked down on the people from the suburbs of
Jiading, and the people of Jiading looked down on them, the "Xinjiang people". It was hard to tell
who was more noble.
"Then you can scold them back. If that doesn't work, you can beat them up." Sinan quickly shared
his experience: "My sister and I have encountered this before. My sister would throw coal dust
from honeycomb coal all over their faces and chase them with a toilet brush. After beating them
a few times, they no longer dare to shout "Xiao Xinjiang". "
Shen Qingping pulled herself out of her sadness and panic and diverted her attention: "Si Jiang?
Si Jiang would hit people? With a toilet brush?" That's impossible, but it seemed that he was also
quite fierce when she helped him up when she was a child.
Sinan nodded seriously: "Of course! My sister gets angry too. She's scary when she gets angry.
She ignores me for days, just like my mom. With a stern face, like this, like this -" She
demonstrated: "She treated me like air, walked with her head held high like a peacock, and didn't
even look at me, as if she could pass right through my body. It's scary."
Zhu Zhenning also stopped crying: "I don't believe it. You just like to make up stories."
"If you don't believe me, forget it." Sinan told them with a guilty conscience: "If you see my sister,
don't tell her that I said that. She wants to save face."
Gu Ximei wrung out a towel and asked the three children to wash their faces and hands. She
prepared to make some noodles for a meal. After thinking it over, she went to the office and
called Chen Dong to tell him about this great task.
Chen Donglai sighed at the situation, hesitated for a moment and said, "It's not that I can't help,
but I don't know if it will be more of a hindrance than a help."
"What's the meaning?"
"With the children around, Meng Qin and Cao Jingzhi would definitely not do anything reckless.
They would always take care of the children. They are risking their lives like this now." Chen
Donglai lowered his voice, "Now that the 232 document has been issued, everyone is busy going
back. It's useless for them to make a fuss. Who can accompany them on another hunger strike?
We have known each other for so many years and we are all friends. You shouldn't let them make
a fuss. Give them some advice and send the children back. Let them return to Shanghai with the
children first. It won't be too late for the adults to come back after they are settled. There is news
that Ouyang and his group will be fine now. They are in the limelight, and the higher-ups have to
be cautious. It will take at least a year and a half to get a result."
Simei felt a little uncomfortable in her heart: "What are you saying, why should I let them make
trouble? What can I do? Really, now that the children are with me, what will they think if I send
them back? Isn't it because they are afraid of trouble? Shen Yong and Zhu Guangmao went there
because of Shanghai's educated youth. We relied on them to transfer our registered residence.
Why, they sacrificed their lives and suffered hardships in jail. I don't even want to take care of
their children, am I still a human being? How can I say this? I can't do it!" She didn't know
whether to convince Chen Dong to support her and encourage her, or to convince herself.
"Then you are taking four children from Aksu to Urumqi, and then from Urumqi back to Shanghai,
and you have to send them to relatives' homes? If one of them gets lost or something happens
on the way, whose responsibility will it be? You have to go to the toilet, right? You can't tie four
children to your belt." Chen Donglai frowned, "Is this the time to save face? It's better to be safe
than sorry. If something happens, can you bear the responsibility?"
Ximei was silent for a moment: "If something really happens, we can only accept it."
The couple argued back and forth, and finally parted unhappily.
Director Liang sighed in the office: "Teacher Gu is really leaving, oh." Principal Chen slammed the
cup in his hand on the table: "Who doesn't want to leave if they can? For those of us who can't
leave, there's nothing we can do. We have to accept our fate. The rest of the students have to
continue their classes."
After this incident, more than half of the educated youth who were teachers at the school left,
and many students also left. Principal Chen and Director Liang were extremely depressed. Ximei
felt ashamed to face them. She stammered for a moment, then bowed with red eyes: "I'm sorry!"
Director Liang waved his hand: "Be careful on the way, keep in touch." Everyone knew it. Who
can be blamed? It certainly cannot be blamed on the educated youth who are going back. It has
been too difficult and too hard for more than ten or twenty years. If his children were not so old,
if his parents' house in Shanghai could not accommodate them, if his brothers and sisters and
relatives were not so angry, he would at least send the children back. He is a cultured person
after all, and he can't bring himself to squeeze in. There are not many people like Gu Ximei whose
family is looking forward to her return.
——
Gu Ximei and Chen Donglai were unhappy about this, but she actually listened to his words. After
thinking about it all night, she went to the Women's Federation to find Meng Qin early the next
morning. Unexpectedly, the situation was worse than she thought. Meng Qin had been
suspended from her post and was gathered in the county party committee building with some
other educated youth cadres who were making trouble to accept the investigation of the central
working group. She went back to the company to find Cao Jingzhi, but found that more than half
of the dormitory was empty. The remaining old comrades were afraid of the long night and were
all packing and selling their property. There were countless old furniture, bicycles, old TVs, radios,
sewing machines, pots and pans, etc. piled up on the playground, like a small bazaar, and many
Uyghur and Han people nearby came to pick up bargains. The sellers were so excited that they
were incoherent. They would sell at almost any price as long as someone wanted it.
Many people saw Ximei and greeted her with a smile, and asked her which day she bought the
train ticket. When they heard that she hadn't bought the ticket yet, they all urged her to hurry
up, saying that there were more than 20,000 people to rush. Going back, all the tickets I can buy
now are from the end of January. Xi Mei was shocked. She didn't expect that it would be so
difficult to go back. When she arrived at Shen Yong's house, no one answered the door. She
finally found an acquaintance and asked, only to find out that Cao Jingzhi had also gone to the
county seat and was trying to find a way to ask for help from some of her family members. The
working group appealed and demanded the release of the arrested educated youths.
Ximei walked through a pile of second-hand goods at a loss, hearing all kinds of joyful aspirations
and the voices of "take it away, sell it." The tractors and tricycles at the door of the dormitory
were piled with the unexpected gains of the locals. The four big signs on the wall of the
kindergarten opposite, "Unity, Seriousness, Tension and Liveliness", were still hanging, and the
slogan on the other side had been replaced with "Achieve the Four Modernizations in 2000". The
winter sun was a little pale, and the floating dust under the sunlight swept by continuously. The
defenses not far away rustled in the wind. Looking far away, you can vaguely see the snow on the
top of the Tianshan Mountain.
Ximei walked slowly towards the town, occasionally looking back, as if she saw her youth gone
with the wind. Back then, she was so confused that she moved out of her registered permanent
residence for a minute and a penny and came to become a member of the Xinjiang Production
and Construction Corps. After more than ten years, she was finally able to move her registered
permanent residence back to Sijiang, Sinan and Sihao. Jiangnan is beautiful, everyone says
Jiangnan is beautiful. I dream of returning home before I get old, but I am heartbroken when I
return home. For a moment, her heart was empty, not very happy, nor very emotional, empty,
and she couldn't describe the feeling. Suddenly remembering that there was a group of chickens
and ducks in the chicken coop behind her dormitory, Ximei hesitated for a moment. If she
couldn't buy a train in January and couldn't get back to Shanghai for the Spring Festival, should
she kill and eat the chickens and ducks, or give them to Mrs. Liang as a favor.
——
Finally, Chen Donglai bought her a train ticket for January 28th through the bureau, just in time to
return to Shanghai for the New Year, so the four children had to get on the train. The chickens
and ducks survived the disaster and moved to Liang's wife's home.
Upon learning that Mum and Si Nan were coming back, Si Jiang was overjoyed, and the whole
family was very happy. Grandma Gu discussed with Chen A Niang how to live, and decided that Xi
Mei and Si Hao would sleep in the Chen family's attic, and Si Nan would sleep with Si Jiang and
his grandmother. However, when it came to Chen Donglai not coming back, the two old ladies
with bound feet privately shed tears and complained for a long time, saying that it was
inappropriate to blame anyone, and could only blame the society and the bad years. They were
also worried that the couple would not know how many years they would have to be separated
before they could reunite. Chen Donglai was still more than ten years away from retirement.
After more than ten years, Si Jiang should have gotten married, and the old ladies felt sorry for
the three children. Si Jiang didn't say anything, because he had never lived with his grandparents
since he was a child. Si Nan was also miserable, because he grew up with his grandparents, and it
would be difficult to see him once a year in the future. The most pitiful one was Si Hao, this
father, could only be a legendary father, and I don't know if he would recognize him when they
met.
When talking about Xiao Ning, they can't help but jump to other grandchildren. Chen A Niang is
worried that Chen Sijun can't pass the high school entrance examination and can only work as an
ordinary worker. She also scolds Qian Guihua for not keeping her place and making a mess of the
family. Of course, she also has to say a few words to her own son. She has a bad temper and will
hit people for things that can be solved by scolding. Gu A Po also said that Zhao Yanhong was
obsessed with money and left his golden rice bowl to run a ship. He didn't care about his wife
and children. He went to Shantou, a place so far away, and didn't write a letter or call for more
than a month. I'm afraid that men will become bad when they have money. Poor Nanhong, she
has to work hard and take time to take care of her three sons. Speaking of the three
grandchildren, they are even more pitiful. They come to Wanchun Street every week, as if they
haven't eaten enough in a week. They have to eat three bowls of white rice, and the family has to
cook twice to have enough. Chen A Niang echoed that it's a country boy in Fuxing Island, raising
Xiao Ning is easy.
As a result, the pain was halved, and the rift between the two old ladies caused by the
occupation of Chen Si's good friend was further strengthened. They became more and more
close, and even discussed the "impossible task" of having New Year's Eve dinner together.
On February 2, 1981, the day before Chinese New Year's Eve, Ximei returned to Wanchun Street
with her four children, exhausted.

Chapter 91
Shen Xingxing sat in the living room of the Gu family, legs together, eyes straight ahead. The cold
wind that blew all the way from the bus station could not cool her warm heart. She tried not to
look at Gu Jingsheng who was helping Aunt Gu pack her luggage, but her mind was stretched
tight like a rubber band, and the slightest sound and movement from the other side were
automatically reflected under her eyelids and ears. She lowered her eyes, and the rusty red color
of the warm and dirt-resistant old cotton jacket with dark patterns suddenly hit her eyes, as
greasy and fishy as the chilblains on her hands. The black cotton pants were wrinkled after sitting
on the train for five days, like pickled pickles. There were several mud marks of varying depths on
the dark red cotton shoes. An unprecedented shame swept over her, her face suddenly burned
red, and she almost cried.
Shen Qingping was as embarrassed as Zhu Zhenning. They stole glances at Si Jiang, not knowing
where to put their hands and feet. Si Jiang was prettier than when she was a child. She was not
like other girls they knew who looked like a ball in winter. She wore a close-fitting bright red wool
coat without sleeves, revealing the high collar of a pure white sweater. Who would wear a white
sweater in winter? ! Shen Qingping looked carefully several times and confirmed that it was really
pure white, not milky white or beige. Her cheeks were not chapped by the wind, but still white
and shiny. She walked like she was dancing, with her back straight, her chin slightly raised, and
her ponytail shaking, which was particularly light and graceful. Si Nan was right. Si Jiang was like a
peacock, but a peacock that was not proud. When she looked at them, she was particularly
serious and sincere, with a smile in her eyes. While looking at Lekoufu, she asked them with a
smile whether the train ride was tiring, whether the wind gusts were shaking, what they had
eaten on the train, and whether they were hungry. Shen Qingping felt indescribably happy and
satisfied. She really cared about them, hundreds of times more sincerely than the elders in
Jiading's grandfather's family who asked casually but showed disgust on their faces.
Si Jiang stirred the Lekoufu, took a washbasin and two new towels and greeted Shen Xingxing and
the others: "Xingxing, come, let's go downstairs to the kitchen to wash our hands and faces.
Brother Pingping, can you help me carry the thermos?"
Shen Qingping stood up and said, "Okay! I'll get it!" His voice was so loud that Jingsheng and
Sinan beside him looked over.
"Go down and wash your hands too." Jingsheng pulled Sinan out from behind him and said,
"Grandma bought chestnut cake and whipped cream. If you don't wash your hands, you won't be
able to eat them."
Si Nan pouted and followed the large group downstairs reluctantly. Gu Ximei smiled and took out
a navy blue pure wool plain scarf from her bag and handed it to Jingsheng: "Auntie didn't catch
up with your birthday and gave it to you late, but you can still wear it for a month or so. Nan Nan
also contributed to it. This small piece was knitted by her. It's a little uneven, don't dislike it."
Jingsheng held the furry and warm scarf in his hands and said thank you softly.
Ximei took out another bright red one and unfolded it: "Sijiang said in the letter that her aunt
gave her a red coat, so I knitted one for her. Can you see if the colors are the same? It seems that
her coat is a brighter red?"
Jingsheng looked at it carefully and said, "It's almost the same red color. It looks good."
Si Nan brought Shen Qingping and Zhu Zhenning up, and when he saw the scarf, he quickly
praised it: "Cousin, I knitted this scarf for you, do you like it?"
Ximei gave her a slap on the face: "Chen Sinan, how many stitches have you only knitted? You
even missed two stitches, and you didn't let me take it apart and redo it. It's so crooked and ugly,
and you have the nerve to say that you knitted it? How can you be so shameless?"
Sinan stood on tiptoe and threw the scarf around Jingsheng's neck: "I'm the one who gave it to
you! I came up with the idea, I chose the yarn, and I even knitted it. How can I be embarrassed?
Cousin, please lower your head a little bit, and I'll tie it for you."
Jingsheng had no choice but to bend down and let her do what she wanted. Seeing a string of
chilblains hanging on her ears, he couldn't help laughing: "You don't wear a hat? Do the chilblains
itch? Have you applied clam oil?"
Sinan narrowed his eyes and smiled: "It's so itchy, I also have four on my hands, you can touch
them, it's very fun, this one is slippery, this one has a scar and I can't bear to pick it off, no no no,
you are not allowed to pick it! I kept it for several days - ah ah ah, my scar, my scar! Cousin, you
are so mean!"
Seeing Si Nan hanging on Jingsheng and acting wild, Shen Qingping and Zhu Zhenning, who were
holding hot Lekoufu, pulled down their sleeves a little to cover the chilblains on their hands. Only
Si Nan would be proud of having chilblains.
"Hey, where are your sister and Xingxing?" Ximei looked at the door.
"Si Jiang took Xingxing to the public toilet."
"Did you take the toilet paper?"
Sinan slapped his head and said, "Ahhh, I said I would come up and get the toilet paper and
deliver it to you. I forgot! Big cousin, please come with me. It's too boring for me to go alone."
"It's 13 o'clock. Jingsheng is a male Xiaowei. How can he accompany you three female Xiaoning to
the toilet?" Ximei slapped her arm and said, "Hurry up and send him over. It's so cold today. If the
wind blows on your butt, you'll catch a cold."
Sinan reluctantly took out a stack of toilet paper and said, "No way. The wind in the toilet in our
school was so strong that it made a whistling sound. My butt was blown for a long time and my
little sister became numb but she didn't get cold."
Shen Qingping and Zhu Zhenning were not surprised. They lowered their heads and drank their
Lucky Beans with expressionless faces, trying hard not to think about the long squat toilet and
other things in the school.
Ximei took a deep breath and yelled, unable to bear it any longer: "Chen Sinan!"
Sinan had already run downstairs, humming a song and walking away: "I found ten yuan on the
side of the road..."
——
Under the explicit hints and instigation of the three children, Sijiang and Sinan all asked their
mother to let them stay at home for one night. Beiwu and Shanrang came back in the afternoon
and agreed to let the children spend another night together. Shanrang made a phone call and
said that Shanli could drive over to pick up Ximei the next day. Ximei declined several times, but
she had to agree because she couldn't refuse the kindness. She took out a woolen sweater that
was originally intended for Beiwu from her luggage and gave it to Shanrang, saying that it was for
Shanli. Shanrang knew what was going on and accepted it with a smile, intending to steal it from
him and return it to the original owner tomorrow.
When Grandma Gu heard that Shanli would not go back to Nanjing for the New Year, she insisted
that he come to her house for the New Year's Eve dinner. Shanrang agreed. In the evening, Ximei
brought Sihao back for dinner. Gu Dongwen cleaned up the store, pasted the red paper for the
opening of the store on the fifth day of the New Year, and returned home early. Beiwu called
Nanhong twice before he was able to get in touch with her, but Nanhong said that she would be
busy until New Year's Eve and agreed to send her sons to Wanchun Street to play with Sijiang and
others on the second day of the New Year, and then hung up the phone in a hurry.
After the family had a lively dinner, Grandma Gu kindly let Dou Si have some fun, while Dongwen
and Beiwu went to Chen's house to borrow a camp bed and bedding. Ximei asked Sijiang to show
her the report card from last semester, and saw that the teacher's comments were still a lot of
good points like in previous years, and the ending was still a reminder to her to avoid
carelessness, and it seemed that there was an extra sentence "strive for all-round development
and don't be biased in one subject".
"What's your grade's average score in math?"
"90." Si Jiang lowered his head and answered softly.
Jingsheng, who was reading a book nearby, suddenly stood up and invited Shen Qingping and the
others to go to the attic to play. Sinan hesitated and refused to move, so Jingsheng dragged him
upstairs.
Seeing that all the children had left, Ximei frowned and asked, "Why did you only get 92 in math
this time?"
"I—I was too careless."
"Where did the lost 8 points go? Was there a calculation error? Or is there some concept that I
don't understand?"
Si Jiang flipped through the book of wrong answers: "In a calculation problem, I mistook the
multiplication sign for a plus sign, so I lost two points. There was also a multiple-choice question
where I missed an answer. This time, I got an application question wrong." Her voice became
softer and softer, and she felt uneasy.
Ximei took the wrong answer book and flipped through a few pages: "What place did the boy
Xiaowei from Kangjiaqiao, whose name is Ningning, get in his grade this time?"
"First." Si Jiang bit his lip.
"And you?"
Si Jiang's voice was as soft as a mosquito: "The seventh."
Ximei was silent for a moment, flipping through her notebook. Shanrang turned his head and
looked at the mother and daughter without saying anything.
"The worst thing about learning knowledge is pretending to know when you don't, especially in
mathematics. If you don't understand something, you must ask the teacher, okay?" Ximei tried to
soften her voice.
With tears in her eyes, Si Jiang nodded and said, "Yes." She felt bad after the test. After
comparing answers with others, she didn't sleep well the whole night. She didn't know why her
brain was wrong at that time. She missed the application question once in the test, but she made
the same mistake again. She couldn't forgive herself.
"The teacher's comments always speak well of you. Mom is also a teacher, and she does the
same. But you have to remember that there is no such thing as carelessness. You just don't know
how to do it. You haven't grasped the knowledge points thoroughly, you haven't understood
them thoroughly, and you haven't done enough questions. You must study seriously and down-
to-earth. You must concentrate and never slack off." Ximei was glad that she came back in time
this time. It's not too late to mend the situation. You know, it's easy for your grades to drop, but
it's really hard to improve them again.
Si Jiang sobbed twice, and tears fell on the back of her hand. She moved her arm and rubbed the
wet drop on the edge of her coat pocket.
Ximei took a breath and said, "Why are you crying? You know you are wrong and where you are
wrong. Just correct it next semester. What's there to cry about? You can't be praised all your life,
right? Did your mom criticize you? Does this count as criticism?"
Si Jiang shook his head.
"Then why are you crying? What's there to cry about?" Ximei handed the wrong answer book
back to her: "You haven't seen how Mom criticizes students, nor have you seen how I talk about
Sinan--"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Mom, I don't want to cry either--" Si Jiang sobbed and quickly reached out to
wipe away her tears. She really didn't want to cry, but she couldn't help it. This was the first time
she disappointed her mom, and she was also very disappointed.
Ximei was also stunned. For so many years, she had been facing the tough and thick-skinned Si
Nan, a little rascal who got 12 points in math and showed off happily that he could tick three
questions correctly just by randomly ticking. She really didn't understand how Si Jiang, who had
always been so excellent, could make such a low-level mistake and cry when she talked about it.
At most, what she did could only be considered as gentle persuasion.
Granny Gu put Si Hao in Shan Rang's arms and said dissatisfiedly, "Okay, okay, Xi Mei, what are
you doing on New Year's Day? 92 points is not bad, and Nan Nan even got a certificate of being a
city's top three student. Why don't you praise her? She is the only one in their school who is a
city's top three student, and Jing Sheng didn't even get one."
Ximei glanced at the old lady, took out a handkerchief and handed it to Sijiang: "Look, your
grandma and uncle just dote on you too much, Sijiang, you can't go on like this, do you know?
Especially girls, you can't cry when facing setbacks, it's too fragile. If you were like this, all the
Shanghai female educated youth in Aksu would have been finished long ago, would your mother
still be able to sit here peacefully?"
Si Jiang hiccuped and nodded with sobs: "No. Mom, I know. I won't do that next time."
Ximei was about to give some examples of how she had endured hardships in the past, but Gu
Dongwen and Gu Beiwu came in chatting and laughing, so she had to give up: "Okay, okay, next
time Mom will find time to talk to you in detail. Go wash your face first, and ask Pingping and the
others to come down. The attic is too small."
Si Jiang put away his schoolbag with his head down, went to pour hot water, and when he went
downstairs, he turned on the faucet to add cold water. Tears began to fall like a faucet.

Chapter 92
Seeing Si Jiang going down the stairs, Si Nan immediately broke away from Jingsheng's hand and
slid down the ladder.
"Chen Sinan, you are a monkey!" Ximei frowned and shouted, "Can you walk down properly with
your two feet?"
Shen Qingping, who had just grabbed the ladder and wanted to follow suit, immediately turned
around and walked down obediently.
"No!" Sinan raised his chin: "I'm going to pee, we all have to pee."
Ximei knew they were going to go down to see Sijiang, so she didn't bother to pay attention to
her: "Jingsheng, you are the oldest, you should keep an eye on them and don't come back too
late."
Jingsheng looked at the adults in the room and nodded.
Si Jiang was rubbing the small towel endlessly. Seeing them gathering together, he felt ashamed
and embarrassed. He just lowered his head and said nothing.
Sinan came up and hugged her waist: "Sister, don't cry. I still got 3 points in the exam."
Si Jiang felt a lump in his throat and uttered a soft "hmm".
Shen Qingping scratched his head: "Si Jiang, actually Teacher Gu is not really that fierce. My
mother would always get the feather duster ready before checking the scores. Whenever she hit
me, I would run outside, shouting as I ran, making her more embarrassed than me."
Unfortunately, Si Jiang was a little girl and certainly could not learn this trick. Hearing her crying,
he felt so sad that he wanted to run away and let Teacher Gu scold him or hit him, but he would
definitely not run away or make a sound.
Zhu Zhenning also said: "My mother didn't hit me, but she had a stern face and scolded me every
day. She was so nagging that it was annoying. It was as if I didn't want to get a perfect score in
the exam."
Shen Xingxing sighed: "That's right, there is only one first place, what should we do with the rest?
Will we die?"
Si Jiang wrung out the towel and raised his head: "Thank you, I'm fine now. I didn't do well in the
test this time. I made mistakes on questions that I shouldn't have made mistakes on. It's right for
Mom to criticize me."
Sinan was unhappy: "That shouldn't be the case. Sister, you are already very impressive. Your
writings are published in the newspapers! Mom just likes to find faults. She only picks on the
eggshells. Don't pay attention to her."
Shen Xingxing smiled: "You are picking bones in eggs. What are you picking eggshells for? Nan
Nan, you are talking nonsense again."
Jingsheng coughed lightly and said, "There is a New Year's night market at the gate of the West
Palace these days. Fireworks and fireworks are all for sale, as well as paper-cuts, old books,
snacks and so on. It should not be over yet. Let's go over there and take a look."
"But I don't have any money!" Sinan turned around and hugged Jingsheng's thigh, saying
attentively, "Cousin, you must have money, right? My uncle has always given you a lot of money,
please give me some, please."
"Sanmao." Jingsheng lowered his eyes and raised his legs, and found that this guy seemed to
have gained a lot of weight.
"Two dollars!" Sinan squinted his eyes and bargained: "I want to buy firecrackers, fairy wands,
and baked sweet potato popcorn."
"50 cents, if you want it, take it. If you don't want it, forget it." Jingsheng dragged the leg pendant
and walked straight to the entrance of the alley.
"What can you buy with 50 cents?" Sinan threw herself on his back, hooked her legs around his
waist and climbed up: "One dollar, one dollar I-I'll give you a kiss."
Jing laughed angrily: "You are worth one dollar? I won't kiss you even if you give me money,
okay? Tell me honestly who told you this nonsense?" He held her steady with his backhand: "Did
someone give you money, candy, and delicious food to kiss you, and you agreed? Chen Sinan, I
think you are just a little fool who was sold by the bad guys and helped count the money!"
Sinan hugged his neck and felt a little guilty: "No! No! I won't be stubborn!"
Unexpectedly, Shen Xingxing next to her immediately exposed her: "Last time, Master Li in the
school cafeteria said that if you gave him a kiss, you could get a portion of sweet and sour pork
ribs. You kissed him and asked him if he wanted to kiss him ten times in exchange for ten portions
of sweet and sour pork ribs."
Si Jiang chased after him and taught Si Nan with a worried look on his face: "Nan Nan, you are a
little girl. No one can kiss you except your father, mother, sister and brother! When you grow up,
your father and brother can't kiss you either. When you go back in the evening, I will ask your
aunt to teach you how to protect yourself."
"Grandpa Li likes me, and so do everyone." Sinan explained weakly, "A kiss won't cost me any less
meat." There was a lot of extra meat, but she didn't dare say this because her eldest cousin
looked a little unhappy.
"Humph, bad guys don't discriminate by age." Jingsheng turned his head and glanced at her:
"Some bad old men just like to deceive young girls like you."
"What are you trying to trick me into doing?" Sinan wondered, "I don't have any money!"
The six people turned onto Wuning Road and ran into an old man in a military coat. Si Jiang and
Shen Xingxing were about to make way, but the old man suddenly smiled at them strangely and
said, "Hey, little girl——"
Si Jiang was stunned. The old man suddenly opened his military coat towards them. He was
wearing nothing underneath. "Hahahaha, come and take a look. Take a look."
“Ahhh——” Shen Xingxing closed her eyes and screamed.
Si Jiang had heard of this old scoundrel with a problem. When he really met him, his mind went
blank. He closed his eyes, then quickly opened them again to cover Si Nan's eyes: "Nan Nan,
don't look at him. He has a problem."
Sinan laughed and shouted: "Hey, your little penis is so ugly, even uglier than the old scabby dog
in our school!"
The old man's laughter stopped abruptly. He just pulled his military coat on with trembling hands
when he was kicked in the chest. He took two steps back and turned to run away.
Jingsheng crouched down, put Sinan on the ground, and quickly chased after him. Zhu Zhenning
also shouted "Catch the gangster, catch the gangster" and chased after him.
Shen Qingping wanted to chase after him, but was held back by Shen Xingxing.
"Brother! My eyes are dirty! I'm not clean anymore! Wuuuuuuu——! I'm sick of that fishy sight!!!
Why did I see it? Why did I even take another look!" Shen Xingxing cried heartbreakingly.
Sinan pulled her arm: "Why are you crying? You didn't lose a piece of meat just by looking at it.
The maggots in the school toilet are really nasty. Last time, several of them almost crawled onto
your shoes, but you didn't even cry."
Shen Xingxing cried even harder. Si Jiang patted her back helplessly and grabbed Ah Mei who also
wanted to chase after him. It seemed that Jingsheng was right. Si Nan seemed to be a little silly.
The four of them stood there for a long time before Jingsheng and Zhu Zhenning came back.
Zhu Zhenning was very excited: "We caught that old Zongsang (bastard). Brother Jingsheng beat
him until his face was covered with blood. I also kicked him several times. We also encountered a
patrolling militia motorcycle team! Old Zongsang told the militia uncles that we were little
hooligans who beat old people for no reason. Brother Jingsheng opened his coat, and wow - a
militia auntie almost stabbed him with a bayonet. He was scared to death!"
Shen Xingxing stopped crying: "Brother Jingsheng, you are so awesome!"
Sinan stamped his feet: "Why don't you wait for me!"
Jingsheng squatted down and stared at her: "Do you know what the old bad guy is going to do?
I'll give you money to watch and touch, will you do it?"
Sinan's little face wrinkled up in pain, and he shook his head like a rattle: "No! I'd rather touch the
maggots. Never mind, maggots are even more disgusting, and they're covered in feces."
Shen Xingxing almost vomited and begged Si Nan to let her go with a pale face.
Jingsheng then asked: "What if someone gives you money and wants to kiss you or touch you,
what will you do?"
Sinan said without hesitation: "I have learned it. I will find you, my cousin, and ask you to beat
him up and kick him."
Si Jiang took out a handkerchief and said, "Cousin, your hand seems to be broken."
Jingsheng shook his hands and said, "It's okay, let's go quickly, we won't go to the night market to
close the stalls anymore."
Si Jiang grabbed his hand without saying a word. Under the street light, he could see clearly that
there was a large purple bruise, the skin was broken, and blood was oozing out. It was probably
because he beat that old gangster too hard.
"Let me pack it for you."
The last knot was tied a little tight, and Jingsheng's mouth twitched. He was about to say that
according to his experience, skin injuries heal faster if they are not bandaged, but he saw Si Jiang
raised his head and smiled, "It's bandaged. Go back tonight and wash it and apply some red
medicine." Her eyes sparkled, as if she was happy to have finally made a contribution, but her
eyelids were still a little swollen. Jingsheng's words turned into a thank you.
The night market was almost closed. Two large trucks were parked there, and people wearing red
armbands were directing everyone to load their boxes onto the trucks.
Sinan asked several times before someone smiled and said, "No more. We are closed tomorrow
and the day after tomorrow. There will be a temple fair starting on the first day of the Lunar New
Year from 8 am to 8 pm. Come back on the first day of the Lunar New Year to buy some."
Si Jiang circled the truck twice, but saw nothing, feeling depressed. This was Si Nan's first time to
celebrate the New Year in Shanghai, but the family didn't buy firecrackers and fairy sticks. Alas, it
was all that old rogue's fault! "Let's go to the back of Jing'an Temple tomorrow, there's also a
market there." Si Jiang comforted Si Nan: "There must be something for sale at Chenghuang
Temple, don't worry." She called Shen Xingxing to go back, but saw Jingsheng helping an uncle lift
cartons onto the truck, then he pushed himself up and jumped onto the truck, and helped pick
up a few more cartons to pile inside.
Sinan blinked: "Is my cousin a living Lei Feng?"
Shen Qingping and others also came over, saying that they didn't understand, and hesitated
whether they should go and help.
Jingsheng had already jumped out of the car: "Let's go, back home."
Turning around Wuning Road, Jingsheng pulled out a handful of firecrackers from his back pocket,
and also took out a dozen fairy wands, and shook them at Sinan.
Sinan screamed with joy and reached out to grab it: "So you are pretending to be Lei Feng,
cousin! I knew you are not a good person!"
Jingsheng took out three cigarettes with a dark face and gave them to Sinan, then turned around
and stuffed the rest into Sijiang's hand: "You take them, don't give them to her, the little fool will
burn them all in one breath, and you won't have anything to play with on New Year's Eve."
Shen Qingping and the others said in unison: "Yes! She will rob us again!"
Si Jiang held a bundle of fairy wands and nodded vigorously. The people and cousin Jingsheng
trusted her so much, and the responsibility was really great. No matter how many kisses Si Nan
gave her, she would persist until New Year's Eve.
——
After the children left, Gu Dongwen put two camp beds side by side on the back of the wardrobe.
While spreading the mattress, he listened to Grandma Gu complaining about Ximei Xunsijiang.
After listening, he laughed: "Ximei seemed to always get first place when she was a child?"
Granny Gu was startled, her voice suddenly became twice as loud: "Bullshit! That's the fourth
child. The three of you are useless in studying. You are the one who refuses to study hard.
Nanhong gets a headache when she sees books. Ximei, haha, has studied to death but never got
first place. Among the four of you, only Beiwu is a good student. You don't see him studying hard
every day, but he gets first place every year." She slapped the mattress angrily: "You can't even
get into college, but you ask Sijiang to do this and that. Why don't you go to heaven?"
Ximei's suppressed anger suddenly rushed to her head, and she sneered and said, "I'm useless,
so I hope that good bamboo shoots will grow out of the bad bamboo. What about you, mom?
You only know how to spoil her. This is a drag, don't you understand? In all these years, when
have I not reminded you in letters, telegrams, and phone calls to set strict standards for her?
Children are afraid of being spoiled. If they fall behind in the first and second grades, they can
catch up very quickly. If they fall behind in the fourth and fifth grades, it will be difficult. The
higher they go, the harder it will be. If they can't get into college in the future, they will have to
work as ordinary workers in factories or wash dishes in restaurants. They will have no hope and
no future in their lives. Who will she blame? It's because I, as a mother, didn't take care of her!
Could I have done anything to control her? Would I dare to control her? I haven't even said a
word of these harsh words yet, but you held a criticism meeting and made me look like a
stepmother!"
"Okay, stop talking." Bei Wu spoke up to try to reconcile.
Gu Dongwen took the quilt that Beiwu brought down, raised his eyebrows and asked with a
smile: "Why, Teacher Gu looks down on us working people? I, your brother, cook and wash dishes
every day, earning money by physical labor, but I have no hope and no future in my life?"
Ximei blushed, "Brother, you are a man! You are doing business. Sijiang is a little girl, how can she
wash dishes? If I could get into college, would I end up like this? What did I do to her? You keep
poking at my heart. I am her mother, and I am doing this for her own good!"
Shan Rang couldn't help but make a smooth talk: "Second sister, actually Si Jiang is a child who
sets very high standards for herself. She is under a lot of pressure and cares a lot about how
others see her--"
Bei Wu looked at the door and lowered his voice, "She has grown up. There are some things that
you don't need to say, and some things you need to say carefully. Why are you in such a hurry?
Wait and see in a few months."
Ximei felt even more uncomfortable and said angrily, "Yes, you are the closest to her. I, as her
mother, don't understand her at all. Whatever you say is wrong. You can't say a word!"
"Okay, okay, you are the only one in the family who is doing this for her good!" Granny Gu
slapped her pillow loudly, "I am an old woman who is illiterate and uneducated. I will only harm
your daughter! You are so capable. You scolded her until she burst into tears on the first day you
came back. Are you scolding her or me? I have worked hard for so many years even though I have
no merits. You make it sound like I harmed Si Jiang. Gu Ximei, can you please have some
conscience? You came back to celebrate the New Year, you came back to Shanghai to live, how
many days did you spend with Si Jiang in a year? Is this crappy score so important? Do you know
that Nannan has secretly cried several times when she knew she didn't do well in the exam? She
is only a few years old and she has to worry so much."
Ximei laughed in anger: "Yes, yes, it's all my fault. I begged you to help me. I didn't know how
much I weighed. I shouldn't have come back. I deserve to stay in Aksu for the rest of my life. I am
sorry to you, Mom. I am useless. Don't worry, I will take them back to Xinjiang after the New Year.
Anyway, Chen Donglai can't come back, so the three siblings won't be like children without a
father."
Granny Gu slapped her thigh and started crying: "Gu Ximei, you heartless bastard! Is this what I
meant? At the beginning, I cried and begged you not to go to Xinjiang, but you insisted on going. I
was looking forward to coming back with great difficulty, and you——"
Ximei was about to speak again, but Shanrang took her arm and pulled her into the inner room.

Chapter 93
Shanrang persuaded Ximei for a few words, and seeing that Beiwu had already coaxed Grandma
Gu, the two looked at each other, and everything was said without words.
Gu Dongwen made a large bunk bed in the attic and went downstairs to the kitchen to boil some
water. When he met Aunt Feng from next door, he smiled and nodded.
"Dongdong, Ximei is back. Oh, it's been more than ten years. How can I be unhappy with
grandma?" Aunt Feng's family is from Funan. They fled to Shanghai during the Anti-Japanese War.
The family worked as coolies at the Suzhou River dock for two years. They bought a pavilion from
Grandma Gu's father, Mr. Xu, and settled down as neighbors of the Xu family. Later, they learned
that Mr. Xu wanted to recruit a son-in-law for Xu Xunfang. The eldest son of the Feng family had
been a widower for two years and had only Aunt Feng as his daughter. He came to recommend
himself, but was rejected by Mr. Xu without any hesitation, and his face was very gloomy.
Time flies. Not long after, Father Gu became a live-in son-in-law of the Xu family. He had two sons
and two daughters, and the family was prosperous. The male members of the Feng family were
unlucky. They all died on the battlefield, leaving only Aunt Feng as the only child. She also
recruited a live-in son-in-law, but she didn't expect that the man actually had a child with his
wife. He deliberately cheated her of money and sex. In less than two months, he took the money
and ran away with his wife and children. Aunt Feng hanged herself with a rope, but was rescued
by Grandma Gu, who gave her some copper coins to help her through the difficult times. It's not
strange to say that this person, because he was the most embarrassed and destitute person he
had ever seen, whenever he met someone who helped him, Aunt Feng had to think of the past
and felt inferior to him. Therefore, a needle pierced her heart, and she intentionally or
unintentionally avoided the people of the Gu family.
After the WG, Aunt Feng was rewarded for her meritorious service in exposing and criticizing the
corruption, and became the deputy leader of the matchbox work group of the Beiwanchun
neighborhood committee. She occasionally looked after Grandma Gu, who had bound feet, and
returned the favor she had received. The embarrassment of being inferior to Gu disappeared,
and she even developed a condescending pity. As a result, Aunt Feng became more enthusiastic.
In order to get Gu Beiwu, a scoundrel, to go to work, she made great efforts, but in the end, she
ended up being a nobody on both sides, and even had a quarrel with Grandma Gu. The two
families stopped communicating, and she stopped helping to collect clothes on rainy days. The
time for using the tap outside was more accurate than the train timetable, and the water fee was
calculated very clearly. They only started to communicate again after Gu Dongwen came back.
After all, who in the whole Wanchun Street dared to show Gu Dongwen a bad face? Aunt Feng
was also a person who knew the times.
That night she heard a lot of quarrels upstairs, so she couldn't help but show some concern, and
couldn't help but add a few words of good advice: "Alas, there is nothing we can do. Back then,
she cried and made a fuss about going to the countryside, and now she is crying and making a
fuss about coming back. Every household has a small place, and there are so many people. It's a
difficult situation. There is nothing our parents and brothers can do about it, right? It's a sin."
Gu Dongwen's eyebrows jumped, and he glanced at Aunt Feng with a smile, put the carrying pole
on the gas stove and lit the fire.
Aunt Feng sighed a few more times, and wiped the stoves of the three families with a rag in her
hand: "Dongdong, six guests are staying in your room tonight (six guests are staying in your house
tonight), remember to write the six heads in the water bill book. Also, someone just went
downstairs and turned on the corridor light. It has been on until now. If I hadn't come down, a
dime of electricity bill would have been wasted."
Gu Dongwen glanced at her and said, "I'm fine. Or you can go and settle the electricity bill and I'll
pay the few cents."
Aunt Feng stammered a few words, put down the rag and left unhappily.
Hot steam was puffing out of the spout of the kettle, and outside could be heard Si Jiang's
laughter and Si Nan's screams.
"Sister! Please give me another fairy wand to show off, please——"
"No, my cousin said we should save it for New Year's Eve. You just ordered all three in one go, and
you got into big trouble!"
"Cousin - cousin - give me another one and I'll draw a heart for you. A very beautiful heart, my
heart! Look at my heart -"
"Your conscience has long been eaten by dogs." Jingsheng refused indifferently: "Who secretly
threw the firecrackers into my collar just now?"
"I was just trying to scare you. That was fried." Sinan cried out in grievance, "Who would have
thought that Sister would go and get it."
Jingsheng's voice rang out: "Fried food won't burn you? It can burn just the same. Look at your
sister. She has a big blister on her palm."
"It's okay, I don't feel any pain." Si Jiang's voice was soft and smiling: "Nannan, don't do this next
time, or my sweater will be burned with a big hole."
The faucet outside was turned on and water was flowing.
"I'll go to the kitchen and get some vinegar for you to wipe it, and then put some toothpaste on
it." Jingsheng said.
"Sesame oil is also OK." Shen Qingping added cautiously.
As soon as the door of the kitchen opened, Jingsheng walked in with a sullen face. He walked
around Gu Dongwen a little uncomfortably to get vinegar from the cupboard.
The faucet outside was turned off and then turned on again. Sinan screamed, "Sister, please rinse
again. My cousin is so disgusting. He smeared so much of his saliva on you. Tsk tsk tsk tsk."
The vinegar bottle in Jingsheng's hand tilted and a lot of vinegar spilled out. Gu Dongwen couldn't
help laughing and almost got his hand burned by the pole. Sinan's little trick was like his own.
Jingsheng rolled his eyes at him fiercely and went out with the bowl.
"Uncle! Uncle——" Sinan ran in: "Uncle, can you ask my cousin to give me another fairy wand?
Please, I love you the most, please help me."
Gu Dongwen picked up Si Nan and kissed her on the face: "You don't need one or two from your
eldest cousin. Your uncle will buy you a box tomorrow."
"Ohhh, really? Uncle, I really, really like you the most!" Si Nan was surprised and happy, he
hugged Gu Dongwen's face and kissed him more than ten times, covering his face with saliva.
——
Back in the house, Sinan vividly recounted the incident of beating up the old hooligan, and Ximei
was so angry that she almost twisted her ears off: "Are you still a little girl? What dirty words are
you saying! If you don't beat him up for three days, you'll tear the roof off the house, right?"
Bei Wu pulled her hand away and rubbed Si Nan's ears, his face darkening: "What are you doing?
Nan Nan did a good job, she should be praised. That old Zong Sang wants the girls to be scared,
the more scared they are, the more proud he is, and the bolder he becomes." He nodded to Jing
Sheng: "You beat him well, beat him every time you see him next time, don't show mercy just
because he is an old man, just don't beat him to death."
Gu Dongwen smiled and patted Jingsheng's arm: "It doesn't matter if you are beaten to death.
You are only thirteen years old. You don't have to take responsibility. You are eliminating harm for
the people. The country, the government and the people should give you a silk banner."
Granny Gu was so scared that she patted her chest twice to calm herself down: "Big brother, you
are sick, what nonsense are you talking about! Children will take it seriously."
Jingsheng pursed his lips and said nothing. Ximei was choked and almost couldn't breathe.
Shan Rang applied toothpaste to Si Jiang and checked the back of Jing Sheng's hand and
knuckles: "It's okay. All bad things will be in the Year of the Monkey. Everything will be fine after
New Year's Eve."
Ximei looked at Si Nan in Bei Wu's arms and Si Jiang beside Shanrang, and suddenly felt that the
two daughters were not hers anymore. She pulled Si Jiang over, scolded Si Nan again, and also
lectured Shen Qingping and the others for ten minutes before letting them go to wash up.
When Sinan saw the large bunk bed in the attic, he jumped on it with great joy and rolled around
several times.
"Cousin, you sleep on my left, and sister, you sleep on my right!" Sinan imagined himself hugging
both of them and grinning foolishly.
Si Jiang let Shen Xingxing sleep next to him, and Jingsheng slept next to Shen Qingping and Zhu
Zhenning. After the six people lay down side by side, Jingsheng rolled up a summer towel blanket
into a long tube and placed it between himself and Si Nan, and then took her legs down, saying
sternly: "This is the 38th parallel, you are not allowed to cross it."
Sinan poked the "38th parallel" and winked: "You guys have more space than us, take some over."
"Because we are tall, we need a big place to sleep." Shen Qingping smiled so hard that his
eyebrows were not visible. When he saw Si Jiang lying down, his face turned red and he quickly
lay down and squeezed closer to Zhu Zhenning: "Brother Jingsheng, come closer, be careful not
to get kicked by Nannan."
Jingsheng gave way and moved the "38th parallel" a little further: "Stop being naughty, I'm going
to turn off the lights."
Si Nan twisted her butt and got into Si Jiang's arms: "Sister, let me blow on your hands, does it
still hurt? I'm sorry."
Si Jiang put her cold feet between his thighs to warm them up, and spit out a few of Si Nan's curly
hairs from his mouth: "It doesn't hurt anymore, don't be naughty next time, go to sleep quickly.
Uncle will take us to the City God Temple tomorrow."
Shen Xingxing turned over and leaned against Si Jiang: "I also want to go to the City God Temple
with you. My grandpa plays mahjong every day, my grandma has to farm, my uncle and aunt
ignore us, and my cousins bully us. Alas, I would rather stay in Shajingzi."
Si Jiang patted her hands gently and said, "Your mother will definitely be back to accompany you
soon, don't worry."
Shen Qingping announced viciously: "If anyone dares to bully us again this time, I will beat him
up. Uncle Si Jiang said that I won't be responsible if he is beaten to death. I am not afraid."
Shen Xingxing sighed quietly: "Brother, it's not like you haven't fought before, you just couldn't
win - what if you were beaten to death?" When she thought of this possibility, she couldn't help
but choked up.
Shen Qingping's face felt burning.
Si Jiang comforted Shen Xingxing a few words, thinking that what her mother said to her was
nothing. She had a mother and grandmother who loved her so much, as well as great uncles and
the cutest aunt in the world. Compared with Shen Qingping and his sister, she was already so
lucky. The more he thought about it, the more he felt pity for Shen Xingxing.
Si Nan tried to pry Shen Xingxing's hand away: "This is my elder sister, why are you hugging my
elder sister?"
Shen Xingxing leaned on Si Jiang's shoulder: "I also call Si Jiang Sister, she leaned on me, why are
you so stingy!"
Si Jiang patted Si Nan and said, "Stop making trouble. Sister will hold you two. Can we sleep
together?"
Si Nan refused: "No, no, no, no! Then I'll go hug my eldest cousin." She pushed Si Jiang away and
climbed towards the 38th parallel, but was slapped hard on the forehead.
"Go back." Jingsheng looked indifferent.
Si Jiang stretched out a hand: "Come here."
Shen Xingxing made a smug face at Si Nan and hugged Si Jiang even tighter.
Sinan sat at the edge of the 38th parallel, looking around and becoming extremely angry: "You
guys are so bad! I don't want to sleep with you!" She quickly got up and slid down the ladder.
"Grandma! Aunt, I want to sleep between you! I don't want to sleep in the attic. They all bully
me."
The five people upstairs said in unison: "No! You are just too naughty."
Si Nan was so angry that he jumped around on the bed. He crawled into Grandma Gu's quilt,
hugged the hot water bottle, and shouted toward the attic: "What's so strange? (What's so
strange?) I'm so comfortable and warm here, humph!"
Si Jiang sat up and waited for a while, but when Si Nan didn't come back, he wanted to go
downstairs to coax her, but was stopped by Jing Sheng.
"Ignore her." Jingsheng winked mischievously.
Si Jiang thought about it and lay back down.
After about ten minutes, Sinan climbed up again in a sullen manner, got into the bed silently, and
called softly, "Sister?"
Si Jiang ignored her.
"Cousin?"
Jingsheng closed his eyes and pretended not to hear.
"Brother Pingping? Brother Ningning?"
Shen Qingping snored softly, and Zhu Zhenning turned over with his back facing Si Nan.
"Sister Xingxing?"
"I fell asleep." Shen Xingxing couldn't help but respond.
"You're still talking even when you're asleep?" Sinan chuckled.
"I was talking in my sleep."
"Forget it, I'll let you hold half of me." Si Nan pretended to be generous. He lifted Si Jiang's arms
and put them under his head. He arched his back in Si Jiang's arms, found a comfortable position,
and fell asleep quickly.
What she didn't know was that after she fell asleep, her five brothers and sisters secretly got up
to play poker, chess, read books, and whispered to each other until after one in the middle of the
night, when they were stopped by their uncle who came to check on them.

Chapter 94
On the day of the Little New Year's Eve, Zhou Shanli arrived at Wanchun Street early in the
morning carrying large and small bags of New Year's goods. Every household in the alley had
posted Spring Festival couplets and paper-cut wedding couplets. The gravel on the paved road
had faint traces of black firecrackers, and the cracks were filled with red crumbs that could not be
swept away. The faint smell of sulfur in the air diluted the stench of the public toilets. The
residents were also particularly friendly. Everyone, whether they knew Zhou Shanli or not, smiled
and said Happy New Year to him.
There was a long bamboo plaque placed on two benches outside the Gu family's doorway.
Steaming buns were placed on it. Si Nan was holding a bowl of red yeast rice, while Si Jiang and
others were using chopsticks to put red dots on the buns, counting as they did so.
"Uncle Zhou!" Si Nan saw Shanli throw away his bowl and ran up to him: "Uncle Zhou, I missed
you so much. Let me tell you, no teacher in our school has such strong cleavage as yours. You are
really amazing. By the way, are you hungry? Have you had breakfast? Do you want a steamed
bun? The steamed buns made by my grandma are so delicious. There are some stuffed with
pickled mustard greens, some with shredded radish, some with meat and some with red bean
paste. They are really delicious!"
Shanli had never been treated so warmly in his life, and was a little flattered, busy greeting the
children. Gu Beiwu came out of the kitchen carrying three baskets of freshly steamed buns: "Why
are you here so early? Nan Nan, move aside, be careful not to get burned."
The freshly-baked steamed buns were white and plump, rolling into the plate. Si Jiang shouted,
"Uncle! You made us count again. We agreed to put them over there—" Bei Wu apologized with a
smile, stretched out his hand to move them a few times, but mixed some buns with red dots in,
causing the children to scream again.
Shanli picked up a steamed bun and switched it from his left hand to his right hand, then from his
right hand to his left hand. He quickly took a bite and said, "It's delicious. The shredded radish is
delicious, and there is also oil residue. It smells so good. Hey, Gu Beiwu, pack me twenty and I'll
take them back tonight."
"You wish. We only made sixty shredded radishes." Bei Wu chuckled, "Shanrang likes shredded
radishes the most. When she's had enough, the rest will be yours."
"Shan Rang is my biological sister. If I eat, she eats. Why be polite?" Shan Li picked up another
one and ate half of it in one bite. "Oh, how could I be so smart? I didn't eat enough last night and
saved my stomach to come to your house. Wow, I'm amazing."
Sinan half-lay on the plaque and tried hard to reach a steamed bun in the distance: "Uncle Zhou,
have some more of this pickled mustard greens, hey hey hey——"
The plaque tilted up when she pressed it, and the steamed bun rolled towards Si Nan, hitting her
head and face, and was about to fall over. Shanli bit half of the steamed bun in her mouth, and
stood in a horse stance, holding the plaque under Si Nan with both hands. Gu Beiwu quickly
pressed down the half that tilted up on the opposite side, and the steamed bun rolled back to the
opposite side. The two long sides of the plaque tilted the bench below, and one short side fell
straight down. The children rushed over and shouted in panic to protect the steamed bun,
shouting and laughing.
Gu Dongwen put the last three baskets of steamed buns into the pot, and when he came out he
saw the chaotic scene. He reached out and picked up Si Nan, and kicked the tilted long bench
below back to its original position. He pushed the stool back onto the bench with his toes, and
many steamed buns jumped a few times.
Jingsheng upstairs opened the window and shouted: "Eat dinner——"
Shanli had heard Shanrang describe how sumptuous the breakfast was made by Gu Dongwen
and Jingsheng, so he came prepared. When he went upstairs, he felt a little disappointed. Granny
Gu handed him a pair of chopsticks and said, "I'm sorry, we in Yangzhou only eat porridge and
steamed buns for breakfast on New Year's Eve. I'm sorry, you have to make do with it."
Shanli blushed and said, "No, no, no, steamed buns are good. Steamed buns with shredded
radish are delicious."
Shan Rang smiled and asked softly, "Second brother, did you not eat dinner yesterday just to wait
for this meal?"
"Well, last night a few guys from the Political Department forced me to drink, so I didn't have
time to eat. Just now Sinan gave me two steamed buns with shredded radish, which were
delicious." Shanli took a big sip of corn porridge: "This porridge is also good, and it's comfortable.
Is it enough for you? I need three big bowls."
Granny Gu pushed the salted duck eggs and peanuts towards him and said, "Come to have the
New Year's Eve dinner tomorrow and don't leave. Dongwen and the others are playing mahjong
and are short of one person. You can just stay up all night together. On the morning of the first
day of the new year, we will have four-happiness dumplings. There are sweet and salty ones,
vegetable and meat ones. What flavor do you like?"
"Meat." Shanli became excited: "Let's play mahjong. You must take me with you. I have to win a
good game against Shanrang."
"Who wants to take you out to play?" Shan Rang pouted, "Bei Wu's second sister is back, and we
have two men and two women, which is just right. If you want to come, just bring us some melon
seeds, peel an apple, and pour us a cup of tea. That's fine, too. I'll give you a fifty-cent red
envelope."
Shanli raised his hand with a frown and was about to knock Shanrang's chestnuts, but Beiwu
stopped him with his chopsticks, smiling. Fortunately, Sinan, who was sitting at the low table next
to him, came to help in time: "Uncle Zhou, playing mahjong is boring. Come play with us. My
eldest cousin said he would teach me how to play Four Kingdoms War tomorrow night, and we
are short of one." She made a face, stood up and moved closer to Shanli: "I'll tell you in secret,
my mother can't play mahjong, and she can't play cards either. Every time she plays poker, she is
very slow. Once, I went to the toilet, but she hadn't played a card yet, which made Mrs. Liang and
the others anxious. And when she loses, she has a stern face. Do you know what a stern face is? If
you play with us, you can see your uncle and aunt are anxious, hahaha."
Shanrang patted Sinan's butt gently: "Well, you stinky Nannan, why are you standing on Uncle
Zhou's side?"
Sinan bent his eyes and said, "Because my sister told me to be kind, Uncle Zhou is always bullied
by you and uncle, it's so pitiful."
Everyone burst into laughter. Zhou Shanli turned his head happily to look at Xiang Sinan's little
face, but was blocked by her small palm.
"A kiss..." Sinan was about to offer mischievously, but when he heard his eldest cousin cough, he
was so scared that he quickly changed his words: "-- Just a kiss on my hand. My eldest cousin and
my elder sister said that no one can kiss my face."
Shanli laughed so hard that he patted her palm loudly: "I am your Uncle Zhou, not anyone else."
Sinan sighed and stroked his big hand: "Alas, there is no way, you are someone else now."
Shan Rang laughed and fell on Bei Wu: "Nan Nan is so cute, how can it be so funny."
Si Nan nodded: "I can't help it. I'm just so likable." She returned to the coffee table triumphantly,
hugged Si Jiang's hand and shook it: "Is that right, sister?"
Si Jiang said seriously: "Of course!" He lowered his head and kissed Si Nan. His sister was so
obedient and smart. She remembered everything she said yesterday.
Jingsheng turned his eyes away silently. He had no choice, he couldn't watch it any longer. One
was a funny guy, and the other, haha, her sister was the best in the world anyway.
After breakfast, Shanrang exchanged the wool sweater Ximei gave him for twenty steamed buns
with shredded radish, and everyone was happy. When Gu Ximei came, Grandma Gu was stuffing
the buns into a small snakeskin bag: "These twenty buns, half with shredded radish and half with
red bean paste, take them back to Pingping and Xingxing. Ningning likes the ones with meat
filling, the one with the red string tied at the mouth, don't make a mistake."
Si Jiang took two bottles of Lekoufu and said, "Take these back and drink them."
Jingsheng opened the two net bags filled with fruit, cakes and snacks: "Put them together so
they're easier to take."
"Okay, okay, don't take the steamed buns. Shanghai people only like to eat steamed buns. Jiading
produces steamed buns in xiaolongbao. Who wants to eat our Yangzhou steamed buns? And you
use this kind of bag to pack it. It's dirty and ugly, isn't it?" Gu Ximei frowned.
"What's dirty about it? Jingsheng washed it very clean and dried it in the sun for three days."
Granny Gu glared at her and said, "You're the only one who wants to save face. Pingping, do you
like the buns at Granny's?"
Shen Qingping and the other two raised their hands without hesitation: "I like it! It's so
delicious!"
Gu Ximei let out a sigh of relief, tied up the two nylon bags, turned around and saw Zhou Shanli,
feeling a little embarrassed, and greeted him and said a lot of things like "I'm sorry to bother you
and thank you for your hard work." Zhou Shanli smiled and said, "Your steamed buns are much
better than steamed buns and dumplings."
Sinan hooked Shanli's arm with satisfaction and said, "That's right! Uncle Zhou, you really have a
keen eye. Is it a hundred times more delicious?"
"Yes!" Shanli smiled and rubbed her curly hair, thinking of a dog he had when he was a child. It
was so nice to touch.
Gu Ximei forced a smile and put the two snakeskin bags together.
——
After seeing off their friends and visiting Chenghuang Temple, it was almost dusk when they
returned to Wanchun Street. The energetic Sinan picked a bag of window decorations,
firecrackers, fairy wands, etc., and insisted on dragging Jingsheng and Sijiang to Kangjia Bridge to
find Zhao Youning. Jingsheng refused mercilessly and put on an old work suit to help cook dinner.
Sijiang had no choice but to say that he would come back after giving the gifts.
"Nannan, be polite when you see Zhao's parents. Don't speak casually or say weird things."
"Oh, what do you mean by strange words?"
"Don't tell me about the needle."
"Why?"
"Well - his mother will be angry. Very, very angry."
"How dare she be angry?" Sinan was confused: "Brother Ningning is so good, and his mother
treats him so badly, it should be Brother Ningning who is angry."
"Alas, you are still young, you can't tell me anyway. Is this a secret?"
"Is it still a secret if everyone knows it?"
"If you don't agree, then we won't go. Anyway, it will be his turn to have a small class at
grandma's house after the new year, and he will come to do his homework. You can give it to
him." Si Jiang pretended to pull Si Nan back.
"Okay, okay!" Sinan almost fell to the ground: "I won't tell you, I won't tell you even if you kill
me!"

Chapter 95
The scene at Kangjiaqiao is similar to that at Wanchun Street, lively and festive, with a strong
New Year atmosphere. Lane 11 and Lane 18 have an elegant name: Yilu, most of the buildings
inside are two-story buildings made of red bricks. Although they are not as grand as the
Shikumen houses, they are much better than the iron and wooden houses in the shantytowns.
The two rows of concrete platforms on the roadside are rarely damaged.
As soon as he turned into the alley, he heard the ding-dong sound of a piano from afar. Sinan's
eyes lit up and he ran away quickly: "It must be Brother Ningning playing the piano!"
The doorbell of the Zhao family's door rang several times, and the piano sound was interrupted
for two beats, then continued. Si Jiang was a little annoyed: "Forget it, it's not good to disturb
others practicing the piano."
The door creaked open. Wu Xi frowned slightly: "Who are you looking for?"
"Hello, Zhao Youning's mother. I'm Chen Sijiang. I came to your house to call you last time."
Sijiang smiled politely and said, "My sister is back from Aksu. We are here to give Zhao Youning
something."
The piano music upstairs stuttered. The wrinkles on Wu Xi's lips deepened a little. She lowered
her eyes and glanced at Si Nan calmly: "Oh, no, there's no need to be so polite. It's only natural
for classmates to help each other."
Si Jiang saw that they had no intention of letting them go upstairs, and blushed, and took the bag
from Si Nan: "It's just some firecrackers and fireworks--"
"Auntie, is Brother Ningning home?" Chen Sinan suddenly stepped back and raised his head to
shout toward the upstairs window: "Brother Ningning! I'm Nannan. I'm here to give you a gift.
Can I come to your house for a drink of water?"
Si Jiang and Wu Xi looked at each other, and the two people who were very concerned about
their reputation blushed. The bag in the middle swayed twice, and Wu Xi reached out and took it.
"Thank you."
Neighbors coming in and out of the doorways next door greeted Wu Xi with a smile: "Ah, Teacher
Wu, your Ningning is so popular. The little kids even came to give gifts."
Wu Xi curled the corners of his mouth, trying his best to suppress his irritation and impatience,
and hesitated whether to let them in.
"Okay, Nan Nan! Let's go back and have some water." Si Jiang dragged Si Nan out.
There were a few knocks on the stairs, and Zhao Youning shouted anxiously: "Chen Sijiang!
Nannan, come up. Mommy--" The little boy's heart was in his throat, fearing that his mother
would turn his friends away, as she often did.
"No, no, just play the piano." Si Jiang said politely.
"Okay, thank you, Brother Ningning." Si Nan broke away from Si Jiang's hand and squeezed in
from Wu Xi's side. He looked up and said with a smile, "Thank you, Auntie."
Si Jiang blushed and apologized in a low voice: "Sorry to bother you."
"Come in." Wu Xi stepped aside and smiled: "Your sister is not afraid of strangers."
Si Jiang's face was burning hot, she understood that Zhao Youning's mother disliked Nan Nan for
being unruly and ignorant of etiquette.
"My sister is warm and generous to others, and everyone likes her." Si Jiang's voice was soft but
firm. If someone doesn't like Ah Mei, it's definitely not Ah Mei's fault, but that person's fault.
Sinan on the stairs turned his head and said, "Not new, not new. It's familiar. I've been here
several times."
Wu Xi's eyelids jumped, and looking at her eye-catching curly hair, he asked Si Jiang: "How old is
your sister? She is so sensible."
"Auntie, you can just ask me directly. I am six years old and have finished the first grade." Sinan
smiled with his eyes curved.
Si Jiang also turned around and smiled: "My sister is the youngest and has the best grades. She
has always been the top student in the class."
Wu Xi's right eyelid twitched again. He would probably need to put a piece of red paper on it to
press it down.
——
Zhao Youning warmly invited Sijiang and Sinan to sit on the sofa, poured two cups of warm water,
and excitedly opened the snack box: "Nannan, do you like to eat Yanjin plums? These pumpkin
seeds are also delicious. Sijiang, take a look at what you want to eat and take it yourself."
Wu Xi put the bag on the coffee table: "This is a gift from them to you."
Zhao Youning opened it and took a look: "Great, I didn't break any firecrackers. Where are you
going to set off firecrackers tomorrow night? Let's go together."
The three of them started discussing with laughter.
Wu Xi went into the room and taped a piece of red paper on his right eyelid which was twitching
non-stop. He picked up a magazine and flipped through it. After turning a few pages and hearing
no sign of the twitching outside stopping, he simply walked out again.
"Ningning."
"Ningning?"
"Zhao Youning!"
Zhao Youning stood up suddenly: "Mom? You called me?" This was the third time she called him,
and he wanted to pretend he didn't hear it.
Wu Xi walked to the piano and flipped through the music score loudly: "We need to finish playing
Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier before dinner. Why don't you hurry up?"
Si Jiang stood up and said, "Then let's go home first. See you tomorrow, Zhao Youning."
Sinan rolled his eyes and smiled sweetly: "Brother Ningning, I have never seen anyone play the
piano. Can I watch you play? Just for a while!"
Wu Xi frowned. This little Xinjiang boy really has no manners at all. Today she would have to have
a good talk with Ningning. She told her not to associate with such a child. It would be too easy for
him to learn bad things.
Si Jiang was in a dilemma: "Next time, Nan Nan, you should concentrate on practicing the piano."
Zhao Youning glanced at his mother and suddenly found the courage: "Sure, I'll move a chair for
you and you can sit and watch. But I don't play well, so don't laugh at me."
Wu Xi stopped flipping through the music score.
Si Nan sat on the chair, moved her butt, looked around, and found a mooncake box from
Xinghualou on the piano. She thought the box must contain the thick and long needle for sewing
quilt covers. Her mother liked to use mooncake boxes to store needles and thread. Si Nan called
Wu Xi: "Auntie, are you a piano teacher?"
"Hmm." Wu Xi tapped his fingers lightly on the piano.
"You look so gentle, unlike my mom, who would beat me if I wrote a word crookedly, ah." Sinan
sighed. Wu Xi's eyelids twitched so much that the red paper couldn't stop them. She suspected
that they knew something, but she felt it was impossible.
Zhao Youning noticed Si Jiang standing next to him. He moved his fingers, a little sweat appeared
on his nose, and he took a deep breath: "Then I will play."
"Hmm." Wu Xi looked at his son's slender fingers resting on the piano keys: "Come on, let's
practice in parts. Be careful not to make mistakes in fingering. The timbre is different. Each part is
different. Remember?"
Zhao Youning played three times in a row. Except for the first time when he played the three
parts with one hand, which was slightly flawed, the rest was almost perfect. The most important
thing was that he understood the music very accurately, which was rare at his age. Wu Xi was
more certain that her son had indeed inherited her talent and should develop into a professional.
Because of this, she was more pleasing to the eyes of these two uninvited and shameless
audiences, and even agreed to Zhao Youning's request, took out a block of Guangmingzhong ice
from the refrigerator, divided it into three pieces, inserted the chocolate waffles brought back
from Austria, and cut a banana into two slices and placed it next to them, telling them that this
was a very popular dessert in foreign countries.
"Banana boat?" Sinan said, "Thank you, Auntie. I really want to have a mother like you, who is
beautiful, young, gentle, can teach piano, and can make such delicious ice cream. It's so delicious.
Brother Ningning, you are so lucky."
Wu Xi was more pleased with her and laughed out loud at her praise: "Little girl, did you grow up
eating ice cream? You are so sweet."
"Auntie, Brother Ningning plays the piano so well. Can I come and watch him practice next time?
I promise not to make any noise and I will just watch quietly." Sinan looked funny with a circle of
white ice cream on the corners of his mouth.
Wu Xi hesitated for a moment and glanced at Si Jiang: "Ningning, you speak for yourself."
"Come when you are free. I usually practice for an hour and a half at 10 a.m. and an hour and a
half at 4 p.m." Zhao Youning was also relaxed: "It's really strange, it seems that with you guys
around, I can practice more smoothly than usual, really."
On the way home, Si Jiang broke down Zhao Youning's mother's words, expressions and gestures
and analyzed them to Si Nan, and tactfully told his sister that they were not happy to receive
them, did not want them to disturb Zhao Youning's piano practice, and even did not like Zhao
Youning to be friends with them. Si Nan shook her head nonchalantly: "It doesn't matter, I don't
want her to like me, I just want to protect Brother Ningning and prevent him from being stabbed
by a bad mother." She smiled smugly: "Even if she treats us to banana boats, she is not a good
mother, I lied to her."
Si Jiang: ??? !!!
This later became Chen Sinnan's unique philosophy of life: the result is important, the process
can be ignored.
——
Gu Ximei fell asleep in the car. She and her four children took a tractor from Shajingzi to Aksu,
and then took a truck to Urumqi. The train was bumpy for five days. As soon as she got home,
she was upset because Si Jiang had a quarrel with her family. Tired, after seeing off Zhu Zhenning
and the Shen brothers and sisters, the string that was stretched to the limit suddenly broke. I was
indescribably tired. The big trucks carrying goods on the national highway came one after
another, and the cars stopped and stopped. Her eyelids also fell straight down. She tried to hold
her head up, but she couldn't resist the sleepiness that swept over her.
Zhou Shanli didn't expect that it would take so long to send off three children. On the way, he and
Gu Ximei exchanged pleasantries, chatted about Si Jiang and the others, and then politely
complimented each other's younger siblings. ‌There is nothing more to say. The radio was turned
on and off, and he smoked a whole pack of cigarettes. He yawned, rolled down the window, took
out the last cigarette and lit it. The street light was already on, and the red light had stopped
three times. , still far away from the intersection, there was a lot of noise and rush outside, and
the army of bicycles passed by the car body. The cold wind roared into the car, blowing away his
sleepiness. Driving people are most afraid of passengers sleeping. In a small enclosed space,
sleepiness is worse than any infectious disease, and the eyelids are completely inoperable.
The car started, drove five meters and stopped again. A gust of wind rushed in, and the light of
the cigarette butt dimmed for a second, then brightened again. Shanli looked sideways at Ximei in
the passenger seat, reached out and pulled the military coat thrown on the back seat, and gently
covered her. She tilted her head and leaned to the left against the car window, her eyebrows
were tightly knitted, her lips were slightly pouting, like a wronged child. From the side, she looked
very similar to Gu Beiwu, delicate and a little cold. With a daughter like Jiang Sinan, I don’t know
what else is not satisfactory. Zhou Shanli shook his head. He has been a little envious of Gu Beiwu
in the past two years. He is in his thirties and still can’t make his own decisions. Where to work
and what to do are all decided by the old man. He can’t think of what else he can do besides
being a soldier. Gu Dongwen can open a restaurant, Gu Beiwu can go to college, and Shanrang
seems to be able to do anything, and the old man never cares. He didn't know what his brothers
were thinking. Perhaps they were like him, not hating being in the army, but they couldn't say
they liked it either. They just went through it and would continue like this.
When they arrived at Wanchun Street, Gu Ximei was still asleep. Shanli parked the car on the side
of the road, got out and bought two more packs of cigarettes at the tobacco and paper shop,
then walked back and forth on the curb to loosen up his muscles. After smoking two cigarettes,
he walked to the passenger side and knocked on the car window.
Ximei woke up from her dream with a start, and for a moment she thought she had missed her
stop on the train, but Shanghai and Urumqi were both final stops, so it was impossible for her to
miss her stop. She straightened up, and her military coat slipped off.
"Sorry." Ximei got out of the car with a red face, holding her coat. As soon as she landed, her legs
were numb and she squatted down.
Shanli quickly pulled her back: "Are your legs numb? Slow down, there's no rush."
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Ximei stuffed the coat into his hand and said, "Thank you, put it on
quickly, don't catch a cold."
Shanli threw his coat back on the back seat and said, "It's okay. We soldiers are not afraid of cold
or heat. Then you walk back slowly. I'm going back to the headquarters first. Tell Shanrang to save
the steamed buns for me. I'll come tomorrow night."
"It's so late, let's have dinner at home before going back."
Shanli looked at his watch and smiled, "No, I have something else to do today. Goodbye."
Old Volga turned a corner and disappeared. Ximei stood there in a daze for a long time, rubbing
her hot face with her hands, and then she found that she was sweating because she was sleeping
under the military coat. There was a faint smell of tobacco and soap around her.
Gu Ximei shook her head and hurriedly disappeared into the night of Wanchun Street.

Chapter 96
In the blink of an eye, it was New Year's Eve. Early in the morning, the sanitation worker's tenor
voice echoed from the entrance to the end of the alley.
"Take out the toilet--!"
It is not customary to empty the toilet on the first day of the new year. It must be done in
advance on New Year's Eve. Once the order is given, thousands of troops and horses will meet
with joy.
The lonely elderly were invited to sit on the rattan chairs outside the doorway to bask in the sun.
The neighborhood committee cadres and volunteers worked hard to clean the house inside and
outside, clean the toilet, and leave New Year gifts, either towels or cakes. Near noon, the staff of
the small vegetable market delivered rice and vegetables for the festival. In the afternoon, the
district leaders, led by the street officials, came to visit the masses, and inevitably gave them
government condolence money and a few bags of non-staple food.
"Thank you, leaders, and thank you, Party!" Grandma Gu, a martyr's family member, thanked
them sincerely: "We ordinary people are so blessed. We really can't take these things. Our family
has been much better off in the past few years. We should give them to other families." After
some pushing and shoving, the leader praised Grandma Gu for her high level of thinking.
Dongsheng Canteen is well-known. The deputy district chief held Gu Dongwen's hand tightly and
asked reporters to take many photos from different angles. He also showed concern for Gu Beiwu
and his wife's university life.
"Peking University students are amazing. Last fall's democratic election was a huge sensation. Did
you participate?"
"No, we were at Fudan for an exchange and missed out." Gu Beiwu said calmly.
“Who was later elected as the People’s Representative of Haidian District?”
"Hu Ping from the Department of Philosophy." Shan Rang replied with a smile, "He is one year
behind us, class of 1978."
"New youth of the new era, not bad. Director Wang, why didn't your street select Grandma Gu's
family as a five-good family?" The deputy district chief felt it was a pity: "Grandma Gu, as an
illiterate woman in the old society, raised such outstanding children independently. What did she
rely on? Isn't it worth promoting? Your thinking is not open enough. By the way, what does your
eldest daughter do?"
"Workers in the cotton mill? They are also screws that have made great contributions to our great
Shanghai. How about your little daughter? She just returned to the city from Xinjiang? You have
worked hard. I thank you on behalf of the government. Look, such a family has college students
from Peking University, workers, teachers, and self-employed business owners who have made a
fortune with their own hands. How can they not be five good? It's simply too good!"
Granny Gu wiped her hands on her apron shyly. "Really? It's the same in every household. Whose
children don't go to work in the factory? Whose children don't go to the countryside? Whose
children don't take the college entrance examination in recent years? My family is no different
from others."
The leaders chatted and laughed as they went to the next household. The trotters were pounding
in the big casserole on the stove in the Gu family, giving off a strong New Year vibe.
——
Beiwu and Shanrang were pushed out by Grandma Gu, and they planned to take a walk by the
lake in Xigong, and then call the children back to have the New Year's Eve dinner. Speaking of last
year's election, it was indeed a grand event. Peking University was designated as a separate
constituency, and both undergraduates and graduate students could participate in the election,
which was a milestone in history. Although they were in Shanghai, they were also very concerned
about the situation on campus. Now that the dust has settled, they can't help but feel a little
emotional when their leaders mentioned it.
"'We are all ordinary people, but we are in a very unusual place.'" Bei Wu smiled and said, "Hu
Ping wrote this campaign slogan very well."
"It's a pity that we are the 8.75% who didn't vote." Shanrang said with a little regret: "I would
probably vote for □□, 'Let the new generation drive China!' Just thinking about it makes my blood
boil."
“I didn’t expect that □□, who majored in technical physics, has such a strong sense of civic
consciousness.” Bei Wuyin had already decided to study in the United States, so he hardly
participated in this election.
"Actually, I feel like you don't seem to have much enthusiasm for this matter." Shan Rang glanced
sideways: "Really?"
Beiwu held her hand tightly and looked at her expression carefully: "Does this disappoint you?"
Shanrang shook his head. “I’m just curious. You’ve always been very interested in current affairs. I
thought you would run for election as well.”
"I may now be wary of any movement or any excessive national enthusiasm." Bei Wu thought for
a while: "The candidates from the school this time are also divided into radicals, moderates,
idealists, and pragmatists. If I must classify, I probably belong to the pragmatists, pessimistic
pragmatism, because Peking University's success this time has not been replicated in Hunan and
other places. However, I agree with what Luo Bulong from the Department of Philosophy of
Guizhou University said: People are the starting point and destination of all problems. Now the
reform and opening up is almost similar to the national reform, everything is for economic
development, and I once thought that economic development is the only solution-"
"What now?"
Bei Wu was silent for a moment and sighed: "I have thought a lot about the Aksu educated youth
incident this time. The fate of an individual is insignificant in the wheel of the times. My second
sister was also burning with passion back then. She chose that path herself, but... When I think of
such a big country, the fate of hundreds of millions of people depends on one or a few people. If
power cannot restrain, restrict and balance power, how far can reform and opening up go? I am a
little confused."
"So you have been reading Zizhi Tongjian recently?" Shanrang asked softly.
Bei Wu smiled and said, "Reading history can help you gain wisdom, and knowing the past can
help you learn from the present. Our country's path is different from any other country, and it is
difficult to copy the successful experience of other countries, except for the economy. Economic
development will inevitably repeat the path taken by European and American countries."
"Marketization? The financial industry you focus on? Do you think our country will open a stock
market?"
"Yes, it will. Everything will be connected to the world. Even land will be marketized." Beiwu took
a breath and said, "It's useless to think too much. For now, we can only move forward in the
direction we have determined before."
"The light is green. Let's go, Comrade Gu Youguo." Shan Rang pulled Bei Wu across the road.
"Sometimes, I feel very close to you, and sometimes I feel very far away from you. I'm worried
that you will get farther and farther away after you go to the United States. One day, you and I
will no longer be in the same world. If that day really comes, I will probably regret my current
choice."
"There is no separation except life and death. Shanrang-" Beiwu smiled and said, "It's unlucky not
to say this word during the New Year. I have always been more confident than you."
Shan Rang chewed on his words, "There is no separation except life and death." He felt a kind of
bone-melting and soul-stirring romance, and couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.
——
Sinan had a lot of fun in the West Palace. His curly hair was flying and his face was red. He was
holding a toy revolver given by Zhao Youning and chasing people around to ask them to
surrender.
Beiwu unfolded the matching gunpowder paper and laughed at the sight of it. It was printed
with: "Bang bang bang, gunshots are heard everywhere. Three-star tinder paper, each grain is
loud." It was quite rhyming.
"Commander Chen, let's go back and eat egg dumplings." Shan Rang shouted loudly.
"Bang, bang, bang", a few grains of gunpowder paper exploded at Shanrang's feet, scaring her.
Si Nan laughed loudly. Si Jiang grabbed Si Nan's hand and tried to confiscate the weapon. Si Nan
howled in resistance, but his hand felt light. Jing Sheng raised his right hand high and said, "I told
you not to hit anyone, and you didn't listen?"
"I was wrong, I was wrong, cousin, I won't do it again next time!"
Jingsheng put the gun in his pocket: "Confiscate it for three days."
Sinan grabbed him and said, "The count will start tomorrow. I have to fight with Brother Ningning
and the others in the street tonight! Please."
Shan Rang came over with a smile and interceded: "Forget it, Gu Qingtian, just let Nan Nan go
and let her have some fun tonight."
"Woooooo, long live my aunt!" Sinan turned around and hugged Shanrang's thighs tightly.
Zhao Youning brought Sheng Fang and the others over to meet up, and they were all sweating.
"Going back? Then let's go together. I also want to go back to play the piano." Zhao Youning was
reluctant to leave.
"I'll play the piano with you." The sword-wielding heroine Chen Sinan raised her hands and even
forgot about her revolver.
Jingsheng grabbed her collar, and Sijiang shook her head: "Today is New Year's Eve, we can't go to
other people's houses."
Sinan was not convinced, but when he saw the pistol spinning in Jingsheng's hand, he
immediately gave in: "Brother Ningning, I will come to see you in a few days."
——
As the sky gradually darkened, Si Jiang took Si Nan to Chen's house for the New Year's Eve dinner.
Shanli leaned against the kitchen to smoke. He had just said a few words to Gu Dongwen, the
chef, when he saw a woman from afar turning into the alley gracefully, smiling and greeting her
neighbors as she walked. When she greeted others, her upper body turned slightly, her slender
neck slightly bent, and then raised lightly, occasionally reaching out to lift the hair that fell on her
cheek. Later, Zhou Shanli understood that this was called charm. He didn't know if there were ten
thousand kinds, but there were certainly thousands and hundreds of kinds.
Nanhong walked to the door of her house, and saw a tall and burly young man staring at her
intently, with the cigarette in his hand almost burning his fingers. She probably guessed who it
was, walked to Shanli, stretched out her hand, took out his cigarette and put it out on the door
frame, and then leaned against the door and asked with a smile: "Hey, Nong Saning? What are
you doing at the door of Dengleala's house? You are stupid, what are you looking at? Have you
never seen a woman?"
Zhou Shanli took a step back toward the threshold, and for the first time in his thirty-year-old life,
he blushed.
"Me? Hello, I'm Zhou Shanli, Shanrang's second brother. You - you're Beiwu's eldest sister?"
Gu Dongwen banged his spatula on the stove, turned around and glanced at Nanhong: "Gu
Nanhong, don't tease the People's Liberation Army, can you bear the responsibility?"
Nan Hong rolled her eyes at him: "Brother, have you ever been teased? You call this teasing? Tsk
tsk tsk." She turned around and patted Shanli's arm in a serious tone: "Comrade Zhou, if you
meet a female spy, you will be in danger. You should go out and exercise your iron will in the
midst of the bright lights and wine. Come on."
She turned around and went upstairs without paying attention. Her small handbag swung half a
circle on her shoulder and almost scratched Shanli's face. Shanli touched his face and found it
was very hot: "I'm going out for a walk and will be back soon."
Gu Dongwen put the fried snow vegetables on a plate, glanced at Shanli's fleeing back, and shook
his head: "This generation of men is no good."

Chapter 97
Shanli walked out a few steps and met Ximei again. Ximei came to deliver the New Year dishes
and entered the alley at the same time as Nanhong. Although she didn't hear what the two of
them were whispering at the door of the kitchen, she could guess most of it from Shanli's
expression. She had seen many men after being teased by Nanhong since she was fourteen or
fifteen years old. There were few men in Wanchun Street who could resist except Chen Donglai.
Because Shanli covered her with a coat when she fell asleep yesterday and waited outside the car
for her to wake up, she thought Shanli was a gentleman and had some good feelings for him. But
at this moment, she couldn't help but sneer in her heart, just glanced at him and nodded lightly,
quickened her steps into the doorway, and stepped on the stairs with a thumping sound.
Shanli was unexpectedly looked down upon and scratched his head guiltily, wondering why
Nanhong, the eldest sister, looked much younger than Ximei. He guessed it was because the
construction in Xinjiang was too hard. He walked to the entrance of the alley and felt his
heartbeat become even. He then took out another cigarette and smoked it, but it felt hot before
he even lit it.
Ximei went upstairs. Grandma Gu was setting the table, Beiwu was pouring wine, Nanhong was
standing at the window, applying lipstick in front of a small mirror, and talking to Shanrang about
the performance on the fifth day of the New Year.
"You came just in time. Bring back two dishes. Si Jiang likes to eat lion's head and Wensi tofu.
Let's give them something more delicious." Grandma Gu took out the dishes she had reserved
earlier and said, "I saw your mother-in-law grinding glutinous rice early yesterday morning. Has
she finished grinding the rice paste today? You didn't forget what I said, you must not touch the
mill. Let the men do it. It's too strenuous. It's not worth it if they hurt their wrists and waists."
Ningbo people must eat glutinous rice balls during the Spring Festival. The Chen family has an
ancestral stone millstone. After liberation, they moved it to their hometown. Other people
sharpen scissors and kitchen knives, but they invite stonemasons to chisel and grind the seams.
During the New Year and other festivals, 10 to 20 kilograms of glutinous rice flour are washed and
soaked for a whole day. The family uses all their strength to grind it into rice slurry. After settling,
it is hung in a cloth bag to dry and used to make glutinous rice balls. Everyone in Wanchun Street
knows that Chen's glutinous rice balls are the best. The skin is glutinous and fragrant without
sticking to the teeth. The filling is made of lard, soft sugar, and black biscuits. It is like a fountain
when you bite it, and it is sweet to the heart. In recent years, only the Gu family and the
neighbors in the same doorway can eat Ningbo glutinous rice balls that are so troublesome. Eat
it, praise it, but Grandma Gu is reluctant to let Ximei go to grind rice slurry.
Ximei shook her head. "The three brothers Sijun have been grinding rice for the whole morning. I
don't have time to grind rice milk. Si is a very active person. He woke up at eight o'clock and just
fell asleep now. This is the red crab stewed with crab paste made by grandma, and a big yellow
croaker in soup. The yellow croaker was brought back from the East China Sea. It's wild. You can
all try it."
Bei Wu smiled: "Si Hao, this is called thoughtfulness. It's hard for him to hold on until now just to
let you have a safe New Year's Eve dinner. What a sensible child."
Ximei thought about it and laughed: "He really never made me suffer."
"Your mother-in-law is too polite. I feel bad for sending delicious dishes every year. Her family
eats very exquisitely, and our country food is not up to par." Grandma Gu was afraid of
embarrassing Ximei.
Bei Wu packed the food box and weighed it: "What are you talking about, Mom? Our Jiangsu
cuisine and their Zhejiang cuisine are both in the eight major cuisines, and they are equally good.
The state banquet even uses Yangzhou lion head for entertaining the President of the United
States."
Ximei nodded: "That's right. Besides, no matter what you eat, it will taste the same. There's no
point in being picky. By the way, I'll bring you the dumplings after twelve o'clock."
"Then I'll ask your eldest brother to prepare the Four Happiness Rice Dumplings early, and you
can bring some back too. Tell the Sijiang sisters not to rush over. This is the first time the three of
you will be celebrating the New Year together, so spend more time with your grandparents."
Nanhong and Shanrang came closer to see the stir-fried crabs and yellow croaker, and exclaimed
in admiration.
"Didn't Zhao Yanhong come back for the New Year?" Ximei asked casually.
"Hmm." Nanhong took a piece of the fattest one and put it in her mouth: "I won't go to his
grandparents' house for New Year's Eve dinner when he comes back. The vegetables in the
countryside are all greasy and I don't have any appetite at all."
Ximei thought of the scene just now, glanced at Shanrang, lowered her eyes and said, "Anyway,
Lao Zhao is not the kind of playboy who eats grass around his own backyard, so you don't have to
worry about Si."
Nan Hong was startled, and she glanced at him with a sidelong glance, and added with a half-
smile: "Oh, Lao Zhao has a sister-in-law like you who worries about him. No wonder he is so
relieved. He has been gone for several months without a single word or phone call."
Ximei's face turned red, and she sneered, "How funny! In this Shanghai, who can keep an eye on
you, Gu Nanhong? I can't control you, and I don't want to control you. Beiwu, you should take a
closer look, so that nothing will happen during the New Year."
Beiwu and Shanrang looked at each other, vaguely guessing that it might be related to Shanli, but
they didn't know how to respond. Jingsheng had only halfway down the ladder when he heard
this. He silently returned to the attic, picked up a book and fell on the bed. Suddenly, he
remembered the scene of Sijiang crying while holding "Dream of Red Mansions" and soaking five
handkerchiefs. He couldn't help but twitch his mouth. He also turned over a few pages of the
book, but he couldn't read it anymore. These facts about men and women, brothers and sisters,
and love were really boring.
Nanhong was not annoyed. She stood up and washed her hands leisurely. When Ximei was
carrying the lunch box out, she brushed past her and said softly, "I want to flirt but I don't dare to
flirt, I want to be promiscuous but I don't dare to be promiscuous. It's hard to pretend to be a
decent woman."
Ximei almost dropped the dish in her hand on the spot. It was New Year's Day, and she didn't
want to quarrel with her family again. They had always been partial to Nanhong anyway. It was
useless for her to say anything, so she just took a deep breath and glanced at Nanhong: "You are
so pitiful." It was really shameful. She opened the curtain, straightened her chest and went
downstairs. She had tried her best. If something ugly really happened, it was none of her
business. Si Jiang and Si Nan were both surnamed Chen, not Gu.
There was silence upstairs for a moment. Nan Hong shook her head and laughed: "This person is
really mentally ill. She must have been blown by the sand in Xinjiang. It's so funny. She's just
short of wearing a red armband and standing in front of other people's beds to supervise them
blowing the whistle. I just said a few words to your brother, and she became a rabbit who wants
to eat grass in her own yard? It's inexplicable. Ignore her."
Shan Rang was very embarrassed: "Second sister may have misunderstood." She admired Nan
Hong's vitality and charm, but it would be absolutely inappropriate if she had any relationship
with Shan Li.
Nanhong frowned and thought about what she had said and done just now. It couldn't really be
considered as teasing or flirting, at most it was just a teasing.
"The dishes are served." Shanli came in with two pots of dishes. When he saw Nanhong, his eyes
slid to the side: "Be careful, where do you put this squid? Where do you put this water celery?"
Nan Hong stacked the crabs on top to make some room: "Put it here."
Shanli smelled a pleasant fragrance on her body. He was too nervous to notice it just now. He
couldn't help holding his breath and his face turned red again.
Nanhong blinked, and somehow she thought of a boy from the next alley when she was young.
He suddenly ran to her house in the early spring when the rain was falling and said he liked her.
He was also afraid to look at her and even held his breath. Before she could refuse, her father
waved a carrying pole and beat him away. He was the first man who said he liked her.
After eating most of the New Year's Eve dinner, Nanhong asked, "Shanli, how old are you? Are
you married?"
"Thirty-five." Shanli was so flustered that he almost knocked over the bottle. "No, I'm not married
yet."
Shan Rang coughed lightly and his face turned red. He didn't expect that his second brother was
so shameless.
"It's great to be young." Nanhong raised her glass with a smile, "Thank you for taking my son and
his family to Longhua. They kept saying you're amazing. When my husband comes back, my
family and I will treat you to a good meal."
Shanli responded randomly twice, then looked up and saw Shanrang's eyes. He felt ashamed
immediately and pulled Beiwu downstairs to smoke.
"I'm sorry." Shan Rang didn't expect that his second brother had never opened up to the
relationship between men and women. No wonder Xi Mei misunderstood him. She
embarrassedly apologized on behalf of Shan Li: "My second brother is a little stupid in that
aspect."
Nanhong blinked her right eye and blew her a kiss: "Don't worry, I may be a playboy, but I'm not
wild, and I'm not a rabbit."
Shan Rang burst out laughing. If she were a man, she wouldn't be able to bear it either.
Jingsheng walked to the window and opened a crack, and saw Shanli below, spinning in circles,
looking very irritated. He had thought Zhou Shanli was a man of integrity before, but now he felt
that he was not so good. He looked back at Gu Dongwen, who was smiling and motionless, and
thought of his mother, and vaguely felt that he should not be judged like that. There were
laughter and noise coming from not far away, and Jingsheng stretched his neck. A group of
children at the entrance of the alley had already started fighting with various "weapons". He
didn't know how long Si Jiangsnan would stay at the Chen family.
"I'm done eating. You guys take your time while I go to Lane 74 to take a look." Jingsheng was
very satisfied with this excuse to slip away.
——
As the night deepened, there were sporadic sounds of firecrackers and children's laughter and
running outside. The TV in the living room was on, and the adults were still drinking. Shanli had
come back to his senses from his slight excitement, and he and Beiwu Dongwen drank one cup
after another. They felt that the small wine cups were not enough, so they changed to large white
porcelain bowls. They talked about Chongqing, Nanjing, Beijing, and Yan'an, and they were full of
energy and talked nonstop. The TV was playing the "Spring Festival Gala". This program was very
fresh. The audience wrote letters to Shanghai TV to request their favorite programs. They could
request songs, dances, crosstalk, comedy, Yue opera, and Shanghai opera. At this time,
Tongzirong and Liu Guangning had just started to perform movie dubbing clips.
Nanhong pointed at the TV and shouted, "Look, this is what I requested! I wrote three letters and
even asked the director to open the back door and say hello, but he didn't even mention my
name! Did Shan let you watch it? The movie "The Last Song", starring Yamaguchi Momoe and
Miura Tomokazu, I watched it three times."
Shanrang also became excited: "I also watched it three times. Yamaguchi Baihui is so beautiful,
but Miura Tomokazu is not as handsome as our Kitatake."
"Tsk, you think beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Beiwu, this wild pigeon, has built a nest in
your heart." Nanhong curled her lips.
"Yes, I built it when I was sixteen." Shan Rang smiled sweetly.
Shanli's eyes hurt from watching this. This dear sister was so irritating that he got so angry that
he grabbed Beiwu and drank another big bowl.
Bei Wu tried hard to recall: "Liu Guangning's white sweater with a sky blue vest is quite elegant. I
also saw such a vest somewhere last time. It will look good with Shan Nang's white sweater."
Nanhong pointed at Beiwu and said, "Shanli, give him another bowl of soup. He's really annoying.
He keeps showing off his happy marriage all day long."
Gu Dongwen felt the same way: "One bowl is not enough, at least three bowls."
Beiwu smiled and covered the bowl: "Then let me think of something unhappy. One time when
we went to the Western Suburbs Zoo, Shanrang was so irritating——"
Shan Rang covered his mouth with his hand: "You are drunk!"
"Tell me, tell me quickly." Nanhong and Dongwen couldn't help laughing as they watched the
couple quarreling.
Bei Wu's eyes flickered and he gently kissed Shan Rang's palm. He really refused to say anything,
which made them very anxious. Nan Hong brought up the embarrassing incident when he was
forced to wear her skirt when he was a child and severely criticized him.
Shanrang lay on Beiwu's back and laughed until her stomach hurt. When they went to the zoo,
they happened to see a male lion and a female lion. Other tourists were embarrassed and ran
away after taking a look. She dragged Beiwu to observe for a long time in the spirit of scientific
knowledge, and finally came to the conclusion: at the peak, the expressions of men and male
lions were very similar. Beiwu felt a little awkward, and their married life was also affected
because she couldn't help laughing when she thought of the lions. Many times, she couldn't
continue in the middle of making love, which made Beiwu so angry that he beat her up.
The dishes on the table were heated up and cooled down, and it was not until ten o'clock that
the table was cleared and a marching blanket was spread out, and a set of bamboo mahjong was
spread out to build the Great Wall. Grandma Gu had already mixed the fillings for the four-
happiness dumplings, and was sitting on a small stool in front of the TV preparing to wrap the
dumplings. Four red envelopes were neatly pressed under the round plaque, waiting for
Jingsheng and his friends to come back and claim them.
"Oh, thank you mahjong, thank you mahjong." Nan Hong stomped the cards neatly, and stroked
them from beginning to end with her slender fingers: "If it weren't for mahjong, I would have to
call Gu Hong. My father and mother, it's so scary."
Shanrang, who was sitting between Beiwu and Shanli and was about to look at the cards, asked
curiously, "Why?"
Grandma Gu looked up: "The eldest son's name was originally Gu Wen. When I was unloading
the goods, his grandfather, my father, was playing mahjong outside. He was in a hurry to go
home, but he won eight games in a row in the Dongfeng circle and couldn't leave, winning a lot of
money. When he came back, he insisted on changing Gu Wen to Gu Dongwen, saying that the
word Dong would bring good luck to him. Later, when he had four children, he simply arranged
them in the east, south, west and north." It was no use being lucky. Dad smoked opium, played
mahjong, drank strong liquor and loved to eat fatty meat. After the liberation, there was no
opium, and he passed away after two years. Only his portrait was left to be worshipped.
Fortunately, the four children are finally together this year. I hope that Dad and that dead father-
in-law and son-in-law can meet each other in the underworld and become mahjong partners, so
that they can kill everyone together.

Chapter 98
Jingsheng was proud of being half an adult, and didn't want to indulge in the game of throwing
cannons and gunpowder paper with Sinan and the others, so he just watched from the side.
Sijiang Sinan and his cousins met up with Zhao Youning and his gang at the cultural center, and
they formed two teams to compete with each other.
How could they tell who was winning or losing? A bunch of kids were running around in all the
lanes, chasing from the front door to the back door. When they saw someone, they would throw
firecrackers and gunpowder paper at their feet, which exploded with a crackling sound. Those
who were scared would chase after them for revenge. It was very lively. Often, one person would
scare the whole group, and gradually all the little tricksters in the lanes were involved. They could
not tell the enemy from us. They hid carefully, ran breathlessly, laughed until they were hoarse,
and shouted loudly. After ten o'clock, the adults came out to catch fish and urged them to go
home to change into new clothes and cotton shoes to receive red envelopes. Only then did the
big group gradually disperse.
Sinan still felt unsatisfied, so he heard someone on the street starting to set off firecrackers.
Boom, a spark of fire flew up to the sky, and then exploded with a "bang" in mid-air. For a child,
covering their ears and waiting for the "bang" was the most exciting thing. Occasionally, if a
firecracker was a dud, it was even more fun to wait in vain.
A group of people were heading towards Wanhangdu Road. Halfway through, they heard a
"swoosh" sound, and a silver arrow flew into the clouds and exploded into a silver
chrysanthemum. It stayed in the air for a half moment, flickering and gradually dimming, and
finally disappeared. Followed by one arrow after another, there were broken stars in the sky and
golden snakes dancing, which was very beautiful.
"Fireworks, someone is setting off fireworks! Over there!" Sinan ran away.
Si Jiang ran after them for two steps and suddenly stopped. She had chased fireworks many times
before, but they were usually over by the time she caught up with them, so she didn't get a good
look at them. The noise of her companions faded away, and the fireworks not far away
illuminated the sky. She stood quietly in the same place. Chrysanthemums, plum blossoms, silver
willows, and starry sky were all over the sky. After a burst of brilliance, they fell into silence. Si
Jiang breathed a sigh of satisfaction, but suddenly a long Milky Way exploded in the sky. The
waterfall of light blinked at her like countless stars, gradually disappeared in the night sky, and
thousands of meteors fell into her eyes. Somehow, Si Jiang's heart was filled with melancholy,
swelling, and her nose was sore.
"Sijiang—Chen Sijiang?"
Jingsheng ran towards her not far away, gradually slowing down his pace.
"Ai."
Jingsheng walked to the entrance of the alley and found that Si Jiang was missing, so he quickly
turned back to look for her. He wanted to say something to her, but when he saw that her star-
like eyes were misty and she seemed to be about to cry, he became restrained.
"Why don't you go watch the fireworks?"
"I saw it." Si Jiang lowered his eyes and blinked back his tears. He couldn't cry on New Year's Eve,
or he would cry all next year. "It's very clear here."
Jingsheng glanced at her again: "Are you okay?"
"It's okay," Si Jiang turned away shyly, "Did you see it? The last waterfall fireworks were really
beautiful."
Jingsheng raised his head. He was in a hurry to find someone and didn't pay attention. He
casually replied, "I saw it."
The two walked to the road in silence. Sinan was squatting in the middle of the road examining
the base of the fireworks with an envious look on his face.
"Alas, we were too slow. The show had just finished when we ran over." Sinan patted the base
regretfully: "I also saw this yesterday. It's very expensive, costing dozens of dollars! Sister, cousin,
did you see it just now? I didn't even have time to take a good look at it!"
"Good deal, good deal, here's an unlit one." Chen Shimin happily picked up a firework stick from
the curb: "It's half burned out." He quickly took out a box of matches: "Look at what kind of
flower this is."
Zhao Youning was stunned: "Wait, we can't light it under the tree--"
The fireworks had already screamed and rushed up, hitting the tree trunk and exploding
everywhere. Chen Simin covered his head and squatted on the ground, only to hear ghosts crying
and wolves howling around him. Zhao Youning only had time to hold Si Nan in his arms and hide
beside the big base.
"Nannan--" Si Jiang saw a lot of sparks splashing in front of Si Nan, and ran over in a hurry, but he
didn't notice a burst of sparks flying diagonally towards her.
"Be careful!" Jing Sheng suddenly pulled her and turned her around. She felt a burning sensation
on her head and a burning smell filled the air.
The fireworks finally stopped exploding, and Si Jiang looked at Jing Sheng in shock. Jing Sheng
touched it with his backhand and looked at it under the street light: "Fortunately, there is no
bleeding." Si Jiang looked at the burnt spot on his head and tears fell: "Brother——"
Chen Shimin, who had made a big mistake, dropped the firework stick in his hand tremblingly:
"Brother Jingsheng, you have a bald spot on your head——"
Sinan cared about his cousin but did not forget to protect his hero: "Brother Ningning, there is a
hole in your new clothes. Thank you!"
Zhao Youning brushed off the dust on his sleeves, still feeling frightened: "I'm fine, luckily the
fireworks didn't explode on Jingsheng's face. A disaster will bring good fortune in the future." He
severely criticized Chen Shimin. Everyone went out in high spirits, but returned in defeat.
Fortunately, they had red envelopes to comfort themselves when they returned home.
Before they parted, Sinan grabbed Zhao Youning's sleeve and said, "Brother Ningning, will your
mother be so angry that she'll poke a hole in you with a needle?"
Zhao Youning laughed: "How could that be? She only gets angry when I don't play the piano well,
and then-"
"Don't be afraid. I will accompany you and protect you whenever you play the piano in the
future. Don't worry." Si Nan patted his chest, stood on tiptoe to pull Zhao Youning down, and
kissed him hard on the face: "Thank you, Brother Ningning. I'll kiss you, no money required."
Zhao Youning wiped the saliva from his cheek, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. What do you
mean by not wanting money?
——
After returning home, Si Jiang apologized to his uncle with red eyes: "It's all my fault for being too
careless. My brother's scalp was burnt."
Grandma Gu was so angry that she kept scolding Si Min for being a bastard. Bei Wu found some
cotton wool and mercurochrome, and Nan Hong took out Gu Dongwen's razor and was eager to
try: "Jingsheng, leave it to the lady, I'll help you shave." Shan Rang pulled Si Jiang and Si Nan over
to carefully check if they were hit by the explosion. Everyone in the room dropped their mahjong
and got busy.
"Don't blame my sister, blame brother Simin! He was too stupid, he was just standing under a
tree, bang, whoosh - it exploded!" Sinan replayed the case with gestures: "In a flash, my cousin
rushed over and protected my sister tightly. What a good move, he saved the beauty.
Unfortunately, he was in trouble, the fireworks exploded on his head - by the way, uncle, will my
cousin be bald forever?" Sinan expressed his concern.
Gu Dongwen stroked Jingsheng's scalp casually and said, "It's okay, it's nothing. I'll shave my head
on February 2, the day when the dragon raises its head. These few days, wash your head and
wear a hat to cover it. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, you've been living too comfortably these days. Your hands
and feet are not as flexible as before, Jingsheng. Last time you beat up an old gangster and broke
your hand. Today, you broke your head while protecting my sister. I think you should sign up for a
martial arts class to consolidate your progress."
Jingsheng snorted, slapped away the big hand that was still touching his head, picked up the
basin, poured half a basin of hot water, and went downstairs to wash his hair.
"Brother, let me help you." Si Jiang found a flashlight and followed him.
Gu Dongwen sniffed his fingers, smelling a smell of sulfur and burnt hair: "Stinky." He scratched
Sinan's nose casually: "Can you listen to Shan Tianfang in Xinjiang? There are successors in the
storytelling world. Do you like The Romance of Sui and Tang Dynasties?"
Sinan's eyes sparkled, and he made a gesture to block him: "Uncle! I built this road, and I planted
this tree. If you want to pass through here, you have to leave money to buy your way through!
Give me the red envelope for your prosperity!"
Beiwu and Shanrang also smiled and took out red envelopes. Nanhong was amazed: "Chen Sinan,
your uncle has always said this to others. This is the first time someone has said it to him. You are
really good."
Gu Dongwen took out a red envelope and said, "Well, okay, thanks to my niece, I'll pay you a
bribe so that your uncle can make more money next year."
Sinan took the red envelope and immediately opened it to count the coins. The more he counted,
the brighter his eyes became. After he finished counting, he jumped up while holding the red
envelope: "Ten yuan! Ten yuan! Aaaaaaaaa - I'm rich! Thank you, uncle! I found ten yuan on the
side of the road. Ten yuan, ten yuan, hahahaha."
Jingsheng and Sijiang came up and saw this little lunatic still jumping and laughing around Gu
Dongwen.
"Okay, okay, come on, line up to get the red envelopes." Bei Wu picked up Si Nan and carried him
on his shoulders and spun him around four or five times. Si Nan screamed with joy.
Nanhong had just shaved off the hair near Jingsheng's burnt scalp when Ximei arrived, followed
by her sister-in-law Li Xuejing and the troublemaker Chen Shimin.
Li Xuejing put down the Ningbo glutinous rice balls she had just made, apologized, and slapped
Chen Simin twice in front of everyone. Chen Simin bowed several times with a flat mouth.
Jingsheng had never encountered such a scene before, and was very embarrassed. He said
several times that it was okay. Grandma Gu was too embarrassed to blame him anymore, so she
could only ask Simin to be careful in the future.
Ximei breathed a sigh of relief: "Okay, okay, as long as Jingsheng is okay." After sending Li Xuejing
and her son off, she went back home and took out three red envelopes.
After handing out the red envelopes, Ximei dragged Sinan into the inner room and stood with
Sijiang in front of the bed: "Logically speaking, it's New Year's Day today, and Mommy shouldn't
say anything that makes you unhappy, but if I don't say it today, you won't remember it in the
future. Tell me, what did you promise Mommy when we had the New Year's Eve dinner?"
Si Jiang lowered his eyes: "Don't play too much, don't go out of the alley, don't touch firecrackers
and big fireworks."
Sinan curled his lips, pretending he heard nothing, and rubbed the toes of his right foot on the
cement and began to tremble.
With a slap, Ximei lowered her face and shouted in a low voice, "Stand still! What are you shaking
for? Men shake because they are poor and women shake because they are cheap. I've said it so
many times!"
Si Jiang was shocked: "Mom! Don't hit Nan Nan. It's my fault. I didn't take good care of my sister."
Sinan's neck stiffened, and he sat down on the ground and took off his shoes and socks: "My
chilblain feet are itchy! If you don't shake them for me, I'll scratch them."
Ximei tried to lift her up twice but couldn't. "Chen Sinan, you're the one who gets into trouble all
day long. Didn't Mom tell you that it's dangerous for adults to set off firecrackers and big
fireworks on the street? You clearly promised not to leave the alley, but what happened?"
"Everyone went! I wasn't the only one there!" Si Nan pulled her hand down and said, "We went
to watch the fireworks. Why did you scold me when Chen Simin made a mistake? Go scold him,
he's so stupid—"
"He's not my son, I have no right to control him!" Ximei was so angry: "You troublemaker, have
you ever thought about it? What if the fireworks exploded on Jingsheng's face? What if they
exploded in his eyes? Every year, there are so many children who are burned and blinded in
children's hospitals. This time your eldest cousin is lucky. If he was burned, how would you
compensate him? You little bastard, you still talk too much. You feel itchy after not being spanked
for a few days, right? Come here, come here, so that you can celebrate the New Year after being
spanked, and I will teach you a lesson!"
Si Jiang was so anxious that he bent down to protect Si Nan: "Mom, don't blame my sister, my
cousin was there to help me block it, don't blame my sister, blame me instead."
Ximei slapped Sijiang's hand away and said, "You are grown up now. Mommy can't hit you. You
should reflect on yourself and ask yourself whether you have taken Mommy's words to heart.
What are you thinking about now? You are not doing well in your studies and you are not careful
when you take your sister out to play."
Si Jiang's face flushed, his mind was in a mess, he hugged Si Nan tightly and slapped her on the
back twice. She gritted her teeth and held back her tears.
Granny Gu rushed in: "Gu Ximei, I think you are out of your mind! Your Chen family's nephew got
into trouble, why did you beat Si Jiang Sinan?"

Chapter 99
This New Year's Eve was truly unforgettable. Grandma Gu raised a feather duster and pretended
to hit Ximei. Sijiang hugged his grandmother and said it was all her fault. Sinan screamed and
jumped barefoot into the living room to seek shelter from his uncle and aunt. Ximei chased him
outside and taught Sinan a lesson while arguing with his mother. Nanhong protected Sinan and
looked down on Ximei with a lot of sarcasm. After Shanrang persuaded his mother-in-law and the
elder and younger sisters-in-law, Beiwu pulled Sijiang off Grandma Gu, hugged him and
comforted him softly. When his uncle comforted him, Sijiang's tears, which he had been holding
back for a long time, fell down. Shanli was stunned and almost rubbed the nine-tube card in his
hand into a blank.
Jingsheng stood at the door holding the washbasin for a moment, unsure whether he should
quietly go up to the attic to avoid the verbal and physical fights of this family. Seeing Si Nan
howling with his neck tilted back without shedding a tear, while Si Jiang made no sound but only
burst into tears, he poured half a bottle of hot water into the washbasin, wrung out a towel and
covered Si Jiang's face directly.
Gu Dongwen stood up, snatched the feather duster that Grandma Gu held high and never put
down, and slapped it hard on the dining table. "Okay, everyone, be quiet."
The mahjong tiles fell apart, and with a "snap" the feather duster broke into two pieces, and
chicken feathers flew all over the room. Sinan made two "Puh" sounds and spat out a chicken
feather.
"Mom, there is a chicken feather on your head." Sinan forgot that he was still avoiding his
mother's beating, and pointed at Ximei's head and giggled.
Granny Gu muttered as she went outside to get a broom and dustpan. "Really? Big Boss, why are
you putting so much effort into this? If it's hard to sweep tomorrow, what's the point of making a
mess on the first day of the new year?"
Everyone in the room had just stopped fighting and had just cleaned up the chicken feathers
when the sound of firecrackers outside became more frequent. Even with the windows closed,
the pungent smell of sulfur could be smelled. The wall clock rang, and the first day of the new
year had arrived.
Dongwen, Nanhong, Ximei and Beiwu looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Mom, congratulations on your prosperity and all the best." Gu Dongwen picked up the plaque
and asked Jingsheng to go downstairs to cook dumplings.
Nanhong took out a few red envelopes from her bag and said, "Jingsheng, come and get your
New Year's money." She then stuffed the biggest one into Grandma Gu's arms and said, "All the
best to you and good luck." Shanli also took out three red envelopes.
Grandma Gu thanked the kind gift and said, "Jingsheng, Sijiang and Sinan, go and thank Uncle
Zhou first. Here, this is what grandma gave you, take it. Okay, let's put all the unhappy things
aside in the Year of the Monkey. We should be happy in the New Year. It's not easy for the family
to be together." She glanced at Ximei and said, "You all have to be more sensible, understand?"
"Got it. Thank you, grandma."
Jingsheng put away the red envelope, picked up the half-box of fairy wands next to the chest of
drawers, and called to Sijiang Sinan, "Let's go and cook the dumplings."
Ximei picked up a box of glutinous rice balls from Chen's house and said, "Sijiang, take this down
and cook it with uncle."
Sinan presented the New Year's money he received with both hands and said, "Mom, these are
for you. You must be happy in the New Year. Congratulations on making a fortune. Mom, if you
make a fortune, I will make a fortune."
Si Jiang also gave her a bunch of gifts. "Mom, I'll give you some too. I wish you good luck and
happiness in the Year of the Rooster. My sister and I will be obedient, I promise."
Ximei took the red envelope and avoided Sijiang's eyes uncomfortably. "Okay, got it. I also wish
you academic progress in the new year. Mum will save these for you to use when you go to
college."
Sinan turned around and followed Jingsheng downstairs with great interest. "Cousin, how many
fairy wands can I play with? Five is ok? If not, three will be ok."
"You can have fun as you like. Once this half box is used up, I'll buy you a new one tomorrow."
Jingsheng promised generously. It was these two poor little ones who were beaten and scolded
on New Year's Eve. It was so miserable.
"Cousin, you have changed."
"Um"
"You didn't like me this time when I came back. You always went against me. Now you seem to
like me again. Let me kiss you."
"Thank you, no thanks."
"Hey, why are you against me again? Come on, come on, come here."
"Nannan." Si Jiang chased down and saw Si Nan hanging on Jingsheng's arm like a monkey. He
was speechless. "Big cousin has a head injury. What are you doing? You just told mom to be
obedient."
"I didn't say that." Sinan pouted and went to kiss Jingsheng, "I want to kiss you, I must kiss you,
come here, come here."
Gu Dongwen slapped Jingsheng's head down and was so happy that he said, "Are you stupid?
Give me a kiss and it will run smoothly for a year. I'll leave the dumplings to you. Keep an eye on
the pot. I'm going upstairs."
Jingsheng glared at him, wiped his saliva from his face, and pulled Sinan's hand away with
disgust, saying fiercely with a dark face, "That's it, you can't even play with a fairy wand."
Si Nan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly had an idea, hugged Jingsheng's thighs and
tilted his face up, "Then I'll kiss you back, and pretend nothing happened."
Si Jiang shouted, "It's boiling, it's boiling, it's boiling out of the pot, brother."
Nanhong didn't sleep all night. At six o'clock, she ate a bowl of red date tea and two steamed
buns. She was going to go back to the dormitory to pack some things before going back to Fuxing
Island. She would be able to send Ada and the other two to her parents' house tomorrow to help
out.
Many families in the alley had opened their doors and set off a round of firecrackers. Red paper
scraps were everywhere. The children of the old families in northern Jiangsu in the shantytowns
still had the custom of visiting every household to wish them a happy new year. Many children
carried baskets and shouted "Congratulations on your prosperity" along the way. The old men
and women smiled and handed out various candies and snacks. Nanhong exhaled a breath of hot
air and shivered in the cold wind. When she was a child, she never got any candy because she
stayed in bed and refused to go out. Ximei was always the first to get up to pay New Year's
greetings. She came back with a basket full of candies and immediately put them in the cookie
box like a miser, for fear that she would steal them. In fact, she had stolen them before, and
deliberately threw the candy wrapper next to the cookie box to leave evidence. Ximei cried and
made a fuss, and she laughed. Ximei's revenge was to cut her hair bow into pieces. As a result,
her elder brother was pestered by her and bought her four bows of different colors. Ximei cried
and made a fuss again, and she laughed as usual. In this life, she and Ximei have never had such a
good life as that with Sijiang Sinan. Nanhong feels very unfamiliar with the concept of sisterhood,
probably because she was not born to be a good sister.
"Nanhong"
Nan Hong turned around and saw that it was a courtesy, so she smiled and said, "You should also
go back to the army."
"I'll take you wherever you want to go. I drove the car and parked it across the road." Shanli
showed his white teeth. "By the way, I wish you a happy new year."
Nan Hong was not polite, "It must be good. I met such a noble person like you on the first day of
the new year."
The sky was gray, the streets were deserted, the trams were swaying in and out of the station
with their long braids hanging, and the carriages were empty. Old Volga turned from Changde
Road onto Nanjing Road and drove towards the Bund. The sound of firecrackers could be heard
from time to time. Nanhong was a treasure trove of treasures.
"Look at the Changde Apartment here. Before liberation, there was a very popular female writer
named Zhang Ailing. She lived here with her aunt. I heard that the apartment had an old-
fashioned elevator with iron bars. The elevator aunt was very snobbish. As soon as the wind
swept away, not everyone can go upstairs. Mrs. Fang knew Writer Zhang’s aunt, please. They had
afternoon tea at Yugu Village, and she was probably one of the fashionable ladies she and her
brother had peeked at.
"Ping'an Cinema is very close to your troops. I've seen a movie before. There are people selling
cigarettes, soft drinks, snacks, and flowers at the entrance of the cinema." Nan Hong was
fascinated. She and Zhao Yanhong watched a movie here for the first time. , it was also called
Ping An Grand Theater at that time. He was so embarrassed that he wanted to buy everything,
going in with a lot of things and coming out with a lot of things.
The red light turned green, and a red paper was pasted on the iron door of the Jingdezhen
Porcelain Store at the intersection of Shaanxi North Road, announcing its opening on the fifth day
of the Lunar New Year. The Lantang Leather Shoe Store further away also had a red paper notice.
"Ah, the name has been changed back." Nanhong's face almost leaned against Shanli's shoulder.
"Kaige Food Factory has changed back to Kaisling. My mother used to sell white jasmine flowers
here. Maybe you have seen it." She turned her head and pressed against the car window. "Over
there on Jiangning Road is the Majestic Theatre. When I was young, I always liked to go to the
second floor of Kaisling to have a cup of coffee before going to the theatre. Their boss, Mr. Ling,
was the most polite and always gave us chestnut cakes."
"Do you like chestnut cake?" Shanli looked around. He had no impression of this street at all, and
of course he didn't remember whether he had met the old man selling white jasmine.
Nanhong tilted her head, thought for a while, and laughed, "It's not that bad actually. But since
someone gave it to me as a gift, it tastes better and I feel more proud." Every time she went
home after eating a cake, she would always try to piss Ximei off. Now thinking about it, she was
so childish. No wonder Ximei hated her the most.
Along the way, Shanli's smile became more and more intense. He had lived in Shanghai for
several years, but he seemed to have never known this city. Nanhong beside him was like the
soul of this city. She remembered the style of each building, what shops had opened there, what
anecdotes about celebrities, and what delicious and fun things there were. When she talked
about these things, her tone was tender, gentle and amiable, occasionally with a little mischief
and ridicule. She was not just recalling her youth, but more like talking about her lover.
"Oh, we're here. Pull over to the side. Yes, just stop here." Nanhong said all the way and almost
missed the entrance to the dormitory alley.
Watching Old Volga go away, Nanhong shook the purse in her hand and walked into the alley with
her high heels clacking.
On the first day of the new year, a bucket of hot water was warming on the coal stove in the
corner of the janitor's room. The janitor's glasses were pressed on the newspaper, and he had
disappeared. The Chinese character "Fu" on the glass window had fallen off halfway and was
swaying in the cold wind. Nanhong took out a bunch of assorted candies from her bag, put them
on the newspaper, and walked into the building with a smile.
The man sitting on the newspaper at the corner of the stairs looked up and stood up immediately
when he saw Nanhong.
Nan Hong was stunned and asked coldly, "How did you get in? What are you doing here? Do you
still want to go back to Shanghai?"
"Come back for the New Year." Zhao Yanhong picked up the snakeskin bag beside him, "Happy
New Year."
"Okay, okay." Nan Hong sneered and pushed him away, walking straight to the door of her
dormitory. "How could you come back on New Year's Day to catch an adulterer? What did your
parents tell you? I played mahjong all night, and I lost three points in one, a total of fifty-six yuan.
But it was my own money, and it has nothing to do with you."
She pulled out the key and tried to close the door, but the man squeezed in, hugged her tightly in
his arms, lowered his head and sniffed her hair several times, "It's up to you, dancing or playing
mahjong, as long as you are happy. I didn't tell them about coming back. The boss sent a car, but
it didn't arrive until after four in the morning. I had to negotiate with the doorman for a long
time."
Nan Hong raised her leg and stepped on him. "Let go. Your mouth is filled with the stink of
cigarettes."
Zhao Yanhong let her go and walked around the dormitory of more than ten square meters.
Nanhong shook the thermos, which was empty, and took out the last few candies from her bag
and threw them on the table. "It's up to you whether you want to eat it or not."
Zhao Yanhong peeled off the candy wrapper, carefully put it in his mouth, opened the snakeskin
bag, and took out a bundle of money. "Here is 10,000 yuan, I earned it, keep it." He chewed the
candy into pieces in a few bites. "Spend it however you want."
Nan Hong frowned and asked, "Where did you get so much money? What did you do with it? Did
you help someone smuggle goods?"
Zhao Yanhong avoided her gaze. "The boss provides food and accommodation, and also gives out
bonuses at the end of the year. It's not uncommon to earn this kind of money working in the
south now."
Nanhong walked up to him, put her hands on his face, and gently rubbed his new stubble. Zhao
Yanhong couldn't help but hold her waist and pull her towards him.
"Hey, hey, hey, be gentle."
Nanhong pulled his ears and said, "You ignored my questions. Are you smuggling? If you don't tell
me the truth, I will call the police and report you."
Zhao Yanhong was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat. He knew Nanhong's personality
best and could really do it. He pressed her hands firmly on his ears and said, "Don't do anything
stupid. You're talking about smuggling or not. It's so ugly. If I did something illegal, the customs
over there would have arrested me long ago, and they're still waiting for your report."
“It’s really not illegal”
"without."
"look into my eyes"
"I'm embarrassed to look at it."
"A guilty conscience is not a thief"
"I want to sleep with you just by looking at you. It's been a long time since we last had that."
Zhao Yanhong stared at Nanhong. "Okay now, here."
"You ran a thousand kilometers on New Year's Day just to come back and sleep with me."
Nanhong's nails left bloody marks on his ears.
Zhao Yanhong hissed, but didn't dare to pry her hands apart. "I came back to give money, and I
can celebrate the New Year with money."
"You spend 10,000 yuan for one night's sleep. Don't you think you're wasting money? You sailors,
who don't spend 10 yuan an hour on prostitutes? You can do it until your legs are weak. Why are
you pretending to be loyal to me?" Nan Hong moved her hands to the back of his neck, hanging
them loosely. She hung one leg on the man's waist and rubbed it gently. She pushed him with a
smile, "Are you happy in Shantou?"
"Bullshit!" Zhao Yanhong got angry, picked her up, threw her on the single bed in two steps, and
pressed her down. "You don't know whether I am loyal or not. Come and check the goods."
"Get lost, you shameless bastard. Who wants to inspect your goods?" She would lose out if she
only gave birth to a son after one inspection.
Zhao Yanhong put his hand under her sweater. He was so excited that his whole body began to
tremble. He kissed her for a while, then pulled her hand under his body, mumbling, "Honghong,
check it out."
Nan Hong was so angry that he raised his paw and said, "Thirteen o'clock, I've told you hundreds
of times, you are not allowed to call me Hong Hong, it's so ugly."
"Baby, baby, please let me kiss you."
"You fool, dear, take off your pants quickly."

Chapter 100
On the second day of the Chinese New Year, Nanhong and her husband sent their three sons to
Wanchun Street to show off. Zhao Yanhong gave Jingshengsijiang and Sinan three big red
envelopes. Sinan called him uncle sweetly. Beiwu privately talked to Zhao Yanhong for most of
the day, half interrogating and half warning him. Zhao Yanhong smoked half a pack of cigarettes
and said that if he really did something illegal, the first thing he would do was to divorce
Nanhong and never drag her and her sons down.
Because Nanhong donated a refrigerator to the store, Gu Dongwen gave Ah Da three bags of
New Year's money, all of which were 100 yuan. He was afraid that Jingsheng and Sijiang and
Sinan would be unhappy, so he said a few words to them. Sinan waved her hand and said, "Uncle,
I am so sensible that I won't be jealous." Sijiang felt a little ashamed. His eldest uncle opened the
store, his younger uncle and aunt paid for it, and his eldest aunt donated the refrigerator. Only his
parents didn't contribute any effort or money.
Seeing that Si Jiang was having second thoughts, Jing Sheng glanced at Gu Dongwen and said,
"You are my father, you can give me whatever you want. But Si Jiang has been working as a child
laborer for you for so long, the menu on the blackboard has been changed several times, he has
to serve the dishes, collect the money, and do the accounting, and you only gave me 10 yuan as a
New Year's gift. It's too much of a rip-off."
Gu Dongwen was dumbfounded. On the second day of the Chinese New Year, his son lectured
him on the ways of the world. What a fool! He was speechless.
Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled as he hugged Gu Dongwen's arm and said, "Don't
listen to my brother. I have as much experience as Si Nan. This year I have to help my uncle with
some things. Didn't my uncle always say that Dongsheng Canteen is a restaurant for our whole
family? I will feel comfortable if I contribute a little."
Gu Dongwen rubbed Si Jiang's head: "Alas, a son is in my belly, and a daughter is in my heart."
Over there, after counting the money, Ah Da and the other two were so happy that they lost their
minds. Before they could come to their senses, the big red envelope in their hands had been
ruthlessly taken away by the old man and stuffed into Nan Hong's bag.
"Whatever money the children have, give it to your mother." Zhao Yanhong glared at his three
sons who jumped up and said, "What are you doing? Are you rebelling? You don't have to spend
money on school? You don't have to spend money on food? You don't have to spend money on
clothes? In the future, every penny you earn must be handed over to your mother honestly. Do
you hear me?"
Nanhong gently picked up three big unity notes with her orchid finger, and gave each of her sons
one consolation prize: "Okay, okay, it's New Year's Day, be happy, come on, smile, and take this
month's pocket money. Don't worry, your mother will save the New Year's money for you. It
won't be enough for you to marry a wife in the future, and we don't know how much we will
have to pay."
A Da, A Er and A San felt aggrieved, but they didn't dare to say anything.
Seeing her son-in-law coming back from afar and being so humble, Granny Gu felt relieved. She
couldn't help but give Nanhong a lecture. Nanhong had no patience to listen and just responded
with a few random words to get away.
Early in the morning on the third day of the Lunar New Year, Zhao Yanhong returned to Shantou.
Beiwu and Shanrang took Shanli's car back to Nanjing, preparing to return to Beijing directly after
the Lantern Festival. On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the clothing company's performance
team performed at the Friendship Hall, and the two million yuan of inventory fabric was sold out.
The parents of a model saw that their daughter was going to wear an off-shoulder dress and
made a scene. In the end, Nanhong had no choice but to put one of her own shawls on the little
girl's shoulders to pass. Dongsheng Canteen resumed business. The small classes on Wanchun
Street also started taking turns again.
Gu Ximei has been busy running around since the sixth day of the Chinese New Year. She is a
cadre in the education system. Normally, she can work in the Education College as a logistics
worker if she transfers back. However, for some reason, the relevant departments have
repeatedly shirked their responsibilities. By March, no unit had accepted her. Si Nan didn't want
to go to kindergarten. She would rather hang behind Gu Dongwen every day and exploit the new
batch of little brats in Wanchun Street when she was bored.
Ximei's hukou has never been settled. Years ago, she and her parents-in-law agreed to register
the three siblings of Sijiang in the Chen family first, but the police station said that they lacked
documents. They needed proof of birth, proof of parent-child relationship, proof that Sihao's
birth did not violate the family planning policy, and proof that Chen Donglai and Grandpa Chen
were father and son, even though there was a record of migration in the hukou. Some of the
certificates had to be obtained from the Corps in Aksu. Ximei spent a lot of time calling and
telegraphing to get them. After submitting them, they said that they still needed other things.
This went on for more than a month. Ximei was so angry that she made a scene at the police
station, questioning the police on duty why they couldn't finish their words at once, and they
were tired of running back and forth.
When all the documents were finally ready, Ximei breathed a sigh of relief. But before she could
send them in, Qian Guihua ran back to Wanchun Street and stopped Ximei at the door.
"We don't agree with your moving of your household registration." Qian Guihua called Grandpa
and Grandma Chen down at the top of her voice, "Grandpa and Grandma have been biased for
more than a decade. There's no reason for them to be so biased."
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Ximei was so angry that she was shaking all over.
Grandpa Chen put on the dignity of a patriarch and said, "Third daughter-in-law, what are you
doing? Let go of your eldest sister-in-law. If you have something to say, go upstairs and tell her. Is
it okay for you to mess around here?"
Qian Guihua refused to do so. She grabbed Ximei to block A Niang and shouted, "Aunt Kang,
Grandma Li, I want you to judge for yourself. There are three brothers in the same family. The
eldest brother and his wife have been in Xinjiang for more than ten years and have never been
filial to us. When grandpa was sick, we took him to the hospital, queued up for registration,
bought medicine and took care of him. When grandma wanted to have something cut, we moved
into the house from Donghai. Now, don't say a word. If you want to move three households in,
you should at least let us know, right? There's no reason to be so sneaky."
"What did Ning do secretly?" Grandpa Chen slapped the door frame. "Where's the third brother?
Tell him to come back and tell me face to face. I am the head of the household. I bought the
house. Can't I be the master of my own house? What do you want to do? This is outrageous."
The neighbors gradually gathered around, trying to persuade them to reconcile.
Qian Guihua became even more excited, clapping his hands and jumping up and down, saying,
"Grandpa, you are fair and just, I have nothing to say, but you are partial to Waibaidu Bridge. I am
now self-reliant and don't rely on my parents, but I live in a public house, I have a house card, and
I pay rent. I don't know if my son can move into the house again when he takes over the job. Why
didn't my husband move in? The three brothers have a share in the house, it can't be left to the
eldest brother and his wife, right?"
Grandpa Chen was so angry that his heart almost jumped out of his throat: "Bullshit! You guys
are thinking about dividing the family property before I die?!"
Aunt Kang and Grandma Li came forward to persuade Qian Guihua to say less and wait until Chen
Dongfang and Chen Donghai came back. How could a daughter-in-law not let go of her parents-
in-law? It's ugly. Qian Guihua's tears flowed, recalling the past, and the years of resentment were
like a surging river: "You don't know, my grandpa and grandma have contributed money, effort
and people for my eldest brother and sister-in-law over the years. Fortunately, they sent 500
yuan before they were born. Five hundred yuan! The second brother and Donghai are honest
people. They will suffer losses if they suffer losses. They should be filial and never say a word. But
for many years, Xiao Ning was raised privately, and the money was never less. Ten yuan a
number, one hundred and twenty yuan a year, ten years is one thousand two hundred yuan.
Grandpa, the house owner, paid a lot of money. You bought the house with two small yellow
croakers, and now you have to leave the private house to your eldest brother. We don't fight for
bread, but we have to fight for dignity. Everyone, don't you think this is the truth? (But for so
many years, we have raised the children by ourselves, and we have never paid less money. Ten
dollars a month, one hundred and twenty dollars a year, ten years is one thousand two hundred
dollars. Grandpa, you bought the house with two small gold bars, and now you have to leave this
house to your eldest brother. We don't fight for bread, but we have to fight for dignity. Everyone,
don't you think this is the truth?)"
"Either the three brothers and their sons and daughters move in, or no one comes in at all." Qian
Guihua slapped his thigh angrily.
Neighbors knew that Chen Donghai's wife was talking nonsense. The ice was not formed in one
day. Chen Er and Chen Lao San did not show up. It was obvious that they were complaining
through women's mouths. They could come back to discuss with their parents in the future and
leave some room for maneuver. In recent years, every family has educated youth returning to the
city, and every family has a lawsuit over household registration and housing. After hearing Qian
Guihua's words and seeing Ximei's face, most of them believed it. Some people advised Ximei to
wait and wait for her grandchildren to move in together. Some people asked her why her
household registration was not in the unit. Some people whispered and accused Ximei and
Donglai of not moving forward and taking advantage of the situation. Some people advised Qian
Guihua to take a step back, but their implicit meaning was to satirize Ximei's family for being too
demanding.
Therefore, the bias was too obvious, which made Qian Guihua even more powerful. Grandpa was
so angry that he almost had a heart attack, and mother cried and yelled at the old man. Ximei
had no way to defend herself. In her life, she had quarreled with Nanhong, Mum, and Chen
Donglai, but never with outsiders. She would get angry after a few words, and Qian Guihua would
say three words to every word she said.
When Granny Gu heard the news, she picked up the broom and hurried over, sweeping at Qian
Guihua, cursing in Yangzhou dialect for three to five minutes without taking a breath, and finally
threw the broken broom at Granny Chen's feet, looked around and said fiercely: "All the
grandchildren's household registration should be moved to my Gu family. My eldest and fourth
brothers are happy to do so. For such a shabby house, you have given up the affection of your
own flesh and blood. How dare you ask for it? You are worse than animals. Cats and dogs know
that they are relatives. Pah!"
She spat directly on Qian Guihua's face and said, "Ximei, go upstairs and pack your luggage, take
Si with you so you can go back to your mother's home."
The people who were watching the fun and taking sides dispersed in dismay. Qian Guihua didn't
dare to hit Grandma Gu, nor did she dare to talk back, fearing that Gu Dongwen would cause
trouble for her. She shrank to the side to wash her face, listening to her parents-in-law repeatedly
persuading her mother-in-law to calm down, saying that the daughter-in-law and grandson would
naturally live in the Chen family, and there was no reason for them to move to their parents-in-
law's house. She was full of anger, blaming the second family for not showing up even though
they had discussed it in advance, and making her suffer. She was also secretly proud of herself for
stopping the three siblings of Si Jiang from moving their household registration.
Ximei was ashamed and guilty, and felt even more guilty towards her brothers. She delayed going
to the police station to handle the matter again for a few days, but Xinjiang had another big
incident. In early April, the "Aksu Incident" was completely settled, and all the Shanghai educated
youth relocation permits issued by the regiments before receiving the notice were invalidated.
Ximei was shocked by this sudden disaster and it took her several days to recover. She went to
the Youth Educators Office to inquire at 5 or 6 o'clock every morning. Thousands of people sat on
the road and were soon forced to evacuate. Those whose household registration had been
transferred were invalidated. Only those who replaced their parents' jobs could stay, and the rest
were all sent back to Xinjiang. Most of the educated youth who returned to Shanghai sold all
their property before leaving Xinjiang, and when they returned, they were penniless. Relatives
like Qian Guihua gloated over the misfortune and made irresponsible remarks, which really made
the tragedy worse.
Beiwu called several times and advised Ximei not to worry about her hukou, and just stay in
Shanghai, either to run a small business or to help out in Dongwen's store. The family can always
live a good life with their hands and feet working together. But when she heard that she would
become an illegal hukou and give up the cadre system, and thought about the hukou problem of
her three children in the future college entrance examination, Ximei was filled with grief and
anger and refused. She didn't want to go back to Shanghai in the first place. She took advantage
of the favorable conditions to apply for relocation, but suddenly her bright future was blocked,
and she even had no way out. She had to go back to the Corps and join the agricultural
reclamation system to become a collective farmer's hukou. She was unwilling and it was
impossible not to complain, but it was useless to complain. She suspected that she was indeed
unlucky, and every time she encountered a major event in her life, it was so unlucky.
Chen Donglai called her twice occasionally, advising her to take Sinan back to Aksu. She said that
she was no match for the powerful, and that going against the organization would not lead to any
good results. His words were always unpleasant to the ear, and he spoke as if the decision to
return to Shanghai was made by Ximei alone, which sounded like hindsight. Ximei felt
uncomfortable listening to him, and she became even more unwilling to accept it. In the end, the
couple argued for a long time but to no avail.
Gu Dongwen asked Ximei several times if she was willing to help collect money in the store. The
business of Dongsheng Canteen was getting better and better. He had already negotiated for the
small room next door, which could accommodate eight tables after it was connected. There were
also more and more reservations from hospitals and schools. It would be best if there was
someone to help deliver meals to the door. Ximei refused without hesitation.
One after another, many educated youths had no choice but to embark on the road back to
Xinjiang. Cao Jingzhi and Meng Qin had not yet come out of Shen Yong and Zhu Guangmao's
treatment, so they simply asked someone to take the three brothers Shen Qingping and Zhu
Zhenning back to Aksu. Shajingzi Town Central Primary School sent two telegrams to Xi Mei,
welcoming her back to teach, and human relations were still included in the education system. Xi
Mei called Chen Donglai to discuss it, but people in the office said that Chen Donglai took Xiao He
on a business trip to Urumqi. Xi Mei was stunned for a while before she remembered that Xiao
He was the female college student who answered her call. She stayed up all night, thinking over
and over again the tone and words of Chen Donglai on the phone, suspecting that Chen Donglai
was having trouble. There are so many young people in the bureau, no one is easy to take care of,
but they have to take a female subordinate on a business trip.
The next day, Ximei sent a telegram to the school early in the morning, confirming that she would
return to school as soon as possible. She did not inform Chen Donglai. When she walked out of
the post office, it was rare that there was no rain in April. The spring sun was warm, and the
magnolias and crabapples were fragrant on the roadside. She walked for a while, and the tragic
and heroic spirit she had just sent the telegram was shattered on the road, and she gradually
became powerless and helpless. Jing'an Temple was still under major renovation. The half-built
golden eaves shone in the sunlight. There was a stream of people, the ringing of bicycles, and
buses and cars stopped and started. Two months ago, she returned with joy, thinking that she
had finally continued her life at the age of 18, but everything became a bubble in the blink of an
eye. Ximei stood blankly at the traffic light for a while, and suddenly squatted down and buried
her head in tears. She had no place to cry. She couldn't cry at her husband's house, her own
family, her brother, or her daughters. The only person she could cry to was her husband, who
might have done something stupid or even no longer be her man. She didn't want to choose a
time or a place to collapse. She couldn't hold on for even a second.
"Little girl, are you okay?" An old lady patted her shoulder with concern.
Ximei raised her tearful eyes and saw two white orchids in front of her.
"Life has to go on. Come, put on a flower, it smells good." The old lady crossed the road carrying a
basket.
Ximei held the white orchid in her hand and cried for a while, then slowly stood up, feeling dizzy
and dazed, but she still had to live her life. She could only go with the flow, wherever the tide
pushed her, she had no other way.

Chapter 101
Ximei had nowhere to go, so she walked slowly to Jing'an Park and sat there for a long time. The
days were no different from previous years, with flowers still blooming and grass still green. After
the bell rang, the wooden horse began to spin with children in groups of three or four. There
were old men playing northerners' diabolo on the grass, and people watching chess and cards
gathered around the stone table. Everyone seemed to be focused, but it formed a blurry world,
as if there was an invisible wall. Ximei felt that she could not get in. She despised these people.
When she was young, she swore that she would never become such an idle old man. She
abandoned this city, and now this city has also ruthlessly abandoned her. For the first time, she
realized that she could not even have such a day that she could see the end of.
She washed her face carefully in the restroom in the park, smoothed the messy hair on her
temples with some water, and also reduced the swelling of her eyelids. Ximei unknowingly
walked to Huashan Hospital. The people coming in and out of the hospital were completely
different from those in the park. They looked indifferent, but could not hide their panic and
anxiety. Ximei was inexplicably glad that at least she was healthy. In Aksu, most of the female
educated youth suffered from various diseases due to the hard work. Uterine prolapse was a
minor problem. She could just put her hand back and continue working.
Ximei stood under the tree and looked across the street. There were seven or eight people lined
up in front of the Dongsheng Canteen, and it looked like business was booming. The glass door
suddenly opened, and Ximei stepped behind the tree to make way, only to see Sinan hurried out,
holding up a small notebook and shouting, "Number seven! Are there two people in number
seven? You can come in and eat. Welcome, welcome, warmly welcome."
"Yes, yes, here it is."
The people in the queue burst into laughter. Someone asked Sinan if she was a little foreigner.
Sinan puffed up her cheeks and said no, and then the glass door closed again. Ximei felt a little
sad, and then she remembered that she hadn't eaten lunch yet. She walked aimlessly for a while,
passed by Huashan Hotel, and went in to order a bowl of wontons and a basket of steamed
dumplings.
At night, Ximei calmly told her family that she had bought a train ticket and was planning to
return to Aksu. Sijiang and Sinan didn't know the reason, and were stunned after listening to
Ximei's general explanation.
"Can we get our chickens back?" Sinan asked, "And can I go to second grade if I go back?"
"Do you want to stay at grandma's house or go back with mom?"
Sinan scratched his head: "It's all right. I don't mind."
Si Jiang held Si Nan's hand tightly and said, "Mom, can't I go to school in Shanghai even if I don't
have a hukou? I'm already in the fifth grade, so A Mei should stay here too. She can go to the first
grade in September."
Ximei lowered her head, pursed her lips, and forced a smile: "Nannan, if you stay at grandma's
house, you must remember what mom said, don't cause trouble for grandma and uncle, and
don't get into trouble at school, okay?"
Sinan felt that her life was too difficult. She looked at her cousin, her elder sister, and her mother,
and finally made up her mind: "I want to go back to Xinjiang to be with my mother."
Everyone in the room, including Ximei, was surprised. Sinan bit her finger and nodded: "Well, I
don't want to go to the first grade for the third time, even though the first grade is the most
important grade--" She has never been separated from her mother. Although her mother is
nagging and always twists her ears, pulls her braids and spanks her, she still wants to be with her
mother. She guiltily held Sijiang's hand: "Sister, I will come back to play with you after the New
Year, okay?"
Si Jiang lowered her eyes, her heart was burning, she was afraid that she would cry again, so she
just nodded gently. In fact, she knew in her heart that Si Nan couldn't leave her mother, and her
mother couldn't leave Si Nan either. They were not like her. She was used to being alone, but she
was not alone. She had her grandmother, uncle, and cousin, they were all very good to her, she
shouldn't be dissatisfied, she also had her brother, so Si Nan could be with her.
——
When Grandpa and Mother Chen found out, they sighed and gave Ximei another two hundred
yuan in private. Ximei refused for a long time but finally accepted it with reluctance.
"The second and third children only think that we are partial to the eldest, but they never think
about who they rely on to get to where they are today?" Grandpa Chen was still upset. "They
couldn't even get into a technical secondary school, let alone college. How much effort did I put
in to get them a stable job? Public housing is based on seniority. They can't get a turn to live in a
public housing until they are 40 or 50 years old? Only Donglai has never worried us since he was
a child. You are filial to your parents away from home, but how much contribution have you
made to the country and how much hardship have you endured? They can't compare to you.
Ximei, there are some things that grandpa can't say in front of outsiders. You have to keep it in
mind. I'll put it here. This house will definitely be left to you and Donglai in the future. I want to
live a long life, and it would be best if I can wait until Donglai retires. If I don't live long, don't
worry—"
"Dad! Don't say that." Ximei was shocked. "Donglai and I have never thought about the house. If
Dongfang Donghai had any ideas, he should have brought them up in person earlier. We could
have said it all in a few words and there wouldn't have been this misunderstanding that made it
so ugly."
Ah Niang sighed, "Oh, it's all because of Qian Guihua, this idiot. The second and third brothers
didn't know she did such a thing. She's the only one who could do such a thing. What kind of
Shanghai lady is this? She's even worse than the people in the shantytown." She patted Si Hao on
the back and said, "Remember to tell the eldest brother when you go back to Xinjiang, tell him
not to take it to heart. It's not good to hurt the relationship between the brothers. Donghai said
yesterday that he couldn't help himself and hit her again. She cried, made a scene, and even
threatened to hang herself. No one feels sorry for her."
Ximei sneered in her heart, but she just lowered her eyes and nodded lightly. Now she felt that
the two hundred yuan was not so hot anymore.
Chen Donglai called Wanchun Street in the afternoon.
"Ximei, I'm still in Urumqi. I've been to Xinjiang Normal University twice in the past few days."
Chen Donglai was a little excited. "During the Spring Festival, I saw that you hadn't submitted
your correspondence course homework yet, so I brought it here to help you submit it. When you
come back this time, I will accompany you to the school to meet the vice president, and you will
be able to get your college diploma in July."
Xi Mei was startled: "You-you know the vice-principal?"
"It's not me, it's Xiao He in our office. Her uncle is the dean of the department at Xinjiang Normal
University, and she introduced me. You've studied for so long, it would be a pity to give up. Don't
worry, I will do it this time. I sent a few bottles of Moutai and a few cigarettes. They were very
polite." Chen Donglai eagerly took credit: "I also sent gifts to Principal Chen and Director Liang.
Don't worry, I will still be a cadre after I come back, and I won't return to the Corps."
Ximei didn't know what to say for a moment. People are so strange. The greater the hope, the
greater the disappointment. Once despair, there will be many surprises. Chen Donglai finally
became a man and helped her share her worries and difficulties.
"You've worked hard." Ximei's voice softened, and her nose and eyes felt sore.
"It's okay, you're the one who's working hard. Bring Sinan back." Chen Donglai sighed, "The
second and third children have a grudge against me, and they're taking it out on you. I'm sorry for
you. We can't leave all three children to the old people, so we have to let Sinan come with us."
"Sinan also wants to go back to Xinjiang. You've been running around for me, but why didn't you
say anything when you called me last time? If you had said something, I wouldn't have argued
with you." Ximei couldn't help but wonder if he had done something wrong to her and that's why
he suddenly became considerate and wanted to make it up to her.
"At that time, the matter was not settled yet, so what's there to say? If there is no oil, it doesn't
count. If it doesn't work, you'll be happy for nothing. You also know that I don't like to talk about
things I haven't done." Chen Donglai was indeed quite proud of the two things he had
accomplished. He still wanted to take credit for them. Then he thought of another important
matter: "By the way, go to the First Department Store and the Women's Products Store to see if
there are any fashionable things that female comrades like. Bring some back to Xiao He. I owe her
a favor this time."
Ximei's heart moved: "What does she like usually?" After asking, she felt uneasy, after all, Chen
Donglai didn't even know what she liked.
Chen Donglai was stunned: "I don't know about that. Wait a minute, I'll let her tell you herself,
Xiao He—Xiao He!"
After a sudden turn of events, Ximei felt much better because of this phone call. It seemed that
fate had not been too bad to her. The most important thing was that she had made the right
choice in the man.
——
No one expected that something else would happen before leaving.
When Si Jiang returned home from school that day, he saw that his grandmother didn't look very
well. Si Nan was beside her, wiping her neck, winking at her, and pointing outside.
"Nannan, help grandma go to your mother's house and borrow two thermoses." Grandma Gu
took her schoolbag and pushed her out the door. Jingsheng looked at Sinan and asked silently,
"What's wrong?"
Ximei opened the curtain: "Sijiang, come in."
"Mom?"
"Come in!"
The curtain fell again, and Sinan pulled Jingsheng and Grandma Gu to stand beside the wardrobe
to eavesdrop.
"Jingsheng, take Sinan out for some fun and come back in an hour." Ximei ordered without any
objection.
"Oh." Jingsheng was silent for a moment, then took Sinan and walked out the door.
Grandma Gu's voice rang out behind him: "Gu Ximei, if you have something to say, please speak
nicely——"
Si Jiang saw her mother walk over and pick up a book that she was most familiar with. Her mind
buzzed and she shouted in disbelief: "Mom! Why did you peek at my diary?!"
Ximei waved the diary in her hand violently, almost hitting Sijiang in the face: "If I don't read it, I
still don't know what's wrong with you!"
"Me? What's wrong with me?!"
"How old are you? Twelve! A fifth-grade student in elementary school, and you're reading this
kind of book? Love, affection, what else is love? Is this something you should be thinking about at
your age? No wonder you regressed so much in math last semester, and you kept it a secret from
mom! Chen Sijiang, Chen Sijiang, mom was really worried that day whether I was too strict with
you, whether I was too harsh on you. It seems that I was wrong, so wrong. I was too tolerant and
didn't ask much of you!"
"It's not because of this." Si Jiang held back his tears and mustered up the courage to say, "Give it
back to me. This is my diary and no one can read it."
"You are my daughter, I am your mother, I gave birth to you, so I can watch! If I don't watch it
now, it will be too late when something happens to you. You also said that the choir and TV
dance rehearsals take too much time, which is all nonsense! You spend all your time on crooked
things, how can your grades be good!" Ximei was so distressed that she regretted that she found
out too late: "Tell me, who told you to watch these things? I want the school to find your class
teacher."
Si Jiang's chest rose and fell violently several times. "These are the four great classics, world
classics. They are displayed in Xinhua Bookstore, so I can read them. I bought them myself, and
our teacher also let us read them. They are not crooked or unorthodox. It is obvious that you
don't understand. Give me back my diary!"
"I don't understand?!" Ximei was so angry that she swung her arm and the diary hit Sijiang's nose
directly.
Si Jiang hissed in pain, covered her nose, and wiped the blood from her hands. She was stunned
for a long time. Did her mother hit her? She raised her head and saw a bloodstain on the diary,
which was shallow and could never be wiped off.
Ximei was also startled. She threw the diary on the bed angrily and went out to find a towel and
cotton wool.
Granny Gu was so anxious that she slapped her on the back twice: "Why did you hit our
daughter?"
"I didn't hit her! She bumped into me." Ximei poured water on her head, "Don't go in to protect
her. It's because you guys didn't care about anything that things got into trouble. I haven't
finished what I want to say yet. I have to finish it today."
"Stop talking. Give me the towel and go back to Chen's house to take care of your son."
"What do you know? You're harming her! I'm her mother, I'm doing this for her own good!"
Si Jiang listened to her mother and grandmother quarreling outside, picked up the diary silently,
opened it and read a few lines, tears and nosebleeds blurred the neat handwriting in several
places, thinking of the words that her aunt said to her that night, Si Jiang bit her lip, tore off a few
pages and crumpled them into a ball, then unfolded them and continued to tear them, slowly,
the reading experience of "Gone with the Wind" turned into fragments, and the tears and blood
on them could no longer be seen. She continued to turn the pages and tore off the "Jane Eyre"
one.
"What are you doing?" Ximei slammed the washbasin on the ground and snatched the diary: "Do
you think it's okay if you tear it up? Mom doesn't know what's on your mind? Tell me the truth,
who are you close to in school? Are there any male classmates? Is it that Zhao Youning? I'll go to
Kangjiaqiao tonight to ask his parents how they taught their son!"
Si Jiang looked at her steadily without saying anything. Occasionally, he gently reached out his
hand to wipe the blood from his nose and sniffed his nose. His little face, washed by tears, was
shining with a look of determination that could not be saved even by ten horses. It seemed
familiar.
Ximei suddenly felt a little flustered. The girl in front of her was no longer her beloved Si Jiang.
She would never allow her Si Jiang to become like Nan Hong. If she thought about love and men
at such a young age, her life would be ruined. She had never regretted leaving Si Jiang in
Shanghai so much.
"Stop the nosebleed first." Ximei hurriedly stuffed cotton wool into Sijiang's nose.
Si Jiang turned his head away: "I can do it myself."
Ximei went to the washbasin and wrung out a half-dry towel to wipe her face: "Wipe your face
clean, and Mom will talk to you properly."
Si Jiang wiped it casually, squeezed the towel hard to the right, and suddenly raised his head and
said: "Mom, I beg you——"
Ximei took a breath, waiting for her to seriously reflect on herself, apologize sincerely and
promise to turn over a new leaf, then she would forgive her.
"You can hit me or scold me as much as you want," Si Jiang used up all his strength, shaking all
over, "Don't go to my classmate's house, they will look down on us."
"Are you scared now? Do you know that others will look down on you? What were you doing
before? You are a little girl, you need to clear your mind!"
Si Jiang pursed his lips: "I'm not afraid, I'm not wrong, I didn't do anything wrong, I'm just afraid
that people will look down on you--" She didn't even dare to think about how Zhao Youning's
mother would look at her mother. She didn't want her mother to become a person like Third
Mother.
There was a crisp "pop" sound.
Si Jiang lowered his head and covered his face without saying a word. The cotton wool fell out of
his nose. This time the nosebleed was definitely caused by a slap from his mother.
Grandma Gu rushed in and hugged Si Jiang in her arms, pointing at Ximei and cursing angrily:
"Get out, go back to Xinjiang immediately, and never come back in this life! Qian Guihua cursed
so badly, but you didn't dare to say a word, and you showed off your power and slapped your
own daughter! I tell you, Gu Ximei, I shouldn't have intervened in your life. You died of
exhaustion and suffering in Xinjiang. At most, I would have collected your body for you, and you
wouldn't have become such a bastard and useless thing. How could you have the heart to do
that? This is the flesh that fell from your body, you black-hearted person. Nannan, be good, cry a
few times, don't scare grandma, just cry, don't pay attention to her, she is crazy. Nannan, where
does it hurt, let grandma see, you are dying, why are you bleeding so much!——"
Si Jiang gritted his teeth and said, "I won't cry. I'm not wrong. I'm not afraid."
Ximei was cold all over and kicked over the washbasin on the ground when she walked out. She
staggered and opened the curtain, and saw Jingsheng and Sinan just walked in.
"Mom?" Sinan heard grandma's voice downstairs. She didn't know what happened to her elder
sister. She tried to sneak into the inner room carefully, but was grabbed by Ximei.
Ximei hugged Sinan tightly in her arms. Fortunately, she still had Sinan, Donglai and Sihao.
——
It was not until the millennium that Chen Sijiang, who had just learned how to love when she was
about to turn 30, admitted for the first time that she did not love her mother and her mother did
not love her either.

Chapter 102
Spring in Shanghai is always short. When the crabapple and cherry blossoms are over, it’s May.
Every household starts to dry winter clothes and change quilts. The tent shop is doing a booming
business. The thin silk stockings and long stockings in the Nanyang Shirt and Socks Shop are sold
out, and even the samples are sold out. The models in the silk and satin shops are wearing red
dresses, and the peacocks with open tails are nestled at the feet of the models. Lan Tang, Hana,
and Seagull brand women’s shoes are on display with cool pointed leather shoes that show the
heels.
The TV announced that the first Coca-Cola bottling plant in China had been built in Wulidian,
Beijing. It was built in the workshop of COFCO's former roast duck factory. A bottle of Coke was
sold for 45 cents. Young people in Shanghai scoffed at this. In Shanghai, there was a Happy Coke
produced by Zhengguanghe. Isn't it sweet? On the big billboard on Huaihai Road, a young,
beautiful and energetic female model was sitting on the grass with a red and white parasol,
holding a cup of Happy Coke and smiling at passers-by, as if to say: Are you happy? I am very
happy, let's be happy together.
In the mid-term exam at the end of April, Si Jiang scored 100 in both math and English, and
returned to second place in the grade. Gu Ximei was very pleased when she heard about it on the
phone during the May Day holiday, but she couldn't hide her pride, as if she had slapped back the
results. For the first time, Si Jiang found that adults could be so ridiculous, as if the extra
questions and words she memorized every day were all in vain. She didn't even tell anyone that
she had quit the choir and dance group without permission. As for when her mother would find
out and how angry she would be after finding out, Si Jiang was sure that she would not spend
more than 100 yuan on a train ticket to come back and beat her up. Even if she slapped her a few
more times, she didn't care. Anyway, the teachers said that it was almost impossible to get back
in after quitting, and there were hundreds of children waiting in line behind her. The teachers felt
sorry for her, but Si Jiang herself didn't feel sorry, and even felt much more relaxed. She had
already made clear her ideal. She wanted to be a writer, a writer who could write novels like
"Gone with the Wind" and "Jane Eyre".
Gu Ximei and Chen Donglai had been unhappy for several days because of beating Si Jiang. Now
that she was feeling proud, she rationalized her actions. Chen Donglai felt sorry for Si Jiang, but
he felt guilty about educating children. He felt that he was definitely not as experienced and
authoritative as Ximei, so he could only listen. Si Nan, however, was a scoundrel. He curled his
lips after hearing a few words: "Mom, if you didn't beat my sister, she would definitely get two
perfect scores. She does a lot of homework every day, and brother Ningning also gives her a lot of
papers. Anyway, you slapped my sister so hard that her face was covered in blood--"
"You are talking nonsense again, how can it be so scary!" Ximei was so angry that she slapped her
homework book: "Just do your job, why do you interrupt when adults are talking?"
Sinan snorted, and she felt uneasy. Just a few days after returning, Ximei's amiable "Teacher Gu"
image had been completely destroyed by Sinan.
"My mother beat my sister. She beat her very hard and viciously."
"She slapped me twice, and my sister's face was covered with blood. My grandmother tried to
cover her mouth and stop it, but it was useless. It couldn't stop the bleeding."
"It lasted at least 30 minutes, maybe 40 minutes. I was so scared that I cried!"
"We didn't go to the hospital. My sister refused to go, and she didn't cry. Later, my eldest cousin
pinched her nostrils hard for about ten minutes before the bleeding stopped."
"Why did you hit her? My mom got angry after reading my sister's diary. Yes, she peeked at it.
Wasn't that too much?"
So Shen Qingping and his sister and Zhu Zhenning were united in hatred of the enemy. When
they saw Ximei at school, they no longer greeted her warmly. They even nicknamed her "Wolf
Grandma" and exaggerated her evil deeds. So much so that just two days later, Master Li in the
cafeteria secretly asked Sinan: "I heard that your mother beat your sister's ears and made her
deaf? Don't be naughty again in the future. Alas, how can adults not be too severe when they hit
her!" Sinan was stunned.
Ximei was completely unaware. Seeing that the faculty and students she used to be familiar with
suddenly became distant from her, she thought that her return to Shanghai had disappointed
them. When she looked at the soup in her lunch box, which did not even have two cabbage
leaves, she lamented the fickleness of human nature.
——
After Children's Day, Jingsheng didn't see Si Jiang on TV and felt something was wrong.
"You didn't appear on the show on Children's Day this year?" he asked Si Jiang privately.
Si Jiang was cutting paper, preparing to cover the newly bought novel. Hearing this, he looked up
at Jing Sheng and smiled: "You didn't find me? I'm too tall now, so I can only sit in the back row. I
only showed the last paragraph for a moment."
Jingsheng recalled it carefully and shook his head with certainty: "Impossible, none of those eight
tall men was you."
"She's wearing makeup, you can't recognize her." Si Jiang's men didn't cut it well, so one photo
was wasted.
Jingsheng held his chin with his hand and stared at Si Jiang with a frown, tapping the pen in his
hand on the table.
Si Jiang crumpled up the waste paper uncomfortably and took a new calendar: "What are you
doing? Look carefully next time."
Jingsheng seemed to be lost in thought. Ever since the last diary incident, some changes seemed
to have taken place in Si Jiang. He couldn't tell exactly what had changed, but she was indeed
different from before. Even her walking posture was no longer like that of a long-legged egret.
Another week passed, Si Jiang finished her breakfast, put on her backpack and said she was going
to the TV station for rehearsal, Jing Sheng followed her from a distance, but she didn't take the
bus at all, and went straight into the West Palace after a circle, found a shade by the lake, took
out a piece of plaid cloth from her bag, spread it, and leaned against the tree to read. Reading is
reading, there are military water bottles, moon cake boxes and fans next to her, and she has no
worries about food and drink and is very free.
Jingsheng squatted by the lake and watched for nearly half an hour. The more he looked, the
thirstier he became, and the hungrier he became. Finally, he could not help but walk over.
"Chen Sijiang?"
Si Jiang was startled, but then she was relieved to see that it was Jingsheng. She knew that she
would be exposed sooner or later. Although she did not expect to be discovered so early, she felt
relieved. At least she felt that Jingsheng was reliable and would not betray her.
"How did you know I was here?"
Jingsheng bent down and looked through the mooncake box. There was still plenty of toffee,
scallion oil, biscuits, melon seeds and plums. He tore open a bag of biscuits and put it in his
mouth: "You didn't go to the June 1st performance last time, did you?"
Si Jiang gave up and picked up a plum and put it in his mouth: "Well, I didn't go."
"Then what did you say about you being too tall and in the last row so I didn't recognize you?"
Si Jiang blinked and smiled smugly: "I was just kidding you."
“???” Jingsheng almost choked on the biscuit.
"I haven't been to the choir for more than a month, didn't you notice?" Si Jiang was quite proud.
She went to the China Welfare Fund with him. She would hide in the toilet for a while and then
find a deserted place to read a book. When it was time, she would go to the door early to wait for
Jingsheng. She had never been exposed. It was perfect. Before liberation, she would definitely be
an excellent female underground party member.
Jingsheng didn't expect that Sijiang, who was always the most well-behaved, would suddenly go
to the other extreme: "Why?"
Si Jiang packed up his things and said, "Tell me first whether you will tell on others or not."
"Telling?"
"My mom. Will you tell tales?"
Jingsheng thought for a moment and said, "No. But your mother will know eventually."
Si Jiang shook the kettle: "Want some water? The biscuits are quite dry."
Jingsheng took it and unscrewed the bottle cap: "What will you do when your mother finds out?"
Si Jiang shrugged his shoulders: "Whatever, it's either a beating or a scolding."
Jingsheng tilted his neck back and drank the rest of the water in one breath, then took a breath
and said, "Do you hate your mother?"
"How dare I?"
"Want to go against her?"
"Is this right?" Si Jiang folded the plaid cloth and said, "I don't really like singing or dancing. My
uncle told me not to do it if I don't like it, so I won't do it."
"You don't like it, but you've been practicing since you were a child?"
"Well, because I practiced, performed, and won awards, my mother would praise me." Si Jiang
took a breath: "In fact, she likes perfect scores and first place the most. So she used to call me
baby Si Jiang, and she would slap me in the face if I didn't do well in the exams, so she changed to
calling me baby Si Nan."
Jingsheng felt that Si Jiang seemed to be getting closer to Si Nan, and seemed to have grown up
all of a sudden.
The two were silent for a while and slowly walked back.
"My father beat me once when I was a child. He hung me on a tree and beat me with a belt. He
beat me so hard that I thought I would be beaten to death." Jingsheng said suddenly.
Si Jiang was stunned: "Uncle? He hit you?!" Si Jiang didn't quite believe it. His uncle was always
smiling and was very nice to Jingsheng. How could he hit him?
"Yeah." Jingsheng picked up two blades of grass and pinched them in his hand: "I hated him so
much at that time. I thought that when I was taller than him, I would definitely hang him on a
tree and beat him with a belt, and not give him any food."
"Why did he hit you?"
Jingsheng looked at the ripples on the lake surface caused by the breeze and narrowed his eyes:
"I am not my father's biological child. Do you still remember this?"
Si Jiang turned his head away, too embarrassed to look at him, and hummed softly.
"My mother was raped by a whore and later gave birth to me. The kids on the farm called her a
slut. I went back and asked her why she was a slut and why she didn't jump into the river. My
father was furious."
Si Jiang shuddered. She only vaguely knew that Jingsheng had another "father", but she never
thought that the aunt who was so beautiful and so nice in the photos on the wall of the hotel had
encountered such a tragic thing.
"She--" Si Jiang looked at Jingsheng cautiously. She didn't know what to say. It would be great if Si
Nan was here at this time.
Jingsheng glanced at her and said, "Yeah. I don't want to fight back against my dad anymore."
Si Jiang let out a sigh of relief, but then she heard Jingsheng ask her, "Are you scared?"
"ah?"
"I am the son of a rapist." Jingsheng said calmly, "Aren't you afraid?"
Si Jiang stuttered: "No, no, that - it has nothing to do with you, you are my brother, I am not
afraid." Why is the sun so hot? Si Jiang felt that he was sweating all over. Suddenly, he uttered a
book-like sentence: "You are innocent!"
Seeing that she was as flustered as a frightened rabbit, Jingsheng sneered twice and said nothing.
Si Jiang was suddenly shared with such an earth-shattering secret, and he immediately felt a
heavy weight on his shoulders. His own secret was so small that it couldn't be any smaller, and his
grievances and sadness were nothing at all.
"Tell me what you are going to do next." Jingsheng took the schoolbag from Sijiang's hand and
said, "We are in the same group. Don't worry, I will cover for you."
"Then will you tell me if you have any problems in the future?" Si Jiang hesitated for a moment
and decided to be honest with his accomplice: "Like the matter of Wu Xiaoli looking for you
before-"
This time Jingsheng didn't mock her. He simply told her the story: "Later, her father was convicted
of bigamy, and her mother won the case. She got the money and took her back to Yangpu."
Si Jiang was a little embarrassed. It was indeed none of her business, but it was something not
very good happening in the other person's family. She murmured "I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Jingsheng added, "Don't come to the West Palace anymore. There are a lot of
hooligans coming here now. When they see a pretty girl, they go up to her and make dirty jokes.
It's easy to get into trouble."
Si Jiang blushed, but he straightened his back unconsciously: "Brother, you are making fun of me
again, what is so beautiful about it..."
Jingsheng looked into the distance speechlessly. Here she comes again. This person is starting to
act pretentiously again, as if she herself doesn't know how good-looking she is. It's really hard to
change one's nature.
Si Jiang turned lightly into the alley of Wanchun Street, her ponytail bouncing. Jingsheng quietly
lagged behind her by several steps, and from behind, he looked like a long-legged egret.
"Brother, hurry up." Changjiao-Sijiang-Lu turned around and shouted, smiling brightly. The flags
of all nations in the shantytown behind him became brighter.
Jingsheng sighed and felt that the road of protecting A-mei was not easy.

Chapter 103
Spring passed and summer came. Jingsheng graduated from the sixth grade. He took three exams
to enter junior high school, and the full marks in Chinese, math and English were 300. He could
not get high scores in Chinese composition. He did not dare to fill in the city key school for his
two choices. He filled in the city first school close to home and another district key school Minli.
In the end, he scored 268 points, which was indeed below the score line of the city key school.
Fortunately, because of his swimming skills, he was recruited by the city west special school. Gu
Dongwen was so happy that on the day he received the admission letter, Dongsheng Canteen did
not charge anyone for eating no matter what they ate, just as if it was a buffet. Grandma Gu was
so happy that she burned three more incense sticks for Gu Lao Dad.
Jingsheng also felt that he was lucky. He chose to practice swimming because he was inspired by
the swimming competition with Zhao Youning in Longhua. He did not expect to have such an
unexpected gain. The boy, who was about to turn fourteen, was not yet at the age of rapid
growth, but he was already 1.73 meters tall. He cut through the waves in the swimming pool like
flying. In two years of swimming, he had developed a good figure with broad shoulders, narrow
waist, lean and upright. Standing next to Beiwu, they looked more like brothers than uncle and
nephew.
Beiwu and Shanrang also finished their studies at Peking University. Shanrang stayed on to teach
at the university, and Beiwu received an admission letter from an American university as he
wished. This letter, which took two years of hard work, was not easy to come by. At that time,
Peking University did not have any information on self-funded study abroad. Fortunately, with the
support of Mr. Chen and Teacher Li in the department, Beiwu and several other students became
the first batch of "pioneers". They found some information about American universities in the
Beijing Library and sent application letters to the United States. Teacher Li found a lot of English
books for them to check and confirm the correct translation of American university courses.
When Schultz, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago and a Nobel Prize winner,
visited Peking University, Beiwu found a way to participate in the reception work. Although he did
not have much contact, he benefited a lot.
For the first time, Si Jiang felt the relationship between graduation and separation, and was very
melancholy. His uncle and aunt were almost the closest people to Si Jiang. Although they were far
away in Beijing, Bei Wu would write to them every week and call them at least once a month,
which was more frequent than his parents in Xinjiang. Shan Rang also often sent books and
beautiful stationery to Si Jiang.
"Don't be sad. You can come to Beijing to see me next summer vacation. Let's go climb the Great
Wall and be heroes." Shan Rang hugged Si Jiang and smiled: "There are four people living in my
dormitory. You are so thin, just squeeze in with me."
"Does America also have summer vacation in the summer? Uncle, are you coming back?"
Shanrang looked at Beiwu, who sighed, "The air ticket is too expensive. I have the will but not the
money. Your aunt wants me to get a master's degree before she allows me to come back." He has
spent all his time in the past few years on his studies and really doesn't make much money, but
fortunately one dollar and seventy yuan can be exchanged for one dollar, and the difference is
not too big. The first year's living expenses and the air ticket are not a problem. When he arrives
in California, he will earn his living expenses by working part-time. It happened that his
roommate who was sent abroad to study was in Long Beach, and he had kept in touch with him,
so he didn't go there completely in the dark.
Si Jiang found California on the world map: "It doesn't look far away, just across the Pacific
Ocean. I measured it and it seems to be a little farther than Aksu."
Everyone was laughing so hard that Grandma Gu's worries were half gone. "It's just the Pacific
Ocean? You make it sound like you can just cover it with a pot lid and we can walk across it."
This time even Jingsheng couldn't help laughing out loud.
"If you walk across the Pacific Ocean lid of the Sijiang brand, it's only 15,000 kilometers," Beiwu
smiled as he flattened the ruler for Sijiang. "If you throw the lid upside down and cover the
Atlantic Ocean, you have to cross the Eurasian continent first, and walk a little longer, so you can
reach the destination after walking 25,000 kilometers."
Si Jiang was dumbfounded: "Twenty-five thousand! How many years will it take?"
Jingsheng thought for a moment and said, "Uncle Zhou said they can carry 30 kilograms of weight
and walk 300 kilometers in seven days. You can do the math."
"Hey! Why are you using this to make math problems?" Although he said so, his mind was
spinning uncontrollably. Si Jiang said happily: "Grandma, if I walk along the Pacific Ocean, I can
reach it in a year, but it's too inconvenient to go to the toilet."
"Just open the lid and it will flow directly into the Pacific Ocean." Jingsheng gave a light-hearted
suggestion: "Don't forget to put the lid back on after the water comes out."
"Oh, you're so annoying! Agon is the most annoying--" Amidst the laughter, Si Jiang walked
around the table to hit Jingsheng.
Jingsheng stood up suddenly, pressed down on one corner of the chair back with his palm, and
made the upturned chair spin non-stop on the spot, not forgetting to mock her: "If you can't hit
it, you can't hit it, you can't hit it."
Si Jiang laughed and stretched out his arms to hit him while dodging the rotating chair legs.
Grandma Gu sighed. The two little ones had been peaceful for a few months, being as
affectionate as real siblings, but Sijiang still hated their mother in his heart, but he didn't say it,
but he showed it on his face. No matter how she said it was Ximei's fault, it was her own fault
that her daughter would not be close to her in the future, and she deserved it. Looking at her
youngest son and his wife in front of her, Grandma Gu sighed again. When Beiwu came back from
studying for another two years, he would be almost 40 years old, and Shanrang would be in his
early 30s. The separation between the two places would hurt their relationship the most, and
they had no children, which really made people worry. But no matter how worried she was, she
couldn't do anything. No one could control her, and it would be great if she could control herself
from getting sick.
Si Jiang made up his mind and threw himself onto the chair: "You're done for now!"
Jingsheng was caught off guard, and he didn't dare to drop the chair for fear of falling. Si Jiang
finally grabbed his arm and laughed triumphantly: "I got it - Ouch!"
The chair with one leg on the ground couldn't withstand their tossing and turning, and broke at
the critical moment.
Si Jiang fell forward and was about to bite the cement with her mouth. Jing Sheng stretched out
his leg without delay and placed it between her chin and the cement.
"Hey, there's no need to prostrate yourself like that." Jingsheng laughed so hard that his toes
couldn't stop shaking. "You're welcome. You're welcome." Sinan's motto is really interesting.
Si Jiang was so angry that he almost bit his toes. However, he couldn't get up with his hands on
the ground, so he could only scream and cry for help. Shan Rang hugged her waist, Bei Wu
moved the broken chair out, and Grandma Gu was busy checking if there were any splinters that
could prick Si Jiang. Si Jiang glared at Jing Sheng angrily: "Brother, how did you become so bad!
You big bad guy, stinky salted egg, stinky preserved egg!"
Jingsheng frowned: "Why did you spit all over my feet?"
"Ah?" Si Jiang wiped his mouth quickly, only to find that he was teased again. He was so angry
that he didn't care about the pain in his knees and stomach, and chased after Jingsheng for
revenge.
Jingsheng laughed loudly and rushed to the ladder. He grabbed the edge of the ladder with both
hands and jumped up. Before Si Jiang could blink, the man had already hidden in the attic and
propped up the ladder with one leg. "If you break the ladder again, it will be over. I told you that
you have been eating too much recently."
Si Jiang's face turned red as he waved his fists and jumped around: "Come down! If you have the
guts, stay here for the rest of your life!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, I'm going to go down and wash my feet, they're all covered in someone's
saliva."
Bei Wu and Shan Rang smiled at each other. In the past, Jing Sheng would never make fun of Si
Jiang, and Si Jiang really couldn't afford to joke. Now, one of the two children is more sociable
and cheerful, and the other is not so sensitive and thoughtful. Everyone is happy.
In the evening, Gu Dongwen came back and stuffed a vest bag into Beiwu's hand. Beiwu opened
it and saw bundles of big unity and several greasy old exercise books.
"The restaurant has been open for two years, and it's time to distribute the profits. This is what
you gave me kindly, so take it. Brothers should settle accounts clearly. The income and
expenditure are all in the book, take a look for yourself."
"No need," Beiwu smiled and pushed the vest bag back: "I have enough money to go abroad.
Didn't the hotel just expand its storefront? Everything needs money. Don't worry, I'll figure it out
when I get back."
"Don't talk nonsense." Gu Dongwen lit a cigarette and stretched himself: "Opening a restaurant is
a small business, you can't make a fortune, just don't despise it."
Bei Wu couldn't persuade him, so he looked at the latest account book carefully. He saw that the
business was good and bad, with a huge difference. One day he made 100 or 200 yuan, and
another day he only made 10 or 20 yuan. After studying it for half a year, he roughly calculated
that the gross profit margin was about 40%. However, there was only one aunt working in the
store, and Dongwen did not take a penny of salary. It was indeed hard-earned money.
Beiwu took a pen and paper and did some calculations, then counted out twenty bundles of
money and gave them to Dongwen: "Since we have to settle accounts clearly, you, the chef,
dishwasher, purchaser and manager, also have to get paid. These two thousand yuan cannot be
considered profit, but cost. It is what you deserve, big brother."
Just as Gu Dongwen raised his eyebrows, he saw Shan Rang coming over.
"Brother, Beiwu is right. When running a business, profits are calculated, but your calculation
method is not the same. I have to show you the 'Labor Value Theory' published by our classmate
Xiao He." Shanrang smiled and pressed on Beiwu's shoulder: "Brother, you should also think
about yourself, and don't let mom worry about your personal problems all the time. You don't
know, my dad refused to be Beiwu's strong backing, and insisted that he could make money in
the United States. Then we will just wait and see and enjoy the results, so as not to delay his
great plans."
Gu Dongwen got a headache when he heard about personal problems. He threw the money into
the drawer of the chest of drawers in a few seconds: "Okay, okay, you graduated from the
economics department, you know the business best, I'll listen to you. Fourth brother, I'll wait for
you to become rich and come back to hire me as a bodyguard. In another four or five years, I
won't be able to run this restaurant anymore, I'll rely on you."
Jingsheng was the last one to take a shower at night and went back to the attic to change into
shorts. Gu Dongwen threw him four new pairs of shorts: "Don't wear the old ones, wear new
ones."
"What? They're not torn. How can you wear them after being in the water?" Jingsheng quickly
put on his pants with his back to him and wiped his hair with a towel. "Old ones are better.
They're soft and comfortable. Wear these ones yourself. It seems that one of your shorts is torn
and cracked at the buttocks."
Gu Dongwen quickly turned around and looked at his butt. Even if his mother saw it, it was no big
deal, as his sister-in-law and Si Jiang were still there.
"I mended it for you as soon as I found it." Jingsheng threw the new shorts into his arms with a
look of disgust, "You'd better find a wife quickly, at least someone will mend your shorts for you."
Gu Dongwen was startled, and threw the shorts in his hand at Jingsheng's head and face: "You
little bastard, you are controlling your father. What's the matter? Are you so independent now
that you are in junior high school? You haven't even grown all your hair yet, and you need a
stepmother? Hiding? You're still hiding?"
Jingsheng's back was burning with pain from being hit by him, and he roared in anger: "You are
so annoying, how about I build a chastity arch for you? You know how to persuade grandma to
find a partner, why don't you find one yourself? My mother doesn't need you to be a widow for
her!"
Dong Wen put his hands on his hips and looked at him: "Are you serious?"
"nonsense!"
"Okay, if I meet a woman prettier than your mother, I'll give it a try."
Jingsheng panted heavily, and swung the towel in his hand in the air: "Bullshit, then you will be a
widower for the rest of your life."
"You have to support me."
"Raise me! Can I raise you?"
"When I get so old that I can't move anymore and can only lie down, you have to take care of my
shit and urine."
"Didn't you say before that if you couldn't move, you would let me take you to Lancang River to
see my mother?"
Gu Dongwen stared at Jingsheng, then suddenly burst into laughter, casually put on a pair of old
man pants and a sweat-proof vest, and hugged Jingsheng: "Come on, go downstairs and drink a
bottle with your father. Remember, if I can't move, you have to take me to see your mother."
"I'm only fourteen, okay? Why are you drinking? You're really - no, no, no, I'm with you, you're so
annoying, let go, it's so hot, don't put your arm around my shoulders like a little girl."
The two of them went downstairs, and Si Jiang looked up from his book: "Uncle, my brother
drank half a bottle of rice wine in the kitchen a few days ago. He was lying to you."
Jingsheng slapped her book with a slap. "Traitor! That's because it's about to expire. It's a waste
to throw it away."
"Hey, you can hit me, but you can't hit my books!" Si Jiang made a face: "Brother, it's wrong for
you to be two-faced, saying one thing in front of me and another behind my back, hahaha. I'm
helping you."
"I'll help you a hell."
"So you also know that you are a ghost."
Jingsheng sighed, well, Chen Sijiang and Chen Sinan are indeed biological sisters, so naughty.

Chapter 104
Happy days always go by quickly, and the summer vacation is over and a new school year begins.
Beiwu bid farewell to Shanrang for the time being, packed all his things in the attic into boxes at
home, and piled them on the wardrobe. Fortunately, California State University is located in Long
Beach, where it is summer all year round, so he doesn't need to bring winter clothes, which was
one of the important factors he considered when choosing the school. The winter in Shanghai is
cold and gloomy, and people shiver even when wearing coats indoors. The winter in Beijing is dry
and cold, and no matter how much clam oil is applied on the legs, it is useless. Once the cotton
trousers are taken off, it is like snowing and a bed of dandruff falls off. Shanrang also has
nosebleeds every two or three days, and the sesame oil is useless.
Sorting out old things inevitably makes people feel a lot of emotions. Seeing the photos of him in
Xinjiang, Beiwu suddenly thought of Fang Shuren. Coincidentally, because he was going to the
United States, some "brothers" who were close to him in Shanghai came to him for a farewell
dinner. One of them had been entrusted with a matter by him, but it was later left unfinished.
After seeing him this time, he scolded him for being unkind.
"I already said hello to the house in Yugu Village, but you didn't say a word, and you didn't even
tell me if you wanted to or not, so I was reported once." Lin Yongxiao rushed to the thirty-five-
year-old He was promoted to the deputy director level of the Housing Management Bureau, and
when he was feeling proud, he said with a smile: "It's a blessing in disguise. Fortunately you
didn't buy it, otherwise I might have gone to Tilanqiao."
Beiwu toasted him with three glasses of wine and settled the matter, then casually asked about
the house.
"If the deeds of the house are still there, they can be returned according to the policy. If these are
gone, it will be very difficult. There are people living inside who will never leave. It will be very
troublesome." Lin Yongxiao said honestly: "Why, your mother-in-law Want to get your ancestral
property back? The easiest way is to spend some money to buy it back." He stretched out his
three fingers and counted them. It was really not much.
Someone was booing next to him, laughing at Deputy Director Lin's lack of information. Beiwu's
wife is the commander's daughter and a teacher at Peking University. He went to the American
Empire to conquer the stars and the sea. What kind of old shabby house in Yugu Village is worth
it? He cares.
Lin Yongxiao repeatedly shouted disrespectful and offended. He punished himself with a drink
and said with a smile: "It's not broken even if it's broken. I've helped Gu Laosi to slap his eyes a
long time ago. It's been used by the capitalists to hold dances. It's so cute and the lighting is
bright." It’s transparent, the floor is shiny, it has a separate bathroom, and it’s a perfect wedding
room - Oh, oh, oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, come on, come on, I’ll have two more drinks.”
After some thought, Beiwu wrote a letter and sent the news to Mrs. Fang, including Lin
Yongxiao's contact information. As for the Fang family's decision, it has nothing to do with him.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is over and the National Day is approaching. Osmanthus flowers are
fragrant all over the city. There is a long queue for Wangjiasha's crabmeat dumplings. Chestnuts
are popping in the big iron pot at the entrance of Xin Changfa Food Store. Huaihai Road is bright.
The fresh meat mooncakes from the village dim sum shop were sold out in batches.
Different from previous years, this year Shanghai companies are allowed to independently
arrange salary upgrades for employees based on economic benefits. Nanhong’s personnel
relations were officially transferred from the cotton spinning factory to the clothing company, and
she was changed from a worker to a corporate cadre because of the fashion show team Due to
her success, her salary doubled to more than 80 yuan in August, so she specially invited her
whole family to the Deda Western Cuisine Club to eat steak during the National Day, which was
also considered as a practice for Beiwu.
Beiwu has packed up most of his things and will return to Beijing after the holidays to wait for his
passport. He plans to go to the United States after the Spring Festival. Grandma Gu can't use a
knife and fork, nor can she chew fillet steak. She almost spit out the coffee after taking a sip.
While complaining that Nanhong was not sincere in inviting her and chose the wrong place, she
repeatedly told Beiwu that he should give her a grandson while there were still a few months left:
"We are so far apart, and you two are living side by side. If you have a child, everyone will be at
ease."
"Shanrang just stayed in school and is going to study for a master's degree. Let's talk about it
after I return to China." Beiwu smiled and cut the steak into very small pieces for her: "This way
you can see if you can eat it. I'll accompany you to the dental clinic to get dentures in a few days."
"No, no, why waste the money?" Granny Gu shook her head. "Don't interrupt me, and don't think
I'm nagging. I won't be nagging you anymore in the future. I'd better not say these things to
annoy you, but there's nothing I can do. The old man has come to me in your dreams several
times, and it's all for your good—"
Bei Wu pretended to be surprised: "Dad came to you in your dream again? Didn't he tell you to
find a partner to look after each other? That's impossible. He told me this in my dream, and also
told my brother and sister to keep an eye on it."
Granny Gu was so angry that she almost chopped Bei Wu's hand with the knife.
"Okay, Mom." Gu Dongwen picked the shrimps from the shrimp salad and put them on the old
lady's plate: "Aren't Jingsheng and I in front of you? Why do you only think about hugging
Beiwu's family? Have you ever thought that we will feel uncomfortable?"
"Bah!" Granny Gu laughed angrily, "How dare you say that? Yesterday, Nurse Lu, who was
introduced by Aunt Liu, agreed to meet you in People's Park, but you just showed up and ran
away. Aunt Liu was so embarrassed. Are you trying to piss off your mother to death?"
Jingsheng's knife and fork touched each other, and he looked up at Gu Dongwen who was smiling
opposite him, and his brows furrowed.
Grandma Gu thought Jingsheng had something on his mind, so she felt a little uncomfortable.
She lowered her voice and explained, "Jingsheng, don't be happy. Your father looks strong, but
he's actually just an empty shell. He's had a broken leg, a waist injury, a gunshot wound, and a
knife wound. Now he's busy with the restaurant. He has to go to the market at three in the
morning to wait for fresh side dishes. He has to stand in the store for ten hours a day, and then
prepare the dishes when he comes back. He can only sleep four or five hours at most. Even a god
can't stand this. If there's someone who can take care of him, grandma will be relieved."
"Hey, why are you worrying so much?" Gu Dongwen smiled and urged her to eat while it was hot.
"Okay, your son is now Boss Gu. After the holidays, there will be three workers in the store. There
will be people to wash the vegetables and dishes. I will just sit by the side and light a cigarette
and watch. Is that okay?"
Granny Gu was even more worried: "Go away, what are you doing with those three people? I'll
help you wash the vegetables and dishes, and I won't charge you a penny. You only earn a few
dollars, can you afford such hard work? If the people outside are lazy and don't wash the dishes
cleanly, they will cause trouble for you. No, absolutely not."
Si Jiang raised his hand seriously: "Grandma, if you go, then I will go too. You are the best to me,
and I can't bear to let you get tired. No, absolutely not."
Grandma Gu was stunned, wavering between her son and her granddaughter.
Nan Hong chuckled: "Mom, you really worry more than the Prime Minister. Aren't you tired?"
"Not tired! And you, I haven't had time to talk yet."
"Okay, okay, go ahead and say what you say. You are right. I appreciate your kindness. Okay? Ah
Da, don't just keep eating. Go pour some water for your grandma. Ah Er, cut two pieces of your
chicken for grandma to try. Ah San——"
"Alright, alright, alright. You are not allowed to bother my grandchildren. You are the most
annoying one." Granny Gu failed to convince anyone. She rolled her eyes at Nan Hong and
muttered in a low voice, "You guys, don't listen to the old people—"
Everyone at the table responded in unison: "We are suffering the consequences."
Si Jiang cleverly added a tail with a smile: "Suffering a loss is taking advantage."
Jingsheng nodded: "If you don't take advantage of it, it's a waste. If you take it, it's not in vain."
Granny Gu managed to hold back a sigh, and patted Si Jiang's hand gently, not knowing whether
to laugh or cry: "You two have been led astray by Si Nan, and are very naughty now."
That night, Si Jiang talked with his grandmother for a long time. Not long after he fell asleep, he
heard his grandmother get up.
"grandmother?"
"Nannan, you go to sleep. Grandma is going to go out and have a drink of water. My mouth is
really dry. What the hell is this Western food? It's annoying."
Si Jiang laughed so hard that he almost lost his sleepiness.
Grandma Gu lifted the door curtain and yawned. With the light leaking in from the attic, she
groped her way to the dining table and got half a cup of water. After drinking it in two gulps, she
felt it was not enough, but the thermos was empty. She remembered that the two thermos on
the chest of drawers were filled with boiled water before going to bed, so she took a step forward
to get them. After taking only two steps, her eyes suddenly went dark and she knew nothing.
There was a loud thud in the living room.
"Grandma?" Si Jiang quickly got up and ran out barefoot.
Dong Wen, Bei Wu and Jing Sheng from the attic also jumped down in two steps, only to see
Granny Gu slowly getting up while holding onto a chair.
"It's okay, it's okay. Oops, I just felt dizzy and fell accidentally."
"Grandma, where did you fall? It was so loud, did you hit your head?"
Granny Gu touched her head and it was a little painful. She had just fallen down and had lost
consciousness. She was not sure if she was hit or not. Seeing Dong Wen and Bei Wu trying to
touch her head, she quickly pushed them away: "No, it was probably a chair that hit the chest of
drawers. Okay, okay, I said it's okay. I scared you guys, didn't I? Don't be afraid, I'll just come out
to drink some water. Boss, help me get a glass of water."
"It's really okay," Granny Gu was helped by Si Jiang to sit down. She moved her hands and legs to
emphasize again, "Look, I'm fine, right? Ah, it's already 11:30, you still have to go to school
tomorrow, go to bed."
Dongwen and Beiwu checked it carefully several times, but they really couldn't find any
problems, so they gave up. Jingsheng went to bed and couldn't sleep. He was panicking, thinking
of his mother who died when she went to the toilet. He immediately got up and found a box of
expired magazines under the bed.
Beiwu came out of the shower and saw Jingsheng still reading by lamplight, so he asked, "Hey,
why aren't you asleep yet?"
Jingsheng was turning to the page of readers' letters in the Popular Medicine magazine, which
read "What to do if a 14-year-old boy has nocturnal emission"...
Bei Wu clenched his fist and coughed twice: "This - you are very curious, and you are almost this
age, how about we chat for a while?"
Jingsheng pointed expressionlessly at a small piece of dried tofu next to him and said, "Grandma,
you should get this checked out. The doctor said you need to pay attention to your heart and
brain."
Beiwu took the magazine and read it carefully. Dongwen just came up after taking a shower. The
two brothers decided to tie up their mother and take her to Huashan Hospital for a checkup
tomorrow.
The two praised Jingsheng in various ways, and Jingsheng went to bed quietly. Beiwu looked at
the red spot on the tip of his ear that wouldn't go away, smiled and handed the article to
Dongwen: "Dad, pay attention."
The more Dongwen looked, the wider his eyes got. He sat down next to Jingsheng, rolled up the
magazine and patted his butt: "You kid, you refused to take the new shorts I gave you last time.
Are they leaking? Are you afraid that I will find out? No, I didn't see you wash your shorts this
morning-"
"What nonsense!" Jingsheng snatched the magazine and threw it aside: "Old rascal."
"This is science, otherwise why would it be published in a magazine? Don't be ashamed, turn
around and tell me about it."
"Are you annoying? No, no, no, okay?"
"No, how can I not have it? You are almost fourteen, and I was already pregnant when I was
twelve. Come here, take it off and let me see if there is anything wrong with it."
After a fierce battle, Jingsheng finally saved his shorts. It was really miserable. It was not good to
have them or not. It was so infuriating. Gu Beiwu, the instigator, laughed so hard that he broke
into a sweat. His shower was in vain.
——
A few days after the National Day, the results of Grandma Gu's examination came out, and
everything was normal. The doctor said that he had never seen a healthier brain at her age. The
family finally felt relieved. Beiwu said goodbye to his family and headed north to Beijing.
Every household in Wanchun Street put away their mats, spread out sheets and sewed quilt
covers. Si Jiang was too lazy to pretend and told his mother directly that he had to "graduate"
from the choir and children's dance performance team because he was over the age limit.
"How could that be? I remember I could participate in it when I was in junior high school. I
attended the China Welfare Fund Association piano class until I was fourteen." Ximei was a little
confused.
"Each class is different. The calligraphy and go classes can be taken until junior high school." Si
Jiang pretended to be calm: "There are many new children in the choir, and the stage is full. The
same goes for the dance class. Those who are over 1.5 meters tall can't stay in the children's
group. If you want to go to the adult group, you have to train five days a week-"
"That won't work. You're graduating from grade six this year. Dancing is just a hobby. You're not
expected to be a dancer. Besides, performing arts is not a serious job after all." Ximei said this,
but she couldn't hide her disappointment: "I saw a news report that your China Welfare
Association Little Friends Art Troupe will visit and perform in Japan at the end of the year. You
can't join it?"
Shanghai and Osaka became sister cities in 1974. As the city card of Shanghai, the China Welfare
Fund Little Friends Art Troupe not only performs on holidays and receives foreign guests, but also
often represents Shanghai to perform in foreign exchange performances. Ximei was in the piano
class before and had never participated in an overseas performance. Now Sijiang has worked
hard for seven years but has not been able to represent Shanghai and the country. She is really
depressed. Sijiang had an opportunity when he just entered elementary school, but he had to
pay for it himself. At that time, she was not well-off and felt that Sijiang was too young, so she did
not agree. She did not expect to miss it, and she would lose a resume to show for her future
studies.
Si Jiang replied that since he had already left the group, it would be impossible for him to
participate in overseas performances.
"Forget it. Does your school have any recommended admission quotas? Can the city's top three
students go directly to the city's key middle school?" Ximei felt a little impatient after asking this
question, and couldn't help but sigh: "Your uncle is still a good judge of vision. Jingsheng swam
backwards to get into the city's key middle school. The top ten students in your school can only
get into the district's key middle school at most."
At this point, Ximei regretted that she should have tried to get Si Jiang into a good elementary
school. However, with the status of the Chen and Gu families, it was useless to try. Thinking
deeper, she and Chen Donglai had never spent much time on Si Jiang, because Si Jiang had been
worry-free since he was a child. It was Gu Beiwu who decided to send him to the Children's
Palace, and it was Nanhong who arranged for him to join the TV station dance team. Looking
back on the past, Ximei felt uncomfortable, but there was no other way: "Anyway, it's all your
fault that your parents are not by your side and can't help you. You can only rely on yourself to go
from elementary school to junior high school. No matter what, don't fall out of the top three in
the grade, understand? And next year when you fill in the application form, you must apply for a
key city school."
"Oh." Si Jiang could only say that she would work hard. As for whether she could enter the city's
key school, she was not sure. The fifth grade final exam was a city-wide exam, which was
unfortunately very difficult. The average score of her class in math was only 73. She scored 85,
which was already second in the grade. Compared with the first in the grade, Zhao Youning's
score of 98, she was a far cry from the Huangpu River. However, the average score of math in the
primary school affiliated to the First Normal School was 93. The gap between the schools was
here, and the difficulty of each subject in the sixth grade would increase. For example, Jingsheng
usually scored 100 in math and English in school tests, but he made a mistake in a big question in
math on the graduation exam and lost a lot of points in English.
The graduating class was extremely busy. Every month, there were tests to rank the students.
There were also surprise tests from time to time. Students had to take the papers of the First
Center and the First Normal School. Every time they took the papers, it was a blow. Si Jiang
almost suspected that he would not be able to get into the key school in the district. Seeing that
she was depressed, Jingsheng forced her to take half a day on Sunday to study the junior high
school math and English courses in advance. He didn't understand at the time. He suffered from
not studying in advance. The last big question in the math paper was actually the concept of the
first semester of junior high school. The difference in the exam was all due to these difficult
questions that were beyond the syllabus.
"Brother, are you willing to give me a favor?" Si Jiang almost slammed the table when she saw
the paper Jingsheng wrote for her.
"What? You don't know how to do it? Pick something you know how to do first."
"I don't know any of them. These questions don't exist in the book you showed me." Si Jiang was
so angry that the first-grade math textbook in his hand was shaking loudly.
Jingsheng nodded calmly: "Our teacher never talks about the contents of the book in class."
"Then what did he say?!" Si Jiang was shocked.
"In the first month, I didn't understand what the teacher was saying in class, and I didn't know I
had to take notes. I only got 12 points on the first test. It's normal that you can't do this."
Jingsheng highlighted the key points in the question: "These are actually basic knowledge points
in the textbook, the distance between two points, the number axis, the absolute value, and the
application of linear equations. The key is that you have to understand them thoroughly and be
able to apply them to other situations. I have already given you a hint, so think about this
solution again."
Seeing Si Jiang's desperate face, Jingsheng patted his class notes and sighed: "The questions I
gave you are already relatively simple. How about you take a look at my notes?"
"I've seen it, but I don't understand it." Si Jiang said with indifference.
"Then - let's talk about this moving point problem first? Look, if the numbers corresponding to
points A, B, and C on the number axis are a, b, and c respectively, satisfying |a+5|+|b-1|+|c-2|
=0, is there a point P on the number axis such that PA+PB=PC?"
Si Jiang firmly wrote down the solution with two dots and one horizontal line, "because", and
then: "Because of what?"
"Try to solve abc first." Jingsheng reminded patiently.
After finishing the ten questions, it was time for dinner. Si Jiang's eyes lit up and he looked at Jing
Sheng with admiration: "Brother! You are amazing. Thank you!"
"Yes?"
"I got it!" Si Jiang was full of confidence.
Jingsheng hesitated for a moment, then slightly modified one of the questions and wrote it on
another page of the homework book: "Then try this one again."
After the pencil tip was almost chewed to pieces, Si Jiang blinked her eyes, still unable to
understand why she could do it just now but now she can't do it. She secretly glanced at
Jingsheng who was doing his homework, and called out like a little kitten: "Brother——"
Jingsheng felt goose bumps on his arms. He looked up and saw someone with his hands on his
cheeks and a fawning smile on his face.
"Will you teach me again? Will you?"
Jingsheng: ...
What's funnier than a pretentious Chen Sijiang? A pretentious Chen Sijiang who also acts
coquettishly.
Si Jiang looked at Jingsheng, who was laughing so hard that he was staggering, and her face
gradually tensed up and her smile gradually disappeared. She stood up, raised her chin, and
walked away like a peacock: "Brother, you are so annoying! Don't pay attention to me!"

Chapter 105
Learning makes me happy.
After being tortured by Jingsheng with thousands of questions, Si Jiang learned to comfort herself
like this. After all, there was a brother at home who did more questions than her and the
questions were much more difficult than hers. She was embarrassed to say that studying made
her unhappy. What's more, face is the most important thing. The midterm exam of the first
semester of the sixth grade was a district unified exam with average difficulty. Si Jiang did well in
mathematics and English. In the end, with the advantage of composition, the total score was 0.5
points higher than Zhao Youning, and he got rid of the curse of being the second place for
thousands of years and became the first in the grade. Is it easy? In the six years of elementary
school, this is the first time that I ranked first, and it may be the only time.
Unfortunately, Si Jiang was only happy for two days before she withered. The head teacher called
her to the office and praised her a few words, then casually said something: "You can't be proud.
This time, it was because Zhao Youning was preparing for the Basic Language Competition of the
Second Affiliated High School of East China Normal University. He missed a lot of classes and lost
four points in the basic Chinese questions. Fortunately, your composition was six points higher
than his, so you ranked first in the grade. But it's hard to say about the composition. The city will
mark the papers uniformly, and it all depends on the preferences of the marking teachers. Last
time you said you wanted to take the Shixi exam? Do your parents know?"
Si Jiang's excitement disappeared, and he nodded sullenly: "My mother wants me to apply for a
key city school, and I also want to take the exam for Shixi."
The head teacher sighed, "No student from our school has been admitted to the city key school
for three years. Gu Jingsheng from the previous class was always the top student in the grade. His
total score was three points short of the passing score, and he got in because of his sports skills.
Go back and discuss it with your family. To be on the safe side, you should fill in the district key
school. In case your score is not enough for the city key school, and the second choice of the
district key school is full, you may be transferred to an ordinary middle school, which is not cost-
effective. You have to trust the teacher. The teacher really does it for your own good."
The teacher couldn't do anything. Si Jiang was her most proud student. He was well-rounded and
excellent. She had brought him up from the first grade. She was closer to him than her own
children. But she could only say so much. The relationship between schools was very delicate.
Except for the city's first school, the other key schools in the district only considered the first
choice. They would rather delay the enrollment than accept the students who were rejected by
the city's key schools. They had a kind of ambition to rather have a chicken head than a phoenix
tail. If it were put in today's popular Internet saying: If you ignore me today, I will make you
unable to reach me tomorrow. In the last two years, children in their school suffered this loss.
They were only a few points short of the city's key score line, but they entered an ordinary middle
school. Cruelly and realistically speaking, this child will be a long way from college in the future.
Si Jiang was a little confused: "???" How could he feel worse than the second place after getting
the first place? The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he felt. He ran into Zhao
Youning in the corridor and left with a gloomy face without even saying hello. Zhao Youning was
choked back when he said "Si Jiang, congratulations" halfway through. He scratched his head for
a long time and couldn't figure out what was going on.
After returning home, Si Jiang, who was extremely depressed, couldn't help but ask Jingsheng
what his head teacher told him when he filled out the application form.
Jingsheng raised his eyebrows: "I didn't reach the city's key score line, the teacher is actually
right."
Si Jiang was extremely frustrated: "What should I do? I want to go to the same school with you."
She had just realized how good it was to have a powerful brother, but it had only been a short
time since she realized it. It would be a great loss if they could not go to the same school.
"Then you should fill in Shixi."
"What if I fail the exam?"
"With me here, do you still think you can't pass the exam?" Jingsheng knocked the book in his
hand on Sijiang's head. "You have always been better at Chinese than me, and you often get full
marks for your essays. You can also do English by memorizing it, but you need to work harder on
math. Can you be more ambitious? Come here and do these ten questions. It doesn't matter if
you can't do the last three. They are competition questions. See if you have any ideas."
Si Jiang finished a question, raised his head and said in a coquettish voice: "Brother, can you help
me talk to mom about the college entrance examination? (Brother, can you help me talk to mom
about the college entrance examination?)" There is no disappointment without expectation. If
she passes the exam, it will be a surprise, otherwise it will be a shock if she fails.
"Don't give me that. Solve your own problems yourself." Jingsheng turned his face away, not
looking at her deliberately pitiful look.
"How can I be so annoying!" Si Jiang dropped his pen and said, "I won't do it anymore. If I can't
pass the exam, then I can't pass it. What's so great about it?"
Three minutes later, someone silently picked up the pen, chewed it in his mouth, and continued
to do the questions seriously.
"If you keep chewing on them, your teeth will really turn into rabbit teeth." Jingsheng reached
out and flicked the pen out of Sijiang's mouth: "Have you looked in the mirror? Your two front
teeth are already big, and if you chew on the pen tip, it will stick out."
Si Jiang covered her mouth in anger. This was a sore spot for her. Since she started to change her
teeth, her front teeth were much larger than her baby teeth, so she would only smile slightly, a
very gentle and delicate smile without showing her teeth. But Jingsheng would always mention
her "rabbit teeth". Her teeth were not rabbit teeth at all. They were not protruding at all.
Jingsheng mocked and refused, but when Gu Ximei called him at the end of the month, he took
the initiative to tell her the truth about the situation and what the teacher said. Ximei had been
discussing things with him during her year in Aksu, and she listened to him very much. After a
moment's hesitation, she prepared herself mentally, and turned to Sijiang to relax and not be
nervous, and that it would be fine to be admitted to the key school.
"It's better to fill in No. 1 Middle School as a backup, and decide on the other one next year. I'll
ask someone later which one is better between No. 1 and Minli in recent years." Ximei had
complicated feelings when talking about her alma mater. One-quarter of her classmates from No.
1 Middle School were admitted to university, but unfortunately they all dropped out after one
year to join the revolution. Most of them ended up like her and became educated youth, and
their household registration was moved to the collective of farmers.
Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief when he knew that, but he was determined to get into Shixi.
——
Sinan is in the third grade. She only attended the second grade for one semester last year. After
returning to Shanghai, she played all day long, thinking that she could dominate the first grade at
Wanhangdu Road Primary School. She didn't even think about studying. As a result, she returned
to Aksu and followed the second grade for a month. She did terribly on the test. She wanted to
be a "repeater", but her mother scolded her.
"I'm only seven years old!" Sinan put his hands on his hips and complained, "I'm still a child, why
do I have to go to the third grade? Others are ten years old, there's no comparison."
"You are eight years old in your age. If you are in the third grade, you can start working and earn
money two years earlier than others. You can earn two years more than others in your whole life.
Isn't that good?" Ximei spread out the Chinese and math books for the second and third grades.
"If you were in Shanghai, you would have English classes in the third grade. For example, your
eldest cousin and your sister would have to calculate the total score of Chinese, math and English
when they take the junior high school entrance exam. Here, you have to learn English in junior
high school. How much more cost-effective is it for you?"
It seemed to make sense, but Sinan was skeptical: "Mom, don't lie to me, I'm still a baby."
"Bonon is a funny guy."
Under Gu Ximei's supervision, Si Nan reviewed the second grade Chinese and math in one
summer vacation, and previewed some of the third grade content. Although the amount of
homework for the third grade increased a lot, Si Nan did not find it difficult. He scored 98 in
Chinese and full marks in math in the mid-term exam, returning to the top of the grade.
"See? Who wanted to be a repeater?" Ximei knocked Sinan on the head with a chestnut: "How
many times have I told you, you won't go wrong if you listen to your mother."
"I rely on my mother for the sea voyage. You are always right." Sinan covered his head and ran
away: "Then I will go play table tennis for a while."
"It's so cold, you'll catch a cold if you sweat. Read carefully at home. The final exam is a county-
wide exam, and it won't be that easy. Have you memorized the text? Hey, hey, hey, Chen Sinan--"
Ximei chased after him for two steps, but Sinan had already run away.
"She is only slightly taller than the ping-pong table. Why is she still playing? It's more likely that
the ball will hit her." Ximei complained a few words, but then she started laughing. Why shouldn't
she be happy? She had never made a wrong decision when it came to her children. If she pushed
them a little, they would be number one in the grade.
"Forget it, let her go exercise, it's a good thing to exercise." Chen Donglai looked up from the
newspaper, "Will you go back to Shanghai for the New Year this year?"
"If I don't go back, and I don't have any family leave, how can I have so much money to
contribute to the Railway Bureau." Ximei took out the notebook, sighed, and had to ask Shanghai
for things again. Ever since she was scolded by her mother for beating Sijiang, she directly
telegraphed to Grandpa Chen if she had anything urgent to buy from Shanghai in the past six
months. Fortunately, Grandpa Chen always responded to her requests and even bought more
and sent it to her, which comforted Ximei's melancholy.
Chen Donglai hesitated for a moment, but still asked, "How about we go back together to see Si
Jiang and Si Hao? I should be able to arrange for a family visit leave, and my family still has some
money now."
Last Spring Festival was not pleasant for Ximei. She raised her eyelids and said, "You can go back
if you want. Sinan and I are not moving. It's freezing cold and we are exhausted after running all
the way. Besides, there are still many things missing at home. We sold all the furniture at a low
price before. We thanked the teachers for their help at that time. Now we don't have the nerve
to take them back. We have to find a way to buy some more. Besides, the men of Mengqin and
Cao Jingzhi's families have not come out and there is no result. I told them to bring their children
to our house for the New Year's Eve dinner. It will be more lively with more people, so that they
don't have any wild thoughts. I don't know how they got through this year. I'm afraid I can't do
it."
Chen Donglai sighed. Ximei was very loyal and even too stubborn. He couldn't do anything about
her. The original sofa, bookcase, desk and bunk bed in the dormitory were very cozy and
comfortable. Now the sofa is at Principal Chen's house, the desk and bookcase are at Director
Liang's house, and someone else is sleeping on the bunk bed in the student dormitory. Sinan has
been sleeping with Ximei for the past six months, so their couple life has naturally been affected.
In the summer, while Sinan was having sex outside, the couple had sex several times in broad
daylight with fear, but the quality was not satisfactory.
"Then I won't go back either." Chen Donglai could only give up in disappointment.
Seeing that he obeyed her, Ximei softened her tone and said, "You spent the New Year alone last
year, and you must not have had a good time. This year, buy some lamb shanks and we can have
a good meal together. Then, I will take Sinan to visit the county."
Chen Donglai saw his wife's expression soften, and he dropped the newspaper, walked over to
her, hugged her shoulders, lowered his head and kissed her cheek: "Nannan will be away for at
least an hour when she goes out, why don't we--"
Ximei slapped his hand away and said angrily, "No, no, last time she was halfway through and she
was screaming outside, it scared me to death."
"What are you so scared of? I'm the one who's scared to death. I might as well be in trouble for
the rest of my life." Chen Donglai thought of Sinan's sudden and terrifying scream three months
ago. The little interest he had just felt disappeared, and he smiled and pinched Ximei's shoulders.
As soon as he finished speaking, Sinan's voice rang out from outside: "Don't go, don't go, go play
two more sets, best of five."
Speak of Cao Cao, and here comes Cao Cao. It is really hard to say.

Chapter 106
In a blink of an eye, it was the end of the year. After the winter solstice, Gu Dongwen took some
time out to go to the Fumin Street Small Commodity Market, preparing to buy dozens of sets of
new desk calendars and wall calendars from 1982. He would keep two sets for his family and the
shop, and give the rest to regular customers to express his gratitude and bring good luck.
The Year of the Dog has come early. With just over a month to go, the more than 400 stalls in the
small commodity market are already ablaze with red, with spring couplets, wedding couplets,
paper-cuts, red lanterns, fireworks and firecrackers piled up like a mountain. Looking around, all
the celebrity calendars are full of Zhang Yu's smiling face. Since the hit "Lush Mountain Love", her
two movies "Friends" and "Small Street" have been popular all over the country this year.
"Little brother, buy Zhang Yuge's book, Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers, among the female
stars who have collected all four Wenhui government awards, only Yiyi Gatou (she is the only
one), Alas, the little girl from Shanghai, Lingdewu Come on, buy it and hang it up, it will definitely
give you face!" The eloquent landlady threw out more than a dozen calendars: "Liu Xiaoqing,
Chen Chong, Shen Danping, Thiele (all in it), take a look! Happy Saning? (Look who you like)"
Gu Dongwen remembered that Si Jiang liked to watch movies just like Nan Hong, and there were
several copies of "Popular Movies" at home, so he picked some at random: "Sister, let me
compare the wholesale prices? Are there any genres such as scenery and opera? (Ah) Can you
give me the wholesale price? Are there any scenery or opera items?)"
"Ten copies at a time, three dollars a copy. For scenery, do you want Beijing, Guilin, or
Huangshan? There are opera books praising Du Shiniang, Hongniang, Li Huiniang, and whatever
your mother is, we have them. The old men and old ladies will definitely be happy." The lady boss
took the opportunity to pull out a calendar, "Children will love the Nine-Colored Deer. Take a look
at the Taoist Priest of Laoshan, Nezha Conquers the Dragon King, and Havoc in Heaven. Do you
want any cartoon calendars? There are only five special internal calendars from Shanghai Film
Studio, but they cost one dollar more."
Gu Dongwen flipped through two pages, gave a thumbs up and smiled: "Sister, you are really
good at doing business." One can tell at a glance that this is used as welfare within the Shanghai
Film Studio and is not for external sale.
"Hush, be quiet, I will only sell it to you if you look good." The proprietress rolled up the five
books without saying a word and tied them up with a red string.
After buying desk calendars, wall calendars, and spring couplets, Gu Dongwen remembered what
his mother had told him, so he asked the shopkeeper, "Sister, where can I buy red shorts?
Women's, for little girls."
"Is it your birth year?" The lady boss pointed in a direction with a smile: "Wow, you are such a
good father!"
"Of course." Gu Dongwen was not modest. He carried a snakeskin bag and went to buy red shorts
for Si Jiang to wear in his birth year.
——
When Si Jiang returned home, he saw the row of red shorts hanging on the clothesline hanging
out of the second-floor window. His face immediately turned redder than the shorts. He rushed
upstairs to collect the clothes, and in his panic he almost dropped the pole.
"Your uncle is so stupid. He believed others when they said they wouldn't fade. Really, he didn't
even know to rub them carefully with his hands." Granny Gu touched the crotch of each pair of
pants and said, "Nannan, these three pairs are not completely dry yet. Let them hang for a while.
Oh, they faded more than the red swimsuit next door. After five or six times of washing, the
water is still pink. If you wear these, your butt will turn red in one day."
"Grandma! No need, I'll just dry it on the bed." Si Jiang was embarrassed and annoyed, but also
glad that Jingsheng and his uncle were not at home. She had started to grow this year, and her
chest was slightly swollen and painful. In the summer, her aunt happened to be there, so she
took her to a women's store to buy a cotton vest and a bra. She couldn't button the back buttons,
and it took her a long time to learn. Usually, the vest was not so eye-catching when it was hung
out, but the red shorts were really scary, and they could be seen at a glance when entering the
alley.
"How can that be? Wearing shorts that are dried in the shade will cause inflammation." Granny
Gu snatched the shorts back and put them on the clothesline, glaring at Si Jiang. "Your mother
was like that before. She was too embarrassed to tell anyone when she got her shorts damaged.
She was dying of itching in the hot summer, so she went to the hospital crying. She had to wash
her butt with some kind of purple medicine every day and suffered a lot. The doctor specifically
told us that the shorts must be dried in the sun. Go, go, go do your homework, don't worry about
this."
Grandma Gu put the clothes drying pole back in place. "Fortunately, your uncle's brain is not
completely broken. He asked your grandpa to buy your aunt red shorts for her birth year a long
time ago, but he just bought two pairs! It's as if it's not raining, 13 o'clock. But your uncle bought
you a dozen at once, which is really - forget it, it's hard to dry in the rainy day, you will need it
anyway. My dear, remember that your uncle treats you well."
Si Jiang folded the nine pairs of red shorts in his hand, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Well, my uncle is the best to me. I will buy him twenty-four pairs of red shorts to wear in his own
year of birth."
Granny Gu thought about how Gu Dongwen looked in his red boxer shorts. Daddy or mommy, the
thought of it made her feel so uncomfortable and terrible.
——
A few days later, Jingsheng came back from his computer class at the China Welfare Fund. He first
looked over the math questions for Sijiang to review for the final exam, and then slightly modified
a few questions that she was prone to making mistakes on so that she could consolidate her
knowledge. Then he took something out of his pocket and gave it to Sijiang: "Grandma said that
you should use red to press on your zodiac year. Wear this on your hand."
Si Jiang opened the brocade bag and saw that inside was a beautiful bracelet woven with red
rope and a small gold bead on it.
"Brother? You bought it? Is this real gold or fake?" Si Jiang was stunned as it was the first time he
received a gold gift in his life.
"Really? Who would give you a fake gift? You're just a fool. Your uncle, old man, paid for it, and I
did the running." Jingsheng stood up and prepared to go to the kitchen to cook dinner. He took
two steps and hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but turned back and added, "If you
don't want to wear those red shorts, don't wear them. This is enough to ward off the Tai Sui."
Si Jiang happily put it on her hand, but the red string got stuck and couldn't go down. She
hurriedly chased him to the stairs: "Brother! Brother, why can't I put it on? Help me! Oh, have I
gained a lot of weight? (A lot)"
Jingsheng had no choice but to run up the stairs a few more steps, lowered his eyes and looked:
"Look here, you can loosen it a little." He reached out and loosened the knot for her, and the red
rope slid down smoothly.
"Okay! Thank you, brother!" Si Jiang smiled so hard that his eyes were curved and his mouth
couldn't close. He shook his wrist to show off twice and hid the little golden beads in the sleeves
of his cotton-padded sweater, but Jingsheng pulled them out again.
Jingsheng tightened the knot and moved it up and down: "Is it tight? Do you want to loosen it a
little more?"
"It's not tight, not tight. Tighten it a little more. If it falls off, I'll cry to death. Ahhhh, it's too tight
again. Loosen it a little, just a little bit."
Si Jiang suddenly yelled at the top of her voice, and then lowered her head to correct the
tightness. Jingsheng subconsciously raised his head because of her yelling, and the two of them
bumped their heads on the two stairs going up and down. To be precise, Si Jiang's front teeth hit
Jingsheng's forehead.
Both of them hissed in pain.
"It's okay." Jingsheng covered his forehead and rubbed it.
"You're welcome! Thank you!" As soon as Si Jiang said this, he found that he was really infected
by Si Nan and was quite ill.
Jingsheng shook his head and sighed: "Chen Sijiang, you are hopeless."
Si Jiang looked sad as he carefully examined the red Tai Sui string on his wrist: "Did Tai Sui come
early? This will only take effect on New Year's Day?"
After dinner at night, the two packed their schoolbags and went to the dining table to read under
a table lamp. In the past, they read separately upstairs and downstairs, but now it is good to read
together to save electricity, and from time to time they can also exchange information and chat.
Si Jiang has not kept a diary for a long time. When he sees a sentence or paragraph in a novel
that he likes, he copies it in a striped notebook. Jingsheng reads a variety of things, including
newspapers, magazines, and books. If he thinks it will be useful in the future, he will fold a small
triangle to leave a mark. This day, Si Jiang couldn't help but touch the little golden bead while
reading for a while, and laughed foolishly, which made Jingsheng roll his eyes a lot.
When the clock on the wall pointed to eight o'clock, Grandma Gu quickly tore off two bath tickets
and urged them to go to the security area bathroom to take a bath.
"Jingsheng, you wash quickly, remember to wait for Nannan, the two of you should come back
together, okay?"
Jingsheng's things were simple, just a bar of soap, a towel, and a pair of shorts. Si Jiang hurriedly
packed her things while calling for her brother to wait for her, and separated her underwear, face
towels and foot towels, cotton sweaters, clean socks, and Pechoin cream. She was also busy
asking Jingsheng to take down the red string for her and give it to her grandmother. It was
already half past eight when they reached the bathroom.
"Don't be in a hurry, take your time washing." Jingsheng said it twice in a row. Every time, fearing
that he would wait for too long, Si Jiang would always wash his hair in a hurry. The next day, his
hair was tangled, and when he combed his hair it felt like someone had beaten him. He groaned
and screamed, which made people feel cold.
Probably because it was the last Sunday of the year, the bathroom was filled with a sea of flesh,
and the big bathtub was like dumplings. Dumplings could at least turn over, but people in the
bath had to hold their hands up or they would fall on other people's flesh. Jingsheng simply sat in
the locker room for half an hour before taking a shower. It was a quarter past nine, and he
thought Sijiang would be ready to come out. He packed up his things slowly and walked out.
When he got outside, he looked in the mirror and found two thin dents on his forehead that were
shining under the pale light. He looked carefully and saw that they were indeed the teeth marks
left by Chen Sijiang.
"He still refuses to admit that he has rabbit teeth. Only people born in the Year of the Dog are like
this. What a guy!" Jingsheng rubbed his teeth hard for a long time before leaving the men's
bathroom.
Outside, Si Jiang was already walking back and forth on the street with a net basket in his hand,
looking bored.
"Brother, why are you slower than me today?" Si Jiang reminded him in a low voice: "You are not
allowed to wash clothes in the bathroom. You will be fined if you are caught."
"No, have you ever been fined?"
"No, I saw someone being punished. It was too much. After washing the shorts, they also had to
wash the cotton sweaters and cotton pants. It was clearly written on the wall that washing
clothes was not allowed." Si Jiang moved closer proudly: "But I brought a toothbrush, so it's okay
to brush your teeth. This way, I can go straight to bed when I get home, and I don't have to brush
my teeth in the sink. You should also bring a toothbrush and toothpaste next time."
Jingsheng turned his head and saw her face looking for praise. The two of them were very close,
so close that he could smell the scent of soap on her hair, with a slight scent of water blowing
towards him. Under the street light, Sijiang's face was pink and tender, her skin was shining as if it
could be squeezed out of water, and her curled eyelashes were also wet as if they were covered
with dew. Jingsheng suddenly felt a little uncomfortable, and he took a few quick steps on his
own: "Anyway, I haven't washed my clothes. There are so many people taking a shower today.
Walk faster, there is morning self-study tomorrow."
Si Jiang was stunned for a moment, then he started running with the basket in his hand:
"Brother! Wait for me!"
When the Shanghai girl shouted this, she dragged out the ending tone and curled it upwards,
with a hint of mischief and coquettishness, so coquettish. Jingsheng walked faster. Oh, little girls
are really troublesome, pretty little girls are even more troublesome, and pretty little girls who
like to be coquettish are even more troublesome.

Chapter 107
After Jingsheng entered junior high school, he was completely unable to adapt to the learning
pace of the city's key school at first. His scores in the baseline test and two tests were terribly
low. He was no longer as relaxed as before. He got up early and went to bed late every day. He
was used to rolling up a book and putting it in his back pocket when going to the toilet, and all his
pocket money was spent on buying supplementary books.
Gu Dongwen and Gu Granny saw this and stopped Jingsheng from getting up to make breakfast
so that he could sleep for half an hour longer in the morning. Beiwu handed his precious Forever
Manganese Steel 13 to Jingsheng before leaving. It only takes a little over ten minutes to ride
from Wanchun Street to Shixi, which is much more convenient and time-saving. Jingsheng took
Sijiang to school every day. Usually, Sijiang and her classmates walked together after school. He
only had two classes every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. After picking up Sijiang, he packed
up and went to the swimming pool for practice.
December 31st was a Thursday. Jingsheng pushed his bicycle out of the back door of the school
and found that the usually bustling stalls were even busier, with many more selling balloons and
small gifts. Many classmates stopped to choose New Year's cards and wrote them on the spot for
their close friends. There was laughter and joy, and the atmosphere was very New Year's.
Jingsheng remembered that he had been busy with his studies this semester and had only replied
to two letters to Sinan, so he stopped and carefully selected two greeting cards. One was for
Sinan, with the theme of Nezha making trouble wherever he went, just like a female Nezha. The
other one for Sijiang was a bit hard to choose. The ones with hazy flowers, pearls or teapots
looked pretentious, and the ones with landscapes were too rigid. There were a few that looked
very comfortable, but the English poems on them were too corny. There was no love or no love,
and there was no simple Happy New Year. He was hesitating when someone called him, "Gu
Jingsheng?"
Jingsheng looked up and saw three girls from his class, and the one calling him was the class
monitor Wang Lu.
A New Year's card was handed to him.
"Gu Jingsheng, I wish you a happy new year." Wang Lu tried her best to act natural and explained
with a smile, "Everyone has received it. I couldn't find you at noon, so this is for you."
Her two good friends laughed and chimed in: "Yes, we all received it."
"Thank you." Jingsheng took it, opened it, took a look, then closed it and continued to choose a
greeting card with his eyes downcast.
Wang Lu's two friends made faces, said hello and left quickly. She flipped through the stack of
greeting cards in her hand, and glanced at Gu Jingsheng next to her from time to time. Her heart
was pounding and she was uneasy. There were four classes in the first grade of junior high school,
168 new students, and 89 male students. Gu Jingsheng was the most outstanding one. It was
hard not to notice him. Unfortunately, he seemed to have transferred back from Xinjiang or
Yunnan countryside. His grades were not very good and his English had a very strange accent.
Wang Lu was extremely impressed by the 12 points he got in the math test at the beginning of
the school year. She was in charge of handing out the papers at that time. Maybe she was too
surprised. After calling his name, she also reported the score. The whole class was silent for two
or three seconds and then burst into laughter. At that time, he raised his hand in the last row and
said "here", and he didn't seem embarrassed or embarrassed. When she handed the paper over,
she whispered an apology. She was not sure if he heard it, and she couldn't tell if he was angry or
not, and she didn't know if he had any opinions about her.
Finally, Jingsheng picked an animal greeting card. It showed a big light golden dog squatting on
the grass, with its head tilted and its mouth wide open as if it was smiling. Its smile was quite
sweet, and it had a red collar around its neck. When Jingsheng saw the red bell on the collar, he
couldn't help but twitch his lips, thinking it was very suitable for Si Jiang. He didn't even notice
the row of cursive English words at the bottom: For the special one.
Wang Lu had already noticed that he had another Nezha Conquers the Dragon King greeting card
in his hand, probably for his sister, so when she saw that he chose the one for Special One, her
heart skipped a beat and her face turned red involuntarily. She chased him out to give him the
greeting card, hoping that he would give her one in return, which was also a kind of courtesy.
Jingsheng paid three yuan and saw that squad leader Wang was looking at him and smiling, as if
expecting him to say something. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Happy New Year to you,
too."
"Thank you." Wang Lu discovered for the first time that Gu Jingsheng had a small mole under his
left eye near his cheekbone, which made him look less unapproachable. However, she was very
nervous. She moved her eyes down to the second button of his coat, and then to the tip of her
shoes. She mustered up the courage to whisper, "I quite like dogs."
Jingsheng was startled, and immediately realized that the other party had misunderstood him. He
was not a careless person, but he was dismissive of the so-called "like". Even though there were
examples like Gu Dongwen and his mother, Beiwu and Shanrang around him, he never had any
yearning.
"Oh." Jingsheng pushed his bicycle and quickly disappeared into the crowd.
Wang Lu came back to her senses after a long while. The greeting card had nothing to do with
her. The winter sun fell weakly in the west, without any power. On one side of the road was a
noisy small vegetable market, and on the other side were small vendors who were eager to do
the last business for students. Only she, in this corner forgotten by Gu Jingsheng, was ashamed
and sad alone. But she couldn't help but speculate, which Special One the greeting card was
given to. A trace of emotion from a thirteen-year-old girl, bitter and sour.
Jingsheng rode to the gate of his alma mater and saw a group of primary school students
gathered together. They were talking about something, but suddenly they burst into laughter.
"Chen Sijiang——!" Jingsheng raised his legs to support himself and stopped the car.
Si Jiang turned her head from the crowd, and the cool sunlight painted a layer of cold gold on her
smile.
"My brother is here. I won't say goodbye to you. Goodbye! Happy New Year." Si Jiang ran over
with a smile and hung his schoolbag directly on the handlebars.
"Chen Sijiang, wait a moment." A boy followed and handed Sijiang a pink envelope: "Happy New
Year!"
Si Jiang pursed his lips and smiled, holding the envelope and got into the back seat of the car:
"Thank you, goodbye."
Jingsheng snorted, pushed his feet, and the bicycle suddenly rushed out.
"Ah! Slow down, brother." Si Jiang was caught off guard and hugged his waist tightly, breaking the
pink envelope in his hand into two pieces. Jingsheng lowered his eyes and glanced at him, then
stepped faster.
"Hey! Slow down, the greeting card Xiao Letian gave me is broken." Si Jiang moved twice before
steadying himself. He grabbed Jingsheng's clothes tightly with one hand and rubbed the greeting
card against his leg with the other hand several times.
The bicycle didn't slow down at all when it turned into the alley. The bumpy road made Si Jiang
dizzy and his butt hurt. He hit Jingsheng several times.
"What are you doing? What are you doing so quickly? My butt hurts so bad!"
"It's too late for swimming class." Jingsheng said lightly, but the corners of his mouth curled up.
When he got home, Jingsheng took his swimming bag and went downstairs to the attic, where he
saw Si Jiang happily opening greeting cards. There was actually a thick stack of them in front of
him.
“Elementary school students are so boring.”
Si Jiang agreed deeply and nodded repeatedly: "I have received the same greeting message from
seven classmates. Friendship lasts forever. They even copied the words for the greeting cards.
Really! My Nan Nan's writing is not as good as mine."
"Why is your classmates' handwriting so ugly?" Jingsheng flipped through a few sheets of paper,
and they were all the names of male classmates in her class.
"That's right. The boys in our class are ugly and their handwriting is also ugly. Teacher Wang said
that this is called the handwriting is like the person and the name is well-deserved." Si Jiang
shrank his shoulders and stuck out his tongue. He felt a little embarrassed that he said bad things
about people behind their backs. Suddenly he remembered something and took out a card from
the pile of greeting cards and carefully placed it aside: "Zhao Youning's handwriting is not ugly,
and the card he gave me is also very beautiful. Brother, do you want to see it?"
"Haha, no, I'm going to go swimming. Tell grandma to wait for me to come back and cook."
"Oh, hey, why did you open it?"
"Is this one from Zhao Youning?"
"Yes, isn't it pretty? His father brought it back from the United States, and it's three-dimensional.
Oh, be careful, pull it gently, I'll do it, okay, you see, when it's unfolded, there are four puppies,
cute, right? This house is also three-dimensional, look, the chimney can stand upright! This is the
most beautiful greeting card I have ever received in my life!" Si Jiang couldn't let it go, he folded it
and opened it, folded it and opened it again, and even put it to the face and kissed it: "I like dogs
the most, who made me a dog, hahaha."
Jingsheng rolled his eyes at her. This must be the kind of "little guy" that Gu Beiwu was talking
about.
"Brother, did you buy a greeting card for me?"
Seeing Jingsheng rolling his eyes, Si Jiang smiled without waiting for his answer, "It's okay, it's
okay. We are together every day. Why waste money on sending gifts back and forth? I didn't buy
it for you."
Jing sneered angrily: "It's good that you know it's a waste." He went downstairs with a thump,
and the bell of his bicycle rang loudly.
Si Jiang looked at the four cute puppies carefully again and sighed: "When I grow up, work, make
a lot of money, and have my own house, I will get a dog. Don't want a small one. I want a fat
Japanese dog that can smile, like the ones that appear in fashion magazines. Woo woo woo woo,
so cool!"
The last day of 1981 was indeed extraordinary. Gu Jingsheng, who was swimming hard in the
swimming pool, achieved his best time in the 400-meter freestyle: 4 minutes and 48 minutes.
The coach was so happy that he almost pulled him out of the water and held him up.
——
Jingsheng was tormented by his coach until 7pm when he finally returned to Wanchun Street
exhausted. Granny Gu took out the dinner she had left for him and said, "Why are you so late
today? You have to swim five days a week and you must be exhausted. Remember to put more
cream on your feet, Jingsheng."
"Have you eaten?"
"Yeah, I'm done eating."
"Si Jiang, is it okay to go see Si?"
"No, some of her classmates came to call her and said that there would be fireworks in Jing'an
Park today and the small market in the alley behind Jing'an Temple would be open until midnight,
so they went to walk on the street together and will be back later."
"Who called you?" Jingsheng finished his meal in a few mouthfuls and ordered another bowl. He
saw that Si Jiang had not even taken care of her schoolbag. The math problems assigned to her
yesterday were half-finished and left lying there. However, a stack of greeting cards were neatly
arranged, with the one from Zhao Youning on the top.
"Lanlan from Lane 35, Chuchu from Lane 15, and Ningning from Kangjiaqiao, the ones you often
hang out with." Granny Gu yawned, "Tomorrow is New Year's Day, your dad should have worked
half a day today, why hasn't he come back yet?"
Jingsheng looked at the clock and said, "Grandma, I'm done eating. I'm going to the store to see
my dad."
"Ah? What if you miss it on the way? You should rest at home. Swimming is very tiring."
"It's okay. I'll go by bike."
Yongjiu Manganese Steel 13 rushed out of the alley fiercely and vigorously, perfectly missing Gu
Dongwen who had just returned, and headed straight towards Jing'an Temple.

Chapter 108
Jingsheng rode all the way to the intersection of Wanhangdu Road and Beijing Road, stopped to
wait for the red light, and in front of him was the No. 9 Department Store. The blue and red neon
signs were flashing, as if calling out: Come on, come on, come and spend your money.
There were many pedestrians on the road. A group of elementary school students were crossing
the road with laughter and screams. Suddenly, a little girl chased and hit a boy, almost hitting
Jingsheng's wheel. Jingsheng looked at their backs, suddenly lifted the handlebars of the bicycle,
stepped onto the upper curb, turned around and rode back, riding slower and slower. An aunt
shouted at him: "Hey, why did you ride your bicycle to the upper curb? (Why did you ride your
bicycle to the upper curb?)" He ignored her and rang the bell a few more times.
He didn't even know what he was doing out here, his chest was filled with anger, he felt so
suffocated. In the past, it was Si Nan who was worrying, but now even Si Jiang was worrying. She
had clearly said that she wanted to get into a key city school, but she didn't even do her
homework and went out to play, and she didn't come home until very late. Jingsheng felt that she
must have been so angry that she wanted to come out to look for someone. But what after
finding the person? He still didn't know. Should he scold her? This guy was thin-skinned, he
would definitely cry in front of his classmates, and then he would ignore him for at least two or
three months, and he wouldn't have a peaceful Spring Festival. Not to mention that she followed
her and watched her? He was a junior high school student, what was he like sandwiched
between a group of elementary school students who were not even as tall as his shoulders? It
was so ugly (so ugly).
Jingsheng walked north along Wanhangdu Road and ran into two groups of hooligans. They were
still wearing glasses in the middle of the night, with their coats deliberately open to reveal the
floral shirts underneath. They had cigarettes in their mouths and loud speakers in their hands.
The pointed leather shoes under their bell-bottom pants made a thudding sound on the stone
pavement. A few words floated into Jingsheng's ears, and he heard them say that they were
going to the entrance of Jing'an Park to compete in disco dancing.
The wheels of the bicycle were turning slower and slower. Before it reached Kangding Road, the
handlebars suddenly left the road, and the bike suddenly turned around, rushed down the
sidewalk, and sped along the asphalt road towards the direction of Jing'an Temple.
——
Going to the night market to welcome the New Year was an activity that the graduating class had
arranged a few days in advance. The close friends from each class who lived close to each other
arrived at the entrance of Jing'an Park in twos and threes. The girls chattered and the boys
chased and played. Soon, there were 20 to 30 people. Zhao Youning and Si Jiang were
surrounded as soon as they arrived.
"Si Jiang, how many New Year's cards have you received? Did Zhou Jiaming from Class 1 send
one? We bet he doesn't dare to." A boy squeezed over and asked.
Si Jiang thought about it and shook his head: "It seems not."
"Hahaha, I knew this coward was so scared that he didn't even dare to send a letter or a greeting
card. Well, now I have a Four-Nation War map."
Si Jiang: “???” Can you still bet on this? She looked into the crowd and didn’t see Zhou Jiaming.
She had some impression of that boy. He was very short and thin. When she led the exercises, he
was always in the first row of the class. His jumping movements were always two beats behind
others. His eyes were always on the ground. He looked very introverted, but his grades were
good. He seemed to be ranked fifth in the grade in the midterm exam.
After Zhao Youning arrived for a while, his female classmates stuffed a lot of small cards and
envelopes into his hands. His face turned red and he kept saying thank you and happy new year.
He finally stuffed them into his coat pocket. When he turned around, he saw Si Jiang squatting on
the street stall holding a red balloon and buying bubble gum.
"Si Jiang, this White Rabbit bubble gum can be blown up really big, really." Sheng Fang picked up
two and asked, "How much is it?"
"Let's go, let's go to Jiaozhou Road." A female classmate came over to Lasjiang and whispered,
"The things here are very expensive, let's go."
Si Jiang also took a fancy to two colored pencils, but was a little hesitant because he was afraid
that this type of pencils was not available in the alleys of Jiaozhou Road.
"It's only a cent or two difference at most. Just buy it if you like it." Zhao Youning smiled and
advised her not to miss it if she passed by.
Si Jiang nodded and just as he took out his wallet, the stall owner suddenly rolled up the plastic
paper and said, "Wait, go across the street, kid, come buy it from the other side."
They watched helplessly as three or four street vendors swept across the road like a tornado and
headed down the yellow gable of Jing'an Temple.
"Get up, get up! Roll over to the side of the waves! (Roll over to the side of the waves)"
"X, why don't you run away when you see us?"
"Get out of the way, little bastard. Don't block the road."
The loudspeaker suddenly blasted out waves of drum beats, moving and moving. The young men
with permed hair shook their bodies, kicked away several pieces of plastic paper with small toys
and stationery, and began to dance with their hips twisted. Two of them grabbed a handful of red
balloons and squeezed them one by one. There were also two female hooligans and a male
hooligans dancing almost face to face, and suddenly turned around and twisted their hips to face.
The primary school students quickly hid far away, laughing and secretly pointing and talking. Si
Jiang was pulled aside by Zhao Youning, and couldn't help but curse: "You are crazy, this is not
Yila's place (it's not their place), what the hell, we should call the police to deal with Yila."
A big hand suddenly patted her shoulder. Si Jiang was startled, thinking that some gangster was
hiding behind her and heard her scolding them. He turned around and breathed a sigh of relief:
"Brother?! You scared me to death. (You scared me to death.)"
"Hmph, are you feeling guilty?" Jingsheng frowned and asked, "Have you finished the math
problems? Are you showing off now?"
Si Jiang's scalp tingled, and he tried to force a toothless smile: "I will definitely do it when I get
home, and I won't go to bed until I finish it! Brother, can we go to the night market together? I
want to buy two pencils, a pencil sharpener, and a new triangle ruler."
Jingsheng nodded reluctantly.
Zhao Youning greeted Jingsheng with a smile, and then seven or eight people walked around
Jing'an Temple and turned onto Yuyuan Road.
Si Jiang pointed it out to everyone on the glass display of Meilan Photo Studio: "See it? The photo
of my uncle has been put away for almost ten years, but it's still here. It's not my eldest uncle, but
my younger uncle. Isn't he handsome? But my eldest uncle is also good-looking."
The classmates praised in unison, and a female classmate even dared to say, "In fact, we should
put a photo of you and your older cousin, it will definitely look better."
Si Jiang turned his head to look at Jing Sheng who was standing outside the crowd, and smiled
with his teeth showing: "The master from Wang Kai Photo Studio wanted to put up photos of our
whole family, but my uncle refused to let them."
"Why?"
Si Jiang raised his chin proudly and sighed: "My uncle said that because our family is so good-
looking, he is afraid that customers will feel inferior and unhappy when they see us, which will
affect their business."
"Hahahahahaha." Zhao Youning and others burst into laughter.
Jingsheng turned his face away, thinking that Chen Sijiang's face was not as thin as he thought.
On the contrary, it was quite thick, thicker than the gables of Jing'an Temple. She was indeed
Chen Sinan's biological sister.
The night market was packed with people, much busier than during the day. Different songs were
playing on the loudspeakers, and shouts and calls for help were heard one after another. The
group of elementary school students walked in hand in hand, but were squeezed out after a few
steps. Si Jiang entered the small market, like a mouse seeing candy, squatting here and there, and
in a blink of an eye, only her red balloon could be seen going up and down, forward and
backward. The small alley was less than 200 meters long. She entered at 8:30 and came out at
10:30.
Si Jiang was dragged out by Jingsheng by the collar, holding a bunch of spoils in his hands. Zhao
Youning and Sheng Fang also squeezed out: "Shall we go get some tofu pudding? Zhou Jiaming
said that if we walk a little bit toward Changde Road, there's an old man who sells the best tofu
pudding rice at night."
Si Jiang looked behind him and said, "Where's Zhou Jiaming? Ask him to go with you. And where
are Wu Minglan and Wang Sichu? Weren't they just reading the books at Zhou Jiaming's stall?"
"Huh? Why don't we come out together?" Zhao Youning walked back to look for people.
Fortunately, he met Zhou Jiaming and others after just a few steps.
Zhou Jiaming knew the famous Gu Jingsheng, but Jingsheng didn't know him and only nodded as
a greeting. He could tell at a glance that this boy liked his daughter Si Jiang. He looked at her with
a glare and didn't dare to look at her directly. His face turned red after just one glance. Wu
Minglan and Wang Sichu, who also lived on Wanchun Street, hid behind Si Jiang to watch
Jingsheng and encouraged her to go eat tofu pudding with everyone.
"Brother, will you come with me? I'll treat you." Si Jiang put his hands together, his eyes sparkling
with stars, and pouted his lips in a coquettish way: "I promise to eat it all in three bites, and then
go back to do my homework after I'm done."
"You're so hot." Jingsheng sneered, put his hands in his pockets and walked east. After walking
two steps, he looked back and saw that the group of elementary school students were still
standing there stupidly, looking at each other in bewilderment. He could only shout, "Let's go eat
tofu pudding."
The three little girls hugged each other and jumped for joy, then started chattering again.
"Hey, Zhou Jiaming, your parents are so awesome, they opened such a big store." Wu Minglan
walked around Zhou Jiaming and said, "We took so many things, but your dad refused to take any
money. I'm so embarrassed. If I had known, I would have only taken one thing."
"No, it's okay." Zhou Jiaming lowered his head shyly: "We are all classmates, it's not easy to
charge money."
Si Jiang also felt embarrassed and was determined to only take a piece of eraser. She pinched Wu
Minglan and glared at Wang Sichu who was making a face: "Zhou Jiaming, you have to tell your
dad not to do this again next time. We won't dare to come to this market anymore. It would be
great if you give us a discount. I'll treat you to your tofu pudding tonight."
"It's really okay. You, you can come later. Come, I'll give you a purchase price. You must come!"
Zhou Jiaming stuttered a little when he was anxious.
Sheng Fang, who was walking in front, turned around and imitated him in a sarcastic tone: "Si, Si
Jiang, you, you must, must come."
Si Jiang raised his leg and kicked him on the butt: "Sheng Fang, you are so annoying!"
Zhao Youning turned around, said sorry, stretched out his arm, grabbed Sheng Fang in the armpit
and beat him up.
Zhou Jiaming's face flushed, and he pursed his lips in silence. Si Jiang felt a little guilty, so he
asked again: "By the way, have your classmates from class 1 come over?"
"Um".
Si Jiang racked his brains and finally managed to come up with a sentence: "You sell so many
kinds of toys."
"Um."
Wu Minglan beside him chuckled: "Zhou Jiaming, didn't you want to send a New Year's card to Si
Jiang? Why didn't you give it to him?"
Zhou Jiaming's face turned red, but he was afraid that he would stutter and become a laughing
stock as soon as he opened his mouth, so he hummed twice, not knowing what to do.
Si Jiang took out a small card from his cloth bag and handed it to him: "This is from me. I wish you
a happy new year. Thank you for giving us so many new year gifts."
Zhou Jiaming took it excitedly, but his hand shook and he dropped it on the ground. He quickly
squatted down to pick it up, patted it carefully, and opened it under the street light. On the pink
card was a fat dog with a funny smile, and next to it was written in neat cursive characters:
"Happy New Year". Signed: Chen Sijiang, December 31, 1981.
"This, this was drawn by you yourself?" Zhou Jiaming became even more excited.
"Yeah, don't despise it." Si Jiang smiled and took out a few more copies from her bag and gave
them to Zhao Youning, Wu Minglan and others, deliberately not putting them in place: "Come on,
here are Chen Sijiang brand handmade New Year cards. I wish you all a happy New Year." She
received too many cards today, but didn't buy any, so she hurried to make a bunch, thinking of
giving gifts back to her classmates when she met them in the evening. However, she forgot about
it after being distracted by the disco hooligans who dominated the park. Now it just happened to
relieve Zhou Jiaming's embarrassment.
Si Jiang ran to the front, tugged at Jingsheng's sleeve, and handed him a piece of paper
flatteringly: "Brother, this is for you. I made it myself, you can't buy it outside."
Jingsheng glanced at her, took it and looked at it, feeling amused, angry, and a little inexplicably
sad.
"I didn't realize you were good at saving money."
Si Jiang was proud: "Of course, outside they sell three pictures for one dollar, I drew twenty
pictures, saved seven dollars, which can buy three books."
Jingsheng was stunned: "Three greeting cards for one dollar?"
"Yeah, oh, there are also nice-looking ones that are a bit more expensive."
Jingsheng breathed a sigh of relief.
"The most expensive one is 1.53, so I can save even more. How can I be so awesome? Hahaha." Si
Jiang laughed and ran back to his classmates to listen to everyone's praise, and deliberately
mocked Sheng Fang. Sheng Fang obediently apologized to Zhou Jiaming and immediately got the
Chen Si Jiang brand handmade greeting card. Everyone was happy.
Gu Jingsheng, who had never been cheated when buying things, was still confused when he sat
at the tofu pudding stall. He seemed to only see the note next to the pile of greeting cards saying
1.5. Where did the other 3 go? Was it blocked by something or was it accidentally torn off? No
wonder the stall owner was stunned when he accepted the three yuan and said thank you many
times.
"Brother, there is sweet tofu pudding! I have never eaten it before." Si Jiang's head suddenly
poked under his eyelids, and his big eyes blinked: "Brother, I have already eaten a bowl of salty
ones and a fried dough stick. I am afraid I can't eat another bowl. Brother--"
When she trailed off the last line of her voice, Jingsheng got goose bumps on his arms: "I know, I
know."
Si Jiang smiled like a flower: "Grandpa, please give me another bowl of sweet tofu pudding."
After finishing his tofu pudding, Si Jiang took out his wallet and said, "I'll do it, I'll treat you
today."
Zhou Jiaming and Zhao Youning stood up at the same time: "No, no, no, I'll do it."
The two men held a big unity in their hands and pushed each other, neither of them was willing
to give in, and they also blocked Si Jiang. Jingsheng finished half of the bowl of sweet tofu
pudding left by Si Jiang, stood up and walked to the old man. Just as he was about to pay directly,
he remembered that the greeting card was 1.5 yuan per three pieces, so he reached into his
trouser pocket and took the big unity in Zhao Youning's hand and handed it to him: "Please
calculate how much."
Zhao Youning happily let go of Zhou Jiaming and slapped Jingsheng on the back: "Thank you,
brother."
Jingsheng glanced at him sideways. This guy, who is his brother? Really.
"Take the change yourself." Jingsheng looked indifferent and walked back with his hands in his
trouser pockets: "Si Jiang, let's go watch the fireworks." If someone was blown up again, no one
except him could protect this stupid little fool.

Chapter 109
On the eve of the millennium, the last day of 1999, Si Jiang worked overtime until very late and
hailed a taxi to return to Wanchun Street. When passing Jing'an Park, he saw groups of students
gathered at the park gate. Many girls were holding balloons in their hands. The balloons were
particularly large and colorful, but they were not as bright as the smiles of the boys and girls.
Youth suddenly reappeared before her in this form. The fireworks on the last night of 1981 were
extremely gorgeous, and there was also the bowl of tofu pudding that was so sweet that it made
her sick, and the smiling dog on the greeting card. She thought she had forgotten them. Later,
they would gather at the entrance of Jing'an Park every year, buy balloons, walk along Nanjing
West Road to the Bund, and get lost in the surging crowd after crossing Xizang Road. She couldn't
even find Sinan. But there was a person who was always by her side. She never lost her shoes or
got bumped. She thought she was lucky, but she never thought that he was her luck.
The radio plays the song requested by the listener:
"Later, I finally learned how to love
It's a pity that you have already gone away and disappeared in the crowd
Later, I finally understood in tears
Some people are gone once you miss them..."
The world outside the car window gradually became blurred. When getting off the car, the driver
turned around and took the money from under the protective shield, and smiled gently: "Little
girl, don't be sad, it's New Year, be happy." Si Jiang remembered that his Shanghainese had a
Chongming accent, and his pinky finger nails were not very long, and his voice was very warm.
This night overlapped with the night eighteen years ago, deepening the marks left on each other.
——
After the New Year of 1982, the final exams were coming up soon. Si Jiang finished his last exam
and walked home with his classmates, checking answers as they walked. Winter vacation would
start in two days. Although it was a pity that Si Nan could not come back for the Spring Festival,
the vacation was always something to look forward to.
Some families in the alley had already replaced their Spring Festival couplets and pasted up New
Year pictures. Thanks to Shan Tianfang's storytelling and Si Nan's nagging, Si Jiang could tell at a
glance that the one holding the tile-top golden mace was Qin Qiong, and the one holding the
bamboo-jointed steel whip was Yuchi Gong. In Si Nan's words, those who distinguished between
them by swords and guns were rookies and not worth mentioning. As for why he chose the
difficult over the easy, it seemed to have no other purpose except to show off.
"Wow!" Wu Minglan was really convinced and stared at the door god painting for a long time: "It
really is a bamboo steel whip, Si Jiang, you are so stubborn!"
The friends rushed over to learn the strange knowledge about cold weapons.
Well, Si Jiang pursed her lips, she finally understood why Si Nan liked to study these weird things
so much. In the past, everyone praised her for her good singing, dancing and painting, but it was
just a casual compliment, and no one was really interested. But if she was good at playing hoops
and rolling, there would be a lot of people who were sincerely convinced and followed Si Nan to
learn. In the past year, Si Jiang felt that she was very happy and unexpectedly made a lot of
friends. What they said most was "I used to think you were very noble, coquettish, and a little
annoying." Si Jiang never thought that she would be a little "annoying" in the eyes of others, and
this "a little" was obviously a polite word. She was depressed for several days.
That night, Si Jiang sorted out his books for this semester and couldn't help but bring up this
"somewhat irritating" topic to Jingsheng.
Jingsheng raised his head and thought for a moment: "I didn't realize your classmate is quite a
good person. He speaks so politely."
Si Jiang was stunned for three seconds before he came to his senses. The exercise book in his
hand flew out: "Brother, you are the most annoying! (Brother, you are the most annoying.)"
Jingsheng put the exercise book in his arms back on the table, narrowed his eyes and smiled: "In
the past, you had 'I'm so pretty' written on your left cheek and 'I'm very well-behaved' written on
your right cheek. When you walked, you looked like 'everyone likes this fairy'. Tsk tsk tsk tsk."
Si Jiang immediately retaliated: "What about you? You have 'I can do anything' on your left cheek,
and 'I dare to fight anyone' on your right cheek. You walk with your hands in your pockets and
look at people with squinted eyes. You act like 'I'm a gangster and I'm not afraid of anyone'. Ha!"
Jingsheng was caught off guard by Si Jiang's rapid counterattack, and the smile on his face froze.
Si Jiang slammed the book with a bang in a proud tone: "Besides, I am pretty and well-behaved. I
am consistent in appearance and heart, unlike some people, hum!"
Jingsheng couldn't say this, otherwise he would really become a hooligan.
Si Jiang proudly swung her ponytail, straightened her back and waist, and her ponytail bounced
lightly as she disappeared into the door curtain.
Jingsheng laughed: "Hey, you look like a long-legged egret again."
The door curtain just fell and was lifted up again. Si Jiang stuck his head out and made a face:
"My legs are just so long and beautiful. Some people want to feel inferior or unhappy, and I can't
do anything about it. My legs are just so long and beautiful. Some people want to feel inferior or
unhappy, and I can't do anything about it."
Jingsheng really had no choice but to feel that it was pretty good that someone had been so
pretentious before.
——
There was a loud bang at the entrance of the cultural center, and the popcorn was cooked. The
children, covering their ears, rushed forward, and then a scream was heard.
Chen A-niang squeezed in quickly and pushed a two-year-old girl away from Chen Sihao. The girl
swayed and sat down on the road. Her little face was blank for three seconds, then she opened
her mouth and burst into tears: "Nanny——Nanny——!"
"Good girl!" Grandma Sun rushed over, picked up her granddaughter, and glared at Chen A Niang,
not caring that the popcorn in her granddaughter's hand was scattered all over the floor. "How
can you, an adult, hit a child? It's too much. You are so shameless. Bah."
Chen A-niang held Si Hao and refused to give in: "Your granddaughter stole my Si Hao's popcorn
and held on to him tightly. Look how deep the nail marks are. If I don't pull her away, she will
bleed. She was clearly sitting on the ground by herself, and she blames me for hitting her? Really,
she steals this and that every day, and my family doesn't care. When she grows up, she will rob
banks and gold shops."
"Bullshit!" Grandma Sun spat at Grandma Chen's feet: "Only your grandson is a treasure? Other
people's children are weeds? Look at the alley, whose children's affairs are so serious that adults
can't wait to rush out? It was obviously your grandson who first gave the popcorn to my Lingling,
okay?"
Si Jiang, who had just returned from Xinhua Bookstore, witnessed this scene and quickly
squeezed over: "Mother, mother, forget it, go back."
When Chen Sihao saw her elder sister, she stretched out her little arms for Si Jiang to hold her.
Si Jiang coaxed him softly: "Si Hao, you are almost two years old, why do you still need your
mother to hold you? Come down, I will take you back."
"No!" Si Hao twisted and turned in A Niang's arms, insisting on being held by Si Jiang.
Chen A-niang shook Si Hao and said, "My dear, A-niang is holding you. Your sister can't hold you,
so A-niang will hold you."
Si Jiang sighed: "Mother, my brother can walk a long time ago. Don't hold him all the time. Let
him get down."
"Look, there are deep marks on his hands from being pinched. So pitiful." A Niang lowered her
head and kissed Si Hao's fat face: "Oh my, Alas is in trouble. Please give him a hug."
Si Hao half turned over, and seeing that Si Jiang still didn't hug her, she pouted and burst into
tears, with tears falling down like broken strings. She threw the popcorn in her hand at Si Jiang,
and she tossed and turned even more violently, and the popcorn almost fell out of A Niang's
hands.
Si Jiang was both angry and amused: "Chen Sihao, you are a boy. Are you embarrassed to cry
easily? Stop crying, your nose is running."
"Alright, alright, Si Jiang, give me a hug." A Niang stuffed Si Hao into Si Jiang's arms and took
down her schoolbag for her: "Did you do well in the exam? You will have a holiday soon, right?"
Si Hao sobbed on Si Jiang's shoulder, and Si Jiang had no choice but to hold him and move
forward.
When they got back to Chen's house, A Niang angrily scolded Grandma Sun. Grandpa Chen was
reading the "Xinmin Evening News" that had just been delivered. Hearing this, he put down the
newspaper and took off his glasses, called Si Hao over, peeled an orange slice for him to eat, and
broke off another half for Si Jiang: "How many times have I told you not to take Si Hao to play
with those country kids. That Lingling is from the old Sun family in the third neighborhood, right?
The family is from Yancheng in northern Jiangsu. The parents didn't even graduate from junior
high school, and they look very rough."
"How did I know she would come up and grab the good popcorn?" Chen A Niang complained,
"It's not easy to put a note on your grandson to prevent country people from approaching. Who
can tell the difference between a guy from the alley? Really."
Si Jiang flipped through the evening paper and sighed as he saw Chen Sihao chewing tangerines
at his grandfather's feet. Chen Sihao was taken care of so well by his grandfather and mother that
he had a double chin on his chest and wore a cotton jacket, looking like the boy who brought
wealth in the New Year pictures. In fact, he could run around when he was just over one year old,
but he just refused to walk. Every time Si Jiang took him out for a walk, he would want to be
carried after just two steps. He was less than two years old but already weighed 30 kilograms. Si
Jiang himself weighed only 70 kilograms, so there was no way he could carry him. When he was
reasoned with, he shook his head and pouted. If he was scolded, he would immediately burst
into tears and wanted to go back to his mother. If he was tempted with candy, he could find more
in his pocket and was not moved by a single piece of candy. Si Jiang was soft-hearted and could
do nothing when he saw him crying. He often wondered why this younger brother was not like
him or Si Nan at all.
"Come on, Si Hao, let's learn to speak." Si Jiang moved a small stool and sat opposite Si Hao.
"Mother--"
"Mom." Si Hao said with a giggle and looked at his grandpa and mother.
"Alas is so smart." A'niang put the sleeves on him. The more she looked at her grandson, the
more she liked him. She kissed him twice on the face.
"Dad——" Si Jiang continued to teach.
"dad."
"Dad - Dad. Not Dad." Si Jiang couldn't help laughing. Si Hao had no difficulty in calling Mom. He
just started calling Dad a month ago, but he was only willing to pronounce single syllables.
"dad."
"Sister (pronounced in Shanghai dialect as JiaJia with the third tone)——"
"Big brother." Si Hao said and then giggled.
"J, sister, not big. Come, look at sister's mouth."
Si Hao lost his patience and stood up to pick up the toy car next to him: "Woo woo woo, woo woo
woo."
My mother laughed and said, "Oh, he loves cars so much. He can spend half an hour standing by
the road looking at cars. He holds his car in his hand every day and even sleeps with it. He will
definitely be like his father and become an engineer in the future."
Grandpa Chen felt comfortable listening to this, so he also laughed: "Smart is smart, like Donglai."
"Like Si Jiang, Si Jiang has been smart since he was young. He knew a lot of words before he even
entered kindergarten." Chen A-niang looked at her granddaughter and smiled: "Si Jiang, you and
Nan Nan must take good care of your brother in the future. When your brother has a promising
future, you can rely on him."
"You are talking nonsense." Grandpa Chen put on his glasses again and started reading the
newspaper: "They only have this one brother. If they don't treat him well, who else can they treat
well? Really."
Si Jiang didn't think so. How could she rely on Si Hao? When she was in college, Si Hao was still a
primary school student. She was the eldest sister, so of course she would be good to her younger
brother, but what Grandpa said sounded a bit strange anyway.

Chapter 110
Sinan called back to Wanchun Street on the day of the Chinese New Year's Eve.
"Sister, I always miss you, do you miss me? Oh, don't miss me too much, it's useless to miss me."
Si Nan's speech in the past six months has always been a comedy, or a one-man show. After
talking to Si Jiang for a few words, he asked Jing Sheng: "Is my eldest cousin here? I want to talk
to him."
"No, he went to the swimming pool." Si Jiang is no longer sour now. He smiled and talked about
watching fireworks, visiting the market and eating tofu pudding together on New Year's Eve. He
was very melancholy after that: "Oh, it would be great if you could come back for the New Year.
We could play with fairy wands together. My classmate's family runs a small commodity store. His
father bought a lot of new varieties and gave us wholesale prices."
"We have them in Aksu too. They're much cheaper than in Shanghai. Everything is expensive in
Shanghai." Sinan boasted proudly, "I'm going to set off 10,000 fireworks tomorrow. 10,000
fireworks! Like?"
"Zanger, be careful."
"I'll light the fire and hide in the house. Don't worry, sister. Please tell my cousin to thank him for
sending me the card. Why did he send it so late? I just received it a few days ago. The New Year
has become the old year. Please ask him to think of me sooner in the future."
Si Jiang was stunned: "Brother sent you a New Year's card?"
"Yes, he sent me a Nezha—" Sinan pouted: "Brother Pingping and the others said it seemed a bit
weird. Didn't that Nezha commit suicide once and cut off all ties with his parents?"
Si Jiang: “???”
"But I think my cousin must be praising me for my extraordinary abilities, right?" She added
weakly, "And Nezha is so handsome, so he's also praising me."
Si Jiang held back his laughter and coughed twice: "Don't you kids all like cartoons? Why do you
think so much?"
Sinan was not convinced: "You are also a primary school student, what kind of greeting card did
my brother give you?"
Si Jiang immediately became depressed and lowered her voice: "My brother didn't send me a
greeting card." She was very depressed just thinking about it. She even drew one herself and
gave it to him.
"It's okay, it's okay. You are together every day, why should I send you a gift? It's a waste of
money." Si Nan was a little happy. Her cousin was still the best to her. Now she felt that Nezha
was also very good. She comforted Si Jiang in turn: "Don't be sad, sister. I will draw a picture and
send it to you. By the way, mom sent you a pair of red shorts. Hey, hey, mom, I haven't finished
yet!"
Gu Ximei was concerned about the final exam results and ranking. She was a little disappointed
to hear that she was ranked fourth in the grade: "You did quite well in math this time, but how
come you lost points in composition? And your English score seems a bit low."
Si Jiang said nothing and prepared himself for the storm.
On the other end of the phone, Chen Donglai silently said to Ximei, "Don't talk about her."
"I heard that many elementary school graduates in Shanghai are taking extra classes outside. Is
this true?" Ximei asked again.
"Yes." Si Jiang thought about it. Zhou Jiaming was taking an English cram school outside, and the
teacher was from the Foreign Language School. Wu Minglan was also taking a math cram school,
and the teacher was from the District Education College.
"Or -"
The telephone line in Si Jiang's hand was wrapped around several times. She glanced at the uncle
on duty, turned around and whispered, "Mom, the cram school outside is very expensive, 30
yuan a month, and there are only eight classes. I'd better not go. I will do well in the composition
next time." Her heart was beating fast, because the cram school actually costs 15 yuan a month.
But she didn't want to go. Those who went didn't score as well as her. Besides, Brother Jingsheng
was always helping her. In fact, the 15 points lost in the composition "My Family Story" this time
were because she wrote the truth she had always wanted to say, wrote about her mother
peeking at her diary, and wrote about how sad she was that her mother didn't understand her.
But the teacher said that she didn't understand her mother's painstaking efforts at all, and the
central idea deviated from the positive theme. Obviously, she had such great parents who
supported the frontier and dedicated their youth, and an uncle who took the college entrance
examination and graduated from Peking University, and a grandmother who worked hard to
educate the pillars of the motherland. If she wrote these, she would definitely get full marks.
Ximei said "oh" and frowned, thinking that the educators in Shanghai were too outrageous, using
education as a means to make money. How could they still be called engineers of the human
soul? They had become engineers of wallets.
"Then don't relax during your winter vacation. Read books, study books, do more exercises, ask
your cousin if you don't understand anything, and go out less." Ximei couldn't help but add a few
more sentences: "Look at you, you have final exams before New Year's Day, and you still go out
with your classmates until late at night. When can't you play? You were so happy at the time, but
you ended up falling behind in the final exam. Is it worth it? Just endure for another half a year,
and when you get into your ideal middle school, you can play as much as you want in the summer
vacation. Oh, forget it, mommy doesn't want to say anything more about you. If I say too much,
you'll cry again. You have to set standards for yourself. Mommy can't control you. I can only rely
on your self-consciousness."
"Yeah." Si Jiang lowered his head and kicked away a small stone.
"Is grandma in good health? Did you have any effects from the fall before National Day?"
"It doesn't matter. Grandma is fine."
"Where are your uncle and Jingsheng? How is the hotel?"
"Everything is fine. The restaurant closed the day before yesterday. My uncle went to watch my
brother's swimming training. The district will have a selection after the Spring Festival." Si Jiang
was happy when he talked about this: "Coach Xu said that my brother might be able to join the
city swimming team. He has now reached the level of a second-level athlete."
Sinan started screaming over there and was scolded by Ximei.
"How are your grandpa, mom, and brother?"
“Very good.”
"You should help your mother take care of your brother more often, okay? Grandpa is not in good
health, and it's very hard for your mother to be alone."
"Well, I go to accompany my brother every day. Has Dad called Grandpa?"
"Not yet. I'll beat them after I beat you. You're the eldest sister, you have to protect your younger
brother. Is there anyone bullying him in the alley?" Ximei paused and said, "If someone calls him
Little Xinjiang, remember to scold him back, okay?"
Sinan said at the side: "Ala is originally a small Xinjiang."
"Go! Go! Go."
Si Jiang agreed and the call was transferred to Chen Donglai.
"Si Jiang, don't be too stressed out about studying. Go out and have fun with your brothers when
you have time. Combine work and rest, and you'll get twice the result with half the effort when
doing your homework." Chen Donglai is always a good father on the phone.
Si Jiang agreed with her mouth, while the telephone cord in her hand was twisting and turning.
She wanted to laugh. Her mother had one opinion, and her father had another. She didn't know
who she should listen to.
Chen Donglai gave a few more instructions and asked Si Jiang to accompany Si Hao more often:
"Your mother is very good at taking care of little girls, but she is too soft-hearted. If you see your
little brother is disobedient, you should act like a big sister and teach him a lesson on behalf of
dad. Little boys should be strictly controlled from a young age."
Si Jiang muttered, "Dad, tell Grandpa and Mom that my brother always refuses to walk and wants
Mom to hold him. He also refuses to eat by himself and wants Mom to feed him. He cries
whenever you tell him."
Chen Donglai couldn't help but ask more questions. The more he spoke, the heavier his heart felt.
After hanging up the phone, he regretted not insisting on going back to Shanghai for the New
Year. After thinking it over, he felt that he should bring Si Hao to his side.
——
Has anyone said that Si Hao is a little Xinjiang? Si Jiang thought about it seriously on the way
home, and it seems that he didn't hear it. If grandpa and mother heard it, they would definitely
curse, but grandpa and mother themselves said that people from northern Jiangsu have a look of
disgust. They look down on neighbors who come to ask about my aunt's family intentionally or
unintentionally, but they can't help showing off my aunt's knowledge and my grandfather can go
to the hospital to see a doctor directly without registering. Si Jiang suddenly missed his uncle and
aunt. My uncle said that people should be neither humble nor arrogant, have self-respect and
love themselves, and make friends based on whether they get along well, not on whether they
have good grades, whether they are beautiful, whether their family is rich, and whether they
have power.
In fact, it is quite difficult. Si Jiang thought about the school and felt a little depressed. Class
leaders were close to each other, and those with good grades played together. Even the short
ones could not play with the tall ones. Wang Sichu, who cried a lot in the first grade, still has the
nickname of "crybaby". Even she was said to be upset behind her back. Anyway, it is difficult for
people who are "different" from everyone to integrate into the group. Si Jiang thought of
Jingsheng again. The teacher's comments to him always included a sentence "to improve the
collective consciousness and actively integrate into the group." He was a loner in elementary
school. No classmates ever came to his house to play, and he never talked about the people and
things in his class. I don't know if he has made friends in the new school.
It must be very lonely without friends. Brother is so pitiful. For the first time, Si Jiang felt worried
about Jingsheng.
In the living room, Granny Gu was pruning the hair off a pig's paw in the bright light at the
window: "Have you called? Has your mother called you?"
Si Jiang was startled, then leaned against his grandmother and smiled: "They didn't mention me,
but Mom and Dad asked how you were."
Granny Gu snorted, but she didn't want to say anything bad about her daughter in front of her
granddaughter. Downstairs in the alley, the postman's bicycle bell rang: "Evening News - Evening
News - Xinmin Evening News is here, No. 19, No. 21..." Granny Gu quickly asked Si Jiang to clear
the dining table, and she went downstairs with the wok to get the evening paper.
Si Jiang put away the winter vacation homework on the table. Seeing Jingsheng's schoolbag next
to him, he sorted out his pencil case and papers for him, and took out all the things in his
schoolbag and folded them neatly. However, a large pink envelope fell out. It was obviously a
greeting card and it was not sealed yet.
——
Jingsheng returned home and went into the kitchen first: "Grandma, Dad is going to buy
cigarettes. He will be back soon. Let me cook."
"No, no, have you taken a shower? There is hot water on the coal stove, and the four thermoses
are full."
"I've done it in the swimming pool."
"Taking a cold shower in the middle of winter is deadly. What should you do if you catch a cold?
Don't listen to your father's nonsense." Grandma Gu banged her shovel loudly.
Aunt Feng, who was sitting at the stove next to her, smiled and said, "Dongdong is right. People in
the north swim in winter, that's why they grow so tall."
Jingsheng changed his clothes in the attic and went down to the living room, only to find that Si
Jiang was a little strange.
"What?"
"Brother, brother——?" Si Jiang called out with a smile. Oh, it's just right to have brother. Why
does it feel so easy to call him brother?
Jingsheng picked up his schoolbag and paused on the table, a trace of vigilance appeared:
"What's the matter?"
"Nannan called back to say hello to Nong, thank you Nongge for the New Year card."
Jingsheng panicked, pinched the bag, and turned his face away: "Oh."
Si Jiang followed him to the ladder and said, "Brother, is there anything you forgot to give me?"
Jingsheng stopped on the ladder and looked back at her. Si Jiang tilted his head, coughed twice,
and smiled with curved eyebrows: "For example, old New Year's cards and the like, I don't mind."
"without."
Jingsheng went up to the attic in two steps and quickly opened his schoolbag. It was tidy inside,
obviously not his original appearance. The greeting card that had never been sent out was placed
on the top.
What could he do? He was caught, something had happened. For the first time, Jingsheng
panicked.

Chapter 111
Si Jiang stood blankly by the ladder for a while, then suddenly came to his senses, blushing. How
could she be so sure that it was a card for her, just because it had her favorite dog on it? Just
because the dog looked like the one she drew that day? It could also be someone else's gift to
him. In the past, many girls wrote to him in elementary school, and there must be many in junior
high school now. She was so embarrassed to ask for it.
The words "It's none of your business" seemed to ring in her ears again. Si Jiang was glad that
Jingsheng was really her brother now and would not say such things again. Otherwise, she would
have to find a hole to crawl into and then find a piece of tofu to kill herself.
After taking several deep breaths, Si Jiang pretended that nothing had happened and opened the
"Weekly Radio and Television News" for this week and next week. She circled the Spring Festival
programs to be watched tomorrow night, and then her favorite "Animal World" and "Volleyball
Girls", as well as "Follow Me", a program for her and Jingsheng to learn English, and "At Your
Service" which her grandmother never missed. Of course, the opera programs and comedy plays
broadcast by Shanghai TV were also indispensable. After finishing all these, the attic was still
quiet. Si Jiang pursed her lips and felt more grateful to Jingsheng. Brother was really nice and
didn't come down to laugh at her.
Si Jiang was bored and flipped through the Shanghai TV magazine. This newly launched magazine
became a big hit in the city. She loved to read the Taiwan and Hong Kong pages and Global
Information columns. A few days ago, her classmates were still arguing about whether Zheng
Shaoqiu in The Rogue Emperor or Chow Yun-fat in The Phoenix was more handsome.
Unfortunately, there were only a few stills on the magazine, and the real person could not be
seen on TV, so it was useless to argue. But Wu Minglan was right. There were so many male stars,
but none of them were as good-looking as her brother Jingsheng. In Si Jiang's heart, no male star
was more handsome than her uncle. So who was better-looking, the brother or the uncle? She
couldn't help but compare them secretly.
Jingsheng in the attic and the Japanese Shiba Inu on the greeting card were still staring at each
other. Whether to send it or not was a question. How to send it was an even bigger question.
Jingsheng himself was confused as to why he didn't send the card out that day. He seemed a little
angry that day, but he was a little confused about what he was angry about. It seemed that he
felt a little hesitant to send the card after receiving it from Sijiang. Thinking of Sijiang's expectant
smile and mischievous tone just now, Jingsheng fell dejectedly on the bed and threw the
troublesome dog aside. After thinking about it, it was at least one dollar and fifty cents, so he
took it back and put it on his chest to think about how to send this old New Year's card.
While having dinner, Gu Dongwen and Grandma Gu felt that the two little ones were acting a
little strange.
"You two had a fight again?"
"No." Jingsheng and Si Jiang denied it in unison.
"Then why aren't you talking to each other today?" Gu Dongwen asked, stuffing his cheeks with
meat, and flipped open the TV newspaper: "Hey, has Si Jiang circled all the programs?"
Si Jiang looked at Jingsheng, and Jingsheng looked at the newspaper on TV.
"Brother, do you want some fried noodles stuffed with meat? It tastes super good." Si Jiang
diligently took a spoon and scooped one for Jingsheng.
Jingsheng quickly took the bowl and gave Si Jiang a piece of the fried dried tofu in front of him.
The brothers are friendly and the sisters are respectful, and the relationship is very harmonious.
Gu Dongwen glanced at Jingsheng and pushed his bowl away: "Give me some dried tofu."
Jingsheng also picked up a piece of food with chopsticks for him.
This kid was actually willing to add more food for him, there must be something wrong, definitely
something wrong. Gu Dongwen narrowed his eyes.
After dinner, Jingsheng went downstairs to wash the dishes. Gu Dongwen made a cup of tea and
called Si Jiang to ask, "Is your brother hiding something from us?"
Si Jiang was stunned and stammered: "No, no."
"Has any girl come to look for him? Or write to him?"
Si Jiang thought of the greeting card and panicked: "Ah? I, I don't know."
"Hmm?" Gu Dongwen smiled with his dimples: "Don't be afraid, Nannan. Does your uncle look
old-fashioned? A thirteen or fourteen-year-old doesn't know how to like others. What's the point
of being like a piece of wood? Tell your uncle, does your brother have a girl he likes? Or is there a
girl who likes him?"
Chen Sijiang Mutou felt as if he had been hinted at, but he had no idea whether it was her or not.
He could only shake his head again and again, saying he knew nothing about it.
Jingsheng cleaned up the kitchen and wandered around the alley before coming back. As soon as
he entered the living room, Si Jiang, who was watching TV, immediately stood up guiltily and
yawned in a fake manner: "Grandma, Uncle, I'm going to bed first."
Before she finished speaking, she had already gone into the inner room. Jingsheng looked at the
swaying curtain. Oh, it was hard to deal with. The little girl who wanted to save face pretended
not to be angry, which was harder to appease than being really angry. It was all because of that
damn dog. He couldn't tell whether it was the dog Zhao Youning gave him, the dog he chose, or
the dog Si Jiang drew.
"I heard that someone sent you a New Year's card?" Gu Dongwen asked while eating pumpkin
seeds.
Jingsheng was stunned, then nodded when he thought of the card Wang Lu gave him: "Yeah." On
TV, Junko Kodo was catching the ball and falling down again and again on the volleyball court.
This was Si Jiang's favorite TV series, which was only broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays. She
actually ran away halfway through watching it. It seemed that she was very angry.
Si Jiang, who was taking clean socks from the closet, quietly moved to the side of the curtain and
pricked up his ears.
"Was it given by the little girl?"
"Yeah." Jingsheng glanced at the pair of bright red cotton slippers under the curtain, and his voice
became louder. "Junko wants to cooperate with Sachiko as the main attacker? Can she do it?"
Si Jiang came out: "Oh, why did I forget to brush my teeth." She leaned beside her grandmother,
squeezing toothpaste slowly, her eyes fixed on the TV.
"Nannan, help add some more tea to your uncle's cup." Gu Dongwen instructed Si Jiang to do the
work. Si Jiang happily stood up, put down the toothpaste and went to get the thermos.
"Is the girl who sent you the greeting card pretty?" Gu Dongwen turned around and asked
Jingsheng, who was feeling uncomfortable.
Jingsheng also stared at the TV: "I didn't notice, she is the monitor of our class, and she gave it to
everyone."
"Tsk tsk tsk, I think so too. You have a blank face all day long. How can any girl like you?"
Grandma Gu slapped her son on the back and said, "You are talking nonsense again. Children
should study hard. What's the point of being happy or unhappy? Do you think everyone is like
you and Nanhong?"
Gu Dongwen cried out in pain, "Hey, what's wrong with us? We are all like Beiwu, who was over
thirty before his forehead bone was high. Just because he bumped into Shanrang, you feel
relieved? Our Jingsheng has to like more than a few girls. A few are not enough. He needs more
than ten or twenty girls. Then he can settle down in the future and live a life with one mind. He
won't be deceived or hurt others. You don't understand this. Hey, why am I telling you all this?
One day, wait for Nanhong to come back and give him some pointers so that he can open his
mind."
He stretched out his leg and kicked Jingsheng: "Don't worry, go with whoever you like, treat the
girl well, you have plenty of time now, go to the movies and the park, talk about life and ideals, if
you need money, tell daddy not to be stingy with money. In the future, when you graduate from
college and start working, you will talk about money, houses, companies and other dirty things,
which is boring, don't you understand?"
Gu Dongwen picked up the teacup, blew on it, took a sip, and winked at Si Jiang: "It's the same
for Alas Jiang's daughter. When you go to junior high school and high school, if there is a boy who
likes you, don't be afraid. If you like him, let's show him off together. If you don't like him, just say
you don't like him directly - hey hey hey -"
Granny Gu picked up the newspaper and beat him all over the face: "Gu Dongwen, you bastard,
what are you talking about? Your father asked you to take care of Nanhong, but you sent her to
the cinema and went to the park to find some girls, huh? The girls who came to see you in those
years were all crying. You did all those bad things, and you still have the nerve to teach Jingsheng
and Sijiang bad things? How dare you! You won't be able to celebrate the New Year without a
beating, right?"
Jingsheng looked at the old man dodging left and right with a gloating look, and grabbed a
handful of pumpkin seeds to watch the show.
Si Jiang laughed so hard that his stomach hurt: "Grandma, please stop beating me. I won't listen
to my uncle. I want to study hard!"
"Be good, girl. I'm going to beat you again, Gu Dongwen. I'm going to teach you a lesson about
your nonsense..." When Granny Gu gets really mad, no one can stop her. Gu Dongwen secretly
rejoices while getting beaten, and continues to instill bad ideas into Jingsheng and Si Jiang.
——
On New Year's Eve, Jingsheng carried a basket and sent Sijiang to Chen's house for the New Year's
Eve dinner.
Aunt Chen was very enthusiastic. She stuffed a handful of candies for children into Jingsheng's
hand, took out the lion's head and eight-treasure rice pudding from the basket, and put four-
happiness roasted gluten and yellow croaker soup in it.
"Brother, if Zhao Youning and the others go to my grandmother's house to look for me, tell them
to wait for me. I want to have some fun with Si and then come back."
Jingsheng looked upstairs. The lights in Chen's house were brightly on, and Chen Shimin and Chen
Siqiang seemed to be arguing again.
"Today, there are only three of us at home having the New Year's Eve dinner. Grandma must be
feeling lonely. Don't eat too much here. Come back and have a few more bites with her."
Jingsheng reminded her.
"Okay, got it." Si Jiang turned and went into the door, then ran back, pulling Jingsheng a little
further away from the kitchen, and said softly: "Brother, I was wrong yesterday. I peeked at the
greeting card in your bag. It was the one your squad leader gave you. It was a very beautiful one,
with the smiling dog——"
Jingsheng was stunned.
Si Jiang tried to make a face to make himself look more relaxed and natural: "I thought it was a
gift from you at first, hahaha, you see, my brain is really a little stupid, I saw a dog and thought it
was for me, I'm sorry, but I didn't tell my uncle about it, he deliberately tried to trick you and set
a trap for you, you must never admit that you like someone or that someone likes you. My eldest
uncle is a liar, and he especially likes to play tricks on you. Uncle Xiao at the pay phone told me--"
"You're wrong." Jingsheng suddenly interrupted her.
Si Jiang nodded seriously: "Yeah, I made a mistake."
"That card was not given to me by someone else. I bought it for you. You received too many cards
on New Year's Day. This is the card for the Spring Festival of the Year of the Dog. It's the Year of
the Dog." Jingsheng put his hands in his trouser pockets and turned back. How pitiful it is not to
receive a card during the Spring Festival. Now it's good. I'll give you one, and it's the dog you like.
It's so expensive. How great.
Si Jiang thought about it, wondering if he had heard it wrong, and hurried over to confirm:
"Brother—Brother—?" Jingsheng walked faster and faster, and turned the corner in the blink of
an eye. Behind him, Si Hao cried heartbreakingly: "J—Da Da—Da Da—!"
"Si Jiang, your brother is looking for you, thinking you are leaving." My mother bent down and
picked up Si Hao to coax him: "Be good, don't cry, don't cry on New Year's Eve, your sister is back,
your sister is back."
Si Jiang reached out her hand to Si Hao, who threw herself into her arms and hugged her neck
tightly: "Sister!"
"Oh, Alas is so good at calling me sister! Call me again, come come come."

Chapter 112
The Chen family's New Year's Eve dinner has never been bad, and this year was no exception.
There was no shortage of crab with roe sauce, duck with eight treasures, and yellow croaker
soup. The adults drank at the table, and the children sat around the new coffee table in front of
the TV.
Chen Sijun will be 19 years old after the Chinese New Year. He failed to get into high school after
graduating from junior high school, and his score was even lower than the passing line for
technical secondary schools. Later, Grandpa Chen asked his old leader, Chen Dongfang and his
wife, to pay for him to study at Lixin Accounting School. Lixin Accounting School was reopened in
October of the previous year. He inherited his family's business and studied accounting, but his
mind was not on studying. As a senior student, he flew low in every class and often got red
marks. After being severely criticized by Grandpa Chen in the afternoon, he refused to move to
the adult table. His 1.8-meter-tall body was very awkward among a group of younger brothers
and sisters. Fortunately, no one cared about him. He ate while reading "Legends of the Past and
Present" on his knees, immersed in his own legend of Wudang Mountain.
Si Jiang looked at his eldest cousin several times. First, he hadn't seen him for a long time and felt
that he had changed a lot. Second, he was curious about what book he was reading so
absorbedly. Si Qi came over and whispered, "Hey, I didn't expect that big brother is getting uglier
and uglier. Why are there so many pimples on his face? He also has a beard, which is ugly." She
turned her head to look at her own brother Chen Siqiang and sighed, "My brother has also
become ugly. Didn't you notice that he refused to speak today?"
Si Jiang helped Si Hao put on his smock and tied the belt: "It seems so. What happened to my
second brother?"
Si Qi was trying to hold back her laughter until her face turned red. "His voice changed last year. It
sounds as ugly as a duck. He also said that all boys will change like this. Isn't that funny? Brother
—Brother?"
Chen Siqiang and Chen Shimin raised their heads.
"Are you going to set off the fireworks tonight?"
Chen Siqiang nodded.
"Where to put it?"
Chen Siqiang stopped talking and glared at Ah Mei. Chen Simin laughed out loud, and his voice
also began to change, but not as badly as Chen Siqiang's.
Qian Guihua turned around and said, "Siqi, what are you doing? You're teasing your brother
again. I'm annoying you."
"Hey, Si Jiang, do you think that Brother Jingsheng will become ugly in the future?"
"of course not."
"Why?"
"My uncle hasn't changed." Si Jiang firmly believes that a particularly good-looking boy will never
look ugly no matter how he changes.
"Isn't it said that girls become more beautiful as they grow older, and boys become more
annoying as they grow older?" Si Qi touched her face and said, "Sister, have I become more
beautiful?"
"You are already pretty." Si Jiang reluctantly put the small spoon into Si Hao's hand: "Good boy, Si
Hao, you are a big baby now, you can eat by yourself, come, take it."
"Si Nan has become more beautiful, right?" Si Qi asked nervously, "Sister, tell me the truth, who is
prettier, me or Nan Nan?"
Si Jiang took a serious look at his cousin. Si Qi looked like her mother Qian Guihua, with an oval
face, double-eyes that turned up a little, and thin lips. She was very delicate, but she had thick
short hair with bangs, which made her look a little less energetic.
"You are pretty, Nan Nan is pretty too, but you two are pretty in different ways." Si Jiang laughed,
"You are only in the second grade, do you have to be pretty so much?"
Si Qi pouted and said, "I want to be the arts committee member. They said Lin Yuqiu is the
prettiest in our class, so they chose her."
"Your classmate's name is so nice, Yuqiu, just like the protagonist in a novel." Si Jiang's focus
immediately shifted. She was very dissatisfied with her own name. Chen Sijiang's Shanghai
dialect is SenSiGang, which sounds evil and ugly.
"Hey, you're my sister, why are you praising her?" Si Qi became even more depressed.
"I praised her name." Seeing her hurt expression, Si Jiang hurried to make up for her mistake.
With a clang, the spoon in Si Hao's hand fell to the ground. Si Jiang got up and poured a cup of
boiling water to scald it. When he came back, he saw that the sweet and sour pork ribs were
gone, and she had only eaten one piece.
Chen Siqi, who was still hurt just now, ate the last piece of sweet and sour pork ribs and said
unconvincedly: "She is not a very pretty girl. Sister, you are really pretty."
"It looks good but can't be eaten." Si Jiang postponed the great task of teaching his younger
brother to eat by himself until the Year of the Dog. He used a spoon to feed Si Hao a mouthful of
stewed egg with minced meat, and fed himself a mouthful at the same time.
Chen Shimin, a junior high school student, scooped the last half of the lion head into his own
bowl: "I didn't expect Zhao Youning to be so good. I saw him on TV."
"Brother Ningning? What happened to him?" Si Qi reacted even faster than Si Jiang.
"He won a prize in the city's computer competition and is going to participate in the national
competition." Chen Simin praised: "I went fishing, caught crayfish, and had water fights with him.
We are good friends. Si Jiang, let's go find him tonight to set off fireworks together."
Si Qi glanced at her mother cautiously, lowered her voice and announced: "I want to go too!"
Zhao Youning won a prize in the competition and the whole school was informed, but Si Jiang
didn’t know that he was on TV.
"We agreed a long time ago to go set off firecrackers together." Si Jiang looked at the clock: "It's
still early, nine o'clock."
At half past eight, Si Hao yawned several times. Si Jiang washed his hands and face, and used a
handkerchief dipped in warm salt water to clean his teeth. After counting, he had eighteen teeth.
She coaxed Si Hao to sleep, and when she returned to the living room, A Niang had just collected
the New Year's money from the adults.
"Here, this is the New Year's money for you and Si Hao. Remember to give it to Mom to save for
you later."
"Thank you, Grandpa, thank you, Mom, thank you, Second Uncle..." Si Jiang thanked them all and
said "Congratulations on your prosperity and all the best" seven or eight times.
Qian Guihua smiled and said, "Well, my elder brother and his wife are still the best. They come
back to celebrate the Spring Festival only once every ten years. The lucky money they give me is
always in the pocket."
Si Jiang's face turned red, and he didn't know what to say as he held a stack of red envelopes.
Aunt Chen led Si Jiang out of the door and said, "Ignore him." She called out to her grandchildren,
"Si Min and Si Qiang, aren't you going to set off firecrackers with Si Jiang? Go quickly. Be careful
and keep an eye on A Mei."
"Chen Siqi, come back here. If you get hit by the bomb, you'll cry." Qian Guihua yelled from
behind.
Si Qi pulled Si Jiang downstairs in a hurry: "Hurry up, hurry up, don't pay attention to my mother."
——
The Gu family had finished their New Year's Eve dinner long ago, and all kinds of melon seeds,
cakes and candies were placed on the table. Grandma Gu had changed into a new cotton-padded
jacket and had just had her feet calded. Gu Dongwen was sitting on a small stool to cut her
toenails. When she saw the children coming, Grandma Gu quickly covered her feet with a blanket
and urged Jingsheng to invite them to eat candy.
"Grandma, how come you guys finished eating so quickly? My brother asked me to eat less and
come back to eat with you." Si Jiang stuffed a small cake into his mouth: "I'm not full yet."
"Ah? Then wait a minute. Let your uncle heat it up. He left two lion heads, a small bowl of pig's
trotter soup, and the yellow croaker soup your mother sent you, which has not been touched."
Grandma Gu was anxious.
Jingsheng looked at the clock: "There are still a few hours before we eat the dumplings."
"Then I'll wait for the dumplings, and save the vegetables for tomorrow's lunch." Si Jiang looked
at Jing Sheng eagerly, but was too embarrassed to remind him about the greeting card. Jing
Sheng, however, was busy cracking walnuts, and opened a small plate of walnut meat and
handed it to Si Jiang: "Don't eat the cakes, you won't be able to eat the dumplings later, eat some
walnuts - it's good for your brain."
Si Jiang: “???” Does this mean that she is stupid?
Si Qi held a candy in her mouth and stared at Jing Sheng with admiration. Why wasn't such a
good-looking and good brother hers? This world was too unfair. She also wanted to make up her
mind. Just as she reached out to the plate, Si Jiang cautiously put the plate in his arms and said,
"Let your brother knock for you."
"Brother?" Si Qi blinked and looked at her biological brother.
Chen Siqiang raised his head and said in a hoarse voice: "You wish! Eat a fart!"
Si Qi: “???!!!”
Before they knew it, it was half past nine when Zhao Youning finally arrived. A group of people
walked out of the alley, chatting and laughing, towards the Xigong Night Market. Jingsheng
walked slower and slower, lagging behind the group. After Si Jiang distributed the fairy wands and
small fireworks, he said a few words to Zhao Youning, then found that his brother was gone and
turned around.
"Brother?"
"Um?"
"Nannan said she wanted to set off 10,000 firecrackers today." Si Jiang raised the unlit fairy wand
in his hand and waved it around twice.
Jingsheng quickened his pace: "Stay away from Chen Shimin and Chen Siqiang when the
fireworks are set off later."
Si Jiang sighed, and then heard Jingsheng say another sentence -
"The greeting card is under your pillow, along with the New Year's money my dad gave you.
Happy New Year."
Si Jiang smiled and trotted a few steps: "Thank you, brother. Happy New Year!"
After setting off fireworks and staying up all night, eating dumplings and warming his feet, Si Jiang
kicked the hot water bottle in the quilt a little further away, and lay on the bed, grinning at the
silly dog. It said: I wish Si Jiang a happy Spring Festival in the Year of the Dog, and may all his
wishes come true and he be admitted to Shixi. Signed: Gu Jingsheng, New Year's Eve, January 24,
1982. Jingsheng began to practice calligraphy after getting the Hero Golden Pen, and now he can
write in Weibei style. Si Jiang stretched out his finger and traced the four words " 考 入 市 西 ",
happy. A brother is a brother, and he wants to send a greeting card during the Spring Festival.
Forget it, he must not know that sending greeting cards during the Spring Festival is out of date
now, and Christmas and New Year's Day greeting cards are the most fashionable. Si Jiang kissed
the dog again and again before taking the mooncake box from the corner of the bed. The box
contained all the greeting cards she had received. The top stack contained Spring Festival cards
from the neighborhood committee, the street office, her aunt's clothing company, and her
younger aunt's Peking University. She received them the day before yesterday and the day before
yesterday. They were all red and cheerful, and looked very impressive.
Jingsheng's greeting card was placed on the top and treasured.
——
On a New Year's Eve many years later, Chen Sinan held up this card and mocked Gu Jingsheng:
"Didn't you learn English a few years more than me? You don't even know the English for Spring
Festival? It's obviously Spring Festival. You said Happy New Year instead of Happy Spring Festival
of the Year of the Dog. What a sinister intention!"
Si Jiang chased after him with a pig bristle bed sweeper in his hand: "Chen Sinan! Why are you
rummaging through my things? Are you looking for death? Give it back to me!"
Gu Jingsheng stared at the Contra interface on the projection screen: "It must be right left down
up ABAB, hurry up."
Zhao Youning dodged the deadly boar bristle brush: "I remember it was up, up, down, left, right,
left, right, BABA. Yours is not right."
Familiar music sounded, and two Contra heroes appeared on the screen, each with three lives.
The two looked at each other, shook their heads at the same time, and said in unison: "You must
be wrong."
Sinan was pressed by Sijiang on the best-selling armchair in IKEA. Just as the greeting card was
about to be returned to its original owner, Sinan screamed, "Ah hey hey hey hey!" The armchair
fell miserably. The two sisters landed on their chins, but fortunately the carpet was thick enough.
Jingsheng looked at Sinan with a smile: "Chen Sinan, you had a really happy Spring Festival."
Zhao Youning dropped the controller and went over to help, wondering: "Did you guys eat too
much at the New Year's Eve dinner today?"
So, the bristle brush battles Contra.

Chapter 113
After the Spring Festival, Gu Beiwu flew to the other side of the ocean and made a long-distance
call to Si Jiang before leaving. Si Jiang found a beautiful notebook and wrote down his uncle's
words: No exam can determine our fate, only we ourselves can determine our fate.
In mid-April, the only sixth grader who reported for the city's three-good student award was
neither Chen Sijiang nor Zhao Youning.
Si Jiang, who had been a city three-good student for three consecutive years, was a little
confused. Although the school did not announce it, the news had spread, and everyone knew
that the city three-good students could directly enter the city key school. If Zhao Youning was
elected, Si Jiang would be convinced, but this time the one selected was Liu Jia, the study
committee member of Class 1. She ranked 22nd in the grade in the mid-term district unified
examination and was elected as the team committee member only last year.
Zhao Youning was even more angry than Si Jiang, and rushed into the teacher's office to ask why.
He was patted on the shoulder and kicked out by the teacher before he could say a few words. Si
Jiang's head teacher sighed and said to Si Jiang: "Alas, to suffer a loss is to gain an advantage. You
should review well, don't let this matter affect you, and try to get a good grade in the exam."
This was the first time Si Jiang had ever been beaten up in her life. She was stunned for several
days. She didn't tell Jingsheng, nor did she write to her aunt. A week later, during her lunch
break, she passed by the entrance of the first class and couldn't help but walk in.
The originally noisy classroom suddenly became quiet.
"Chen Sijiang?"
"Chen Sijiang is here!"
"Liu Jia, Chen Sijiang is here to settle accounts with you--" a boy shouted, and many people burst
into laughter, some screamed, and some whistled.
"Fairy! Give us back the three best people in our city! Hahaha."
A girl leaned over the desk and started crying, and two girls surrounded her to comfort her.
Si Jiang was stunned. It seemed that she had not shed tears for this matter yet. Somehow she
found it a little funny.
"I'm looking for Zhou Jiaming."
"Zhou Jiaming, Chen Sijiang is here to see you."
Zhou Jiaming stood up from the corner, Si Jiang waved at him with a smile, and the two walked to
the corridor.
"Do you still have the little white rabbit pencil sharpener you sold last time? If you do, please
bring four for me and I will send them to my sister." Si Jiang made up an excuse.
"Yes!" Zhou Jiaming was a little excited: "Do you know that Liu Jia stole your city's top three
honors——"
Si Jiang interrupted him with a smile: "It doesn't matter."
"Ah? Why, why?" Zhou Jiaming stuttered in surprise.
"I can get in." Si Jiang winked mischievously: "Do you believe it?"
Zhou Jiaming was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously: "I believe it!"
"So it doesn't matter. Remember to bring me a pencil sharpener tomorrow and I'll give you
money." Si Jiang smiled slightly: "See you tomorrow."
Watching her ponytail swaying briskly away, Zhou Jiaming was a little confused. Si Jiang seemed
to have no idea what he had done for her. So did he do the right thing or the wrong thing?
The city's three good students event made Zhou Jiaming no longer like Zhou Jiaming. He, who
rarely spoke, had turned Liu Jia into a laughing stock in the class.
It's a long story. It turns out that Liu Jia, the city's three good people, was able to achieve this
thanks to her aunt marrying a leader of the Municipal Education Bureau. This leader is 15 years
older than Liu Jia's aunt. His original wife was unfortunately hit by a drunk driver and died after a
day and night of rescue in the hospital, leaving behind a son and a daughter. Three months after
the funeral, the leader and Liu Jia's aunt got a marriage certificate. The leader's daughter works
in the tax bureau and happens to be in charge of the Jiaozhou Road market. Last year, she had a
big fight with her family because of this matter and didn't go to work for more than a month. The
self-employed people in the market spread the news, and there were aunts and uncles who had a
roundabout relationship in the education department. All parties proved that the leader must
have had an affair with the second marriage a long time ago. This man is in his forties, and the
most proud thing is to get promoted, get rich, and his wife died, blah blah blah.
Before the peak of the wave of rumors had passed, someone dug up all the details about Liu Jia's
aunt. She was a librarian at the library of the XX District Education College and came from a
shantytown. What kind of people were in her family? When they found out that her niece was in
the same class as Zhou Jiaming, Zhou Jiaming's family immediately became the center of the
vortex of gossip. For this reason, Zhou Jiaming's parents often reminded their son: A dragon gives
birth to a dragon, and a phoenix gives birth to a phoenix, while a mouse's son will only dig holes.
Don't associate with that Liu Jia. Zhou Jiaming was confused for a while, because he didn't talk to
girls in his class.
So when he heard that Liu Jia had taken Si Jiang's place, he immediately thought of the rumors
and ran to Liu Jia to confront her. After a few words, Liu Jia burst into tears, which indirectly
proved that his guess was true. Primary school students had no scruples. Chen Sijiang was an
excellent student in the school from the first grade to the sixth grade. He was also the most
handsome. Although he didn't get along well with everyone, he was also looked up to by all the
students in the school. Once the matter of Liu Jia taking Chen Sijiang's place through the
backdoor was exposed, she immediately became the target of public criticism in the class. Except
for a few girls who had always been good friends with her, almost everyone wanted to beat her
up. The head teacher of the class immediately gave Zhou Jiaming and several boys a lesson,
invited their parents to talk, and finally forced Zhou Jiaming to apologize to Liu Jia.
Thus Zhou Jiaming also suffered the first blow in his life. He did not become a hero by fighting for
justice, but was defeated instead. However, Chen Sijiang, whom he felt sorry for, did not seem to
care about it at all.
——
Si Jiang finally got into her first choice, the West City Middle School, with a total score of 273.5 in
Chinese, math and English, 0.5 points higher than the score line of 273 points for the city key
school, and became Jingsheng's junior. Later, her former primary school teacher would receive a
greeting card from Si Jiang every Teacher's Day, but Chen Sijiang never returned to her alma
mater. Liu Jia, who replaced her as the city's three good students, entered another city key
school. Zhao Youning was directly promoted to the Second Affiliated Middle School of East China
Normal University, Zhou Jiaming and Wu Minglan were admitted to the July 1st Middle School,
and Wang Sichu entered the City No. 1 Middle School.
Six years of elementary school classmates will go their separate ways this summer, heading for
different next starting points. Everyone left each other their mailing addresses and alley public
phone numbers, and in the midsummer of August, with a few dollars of pocket money given by
their parents, they made plans for class reunions one after another.
Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei brought Si Nan back to Wanchun Street. After getting this great news,
the father became more and more afraid. Chen Donglai privately told Si Jiang not to take such
risks next time, because his luck would not always be so good. He must fill in the application form
in advance according to what he had discussed with his parents, and he could not act on his own.
He could not help but feel proud, thinking that he had passed on his learning talent to his
children. The mother was overjoyed and firmly believed that it was her slap in the face that saved
the day and pulled Si Jiang back from the crooked path and sent him to the city's key school. Only
Si Nan hugged Si Jiang with admiration: "Sister, you are so awesome! I want to be like you." Si
Jiang smiled and nodded: "I tried my best, and I also want to thank my brother. Without him, I
would definitely not have passed the exam."
Jingsheng threw her his full set of old textbooks and said, "You can start reading now, otherwise
you will definitely fail the test."
Si Jiang took it with a grimace, not daring to say that she wanted to watch a movie, she wanted to
go boating, she wanted to go shopping, she wanted to eat whipped cream and iced coffee from
Lao Dachang, and cold noodles and snacks from Guangming Village. ravioli. Jingsheng looked at
her with a grimace and allowed her to graze the sheep for a week. The happiest person was Si
Nan, who hung on Jing Sheng's back and praised her loudly, because she had no pocket money
and could eat and play as much as she wanted.
Si Jiang was also happy. He had to go downstairs to answer several calls every day and was busy
with class reunions. Gu Ximei kept her promise and gave her ten yuan to go wherever she and
her classmates could go. The only requirement was that Jingsheng could follow them and watch
them when they were not training.
After Gu Dongwen found out, he secretly gave Jingsheng fifty yuan: "How can I let the little girl
use banknotes? When you go to treat, remember to pay the banknotes before your sister. Tell me
when you run out."
Jingsheng had no choice but to act as a bodyguard and a payment machine. At the beginning, Si
Jiang blushed and insisted on paying, but he got used to it in two days. To thank him, Si Jiang
would buy green bean popsicles, salty soda, and Guangming Ice Diamonds for Jingsheng. The
thing he said most often was: "Thank you, brother!" Of course, Si Nan's share was indispensable.
For Si Nan, this summer vacation was really a happy one. She only watched Shaolin Temple,
which was shown in February, once and loved it to bits, but her mother didn't allow her to watch
it a second time. Now she has watched it three times a week with her elder sister and older
cousin. "The sun rises over the valley of Songshan Mountain, the morning bell startles the birds,
the stream in the forest gurgles, and the grass on the slope is green." She can hum a few lines,
and she has learned Jet Li's signature moves very well, which stuns the little girls in the alley. The
chubby Si Hao, who is more than two years old, is laughing beside him, clapping his hands and
calling him sister all the time. A week after Si Nan came back, he became Si Nan's follower,
waddling behind Si Nan's butt, and her mother had to chase after him on her little feet. The
sisters laughed and walked out of the alley and got on the bus. Chen Sihao chased the bus and
cried so hard that his mother was heartbroken. When he got home, he was scolded by his
legendary father: Men don't shed tears easily, and real men shed blood and sweat but don't cry!
Chen Sihao pouted and turned his back, looking like "Who are you? I don't know you and don't
want to care about you." Chen Donglai was so angry that he wanted to beat him up to teach him
a lesson, but he was always stopped by Chen's mother and Gu Ximei, and they had another
quarrel.
Sijiang's favorite is "Silk Road Flower Rain", and she has watched it three times. What kind of
gods are dancing there? For the first time, she understood what is the beauty that transcends
time and space. She was simply dizzy with this kind of beauty. Every time she came home after
watching a movie, she would draw every bit she remembered on a notebook, and she also took
the time to borrow a few albums of Dunhuang murals from the library. This made Grandma Gu
think that her granddaughter found that the good test results were the blessing of the
Bodhisattva, so she dragged Sijiang Sinan to the Jade Buddha Temple to worship for a long time.
Sinan could only come to a conclusion that the plain noodles in Jing'an Temple are the best.
When she found that Sijiang had drawn a lot of Pipa-playing musicians on the notebook, she
grabbed the notebook and jumped up and down in the house, screaming and laughing non-stop,
forcing her sister to color the painting and give it to her.
"Sister, you may become a famous painter! Write your name here, yes, Chen Sijiang, don't forget
the date, and write a gift to my dear sister Sinan, okay, you don't have to write dear." Sinan held
the painting carefully: "Sister, when you become famous in the future, I will sell it. I have to sell it
for at least fifty yuan!"
Si Jiang rolled his eyes angrily: "I gave it to you and you're thinking about making money? And I'm
already famous, why are you selling it so cheaply?" Some of the paintings by famous painters
hanging in Dooyunxuan sell for several thousand dollars.
Sinan nodded: "Yes, yes, yes, if you are famous, you should be able to sell it for a hundred yuan.
Cousin, if you buy it, I will give you a discount, ninety-five will be fine."
Jingsheng sneered: "I don't want it even if you give it to me. If you give me a hundred yuan, I will
accept it."
Sinan: "You wish, then I will throw myself at you. Mom said that only pretty boys want girls to
throw themselves at them! Don't be shy."
Si Jiang felt that he was the one who was hit hard. He couldn't help but pout and continued to
draw the next one: "Humph, you don't even want it when I give it to you? You wish. My paintings
will not be given to you for free. Brother is the most annoying."
Jingsheng said without even looking up: "You've already given it away to many people for free,
okay? I already have the New Year's card. I'm selling it to you for one dollar now. Do you want to
buy it?"
Si Jiang: “…”
Sinan got in between the two of them and said, "What is that? Why don't I have it? Sister? I am
your biological sister, and I am the one you love the most, right?"
Si Jiang: Brother is really the most annoying!

Chapter 114
In junior high school, they have to take swimming lessons and exams, so Si Jiang and several
other girls who can’t swim made an appointment to go to the swimming pool early in the
summer vacation to familiarize themselves with it.
The swimming pool is a good place for citizens to cool off. A ticket costs five cents and you can
soak for an entire afternoon. Children must soak their fingers and toes until they are white and
wrinkled. In the shallow water area, a middle-aged woman wearing a wrinkled cotton swimsuit
was pushing a red plastic foot basin, in which sat a kid who was reaching out to splash water. A
staff member came over and asked her to take the foot basin back to the dressing room. The two
sides started arguing after a few words, with saliva and pool water flying, mixed with the kid's
crying.
Si Jiang and her group of girls slowly moved to the middle of the pool by feeling the wall, being
careful to avoid the old man with a big belly who turned breaststroke into a snail's pace.
Suddenly, there were several screams, and the half-grown boys pinched their noses and jumped
into the pool over their heads. The safety officer sitting on the high platform blew a sharp
whistle, and wet heads emerged from the water and laughed. The staff came to curse angrily, and
Si Jiang and her friends continued to escape on tiptoe to avoid being spitted in the face.
"Nannan! Nannan--" Si Jiang turned around and didn't see A'mei anymore. He panicked and
shouted loudly. The noisy environment had its own sound absorption function, so only Wu
Minglan and others around him could hear him.
"She's there." Wang Sichu immediately found Sinan in the deep water, who was wearing a red
swimsuit. "Your sister swims very well. How does she know how to swim?"
Si Jiang quickly pushed himself up with both hands and climbed up the bank: "She learned it
when she was very young in Aksu. I'll go see her."
Sinan, who had come to show off her swimming skills, did not expect that the disinfectant in the
swimming pool had a very strong smell, which choked her and made her unable to swim. After
struggling in the water for a long time, she drank a bellyful of water, climbed up to the shore of
the deep water area, knelt on the tile floor and coughed violently.
"Nannan!" Si Jiang ran over carefully: "Are you okay? Why did you swim to the deep water
without telling me?"
Sinan sat up straight while coughing: "No, it's okay, the water in Shanghai is too smelly, it choked
me!"
Si Jiang squatted down and patted her on the back: "Because we need to disinfect, does your
throat hurt? How about we go back earlier?"
"No!" Sinan adjusted his swimming cap. "I want to watch my cousin and his friends train. By the
way, why didn't Ningning come? Isn't he on the swimming team? I haven't seen him this summer.
Will his mother lock him up at home to practice piano and get acupuncture every day? Oh, I'll go
to his house to save him tonight."
Si Jiang inexplicably felt that Zhao Youning seemed to have become a princess locked in a castle,
and couldn't help but laugh: "It seems that he went to Beijing to participate in the mathematics
training of the Youth University of Science and Technology. I wonder if he has returned."
"What does Shaokeda mean?"
"Well, my aunt said it's the Junior Class of the University of Science and Technology of China, a
place that specializes in producing child prodigies."
Sinan's eyes widened: "Brother Ningning is a child prodigy?"
"Maybe." Si Jiang hesitated for a moment: "Or on the way to becoming a child prodigy?"
"Wow!" Sinan coughed several times in excitement. "Then I should ask for his autograph! It will
definitely be better than yours - hahahaha."
Si Jiang stood up silently: "I said I won't give my paintings to anyone else. Well, you can play by
yourself, be careful."
"Hey, hey, sister, I want your paintings too, I want them all! Your signature must be more valuable
than Brother Ningning's, oops!" Si Nan stood up and chased her, but he slipped and fell on his
butt. Si Jiang turned around and saw her grinning, and wanted to go over to help her, but then he
thought about how irritating this guy was, and raised his eyebrows: "You deserve it."
Four or five staff members came over and blew whistles to clear the area: "These two swimming
lanes are open. The swimming team is going to practice. Get through them. Don't crawl over! Are
you stupid? Get through from the bottom!"
Twenty or so young boys and girls filed out of the locker room through the disinfection pool, all of
them dripping wet, some putting on goggles, some pulling on swimsuits, talking and laughing.
Several coaches holding stopwatches and notebooks walked to the edge of the pool and began to
assign tasks.
Several teenagers jumped into the pool to sort out the buoys, then jumped out of the water and
prepared to line up.
The girls in the pool sat in a row on the shore, their colorful swimsuits very eye-catching. The
teenage girls looked at the boys opposite them and turned their faces away, spoke in low voices
and laughed loudly. The boys who were still in the water were unwilling to accept the defeat and
started a water fight, trying to attract the girls' attention, but they were scolded and despised by
them.
Sinan swam directly from the deep water area to the edge of the training area, staring eagerly at
the coach calling out his name. He looked again and again, swam out a little to look from a
different angle, and finally shouted loudly: "Cousin! Brother Ningning!"
Gu Jingsheng and Zhao Youning turned around at the same time and smiled when they saw the
little guy in the water. Sinan proudly flipped over in the water, and a splash of water rose in the
pool.
Jingsheng's eyes swept across the opposite shore. Si Jiang's swimsuit was very special, red with
large white dots, and it was obvious at a glance that she was sitting upright and waving at them.
There were three or four boys splashing water in the pool beside her legs.
Zhao Youning also waved to Si Jiang and the others on the opposite side.
The swimming team started warming up. Some boys whispered, "Did you see the girl in the red
and white polka dot swimsuit across the street?"
"Which one? Oh. Do you know him?"
"The school beauty of my brother's school is called Chen Sijiang. She is very beautiful and has
been on TV all the time."
"Haha, let's go down and get to know each other." The sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy is not
afraid of too much trouble, but is afraid of having nothing to do. Thinking of the beautiful girl, he
couldn't help humming a pornographic song and stretching his legs: "A deep kiss makes me miss
you - ah ah ah!"
Before he could finish a line, his leg that was pressed to the ground was stepped on and crushed,
and he screamed in pain.
Jingsheng stretched out his hand to him: "Sorry, I didn't see it."
"Hey! You're so horny! Did you do that on purpose? Didn't you see how thick your legs are?
Country people are country people."
Jingsheng's hand was slapped away. He wiped the water off his face nonchalantly and said, "I did
it on purpose. Do you want to train him well or get to know him?"
"???"
"My name is Gu Jingsheng, and I'm Chen Sijiang's elder brother. You should come and get to
know me first." Jingsheng said this, feeling sorry that he didn't pull this guy up just now,
otherwise this little pain would not be a big deal. He walked to the starting point, got into
position, and was ready to go into the water when ordered.
"Hey! Ce Na, what can brother do! Xun Xi A Yi (What's wrong with brother, is he looking for
death), Lao Gao, let's deal with him together after we're done! (We'll deal with him together after
we're done.)" Before he could finish his words, a man came running sideways and knocked him
out.
"Oh, sorry." Zhao Youning raised his legs high and waved his hands: "Let me introduce myself. My
name is Zhao Youning, Chen Sijiang's classmate and Gu Jingsheng's good friend."
The coach walked over quickly and patted Zhao Youning's back with the pad in his hand: "It's your
turn, hurry over." He turned his head and glared: "Xuan, you little bastard, are you looking for
death? What are you thinking about? You still want to meet girls? What are you doing here? I'll
ask your old man to take you back later, and don't come tomorrow. (XX, you little bastard, are you
looking for death? What are you thinking about? You still want to meet girls? What are you doing
here? I'll ask your old man to take you back later, and don't come tomorrow.)"
The injured boy got up from the ground grumblingly and joined the team unwillingly, hearing
sneers behind him.
"You still want to deal with Gu Jingsheng? You should go to Wanchun Street and ask about his
past. It seems that he used a knife when he was just over ten years old. It scared everyone to the
point of peeing their pants."
"Two years ago, Lao Zhang and his gang, who graduated from the work-study school, were
robbing kids' pocket money in Xigong. Did he beat them so hard that their teeth fell out? It was
one on three or one on four."
"And that old rascal who always came out in the middle of the night to show his penis, he broke
three ribs, and that was also his fault. My aunt was a night patrol militia, she remembers it very
clearly."
"Well, Gu Jingsheng is quite handsome, and his whole family is very good-looking." A female
team member who is in high school turned around and smiled: "Gu Jingsheng's father runs a
restaurant, and I heard he is a millionaire."
He has money and fists. The boy who was eager to make a move and was unwilling to accept the
defeat kept silent and stared at Zhao Youning who was about to enter the water.
——
Jingsheng and his team finished training at 6 o'clock, and most of the people in the swimming
pool went home for dinner. It would be another hour before the pool was really crowded. In just
three hours, Sinan had become very familiar with several swimming coaches, calling them
"teacher" in a sweet and sticky way. The coaches who made a living doing manual labor were
called out like intellectuals, and they cursed more gently and kicked people less often.
"Teacher Tan, you are so amazing! My cousin can swim so fast after being taught by you. There is
definitely no one better than you in our Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. If you go
and teach those soldiers, wow, the Corps will definitely give you a medal."
No matter how corny the words are, they sound sincere and touching when spoken by a child,
especially a pretty child. Coach Tan touched his beer belly and laughed modestly: "Haha, how
could it be? In the national championship two years ago, the PLA team won both the men's and
women's teams, and our Shanghai team only took second place. The gap is still huge."
"Wow! We are the second in Shanghai. We will be the first soon." Sinan said sincerely: "When my
cousin grows up, he will definitely win the gold medal, because Teacher Tan is such a good
teacher. You only taught me for a few minutes, but I learned the backstroke in no time. It's
amazing!"
"Do you want to stay in Shanghai? You can learn swimming with me and your brother in
Shanghai." Coach Tan touched Si Nan's wet hair and said, "Little curly hair? Go back and ask your
parents." He suddenly rushed to the edge of the pool and yelled at the boys below. Si Nan
hurried over to see, fortunately, neither her cousin nor her brother Ningning was there. She
looked up at the fierce Coach Tan and said silently in her heart, I would never learn swimming
with you even if you kill me.
After leaving the swimming pool, everyone went to the Dongsheng Canteen for dinner as agreed.
Sinan couldn't help but speak ill of the coaches: "They are too fierce, they curse at people so
badly, and they beat and kick people, much harder than our teachers."
Zhao Youning was surprised: "No, I felt that the coaches were the most polite today. I only got
kicked twice."
"ah???"
Jingsheng nodded: "Well, I was only scolded three times."
Si Jiang grumbled, "We could hear it from across the swimming pool. It was even worse than the
quarrels in the alley. It didn't sound like a teacher at all. How could you bear it, really?"
"I'm used to it." Zhao Youning stretched himself and said, "Today is my last training with the
team. I won't be scolded or beaten anymore. Jingsheng, keep going."
Si Jiang and the others were surprised: "Why? You're not joining the swimming team anymore?"
"Well, I don't have time to participate." Zhao Youning smiled and said, "The coach said that I
don't have explosive power and my endurance is average. I don't have any advantages in long or
short distances. Besides, I have computer classes, math classes, and physics classes in junior high
school, so I definitely don't have time to practice."
"What is physics?" Sinan asked curiously.
"Isn't physics a high school course?" Jingsheng glanced at Zhao Youning, and could not find any
pride or boasting in him, as if everything was taken for granted.
"Well, when I went to Beijing this time, I felt that I was far behind those people from Shanghai
Tech University." Zhao Youning smiled a little embarrassedly and touched his newly cut hair: "The
youngest of them is only 11 years old, and he is already doing the physics problems of the second
year of high school. And I can't do any of the competition questions of the International
Mathematical Olympiad."
Sinan laughed: "Brother Ningning, you got nothing in the exam and brought it home?"
"No, it's really a duck egg." Zhao Youning sighed, and turned his head to see Si Nan's curly hair
was messed up by the wind, covering her face, so he reached out and smoothed it for her: "It's
too miserable, this is the first time in my life that I got a zero on an exam, and I couldn't sleep all
night."
Si Jiang took off his hairband and braided Si Nan's hair. He asked, "Is there an Olympic
competition in mathematics? I only know that the Olympic Games are Olympic competitions and
swimming competitions are Olympic events."
"Well, this is a competition for middle school students. It includes math, physics and chemistry. It
has been held abroad for many years. We are still preparing the team. The teacher said it will
take at least three years to train students who can participate in international competitions."
Zhao Youning waved his fist: "I will strive to participate in the competition when I am in high
school, but I have to win a prize in the city first, and then win a prize in the national competition."
After saying this, he felt a little embarrassed: "This is my ideal. It may not be realized, but I will
work hard."
Sinan held his hand and said admiringly: "Brother Ningning, you are the best. You will definitely
win awards all over the world! When you win an award, remember to get an autograph for me."
"Okay! No problem." Zhao Youning laughed and took Sinan's hand, swinging it back and forth for
fun.
"How about signing a hundred?" Sinan raised his arm, turned around and then turned back
mischievously.
"no problem!"
Seeing the rolling eyes from his cousin and elder sister, Si Nan quickly let go of Zhao Youning, ran
a few steps, held Si Jiang with his left hand, and Jing Sheng with his right hand: "Cousin, you will
definitely win a gold medal in swimming in the future, you have to sign for me, one thousand!
And your paintings, elder sister--"
Si Jiang shook off her hand, raised his head, ran two steps, and crossed the road before the red
light.
"Sister, sister, you will really become famous, I have confidence in you!" Sinansa took two steps
after her and jumped at the traffic light.
Zhao Youning clasped his hands together and shouted to Si Jiang across the street: "Come on,
Chen Sijiang!"
The boys and girls laughed together and shouted to Si Jiang.
"Si Jiang, you will definitely become famous."
"Si Jiang, please sign 100 autographs for me—"
"Come on Si Jiang!"
Si Jiang put her hands on her hips and answered loudly: "Of course! I will definitely become
famous, just wait and see." After saying that, she couldn't help but burst into laughter.
The red light turned green, Si Nan ran over like the wind and hugged Si Jiang. The setting sun
painted their outlines with a layer of pale gold. The young people's ambitions were freely
publicized, accompanied by laughter and cheers on the road. The hot summer heat made them
all a little excited. At this moment, they all set up lofty ideals for themselves, so far as to go to the
world to win glory for the country. However, for most people, it was just a moment of passion.
——
Today's Dongsheng Canteen is very different from what it used to be. The two stores are
connected and are very spacious and bright. The newly added store has been changed into a
fashionable glass window with a red and blue neon sign. The eight pinewood tables inside are
clean and fresh. The original blackboard menu has been moved to the new north wall. Before
leaving last year, Gu Beiwu re-painted more than 20 dishes. They are just like rubbings from a
picture album. The layout, font style and size, color matching, and food painting are all exquisite
and perfect. The six chandeliers in the store used to have iron lampshades like street lamps. After
being dismantled by Gu Beiwu, they were replaced with flattened thin bamboo baskets. When
the lights are turned on, the light and shadows flow, and the evil spirit shines, causing many
passers-by to run in and ask where the lights were bought. The Huashan Middle School next door
and the Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio jointly organized several art classes. The teachers came
over for lunch at noon and were full of praise. They kept chasing Gu Dongwen to ask who drew
the painting and who modified the lamp. They also wanted to invite Beiwu to teach art or interior
design at the school. When they heard that he graduated from the Economics Department of
Peking University and was going to study in the United States, they all sighed and said: This is a
design genius who was delayed by economics. What a pity.
Gu Dongwen had reserved a table for the children. There were four cold dishes: pickled
edamame, pickled chicken feet, tomatoes with sugar, and smoked fish. Sijiang liked sweet and
sour spareribs, Sinan liked braised lion's head, Jingsheng liked fish, plus fried pork liver, salt and
pepper pork feet, stir-fried vegetables with mushrooms, shredded pork, and hot and sour soup.
Sijiang and the others finished one dish after another, and sent it away for free if it was nice. The
customers at the tables next to them ate and listened while laughing, saying that they were
probably little friends from a comedy troupe.
Jingsheng and Zhao Youning were both growing up, so they didn't feel full after eating three
bowls of rice. They both left a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs on their plates. Sinan was sharp-
eyed and snatched Zhao Youning's piece with his chopsticks: "Brother Ningning, you're too slow
to eat. Thank you!"
Zhao Youning secretly glanced at Si Jiang who was drinking soup quietly, and scratched his head:
"It's okay, you eat it."
Jingsheng blocked Sinan's sneak attack with a chopstick: "What?"
"Cousin, if you can't eat, I'll help you. You're welcome."
"No need for your help, I like to save the best for last." Jingsheng put the spare ribs into his
mouth, stood up and started to clean up the dishes. The waitress in the store quickly ran over
with a basin: "Let me do it, let me do it, don't move, there is still iced green bean soup, I will
collect the bone dishes first."
When Sinan heard that there was mung bean soup, he immediately smiled and raised his hand
and shouted, "Uncle, uncle! I want to drink Coke, can I have another bottle?"
Jingsheng opened the refrigerator door: "Who else wants it?"
Si Jiang was fanning himself because of the spicy hot and sour soup, and quickly raised his hand:
"Brother, I want a bottle. Lanlan, how about you?"
In the end, except for Jingsheng, everyone held a bottle and prepared to fight again to eliminate
all the remaining supplies on the table.
"Ah?" Zhao Youning was so surprised that his jaw almost dropped on the table: "Nannan, why did
you pour Coke into the mung bean soup?!"
Sinan proudly announced: "This is the mung bean cola I invented. Wow, it's so good. Who of you
wants to try it?"
No one wanted to try it. Everyone looked at her with complicated expressions as she scooped up
a spoonful of the still bubbling coffee-colored mung bean soup.
Then another spoonful, and another spoonful.
Sinan smacked his lips, looked at everyone, then looked at his own bowl: "I'm not lying to you, it's
really delicious."
Si Jiang took a small bowl, tried a sip, and had a very strange expression on his face.
"Is it delicious?" Wu Minglan and Wang Sichu asked quickly.
Si Jiang narrowed his eyes: "Yeah, it's really good."
Zhao Youning and others quickly poured Coke into the mung bean soup and tasted it.
"It tastes terrible!" Wu Minglan was so angry that she punched Si Jiang: "You did it on purpose,
you bastard!"
Zhao Youning looked at the bubbles in the bowl worriedly. He absolutely could not waste it, so he
had to finish it even with his eyes closed and his nose pinched.
Si Jiang couldn't help laughing: "I can't be the only one fooled."
Si Nan was anxious: "You have a problem with your tongue, it's obviously delicious! Look, I've
finished it all. Don't give it all to me." Zhao Youning immediately put his bowl in front of her: "Nan
Nan, I only drank two sips, okay?"
"Okay, it's so delicious, I like it! But Brother Ningning, you are really ignorant. Next time I will take
you to try spicy soy sauce iced coffee!" Sinan held Zhao Youning's bowl and seriously tried to
promote another weird drink she invented.
Zhao Youning's eyelids kept twitching, and everyone at the table burst into laughter, pushing each
other to eat. Jingsheng drank his pure green bean soup slowly. Well, he knew Chen Sinan very
well. As long as he could eat it, he would call it delicious. This person was not particular about
food. He was slightly better than a pig, but maybe even worse than a pig.
Walking back from the Dongsheng Canteen, Sinan ran to Zhao Youning and said, "Brother
Ningning, does your mother still prick you with needles? Do you want me to come to your house
tomorrow to listen to you play the piano? I have forgotten the song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
that you taught me last time." After saying that, he burped with a taste of cola and mung beans.
Zhao Youning looked at Sinan who was covering his mouth and couldn't help laughing. It turned
out that this kid had always cared about him and wanted to protect him. He felt an indescribable
happiness and satisfaction, and suddenly couldn't hold back the many words in his heart. He bent
down and whispered, "My mother went to Austria and may not come back. Shh, don't tell
anyone."
Si Nan was so shocked that he choked back a hiccup. After a long while, he exhaled and pulled
Zhao Youning down: "She's not coming back? Why?"

Chapter 115
Zhao Youning thought for a moment, then called out to Jingsheng Sijiang and the others in front
of him, "You guys go first, I'll go buy Sinan an ice cream."
Si Nan immediately took Lingzi: "Sister, Brother Ningning and I will catch up with you in a while."
Si Jiang was busy asking Jing Sheng for some swimming tips, and turned back and said, "Then
hurry up."
Zhao Youning took Si Nan to the door of the tobacco and paper shop on the side of the road and
asked, "What do you want to eat?"
"Ice brick!" Sinan looked up: "I can eat a medium ice brick by myself, really!" The most unhappy
thing about this summer vacation was that her mother did not allow her to make money from
the little friends in the alley, and she had to return the spoils she won by her own ability to them.
With no pocket money, she could only eat the cold drinks of her elder sister and cousin, and she
was never satisfied every time.
"Master, please give me a small brick of bright ice." Zhao Youning pretended not to see her
expectant look.
The shirtless uncle put a half-smoked cigarette on his ear, pulled out a machete from under the
evening paper, and picked up a medium ice brick: "How about a small ice brick? I'll cut it in half
for you, wrap it in wax paper, and it'll be 20 cents and 2 cents. (I'll cut it in half for you, wrap it in
wax paper, and it'll be 22 cents.)"
Zhao Youning hesitated for a moment and said, "Forget it, forget it. Don't cut it. Just put it in the
ice block. I want five more mung bean popsicles."
Sinan jumped several times on the spot with joy, took the ice brick and put it on her face to cool
it down: "Ahhh, so cool, just right." She looked around and sat down on the small stool in front of
the tobacco and paper shop, opened the paper box and tore off the wax paper, took a bite, and
felt cool all over and very comfortable.
Zhao Youning opened a popsicle and sat next to her. Seeing that she was laughing so hard that
her eyes and nose were squeezed together, with two laugh lines running horizontally across her
nose, she looked very cute. He couldn't help but smile as well: "Eat slowly."
"Hey, remember to tell my sister about the small ice cubes you bought. I'll only eat this half."
Sinan sighed, "The banana boat your mom made is really delicious, Brother Ningning, you will
miss her a lot, right?"
"Yeah, I probably would." Zhao Youning took a bite of the popsicle.
"Oh, my mother is so mean to me every day." Sinan clicked his tongue and shook his head: "She
pulls my ears, spanks my butt and slaps my head, but I still want to be with her. Why didn't your
mother come back? Is she angry because you didn't apply to that music school?"
"Well, my mom and dad had a big fight." Zhao Youning lowered his voice: "They divorced, and I
live with my dad." This was the first time he had told someone about this in the past few months.
When he said it, he suddenly found that it was not as painful as he had imagined. His nose felt a
little sour, but it was just a little sour.
Sinan almost dropped the ice in her mouth back into the paper box. Her ears were itchy and she
couldn't help scratching them with her hands: "You - actually - oh, let me tell you, Brother
Ningning, my father and mother have also been divorced many times."
Zhao Youning's eyes widened: "What?"
"My dad goes back to Shajingzi Town once a month, and my mom always quarrels with him over
whether my brother should go to Xinjiang, my sister's grades, me, ahem, mischievous things, and
many more. They even quarrel over whether to eat wide noodles or thin noodles, and they get
divorced after a quarrel." Sinan counted: "They have divorced six times this year."
Zhao Youning laughed: "Divorce requires a divorce certificate, your parents were just arguing."
"Well, they didn't just quarrel. They even fought in the middle of the night when they were
asleep. The bed creaked." Sinan approached him and whispered, "Actually, I was quite scared,
but I pretended not to know. If I didn't know, I wouldn't be scared."
Zhao Youning already knew the secret of couples fighting in the middle of the night. His face
immediately became hot when he heard this. He stood up and threw the popsicle stick into the
garbage bucket next to him: "It's okay, don't be afraid. Let's go and chase them."
"Brother Ningning——"
"Huh?" Zhao Youning turned around and saw Si Nan holding half an ice brick and looking at him
with tears in his eyes.
"What's wrong?"
Sinan rushed over, hugged his thighs and cried, "If you are sad, just cry with me. If we cry
together, no one will laugh at you."
Zhao Youning didn't know whether to laugh or cry. His nose wasn't sore anymore, but his heart
felt sour. He stroked her curly hair and said, "I really don't want to cry."
Sinan raised his head: "Really?"
"Really. Actually, my mother likes Austria. My great uncle is there. She will be happier if she goes
there."
"So she doesn't even want her own parents?"
Zhao Youning led her forward and said, "My grandparents and uncle were all pianists. They
committed suicide together a long time ago. Only my mother survived after being rescued. So she
especially wanted me to become a pianist, and sometimes she would be very strict with me. I
don't blame her."
Si Nan was stunned. She held Zhao Youning's hand tightly. It seemed that there was no way she
could reduce the misery by half.
"Zhao Youning!"
There was a loud shout from behind.
Liu Yu, who was stepped on by Jing Sheng and knocked away by Zhao Youning in the swimming
pool, came over aggressively with three other boys.
"Come here, let's get to know each other. These are all my brothers!" Liu Yu was so angry that he
rushed forward and punched him.
Zhao Youning staggered back two steps and protected Si Nan behind him. The mung bean
popsicle in his hand was still hard, so he quickly waved it as a weapon: "Nan Nan, you run first."
"I won't run away! I won't abandon you." The ice brick in Sinan's hand made a parabola and hit
Liu Yu directly in the face.
"You are a Xinjiang brat! Are you looking for death?" Liu Yu pulled up his sweat vest and wiped his
face: "Dalin, help me catch Zhao Youning first."
Zhao Youning protected Si Nan and dodged left and right. After being hit by several punches on
the face, he was still grabbed. Si Nan ducked down and went directly through Liu Yu's crotch and
ran to the tobacco and paper shop. Liu Yu laughed angrily. Between beating Zhao Youning first
and catching Si Nan first, he chose the latter and turned around to chase her.
Zhao Youning was punched twice in the face, his nose was bleeding, and his knees were kicked
twice. He didn't care about anything else and shouted at the people who gradually gathered
around him: "The gangster A Fei wants to bully my sister, hurry up and help call the police--"
Some uncles and aunts who couldn't bear to watch persuaded him: "Forget it, young man, why
are you so angry? (Why are you so angry?)"
"You are a teenager, Xiaowei. How can you bully a child? An old man should call the police."
Liu Yu suddenly stepped back, his voice trembling: "Little bastard, what are you doing? Are you
trying to scare me?"
Si Nan held the machete that the owner of the tobacco and paper shop was going to use to cut
the ice brick with both hands, her eyes wide open, "You hooligan! You bad guy! My uncle said,
I'm a child, you deserve to be hacked to death, if you're not afraid, come and catch me." Her
hands and feet were shaking, not because she was afraid, but because she was angry when she
saw Zhao Youning's bloody face.
The people around were all in an uproar. The owner of the tobacco and paper shop came out
from under the counter and said, "This is terrible, little girl, put it down quickly! This is a real
knife! A real knife!"
"Don't joke around, little friend. Return the knife to the boss quickly."
Liu Yu retreated to the side of his brothers, became bolder, and seeing how small Si Nan was, he
reached out to grab the machete.
"Ah, Ce Na, you really dare--" He almost had three fingers chopped off, and was so scared that he
hid behind Zhao Youning. However, he was kicked away by a flying leg, and the machete in Si
Nan's hand passed by.
The three boys who were grabbing Zhao Youning had not yet reacted when they were beaten
several times by Jingsheng.
Si Jiang and the others supported Zhao Youning, and then they saw Si Nan in the crowd. They
were so scared that they were scared to death: "Nan Nan! Nan Nan——"
Si Nan looked at Liu Yu at his feet, and thought about how this man almost bumped into the knife
just now, and then he became scared. Then he saw his elder sister and cousin coming, his hand
loosened, and the machete fell to the ground with a clang, and he burst into tears.
The owner of the tobacco and paper shop quickly picked up the knife and said, "I was so scared.
This kid scared me to death today."
Si Jiang rushed over and hugged Si Nan. She wanted to cry, but no tears came out. She could only
pat Si Nan's back without any idea: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. It's okay. Don't be afraid.
Sister is here, brother is here too. Don't be afraid."
When the police arrived, Jingsheng had already stopped. A dozen children were taken to the
police station and told to find a way to notify their parents.
Jingsheng held down Si Jiang and Zhao Youning, then stood up and reported Zhou Shanli's
workplace phone number.
"Headquarters? The People's Liberation Army. Who is he to you?"
"He's our second uncle." Jingsheng remembered Shanrang calling Shanli his second brother: "My
mother is gone, and my father is on a business trip. It's all my fault that I didn't take good care of
my brothers and sisters."
The policeman was silent for a moment, turned around to look at Si Nan who was still sobbing, Si
Jiang who looked anxious and angry, and Zhao Youning who had a swollen nose and was covering
his nose to stop the bleeding. He felt very sympathetic towards the siblings.
When the call came, Jingsheng seemed to be very ashamed of causing trouble, and whispered a
few words. Liu Yu and others beside him were yelling, and the police couldn't hear what he said
clearly, but they felt more sympathy for this brother who was living under someone else's roof.
A quarter of an hour later, Zhou Shanli rushed in, followed by a dozen PLA soldiers, and suddenly
the Jing'an Temple Police Station was packed with people.
"You? Is it you? You four grown men, bullying my little niece? Really? You have the strength but
don't know how to defend the border and protect the people of the motherland, and instead
know how to bully a child?" Zhou Shanli pulled Liu Yu up from the chair.
Liu Yu was stunned. So were the police officers in the police station.
The nephew and niece of a deputy division-level cadre of the People's Liberation Army were
besieged by hooligans and beaten with blood all over their faces. The public security in the
district is not good, the public security in the street is problematic, no one is brave enough to do
what is right, where is Lei Feng? We soldiers shed blood and sweat for the country and the
people, and this is how our families are treated in the rear? Military families or martyrs' families,
is there a conspiracy? Are there hostile forces behind this?
An hour later, when Gu Dongwen received the letter from Wu Minglan and others and rushed to
the police station, he saw the chief of the police station holding Zhou Shanli's hand and shaking it
among a group of PLA soldiers. Jingsheng had his hands in his pockets with a calm look on his
face. Zhao Youning, with gauze on his face, looked confused. Si Jiang was holding Si Nan's hand
and was still accusing Liu Yu and his brothers.
Zhao Youning followed him back to Gu's house. Gu Dongwen tore off the gauze on his face in two
quick strokes: "It's just a little bit of skin broken. If you put it on, it will easily fester."
Zhou Shanli lifted Si Nan onto his shoulders and spanked her hard a few times: "You are so bold,
who taught you that? How dare you scare people with a knife? What if you really kill him? What
if you hurt yourself?"
"No big deal! I learned it from my eldest cousin! I am not wrong!" Sinan cried out: "My eldest
cousin used a knife to protect me, I can protect Brother Ningning too."
Zhao Youning felt ashamed and sad, his heart was like boiling oil, and he said in a hoarse voice:
"I'm sorry, it's all my fault."
"I don't blame you." Gu Dongwen slapped Jingsheng on the back. "And you, what do you mean
I'm on a business trip? Is your father useless? Want to go find your Uncle Zhou?"
Jingsheng remained calm and said, "You work on Wulumuqi Road and are not at home, so it can
be considered a business trip."
Zhou Shanli laughed: "Old Gu, you don't know how clever Jingsheng is."
"Bullying others by taking advantage of your power." Gu Dongwen sneered.
"Well, this is the first time in my life that I have bullied someone by taking advantage of my
power. It was worth it for the sake of a child." Zhou Shanli was a little proud: "It's pretty cool. I've
only been promoted for three months and I'm already useful. I'll show off my achievements to
Shanrang someday."
Gu Dongwen handed him two cigarettes and said, "I'll send my mother to see Si. No one should
mention this matter later, so as to avoid her worrying."
Si Nan leaned against Zhou Shanli's knees and blinked: "Uncle, don't tell my mom, okay?"
Gu Dongwen pinched her face and said, "You have to promise your uncle first that you will never
pick up a knife in the future."
"Even if we encounter bad guys?" Sinan was confused.
"No, let your brother Jingsheng take it." Gu Dongwen smiled and said, "Men need to be put to
use."
"What if my brother isn't here?" Si Jiang gritted his teeth and said, "Nannan is a little hero today.
Uncle, you can't criticize her. She is very, very brave. Really, I would never have thought of this."
Gu Dongwen waved his hand and said, "If you really encounter bad guys, the knives in your hands
will not pose much threat to them. Instead, they may kill you. You must listen to your uncle.
Remember?"
"Okay." Sinan was not convinced, but still nodded.
"My Nannan is really amazing." Gu Dongwen hugged Sinan and kissed her hard: "You should have
my last name, Gu. When you grow up a little more, let your brother teach you how to fight."
"I want to learn too!" Si Jiang was unwilling to fall behind.
Jingsheng grabbed Sinan's neck and said ruthlessly: "Chen Sinan, if you dare to take the knife
again, I will hang you on the street lamp."
Si Nan finally broke free from his clutches and ran to Zhao Youning, hugged his arm and shook it:
"Brother Ningning, you are the best today. You were beaten many times to protect me and you
didn't beg for mercy. You are so nice. I was really scared today. I was actually scared to death,
scared to death, wuwuwuwuwu——"
Jingsheng: “???”
Zhou Shanli: “???”
Zhao Youning accepted this greatest compliment with an awkward and guilty conscience, and
gently patted Sinan on the back: "It's okay, it's okay, don't be afraid, brother is here."
Si Jiang felt that someone had stolen her lines.
Zhao Youning looked around guiltily, feeling that he seemed to be the most unwelcome person.

Chapter 116
A fire wrapped in paper cannot be exposed. If you don't want people to know, don't do it
yourself.
"Have you heard about it? Gu Dongwen's niece, eight years old, picked up a machete and
slashed, Ha Sening Oh! (It's so scary)"
"Old Wang's chess friend was at the scene and saw it with her own eyes. She was as ferocious as
a little tiger. It was Gu Dongwen who taught her that it was okay for a child to kill Ning. Tsk tsk tsk.
(Old Wang's chess friend was at the scene... and she also said that it was Gu Dongwen who
taught her that it was okay for a child to kill someone.)"
"I knew it was Gu Dongwen's! (I knew it was Gu Dongwen's)"
"More than a decade ago, remember? Gu Dongwen killed people from Jing'an Temple to
Tilanqiao with just two machetes, and blood flowed like a river——"
"Rumor!" Xiao Weimin jumped up and said, "Bullshit! Fuck you! Brother Dongdong clearly didn't
have a knife. He was invited to the Revolutionary Committee when he reached Shimen Road.
How could he kill people all the way to Tilanqiao? What did you see with your asshole? (Bullshit,
fuck your mother... Which asshole of yours saw that?)"
"You little thing, you only know how to flatter. Go away."
Xiao Weimin had been arguing with someone for half an hour, but a fight was out of the
question. In Wanchun Street, except for the two brothers Gu Dongwen and Gu Beiwu who were
very barbaric and liked to use their fists, everyone else claimed to be civilized and only used
words instead of fists.
The story of eight-year-old Chen Sinan using a machete to hack people soon became the most
sensational news on Wanchun Street in recent years. The story became more and more
exaggerated and bizarre as it spread. There were stories about how he chopped off three fingers
with one knife and the ground was covered with blood. He chased the student from Wanhangdu
Road to Jing'an Park and forced the high school student to crawl into his pants. The family was
still very vicious after entering the police station, so they sent out armed People's Liberation
Army soldiers to surround the police station. They took advantage of the power of Gu Beiwu's
wife's family to get the student out. In the end, the high school student was in a terrible state. He
lost his fingers and became disabled. He was expelled from the swimming team, and he couldn't
do anything about the Gu family. He cried at home every day and trembled at the sight of a
watermelon.
When Grandpa Chen heard about this bully behavior of "taking advantage of power to bully
others", he almost had a heart attack. On the way home with Chen Sihao, his heartbeat was fast
and slow, and his eyes were black. No wonder! No wonder his chess friends have been avoiding
him recently, no wonder those children who play with Si are pulled away recently, no wonder
Grandma Li and Aunt Kang downstairs have strange eyes, reminding him to pay attention to the
children's education problems in words and deeds.
"Such a big thing, and you actually kept it a secret?!" After returning home, Grandpa Chen picked
up a teacup and smashed it on Chen Donglai: "Do you still want Si Hao to go to Xinjiang with you?
What has Chen Si Nan become in Xinjiang? He was already using a knife to kill people at the age
of eight. How can you be parents and teach your children?"
Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei were scolded for no reason and turned around and ran to Gu's house.
Gu Dongwen was not at home. Grandma Gu went out to buy groceries. The electric fan in the
living room was whirring. A group of children were sitting in a circle, studying mathematics. They
were very gentle, well-behaved, self-conscious and hardworking.
Zhao Youning was explaining the chicken and rabbit cage to Si Nan: "Now let's assume that the
cage is full of rabbits. Then 35 rabbits have 140 legs, which is 46 more than the 94 legs in the
question. So there are 23 chickens and 12 rabbits. Nan Nan is really smart. He understands it as
soon as I explain it."
Wang Sichu, who was about to enter the first grade of junior high school, didn't understand:
"Why are there 46 extra legs, which means there are 23 chickens? The extra ones are all chicken
feet?"
Sinan chattered away happily and acted as a little teacher.
Zhao Youning turned to Si Jiang again: "You need to use the associative law of operations to solve
this problem - hey, hello, Si Jiang's father, hello, Si Jiang's mother." He stood up suddenly and
clenched the pen in his hand. Thinking that the wound on his face had not healed yet, a thin layer
of sweat broke out on his forehead. He wondered if Si Jiang's parents would think he was a bad
boy.
Gu Ximei noticed the bruises on his face: "Who are you?"
"Mom, this is my elementary school classmate Zhao Youning. He has always been the top student
in the grade and entered the Second Affiliated High School of East China Normal University. He is
here to help us with math." Seeing that his parents looked unhappy, Si Jiang felt very nervous and
quickly took out the report card.
Wu Minglan, Wang Sichu, Sheng Fang and a few others stood up and called people politely.
Gu Ximei looked Zhao Youning up and down. The boy was very handsome, gentle and a little
familiar at first glance. With outsiders around, she suppressed her anger, tried to force a smile
and nodded to them.
Sinan jumped off the chair: "He is the most amazing brother Ningning, Mom, you know him, he
won a prize in the computer competition and was selected to go to Beijing to attend the training
of Prodigy University. Brother Ningning is the best, he teaches us math every day and doesn't
charge any money. He said I am very smart, and now I can do the questions of the Olympic
Mathematics Competition. Dad, let me test you to see if you can do it. There is a cage with
chickens and rabbits in it, a total of 35 heads and 94 feet--"
Chen Donglai coughed and interrupted her: "Okay, okay, you and Dad go downstairs, Mom and
Dad have something to ask you."
"Dad, who made you angry? You look so unhappy. Is it because my little brother is disobedient? I
will go and give him a good lesson tonight." Sinan waved his little fist.
Gu Ximei's anger, which she had suppressed with great difficulty, immediately flared up, and she
stretched out her hand to grab her little ear: "Who caused it? It was you! What trouble did you
get into these days? Tell the truth!" She turned her head and glared at Si Jiang.
Si Jiang ran over quickly: "Mom, listen to me, Nan Nan didn't get into trouble, this is what
happened-"
Chen Donglai seriously took Si Jiang's hand and said, "You should come with us, and we'll talk
about it later. We must make things clear today."
Jingsheng frowned and said, "Auntie, let me tell you, right here."
Gu Ximei said with a straight face: "No, you are the host, you accompany Xiao Zhao and the
others."
Sinan was dragged to the door, covering his ears and howling, "Mom, please be gentler, ahh ...
"Still talking nonsense!" Gu Ximei was furious: "When have you come back without getting into
trouble? You dare to chop people with a knife? Do you want to be a gangster or a murderer? How
did the police let you out! It's been more than a month since I took care of you, right? Hey? What
are you doing?"
But it was Zhao Youning who rushed forward and pried her hands apart. He was so nervous that
he was shaking slightly, but he did not flinch and pulled Si Nan behind him: "Auntie! Si Nan took
the fruit knife to cut ice bricks to help me. The gangsters came to beat me. There were four of
them beating me. You can see that my wounds are not healed yet. The police said that they
would send those gangsters to the juvenile detention center. It's really not Si Nan's fault, and it's
not our fault."
Chen Donglai frowned. He knew very well that three people could make a tiger. Seeing that the
man was confident and didn't seem to be lying, he asked Si Jiang again. Jingsheng rushed before
Si Jiang and said, "Auntie, uncle, this matter was actually caused by Si Jiang."
Everyone in the room, including Zhao Youning, was stunned.
"Brother, what did you say?" Si Jiang's heart was in her throat. Her first reaction was that her
brother would definitely do something naughty again. She didn't know how he would lie to Mom
and Dad. Anyway, no matter what he said, she would definitely cooperate. The worst that could
happen was that Mom would slap her a few more times.
Jingsheng looked at Wu Minglan and the others, revealing a hint of hesitation and
embarrassment.
Chen Donglai's heart tightened: "Then Jingsheng, you go down with us and tell us."
When she heard that it was related to Si Jiang, Gu Ximei became upset and grabbed Jing Sheng's
arm and asked, "There is nothing that cannot be said to others. Just tell it here and explain
clearly, how is it caused by Si Jiang?"
"Si Jiang went to learn swimming with her classmates. The hooligan said Si Jiang was very pretty,
so he sang pornographic songs to her." Jingsheng frowned and his voice softened.
Gu Ximei was furious: "What! What did that little naked guy sing?"
Jingsheng lowered his head: "What a deep kiss that makes him miss--" Before Gu Ximei could
react, he raised his head: "So Youning and I were very angry and went up to say a few words."
Gu Ximei's face flushed, her hands shaking with anger: "What are you talking about? The
undisciplined little hooligans must be beaten! If her father and I were here, we would definitely
ask Yi Qi to slap him! (We would definitely ask him to be slapped)"
Sinan agreed wholeheartedly. She looked up at her cousin and then at her mother, wondering
why the scenery seemed different.
"Well, he was about to attack after we said a few words to him, but Youning was so angry that
she pushed him away. Unexpectedly, he found three hooligans to beat Youning at night. Sinan
happened to be there. She was small and was forced to crawl into the crotch of the hooligan. She
couldn't bear it anymore, so she picked up a fruit knife. In fact, she didn't hurt the hooligan at all.
The police uncle said that even if she hurt someone, it was self-defense. I was afraid that you
would not be able to resist beating the little hooligan and make things worse, so I asked Uncle
Zhou to educate him in the police station." Jingsheng looked unfair: "Now the rumors outside are
a mess. It must be that the hooligan's family is dissatisfied and made it up."
Si Jiang then realized that what happened that night was actually caused by her. Her eyes turned
red and tears fell. She leaned against Chen Donglai and cried, "Dad, don't blame Nan Nan. It's all
my fault."
"How can it be your fault? You are not wrong, and neither is Nannan." Chen Donglai, a law-
abiding and honest engineer, was furious. His eldest daughter was molested by a hooligan, and
his youngest daughter was forced to crawl under his pants. She snatched a small fruit knife to
defend herself, but the rumors spread like this. Wasn't it bullying him and Ximei because they
were not in Shanghai? Didn't the neighbors in the alley know how good and obedient his sons
Sijiang and Sinan were? They actually said such heartbreaking words to the old man. How could
this be tolerated?
"Ximei, we have wrongly accused Sinan. Let's go to the police station now and talk to the
gangster's parents. They must apologize to us. No, they should apologize in the newspaper!"
Gu Ximei touched Si Nan's ear: "Does it still hurt?"
"It hurts, it hurts so much." Sinan looked pitiful with tears in his eyes. "I really wasn't naughty and
didn't cause any trouble, but I don't blame mommy. Mommy, you're doing this for my own good.
It doesn't matter if I'm in so much pain. Mommy, does your hand hurt? If it does, I'll help you
blow on it."
Gu Ximei collapsed immediately, squatted down and hugged Si Nan tightly, her tears and snot
covered Si Nan's shoulders, and then she stood up with gritted teeth: "My dear daughter, you
stay at home, mom and dad will go and settle the score with that little hooligan."
The couple came in very angry and left very angry, and the stairs made a bang-bang sound.
The children upstairs breathed a sigh of relief. Zhao Youning and Si Jiang looked at Jingsheng and
Si Nan with complicated expressions.
Jingsheng raised his eyelids nonchalantly and praised Zhao Youning: "A watermelon knife is of
course also a fruit knife. You have made progress."
Zhao Youning feels that he still has a lot of room for improvement.
Si Jiang touched Si Nan's ear and said, "Nan Nan, you are really better than Zhang Yu. When you
become an actress in the future, you can win five Best Actress awards."
Si Nan looked unhappy and waved his arms and made a few punches: "I don't want to be the
heroine, I want to be a shepherdess and go with Jueyuan to kill Wang Renze, ka ka ka..."
Everyone was speechless. Sinan turned around and hugged Jingsheng's arm: "Cousin, you must
not become a monk in the future. I want to marry you. We have already agreed on this, right?"
Jingsheng: “???” How come I don’t know?
Si Jiang: “!!!” Nan Nan hasn’t given up this terrible ideal yet!
Zhao Youning: "..." Cousins are close relatives and cannot get married. Should he be a bad guy
who tells the truth?
Chapter 117
Not long after Sinan returned to Xinjiang, Liu Yu's parents' apology notice appeared in the
newspaper.
Wanchun Street was in an uproar again. Xiao Weimin held his head high and blocked the
rumormongers, scolding them like crazy. He also dragged them to the Gu family to apologize. No
one dared not to go, because Gu Dongwen was standing next to Xiao Weimin, cutting a
watermelon. Yes, the legendary watermelon knife, cutting the legendary watermelon in his hand,
without any effort, just a light cut, and the watermelon was torn into pieces and the juice
splashed everywhere. Gu Dongwen smiled: "I said it must be sandy, look, it's ripe, come, Xiaomin
brother, cut a piece. (Eat a piece)"
Some people privately lamented that three generations of the Gu family have been fighting
against watermelons. Old Gu became a martyr for saving people in order to get back the public
watermelons. Gu Beiwu smashed a truckload of watermelons to earn a martyr title for his father.
Now the niece of the Gu family bravely fought against street thugs with a machete, and Gu
Dongwen cut and slashed like this, the watermelons should have psychological trauma.
What ordinary people don't know is that this little thing has attracted the attention of the city
leaders. The economy is booming, but the public security situation is not optimistic. The number
of fights, molesting and even murders has increased sharply. What is the reason? The most
energetic young people, aged 16 to 35, now have 5.2 million in Shanghai, of which more than
400,000 are unemployed. They are bored and wander in groups on the streets, causing trouble.
They fight at the slightest disagreement, which is particularly prone to accidents. Now even
children are deeply affected by it, and it is necessary to rectify it. So the next year, the top leaders
announced a "severe crackdown". The mass base in provinces and cities across the country is
very solid. The gangsters were tied up and paraded through the streets, and the onlookers
applauded. Sinan and his incident was just a small flap of the butterfly's wings.
September is the beginning of the new school year. Jingsheng is promoted to the second grade,
Sijiang is promoted to the first grade. Sinan is promoted to the fourth grade, still the youngest
student in the grade, and has been nicknamed a child prodigy.
As for the compliments from others, Si Nan shook his head because of Zhao Youning's godlike
presence: "Well, you have never seen a true child prodigy. I have seen one, but it's not me. I'm
just a little smart." Gu Ximei was so satisfied that she walked with the wind. Teachers and
students had forgotten her "atrocities" of beating her daughter until she bled. Parents and
teachers often asked her how she raised such excellent daughters. Si Jiang was able to get into
the city's key school 0.5 points higher than the score line. For the educated youth who stayed in
Aksu, it was incredible, which was equivalent to having one foot in a good university. Si Nan was
only nine years old and was in the fourth grade. His grades were still ranked first in the grade.
Even in a small place like Shajingzi Town, he could be regarded as a little genius.
Gu Ximei was being modest as she summarized, and gradually her speech became more and
more fluent, as if she really had a set of effective and logically self-consistent educational
theories.
"We can't be negligent at all. Even if we are not with our child, we must let her know that her
mother has a pair of invisible eyes watching her, so as to prevent her from taking detours."
"It's good to have a wide range of interests, but they can't affect learning. For example, my son Si
Jiang loves to read world classics, but he only has so much time, right? If you spend time reading,
your math grades will be affected. You can wait until you get into an ideal school and then see
what's better. So we parents need to analyze the priorities for our children, because they can't
see that far ahead."
"Slap him, of course. I spanked Sinan several times yesterday for being careless in a math test.
Yes, I deduct one point for one spanking. If I don't spank him, he won't remember. But it's only
effective if I spank him at the key points. Students? I won't spank students. Not every parent
would be willing to do that. Maybe they won't understand our hard work as teachers and blame
us."
"You have to keep an eye on them. Children have more thoughts when they grow up, and they
always have little secrets. What secrets can't be told to mom? If they can't be told to mom, there
must be something wrong. What if they are cheated? She blames me now, but she will know how
to thank mom in the future. If I don't care about it now, won't she blame mom when something
goes wrong in the future? They will understand when they become mothers themselves. Only
when you raise children will you understand the kindness of your parents."
In the end, even Chen Donglai believed that her words and deeds were not impulsive but well-
planned, and she no longer had a say in Chen Sihao's education.
Sinan imitated his mother's words on the phone, and his imitation was very lifelike. He almost
laughed out loud after finishing his words: "My mother made it seem so real that they all
believed it. In the end, I got the same question wrong on the math test this time, and I still lost
two points. She beat me for that question last time, and I got angry when I saw that question.
This time I didn't even look at it, hahahaha."
Si Jiang was amused by her and pulled the corner of his mouth. It was very funny, but not very
funny. She couldn't tell the reason. After her parents came back during the summer vacation,
they were very busy, busy looking for a kindergarten for her younger brother. Si Hao would go to
a daycare class next year. They looked at several schools and were not satisfied with them. They
were very satisfied with her this time, but they seemed to only stay on satisfaction. As for what
efforts she had made, what difficulties she had encountered, and what she would face in the new
school, they didn't care. Si Jiang occasionally imagined what her parents would say if she didn't
get into her first choice and was unlucky enough to go to an ordinary middle school. She was just
glad that there was no if in this world.
——
Children's ability to adapt to new environments varies from person to person. Si Jiang didn't sleep
well for several nights before school started. He dreamed that he failed all the tests. When he
woke up, he cried heartbrokenly. He knew every word on the test paper, but his mind was blank
and he couldn't write the answer. During the day, he didn't have the energy to seize the last bit of
summer vacation, so he carefully read Jingsheng's old textbooks and notes.
Grandma Gu cut a few pieces of red paper and asked her to put them on her forehead before
sleeping: "It's okay, it's just the year of the Tai Sui. Fortunately, you have been wearing red shorts.
Last time you met a gangster, nothing happened."
When Jingsheng saw her still flipping through a math book while eating, he couldn't help but
tease her: "It's rare to fail an exam in life, so it's nice to have a taste of it."
Si Jiang sighed, "That won't do. You've taught me so much, I'll cry my heart out if I fail. By the
way, will it be really difficult? Zhao Youning said that the baseline test is usually difficult."
Jingsheng recalled his situation last year, looked at Si Jiang with sympathy, and nodded.
Perhaps because he had scared himself enough, when he actually sat in the bright and spacious
classroom of Grade 1 (2), Si Jiang was not so nervous. The head teacher, Mr. He, was a young
political teacher who had just graduated from college. He raised his black-framed glasses every
three sentences and spoke Shanghainese very quickly with a smile on his face. Si Jiang felt that he
seemed to be more nervous than himself on the podium.
"I am ten years older than you. I hope to be friends with you, not just your teacher. If you have
any ideas, you are welcome to discuss them with me." Teacher Xiao He said cordially and held up
the roster: "Now let's take roll call. Everyone should sit in the first row from left to right according
to their student numbers. We will rearrange the seats after the baseline test. Students who have
height or vision problems can raise them."
Si Jiang was the last girl in the class: student number 20, sitting in the second row, third row. Her
deskmate, Li Nan, was a girl with a round face, round eyes, round nose, and upturned mouth. She
was sweet and cheerful, and her nickname was Nan Nan, which made Si Jiang feel particularly
close to her. Next to them sat boys No. 21 Lin Zhuoyu and No. 22 Xu Hao. Lin Zhuoyu was very
tall, and after the roll call, he switched seats with No. 41 Yu Ping. Si Jiang noticed that Xu Hao
kept his head down, with a magazine half in the desk drawer and half on his lap, turning the
pages very quickly. Because he had changed deskmates, he closed the magazine and put it in the
drawer. The light green magazine cover looked familiar. It was the "Legends of the Past and
Present" that her eldest cousin Chen Sijun was obsessed with.
After receiving the new books, the head teacher left the classroom. Later, teachers of various
subjects would take turns to assign homework for the new semester. The classroom suddenly
became lively. Many people were classmates in elementary school and greeted each other. Some
people were even classmates in kindergarten. Si Jiang looked around carefully. The person sitting
in the row in front of her was No. 11 Cheng Ying, who was in the same choir as her and graduated
from the First Center. She was an old acquaintance. She also knew No. 2 Guo Chengyi, the captain
of the Young Pioneers of the First Normal School Attached to the First Normal School. She often
met him in the district Young Pioneers activities. There were about seven or eight people from
the First Normal School Attached to the First Normal School in the class. They were the first to get
familiar with each other and talked and laughed around Guo Chengyi and Lin Zhuoyu in the last
row.
After a while, Zhou Qifang, a Chinese teacher with a slightly bald head, came in with a stack of
papers, wrote his name on the blackboard, and asked the students to go to the podium in order
of their student numbers to give a 30-second self-introduction. There was an uproar in the
classroom. Guo Chengyi raised his hand to express his objection: "Teacher Zhou, can we start
from the last male student in order of student numbers?"
Teacher Zhou laughed: "Good idea."
Some boys shouted from below: "Ladies first, ladies first."
Teacher Zhou waved his hand and said, "It's settled. Come on, Yu Ping, I'll give you two minutes to
prepare."
The girls started to applaud and Si Jiang couldn't stop laughing.
Yu Ping walked up to the podium in a nonchalant manner: "Hello everyone, I am No. 41 Yu Ping. I
mean Yu for depressed, although I am not very depressed. I mean Ping for peaceful, but I am not
very peaceful either. However, as the person with the worst score in the entrance examination, I
am happy to continue to be at the bottom of the Grade 1 (2) class. In addition, I am from
Chongming, and everyone is welcome to visit Chongming Island when you have time."
Everyone applauded. Teacher Zhou smiled and said, "Although everyone's student numbers are
arranged according to their admission scores, the results of one exam don't mean anything. In
addition, Yu Ping scored exactly 273 points, which is not too much, not too little. Teacher Zhou, I
definitely don't have this ability. I admire you."
The classmates burst into laughter. Si Jiang then realized that her number 20 meant that she had
the lowest score among the girls, and she became nervous again. At this time, the boy behind Yu
Ping patted him on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs up: "Model!" Yu Ping smiled and
nodded, and then nodded to Si Jiang: "Number 20? How many points did you get?"
"273.5." Si Jiang's face was slightly hot.
Yu Ping gave a thumbs up: "You are also a model."
Si Jiang couldn't help but smile. The new classmate was quite friendly.
Teacher Zhou went on to say, "Yu Ping is the only student in your four classes who got full marks
for his composition. From his self-introduction, we can see that he is a student with a strong
personality and literary talent, and he also has a good sense of humor. I hope he can maintain his
talent and personality in our school. OK, please invite student No. 40 to the stage."
Each person had 30 seconds, and most people just said their names, which primary school they
graduated from, and expressed their good wishes to integrate into the new collective. Teacher
Zhou, on the other hand, kept everyone excited with his witty remarks.
"Now it's the turn of the girls in our class to introduce themselves. Student No. 20, Chen Sijiang,
please come up."
There was a roar of warm applause in the classroom. Si Jiang stood up, raised his head slightly,
straightened his back, and walked briskly to the podium in front.
Chen Sijiang is so good-looking, his whole body glows. This is the first impression of the students
in Grade 1 (2) of Sijiang.

Chapter 118
The sycamore trees on Yuyuan Road are lush and green, the tram is running slowly, the bicycle
bells are ringing constantly, and a big gate separates the two worlds inside and outside.
The school building was painted a bright brick red. A new white house was being built to the east
of the small garden. It was said to be a reading room. The basketball court and football field were
empty. Some workers were building a platform on the playground. The opening ceremony would
be held tomorrow morning. Applause and laughter could be heard from the classrooms. More
than 20 chefs were busy in the kitchen of the cafeteria. Baskets of fresh meat buns were poured
into large plates. It was almost time for the break. The Shixi fresh meat buns, which were famous
in the city's education system, had always been a favorite of teachers and students.
On the podium of the Grade 1 (2) class, Si Jiang smiled at the audience: "Hello everyone, I am
Chen Sijiang, Erdong Chen, Si as in Sirenduqiuxiu, and Jiang as in Huangpujiang. I like reading and
drawing, and hope to become good friends with you all. Thank you."
The audience was silent for a while before bursting into applause. Teacher Zhou smiled and said,
"Don't worry, Chen Sijiang, our schoolmates will definitely not become exhausted, because the
fresh meat buns in our cafeteria are so delicious."
Everyone burst into laughter. Lin Zhuoyu raised his hand and shouted, "Teacher Zhou, we haven't
received our meal tickets yet! We can't eat."
Teacher Zhou looked at his watch and said, "Don't worry, Teacher He won't let you go hungry. He
went to get his meal tickets when I arrived. By the way, I suggest you take it step by step. Girls,
just eat one bun this semester, because by the time you are in your third year of high school,
most of you will eat three buns. You have to evenly distribute the weight you gain to each school
year."
Several girls were already laughing so hard that they fell on their desks. Si Jiang's favorable
impression of Teacher Zhou was also rising. She was about to go back to her seat with a smile
when Teacher Zhou called her back.
"Students, let me add one more thing on behalf of Chen Sijiang. As the examiner of the Chinese
language test for primary school students in the district, I was very impressed by Chen Sijiang's
composition. Her composition was one point away from full marks because of a typo."
Si Jiang was stunned, and his blood boiled as he looked at Teacher Zhou in front of him, who
looked a bit like Maitreya Buddha.
"From her composition, I can see the Chinese language level of a junior high school student or
even a high school student, a level that can only be achieved through extensive reading." Teacher
Zhou said with a smile, "What a coincidence! My first requirement for you is to read, a lot of
reading. There are still five minutes before the break. The self-introductions of the other 19
female students will be put off until the next class. Now I will first distribute the required reading
list and the recommended reading list."
There was a scream in the classroom, and someone even shouted exaggeratedly: "Nonononono
——"
Teacher He knocked on the classroom door and said, "Teacher Zhou, I'm sorry, can I hand out the
meal tickets?"
"Please, please, please." Teacher Zhou was happy: "Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao will appear."
When Si Jiang returned to her seat, her heart was still pounding, and she was still thinking about
what Teacher Zhou said. This was the first time she was recognized and praised for reading. It was
a guiding light. Cheng Ying in the front row passed a thick stack of papers to her and winked at
her: "No wonder you quit the choir."
Si Jiang blushed, took out two cards and put them in the drawer, turned around and passed the
rest to the back seat.
After a while, Teacher He called her name.
Si Jiang took the meal ticket with the paper clip and said thank you, but Teacher He lowered his
voice and asked: "Chen Si Jiang, is the five yuan meal ticket enough for you? If you have any
difficulties, remember to tell the teacher."
"I-I don't have any problems--" Si Jiang was caught off guard by the head teacher's concern, his
face flushed and he almost stuttered: "My brother and I don't eat lunch at school--"
The girls in the first row looked over and whispered to each other with a smile. Si Jiang fled with
his five-dollar meal ticket in his hand.
Soon the bell rang for the end of get out of class.
"Would you like to go to the toilet together?" Li Nan invited enthusiastically, "After you go to the
toilet, we can go to the cafeteria together."
Cheng Ying in the front row also turned around and said with a smile: "Let's go together." Several
girls in the first row also stood up: "Let's go, one by one."
Seven or eight girls ran to the female toilet with laughter, and Si Jiang was dragged into the crowd
by Li Nan without knowing it. She had always been a class cadre in elementary school, and was
responsible for duty during breaks to prevent people from chasing and fighting in the corridor. In
order not to delay her duties, she almost never drank water and rarely went to the toilet at
school, and she had never experienced the situation of going to the toilet as a group of girls in
the class. This was probably one of the reasons why others thought she was aloof.
"Chen Sijiang, tell me what you use to wash your hair? How come your hair is so black and shiny?
It's really glowing and glittering!" Li Nan stretched out his claws and danced in the air twice,
begging impatiently: "Can you let me touch it? Just once, and I promise not to let you lose a
single hair."
"I want to touch it, too." Zhang Leyi, who was sitting in the first row, called out in a familiar voice,
"You don't know, when she walked past me onto the podium, her braids swayed and her hair was
so shiny, so pretty."
Si Jiang tilted his head awkwardly: "I just washed it with soap, you can touch it however you
want."
Three or four hands covered Si Jiang's head, rubbing and caressing it carefully, combing her
ponytail, and then pinching and rubbing it. Si Jiang didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and kept
her head still: "Is it done?"
Li Nan screamed in surprise and stamped his feet in ecstasy: "Dad and Mom! How can I have such
fine hair? It's not something a human should have. It's so slippery that I can't even grab it! Woo
woo woo, why do I always have yellow hair? It's soft, fine and rough!"
Zhang Leyi reluctantly let go of Si Jiang's ponytail: "It feels so good. I also want to touch your face.
What should I do?" She was so excited: "Ahhh, I'm in the same class with such a pretty girl, just
two rows away. Hahahaha, I'm so happy."
Cheng Ying didn't reach out to abuse Si Jiang, but she was also amused by Li Nan and bent over
with laughter: "Hey, you country bumpkins who have never seen the world, Alas Jiang is the best
looking in the choir, right? She is beautiful from head to toe, she is a little beauty, and Chen Si
Jiang is a little fairy of the China Welfare Foundation."
Guo Chengyi also nodded with a smile: "Yes, Chen Sijiang was famous for her beauty in
elementary school."
Si Jiang didn't like people's compliments on her appearance. After all, she felt that she had
already progressed to the stage of pursuing a beautiful soul. Upon hearing this, she just patted
Cheng Ying lightly and said, "Stop talking nonsense. Is there any other women's restroom?
There's a long line here."
"Let's go to the first floor. The first floor is full of offices and the women's restroom has the least
people," Guo Chengyi suggested.
The girls talked and laughed as they walked downstairs.
"Chen Sijiang——"
Si Jiang turned around and smiled like a flower: "Brother!"
The three boys around Gu Jingsheng immediately shouted: "Ahhh - Sister, which class are you in?
(Which class are you in?)"
Jingsheng turned around and glared at them, and they burst into laughter.
Zhang Leyi saw Gu Jingsheng, grabbed Li Nan's hand and pinched it twice: "Am I dreaming? Why
doesn't it hurt?"
Li Nan shook her hand off angrily: "Because you were holding my hand."
Jingsheng walked down a few stairs, nodded to the girls around Sijiang, and put the lunch box in
Sijiang's hand: "The cafeteria is crowded, don't go. I bought you two meat buns. Let's meet at the
gate after school at noon. Don't run around."
"Hmm, hmm. Thank you, brother. Have you cut it yet? (Brother, have you eaten it?)"
"Cut and eat."
Watching Gu Jingsheng's back disappearing around the corner, Si Jiang discovered that his
classmates were really as unworldly as Cheng Ying said, especially the smallest one, Zhang Leyi,
who was almost drooling.
She opened the lid of the box and handed it to Zhang Leyi: "Cut it? Give me one. You are
drooling."
The aroma of meat buns filled the corridor. Zhang Leyi pushed open her lunch box, her eyes
shining: "Chen Sijiang, was that handsome guy your brother?"
"It's my brother."
"How tall is he? Very tall."
"In the second year of junior high school, he is on the swimming team."
"How come he is so handsome? I like him. Hey, can I like your brother?"
It was the first time that Si Jiang met such a warm and open female classmate. He was shocked:
"Don't even think about it. My brother said that he doesn't like girls."
"What?" "Why?" "How could it be?" "Are you kidding me?" "I heard that there is a kind of man in
foreign countries who only likes men, and they are all particularly good-looking men——"
"My brother only likes to study! Thank you!" Si Jiang felt that joining the team to go to the toilet
together was a difficult task. Fortunately, she didn't really want to go to the toilet.
Guo Chengyi had seen Gu Jingsheng before, and when he saw them rushing up to Si Jiang to get
to the bottom of it, he couldn't help but smile and shake his head. It seems that beauty is the
root of trouble, and it's the same for both men and women.
The women's restroom on the first floor was very spacious. As soon as you entered the room, you
saw a whole row of lockers with numbers on them. Three girls were sitting on two long wooden
chairs chatting. Inside were light green cubicles with white shutters. The colorful mosaic tiles
were a bit old but very clean. There was no stench like in the primary school restroom that could
be smelled from 50 meters away.
When Si Jiang was eating the second meat bun, he asked himself a soul-searching question:
"What's wrong with me? Why am I eating a meat bun in the women's restroom?"
Girls' friendship often comes too fast, like a tornado. They can become best friends just by going
to the bathroom together, queuing together, watching a movie together, and listening to a song
together. Of course, this friendship often goes away quickly, like a tornado. A glance, a gesture, or
a boy can cause the friendship to capsize. However, 13- and 14-year-old boys and girls never get
tired of it, turning every second of superficial affection and sadness into a profound philosophy,
and into the edges of youth.
At noon after school, many girls in the Grade 1 (2) class had already given each other nicknames
that suggested intimacy. "Fairy" Chen Sijiang, "Happy Fruit" Zhang Leyi, "Pumpkin" Li Nan,
"Grasshopper" Guo Chengyi, and "Little Lark" Cheng Ying, they had formed a small group because
they went to the toilet together, ate fresh meat buns together, and were friends with Gu
Jingsheng.
Jingsheng was waiting for Si Jiang at the school gate while pushing his bicycle. When he saw her
coming out surrounded by the group of girls, he waved at her: "Si Jiang, this way."
"Hello, Brother Si Jiang." Three or four girls surrounded him with smiles on their faces.
Si Jiang smiled and introduced his good friends to him: "This is my deskmate Li Nan, also
nicknamed Nan Nan, this is Zhang Leyi, the happy fruit of our class, this is Cheng Ying who sits in
front of me, and we are friends in the choir, and this is..."
Jingsheng was a little confused and forced a smile. This scene seemed familiar.
When he was in Shajingzi Town, Chen Sinan would drag five or six girls around him every day.
They would yell at each other incessantly and charge 10 cents for admission to see him, and even
more for delivering letters.
I don’t know how many dimes Chen Sijiang sold him for.

Chapter 119
The bicycle turned along Yuyuan Road and turned onto Urumqi North Road. When passing Yugu
Village, Sijiang was stunned for a moment. She felt a little stupid. She never thought that the
school and Fang's house were so close. Didn't connect the two things.
She could no longer remember what Fang Shuren looked like, but she remembered that she had
once yelled at her in the International Hotel, asking her why she didn't want to marry her uncle.
The thirteen-year-old Chen Sijiang now knew the reason very well. Fang Shuren didn't love her
uncle. As for whether her uncle loved her, Sijiang couldn't be sure, but her uncle and her aunt
were definitely in love, and they were suitable for each other, a match made in heaven like Darcy
and Elizabeth. Sijiang suddenly secretly thanked Fang Shuren for not marrying her, otherwise,
how sad her aunt would be.
The bicycle slowed down. Jing Chang stretched out his legs and leaned on the curb. He carefully
looked at the house number on the green iron gate. After confirming that it was correct, he
turned around and said, "Where are you wandering to? We're here."
Si Jiang woke up as if from a dream and quickly jumped out of the car: "Yeah, it's right next to our
China Welfare Foundation, so close to the school!"
The sound of car horns rang out behind them. Jingsheng and Sijiang turned around and saw Zhou
Shanli leaning out of the window of the old Volga. "I followed you guys as soon as I turned the
corner at the traffic light. You didn't even see me?" He patted his car door. "You didn't even take a
look at such a beautiful car? Tsk tsk tsk!"
When Si Jiang saw Zhou Shanli, he thought of Shanrang and ran over with a smile: "Uncle Zhou, is
it too much trouble for us to have lunch at your house?"
"Oh, how could that be!" Shanli parked the car directly on the side of the road: "I just moved
here not long ago, and I just happen to be in need of a boy or girl to warm up the house,
hahahaha." The most important thing is that he can eat at the Dongsheng Canteen, which is so
cool.
The three of them met and entered the iron gate, inside which was a brand new gray-white
apartment building.
“Is this place very close to your school?”
"Well, it only takes five minutes by bike." Jingsheng looked at his watch: "I don't know if my dad
can find this place. I'll come down to pick him up later."
"No need, he has been here to drink several times." Zhou Shanli walked upstairs carelessly: "This
is the new officers' dormitory built by the headquarters. Most of the people living here have
families. I see two families with children about your age. Maybe one of them is your classmate."
After going up to the third floor, Shanli just opened the door when the neighbor's door opened
and someone called out, "Uncle Zhou?"
"Hey, it's Shin-chan, are you out of school too?"
The tall and strong boy stared at Si Jiang and laughed: "You are Chen Si Jiang, right? Gu Jingsheng,
don't you recognize me? I am Ren Xinyou, the captain of the Children's Army Team. We caught
lobsters together in Longhua two years ago."
It took Zhou Shanli a long time to remember that this was the case. Si Jiang finally connected the
boy in front of him with the little water bully of that year, and smiled politely: "Hello." Jingsheng
looked at him and nodded because he looked familiar.
"You don't have to go to school today?" Ren Xinyu asked, and then he suddenly realized: "Are you
also from Shixi?"
"You too?" Si Jiang opened his eyes wide, this was too much of a coincidence.
"Come in, let's talk inside first." Zhou Shanli was happy: "I didn't expect it to be such a
coincidence that you two could get together."
——
Zhou Shanli's dormitory was very spacious, with a living room and a bedroom facing south, two
balconies facing Yan'an West Road, a kitchen, dining room, small room and bathroom facing
north, and a storage room of five or six square meters next to the kitchen. The floor was brick-red
cement, and the walls were light green. Si Jiang thought of the ward in the 85th Hospital where
she was hospitalized, and suspected that this light green was a unified feature of military
housing. She couldn't help but reach out and touch it, fortunately she didn't peel off the wall
paint.
Si Jiang pushed open the French door of the living room and walked onto the balcony. He turned
his head and saw the large lawn of the China Welfare Fund Children's Palace across the street. A
row of sparrows were resting on the power lines and chirping. A magnolia in another alley
downstairs had grown almost to the second floor of the building, spreading a vibrant green.
This is probably the most beautiful place Si Jiang could imagine. Everything is so perfect. The
kitchen walls are covered with white tiles and use pipeline gas. Fire comes out as soon as you
turn on the switch. The bathroom uses a white basin and flush toilet, as well as a bathtub. You
don't need to hide behind the bed to wash your body, nor do you need to move a wooden
bathtub to boil water. You don't even need to go to the public bathroom. Every room has a large
glass window, bright and spacious. The bedroom is very large, with room for a desk, and even a
sofa set without being crowded.
This was also the first time that Si Jiang clearly felt the gap between the cramped old shantytown
house and the new public housing, and vaguely understood why Third Mother Qian Guihua
always looked down on Wanchun Street. But then he thought again, thinking that Third Mother,
who grew up in a Shikumen house with independent coal and toilet, had grown up to be such a
petty citizen who was materialistic, vulgar, and even unkind, and Si Jiang let it go.
She returned to the house and saw the empty living room. She felt sorry for Zhou Shanli. If her
uncle and aunt could live here, the three walls would probably be filled with bookcases.
"Uncle Zhou, my aunt is really amazing!"
Zhou Shanli was just regretting that he hadn't bought some snacks and drinks to treat them in
advance. He was stunned when he heard this nonsense: "Why?"
"She doesn't dislike my grandmother's house or Wanchun Street at all." Si Jiang concluded with a
moved look on his face: "The power of love is really great."
Zhou Shanli burst into laughter. Jingsheng glanced at Si Jiang, twitched his lips, and couldn't help
but burst out laughing: "You said Si Nan is suitable to be an actor, what kind of weird lines are you
saying?"
Si Jiang blushed: "What are you laughing at? You boys don't understand at all, really."
Ren Xinyu scratched his head and said, "I understand a little bit. Anyway, after we moved here, I
missed our old house at 1592 Beijing West Road. I felt that it was not very nice. I would definitely
not want to move back there."
Si Jiang unexpectedly found an ally. Although what he said was not exactly the same as what he
said, he was a little happy: "Yes, you are much better than them. At least you roughly understand
what I mean. Hey, you and my brother are classmates. Haven't you met before?"
"I've seen him before, but I didn't recognize him." Ren Xinyu said with a smile, "We were not in
the same class, and our classrooms were not on the same floor. We also didn't have the same
physical education class. I was on the basketball team and he was on the swimming team, so we
rarely ran into each other after school."
Jingsheng nodded indifferently, put the dishes in place, and looked up at Ren Xinyou, thinking
that this person was a bit strange. Seeing that other people were going to eat, shouldn't he
automatically say goodbye? In fact, he had long forgotten this person's name and appearance.
When a teenager was thirteen or fourteen years old, he was growing up. Although he had seen
him many times in school, he never remembered him.
Si Jiang was very polite in talking to Ren Xinyu. Jingsheng sat down and picked up an evening
paper to read, listening to Si Jiang racking his brains to ask Ren Xinyu questions that he had asked
him dozens of times before, such as what was in physical education class and when were the
spring and autumn sports games usually held. Fortunately, before Ren Xinyu finished his
enthusiastic answer, Gu Dongwen arrived. Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief and stood up: "Oh, I'm
sorry, my uncle brought us food, and I'm afraid he didn't bring enough for you, why don't you go
sit in the living room for a while?"
Jingsheng lifted up the newspaper to cover half of his face and managed to hold back his
laughter. He really didn't expect that Chen Sijiang could also speak in a sarcastic way.
Si Jiang stared at him in confusion, not knowing what he was laughing at. His eyes were obviously
curved with laughter, and he was still holding the newspaper to pretend.
"No, no, I have to go home to eat too. I just came out to take out the trash. Oh, I forgot about it.
I'll go first. You guys eat. Will you all come to Uncle Zhou's place for lunch in the future? Then we
can go together." Ren Xinyu blushed, scratched his head several times, and said goodbye
automatically.
"We came here by bicycle." Jingsheng put on a distant smile, sent him out the door, and politely
introduced him to Gu Dongwen.
Ren Xinyou felt lost for a moment, then he looked at the iron door that had been closed again,
and then he pulled himself together again. He returned home in high spirits with his eyes shining.
Soon, a lion's roar came from the house: "Why did you bring the garbage back again? Are you
crazy?"
——
The table was filled with salted chicken, scrambled eggs with cucumber, stir-fried red rice and
amaranth, braised pork ribs with scallions, and a steamed sea bass.
Gu Dongwen also brought a large bottle of homemade iced sour plum soup and poured a full
glass for Zhou Shanli. The two clinked their glasses and treated it as wine.
"I won't say thank you or anything. As long as my restaurant is open, you can come and eat
anytime. Just tell me what you want to eat."
"Hey, why be polite to family members? You're a high school student, and your time is precious.
My place is empty anyway, so just come over. It's better if you come here to eat in the evening. I
just like the hustle and bustle." Zhou Shanli was very proud of his stroke of genius, and thanks to
Shanrang's good words, he escaped five blind dates in exchange for sumptuous meals every day.
It was such a good deal.
"By the way, the school toilet stinks." Zhou Shanli winked at Si Jiang: "From now on, just hold it in
and use the toilet here. It's more convenient and doesn't let outsiders waste money."
Si Jiang was nearly choked by a fish bone. She coughed twice, blushed, and shook her head: "The
toilets in our school are very clean, not smelly at all." It's so pitiful. Why did Uncle Zhou talk
about going to the toilet while eating? It's really... She suddenly understood why Uncle Zhou had
never gotten married.
Jing Shengsijiang finished his meal in no time and went to the living room to read a book. The
two discussed that they could use the extra hour at noon to do some homework.
"We don't go back for dinner. I don't know what will happen to grandma. She must be very
uncomfortable." Si Jiang was a little melancholy again: "I am a little worried."
"Today, grandma and a few old ladies went to the Jade Buddha Temple to burn incense and
perform rituals. Tomorrow is the Ghost Festival." Jingsheng glanced at her and said, "When
grandma talked about this yesterday, you were reading a book. You just knew it."
"I was wrong, brother." Si Jiang wisely clasped his hands together and begged for mercy.
"Tsk, you never change despite repeated admonitions."
When the two of them went downstairs to return to school, Gu Dongwen and Zhou Shanli were
still having dinner. The restaurant was filled with smoke, and the two older single men were
sharing their experiences of escaping blind dates, laughing out loud from time to time.
"Will your uncle come tomorrow? The store is the busiest at this time, right?"
"No, I'm going to ride my bike to the store to get food. You wait here for me. Didn't Uncle Zhou
give you a set of door keys?"
"No, my brother and I will go get it together. You can't do it alone. There is strength in numbers."
"Speak properly and don't show off your knowledge all the time."
"Oh, I want to be with my brother."
"Are you annoying? Why do you have to repeat it again?"
"You told me to be nice, but Agon is the most annoying."
"Get in the car and sit tight."
The bicycle swayed slowly towards Yuyuan Road. The sunlight shone through the gaps in the
leaves of the sycamore trees, casting fine and dense rays of light on them. For some reason, the
two of them started arguing again, and the argument ended with Si Jiang's voice rising slightly,
playfully and coquettishly saying "Brother——"
Chapter 120
When Si Jiang returned to the classroom, the ceiling fan was crackling and the students were
busy. A piece of newspaper was pasted on the small square glass window at the back door of the
classroom. A group of boys were playing poker, and another group was playing Four Nations War.
From time to time, there were shouts and laughter. A few of them were lying on the table taking
a nap. The girls in the front row were basically all there, and several of them were talking to Guo
Chengyi.
"Fairy, come here quickly." Li Nan smiled and pulled Si Jiang to the first row: "What did you eat
for lunch? I bought a piece of fried pork chop in the cafeteria. It was so delicious that I had to add
a bowl or two of rice. I guess I will be too fat in three months, not just the third year of junior
high school." She has a round face and a round body, otherwise she would not be nicknamed
"Pumpkin".
"I also ate pork ribs, braised pork ribs with scallions." Si Jiang smiled and pinched Li Nan's round
face. Ah, it was smooth and soft, very much like Si Hao. Unfortunately, Si Nan had been very thin
since childhood, so no meat could be pinched out.
Cheng Ying was writing something on her seat. When she heard this, she raised her head and
smiled, "Don't worry, Pumpkin. No matter how much you eat, you will only become a big
pumpkin, but never a winter melon." Li Nan was so angry that he lay on the desk to tickle her.
Si Jiang couldn't help laughing when she thought of Si Nan's birth, but she would never reveal A
Mei's "winter melon" secret to anyone. Zhang Leyi went back to her grandparents' house on
Zhenning Road to eat. She was eager to ask Si Jiang about Jing Sheng, but before she could ask a
few questions, the bell for class rang.
The boys scattered, the newspapers on the glass windows were torn off, many people jumped
out from the last row, the tables were banged, the chair legs rubbed against the floor with a
teeth-grinding squeaking sound, and the girls turned back to protest at the same time.
"Hey, stop dragging the chairs. It sounds so ugly!"
"Why are you boys so lazy? Can't you just pick it up and put it down gently?"
Si Jiang returned to her seat, only to see Yu Ping, who was standing across a narrow aisle from
her, waking up from a nap and stretching. There were a few dents on his face caused by the
paper. She glanced over and saw that the blank spaces on the must-read book list that he had
pressed against were filled with line drawings of ancient figures in the style of Wu Daozi. The
folds on the wide sleeves were exactly what she had copied carefully, except that there were
some suspicious water marks on them.
"Ouch, I'm sorry." Yu Ping quickly retracted his hand, his mind still confused, not sure whether he
had hit Chen Sijiang just now.
"It's okay." Si Jiang was curious and wanted to ask him where he learned to paint, but when he
saw the algebra teacher coming in with a thick stack of things, he had to sit up straight and
prepare for class.
"Nice to meet you all. I'm your algebra teacher. My last name is Fang. It takes ten years to grow a
tree, and a hundred years to raise a person. My name is Fang Shuren. On this earth built of
mathematics, I hope you can like mathematics as much as I do." Fang Shuren turned around and
wrote his name on the blackboard. He smiled and picked up the roster: "Now I will start calling
the roll. Students who are called, please stand up so I can introduce themselves. Thank you."
Si Jiang's mind went blank, and she slowly recalled what Teacher Zhou had said that morning:
"Speak of the devil, and he will appear." She had just thought of this former sister Fang on her
way home from school at noon, and then she became her math teacher in the afternoon? Is
there really such a coincidence in the world?
"Number 20——" Fang Shuren's voice stopped: "Chen Sijiang?"
"Here." Si Jiang jumped up straight, her knees slamming against the drawer. Her face was tense
and she tried to purse her lips to reveal a smile.
"Okay, please take a seat." Fang Shuren's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then he
lowered his head and continued, "Number 21, Lin Zhuoyu."
"Here! Hello, Teacher Fang!"
Si Jiang sat back in his seat and lowered his head to look at the open algebra book.
"Okay, there are 41 students in our Grade 1 (2) class. The average score of the class in the
entrance exam is 95.5 points, ranking second in the whole grade. It can be seen that everyone
has a solid foundation in elementary school mathematics. Next Monday we will conduct a math
test. Don't be nervous. There will be no ranking in this test." Fang Shuren said with a smile, his
eyes swept across Si Jiang several times, but he only saw the top of her shiny black head.
Students in the classroom breathed a sigh of relief, and many shouted: "Oh my god, I was so
scared, fortunately it's okay."
Fang Shuren couldn't help but laugh: "But this time the test is a joint test of five schools across
the district, and the questions are jointly set by Yan'an Middle School, the Second Affiliated
Middle School of East China Normal University, Datong Middle School, the Third Girls' Middle
School of the City, and our school——"
"Ahhhhhhhh—dead, dead." A wailing sounded.
Cheng Ying turned back from the front row, made a dead look, shook her head and turned back.
Li Nan stared at the electric fan above his head with his eyes raised to the sky, put his hands
together and made a wish: "Oh my God, please let me pass, Amitabha, God bless me!"
Si Jiang took a deep breath. She thought she had made a lot of progress in math, but she didn't
expect that her score in the entrance examination was still below average. The confidence she
had built up with great difficulty was gone in an instant. She could only clench her fists and say to
herself in her heart, "Come on, I must pass the exam."
Fang Shuren's voice was gentle and steady with a hint of teasing: "Don't be nervous, and don't
set your goals too high. Last year's math test average score for the entire grade was 57. I hope
you can surpass last year's score this year."
The mentality of the entire Grade 1 (2) class collapsed. What kind of devil teacher is this? She
looks so gentle and pretty, but what kind of devil subject is this! Algebra, algebra, bullshit.
Fortunately, the geometry teacher, Ms. Ji, was an old lady with a strong Suzhou accent. Her hair
was already gray and she was very petite. When she said "Nang Na Hang" (How are you guys),
she almost made the whole class faint with sweetness.
"You must study hard. Time is very precious. You are only in the first grade today (don't think it's
only the first grade today). In a blink of an eye, you will be in the third grade and have to take the
high school entrance examination. You will definitely be in trouble if you cram at the last minute.
Also, algebra and geometry are the same subject. If you take separate classes, you will have to
take the same test paper with a total score of 120 points. You must not be biased, understand?"
Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief. Although Teacher Ji was nagging a lot, it made people feel less
nervous. It was just that he needed to think about the Suzhou dialect.
At the last class, the class teacher He Hongwei returned to the classroom and announced the
process of the opening ceremony tomorrow morning. Chen Sijiang was responsible for holding
the sign to enter the venue, Lin Zhuoyu was responsible for leading the exercises, Guo Chengyi
and Tang Zenian from Class 4 spoke as representatives of the freshmen. They had to stay to check
the speeches and supplemented the major events of this semester that they had not finished
talking about in the morning. The class football, volleyball and basketball leagues will start in mid-
September, and the school sports meeting will be in mid-to-late October. Everyone will
participate in at least two events, followed by mid-term exams, autumn outings at the end of
November, school-wide art performance competitions in early January, final exams at the end of
January, and winter vacation in early February. There are also blackboard newspaper
competitions, English oral competitions, and speech competitions every month. On Fridays, the
school will distribute statistics on extracurricular interest classes. Everyone must take at least one
compulsory course and one elective course.
Si Jiang's notebook was full of notes, and she was very excited. Li Nan looked over curiously, and
said with a snicker, "No need to write it down. Teacher He will notify us in advance. You are too
serious." Si Jiang couldn't help but laugh, and felt that she was a little silly. There were so many
activities in junior high school. Every time she wrote an item, she would imagine the grand
occasion, as if she had already participated in it once in advance. The class schedule was sent out
in the morning. There was no morning self-study or evening self-study. There were half-day
classes on Saturdays, and class activities in the afternoon. The third and fourth periods on
Tuesday morning were swimming classes, and everyone had to return to school after the
swimming classes.
——
In the evening, Jingsheng took a shower and changed his clothes outside, and saw Si Jiang still
working hard at the dining table.
"What are you still doing?"
"Draw a timetable." Si Jiang held up the colorful timetable in his hand: "Does it look good? Stick it
inside the pencil case and it won't fall off. Brother, do you want me to draw one for you too?"
Jingsheng wiped his hair with the towel in his hand, swung it down, and brushed it across
Sijiang's nose: "Elementary school students are so boring. You have nothing to do. Have you
prepared for tomorrow's class?"
"I've prepared for the class. There are two things I don't understand in algebra and geometry, so
I'm waiting for you." Si Jiang posted the schedule nonchalantly: "The classmate sitting next to me
is so funny. He took a nap and slept all over the computer. But he's a great painter. It turns out
that he has been learning painting from a painter and is now learning sketching. By the way, he is
the only one in our first grade who got full marks for the composition in the entrance exam to
junior high school."
Si Jiang raised his head and smiled brilliantly: "I love our school so much, and our classmates in
our class. Ah, how come they are all so good? They are a hundred times better than I thought!
Brother, are the people in your class fun? Are the three people I met on the stairs today your
good friends?"
Jingsheng took out her algebra and geometry textbooks: "Why do you look like a country
bumpkin who came to the city? In elementary school, you thought this and that were good, what
was good about them? You are still like this after entering junior high school, thinking everything
is good and good. Classmates are classmates, what is fun or not fun about them?" He felt
troubled when he thought of Xu Fei and the others crying and shouting to recognize Si Jiang as
their sister. With an idea in his mind, he tapped the table with his index finger: "The one who got
full marks for the composition and can draw is your chubby classmate today. What's his name?
Pumpkin?"
Si Jiang was stunned and laughed so hard that he fell forward and backward: "Pumpkin! Li Nan, I
will tell her tomorrow that you actually remembered her name, she will be so happy. You always
got Lanlan and Chuchu's names wrong before, calling them Wu Silan and Wang Mingchu."
Jingsheng frowned and narrowed his eyes as he looked at her.
Si Jiang tried to stop laughing: "It's not her, she is my deskmate. The boy next to me is called Yu
Ping. He is even better than me. He scored 273 points! He hit the passing line exactly, isn't it
amazing?" She thought about it and couldn't help but smile sweetly: "He is also good-looking."
"Um?"
Si Jiang stuck out his tongue, took out a notebook and a pen, "Of course not as good-looking as
Brother Nong. Hey, the boys and girls in our class are not ugly, they are all pretty, much better
than in elementary school." She raised her head and widened her eyes, "Brother, you don't know,
Lin Zhuoyu in our class is taller than you! Pumpkin said that during the lunch break, many girls
from other classes came to our classroom to see him. He is also very handsome and famous. He
is very good at football and basketball. Brother, did you participate in the football and basketball
class league last year?"
Jingsheng pursed his lips and glanced at her: "I didn't participate." Because the practice and
competition time conflicted with his swimming training.
Si Jiang looked disappointed: "Ah - then I won't be able to see my brother play in this year's
league. They also asked me to join the volleyball team and basketball. I have never played
volleyball or basketball, and I don't understand the rules." She turned around and became happy
again: "But Lin Zhuoyu said it's okay. Their men's team will take our women's team to train
together. If they train, you don't have to wait for me to go home together. I will go with my
classmates."
Jingsheng looked at Sijiang's long eyelashes, and after a moment of silence, he asked, "What
don't you understand?"
Si Jiang was startled: "Oh, oh, yes, algebra and geometry, here, here——"

Chapter 121
At 7:30 in the morning of early September, the sun was shining on my body, and I felt like a warm
cat lying on my body. Fang Shuren sang the national anthem absentmindedly with the crowd:
"We will hold high the banner of Mao Zedong for thousands of years and march forward! Hold
high the banner of Mao Zedong and march forward! March forward! March forward!" I heard
that the lyrics of the national anthem will be changed back at the end of the year. I don't know if
it's true or not, but it has nothing to do with her as an ordinary person.
After the flag-raising ceremony, Fang Shuren could not help but look at the front row of the
Grade 1 (2) class. After not seeing her for a few years, the little girl had grown up. Her facial
features and temperament were very similar to her uncle's. Her jade-white face was free of any
extra lines and wrinkles. Her tight skin was translucent. Her long, shiny black hair was combed
back into a simple ponytail, revealing her smooth and full forehead. Her clear eyebrows and eyes
looked even darker than the dark mountains. Her peach blossom eyes were sparkling with water
and contained a cloud of rain, neutralizing her coldness and aloofness.
Because of Gu Beiwu's letter, her family has moved back to Room 101. Unfortunately, she has not
had the chance to thank him yet. Fang Shuren thought of her husband Tang Sicheng and the
troubles of his family in Rudong, sighed quietly, and looked away. There was nothing to regret.
She graduated from the Department of Mathematics and never compared reality and fantasy.
She and Gu Beiwu were indeed not the same kind of people. Young people were shaken by love,
which was a necessary path for teenagers. She had let it go long ago.
Compared with Gu Beiwu's long-term vision and wisdom, she considered herself extremely
ordinary and vulgar. After receiving the letter, she excitedly asked her mother to find the relevant
proof of the title deed of the old house. This was the only chance to get the old house back, but
her mother was unusually calm. She quickly borrowed 30,000 yuan from Tang Sicheng to buy
back 101. She was really mad at the time. When she heard that several university professors and
industry elites could not get back their ancestral house and even the elderly in the family died of
cerebral hemorrhage because of this, she understood what her mother said, "Things that can be
solved with money are not a big deal." She lacked the ability to deal with this society and the
wisdom of life. The only thing she was good at was teaching mathematics. Fang Shuren was
confident that he could teach Chen Sijiang mathematics well.
After the principal's speech, the freshman representative came up to speak. Si Jiang smiled and
clapped vigorously. Guo Chengyi and Tang Zenian both spoke without a script, and their speeches
were full of emotion. The scripts were not long, and they finished in three or four minutes. After
the two bowed, they walked down the stage. Si Jiang noticed that Tang Zenian took the initiative
to make way for Guo Chengyi when he went down the stairs. He couldn't help but look at him
more. This is the gentlemanly demeanor that my aunt-in-law talked about. It's really good.
The music of the sixth set of radio gymnastics began to play on the loudspeaker. Si Jiang looked at
the sign-holders from other classes and trotted to put the class sign next to the platform.
However, when he turned around, he almost bumped into Tang Zenian.
"I'm sorry." Tang Zenian quickly dodged sideways.
Si Jiang was actually startled by him, but when he saw that it was Tang Zenian, he couldn't help
but smile, nodded at him, and ran back to his seat in the third row. Tang Zenian's face turned red,
in fact, he knew Chen Sijiang, in the past, she always sat in the last row in the district's Young
Pioneers activities, and took notes very seriously.
"Old Tang, why don't you get out of here? Do you still want to lead our class in exercises?" Lin
Zhuoyu put his elbow on his back. They were classmates at the First Normal School and knew
each other very well.
"Stretching exercises - ready - go! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8..."
Si Jiang stared at Lin Zhuoyu who was leading the exercises, and found that even the radio
gymnastics that she used to be proud of actually had some shortcomings. Being in a key middle
school was really stressful.
——
After two days of classes, Si Jiang thoroughly realized that the study pressure in key middle
schools was not small, but very great. The three main subjects of Chinese, mathematics and
English were equivalent to four main subjects because algebra and geometry were taught
separately. Their class used a new version of textbooks published in Shanghai, which was
different from what Jingsheng used last year. The difficulty and depth were increased to a certain
extent. The most terrible thing was algebra and geometry. What the teachers taught in class had
nothing to do with what she had prepared. She almost didn't understand anything, and she didn't
have time to take notes.
"What function did Teacher Fang just talk about? I don't see it in the book."
Si Jiang asked Li Nan quietly.
"Inverse proportional function?" Li Nan sighed. "The graphical method is fine, but I'll be dead if I
have to use the special value method. Wait, I'll go ask Guo Chengyi."
Si Jiang was confused and looked around. Was she the only one in the class who was still at the
elementary school level? Yu Ping saw her looking at him and raised his eyebrows: "I don't
understand."
"Yeah, I didn't understand." Si Jiang lamented. For the first time in her life, she doubted her IQ.
The passing goal for the baseline test was getting lowered every day. Now she only hoped to get
more than 40 points.
"I said I don't understand either." Yu Ping glanced at her notebook and asked, "Did Teacher Fang
notify you to take make-up classes?"
"Ah? Make-up lessons?" Si Jiang was stunned and looked up at the podium. Teacher Fang was
talking to Xu Hao, the math class representative. She was a little frustrated. Make-up lessons
must be paid. She decided to go back and ask her brother in the evening. She wouldn't know how
to do it, but her brother would definitely know how to do it.
Xu Hao came back holding a stack of materials and distributed them to several classmates along
the way. Yu Ping and Si Jiang both received a copy.
"After the class meeting on Saturday afternoon, remember to go to the school reading room.
Teacher Fang will give you some special lessons." Xu Hao said in a dull tone, sounding a little
unhappy: "Take these knowledge points home and read them carefully. Don't lag behind the class
in the test."
Li Nan came back with a notebook: "I borrowed Guo Chengyi's math notes. Let's hurry up and
copy them. Fortunately, the next class is history. Hey, what is this?"
Before Si Jiang had time to look at it, the newly distributed study materials arrived in Li Nan's
hands.
"Ahhh, Teacher Fang is biased. This is too complete. Xu Hao, is there anyone else who can join the
cram school? I'm also bad at math. Please give me a spot."
Xu Hao said without even looking up: "You want to go even though it's all basic knowledge? If you
want to go, go ahead. Anyway, Teacher Fang is tutoring them on a voluntary basis and doesn't
charge any money."
Li Nan hesitated for a moment and said, "Forget it. Alas, I have to go to English class on Saturday
afternoon. I guess I won't be able to make it in time."
"Why do you need extra lessons in English?" Si Jiang asked in surprise: "Your English is already
very good." Li Nan is the representative of the English class and has participated in the city's
English speaking competition and won a prize.
Li Nan lowered her voice: "Shh, don't tell anyone. Didn't Beijing have the first TOEFL exam last
December? My parents asked me to take the TOEFL in my first year of high school and apply to a
university in the United States, so now I'm studying at Newcomb. It's so hard. I have to go to the
University of Foreign Languages in Hongkou, twice a week, three hours each time. I can only eat
dinner on the bus, and I have a lot of homework. Look, I'm losing my hair!" She reached out and
touched Si Jiang's ponytail: "Woo, woo, woo, I envy your hair so much--"
Si Jiang felt that he and Li Nan were not students from the same world.
——
"Brother, do you know what TOEFL and New Concept are?" Lisjiang couldn't help asking
Jingsheng at night.
"Yes, I know. If you want to study abroad, you have to take the TOEFL. There are several people in
my class who are learning New Concept English. What are you doing?"
"Oh, nothing. My deskmate is also learning it. It sounds very impressive."
"Well, everyone is learning English now, it's normal."
Jingsheng continued to look at her math study materials: "Your teacher Fang teaches better than
our teacher Wang - she is also a very nice person. You should first master these knowledge points
thoroughly."
Si Jiang himself also felt that Fang Shuren was very serious, responsible and kind, but after
hearing Jingsheng's praise, he felt a little uncomfortable. He muttered a few words and kept
silent, concentrating on studying. As a result, he fell asleep while studying, his mind was a mess,
and xyz was flying all over the place.
"Chen Sijiang." Jingsheng poked Sijiang's forehead with his index finger.
"Here!——" Si Jiang suddenly jumped up and hit her knee on the edge of the table. She grimaced
in pain. She opened her eyes and found that she was at home. She looked at the study materials
on the table again. She had just read half of the system of linear equations with two variables and
she hadn't mastered the elimination yet. Her eyes suddenly turned red.
"Brother, am I too stupid?"
"You are quite self-aware." Jingsheng raised his eyelids and continued to do his homework.
Si Jiang lay on the table in frustration: "My current goal is to get 30 points."
"Why doesn't the stupid bird fly first?"
"I can't fly anymore." Si Jiang rubbed his eyes: "I'm going to sleep first. I'll get up at six o'clock
tomorrow morning to watch it. My mind will be clearer."
Jing Sheng ignored her and saw her packing her schoolbag in twos and twos. He couldn't help but
stab her again: "You have time to tell me for a long time how gentlemanly Tang is." There are so
many good sounds and so many nice sounds, but you don’t have time to understand substitution
and elimination and addition, subtraction and elimination?”
Si Jiang stared blankly at Jing Sheng under the lamp, wanting to cry.
"Humph, Agonon is the most annoying!"
"Hello, I'm going to make a small talk. I'm tired of gossiping every day." , Go to sleep (go to sleep),
wake up at five o'clock tomorrow morning (call you up at five o'clock tomorrow.)"
Grandma Gu came in with a footbath of hot water: "No, five o'clock is too early. You are still
growing, so you need to get enough sleep. It's not good to get up so early. Go and kick your feet
quickly." Washing feet) It’s half past nine.”
Si Jiang was stunned: "It's only half past nine?" Why did she feel exhausted?
Jingsheng sneered and gave her a cold look.
After washing up, Si Jiang took out the materials and started to work on the system of linear
equations with two variables.
"Brother?"
"What are you doing again?"
"What's your ranking in math in the class?"
"Between fifteen and twenty."
“Ah???” Si Jiang was a little disillusioned. She always thought Jingsheng was omnipotent and
must be very good in their class.
Jingsheng stopped teasing her and said seriously with a straight face: "As far as I know, no one in
our class goes to bed before 11 o'clock. I am not much smarter than others. How can I achieve
success overnight? Not everyone is as talented as Zhao Youning." He frowned and paused: "And
think about it, how many extracurricular classes has Zhao Youning taken since the first grade of
elementary school?"
Si Jiang understood: I am not as smart as others, and I don't work as hard as others, so what is
there to dream about?
Well, the third day of school is another desperate day.

Chapter 122
After the make-up class on Saturday, Si Jiang felt as if a big hole had been dug in the mess in her
brain. At least it started to function. She was not nervous when she saw the coordinates. XYZ and
K looked quite good. Teacher Fang was really amazing. She felt that Teacher Fang had a little
special care for her. After class, she smiled and asked her if she understood everything. She also
told her not to worry about the score. She also said that the score was not important in middle
school because the standards and purposes of each exam were different. What was important
was to thoroughly understand the knowledge points and master the difficult points.
"This world is made of mathematics, and the essence of everything is mathematics." Si Jiang
always remembered Teacher Fang's words, and she said them many times, as if they were the
truth. Well, then this world is a little unfriendly to her.
The test on Monday was even worse than expected. The class average was 53 points, and Si Jiang
scored 58 points. She was so happy. Of course, she would never tell her mother about this score.
Jingsheng said that he was teachable, which was much better than the 12 points he got in the
original test. Teacher Fang was still smiling in class and gently told everyone that the grade
average was 62 points, with Class 2 at the bottom and the highest score being 94 points from
Tang Zenian of Class 4. The grade average of the Second Affiliated High School of East China
Normal University was 81, and there were two students who scored full marks.
"So everyone should know that there are always better mountains than other mountains, and
there are always stronger ones among the strong." After stabbing everyone in the back, Teacher
Fang fed everyone candy: "Although we ranked last in this five-school joint examination, if all the
key middle schools in our district took this test, we would definitely be first."
After feeding them candy, Teacher Fang continued to pour chili oil: "But as students of the city's
key middle school, you must remember that our goal has never been to be the first in the district,
but to become the first echelon in Shanghai, that is, the first echelon in China."
No matter what Teacher Fang said, she was right. Si Jiang was so excited that he felt that he had
become a member of the first echelon, of course, a reserve player.
The class league for the three major balls started soon. There was no women's football team in
the junior high school, so Si Jiang ambitiously joined the class women's volleyball and basketball
teams. If you haven't played volleyball, have you watched "The Volleyball Girl"? A meteor chasing
the moon is like a thunderbolt in the clear sky. Imitation can also fool people. As for basketball,
well, Si Jiang felt that he had watched Si Nan play marbles too much, and he was always accurate.
It seemed that throwing the ball into the basket was not too difficult. Besides, their class also had
the all-around sports prince Lin Zhuoyu. He arranged for the men's and women's teams to train
together every time, so that he could guide them at the same time.
However, Almighty Sports Wang Zilin collapsed after a quarter of an hour on the volleyball court.
"Don't hide! What are you afraid of? Pass the ball, pass it back to me."
"Are your feet stapled to the ground? Move, move, don't just move your hands. Follow where the
ball lands."
"How do you block the ball?" Lin Zhuoyu looked at Chen Sijiang, whose face was covered in
sweat, and patted his forehead: "Oh my God, you never played basketball in elementary school?"
"I've played table tennis." Si Jiang himself laughed.
Lin Zhuoyu turned around and looked at the nine female volleyball players who were staggering
and laughing on the court, and had a bad feeling. The girls in his class were generally not tall, only
Guo Chengyi and Cheng Ying looked about 164cm tall, and the others were around 160cm tall.
The most terrifying thing was that five of the nine people had never touched volleyball and were
completely blind to it.
Si Jiang and five other ball-blind people were brought to the wall. Each of them took a volleyball
and started to pass the ball against the wall according to Coach Lin's request. After a while, their
wrists and hands were in great pain, and their palms were numb.
"You can't do this." Tang Zenian glanced at the other side of the practice field and couldn't bear
to watch it anymore.
Si Jiang was stunned. The ball bounced off the wall and was not caught. It rolled directly to Tang
Zenian's feet.
"Don't use your palm, wrist or base of the thumb to block the ball," Tang Zenian picked up the
volleyball and demonstrated to Si Jiang, "Use your forearm to block the ball. If you block the ball
from the front, there are three different positions for your hands..."
After Coach Tang's patient explanation and demonstration, the five ball-blind players quickly
mastered the basic ball-passing skills and no longer had to run around to pick up the ball.
"Old Tang! Why are you leaning so far away?!" Li Yelin, the monitor of Class 4, hurried over to
protest.
Si Jiang hugged the ball and bowed shyly: "Thank you! Sorry to bother you."
Tang Zenian said with a smile: "Our two classes didn't draw the same group, and our opponents
are all in the second and third grades. We should improve each other and strive to advance
together."
Li Yelin thought to herself that you must be here to improve Chen Sijiang's level just because he is
good-looking, but Tang Zenian has been very prestigious since he entered the school, and she
was embarrassed to lose face for him, so she just urged him to practice with the women's team in
his class.
"You can start practicing squatting to pass the ball. The more powerful the ball, the lower you can
squat." Tang Zenian smiled and returned to his class's court. He didn't expect that Chen Sijiang
was not at all squeamish and didn't care that his hair was disheveled and his face was covered in
sweat.
Si Jiang thanked him loudly several times and couldn't help comparing him with his own coach
Lin. Alas, Coach Tang is kind and gentle, while Coach Lin is simple and rough. It's hard to tell that
they are from the same class.
"97, 98, 99, 100!" 100 passes were finally completed, and Si Jiang and the others had no time to
catch their breath. Lin Zhuoyu ran over from the men's team: "You two now form a pair, pass the
ball to each other, remember, the ball should be passed over the opponent's head or where the
arm can just reach. The person who receives the ball should also remember that it is not the ball
that comes to you, but you who comes to the ball. You should pass 100 balls, hurry up. Your
basics are too poor, I don't have any requirements for you, just be able to catch the opponent's
serve."
The five people looked at each other, and the little confidence they had just had vanished. In a
group of two, there must be one person left. Si Jiang looked at her teammates, smiled and raised
her hand: "You guys practice first, I'll be lazy and go drink some water. I'll come back and practice
twenty more with Qiang later." She blinked: "Let Coach Lin be tough on me, I'm thick-skinned."
She put the ball down and walked towards the cafeteria, watching the training of the various
classes on the playground. The four classes of the second grade were mixed training for both
boys and girls. Si Jiang looked carefully and didn't see Jingsheng, which made her a little
disappointed. On the track of the big playground, four classes of the third grade were practicing.
Si Jiang felt ashamed. They were the worst but occupied the volleyball court, which was a waste.
A practice match was being held on the football field. The junior high school and high school
students each occupied half of the field. They played well and the boys shouted.
Si Jiang couldn't help but slow down his pace and took a few more glances outside the railings.
He saw the boys running fast and fighting fiercely. Some of them flew over to tackle the ball, and
a lot of grass flew away. Some girls beside the railings applauded and shouted "Come on". The
boy who tackled the ball got up from the ground, picked up his vest and wiped his face, revealing
his tight belly. Then he loosened his hands, turned his head and spat on the ground, and ran
towards the rolling football in the distance.
"Wow, XXX is so handsome." Si Jiang was stunned by the discussion of high school girls around
him. This guy spits everywhere. How can he be handsome? It's not civilized at all.
When Si Jiang turned on the distilled water tap outside the cafeteria, she still couldn't figure out
this incredible problem. As a result, the distilled water sprayed straight upwards, and her mouth
couldn't wait, so it all sprayed on her face, choking her and making her cough continuously. She
closed her eyes and touched it several times, but still turned off the faucet incorrectly, looking
very embarrassed.
"Are you okay?" Tang Zenian held back his laughter and turned off the faucet for her. He bent
down, turned on the faucet next to him, drank a few big gulps of water, closed his eyes and
rinsed his face.
Si Jiang wiped his face several times, put his wet hair behind his ears, and shook his head with a
red face: "It's okay, it's okay. I didn't pay attention for a moment. Thank you."
Tang Zenian raised his arm and wiped his face on his short sleeves. "Some of the faucets are not
very good. The pressure is very high, like a fountain. Why don't you practice?"
"Lin Zhuoyu asked us to play the ball in pairs. There are five of us. I——"
"Let me practice with you." Tang Zenian said with a natural smile: "Two girls in our class are from
the district's women's volleyball team. I have nothing to do with them, so I'm just sitting around."
Si Jiang's face turned even redder: "Is this okay?"
"Let's go. Aren't you going to play against Junior 2 (1) in the first round? I heard they are quite
good. This is our first match in our grade, so we can't lose too badly."
"It's over." Si Jiang said with a bitter face: "Lin Zhuoyu asked me to be a setter, I definitely can't do
it. I watched women's volleyball matches on TV and they said the setter is the soul of the team.
Damn it, the soul is the head."
Tang Zenian managed to hold back his laughter. It seemed that Lin Zhuoyu was completely at a
loss. He actually let the novice act as a setter to organize the attack. No wonder he just covered
his face and said that his fame would be ruined by the women's volleyball team in their class. He
slowed down his pace and looked at Si Jiang beside him. He saw that her cheeks were pink, her
face was wet from being washed by water, and there was a drop of water on her long curled
eyelashes. The fine hair on her cheeks was dyed golden by the sunset. She frowned and puffed
her cheeks, concentrating on regretting that she was not qualified for the role of a setter. He
knew that Chen Sijiang had a nickname called Fairy. He met her in the corridor on the first day of
school. She looked straight ahead, held her head high, and walked lightly. Her navy blue and
white polka dot pleated skirt swayed rhythmically. She was indeed worthy of the title of Fairy, but
now Chen Sijiang was a fairy who had descended to the earth. She was less arrogant, but very
cute and smart. At this moment, Tang Zenian suddenly felt that he was having difficulty
breathing, his heart was beating like a drum, and his ears were buzzing.
"What's wrong?" Si Jiang turned his head and asked doubtfully, "Is there something on my face?"
She was worried that it might be booger or something terrible, so she wiped her face twice and
took a secret look. Fortunately, there was nothing but a little wetness. If she made a fool of
herself in front of Tang Zenian, she would be finished.
Tang Zenian practiced basketball with Si Jiang openly, and occasionally fed the ball to the other
four people. When the training ended at six o'clock, Lin Zhuoyu finally came to his senses and
hooked Tang Zenian's neck and threatened: "What are you doing? (What are you doing?) Want to
chase our class beauty?"
Tang Zenian gave him a look of contempt: "I'm just helping others when I see injustice. How can
you lead a newbie like this? I'm afraid we'll get nothing against the Grade 2 (1) class."
Lin Zhuoyu sighed to the sky: "The sky wants to kill me!" Although he sighed, he still warned Tang
Zenian. He stretched out his hand and strangled Tang Zenian again: "Brother, I'm a naked friend in
kindergarten. I warn you not to steal my girl." He lowered his voice: "There are already nine
people in our class who like Chen Sijiang. You are not a big deal. You'd better look for green grass
in your class four."
Tang Zenian elbowed him and smiled calmly: "Put away your dirty thoughts. Friendship between
classmates is precious. Don't taint the pure friendship. Your voice hasn't changed yet, so you
decide whether you like it or not. Get lost."
The two chatted and laughed as they went to the back door of the school to get their bicycles.
When they passed the canteen, they saw Si Jiang looking up and talking to a boy. She was smiling
like a flower, and there was a light shining in her eyes, which was more intoxicating than the
sunset.
Jingsheng threw the towel from his neck onto her head in disgust: "Wipe it off, your nose is full of
boogers."
"Brother!" Si Jiang was so angry that he jumped up and down: "I wiped it, but it didn't get better
at all? You are so disgusting. (I wiped it, but it didn't get better at all? You are so disgusting.)"
Jingsheng stretched out the red bean popsicle in his hand and blocked her mouth directly: "Okay,
I'll reward you with a popsicle."
Si Jiang quickly bit into the popsicle, wiped the sweat off his face with a towel, turned his head
and saw Lin Zhuoyu and Tang Zenian, waved to them with a smile, and trotted to catch up with
Jingsheng, hissing a few times because of the cold popsicle: "Brother, wait for me."
Jingsheng ignored her but slowed down his pace. The two of them pushed the bike out of the
school gate, turned a corner, and disappeared.
Lin Zhuoyu and Tang Zenian looked at each other.

Chapter 123
"Tang Zenian from our class likes Chen Sijiang from your class."
Rumors among junior high school students are not called spreading rumors, they are called
sharing secrets.
When Si Jiang heard this, she was hurriedly changing into her sportswear in the girls' room.
Today, Teacher Fang called her to the office to explain a wrong question in yesterday's homework.
She didn't catch up with the main group and was late for physical education class, so she would
be punished to run two laps around the playground. That would be a waste of 800 meters. She
became more and more anxious and confused, and her head got stuck in the sleeve. Suddenly,
she heard someone mentioned her name at the locker in the back row.
Class 2 and Class 4 had physical education classes together, so they saw each other all the time.
Plus, many students in the two classes were elementary school classmates, so the girls
established friendships more quickly by changing clothes together than by going to the bathroom
together, and no one was shy about talking.
"Ah? Tang Zenian was conquered by the fairy in our class? Tsk tsk tsk, the girls in your class are
not that good."
Si Jiang recognized that this was Yin Ying from his class. Yin Ying was the tallest girl in Class 2. She
had learned folk dance at the Children's Palace since she was a child and was also very beautiful.
She and Cheng Ying ran for the position of Arts Committee Member and lost by three votes. Si
Jiang and Guo Chengyi, Li Nan, and Zhang Leyi were familiar with Cheng Ying and voted for her,
which led to a feud. Two weeks after the start of school, the girls in the class had already been
divided into two small groups. Because the class monitor Guo Chengyi was in charge of
organizing the big ball class league, none of Yin Ying's good female classmates signed up for the
women's volleyball and basketball teams.
"There's nothing we can do about it. She's good-looking, and boys only look at her face, not her
grades." The girl from Class 4 spoke with a sour tone.
"I didn't expect Tang Zenian to be such a superficial boy." Yin Ying said with a smile, "But there
are many superficial boys in our class, Lin Zhuoyu, Gao Qiang, Zhan Tao, Xu Hao, Yu Ping, just to
name seven or eight."
"Wow! Are you kidding? So many! I think Lin Zhuoyu is the one that's right for you."
"Bah, bah, bah, bah, I won't smile or talk in a coquettish way to any male classmate. We are only
in the first grade, okay? Studying is the most important thing."
"Does Chen Sijiang have poor grades?"
"It's okay. There are only 20 girls in our class. She is number 20."
"Hahahaha, I get it."
Si Jiang silently took out white sneakers from the cabinet and put them on, then walked out of
the women's restroom quietly. After thinking for a while, he turned back, picked up the broom
behind the door, inserted it horizontally on the door handle of the women's restroom, and
pushed it. The heavy shutter door did not move at all. If you have time to talk bad about people
behind their backs, then run 800 meters for fun. She ran out of the teaching building lightly and
heard the sound of knocking on the door and someone shouting in the women's restroom. A
dozen boys rushed down from the upstairs behind her and passed her: "Hurry up, hurry up, you
will be punished if you are late for physical education class."
——
"Chen Sijiang——"
"arrive!"
Si Jiang just stood up panting, just in time for the physical education teacher to call the roll. Li
Nan poked her: "Why are you so slow? I thought you were going to run the 800-meter race with
Yin Ying today."
"Someone will run with her." Si Jiang smiled as the teacher began to call the names of the girls in
Class 4.
After jogging one lap around the playground, everyone started practicing the long jump. Half a
day later, Yin Ying and a girl from Class 4 arrived late. They explained a few words, and the
physical education teacher, without even looking up, pointed to the playground and said, "Two
laps." Yin Ying looked at the team with red eyes. There were many suspicious-looking people, but
nothing was found.
Si Jiang started running, accelerated, stepped on the board with his right foot, leaped into the
sand pit, climbed up and shook off the sand on his body. Li Nan and Zhang Leyi laughed and
measured his size: "Chen Sijiang, 3.85 meters——!"
The physical education teacher lowered his head and wrote down the numbers: "Okay, the girls
from Class 2 will do the vertical jump, and the girls from Class 4 will do the long jump.
"Hey, what have you done? How did you know that someone would accompany Yin Ying to run
the 800 meters?" Li Nan and Zhang Leyi held Si Jiang on the left and right and walked towards the
high-reaching area.
Si Jiang did not hide it from them and briefly told them what he had heard in the women's
restroom just now.
"Well done!" Zhang Leyi touched Si Jiang's smooth ponytail with satisfaction: "Our fairy must
have a temper, don't be bullied and keep silent."
Li Nan lowered his voice and said, "Let me tell you, Yin Ying has actually liked Tang Zenian for
several years."
"No way, we are only in the first grade! Studying is the most important!" Si Jiang blurted out.
Li Nan laughed so hard that he fell down. He waved and called Guo Chengyi over: "Guagua and
Old Tang and Old Lin were in the same class before. Do you think Yin Ying liked Tang Zenian since
the fourth grade?"
Guo Chengyi frowned: "Pumpkin, you should put a lock on your mouth."
Si Jiang felt embarrassed: "It's all my fault, squad leader, don't blame Pumpkin."
Guo Chengyi said seriously, "Don't keep spreading false information. She originally liked Lin
Zhuoyu, but was rejected when she wrote a love letter to him. Then she liked Tang Zenian, but
was rejected when she wrote a love letter to him. Then she wrote to Lin Zhuoyu again. Sigh, she
was rejected three times in one month. This is such a sad thing. Let's not talk about it."
This? ? ? Si Jiang's jaw almost dropped to the ground. This didn't seem to have anything to do
with sadness. It sounded a little funny. Could this be love? Who can change the object of love
three times a month? Si Jiang looked at Yin Ying who was jogging weakly on the playground. He
suddenly felt sympathy and understanding for her, and then he didn't understand why she was
angry at him. Si Jiang asked himself if he had any conflicts with Yin Ying since the beginning of the
school year. If it was like what they rumored that someone liked her, she would be hated by
them, which was too unfair. Well, Si Jiang now felt even more guilty about locking them in the
toilet.
Across the railing, the boys from Class 2 and Class 4 were raising their legs high, counting as they
raised their legs, and shouting at the top of their lungs. The girls who were leisurely queuing up
laughed at them. Si Jiang spotted Tang Zenian in the crowd at a glance. He was different from the
other boys who were looking up at the sky with red faces. He pursed his lips tightly and looked
serious, his hair bouncing on his forehead, his movements were powerful and relaxed, and even
the swing of his arms was just right and handsome.
Tang Zenian seemed to feel someone was looking at him. As soon as he raised his head, the gaze
disappeared. He slowed down his pace, finished the last ten, walked to the railing, crossed his
legs and began to stretch. The school's sportswear is a uniform dark blue long-sleeved suit with
two white stripes on the sleeves and the sides of the trouser legs. At first glance, everyone is the
same, but he still easily found Si Jiang who was in the front row. She looks good in everything she
wears.
Si Jiang turned her head to talk to Li Nan, and glanced at Tang Zenian who was standing by the
railing. She found that he seemed to be looking at her. Her heartbeat suddenly quickened, and
she even felt a little flustered. She straightened her back involuntarily and pulled her sportswear.
Li Nan screamed after reaching the height: "I didn't even make it past two meters!"
Zhang Leyi comforted her: "It's okay, it's okay. It's not an exam. They want to pick the best high
jumpers to join the school team. Don't worry, it won't even be your turn."
"Bah, it's not my turn, let alone yours. You've only touched 1.9 meters!"
"Go away, don't block me from watching the fairy reaching high. You, a pumpkin, can block two
fairies."
Amid the bickering of her good friends, Si Jiang took a breath, squatted and jumped. Years of
dancing habit made her subconsciously stay in the air for a moment, and her arms stretched
upward in the air.
"2.35 meters!" The student in charge of the measurement was stunned for a moment before
calling out the number.
The boys who were stretching their legs in a row on the other side of the railing burst into
applause. Lin Zhuoyu whistled, "Chen Sijiang, beautiful! Jump one more!" Before he could finish
his words, he was slapped on the head by the teacher, "What are you looking at? Go to the
horizontal bar area and do pull-ups, 10 in a group, and complete three groups." After the uproar,
the boys wailed collectively and walked to the horizontal and parallel bar area at the other end of
the playground in twos and threes.
The graceful girl leaped up into the golden sunlight, and her elegant curve stayed in the air for a
second, which became a second frozen in the hearts of the boys and girls in the first grade of
junior high school, and never faded despite the passage of time.
——
For many things in the world, there is no most hopeless situation, only more hopeless ones.
Lin Zhuoyu came to this conclusion when he saw the women's basketball team of his class. Five
people played the game, and there were only eight people standing in front of him. In addition to
Guo Chengyi and Cheng Ying, who had to set an example as class leaders, there was Chen Sijiang,
who had only played table tennis, Li Nan, who had a look on his face that said "Don't expect me
to run", Zhang Leyi, who was the shortest in the class and smiled heartlessly, and the other three
female classmates, Wu Wei, Liu Hanshao, and Zhou Min, who happened to be members of the
blind five in volleyball. Their smiling faces still had three big words written on them: "I can't."
"Who among you knows the rules of basketball?" Lin Zhuoyu made a second choice: "How many
quarters are there? How many minutes are there in each quarter?"
Si Jiang raised his hand: "Four periods, ten minutes each. The rules - not very clear, no pushing?"
Li Nan stuck out his tongue and said, "Ah!? You have to play forty minutes? Is it too late for me to
quit now? Kua Kua, it's not that I don't give you face, but people should know their own
limitations, right? I'm exhausted after walking for ten minutes, and I'll die if you ask me to run for
forty minutes."
Guo Chengyi smiled and twisted her waist: "Then you just stay under the basket and defend."
"Then there will be news in the newspapers about a first-grade girl who died of exhaustion under
the basketball hoop. Alas, you will feel guilty for the rest of your life, and I can't bear to hurt you."
Li Nan raised his hand: "Lao Lin, for Guoguo, I must quit as well."
Lin Zhuoyu slapped her hand down in anger: "Don't quit. Anyone who deserts will be killed. You
can expect to die on the basketball court."
Li Nan was so angry that he picked up the basketball at his feet and threw it at Lin Zhuoyu. Lin
Zhuoyu caught the ball with one hand, and the basketball spun twice in his palm, and then spun
on his index finger.
"Wow! Lao Lin, you are so handsome." Zhang Leyi clapped her hands until they turned red:
"Please teach us. I am willing to die on the basketball court for our class!"
Wu Wei and the other two saw Lin Zhuoyu's gaze turning towards them, and they all shook their
heads: "We were dragged here to make up the numbers, don't count on us."
Cheng Ying said with a smile: "Lao Lin, we are also giving face to Teacher He. We finally got eight
people together. You should be thankful that you can form a team. Don't be picky, okay? Just
have fun. I asked around, and other classes are not as strong as ours. It's enough for your men's
team to qualify."
Si Jiang was very positive: "Tell us how to practice. We are all very smart and can learn it quickly.
Look, our volleyball players can pass the ball now. Come on, class three and class four have
started shooting."
Lin Zhuoyu tried his best to demonstrate the four basic moves of dribbling, finger-twisting,
dribbling and dribbling. He looked at the stunned girls and said, "Just practice these today.
Tomorrow I will sort out the rules of basketball games and write them down for you."
Si Jiang asked in a low voice: "Don't we need to practice shooting?"
Lin Zhuoyu wanted to scold Ce Na, but he couldn't say anything to the fairy, so he could only
scratch his head: "You have to practice dribbling first, and then practice shooting, unless——"
Si Jiang's eyes lit up: "Unless what?"
"Unless you stand under your own basket, you can shoot the ball into the other side's basket." Lin
Zhuoyu walked away with a smile.
Si Jiang looked at the basketball hoop on the other half of the court. The boys under the
basketball hoop were wearing vests of different colors. Some were shooting, some were
dribbling, and some were waving in their direction.
"Tang Zenian is waving at us." Li Nan leaned closer and said with a sly smile, "To be precise, he is
waving at us fairies. He must think you are looking at him."
Si Jiang raised the basketball and compared: "I——am looking at the basket." Really, he was just
looking at the distant basket on the opposite side.

Chapter 124
The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
After dribbling for ten minutes, Si Jiang was completely disappointed with her "cleverness". She
no longer had any illusions about the basket on the other side. She had used threats, bribes,
gentleness, and roughness to deal with the disobedient basketball. However, the ball that was so
well-behaved in Lin Zhuoyu's hands was simply a troublemaker in her hands, even more difficult
to deal with than Si Nan. Fortunately, her teammates were not much better than her. Guo
Chengyi and Cheng Ying, who had touched the basketball a few times before, could barely make
the ball go around once, while the others could only go around half a circle and then get
themselves involved.
After another five minutes, the eight girls, who were sore in their backs, hands, and arms, were
encouraged by Li Nan and Zhang Leyi to laugh and drop the ball to go to the bathroom. When
they returned to the playground, they ran to the other side to watch the three-on-three match
between Lin Zhuoyu and Tang Zenian. Si Jiang was about to pay close attention to the rules of the
game. Since she had signed up, she would definitely try her best. Besides, her uncle said that
basketball was very helpful for growing taller.
Unfortunately, the referee blew the whistle several times, and Si Jiang didn't understand who
committed the foul and where. Her eyes followed Lin Zhuoyu and Tang Zenian involuntarily. Oh
my god, the boy classmates looked so handsome when playing basketball. Fortunately, Zhang Leyi
and Li Nan beside her made shameful sighs on her behalf.
"Wow, Lao Lin is so handsome."
"Ahhh, Tang Zenian is handsome too."
"They have muscles on their arms, bulging and bulging. Wow, I wonder what they feel like to
touch."
"Pumpkin, you're a bit of a hooligan."
"It's useless not to look at it. I didn't really touch it. I was just thinking about it."
"It's not okay to even think about it, right? Thinking about it seems to be even more excessive
than touching. Ahhhh, Tang Zenian picked up his vest to wipe his sweat, look!" Zhang Leyi jumped
on the spot excitedly, pulling Si Jiang's arm and pinching it hard.
Si Jiang's arm ached, but she didn't care. She stared at Tang Zenian, who was wiping his sweat
with his vest, and felt uneasy, wondering if he would spit everywhere like the boy on the football
field. In a flash, countless possibilities appeared in her mind. When she saw Tang Zenian wiping
his sweat and immediately raising his hands to intercept Lin Zhuoyu, she secretly breathed a sigh
of relief, and the corners of her lips unconsciously curled up. Great, she felt that a gentleman like
Tang Zenian would not be so uncivilized.
"Lao Lin's shot was so accurate." Li Nan clapped his hands vigorously. "Oh, his gestures were so
beautiful. I understand where the gap is."
Si Jiang was not used to Li Nan's sudden seriousness, and couldn't help asking her: "Where is the
gap?"
"He has big hands, so he can hold the basketball as easily as pinching an egg, and it's almost
certain. Our hands are too small, no wonder the ball always ignores us." Li Nan picked up Si
Jiang's hand and compared it: "Fairy, your hands are so much smaller than mine, it's even worse,
you really should play table tennis."
It seemed to make sense. Tang Zenian suddenly stole the ball at lightning speed and made a
layup. Li Nan shouted, "Old Tang, you are so handsome!"
Zhang Leyi stepped on Li Nan's foot: "You traitor! Shameless!"
"Friendship comes first and competition comes second." Li Nan fell on Si Jiang with a playful
smile.
Si Jiang couldn't stop laughing. The boys looked very focused when playing basketball, and they
moved as fast as rabbits. They were very powerful when they jumped up, and their shooting
gestures were indescribably beautiful. Just watching them from the sidelines made people
excited. When Si Jiang grew up, he realized that it was the effect of hormones.
"Which side is your class?"
Si Jiang turned around and saw that it was Jingsheng, and quickly pointed it out to him: "The one
wearing the yellow vest is from our class, and the one holding the ball now is our sports
committee member Lin Zhuoyu. He plays basketball very well, taller than--" Si Jiang swallowed
the last three words of "taller than you", and coughed twice: "Better than the one in Class 4."
"Brother Sijiang! Come on, stand between us. We can see clearly here." Zhang Leyi and Li Nan
quickly made room. The boys on the field immediately lost their appeal to them. Brother Sijiang!
The most handsome boy in the school was not Lin Zhuoyu, not Tang Zenian, not Meng Ye from
the high school football team, nor Wang Mian from the high school basketball team, but Brother
Sijiang's Gu Jingsheng. He was standing next to them, only five centimeters away from them. No,
no, no, Zhang Leyi felt that she could be bolder and shorten the five centimeters to two
centimeters.
Jingsheng said thank you. Fearing that he would block the students behind him, he leaned on the
railing, bent down slightly and looked up at the court. He saw Lin Zhuoyu make two fake moves in
a row, then suddenly cut to the basket and pretended to shoot. When the opponent jumped up
to defend, he rushed to the baseline. As soon as the opponent landed, he twisted half of his body
back in the air, gently held the ball with his right hand and threw it into the basket.
"good--!"
"handsome--!"
"Come on, Lao Lin!"
The classmates around cheered loudly. Jingsheng glanced at Si Jiang and saw that her palms were
red from clapping, her forehead was covered with beads of sweat, and her face was full of
excitement and anticipation.
Then Tang Zenian and his three teammates on the court were not inferior to each other. They
made a fast break and also scored a goal.
Si Jiang couldn't help but say, "In fact, Tang Zenian from Class 4 also played very well. He is also
very nice and taught us how to play volleyball. Fortunately, our two classes are not in the same
group, otherwise it would be a pity to kill each other. I hope their class can successfully qualify."
Jingsheng turned his head to look at Si Jiang: "Is this the gentleman you mentioned?"
Si Jiang suddenly felt guilty after being looked at by him. He coughed twice and rubbed his nose,
adding unnecessary words: "He is very patient, speaks in a gentle voice, is very polite to us girls,
and doesn't laugh at us——"
The game was over, and Lin Zhuoyu ran over with sweat all over his forehead, and shouted at Si
Jiang: "I told you to practice, what are you doing?" After seeing Jingsheng's face clearly, his
momentum immediately disappeared, and he patted the basketball in his hand back and forth:
"I'm done here, let's go, I'll practice with you for half an hour."
——
Jingsheng sat on the railing and watched Si Jiang and the others practice. After a while, he had to
look away to distract himself, otherwise he was afraid that he would laugh so hard that he would
fall off the railing. He always thought that Si Jiang was a good dancer and must be good at sports,
but he didn't expect her to be so clumsy when dribbling. Her squatting posture was like squatting
a large toilet, and she couldn't squat. When she looked at the ball, she would miss the ball. When
her hand hit the ball, it would hit her feet. After two shots, she would run out to chase. One of
the five balls she picked up would inevitably be kicked farther by her. The funniest thing was that
eight people dribbled the ball in turn, while others were running, but she was still dancing, with
her upper body leaning back, her chin tensed and slightly raised, and her legs moving forward
with the rhythm of dancing. Others' balls landed three times, but hers only landed twice.
Si Jiang was actually very nervous. She secretly glanced at Jingsheng from time to time, secretly
thanking luckily that her brother didn't know how to play basketball. She glanced at Lin Zhuoyu
again and found that the expression on his face was hard to describe. He seemed to be looking at
her. Si Jiang was not sure. She tried to straighten her back a little bit and hit the ball a little
harder, but was almost hit on the nose by the ball that suddenly bounced high. She was so scared
that she bent down and ignored the ball.
When she stood firm, Guo Chengyi and Zhang Leyi behind her were already bent over with
laughter while holding the ball. Her ball was held firmly in Lin Zhuoyu's hand.
"Chen Sijiang, Chen Sijiang!" Lin Zhuoyu was really disappointed. This classmate was obviously
quite good at volleyball, but why was he so different when it came to basketball? He walked up to
Sijiang and said, "Let me learn from you. You can see for yourself where your problem is."
Si Jiang: ???
Lin Zhuoyu patted the ball in an awkward manner, lifting his legs forward like a crane.
Si Jiang: !!!
Li Nan almost collapsed on the court from laughing.
Si Jiang's face flushed and he bit his lower lip, then turned to look at Jingsheng, only to see that
Jingsheng had his back turned away, and his twitching shoulders betrayed him.
With a loud bang, a basketball flew in from the air and hit Lin Zhuoyu directly on the back. Lin
Zhuoyu was caught off guard and staggered. He turned back angrily: "What! Saning?"
Si Jiang and the others were also stunned, but saw Tang Zenian walking towards them while
wiping his sweat.
"Everyone has a different feel for the ball." Tang Zenian smiled slightly: "Chen Sijiang runs like this
too, which shows that this is her movement habit. There is nothing to laugh at. Old Lin, you are
not a good coach."
"Bullshit! Get lost." Lin Zhuoyu threw the ball in his hand to Tang Zenian. The two of them went
to the other side to compete for who could make the three-pointer.
Si Jiang couldn't describe the specific feeling. Tang Zenian's smile was very sincere, without any
mockery. He looked like he was covered in gold, shining in Si Jiang's eyes. Gentlemanly manners
are really good, and gentlemen are really handsome!
"Wow, a hero saving a beautiful girl." Zhang Leyi tugged at the corner of Si Jiang's clothes and
shook her head enviously: "Old Lin is so stupid, he is finished."
Si Jiang took a breath and said, "Anyway, Tang Zenian is handsome, but not the kind of handsome
guy who looks good."
"I understand, I understand." Li Nan came closer and blinked: "The fairy is coming down to
earth."
"Bah. I'm not going to pay attention to you." Si Jiang turned around and began to dribble the ball
again. He paid attention to his posture, looking forward, leaning forward slightly, and chin
contracted. Running, how should you run? Relax and don't be tense...
Guo Chengyi smiled and shook his head: "Tsk tsk tsk, Old Tang is too cunning."
——
A week later, "Tang Zenian from Class 4 likes Chen Sijiang from Class 2" became the consensus of
most girls in Junior 1 (2). However, the thoughts of a teenager are not always regarded as poetry.
From the rumors in the girls' bathroom, they became whispers on the volleyball court and
basketball court. After being teased by the girls in the class, they gradually became a joke to
tease the person involved. As for the secrets, twists and turns, and the ups and downs behind
this thought, no one paid attention.
After Si Jiang denied the joke several times, she began to feel a little strange, as if she had met
Tang Zenian too many times in school. When she was drawing the blackboard newspaper, he
happened to stay behind to supervise the blackboard newspaper, and strolled to their class to
visit, and then they talked about calligraphy and typesetting. No matter how many times Yu Ping
rolled his eyes, he just pretended not to see it. When she stayed behind on duty, he happened to
be cleaning, so they took the garbage downstairs together. When he mentioned an excerpt from
"Shishuo Xinyu" in the Chinese textbook, he casually made up several ancient jokes. During
physical education class, Si Jiang couldn't help but sneak a glance at the boys every time. Thinking
of his words of rescue that day, she would unconsciously adjust her running posture. She was
sure that Tang Zenian often looked at her. During the break in the cafeteria, she often met him
and the boys from Class 4 in the front. They bought big fresh meat buns for them while laughing,
of course, handing over the tickets in one hand and the buns in the other, and Si Jiang didn't even
have the chance to refuse. Even when she was waiting for Jingsheng in the bicycle shed after
school, she would always run into Tang Zenian three or four times a week.
No matter how slow a girl is, she can still receive the "like you" signal from the opposite sex.
Moreover, Si Jiang is a sensitive girl. Just thinking about "being liked by a boy who is recognized as
excellent by everyone" makes her heart beat faster and blush. However, this satisfaction of vanity
and her good impression of classmate Tang Zenian are just that. It is not enough for her, who has
read too many romance novels, to take a "brave step."
Maybe she was just being sentimental, and it was actually a joke. What if it wasn't a joke? It
would be even worse, and she didn't know how many people would gossip about it behind her
back. After thinking about it for a few days, Si Jiang finally decided that running away was the
best strategy. Seeing Tang Zenian from a distance in the corridor, she quickly pretended not to
see him, turned around and went downstairs from the other side of the stairs. It doesn't matter if
she eats less fresh meat buns for a few days. When others make fun of her and Tang Zenian, she
will deny it very seriously and act very angry, even Li Nan got her nasty face twice.
On the eve of National Day, classmates made an appointment to go to the Bund for fun. Lin
Zhuoyu raised his arm and many people responded.
"Let's go together." Li Nan swung Si Jiang's arm and begged, "Call your brother."
Si Jiang hesitated: "I want to go back and ask him whether he will go to their class."
"Then we can just follow their class." Zhang Leyi was very optimistic.
During the break, Si Jiang was pushed by them to go to the second grade to find Jingsheng to
finalize the matter. Halfway up the stairs, he bumped into Tang Zenian. Si Jiang was about to turn
around to avoid him, but was stopped by someone.
"Chen Sijiang, I have something to tell you."
Si Jiang had no choice but to stop on the stairs, holding the railing with his hands, looking
downstairs: "What's the matter?" He felt guilty, scared, nervous, and a little bit of indescribable
expectation.
"Am I a ghost?"
"Ah?" Si Jiang didn't react for a moment and looked back at him.
Tang Zenian asked with a smile: "Why did you run away when you saw me?"
Si Jiang scratched the railing guiltily: "No - no."
Tang Zenian smiled even more, even with a hint of joking in his voice: "Are you scared because
everyone else says I like you?"
Si Jiang's face flushed, she felt extremely guilty, and hurriedly shook her head to deny: "No, no,
what am I afraid of--" She was indeed scared now, and wanted to escape very much, but her legs
were out of control, and her hands and feet seemed not to belong to her. How could there be
such a person? How could anyone say such a thing to her face?
Tang Zenian laughed out loud, still as warm as the spring breeze: "Don't be afraid. Don't worry, I
won't affect your studies. I just saw the physics test paper in Teacher Wang's office. You didn't
understand the requirements of the questions in several places. I wrote a solution for you. Take it
back for reference."
Si Jiang took the paper he handed over in a daze, and watched him wave goodbye to her with a
smile, completely forgetting why she came upstairs. She seemed a little too petty, but what did
Tang Zenian mean, what did he mean by not being afraid, what did he mean by letting her rest
assured that it would not affect her studies, was this a positive sentence or a negative sentence?
But she couldn't ask you whether you like me or not in a silly way, that would be too scary.
Chen Sijiang, who has read hundreds of novels, experienced Zhao Kuo's pain for the first time.
Chapter 125
This year, the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day fall on the same day. At the end of
September, the city is filled with the fragrance of sweet osmanthus. Grandma Gu went to the
West District Lao Da Fang to queue up early in the morning and bought 20 fresh meat
mooncakes. When Jingsheng and Si Jiang finished their homework at night, they put the
mooncakes in the pot and baked them on both sides without adding a drop of oil. The pastry is
still crispy and the meat filling is juicy. There is also fresh chicken head rice. After it is cooked,
scoop a spoonful of freshly brewed sweet osmanthus honey. It is sweet and salty, wet and dry. It
is very delicious.
Jingsheng noticed that Si Jiang was a little absent-minded tonight. While eating her favorite fresh
meat mooncake, she was also glancing at the thin piece of paper at hand. There were physics
questions written on it, not her handwriting.
"Who wrote it?"
Si Jiang was startled, lowered his head and drank the chicken head rice sweet soup: "Classmate."
"It's written in quite some detail. Do you understand it all?"
"Yeah." Si Jiang was very distressed, but she was too embarrassed to tell her brother. It felt weird,
and she instinctively felt that she would be scolded by Jingsheng.
"Ah..." The young girl Si Jiang sighed softly, folded up the physics problem-solving ideas given by
Tang Zenian and put them into her schoolbag, then picked up the book "Les Miserables" next to
her to read.
Seeing that she had been reading for a quarter of an hour without turning the page, Jingsheng
didn't know what she was thinking about, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised. He
walked over to her and coughed twice, but the little girl didn't react at all.
"Sijiang."
"Sijiang?"
"Oh - Brother?" Si Jiang raised his head: "You called me?"
Jingsheng asked: "Is your class going to the Bund during the National Day?"
"Oh! Yes, yes, our class is going. What about you, brother? Is your class going? Do you want to
join us?" Si Jiang woke up in shock, remembered that he still had an important responsibility, and
quickly made an invitation.
"Well, you should follow me and don't get lost." Jingsheng thought for a moment and said, "Zhao
Youning and the others should be here too."
Si Jiang smiled: "Well, Lanlan and Chuchu have also made an appointment with me, so there are
a lot of people now. There are more than a dozen people in our class, and seven or eight of my
elementary school classmates. I don't know if the balloons are big enough this year. Last year, we
couldn't find anyone before we even got to the First Department Store."
Jingsheng packed his schoolbag and casually mentioned, "A player on our basketball team
accidentally broke his arm. There was no one to replace him, so the teacher asked me to replace
him. I have to go to training starting tomorrow."
Si Jiang was stunned and smiled slyly: "Haha, some people just know how to laugh at me for not
being able to play basketball. Tomorrow I will also go to watch you make a fool of yourself, and I
will bring the girls in our class with me."
"I'm not like you. Who's laughing at you?" Jingsheng rolled his eyes at her and said, "Just practice
well. We'll practice half an hour later than you. When you're done, go home first."
"I don't want to. I want to wait for you. I have to wait outside your venue. Hahaha." Si Jiang
closed the book and began to look forward to tomorrow.
Jingsheng snorted. In his dictionary, there was no word "embarrassment".
——
Si Jiang, Li Nan and Zhang Leyi stood by the basketball court for the second grade of junior high
school. After watching for ten minutes, the three of them sighed and said, "Comparison is the
thief of anger." Gu Jingsheng, who was also a basketball novice, attracted too many people's
attention when he was practicing dribbling on the sidelines. The basketball seemed to grow in his
hands, and his running and dribbling posture was nothing but handsome. Si Jiang had imagined
that he would make mistakes, but none of them happened.
"Your brother has never played basketball before? Really?"
"No!" Si Jiang gritted his teeth in hatred.
"Okay, Si Jiang——" Zhang Leyi held Si Jiang's arm tightly and looked at her expectantly.
"what?"
"Will you allow me to be your sister-in-law?"
Si Jiang finally pulled his hand away: "What's the point of asking me?"
"If you agree, I will write a love letter to your brother."
"It's useless if I agree. My sister has to agree."
"Why?" Li Nan and Zhang Leyi asked in unison.
Si Jiang looked at the vigorous Gu Jingsheng expressionlessly: "Because my sister has been
determined to marry my eldest cousin since she was five years old."
Li Nan and Zhang Leyi were silent for three seconds, then burst into laughter. The two of them
hung on Si Jiang, one on the left and one on the right: "Fairy, your sister is so funny!"
Si Jiang looked around and didn't want to pay any attention to them. They were lustful people
and not worth making friends with.
"Chen Sijiang!" Ren Xinyu ran over with the ball in his arms and smiled: "I haven't seen you guys
at noon these few days. Have you come to Uncle Zhou's house?"
Si Jiang smiled politely: "Well, I haven't been there these two days. Uncle Zhou is on a business
trip. We ate in the store."
"Oh, no wonder." Ren Xinyu scratched his head: "By the way, your brother has also joined the
basketball team now. Their class's second group match is against our class."
"Oh, I see." Si Jiang continued to smile: "Your class seems to be a little bit better."
"Your brother is pretty good. Fortunately, he has never played basketball before, so he is
considered a novice." Ren Xinyu thought about it and couldn't help but show off his contribution:
"He asked me to learn how to play basketball every day last week. I thought he was just
interested in trying it out, but I didn't expect him to play on the court." Fortunately, he taught me
everything he knew without reservation.
Si Jiang was stunned, and when she looked at Jingsheng who was doing a three-step layup very
easily, she was filled with rage. This big liar, no wonder he said he was not like her, it turned out
that he had done some tricks in private and pretended to be a basketball novice. Bah! But she
still had to smile and say thank you to Ren Xinyu.
When Ren Xinyu walked away, he couldn't help but look back. His feeling seemed to be right.
Chen Sijiang was indeed smiling with his lips but not his eyes. Well, female classmates were really
strange creatures. He had no idea what they were thinking.
——
"Insidious! Cunning!" Si Jiang shook his schoolbag and walked past Jingsheng with his head held
high: "Humph, I'll walk home by myself."
Jingsheng caught up with her inexplicably: "What's wrong?"
Si Jiang rolled his eyes at him unhappily: "You are lying!"
"What did I lie to you about?"
"You've been secretly practicing basketball for a week, and you're still pretending to be a novice."
Jingsheng laughed: "I clearly said that I'm not like you, and I didn't say that I've never touched a
basketball."
"???" Si Jiang stretched his neck and recalled the conversation last night, falling into deep
thought.
"Tsk tsk tsk, I didn't expect someone to be so heartless, just wanting to see me make a fool of
myself and bringing people here to visit." Jing Chang kicked his legs and rode away on his bicycle:
"Okay, then let's go home."
Si Jiang's mind went blank. He chased after him with his schoolbag in his arms, shouting with a
guilty conscience: "Brother! Wait for me! Brother..."
She ran out of the school gate panting, but saw Jingsheng standing calmly by the roadside,
looking at the steaming fried dumplings on the stall.
"Brother?" Si Jiang came over and took out a red cloth coin purse: "Brother, I'll treat you to fried
dumplings! Two, okay?"
"No need. You don't really treat me as your brother anyway." Jingsheng said with a straight face.
Si Jiang quickly paid the money and brought the oil-paper-wrapped dumplings to Jingsheng's
mouth: "Brother, brother, don't be angry. I was wrong."
Jingsheng took the oil dumpling with reluctance and glanced at her: "Come up."
"Hmm!" Si Jiang happily got on the back seat of the bike, holding her fried dough sticks. She rode
her bike through the crowd and turned onto Wanhangdu Road. After eating the fried dough
sticks, Si Jiang suddenly felt that something was wrong. How could she be wrong?
——
Chen Sinnan, who was far away in Aksu, was wearing the performance costume of "Little Sister
Jiang". He stepped lightly on the thighs of two female classmates, struck a fighting posture,
unfolded a five-star red flag in his hand, and froze.
“Stitch by stitch, thread by thread, we embroider a new world, a new world!” The collective
chorus ends with a climax.
Gu Ximei clapped her hands, "Okay, Sinan, don't shake it after you've fixed your last move,
otherwise the red flag will shake with it, which will be ugly. Now let's continue rehearsing "Listen
to Mom Tell Stories from the Past". Pay attention to the marks under your feet, don't mess
around. Come on, push the sign of the grain pile over here, be careful, don't knock yourself
down."
Sinan looked at his energetic mother eagerly: "I'm so tired."
"No one else is complaining of being tired, only you are?" Gu Ximei ignored her and directed the
students to take their positions.
Si Nan shrank to the side, sighed, and poked Shen Xingxing, who was also listless: "You guys are
not going back later, right? Are you going to sleep at my house?"
"Yeah." Shen Xingxing frowned and asked her in a low voice: "Are you really not going back to
Shanghai to study?"
"No." Sinan stuck out her tongue. "My sister said the questions in Shanghai are very difficult. The
math questions we have in the fourth grade are what she learned in the third grade. Now the
average math score of her class is often failing. I don't want to go back. I like to be the first."
Shen Xingxing was even more worried. He looked at the extra-commissioned reinforcements
Shen Qingping and Zhu Zhenning who were holding up the wooden sign of "Grain Pile" and a
piece of "White Cloud" and sighed deeply. Gu Ximei strode over and picked up one with each
hand: "Quick, go to your position, cheer up, we are the last in line!"
Music started playing in the recorder. Gu Ximei demonstrated the movements while reminding
Shen Qingping and other junior high school boys to push the props in time. The National Day
performance will be held in two days. This year marks the first anniversary of the restoration of
the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. It is also the National Day and Mid-Autumn
Festival. The county performance is particularly grand. Shajingzi Town Central Primary School will
also perform two programs. Since she led the team to win awards, the school attaches great
importance to it this year and has allocated funds to make corresponding props. If they can win
first or second prizes, they will go to Urumqi to participate in the general performance.
Ximei had high hopes for this performance. Now that she had obtained her college diploma, she
had different ideas about the future. Of course, because Sijiang had entered the city's key school,
she wanted to give Sinan better educational conditions. The educational experiences she had
passed on to others became her own motivation. It happened that Xiao He, who came to Chen
Donglai's office during the summer vacation, gave her some important news. The news came
from her uncle at Xinjiang Normal University, who was very reliable.
The Second Bingtuan Middle School in Urumqi is in urgent need of a female music teacher of the
Han nationality. She is required to have a college diploma, be able to play the piano, and
preferably be good at organizing student performances. In addition, the affiliated middle school
of Xinjiang Normal University has begun preparations and is scheduled to be completed the year
after next. If you can become a music teacher at the Second Bingtuan Middle School, you can be
transferred to Urumqi, and it will not be difficult to find a way to transfer to the Affiliated Middle
School of Normal University in the future. Of course, the Second Bingtuan Middle School is now a
key middle school in the autonomous region, and it is not so easy to get in. Many people are
jealous of this job. In Xiao He's words, if you use your connections, Teacher Gu will be sure to get
this job. As for where to use the connections, it goes without saying. As for how to use the
connections, Xiao He is worthy of being a Shanghai woman. She directly marked the price of 800
foreign coins. It depends on whether Gu Ximei and Chen Donglai want to do it.
Ximei was definitely tempted. She had 500 yuan sent by Grandpa Chen, who gave birth to Sihao,
and she had kept it in the bank. In the past two years, she used her salary to make ends meet,
and Chen Donglai could save 30 to 40 yuan a month, except for the 60 yuan sent back to
Shanghai by Sijiang and Sihao for living expenses. A little bit makes a big thing, and she could
afford the huge sum of 800 yuan. Moreover, she was admitted to No. 2 Middle School, and Sinan,
as the child of a staff member, would have the problem of attending a key middle school. By then,
even if she took Sihao back to her side, at least she would be able to go to a good primary school
in Urumqi. She didn't believe that she would be worse than Nanhong. At least now, Sijiang alone
had proved that she was much better than Nanhong in this respect.
There is also a more obscure reason. She didn't even mention it to Chen Donglai. Not long ago,
the sentences of Shen Yong and Zhu Guangmao came out. The leader Ouyang was sentenced to
four years, and they were sentenced to two years. Seeing that there was no hope of appeal, Cao
Jingzhi and Meng Qin decided to take their children back to Shanghai with their invalid household
registrations. This was their last struggle. For Xi Mei, Aksu has nothing to miss. She wants to go to
a better place and live a better life. As for the two leaders of the Central Primary School who had
helped her in difficult times, she could only say sorry. Going to Urumqi would mean that Chen
Donglai would have more opportunities to reunite with their mother and daughter, and there
would be less opportunities to quarrel. What's more, she has never considered this issue at all.

Chapter 126
Before the National Day, the class leagues of the three major football teams kicked off.
Junior 1 (2) Class not only had a miraculous women's volleyball and basketball team that didn't
even have a full complement of substitutes, but also had miraculous luck in the draw. In the
group stage, the women's volleyball team was drawn to play against Junior 2 (1) Class. Five of
their nine players were rookies, while two of their twelve players were members of the school
team. The women's basketball match was even more amazing, as they were drawn directly to
Junior 3 (3) Class, and even played as the opening match. Fortunately, there were two opening
matches held at the same time, so more people paid attention to another civil war among the
junior 2 class.
Many students from Class 2 were talking at the sidelines of the stadium.
Yu Ping was dragged here to watch the fun. The boy next to him said firmly, "Old Yu, do you want
to bet on a week's worth of fresh meat? I bet they will definitely walk."
"Who would bet with you on something that is 100% certain to happen? I'd even bet that some
of them would pull their hair out." Yu Ping snorted coldly.
"Anyone want to bet on getting hit in the face with a ball? How about a set of Four Nations War
chess pieces?"
"That's worth considering." Xu Hao pushed up his newly-worn glasses and said, "If we really hit
Old Lin, we'll have a chance. We can be a hero and save the beauty."
Yin Ying looked at all the "experts" in the third grade with a gloating look: "Alas, if you can't do it,
don't force it. Now it's our entire class that has lost face."
"Squad leader Guo just wants to prove that he's popular. Even Zhang Leyi can play basketball."
The girls around him laughed so hard that they bent over and teased Zhang Leyi's exact height.
"It's fine if you don't participate, but it's not good to mock students who actively participate in
class activities." The class owner He Hongwei suddenly appeared behind them, still with his usual
friendly and smiling expression, which scared Yin Ying and the others.
Fang Shuren's tone was still gentle: "The problem of height is caused by both innate and acquired
factors. Everyone develops at different times. Instead of laughing at others' height, why not
reflect on your own character?" She turned around and instructed her class representative: "Xu
Hao, please ask two classmates to move this box of soda to Lin Zhuoyu's side, and remember to
remind the players on the field to drink some later."
Xu Hao quickly dragged Yu Ping to move the boxes. Looking back, he saw that the girls had
already slipped to the other side, avoiding Teacher He and Teacher Fang.
Players from both teams prepare to enter the field.
"Come on Class 2—" The boys laughed: "Break zero! Break zero! Break zero!"
Si Jiang raised her hand to tie her ponytail tighter, and asked in confusion: "What are they
shouting? Breaking Zero?"
Guo Chengyi shook his head and sighed: "They bet that we couldn't score a goal in the whole
game, 0 points."
Si Jiang looked at the opponents whose average height was over 168cm and swallowed back the
bold words he was about to say. The five of them looked at each other, stretched out their white
hands, put them together, pressed them down hard and then raised them up: "Come on!" Si
Jiang carefully recalled the movements he had practiced recently, clenched his fists and silently
encouraged himself, turned around and saw Lin Zhuoyu and Tang Zenian on the sidelines, and
Jing Sheng a few steps away from them. He couldn't help but waved to the brother and said
silently: "Don't laugh at us!" After that, he laughed first.
The boys in Class 2 all leaned over to look at Jingsheng.
Jingsheng raised his eyebrows, smiled and mouthed "come on" to Sijiang.
——
However, the reality is quite cruel. Si Jiang, who had just barely learned how to dribble, run and
pass the ball, found that the game was completely different from practice. When the ball and the
person started moving, she was confused. She only cared about chasing the ball, grabbing the
ball, and protecting the ball. She forgot all the rules and movements. Her ears were filled with the
almost non-stop whistle of the referee, the screams of her teammates, the cheers of her
opponents, and the laughter of the audience on the sidelines. During the timeout, her ears were
buzzing, her throat was full of rust, and she could only see Lin Zhuoyu's lips moving up and down.
"Drink some water." Xu Hao and Yu Ping sympathetically handed them soda, and looked at each
other helplessly. The word "miserable" is just one word, and if you have to use two words, it is
extremely miserable. However, He Hongwei and Fang Shuren were not affected at all, and stood
beside Lin Zhuoyu and applauded them leisurely, but even Si Jiang felt that they really had
nothing worth applauding.
During the break after the first quarter, Si Jiang looked around several times and confirmed that
the boys who collapsed on the ground laughing were from her class. However, she was sweating
profusely and could only focus on breathing and being nervous. The 0 and 12 on the scoreboard
were shocking.
Lin Zhuoyu barely pulled himself together: "Don't walk, remember? Don't run with the ball, Chen
Sijiang, you just ran across midfield with the ball, the referee couldn't catch up with you—"
Si Jiang blinked and apologized weakly: "I'm sorry, I forgot." She really forgot.
"Zhang Leyi, don't squat and curl up with the ball. You are not hatching eggs, you are playing
basketball. Pass the ball."
Zhang Leyi raised the back of her hand to show everyone: "They just grabbed it! They surrounded
me like an octopus, and I couldn't pass it out at all. Look, my hands are all scratched. It's so
scary."
Lin Zhuoyu looked at Cheng Ying and said, "You and Guo Chengyi have played basketball before. A
sideline ball cannot take more than 5 seconds. Are you looking around or wandering on the
street?"
Cheng Ying panted and laughed: "There's nothing I can do. They're too high, like a wall. I can't
throw them out."
"What about the three-step layup? The opponent finally made a mistake, and Guo Chengyi, you
took three steps with the ball——" Lin Zhuoyu had so much to complain about that he couldn't
finish it. After that, Guo Chengyi turned to Li Nan and felt that there was really nothing to say, so
he changed players. The two-minute break was fleeting, and I hope they can break zero.
By halftime, the number of people watching the game had decreased by one-third, and the
scoreboard showed 0:20.
Si Jiang sat on the ground, gulping down half a bottle of soda. Li Nan, who had been resting
nearby, cried, "I knew it would be embarrassing, but I didn't expect it to be so embarrassing. It's
all because Lao Lin didn't let me quit." Zhang Leyi was also very depressed, "It's so boring. When
others scored a goal, Yin Ying and the others applauded desperately. Traitors!"
Guo Chengyi and Cheng Ying both had two shots, but unfortunately they both missed. While
wiping their sweat, they discussed with Lin Zhuoyu how to play in the third quarter.
Jingsheng walked to Sijiang, threw her a dry towel, and unwrapped a small piece of chocolate:
"Take a bite."
Si Jiang wiped the sweat off his face, took a big bite of his hand, and said incoherently, "Oh, I
played so badly. I'm so sorry to our squad leader."
"It's okay." Tang Zenian smiled and squatted down: "You guys are already very good. You knew
how to defend in the second quarter. They also replaced a player from the school team, but they
only scored four goals."
"I've committed three fouls." Si Jiang was a little anxious: "It all depends on Guo Chengyi and
Cheng Ying. I hope I can break zero."
"Then you should be careful in the next section. There are too few people on your team, and your
physical energy consumption is very high." Tang Zenian comforted her again: "It's okay, I see your
teacher He is also cheering you on, there is nothing shameful in sports competitions."
Si Jiang nodded: "Well, thank you."
Jingsheng suddenly said: "Actually, you had several chances to shoot just now, you should have
taken them decisively."
"Me?" Si Jiang's eyes widened. She had only practiced shooting for two days and was not familiar
with the three-step layup. "I'm sure I won't make it."
"Your team won't lose if they miss the shot, and the game won't be negative. Don't keep thinking
about passing the ball to them. They actually have fewer chances to shoot, because the other
team didn't bother to defend you rookies." Jingsheng calmly drew a few positions on the ground:
"Four of them are substitutes, and their level is only slightly better than yours, and they
cooperate more than you. Here, these two positions have always been their open spots, so you
just stay here, and once you get the ball, don't run around, just shoot."
Tang Zenian thought about it carefully and became excited: "Yes, that makes sense. They just
ignored the three of you, so Guo Chengyi and Cheng Ying had the opportunity to get the ball you
passed."
"Then why don't I give it a try?" Si Jiang looked at Jingsheng doubtfully.
Jingsheng nodded and said, "Let your pumpkin play. She should be good at shot put. Let her get
the ball under the backboard and throw it here. Don't worry about whether she can catch it or
not. Just throw it."
Si Jiang suddenly became excited, and energetically pulled Li Nan to find Lin Zhuoyu. Lin Zhuoyu
turned sideways to look at Jingsheng and Tang Zenian, and when he saw Tang Zenian gave him a
thumbs up, he nodded and rearranged it.
——
As soon as they came on the court, Si Jiang and Li Nan looked exhausted and didn't run much.
They basically walked slowly with their hands on their waists. The school team members of the
other side also left the court and were replaced by a full substitute lineup, focusing only on Guo
Chengyi and Cheng Ying. Wu Wei got the ball at the opponent's sideline. Guo Chengyi and Cheng
Ying suddenly ran along the baseline at high speed, shouting "this way, this way" while running.
They were quickly intercepted by four people from the opponent. Wu Wei suddenly threw the
ball to Li Nan in the midfield. Li Nan successfully received the ball and made a gesture to pass the
ball to Guo Chengyi. An opponent player immediately cut into her throwing route and stretched
out his hands. Li Nan used the strength of a shot put, suddenly changed direction, and shot hard.
Si Jiang received the ball steadily, without any hesitation, and shot decisively without any
defense.
The whole audience was silent for a moment, then burst into thunderous cheers.
“It’s in, it’s in!”
“Good job!”
The boys who had just laughed at the girls in their class waved their arms and shouted with
excitement: "Break the zero! Break the zero! Come on, Class 1 (2)!"
Si Jiang stood there in a daze, and it was not until he was hugged tightly by his friends that he
realized that he had actually thrown it in.
"Ah——" She wanted to jump high, but was held firmly to the ground by Li Nan.
Tang Zenian looked at Si Jiang, who was sweating profusely but smiling brightly in the field, and
he also laughed, and couldn't help but look at Gu Jingsheng beside him.
Si Jiang broke away from Li Nan and rushed to the sidelines: "It's in, it's in, we're two points
ahead!"
Jingsheng raised the corner of his mouth, but said: "Your luck is really like a blind cat catching a
dead mouse."
Si Jiang smiled with curved eyebrows and didn't care about his teasing at all.
The final score was 6:42, but the opponent sent another school team member in the fourth
quarter to widen the score gap. He Hongwei was very happy and praised all the members of the
women's team and Lin Zhuoyu on the spot.
——
"You stink." Jingsheng reminded Sijiang: "Sit back a little, don't get close to me."
"Brother, I still want to eat stinky tofu. I scored two goals today. Please treat me." Si Jiang
laughed.
"Then you stink even more." Jingsheng sighed, "You stink from the inside out."
“Brother——!”
"I know, I know. You're annoying as hell."
Finally, the stinky aroma of stinky tofu floated all the way to Wanchun Street. Si Jiang kicked his
feet lightly in the dusk, holding a bag of stinky tofu in his hands, humming a song, and smiling like
a flower.
The bicycle arrived at the entrance of the cultural center, and several boys came towards them.
Zhao Youning's eyes lit up: "Chen Sijiang-Gu Jingsheng, you are back?"
Chapter 127
As dusk fell, a silvery full moon hung high above the treetops. The evening breeze was cool, and a
few households had not collected their sheets and clothes. Not far away, the sound of Shanghai
opera and comedy could be heard.
"It's time to eat dinner, Xiao Mao, where have you been?" An apron-wearing grandmother came
out from the depths of the alley, looking around for her grandson, her roar was deafening. The
uncles reading the Xinmin Evening News on the recliners raised their heads and glanced at her:
"Go to the cultural center to look for her, the little devils are probably guessing lantern riddles."
The entrance to the cultural center was decorated with red lanterns and a row of five-star red
flags, and the atmosphere was festive. Many children who had not yet enrolled in school were
dragged out by their parents. Si Jiang and his friends were sitting on the steps at the entrance,
sharing stinky tofu. Jing Sheng parked his bicycle against the wall, with two schoolbags hanging
from the handlebars. He was flipping through a book, occasionally glancing at Si Jiang, who was
enthusiastically talking about a basketball game.
Zhao Youning and Sheng Fang were amazed after listening to Si Jiang's excited talk about today's
basketball game.
"You're amazing. Your team scored a total of six points, and you scored four points alone." Zhao
Youning was really envious. He actually liked basketball very much, but unfortunately he didn't
have time to participate.
He was very happy to praise himself, but when others praised him, Si Jiang shook his head in
embarrassment: "I was lucky. I made two of four shots, thanks to them for passing the ball to me.
I hope we can have better luck in the volleyball game after the holiday."
"You also joined the volleyball team?" Zhao Youning was surprised.
Si Jiang laughed: "Yes, many students in our class didn't have time to participate, so the volleyball
team and the basketball team had almost the same number of people, and then they died
miserably."
"It doesn't matter on the first day of the new year. You'd better try more. I brought you some of
our test papers and gave them to your grandmother. Go home and see if you can use them."
Zhao Youning blushed a little. Maybe he was the only one who sent test papers to his home
during the holidays. He didn't know if Si Jiang would think he was too weird.
Si Jiang was deeply moved: "Thank you so much! Teacher Zhao! I was so worried. Which subjects
did you teach me?"
"Algebra, geometry, physics, chemistry, four subjects. You are better than me in Chinese, so I
didn't bring it."
Si Jiang thanked him more than ten times in one breath: "By the way, do you want to come to my
house for dinner?"
Zhao Youning stood up and said, "No, we have to go to school tomorrow, so we'll leave first. See
you tomorrow night at Zhou Jiaming's house. He asked his dad to bring in a lot of really big
balloons."
"Hey, have you been in contact with Zhou Jiaming?"
"Well, his family has a phone installed, and he calls me every week." Zhao Youning thought for a
moment and said, "My dad said that if you want to call Xinjiang, you can always come to my
house. It's okay."
Si Jiang said thank you several times before waving goodbye to them.
At night, Jingsheng helped Si Jiang look at the test papers that Zhao Youning brought, and
concluded that these were all from the second half of the second year of junior high school or
even the third year of junior high school. Si Jiang sighed, "Oh, why don't they just cancel the first
year of junior high school? It's really hard for ordinary students like us to survive."
This time Jingsheng didn't laugh at her. He didn't have any obsession with difficult questions or
advanced learning. He would use them if they were useful, as long as the scores weren't too bad.
After a while, seeing Si Jiang still sighing in disappointment, he couldn't help but say, "Don't be so
stubborn. If you don't know how to do it, then you don't know how to do it. What's the big
deal?"
"That won't work. Others can do it, but I can't. It won't work." Si Jiang shook his head in
frustration.
"You used to worry that your brother would always need your grandma to feed him and wouldn't
learn to eat by himself. What about now?" Jingsheng disagreed: "Many things will happen
naturally when he reaches that stage. Why rush? Anyway, the high school entrance examination
papers can't all be about the content of the second and third year of high school, and the college
entrance examination papers can't all be about college content. Ordinary people and geniuses
originally take two different paths. If you insist on taking Zhao Youning's path, you are just forcing
things."
It sounded reasonable, but Si Jiang still stared at the question in front of him. Thinking of Zhao
Youning's absolute advantage since the first grade, he couldn't help but sighed again. It seemed a
bit difficult to admit that he was just an ordinary person.
——
This year's Jiaozhou Road Small Commodity Market is even more lively, with many new and novel
products. Stall owners hold up loudspeakers and shout: "Hong Kong products, Hong Kong
products, don't miss them if you pass by. Do you want an electronic watch? Do you want a toy
car?"
Si Jiang and several other girls followed Jing Sheng, Zhao Youning and a bunch of boys and finally
squeezed to Zhou Jiaming's stall. Zhou Jiaming had grown a lot taller during the summer vacation
and was looking forward to it. When he saw them coming, he was so happy that he stuttered.
"Come, come, I have something to give you." Zhou Jiaming didn't say anything, he pulled Zhao
Youning into his home through the narrow passage, then turned around and urged Si Jiang and
the others to follow.
As soon as he entered the door, Si Jiang saw a glass cabinet on the right, and a whole row of
shelves behind it were also filled with various stationery, toys and small commodities. A woman
with a silver-pan face and a festive look stood up from behind the cabinet: "Mingming, there are
so many people, what are you doing?
"It's me, my classmate, don't bother with it." Zhou Jiaming replied impatiently, pulling down the
light switch on the wall: "Come in, come up two floors."
"Hello, Zhou Jiaming's mother." Si Jiang bowed several times.
"Oh, be careful, the stairs are very narrow." Zhou Jiaming's mother stretched her neck to take a
look and wiped her sweat.
Jingsheng saw that the place seemed to be full of goods, and frowned: "You guys go ahead, I'll
wait outside."
Si Jiang was actually also in a difficult situation, but had to follow them upstairs. The wooden
stairs had been in disrepair for a long time and made creaking sounds. After they had taken a few
steps, they heard shouting coming from the pavilion.
"Ninety thousand—bang!"
"Ce Na, don't touch the 90,000 in front?"
"Get lost, I don't even have 90,000 pairs of coins in front of me."
"Zhou Jiaming——" Zhao Youning stopped and said, "Forget it, let's not go up."
"You really don't have to give us anything." Si Jiang also said softly: "We can buy whatever we like
ourselves. It's already very good that your mother gave us a cheaper price. Really."
Zhou Jiaming blushed: "Come on."
Seeing his embarrassed and pleading face, Zhao Youning and Si Jiang looked at each other and
followed him helplessly.
The door of the pavilion slammed open, and a thick smell of smoke rushed out, choking Si Jiang,
Wu Minglan, and Wang Sichu and making them cough.
The room was filled with smoke, but the 60-watt light was very bright. There was the sound of
shuffling cards, and a shirtless man pushed aside a chair and walked out: "You haven't left yet?"
Zhou Jiaming hummed.
The man looked at Zhao Youning and Si Jiang with interest, and took out two wrinkled big
solidarity notes from the pocket of his striped pajama pants: "No wonder you never come to me
for money. Take it, and treat your classmates to food and drinks."
Zhou Jiaming took the money and asked Zhao Youning to go upstairs. Zhao Youning took a closer
look and saw a few boys about his age playing poker next to the mahjong table in the pavilion.
One of them had a cigarette in his mouth, and half of his face was blocked by Zhou Jiaming's
father, so he couldn't see it clearly, but he looked familiar for some reason.
After going upstairs, they found the room was not small. There was a single bed next to a big bed.
Apart from a wardrobe, a chest of drawers and a desk, other places were also full of goods. There
was almost no place for them to sit, so they could only sit next to each other on Zhou Jiaming's
single bed.
"This is a soft leather pencil case from Journey to the West. It's for your sister. It contains seven
automatic pencils in different colors." Zhou Jiaming stuffed a bag into Si Jiang's hand without
further ado: "This set of watercolor pens is for you."
Without waiting for Si Jiang to decline, he stuffed a bag for Zhao Youning, Wu Minglan and Wang
Sichu, each with a new diary, a magnetic pencil case, and a new hairband. It was obvious that he
had prepared them according to their preferences, and he had put a lot of thought into them.
The one for Zhao Youning was a box of green soldier dolls.
"If you consider me a friend, then accept it!" Zhou Jiaming was very serious and it was obvious
that he was very nervous.
Si Jiang couldn't help but look at each other with Zhao Youning.
"Thank you, of course you are our friend." Si Jiang was also very serious: "Just because we are
friends, I shouldn't accept your gift. Zhou Jiaming, friendship between friends cannot be
maintained by gifts. Don't you agree?"
Wu Minglan and Wang Sichu also nodded, and followed Si Jiang to put the bag back on the bed.
Zhao Youning took out five dollars and stuffed it into Zhou Jiaming's pocket: "I like soldiers very
much, but I can't take yours for free. No one's money or things fall from the sky. Your mother
works very hard, and there is really no need to do this. We have always been friends, right?"
Zhou Jiaming's lips pursed, his face getting redder and redder, he looked at Si Jiang eagerly. Si
Jiang smiled slightly: "I already have watercolor pens, this pencil case is very special, can I buy it
for my sister?"
In the end, Zhou Jiaming accepted the money from Si Jiang and the others in a depressed mood.
When they went downstairs, the door of the pavilion was still open, and Zhou Jiaming's father
smiled and shouted, "Come and see us when you have time."
"Goodbye, Dad Zhou Jiaming."
Si Jiang was the last one to go downstairs and vaguely heard laughter coming from behind him.
"Mr. Zhou, your son is doing pretty well. His female classmates are all very pretty."
"Oh, he's doing pretty bad. He's been giving gifts to people to beg them to be his friends since he
was little. He stutters when he speaks a few words. From kindergarten till now, he has no friends.
I really suspect the hospital took him away by mistake. How does he look like my son? He's not
like Caifeng who can endure hardship. He cries like a dog when he's asked to move a few boxes of
goods."
The mahjong tiles were pushed over, and Zhou Jiaming's father's voice was unclear: "How about I
ask Xiao Liu and the others in your family to do odd jobs?"
——
Zhao Youning and Zhou Jiaming were walking back to Jing'an Park from the Bund that day. They
came to the old man's stall eating tofu pudding and saw Si Jiang and Jing Sheng who had been
separated from them. When they greeted each other with smiles, Zhao Youning suddenly
remembered that the boy whose half face was blocked by Zhou Jiaming's father was Liu Yu, the
troublemaker of the Si Nan "watermelon knife incident".

Chapter 128
"Zhou Jiaming!" Si Jiang panted and chased into the alley of Jiaozhou Road: "Wait a minute, wait
for me!"
Zhou Jiaming put his trembling hands into his trouser pockets, stopped walking, and looked down
at his white sneakers with many footprints on them. This pair of Warrior shoes was exactly the
same as Si Jiang's. He had specially pestered his mother to buy them for him. He had not worn
the two pairs of Hong Kong hook sneakers his father had bought. When a pair of clean white
sneakers appeared in his sight, he unconsciously retracted his feet.
"I'm sorry." Zhou Jiaming wanted to cry but couldn't.
Si Jiang smiled and stuffed the sweet-scented osmanthus cake he bought on the way back into his
hands. He held his knees and took a few breaths. "You didn't get to eat it last year. This year, that
old lady moved to set up a stall in front of the foreign language bookstore. Fortunately, my
brother saw it with his sharp eyes. How come you run so fast? Do you want to participate in a
running competition instead of the school sports meeting?"
Zhou Jiaming didn't expect that Si Jiang would catch up with him not to ask why Liu Yu was at his
house. He almost crushed the osmanthus cake into powder, and shook his head with red eyes:
"No, I'm the shortest in the class and run the slowest."
"It's because no one is chasing after you." Si Jiang said with a smile, "The Liu Yu incident has
nothing to do with you and your parents. Don't go back and make trouble with them. His family
has already apologized in the newspaper. I don't even remember what he looks like. And why
should you apologize? Are you unwilling to be friends with us just because it has nothing to do
with you and you don't know about it? I don't agree with that."
Zhou Jiaming raised his head and saw Gu Jingsheng and Zhao Youning following him. He didn't
know what happened to him just now. He felt ashamed to stay with them and to see Si Jiang. He
just wanted to go home and yell at his parents, forcing them to drive Xiao Liu away.
Zhao Youning was a little embarrassed. He didn't expect Zhou Jiaming to react so strongly when
he said it. He apologized sincerely: "Zhou Jiaming, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything else. Don't
think too much about it."
Zhou Jiaming's face flushed, and he tried to hold back his tears. He was indeed useless, from
childhood to adulthood. Anyone in the alley and school could bully him, and girls could push him
down and snatch his toys. He would go back and tell his parents, and his father would scold him
for not living up to his expectations and slap him a few times. His mother would smile and say
that it was okay for children to play around, and then give him a handful of candy or a new toy.
No one ever cared about what he thought. But Si Jiang cared, and said so much to enlighten him,
and Zhao Youning actually apologized to him and told him not to think too much.
Sheng Fang appeared at the entrance of the alley and waved at them desperately: "Hey, brother
and sister! Pay the money. Come back quickly——"
Si Jiang smiled and waved: "Come on, come on, I haven't finished eating yet, don't take it away."
Zhou Jiaming blushed and followed them back: "I'm sorry."
"Don't keep saying sorry." Si Jiang smiled and winked: "I'll punish you to treat us tofu pudding,
okay?"
"Okay, okay, okay! Of course!" Zhou Jiaming straightened his back.
As they walked out of the alley, Jingsheng patted Zhou Jiaming on the shoulder.
"Brother Sijiang?"
"Don't mess around when you go back. Those little hooligans are probably more vicious than
them." Jingsheng looked at the honest little boy seriously: "Your family is in business, don't mess
with such people. Our family's affairs can be handled by our men themselves."
Zhou Jiaming turned away, said unnaturally, and quickened his pace. He didn't want to walk with
Gu Jingsheng. He would feel very uncomfortable and nervous. Anyway, he knew that Si Jiang and
his sister Si Nan had the best relationship, and Zhao Youning was his only good friend in
elementary school. That Xiao Liu dared to be a hooligan to Si Jiang and injured Zhao Youning. If
he didn't deal with that guy, he would not be worthy of being a friend of Zhao Youning and Si
Jiang.
Returning to the old man's stall, Si Jiang took a closer look at the person sitting at the next table
and shouted, "Katydid! Happy nut!"
Several girls hugged each other with laughter. Lin Zhuoyu and Tang Zenian quickly moved the
table over to join them and greeted Jingsheng respectfully: "Hello, Brother Si Jiang."
Zhang Leyi's voice was crisp and bright: "I clearly saw Si Jiang's balloon when I was on Sichuan
Road. I finally squeezed past you but couldn't find you. And Pumpkin is really something. She
clearly said she would walk back from Yan'an Road, but she insisted on walking on Beijing Road. I
don't know what she was thinking. Did you secretly agree to walk on Beijing Road?"
"Ah? No, did Pumpkin go alone? It's so late. I wonder if she has returned home?" Si Jiang became
worried: "We met Lanlan and Chuchu at Jing'an Temple, and they didn't meet Pumpkin either."
After Si Jiang finished speaking, he glared at A Ge. Just now, when she asked Lanlan and the
others to come and eat tofu pudding together, he had a chamber pot face, which scared Lanlan
and the others so much that they ran faster than rabbits.
Zhao Youning touched his nose and said, "I think your classmate asked me a question when she
left. I said there are fewer people on Beijing Road than Yan'an Road. Zhou Jiaming and I came
back from Beijing Road, but I don't think I saw her."
Si Jiang was a little fidgety: "Who was with her? Where were Yu Ping and Xu Hao? Did you meet
them?"
Lin Zhuoyu scooped a spoonful of chili oil into his bowl carelessly: "Alas, I didn't see it. There
were too many people. Who can take care of who? Don't worry about it. He's already in junior
high school. How can he get lost?"
Tang Zenian stood up and said, "Li Nan's house and mine are in the same alley. I'll go back and
ask."
Si Jiang was so moved: "I'll go with you!"
Zhang Leyi screamed, "Oh, oh, oh, please don't. We were separated and finally met again. At
least we should eat before we leave. It will be fine. The pumpkin is so big, who can move it?
Brother Si Jiang, Zhao Youning, what do you think? Hurry up and persuade Si Jiang——"
She rolled her eyes and said mischievously, "Unless someone wants to leave us alone and go
there, cough cough cough, oh no, how did I say that out loud?" She smiled so hard that she
leaned on Guo Chengyi.
Si Jiang blushed, sat back down, and pinched Zhang Leyi's face fiercely: "You are talking
nonsense! You are embarrassing me!"
Jingsheng put half a bowl of sweet tofu pudding in front of Si Jiang: "Tang Zenian and I will run a
trip. After you finish eating, wait here and don't leave."
Tang Zenian was stunned for a moment: "Okay."
——
A quarter of an hour later, Jingsheng and Tang Zenian came back and brought Li Nan back with
them.
Si Jiang was very happy, and he took Li Nan to sit down and asked her whether she preferred
salty or sweet tofu pudding. But Li Nan was angry and grumbled at Zhang Leyi: "Why don't you
keep your word? Didn't we agree to go to Beijing Road? You disappeared when I turned around.
Do you know that I looked for you for a long time?"
Zhang Leyi looked aggrieved: "What? You asked me if I would go to Beijing Road and I said I
would go with everyone. I have been with the squad leader and Lao Lin, and we have been
looking for you for a long time."
Li Nan's face turned red with anger: "You just want to find Brother Si Jiang, and you keep saying Si
Jiang's balloon is here and Si Jiang's balloon is there. I have run with you so many times, but you
have never been right once. Then I walked towards Beijing Road and you ignored me."
"I really didn't ignore you! I just wanted to find Si Jiang, why did you say that to me!" Zhang Leyi
blushed and got angry, and pulled Guo Chengyi's hand to ask her to judge. Guo Chengyi looked
helpless, and tried to coax her, but there were tens of thousands of people, who could make a
clear and reasonable argument? Si Jiang had no other choice.
"You still don't admit it even after I told you!" Li Nan's eyes were red. "I think I recognize you.
Anyway, I walked back to Changde Road from Xizang Road alone today. I won't say it anymore. If I
say it, I'll get angry."
As soon as the girls started to quarrel, the boys automatically retreated. Tang Zenian and Zhao
Youning looked at each other and suddenly came to an understanding. They stood up at the same
time and said, "You guys take your time eating. We're leaving first."
Zhou Jiaming ran over and paid for both tables, leaving Jingsheng alone to face the two tearful
little girls and the two older girls who were at a loss and busy trying to coax and persuade them.
Jingsheng: ???
——
The class league is coming to an end, and the school sports meet is about to begin. Si Jiang is
worried, not about the competition, because they have not won any competitions yet. The
volleyball loss was not so ugly, and the basketball loss was also okay, with no more than 30 points
difference. However, Zhang Leyi withdrew from the basketball team due to health reasons after
the National Day, and she no longer talked to Li Nan.
The friendship boat can capsize at any time, and for the first time, Si Jiang realized the fragility of
girls' friendship.
Zhang Leyi looked for Si Jiang several times, and her eyes turned red every time she spoke:
"Pumpkin, I really can't stand her. She is always right. She was clearly the one who got lost that
day, but she only blamed me."
Si Jiang said: "I am also not happy. We agreed to go together. It's my fault that I didn't hold her
back."
"She won't blame you." Zhang Leyi pouted: "She is just picking on the weak. She won't blame the
squad leader Lao Lin and the others. She just stared at me because I said something she didn't
like to hear."
Si Jiang was silent.
"Is it true that we can only say nice things to each other as friends? She's already so fat, and
every time she eats in the cafeteria, she'll take a small portion of my steak. I jokingly asked her to
give me a dime meal ticket, and she got mad at me." Zhang Leyi sighed, "Fairy, tell me, would I
really ask her for a dime meal ticket? In the final analysis, she doesn't consider me a friend."
Si Jiang didn't know what to say. She didn't eat at school and didn't know there was such a pork
rib lawsuit.
Zhang Leyi sighed, "You should be careful anyway. It was Pumpkin who spread the news that Tang
Zenian liked you. Kua Kua asked her to be quiet at the time, but she didn't listen at all. She acted
like she knew everything and that she was best friends with you and Old Tang. What if the
teacher knew about it? She wouldn't think about others anyway. She only thinks about herself."
Si Jiang was dumbfounded.
But when she and Li Nan stayed behind on duty, Li Nan told a different version of the story.
"Zhang Leyi came to you, right? Did she ask you to ignore me and be with her only?" Li Nan
swung the broom loudly.
Si Jiang shook his head: "She didn't tell me that."
"I really misjudged her. I didn't expect that she is the smallest and the most careful!" Li Nan's
already round eyes became even rounder as he glared, like a tiger showing its might.
"It's so funny. She even told everyone that I stole her steak. Please help! Is there something
wrong with my brain? She obviously doesn't like fatty food, but she always asks me to help her
eat it so that she won't be caught by the canteen supervisor for wasting food and having to wash
dishes!" Li Nan was so angry that his chest heaved. "She's hanging out with Yin Ying and the
others now. She's saying bad things about you everywhere, saying that you're a fake fairy and I'm
a real villain. She was even instigated by Yin Ying to quit our basketball team. Bah, you don't have
any collective honor at all, you traitor!"
"I don't care. Fairy, if you want to be friends with me, you can't care about Zhang Leyi anymore."
Li Nan slammed the blackboard eraser on the podium in a decisive manner, stirring up a cloud of
chalk dust, choking himself and coughing: "Ahem, either she or me, either me or her!"
This was the first time that Si Jiang faced such a difficult life choice. Life for a junior high school
girl was too difficult.

Chapter 129
Si Jiang missed her primary school life a little bit. She didn't have many close friends at that time,
but she didn't have so many worries. Thinking of this, she felt guilty about her current friends. It
seemed too much to regard others' kindness to her as a burden.
But she didn't know who to trust, nor did she know how to deal with this conflict. She and Li Nan
were deskmates and had more contact in daily life. Zhang Leyi would turn around from the first
row from time to time and look at them resentfully, with tears in her eyes several times. Si Jiang
couldn't bear this love, so she had to bury her head in books. Li Nan, however, would not allow
her to be threatened by Zhang Leyi. He was doubly concerned about her and used sharp words to
remind Si Jiang not to be fooled by crocodile tears. During the break, Si Jiang was in a more
difficult situation. Both sides wanted to pull her to the toilet, and she could only say that she
didn't want to go. Si Jiang deeply admired how the ancient emperors survived among so many
concubines.
After a few days of this tug-of-war, one afternoon when doing eye exercises, Zhang Leyi suddenly
lay on the desk and burst into tears, scaring the whole class and the chemistry teacher, Mrs.
Sheng. Teacher Sheng quickly asked Guo Chengyi and Lin Zhuoyu to take her to the health room
for a checkup. After the chemistry class, Zhang Leyi asked for leave and went home.
The next day, the head teacher earnestly taught everyone not to laugh at other students' heights,
and cited many examples of national leaders. Si Jiang thought that this class training was
probably because of Zhang Leyi, but Li Nan pouted unconvincedly: "It's so funny, she can laugh at
me for being fat, but I can't say she's short? She's really good at pretending to be sick, and it's not
a big deal that she can cry."
Si Jiang couldn't help but mention this to Jingsheng during lunch. Jingsheng was surprised at her
entanglement, but he didn't care much about the quarrels between little girls.
"Have you met your parents' junior high school classmates?"
Si Jiang thought about it and shook his head.
"Have you met your uncle and aunt's junior high school classmates?"
"there has never been."
"Have you ever heard them mention it?"
"It seems not. They often talk about college classmates. Some of my uncle's high school
classmates seem to be junior high school classmates as well. Do they count?"
Jingsheng handed her a piece of fried gluten stuffed with meat: "Junior high school classmates
don't deserve to have a name, understand?"
Si Jiang was dumbfounded: "???!!!"
Jingsheng said calmly: "People change. If you don't change, others will change too. Who did you
grow up with in Wanchun Street and who did you get along with the most? Do you still
remember the names of the kids in kindergarten?"
Si Jiang felt that what he said was wrong, but it seemed he couldn't refute it.
"Don't pay attention to such childish and boring things." Jingsheng raised his eyes: "Studying is
the most important thing. Are you in the top 20 in the class? Are you in the top 100 in the
grade?"
Si Jiang immediately shrugged: "No." But she didn't slack off in her studies, she felt wronged.
"Less than a third of the junior high students can go straight to high school. Why do you care who
likes who or who hates who? Just take care of yourself."
"Oh." Si Jiang pouted as she divided the fried gluten stuffed with meat into four pieces.
Jingsheng thought for a moment and slowed down his tone: "What I mean is that you should not
waste time on things that are not worth it. Are there any events in your school sports meeting? It
seems that the women's volleyball and basketball teams in your class have been eliminated?"
"Yeah. There's a 4*100 relay and a high jump." Si Jiang was even more bored. Who said hard
work always pays off? They worked so hard, but they still ranked last in the group stage.
"You do high jump?" Jingsheng expressed his doubt.
"I can jump pretty high!" Si Jiang said and laughed, "I'm okay in our class, brother. How about
you?"
"High jump, long jump, 100 meters, 4*100 meters and 400 meters running" Jingsheng was a little
helpless, because he learned the high jump because he was drafted after joining the basketball
team.
"So many! I'll go and cheer for you when the time comes. By the way, brother, are you going to
compete with Junior Three (3) Class for third place in the basketball game in a few days?" Si Jiang
said happily, "You should be the sports committee member of your class."
"Washing the ass for those guys every day? Picking up balls and packing equipment? Am I
stupid?" Jingsheng curled his lips and gave Si Jiang a chestnut on the forehead: "Smart face but
stupid mind is you. I told you not to waste time on things that are not worth it."
Si Jiang was not convinced: "You are too - too selfish. Serving your classmates is a good thing."
Jingsheng ignored her, cleaned up the dishes, covered the food left for Zhou Shanli with a gauze
cover, and urged Sijiang to do his homework quickly.
Zhou Shanli returned late when the two were about to leave.
"Have you all finished eating?" Zhou Shanli sat down and wolfed down his food: "By the way, Si
Jiang, I met your aunt."
"Ah? Where did you meet her?" Si Jiang hadn't seen Nan Hong for a long time.
"At the train station, she is leading a team to perform in Guangzhou. It seems that they will go to
the Canton Fair next year to perform officially. She said hello to you two children." Zhou Shanli
thought for a moment and took out a few tickets from his pocket: "It will be held at the end of
December this year. If you are free, go and see it. It is held by your aunt's unit. Bring your good
friends with you."
"What is this? A Christmas dance?" Si Jiang was shocked: "We can't go, we have to go to class."
"What does it matter if it's Saturday night?" Zhou Shanli didn't say that Nanhong also gave him
several tickets.
"No, no, no, we—" Si Jiang pushed back awkwardly: "We are just junior high school students."
"Your aunt just wants you to see the world, what are you afraid of?" Zhou Shanli glared, "It's held
in the Friendship Hall and it's very formal. I will go too."
"Uncle Zhou, are you going too?" Si Jiang's eyes widened. In his impression, the words Uncle
Zhou and dance had nothing in common.
Zhou Shanli's face turned red. "There's a buffet before the dance. You can eat whatever you want
without spending a penny." He stuffed the bill into Si Jiang's hand. "This is the money for the
meal, understand? There's steak! Prawns! Eat whatever you want!"
Jingsheng took the ticket and put it away: "Then we have to go."
"Brother?"
Jingsheng dragged her away and said, "Let's go back to school."
"Jingsheng, ask your dad tonight if he has an eel tube. If he does, get one tomorrow."
"Got it. My dad sent a dozen beers and put them in your fridge."
"Hey, why didn't you say so earlier!"
——
Jingsheng suddenly accelerated his bicycle and perfectly passed Ren Xinyu who was walking on
the upper street and looking forward and backward.
"Chen Sijiang——" Ren Xinyu chased for two steps, then slowed down in frustration.
Jingsheng shook off his former "basketball coach" and made a sharp turn onto Yuyuan Road. Si
Jiang, who was looking back, was caught off guard and threw himself on Jingsheng's back. His
nose, front teeth and chest suddenly felt a sharp pain and tears came out of his eyes.
"Slow down!" Si Jiang was so angry that he slapped his brother several times, which made his
palms hurt and even worse.
"We're here!" Jingsheng looked back at her and said, "The class will start in five minutes. I'll go
park the car, and you hurry to the classroom."
Seeing Si Jiang rolling her eyes at him, gritting her teeth, covering her nose, and walking into the
teaching building with a hunched back, Jing Sheng seemed to be thinking about something.
Suddenly, he remembered the bump she had just given him, and his face suddenly became red.
"Gu Jingsheng, I saw you just now. Didn't you hear me calling you?" Ren Xinyu trotted over.
"Sorry, I didn't notice. I was in a hurry to go to class." Jingsheng responded casually and pushed
the bike towards the carport.
Ren Xinyou scratched his head, feeling as if he had been betrayed. He was the one who
introduced Gu Jingsheng to basketball, but how come he played better than him? Their class
could even compete for the third place in the junior high school division. This was not a good
feeling.
Si Jiang returned to the classroom, lying on the desk and grinning secretly. Probably because of
the intense exercise in the past month, she felt a little swollen and painful in her chest recently.
She took a look at it while taking a shower and it seemed to have grown a little. Classmates like
Cheng Ying and Li Nan have already started using bras. When they changed into sports clothes
together, everyone also mentioned it with a smile. She is not completely ignorant of growth, but
she is a little reluctant to buy a bra by herself, but she has to buy one, otherwise she will feel
weird when running.
——
Before the school sports meet, Si Jiang received a letter from Shan Rang from Beijing, as well as
an express air parcel. The parcel contained twelve cotton bras and four small vests. The bras were
not the ones with a whole row of side buckles like Li Nan and the others wore, but elastic bands,
which looked very easy to put on and take off. Si Jiang was simply stunned. Was my aunt-in-law
Cinderella's fairy godmother?
Shan Rang talked about many interesting things about her school and students in the letter. She
invited Si Jiang and Jing Sheng to go to Beijing to see the snow scenery during the winter
vacation. Only at the end did she mention that it was Jing Sheng who called her.
"School is a miniature society. In addition to learning knowledge, the two most important things
for us in school are physical exercise and interpersonal communication. In fact, knowledge can be
learned at any time, and even if it is delayed, it can still be caught up. For example, your uncle
was delayed for ten years, but he was still able to study in the United States. But exercise and
communication are two things that cannot be compensated once they are missing."
This was the first time Si Jiang had ever heard this truth, and it was simply unbelievable to her.
She read it twice before she was sure that what her aunt said was exactly what she understood it
to be.
"Si Jiang, when you enter junior high school, you may find that there are people you like and
people you don't like in this world, people who like you and people who don't like you. These
four types of people will always exist no matter what stage you are in the future, whether you are
studying, working, or starting a family. The people you like and who like you are the ones who are
worthy of your careful treatment, such as family members and your best friends. We are willing
to give them time, money and energy, and we have no regrets. What you need to learn in the
process of growing up is how to get along with the other three types of people. There are always
some people you have to get along with who you don't like or don't like you. The most important
thing is that you have to make yourself comfortable in the process of getting along. No friendship
can be maintained by wronging yourself, nor can it be shown by belittling others. A gentleman is
harmonious but different. We can respect people who have different opinions from us, but we
cannot cater to others in words while being full of malice in our hearts."
Yes, Si Jiang was sure, the little aunt was her fairy aunt, she was so lucky, and of course there was
also the fairy brother. Well, Si Jiang decided to be better to the brother.
The next morning, before daybreak, when Gu Dongwen had just gone out to buy groceries, Si
Jiang got up quietly, washed the new bra and vest clean and hung them up to dry, cooked rice
porridge, steamed vegetable dumplings, boiled eggs, and put pickled mustard, dried radish,
salted vegetables and fermented tofu on a plate.
"Brother, you've gotten up so early?" Seeing Jingsheng coming down from the attic, Si Jiang, who
had already finished breakfast, put down his chopsticks and greeted him with a smile.
Jingsheng was stunned for a moment, hummed, and looked very embarrassed, hiding the shorts
in his hand behind his back.
"I'll help you wash your clothes!" Si Jiang was quick-eyed and quick-handed. He picked up his
uncle's washing basin and ran over: "I'll do it! You go and cook the rice quickly."
Jingsheng blushed and dodged her: "No, I'll go by myself. Don't block me here, get out of the
way."
Si Jiang smiled sweetly, and directly hugged his arm to grab it. Just as she grabbed the piece of
cloth, Jing Sheng pushed her away impatiently: "I'm so annoyed with you. I said I'll go by myself."
He grabbed the wash basin and walked out of the house in a few steps, making a loud thudding
sound on the stairs.
Si Jiang was scolded and pouted, but after thinking about it, she felt relieved and shook her head
and sighed. She didn't expect that her brother, who was so old, would still wipe his snot
everywhere. No wonder he was embarrassed and refused to let her help him wash it. Well, next
month, on the beginning of winter, it will be her brother's birthday, and she will give him four
handkerchiefs.

Chapter 130
Si Jiang felt that Jingsheng had become a little strange. He hardly looked at her the whole day,
and just said "um" or "oh" to everything she said. He rode his bike very fast and just read a book
during lunch, as if he was angry with her. However, she reflected on herself three times a day and
couldn't find what she had done wrong.
"Brother?"
"Um."
"Are you unhappy? (Are you unhappy?)"
"without."
"Are you mad at me?"
"without."
"You are so quiet today."
"Is there?"
"Why are you going up to the attic to read?"
"No reason."
Si Jiang asked for a long time but could not get any information. When his uncle came back at
night, he quietly informed him, worried that he might encounter something bad at school. Gu
Dongwen went to the attic for a while, returned to the living room, opened a bottle of beer with
pickled duck tongue, touched his chin and shook his head at Si Jiang: "Don't pay attention to
him."
"Don't come, I want to pay attention to my brother." Si Jiang had a loyal heart towards Jingsheng
and firmly objected.
"The little red guy has started to grow hair, you know?" Gu Dongwen narrowed his eyes and
smiled: "His voice has changed, and his voice sounds like a drake, which is scary, so he doesn't
want to speak."
When Si Jiang went to bed, he couldn't help but ask his grandmother: "What does it mean to
start growing hair?"
Grandma Gu collected a lot of bras and vests. She thought her granddaughter was asking about
women's matters. She thought about it for a while and said tactfully, "It's just growing up. The
breasts have become bigger, and there is hair down there. It will bleed. If you bleed, you can have
a baby."
Si Jiang looked at the top of the tent silently, her heart in a knot. Although the girls' toilets in the
school are separated by shutters, blood can often be seen flowing through the long toilet pit
when the water is flushed. At first, she thought someone had a nosebleed, and when she said it,
Guo Chengyi and Li Nan laughed to death. There are always girls who ask for menstrual leave
during physical education class. They don't have to run and can go back to the classroom to
study. She was embarrassed to ask more. What should she do if she keeps bleeding? What can
she use to stop it? She has to go to school with so much bleeding, which is too scary. What the
hell is it that you can have a baby if you bleed? This is even more terrifying than going to school
with blood. She tossed and turned and couldn't sleep. She quietly rolled to her grandmother and
asked: "What if I bleed? Will my pants get dirty? Will it flow to the ground?"
Granny Gu, who was half asleep and half awake, started up and got up: "Ah? Nannan, are you
bleeding? How much?" Her voice was so loud that the light in the attic came on immediately.
Gu Dongwen asked from upstairs: "What's wrong with Nannan?"
Si Jiang was embarrassed and quickly denied: "No, nothing! I'm fine."
The ladder made a clattering sound, Jingsheng went downstairs and knocked on the back of the
wardrobe: "Are you really okay?" Si Jiang heard that his voice was a little hoarse, but not as harsh
as his uncle said.
"It's okay." Si Jiang heard Jingsheng seemed to pour a glass of water in the living room and then
go up to the attic. She pulled her grandmother down, hugged her neck and asked again.
Grandma Gu breathed a sigh of relief and touched her hair. "Oh, we women have a hard life from
birth. If we bleed, we can get married and have children. Bleeding is something every woman has
to do. No matter how painful it is, you can't complain. When I was a child, I had stomachaches
that made me want to die. Your great-grandmother used those old clothes to pad me, and stuffed
my pants with fresh wood ash. She also let me lie in bed for two days and drink some brown
sugar water. Later, when we were fleeing, who would care? Just let it bleed. Wherever you go,
the blood will drip. Anyway, no one will see, so who would care about such things? People's lives
are better now. By the way, grandma is going to buy you two menstrual belts and some of the
softest straw paper. Don't be afraid, my daughter, we all went through this."
Si Jiang was almost shivering.
"Your mother had a very hard life." Grandma Gu sighed, "She couldn't stand using straw paper.
Every time she used it, her skin would be rubbed raw, and she would bleed inside and outside.
She couldn't even walk because of the pain. She refused to rest at home and insisted on going to
school. I don't know how she managed to survive in Xinjiang. She had to do farm work for more
than ten hours a day. Alas, she said that things got much better after she gave birth to you. Your
eldest aunt seemed to be a delicate person who couldn't stand hardship. She was lucky enough
to be able to use even the coarsest straw paper. Don't you think she was good? She didn't suffer
much when giving birth to you and your three cousins."
"Ah, it's fate." Granny Gu held Si Jiang in her arms and stroked him for a long time before she
started snoring.
——
The next day was the school sports meet. Si Jiang didn't sleep well the night before, and had two
dark circles under her eyes. When she went to the toilet, she kept suspecting that she was
bleeding. She looked at it several times before she left the room listlessly. She saw Jingsheng was
already eating breakfast with a gloomy face. She silently glanced at the clothes drying rack
outside the window and saw two plaid boxer shorts bulging in the wind under the morning sun,
making a rustling sound. When she thought about having to wash her bloody shorts every day in
the future, she couldn't help but shudder and wanted to cry, but she couldn't.
The two of them had their own thoughts. They finished their breakfast in silence and began to
pack the things they would take to lunch.
The school held a sports meet at the Shanghai West Stadium, and students had to bring their
own lunch. As for the competition, it was actually the business of a few students, while watching
good-looking people compete and having dinner and playing together was the business of most
students. A few days before the sports meet, all the teachers and students in the school prayed
to God to give face and not let it rain. In the past few sessions, it rained every time there was a
sports meet, which was almost like a curse, casting a huge shadow on everyone, and the weather
forecast was criticized a lot. Unexpectedly, after two days of gloomy autumn wind, the sun was
shining brightly on the day of the day, and the autumn weather was clear. Si Jiang put back the
umbrella he prepared last night. Jingsheng put the fried rice and pork chops into two lunch
boxes, filled the kettle with boiled water, and each person brought an apple and two oranges. He
also stuffed a handful of chocolate candies and a bag of butterfly cakes into Si Jiang's lunch bag.
Si Jiang thought for a moment, then considerately handed Jingsheng two handkerchiefs: "Brother,
take them."
Jingsheng took it and looked at it, feeling a little puzzled, but he still stuffed it into his trouser
pocket. He remembered what she had asked him last night, so he reluctantly gave her a few more
instructions: "Remember to warm up before running, and don't stand still after the relay race.
Walk around slowly for a while to relax, okay?"
"Remember. And don't get close to the shot put area." Si Jiang put on her schoolbag and sighed
deeply. She wondered whether she should tell her aunt about the horrific thing about the
bleeding. She thought her aunt might be able to comfort her.
——
When they arrived at the school, empty buses with numbers on them had occupied half of
Yuyuan Road, and traffic police and teachers wearing red armbands were maintaining traffic
order. Students in indigo blue and white striped sportswear ran over happily, shouting "It won't
rain today" as soon as they met.
Si Jiang waved to Jingsheng and went upstairs with a bag full of food and drinks. The boys in the
class had already started exchanging snacks, and the classroom was filled with the smell of
sachima, spiced broad beans, and salted dates. Guo Chengyi walked through the corridor holding
the class sign, occasionally raising the sign and knocking on it: "Take away the garbage! Don't
stick bubble gum under the desk! You boys are the most disgusting--"
Seeing Si Jiang coming in, Li Nan quickly ran back to his seat from the group of girls: "Guagua,
Xiao Bailing, Wu Wei and I have agreed to have lunch together under the stands next to the
basketball court at noon. There's no sun, so we can take a nap."
Li Nan said a few words and then started to mutter: "Look, Zhang Leyi must be complaining to
Cheng Ying, as if I don't allow you to be with her."
"Are you giving in?" Si Jiang turned his head and glanced at her: "Are you giving in?"
Li Nan was stunned and said, "No."
Si Jiang sighed: "Then she is not wrong."
"Do you want to be with her? She's saying bad things about you behind your back."
Si Jiang couldn't help but glance at Zhang Leyi in front of him. Zhang Leyi was half lying on Cheng
Ying's desk, chatting and laughing with two female classmates next to her. Li Nan pulled Si Jiang
and leaned over to wave at Xu Hao: "Hey, Old Xu, you agreed to give us a straw mat." Xu Hao
waved his hand impatiently.
"He also brought a straw mat?" Si Jiang was surprised.
"They brought everything." Li Nan smiled, "Lao Gao and his friends also brought mahjong tiles,
the mini ones, but they must not be discovered by Lao He. If they are caught, they will be
confiscated. They are worth dozens of dollars."
"Ah? Gao Qiang? Isn't he the representative of the physics class? And he plays mahjong?"
"Yeah." Li Nan was very happy: "Fairy, you really are a fairy, what are you doing? You sound just
like a boy talking about you--" She covered her mouth, rolled her eyes, and leaned over the desk
and laughed.
"Hey!" Si Jiang elbowed him and said, "I'm so annoyed with you. You're the most annoying when
you finish your sentence halfway."
Li Nan turned his head and said, "The boy said he didn't expect fairies would also poop,
hahahaha. I'm telling you, it was Zhan Tao who said that, so don't betray me."
Si Jiang also lay on the table, feeling depressed. As for her male classmates, she didn't want to
see any of them.
The classes lined up in the playground and followed the instructions on the loudspeaker to the
main gate to board the bus. Si Jiang, holding his class sign, followed the teachers on the bus.
"Give all seats to the female students—" He Hongwei stood behind the driver and gave
instructions: "Put your schoolbags under your feet, don't stand by the door, is anyone prone to
motion sickness? Students who are prone to motion sickness, please come to the front row."
"Fairy, come here quickly, we will all sit in the last row." Li Nan, who got on the bus through the
back door, waved to Si Jiang.
Zhang Leyi took the two-person seat by the window in front of the middle door and stood up
with an expectant look on her face: "Si Jiang, sit here with me."
Si Jiang smiled and shook his head at them, then looked at Fang Shuren in the first row: "Teacher
Fang, can I sit with you?"
Fang Shuren took his bag away and said, "Welcome, welcome. Come and sit down. I'll give your
class sign to Teacher He."
Si Jiang sat down holding her bag. She didn't intend to cater to anyone's requests.
Guo Chengyi, who got on the car last, patted Si Jiang on the shoulder with a smile and sat next to
Zhang Leyi.
Soon, the songs "In the Fields of Hope", "Golden Shuttle and Silver Shuttle" and "Night in the
Naval Port" were heard on the moving bus. Then someone started singing "The Light Rain in
March" and "Childhood"... one song after another.
"It's always before going to bed that I realize I've only done a little homework, and it's always
after the exam that I realize I haven't studied the books I should have studied. I can't figure out
algebra and geometry, and Teacher Ji will kill you if you don't pass the exam (Teacher Ji said that if
you don't pass the exam, you will die)..."
The carriage was filled with laughter and the song could not be sung any more.
"They can actually sing Taiwanese songs?" Fang Shuren couldn't help laughing, and turned to ask
He Hongwei: "Who changed the lyrics? You have to sing it for Teacher Ji."
"Well, the boys in our class are good and have a lot of ideas." He Hongwei laughed and shouted,
"Lin Zhuoyu, who among you tampered with the lyrics? Tell the truth."
"Collective wisdom!" Lin Zhuoyu's voice came from the back door: "We also have a political class
version, Teacher He, do you dare to listen?"
"If you dare to sing, I dare to listen." He Hongwei stood up and said, "Whoever sings the best will
be recruited into the group."
"Tsk!" The boys were in an uproar and no one wanted to sing anymore.
"Who's that one of you? Yu Ping? Doesn't he like to sing lascivious songs? And Gao Qiang, who
doesn't go home after class and goes to the video hall to hang out. Come on, you sing." He
Hongwei called out the names with a smile, showing that the head teacher had a powerful
intelligence network and knew all the students' spare-time lives.
This news, which even Li Nan didn't know, immediately set off a storm in the small carriage. Si
Jiang was stunned. The classmates seemed different from what she remembered.
Gao Qiang was pinned under the armpits by Lin Zhuoyu and the others and was given a beating.
"Okay, I asked you to play basketball but you didn't come. Instead, you sneaked off to watch the
video!"
"No wonder you used the snake-like trick that day."
Gao Qiang protested angrily: "Zhan Tao, why did you sell me out as your brother? You have no
loyalty——"
Zhan Tao yelled, "It's unfair! It's not me. How did you know, Lao He?"
He Hongwei smiled and pointed at Gao Qiang: "The video of the City Palace is not open to the
public. I will sit in the row behind you two."
Everyone in the car burst into laughter.
Si Jiang felt that his class, teachers and classmates were better than he had imagined.

Chapter 131
Various flags were flying in the Shanghai West Stadium. The main slogan of the school sports
meeting and the school motto of "Study hard and practice hard" were hung on the rostrum. Both
sides of the stands were hung with propaganda slogans in white letters on a red background:
Work hard to revitalize China, it takes ten years to grow trees and a hundred years to cultivate
people, a strong youth means a strong China, and we must closely unite around the Party Central
Committee and work hard to realize the four modernizations.
“Teacher Fang, look, look, you’re on the wall. Haha.” The boys in Grade 1 (2) class surrounded
Fang Shuren and laughed.
Fang Shuren also smiled: "You have such sharp eyes and such quick reactions, so let's do an extra
quiz in the algebra class tomorrow."
The boys wailed and scattered to put their schoolbags under the designated stands. The girls who
were implicated screamed and chased them, and Si Jiang couldn't help laughing. Li Nan and
Zhang Leyi put their bags far apart. They looked at each other and didn't ask Si Jiang to put his
bag with them. Si Jiang threw down his schoolbag, picked up the class sign and walked to the
track to wait for the order to line up.
Someone was testing the microphone on the loud speaker, and suddenly there was a sharp
scream. Thousands of people in the field covered their ears, some laughed and some screamed.
Then there was the deep voice of a high school physical education teacher: "Sorry, there are still
two microphones that are not adjusted properly. Let's try again, please cover your ears."
The shouting sounded a few more times, and then someone clapped the microphone with his
hand. A brave boy, hiding in the crowd without being seen, shouted: "Ah, Saning farted so loudly
(Who farted so loudly)——"
The principal's laughter came from the microphone: "It seems that the microphone is fine. The
sound is quite loud. Everyone can hear it, right? Thank you for this classmate's verification. I can
see that he is a brave and careful person who is not afraid of farts——"
All the teachers and students burst into laughter.
"Okay, now all classes, pay attention, assemble, and prepare to enter the venue--" the physical
education teacher announced loudly. The head teachers of each class in the stands blew the
whistle.
The athletes' march sounded, and the first grade (1) class entered the venue first. Si Jiang held up
his class number plate high, followed Teacher He into the venue with his head held high. When
he passed the rostrum, the whole class shouted: "Achieve the best results, safety first! Hongwei
Hongwei, never give up! Come on, first grade (2) class!"
Laughter suddenly broke out from the podium and backstage. Class owner He Hongwei was
caught off guard, his old face flushed red, he looked back at the very serious students, and could
only continue to wave at the podium. Si Jiang shouted this silly slogan, his face hurt from trying to
hold back his laughter. Fortunately, many of the classes behind him had even sillier slogans than
theirs, such as "First Grade (3) Class is extraordinary", "Second Grade (2) Class is a tiger coming
down the mountain", "Class 4 is the strongest in breaking through the waves", which sounded
like something that was made up by boys, nothing but silliness. The high school was obviously
different, with many heroes competing for supremacy and creating brilliance, almost like a four-
character phrase competition.
After the flag-raising ceremony, the principal briefly said a few words and announced the official
start of the XXth school sports meeting. The results of the school-wide radio gymnastics
competition were soon announced. Sijiang's class won the third place in the junior high school.
Lin Zhuoyu went up to receive the pennant. A teacher patted He Hongwei and said, "Little He,
you are good. Lin Zhuoyu and Chen Sijiang led the gymnastics in your class, so your image score is
ahead by a lot." He Hongwei smiled modestly and nodded, "Yes, yes, it's a waste not to take the
points that can be won by appearance. The key is to have appearance."
The girls in the front row of Class 2 couldn't help but burst into laughter. Si Jiang, who was still
standing in the leader's position, turned his head to look at the head teacher who was talking
nonsense in a serious tone. Is this the true face of Teacher He?
——
After the one-minute skipping competition in which everyone participated was over, each class
was dismissed, and the sports committee members handed out the competition schedule to the
participating students, reminding them to pay attention to the time.
"Men's 100m and women's 100m runners, gather here and warm up. The preliminaries will be in
ten minutes." Lin Zhuoyu waved a small red flag, with a small first aid kit hanging around his
neck, looking like a bus conductor, and successfully drew applause from the whole class. He also
waved the flag proudly while backing up: "Please pay attention when reversing. Please follow the
cheerleaders."
At the side of the track, Yin Ying twisted her wrists and ankles, jumped a few times on the spot,
did a few lunges, and took off her sportswear elegantly, revealing a professional-looking sports
vest and shorts. She smiled and looked at Cheng Ying who was warming up seriously beside her:
"It doesn't matter if you run slowly, but don't fall again. Our tracks are close together, and you
might trip me if you fall. After all, our class motto is safety first."
"Do you know how to speak? If you can't, don't speak. You'll be suffocated to death by not
speaking. It's so annoying." Li Nan was so angry that he jumped out immediately.
Cheng Ying fell down in the last game of the basketball match. The skin on her knees and elbows
was still dark purple under her sportswear. She was used to Yin Ying's unforgiving mouth, so she
pulled Li Nan back and said, "Forget it." She smiled and said to Yin Ying, "Don't worry, if I fall
down, I will roll under your feet, so that I can be your stepping stone and help you fly higher."
Yin Ying was so angry that she curled her lips and turned away: "You are shameless, you old man
(shameless)."
Si Jiang smiled and handed Cheng Ying a piece of chocolate candy: "Eat one? My brother said
that eating some chocolate during strenuous exercise can replenish sugar and relieve tension. If
you really want to be a stepping stone for others, it can also improve your accuracy."
Cheng Ying crushed the candy in two bites and winked at Si Jiang: "I'll just treat it as the candy
your brother gave me. It's so sweet that it's killing me."
"Just pretend." Si Jiang raised his leg and kicked her: "You obviously don't like my brother, why
are you making trouble?"
"I'm speaking for some people. Why don't you take out the candies and share them? I'm leaving
now. Remember not to cheer me on later." Cheng Ying waved her hand and followed everyone to
the teacher to get their number plates.
"Why shouldn't I cheer for you?" Li Nan was so angry that she chased after him for two steps. She
would never cheer for Yin Ying.
"When the pumpkin roars, the earth shakes three times." Cheng Ying said this and slipped into
the crowd.
Li Nan trembled for several seconds before he remembered to ask Si Jiang: "Who spread this
rumor? I'm going to tear him apart!"
"Of course only our class genius Yu Ping could come up with such a factual and apt description."
Zhang Leyi squeezed past her and gave an indifferent answer.
The two immediately started bickering, leaving Si Jiang in the middle. Si Jiang simply grabbed one
of them and said, "Let's go, you're the first in class honor, save your energy and shout more
encouragement."
Almost all the girls in Class 2 gathered outside the railing to cheer for Cheng Ying and Yin Ying.
There were not many students participating in the 100-meter race. Three or four people from
each class signed up, and eight people took part in a round. The race was finished quickly, and in
less than ten minutes it was Yin Ying and Cheng Ying's turn to stand at the starting point.
"Yin Ying looked very professional. She was the only one among the eight people wearing a vest
and shorts, and she even squatted to start running."
"She usually runs very fast, right?"
"Our class should be able to enter the finals, but the two girls in the second grade and several
girls in the third grade ran really fast."
As soon as the starting gun sounded, six girls came running over.
"Come on, Cheng Ying! Come on, Cheng Ying!"
"Come on Yin Ying! Come on Yin Ying!"
Yin Ying was first, Cheng Ying was third. The teacher who was timing the team called out the
seconds and announced that the first and second place winners of the group would advance to
the finals. Yin Ying took the towel and wiped her sweat off, glancing at Cheng Ying: "I told you
that you can't do it, but you're still trying to compete with me. In the relay race, you run the
second leg in the straight and I'll run the first leg." She raised her head proudly and pointed at Si
Jiang next to her: "Chen Sijiang, you run the third leg, run faster."
Cheng Ying didn't get angry and agreed casually. Si Jiang then realized that Yin Ying never ran
seriously in physical education class. She would be lazy whenever she could. She was tall and had
long legs, so she ran fast and powerfully. Si Jiang was always impressed by such absolute
strength, so he simply nodded and said, "Okay."
There was still a while before the junior high school girls' 100-meter finals. Si Jiang simply stayed
by the track to cheer for Jingsheng. Li Nan and Zhang Leyi started a new round of battle, but no
one was willing to leave Si Jiang's side. As a result, more than half of the girls in Class 2 stayed by
Si Jiang's side to get a glimpse of Gu Jingsheng's style.
Jingsheng pulled out the pin and pinned the number plate on his chest. He was forced to
participate in these running competitions by the class teacher because he was participating in the
basketball game. If he really went all out, he would be exhausted, especially the 400-meter event,
which was the most tiring. Last year, three people in the class signed up for the 400-meter event.
They entered the field straight and came out sideways. This year, they would rather run 1,000
meters than 400 meters. The class teacher appealed to his emotions and reasoned with him, and
directly added Jingsheng's name to the list. He also comforted him that it didn't matter if he
didn't get a ranking, as long as he could fill the gap in the class and finish the race. So Jingsheng
planned to give up the 100-meter and 400-meter events and run the relay race seriously. He
would try his best in the high jump and long jump. He had the hope of reaching the national
second-level athlete standard in these two events.
"Everyone take your positions--" the physical education teacher shouted.
"Brother! Come on!"
"Brother Sijiang—come on!"
There was a sudden cheer outside the railing. Jingsheng looked up and saw Si Jiang, whose smile
was brighter than the sun, holding a small red flag he got from somewhere and waving it at him.
Book that.
Jingsheng got excited and immediately gave up his casual starting posture. He squatted down,
knelt on his hind legs, and supported himself with his hands, ready to go like a cheetah. His blood
was boiling and his muscles were instantly tensed. The runway in front of him seemed to no
longer be a runway, but the rain forest of Jinghong, waiting for him to leap and run.
"Wow!" Si Jiang jumped up on the spot: "Come on, come on! Come on, brother—"
"Ready—go!" As soon as the starting gun sounded, the eight boys rushed out like arrows. Si Jiang
and the others followed them outside the railing and ran towards the finish line, cheering for
Jingsheng non-stop.
The race was over in a flash. Jingsheng was far ahead of the others, with a time of 11.42 seconds,
which put him directly within the national second-level athlete standard, and nearly 1 second
faster than his usual physical education test scores.

Chapter 132
When he was seven or eight years old, Jingsheng got drunk once. Gu Dongwen tricked him into
drinking a small bowl of white wine, which smelled quite fragrant. After drinking it, his mind was
blown. He was clear and remembered everything, but his hands and feet wouldn't obey him, and
his mouth wouldn't obey him. He climbed to the top of a tree and shouted desperately: "I want
to fly - I want to fly - I want to fly out." His mother was so scared that her legs went limp. Gu
Dongwen laughed and said that he even took off his pants and peed on the tree. Jingsheng was
sure he was talking nonsense. He actually remembered everything.
The consequences of strenuous exercise were probably similar to those of the time when he was
drunk. After Jingsheng ran a hundred meters, his hands were shaking, his brain was exploding, his
blood was burning, his body felt very light, there was a rusty and slightly sweet taste in his throat,
and his heartbeat exceeded his expectations. He supported himself with his knees and lowered
his head, trying to calm down.
"Brother!" Si Jiang ran up to him, her face full of pride: "You run so fast, it's like you're flying."
Without waiting for Jingsheng to react, she took his arm and walked slowly forward: "Didn't you
say that you can't stop after running and should walk slowly?"
Jingsheng tried to shake her off, but failed.
"Didn't I tell you not to come and see?"
"That's impossible!" Si Jiang was still immersed in excitement: "Then I won't be able to see you
perform so well. What will you compete in next? What time will it be? I will come to cheer you
on."
Jingsheng paused, thinking that it was not necessary, but he did not have the heart to interrupt Si
Jiang's longing look.
"Don't worry, I will listen to the loudspeaker. I told you that you can do it, brother. You refused to
sign up at first. You are too modest. Too modesty is pride, you know? Your teacher is really good.
Thanks to his discerning eyes, he didn't let you, a good horse, go." Si Jiang sighed: "Brother, how
can you do everything? You can play, fight, cook, take care of your family, read, swim, play
basketball, run, you are really versatile-" She looked at Jingsheng seriously and shook her head:
"Brother is so handsome!" That's right, brother is the most perfect man in the world. At this
moment, Si Jiang had to admit that brother surpassed his uncle in his heart. Sorry, uncle!
Jingsheng had lived in Wanchun Street for several years and had long discovered that Si Jiang was
sweeter than Si Nan, in a way that was subtle and silent. He was a little overwhelmed by her all-
round and explicit praise.
"Haha, just say it straight."
"ah?"
"Stop bragging, aren't you going to sell me out?" Jingsheng shook off Sijiang's hand, sat on the
grass and began to stretch his thigh muscles: "You and Sinan are biological sisters, I understand."
Si Jiang couldn't help but glance at the group of girls five meters away from the two of them, and
sat down next to him with a guilty conscience and started to pull weeds: "Several of my good
classmates also want to go to Dongsheng Canteen to eat with us tonight, come on (OK)? They all
brought food coupons and money, and don't want us to treat them--" Si Jiang reached out and
pulled Jingsheng's sweatshirt: "Brother? Brother--"
Jingsheng stood up suddenly, said with a sullen face: "Whatever you want." Then he trotted back
to their class. Humph, he knew it.
——
"What do you think, Si Jiang?" Li Nan and Zhang Leyi's eyes sparkled: "Did your brother agree?"
Si Jiang considered it for a moment, then nodded reluctantly: "But I have a request——"
"You say it, you say it."
"Since you are all my friends, and you are going to my uncle's restaurant to have dinner with my
brother, I don't want to hear you quarreling again." Si Jiang said seriously: "If you two have any
opinions, please speak clearly in person, now, immediately, immediately. Who will speak first?"
Li Nan and Zhang Leyi looked at each other and turned away. Cheng Ying patted Li Nan's arm and
said, "I don't think Kaixinuo is the kind of person who would call you a fat pig behind your back,
really."
Zhang Leyi screamed: "What? I never said that! It was you who said behind my back that I was
the ugliest of the seven dwarfs—"
"I didn't say that. I just said that you are only allowed to say that I am fat but not that I am short.
You are a short person yourself and you still laugh at others for being fat."
"You said that I, a short guy who is not even as tall as the ball, have the nerve to stay in the
basketball team. It's all to please Si Jiang and want to get close to Brother Si Jiang." Zhang Leyi bit
her lower lip.
"It was you who became mean to me and then you even disregarded the collective honor—"
The two looked at each other.
"Then why did you say that I was talking bad about Si Jiang behind her back? I clearly never said
that." Zhang Leyi's eyes were red. "It was only when Si Jiang was running before that I said she
was acting pretentiously and in a fake fairy-like manner, and I said it in front of everyone, and you
all laughed."
Li Nan choked: "Then what did you say? I stole your ribs and didn't pay you?"
Zhang Leyi was stunned: "It was you who said that I threw the leftovers to you and treated you
like a puppy, so you were so angry——"
"On National Day, I really went back to look for you for a long time. I was so mad at you."
"We've been looking for you for a long time!" Zhang Leyi's eyes were red. "I was so angry when
you said that to me in front of Brother Si Jiang."
The two stared at each other for a long time, and suddenly they both started crying. When Si
Jiang was about to persuade them, they hugged each other again. Cheng Ying winked at Si Jiang
and said, "Let's go. I'm dying of thirst. The squad leader is waiting for us to practice passing the
baton."
A floating cloud floated into the stadium, gently casting a shadow over the boys who were doing
high jump and long jump. The girls slowly walked back to the classroom stand, Si Jiang peeled an
orange and gave each of them a little to eat. Li Nan and Zhang Leyi sat together, confirming each
other's rumors, sometimes indignantly cursing each other, sometimes hugging each other and
shouting self-blame, and they seemed to be better than before. The boat of friendship capsizes
quickly, but it can also be repaired quickly.
"Chen Sijiang——" Tang Zenian suddenly ran to the stands of their class and waved and shouted.
Si Jiang still had an orange in his mouth and quickly ran to the first row: "What's the matter?"
"Have you signed up for the high jump competition?" Tang Zenian smiled and raised the roll call
book in his hand: "The competition has started, come down quickly."
Si Jiang slapped her head, she actually forgot and didn't pay attention to what was shouted on
the loudspeaker just now.
Cheng Ying ran down and asked, "Is Guoguo on the high jump side?"
"Yes, I saw her." Tang Zenian nodded: "Hey, aren't you going to cheer them up? Gu Jingsheng is
also preparing for the high jump."
Li Nan and Zhang Leyi immediately shouted: "Let's go together!"
Si Jiang sighed and looked at the clouds in the sky. Well, friendship and other things seemed to be
just clouds.
Just as they were about to turn toward the stairs, Tang Zenian reached out his hand to Si Jiang:
"Don't take a detour, just jump down, I'll catch you."
"Huh?" Si Jiang stretched his neck and looked down. It was indeed not high.
"Go ahead and dance." Li Nan pushed her, "If you haven't been called yet, just consider it as
giving up the competition. Old He will be sad."
"With Old Tang protecting us, there will be no problem. Fairies, dance quickly and stop being so
pretentious." Zhang Leyi also joined in with a smile.
Si Jiang stepped over the railing with a red face and reached out to Tang Zenian's hand which was
so close to him.
"The girl in stand number three - don't climb over the railing!" A lion's roar came from the
microphone at the podium: "Grade one - class two, the girl in class two, please take the stairs,
don't climb over the railing! Revolution is not two or three steps behind, safety first!"
The eyes of nearly a thousand people in the audience turned to Si Jiang, and soon laughter broke
out in many places.
Si Jiang was like a cooked shrimp, he lowered his eyes and retracted his long legs, wishing he
could just shrink back into the concrete floor, then turned around and ran towards the stairs.
Li Nan scratched his head, looked at Tang Zenian and sighed: "This - is too different from what I
thought."
Cheng Ying laughed so hard that she fell on the seat in the first row.
Tang Zenian touched his nose and walked towards the entrance of Stand No. 3. This was different
from what he had imagined, very different.
Because of the unexpected incident of climbing over the railing, Jingsheng failed to jump over the
new height three times. When he stood up from the mat and saw Si Jiang, who was looking
dejected, he was so angry that he didn't want to pay any attention to her.
Si Jiang came over slowly and tried to comfort him: "Brother, it's okay. Don't be discouraged if
you didn't get a place in the high jump. Just do your best in the other events."
Jingsheng really didn't want to pay attention to her this time and went straight to the long jump
area.
"Brother?" Si Jiang called out weakly. Seeing that the boys next to her were all looking at her and
laughing, she returned to the team with a red face. When it was her turn, she saw Tang Zenian
helping the teacher adjust the height of the horizontal bar. He looked very natural, as if nothing
had happened. Si Jiang took a few deep breaths. She must have been confused by the beautiful
cloud just now and stepped out. A confused person's legs can't move smoothly. She usually
jumped over 1.4 meters steadily in the straddle high jump in physical education class, but today
she jumped 1.3 meters but fell off the bar twice, and she was panicked.
"Chen Sijiang, 1.3 meters, the third time." Tang Zenian's voice was a little anxious.
Si Jiang silently took a lunge stance, stretched her legs hard, and tried to focus on the horizontal
bar not far away. She felt her heart beating faster and faster. It was just a project assigned by the
teacher, so why was she so nervous? Jingsheng's face when he was running suddenly appeared in
her mind, so focused and serious. Si Jiang suddenly confirmed that she really wanted to jump
over it, she must jump over it.
Jingsheng watched her first two attempts. He had no idea what she was thinking. Her movements
were all wrong. Her run-up was either too many or too few, her take-off point was either too far
or too close, and her swinging leg was not swung enough. Her heel hit the bar twice. Seeing her
preparing for a third attempt, he thought for a moment and walked over.
"Pay attention to the starting angle and distance." Jingsheng pulled Si Jiang to the right position
and gently kicked her legs: "Are you stiff from skipping rope? Swing upward with force so that
your heels won't touch the bar. You can definitely jump over 1.5 meters. Once you can, I'll teach
you how to swim."
Si Jiang was excited: "Yeah!"
The girls queuing behind him started to get agitated.
"It's Gu Jingsheng! He's so handsome."
"Still so gentle! Daddy and mommy, I'm so happy! (Mom, awsl)"
"Does he like Chen Sijiang? He came here specially to guide her——"
"Don't talk nonsense, Gu Jingsheng is our Sijiang's eldest brother, the kind of cousin who lives
with us." Guo Chengyi turned around and frowned to clarify. Pretty girls are always trapped by
rumors, and she has to stick up for her friends.
Jingsheng stepped aside, put his hands casually in the side pockets of his sweatpants and looked
at Sijiang. The breeze gently blew his scattered hair on his forehead. He habitually raised his head
with a blank expression. His dark brown eyes faded a little in the sunlight. Although the corners
of his thin lips were naturally upturned, he was still cold and kept people away.
The girls who were staring at him couldn't help but breathe softly.
"pass!"
Si Jiang turned around to look at the motionless horizontal bar, then jumped up with a smile and
ran towards Jingsheng: "Brother, don't leave, watch me jump 1.4 meters, I can do it, I must jump
over 1.5 meters today!"
Everyone on the field hoped that she would keep jumping, so that Gu Jingsheng would keep
watching, and they would keep watching too. Unfortunately, Si Jiang stopped at 1.45 meters.
"Brother, rounding it off is 1.5 meters, right? Now you can teach me how to swim." Si Jiang
chased Jingsheng and shouted.
"Oh, so if you get 60 points, we'll round it up to 100?"
"How is this the same? Ah, the 100-meter final is about to begin. Brother, I'll go with you, let's
go."
"No, thank you. Go back to your class. Aren't you going to run the relay race? Have you practiced
the baton handover?"
"I will take over the baton. We agreed to watch your final. Many of our classmates will go to
cheer you on. You can definitely get into the top three!" Si Jiang was full of confidence.
Jingsheng glanced at her and found that there were six or seven laughing "tails" following her. He
was overwhelmed. Why are girls so troublesome?
Si Jiang smiled sweetly: "I cheered for my brother by running, and he came to teach me how to
high jump. We are a loving family. It's great. I will write about it in my composition about today's
sports meeting."
Jing got goose bumps all over his body, rolled his eyes at her and quickly ran to the starting point.
Somehow, his ears and face felt hot, the weather in autumn was really a bit hot.
Chapter 133
Around half past ten, the school sports meet reached its climax, with the 100-meter final, 400-
meter final, and relay race, one after another. Both sides of the track were filled with people, and
cheers and shouts from the stands continued.
Yin Ying won the runner-up in the junior high school girls' 100-meter race, which was the best
individual result achieved by the junior high school class 1 (2) in the morning. Although Si Jiang
did not get along with Yin Ying and had locked her in the girls' restroom, after hearing Li Nan's
sour words, he still said truthfully: "She does have the capital to be proud."
When practicing the baton handover, Yin Ying was particularly picky about Si Jiang's running
posture, arm swings, the timing of handing over the baton, and the details of the movements,
and she kept mocking him. Guo Chengyi couldn't help but say, "Can you please stop being
sarcastic when you talk? Just teach the movements, why do you have to add a few sarcastic
remarks?"
"If you don't want to win, don't sign up. What's the point of occupying the toilet without doing
anything? A competition is a competition, not for you to go on stage and show everyone how
good-looking you are or how gracefully you run. Do you care the most about the class honor?
Have you made progress in your thinking? Have you earned any honor for our class?" Yin Ying
sneered twice: "The volleyball team is at the bottom, and the basketball team is at the bottom.
You pretend to have a fighting spirit and the teacher praises you to the sky. Don't make life too
easy these days. It's up to you whether you want to practice or not. I'm not willing to teach you,
and I can't get paid!"
She threw the baton to the ground and turned away. Guo Chengyi was also furious: "You have the
ability to run four legs by yourself, really, you are the best and most powerful, then don't just
show off in individual events, if you hadn't instigated He Fang and several tall people not to
participate, would our class have even Zhang Leyi come to support the basketball team?"
Si Jiang picked up the baton and was a little worried: "Will she stop running?"
Cheng Ying smiled and patted them, "No, she was actually angry that Guoguo asked her to run
the fourth leg. The fourth leg determines the outcome, and the pressure is the greatest. She was
supposed to run the first leg. If they win, it's because she laid the foundation for the lead. If they
lose, it's because we're not good enough - hahaha."
Facts have proved that Guo Chengyi's arrangement is quite useful. She fell behind only a little in
the first leg, and Cheng Ying caught up with her in the second leg. When it came to Si Jiang's third
leg, she fell behind again. Yin Ying grabbed the baton with a stern face and went all out, rushing
towards the finish line like the wind. Si Jiang jogged after her, panting and shouting loudly to Yin
Ying, "Come on!" He was in a particularly good mood. She definitely ran the fastest speed today.
Although Yin Ying was mean, she was very generous when teaching her.
"Junior high school girls' 4x100m relay race, third place: Junior 1 (2) class, second place: Junior 2
(3) class, first place: Junior 3 (4) class. Students who participated in the competition, please go to
the podium to receive the awards."
There was a cheer in the stands. He Hongwei ran to the stands and high-fived Si Jiang and others
to celebrate: "Well done, very good. You four are amazing."
Si Jiang, Guo Chengyi and Cheng Ying hugged each other and jumped and laughed. They turned
around and saw Yin Ying with her chin raised and a look of displeasure. They smiled and
stretched out their hands to her: "Thank you, Coach Yin. If you hadn't taught me for half an hour,
I would definitely fall far behind other classes. You couldn't fly out of the third place even if you
flew."
Seeing so many classmates present, Yin Ying hesitated for a moment and reluctantly stretched
out her hand, snorting: "Next year if you run faster, our class will at least be second."
Si Jiang expressed his regret seriously: "If there were four Yin Yings, our class would definitely be
number one in the school."
Guo Chengyi and Cheng Ying laughed: "That's right. Let's go and get the award."
"She looks like a psychopath, and she calls herself a fairy. What a fairy." Yin Ying looked at the
back of Si Jiang's head, and suddenly felt that Chen Si Jiang, whom she disliked the most, was not
that annoying after all.
Standing on the podium of a sports competition for the first time, Si Jiang squinted her eyes and
looked down in the hot sun. Seeing Tang Zenian smiling and waving at her, and giving her a
thumbs up, she couldn't help but blush. She quietly waved at him when no one was paying
attention, and then quickly looked around for Jingsheng. This time, the brother must agree to
continue teaching her to swim. Although she was scared to death when he taught her for the first
time, and she almost strangled the brother to death in the shallow water after choking on the
water, and she also scratched his arms with long blood marks, which made him angry, but
practice makes perfect. She has made such great progress in running, so swimming is definitely
no problem.
Jingsheng sat on the side of the rostrum in the shadows below the stage, watching Si Jiang and
Tang Zenian waving and interacting with each other coldly. He made a "huh" sound, unscrewed
the kettle and drank half of the water in one gulp.
"Old Gu, why don't you bring your brothers to your restaurant for dinner tonight? How about we
celebrate for A-mei?"
Jingsheng pried open the claws on his shoulders and was about to tell them to get out, but then
he changed his mind and responded: "Bring your own cash and food coupons, don't try to take
advantage of me."
"Good! The sun rises from the west."
"Should I go home and take a shower before going? It stinks so bad, I don't want to bother my
sister."
"Well, the old man forced me to get my hair cut, but I was so crazy that I refused to go."
There was a lot of noise behind him, so Jingsheng raised his hand and drank the remaining half
pot of water in one gulp.
The school sports meet ended at less than three o'clock. The bus back to school was no longer
filled with the laughter and joy that it had when we came. The boys sat on the floor, swaying here
and there, snoring and yawning incessantly. Si Jiang also felt sleepy, his head slowly falling to the
side, and finally he fell asleep on Fang Shuren's shoulder.
Fang Shuren turned his head to look at Si Jiang's small face. Her skin was flushed pink after the
intense exercise and was almost transparent and glowing. There was a thin layer of sweat on the
tip of her nose. The sunlight shone through the leaves, casting mottled and jumping light and
shadows on her flawless face. The fine hairs were bright and soft at times, and her thick
eyelashes cast a gentle shadow under her eyes. Her lips were slightly open, which did not detract
from the beauty of her face, but added a bit of cuteness and innocence.
Youth is so good. Fang Shuren couldn't take her eyes off. She never wanted to think back to when
she was thirteen or fourteen. Those were her most pale, cruel and painful years. And the little girl
in front of her seemed to fill that gap. She suddenly felt that having a child was not necessarily a
bad thing. If she really wanted to have a child one day, she hoped to have a daughter. At least she
would let her daughter have a carefree youth like Si Jiang. Then Fang Shuren thought again that
she didn't know whether Gu Beiwu had a child. If so, it must be very beautiful. But there are as
many obstacles as there are smooth roads for beautiful girls to grow up. Fang Shuren couldn't
help but think of her husband Tang Sicheng's youngest sister Tang Huanlai. The experience of that
beautiful girl was very sad. She hoped that she would forget the haze after coming to Shanghai to
study next year.
——
Si Jiang came out of the school with a group of people. When he saw Jingsheng, he felt a little
guilty: "Brother, many of our classmates want to go to eat, can we go? (Brother, many of our
classmates want to go to eat, is that okay?)"
Jingsheng looked around and saw that Lin Zhuoyu and Tang Zenian were there, as well as two
unfamiliar male classmates, so he nodded and said, "It's okay, I have a few classmates going with
me too."
"Where are they?" Si Jiang was surprised to see that there was no one around him.
"Don't worry about them." Jingsheng got on his bike and said, "Let's go first."
"Brother - I, I won't ride a bicycle today." Si Jiang blinked, hugged the schoolbag tightly, and said
carefully: "My classmates and I will go to Xinhua Bookstore first. We will be there at five o'clock.
There are nine of us. Can you help us save a seat first?"
"Brother Si Jiang, do you want to go to the bookstore with us?" Li Nan invited enthusiastically.
Jingsheng pursed his lips, glanced at Si Jiang coldly, and said lightly: "No."
The bicycle quickly passed through the crowd, passed a tram, made a sharp turn and disappeared
at the intersection.
Si Jiang came to his senses after walking for a while and asked Li Nan softly, "Was my brother a
little unhappy just now?"
Li Nan chuckled: "No."
Si Jiang just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Li Nan and Zhang Leyi say in unison: "We are
very unhappy."
"It's quite normal. Any brother would be angry if he saw his sister being kidnapped by some bad
boy. Alas, girls grow up and cannot be kept." Li Nan shook his head and sighed. He took Si Jiang's
arm and looked at Tang Zenian behind him: "Besides, Old Tang really doesn't know how to
appreciate the landscape today."
"ah?"
Zhang Leyi leaned over and said, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, you don't know yet. Old Tang won the men's 400-
meter championship today. Your brother was leading all the way, but was overtaken by Old Tang
in the last 20 meters."
"Why did I not see it!"
"You went to the toilet." Li Nan looked at her with pity: "Lazy people pee a lot, and I don't think
you are lazy, so why did you stay in the toilet for half an hour?"
Si Jiang's face flushed. After running the relay race today, her stomach was cramping and aching.
She suspected that she would bleed at the slightest movement, so she ran to the store outside
the stadium to buy a piece of toilet paper. She struggled for a long time, but after putting on two
thin layers, it was terribly painful to walk, and she could only walk with the paper clamped
between her legs for fear that it would accidentally fall out. Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore
and had to go back to the toilet to throw away the toilet paper.
"Fairy, are you having your period?" Cheng Ying asked softly, "I noticed that you walked a little
strangely before the tug-of-war game."
"No, no." Si Jiang's face turned redder and he quickened his pace: "Hurry up, cross the road."
"Which one is coming?" Zhang Leyi chased Cheng Ying and asked, "Who did you ask the fairy just
now?"
Li Nan covered her mouth with his hand, dragged her forward, and turned back to shout: "You
boys stay away from us, or you'll be struck by lightning if you eavesdrop—"
Lin Zhuoyu pouted: "Who wants to eavesdrop? Your fucking voice is louder than thunder."
Gao Qiang and Zhan Tao winked at each other and whispered. Tang Zenian looked at the backs of
the five girls in front of him, thinking.
——
The dinner was very lively, and a dozen junior high school students almost turned the restaurant
upside down. It was the first time that Gu Dongwen saw Jingsheng bring his classmates to dinner,
and he was very happy.
"Come on, let's cut down on the old wine. You need to practice your alcohol tolerance from a
young age." Gu Dongwen opened two bottles of wine with a smile.
"Uncle! Junior high school students are not allowed to drink!" Si Jiang quickly stood up and took
the bottle away.
The boys laughed: "Uncle, we don't drink."
"Would you like two cigarettes?" Gu Dongwen smiled and threw another pack of soft Zhonghua
cigarettes on the table.
"Junior high school students are not allowed to smoke!" Si Jiang reached out and took the
cigarette away, staring at his uncle and pouting: "Uncle, what are you doing? Don't test our
schoolmates anymore. We are all good students here, with all-round development in morals,
intelligence and physique. There are no little hooligans or gangsters. Don't worry, right, brother?"
Jingsheng's three classmates nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes, we don't drink, smoke, or perm
our hair. We are all good students."
Jingsheng poured boiling water to boil the dishes and chopsticks, thinking that Gu Dongwen
didn't have time to test those little hooligans and gangsters, he definitely wanted to treat them to
drinks and cigarettes.
Gu Dongwen laughed and patted Si Jiang's head: "Okay, okay, okay, I'll listen to Nannan." He
winked at Jingsheng and said, "Today is to celebrate the successful completion of the Jingsheng
and Si Jiang Sports Meeting. I'm going to cook the food myself. If anyone wants to give me no
face and pay or something, just turn right now. I won't see you off."
The students in the room looked at each other in bewilderment. Tang Zenian smiled and said,
"Thank you, Uncle Gu, and thank you, Chen Sijiang."
Si Jiang slapped Li Nan and said, "You got it for free."
Li Nan was only focused on studying the menu on the blackboard: "Dad, mom, I want to eat them
all! I don't want to miss any of them!"
The dishes were served very quickly and the plates were cleared very quickly. With Li Nan in
between, Tang Zenian still picked up the dishes that Si Jiang liked and put them on the plate in
front of her accurately, using a pair of serving chopsticks that he had specially prepared. Li Nan
and Zhang Leyi kept making noises, and Lin Zhuoyu and the others mocked Tang Zenian for being
good at pleasing girls. Tang Zenian was very generous and didn't care, but Si Jiang was
embarrassed. She was afraid that her uncle would hear her and misunderstand her, so she said
several times that it was not necessary. Seeing Jingsheng's poker face, she became even more
nervous. The three boys in Jingsheng's class couldn't help but ask Tang Zenian not to be so
attentive. Tang Zenian didn't get angry either. He smiled and explained that the long table was
put together and there were many dishes that the girls couldn't reach. Everyone saw that he
really picked up dishes for the other girls, but it was only because Li Nan and the others
deliberately made noises that everyone only paid attention to him and Si Jiang.
Back at Wanchun Street in the evening, Si Jiang was busy writing her thoughts on the sports
meet, preparing for tomorrow's class, packing her schoolbag, washing her hair and taking a bath.
It was not until after nine that she had time to read a novel. Jingsheng walked around a few
times, sat down next to her, opened the evening paper, and after reading for a quarter of an hour,
he suddenly said, "That guy named Tang Zenian——"
Si Jiang was stunned, and corrected him with a smile: "What do you mean by guys or no guys?
That's so ugly. Classmate, Tang Zenian."
Jingsheng raised his eyebrows and said, "Stay away from that Tang Zenian."
Si Jiang's eyes widened: "Why?!"
"Pretending." Jingsheng glanced at her and said, "There are a lot of people like this. They act
pretentiously and behave like cadres no matter what they do. They say a lot and always sound
right. They always seem to be good people and do good things." She was exactly the same as she
used to be.
Si Jiang was shocked: "Brother!"
"what?"
"You don't know him at all, okay? Why do you say bad things about him?"
"I'm telling the truth." Jingsheng frowned, "I saw through it at once. Only you little girls are so
stupid——"
Si Jiang stood up suddenly and said, "Brother, this is what you think is right, right? I think Tang
Zenian is a good student. All the students in our class think he is a good student."
Jingsheng sneered twice, threw down the newspaper in his hand and stood up: "Whatever you
want, I don't care about you."
Si Jiang bit his lip, feeling very aggrieved: "You were wrong in the first place, brother. What do you
mean by 'let me do whatever I want'? You dislike him just because he surpassed you and won the
championship in the 400-meter race. He helped me a lot and also helped our class——"
"Haha." Jingsheng took two steps up the ladder: "Don't blame me for not warning you if you get
cheated next time, you fool."
"Brother!" Si Jiang was so angry that his hands were shaking as he held the book. "What
nonsense are you talking about? You are being deceived. It's really infuriating!"
Jingsheng propped himself up on the attic floor, but didn't jump up. After thinking for a moment,
he turned around and looked at Si Jiang with disdain: "Ge Menong (then you) should study hard
and don't be too fond of male classmates——"
Si Jiang's ears buzzed, and blood rushed to his face. He immediately shouted, "I didn't! You're
talking nonsense!"
Jingsheng shrugged and went up to the attic with an expressionless face.
Si Jiang stood there for a long time. Everything was fine during the morning competition. A Ge
came to coach her high jump and watched her relay race. Why did he look at her nose and eyes
as if they were not eyes when she came out of school in the afternoon? He didn't talk to her or
smile. Even Li Nan and the others could see that he was angry with her. But she didn't do
anything wrong. Tang Zenian was not only gentlemanly to her. He also took care of others. But
she was the only one who was scolded, and he said it so harshly. When did she like Tang Zenian?
Really. Si Jiang was so angry that tears welled up in her eyes and she didn't want to care about
Jingsheng anymore.
It turns out that it’s not just the friendship that can capsize at any time.

Chapter 134
People's memories are selective. Si Jiang couldn't remember how many times she and Jingsheng
had quarreled, but this time left a particularly deep impression on her. On the one hand, the
consequences of this quarrel were terrible, and on the other hand, it was completely different
from the embarrassment caused by "none of your business" last time. She felt wronged, very
wronged, and was full of anger. She also felt angry because he had exposed her little thoughts
that she had always been unsure of. She didn't want to think too much about the latter.
While lying on the bed sobbing, Si Jiang's mind uncontrollably replayed Jingsheng's words, as well
as the look on his face that looked down on her, his eyes, his raised brows, and the slightly curled
corners of his lips, every inch of which was filled with contempt, piercing her body like an ice
knife or a frosty sword. Compared with his usual attentiveness, thoughtfulness and tolerance, Si
Jiang cried so hard that she couldn't breathe. She curled up in the quilt and sobbed. The more
she thought about it, the sadder she felt, and the sadder she was, the more she wanted to think
about it. The bed sheet was soaked with her tears, and when she heard her grandmother's
footsteps, she had to force herself to close her eyes and pretend to be asleep.
Jingsheng didn't sleep well either. His heart was always burning with anxiety. When he opened
his eyes, he thought of the look in Si Jiang's eyes when he looked at Tang Zenian, which was like
stars falling into the sky and shining. When he closed his eyes, he thought of the look in Tang
Zenian's eyes when he looked at Si Jiang. The joy that burst out was so blatant. She had only been
in school for a few dozen days? How old was she? She was fooled by him? Did she think that he,
her brother, was just a decoration? Jingsheng couldn't bear the thought of Si Jiang crying for a
boy in the future. He heard Si Jiang crying, that kind of suppressed crying, he had heard it too
much since he was a child, and he was about to explode when he heard it. But he couldn't yell at
Si Jiang. She was not even someone to him.
Thinking of this, Jingsheng suddenly felt a little discouraged. He was meddling in other people's
business. He would definitely not have cared in the past. As expected, his life was too smooth,
which made him lose his sense of propriety and really think of himself as a member of the Gu
family.
A floor away, the boy upstairs tossed and turned, thinking about it, and turned on the electric fan
in late October to blow it all night. The girl downstairs carefully changed several handkerchiefs to
wipe her tears amid her grandmother's snoring, and even changed the side of her pillow. She
cried when she closed her eyes and cried when she opened them.
The sun on Wanchun Street waits for no one, no matter who is asleep, crying or upset, every
second passes by as usual. As usual, sparrows fill the telephone poles and begin chirping when
the sky is slightly bright, and the smell of burning honeycomb coal gradually spreads.
Jingsheng felt dizzy when he woke up in the morning. While he was standing to get dressed, his
clear snot suddenly fell on his hands without him noticing. He was stunned for a moment before
he came to his senses. This was the first time he had caught a cold in his life. When he went
downstairs, he saw only Granny Gu cutting fried dough sticks.
"Nannan was in a hurry and said she had to study early. She ran away without even having
breakfast." Granny Gu wiped the scissors with cotton cloth. "By the way, she said she had to work
on a blackboard newspaper at noon, so she stayed in school for lunch and didn't go to Shanli with
you. Oh, why didn't you tell me earlier yesterday? If you had told me earlier, I would have gone
earlier today to buy pancakes and fried dough sticks."
Jingsheng stuffed the fried dough sticks into the pancake and ate a bowl of soaked rice. He
couldn't taste anything and had to sniff his nose after every two bites to prevent his clear snot
from falling into the pancake.
"Hey, why did you catch a cold too? Nannan's nose and eyes were also red this morning."
Grandma Gu picked up the thermos and poured boiled water into Jingsheng's military kettle:
"Don't drink the cold water in school anymore, understand? What's real distilled water and fake
distilled water? How can you not get sick if you drink unboiled water?" She tiptoed to the drawer
of the chest of drawers to look for pills: "You guys tend to sweat during sports events, and you
take off your clothes when you sweat. You tend to get sick when the wind blows. Alas - hey,
Jingsheng - Jingsheng? If you are sick, you have to take medicine -"
"Grandma, I'm going to class first." Jingsheng went downstairs in two steps.
When a little girl is angry, no matter whether the other party is a man or a woman, her
revengeful behavior is short and quick: not talking to you, not walking with you, not eating with
you. When Si Jiang saw Li Nan and Zhang Leyi quarreling, she thought that their behavior was a
bit childish and speechless, but when she did the same to Jingsheng, it was natural and she had
no choice.
Four classes passed in a flash. Si Jiang still felt guilty when she took out the meal tickets and grain
coupons. She was afraid that her grandmother had forgotten to tell Jingsheng, and she was also
afraid that Jingsheng would rush to the class. After hesitating for a while, she couldn't help but
run to the window and peek downstairs. She thought that if Jingsheng was really waiting for her
at the school gate, for five minutes, no, ten minutes, she would go downstairs to find him. As for
whether to forgive him or not was another matter.
Jingsheng felt groggy all morning, and during the break, class monitor Wang Lu forced him to go
to the infirmary, saying that he was afraid that he would infect other students. The school doctor
took his temperature and found that it was 38.2 degrees Celsius. He took two cold medicine pills
and told him to go home and rest. Jingsheng didn't want to go back because he had a physics test
in the afternoon. The school doctor thought it was not a big problem and didn't insist. But Wang
Lu was very worried. After returning to the classroom, she went to the teacher's office to change
a kettle of hot water for him. Several boys in the back row even teased them for this.
He pushed his bicycle and stopped at the school gate waiting for Si Jiang. After waiting for a
while, cold rain fell from the gloomy sky. The raindrops hit Jingsheng's face. Then he remembered
that grandma had said in the morning that Si Jiang would stay in school for lunch. He looked
towards Si Jiang's classroom, wiped his face, kicked his long legs, and the wheels of his bicycle
started to spin.
Si Jiang was frightened by Jingsheng's look. He hid for a while before sticking his head out. The
school gate was already deserted and there was no trace of Jingsheng.
Humph, I knew he didn't care, maybe he would even ask for it, let him go! Si Jiang tightly grasped
the meal ticket and food ticket in his hand and walked out. The cafeteria was crowded with
people, and most of the seniors stayed in the school cafeteria for lunch. Si Jiang waited in line for
a long time, but was suddenly pulled out of the line.
"I've been calling you for a long time. What are you thinking about?" Li Nan stretched out his
hand and waved it in front of her eyes. "We have prepared food for you a long time ago. We
watched you float past here and kept calling you."
"I'm sorry--" Si Jiang's heart, which was frozen by Jingsheng, suddenly felt warm and his nose felt
sore.
Guo Chengyi and Cheng Ying waved at them at the long table in front of the window, and next to
them sat Lin Zhuoyu and Tang Zenian, as well as several students from Class 4. Si Jiang hesitated,
she actually wanted to keep a distance from Tang Zenian, at least not to let Jingsheng think he
was right, but when she really saw Tang Zenian, she felt that would be stupid.
As soon as Si Jiang sat down and opened his lunch box, he heard a commotion at the entrance of
the cafeteria. Someone was shouting something and squeezed in. Several teachers ran out in a
hurry without eating. Everyone at Si Jiang's table also stopped and looked out.
"What's wrong?" Tang Zenian grabbed a boy in the second grade of junior high school.
"Just now, a classmate from our school was hit by a bus on Yuyuan Road."
Everyone was shocked.
"I heard the collision was so severe that people flew far away. It was terrifying."
"Two people were hit. I heard they were both from Junior 2 (4) class. Their teacher He has
already gone."
Si Jiang's scalp tingled, and she stood up immediately: "It's from my brother's class!" She raised
her leg to cross the long bench, but her leg went weak and she almost fell. Fortunately, Tang
Zenian next to her immediately supported her. Everyone at the table was a little panicked.
"Classmates, do you know who was hit?" Tang Zenian grabbed a few classmates who were
passing by and asked, but they all shook their heads in confusion.
He Hongwei suddenly appeared at the cafeteria door.
"Chen Sijiang - is Chen Sijiang here?"
"Teacher He! Teacher He! I'm here."
Si Jiang was extremely panicked, his mind was in a mess.
"Gu Jingsheng from Class 2 (4) of Junior High School, is he your brother?"
"Yes, it's my elder brother..." The more Si Jiang thought about it, the more scared he became. The
more scared he became, the less he dared to think about it, and tears welled up in his eyes.
"Don't worry, Gu Jingsheng was hit by a bus just now. The ambulance has arrived. Go to the
scene of the accident first, and go to Huashan Hospital with your brother and Teacher He. The
school will notify your parents as soon as possible--"
Si Jiang ran out, crying as she ran, anxious, regretful, and afraid. She blamed her for staying in the
cafeteria to eat. Her brother was waiting for her at the school gate. If she had gone down two
minutes earlier, he would have been fine. If she had been with him, he would have been fine.
With tears in her eyes, she didn't notice the steps under her feet, and she rushed out directly,
with a sharp pain in her palms and chin.
"Chen Sijiang! Are you okay?" Tang Zenian quickly squatted down and carefully helped her up:
"Your hand is bleeding--"
"I'm fine!" Si Jiang shook off his hand, raised the back of his hand to wipe his tears, lowered his
head to say thank you, and ran towards the school gate.
——
When Jingsheng was knocked out, he had no time to react. He didn't feel any pain after falling to
the ground. He immediately tried to stand up and run, fearing that the crazy bus would not stop
and run over him again, which would be the end of him. However, he couldn't stand up after two
attempts. His whole body was numb. Many people ran over and shouted at him not to move,
saying that his leg was broken. Only then did he see that his leg was twisted into a strange
position. Then there was the panicked face of the class monitor Wang Lu, who kept shouting his
name. She pulled him and insisted on giving him an umbrella, but fortunately he pushed her
away in the end. It seemed that nothing happened. Fortunately, Si Jiang stayed at school for
dinner today. Thinking of this, Jingsheng began to feel scared. For the first time, he regretted that
he shouldn't have been angry with her last night because of such a small matter. If he was really
hit and killed like this, he didn't know what kind of ghost he would cry. Maybe he would blame
her for the rest of his life.
"Si Jiang? Si Jiang?" Jing Sheng shouted twice unconsciously, thinking that he should not die, but
the shouts and horns around him gradually faded away, and everything became blurry and white.
He even thought of Gu Beiwu When I tried to open my eyes again, the drizzle was still falling, the
sky was gray, and the sounds around me became clear again.
"Teacher He! Teacher He - over here! Gu Jingsheng -" Wang Lu burst into tears.
"Hurry up and call an ambulance. This classmate's leg must be broken." Someone said next to
him.
"I've called. Auntie Ge just called the public phone booth at the entrance of Yugu Village. What a
sin. Something happened to the bus. Suddenly it rushed to the opposite side of the road. Who
could have prevented it?"
"Gu Jingsheng? Gu Jingsheng? Can you still move? Can you speak? Where does it hurt?" The
head teacher's face suddenly enlarged and then shrunk in Jingsheng's eyes.
"I can't move my legs." Jingsheng gritted his teeth and replied, "Teacher He, my sister Chen
Sijiang, Junior One (2) Class——"
Teacher He was so shocked that he almost threw his head back to the ground: "Where is she?
Was she hit? Where was she hit?"
"She is eating in the school cafeteria. Please tell her, teacher, that I can't pick her up after school
today." Jingsheng felt like laughing for some reason. If it were in a movie or a novel, it would
sound like a last will.
"Who can help me find Mr. He, Mr. He Hongwei? Okay, thank you, classmate."
The ambulance finally came, and Jingsheng was carried into the car in the chaos. Teacher He
looked at the school gate again and again, and urged Wang Lu to get into the ambulance
together: "Let's go to the hospital first."
When Si Jiang arrived, the ambulance had already driven out more than ten meters and started
to accelerate. She rushed forward in a hurry, crying, "Brother! Let me get in! Wait for me!"
Everyone in the car focused their attention on Jingsheng. No one noticed the girl limping and
running desperately after the ambulance from behind the car. The distance between her and the
ambulance was getting farther and farther, and her figure was getting smaller and smaller.
Si Jiang was almost in despair when she turned onto Urumqi Road crying, but she unexpectedly
saw an ambulance slowly pulling up to the side of the road. Someone opened the door and
waved at her: "Is it Chen Si Jiang?"
"I am I am I!" Si Jiang ran again and was pulled into the car by Teacher He.
Jingsheng suspected that he heard her voice all the way. He breathed a sigh of relief and closed
his eyes when he saw her get in the car.
Si Jiang was so scared that he immediately rushed over and burst into tears: "Brother, Brother!
Don't die, don't die, don't die, please open your eyes and look at me, I'm not angry anymore, no
matter how you scold me, I'm not angry anymore, I'm really not angry anymore."
Teacher He couldn't help but pat her shoulder, but Si Jiang held Jingsheng's arm and shook him,
tears and snot falling on Jingsheng's face and shoulders.
The nurse who followed the car quickly held Jingsheng down, pulled Sijiang's hand away, and
frowned as she scolded him, "If your brother wasn't killed by the car, he must have been shaken
to death by you. Don't touch him."
Si Jiang wiped away his tears, and saw Jingsheng looking at him with disgust in his eyes.
"I'm so annoyed with you. I'm not dead, not dead, not dead!" Important things should be said
three times. Jingsheng looked at Sijiang's hand: "What's wrong with your hand? You still fall down
when you walk?"
Si Jiang burst into tears, but he did not forget to whisper back: "What's wrong with you? You
were riding a bike and got hit by a car?!" And with a girl!

Chapter 135
Jingsheng has suffered a lot of injuries since he was a child. Falling and bumping are minor
matters. After being beaten many times, the quantitative change led to a qualitative change, and
he started to beat others, but the people who beat others would actually get hurt. After humbly
learning from Gu Dongwen, the number of injuries became less and less.
After he entered the hospital, he found that his pain tolerance had deteriorated greatly. When he
was undergoing various tests in the emergency room, he was moved back and forth between the
platform and the examination table. The pain was so severe that his back molars broke the gums
and his mouth was full of blood. He insisted on moving himself to the CT table without making a
sound. The doctor gave him the nickname "Little Guan Gong", but the nurse thought it was not
appropriate, so she added a word to change it to "Little White Guan Gong".
After being sent to the orthopedics department for an ultrasound at around 4pm, she was finally
able to lie on the bed and start receiving IV drips. Jingsheng's right leg had swollen like an
elephant's leg, and Sijiang's eyes had swollen like walnuts. Wang Lu's parents came to the
hospital to pick up their daughter, but they didn't see Jingsheng or say hello to Gu Dongwen.
Teacher He felt very embarrassed, and thanked her parents again and again, and rushed back to
the school to report.
Gu Dongwen heaved a sigh of relief after hearing the doctor's diagnosis. It was unfortunate that
the femoral shaft of the right thigh was comminuted, but the good news was that the pelvic spine
and calf were fine, and it was not a comminuted fracture of the femoral head, which would take
nearly 300 days to heal. Doctor Zhu's way of comforting the patients' families was quite special.
For any symptom, he could cite two or three cases with worse luck, so even Si Jiang felt that
Jingsheng seemed to be really lucky.
When the doctor came over to apply traction, Si Jiang was completely stunned when he saw the
hammer, sledgehammer, nails and electric drill.
"Now we will drill a hole five centimeters below the knee, pull a rope to hang the weight, and
stretch his leg to prevent the bones from being misaligned and stabilize the broken part. Do you
understand?" Doctor Zhu tried to explain it in a simple and understandable way.
"I understand." Gu Dongwen patted his legs. "I've done it before. If I don't trust you, there's no
other doctor in Shanghai I can trust. Don't worry, this little guy has thin skin and tender flesh.
Doctor Zhu, please be gentle. Next time, please give me some face and come to Dongsheng
Canteen. I'll treat everyone to a meal."
Doctors are most afraid of two types of people. One is patients and their families who don't trust
doctors at all. They don't believe anything you say. No matter how much effort you put in, they
will cry, make a fuss, or even hang themselves at the slightest sign of trouble. The other type is
patients and their families who have only a little medical knowledge and like to teach others.
They will refute whatever you say and treat the hospital as a debate. They act as if they win the
whole world, and you can't ignore them. The best family members are those like Gu Dongwen.
Doctor Zhu felt relieved, but he thought of another old case and frowned: "So the old Gu across
from the Dongsheng Canteen is you." He glanced at Gu Dongwen and said, "Xiao Lu, come and
give this little classmate a painkiller injection. By the way, the person who ran away after meeting
you on a blind date in People's Park last time was this old Gu?"
Gu Dongwen was startled, and looked carefully at Nurse Lu who picked up the syringe, looking a
little embarrassed. Nurse Lu was gentle and calm, and nodded at him with a smile: "Sorry, our
Doctor Zhu likes to joke, don't mind it." Gu Dongwen's two big dimples appeared, and he was
about to say something when he was driven out of the ward by Doctor Zhu.
You will have to pay for what you have done one day. Gu Dongwen sighed and pulled Si Jiang to
sit on a chair outside. Si Jiang couldn't sit still, so he walked to the door of the ward again, but he
didn't dare to really look inside, and he was like an ant on a hot pot, circling back and forth.
"It's okay, little girl, don't look at it, there's nothing to see." Gu Dongwen pushed her back to the
chair: "Uncle has been treated like this before, ding-dong and bang-banging, just like I make a
wooden table, it's done in two strokes, it's a piece of cake."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jingsheng let out a muffled cry in the ward. It was the kind of
pain that could not be suppressed even after being suppressed to the extreme. Si Jiang
shuddered, threw herself into her uncle's arms and started crying again, her whole body
trembling with sobs. Gu Dongwen sighed and patted her back gently: "It's okay. Those who
survive a disaster will have good fortune in the future. Your brother didn't die from falling from a
tree, drowning in a river, being burned in a fire, or being poisoned by mushrooms. This little
fracture is nothing. In three or four months, he will be a lively little boy again."
Si Jiang cried even harder: "Brother! Brother, you are so pitiful." Who can live for more than ten
years and still fall off a tree, fall into a river, encounter a forest fire, and eat poisonous
mushrooms? Can this be called good luck?
When Dr. Zhu came out, he said it would take four days to reduce inflammation and swelling, and
the second surgery would be performed on the morning of the fifth day to put in a reinforcement
plate. Gu Dongwen couldn't help but ask, "Will he be able to fully recover after the surgery? My
son is on the district youth swimming team and will have a competition next January."
"It's very difficult to align 80% of a comminuted femoral fracture." Doctor Zhu raised his
eyebrows. "Surgery is not like repairing something. You can't repair it as long as you can. The
wound will bleed, and the tourniquet has a time limit. We can only reduce the fracture to the
most satisfactory position in the shortest possible time."
Looking at Dr. Zhu's back, Gu Dongwen sighed.
"Don't worry too much." Nurse Lu came out and said softly, "Your son's condition will take at
least four months to heal. He will definitely not be able to participate in the competition in
January. Fortunately, he is very young, and there should be no problem with the healing of the
bones after the operation. Please trust Dr. Zhu and our Huashan Orthopedics. In fact, whether he
can fully recover depends mainly on his functional training after the operation. The muscles
cannot atrophy, and the joints must be able to flex and extend freely. The sooner he starts
exercising, the better. It will be more painful at that time, and your family members must help
him persevere. If he recovers well, it will not affect his running and jumping at all. We will teach
you when the time comes, please remember all the movements carefully."
Gu Dongwen and Si Jiang quickly responded in unison. Si Jiang entered the ward, and Gu
Dongwen followed Nurse Lu for a few steps: "Comrade Xiao Lu, I'm really sorry about the incident
in People's Park last time--"
Nurse Lu smiled faintly: "It's okay, you explained it clearly, that's good. I'll go and get busy first. If
the patient needs anything, please press the nurse bell."
——
In the ward, Jingsheng's complexion looked better. Si Jiang stared at the weights hanging on both
sides of his knees in a daze.
Gu Dongwen checked the speed of the drip and returned to his usual smiling self. He reached out
and stroked Jingsheng's hair: "Fortunately his face wasn't damaged. If things don't work out, I can
still be a gigolo and eat soft rice in the future."
The patient and the young nurse next door all laughed. Jingsheng wanted to show his displeasure
to Gu Dongwen, but he didn't even have the energy to do so. The process of drilling holes,
threading ropes, hammering nails, and hanging weights had become a blank. Gu Dongwen ran
around several times, recognizing the faces of the nurses, but he didn't see Nurse Lu again, so he
asked Si Jiang to stay in the ward. He went home to talk to Grandma Gu first, and then prepared
to bring some daily necessities, food, drinks, and fruits.
"Brother, I'm sorry. It's all my fault." Si Jiang came closer and took a look at the weight. Thinking
of Jingsheng's scream just now, his heart ached and he burst into tears again.
"Stop crying." Jingsheng couldn't help but sigh: "You have been crying until now, is it hard?"
Where did the little girl get so many tears? She couldn't cry all of them, which was depressing.
Si Jiang took out a handkerchief from his pocket that had been wet several times, picked up a
relatively clean corner and wiped his face, and said in a hoarse voice: "If I were with Nong Le, it
wouldn't be possible - (If I were with you, it wouldn't be possible)"
Jingsheng forced a smile and said, "Nonsense, luckily you stayed at school for lunch today,
otherwise you would have suffered."
Si Jiang would rather lie down and suffer with him than feel so guilty and self-blaming now.
The two were speechless for a while. They both wanted to smooth over what happened last
night, but they didn't know how to start. One of them shed tears quietly, and the other stared at
the ceiling. After a while, Jingsheng felt uncomfortable. He grabbed the bed sheet with his hands,
his face turned red, and his upper body twisted several times. Si Jiang asked him anxiously for a
long time, but he didn't open his mouth. The uncle in the next bed laughed: "Little giant (little
devil), do you want to urinate or defecate?"
Jingsheng closed his eyes and replied with one word: "Small." He was now glad that he didn't
have time to eat lunch. The thought of lying on the hospital bed to defecate made his scalp
numb.
Si Jiang didn't feel embarrassed, and immediately ran out to call the nurse. Soon, a male nurse
and a female nurse came in and pulled up the curtain. Si Jiang listened nervously to the
commotion inside, and suddenly heard the sound of water. She was startled and ran out of the
ward. When she thought about Jingsheng, such a strong boy, having to go through this, her nose
was sour again, and she finally held back her tears.
The clock on the wall passed six o'clock. The smell of food wafted through the ward. The lunch
box and spoon collided to create a symphony. The stopper of the thermos was pulled out with a
"pop", and screamed when it was put back in. Family members came to visit the patient after
work and bring him food. It was busy for a while. Some greeted him, some asked about his
condition, some looked for nurses, some exchanged side dishes and fruits, some helped him with
his urination and defecation, and some wiped his body. There were people everywhere and
everyone had something to do. Although the window was open, the room was still filled with an
indescribable mixed smell, like a public toilet, a vegetable market, and a snack bar put together.
Jingsheng and Sijiang had never encountered such a scene before. They were a little
uncomfortable but embarrassed to show it. After all, they were about to contribute something.
Not far away, a woman pulled down her husband's pants. The man grabbed his pants by the
waistband and scolded with a smile, "Where is the girl?" The woman slapped him on the body
and said, "Who wants to see you, an old fool?" Si Jiang was so scared that he buried his face in
Jingsheng's hands. He dared to look up only when he heard the curtain being pulled up.
Jingsheng glanced at his hands of tears and snot, and asked Tianhua in silence, but Tianhua didn't
say anything. Si Jiang hurriedly took a wet handkerchief and wiped it for him.
"Hey, come on, little friends, cut some apples." The uncle in the next bed, with his left foot in a
plaster cast, called out to Jingsheng and Sijiang. His wife handed over an enamel bowl and said
with a smile, "You came in at four o'clock, so you probably hadn't had lunch when the accident
happened? Have some apples, boiled in salt water."
Si Jiang took the bowl and said, "Brother, can you eat apples?"
"Don't worry about eating. We must wait until the inflammation is gone before we can have the
surgery." The uncle was very sure: "The little giant is a model. Don't cry even if it hurts. He is
awesome."
"Thank you uncle, thank you aunt." Si Jiang took the fork and put a piece of food into Jingsheng's
mouth.
Jingsheng chewed the apple slowly. It was so sweet that all the pores in his body seemed to open
up and try hard to absorb this little bit of nutrition and water.
Before he finished eating the apple, everyone in the ward knew what happened to Jingsheng,
and the uncle next door also smiled and told the whole story of his fellow patients. Si Jiang heard
it and thought, well, it seems that the elder brother is really lucky, and it sounds like others are
worse off than him.
Jingsheng glanced at the door and said, "Si Jiang, it looks like the people outside are from your
class."
Si Jiang was stunned for a moment, and when he walked out, he saw that it was Li Nan and Tang
Zenian.
"Your brother can still talk. Fortunately, fortunately, I was scared to death." Li Nan covered his
chest and lowered his voice: "We are here to bring you a schoolbag. Lao He said that you can also
take a leave tomorrow."
Si Jiang took the schoolbag and lowered his head. "It's very tragic. It's a comminuted fracture.
He's almost dying of pain. The doctor just used an electric drill to make a hole in his leg."
Li Nan shivered with fear. After a long while, Tang Zenian finally asked, "By the way, is the girl with
your brother okay?" The news had spread around the school. The girl with Gu Jingsheng at the
time was Wang Lu, the monitor of the Grade 2 (4) class. The two were talking peacefully on the
side of the road when the bus in the opposite lane suddenly went crazy and hit them. What
about the couple being separated by force, the star-crossed couple, the news spread like wildfire
in just one afternoon.
"She's fine, just a few scratches. My brother pushed her away, and her family has taken her
back." Si Jiang felt depressed when he thought about this, and his voice became muffled: "Thank
you for sending me my schoolbag, you can go back first. I won't go to school tomorrow."
Tang Zenian hesitated for a moment: "Will you still be in the hospital tomorrow? If so, I'll send
you the notes this afternoon. Our two classes are on the same schedule."
"Yes, yes, yes. Old Tang's class notes are just like printed ones. We used to have to fight for them
or wait in line to copy them. Now it's much easier with him helping you." Li Nan tried his best to
chime in.
Si Jiang shook his head gently: "No, thank you."
Li Nan winked at Tang Zenian. Tang Zenian said gently, "Don't worry. When I was in the second
grade of elementary school, I fell down on the Brave Road and my right arm was shattered. I had
a steel plate put on and it took a year and a half to heal. I took the steel plate off when I was in
the fifth grade. You see, I'm fine now. I can still play basketball and volleyball. Your brother has
very good athletic ability, so there will be no problem with his recovery. It's just that it will be very
painful when he does rehabilitation exercises after the bones have grown back. No matter what,
you have to get through it. It will be fine after you get through it."
Li Nan also said quickly, "That's right, don't be afraid, hahaha, who among us hasn't survived near
death? When I was in the last year of kindergarten, I fell in the toilet and had seven stitches on
my head. My mom was so scared that she bought me everything I wanted to eat. Otherwise, I
could be as slim as you. In our elementary school, every semester there were people falling down
the stairs, slipping in the toilet, and hitting their heads in the corridor. Anyway, being alive is a
victory."
No matter how sad Si Jiang was, she made him smile and he gently hugged Li Nan: "Thank you,
Pumpkin, thank you all."
"It's my honor to serve the fairy." Li Nan patted her on the back proudly and looked at Tang
Zenian with a proud look.
Tang Zenian smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

Chapter 136
Gu Dongwen came with Grandma Gu, and brought food and soup from the store, and bought a
large bag of various fruits, which he delivered to the ward, and also accepted apples and bananas
from other patients, and then went to the nurses' desk and the doctor's office to deliver fruits.
This time, he saw Nurse Lu, and smiled and chatted with her. He didn't want to get close to Nurse
Lu so that Jingsheng could get more care, but he was worried that because of his initial
disrespect, she would feel uncomfortable and make things difficult for Jingsheng in small,
invisible places. This is what hospitalized patients who can't move on their own are most afraid
of. Not to mention embarrassment, even a small negligence can make people suffer a lot.
Obviously, Nurse Lu is very popular in the unit, and everyone is standing up for her because of
that blind date story. Head Nurse Li rolled her eyes at Gu Dongwen and said, "If you don't want to
get married, don't agree to the blind date. It's a waste of everyone's time. Our little Lu is such a
smart girl, and there is no shortage of people chasing her."
Gu Dongwen nodded with a smile, which made others lose their temper. Nurse Lu became
embarrassed instead. She took him out of the ward area and found a place where no one was
around to apologize to him.
"I'm really embarrassed. I'm sorry. Our head nurse is very protective of her. Please don't take it to
heart."
"No, I can see that you are a good person and have good relationships with others."
Nurse Lu pursed her lips, lowered her head and was silent for a while before saying, "You
probably don't remember me. I went on a blind date because you helped me once."
Gu Dongwen was stunned, and looked at her carefully again, but he really couldn't remember.
"My previous boyfriend had a very difficult divorce. That person would always wait at the
hospital entrance to cause trouble. In July of the year before last, he caught me downstairs and
dragged me across the street. When we passed by your restaurant, you came out and smashed a
bottle at him and beat him up." Nurse Lu raised her eyes, then lowered them and said, "Later at
the police station, you paid him a hundred yuan for his medical expenses, and I never thanked
you properly. I wanted to treat you to a meal in People's Park that day." But he smiled and
rejected her.
Gu Dongwen remembered that it was a rainy night during the plum rain season, and she was
dragged across the street by the bastard while being beaten by the hair. When someone asked
about it, the man screamed like crazy, and then turned around and punched and kicked her. He
couldn't stand seeing a man beating a woman, and wanted to kill him as soon as he saw it. He
immediately rushed out with a bottle of beer, hit the bastard on the head, and beat him up again,
hitting him in places that couldn't be diagnosed with pain and death. Someone nearby said that it
was a matter between the couple and he didn't need to meddle in it. Later, when he went to the
police station, he found out that the man had been beating his wife for seven or eight years, and
insisted that she had an affair with a doctor in the hospital. He also beat her when she was
pregnant, kicked her and miscarried the child, and slandered her as a "bastard". After beating
her, he knelt down and begged for forgiveness, slapped himself, stabbed himself with scissors,
wrote a lot of self-criticism and guarantee letters, and threatened to jump off the building and
commit suicide when divorce was mentioned. The Women's Federation, the Trade Union, and the
neighborhood committee mediated countless times, and finally the woman sued the court with
the support of her colleagues and was granted a divorce. Of course, the bastard never really
committed suicide, and he always went to the woman's home and workplace to cause trouble,
but this was the first time that Gu Dongwen fought violence with violence, and once it worked,
he never dared to show his face again.
"Thank you." Nurse Lu thanked him sincerely. She was relieved of the nightmare of many years,
so when the vice chairman of the labor union said that the blind date was the self-employed
person who opened the Dongsheng Canteen across the street, she immediately agreed. In fact,
after that incident, she and her colleagues often went to his restaurant for dinner, but he seemed
to not know her at all, and she had no chance to mention it.
"Hey, you're welcome. It's just a small favor, anyone would help." Gu Dongwen accidentally got
involved in someone else's most painful past. He was ten thousand times more embarrassed
than Nurse Lu, so he found an excuse to escape back to the ward.
Jingsheng reluctantly ate something and drank a small bowl of pork rib soup, and fell into a deep
sleep amidst the nagging of Grandma Gu. Si Jiang packed up the daily necessities, filled the
thermos with boiling water, and washed Jingsheng's face and hands. Patients were not allowed to
stay with the patient at night in the orthopedic ward. The visiting hours ended at 7:30, and the
nurses began to drive people out.
After leaving the hospital, Grandma Gu was still sighing: "Alas, Jingsheng's fate is such a sin. From
now on, my daughters should stay in school to eat lunch."
Gu Dongwen asked, "Mom, do you still remember the nurse Xiao Lu that Aunt Liu from the
neighborhood committee introduced to me last time?"
"Why don't you remember?" Granny Gu said unhappily, "Nurses are so good. They can take good
care of you in the future. Even though you are very capable now, you will suffer when you are old.
Aunt Liu talked to me several times later, thinking that you despised her because she was
divorced. Although the girl was divorced once, she was a good worker and had a good temper. It
was just that her previous man was a piece of shit and always beat her, so they divorced. She
even offered to treat you to a meal. Oh, forget it, you are not a good person either."
Gu Dongwen smiled and supported her: "No one knows a child better than his mother. Alas, I told
you not to make this trip, but you insisted on coming. You can only stay for half an hour. Why
bother coming so late at night?"
Granny Gu held Si Jiang's hand and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Jingsheng is not
your biological son, but he has your last name Gu, so he is our eldest grandson. If I don't come to
see you after you got hit by a car and broke your bones, how can I be considered a human being?
I am not eighty or ninety years old and cannot move. When you broke your leg before, didn't I
cook pork liver soup, bone soup, and black fish soup for you every day and send them to the
hospital? It was so difficult to buy some meat and fish at that time. Fortunately, Beiwu was smart
since he was a child..."
The old lady talked more and more as she recalled her past. Si Jiang's heart, which had been
tumbling up and down, gradually calmed down. When he walked into Wanchun Street,
thousands of houses were lit up. This old scene that had not changed much day after day
suddenly became very warm and precious.
——
The next day at four o'clock in the afternoon, the ward was open for visiting. Si Jiang, Grandma
Gu, and Chen A Niang also brought Chen Si Hao with them, carrying a bunch of food and drinks
into the ward, which scared Jingsheng.
"Brother, brother!" Two-and-a-half-year-old Chen Si was still not very fluent in speaking: "Okay,
get better."
When the people in the ward saw this fat little boy, they teased him, told him to come over for
some candy and fruit, and touched and pinched him. Chen A-niang quickly carried Si Hao to the
nurses' desk to measure his height and weight. It was free, and she would have done it if she
hadn't.
One pound of dragon bones and two drumsticks were stewed on a coal stove for six hours, with
two pieces of lean meat, half a pound of ribs, and two chicken thighs added. The soup was
clarified with egg white after absorbing the foam. The patients in the ward praised it. After all, his
family runs a restaurant. The soup smells so good. Boss Gu has a unique skill.
"What you eat nourishes what you have." Grandma Gu picked out the chicken thigh and put it
aside: "Even if you have no appetite, you have to eat this."
Jingsheng also had chicken legs for lunch, which were sent by Gu Dongwen from across the
street. He couldn't enter the ward, so he asked the nurse to bring it in. The hospital also had
chicken legs for lunch, so Jingsheng felt a little dizzy facing the third meal of chicken legs, but
since grandma was so thoughtful, he had to eat it even if he didn't want to.
After finally swallowing the fourth chicken leg of the day, the nurse brought another group of
people to visit him. They were people from the bus company's union. They also brought a bunch
of wilted flowers, a basket of fruits, a net bag of nutritional supplements, and of course a red
envelope with condolence money in it. When handing over the condolence money, the union
leader turned to the propaganda officer's camera with a kind face, and snapped, snapped,
leaving Jingsheng with an indifferent face. The bus driver got into trouble, and the company
covered all the medical expenses. Unfortunately, more than a dozen passengers on the bus were
injured, with varying degrees of severity. Several old men and women had their heads broken.
The family members went to the bus company yesterday and made a fuss all night, so today
someone was free to visit Jingsheng. Before the people here left, someone else came outside.
Wang Lu came with her grandparents, and brought a basket of fruit and two large bottles of milk
powder and condensed milk.
"Thank you, thank you." Wang Lu's grandmother held Grandma Gu's hand without hesitation:
"Thanks to your little classmate Gu for pushing Alalulu away, otherwise Lulu would have been hit
by the car. He is so brave, thank you!"
Last night, Granny Gu had said bad things about this family, scolding them for being so shameless
as to not go on the road after receiving a life-saving favor, as if they were afraid of being
blackmailed by their own family. After this, she felt embarrassed: "It's nothing, everyone has their
own destiny——"
Wang Lu's grandfather looked like a high-level intellectual. He consoled Jingsheng cordially and
then seriously corrected Grandma Gu, saying, "Grandma, what you said is wrong. It's too
idealistic and unscientific. Little Gu, please rest assured to receive treatment. Your selfless
behavior is remarkable. I have contacted the newspaper and a reporter will interview you
tomorrow. The school and the Youth League Committee must also publicize and commend this
matter. Let's take it step by step. Now the society especially needs good people like you to inspire
everyone. We can't just look at money for everything."
After being lectured by the old cadre for ten minutes, everyone in the ward fell silent. Wang Lu
blushed and pulled at the corner of Grandpa Wang's clothes. Director Wang, who hadn't
attended a meeting for a long time, finally stopped. He felt thirsty because his sword hadn't been
used for a long time. Fortunately, Si Jiang brought him a glass of water in time: "Grandpa Wang,
please drink some water."
"Okay, okay, thank you, little classmate. You are Xiao Gu's sister, right? You have worked hard."
Si Jiang smiled and shook his head, and looked at Wang Lu. She was actually a little curious about
why the squad leader was with the elder brother yesterday. Here, Director Wang finished
drinking half a glass of water and began to educate the people of the bus company. Drivers must
strictly control the safety of buses and increase their vigilance. It concerns the safety of the
people in the city and they cannot relax their vigilance...
Fortunately, the fourth group of condolences arrived in time and terminated Director Wang’s
meeting. The vice principal, the dean of studies, Teacher He, and Fang Shuren entered the ward
with Jingsheng’s schoolbag and nutritious fruits. The nurse directly and rudely asked all non-
immediate relatives to leave. Finally, there was room to step in the ward. Director Wang did not
have time to conduct safety education for the school leaders and could only leave in
disappointment. Si Jiang sent them out of the ward area. Wang Lu bit her lip and whispered that
she would come to see Jingsheng tomorrow. Si Jiang was stunned: "No, really no." But Wang Lu
shook her head with tears in her eyes: "He is like this because of me - I will come to accompany
him every day."
Si Jiang returned to the ward feeling very uncomfortable. Teacher He was handing over the
donations from all the students in the school to Jingsheng. It was a huge sum of money, more
than 1,500 yuan. Jingsheng was unwilling to accept it and was so anxious that he almost fell off
the bed.
The vice principal smiled and held him back: "This is the kindness of all our teachers and
students. No matter which student encounters such an accident or misfortune, the school will
initiate voluntary donations to help each other. If you really don't need the money, you can use it
to help those in need in the future and pass on your love."
Teacher He said: "Student Wang Lu wrote a detailed account of what happened to the school,
proving that you were hit by the car even though you had enough time to dodge it. Such a heroic
act of sacrificing oneself to save others will not be forgotten. Don't worry, you will get all the
honors and rewards you deserve."
Jingsheng was startled, and immediately straightened up: "Teacher He, that's not the case. Really,
I didn't save Wang Lu, I just pushed her, it's nothing at all-"
"Real heroes are like this." The dean interrupted him and patted Teacher He with satisfaction:
"Your class has two good students, one is honest and the other is brave. Very good."
"No, really, Teacher He, just think about it, I was pushing the bicycle here, Wang Lu was standing
on the side of the bicycle, and the bus hit me diagonally from the opposite side -" Jingsheng
waved his hand to indicate the situation at that time.
"If you hadn't pushed her away, the front of the car would have definitely hit you both." The
Dean of Studies was extremely confident, and even showed a hint of humor: "It seems that Gu
Jingsheng needs to work harder in his physics class. Well, we won't bother you any more. Just
stay in the hospital and don't worry about your homework."
"A mutual aid group has been set up in the class today. Two weeks after your surgery, class
representatives and classmates from the mutual aid group will take turns coming to give you
tutoring every day. Our teachers from each subject will also come once a week. Don't worry, our
junior high school students will take turns to give you tutoring." Class 2 (4) will never let you fall
behind.”
Teacher He smiled and encouraged Jingsheng: "When you fully recover, the door to the school
track and field team will still be open for you."
Before leaving, Fang Shuren summarized the key points of algebraic geometry in the past two
days to Si Jiang: "If you need something temporarily and want to eat, just go to Yugu Village to
find your Grandma Mei. Don't bother running back. ‌Wanchun Street. Grandma Mei misses you."
"Thank you, Teacher Fang." Si Jiang was very moved, and was once again grateful that his brother
and himself were both in such a good school, with so many good teachers and classmates.

Chapter 137
When Si Jiang returned to school, Jingsheng's photo was posted on the bulletin board, and the
title "Learn from Gu Jingsheng" was very eye-catching. When he entered the classroom, many
people came to care about Jingsheng's injury, and some people joked that this heroic act of
saving a beautiful woman was not cheap. Si Jiang rarely put on a serious face and got angry at the
two boys.
After school in the afternoon, Wang Lu took the initiative to find Si Jiang and wanted to go to the
hospital with her to visit Jingsheng. The boy who was embarrassed by Si Jiang in the morning
whistled and sang "Sisters' deep love", and ran away.
Wang Lu blushed, and seeing Si Jiang's unhappy face, she became a little nervous. She wanted to
have a good relationship with Si Jiang, and she kept talking about Jing Sheng on the way to the
hospital, praising and admiring him, but also complaining about herself. All she said was a hero
saving a beautiful girl. Si Jiang had no choice but to listen to him all the way. When he arrived at
the inpatient department, he was very irritable and said he had to buy some food, so Wang Lu
went in first.
With a few foreign coins in her small purse, Si Jiang walked south along Urumqi North Road, but
there were no small stalls to spend money on. There was a dark wall at the intersection ahead.
Soldiers with guns stood in front of the sentry box, and the American flag was hung on the wall.
Many people gathered at the corner, excitedly exchanging information about visa applications. Si
Jiang stood and listened for a while, and suddenly missed her uncle who was far away in the
United States. Her uncle wrote to her every month, telling her many things on the other side of
the ocean. She also remembered that when she was a child, her uncle picked her up after class at
the China Welfare Institute. He rode his bicycle very fast, turned left from here to Huaihai Road,
and rode all the way to Harbin Food Factory to buy a bunch of snacks, and then went back to
Wanchun Street with laughter and chat. Later, the person who went to the Children's Palace to
pick her up became Jingsheng, and the person who watched movies with her, bought snacks with
her, and lined up to eat wontons and steamed buns with her also became Jingsheng.
Thinking that there would be a girl by the brother's side in the future, everyone said that they
were very close and a good match. The brother was willing to break his leg for Yining. Somehow,
Si Jiang was overwhelmed with grief and just stood at the intersection and cried. After crying
twice, he saw the soldier at the sentry box looking at him. He panicked, wiped his tears and
hurried back.
Arriving at the door of the ward, Si Jiang slowed down his footsteps and took a sneak peek inside.
He saw Jingsheng lying on the bed, and Wang Lu was sitting beside him with a small bowl and an
apple in her hand.
"Brother, I'm here. Are you in a lot of pain today?" Si Jiang put down his schoolbag and stood at
the end of the bed, making small talk: "Uncle will be here soon. He made you pig's trotter soup
and braised pork liver with soy sauce. By the way, Mom said last night that she would send you a
bag of Xinjiang dates, and Nan Nan said that she would come back to see you as soon as the
holiday came. She also made you a sympathy card."
Jingsheng opened his eyes, pursed his lips, hummed, then closed his eyes tiredly again. In the
morning, reporters from the newspaper came and made a fuss for an hour, insisting on
portraying him as a typical heroic young man. No matter what he said, he was too humble and
indifferent to fame and fortune. In the afternoon, various examinations were carried out, and he
was in so much pain several times after being moved around. Just as he lay down to sleep for a
while, Wang Lu came. He told Nurse Lu several times that she would not see anyone unless they
were family members, but she couldn't stand it and started crying at the nurse's station. After she
came in, she explained a lot. I thought he was still angry about the fact that her parents took her
away without even saying hello on the day of the accident.
Wang Lu stood up, feeling a little aggrieved: "Si Jiang, please persuade your brother. He refuses to
drink water or eat apples——"
Si Jiang poured a glass of water, cooled it with a spoon, raised the bed a little, fed Jingsheng half a
glass of water spoon by spoon, talked a few words about school, and peeled a banana for
Jingsheng. Wang Lu looked at the time, stood up sadly and said goodbye, saying she would come
again tomorrow. Si Jiang sent her out, and saw her tears falling like a broken string, and felt a
little bit sorry, and explained uncomfortably that eating apples would make the stool hard, and
the nurse suggested eating bananas would be better. Wang Lu was stunned, her face flushed, and
she whispered thank you before leaving.
Hey, what are you thanking me for? Just don't come again. Si Jiang thought so in his heart, but he
said insincerely, "You're welcome."
——
Jingsheng was very nervous before the operation, but his face did not show it. His fellow patients
said that he was worthy of the name "Little White Guan Gong". At 10 o'clock in the evening,
Nurse Lu came to give him a small bag of biscuits and told him to drink some water before going
to bed, which was considered his last meal before the operation. She also explained the reactions
that would occur during skin preparation, catheterization, and anesthesia.
Although it was difficult to say, Jingsheng still lowered his eyes and asked in a low voice: "Can a
man come to help me with that?" He already knew that skin preparation was not just about
shaving leg hair.
Nurse Lu said calmly, "Medical staff do not distinguish between men and women. There are male
doctors in the obstetrics and gynecology department. Inserting a urinary catheter will be painful.
It takes about one to two minutes from the urethra to the bladder. The more relaxed you are, the
easier it will be."
Jingsheng shuddered.
"If you feel nauseous and cold after the anesthesia, remember to tell the anesthesiologist. Don't
be afraid, it's a normal reaction." Nurse Lu glanced at Jingsheng again before leaving: "If it really
hurts after the operation, don't bear it, otherwise it will be difficult for us to judge."
Before entering the operating room the next day, Jingsheng, who had finished skin preparation
and had the catheter inserted, swore that he would never go to the hospital again unless it was
absolutely necessary. Si Jiang, who was waiting outside, saw that he looked hopeless and was
very scared. He squeezed his hand and said, "Brother, it's okay. We'll wait for you outside. Come
on!" Gu Dongwen fiddled with the catheter outside the blanket and saw that Jingsheng's face
was twitching. He held back his smile and lowered his head to ask in his ear, "Do you want the
doctor to help you circumcise your foreskin?" Jingsheng was so angry that his eyes were spitting
fire.
Seeing Jingsheng being pushed in by the nurses, Si Jiang was about to ask why he had to have a
circumcision and what the foreskin was, but Gu Dongwen winked at her and made a face: "Shh,
don't ask, it's something only men have, it's not a good thing." Si Jiang glared at her uncle with a
red face, turned around and ignored him. Brother Jingsheng was too unlucky to have such an
unreliable and joking father. What a shame!
The operation lasted for three and a half hours, and Jingsheng was confused until the evening.
People came and went around him like a revolving lantern. He had no impression of what they
said or did. The whole world seemed to be separated from him by a layer of frosted glass, but he
felt a sense of security for no reason. He only vaguely remembered the coldness after the
anesthesia was injected, so cold that he shivered. At that moment, he felt extreme fear. He
wanted to say that he was very uncomfortable, very cold, and nauseous, but he opened his
mouth and didn't know whether he made any sound. Many people were busy under the
shadowless lamp. He could hear the faucet gurgling, the slight sound of medical equipment
colliding with steel, and the anesthesiologist and doctor chatting with a smile. At that moment,
Jingsheng felt that he might die quietly on the operating table without anyone knowing, until
someone suddenly covered his face with a mask, and then he lost consciousness. He didn't know
whether it was the mask that worked or the anesthesia.
At eight o'clock in the evening, the anesthetic wore off and the ward was quiet. The stench of
excrement and food mixed into his nose. Jingsheng turned his head and moved his hands. He felt
a heaviness and pain in his legs. The area where the anesthetic was injected in his waist also hurt.
It hurt more than when he had a broken bone. It hurt so much that he was shaking. After the
doctor finished his rounds at night, he finally couldn't help but tell Nurse Lu: "It hurts. It hurts a
lot."
Nurse Lu calculated the time after the operation, left the ward, and came back a few moments
later to give him two painkillers: "Take them if the pain is really unbearable, otherwise you won't
be able to sleep all night."
After taking painkillers, Jingsheng fell asleep quickly on the hospital bed. He dreamed of the farm
in Jinghong, the endless rubber forest, and the magnificent stars at four o'clock in the morning.
He shuttled through the rainforest, and every tree, grass, and flower was so familiar. The big
spiders falling from the sky, the lizards everywhere, and the poisonous snakes swimming
indifferently passed by him without interfering with each other. He climbed up a tree and threw a
banana to the slow loris, waded through the tributaries of the Lancang River, bathed the lone
baby elephant, followed the blue peacock, and wanted to pick up a few of its fallen feathers for
his mother to put in the wine bottle as decoration. He shuttled through the Miao village, drooling
at the bacon and salted fish drying under the eaves. When he returned to the shabby dormitory
at night, it was empty. Gu Dongwen was not there, and his mother was not there either. He ran
around in a panic, but the sound he shouted out seemed to be muffled in a hood, and only he
could hear it. Finally, deep in the jungle, he heard music coming from the radio. It was the enemy
station they often secretly listened to. He hid behind a tree and saw his mother stepping on Gu
Dongwen's feet barefoot. The two of them hugged each other, only each other in their eyes,
smiling slightly, and kept spinning. He ran out angrily, shouting, "It hurts! It hurts so much, it hurts
so much--"
When Jingsheng woke up, he felt his face was wet. Nurse Lu was changing his saline bottle, and it
was already dawn.
——
Seeing that Jingsheng's birthday would definitely be celebrated in the hospital, Si Jiang racked her
brains and couldn't think of a good gift. Li Nan gave her a clever idea: "Why not fold lucky stars?
This is very popular now, especially suitable for giving to patients, it can bring good luck." Si Jiang
didn't know how to fold paper, so Zhang Leyi volunteered to teach her. As a result, the girls were
very interested and folded dozens of them in the afternoon. Although they were torn papers
from homework books, piling them together also had a sense of ritual.
Si Jiang went to Fuzhou Road on Sunday and bought some colored paper. He cut them into long
strips and carefully wrote blessings on the back of the strips.
"I wish you a speedy recovery, brother."
"Good luck continues, and all wishes come true."
"The track and field team must advance!"
After shouting out a dozen commonly used slogans, they gradually turned into small wishes and
promises.
"When your leg is healed, remember to teach me how to swim."
"I'll treat you to a movie, and if the movie is good, I'll treat you to an ice cream."
"If you can be discharged from the hospital in December, we can go to my aunt's dance party and
enjoy a free meal."
"I am your walking stick, you can use it as you like."
"I will learn to ride a bicycle soon, and I will take you to school in the future." "I can make
shepherd's purse wontons, and I will make them for you when you are discharged from the
hospital." ... There are so many things, and the more I write, the more I write, and ninety-nine
lucky stars are almost not enough. The colorful fat stars are stacked in the glass bottle, which is
very beautiful.
The 7th happened to be Sunday. In the afternoon, Si Jiang dragged her grandmother to Kaisheng
to buy a few chestnut cakes, and then went to Dongsheng Canteen to wait for Gu Dongwen to
prepare Jingsheng's dinner and go to the hospital together. Gu Dongwen asked her what birthday
gift she prepared for Jingsheng, and Si Jiang smiled and said it was a secret. The three of them
went upstairs, but saw the nurses gathered at the door of the ward, laughing non-stop.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you--" Someone inside sang the birthday song, once in
Chinese and then again in English.
Si Jiang pushed through the crowd and entered. It turned out that Wang Lu had brought a dozen
students from the Grade 2 (4) class to celebrate Jingsheng's birthday. The ward was filled with
colorful paper cranes and balloons, and a large cream cake was placed on a small table. Jingsheng
leaned against the bed and smiled slightly, and it was obvious that he was very moved.
Seeing Si Jiang, Wang Lu hurried over to explain: "I'm sorry, we wanted to wait for you to come
and celebrate together, but several classmates have extracurricular classes at five o'clock, so we
have to go first-"
"It's okay, it's okay, thank you, classmates, for being so thoughtful." Gu Dongwen said with a
smile, "Thank you so much, this is Jingsheng's first birthday party since he was born, it's so grand,
I'm really ashamed as a father. Please come to our hotel for a birthday party some other day."
The classmates all laughed and agreed. One girl said with a smile, “Then we are all thanks to the
class monitor and Gu Jingsheng. In fact, all of this was organized by the class monitor. She
prepared for many days. These 999 paper cranes represent the class monitor’s and all of our
blessings. We hope that Gu Jingsheng will recover soon and return to our warm Grade 8 (4)
class.”
"There's also a cake, which the class monitor specially ordered from Jinjiang Hotel. We're so
greedy. Gu Jingsheng, please cut the cake quickly. At least it will give me some comfort before I
go to my devilish English class." A boy shouted.
Jingsheng took the fruit knife and cut the cake with a smile. Wang Lu took the first piece and
handed it to Grandma Gu. Grandma Gu was filled with emotion and thanked him repeatedly. Si
Jiang bit her lip, thinking of the poor ninety-nine lucky stars in the small milk bottle in her
backpack, and suddenly felt lucky that she didn't come earlier. She quietly took a piece of cream
cake, lowered her head and ate it in small bites. It was really delicious. She kicked the lunch box
with four small chestnut cakes at her feet under the bed. After eating the last bite of cake, in the
midst of the commotion, Si Jiang raised his head and saw stars shining in Wang Lu's eyes, brighter
and more beautiful than the lucky stars.
If she were a prince, she would probably like such a thoughtful girl. Si Jiang lowered his head
silently again.
After the classmates left, the other patients began to tease Gu Dongwen and make fun of
Jingsheng and Wang Lu. Some of them pulled off the colorful strings and carefully studied the
paper cranes on them, praising how clever and dexterous the girls nowadays were.
After Jingsheng finished his dinner, the family chatted for a while. Gu Dongwen helped him lie
down to go to the toilet, fetched water to wipe his body, and put a red rope bracelet on his hand
with a gold bead hanging on it, exactly the same as the one given to Si Jiang.
"Wear away evil spirits and calm down your nerves, and everything will go smoothly in the
future." Gu Dongwen grabbed Jingsheng's face and pulled it back and forth: "You are really more
promising than your father. Back then, we tried our best to please the little girl, but now, tsk tsk
tsk, the situation is reversed."
"What are you talking about again!" Jingsheng turned his face away: "Nurse Lu is looking for you,
why don't you go and apologize?"
Grandma Gu smiled and stuffed two amulets under Jingsheng's pillow. "These are two amulets
from Jing'an Temple and Jade Buddha Temple. They have been blessed by masters. You should
carry them with you in the future. Nannan, where is the gift you gave to brother? You were busy
all day, writing and making all kinds of things. Take them out now."
Si Jiang glanced at Jingsheng and said mysteriously, "Grandma, you're wrong. That's for our class
activities." She took out the lunch box from her bag, opened it and smelled it: "I bought chestnut
cake for my brother, but unfortunately he has already eaten the cream cake--"
Jingsheng snatched it away: "You still want to embezzle it? You are beyond the law."
Si Jiang handed him a spoon, narrowed his eyes and smiled: "Happy birthday, brother, I wish you
a happy birthday soon."
Jingsheng ate two in one go: "I'll have the remaining two for breakfast tomorrow. How are you
preparing for the midterm exam next week?"
Si Jiang laughed: "I passed all the exams, no problem. I just missed a day and a half of classes,
which I made up for early. I will review the wrong questions in algebra and physics when I get
home later."
Jingsheng thought of the notes and the collection of wrong questions that Tang Zenian sent him,
and felt a little uncomfortable. He didn't expect that it would not be his turn to give Si Jiang
questions and help her review and analyze them.
When he returned to Wanchun Street that night, Si Jiang stuffed the bottle of Lucky Star into a
cardboard box containing elementary school textbooks and exercise books and piled it on top of
the wardrobe. The first birthday gift he had prepared with great care in his life was hidden away
after being hit by a dimensionality reduction attack.

Chapter 138
Jingsheng's life after surgery was extremely boring. He felt his right leg degenerating day by day in
the plaster, as if it was slowly rusting and withering. He had to hang six bottles of intravenous
drips every day to reduce swelling, and also get an injection to prevent blood clotting. Others said
that this injection was extremely painful, but he felt that it was better than inserting a catheter,
but the subcutaneous injection was not easy to leave marks, and both arms were covered with
lumps. Si Jiang carefully drew a map of lumps, marking the injection date with one, two, three,
four, five..., so that the nurses could choose the free time to avoid the needle holes in the recent
days. It became a good story in the orthopedic ward. Many patients in other wards and medical
staff on other floors came to see the "lump map". Doctor Zhu smiled and said that Si Jiang could
consider applying for medical school in the future.
Gu Ximei sent ten kilograms of Xinjiang jujubes to Wanchun Street, and Sinan's letter of
condolence also arrived, with a few photos of her performance in "Embroidering the Red Flag",
where she debuted as the center. The program won the first prize in Aksu, and won the second
prize in the regional performance in Urumqi. It was reported in newspapers and on TV. Sinan's
expression in the photos was tragic, and her heroic and fearless revolutionary sentiment was very
contagious. The patients said: Jingsheng, your little sister doesn't look like your older sister at all.
The little sister is prettier, like a foreign doll.
The uncle in the next bed joked to Si Jiang: "Si Jiang, you are also pretty, but your front teeth are
a little big, like a little white rabbit, so cute." Si Jiang immediately pursed his lips and refused to
speak. Another familiar aunt came over and chattered: "The classmate Xiao Wang who just left is
also pretty. At first glance, she is a lady from a cadre family. She is fashionable and stylish. Si Jiang,
auntie said a few unpleasant words, but it's all for your own good. Don't be angry. In fact, you can
learn to dress like her. Girls don't need to be shabby every day. Classmate Xiao Wang's rose red
mohair cardigan is really pretty, and the bright red windbreaker she wore today is so energetic.
Oh, they are all famous brands bought at 100 (First Department Store). You get what you pay for.
You won't go wrong." Si Jiang ignored her and took the basin to get water.
"If you ask me, classmate Xiao Wang is the best looking, right?" The auntie got excited and
insisted that everyone agree with her aesthetic: "Si Jiang is too thin. The girl should have some
flesh, otherwise she will have a hard time giving birth in the future--"
Jingsheng suddenly put the photo away and said with a sullen face: "Do you know what beautiful
means? My Sijiang River is beautiful. Others are at least ten times more beautiful than it."
The aunt was caught off guard by the words and couldn't get up for a moment. She smiled
awkwardly: "Oh, after all, they are my brother and sister. Good, good, good, your Si Jiang is the
prettiest. In my brother's heart, my sister is the prettiest. It's really a good thing."
"My Nan Nan is also pretty, but she is still a world away from the Huangpu River compared to the
Si River. Pretty is pretty, it has nothing to do with my brother or sister." Jingsheng raised his
eyelids: "Of course, only people who have taken art classes will understand what is truly pretty."
The aunt was so angry that she muttered a few words and went back to her own patient in a huff.
The uncles were laughing so hard that when Si Jiang came back with water, he found that the
atmosphere in the ward was weird. Jingsheng was lying on the bed with his eyes closed. His
usually upturned mouth corners were tightly pursed, and his eyebrows were twisted into a " 川"
shape. It was obvious that the elder brother was angry. Si Jiang twisted a towel for Jingsheng,
looked at the uncle in the next bed, and asked silently: "What's wrong?"
"Ten Huangpu Rivers." The uncle winked at her. The people in the ward laughed, repeating
Jingsheng's words one by one, and began to claim how many Huangpu Rivers were different from
Sijiang.
Si Jiang's face turned red with embarrassment. She squeezed the towel with all her strength a
few times and finally threw it on Jingsheng's face: "Brother! You are the most annoying!" Seeing
that she ran away in anger, Jingsheng threw away the towel and pulled the quilt to cover himself.
His face was flushed and his heart was pounding. Why couldn't he suddenly help but care about
whether Si Jiang was good-looking or not with someone who had nothing to do with him? It
seemed that not only his thighs were rusting, but his brain and mouth seemed to be rusted as
well. He was really sick, and the illness was not light. Six bottles of intravenous drip a day would
not be enough.
Chen Sinan had been holding a grudge against the Huangpu River for half his life, and he would
often bring it up to blackmail Jingsheng, often extorting him for food, drink, clothing, and daily
necessities. Every time Jingsheng was blackmailed, he would inevitably sigh, "Looking back, I've
already been a hundred years old."
——
In late November, Jingsheng finally got rid of the hell of urinating and defecating on the bed, and
began to walk slowly on crutches in the corridor of the ward. From 4 to 6 pm, the mutual aid
group in the class would come to the ward to give him extra lessons. Wang Lu still reported to the
ward every day, no matter how many times Jingsheng said she would not back down. The
patients joked that the girl must have owed Jingsheng a lot of money in her previous life, and she
came to pay the debt in this life.
Jingsheng couldn't do anything to Wang Lu. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't moved. Apart
from his family, no one had ever been so kind to him, so blatant and unscrupulous, so kind that
he couldn't bear it. The teasing of classmates, the jokes of fellow patients, the meaningful looks
of nurses, and Si Jiang's obvious rejection could not stop the girl's enthusiasm.
Wang Lu was immersed in a kind of self-movement of wholehearted devotion. The secret love
and admiration accumulated over the past year finally had a bright and upright place to go, and
all the heat burst out. The severe scolding of her parents, the tactful persuasion of her
grandparents, and the hints of Teacher He all added an inexplicable tragic grandeur to her blazing
love.
She was very proud of herself for daring to break through the secular vision and obstacles of her
family and the world, and even performed exceptionally well in the midterm exam, ranking
among the top three in the class and the top ten in the grade. Her parents no longer criticized her
for her obvious and childish "love", and Teacher He sighed and asked the students not to distort
pure friendship and gratitude into love between men and women.
Wang Lu also actively applied to join the league and was successfully accepted, becoming the
propaganda officer of the league committee. Jingsheng's interview clips were played on the
school radio station in a loop, and the publicity columns were posted with publicity drafts from
major newspapers. The extraordinary choice made by an ordinary junior high school student
sparked heated discussions. Every day when she saw Jingsheng, Wang Lu was filled with joy and
satisfaction. From vague to clear, she finally believed that it was her, the most beautiful love, that
created a more perfect her and a more perfect Gu Jingsheng.
Si Jiang did not perform well in geometry and chemistry in the midterm exam, and finally ranked
27th in the class, which was much better than the bottom ten she expected. Fang Shuren
specially asked her to analyze the algebra geometry paper, praised her for getting 87 points in
algebra this time, and encouraged her to keep up the good work. Chinese teacher Zhou asked her
to copy the composition and post it on the "Beautiful Essay Appreciation" column on the first
floor of the teaching building.
Jingsheng smiled and said that he didn't expect her to do so well in algebra and physics. It
seemed that he, as a brother, would have no place to use his skills in the future. Si Jiang said that
he wanted to thank Tang Zenian. Without his notes and analysis, he would definitely have failed
several of the big questions in algebra and physics. He also wanted to thank Zhao Youning.
Several of the small questions appeared on the test paper he gave. Jingsheng laughed and said
that her speech was like she was on the podium. The two of them went back and forth and
mocked each other and themselves.
Gu Ximei led the team to win the second prize in Urumqi, which was quite a sensation. After
spending 800 yuan, the music teacher's job was finally finalized. She took the opportunity to go
to the Education Bureau to handle the formalities and looked at several primary schools.
Unexpectedly, she encountered another problem: Sinan was only eight years old. After enrolling,
she had to repeat the second grade. If she scored 100 points in both exams after one semester,
she could take the skipping exam and then the exam results would determine which grade she
would skip. Ximei and Chen Donglai discussed it over and over again, and had no choice but to
succumb to the situation. Unexpectedly, when she returned to Aksu and told Sinan about it,
Sinan exploded and made several big scenes, saying that her mother was a liar, and that she had
wasted several years of school and two years of playing, which was a big loss. After being held
down by Ximei, she was beaten on the buttocks. She simply took out the momentum of playing
Jiang Jie embroidering the red flag, and shouted "Down with imperialism" unyieldingly, which
made Ximei dizzy and dizzy. In addition, the school's principal Chen and director Liang were quite
dissatisfied with her for climbing up the social ladder, and many faculty and staff members talked
about Teacher Gu behind her back, saying that it was not a good idea to burn bridges after
crossing them. It can be said that there were gains and losses, joys and sorrows in these
turbulent times for Ximei.
So after hearing Si Jiang's results and ranking on the phone, Gu Ximei was a little confused and
blurted out three questions in a row: "Why did you do so poorly in the exam? Do you think you
can relax now that you have passed the exam for a key university in the city? Where did you put
your mind?"
Si Jiang, who was originally quite happy and had a lot of words in her mind about how the
teachers praised, affirmed and encouraged her, suddenly became speechless. She opened her
mouth, but tears welled up in her eyes involuntarily.
Seeing that she remained silent, Ximei thought she was right, and felt that she had neglected to
supervise Sijiang this semester, so she was so anxious that she scolded him. Facing the mother's
endless disappointment and resentment on the other end of the phone, Sijiang suddenly
shouted: "Besides looking at grades and results, what else can you do?"
"What did you say?!" Ximei didn't react at all and asked back subconsciously.
"Do you and Dad know how hard I've worked?"
"You still think you worked hard? If you really worked hard, you wouldn't get such a score." Ximei
was furious: "Chen Sijiang, what's your attitude? How can you talk to your mother like this?"
Sinan next to him shouted, "Yes! Me!"
There was a slap in the face from the microphone, and Si Jiang was silent for a few seconds:
"There are many people in our class who are smarter than me. I am not that good, and I am not
lazy, but others are also very hardworking. There is no one in our school who is not working hard.
I also want to get first place, and I want to do better. If I don't do well, I will be the saddest
person--"
"Then you should work harder. What's the point of being sad? The more effort you put in, the
more rewards you will get—"
Si Jiang held back his tears, turned around, lowered his head and stepped on the half-dried
weeds in the cracks between the stones on the ground: "You don't understand at all! When I was
admitted to the school, I was the last girl in the class. I was only 1 point higher than the passing
score. I was originally ranked 41st in the class. Now I am ranked 27th. I have worked very hard,
but no matter how hard I work in two months, I can't rush into the top ten of the first and second
places-"
Ximei interrupted Sijiang and firmly instilled her own successful education philosophy: "How can
it be impossible! Nannan used to be ranked last, but after one summer vacation, he became the
first in the grade. How can you not have this little confidence!"
"No matter how much confidence I have, it's gone after what you said." Si Jiang choked up and
said, "Mom, I'm so disappointed in you. Why can't you be like our Teacher Zhou, Teacher Fang,
and Teacher He? Why can't you be like my aunt? You don't understand me at all, and you don't
care what I think at all."
"Chen Sijiang, do you know what you are talking about? What kind of mess are you thinking
about right now?" Gu Ximei's heart was lifted up: "Let grandma answer the phone. I want to ask
you carefully whether you have started reading novels again, and whether there are any
questionable boys——"
"I'm reading a novel!" Si Jiang's voice suddenly rang out, "No need to look for grandma, I've been
reading novels, every day, because I'll die if I don't! There are 21 boys in our class, and they talk
to me every day, but none of them are rogues or hooligans. Also, if I rank last or second to last in
the exam, do you think I'm doomed and can die?!"
There was a beeping sound from the microphone. Gu Ximei looked at it for a long time before
she realized that Si Jiang had hung up her phone and said so many inexplicable words that were
totally unlike what Si Jiang would say. He also accused her of not understanding and that she
didn't understand her. He said that she could die if she got the last place in the exam. When did
she ever say such things? It was simply ridiculous and unreasonable.
The teachers in the office avoided her sight. Director Liang raised his teacup awkwardly, drank
half a mouthful of tea leaves, and quickly spat them out. Sinan lay beside the phone and looked
up at his mother, his eyes sparkling, a little gloating: "Sister lost her temper."
Ximei's hands were shaking as she put the receiver back. The teaching experience she was proud
of collapsed in an instant. She could even imagine the disapproval of other teachers. But it was
no big deal and had no impact on her. She was about to be transferred to teach at a key middle
school in Urumqi. The most important thing at the moment was to correct Sijiang's wrong path.
Ximei thought about it all night, and the more she thought about it, the angrier and more anxious
she became. She scolded Sinan for no reason. The next day, after school, she went back to the
dormitory and found that Sinan had not come back yet. It was past eight o'clock in the evening,
dinner was ready, and it was dark, but there was still no sign of Sinan. Ximei went out and called
for help, and Sinan's head teacher said in confusion: "Chen Sinan said that he had a stomachache
today. He went back to rest after one class."
Chen Sinan left a letter on Ximei's pillow, took the forty yuan she had hidden deep in her closet,
and set out on the journey back to Shanghai alone.
"I'm not going to Urumqi. I'm going back to Shanghai to see my elder sister. My elder sister is very
sad, so I'm going back to cheer her up. Also, I miss my elder cousin. Mom, I'm so disappointed in
you."
Ximei was so angry that her vision went dark and she fell on Mrs. Liang.

Chapter 139
When Gu Dongwen saw Si Nan on the platform, he finally felt relieved after being worried for
days. He stepped forward, carried the little girl on his shoulders, raised his big hands high, and
slapped her butt three times.
"Oh my god! It's just a little trick!" Gu Dongwen said with a straight face: "You are in trouble, do
you know?"
Uncle is fierce, but like my mother, a slap on the butt doesn't hurt. Sinan hugged his neck, smiled
and kissed him several times, smearing his face with saliva: "Uncle, how did you know I was on
this train? It seems that I am the Monkey King and you are the Tathagata Buddha. I ran so far
from Aksu, but I still fell into your palm."
"You're still so naughty! You're still so talkative!" Two more slaps came down, and Gu Dongwen's
voice became even more ferocious.
"Oh my, it hurts so much." Sinan chuckled, kicking his thin legs in the air: "Uncle, I haven't taken a
shower in several days. Urumqi is freezing. Fortunately, Aunt Liang is here--"
"You are Bei Wu's eldest brother, right? Hello, brother." Flight attendant Liang handed him a large
and small bag with a smile: "This is a little gift from our crew for Nan Nan, you can take it back."
"Thank you so much. I'm so sorry to have caused you so much trouble." Gu Dongwen put Si Nan
down, took the things and thanked him again and again.
When Chen Donglai rushed from Karamay to Urumqi, Sinan had already helped an old lady get on
the train. She had a high forehead bone, so she found her acquaintances as soon as she got on
the train. Liang, the attendant, was shocked and asked her what happened, and quickly reported
it to the conductor. By the time Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei got the news, the train had already
passed Xi'an.
In 1979, when Si Nan was sent by Jing Sheng Si Jiang to return to Xinjiang alone by train, she was
listless all the way. This time she returned to Shanghai in high spirits, and with the excitement of
the victory in the struggle with her mother, she walked the entire train from beginning to end in a
few hours and got to know the crew very well. Now that there is no army of educated youth, the
No. 53 train is no longer a "robber train". Si Nan ate and drank for free in the dining car at night,
and spent all her family's wealth in one meal. Unexpectedly, the train conductor was very excited:
"Nan Nan, the No. 53 train is where you were born! Damn it, you don't know how thrilling it was
back then. I never thought that my little girl has become such a beautiful girl now——"
After the conductor spoke for half an hour in a very emotional and vivid voice, the girls and boys
in the crew were so excited that they announced that Sinan was the darling of Train No. 53. They
would rush down to buy her a bunch of food and toys whenever the train stopped at a station.
Sinan recognized many sisters, brothers, grandparents, and felt that the entire Wuhu Railway
belonged to her. She was so proud that her tail was up to the sky.
Sinan's new godfather, the train conductor, also came over to say goodbye to Sinan, stroking her
curly hair reluctantly: "Have you memorized the phone number of the new master?"
Sinan nodded seriously: "I've got it in mind! Thank you, godfather, for the big red envelope."
"Next time you take the train, call me first and I'll pick you up. Don't run around by yourself. What
if you run into a bad guy?" The conductor's heart broke when he thought of this possibility. Seven
or eight train attendants surrounded Sinan and gave him careful instructions. They even talked
and laughed about which Sinan called his godbrother or godsister more often.
Gu Dongwen was dumbfounded. This kid ran away from home, but she had a smooth journey,
met many noble people, had food, drinks, gifts, and even received red envelopes. What kind of
world is this? He conquered Wanchun Street when he was eight years old, but his niece has
conquered an 8,000-mile-long railway with her face and mouth. It is true that the waves behind
push the waves ahead, and the waves ahead die on the beach.
When Granny Gu saw Si Nan, she cried, laughed, scolded, and hugged her. She urged Gu
Dongwen to go to Chen's house to report safety and call Xi Meidonglai. Then she pressed Si Nan
into the big bathtub and scalded her until she screamed. She scrubbed her from head to toe
three times with loofah tendons, then took her out and changed her into Si Jiang's old clothes
and shoes. Before she could even dry her hair, Mother Chen and Grandpa Chen brought Si Hao to
the door and gave her a serious lecture.
Si Hao no longer remembered Si Nan. He was only interested in her wet curly hair. He pulled it
and bit it in his mouth. When he couldn't chew it, he spit it out. Si Nan pulled the fat flesh on his
face left and right, asking him to call her sister. Si Hao shook his head: "You are not my sister." Si
Nan was so angry that he bit his fat cheeks and Si Hao burst into tears. When Chen A Niang saw
the two shallow teeth marks on the cheeks of her precious grandson, she was very angry. While
coaxing Si Hao, she talked about Si Nan. She wondered how the couple Dong Lai Xi Mei could give
birth to a little bully like Si Nan. He didn't look like a member of the Chen family at all. He dared
to skip school at the age of a few years old. He ran back to Shanghai from Xinjiang alone and was
so barbaric. Grandpa Chen was determined to detain Si Nan under his nose and straighten him
out. But Si Nan laughed: "Little crybaby, shame on you." As for the great principles of Grandpa's
lecture, Si Nan didn't take it to heart at all. Going to school or not was not a big deal for her.
——
Gu Dongwen took Si Nan to the hospital to visit Jing Sheng. As soon as he saw Jing Sheng, Si Nan
hugged him like a tiger pouncing on its food and refused to let go.
"Cousin! You are so pitiful, my poor brother. Where is that damn bus? I must kick it to pieces. And
the driver, I will kill him to avenge you! I'm so angry, so angry, so angry!" Sinan said hatefully.
"Okay, thank you, let go for now." Jingsheng freed one hand and pushed her out.
Sinan rushed over and hugged his waist again, tears dripping down her cheeks: "Brother, you
really scared me to death. I haven't slept for several days. As soon as I closed my eyes, I saw you
lying on the road, bleeding and twitching. Woo woo woo, I missed you so much that I ran back to
see you alone."
Jingsheng got goose bumps all over his body after hearing what she said. He lowered his eyes and
glanced at her: "Didn't you run away from home because you were beaten by your mother?"
Sinan shook her head like a rattle: "How could it be! You know my mother would slap me a few
times for no reason, it doesn't hurt at all. I came back specially to accompany you." She raised her
head and sobbed a few times: "Fortunately, your face is not injured, brother--"
Gu Dongwen laughed, and Jingsheng's face darkened: "Get up, let go."
"I won't let go, I won't let go. I will hold you forever." Sinan blinked, tears streaming down his
face: "Brother!"
"You're pressing on my legs! Get up."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Sinan quickly raised his butt and bounced away, looking at the plaster
he was pressing on, and then he laughed again: "Brother, this looks a bit funny."
"You're so funny."
"Can I touch it?"
"Um."
Sinan curiously touched it up and down, then knocked it, listening attentively: "It's not cooked
yet, need to let it sit for a while, hehe."
"You can go now." Jingsheng smiled and gave her a hairy chestnut: "Go back to Aksu and sell
Hami melons."
"Brother!" Sinan touched his forehead and jumped onto the bed. "Are you happy to see me? Am
I awesome? I took a tractor from Shajingzi to Aksu, followed an aunt and two uncles to stop a
large truck of the Corps on the national highway, and rode all the way to Urumqi. Let me tell you,
I am now the darling of Train No. 53, Jindandan. I now have two godfathers, two godmothers,
three godsisters and four godbrothers. Wow, they bought me a lot of delicious and fun things
along the way——"
The whole ward was in an uproar. Everyone was asking for details and praising her. Sinan
answered every question and was very eloquent. Ten minutes later, the precious golden egg of
the orthopedic ward was also produced. The uncle in the bed next to Jingsheng liked Sinan very
much and could not agree with Jingsheng's statement that Sinan was a river less beautiful than
Sijiang. Sinan himself was not convinced: "Of course my sister is the most beautiful, the most
beautiful in the world, but I am the second most beautiful in the world. The most difference
between us is the Suzhou River!"
Amid the laughter in the room, Jingsheng reached out and rubbed her head: "You little fool,
Suzhou River stinks to death."
"It's definitely not as smelly as your place." Sinan made a face and rolled his eyes: "Brother, did
you eat and defecate on this bed before? No wonder it stinks so bad."
"Alas, it's because we can't move." The uncle in the next bed sighed, "It's a sin. Who would be
willing to move if they could? It's so painful, so painful."
Sinan coughed twice, glanced at Jingsheng's face, and jumped off the bed: "But this is also very
convenient. I also want a bed like this, so I can say goodbye to the public toilet." She leaned
under the bed and took a look: "We should dig a hole here, remove the lid when we want to
poop, and connect a toilet underneath."
Gu Dongwen clapped his hands and laughed: "Nannan, you are still a little inventor."
Jingsheng: “???”
Fellow patients, their families and nurses: “!!!” Why does it sound so reasonable?
Sinan smiled and held onto the railing at the end of the bed, swinging up and down: "Then how
do you pee?" Her curious and inquiring eyes swept across the other seven beds, making
everyone else shudder, and no one wanted to answer this question.
Nurse Lu smiled and said: "When I can't solve the problem and the family members are not
around, there will be nurses and care workers to help."
Sinan opened his cat eyes wide with a look of disbelief: "Ahhhhhh! Brother! Did you show your
penis to other women?!"
Jingsheng grabbed the quilt and covered his head. He didn't know this little bastard.
Sinan threw herself on him, grief-stricken: "I haven't had time to sell the tickets yet--" Sinan was
not sure how much the ticket would cost, but it would definitely be more than fifty cents. Even
the treasure she hadn't seen yet would have to cost at least fifty cents.
Everyone in the ward was petrified. This beautiful doll... Jingsheng was so miserable, so horrible,
so cruel.
Jingsheng's muffled voice came out from under the quilt: "Get out!", Gu Dongwen laughed so
hard that he fell all over the place. As the saying goes, there is always someone stronger than
you. When meeting Sinan, Jingsheng would be defeated. Why does he, as a father, feel so happy?
It is worth pondering.
Si Jiang, who had just entered the room, was so angry that he grabbed Si Nan by the collar and
said, "What are you talking about?"
Si Nan hugged Si Jiang tightly: "Oh, sister, sister, I miss you so much, do you miss me?"
Si Jiang looked at her curly hair rubbing against his arms, and his anger immediately subsided:
"What's wrong with you! Do you know how dangerous it is to run away from home? You really
scared us to death!" After saying that, he hugged Si Nan tightly in his arms again.
Jingsheng lifted the quilt and looked at the sisterly love in front of his bed: "Who can cheat her? I
should be thankful that she doesn't cheat anyone."
Si Nan broke free from Si Jiang's arms, and before he had the chance to show off his
achievements along the way again, he saw Wang Lu.
"Hey, who are you? What are you doing here?"
Wang Lu was startled, then smiled friendly: "Hello, little sister. I am your brother's classmate and
the monitor of your brother's class."
Sinan touched his chin, looked at his sister, then at Wang Lu and then at Jingsheng, revealing a
malicious smile: "Oh——"
"Nannan, come here and have some fruit." Jingsheng knew that this guy was up to something
bad as soon as he saw her expression.
The aunt who had been gagged by Jingsheng with ten Huangpu Rivers came over with a smile
and introduced how beautiful Xiao Wang was, gentle, careful and considerate, and how she came
to take care of Jingsheng every day and gave him a very lively birthday. It was thanks to Xiao
Wang that your brother could become a heroic boy and be featured in the newspapers and won
many honors. You should really thank Xiao Wang.
Sinan held her hand with an innocent look on his face: "Auntie, then take me to the road quickly,
and then you can get hit by a car. I will definitely say that you were injured because you saved
me. In this way, you can also be a heroine, and you don't have to thank me. You're welcome. Let's
go?"
The talkative auntie immediately became bored. The ward burst into laughter, and the uncle in
the next bed laughed so hard that tears came out, and he patted the bed and shouted:
"Jingsheng, your little sister is such a live treasure! She is so smart!"
Wang Lu was a little embarrassed. Gu Dongwen smiled and asked her to sit down. After she sat
down, she took out today's class notes. She had only spoken for five minutes when she was
stared at by Si Nan who was sticking close to Jingsheng. She forced a smile at Si Nan.
Si Nan hooked her arms around Jing Sheng's neck and smiled sweetly, "My eldest cousin is mine."
Then she stamped a stamp on Jing Sheng's face and looked at Wang Lu proudly, "Don't even think
about it."
The old man who was drinking water in the next bed immediately laughed to death.
Wang Lu looked away in embarrassment: "What are you talking about, sister..."
Jingsheng put his hand on Sinan's forehead and pushed her out: "I'm so annoyed with you. You're
so smelly after sitting on the train for four or five days. Don't stay here with me. Go out and play.
Go away." He said it with disgust, but there was a smile and indulgence in his voice.
Sinan hung on his arm like a piece of taffy: "I came here after taking a bath. It smells so good.
Brother, smell it."
"Alright, alright, you smell the best. I need to study. Don't bother me. Go find the nurse. There
are people measuring height and weight outside. Go and measure yourself to see if you have
grown taller."
Sinan reluctantly jumped off the bed, walked out of the ward door, turned back and shouted:
"Brother, if you want to marry me in the future, remember to tell others, and no one can snatch
me away!"
Si Jiang chuckled, Jingsheng looked at her coldly as she gloated over other's misfortune, life was
so difficult.

Chapter 140
When they returned to Wanchun Street at night, the two sisters still chattered non-stop after
getting into bed. Unlike usual, Sijiang talked more and Sinan laughed more. Listening to her elder
sister's embarrassing moments in basketball games, Sinan laughed so hard that she pounded the
bed and kicked her legs, and finally she started to hiccup. When she talked about Jingsheng
winning second place in three events at the sports meet, Sinan was happier than if she had won
the award herself.
"Oh my, my cousin is so awesome." Sinan rolled over while hugging the quilt: "I love my cousin so
much."
Si Jiang quickly grabbed the quilt: "Why did you roll up the quilt? My cousin is yours, so are all the
quilts yours?"
Si Nan burped, turned over and gave Si Jiang half of the quilt: "Big cousin is mine, sister, I don't
like the monitor of my brother's class."
Si Jiang was stunned and scratched her nose: "What? Did someone steal your cousin?"
"Humph, she's dreaming! I saw through her at once, she likes my cousin." Sinan wrinkled his nose
and snorted, "Bad woman, trying to steal my brother."
Si Jiang's heart skipped a beat: "You are talking nonsense again. How old are you? How can you
understand likes and dislikes?"
"You don't understand that I know everything." Sinan was not convinced: "Who doesn't like my
cousin? All the girls in our Shajingzi Town Central Primary School still like him. Sister Xingxing talks
to me about him every day, at least three times a day. My cousin is so handsome, so tall, has a
good temper, and cooks delicious food. He can play all kinds of games, ride a bicycle, has good
grades, swims like a fish, and runs like a fly. Tell me, is there anyone you know who doesn't like
my cousin?"
Si Jiang thought for a moment and said, "Anyway, there will always be people who don't like him.
He is not a member of the Great Unity Party, so it is impossible for everyone to like him."
"So, sister, do you like your cousin? You don't like him?" Sinan got up in surprise and asked.
Si Jiang panicked and turned his back: "What do you mean by like or dislike? Stop talking
nonsense. Let's go to sleep. How come you're not tired? I'm so tired. I'm going to sleep."
Si Nan leaned over her and asked, "You didn't like A Ge before and always opposed him. Now you
like him too, right?"
Si Jiang's mind exploded, her face burned, her heart beat fast, but Si Nan kept asking, "Do you
like it? Do you like it?" She elbowed Si Nan several times but failed to push him away, so she had
to grab her arm and press her back onto the pillow, "What nonsense are you talking about? My
brother takes good care of me and helps me a lot with my studies and life, so of course I have to
treat him well. You are still young, don't talk nonsense, the word like can't be used here."
Si Nan's cat eyes were wide open: "Why not? I like my elder sister, my mother, my eldest cousin,
my brother Ningning, my eldest uncle, my younger uncle, and my younger aunt. I just like them. I
don't like my grandfather, my mother, my uncle, and especially my third mother. I just don't like
them. When you like someone, you always think of him, want to talk to him, want to eat with
him, want to sleep with him, and want to be with him all the time. There are many people who
are in between like and dislike - such as Dad and Si Hao. I used to dislike Si Hao very much and
wanted to strangle him. Later, I saw that he was a little cute, so I liked him a little. Today he said
that I'm not his elder sister, and I don't like him anymore."
After listening to her nagging for so long, Si Jiang secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "This is called
a good relationship. We are a family, so of course we have a good relationship. The liking you
mentioned earlier cannot be used here. For example, the squad leader of A'ge and his friends
likes A'ge, which is called liking. It's the kind of liking that girls like boys."
"You are a girl and the brother is a boy, so do you like the brother?" Sinan's train of thought
miraculously returned to the starting point.
Si Jiang sighed helplessly: "Okay, okay, brother is yours, okay? As long as you like it."
Sinan laughed and said, "Well, if you like, I can give you some. But you can only marry me and
have a baby with me."
"Who asked you to share?" Si Jiang rolled his eyes at him and said, "Shame on you. My brother
didn't agree to that."
Sinan made a face and said, "Brother didn't say no. If he didn't say no, then he agreed. Hehehe."
Si Jiang: “…”
Sinan started to worry again: "But I also like Brother Ningning. Brother Ningning is also good-
looking and can play the piano, which this brother can't do. Besides, he's a genius. If I marry him
and have a baby, can I also give birth to a child prodigy? He can easily get 100 points in both
exams, which is great. I won't have to be scolded by my mom anymore."
Si Jiang's inexplicable feeling of loss and depression disappeared immediately. She couldn't help
but pinch Si Nan's face and said, "You wish for it. Zhao Youning and A Ge are not your equals. You
can pick and choose as you please. You are so shameless!"
Sinan frowned and was in a dilemma: "Sister, do you think I can marry both of them?"
"Of course not!" Si Jiang laughed in horror: "Do you think you are the empress?"
"The empress is so happy. I want to be an empress." Sinan bit the quilt and said, "It's so hard for
me. Why can't I marry both of them?"
Granny Gu came in with her hair done up in a bun, holding a hot water bottle and asked, "Who
are you two getting married?"
"Grandma, if I marry my eldest cousin, should I call him cousin or brother-in-law?" Sinan asked
curiously.
Granny Gu was so scared that she dropped the hot water bottle on the bed footboard: "Oh my
god, you little kid, what's in your head? Oh my goodness."
"Should I call you grandma or grandma, my cousin?" Sinan gave up his place in distress: "Forget it,
why don't I marry Brother Ningning? Tomorrow I will ask him if he wants to marry me--"
Si Jiang covered her mouth and said, "Don't go!" She believed that Si Nan could really do such a
shameful thing.
Granny Gu yawned, stuffed the hot water bottle at Si Jiang's feet, and got on the bed herself:
"Jingsheng is not your uncle's biological son. If you marry Si Nan, of course you will follow Si Nan
and call me grandma."
Sinan pried open his sister's hand and said, "Okay, then I'll marry my eldest cousin."
Jingsheng, who was far away in the orthopedic ward, shuddered. Zhao Youning, who was still
struggling with the competition questions under the lamp, pushed his new glasses on his nose
and sneezed. Fate is so unpredictable and changes rapidly.
——
Jingsheng was scheduled to have his plaster removed on December 18 and be discharged on the
20th, just in time to go home for the Winter Solstice. The day before he was discharged, Gu
Nanhong rushed to the hospital with the eldest, second, and third brothers of the Zhao family.
The three Zhao brothers met Si Nan and had a quarrel. Nurse Lu drove them out of the ward with
a fierce face. Gu Dongwen followed them out and said hello and apologized repeatedly.
"Your uncle brought you something." Nan Hong put two large bags of things at the end of the bed
and gave instructions carefully: "This bag is seahorse powder. Just mix a small spoonful with
warm water every morning and drink it. Remember to eat it before breakfast. This bag of white
fish maw, Guangdong people say it is most suitable for your injured leg. After it is cured, you can
stew it in chicken soup and eat it every day. Tell your aunt when you are done, and I will ask your
uncle to make more. Eat it for at least a year, and I guarantee you will be more vigorous than
before the broken leg." She took out a piece of paper from her small bag and handed it to Si
Jiang: "This is the method of curing fish maw. Take it back and read it to grandma, and just follow
the instructions."
The bed next to Jingsheng's had been replaced by an old man who had just been admitted to the
hospital. He loved to show off his wide knowledge and know-it-allness. Upon seeing this, he
immediately started a conversation with Nanhong and told everyone in the ward about the
expensiveness and rarity of seahorses and white fish maw. Naturally, he couldn't help but praise
Nanhong and his wife for their knowledgeable and generous manners.
Si Jiang didn't expect that the thing in his hand was more valuable than gold, so he immediately
put it away carefully. He also folded the paper into two pieces and put it solemnly into the small
bag he carried with him.
Nanhong was impatient with strangers being so familiar, so she responded with a few words and
left the ward to talk to Gu Dongwen. She led a group to Guangzhou for exchanges in September,
and went to Shenzhen and Hong Kong for business. What she saw was very different from what
she had seen in foreign magazines before. It was an eye-opener. On the way back, she visited
many clothing companies in Guangdong and vaguely had the idea of doing it herself, but she
didn't have a specific plan.
She stayed in Shantou twice and met Zhao Yanhong's boss. This Mr. Fang was a native of Shantou.
His family used to do a shady business and made a fortune by secretly sending people to Hong
Kong and the United States. After the reform and opening up, the three brothers of Mr. Fang
followed their father and did anything that could make money. After hooking up with a big boss
in Hong Kong, they bought a lot of speedboats and big ships, and got in touch with the customs
people, making a fortune in silence. Zhao Yanhong was in charge of three ships under Mr. Fang,
earning seven or eight thousand a month, and got a manager position in a trading company.
Mr. Fang had big ambitions and a long-term vision. At the beginning of the year, he started his
own business and invested money to open a restaurant, a furniture factory, and a clothing
factory. He became Mr. Fang and was busy with both business. Hearing that Nanhong and her
fashion show team passed by Shantou, he waved his hand and paid 20,000 yuan to invite the
show team to the finale of their trading company's anniversary party, and to show domestic and
foreign customers the new products that his clothing factory would launch next year. Nanhong
and Team Leader Xu had never seen such a scene. Team Leader Xu was cautious and resolutely
disagreed, but Nanhong wanted to make this money. The children under her were too miserable.
They only earned 50 or 60 yuan a month, and were scolded by their families and criticized by
outsiders. She called Manager Zhang directly, and in the end, Manager Zhang said vaguely that
the company had no control over what they did during non-working hours. Nanhong took the
risk, accepted the 20,000 yuan, and worked hard for three days, showing nearly 200 sets of
clothes with her performance team. The effect was unexpectedly good, and the clothing factory
was flooded with orders. Boss Fang was extremely satisfied, and privately gave Nanhong a big red
envelope of 2,000 yuan, asking her if she was willing to come to his clothing factory to be the
general manager. The salary was negotiable, and there would be year-end dividends. It was also a
good opportunity for him and Zhao Yanhong to end their separation and reunite as a couple.
Nanhong felt quite relieved. It was hard to get off Boss Fang's boat. If something happened, it
would be a big deal. She said that she had three sons at home and couldn't let go. She wanted to
go back and think about it and talk it over with her family. However, she privately forced Zhao
Yanhong to return to Shanghai as soon as possible.
"I want to do it myself." Nan Hong told Gu Dongwen: "I plan to get some cheap and good fabrics
from the old boss of the factory, and then several factories are willing to help me make patterns
and samples for the assembly line. They are willing to accept the quantity of one or two pieces of
cloth, but the scheduling is a little later. Once the goods are available, I will sell them directly on
Guangzhou Gaodi Street. This time in Guangzhou, I met several big brothers and sisters. They can
make tens of thousands of yuan a year just by wholesale clothes. It is clean money. Big brother,
do you think I can give it a try? Do you think I can do it?"
Gu Dongwen took a puff of his cigarette: "Did Zhao Yanhong get into trouble?"
Nan Hong was startled: "No, not yet."
"Will he come back?"
"If you really want to go back, there's nothing you can't do." Nan Hong also lit a cigarette and
took a deep puff. "He said if I'm worried, I can get a divorce certificate. The house, son, and
money will all belong to me, and he will also belong to me. That's bullshit."
"He is still a man." Gu Dongwen raised his eyebrows: "If you want to do it, just do it. Why can't
you succeed? Your brother opened a restaurant, and your brother went to the United States to
study for a master's degree. There is nothing that people can't do, as long as they can't think of it.
How much money do you need? Let me see if I have enough."
Nanhong stared at her brother, her eyes slowly turning red. She took two deep puffs of her
cigarette and turned away: "I just came back yesterday and I haven't calculated it carefully yet. I'll
tell you later, there's no rush at the beginning. I plan to make a few dresses..."
Gu Dongwen listened patiently to her talking about what style, color, fabric, and pattern she
wanted. In fact, he didn't understand, but since the girl had to talk, he listened.
"What's wrong with you? Smoking is not allowed in the hospital!" Nurse Lu pushed open the
security door and shouted.
Gu Dongwen quickly stood at attention, snatched the cigarette from Nanhong's hand, and
crumpled it into pieces in his palm: "I'm sorry, I promise there won't be a next time."
"Brother! Your hand!" Nanhong was shocked.
"It's okay, it's okay." Gu Dongwen bent down and picked up the cigarette butts at his feet and
stuffed them back into his trouser pocket. Nanhong looked at Nurse Lu with a thoughtful look. Big
brother is not right, big brother is in trouble, hehe.
Nurse Lu pursed her lips and softened her tone: "You are such a jerk. Did you burn your hands?"
"No, don't worry, I'm thick-skinned." Gu Dongwen smiled and revealed his deep dimples.
The door was gently closed, and the fire escape staircase returned to darkness. Nan Hong
pinched Gu Dongwen and said, "Oh, the iron tree is about to bloom? There are flower heads."
"It has just sprouted, it's too early for it to bloom." Gu Dongwen smiled with his eyes narrowed.
"What's up?"
"What's sprouting?"
"Why is it blooming?"
Four people came running up the stairs from the next floor. The eldest, second, and third sons of
the Zhao family asked mysteriously. Sinan peeked out of the door, turned around and laughed,
"Uncle, you like that nurse sister!"
"Auntie, what sister? Don't call me that." Gu Dongwen said to the four little ones with a stern
face, "Don't talk nonsense to Jingsheng."
The three Zhao brothers stretched out their hands, looking as if it was a matter of course.
"I can see nothing."
"I can hear nothing."
"I can say nothing—I won't say anything."
Gu Dongwen gave each of them a chestnut: "You are so crazy, aren't you? You still dare to
blackmail your uncle? Do you believe that I will let you crawl out?"
Si Nan hugged Gu Dongwen's thighs, smiled sweetly, and asked sweetly: "Uncle, can you buy me
a fairy wand for the New Year this year?"
"good."
"How about buying a box?"
"Okay, I'll buy one box each for you and Si Jiang."
The group filed out of the security door. Zhao Ada, who had grown to Nanhong's shoulders, asked
in a low voice, "Why does uncle give Nannan everything she wants, but we don't get any money
for keeping quiet?"
Nan Hong rolled her eyes at her son and said, "Do you want a fart?"
Ah Da, Ah Er, and Ah San said in unison: "No."

Chapter 141
Jingsheng was discharged smoothly and returned to Wanchun Street. Sijiang, Sinan and Grandma
Gu moved to the attic and gave him the room downstairs. Sijiang learned to ride a bicycle, but Gu
Dongwen was worried about her taking care of Jingsheng, so he would go home to send
Jingsheng to school after putting the vegetables in the store every day. Fortunately, Gu Beiwu
bought a good bicycle. Sijiang sat in the front, Jingsheng sat in the back with crutches, and two
schoolbags were hung on the handlebars. Gu Dongwen still rode steadily and fast, and even had
time to talk to Sijiang. The sound of bells and laughter rolled across Wanhangdu Road in winter,
adding a lot of vitality to the small road under the interlaced dead branches.
A banner was hung at the school gate: "Welcome Gu Jingsheng back to campus." Outside the
gatehouse, there was a row of bulletin boards with newspaper clippings and photos, which was
very grand. A wheelchair was also provided. In the future, the class leaders of the second grade
(4) class will take turns to pick up Jingsheng at the school gate to go to the classroom. Gu
Dongwen watched the crowd surrounding Jingsheng and entering the teaching building. He
couldn't help but smile and shake his head. Compared with his previous experience of breaking
his leg, it was really different.
Si Nan was bored, so after teasing Si Hao, she ran to Kangjia Bridge for a walk, but didn't meet
anyone. She then wandered to Xigong, where she fell several times on the ice rink. Fortunately, it
was cold and windy, and the students were all in school, so her embarrassing fall was not seen by
many people. Finally, she bought a baked sweet potato and squatted on the curb to eat it until
her stomach was warm before returning to Wanchun Street.
Granny Gu was about to go out to look for her to come back for lunch, but when she saw her
come back at lunchtime, she clicked her tongue twice and said, "You have a sharp nose. Where
did you go? You didn't even tell Granny, so your mom couldn't find you when she called back."
"I went to see my brother." Sinan was a little nervous: "Did my mother scold me?"
"No." Granny Gu handed her a chicken leg from the chicken soup: "Just said you'll be back for the
New Year."
"I like to eat chicken feet, so I'll leave the drumsticks for my older cousin." Sinan brushed off the
rice on the drumsticks and put them in an empty bowl. He thought to himself that it was not
good. It would be great if my mother got angry and cursed. "Then will my dad come back?"
"Come back, let's go back together. Nan Nan, why don't you stay at grandma's house and go to
the same elementary school as your sister? Okay?" When Granny Gu heard Ximei's tone that she
still wanted to take Si Nan away, she was reluctant to let her go, so she talked to her first and
formed a united front.
Sinan looked at his grandmother bitterly, but unfortunately he couldn't squeeze out tears:
"Grandma, I miss you too. I don't want to go to Urumqi. It's freezing there, and I don't know
anyone there. I'm afraid."
"Go ahead and pretend." Grandma Gu tapped her head lightly with her chopsticks and said
unhappily, "How dare you run back to Shanghai alone? You used a tractor to a truck to a train.
You've been so brave along the way. What else are you afraid of?"
"I've told you many times, I don't ride the tractor alone." Sinan diligently put the chicken wings
into grandma's bowl: "Grandpa Xiri Ahong often takes me to Aksu, and I'm very familiar with
him."
Granny Gu narrowed her eyes and tore off the tip of the chicken wing, then placed the root of the
wing on the chicken leg beside her: "Bullshit, what are you saying is not a person? Even if you say
it a hundred times, those dozen bags of potatoes and two dogs from Brother Suanli's house can't
turn into a person."
"Brother Shamusak, grandma, it sounds weird for you to call him Brother Garlic." Sinan chuckled.
"Didn't you say shamusak means garlic?" Grandma Gu gave her a large spoonful of stir-fried
bamboo shoots with taro and said, "Why don't you eat green leafy vegetables? You've eaten too
many potatoes in Xinjiang, and you've become a potato, right? Your mother said that children
should eat more green leafy vegetables. What's the vitamin content?"
"It's bitter." Sinan pushed aside the green taro with a bitter face and reluctantly picked up two
winter bamboo shoots and stuffed them into his mouth.
"How can it be bitter? Winter bamboo shoots are more expensive than meat. You don't know the
value of things." Granny Gu fished out two small egg yolks from the chicken soup and said, "You
have a conscience and know how to care for others. Leave the chicken legs to my brother and the
chicken wings to my sister. Then you eat these two egg yolks. They are the most nutritious. "
"I can't eat two. Grandma, please help me eat one." Sinan returned one to her and did not forget
to give away a few vegetable leaves.
"Eat when I tell you to. You're so annoying. Take out a bunch of egg yolks. There are still a lot
more in the pot." Granny Gu glared at her and put the egg yolks and vegetable leaves back into
Sinan's bowl: "I still have some salted duck eggs left over from this morning that I want to eat."
"I don't like egg yolks." Sinan pouted: "I just like meat."
"Oh, whose family eats meat every day? Your uncle runs a restaurant, and he has to beg for help
from everyone and go to four or five markets to buy meat and fish every day. Tomorrow is the
night of the winter solstice, and you will have enough meat, right? The pig's trotter soup will be
stewed with winter bamboo shoots, bean curd sheets and bacon, and there will be lion's head
which you and Si Jiang both like. As for Jingsheng, I'll stew half an old hen with that glue. Oh, I
don't know if it's fermented yet..." Grandma Gu muttered.
Sinan finished his meal with a few mouthfuls of chicken soup, and he couldn't sit still anymore.
He stretched his neck to see if it was raining outside, wondering where to go for the rest of the
day.
"You are not allowed to go out again. Stay at home obediently, so that I won't be able to find
you." Granny Gu pointed casually and said, "Your sister has so many books. You should stay at
home and read them carefully. When your grandfather goes to ask for a good school in a few
days, you can quickly join the class. Then your mother will have no choice."
Sinan gnawed on a chicken wing and nodded: "Grandma, you are awesome. I will listen to you."
——
After school, Gu Dongwen rode his bike to send Jingsheng and Si Jiang home, and rushed to the
store without even entering the house.
Si Jiang carried two schoolbags and carefully helped Jingsheng up the stairs.
"Brother, be careful with the threshold." "Brother, be careful when you go up the stairs, hold the
handrail tightly." "Brother, do you want to take a break? Go slowly." Si Jiang kept reminding
Jingsheng softly. Jingsheng felt that his ears were more tired than his legs, and she worked harder
than him.
As soon as the two entered the room, they saw Sinan lying on the dining table with his back to
them, thinking about something, and counting non-stop: "Forty, forty-one, forty-two."
"Nannan, what are you doing?" Si Jiang was very curious.
Sinan immediately threw himself on the stage, looked up at the clock, and said in a panic, "No,
nothing."
Jingsheng walked up to her with his crutches and pulled out a small yellow slip of paper from
under her arm.
"I am the prince's crutch, you can use it as you like..." Jingsheng frowned, and a thousand
question marks appeared in his mind. These words were obviously written by Si Jiang.
Sinan thought that she had ruined the New Year's gift that her elder sister had carefully prepared
for her elder brother. She was doomed. She rested her chin on the table, raised the fourth-grade
Chinese textbook in her hand, blinked her big eyes and confessed: "Sister, it's strange. I was
obviously looking for your old textbook, but a milk bottle full of little stars suddenly fell into my
hands--"
The two schoolbags in Si Jiang's hands hit his feet, and blood rushed to his face. He didn't know
what to say for a moment. He stared at the milk bottle next to Si Nan's hand, staring at it until it
was bloody.
Si Nan raised her hands in surrender and slowly knelt down, begging for forgiveness: "I just
wanted to know how such beautiful stars were made, so I casually took one apart, and then
another, and another. But look, sister, I have folded forty-two." She turned to Jingsheng with a
flattering look on her face: "Sister is going to give you ninety-nine stars, and there will be a
sentence on each star. Brother, are you happy with this New Year's gift - woooooo -" Her little
mouth was covered tightly by Si Jiang, and she got a few glares from her sister.
Before Si Jiang could figure out how to get over this unfortunate Lucky Star incident, Jing Sheng
picked up a crumpled note and read softly, "If you can be discharged from the hospital in
December, we will go to the dance party held by my aunt and have a free meal." He raised his
head and looked at Si Jiang: "This Sunday - are you still going?"
Si Jiang wanted to crawl into the cracks in the ground. The words she wrote down in excitement
at that time sounded so strange after more than a month. They were so weird and stupid. She let
go of Si Nan, turned her face away and coughed twice: "Brother, your leg is not healed yet. Didn't
Auntie say the day before yesterday that there will be opportunities in the future? Then we can
take Nan Nan and go out to eat and drink for free."
Seeing her so uncomfortable, Jingsheng suddenly realized that these stars should be the birthday
gift she was going to give him last month. As for why she hid them here and didn't give them to
him, he had some guesses. Maybe she was overwhelmed by the nine hundred and ninety-nine
paper cranes and didn't feel comfortable giving them to him. After all, Si Jiang was so proud and
thin-skinned.
"Stop folding them." Jingsheng poked Sinan's hand: "Why are your claws either crooked or
deflated when you fold them? They're so ugly. I'll give you some paper cranes to play with later,
and you can do whatever you want with them." The paper cranes in the ward were taken down
after the birthday party. Many nurses and patients thought they were rare and came to ask for
them. He told Wang Lu about it and gave away many of them. He also brought back about a
hundred when he was discharged from the hospital and placed them in the attic.
Si Jiang's tense face immediately fell. She knew that these lucky stars were not lucky at all and
would be outshined by paper cranes no matter where they were. But she heard Jingsheng say to
Si Nan as if nothing had happened: "The girls in our class all buy paper cranes at the Fuyou Road
Commodity Market. They are very cheap. A thousand of them only cost a few yuan. If you like
them, I'll buy you a bunch when you buy fireworks. You can do whatever you want with them.
Don't waste these stars. Your sister folded them one by one with great difficulty."
Sinan jumped up immediately: "Okay, I want to play with paper cranes. Can they fly? How big are
they? Brother, can you give me a few to play with? How about ten?"
Si Jiang leaned her head against the table and unconsciously took apart a deflated lucky star. She
did not read what was written on it. There was only one thing in her mind: did her brother just
mean that the ninety-nine lucky stars she made herself were more valuable than the nine
hundred and ninety-nine paper cranes bought by others? With this thought, she became excited
as if she had been injected with chicken blood, but she was too embarrassed to ask more. Her
fingers were a little numb, and she pinched the folded stars for a long time but the edges didn't
swell.
Jingsheng walked to the bottom of the ladder with his cane and gave a remote command to Sinan
in the attic: "There are three boxes under the bed. Take out the middle one. Do you see it? Then
look under the box on the right where the papers are."
Si Jiang was dazed and put the ugly stars Si Nan folded and a bunch of paper notes into the box.
She went into the inner room without saying a word. When she sat on the bed, she remembered
that the bed had been given to her uncle and Jingsheng. She stood up quickly and returned to the
living room with the box. Si Nan was already sitting at the table dissecting the paper crane, saying
"eh, oh, ah" continuously. Jingsheng sat on the side and prepared to start his homework.
"Ahem." Si Jiang sat down next to Si Nan, glanced at Jing Sheng, and started to fold lucky stars
again: "Si Nan, you have too many hands. Don't do that next time. I wanted to give my brother a
surprise for the New Year, and now look -"
"I'm sorry, it's okay, thank you! Oh, sister, sister, sister..." Si Nan rubbed her chin on Si Jiang's arm,
then leaned over to ask Jing Sheng: "Brother, you are still as happy as ever, right? Xingxing is still
the same Xingxing."
"Who said that?" Jingsheng said without even raising his head: "You made such a mess of it. I'm
so angry that I'm dying."
Sinan wrinkled his nose and snorted, "Brother, you are lying. Your eyes are brighter than real
stars, and you can't close your mouth and keep laughing until now. You only know how to lie to
me, a child. I will ignore you."
"Just ignore it." Jingsheng said this, but turned his face away, glanced at the glass window next to
him, and pursed the corners of his mouth that had been upturned.
"Listen, listen, I was wrong. I'm sorry, sister, I'm sorry, brother. Please pay attention to me, cousin,
you're the best." Sinan ran to Jingsheng and tried to please him like a pug.
The voices of Grandma Gu and Aunt Feng could be heard downstairs, and the sky gradually
darkened.
"It's time to put away the clothes - girl, put the clothes away -" Grandma Gu shouted towards the
upstairs window at the top of her voice while washing vegetables.
Si Jiang opened the window: "Okay, got it." The cold wind blew on his face, and his burning
cheeks suddenly felt much more comfortable.
Jingsheng held up one end of the clothesline: "Give it to me."
"Be careful, brother."
Jingsheng looked at the clothes drying rod in his hand that was slowly returning, and suddenly
asked: "When are we going to the movies together? You want to treat me to a meal, right?"
"Ah?" Si Jiang's hand loosened, and the other end of the clothesline hit the windowsill with a dull
"bang".

Chapter 142
After entering the 1980s, Christmas gradually became popular among young people in Shanghai.
With the approval of higher authorities, the YMCA held a Christmas concert in the YMCA Hotel
two years ago. There was no dinner, but each person received a bag of bread and no dance. The
concert was just for listening to Christmas songs.
Nanhong's company reported the event at the Friendship Hall in the first half of the year. It was
open only to the public, mainly entertaining customers from the United States, Europe and Hong
Kong. They also invited staff from the U.S. Consulate to provide guidance. The band and fashion
show team rehearsed for two or three days, and they also brought in a lot of turkeys. In
Nanhong's words, "It looked like the real thing." Manager Zhang wore a three-piece suit to greet
guests at the door. He was still shivering with cold even with two layers of cotton sweaters and
cotton trousers: "What do you mean by like the real thing? It was real."
"The manager's wife doesn't even come to accompany you. At least the bride and groom are
standing together to welcome the guests. Maybe you can even get a few red envelopes." Nan
Hong was overjoyed.
The young man from the performance team, wearing a special Santa Claus costume with cotton
stuck on his face, immediately moved closer to Manager Zhang.
"What a perfect couple. Wow, they are a perfect match. Congratulations." Nan Hong laughed and
turned to wave at Zhou Shanli who came rushing over: "This way, this way."
"Jingsheng Sijiang and the others are really not coming?" Nanhong looked behind him again: "My
brother is not coming either?"
Zhou Shanli rubbed his hands and said, "Mr. Gu took the children to Cathay Pacific to watch Red,
Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple. It's a new movie. I heard it's pretty good."
"Then why didn't you bring a companion?" Nan Hong teased him with a smile: "Our teacher Zhou
should be very popular, so the girls in our company will have a good time tonight."
Shanli entered the venue and found that there were many foreigners. A band was playing on the
stage. The long tables on both sides were covered with snow-white tablecloths and decorated
with red and green glittering colored paper in a festive manner. There was a wide variety of food
and drinks.
Along the way, people kept greeting them, some speaking English and some speaking Cantonese.
Nanhong smiled and responded appropriately. Shanli was very impressed: "I didn't expect you to
be so amazing and know so many languages."
"Even you are fooled by me, I am really amazing." Nan Hong smiled and took him to the bar, close
to the band. She leaned close to Shanli and said with a smile: "Actually, I only speak a little
English, and the only Cantonese I can speak is hello, thank you very much, you're welcome."
“What is Sanyou?”
"Nice to me, how are you? I am fine, thank you." Nanhong raised her glass to a foreign couple
next to her without changing her expression, and handed a glass of red wine to Shanli:
"Whatever they said, I actually didn't understand. I just said um, ha, oh, bye, we're married."
Shanli felt that he had suddenly learned some strange knowledge, and laughed for a long time,
and couldn't help but take a closer look at Nanhong. Tonight, Nanhong was dressed very low-key
and elegantly, with a camel-colored cashmere coat without buttons, only a belt tied diagonally
with a bow, an ochre-red silk shirt, and the ribbon at the collar tucked into the coat, and a pair of
dark brown high-top boots on her feet. With her newly permed big wavy hair and exquisite
makeup, no one would disbelieve that she was an overseas Chinese.
When the eating and drinking was almost over, the waiters in uniform began to clear the
tableware and dishes. Nan Hong glanced around and saw several American customers gathered
together pointing at an old lady not far away. She took a closer look and immediately frowned,
and walked quickly to the table where the steak and turkey were placed.
"I'm sorry, Auntie. The food here can only be eaten on the spot. You can eat as much as you want,
but you can't take it away." Nanhong lowered her voice and smiled.
The old lady who was stuffing the last two steaks into the bag raised her head and curled her lips:
"What do you know? Such good things should not be wasted. I am helping your leader solve the
problem. Get out of the way."
Nan Hong held down her hand that was reaching for the turkey: "Our staff will deal with the
remaining food in a unified manner, and it will never be wasted. The rule of this buffet is that you
can't take it away. Auntie, look at the foreigners around you who are laughing at you. You are
affecting the image of our company by doing this--"
The old lady turned her head and saw more and more people gathered around her. Her face
flushed as she shook off Nan Hong's hand and shouted, "What does it have to do with you?
Thirteen o'clock, did you buy the food or cook it?"
Nanhong saw that she was taking advantage of her age and was shameless. She was about to get
angry. A woman next to her squeezed in and grabbed the old lady: "Okay, okay, forget it, Mommy,
let's go." Nanhong looked at her and felt that she was familiar. She couldn't remember where she
had seen her before. Seeing that they knew when to leave, she didn't intend to care about it
anymore. Unexpectedly, when the two passed by, the woman deliberately bumped into
Nanhong. Nanhong was caught off guard and staggered. Fortunately, Shanli supported her in
time.
"Oh my, Deputy Team Leader Gu really likes to show off. We are all from the same company,
there is nothing my mother doesn't understand, can't we talk it out in private? Why invite so
many foreigners to laugh at our own people?" The woman looked at Shanli meaningfully: "Just
keep an eye on the men, even the old ladies, when you have time."
Nanhong immediately laughed in anger, rushed forward, grabbed the old lady's shoulder bag,
lifted it upside down and shook it a few times, and five or six steaks fell to the ground with a
clang, and the oil paper bag flew away. The crowd of onlookers burst into laughter. Nanhong
stuffed the bag into the old lady's arms, clapped his hands and called a young man: "Xiao Mao,
quickly call someone to clean up, tut tut tut, they eat and drink for free and still want to take
things for free, if you don't keep an eye on this kind of people, you will be in trouble."
"Gu Nanhong! You——" Team Leader Xu squeezed in and just witnessed the last scene. His face
was very ugly, but he couldn't turn his face, so he pulled his wife and mother-in-law out. Manager
Zhang was busy leading the big customers next to him to other places, and he pouted at her to
signal her to chase Team Leader Xu's family. Nanhong then remembered that the woman who
spoke sourly was Team Leader Xu's wife. She had met her twice before, so no wonder she looked
familiar. This was very embarrassing, but she was asked to make up for it and talk to Team Leader
Xu. Nanhong couldn't lower her head no matter what.
Shanli was afraid that she would suffer a loss, and wanted to help her out, but he didn't expect
Nanhong to be so aggressive. Fortunately, the scene was only in chaos for a moment before
returning to normal. He asked her quietly, "Are you okay? Is he your leader?"
"I guess so." Nan Hong brushed the hair beside her ears and raised her eyebrows: "I've already
offended you, that's it."
"Will he make things difficult for you?"
Nan Hong took a sip of wine and said with a smile: "Anyway, I don't want to work after the New
Year. All the credit for my hard work goes to my boss. Who cares? She eats so ugly. It's not just
the company that's embarrassed. Shanghai people are all embarrassed by this old woman."
Shanli agreed with this: "She has brought shame to all of us Chinese people. People like her are
terrible for saying that a bad apple spoils the whole barrel."
Manager Zhang came over and sighed after greeting everyone: "Ah, you made such a mess out of
everything. Go and say hello to Old Xu. You have worked together for such a long time and have a
good relationship. Everything will be fine if you make it clear. By the way, don't forget to dance
with Mr. Zhu and the other big brothers later. Everyone is waiting to see what's new."
Nan Hong sneered: "Lao Zhang, why is it that selling my art is not enough and I have to sell my
body? I obey my boss and dance with him so that others can gossip about me for being pushy
and eyeing men?"
Manager Zhang was so angry that she choked several times: "You are such a big mouth! Fine,
fine, fine, whatever you want, Auntie, I will go and say hello to Director Yuan and the others first.
I will have to make up a few sentences for you in the report tomorrow. You don't know how to
appreciate a good heart."
After a while, the lights in the venue dimmed, and an old man in a suit and tie came out of the
band. He picked up the saxophone in a very smart and casual manner and began to play leisurely.
Nanhong snatched the wine glass from Shanli's hand and put it down: "Do me a favor and dance
with me."
Shanli was startled to see a short man in front of him.
"Miss Gu, would you please do me the honor of seeing you?" The man spoke with a thick Hong
Kong accent. Half of a gold watch chain was visible from the pocket of his coffee-colored pinstripe
suit. The brown glasses on his nose could not hide his naked admiration of his prey.
"Excuse me." Shanli took Nanhong's raised hand and gently led her to the sidelines: "Come on,
let's go dance."
Nan Hong smiled slightly and bowed to the Hong Kong compatriot to express her apology: "I'm
sorry, Chairman Zhu, I will dance with Teacher Zhou first."
When Zhu Dong heard the word "teacher", his eyelids twitched and he forced a polite smile:
"Please, you dance first."
Shanli had only danced the Yangko dance in Yan'an, and he stepped on Nanhong after just two
steps. He glanced at the unwilling Old Zhu and asked, "Are you being targeted?"
"When we were in Hong Kong, this pervert entertained our performance team. He took a fancy
to one of our girls and insisted on getting her to drink. I couldn't stand it so I drank a bottle of
white wine with him." Nan Hong sneered, "He paid me three thousand dollars to be his secretary,
and I thought I didn't know what was going on in his pig head. Hong Kong bastard, if he wasn't a
big client of the company, he would be in trouble. If my brother knew about it, he would either
have his hands or his feet cut off."
Shanli glanced at the old pervert and frowned: "There are a lot of people like this in your
industry, right?"
"When you are well fed and warm, you think about sex. Men are all like this." Nanhong is used to
it. "I am not generalizing. It certainly does not include you, Shanli, my brother, and Beiwu. But
there are still many who think about having a virtuous wife and concubines when they have a
little money, and they cheat on others. I really can't understand it. You said that Hong Kong,
Taiwan, and Guangdong must be much more developed than us, right? They were exposed to
bourgeois ideas earlier than us. But people in these places don't seem to care about polygamy. As
long as they have money, keeping a few women is called being affectionate and righteous. What a
bullshit. They are still living in a feudal society, bah."
Nan Hong lightly spat in the direction of Lao Zhu: "The chief designer of his company is his
mistress, and they live in the same building. He is so proud of himself, what a fool."
"This industry is very chaotic. It's a good thing that you don't want to work in it." Shanli paused
and said, "What do you plan to do in the future?"
Nan Hong raised her eyebrows and said, "I plan to do it myself, still in this business, but I want to
make clean money with my own abilities."
After the song ended, Shanli hesitated for a moment and said, "I think you can do it. Come on."
"Oh, thank you. I feel more confident now after hearing what our Commander Zhou said." Nan
Hong smiled and bowed slightly to express her gratitude.
——
Cathay Cinema was almost full tonight. Less than halfway through the movie, Si Nan fell asleep
on Jing Sheng's arm, her mouth wide open, her usually lively face looking dull and ridiculous. Jing
Sheng glanced at her several times but couldn't bear to push her away, and his arm went numb.
Si Jiang watched the movie very attentively, but Jing Sheng was not interested in the plot. He
endured it for another 20 minutes before gently putting Si Nan's head on the backrest and
walking out with his crutches.
"Where are you going?" Gu Dongwen stood up.
"To the restroom."
"I go with you."
Si Jiang came back to his senses, whispered a few words of concern, moved Si Nan's head to his
shoulder, and gently closed her mouth.
The movie had not yet ended and there were not many people in the men's room. Gu Dongwen
held a crutch in one hand and supported Jingsheng with the other hand as he watched him wash
his hands.
"Has the hair grown back?" he suddenly asked with a smile.
Jingsheng stared at the mirror for three seconds, raised his hand, and splashed water on Gu
Dongwen's face: "Psycho!"
Gu Dongwen smiled and turned his head to wipe the water droplets off his shoulder: "It was very
uncomfortable when it first grew out, it was very stinging. Hey, why are you so hypocritical? I'm
your father, you're my son, we're two men talking about some trivial things about important
parts, why do you get so excited every time?"
"Who's excited? Who wants to tell you?" Jingsheng took the cane: "Do you want to get married?
If you do, just say it. I agree, I agree very much, I agree very much."
"It's not even close yet. Let's talk about it after your leg is fully healed." Gu Dongwen touched the
stubble on his chin in front of the mirror and said, "That Xiao Wang is okay. If you want to talk to
him, then talk. Just don't get anyone killed."
Jingsheng had already moved to the toilet door. He turned around when he heard the words. He
was about to ask what this matter was about, but before he opened his mouth he understood
and was immediately furious: "Gu Dongwen, what kind of nonsense do you think about every
day? No wonder my mother had a dream about it some time ago."
Gu Dongwen squinted at him and said, "Just keep talking nonsense. You were talking in your
sleep, did you know that? It wasn't your mother who told you in your dream, and you're still
pretending, you little bastard. If your leg hadn't been broken once, I'd break it again now. What
did you do to wash up so early yesterday and today?"
Jingsheng's face turned red with embarrassment and his heart was pounding. He couldn't even
remember whether he had dreamed or not and what he dreamed about. He woke up in a daze in
the morning and had no idea what was going on. He was speechless for a moment after being
tricked by Gu Dongwen.
"Look, look, you're bleeding from your nose just watching a movie!" Gu Dongwen rushed over,
stretched out his hand and almost hugged Jingsheng back to the sink: "Look at how much you're
thinking about love, tut tut tut, you're done, Gu Jingsheng, you've definitely inherited your
father's glorious tradition--"
Jingsheng stared blankly at his pale face under the pale fluorescent light in the mirror. Two bright
red bloodstains were flowing down, making him look like a ghost, a very bright male ghost at
that.
The next afternoon in the hospital outpatient department, Nurse Lu looked at Gu Dongwen,
Jingsheng and Si Jiang, who looked worried, and sighed: "That seahorse powder and fish glue -
don't take them for the time being. According to our Western medicine, there is no such thing as
a big fire. If you want to treat it, just go to the ENT department to burn the small blood vessels in
the nasal cavity. It will probably heal in a week or two."
Jingsheng turned to Gu Dongwen and said, "Dad, you should eat it. You have been very weak
recently and your feet are cold every night. You need to replenish your body."
“???” Gu Dongwen cursed him as a bastard in his heart and chased after Nurse Lu.
Si Jiang frowned and nodded: "Brother, how about I help you eat something? My feet are always
cold in winter, and even a hot water bottle can't keep them warm."
Jingsheng looked at Si Jiang and turned away: "..."
Si Jiang helped him stand up, raised his head and was stunned: "Hey, brother, your ears are red,
do you have frostbite? Do they itch?"
Jingsheng resisted the urge to pinch his ears and shook his head: "It doesn't itch. It seems like you
still owe me an ice brick, don't try to shirk your debt."
"Who wants to default on a debt? I went to see a movie yesterday but the concession stand was
closed, so I couldn't buy anything. Really." Si Jiang pouted angrily.

Chapter 143
There are not many places selling cold drinks in winter. Si Jiang rode his bicycle to many places on
Sunday and finally bought one on Huaihai Road. He was very happy. When he was riding home
against the wind, he didn’t feel cold at all. Suddenly, a cool feeling passed across his face. It was
snowing.
The first snow of this year came quite hard, turning into heavy snow in just three or five minutes.
Groups of children squatted and jumped out of the alleys, shouting "It's snowing, it's snowing".
The roadside stalls selling baked sweet potato dumplings began to close. Si Jiang rode his bike
with a silly smile, and from time to time he also shouted with others: "It's snowing——" After
shouting, he laughed even happier and rode faster.
Back at Wanchun Street, Si Jiang's woolen hat and woolen scarf were already wet, and her
woolen coat was also covered with a thin layer of snow water. She went upstairs happily holding
a block of ice and baked sweet potatoes.
Upstairs, Jingsheng was tilting his head back and pinching his nose to stop the bleeding. Sinan
squeezed a cold towel and applied it to his forehead. His hands were so cold that they turned
purple. "Sister, my cousin is bleeding from the nose again! It's scary."
Seeing Jingsheng's grim face, Si Jiang felt both amused and worried. He quickly took out the ice
brick, and the baked sweet potatoes were still steaming.
"Brother, have something cold to cool you down." Si Jiang scooped a large spoonful and put it to
Jingsheng's mouth attentively: "I don't owe you anything now."
Jingsheng ate the ice brick, and the burning sensation in his nose was much cooler. Seeing her
relieved look made him feel a little unhappy: "And shepherd's purse wontons? And New Year's
cards? And -"
Si Jiang was anxious: "How can anyone remember it so clearly?"
Sinan ate three big mouthfuls and raised his head with a smile: "Brother is very capable. He puts
all the things you have completed in another milk bottle. He just counted them today and there
are only eleven stars."
Jingsheng pursed his lips, raised his eyebrows, and motioned for Sijiang to scoop another
spoonful of ice: "It will become twelve soon."
Si Jiang scooped a big spoonful fiercely: "Gu Ba Pi! No wonder you have a nosebleed again,
humph, stingy guy."
Jingsheng threw the towel that was warmed on his forehead to her and said, "Humph, I knew
someone wanted to default on his debt and just said those lies casually. Forget it, I'll just pretend
I didn't receive it. He didn't intend to give it to me anyway."
Si Jiang immediately deflated, and obediently took the towel and ran over the cold water:
"Brother, I didn't lie to you. I really wanted to do those things. I've said it many times. I won't go
back on my word. Anyway, I have to do it day by day. No one can urge you every day. I feel like I
owe you a lot of debt now. It's so miserable."
Jingsheng suppressed his smile, and his hand that was pinching his nose loosened, and blood
dripped from his nose again. Si Jiang quickly pressed a cold towel on his forehead and sighed:
"Brother, you are too angry, tut tut tut, don't rush me, okay?" She thought about it and suddenly
realized something, bent down and looked into Jingsheng's eyes, revealing a sly and gloating
smile: "Brother, don't you find that every time you urge me to complete the things on Lucky Star,
I will have a nosebleed?"
Sinan shook his head and scraped the last spoonful of ice into his mouth, revealing a mouthful of
cream: "Really? It seems real!"
Jingsheng thought about it carefully later and was a little surprised that she was tricked by Si
Jiang at that time. This confirmed this unfortunate incident in disguise, making her proud for
several days.
——
The New Year came, Shanli came to Wanchun Street to visit Jingsheng, and brought a lot of
"secret recipes" provided by his comrades in the army, such as tiger bones and deer bones, and
no one knew where he got them, saying that like cures like must be effective, and there was also
a snake skin bag of Cordyceps sinensis, saying that Shanrang asked him to send it. Commander
Zhou's old subordinates in Qinghai would send a few sacks of it to the old leader every year to
replenish his body. It is said that people in Qinghai and Tibet regard this as a treasure, which is
grass in summer and insects in winter, very magical.
"So disgusting, like dried dragonflies and earthworms." Sinan picked up a few and looked at them
carefully, then shuddered: "Cousin, do you want to eat this?"
Jingsheng was frightened by the seahorse powder and fish glue, and he broke into a cold sweat
when he looked at the sack of Cordyceps. Sijiang touched it and was also a little scared. It was
clearly the dried corpse of insects, how could it turn into grass in summer? It was scary.
"The old man said that it can be stewed in soup or ground into powder. He has been eating it for
a few years and his health has improved a lot."
Gu Dongwen tied up the snakeskin bag and thanked him with a smile: "I didn't expect your father
still believed in these things."
"You don't understand. The older you get, the more you believe in this."
Grandma Gu was worried. It was easy to pay back the favor from Nanhong and his wife, but how
could she repay the favor from her father-in-law? She held it in for a long time, but couldn't help
but speak: "Shanli, such a big bag must be expensive, can you give me a rough number so that
Dongwen can know the price and repay Shanrang and Beiwu in the future." Thinking of the white
fish maw that was more expensive than gold, Jingsheng had nosebleeds several times. Grandma
Gu's eyelids twitched. Such a big bag of worms and grass must be at least a thousand and eight
hundred. Shanrang was married to a lower class, and if she troubled her father-in-law again,
Beiwu would be too ashamed to hold his head up in his father-in-law's house.
Shanli uttered a "huh" and waved his hand: "I'm not kidding, I really know, such a big sack is only
80 yuan, only people over there regard it as a treasure. My dad told me not to take it seriously,
he has three sacks under his bed. By the way, Shanrang said Beiwu sent something to Jingsheng
from the United States, did you receive it?"
Si Jiang picked up a thick sketchbook on the table and showed it to him: "I received it the day
before yesterday. Uncle Zhou, look, my uncle is so amazing!"
The sketchbook contains a detailed explanation of the rehabilitation exercises within six months
after a comminuted thigh fracture. It was all drawn by Gu Beiwu himself, and even includes
detailed drawings of bones and muscles to explain why these exercises must be done at this
stage.
"My uncle said that he has a friend who works at the UCSF Medical Center, and his friend told
him all this knowledge." Si Jiang's eyes sparkled with excitement. "He also found a lot of
information in the library, translated it into Chinese and drew it. He said that if you follow this
book, you will be able to fully recover in nine months at most."
Zhou Shanli flipped through it and was amazed. He praised Gu Beiwu to Gu Dongwen.
Jingsheng had started doing rehabilitation exercises according to the diagram above yesterday.
He was sweating in the middle of winter and was so tired that his legs were cramping. Granny Gu
was scared and told him to take it easy and do less if he really couldn't do it. However, he had
100% faith in Gu Beiwu and was convinced that he could do it. He had just begun to have the
idea of becoming a man like Gu Beiwu in the future.
——
In the blink of an eye, the semester is about to end and the Spring Festival in mid-February is
approaching. Si Jiang and Si Nan began to feel a little anxious because their parents were going
back to Shanghai.
She didn't know when it started, but her mother became a mountain. Just thinking about her
made Si Jiang breathless. Si Jiang could almost remember what her mother would say after
seeing the report card. And after she hung up the phone last time, she never heard a word from
her mother about her. She instinctively felt that this was the calm before the storm.
Si Nan was also worried, and after she finished worrying, she began to rack her brains to think of
a solution. She first got Nan Hong's phone number and asked her if she could go to Fuxing Island
to play for a few days, and then go back to Wanchun Street with her three cousins on the second
day of the New Year. As a result, Nan Hong had to work overtime without a day off during the
year, and she was worried about her, a devil, staying with three stupid brothers. Si Nan asked
Shan Li again. Shan Li was going back to see Grandpa Zhou, and smiled and invited her to Nanjing
for the New Year. Grandma Gu didn't dare to agree, and scolded Si Nan in private. Si Nan was still
not giving up, and called Beijing again. Shan Rang asked a few questions in a soft voice, and let Si
Jiang answer the phone. Finally, she figured out what the two sisters were worried about, and
she agreed to rush back to Wanchun Street for the New Year.
Si Jiang hung up the phone and breathed a sigh of relief. Si Nan jumped up proudly: "We are
saved!" Jing Sheng, who was standing next to him, learned for the first time that Si Jiang and Gu
Ximei had quarreled. He was surprised and asked about the details of the quarrel. Si Jiang did not
hide it from him. She remembered every word of the quarrel clearly and could repeat it
effortlessly. Jing Sheng pondered all night and made up his mind. He went to the teacher's office
twice the next day.
——
After Ximei packed up her new school dormitory in Urumqi, she met up with Chen Donglai and
returned to Shanghai together. As soon as they put down their luggage, she took Sinan to Chen's
house alone and beat her. She stripped off her cotton pants and whipped Sinan on the buttocks
with the long ruler she brought back from Shajingzi. In the first few hits, Sinan struggled and
called for help from her father and mother, but the ruler hit her harder for every shout. After
three or five hits, she stopped making a fuss and sobbed with her head down, gritting her teeth
and holding back her tears.
"Will you dare to steal money again next time?" Gu Ximei was determined to punish her this
time, and she would show no mercy.
"I didn't steal it! I told you, I wrote a letter!"
"Taking something without asking is stealing! You stole money from my family today, and next
time you dare to steal other people's money and the country's money. In the future, you will be
caught by the police and thrown into jail!"
"I didn't steal, I didn't steal, I didn't steal! You can beat me to death, but I didn't steal!"
After ten strokes of the cane, Si Nan was still stubborn. Gu Ximei was so angry that she used the
ruler again: "You have been getting into trouble all day long since you were a child. Have you ever
thought about it? What if something happened to you? What if you were kidnapped by human
traffickers? What would happen to your parents? How worried would your family be?"
"I'm not stupid! Nothing happened to me!" Sinan gritted his teeth and insisted.
After eating the thirty-board beating, Si Nan's buttocks were almost rotten, and he couldn't walk
at all. He lay on A Niang's bed and groaned. Si Hao was scared and cried outside, and shed more
tears than Si Nan, so she hugged Si Nan's head by the bed and asked, "Are you in pain, sister?"
"It hurts so much!"
Si Hao lowered his head and kissed her face with his lips pursed: "Woo woo woo woo."
Sinan was stunned and groaned twice: "It still hurts." Well, the little fat boy is quite cute.
Si Hao kissed her face again: "Candy, candy?"
"good."
Si Hao took out half a White Rabbit from his smock bag and stuffed it into Si Nan's mouth: "Sister,
have some candy."
Si Nan held the candy in his mouth, breathed a sigh of relief, and stretched out his hand to pinch
Si Hao's chubby face: "Fortunately, I didn't strangle you to death before. Your brother is so good."
Si Hao gently touched her hair with his chubby hands to comfort her, then happily ran to the
chair, slapped the ruler hard several times, and returned to the bed with a look of begging for
praise.
"It wasn't the ruler that hit me! It was my mom who hit me. My mom is a bad person, you know?
Remember, you and I are in the same group."
Si Hao looked confused, but still nodded.
"Who do you choose, Mom or me?"
"Mom, Mom," Si Hao hugged Si Nan's hand: "Sister, Sister."
Sinan looked at his brother carefully and thought that this kid must be a little stupid: "Do you
know if you choose me?"
"Sister, sister." Si Hao nodded repeatedly.
Sinan was a little comforted now. Well, this Fatty Chen seemed to be quite a bootlicker. She
would definitely treat him well in the future.
After beating Si Nan, Gu Ximei told Grandpa Chen directly that she would still take Si Nan to
Urumqi to study after the New Year. The reason was simple: Si Nan was too naughty and the old
man couldn't control him at all, and she couldn't let the three old men worry about him.
Grandpa Chen looked at Chen Donglai and said tactfully that if Sinan stayed, he would not have to
send back living expenses. He knew about Ximei's job transfer this time. It was estimated that the
couple's savings were almost gone, and three children needed 90 yuan a month for living
expenses, which was really too much.
Gu Ximei blushed and insisted that she already knew what Sinan's problem was and that she
would correct her no matter what. Because of this, Granny Gu had another argument with Ximei,
but she was powerless, and with Chen Donglai's support, she finally gave up.
After dealing with Si Nan, Shun Ximei had no time to settle accounts with Si Jiang before the class
teacher Mr. He and Fang Shuren came to the door on their own initiative.
"Teacher Fang, you said Si Jiang has made great progress?" Gu Ximei asked doubtfully, "Can she
still participate in the competition selection class?"
Fang Shuren took a sip of tea, smiled and nodded, "Si Jiang ranked in the top ten in the class in
both algebra and geometry final exams, so he can participate in the competition selection class
this winter vacation. Of course, students in the selection class may not be able to participate in
the competition in the end, so not every parent agrees for their children to participate. After all,
it takes a lot of time, four days of training a week, and our principal will lead the team personally.
Here is the information, take a look first."
Chen Donglai took over. The training lasted three weeks and twelve days. Lunch was free in the
school cafeteria. After reading it, he gave it to Ximei: "It's a good thing to be able to participate.
We will definitely support this. Thank you so much, Teacher Fang. Si Jiang's math grades were
very poor before. He has made such great progress in one semester. It's all thanks to the good
school and good teachers."
The head teacher He Hongwei frowned and said, "The improvement in grades mainly depends on
Sijiang's own efforts. She is studious and very self-conscious. She is an excellent student in all
aspects. However, I and the teachers of various subjects agree that Chen Sijiang sometimes lacks
self-confidence and is prone to self-doubt, which will affect her problem-solving ideas. I hope that
you as parents will often encourage and affirm her. Her Chinese grades have always been among
the best, and her essays are often excellent examples of the whole grade and are posted on the
bulletin board of the teaching building."
Gu Ximei smiled and said, "She is okay at writing essays, but she is careless and often makes
spelling mistakes."
He Hongwei paused and said, "Chen Sijiang is also very dedicated to the collective. Our class's
blackboard newspaper won awards in two school competitions, and she is also very active in
participating in sports competitions."
Gu Ximei glanced at Si Jiang who was lowering his head: "She is just participating blindly. She is
obviously good at dancing, singing and hosting, but she insists on playing volleyball and
basketball, which she can't do at all. Alas, Teacher He, please do some ideological work on her.
She should learn from Jingsheng and do what she is good at, and don't waste time on things she
can't do. Si Jiang, you can't listen to what your mother says anymore, you have to keep what the
teacher says in your heart. We are all for your own good."
"You should see more of your children's strengths and not focus on their shortcomings." He
Hongwei sighed and said earnestly: "Encouragement and affirmation will have a more positive
effect on children."
As a teacher herself, Gu Ximei felt a little uncomfortable after hearing these words. She flipped
through Si Jiang's home-school contact manual and asked in confusion, "But I saw that she only
scored 85 points in the Chinese final exam, which is only 4 points higher than the class average.
She still needs to be affirmed and encouraged? I am also a teacher. My way of educating my
daughter may be different from what you think, Teacher He and Teacher Fang. To be honest, I still
think that she should be strictly required. If not, she would not have been able to pass the
entrance examination to the key university in the first place."
He Hongwei continued to debate with Gu Ximei on educational methods. Fang Shuren sighed
inwardly. If Gu Jingsheng hadn't come to her and Teacher He specifically, they would never have
thought that Si Jiang Yiran had such a parent. It was common to have parents who were strict
with their children, but it was the first time she had met a parent who didn't understand the
child's condition at all and made random demands on the child to the point of being harsh.
Her impression of Gu Ximei still remained at the stage when they studied piano together. She
only remembered that she was very pretty and had a very stubborn temper. She would not eat if
she did not play a piece well, and she often forgot the time during practice. Her mother did not
care how long she used the piano at home and encouraged her several times. Knowing that she
wanted to apply to a music college, she introduced a very famous pianist to her as a teacher.
Fang Shuren was not passionate about the piano. Later, the piano was confiscated. She cried not
for the piano, but for her home and her past stable and beautiful life. Later, Fang Shuren learned
from Gu Beiwu that Gu Ximei tore up the admission letter from the Conservatory of Music and
ran to Xinjiang. She could not understand it at all. After many years, Fang Shuren found that she
still could not understand Gu Ximei's thoughts. They were obviously from the same city, and they
had seen each other every day for seven or eight years and had common hobbies, but they were
like people from two different worlds. If she had a daughter like Si Jiang, she would never hit her,
blame her, or completely deny her.
"If Teacher He and Teacher Fang also have children, they will definitely understand what I mean."
Gu Ximei finally said this indifferently, and He Hongwei choked and the atmosphere became cold.
Chen Donglai awkwardly tried to smooth things over and praised Si Jiang a few more times. Si
Jiang's eyes were slightly red, but he still didn't raise his head.
When sending the teachers out of the alley, Fang Shuren comforted her again and asked her to
come to school on time for the training. Si Jiang nodded: "Teacher He, Teacher Fang, I'm sorry."
"What are you saying sorry for?" He Hongwei scratched his head and laughed: "I don't have
enough experience. I'll think about how to talk to parents like your mother later. Don't care too
much about what others think of you, even if it's your mother--"
"I don't care anymore." Si Jiang smiled: "Really, she is like that, I'm used to it."
When Fang Shuren saw the tears welling up in her eyes, he felt as if his heart was being pinched
and it hurt.
"Si Jiang!" A smiling voice came from not far away: "Si Jiang——!"
"Aunt!" Si Jiang was stunned for a moment, then ran over: "Aunt! I missed you so much!"
Shanrang smiled and hugged the girl who threw herself into his arms: "Oh, it's up to my chin. You
will be taller than me soon."
When Fang Shuren met Zhou Shanrang for the first time, Zhou Shanrang, who was like the sun,
illuminated Chen Sijiang and must have also illuminated Gu Beiwu. It was great.

Chapter 144
Shanrang's return lit up Sijiang's sky. All the grievances and sadness were washed away after a
hearty cry at night. She didn't even say anything to comfort him. Sijiang was greatly comforted
just by looking at her expression of listening to him seriously. Compared with many classmates
who had similar experiences as her, she was glad that she at least had an angel like her aunt.
Before the Spring Festival, because of Shanrang and Jingsheng, Gu Ximei stopped "educating"
Sijiang and Sinan. She had no aversion to Shanrang, who was the only person in her family who
didn't say bad things to her. In front of her mother and Dongwen Nanhong, Ximei felt that
everything she said was wrong and everything she did was not enough, but Shanrang knew how
difficult it was for her. It was not the kind of condescending pity, but the most fundamental
understanding of a woman to another woman. Jingsheng also understood her difficulties. When
he heard Sinan muttering about her brutality, he never said anything wrong about her, but said
that Sinan should be severely beaten to make her bones.
At night, Ximei took Sinan to the bathroom to take a shower. She pressed her on a long bench in
the dressing room and smeared a thick layer of ointment on her buttocks. The ointment was cool,
and Sinan was so cold that she screamed: "I don't forgive you, I don't make friends with you, and
I don't go back to Urumqi." Ximei was so angry that she slapped her twice, raised her high and
gently dropped her. After leaving the bathroom, Sinan covered her buttocks and walked for a
distance, then ran back to her side and held her hand, saying a little awkwardly: "I'm sorry, Mom,
I shouldn't have run away alone. I scared you and didn't expect you to worry about me so much."
Ximei snorted. She didn't faint from fear. She was obviously so angry that the blood rushed to her
brain and her eyes went dark for a moment. It only lasted for two or three seconds at most. Sinan
took her hand and touched his face: "Then don't hit me again in the future. If you hit me again
next time, I will still run away."
"You dare to run?!" Ximei pulled her hand out and just raised it, she heard Sinan say seriously:
"Well, I ran to the police station to find the police uncle. My uncle said in the letter that if
American parents dare to hit their children, the police will arrest them and send the children
away for protection. Mom, I don't want you to be arrested by the police uncle, so you can't hit
me anymore."
"Bah, American police can't control us Chinese. You are Chinese, if you don't obey, you will be
beaten." Ximei gently pulled her ears a few times: "You listen to your mother's words in one ear
and out the other, but you remember your uncle and Jingsheng Sijiang's words very well. Isn't
this just a nagging feeling?"
"What they said makes sense, so I remember it. You always say that I am not good at this or that,
and that this or that is not good. I don't like to hear it, and neither does my elder sister. My elder
sister's teachers and classmates all say that she is good, but you are the only one who says that
she is not good. It's boring." Sinan rubbed his ears and complained, "My elder sister is the best,
and my eldest cousin is also the best."
"I'm not saying you're bad, I want you to be better." Ximei grabbed her collar and pulled her back:
"Look at you, you should look both ways when crossing the road. How can you only look at one
side? You're so stupid."
"Mom, you scolded me again."
"Of course, outsiders will only say good things about you. Only your parents can see your
shortcomings and want to help you improve. How can you praise you all day long? Praise makes
people proud, and pride makes people regress, understand?"
"I like to be proud. I won't back down even if I'm proud. Why don't you try to praise us?"
"Why didn't I praise you? I always praise you in front of others. Tell me, do I often praise your
sister in school?"
Sinan scratched his head and muttered quietly: "You are only praising yourself..."
"Bullshit!" Ximei's face felt a little hot.
"Then please praise me, just one sentence. I like being praised. What did you praise me for
behind my back, Mom? Just say a few." Sinan looked up, expectantly.
"I was so ugly when I was little, but now I'm a little bit better after growing up."
"You call this a praise?" Sinan's eyes widened. Mom thought that she could just lie to me because
I was young?
"Well, when I first went to school, I knew nothing and only got 3 points on the test. Later, I was
forced to study hard under scrutiny, and finally I got it, barely getting first place. But the level of
the town primary school is far behind that of the key primary schools in Urumqi. You have to start
preparing for it after the New Year - Chen Sinan, what are you doing? Why are you running? Be
careful of bicycles! No matter how many times I told you, you turned a deaf ear to it." Ximei
hurriedly chased after him.
Sinan turned into Wanchun Street, turned back and yelled angrily: "Mom, you are too bad at
talking. Can't you just say that I am very smart? How can you be my mother? My sister and I are
not like this. Really, you might as well not say it."
"Are you rebelling? What nonsense are you talking about? Don't run away!" Ximei was so angry
that she wanted to beat her, but Sinan ran away.
Shan Rang accompanied Ximei No. 1 Department Store to buy New Year's goods. Passing by the
counter of women's products, she laughed and talked about her miserable situation when she
had her first period: "I thought I was going to die. I was so scared that I hid in the toilet and cried
and refused to go out. Fortunately, our class teacher was a very kind old lady who bought me a
new menstrual belt. My mother had menopause early and never thought about it."
Ximei slapped her head and said, "Thanks for your reminder. I was so confused. Sijiang will be
fourteen next year." She hurriedly squeezed into the crowd in front of the counter and said,
"Comrade, give me ten menstrual belts. Yes, ten."
On the way home, Ximei took Shanrang to get off the train at Shaanxi North Road Station in
advance and found a tobacco and paper shop on Nanyang Road. She bought five packs of the
most expensive toilet paper. Shanrang was surprised: "Why did you come here to buy it?"
"This is not available for sale outside. It's specially supplied in-house and is very soft. My piano
teacher brought me here to buy it. It's been more than ten years. I thought I'd stop by and take a
look. Luckily I bought it." Ximei took toilet paper out of the bag and showed it to Shanrang: "I'm
afraid Sijiang will be like me and won't be able to use toilet paper, so I bought some for her in
advance. Oh, you don't know, I'm a little allergic, and it hurts so much to use toilet paper. This can
only last for a few days. It's expensive, but a piece of toilet paper is equivalent to a piece of
scented soap, there's nothing I can do about it. By the way, thank you so much for giving Sijiang
so many bras last time. I'm such a bad mother - oh, why didn't I think of it, my brain is broken."
Because of these few special toilet papers, Si Jiang felt that his mother still cared about him and
took him to heart.
——
On New Year's Eve, Li Guyi sang six songs at CCTV's first Spring Festival Gala, including the
"decadent music" "Homesickness" which had been banned for several years. Grandpa Chen
sighed: "The world is changing, and the hearts of young people are going to be wilder. What a
mistake!" He pointed at the small TV and sighed to his children and grandchildren: "This kind of
love is a kind of ideological corruption. In recent years, we have been focusing on economic
development, and the streets are full of hooligans. Young people don't work hard, look down on
workers, peasants and soldiers, and think that they can become a millionaire with money falling
from the sky. They spend their minds on improper things, and their life path is wrong. You must
adjust your mentality, work hard and study hard, remember?"
Si Jiang, who was watching TV seriously, didn't say anything. She felt that her grandfather's words
sounded strange. If a song or a book could corrupt a generation, wouldn't those capitalist
countries have been ruined long ago? Why did her uncle and so many of the best people in the
country go to the United States to study?
Ximei sighed, "Yeah, I didn't expect Shanghai to change so much in the past six months. There are
groups of young people in the park, wearing strange clothes and harassing young women at
every turn. It's really unbearable."
Qian Guihua was chewing melon seeds and made a "tsk" sound. "Well, the female comrades in
our factory don't dare to go out on the street alone. It's so chaotic. Sister-in-law probably doesn't
know about the Kongjiang Road incident a few years ago. It's even scarier now than before."
Gu Ximei really didn't know and couldn't imagine how scary it was.
"There was a deputy secretary of the Youth League Committee of a chemical company. She was
pretty. When she passed by Kongjiang Road, a group of hooligans made trouble. They robbed her
watch and wallet and almost stripped her clothes. Dozens of people surrounded her and groped
her all over. They almost raped her in broad daylight." Qian Guihua lowered her voice and shook
her head in a mysterious manner: "She was scratched all over her head by the hooligans. In the
end, more than 300 police officers were dispatched and 31 hooligans were arrested."
Ximei couldn't believe it: "Kongjiang Road?" How could such a thing happen in Shanghai? She
thought of Sijiang and Sinan and suddenly felt a chill, thinking that she had hit Sinan too lightly.
Qian Guihua grabbed another handful of melon seeds and said, "Only seven out of thirty-one
have been sentenced. They won't be in jail for many years. Do you think the gangsters will be
afraid? Of course not. There is still chaos now. But the deputy secretary himself is not in good
shape either—"
Si Jiang, who was staring at the TV, pricked up his ears.
"What's wrong with her?" Even Li Xuejing couldn't help but ask.
"I didn't say that. I just heard it from others." Qian Guihua was rarely treated like a star, and she
became excited: "I heard that the woman is usually restless, dressed ostentatiously, wearing such
a short skirt in September, and walking in high heels with twists and turns. She often goes to
dances, and speaks in a coquettish tone to the male leaders in the factory, but speaks in a
different tone to the female comrades. Tsk tsk tsk tsk, you say, if she didn't have a problem, there
would be so many people on the road, why would the gangsters Why did you choose her?" She
looked at Ximei meaningfully: "Sister-in-law, are there such women who think about provoking
men all day long and wish that all men in the world like her? Alas, so when she encounters such a
thing, it's not just bad luck. Later, the gangster was caught, but I didn't expect her family to be in
such a turmoil. Who can pretend that such a thing never happened? She has been touched by
others, and by so many people. If I were her man, I wouldn't be able to stand it——"
Ximei realized that she was secretly referring to Nanhong, and her brows knitted together. No
matter how ostentatious Gu Nanhong was, she was still her sister, and it was not Qian Guihua's
turn to bite her tongue.
"It's obviously the gangster's fault, why blame it on that woman?!" Si Jiang stood up suddenly:
"She is guilty just because she looks good and dresses well? She deserves to be raped by the
gangster? People who say this are really disgusting!"

Chapter 145
Qian Guihua trembled three times when Si Jiang yelled. Everyone in the room looked over.
Grandpa Chen put down the radio and television newspaper and frowned. Mother Chen stopped
mixing the half-mixed pork fat and black crispy dumpling filling. The half toffee that Chen Sihao
secretly stuffed into his mouth bulged under his cheek. Chen Sijun, who was watching the new
episode of "Legend of Wudang Mountain" under the desk lamp, raised his head. Chen Simin, who
was fiddling with his two very hard nose hairs in front of a small mirror, quickly stuffed his nose
hairs in. Chen Siqiang and Si Nan Siqi, who were lying on the dining table playing the Four Nations
War, also turned around.
Chen Dong came to see the uncomfortable Chen Donghai. Although he didn't know what
happened on the sofa, he still called out, "Ximei."
"Si Jiang! What's it got to do with you? Sit down and watch TV." Ximei pulled Si Jiang and said to
Qian Guihua, "It's New Year's Day, let's not talk about this." The educated youth all knew that
such things happened in every farm corps. Even if they had not encountered it, they had seen or
heard of similar things. There were many people like Qian Guihua who talked about the
unfortunate female educated youth behind their backs. Ximei couldn't say anything, and it was
very uncomfortable just to hear it. However, due to the brotherhood between Chen Donglai and
her husband, and not wanting Si Jiang to know too much, she could only keep quiet.
Qian Guihua recovered and gave Si Jiang an awkward look, then picked up the hot tea on the
coffee table and said, "What do you know, little kid? You have no respect for your parents. Go
away and stop eavesdropping on adults' conversations."
Si Jiang was not relenting, his voice getting clearer and louder: "Third Aunt, you have permed hair
and put on lipstick, you look good and dress nicely, but if you were to meet a gangster, your
watch and wallet were robbed, your clothes were torn, and you were touched by a bad guy, and
instead of calling him a gangster, he said there was something wrong with you, what would you
think? Would your uncle be able to dislike you too?"
Everyone in the living room was silent, leaving only the crosstalk on TV, accompanied by laughter
and applause from the audience. Qian Guihua was so angry that her chest rose and fell violently,
but her mind could not help but imagine the scene described by Si Jiang. The more she reminded
herself not to think about it, the more she thought about it. She got goose bumps all over her
body, and her hands and feet became weak. Suddenly, there was a "boom" outside the window.
Someone set off a firecracker. She was startled and the half cup of tea in her hand fell directly to
the floor, and the glass splattered.
Chen Donghai heard and understood all these words clearly, and threw the playing cards in his
hand away suddenly: "Si Jiang, what nonsense are you talking about! Boss, are you going to take
care of it? If you don't, I will take care of it for you."
Grandpa Chen coughed twice, "Donghai, what are you doing? Donglai Ximei, what's wrong with
you tonight? It's Chinese New Year, and the family is finally together. What should and shouldn't
be said? The children don't know, and neither do you. And Sijiang, what nonsense are you talking
about? You are talking dirty, and we who hear you are talking dirty. Hurry up and apologize to
your third mother, and don't talk nonsense in the future."
Si Jiang bit his lip, looked at his mother, then looked at his grandfather, and shook his head gently:
"I'm not apologizing, I didn't say anything wrong, it was Third Mother who said something
wrong."
Chen Donglai took two steps to the sofa and patted Si Jiang's arm gently: "Si Jiang, your third
mother is the elder and you are the younger. It is wrong for you to say that. You should apologize.
Hurry up and say sorry."
Ximei pursed her lips and said nothing. She felt that Si Jiang was right and it was quite satisfying.
She couldn't blame Si Jiang, but she couldn't fight against her father-in-law's family. After all, she
had to rely on her grandparents for labor, manpower and money in the past few years. She
turned around and saw Si Hao pouting her little mouth and looking like she was about to cry. She
sighed, "Si Jiang, just apologize to Third Mother. You've scared her."
Qian Guihua covered her chest with trembling hands and shuddered: "Oh, who is frightened? I
am disgusted. This little girl is only a few years old, but I don't know what books she reads all day
long or what she thinks in her mind. What kind of dirty gossip is she saying! I just talked about
someone else's news, what does it have to do with her? She even talked about me. She is really
sick."
Aunt Chen quickly grabbed Si Jiang's hand and said, "Nannan, don't say that anymore. It's too
scary. It's not good to say such things. Bah, bah, bah, children speak without restraint. God didn't
hear them. What if? Okay, okay, no one is allowed to mention this anymore. Let's make the
dumplings right away. Xuejing, go get two rags and clean up the floor. May you be safe and sound
every year."
Si Nan jumped off the chair and rushed in front of Qian Guihua: "My sister is not sick, what she
said is absolutely right, you didn't scold the gangster but scolded that woman, it's disgusting, you
are a bad person." She turned sideways and made a face at Si Qi: "Your mother has a very bad
conscience! She deserves it because she will meet the gangster tomorrow!"
This stirred up a hornet's nest. Qian Guihua stretched out her hand and pushed Si Nan, causing
him to stumble. "Gu Ximei, you don't care about your daughter? I think the two of them are just
like Gu Dongwen and Gu Beiwu, born hooligans. How can they say such things? What have I done
to them? Why are you cursing me like this on New Year's Day?"
Gu Ximei was insulted by her and her brothers from her natal family. Her face darkened and she
was about to lose her temper, but unexpectedly, Si Nan was immediately ignited like a firecracker.
"You're talking nonsense! My uncles are not hooligans!" Si Nan saw Qian Guihua getting up to
leave, and bumped into her stomach, knocking her back onto the sofa. His two little arms waved
like windmills, hitting Qian Guihua's chest, arms and legs: "You dare to scold my uncle, take my
punch, take my punch twice, take my punch three times!"
Si Jiang took two steps forward and squeezed between the sofa and the coffee table, just
blocking Chen Donghai: "Third mother, you have to go and apologize to my uncle! Otherwise, I
will call my uncle to come and explain to you who is the born gangster."
“Everyone in Wanchun Street knows about the good deeds of your two uncles! Go away, go away,
Gu Ximei, take care of your Chen Sinan, he’s crazy!” Qian Guihua was almost going crazy, and
Sinan punched her several times, but he still didn’t dare to be cruel to her.
Si Qi ran over screaming, but didn't dare to get close: "Chen Si Nan, what are you doing! Grandpa
and Mom, help me——"
Grandpa Chen was so angry that he slammed the table: "Stop, everyone, stop right there - do you
hear me?"
Qian Guihua blocked them and shouted, "Si Qiang and Si Qi, you two are just wooden men. Why
don't you come over to help? Are you just watching Mommy getting beaten?!"
Chen Siqiang hesitated for a moment: "I, I can't beat Gu Jingsheng, Mom, you are full, why are
you talking about Uncle Sijiang? You are sick--" Before he could finish his words, he was slapped
by his own father. Chen Simin and Chen Sijun laughed loudly, and the room was in chaos.
"What are you doing, Si Nan, let go." Chen Donglai pulled Si Jiang away and twisted Si Nan's arm:
"Don't use your hands. Let's talk it over nicely."
Si Nan was dragged three feet away, his eyes wide open as he stretched out his legs to kick Qian
Guihua: "Bad woman!"
Chen Donglai quickly covered her mouth and explained to Chen Donghai awkwardly: "Children
are not sensible. You and Xiaoqian should be patient. I will send them to their grandmother's
house now."
Si Jiang refused: "No, we need to make it clear now."
Gu Ximei hugged Si Nan into her arms and said, "The child is naive and speaks nonsense. Qian
Guihua, you are not sensible either? What did my elder brother and Bei Wu do to you? Do you
become a born hooligan?"
Grandpa Chen covered his chest, groaned twice, and began to breathe heavily. Chen Dongfang
screamed: "Dad! Dad——"
The battlefield immediately shifted from the sofa to the rattan chair. This New Year's Eve was
completely ruined. Thanks to Grandpa's heart, Qian Guihua escaped the pursuit of Si Nan and Si
Jiang.
After taking the quick-acting heart-saving pill, Grandpa Chen took a long time to catch his breath.
He was helped from the rattan chair to lie flat on the bed. He sighed for a long time, then
cheered up and scolded Chen Donglai and Chen Donghai for half an hour. One of them couldn't
manage his daughter, and the other couldn't manage his wife. They didn't follow the rules and
were unworthy of being a father and a husband. They ruined such a special day for such a trivial
matter.
Gu Ximei didn't like what she heard, but the old man's heart had finally returned to normal, so
she didn't want to argue anymore. Facing Si Jiang Si Nan's expectant eyes, she only whispered a
few words of comfort and reminded them, "Forget about that matter. Don't tell grandma and
uncle when you go back, understand?" Seeing Si Nan was about to jump up again, she quickly
held her down, "What are you doing! Do you still want to give grandpa a heart attack?"
Si Jiang took Si Nan's hand, greeted A Niang and went straight downstairs.
My mother quickly took out two red envelopes from the drawer and tried to chase after her:
"Nannan, Nannan, lucky money—"
"Wouldn't it be better to give it to Ximei?" Grandpa Chen slapped the bed twice and said, "They
don't know the rules at all. Donglai, go and talk to them. They are so disrespectful to the adults."
Gu Ximei took the red envelope, silently washed Sihao's feet, trimmed his nails, cleaned his ears,
put on new clothes, held him in her arms, greeted grandpa, grandma, uncle, aunt, cousins, and
went up to the attic. No matter what, in the eyes of her parents-in-law, granddaughters are not as
precious as grandsons, grandsons are not as precious as sons, and sons are not as precious as
face. She insisted on bringing Sinan back to Urumqi, which was definitely a wise choice.
Chen Dong caught up with his two daughters when he arrived at the entrance of the cultural
center: "Si Jiang, what's wrong with you? Why did you run away before you even greeted the
adults?"
Si Jiang stood still and turned around to ask, "Dad, are you on Third Ma's side or ours?"
Sinan followed up righteously: "Dad, are you on the side of the bad guys or the good guys?"
Chen Donglai stroked her curly hair and said, "You kids are really - what good guys and bad guys?
People are very complicated and cannot be divided into good and bad. Your third mother is not a
bad person, she is just a little materialistic and a little bit talkative. When you grow up, you will
understand that things and people cannot be distinguished in black and white. Don't meddle in
other people's affairs, just take care of yourself, understand?"
"Aren't gangsters bad guys? Isn't my uncle a good guy?" Si Jiang's black and white eyes sparkled
under the dim street lights. He couldn't hold back the words he had been holding back for a long
time. "Right is right, wrong is wrong. Shouldn't right and wrong be in the human heart? Mencius
said that everyone has a heart of compassion and a heart of right and wrong. Our teacher Zhou
said that this is the biggest difference between humans and beasts. When others encounter
misfortune, they don't sympathize with her, don't help her, and spread rumors about her behind
her back to hurt her again. What's the difference between such a person and a beast? Yes, beasts
can't do such disgusting things."
Without waiting for Chen Donglai to speak, Si Jiang took a breath and said, "Dad, what if Mom or
I met a gangster? Third Mom said behind our backs that we deserved to be gangstered because
we are pretty. Do you still think it's okay? Do you still think there is no need to distinguish
between right and wrong?"
Chen Donglai was stunned for a moment, watching his two daughters holding hands and turning
into the alley. Somehow, his legs became extremely heavy, and the scene of Ximei and Sijiang
encountering hooligans emerged involuntarily in his mind. He shuddered and frowned. It was
time for Donghai to control Qian Guihua's mouth. At least she should be a good person and a
human being.

Chapter 146
The New Year's Garden Party in Xigong was brightly lit and crowded with people. There were all
kinds of stalls on the tree-lined path by the lake, and bright fireworks flew into the sky from time
to time, causing bursts of screams and exclamations.
Zhao Youning was sitting beside a large red plastic basin, catching goldfish with great interest.
Chen Sinan and Sheng Fang, a few of his followers, were holding small plastic buckets and
shouting at his legs.
"Ahhhhh, laoyi laoyi laoyi (laoyi it), that's it——"
"Oh, he escaped."
“Hahaha, number eight! Give it to me, give it to me. Long live Brother Ningning!”
Si Jiang had several oil-paper bags in his hand, the smell of stinky tofu and crabapple cakes was
mixed, and there were three candied haws left. Si Nan had bitten a bite of the top one, and the
concave surface was rusted. Jing Sheng was carrying a large bag of fireworks and holding a candy
man in his hand. Sun Wukong was fighting Nezha, the third prince. Only half of the Monkey King's
golden hoop was left, and Nezha's three heads and six arms only had one head and three arms
left. It was obviously Si Nan's work.
"Why do you need so many? Your family can't support them." Si Jiang kicked Si Nan's little butt to
remind her.
"I'll go down and release them and make eight wishes." Sinan stared at Zhao Youning's hands
without even turning his head. "Brother Ningning, why are your hands so beautiful? No wonder
you play the piano so well."
Zhao Youning couldn't help but laugh out loud: "It seems that there is no necessary connection
between these two things."
Jingsheng poked Si Nan's face impatiently with Nezha's arm: "Why make eight wishes? You didn't
release a turtle. Eat it quickly. You bought it if you wanted to. Just take a few bites. Si Jiang and I
are not your servants. Take it for yourself."
Si Nan pouted and turned half of her body to look at her elder sister: "I was beaten by Third
Mother, and my eldest cousin didn't even want to help me get a candy man--" Seeing her tearful
look, Jing Sheng frowned and took back the candy man. He knew Chen Si Nan's character very
well. This guy usually deserved to be beaten. He chuckled twice: "You didn't shed a single tear, so
stop pretending. What happened? I asked you for a long time just now and you didn't say
anything."
Jingsheng turned around and asked Si Jiang: "Why did Qian beat Si Nan? What bad thing did she
do again?"
Si Jiang saw the surprised expressions of Zhao Youning and other friends, thought for a moment,
shook his head and whispered, "Nothing."
"I didn't do anything bad! She's just a bad guy, and she even called my sister sick--" Sinan blinked,
"But my parents didn't let us tell them, because they were afraid that you and your uncle would
beat her, and that my grandpa would have a heart attack. My grandpa just had a heart attack, his
heart stopped beating, he couldn't breathe, he was wheezing--" She imitated Grandpa Chen,
staring with his eyes open, his mouth sticking out his tongue, touching his chest and gasping for
air, which made the goldfish scooping boss laugh so hard that he stuffed a small net bag into her
hand, "Hello, little Bai Xiangge girl, come here, uncle will give you three little goldfish, catch them
yourself. (Such a fun kid, come here, uncle will give you... catch them yourself)"
"Uncle, my sister got scolded, can you give me five? I'll give my sister two." Si Nan blinked her
long eyelashes and supported her cheeks like a blooming flower. Jing Sheng had goose bumps on
his arms, and he couldn't bear to watch it, so he walked forward silently: "Si Jiang, let's go, Zhao
Youning, let's go to the skating rink first."
Sinan, who had easily gotten five free goldfish, waved at them nonchalantly: "Sister, all the food is
for you, don't be sad."
Zhao Youning looked at Si Jiangjingsheng's back, hesitated for a moment, and patiently guided Si
Nan to catch the goldfish.
——
People were dancing on the skating rink, young men and women on dates were walking hand in
hand in the crowd, many children were chasing and playing in the open space beside, and the
twinkling shadows of fairy wands could be seen everywhere. Si Jiang had no interest in setting off
fireworks and playing with firecrackers, he found a place to sit down with a bunch of food in his
hands and watched the fun, thinking of the argument he had just had with his third mother and
father, he always felt that he could have refuted it better, but unfortunately there was no chance
to do it again, he only hoped that those few words of empathy would make his father not stand
on the side of "everyone".
Who are the "everyone" exactly? Si Jiang sighed, thinking of the Lu Xun that Teacher Zhou asked
them to read. Yes, how many people can be saved by studying medicine? If so many people's
ideas don't change, how can the whole country progress? For the first time, Si Jiang felt
concerned about the country and the people, and had different feelings about some of the things
that his uncle and aunt had talked about before.
"Stinky tofu is not good when it's cold." Jingsheng lowered his eyes and took a look: "Give it to
me."
"Brother, what kind of person do you think my father is?" Si Jiang moved his slightly frozen
fingers.
"Ordinary people." Jingsheng answered indifferently, sat down next to her, and took all the things
in her hands. The candy figures and candied haws were inserted in the gaps of the long chair and
swayed in the wind.
Si Jiang was silent for a moment: "What about the eldest uncle and the younger uncle?"
Jingsheng poked two holes in the stinky tofu with the bamboo stick in his hand. "My dad is an
ordinary person who refuses to accept his fate, but my uncle is a trendsetter? He is quite
advanced and ahead of ordinary people in every aspect."
Si Jiang thought about this word and suddenly realized something: "Brother, you haven't called
your uncles by their full names for a long time."
Jingsheng's face flushed and he stuffed a mouthful of stinky tofu into his mouth and swallowed it
with difficulty. Hot stinky tofu tasted fragrant, but cold stinky tofu tasted unpleasant.
"I was conceited when I was a child, but now I have grown up." Jingsheng didn't know why he
had to explain this.
"Our teacher Zhou also mentioned this word, 'Tide surfer.'" Si Jiang laughed: "He also said that
tide surfing should not be too hard, otherwise the one who is one step ahead will be a warrior,
and the one who is two steps ahead will easily become -"
"What?" Jingsheng couldn't help but become curious.
"Martyr!" Si Jiang bent over with laughter: "Of course my uncle is a warrior who is one step
ahead."
Jingsheng also laughed: "Your teacher Zhou is very interesting."
"Yes. Our class is going to organize a debate team next semester. I must sign up."
"What's wrong? Didn't you say you beat your third mother today? Or were you hit by your
father?" Jingsheng pulled off the candied haws that Si Nan had taken a bite of, and was about to
throw it away, but was snatched away by Si Jiang.
"Don't waste it! I'll eat it." Si Jiang shook the candied haws and recounted what happened tonight
naturally: "I'll only tell you one person, don't tell my uncle. If my grandfather has another heart
attack, people will say bad things about my uncle."
Jingsheng lowered his head and picked up the sugar man, just like Sun Wukong and Nezha
fighting each other.
"Brother?" Si Jiang said cautiously, "Are you angry? Don't be angry, I haven't lost either—"
Nezha's Hun Tian Ling and Qian Kun Ring were shattered in Jing Sheng's hands.
"Brother!"
Jingsheng's hands were shaking slightly, and broken candy crumbs fell from his palms onto the
withered yellow grass at his feet. Not far away, fireworks were rising into the sky, and those
pieces of dark brown caramel reflected a little bit of brilliance.
Si Jiang didn't dare to say a word, and watched nervously and bewilderedly as Sun Wukong and
Nezha were torn to pieces.
Several children ran past them, waving fairy wands and screaming. Jingsheng raised his head and
followed the stars: "My mother encountered it - that's what they said, and everyone said that."
The adults said that behind her back, and the children said it to his face. The past, which he
thought had faded away, suddenly came back with blood and caught him off guard.
Si Jiang stared at his profile in a daze. His uncle talked about his aunt in warm and beautiful past
events, and never said that she had suffered such misfortune, and his cousin Jingsheng almost
never mentioned his mother. "They said the same thing." How cruel and cold it would be to him,
Si Jiang thought for a moment and shuddered.
"Why not someone else? Why did she meet the rapist? It's because she is too beautiful and
attractive, she speaks too softly to people, she likes to wear nice clothes, and refuses to cut her
hair short, so she--" Jingsheng choked a few times and took a few deep breaths: "They said she
was dirty, she didn't hang herself, drink pesticides, or jump into the Lancang River, but she was
afraid of death, so she deserved to be pregnant with an unclean bastard like me--"
Si Jiang gritted her teeth and dared not cry, but her vision was blurry. She shook her head and
wanted to comfort him, but she couldn't utter a word.
"I was a bastard when I was a child. I even asked her why she didn't jump into the river, why she
had to be gossiped about, why she had to be called a slut—" Jingsheng raised his head, staring at
the fireworks in the sky. He didn't even have the time to say sorry or thank you to her, let alone
let her know that he had never forgotten her.
I don't know if it was time, but as if it was scheduled, firecrackers suddenly exploded from all
directions, one after another, fireworks competed to rise into the sky, the smell of sulfur became
stronger and stronger, and my ears were buzzing. Jingsheng was pulled back by the deafening
noise and pungent smell. After calming down for a while, he turned his head and looked at Si
Jiang and shouted loudly: "You said it very well, really, very well." He paused and pulled the
corner of his mouth: "Thank you." If time could go back, he hoped that he could also say these
words that Si Jiang said to those so-called "big people" in a resounding manner, instead of
venting his anger on her like a bastard and a coward.
Si Jiang sniffed, moved closer to Jingsheng, took out a handkerchief to clean the sugar crumbs left
on his palm, and the tip of the long bamboo stick pierced his palm.
"Brother, does it hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt." Jingsheng raised his hand and covered Sijiang's nose with a handkerchief in
time: "Your snot is about to fall."
Si Jiang covered his face in embarrassment. His nose didn't run, but tears did. How could it not
hurt? He must have been in so much pain.
Chen Siqi held two extinguished fairy sticks in her hands, and gently moved away from the big
tree next to them. After walking a few steps, she couldn't help but look back at Jingsheng and
Sijiang, and then quickened her pace. She saw Zhao Youning and Sinan and a group of people
from afar. She quickly hid to the side and turned her back to pretend to look at the lanterns. Her
heart was still pounding. She suspected that she had misheard, but she seemed to understand
something. No wonder people in Wanchun Street said that Gu Jingsheng was not his father's
biological son, no wonder Sijiang got so angry and talked nonsense about the woman's matter,
and no wonder Sinan dared to hit his mother. She was shocked, suspicious, and afraid, and finally
it was her turn to be angry, and there was also an inexplicable sense of righteousness.

Chapter 147
The dazzling fireworks rustled and dissipated in the night sky, with a slow motion like a video
tape. Si Jiang had an illusion that the last few stars paused on the lake for a few seconds before
reluctantly sinking into the water. She remembered the year when she stood alone in the alley to
watch the fireworks. It was Jingsheng who came back and found her, and blocked the exploding
fireworks for her, burning her scalp and hair. She cried several times on that New Year's Eve, and
she couldn't hold back her tears again on this New Year's Eve.
On New Year's Day in 2000, the junior high school classmates had a reunion for the 18th
anniversary of their acquaintance. The wealthy second-generation Lin Zhuoyu set off fireworks
for fifteen minutes beside the Dianshan Lake. The colorful number "18" twirled and flashed in the
air one after another. Si Jiang, who had drunk a few too many glasses, suddenly remembered that
it seemed that the fireworks on New Year's Eve always made her cry every year. The extreme
beauty would break her heart, and the pain and sadness would also break her heart. The
excitement of the first day of the new year and the repeated greetings of "Wish you a happy new
year" were like the plaster on Jingsheng's leg, temporarily sealing those tears and feelings, and
then after 365 days, they were exploded by the fireworks in the sky. All the bits and pieces
became thicker as if fermented, the sweet became sweeter, the sour became sourer, and the
bitter became more bitter. Similarly, the figure of the man who had always accompanied her to
watch the fireworks never left, and his proportion in her life became more and more. He
accompanied her for two-thirds of her life journey. From a certain perspective, she and he had
already merged into one, sharing each other's joys and sorrows. No matter rich or poor, no
matter healthy or sick, no matter good or bad times, no matter how far away, she and he were
inseparable. It was a pity that she understood it too late and was not brave enough.
——
After Zhao Youning accompanied Si Nan to release a whole bucket of goldfish, he felt a little guilty
when he saw Si Jiang and Jing Sheng. When Si Nan made a wish, she told him everything that
happened to them at Grandpa's house, and asked him to pretend that he didn't know. Zhao
Youning felt that it was a bit difficult to make Si Jiang believe that he didn't know anything,
especially after seeing that she cried, he wanted to support her.
He somewhat agrees with what Sijiang's father said. People are of course very complicated.
When Mum left home and him, his father's relatives would criticize and belittle her every time
they met. He always refuted them seriously. Mum was not a so-called bad woman who
abandoned her husband and children. She had her pain and difficulties. Not everyone can make a
choice easily, and gain and loss are not so simple to distinguish. He didn't want Mum to become
the topic of conversation for those who talk about it. But some things are right and wrong, and
they cannot be confused. Sijiang stood up for strangers, like a chivalrous woman. She fought
against the entire adult world alone for justice and morality. She was braver than him, and he
admired her very much.
After a whole bag of fairy sticks was used up, the skating rink closed, the garden party was
coming to an end, and the young and old walked out together. The steps and curbs outside the
West Palace Gate were covered with red confetti. Zhao Youning suggested going to his house for
ice bricks, and Shengfang Sinan and the others jumped for joy.
"That's not a good idea. It will disturb your father." Si Jiang shook his head. Both his mother and
grandmother had said that it was not appropriate to visit other people's homes on New Year's
Eve.
"My dad's not here."
"Ah?" Sinan grabbed Zhao Youning's sleeve in surprise: "Where is your dad? Why didn't he spend
New Year's Eve with you? Is he going to marry a new wife?"
"Chen Sinan!" Si Jiang grabbed Sinan and said, "Don't be so rude. Zhao Youning, I'm sorry--"
"It's okay. Yes, my dad is getting married after the Spring Festival." Zhao Youning looked normal.
He reached out and tapped Si Nan's forehead: "Nan Nan, you are too smart."
Si Jiang was stunned. He carefully approached Zhao Youning and whispered a few words. Zhao
Youning smiled gently and shook his head. Si Nan sighed in disappointment and suddenly held his
hand tightly: "I really want to eat the ice cubes in your refrigerator. They are so delicious. Brother
Ningning, do you have bananas at home?"
"Yes, and waffles, I'll make you a big banana boat." Zhao Youning said with a smile. Sheng Fang
and a few others also shouted that everyone who listened would get a share, but it was obvious
that they were pretending to be happy.
Jingsheng and Sijiang looked at each other, and followed the main force into Kangjia Bridge.
The Zhao family's front door is covered with door gods, spring couplets and wedding pillars,
which looks very festive. However, there is no Chinese New Year atmosphere as soon as you
enter the house. There are no piles of flashy red gift boxes, nor too many snacks and fruits. The
vase on the piano is empty.
"Please sit anywhere." Zhao Youning took off his coat, shook the thermos, and asked Jingsheng
and Si Jiang to help him get a few plates and spoons from the glass cabinet.
Sinan opened the piano in a familiar manner and poked a few keys. The ding-dong sound added a
little warmth to the cold house.
"Brother Ningning, can you play a New Year song later? I want to listen to the children. Don't be
greedy. The New Year will come after Laba Festival."
"Hahaha, that's a nursery rhyme. I'll try my best. Don't be disappointed if I can't play it well."
"Children's songs are also songs. You are so good at it, you will definitely be able to do it." Sinan
clapped his hands with a smile: "On the 23rd, stick sugar melons, on the 24th, sweep the house,
on the 25th, grind tofu, on the 26th, buy meat, on the 27th, slaughter the rooster, on the 28th,
make the noodles rise, on the 29th, steam the buns, and on the 30th, stay up all night—"
Si Jiang glanced at Zhao Youning several times, and seeing that he didn't look upset at all, he
couldn't help but add another sentence: "Then does your dad know that you are here alone?"
"I know. I called him when I came back." Zhao Youning made a few glasses of orange drinks:
"Here, you guys drink this fruit juice. It tastes better than orange water. My mother brought it
back to China before, saying that NASA Everyone drinks this, it’s very nutritious. I feel the same
after drinking it.”
A group of friends gathered around the dining table, holding hot Guozhen, and gave their
comments in a decent manner. Jing Sheng remained silent. He admired Zhao Youning a little now.
His mother left him and went abroad. In a blink of an eye, his father was about to marry his
stepmother, but he didn't seem to be affected at all. The China Welfare Festival will be held after
the festival. He saw Zhao Youning's name on the list of contestants for the city's Youth Computer
Basic Language Competition. The teacher at the Children's Palace said that Zhao Youning was the
seed contestant and had a high chance of winning the top three.
"If there is a stepmother, there will be a stepfather." Sinan reminded Zhao Youning seriously:
"Brother Ningning, you must be careful."
The steel spoon Zhao Youning was using to dig out the ice bricks slipped, and he couldn't help but
rub her curly hair: "Hahaha, thank you Nannan."
"I'm serious!" Sinan was unhappy. He turned his head to avoid his hand and widened his eyes. "If
you are unhappy, just say it. Don't pretend to be happy. That's not good."
"Okay, if I'm unhappy I'll tell you first."
"Yeah. So where did you have your New Year's Eve dinner? At my stepmother's house?" Sinan
pulled off a banana with force.
"No, I ate at my grandfather's house." Zhao Youning put two waffles and peeled bananas on the
ice, finished the first banana boat, and handed it to Sinan: "I have an uncle, an aunt, and two
aunts. There are nearly 20 people eating together at the New Year's Eve dinner. It's as lively as
your family, but they like to talk about my mother. I argued with them for a few words, and the
adults were a little unhappy, so I came back early."
"Did they say bad things about your mother?" Sinan asked for everyone else, and then answered
his own question: "But your mother is not good to you - but she is your mother after all - it is only
right for you to help her, right?"
Zhao Youning smiled and nodded.
Si Jiang silently took the banana boat, wondering if Zhao Youning's father and that woman met
after his mother left, or if they knew each other before. If it were her, she would definitely not be
as indifferent as Zhao Youning. Although her parents had only a few days with her, she
immediately broke out in sweat when she thought that they would get divorced one day.
"When I was in the second and third grade, I thought my parents' quarrels were all because of my
fault." Zhao Youning took a big bite of ice brick: "At that time, I didn't know anything. I just
worked hard on the questions and played the piano. I had to get first place. It seemed that if I did
this, they would go back to the past. When I was a child, I lived in the cowshed in Fengxian. The
conditions were very poor, but we were still a happy family."
"It's not your fault." Jingsheng suddenly said this when everyone didn't know what to say.
"Yes. I've figured it out now." Zhao Youning paused and said, "It's not my parents' fault. They
didn't want to do that."
Sinan didn't understand this. His mother didn't want him anymore, so how could it not be her
fault? Brother Ningning was too pitiful.
"Adults who talk bad about women behind their backs are the worst." Si Jiang used a spoon to
cut the banana into two pieces.
"It's easiest to point fingers at others," Zhao Youning has a lot of experience in this. "Some people
can only feel superior when they laugh at and blame others and gloat over their misfortunes." He
thought of his aunt and aunt, who never liked his mother, so when he criticized his mother, they
were as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood.
This topic aroused everyone's interest and resonance. Si Jiang concealed his name and gave a
brief account of the follow-up to the Kong Jianglu case. Everyone at the table angrily scolded the
gossipers and talked about similar things around them. Sheng Fang said that when his classmates
who always had good grades occasionally failed the exam, many idiots would be very happy, as if
they could surpass them.
Si Nan mentioned that once during the Chinese New Year, Mrs. Liang had fifty yuan stolen from
her in the county town. She was so angry that she cried. Someone even said behind her back,
"Who told her to carry so much money around to attract thieves? If not her, who else should be
stolen? Anyway, Director Liang has a way of getting money, blah blah..."
The conversation turned into a mass accusation. Si Jiang even brought up the "Diary of a
Madman" which was highly praised by Teacher Zhou: "I opened the history book and found that
it had no dates, and the words "benevolence, righteousness, morality" were written on every
page. I couldn't sleep anyway, so I read carefully for half the night and finally saw the words
between the lines. The whole book was filled with the words "eat people"!"
"Why would morality turn into cannibalism?" Sinan asked when he didn't understand.
The new round of seminars was in full swing. When leaving Zhao Youning's house, Sinan sighed:
"I feel like I have become smarter after talking to Brother Ningning."
Jingsheng and Sijiang: “???”
Sinan silently wavered in her life plan once again: for the sake of the banana boat and becoming
smarter, she would rather marry Ningning's brother in the future. After all, he is all alone, and his
biological father and mother don't love him, while the eldest cousin at least has his uncle.
——
The sound of firecrackers gradually died down, and only a few lights were still on. Qian Guihua lay
on the big bunk bed in the attic of the Chen family, not wanting to sleep at all. She ate two too
many dumplings, which made her throat itchy. She also felt a kind of pleasure that made her
scalp numb and tremble. She turned over. There was a cloud of mist on the glass window, and
the street lights outside the dormer window became increasingly dim. Si Qi beside her muttered
something in her sleep and huddled up. Qian Guihua listened carefully, but she couldn't hear
anything clearly. But it didn't matter, because the "secret" she had whispered to herself before
was very clear.
Cards were still being played in the living room downstairs. The smell of cigarettes filled the
narrow space through the gaps in the wood. Men's laughter and curses could be heard from time
to time. Grandpa Chen's snoring was more penetrating than the smell of cigarettes. Suddenly
someone dropped the cards on the table, and the chair made a harsh squeaking sound as it
rubbed against the floor. Chen Sihao on the loft bed groaned twice, and Gu Ximei patted her
hands in a daze. The son repeated unconsciously: "Sleep high." I’m asleep (Nanny), I’m sleepy.”
Qian Guihua was not sure whether Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei knew the true origin of Gu
Jingsheng. She guessed that they did not know, otherwise Chen Donglai would not have taught
her a lesson so righteously just now. Who did he think he was? If she was not afraid that Grandpa
would have another heart attack, she would not listen to his sanctimonious words, such as being
a man with conscience and justice. He really acted like a big brother. Bah, did he give them
money or help them arrange jobs? Si Qiang and Si Qi had never received a penny from their uncle
and aunt since they grew up. He and his wife had done nothing for so many years, and spent so
much money and effort on their parents-in-law. Their conscience and justice were gone. They
even had the nerve to say that she, their brother's wife, was wrong. They were shameless. Now
there was a rapist and a slut's child in the family. She wanted to see if they still had conscience
and justice.
Thinking of Gu Dongwen's smiling face and the legends she had heard about him, Qian Guihua
felt a little cold again. She wrapped the quilt tightly, and the excitement she had just felt
completely disappeared.

Chapter 148
Looking back, many things actually have traces to follow.
On the first day of the new year, Si Jiangsnan went back to the Chen family to pay New Year's
greetings, and he felt that Si Qi was a little strange. In previous years, she always compared the
lucky money with others, but now she hid aside and didn't say a word. When he asked her
questions, she always looked away.
"What are you doing? You're acting like a thief. Hey, are you going to watch Old Things in the
South of Beijing tomorrow? My cousin is treating." The five-spice beans in Sinan's mouth made a
crunching sound. Chen Siqi, who usually cried and shouted to join in group activities, shuddered
in fear and shook her head repeatedly.
"Take us there." Chen Siqiang and Chen Simin came over: "Will your aunt come back tomorrow?
Will Zhao Da, Er, and San come?" The three brothers were very wealthy. Every time they went out
together, they would buy whatever they wanted, from fried wontons to big red sausages and
orange juice.
"It's because of them that we're going to go out together. Let's go to the Huaihai Road Guotai to
watch a movie first, then go to Lao Dachang to eat Western food, and then go to Fuxing Park to
ride the electric train. Don't be too excited." Sinan waved his hand carelessly: "If you want to go
together, gather at the entrance of the cultural center at 10 o'clock. Ningning, brother Shengfang
and the others will also come with you."
"Du Jingsheng is treating us? It must be 20 or 30 yuan." Chen Siqiang was shocked. He only had
two yuan of pocket money a month. Gu Jingsheng was too rich. Alas, father compared father, and
the son was the one who was mad to death.
Sinan laughed: "My eldest cousin is rich. My uncle gave him two hundred yuan as a New Year's
gift last night! Two hundred yuan!"
Si Jiang was inadvertently opened a new door to martial arts by Chen Sijun's "Legends of the Past
and Present". He didn't raise his head until he heard the two hundred yuan: "You are the worst.
You always blackmail me. You have no conscience."
"Two hundred yuan!!!" Chen Shimin and Chen Siqiang looked at each other in bewilderment. This
was equivalent to half a year's salary for adults. They were extremely envious, but jealousy was
useless.
"How can there be such a good father like your uncle in the world - does he still need a son to
marry into the family?" Chen Siqiang lamented.
Qian Guihua went upstairs with the big bream that was left untouched last night. Hearing this, he
looked down at the complacent Sinan and scolded his son: "Are you really screwed up? Let your
old man teach you a lesson. You are always trying to get close to others no matter how fragrant
or smelly they are, and your eyes are always on your buttocks."
"It's just a joke." Chen Siqiang said stubbornly with a pout.
Seeing what she said was unpleasant, Si Jiang threw the magazine and stood up. Before he could
say anything, Chen Donghai, who was reading a newspaper at the dining table, looked up and got
angry at his wife: "Are you crazy? Clean your mouth during the New Year. You keep talking about
this and that all day long. Do you want to go and clean your mouth? Is it your turn for Dongdong
to talk nonsense? You are looking for death, XX. You are going to curse for a day!"
Qian Guihua had not expected that her husband would suddenly lose face in front of the younger
generation of the family. She was so angry that she almost overturned the plate of "Nian Nian
You Yu (Yu)".
"Alright!" Grandpa Chen leaned on the bed and patted the edge of the bed twice: "The first day
of the new year should be too peaceful! Donghai, you have to go to the East Sea to clean your
mouth."
Chen Donghai took out a cigarette, looked at Qian Guihua with disdain, and went downstairs to
smoke. Qian Guihua spat at his back: "One day you will know that marrying a wife like Wugeng is
much better than Ningga." In his heart, he couldn't help but curse Chen Donghai, this coward,
who was like a dough in front of the Gu family, and only dared to be mean to his wife and
children at home.
——
On the second day of the Chinese New Year, Gu Nanhong brought the three Zhao brothers back
to her parents' home with a thick stack of lucky money, as if she was competing with Gu
Dongwen. Si Nan was extremely envious: "Cousin, you are already half a thousand yuan
household, wow, it would be great if we could have another New Year's Eve tomorrow."
Gu Nanhong scratched her nose and said, "If you break your leg, I'll give you a few hundred yuan
as New Year's gift. Would you do it?"
Sinan watched Jingsheng put on a cast, take it off, use crutches and throw away the crutches in
the past few months. He worked out like a dog every day to recover. She shook her head and
said, "No, I'll consider it if it's a few thousand yuan. Forget it, it's too painful." She should marry
her cousin, so that her cousin's money will also be hers. Sinan thought of a solution happily, and
her eyes became treacherous when she looked at Jingsheng. Jingsheng pushed her away
vigilantly, "Go away, stay away from me. You must have bad intentions again."
A dozen children rushed out of Wanchun Street. Gu Nanhong had lunch at home, drank a small
bowl of red date tea, and chatted with Gu Dongwen for a long time. Seeing her mother sorting
out the large and small bags she brought, she suddenly shouted, "Mom, don't touch the two big
gift boxes at the bottom. They are for Aunt Liu. I'll go and deliver them now."
Granny Gu was stunned: "Who?"
"My brother's matchmaker." Gu Nanhong took out a small mirror to touch up her lipstick and
winked at Shanrang: "You don't know yet? My brother is in love with a nurse. They hooked up
when Jingsheng was in the hospital."
Shan Rang was shocked and quickly asked for details. Gu Dongwen pretended to kick Nan Hong
and squeezed out his cigarette with a smile: "Bullshit, you said it so harshly. No one in our family
would hook up with anyone except you."
"Keep pretending." Nan Hong rolled her eyes. "You're so stuffy and coquettish that I can smell it
even from Jing'an Temple even though you're in Wanchun Street, okay?"
Shanrang laughed so hard that he fell backwards. Looking at the two siblings laughing and
scolding freely, he felt sincerely happy for Dongwen.
"Brother! Come on, Jingsheng's mother must want you to live a happy life." Shanrang couldn't
help but choke up when he mentioned Susu: "Really, if I did that, I hope Beiwu can still find
someone he likes--"
"Puh, puh, puh!" Nan Hong slapped Shan Rang in the face. "Why are you saying this on New
Year's Day? It's really unbearable for you high-level intellectuals to be sad about the passing of
time all the time."
Shanrang wiped his tears and smiled and said sorry. Granny Gu couldn't help but say something
to Shanrang with a straight face, and finally couldn't help but sigh: "The fourth child is actually
more stubborn than the eldest child. All of you, live your lives well and stop messing around."
Nanhong quarreled with Dongwen for a few more words, and then went out happily. When she
arrived at Aunt Liu's house, no one was there. The neighbor said that Aunt Liu had gone to the
cultural center. Nanhong went to the cultural center again with the gift box in her hand.
The entrance to the cultural center was decorated with red lights and there was a bustling crowd
inside. The residents' committee were busy arranging fun activities for the residents of Wanchun
Street. Some were cutting paper, making kites, tying Chinese knots, doing calligraphy, singing Yue
opera, teaching Tai Chi, playing go, chess and bridge, and even holding raffles. The stalls were set
up on a large scale, and many people of all ages in the alleys were busy participating.
Nanhong asked several people and saw from afar that Aunt Liu was surrounded by a group of
people. She quickly squeezed over, but when she got closer, she found that everyone who saw
her had a strange look on their faces and quickly left.
"Alas, Jingsheng's child is so miserable. Who would have thought that such an ambitious and
good-looking boy, his biological father is actually a rapist! You have all seen it, right? His mother's
photo is hung in the Dongsheng cafeteria. What a beautiful woman. It's a pity that women who
are too beautiful will attract trouble and lead people to commit crimes. Their lives are really
fragile. Alas, it's fortunate that Gu Dongwen is broad-minded and doesn't despise him at all. He
brought this child back and treated him as his own child——"
Aunt Liu coughed twice and spoke awkwardly: "Nanhong - Happy New Year."
The aunts and mothers who were listening to the gossip all stopped and exclaimed.
"Oh, Nanhong is back."
Qian Guihua's scalp numbed. She turned around and put on a smile, but before she could say
anything, she was slapped twice in the face. The pain made her see stars.
For the first time, the residents of Wanchun Street, young and old, knew that it was not only Gu
Dongwen and Gu Beiwu in the Gu family who knew how to fight, but Gu Nanhong also knew how
to beat people, and did so very ferociously.
Nanhong stuffed the gift box in her hand to Aunt Liu: "Director Liu, thank you for helping my
brother to be a matchmaker. Eighteen pigs' trotters are indispensable when they get married.
(Thank you for helping my brother to be a matchmaker. Eighteen pigs' trotters are indispensable
when they get married.)"
"What are you doing? Why are you hitting me?" Qian Guihua shouted while covering her face.
The people around saw that Gu Nanhong's face didn't look like the end of the matter after two
slaps, so they quickly pushed Qian Guihua out, and someone else went to pull Nanhong out.
"Alright, alright, we are all family, forget it."
"Nanhong, your coat is so nice, where did you buy it?"
"There are some things that are not good to say, please keep your mouth shut next time. (There
are some things that are not good to say, please keep your mouth shut next time.)"
Nan Hong pushed everyone aside, strode to the threshold and grabbed Qian Guihua's big waves:
"Chen Donghai's last beating was too light, and you still can't control your mouth, right? You have
time to chew my brother's tongue, come on, keep chewing, I'm listening."
Qian Guihua screamed in pain and half fell on the threshold: "Gu Nanhong, you are crazy! Let
go!"
"Pa pa" he got slapped twice more.
Gu Nanhong grabbed her and walked out: "Come on, if you have the guts, say it again in front of
my brother."
"Murder - help -" Qian Guihua was so scared that her soul was about to fly out of her body:
"What am I talking about? These are real things, how can I not talk about them?"
"Call me Nong Gang, you can say it a hundred times. Let's go, let's go, let's go." Gu Nanhong
pushed away the neighbors who came to rescue Qian Guihua, and pulled her forward a few
steps. There was a chaos in front of the cultural center.
The three Chen Donglai brothers rushed over, and Gu Ximei rushed forward to pry Nanhong's
hands apart: "Are you crazy? Why are you hitting people?"
Chen Donghai pulled Qian Guihua up from the ground and apologized to Nanhong sincerely:
"Nanhong, don't worry, I will teach her a lesson when I get home, and I will go to your house to
apologize to Brother Dongdong in person in the evening. Don't hit her, it's not worth it to hurt
your hands. It's my fault for not taking good care of my wife. If you really want to vent your anger,
just hit me."
The onlookers were all stunned. Was Chen Donghai crazy? Looking at Gu Dongwen, who was
smiling sinisterly behind Chen Donglai, they understood. In such a cold day, Gu Dongwen came
over wearing only a shirt. Did he want to make a move or hold hands?
Nanhong didn't notice that Gu Dongwen had arrived. She was so shocked by Chen Donghai's
words that she didn't come back to her senses. Qian Guihua, who was opposite her, suddenly
jumped up and scratched Chen Donghai's face with two claws: "Chen Donghai, you are so mean. I
knew you were having an affair with Gu Nanhong! Bastard! Your wife was beaten by an outsider
and you still threw your face in front of him. Are you still a man? No wonder you stare blankly
every time you see her, you conscienceless dog!"

Chapter 149
Under the watchful eyes of the public, things suddenly took a turn, and Chen Donghai and his
wife quarreled and fought, which was unexpected for the residents of Wanchun Street. As for
whether Chen Donghai really still missed Gu Nanhong, who knows, but it just added another joke
to everyone's gossip. In Wanchun Street, there were at least 80 men who missed Gu Nanhong.
This happened decades ago. Anyone who still holds on to this is either mentally ill or too narrow-
minded.
Chen Donghai had a certain severity when he hit her. He had to beat her. The mess the old
woman had made was too big. She couldn't take back what she had said. The key point was that
she was too wicked. After all, the Chen and Gu families were in-laws. Who could be so foolish as
to cheat their own relatives? Besides, who was Gu Dongwen? If he held a grudge, it would be a
minor thing for him to break his hands and feet for no reason on his way home one day. But Qian
Guihua was such a wicked and foolish woman. She was overwhelmed by jealousy and shame.
After being beaten by Chen Donghai for a few times, she tore and bit her nails, and all the dirty
words she heard in the factory came out. After a few hits, Chen Donghai was at a disadvantage.
He couldn't scold or beat her, and he was in a mess. Si Qi followed Chen Aye and Chen A Niang
and arrived. The younger one cried and the older one scolded, but it was useless.
Granny Gu ran over with a broom in her hand, and swept it across Qian Guihua's face without
any hesitation. "I've never seen a woman with such a mean mouth and such a dark heart. Chen
Laosan was really blind to marry you. When my Ximei was pregnant with Sinan, you lied to Sijiang
that your parents didn't want you anymore, causing her to run to the train station to find her
parents at the age of four. Now you're trying to harm my grandson. You have sons and daughters
yourself, and you can say such things. Why doesn't the thunder strike you? If the thunder doesn't
strike you, I, an old woman, will!"
Qian Guihua was hit by two brooms, and then Chen Donghai grabbed her arm and scolded her.
She was so angry that she stiffened her neck and shouted, "What did I say? Can't I praise your Gu
Dongwen for his magnanimity? Can't I pity your grandson for his bad fate? What did I say wrong?
It's not like I killed his mother to give birth to him, and I didn't say that the son of a murderer will
also be a murderer in the future - ah!"
"That's enough! How dare you spread rumors? You're looking for death!" Chen Donghai's hand
went numb from the slap he gave him. His face turned ashen, and he watched from the corner of
his eye as Gu Dongwen pushed Chen Donglai away and was about to come over, so he slapped
him again with his backhand.
Si Qi clutched the corner of A'niang's clothes and argued while sobbing: "Mother didn't spread
rumors. I heard with my own ears that Brother Jingsheng said this to Si Jiang. Mother didn't say
anything wrong—" Her voice was too soft and no one noticed.
Qian Guihua held her face in her hands for a moment: "My ears? I can't hear anything with this
ear--" She tilted her ear to listen to what the people around her were saying, and there was a
sharp whistling sound in her left ear, which was muffled and swollen.
Chen Donghai grabbed her arm and walked back: "Don't play dead, come over and apologize to
Brother Dongwen, you can bow and kowtow. If Brother Dongwen doesn't nod, you must come
with me to get the divorce certificate immediately."
"Chen Donghai, you dead man, you beat me deaf, how dare you beat me deaf?" Qian Guihua
jumped up in his hands like a dying fish out of water, desperately shouting the names of several
cadres in the neighborhood committee: "Help, I want to find the police, Director Liu, please help
me call the police, I was really beaten deaf - Chen Donghai, you bastard, divorce me if you want, I
will also sue you, you should go to jail, and you, Gu Nanhong, you also beat me, I will sue you too,
you can't run away, you all have to go to jail!"
When Aunt Liu and several other cadres saw that a small matter had turned into a big one and
that a big thing had happened, they quickly gathered around.
Looking at Qian Guihua who was like a mad tiger, Nanhong pushed Dongwen to her mother and
shook her wrist as if to go forward again: "Okay, since you want to sue me anyway, I will hit you a
few more times to make sure it's not a loss. Donghai, get out of the way and don't get involved in
our women's affairs. Qian Guihua, how about I hit you today? I have wanted to hit you for a long
time, but you are so shameless that you beat around the bush and asked my man to bring you
something from abroad, and you also specifically asked me to buy the same thing. Bah, you are
worthy!"
Seeing that Qian Guihua was covering her ears and it didn't look fake, Chen Donghai quickly held
Nanhong's hand and said, "Sister, go slow. I was a little heavy-handed just now. Let's take a break
and see if her ears are okay."
Grandpa supported Chen A Niang, gasped for a few times and fell back. Brothers Chen Donglai
and Chen Dongfang quickly supported the old man and asked Ximei to call an ambulance. The
scene was in chaos. Ximei ran to the public telephone booth in a daze, shuddering several times.
She thought again and again. Although Si Qi's voice was low just now, she heard it clearly. Didn't
Qian Guihua make up rumors? Big brother, Beiwu and mother never mentioned this matter.
Jingsheng's biological father was actually a rapist? How did his mother die? Jingsheng's child -
Ximei thought of Jingsheng's various good things, and remembered the way his family kept his
mother secret, and couldn't help but feel confused.
——
Everyone in Wanchun Street knew more or less that Chen Donghai would beat his wife. The farce
caused by the two lipsticks was sometimes treated as a laughing stock, but on the second day of
the Chinese New Year, he beat his wife so hard that she became deaf in her left ear in front of
hundreds of neighbors and neighborhood committee cadres. It was really shocking. Then
Grandpa Chen was so angry that he had a heart attack. The ambulance took the person to the
hospital. The neighborhood committee protected the injured woman, and the police car took
Chen Donghai to the police station. This Spring Festival of the Year of the Pig was in chaos.
Qian Guihua cried heartbreakingly in the police station, demanding a physical examination of her
injuries and asking the police to help her deal with Chen Donghai, the heartless bastard who had
betrayed her.
"Have you thought it through?" the policewoman asked coldly, "After the injury is examined, it
won't be a civil dispute anymore."
"What could that be?" Qian Guihua covered her face in shock and pushed Si Qi, who was crying
in her arms, away.
"Being deafened is at least a minor injury, or possibly a second-degree minor injury." The female
police officer flipped through the old case files and glanced at Qian Guihua. "Detain him for ten
days first, and he can be sentenced to three years. But there is a new document this year. This
kind of beating of women in public is considered hooliganism. If the situation is serious and
causes intense public outrage, the sentence can be ten or eight years."
Qian Guihua was startled and stood up suddenly: "That won't do!" As she stood there, she
suddenly felt a tinnitus in her left ear, which had been deaf to nothing just now. It was stuffy and
swollen. She quickly sat down, covering her left ear tightly with a look of pain on her face.
The policewoman had seen many family disputes like this. She closed the case file and asked, "So
what do you want to do? Do you want to accept mediation from the neighborhood committee?"
Qian Guihua was in a dilemma. She nodded reluctantly and asked, "Then there was someone
who slapped me four times. Can I let her go to jail? That woman was crazy. She slapped me so
hard that it hurt so much."
The policewoman looked at her with a strange look in her eyes: "Did she beat you to deafness?"
"This is hard to say. There should be a connection. There must be a connection."
"You need witness evidence and a medical report, then you can sue." The female police officer
stood up and said, "But your husband admitted that he deafened your left ear. You will be sent to
jail for false accusation. Think carefully."
Qian Guihua started crying again. What was going on? She just wanted the police to teach Chen
Donghai a lesson. She didn't want him to go to jail. What would she do if he went to jail? What
would happen to her son and daughter? It should be Gu Nanhong who should go to jail. Why did
he confess to the crime? Gu Nanhong's four slaps made her ears buzz for a long time. She would
never believe that he didn't have Gu Nanhong in his heart. She was the one who was deaf in one
ear. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. The more she thought about it, the more
wronged she felt. Chen Siqi hugged her mother's waist and cried: "Mom, don't let Dad go to jail.
Please, let's go home." The mother and daughter cried together, a tragedy.
——
The Gu family was also in chaos.
After returning home, Grandma Gu cursed Qian Guihua to death. Nanhong advised Dongwen not
to take it to heart. It was retribution for the gossiper to be deafened by her husband. There was
no need to dirty her hands. Now it is different from the past. If you hurt someone, you will go to
jail. It is not worth it for such rubbish. Shanrang was worried that people's words were scary and
Jingsheng would be hurt. Gu Ximei sat there for a long time, and suddenly asked, "You all know
about this, right?"
The living room fell silent. Grandma Gu thought about it carefully and realized that no one had
mentioned Su Su to Ximei. Gu Dongwen frowned and glanced at Ximei.
Shan Rang said softly, "When my eldest brother went to Beijing to petition, he mentioned a few
things to us when he was drunk—"
"How do you know?" Ximei stared at Nanhong and asked.
Nan Hong sneered: "I have eyes and a mouth, so I can ask, why? Are you feeling uncomfortable
again? Or do you want to help your sister-in-law?"
"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Ximei's neck tilted slightly to the right and her chin raised. This
home has always been like this. It is Gu Dongwen, Gu Nanhong and Gu Beiwu's home, and it has
never been her, Gu Ximei's home. She is always the last to know about anything.
"Thirteen o'clock, here we go again." Nanhong was too lazy to pay attention to her and turned to
suggest that Gu Dongwen take Jingsheng to move out of Wanchun Street. "There are quite a lot
of public housing for rent outside now, and it's just over ten yuan a month. Shanli mentioned last
time that there are several vacant rooms in the building where his dormitory is located. The
monthly rent for a two-bedroom, one-living room apartment is only seven yuan and twenty. It's
close to Jingsheng's school and store. If you move there, you won't have to listen to the messy
gossip in the alley." Shanli mentioned that house when he heard that she was going to resign and
find a place to live in the city. This was a good deal to use it to accommodate Jingsheng and the
others.
"I'm asking you!" Ximei stood up suddenly, tears streaming down her face, "Why didn't you tell
anyone? What do you think I am? I'm not your biological son, am I? I was picked up on the
street? When Jingsheng went to Xinjiang with me, he was in Xinjiang for one year. It's been five
or six years now, and you kept it a secret. What do you mean? Qian Guihua knew it before me?"
Shanrang was about to explain when Nanhong jumped up and said, "You have a mouth but don't
ask, and you blame others? What have you ever cared about for your elder brother? How much
hardship has he gone through, how much hardship has Jingsheng and his mother gone through,
do you care? Don't act like we are on guard against you and will hurt you all day long. It's you
who ran away to Xinjiang when you got angry, not me. It's also you who said that you would
never spend a penny from the family again. Were you picked up? Did the things that my mother
and Beiwu sent to Xinjiang over the years just get fed to the dogs?"
Ximei pursed her lips, wiped away her tears, and her teeth chattered.
"What are you worried about? Are you worried that Jingsheng's background will embarrass you
and the Chen family? Or did you listen to Qian Guihua's nonsense and worry that Jingsheng will
also be a rapist in the future? Gu Ximei, check your conscience and ask yourself, if you have even
the slightest idea of this, do you really want to be called Gu?" Nanhong frowned, her words
oozing with coldness, "Then I dare not acknowledge you as my sister. You and your wife should go
back to Xinjiang quickly, and don't let us ruin your good reputation, if you have any good
reputation at all."
Ximei had never won an argument with Nanhong. She was choked by her and couldn't say
anything back. After a long while, she cried and stammered, "You don't have a daughter, you
know..."
The corners of Gu Dongwen's eyes twitched twice, and he looked at Ximei coldly, with veins
bulging on the back of his hand holding the teacup.
Ximei cried and shook her head: "Brother, that's not what I meant. I know Jingsheng is a good kid.
He helped me a lot in Xinjiang, but if this gets out, Jingsheng will be the one who suffers the
most. What will people say about him behind his back, and Sijiang——"
Grandma Gu was completely exhausted, staring at Ximei in a daze. She wanted to say something
to her but finally sighed deeply. For so many years, she was the only one in the family who was
stupid. No matter how much she said, it was useless. She always felt that she was right. She
suffered the most. Her brothers, sisters and brothers all disliked her. Her parents were the most
partial to Nanhong. God knows, the family spent the most money on her since she was a child.
She learned to play a piano, which cost five yuan a month decades ago. Dongwen Nanhong went
to the vegetable market to pick up rotten leaves every day before closing. She was very happy
when she saw a dead fish in a month. She had never washed a bowl since she was a child.
Dongwen Nanhong washed them all, fearing that she would hurt her hands and could not play
the piano. After she ran to Xinjiang, she cried for her family to save her. Beiwu planned and
thought about it for a month and a half to get in touch with the son of a cadre of the
Revolutionary Committee. He committed many shameful things to get things, money and tickets.
He bought food, daily necessities and clothes on the black market and sent them to her first.
Finally, she has been thinking about herself for decades. Dongwen never deliberately concealed
Susu's affairs. Nanhong asked Dongwen privately when she saw Susu's photo in Dongsheng
Canteen for the first time. She also saw how good Shanrang and Beiwu were to Jingsheng. But
this Ximei, Grandma Gu burst into tears, her heart was fried in a frying pan and soaked in ice
water, completely shattered and cooled.
"Shanrang, please help me say hello to Shanli and ask him to rent a house for me as soon as
possible. Jingsheng and I will move in first." Gu Dongwen said in a deep voice, without even
looking at Ximei, and slowly turned around and went up to the attic.
There was a sound of packing up from the attic, Ximei looked at her mother and then at Shanrang
in panic. Shanrang's eyes were clear, with a little reproach and heartache, "Second sister, the
mistakes made by adults should not affect children no matter what. You know how good
Jingsheng is. On the first day he came to Shanghai, he fought to protect Sinan. Because of
protecting Sijiang, his scalp was burned by fireworks--" Sijiang also wrote in his letter about many
things that Jingsheng had helped him with, but I am afraid that the more she talks, the more
Ximei will think about it.
"No, I know Jingsheng is a good kid. I'm not talking about Jingsheng. I'm just afraid, Shanrang. You
don't know how scary it is to be gossiped about behind your back. I can't stand it, I really can't
stand it." Ximei thought of her youth and choked up, "Because of my eldest brother and
Nanhong, no classmates in my class got along well with me since the second year of junior high
school. They all said that my eldest brother was a gangster and Nanhong was--"
Nan Hong crossed her arms and sneered twice: "Socialite? Yes, yes, it's all our fault that we
dragged you down, right? We prevented you from becoming Miss Gu, and you became what you
are today and stayed in Xinjiang. It's all because of us."
Shanrang was about to say something but stopped, sighed and lowered his head. People can
have very different personalities even if they are from the same mother. The vast majority of
people in this world are ordinary, ordinary and vulgar. Compared with the not-so-ordinary
Dongwen, Nanhong and Beiwu, Ximei has become a "poor person" in the eyes of most people,
including herself, who understands her life as a tragic and helpless drama. Shanrang can
understand some of Ximei's excessive self-esteem and inferiority, and understand the starting
point of some of her peculiar thoughts and behaviors, but she cannot agree with them at all.

Chapter 150
When Jingsheng led the team back to Wanchun Street, he felt something was wrong. In the past,
during the New Year holidays, every household in the alley would visit relatives, and everyone
would greet each other with a smile. When they left in the morning, they would greet each other
all the way to the entrance of the alley. When they returned in the evening, the neighbors
seemed to have not seen them. Occasionally, when they passed a group of children squatting by
the wall playing with small firecrackers, there were also adults who immediately pulled the
children back into the doorway and avoided them.
He occasionally looked back and found that people were talking to each other in groups of three
or four. When they saw him looking back, they immediately turned away. Yes, they were not
looking at others, but definitely at him. Jingsheng unconsciously pursed his lips and bit his back
teeth. A coldness quickly spread from the bottom of his heart to every blood vessel and every
inch of skin. With unspeakable depression and anger, it gathered into an ice storm in his body
and rushed violently to his brain.
Because he was too familiar with such scenes, he grew up in such eyes and discussions,
Ganlanba, Jinghong, Banna, whether he was on the farm or in the market, as long as there were
people, it was the same. Those curious eyes, slandering his mother, mocking Gu Dongwen, and
humiliating him, he didn't need to see or hear them to know what those people were thinking
and saying. He fought, beat and scolded, bled, and pretended not to care at all, but it was
useless, he couldn't do it like Gu Dongwen, completely ignoring what others thought.
Only the trees, rivers and animals in the rainforest were peaceful. No matter how he screamed,
howled, cursed, punched and kicked, they all accepted him calmly. Those who were afraid of Gu
Dongwen and didn't want to be beaten were not afraid of him as a child. They humiliated him
doubly when they had the chance. He could only turn himself into a beast to gradually scare
away those despicable people. He didn't know whether he was a beast or those people were
beasts. After all, those people usually looked righteous, united and friendly, but in front of him,
they showed their cannibalistic faces.
After arriving at the Gu family, he slowly stopped being a wild beast. His last name was Gu, and
he was the grandson, son, nephew, and cousin of the family. Although many people in the alley
looked down on him, they could only say that he was wild and fierce. The year he followed Gu
Ximei to Xinjiang, he was very happy. He was very useful and could do a lot of things. Everyone
praised him, saying that he was capable and powerful, and also praised his mother and Gu
Dongwen. He had nightmares. The people around him found out about his life experience and
turned against him, becoming the same as those "people" in Jinghong. Fortunately, it was just a
dream. When he returned to Wanchun Street, went to school, went home, did homework, and
had grandma, father, uncle, and aunt. He thought he had truly become an ordinary person. As Gu
Dongwen said: Our lives will only get better and better.
But no, God is never fair. Mum, such a good person, suffered the cruelest harm from fate and
stayed in the Lancang River forever. He did nothing wrong. He was born with sin. He was a scar
that would never heal for Mum. He left Jinghong for 6,000 miles, but fate still didn't let him and
Mum go. It could easily tear apart all his happiness and expectations at any time, reminding him
that some people don't deserve happiness.
At the entrance of the cultural center, red lanterns swayed in the wind, and a banner that read
"Happy Together for All Citizens" drooped at one corner, with the word "Happy" missing. Zhao
Ada was still not satisfied and called everyone to go in and see if there was anything fun.
Jingsheng was also pulled in by Sinan. Everything was red, and the loudspeaker was playing a
lively New Year song: "On the first and second days of the New Year, people will walk all over the
streets..."
"Oh, A-Mao, go back and cut the dinner quickly." An old lady picked up her grandson and walked
out.
"Let's go, Lao Wang, it's about time for you to close the stall. Director Liu and the others have
gone to the police station, and they won't be back for a while." After a while, there were only
about twenty people left in the cultural center that was bustling just now, and most of them were
residents invited by the neighborhood committee to perform talents.
Grandpa Wang, who teaches Go, sighed and shook his head as he collected the chess pieces:
"What a sin, what a pity!"
Grandma Lu, who was doing paper cutting, took off her reading glasses, handed the monkey
stealing peaches she had just cut to the bewildered Si Jiang, and said softly, "Go back quickly,
something big has happened in your home."
Si Jiang said thank you, then hurriedly pulled Si Nan and his three cousins and prepared to leave.
Jingsheng felt a little numb on his face, but he couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"
Granny Lu glanced at him with a bit of embarrassment. Alas, such a good-looking boy like Xiaowei
has such a bad fate.
"Oh, Chen Donghai's wife told everyone that you were the son of a rapist. Gu Nanhong slapped
her four times, and then Chen Donghai deafened her. The neighborhood committee called the
police, and everyone went to the police station. Grandpa Chen had a heart attack and was taken
to the hospital." Old Yao, a 48-year-old bachelor who was making kites nearby, summarized the
whole thing honestly and didn't notice that Grandma Lu stabbed her mouth several times with a
pair of scissors.
Although Jingsheng had a premonition of what happened, his mind was still blank at that
moment, and the one in ten thousand chance of luck that he secretly hoped for in his heart was
shattered. He stared at the half-made kite flying up and down in the man's hand, clenched his
hands into fists, and tried his best to nail himself to the ground. He was afraid that if he relaxed a
little, he would rush up and tear the kite into pieces.
More than a dozen children were stunned. Si Jiang let go of Si Nan and grabbed Jing Sheng's
sleeve: "Brother! Go back first, let's go back first. Uncle and grandmother must be waiting for us
at home. (They must be waiting for us at home.)"
Sinan ran over and slapped the kite: "You are talking nonsense, you are a bad person!"
Old Yao was startled, looked at Jingsheng's face, sighed, bent down to pick up the kite, and shook
his head: "Alas, I didn't realize that Gu Dongwen is such a good man."
Jingsheng gritted his teeth and slowly pried open Si Jiang's fingers.
Chen Siqiang finally reacted and ran away, "Dad - Mom - Siqi!"
The three members of the Zhao family looked at each other.
"Impossible." "Who is spreading rumors?" "Did Mom beat someone up?" "She beat him up well."
"Has Mom been taken to the police station?"
The three of them shouted in unison: "Uncle——!" They ran out two steps and turned back to
pull Jingsheng: "Let's go, beat up Chen Siqiang first. His mother spread rumors and scared him
away. Don't let him go."
Zhao Youning walked quickly to Jingsheng's side, put his arm around his shoulders and pulled him
back: "Let's go, let's go back first."
Jingsheng walked out silently, faster and faster, almost jumping out of the door. Si Jiang and Zhao
Youning chased him out and saw his shadow running towards the entrance of the alley like the
wind.
"Brother! Brother, come back, brother--" Si Jiang cried anxiously.
"Don't worry, I'll go chase him, you guys go home and call the adults." Zhao Youning didn't care
about anything else, he left after saying that.
Sinan had short legs, and when he ran out he was so angry that he jumped up and down: "Why
didn't my cousin take me with him when he went to beat someone up? I can do it!"
——
As soon as Sinan entered the house, he started to talk a lot, asking where his mother had gone
and why she didn't beat up his third mother with his aunt. As for Grandpa Chen who was in the
hospital, he had to go in and out seven or eight times a year, and even his granddaughters were
used to it and no longer worried about him.
Si Jiang cried and said Jingsheng ran away. Gu Dongwen put out his cigarette, stood up, walked a
few steps to the door and stopped, then walked back, touched Si Nan's head and patted Si Jiang's
shoulder: "It's okay, he's an adult, he knows what to do."
Grandma Gu was worried and urged him to go out and look for her. Shan Rang took Si Jiang to
wash his face: "Don't cry, your uncle said it's okay, so it's okay."
Sinan jumped up and down and shouted, "How come nothing happened? So many people are
talking nonsense and making up rumors. It's so infuriating. How can we not teach them a
lesson?"
Gu Dongwen squatted down, looked at Si Nan's angry eyes, and rubbed her head again: "Your
third mother is not a rumor. Jingsheng's mother got him after meeting a bad guy. She was in poor
health. When she found out, Jingsheng had been in her belly for four and a half months. If she
didn't give birth, she would probably die. If she gave birth, she might also die, but she still chose
to give birth to him. The bad guy was later arrested and shot. Jingsheng's mother married my
uncle, and Jingsheng will always be my uncle's son. Nannan, do you understand?"
Sinan blinked, looked at his elder sister and then at his uncle, and nodded vigorously: "Of course
my eldest cousin is your son, uncle. He is my and my elder sister's cousin. Bad guys are bad guys,
and they have nothing to do with my eldest cousin. I will still marry him in the future!"
The three Zhao brothers followed suit and shouted: "Jingsheng is our real brother!"
The dimple on Gu Dongwen's face sunk. He pinched Sinan's little face and said, "Alanannan is
really sensible. Ada, Erer and San are also good children."
"Did the eldest cousin go to beat up Third Mother?"
"No. He probably wants to be alone for a while, and he'll come back when he figures it out. We
can just wait for him at home."
"Well, this is his home. We are all home. He will definitely come back." Si Nan was relieved. In her
heart, her cousin was her cousin. If her uncle said that her cousin was fine, then he was fine. As
for the rapist or even the murderer, she didn't care at all. She turned her eyes and saw Gu
Dongwen's packed luggage: "Hey, uncle, what is this?"
"Your uncle is going to take Jingsheng to live with Uncle Zhou, closer to the school and away from
the gossip." Grandma Gu did not mince words: "Of course we don't care about the execution (Su
Bei's term for men), we know that the beheading (same as above) has nothing to do with
Jingsheng, but there are always some people who like to gossip behind their backs and insist on
linking them together. They are crazy."
Shan Rang whispered to Si Jiang what "tinted glasses" meant, and talked about the persecution
that the children of the "five black categories" had suffered in those ten years. "In this world, the
ignorant, numb, and follow-the-crowd people are the majority after all. If you can't stand up for
yourself, you will be the only one to be defeated. So now Jingsheng must and can only face the
secular eyes and discussions bravely. We are his family, and we must also be brave--"
"Of course we will always stand with him!" Si Jiang assured eagerly.
Granny Gu sighed, "You little kids need to understand this. We don't rely on those people for
food. No matter what they think or say, if you can't stand this, then I should have hanged myself
when I was punished to sweep public toilets by having my head shaved because of my bound
feet. And your uncles have been called hooligans for more than ten years. As a mother, shouldn't
I live?"
Sinan was dumbfounded: "Are the uncles really hooligans?"
Nanhong laughed: "Why not? Fighting, hacking, speculation, reselling tickets, if caught, you will
definitely go to labor camp."
"Bah." Granny Gu spat at her, "What nonsense are you talking about on New Year's Day? You
can't even keep your mouth shut. There are ways for shrimps to go and crabs to go. If people
want to live, they have to fight against God for their lives. What else can they do? You two
brothers have never harmed a good person. I don't know how many people you have helped. If it
weren't for Beiwu, there would be a dozen more people jumping off the building in the dormitory
of the Shanghai Film Studio next door. Later, when there was a big earthquake, he donated all his
wife's capital. Didn't Dongwen and Ximei also donate money? It was all because of their good
deeds that Beiwu was admitted to a university in Beijing and found such a good wife as Shanrang,
Dongwen had such a good son as Jingsheng, and Ximei had such a good girl as Sijiang Sinan - and
even had a son in his old age. People should recognize the word righteousness in their lives and
live up to their conscience."
"It's not a university in Beijing, it's Peking University, the best university!" Sinan found out that
grandma had made the same mistake she made when she was a child, so he quickly corrected
her and was busy trying to save face for his uncles: "The uncles are called heroes, not gangsters
who rob the rich and give to the poor. Grandma, do you understand?"
"I understand, of course I don't understand!" Granny Gu rolled her eyes at her, recalling with
dismay how her family's ancestral property in Yangzhou was robbed of the rich to help the poor,
the shops on several streets were confiscated, and the fields were gone. Fortunately, her
grandfather died early from smoking opium not long after escaping from the Anti-Japanese War,
otherwise he would have been arrested and shot.
Nanhong also sighed when she heard Shanrang talk about the suicide of Fu Lei and his wife:
"Although Gu Ximei is not very smart, you can't blame her for being stupid. She was also scared.
It seems that her piano teacher was implicated in some spy case in 1964 and sentenced to 20
years in prison. She was scared to death, so she wore a big red flower and ran to Xinjiang. It was
obvious that she ran away because of fear, but she insisted that she had a high level of
consciousness, haha."
This was the first time Si Jiangsnan heard about his mother's past, and it was completely different
from what his mother and father said. They were both very surprised and didn't know who to
believe.
"Well, it happened 20 years ago. Why mention her again?" Granny Gu got a headache just
thinking about Ximei, but she didn't want Nanhong to say bad things about Ximei in front of the
children, so she couldn't help but say a few words for Ximei: "Why not be afraid? Everyone would
be afraid. You don't know what happened later. Not long after Ximei passed away, her senior
sister was forced to kneel in front of the statue of the great man, slapped and criticized. The
whole family committed suicide by turning on the gas on New Year's Eve. Her parents and
brother all died, and she was the only one who was rescued. Well, she still has to live. At least
now it's much better than before. Why should she be afraid of a few words from others? It's
really good to live well."
Si Jiang and Si Nan felt that the words were somehow familiar, as if they had heard about this
somewhere before. As they were pondering over it, a gentle voice came from the door: "I'm
back."
Everyone in the room turned around and saw Jingsheng and Zhao Youning standing at the door.
Jingsheng's face was cold, but his dark eyes were burning with fire. Zhao Youning had a slight
smile on his lips, but it was indescribably bitter.
"No, I won't move." Jingsheng said firmly, dragging his injured leg, which had not yet fully
recovered, step by step. He walked in front of Gu Dongwen and straightened his chest: "I did
nothing wrong, I won't run away. We won't move."

Chapter 151
The sky in the first month of the lunar year gets dark very quickly. The setting sun had just coated
the tables and chairs under the west window with a layer of dull gold, but it suddenly turned into
a dark blue color, blurring the furniture and people. Granny Gu turned on the light and muttered,
"It's good that you're back." The sudden brightness made everyone in the room breathe a sigh of
relief, and their eyes were fixed on Jingsheng, as if he had disappeared in the darkness just now.
Gu Dongwen stared at Jingsheng's eyes for a while, then suddenly smiled, with two big and deep
dimples: "Are you not afraid anymore?"
"Don't be afraid." Jingsheng sat down on the dining table, "What's there to be afraid of?" He
turned around and called Zhao Youning: "Old Zhao, why don't you have dinner at our house?"
Old Zhao? Gu Dongwen touched his nose and looked at the two half-grown boys with an even
stronger smile. Zhao Youning was pulled in by Sinan and said a variety of auspicious words.
Si Jiang was so excited that she couldn't speak. She didn't expect Jingsheng to be so brave after
taking a walk outside. If it were her, she would definitely just listen to her family's arrangements.
She thought of a lot of words of encouragement and enlightenment, but none of them worked.
Her fear, worry, anger, grievance, sadness, and anxiety were suddenly washed away by the
surging blood. She just felt that she had to say something, at least to let Jingsheng know that she
would definitely stand with him. This blood rushed into her chest and turned into boiling molten
lava. She suddenly rushed to Jingsheng and said sincerely: "Brother, you are not afraid, and I am
not afraid either. We are not afraid! A true warrior dares to face the bleak life and dares to face
the dripping blood--" Although the words were shouted loudly, the voice trembled with the
person. In order to show that this was not caused by fear, Si Jiang took a few deep breaths and
added: "This is what Lu Xun said, and this is what I want to say."
The room suddenly became quiet. Si Jiang looked at Jingsheng and his uncle, who looked strange,
and Si Nan, who looked confused. He realized how stupid his impulse was. He showed off his
knowledge at this time, as if he was showing off how many books he had read. He was really
stupid and stupid. Moreover, his brother's life had just begun. How could it be so miserable and
bloody? Si Jiang coughed dryly and explained with a red face: "I'm just talking nonsense. Don't
pay attention to me. My brain is a little confused."
Jingsheng hadn't seen Si Jiang so shy, embarrassed and stupid for a long time, and he felt relieved
a lot. At least Si Jiang, Si Nan and his family didn't seem to be affected, so that was good.
"It's okay. I also like Lu Xun very much. He described the bad nature of the Chinese very well."
Jingsheng paused and said softly, "I also want to be a real warrior."
Si Jiang's blood boiled again, and she knew that Jing Sheng understood what she wanted to say.
Gu Dongwen touched his nose and said, "Lu Xun? A frivolous writer who abandoned his original
wife to have a teacher-student relationship and scolded everyone he met. And you all like him so
much?"
Nan Hong raised her eyebrows: "That's called resisting arranged marriages and fighting against
the remnants of feudalism, okay? Don't talk nonsense, big brother. The little friends are all
teenagers, they know everything, okay?"
Gu Dongwen laughed and said, "I just want to say that even a great man like Lu Xun would be
talked about behind his back."
The teenagers all laughed, and Jingsheng cheered up a little. Compared with Youning's mother's
family, the injustice he had suffered was nothing. If he only focused on his own small world,
everything would be as heavy as a mountain, and he would be the one who was crushed in the
end. Youning's mother had all ten fingers stepped on and suffered so much pain, but she still
insisted on playing the piano and teaching students to play the piano. She had a mental
breakdown countless times, and after waking up, she still tried to be a normal person. Even if she
failed, at least she never gave up and didn't fall. This is probably why Zhao Youning never blamed
his mother, because she understood, just like Gu Dongwen understood his mother.
"I don't like Lu Xun, I don't know him, I only like my cousin." Si Nan climbed onto the chair and
waved to Zhao Youning: "I like you, Brother Ningning, too. Brother Ningning, please stay at my
house for dinner."
Zhao Youning looked at the other people in the room, a little embarrassed: "Will it be too much
trouble?"
Grandma Gu was overjoyed: "No trouble, no trouble, please sit down quickly, Boss, go downstairs
and cook."
Ah Da, Ah Er, and Ah San also came up to him and said, "Brother, you can come and eat every
day. My uncle will close the shop during the Chinese New Year, and the dishes he cooks are
delicious."
Nan Hong slapped each of the three brothers in the face and said, "What do you mean by closing
the shop? You said you were going to close temporarily, or to stop business. Do you know how to
talk? Don't act stupid. Take out the money from your pockets and hand it over."
Ah Da screamed, "Ah? Isn't it ours if it's given to us? Why do we have to hand it over?"
Ah Er quickly covered his pockets and said, "This is totally uneconomical. I haven't spent a penny
today."
Ah San was so angry that he winked at Dahandu and Erhandu and said, "Did you forget? We have
already spent all our pocket money for today."
Before he finished speaking, Nanhong grabbed his ear and twisted it. Ah San Xuexue cried out in
pain and quickly turned his pockets upside down. Two big unity bills and a few small bills fell to
the ground. Si Nan picked them all up and said, "Auntie, here!"
"Chen Sinan!" Ah San felt heartbroken, aggrieved, and wanted to cry.
The three brothers went out with 60 silver dollars in their pocket. They wanted to pay the bill, but
they were always beaten by Jingsheng and Zhao Youning. For the first time in their lives, they
didn't spend a single cent. In the past, their mother scolded them for spending all the money, and
today she scolded them for not spending any money as well. The three of them felt so wronged.
"It's all Jingsheng's fault. He always rushes to pay."
"His legs haven't healed yet, so he walks faster than you run, so it's still your fault that you're too
fat."
"Nannan is not nice either. She held my legs and wouldn't let me pay. She and Jingsheng are in
the same boat."
The elders and the younger brothers talked one after another, completely sweeping away the
previous haze. Grandma Gu put away the dishes and chopsticks, and the wrinkles on her face
relaxed a little. She called the children to the table: "It doesn't matter whose money you spend,
cousins. If Jingsheng wants to pay, let him pay. What are you trying to grab? Nanhong, you are
the same. Why scold them for such a small matter?"
"Grandma, Mommy treats us like a beating and loves us." Ah Da happily snatched the rice spoon
from her hand: "I'll serve the rice."
"If you don't scold me enough, I'll kick you." Ah Er happily served Nan Hong a bowl of pickled
pork with preserved vegetables: "Aram's mother is very strange. Now she has to drink soup
before eating. Hehe, this is a good opportunity for me to flatter her."
Ah San walked around the table, and when he had nothing more to offer, he changed his target
and served a bowl of soup to Grandma Gu as well: "Grandma, without you, there would be no
Alam Ma, and without Mom, there would be no me. If I flatter you, it's the same as flattering
Mom, hahahaha."
Nanhong knocked the chopsticks on Ah San's head with a "bang": "What's the flattery? Who is
the flatterer?"
"Isn't the word 'mama' just 'horse' next to the word 'woman'? Why are you hitting me, mom?" Ah
San covered his head and ran away, shouting loudly.
Jingsheng watched the three brothers joking around to liven up the atmosphere, and his heart
was warmed with a smile on his face. He didn't know whether they had hit the mark by accident
or were just being wise. He remembered this affection in his heart. They were brothers for life,
real blood.
——
The family had just finished their dinner together when they welcomed an unexpected guest.
Chen Donghai dragged Qian Guihua to the door, followed by the siblings Si Qiang and Si Qi, who
had not yet wiped their tears and snot.
Nanhong glanced at Qian Guihua and asked indifferently, "Aren't you going to sue me? Why don't
you bring the police with you?"
Chen Donghai blushed: "She can hear with that ear. The doctor said it's temporary deafness. She
just needs to rest."
"Tsk tsk tsk, you chewed your tongue until you became deaf, God really has a vision." Nan Hong
sneered twice: "Then what are you doing here? To collect medical expenses?"
Chen Donghai took out a pack of cigarettes and handed one to Gu Dongwen. "Brother Dongdong,
you are a magnanimous person. Guihua didn't know the seriousness of the matter and spoke
nonsense. I have already taught her a lesson today. Don't take it to heart. Tomorrow I will ask her
to clarify the matter door to door. She will finish the rumors herself. You and Sister Nanhong can
rest assured. If anyone in Wanchun Street doesn't know what's going on, I will be the first one to
catch him."
Gu Dongwen took the cigarette, took a puff from the light in his hand, and raised his eyelids: "Sit
down and talk."
Jingsheng and Youning Sijiang stood up. Chen Donghai smiled at Jingsheng, sat next to Gu
Dongwen, turned around and called Qian Guihua: "Come here and apologize to the brother in
person."
Qian Guihua walked over reluctantly with red eyes, swollen face and tears in her eyes, and bowed
to Gu Dongwen: "Brother Gu, I am sorry for you."
"How is your father in the hospital?" Gu Dongwen ignored her and asked Chen Donghai softly.
"Oh, it's nothing serious. He should be able to be discharged from the hospital tomorrow. He was
just hurt by the anger. My elder brother and second brother are with him." Chen Donghai went
home first. Gu Ximei and Li Xuejing didn't treat them well. He thought about calming the anger of
the Gu family first. He didn't even have time to eat. He hurriedly brought Qian Guihua to the
door. The two little ones refused to stay at home and had to come with them. It was good that
with the little ones around, Gu Dongwen and Nanhong would give him some face. Seeing that Gu
Dongwen ignored Qian Guihua, he couldn't help getting nervous and impatient again. He raised
his hand and slapped Qian Guihua on the arm: "And Sister Nanhong, go and apologize to her."
"Wait." Gu Dongwen raised his hand.
Qian Guihua was so frightened that her legs were trembling. Thinking of the old stories that Chen
Donghai had told her along the way, her teeth chattered involuntarily. She must have been
possessed by an evil spirit. She knew that Gu Dongwen was someone she couldn't afford to
offend, so why did she go and seek death? However, there is no medicine for regret in the world,
and she couldn't figure out why she blurted out those words in the heat of the moment.
"No matter how bad or stupid a woman is, you can scold her or reason with her. If things really go
wrong, just divorce her." Gu Dongwen said indifferently. Qian Guihua shuddered and shook her
head with gritted teeth: "No, no, no, I don't want a divorce. I can't face people after a divorce.
Brother Gu, please don't force Donghai to divorce me--"
"Shut up!" Chen Donghai was so angry that he wanted to slap him again, but Gu Dongwen raised
his hand and pressed him down on the table. He pulled hard, but failed to pull it out. His wrist
hurt, and he made a "hiss" sound, and laughed, "Brother Dongdong's hand is still strong enough."
Gu Dongwen put the cigarette in his mouth and said calmly, "If things really don't work out, we
can get a divorce, but as men, we can't hit women."
When Chen Donghai heard this, he felt a little panicked.
"Spread your hands out." Gu Dongwen raised his eyebrows, and Chen Donghai was startled and
stretched out his five fingers consciously.
"Ah——!" Qian Guihua covered her face and screamed, then squatted on the ground. The two
children behind her were stunned for a few seconds and then burst into tears.
Jingsheng and the others only saw the afterimage of the fruit knife in Gu Dongwen's hand, flying
in the gap between Chen Donghai's five fingers. The tip of the knife and the glass of the pressing
table kept making crisp collision sounds, da da da da da da.
Gu Dongwen suddenly stopped, and the fruit knife drew a beautiful arc in the air and fell into the
fruit plate with a clang.
"If you hit your wife again, your hand will be gone." Gu Dongwen picked up the cigarette and took
a puff: "I have a problem. I can't stand seeing men hitting women. Chen Donghai, remember
this."
Qian Guihua stood up slowly, her heart feeling empty. She wiped her eyes and found that Chen
Donghai's face was pale, but his fingers were still there, without a trace of blood.
"Go back. You are Ximei's relatives, not my family's relatives. Don't come to my house again." Gu
Dongwen glanced at Chen Donghai and added, "Only the most useless men like to seek power on
their own women."
Zhao Youning witnessed all of this, and with shining eyes he whispered to Si Jiang: "Your uncle is
such a good guy! He's such a stick!"
Sinan yelled, "Uncle, I don't want a machete anymore, I want a white fruit knife!"
——
Chen Donghai didn't know how he walked out of the Gu family's doorway. When the cold wind
blew, he found himself in a cold sweat. He staggered out of the alley. The street lights seemed to
be shaking. He stretched out his hand, opened it, clenched it, opened it again, and clenched it
again. Indeed, everything was fine. He turned around to look at his frightened wife and his
children who were in tears. For the first time, a thought emerged in his mind: Am I the most
useless man?
However, no one can predict the fate of the people. Qian Guihua thought that the trouble caused
by his unintentional mistake was finally over, but something happened again the next day.
Grandpa Chen, whose condition had stabilized in the hospital, suddenly had a toothache before 4
a.m. The old man endured for half an hour, and then he felt something was wrong when his
shoulder hurt so much and he felt chest tightness and shortness of breath. He hurriedly called for
help, and it turned out to be acute myocardial infarction. After various emergency examinations,
thrombolysis was performed. Fortunately, the thrombolysis was effective in an hour and a half.
The ST segment of the electrocardiogram dropped by half, and the chest pain was much better. In
the afternoon, the troponin peak was passed, and the doctor said that the blood vessels were
basically unblocked, but he could not go home and had to stay in the hospital for observation for
seven days.
After all this trouble, none of the three brothers of the Chen family could leave their grandfather
behind. Chen Donglai had 45 days of family leave, so he could leave at the end of February, but
Gu Ximei's new school had to start, so she had to take Sinan back to Urumqi as soon as Grandpa
Chen was discharged from the hospital. She didn't want to stay in Wanchun Street for a day.
Wherever she went, she suspected that someone was talking about Jingsheng behind her back.
Aunt Kang and Grandma Li downstairs also looked at her meaningfully, with a little pity and
sympathy.
On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the God of Wealth was welcomed and Dongsheng
Canteen opened for good luck. Ximei went there specially and still took a few glances from the
glass window. Jingsheng's mother was still smiling in the photo on the wall. Nothing seemed to
have changed. Even when she occasionally met Jingsheng in the alley, she felt a little
embarrassed. Jingsheng treated her the same as always, as if he knew nothing about what she
said that day. Ximei hoped that Jingsheng would never know, but also hoped that he already
knew. As for the consequences of knowing and not knowing, it just flashed through her mind and
she didn't have time to think about it. When she heard that they were not going to move out of
Wanchun Street, Ximei was surprised, but that was all.
That day, Si Jiang came back to A Niang's house after attending a competition class at school to
help take care of Si Hao. Seeing that there was no one else around, Xi Mei mentioned the idea of
Si Jiang moving back to the Chen family, but Si Jiang retorted before she had even started talking.
"Grandpa is not in good health. If I move in again, it will be too hard for my mother. I have been
coming to my grandmother's house every day to help take care of Si Hao."
"It's not just about helping to look after Si. You're a grown girl now. There are only two men in
grandma's family, your uncle and Jingsheng. It's not very convenient." Ximei avoided her sight
somewhat embarrassedly. She didn't think she had said or done anything wrong, but she just felt
guilty for no reason.
Si Jiang looked at her in surprise and asked, "Mom, don't you want me to live with my elder
brother and uncle? Who said anything to you? Aren't you angry? You always said that it would be
great if you had a son like my elder brother. When my elder brother was in Xinjiang, you always
said he was good at everything every time you called. Don't you remember? I was ignorant at
that time and I especially hated my elder brother because you always asked me to use him as an
example. He could cook, teach Si Nan to study, and was ranked first in the grade. You also said he
was much better than Dad. If it weren't for my elder brother, you don't know how hard it would
be--"
"Alright! I just said one sentence and you responded with so many sentences. Are you my mother
or am I your mother?" Ximei threw down the half-packed luggage in annoyance: "I am doing this
for your own good. You will understand some things when you grow up."
Si Jiang calmly stared at her walking back and forth: "Mom, I'm fourteen years old. I know who is
really good to me. I want to live with my grandma, uncle and brother."
"What do you mean? Daddy and Mommy are just pretending to be nice to you. Your mother is
not really nice to you? Chen Sijiang, do you have a conscience? When you were just born, who
raised you with all your might? You can't even suck milk, and your mother fed you one spoonful
at a time." Ximei yelled in anger, but unexpectedly woke Chen Sihao up. Without her mother at
home, the little ancestor's temper when waking up could overturn the roof, no matter how her
mother held her or coaxed her with candy. Finally, Sijiang stretched out her hand, and Chen Sihao
sobbed and rushed over, bounced twice in Sijiang's arms, and fell asleep on her shoulder again.
Si Jiang put Si Hao back on the bed without saying anything else. He looked at his mother calmly,
then walked out the door and went downstairs.
Gu Ximei fell down and sat on the edge of the bed. She always felt that the look seemed to say,
you see, children just know who is really good to them and who is fake.
Si Jiang, who was walking slowly out of the alley, paused, then suddenly quickened her pace. She
was no longer trembling with nervousness. She had finally become a true warrior like Jingsheng.
Her aunt Shanrang was right, silence and calmness were more powerful than shouting and tears.

Chapter 152
On the ninth day of the first lunar month, before Grandpa Chen was discharged from the
hospital, Chen Dongfang specially asked Chen Sijun and Chen Simin to set off a string of 500
electric firecrackers. The fire splashed in broad daylight and it was very lively, causing the little
ones in Wanchun Street to scream. As soon as the crackling sound stopped, a group of people
crowded into the smoke to pick up firecracker paper. Occasionally, they would pick up some that
had not exploded and jump for joy.
In order to wash away the bad luck, A Niang and her three daughters-in-law cleaned up the place
for a long time, and brought out the old millstone for grinding glutinous rice, forcing Chen
Donghai and his wife to work all night. They ordered four plates of tofu with brine, sent one plate
to the in-laws, and sent it to Grandma Li and Aunt Kang upstairs and downstairs. The rest was
cold tofu with shrimp skin and seaweed, stewed tofu in a big soup with yellow croaker, and fried
tofu, a whole table of tofu. As a result, when Grandpa Chen came back and saw that the table
was banging loudly, he said that he had not been in prison and had not died, so why was he
having a tofu feast? Was it deliberately to make him angry and send him back to the hospital?
The sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren and granddaughters all lowered their heads and did
not respond, for fear that if they said something wrong, the old man would have another heart
attack, and who could bear it.
With a "bang", Chen A'niang slammed the chopsticks in her hand onto the table. She had never
raised her voice to anyone in her life and said with red eyes: "Isn't the hospital a prison cell? After
all, there is still a day to get out of prison, but in the hospital--" Thinking of those few hours after
Grandpa Chen's heart attack that made her tremble with fear and lose her soul, A'niang choked
up and said: "And you two, the third brother, should take advantage of him more, live a clean life
in the future, and take care of yourselves. Your father can't stand it anymore. Don't just look at us
old people, look at the younger ones, they mess up the family and cause trouble all day long,
how will they live in the future?"
Chen Donghai and Qian Guihua blushed, and after glancing at their son, daughter, nephews, and
nieces, they almost wanted to die by banging their heads against tofu.
Chen Donglai scooped a spoonful of cold tofu for A Niang: "Mom, eat. Dad, Dong Hai and his wife
have been grinding soybeans all night, please give them a bite. Tofu is good, fish causes fire, meat
causes phlegm, and vegetables and tofu keep you safe."
Si Hao held up a small spoon and shouted, "Grandpa, eat tofu, eat tofu."
Grandpa Chen sighed, forced a smile, and patted his grandson's head: "Little fool, you can't say
the words 'eating tofu' casually, remember that."
Chen Dongfang smiled and said a few words, and the whole family started eating. Finally, the tofu
rice was finished. Ximei helped to take the dishes downstairs, and then picked up the dustpan
and broom to sweep up the firecracker paper scraps. A Niang was washing dishes and wiping
tears at the cement table, and Grandma Li was comforting her with gentle words. Neither of
them avoided Ximei.
"Donghai suffered a lot since he was young, but you couldn't bear to hit him and spoiled him a
lot. Later, you let him choose a new bride. How can you blame you and Grandpa?" Grandma Li
glanced at Ximei's silhouette sweeping the floor intentionally or unintentionally, "I think Ximei
and Xuejing are both good."
A'niang lifted her apron and pressed the corners of her eyes: "If I had known that he would marry
such a wife, I would have not married him. I would have let him go to the countryside in
Heilongjiang. Poor Dongzhu, she was only sixteen years old when she replaced Donghai to go to
the Northeast. She hated us so much. She didn't reply to our letters or answer our calls for so
many years. She returned all the things and money she sent to us. She didn't come back to the
city even if she could. Xiuwen, you don't know how I feel. It hurts so much when I think of her. I
feel so sad when I think of the three of them——"
Ximei carried the dustpan and walked directly to the garbage station at the entrance of the alley,
her face numb. She hadn't heard the name Chen Dongzhu for more than ten years. She was a
little dazed for a moment, but she did have some impression. They both arrived at the Old North
Station on the same day. She was eighteen years old at the time. She stole the household
registration book to register to go to Xinjiang, wearing a big red flower, full of pride and yearning.
Chen Dongzhu was only sixteen years old. She cried and made a scene, tore the big red flower to
pieces, and rolled on the ground and refused to get on the train. She was an extremely bad
example. She was severely criticized by the cadres of the Youth Office on the platform, and was
finally pushed onto the train by Grandpa Chen and Chen Donghai. At that time, she and her
comrades were still very angry and criticized her for not being aware. After all, she was a girl who
only studied in junior high school for two years, but she knew how to be selfish and lazy, and
discredited the educated youth. Thinking back now, I shudder. I feel a little more disgusted with
Chen Donghai, but also a little admiration for Chen Dongzhu. The reclamation environment in
Heilongjiang is not much better than that in Xinjiang. The icy winter is even more difficult than
that in Aksu. In such an environment, she was so cruel as to break off relations with her parents
and brothers, and did not take a penny from her family for more than ten years. She would not
return to the city even after the policy was implemented. If she was not heartbroken, what else
could she have done? Ximei dumped the paper scraps into the garbage station and sighed deeply.
"Ximei, grandpa is discharged from the hospital today. He's finally well. Oh, that's scary." An
auntie came over and greeted me, carrying a dried toilet.
Ximei didn't know how to address the other person, so she just smiled, nodded, and said, "Happy
New Year, Auntie, and thank you for your concern."
The aunt enthusiastically praised Jiangduo for being outstanding, Nanduo for being smart, and
Haoduo for being cute. Ximei was a little surprised, but couldn't help feeling a little proud, so she
said a few humble words.
When we arrived at the entrance of the cultural center, it was the busiest time of the day.
Children were chasing and playing, people were playing hopscotch, skipping rope, and playing
marbles. Old men and women were basking in the sun, clasping their hands and talking about
family matters. The owner of the comic book stall was eager to make money, so he opened the
stall yesterday. Two rows of small stools were full of people. The aunt suddenly lowered her voice
and said, "Ximei, I have watched Sijiang grow up. When he was just born, your grandmother
came to my wife to ask for milk. You probably don't remember it."
Ximei was a little confused, she really didn't remember it at all.
"Hey, didn't your grandma tell you that my wife has plenty of milk, so it just gushed out without
squeezing. Si Jiang didn't know how to suck milk, and she just hummed like a kitten. Your
grandma was so worried. Fortunately, my wife fed her for a week, and then your Beiwu family got
milk powder. What a pity, if she had been drinking my wife's milk all the time, she would
definitely grow well."
Ximei smiled awkwardly and thanked him.
"So, Si Jiang and my aunt are also destined to be together, right? I also regard her as my own
granddaughter. Ximei, I think you should let Si Jiang move back to your grandma's house. After
all, her last name is Chen, and it's not good for her to live in your mother's house all the time."
Ximei's heart skipped a beat.
"Besides, the 'son' your eldest brother brought back is the kind of person who is born from a
human being. It's better to be safe than sorry. A dragon gives birth to a dragon, a phoenix gives
birth to a phoenix, and a mouse's son can dig holes. If something happens to him in the future,
you, as a mother, will regret it too late. The girl will always be the one who suffers—"
Ximei got so excited that she poked the dustpan in her hand directly at the aunt's chest, and the
firecracker paper scraps and garbage ashes that were not completely emptied out all got stuck on
her brand new cotton-padded jacket.
"Hey, Ximei, what are you doing?" The enthusiastic aunt was so angry that she dropped the toilet
and clapped her hands.
Ximei pursed her lips, but she didn't get hard. She lowered her eyes and brushed her aunt twice,
whispering, "I'm sorry, aunt, I didn't mean it."
"Okay, okay," the aunt glared at her unhappily, "I'm just here with good intentions to remind you
of what people in the alley say about you behind your back—"
Ximei bent down to pick up the dustpan, and walked forward two steps silently, but heard a voice
from behind: "This person has been a little confused since childhood." She took another step, and
something hit her chest, causing pain. She turned around abruptly, scaring the aunt.
"My nephew is very good. He is good-looking, good at study, good at sports, and very kind to his
family. Some time ago, he broke his leg while saving a classmate and was praised on TV. My
family knows what kind of person he is. You--" Thinking of what her mother-in-law said at noon,
Ximei couldn't help but borrow it: "Be a clean person and take care of yourself. Don't worry about
other people's affairs, auntie."
Ximei really wanted to act like her elder brothers Beiwu and Nanhong, but she had never been
tough in most of her life, so her words were soft and without any momentum. However, the
people around her heard it and talked about it. Even the children in front of the comic book stand
stood up.
The aunt never expected that Gu Ximei would suddenly become the second Gu Nanhong. Her
face flushed immediately, and she ran away with the toilet in her hand. Ximei looked around in
confusion. Was it that simple? Her heart was pounding, almost jumping out of her throat. This
was the first time in her life that she had forced herself on someone, and she actually won?
"Madam."
Ximei came back to her senses, and saw the student in front of the comic book stand looking at
her quietly, with his tall and straight mouth slightly curled up, and he looked young in the
sunshine. Sijiang and Sinan beside him had two pairs of sparkling eyes, with admiration and pride
on their faces. This was an expression she had never seen on her two daughters' faces. Ximei's
heart trembled and her nose ached. She nodded calmly and fled with the dustpan in her hand.
She felt a little ashamed of them. After all, such toughness was only because she could not talk
about her own family affairs, and who doesn't want to have some face?
Back at Chen's house, A Niang was still talking about the past with Grandma Li, but Xi Mei
remembered that it was not known whether Bei Wu or Shan Rang once said: Dignity is earned by
oneself. In a flash, she suddenly remembered that when she was in junior high school, she was
blocked by a few gangsters at the entrance of a small vegetable market and asked how much
money it would cost to sleep with Nan Hong for one night. They also asked her how old she was.
She could only squat in the dirty corner and cry. It was Chen Donglai who passed by and a group
of high school boys who helped her out and took her back to Wanchun Street. After returning
home, she cried and scolded Nan Hong for hurting people, but Nan Hong laughed at her in
return, saying that there were knives, iron hooks, weights, and smelly garbage in the vegetable
market, and there was nothing that could not be used, but she could only cry and was useless.
She had never mentioned this matter to Chen Donglai because it was too unbearable, but now
she seemed to have some different feelings when she thought about it.
At night, Ximei and Chen Donglai came back to Gu's house to pack Sinan's luggage. Grandma Gu
still looked unhappy, but she kept on nagging and stuffing a lot of things into her.
"Two cans of lard are frozen. Be careful on the road."
"The Dacron and corduroy fabrics were bought by Shanrang before he returned to Nanjing. Take
them."
"Nanhong bought Sinan a pair of hook sneakers in Hong Kong. They are a little big, so they are
perfect for autumn. And this silk dress is a sample from her factory. She said it was for you."
"The two kilograms of scallion biscuits that Jingsheng bought for Sinan, don't be reluctant to eat
them when you go back, it will be a waste if they get damp. Sijiang should also take the five cans
of Meilin luncheon meat that he bought with his New Year's money back with him, if you don't
have time to cook, you can have a bite, it will count as eating meat."
"Oh, and here are two packs of Mudan cigarettes and a bag of coffee and tea. Your elder brother
said that he has changed jobs and needs to do favors. He should give you some famous brands
from Shanghai so you don't have to buy more."
Aksu has developed well in recent years. Although the supply and marketing cooperatives are still
in short supply, Chen Donglai and his Petroleum Administration Bureau have priority in supply. All
kinds of things in Shanghai are not as popular as they were in the 1960s and 1970s. In addition,
the educated youth who can return have returned to the city, and those who can't return have no
intention of asking others to bring things to show off. Therefore, Ximei is too lazy to carry so
much luggage to travel thousands of miles in the past two years. Before leaving, he can't help but
pick and choose and complain with his mother. This time, he took all the things and put them
away without saying a word. Gu Granny said something, Chen Donglai thanked her, and the
mother-in-law and son-in-law said one after another, which was very polite and harmonious.
Si Nan finally resisted his mother, but the resistance was ineffective. He watched his parents leave
mercilessly. After being comforted by Jingsheng and Si Jiang for a long time, he gave up struggling
and touched the large rattan suitcase: "Uncle, there is one thing I am worried about. Are you
going to find a stepmother for my cousin? Is it that Nurse Lu? I think she is a good woman and
treats my cousin very well. Will you have a child with her? After giving birth to a child--"
Gu Dongwen was amused by her childish talk, and raised his arms to hug her: "What are you
thinking about all day long? Are you relieved that you won't marry a stepmother or have
children?"
Sinan hugged his uncle's neck and suddenly felt a little sad: "Brother Ningning is going to have a
stepmother, and my cousin is also going to have a stepmother. If I marry them, I will also have a
stepmother."
"Who wants to marry you!" Jingsheng glared at Sinan with gritted teeth: "You are already ten
years old, stop talking nonsense."
Sinan was stunned: "Why am I ten years old? I won't be nine until April 1st."
"We all count by lunar age," Grandma Gu thought for a moment and counted on her fingers, "Oh,
time flies. Sinan is a tiger born in the year of the tiger, so he's not ten years old. He'll be eleven
after his birthday."
Sinan got off the ground and kept yelling, "Grandma, how did you calculate? I was born in 1974,
so I was only one year old in April 1975, right? Then I was two years old in 1976, three years old
in 1977... Let me count to you, is it nine years old? I was only nine years old in April this year."
"Bah." Granny Gu pushed away the little finger that was about to touch her face and curled her
lips: "Go away, go away, you are already eleven years old according to the lunar age, and you are
still ten months old in your mother's belly. Now that you have grown up, you are not allowed to
make trouble. If you dare to run around alone again, grandma will beat you with a feather duster,
beat your little butt to pieces and break your legs."
"I'm nine years old, I'm nine years old! I'm a nine-year-old tiger, and I want to be a nine-year-old
little tiger forever!" Sinan was so angry that he jumped around: "I don't want to be a ten or
eleven-year-old old tiger, double digits are too old. Grandma, you really piss me off, what about
my sister?" Sinan rolled his eyes and laughed heartily in an instant: "Sister, even if you are fifteen
years old? You are so old, you are an old dog if you were born in the Year of the Dog!"
“???” Si Jiang, who had been reading silently, raised his head with a puzzled look on his face, as if
he was offended.

Chapter 153
Whether human nature is good or evil, philosophers all over the world have never been able to
finish debating this topic in their lifetime. Jingsheng has believed that human nature is evil since
he first came across this topic, otherwise why would there be any need for moral and legal
constraints? He also believes that he is a born evil person, but he sees a lot of good in the Gu
family.
This was a big deal for Jingsheng, but in Wanchun Street it was just a topic of conversation among
the neighbors. After the 15th day of the first lunar month, the people in the alley saw that
Jingsheng and Sijiang were still going in and out as usual, and the Gu family was open and honest
without any shame or guilt. In addition, Qian Guihua went door to door to clarify that he had
only heard the rumors, and the rumors gradually stopped. There were fewer and fewer children
who deliberately avoided him, and the strange looks on him stayed for shorter and shorter
periods of time. After all, the city is too big, the population is too large and too diverse, even in a
small alley about one centimeter on the map, there are countless new things happening every
day in thousands of households, who would care about the sorrow and joy of others.
The kite-making Lao Yao has suddenly become a hot topic these days. He was somehow hooked
up with a woman selling flowers in Caojiadu. At two or three o'clock in the afternoon, he couldn't
wait to take off his pants and have sex with her at the stall as soon as the curtain was pulled. It
turned out that the woman was married. The two were caught by her husband and beaten up.
Lao Yao fled back to the alley with wet pants and yellow chrysanthemum petals all over his head.
In the end, he paid 500 yuan to settle the matter. The romantic affair and the loss of money to
avoid disaster immediately topped the list of topics.
The next day, the well-informed uncle came back and announced: "Old Yao is a sucker, and this
couple are liars. They make 500 yuan for just one time when a woman takes off her pants. They
perform seven or eight adultery scenes a year. Who would have thought that there are men in
the world who specifically find ways to cuckold themselves? Tsk tsk tsk."
People love to hear stories about bad guys, so that they can give full play to their poor
imaginations, find all kinds of faults in the victims, make some warnings, and appear to be so
wise when they are safe and sound. As a result, more people talk about Lao Yao than about the
couple.
"You can't get anything out of a fart with one blow. He's so stupid. If not him, who else can he
trick?"
"Poor Segu, he hasn't touched a woman for more than 40 years, he was so anxious, and when he
heard the curtain was lifted, his white butt was shaking in a pile of flowers. He asked where the
woman was, but couldn't find her. Oh my god, he wanted to go to the west!"
"I heard he was caught before he even entered the port. If he touched it twice, it would cost him
500 dollars. It's a waste of money."
"Look at how much money Old Yao has. Five hundred dollars is enough to feed the whole family.
My parents died early, which was a relief for them. If Old Lady Yao was still alive, she would not
have given even fifty dollars or five dollars. She would have beaten that woman to a pulp."
"Parents really can't be too smart. Stupid sons are all raised by smart parents."
Two days later, someone died in Caojiadu. Old Yao hanged himself with his belt at the door of the
flower stand. The Azari couple, who had been jumping for years and became millionaires, were
taken away by the police. Many people in Wanchun Street attended the funeral held by the
neighborhood committee for Old Yao. In the eulogy, Comrade Yao was honest and helpful,
actively participated in community activities, and donated many kites to neighbors over the
years, enriching the cultural life of the residents of Wanchun Street. The loss of such a good
comrade is a loss for Wanchun Street and the people. The participants all looked sad. In the white
envelopes, there were 1.01 yuan, 3.01 yuan, and so on. They gathered a few thousand yuan and
sent the ashes to the cemetery after cremation to sleep with their parents underground.
Not long after the school started, Jingsheng and Sijiang heard about this incident at school. They
both found it unbelievable. On the second day of the Chinese New Year, Lao Yao told them the
story honestly. Ten days later, he was gone. Jingsheng went downstairs to Lao Yao's house to take
a look. There was a pile of paper money that the neighbor had just burned in the corner. When
the wind blew, gray and white paper butterflies floated out of the circle drawn with chalk, which
echoed Lao Yao's hobby of making kites.
When Gu Dongwen came back at night, Grandma Gu was sitting on a low stool and complaining.
Si Jiang held one of her legs and cut her toenails. The four toes of her bound feet were broken
and stuck to the soles of her feet. It was not very clear under the light, so Jingsheng squatted
beside her and shone a flashlight for her.
"Xiao Yao's mother is a straightforward person. She was also one of the first to move to Wanchun
Street. After liberation, several of us worked in the street work group to make toy cars. We pieced
together scraps of cloth from the cloth factory, fetched ice water from the cotton mill, and soaked
in boiling water from the tiger stove. Alas, I never thought that—"
Gu Dongwen took off his coat and poured water to wash his face: "Mom, how much money did
you give me for free? Did you add the money for the four of us?"
"Why didn't you add more? I gave her 19.1 yuan in total. Aunt Liu said it was too much, so she
gave me four gifts in return. The assorted candies are in the candy jar, and the four new towels
are in the big closet."
Gu Dongwen made himself a cup of tea and sat on the sofa in his cotton slippers. "When a person
dies, the light goes out. It's just a token of my gratitude. What's too much or too little? Lao Yao
seemed to be my elementary school classmate. I forgot if we were in the same class."
"If he had a companion at home, he wouldn't have committed suicide. He couldn't think straight
and got stuck in a dead end. What a big deal." Grandma Gu pressed her eyes and said, "The one
who made fun of Xiao Yao the most behind his back was that bastard named Qian from No. 107.
He even pretended to cry twice at the funeral. How could they sleep at night after killing a life?
The most infuriating thing was that he only had one dollar and one dime in his white bag. The
couple stayed to eat tofu rice. When they left with assorted candies and towels, they said it was
not worth it and they lost two dimes. He deserves to be shot and beheaded."
Gu Dongwen took a sip of hot tea: "Death is the easiest path to choose. Living is difficult, and
living well is even more difficult. But sometimes it is better to die than not even being able to
choose to die."
Si Jiang didn't understand this and couldn't help asking, "What do you mean you can't even
choose to die? Why would anyone want to choose to die?"
Gu Dongwen thought for a moment and said, "For example, a retired cadre is brain dead. He is
unconscious and can't breathe on his own, but his heart is still beating. Foreign medical circles
and laws have recognized this as true death, but there is no such term in China. So his sons,
daughters-in-law, and sons-in-law insist on state treatment. He has been in the intensive care unit
with a tube inserted for four years, and the country has spent millions. In fact, the doctors and
nurses in the hospital all know that it is meaningless."
Jingsheng took out one of Grandma Gu's feet after soaking it, dried it, and put on clean socks. He
asked in confusion, "The heart is still beating, so it's considered alive? Is it to show that they are
filial?"
Si Jiang found it incredible: "But isn't the country's money the people's money? Who agreed to
this? This is not scientific. Is it going to continue like this?"
Gu Dongwen laughed sarcastically: "Not necessarily filial piety, but it is true that retirement pay is
not missed for a month, and it is also true that the country cannot take back the old house on
Wukang Road."
"Ah? So it's for money."
"There are also people who wrote in black and white before entering the hospital that if the
operation fails they will not be able to take care of themselves and do not want to live any longer.
They ask their children to agree to remove the tubes. Their children agree, but they still have to
lie in bed with the tubes inserted for several years. This is even more miserable. They can see and
hear, but they want to die but cannot. It's also for money. Money can make the devil work, let
alone people." Gu Dongwen sighed: "After all, 500 yuan can drive a man to death."
Granny Gu patted her legs and turned around to admonish him: "If I lie in bed and can't move, I
don't want to live. I know you guys are really filial, but being really filial is not enough. There is no
filial son in front of a long-term sick bed. Big brother, you should send your mother down to
reunite with your father as soon as possible. Remember this."
Gu Dongwen laughed: "Okay, don't worry. If you want to live, I will take care of your shit and
urine, wipe your body and give you a massage. If you want to die, I will also send you off. It's all
up to you."
Si Jiang was so angry that he almost knocked over the water in the foot basin: "Uncle! Grandma,
what are you talking about? It's too unlucky. Grandma, you said you would live to be a hundred
years old, and the country will give you money when you are a hundred years old. Didn't you
always say that you want to do nothing and still get money? Stop talking about this."
"Okay, okay, I won't say any more." Grandma Gu smiled and coaxed her granddaughter: "When
Nannan gets angry now, your uncle will be scared. I'll listen to you. If you want grandma to live to
be a hundred years old, I'll live to be a hundred years old and help you and Jingsheng take care of
the children. Alas, I don't know who will be so lucky in the future to marry my Nannan or my
Jingsheng, tut tut tut."
Jingsheng replied in a buzzing voice: "Grandma, you think too much. I will never get married in
this life. I will always stay at home to take care of you and my dad." He took the footbath and
went downstairs to pour water. Si Jiang picked up the thermos and followed him downstairs, not
forgetting to make a solemn statement: "Grandma, I will not get married either. I will also stay at
home to take care of you."
"Nonsense!" Granny Gu slapped her thigh several times in anger: "What's the point of not getting
married? Look at Xiaoyao - oh, really." She turned her head too fast and twisted it with a click. Gu
Dongwen smiled and put down the teacup to squeeze her: "What are you worried about,
mother? Good things should be kept in the family. Si Nan has been crying and shouting to marry
Jingsheng since she was a child. Jingsheng may not be able to escape her clutches in the future.
This is good, but we can't let that old Zhao get away with it."
"Which old Zhao?" Granny Gu was shocked. "You mean that child of Youning? Pah, who is so
unlucky to have met my Si Nan? She can't live a peaceful day. If she wasn't my own
granddaughter, I wouldn't even let her into the house!"
Chen Sinan, who had already dominated the new class in Urumqi, suddenly sneezed three times
in a row, wiped the saliva on his homework book with his sleeve, and sighed seriously: "My
cousin missed me, my sister missed me, and my brother Ningning missed me. Oh, I will dream
about you three tonight."

Chapter 154
The kitchen was filled with a strong smell of green peppers. Cut off the ends of finger-length
green peppers, poke a chopstick through the thin end, remove the seeds, cut into thin strips, stir-
fry with shredded ginger and pork in hot oil, and go well with rice or noodles. Aunt Feng, who
lives in the pavilion, likes to add a little water to stew the emerald green peppers until they are
soft and yellow. After stewing, the smell of the green peppers permeates every breath of air
within a radius of dozens of meters, and lingers for a long time.
Si Jiang sniffed and frowned, then pushed the wooden window open with force and made eye
contact with Jingsheng who was washing his feet outside the window. The cold waning moon
hung in the sky, casting a faint moonlight on Si Jiang's face.
"Are the coal balls out? Is the water still hot?" Jingsheng turned his head to look into the kitchen.
"No, the kettle is boiling hot, but the smell of green pepper is terrible." Si Jiang pulled the stopper
of the thermos twice, but the wooden thing didn't move at all. She shouted outside: "Brother,
the stopper is tight again."
Jingsheng leaned the basin against the stairs, came in to wash his hands, used a little strength to
turn the plug half a circle, and pulled it out suddenly. There was a muffled "puff" sound, and he
took a look in the light of the swinging light bulb and saw that there was indeed half a bottle of
cold water inside.
Si Jiang took a bowl and poured the remaining water into it, carefully controlling the last bit of
grayish white. Jing Sheng picked up the kettle and waited. The coal balls had already burned to
grayish white. The bright red inside had been simmered for too long, with a bright orange color,
which made Si Jiang's profile shine brightly, with a sense of half Jiang Se and half Jiang Hong. Two
strands of her long and dense eyelashes were stained with water vapor and stuck together, with a
gap in the middle. The light mischievously passed through and drew a golden line under her brow
bone. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and the line danced non-stop. Jing Sheng twisted his
fingers, and suddenly realized that he wanted to smooth out the line. He was startled and quickly
looked away uncomfortably. He didn't know if he missed a beat or jumped a beat in his chest,
and he was panicking. The kettle in his hand tilted, and a small piece of the cement slab was wet.
"Brother, be careful with the boiling water. I'm fine now." Si Jiang moved the thermos to
Jingsheng's side, took down the gauze cover hanging on the wall and covered the bowl of water.
"Use this to boil the eggs tomorrow morning."
Boiling water trickled into the thermos. Si Jiang looked at Jingsheng's focused face and said with a
smile, "Brother, you've grown a beard."
"Hmm." A steady stream of water gushed out from the spout of the kettle, faintly reflecting the
girl's smile. Jingsheng stared hard at the reflection in the thermos, listening to the gurgling sound.
Si Jiang thought he was embarrassed, so he leaned closer and smiled, "Then why haven't I seen
you shave? My uncle used to touch my beard a few times after shaving, and it always pricked my
hand."
Jingsheng felt as if his hand was pierced, and the boiling water rushed in. Si Jiang screamed, "Ah,
water is leaking out." She picked up the cork and aimed it at the bottle mouth, then loosened her
hand, and the wooden cork fell crookedly into the water.
"Huh? It's not aligned again." Si Jiang smiled and stretched out his middle finger to fiddle with it
for a few times. After he got it right, he poked it and let go only when he heard the bubbling
sound.
"Don't push it in too tightly, or you won't be able to pull it out if you go too slow."
"Oh." Si Jiang watched Jingsheng start to drink the second pot, and couldn't help but touch his
throat and asked him: "Does it hurt when it grows out? Do you feel cold when the wind blows?
You haven't worn a scarf these days. Does your throat hurt when you run?"
Jingsheng's Adam's apple slid up and down. He raised his eyelids, but didn't look at Si Jiang. He
replied awkwardly, "It's not cold, it doesn't hurt."
A pot of water was only enough to fill one and a half bottles. Not many people had to get up to
drink water at night, so they usually just carried it up like this. Tonight, Jingsheng saw Si Jiangdong
talking nonsense as if he had something to say, so he went out and brought back a pot of cold
water and put it on the coal stove.
"I went to Uncle Yao's house today." Si Jiang squatted down, put his hands close to the stove to
warm the fire, and light and shadow flickered in his eyes.
Jingsheng pulled over two small stools, stuffed one under her butt, sat down himself, and asked
her, "Aren't you afraid?"
"I'm a little scared. His neighbor was preparing to burn paper for him, and he drew a big circle
with chalk." Si Jiang rested his chin on his knees, his eyelashes trembling. "They said that by
drawing a circle, other ghosts would know that it was for Uncle Yao, and they wouldn't take his
money."
Jingsheng sneered: "Superstition."
The two were silent for a moment, and Si Jiang sighed softly: "I heard that his death was not very
pretty."
Jingsheng raised his head: "Well, did your teacher He also say that?"
"Well, the teachers are probably afraid too, and they want to remind us. Didn't they say that after
the final exam last semester, a high school student jumped off the building because he didn't do
well in the exam and was slapped twice by his mother..." Si Jiang hugged her arms tightly:
"Teacher He said that if people who commit suicide know what they will look like after death,
they will definitely regret it. People who hang themselves will not only stick out their tongues,
but also have incontinence." She shuddered, raised her head and looked around, worried that
some ghosts who couldn't steal Uncle Yao's money would run to the wrong place, so she leaned
towards Jingsheng and asked him in a low voice: "Brother, are you afraid of death?"
Jingsheng looked at the red light under the kettle, was silent for a few seconds, and nodded: "I'm
afraid. I almost died once when I was a child."
"Ah?! How could this happen?" Si Jiang was startled and almost fell down. He leaned on
Jingsheng's arm involuntarily and grabbed his sleeve tightly.
"I had a quarrel with my mother and was beaten half to death by my father. I ran into the
Lancang River in anger." Jingsheng's mouth twitched: "Actually, I wanted to catch some fish, but it
suddenly rained and there was a flood in the rainy season. My butt hurt badly and I couldn't run
properly in the river. I was washed away and bumped into a rock. I don't know how long I was
unconscious, maybe a few seconds or maybe a few minutes. Fortunately, my father came quickly
and pulled me out. I had eleven stitches at the clinic." He pointed to the edge of his brow bone,
moved closer to the coal stove, lifted the hair on his forehead to show Si Jiang.
Si Jiang carefully identified it and found a faint, long scar, half of which was hidden in his eyebrow
and the other half slanted to his temple. No wonder he refused to cut his hair very short. If you
didn't tell him, no one would have noticed. His eyebrows were beautiful and sharp, like they were
cut by a knife. When his eyelashes were half-closed, he showed a rare gentleness and
easygoingness. The more Si Jiang thought about it, the more scared she became. If Jingsheng was
gone, what would happen to her uncle and aunt, and what would happen to the family? She only
had this thought in her mind and immediately shook her head, not daring to think about it
anymore, but her eyes were already red.
"I choked on water several times before I passed out. I couldn't breathe, and then I spat out river
water from my nose and mouth," Jingsheng watched the kettle's spout slowly emitting hot
steam. The near-death experience that he had never told anyone about came to his mind. "The
river water was yellow and very dirty with mud and sand. It was useless to spit at it. I was
obviously a good swimmer, but I couldn't close my mouth or hold my breath. My hands and feet
wouldn't listen. I started drinking water after spitting out a few mouthfuls, and I drank endlessly.
Then I slowly floated up. I didn't feel uncomfortable at that time. I felt very light. Then I saw my
dad jump down. He swam very hard and very fast. His face was deformed. I could see it very
clearly even in the heavy rain. I wondered why he was in such a hurry. At that time, I felt quite
comfortable."
"After being fished out, I vomited a lot of dirty water," Jingsheng said in a low voice with a slightly
red face and lowered his eyelids, "I was so scared, so scared that I cried my heart out. Later, my
mother threw all of my father's things out and drove him away. She didn't talk to him for a month
and a half. She thought I jumped into the river because he beat me so badly."
Si Jiangming knew that everything would be fine in the end, but still couldn't help asking, "Then
what should I do? Although my uncle shouldn't hit you, but my uncle likes my aunt so much, and
my aunt must be especially worried about you. It's not wrong to be angry with him. Ah..." She
was so anxious for her uncle, and no matter how she thought about it, it was a dilemma.
Jingsheng glanced at her and remembered that there was a thin layer of sweat on her nose. He
didn't know if it was because of his anxiety or the burnt on the stove. This time his hands were
faster than his brain. He raised his hand and smeared it directly on her. He twisted it, and the
wetness seeped into his fingers and disappeared.
"Why are you so nervous? Your nose is sweating."
"What happened next?" Si Jiang also had a layer of sweat on his back and was nervous.
“Later I told my mother that I wasn’t stupid enough to jump into the river. I was just so angry that
I wanted to go fishing but unfortunately there was a flood. It had nothing to do with my father.”
Jingsheng’s mouth twitched: “I helped him so much, but he beat me up again after he came back.
This guy never changes his bad habits.” Because he refused to go into the water again, he was
thrown into the water several times and forced to swim to the shore by himself.
Si Jiang heaved a long sigh. Jing Sheng saw the lid of the kettle popping, and after getting up and
filling it with water, he said to Si Jiang, "So I will never commit suicide. Let's go upstairs and wash
our feet."
Si Jiang held his face in front of the coal briquettes in a daze. When he was called, he hesitated
for a moment, then raised his head and said, "Brother, I thought about committing suicide
before."
Jingsheng's head buzzed, and the thermos nearly fell to the ground. The kitchen seemed to be
frozen for a moment. After a while, he squatted down gently.
"Sijiang?"
"Um?"
A layer of mist slowly filled Si Jiang's black and white eyes. Jingsheng's fingers began to feel
numb. When his scalp was numb, he reluctantly asked, "What did you just say?" He might have
misheard.
"Really, I'm not lying to you, I really thought about committing suicide. I don't want to live
anymore. It's so boring and meaningless."
"When?" There was a hook in Jingsheng's mind, wondering if it would be the time when he said it
was none of her business, and the quarrel before he was hit by the car. He was actually not afraid
of death, but when he thought about how Si Jiang was so close to that word, he couldn't think
about it. He would explode if he thought about it.
Si Jiang lowered his head and buried his face in his knees: "The thing about the diary, the time
when my mother beat me, do you remember?"
A hand fell on the top of her head, stroking it repeatedly like a feather, and Jingsheng's voice was
a little hoarse: "Remember."
"I was so angry, so angry, I wanted her to regret it." Si Jiang choked up and said, "I wanted her to
regret reading my diary, to regret saying that to me, to regret hitting me, to make her cry, to make
you all hate her, scold her and ignore her, to make everyone only remember how good I was..."
Jingsheng's palms were full of sweat and he was scared.
Si Jiang sniffed twice, her shoulders shaking from crying, as if she was back in that night when she
felt particularly wronged and sad. The difference was that tonight there was a warm hand
comforting her.
"But I can't bear to leave." Si Jiang's voice was intermittent, "I can't bear to leave Nannan,
grandma, you, my brother, and my uncle and aunt... I can't bear to leave."
Jingsheng remained silent, the hair in his palms burning him.
"Nannan - is the water ready?" Grandma Gu's voice came from the stairs outside.
Si Jiang wiped it twice and said with tears in his eyes: "Here it comes——"
Jingsheng stretched out his sleeve in front of her. Si Jiang was stunned for a moment, then he
lowered his head and rubbed his arm several times, his shiny snot and tears reflecting the light.
"Isn't this funny? Am I really stupid?"
"Yeah." Jingsheng picked up the thermos and followed her out. When he turned off the light, he
asked softly, "What happened next?"
Si Jiang was a little embarrassed and lowered his voice: "I thought of several ways to die, but I
didn't have the chance. I was afraid of the pain and being scolded if I failed to die, and it would be
a waste of money, so I didn't think about it anymore."
Jingsheng's heart finally settled down.
Si Jiang went up two flights of stairs, paused, and suddenly turned around: "I thought you knew,
Brother. You followed me from morning till night those few days. You always followed me when I
went to the public toilet, as if you were afraid that I would be suffocated to death in the toilet by
the stench."
Jingsheng: “??? No?”
"Yes, I have!"
The two of them turned around the pavilion and continued to go up. Jingsheng suddenly said,
"Because Sinan almost fell into a manure pit when he was a child, Shen Qingping also fell into a
manure pit--" Oh, what is he talking about? Jingsheng closed his mouth tightly.
Si Jiangmen had only half opened the door when he suddenly turned around, his wet eyes wide
open: "Brother! There is no cesspool in the public toilet! What are you thinking? How did I fall
into the squat toilet? You are so disgusting! Brother, I am so angry."
Gu Dongwen in the room asked loudly: "Who fell into the squat toilet in the public toilet?"
Jingsheng and Sijiang shouted at him in unison: "No one!"

Chapter 155
When Grandma Gu was born, Emperor Xuantong had not yet abdicated. She could be said to be
an old woman who had experienced three dynasties. When she heard the thunder, she sighed,
"Thunder in the first month of the year, human bones are piled up, this Year of the Pig will not be
peaceful." Si Jiang had heard a lot of his grandmother's endless slang, proverbs and allegorical
sayings, and he could apply them in his essays effortlessly and get a row of red circles. However,
as Old Yao's funeral was not long over, he did not investigate the origin of this sentence.
Unexpectedly, his words came true. On the Qingming Festival in April, Grandpa Chen suffered a
stroke and died suddenly after half a day of emergency treatment in the hospital, thirteen days
before his sixty-ninth birthday. This was the first time that Si Jiang really faced death. He was
more shocked than sad. His tears were not shed because of Grandpa's death, but because of his
mother. His mother's world had collapsed.
The Chen family was in chaos. Chen Donglai had just come down from the oil well. At the critical
moment of the emergency mission, he was a technical backbone. It took at least 20 days to go
back and forth to the funeral. In the face of national and collective interests, after the ideological
work of the Party Committee and the Trade Union, he gritted his teeth and begged Ximei to take
Sinan back to help him hold the coffin and kowtow. Ximei had not yet met all her colleagues in
the new school, and she bit the bullet and asked for funeral leave. Unfortunately, the money she
had saved had just been used to buy furniture for the new dormitory and pay the tuition for the
correspondence undergraduate course of the Normal University. Even if Sinan evaded the ticket,
the money on hand was not enough to buy a train ticket back to Shanghai. Going back to handle
the funeral was another huge sum of money. Unfortunately, there were no relatives or friends
around him who were familiar with him. He couldn't borrow money from a new colleague who
he had known for more than a month. Finally, he made up his mind and sold the Plum Blossom
watch he bought when he got married and the gold ring given by his mother for 200 yuan to buy
a train ticket. He also sent a telegram to Chen Donglai asking him to find a way to remit some
money back to Wanchun Street. As soon as the telegram was sent, she received three remittance
slips in a row. Gu Dongwen, Shanrang and Nanhong each sent 200 yuan, and the message was
two words: return soon. Ximei bought the watch and ring with red eyes, and hurriedly took Sinan
back to Shanghai to attend the funeral.
Weddings and funerals are the most important events in a family. No matter how sad you are,
you have to handle them well. This is the last dignity of the deceased. Since Chen Donglai can't
come back, Chen Dongfang will naturally take charge. A Niang fainted five or six times in three
days. She could barely drink some rice soup. Li Xuejing stayed in Wanchun Street to take care of
her. The fat boy Chen Sihao didn't understand anything. He cried when A Niang cried. After
crying, he would look for Grandpa everywhere. "Grandpa? Where did Grandpa go? Grandpa took
the baby to the park. Grandpa went to buy candy." He said one word and A Niang would cry for a
long time again. Everyone in the room was busy, and only the old and the child had time to
mourn Grandpa Chen attentively.
Grandma Gu came to accompany A Niang and cried for a while. When she talked about the
inexplicable death of Gu's father for a watermelon, the two old ladies with bound feet held hands
and cried together. Compared with the paper relationship of in-laws, they seemed to have
established a real resonance. Si Hao was taken back to Gu's house by Grandma Gu. In two days,
he forgot about A Ye. The breakfast at grandma's house was so delicious. Although no one fed
him, no one urged him. He ate when he wanted to eat, and didn't eat when he didn't want to eat.
He ate as much as he wanted. It took him several days to find this pattern. He was surprised,
happy, and a little disappointed. No one watched him learn to read and recite "goose, goose,
goose" anymore. The colorful toys left by the second sister in the attic dazzled him, and no one
forced him to take a nap with his eyes open. Before the sun set, he sat on the threshold of the
cultural center waiting for his sister and brother to finish school. When he saw Si Jiang riding a
bicycle from a distance, he ran over with a smile and insisted on sitting on the front bar to satisfy
his craving. Si Jiang reminded him not to laugh, but he could only hold it in for two minutes at
most before he started laughing heartily again. As the eldest sister, Si Jiang could only warn her
again and again that Grandpa's death was a sad thing and that she couldn't and shouldn't laugh
like that.
The funeral was held at the Wanguo Funeral Home on Jiaozhou Road. The three large halls were
too expensive, so Chen Dongfang booked a coffin room and notified relatives and friends and
Grandpa Chen's unit. Grandma took out Grandpa's old address book from the drawer of the
bedside table. The three addresses and names on the last page, and the phone number in red ink
were obviously added later.
"Dongmei, Donglan and Dongzhu, you should come back to see Yila Ye (their father) no matter
what. Go and send a telegram or make a phone call. They don't have to pay any money, but they
will come anyway." A Niang's hands were shaking. "Next time I'm gone, they don't have to come,
and I'm sorry for them."
Chen Dongfang felt dizzy after taking on this hot potato. He discussed it with Chen Donghai and
thought that Qian Guihua worked in a trade union and had a lot of experience in weddings and
funerals, so he freed up the funeral matters and handed them over to her, including hiring a
band, ordering flower baskets and printing portraits, buying urns, shrouds, gold ingots and other
paper money, confirming the number of people for the tofu banquet, the menu, drinks and
return gifts, and whether any relatives and guests from Ningbo's hometown wanted to stay
overnight... There were dozens of things in total.
Qian Guihua was scolded and cried by her mother in public and behind people for many times
because her grandfather's death was related to the last myocardial infarction thrombolysis, and
she was always worried. Seeing that her husband and second uncle did not mention this matter
and entrusted her with an important task, she immediately rushed around like a chicken with
blood injected. She worked harder than she did at work, and got up early and worked late for two
days. Money flowed out like water, and she was so upset (and heartbroken) that she had to
bargain and get the money off. She couldn't help but find some "hardship fee" for herself. As a
thief, she felt guilty, so she found some money to make up for it. She posted the bus tickets for
the service neatly one by one, and wrote the bills clearly, so that she could settle the bills and
share the expenses in public after the funeral. Privately, she chased Chen Donghai and asked him
about his three sisters. After being yelled at impatiently, she shut up in disappointment.
Fortunately, Gu Dongwen's words were quite powerful, and Chen Donghai didn't dare to touch
her every time he raised his arm.
Ximei rushed back to Wanchun Street and kowtowed six times in front of her father-in-law's
portrait in the living room, and then forced Sinan to kowtow three times. A Niang said that the
150 yuan remitted by Chen Donglai had been given to Chen Dongfang. Chen Dongfang took out a
small notebook and roughly calculated that he had spent more than 1,300 yuan. There were 24
tables of tofu banquet, and each table was 50 yuan. He paid a deposit of 300 yuan. There was no
rush for the rest. He could take out the white envelopes and pay the bills. For now, the three
brothers would share 500 yuan. Ximei gave Chen Dongfang 500 yuan directly.
"Donglai is the eldest child in the family, and our parents help us take care of Sijiang and Sihao, so
we should pay a little more. When the company settles the bill, we will pay 40%, and the second
and third children will each pay 30%. Do you think it's okay?"
Chen Dongfang and Chen Donghai agreed after a few words of humility. Qian Guihua listened at
the side and didn't take it seriously. Who knows what the eldest family is planning? My father-in-
law left in a hurry and didn't have time to explain anything. Who will my mother-in-law live with
next? How to divide the house and money? No one is talking about it now. When the time
comes, it will be said that the eldest brother has taken an extra share, and the family business
will also have to be divided. Aren't the two younger brothers the ones who suffer? What she was
thinking, her face naturally revealed some meaning. Ximei glanced at her and understood three
points. She snorted coldly and ignored her eyebrows and went back to her parents' home with
Sinan.
At night, Chen Dongfang personally went to Ximei's house to discuss business. Gu Dongwen was
eating peanuts and drinking wine to tease his little nephew, and said to Ximei indifferently: "You
two haven't fulfilled your filial duties for nearly 20 years. Don't be too fussy. Suffering a loss is
taking advantage."
"I know what's going on." Ximei and Donglai had already discussed it and were willing to give
everything that should be given to their two younger brothers.
Seeing Ximei leave, Sinan Sijiang was upstairs accompanying Jingsheng for rehabilitation.
Grandma Gu held the gold ingots in her hand and sighed: "It's the only way. The two of them are
too soft-tempered. It's ugly to fight to death and still can't win. It's better not to fight." Seeing Gu
Dongwen sneered and didn't say anything, Grandma Gu knew that he was probably slandering in
his heart that there was nothing to fight for the Chen family's family property. After thinking for a
while, she said: "Back then, your father at least had the title of martyr, and Beiwu has won back a
lot of money. Now I don't know how much funeral expenses and pensions Sijiang's grandfather's
unit can give, at least we can do things decently. If it's not enough, remember to help Ximei. Alas,
if I'm gone in the future, this house will be left to you and Jingsheng, you can give some money
to-"
"Are you overthinking again?" Gu Dongwen carried the giggling Si Hao on his shoulders: "Didn't
you promise Si Jiang that you would live to be a hundred years old? I have to go and complain."
"Hey! Gu Dongwen, you bastard, if you dare to say that, I'll beat you to death with a broom."
Granny Gu threw down the yellow paper and pretended to get a broom.
——
Sinan was talking non-stop in the attic about how nice the godfathers, godmothers, brothers and
sisters on the train were to her. She could actually live on the train for ten days in more than a
month. Wow, it was so great. She didn't want to get off the train and could drive another 100,000
kilometers without having to take a shower.
Si Jiang supported the screaming little fat girl sitting on Jing Sheng's back, counting her new push-
up record. Hearing her bragging, he said casually, "No wonder you were born on this train. It
seems like it was fate. You shouldn't be called Chen Si Nan—"
"Eh? Then what should I call myself? Chen Siche?" Sinan was unhappy: "That's too ugly."
"You can call me Chen Silu." Jingsheng picked up the little fat boy and put him down on the
ground. "Just stay on the road."
"Slu is not nice either. The math teacher would call my name all day long."
"Why?"
"Classmates, do you have an idea for solving this problem? Your idea is wrong. Come on, broaden
your ideas." Sinan was lying on the bed imitating Jingsheng's kicking exercise: "Naming is too
difficult. Cousin, you are lucky."
"???"
"You were born in Jinghong and were called Jingsheng. If it were me, I would have to be called
Chesheng or Huosheng!" Sinan almost rolled off the bed with laughter, his legs slapping the
bedside so hard that it made a loud noise.
Si Jiang inevitably thought of the distant relative who was born in a toilet. Born in a toilet seems
to sound better than born in a car. He couldn't help but sigh: "Your name is at least better than
mine, si gang, si gang. I was called a water tank in kindergarten. The most annoying thing is that
every time we play the game of Sima Guang smashing the tank, there are boys who ask me to be
the tank!"
"Gang Gang, Gang?" Si Hao hugged Si Jiang's neck and gave him a wet kiss: "Sister is Gang Gang,
and I am Hao Hao."
Jingsheng laughed so hard that his entire set of movements went awry. Si Jiang pushed Si Hao's
fat face away and stretched out his foot to kick him: "Do it again! Don't be lazy. Chen Sinan, don't
laugh. Grandpa is gone, and none of us can laugh."
Sinan grabbed her face and pulled it down: "Sister, you have become like Mom. It's so annoying.
How many days will it take for you to not smile?"
Si Jiang thought about it and was a little unsure: "Mother said that I can't visit other people's
homes before the seventh day of mourning. Does that mean I can't laugh for forty-nine days?"
Sinan sighed, jumped off the bed, held Jingsheng's legs and helped him lift up: "I'm having a hard
time. I want to laugh but can't, and I want to cry but can't. When I kowtowed today, I didn't cry,
so my mother slapped me twice. She said I was abnormal. I didn't cry even when my grandfather
passed away. Sister, did you cry?"
"I cried." Si Jiang touched her head: "But I couldn't help crying when I saw my mother crying. It
can't be said that I cried because my grandfather was sad."
Jingsheng kicked his legs faster and faster in the air, and said calmly: "It's okay, it's normal that
you can't cry. Nannan, you have only met your grandfather a few times since you were born, and
even if he is your biological child, you don't have much affection for him, not to mention-"
"What's more?" This time Si Hao and Si Nan asked in unison.
"Didn't your mother always say that you were picked up from the train?" Jingsheng stood up and
wiped his face with a towel.
"Brother is the most annoying!" Si Jiang held his face halfway through laughing: "Don't make us
laugh, it's annoying."
Sinan thought it made sense: "Well, I'll say that next time."
Jingsheng squatted down and pulled her ear: "I'm just kidding. When we go to the funeral home
in a few days, remember to cry a little. Even if you have to pretend, you have to cry a little."
"Why?"
"People are used to using tears to measure whether you are really sad." Jingsheng unzipped his
sweatshirt and wiped the sweat off his body with his back to them. Sometimes he was so sad
that he wouldn't shed a single tear, but no one understood.
"But I'm really not sad, maybe a little sad." Sinan lay on the edge of the bed like a dead fish, and
for the first time he had a philosophical thought: "Why do people like to pretend? It's not real at
all."
"This is not called pretending." Si Jiang tried to explain: "This is called politeness, called
compassion. Even if a stranger passed away, if you still laughed and didn't sympathize with him at
all, wouldn't it be cruel?"
"Many people die every day in the world. Should I never be able to laugh?" Sinan was even more
confused. "Why should I feel sad for people I don't know? How can I feel sad? When the chickens
my cousin and I raised died, I felt very sad and cried for a long time."
Si Jiang was startled: "But Grandpa is Dad's father, he is our relative, family members have
feelings, right?"
Sinan rolled his eyes and said, "I treat Grandpa as a relative, but he treats me just fine. The
affection is just a matter of two dollars, but every year Grandpa only gives me two dollars as New
Year's gift. He's so stingy."
"Nannan, we can't measure our feelings with money." Si Jiang found that Sinan had some signs of
going astray, and he became nervous. He planned to have a good talk with his sister.
"Why not?" Si Nan's eyes widened, pointing at Si Hao, and said, "Brother Si Jun and Brother Simin
each received five yuan in New Year's money, and this little fat boy, this year Grandpa gave him
ten yuan in New Year's money."
"How did you know?"
"That's what my mom said. She didn't let go of my two dollars even though she had ten dollars.
She confiscated them and lied to me that she was saving them for me. When I asked her how
much money I had saved in total, she couldn't tell me. Really." Sinan added, "And you see, my
uncle and aunt like my cousin so much that they gave me several hundred dollars as New Year's
money, and they gave me twenty dollars. You can tell who's treating me well at a glance. If that
happened, I would have cried my heart out."
Before he could finish his words, Jingsheng hit him on the forehead with a chestnut.
"You're talking nonsense again, Chen Sinan. What the hell is going on?"
Si Jiang was a little at a loss for words. After thinking carefully, he cheered up again: "Nannan,
look, your uncle gave my brother several hundred yuan and gave you twenty yuan. You think your
uncle treats you very well. Why do you think your grandfather treats you badly when he gave Si
Hao ten yuan and gave you two yuan?"
Sinan covered his head and cried out, "Because my brother broke his leg this time. In the past, my
uncle gave my brother and me the same amount of New Year's money! Grandpa never gave
different amounts. He favors boys over girls! I don't want to have any feelings for him!"
Si Jiang was speechless: "Okay, you are right. What worries us is not the scarcity of wealth but the
inequality of wealth. Our ancestors were really wise."

Chapter 156
Seeing that her sons and daughters-in-law were all present, Chen A-niang wiped her tears and
pointed at a pile of things on the table and said, "Since Ximei is back, let's divide the family first. I
had a plan after the old man had his first heart attack, but I didn't expect it to be so soon--"
The three daughters-in-law comforted her softly for a while, and then A Niang asked with tears in
her eyes, "Dongfang, when will you three sisters come?"
"My elder sister came by boat from Yuyao countryside and should arrive tomorrow. My eldest
sister came from Zibo with her brother-in-law yesterday. They didn't say whether they took the
train or the bus. My younger sister," Chen Dongfang glanced at Chen Donghai, smiled bitterly and
sighed, "you scolded me so much, saying--"
"What happened to Yigang?" A Niang burst into tears and took a few quick breaths, her wrinkled
hands tightly clasping the edge of the table.
"When all the family members are dead, she will come back to collect the bodies and sell the
house." Chen Dongfang's face was hot. Chen Dongzhu has been a hot-tempered person since she
was a child. She didn't like going to school. She was either stomach-ache, eye-ache, or head-ache
all day long because of skipping school. She was the least liked by the old man and received the
most beatings. Everyone said that Sinan looked like the child of the Gu family, but in fact,
everyone in the family knew who she looked like. During the natural disaster, people across the
country tightened their belts in Shanghai to ensure supply. The third-class rice that had been
washed and drained was still edible. Dongmei took a boat from her hometown in Yuyao for five
days to ask for some rice. The next day, she bought 20 kilograms of rice from Gu Dongwen and
rushed back without eating lunch. Dongzhu was less than ten years old at that time. After school,
she found that Dongmei had left. That night, she ran to Shilipu Wharf alone. In the end, she was
sent back by the police and had a good meal of "bamboo shoots and braised meat".
When A Niang heard this, she almost fainted again. Li Xuejing pinched her palms and philtrum
several times before she recovered her breath. Everyone in the room heard A Niang crying and
complaining. Qian Guihua didn't understand what she was saying for a long time, and just
wondered how her husband had wronged Chen Dongzhu.
After Ah Niang finally recovered from her shock, she took the hot towel that Ximei had wrung out
and covered her face with it, saying, "Here are six deposit slips, each worth 500 yuan. You three
brothers should take one each, and the other three are for Dongmei, Donglan, and Dongzhu. The
old man's company has a few thousand yuan in pension and funeral expenses, so put it into the
public expenses. Make sure his funeral is dignified."
Qian Guihua felt cold in her heart. She had privately estimated that her father-in-law had a good
income before liberation, otherwise he would not have been able to buy this private house.
Although he suffered a little during the movement, it was only three to five years. Later, as an old
accountant, his salary was not low. According to Chen Donghai's leak, the old man also made a
lot of money. Moreover, accountants are getting busier as they get older. After retirement, he
always has to go out for three days a week. Otherwise, he can't give hundreds of yuan to the old
family at once. If she closed her eyes and calculated casually, there were at least 7,000 or 8,000
yuan in cash at home, and it was said that there was also hard currency. How could the old lady
have the nerve to take out only 500 yuan to send her sons? She had never heard of or seen those
three girls, but they also wanted to share 1,500 yuan. Would the old lady rely on them to support
her in the future? She dared to think but not speak, just staring at the deposit slip and sulking. If
she didn't take it, she would never take the 500 yuan. If she took it, she would suffer this loss.
Ximei stuffed the deposit slip back to A-niang and said, "Mom, Donglai and I can't take this
money. We've been away from home, and we have to trouble you to help us take care of Sijiang
and Sihao. You can keep this 500 yuan for yourself, as a token of our appreciation. Donglai and I
have discussed it, and starting from this month, we will send back 50 yuan a month for living
expenses, and then I will take Sihao to Urumqi. It's just that we can't be at home with you, so we
can only trouble Dongfang and Donghai to take care of Mom."
Chen Dongfang and Chen Donghai repeatedly said that taking care of their mother was their duty.
Qian Guihua turned her head and rolled her eyes, thinking, if the old lady lives to be eighty or
ninety years old, how many years will five hundred yuan last? They told Gu Ximei all the nice
things, leaving all the dirty work to them. These two couples should be too cunning.
The mother held the deposit slip and cried, "Don't send me money. You are in a difficult situation.
You can't come back. I am an old woman. How can I need so much money? Leave Sihao to mom.
When the old man passes away, I will not be able to survive without Sihao by my side!"
Everyone persuaded her for a while, and A Niang took out another yellowed list and handed it to
Chen Dongfang: "This is the land deed replaced in 1951, and the old man's name is still on it. You
take this and the household registration book, and change it to the names of you three brothers.
When I die in the future, the house will be divided into three parts." Chen Dongfang took it
carefully, looked at his wife, and felt a lot more at ease. Fortunately, the house was not divided
into six parts, otherwise it might really be taken away by Dongzhu in the end.
Li Xuejing said softly, "Mom, we are really worried about you living alone. Now that Si Jun has
started working, Si Min doesn't need my care. Why don't you move to our house so that we can
take care of you."
Although Qian Guihua was not very smart, she instinctively smelled something strange when she
heard her second sister-in-law, who usually kept silent, suddenly say this. It was related to money.
She spoke faster than her brain: "How can that be? Second brother and second sister-in-law, your
family is too rural. There are fields everywhere near Hongqiao Airport, and there are a lot of stray
dogs. Planes fly all day and night, making a lot of noise. How can mom sleep? And you have to
climb up and down the fourth floor of your house every day. Mom has bound feet and can't stand
it. It's best for you to live in our house. Siqi has been close to grandma since she was a child.
What do you think, mom?"
Li Xuejing smiled and said, "Guihua, your public housing seems to be on the third floor, which is
one floor less than ours. Moreover, Si Qiang and Si Qi squeeze into one room. If Mom goes there,
will she sleep on the sofa or floor? She also has to cook two meals for you, which is too tiring.
Before Si Hao came back, Mom took the bus to pick up Si Qi from school every day and helped
you cook and clean. We can't say whether she loved her or not, but it was really hard work. My
eldest brother also wrote to Dongfang several times, saying that everyone has two working
parents and two or three children, but why is Donghai so squeamish when it comes to his turn,
and insists that the old man spend money, manpower and effort? What Mom needs most now is
to be served by us, not to serve us younger generations."
Qian Guihua opened her mouth, her face flushed with shame and she couldn't say anything. She
cursed inwardly that a biting dog didn't bark, and just glanced at Chen Donghai. But Chen
Donghai shook his head and said, "If you ask me, it's better for Mom to live here. It's better for
the elderly not to move around. It's not good."
Ah Niang nodded repeatedly: "Dong Hai is right, I won't go anywhere, I will live somewhere else,
what will I do if the old man comes back and can't find me?"
Ximei said, "Xuejing and Guihua both want to be filial to you, Mom. It would be best for them to
stay in Wanchun Street. At least the neighbors upstairs and downstairs have been there for
decades. A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. And having so many neighbors to talk
and relax with every day is good for Mom's mood. Sijiang told me today that he wants to move
back to live with Grandma."
A Niang started crying again: "Nannan is willing to come back?! That's great, are you willing to let
her go? With Si Jiang and Si Hao accompanying my old lady, I can finally have hope for the future.
(Are you willing to let her go? With Si Jiang and Si Hao accompanying my old lady, I can finally
have hope for the future.)"
Li Xuejing and Qian Guihua pursed their lips and smiled, both of them were a little forced. After
all, Si Jiang and Si Hao were raised by the old lady herself, and there are also differences in the
importance of grandchildren. Qian Guihua rolled her eyes and sighed: "It's good for Mom to live
here. When my eldest brother and sister-in-law, Si Jiang, Si Nan and Si Hao, come back in the
future, their household registration and people will still have to be handled by Mom, right?"
Ximei heard the hidden meaning in her words, but was too disdainful to argue with her. She only
advised A'niang to look forward, and wait for her grandchildren to get married, have their own
careers, and be filial to her. Good days are still to come.
Finally, it was agreed that A Niang and Si Jiang Si Hao would still live in the old house, Chen
Donglai would send back 80 yuan a month with Si Jiang Si Hao's living expenses, and Chen
Dongfang and Chen Donghai would each give 20 yuan. In this way, although A Niang had no
pension and no medical insurance, 60 yuan a month could cover her food and daily expenses. If
there were any extra large expenses, the three sons would share them in a ratio of 4:3:3.
When she returned home at night, Qian Guihua tossed and turned and couldn't sleep. She
couldn't help asking Chen Donghai: "How did you let your sister down? Why should they share
500 yuan even though they haven't been home for decades?"
Chen Donghai was annoyed by her noise and turned his back to her impatiently. "It's divided.
They should get the money because their surname is Chen. You keep talking all day long. I am
tired if you are not tired."
"Didn't you say before that the old man had a big yellow croaker (a big gold bar) in his hands?
Why didn't the old lady mention it once?"
Chen Donghai closed his eyes and didn't speak for a long time. He got angry because of Qian
Guihua's pushing and yelled at her: "You are so annoying, can you spend it? Otherwise, how do
you think you can get into the factory? Is this public housing my turn? And aren't the 32 legs in
this house banknotes? Did you buy the TV with your salary? Did you pick up the watch you are
wearing? The old man spends the most of his money on us, what else do you want to do?"
Qian Guihua was startled and twisted the soft flesh on his waist. When she got closer and saw
that Chen Donghai didn't push her away, she lightly put her arms around his waist and muttered
in a low voice: "I saw that your second sister-in-law wanted to take your mother to live with her.
There must be something fishy. It seems that your parents treat you the best, but in fact they
don't discuss important matters with you, but only talk to your eldest and second brothers. Look,
your mother suffers when she comes to cook for Si Qiang and Si Qi, but she enjoys it when she
cooks for Si Jiang and Si? Your eldest sister-in-law got 500 yuan for giving birth to Si Hao, and now
your father is gone and she only gives you 500 yuan. I just can't stand them treating you like this."
Chen Donghai opened his eyes, was silent for a while, and then closed his eyes again: "Stop
talking nonsense. Have you and Si Qi ever washed my mother's hair? Have you ever permed her
feet? Si Jiang has been filial since he was a child."
Qian Guihua was rebuked and muttered, "Si Jiang is just like her mother, she is good at
pretending to be filial. Who wouldn't do this kind of pretentious filial piety?"
"Then you should try pretending." Chen Donghai shook off her hand: "What else can you do
besides gossiping about other people and causing trouble? Shopping is considered a skill? I'm
telling you, from now on you're not allowed to perm your hair or buy new stockings or clothes.
Look at your closet, the three of us put together don't have as much as you do, and yet you're
always complaining about this piece not being good or that piece not working. You're the one
who spends the most."
Qian Guihua was so angry that she turned over and stood back to back with him: "How many
new clothes do I buy in a year? You always know how to be ungrateful. Every time we go to
Wanchun Street, I am the only one who suffers. The two of them seem to be busy all the time,
cutting vegetables, making fire and sweeping garbage. I am the one who does the most tiring
work of picking and washing vegetables. Every year, I always get several frostbite after the New
Year's Eve dinner, no matter how much clam oil I apply. When have I ever said nonsense? I always
told the truth, but I didn't know that they couldn't bear to hear the truth. It hurt them so much
that they were so angry. They bullied me because there was no one in my family and beat and
scolded me. It was me who was beaten? It was you who lost face..."
Chen Donghai's head was buzzing from her nagging. He threw off the quilt irritably and got out of
bed. He gulped down a small cup of cold tea. After he came back and lay down, he turned over
several times before saying, "Dad used to give us a few dozen yuan privately every month. When
the eldest and second brothers had big things happen to them, it was only right that he gave us a
little more money. Don't mention money again in Wanchun Street in the future."
"A few dozen yuan? Ninety yuan is also a few dozen yuan, and twenty yuan is also a few dozen
yuan." Qian Guihua became excited and asked, "How much is it? Does your mother know? Will
there be more in the future?"
"Fifty yuan." Chen Donghai rested his head on his arm and looked at the layer of dust on the top
of the tent. "After □□ fell, Dad took on a few accounts outside, and two units asked him to look at
the financial statements. He had a lot of money, and seeing that I couldn't get promoted, he gave
it to me privately. You better keep your mouth shut. If the eldest brother and the second brother
know about this, they will definitely feel uncomfortable."
Qian Guihua's mind was faster than her mouth. She calculated for a few seconds, her heart
pounding. She suppressed her smile and asked, "If it's 600 yuan a year, it's 2,400 yuan in four
years. Where's the money? Did you save it?" Just when she wanted to flatter her husband, Chen
Donghai shouted, "You spent it all!"
The more Chen Donghai thought about it, the angrier he got. At first, he saved for a few months,
but later, he couldn't resist Qian Guihua's coquetry and bought her a woolen coat. Later, he
bought her high-heeled leather shoes. Later, he had extra money every month, and his cigarettes
and alcohol were upgraded. In the past few years, there was not much left. From what my
mother said, she probably didn't know about the old man's account. She was afraid that she
couldn't read, and if the old man wrote it in the account book, it would cause more trouble if my
second brother or Gu Ximei saw it. He did find a way to flip through it several times, but he only
found the grocery book. Once, he was bumped into by Si Jiang. If Dongzhu came back, she would
probably make a fuss. Fortunately, she didn't come back. In short, he was annoyed and
miserable.
Unexpectedly, what you fear will come true. The next day, Chen Dongmei arrived at Wanchun
Street and was crying with her mother. Chen Dongzhu returned to Wanchun Street from Xigangzi
Commune, Aihui County, Heihe City, Heilongjiang Province, with his family.

Chapter 157
Chen Dongzhu stopped when he passed by Wanchun Street Cultural Center.
"Brother Zhuzi, can you tell? This used to be a temple called Jin Situ Temple."
Cao Jinzhu narrowed his eyes and answered the question with a poker face: "Monks are not good
people."
Chen Dongzhu laughed: "There were no monks in this temple before, only Taoist priests. The
abbot was an old Taoist priest named Yan. He was a very nice person. During festivals, the temple
would send some vegetarian cakes and candies to us children."
Cao Yingying, who was holding her hand, was only five years old. Before she could finish yawning,
she shouted at the top of her voice: "It's so hot, so hungry, I want to eat cakes, I want to eat
candy."
Si Nan was lying on the floor in the corner of the cultural center teaching Chen Si Hao how to play
marbles. She was so mad at him that she had never seen such a dumb boy. Under the guidance
of such a wise and powerful master like her, he couldn't even play marbles. He had to hit the ball
in a straight line three times before he could score once. She really suspected that this brother
was a fool who was picked up. When she heard someone shouting for cakes and candies, she
raised her head and thought, where did this family come from? They are so stupid and look easy
to deceive.
"Would you like some candy, sister?" Si Nan took out two white rabbit candies from Si Hao's
pocket and asked Cao Yingying with a smile, "I'm Nan Nan who lives in Lane 63. I'd like to treat
you to some candy. Sister, are you here to visit your relatives? Where do your relatives live? I'll
take you there. Do you want to play marbles? Do you know how to roll hoops? Do you want to
play with us?"
Chen Sihao tugged at his sister's sleeve, watching his candy go into someone else's hands. Tears
welled up in his big eyes, and he pouted his mouth and was about to cry, but Sinan glared at him
fiercely, and he covered his mouth and sobbed twice. The baby didn't dare to cry, crying was
useless, and he would get beaten.
Chen Dongzhu was stunned, and looked down. Oh, the little girl in front of her spoke like a
beggar, but she was really pretty, like a little foreigner, and had the same curly hair that she
couldn't comb, and looked very kind. She squatted down and hugged her daughter and said with
a smile: "Yingying, thank the little sister quickly." I really didn't expect that after more than ten
years, the children in Wanchun Street were still so innocent and open-minded. She thought that
Shanghai people now became more snobbish and looked down on outsiders.
Sinan smiled and said, "Auntie, you and your sister are so beautiful, and your scarves are so shiny,
it's really rare. Are you coming back from abroad to visit relatives?"
Chen Dongzhu smiled so hard that her eyebrows were not visible. She pressed the white fur on
Cao Yingying's neck and said, "We are from a place close to foreign countries. This is not a scarf,
but a mink. There was ice in Shanghai a few days ago. We have to wear mink when it's cold."
Si Nan didn't know what a mink was, so he led Si Hao and followed the three of them to the
other side. "Yeah, yeah, grandma said it was a late spring cold snap. The temperature was only 5
or 6 degrees the day before yesterday. It was freezing. Fortunately, my grandma didn't wash all
her cotton pants. Hey, your relatives also live in Lane 74."
When they turned into Lane 19, Si Hao remembered his mother and ran away: "Mother, baby is
back. Baby wants some candy."
Sinan secretly glanced at Chen Dongzhu several times, and suddenly had a strange premonition.
"Eh? Why are you here at my grandpa and grandma's house?" Sinan was delighted and looked up
at the second-floor window and shouted, "Mother, mother, there are guests——"
Chen Dongzhu was stunned and stroked Sinan's curly hair: "What's your father's name?"
"My father's name is Chen Donglai, my mother's name is Gu Ximei, my sister's name is Chen
Sijiang, I'm Chen Sinan, the fat boy is my brother, his name is Chen Sihao, hello auntie, who are
you in our family?" Sinan felt a little ashamed. He almost put the idea of earning pocket money
on his relatives. If his mother knew about it, he would get a few slaps on the buttocks.
Fortunately, it happened.
"You little fool, why are you calling me aunt? I'm your little aunt, this is your uncle, and this is
your little cousin Cao Yingying." Chen Dongzhu went upstairs with his head held high. After a few
steps, he saw a figure leaning out from the first floor. He leaned over to take a look and said, "Oh,
Grandma Li hasn't changed at all. Hello, Aunt Kang. I hope we don't meet again."
"Ge--it's Dongzhu, oh my, I haven't seen you for a long time." Grandma Li smiled very kindly:
"Dongzhu is still outstanding. Mother is very happy to see that you are doing well. (Mother is
very happy to see that you are doing well.)"
Chen Dongzhu sneered twice, stomped on the stairs, and bumped into Qian Guihua head-on as
soon as he went upstairs.
"Who's here? Hello, hey, hey, what are you doing?" Qian Guihua was startled: "You didn't ring the
doorbell or knock on the door. Where did you come from? You have no manners at all." Seeing
the tall man like an iron tower with a cold face appearing behind Chen Dongzhu, she didn't dare
to say the last word "country bumpkin".
Chen Dongzhu raised her chin and stretched out her hand to push Qian Guihua aside: "This is my
home. Who would ring the doorbell when returning home? You are sick. Who are you? Is your
last name Chen? Get out of the way. A good dog doesn't block the road. Mom, I'm back. Where
are the people? Are they all dead?"
Qian Guihua didn't expect that the petite Chen Dongzhu had such great strength in her hands.
She stumbled and leaned against the door, shaking with anger: "Hey, Donghai, come down
quickly, it's killing me, where did this barbarian come from, what are you saying, it's so scary."
"Dongzhu! Dongzhu, it's Dongzhu--" Chen A Niang and Chen Dongmei, who had just finished
recognizing their relatives and burst into tears, ran to the door, took a closer look, one of them
stretched out her hands tremblingly, and the other covered her mouth, tears streaming down her
face.
Chen Dongzhu narrowed his eyes and scanned the people in the room: "Why, the old man is
gone, and Chen Donghai is dead too? Or are you too guilty to come out to see me? Chen
Donghai, where is Chen Donghai, get out here."
Qian Guihua was so angry that she kept cursing: "Even if she is my biological sister, she can't be
so unreasonable. What kind of deep hatred is this? She curses her own brother, mother, second
brother, second sister-in-law, and eldest sister-in-law right away. You should at least say a few
words to her."
Chen Dongzhu was a little shorter than Qian Guihua, but he held his head high and glared at Qian
Guihua with his eyelids down: "What are you talking about? Who do you think you are?"
"What's the matter with onions and garlic? We are all family, can't you just talk to each other
properly?" Qian Guihua was angry, but she wisely moved to A Niang's side.
Chen Dongzhu circled around her and said, "Family? You are so shameless. What's your last
name? How dare you claim to be related to me? My mother is here, my sister is here, my eldest
sister-in-law and my second brother are here, so it's your turn to fart? You are from Shanghai,
right? Which district are you from?"
"Dongzhu, forget it, this is your third sister-in-law--" A Niang choked and tried to pull Dongzhu's
hand, but she pushed it away.
Qian Guihua was startled, then he regained his confidence and said, "Yes, I am a genuine
Shanghainese, my family is from Huangpu District - (I am a genuine Shanghainese, my family is in
Huangpu District)"
Chen Dongzhu sneered and laughed: "I see, the old house you live in is a Shikumen?"
"Shikumen, how can that be possible? (What happened?)"
"Ha, you are a woman from a shikumen house, you have a flush toilet and shower room but you
don't use it. You want to marry into our shantytown, you must be after money or a job. Chen
Donghai, did you give your wife the company I want to work for? How much did the old man
spend? Let's do the math."
"Dongzhu, forget it. Let's not talk about what happened more than ten years ago. Xiaoqian didn't
mean to make you angry. Come on, this is your brother-in-law and niece, introduce them to us."
Chen Dongfang was frightened and had to step out to smooth things over. After saying this, he
quickly shouted to the attic: "Old Third, Old Third, Dongzhu is back, come down quickly."
Chen Donghai was rummaging around in the attic while the whole family was downstairs. When
he heard that Dongzhu was back, he felt like he was in an ice cellar, and then in a furnace. He was
sweating and his teeth were chattering. He felt guilty. He had made a mistake and then made a
mistake. Although he had been married, had children and worked in an orderly manner for more
than ten years, and looked decent, he knew that he was not a person in front of Dongzhu. He did
not keep a penny of the salary he received in the first month after he started working. He cried
and wrote a remittance slip to Dongzhu. The small blank column was full of "I'm sorry, sister".
After a few months, it was returned. He knew that he would never get through this life. He could
only comfort himself over and over again. He regretted it and thought about making amends.
When Dongzhu refused to do it, he said that he would go if he wanted to. It was the old man who
said that he had a bad stomach since he was a child and could not stand the cold. Dongzhu was
strong and didn't like to go to school, so it was okay for him to exercise.
Chen Donghai prepared himself mentally for a long time and had to pretend nothing happened
as he went downstairs: "Amei Nong is back, it's good that you're back——"
With a crisp "bang", his glasses were knocked to the ground.
Qian Guihua just screamed, and then there was another crisp "pop" sound.
"Chen Donghai, you shameless dog, the registration form for going to the countryside was clearly
sent to you, and you suggested to the old man that I replace you and go to Heilongjiang. If God
had eyes, you would have choked to death when drinking water, and you would have been hit by
a car when going out. Are you in poor health? Do you catch a cold and have a fever all the time?
Bullshit, you have only been hospitalized once since you were a child, and it was because you ate
too many glutinous rice balls. You couldn't poop even with half a bottle of sesame oil in your ass,
and you kept it all in your black heart and pig brain. The old man's heart is biased to the Waibaidu
Bridge, and he only has his son in his heart. What, just because you have two more old balls, you
are inlaid with gold and silver? We girls deserve to suffer, right? Get out of here, you bastard!
Trash!"
Chen Dongzhu's resentment that had been pent up for more than a decade poured out in a loud
roar as she cursed in Mandarin with a Northeastern accent, completely ignoring the fact that
Chen Donghai's mother was also her own mother. After she finished with the last two curses, she
turned around and saw her tearful elder sister, becoming even angrier.
"Chen Dongmei, why are you howling? I didn't scold you."
Chen Dongmei wiped away her tears and said, "Dad is gone, Dongzhu, since you have already
scolded him, you should go and kowtow to Dad first."
Aunt Chen held Li Xuejing's hand and cried, "Dongzhu, Mom knows you hate your dad, but he still
thinks about you. After you left, he sent you money and food every month, but why didn't you
accept them?"
Chen Dongzhu spat at Grandpa Chen's portrait: "From the day he forced me to get on the train,
he is no longer my father. He died a long time ago, more than ten years ago. How can I have the
nerve to hate them after I have collected the things? Pah, you want me to kowtow? You wish for
that."
Sinan pulled off her mother's hand that was covering her ears, her eyes widened, and she
whimpered. Nannan didn't want to kowtow either. The little lady was really a master of her trade.
Her insults were fresh and reasonable, and I learned a lot! Third Uncle and Third Mother were
scolded so much that they dared not say a word, like quails. Why did the little uncle-in-law also
cover the little cousin's ears? Such a good learning opportunity should not be missed.
Gu Ximei sighed and said, "Dongzhu, let your brother-in-law and the others sit down and have a
glass of water first. We all know that you are angry..." Gu Ximei's heart began to beat when she
was glanced at by Chen Dongzhu's black and white eyes full of hostility. She thought that Chen
Donglai would have been in Xinjiang by then, and he definitely didn't know about the
replacement, so he shouldn't have offended this old lady.
"Brother Zhuzi, this is my mom, my eldest sister. I told you that my second sister should be here
tonight. Mom, this is my husband Cao Jinzhu, my third daughter Yingying, and the eldest who is a
debt collector. He and my second daughter Xiaoai have to go to school, so they didn't come."
"Good child, thank you, it's all thanks to you, Xiao Cao, thank you for taking care of my Dongzhu
for so many years. Come here, Yingying, right? Come to grandma." Aunt cried and took out a few
red envelopes from her arms: "Dear girl, this is a gift from grandma. Here, keep it. This is for your
eldest brother and second sister, you can keep it for them too."
Cao Yingying looked at everyone in the room curiously and shouted loudly: "Thank you, grandma.
Hello, grandma! Hello, aunt!" Chen Dongmei also took out a few red envelopes and stuffed them
into her hands.
With this buffer, the tense atmosphere in the room finally eased. Gu Ximei breathed a sigh of
relief, pulled Dongzhu and Cao Jinzhu to sit down, and let Sinans go to talk to Yingying. Chen
Donghai was slapped twice, and silently bent down to pick up his glasses. As soon as he put them
on, his tears blurred the lenses. He took them off and wiped them on the corner of his shirt, and
simply folded them up and put them in his chest pocket. It was good that he couldn't see
Dongzhu's face clearly. He was sorry for Dongzhu. She was so angry that she didn't stab him with
a knife, which was already considering the brother-sister relationship. No matter how much she
beat and scolded him, he had nothing to say. These two slaps made his boots, which had been
hanging in the air, fall to the ground, and he felt much more at ease.

Chapter 158
Cao Jinzhu is three years older than Chen Dongzhu. His original surname was Suochao Luo and he
was from the Bordered Yellow Banner of the Manchu. His ancestors were transferred from
Songyuan, Jilin to Aihui in the 22nd year of Emperor Kangxi's reign to fight against the Taiping
Devil, and that's how they settled down. Later they changed their surname to Cao.
When the country was first liberated, China and the Soviet Union were brothers. There were
Chinese signs on every store in Heihe and Russian was on the wall. Locals, young and old, could
speak fluent Russian. The Russians wandered the streets, speaking Mandarin, exchanging black
bread and sea buckthorn for pickled cabbage and mushrooms, fungus, soybeans, watermelons,
apples, etc., which greatly consolidated the deep friendship between the two peoples. Later, the
situation suddenly changed, and the brothers turned against each other. The Russians looked at
the frozen Heilongjiang River with tears in their eyes, and the people of Heihe could only smack
their lips and miss the black bread, a must-have for home and travel. After all, it can kill people if
you use it as a stick, but there are not many things that can keep you alive if you break them into
pieces and eat them.
In 1963, Shanghai began to export educated youth. 160,000 people went to Heilongjiang, 20,000
went to Heihe, and Aihui County also received a lot. Chen Dongzhu cried all the way. When she
arrived at Xigangzi, her tears had already dried up, leaving only endless anger and hatred. She
became louder and bolder, and went straight to the headquarters to make a scene. The instructor
looked at her and thought, "Oh, what nonsense! This child is only 16 years old. Why did her
family push her out? But her household registration was already in the First Division and the
Second Regiment. He could only persuade her kindly and let her stay for the time being, and wait
for the leader to report to see how to solve the problem. Dongzhu was not willing to wait, so she
rolled up a straw mat and lay down in the yard of the headquarters, refusing to eat or drink,
saying that she would get up and eat on the day she was allowed to return to Shanghai.
Unexpectedly, many of that batch of educated youth could not stand the hardship of reclaiming
wasteland. When they saw someone showing up to cause trouble, about a hundred people came
one after another to join the hunger strike and sit-in, turning Dongzhu's original case, which was
in the right, into a political event. The result can be imagined.
After suffering a lot, Dongzhu couldn't stand it any longer, but the regiment was afraid of losing
her life, so they placed her in Cao Jinzhu's house. With the approval of the superiors, she was
allowed to receive subsidies from the Corps and do the work of joining the team, which was
much easier. The Cao family had five sons, but no daughters. The Manchus always valued their
aunts, and Dongzhu was a lovely girl. Cao's father and mother treated Dongzhu as their own
daughter. After working in the fields for a while, they sent her to rest in the fields. Anyway, she
didn't need to calculate work points. They were afraid that she would be exposed to the sun in
summer and frozen in winter. Chen Dongzhu cried like a dog during the New Year holding seven
red envelopes. She was supposed to follow her two elder sisters and call her Chen Dongzhu. Chen
Donglai accompanied her mother to register her household registration and spoke Mandarin. The
police mistakenly wrote it as Dongzhu. No one noticed it. It seemed that her parents favored her.
Unexpectedly, it was at Cao Jinzhu's house that she first experienced what "palm pearl" meant.
The one who treated Dongzhu the best was Cao Jinzhu, the youngest son of the Cao family. He
looked at her and cared about her. Dongzhu suffered from acclimatization and her skin became
ulcerated and her feet became sore. She cried and said she was disgusted with her stench. She
pulled out her curly hair and almost became bald. Cao Jinzhu heard that eating local tofu could
cure acclimatization. He worked all night in a room at -20 degrees Celsius with a stone mill. After
making the tofu, he took a nap and the stove went out. He almost died of gas poisoning.
Dongzhu survived the winter, and in the spring, she was the only one among the educated youth
who had not adapted to the climate and soil and recovered. Even her curly hair grew back.
People in the Northeast ate millet and cornmeal. Cao Jinzhu gave Dongzhu all the rice and flour
he could get. Hearing that the food in the Waisandaogou canteen suited the taste of Shanghai
educated youth, he ran more than 20 kilometers every day to get food for Dongzhu. In the winter
of 1968, Dongzhu followed Cao Jinzhu and a male educated youth from the commune to pull
wood in the mountains. They scared the horse. The tree stumps on the mountain could trip the
carriage at any time. If he didn't fall to death, he would be killed by the wood rolling down the
carriage. Cao Jinzhu was cruel enough to whip the horse with a whip and blinded it. The horse
stopped, and he was criticized by the commune. Dongzhu made a fuss in the brigade
headquarters, the educated youth office, and the first division headquarters for half a month,
turning the criticism into a praise.
In the summer of 1970, Sino-Soviet relations were tense, and spies often came to Heihe. Catching
spies became the daily work of the educated youth. Dongzhu and three or four female educated
youth who had joined the production team found suspicious people and guarded the corn field.
They were afraid that the other party had guns, so they did not dare to go in and arrest people.
After Cao Jinzhu arrived with the militia, Dongzhu led everyone to rush in and was almost hit by a
shovel from the other side. It was Cao Jinzhu who hugged her and rolled to the side to avoid the
shovel. The spy was not caught, but a farmer who stole corn was caught. After the militia and
educated youth left, Dongzhu grabbed Cao Jinzhu and said that she wanted to see the wound on
his face that was cut by corn leaves because he protected her. Seeing this, she kissed him.
Of course Dongzhu didn't tell her the rest of the story at the moment, it was Sijiang who asked
about it later. Dongzhu couldn't stop her, she liked Sinan, because Sinan was like her when she
was a child, just as heartless and daring, but Sijiang was different, she was afraid that Sijiang
didn't like her. Dongzhu had never seen such a beautiful girl in her life, like the water of
Wudalianchi, she wanted to scoop it in her hands and hold it in her mouth, it was so clear and
sweet, she was willing to pick the stars in the sky for her.
"Good bamboo shoots come from bad bamboo. I didn't expect that the Chen family would have
two children like Si Jiang and Si Nan. It must be the good deeds of their ancestors." Dongzhu beat
the whole family with a stick without mercy. Ximei thought for a long time and couldn't figure out
whether this was a scolding or a compliment to the couple.
In his first non-fiction short work, "Rural Love Story", Si Jiang wrote about a young lady and her
uncle. On the vast black soil, in the golden wheat waves, after experiencing the thrill of catching
spies, the two young people harvested love. She felt that the golden wheat waves were more
romantic than the corn fields. After the novel was published in the newspaper, Si Jiang cut it out
and sent it to Heihe, and soon received Dongzhu's righteous education: silly child, corn leaves can
at least make do, but if you put it in the wheat field, won't your whole body be pierced by
needles? You can't write it casually, what if others learn it and get hurt? It was seven or eight
years later that Si Jiang understood what the young lady meant. She never read the article again,
and blushed when she thought about it. But she still chased Jingsheng to ask why there were
needles in the wheat field.
——
There is no harm without comparison. Every time Dongzhu said how well the Cao family treated
her, her mother would cry and shout, "Father and mother, please don't be kind to me. Brothers,
please don't be kind to me."
"Little aunt, how did you and my uncle-in-law fall in love? His family has five sons, why did you
choose him?" Si Nan asked curiously. After all, in her eyes, although my uncle-in-law is tall, he is
not very good-looking. Compared with my eldest cousin and Ningning brother, he is ten Huangpu
Rivers away.
Gu Ximei slapped her on the butt: "What are you talking about? What does it have to do with
you?"
Chen Dongzhu liked Sinan and ignored the words "a turtle looking at a mung bean" in front of
him. He smiled and glanced at Cao Jinzhu: "He is very good to me, he can work, make money, and
he is good-looking. I like him."
Sinan looked sympathetically at Cao Yingying, who had inherited her father's phoenix eyes. The
little cousin had a sharp tongue but not very good eyesight. Her uncle-in-law was considered
good-looking. It was a pity that the little cousin had her beauty average lowered.
After offering tea to his son-in-law, Cao Jinzhu bowed three times to Grandpa Chen and said,
"Father-in-law, I bow to you, because if it weren't for you, Dongzhu wouldn't have come to our
Xigangzi, and I wouldn't have known her, and I wouldn't have had a wife and three children. For
this, I should kowtow to you and thank you very much. But you and Chen Laosan are really sorry
for Dongzhu, that's not something a human can do. If it were me, I would have to fight to the
death today. Anyway, one funeral is held, and two funerals are held, and it saves the relatives
from making an extra trip."
Dongzhu couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth. This damn guy had a good memory,
but it was really scary when he said it out loud. She rolled her eyes and was very satisfied to see
that everyone was silent. Obviously, except for Sinan who was laughing foolishly with Ximei
covering his mouth, no one took his light words as a joke.
"Prime Minister Dongzhu is very tolerant. She was venting her anger after being slapped twice,
but she came to Heihe as an educated youth and survived without dying or getting hurt. It's not
because she didn't suffer enough, but because she was lucky—"
"Hmm?" Chen Dongzhu raised his head.
"I'm lucky." Cao Jinzhu blushed and continued with the eulogy: "If you knew about this in the
underworld, you would definitely compensate our Dongzhu a lot. But don't worry, our Cao family
is not short of money. We have more than 20 good furs at home. Dongzhu and the girls can all
wear mink. We came to see you, not to fight for the money and the house, but to save face. If
you were alive, I would really take you to our Heihe and let our parents do some ideological work
on you. How many years has the New China been established? Women hold up half the sky. Your
idea of favoring boys over girls is not acceptable. Dongzhu and her elder and second sisters have
suffered so much. Even if you give this small house to the three of them, it is not enough to
compensate them--" Oh no, Dongzhu's long speech was too long and he forgot the words a little.
No one noticed that there was anything wrong with Cao Jinzhu because they were all
dumbfounded.
Qian Guihua was the first to jump up: "Sister-in-law, second brother, you can see that Chen
Dongzhu came back just for money and the house."
Chen Dongzhu slammed the cup down on the table. "Are you blind or deaf? You just figured it
out? I told you I'm here to collect a debt, what else would I do? I traveled over five thousand
miles just to show you my mink? Pah, my mink is dirty even if you two take one look at it."
Qian Guihua was shocked: "You—you, you..."
A-niang's heart was sawed by a saw, and she took out the savings certificate: "Dongzhu, your
father still loves you, and left a sum of money for the three of you, you take it. Your father said
that the house will be left to your brothers--" But why the daughters didn't get a share of the
house, A-niang couldn't say it out loud. Everyone knows that a daughter who is married off is like
water spilled, but it's too ugly to say it out loud.
Chen Dongzhu shook the deposit certificate and laughed sarcastically, "You are so generous, old
man. Five hundred yuan? How much can you make in a year working in Shanghai now? Nine
hundred yuan? Chen Donghai, look, you bought my lifetime with half a year's salary. If there is
such a cost-effective deal, I would also like to buy it. I will buy as much as you have. I can buy you
for eighteen lifetimes. Will you sell it? Have you ever planted corn and harvested wheat? Have
you ever plowed the land on frozen soil? Have you ever cut trees in the Lesser Khingan
Mountains? Have you ever built a reservoir or a house? Try to get sores on your skin and see -"
Ah Niang covered her face and cried. She had thought that Dongzhu would suffer in the
Northeast, because Donglai had told her about the sufferings Ximei had gone through, but
Dongzhu had suffered even more than Ximei, and she had not known about it for more than ten
years. She was not worthy of being a mother.
Chen Dongmei sighed and said cautiously: "Amei, forget it. We don't live here, so what's the
point of having a house? Dongfang and Donghai have to serve Mom."
Chen Dongzhu was furious at his lack of fighting spirit and slapped the deposit slip on the table,
shocking everyone.

Chapter 159
"You just started a bad start. You went back to your hometown when I told you to, and you got
married when I told you to. Chen Dongmei, do you know that you are a human being, not an
animal? Why do you have to sacrifice, work hard, and finally get what you deserve? Aren't you
grateful for the 500 yuan?" Dongzhu's eyes were red. No matter how disgusting Chen Donghai
was, she would just slap him twice, but even her eldest sister advised her like this, she was so
angry that she wanted to vomit blood.
"What's the difference between livestock and livestock?" Chen Dongfang said with a smile, "The
division of labor in the revolution is different. We all know the contribution that my eldest sister
has made to the family. Didn't my father give all the homestead and farmland in Yuyao to my
eldest sister five years ago? We have no objection."
Seeing Chen Dongzhu's eyebrows raised, Li Xuejing quickly said gently: "Now the homestead can
also apply for a land use certificate. In the future, if you want to build a building yourself, it will be
no worse than this old house."
Qian Guihua quickly interjected, "That's right, what could be better than having your own land?
You can grow whatever you want to eat. Donghai and his farm go to the suburbs to collect
vegetables. Farmers should have an easy life."
Chen Dongmei glanced at her two sisters-in-law, lowered her head silently, and tightly grasped
the deposit slip in her pocket, and whispered: "The land belongs to the country, not us. We
contracted it to grow crops, and after paying the public grain, we only have enough for our own
consumption, so how can we use it to grow vegetables?"
Chen Dongzhu sneered, "Second brother, you are such a considerate person. My eldest sister was
sent back to Yuyao at the age of fourteen, just to keep the homestead in her hometown from
being occupied by relatives. How much money does the old man give her a month? Five yuan! Do
you know how hard it is to farm? Look at my eldest sister's hands, are they flat? Are they
clenched tightly? If you think the homestead and the fields are good, why didn't you exchange
them with my eldest sister for so many years? Have you ever asked how much money my eldest
sister and her family earned from working hard to farm for a year last year?"
Chen Dongfang looked at the elder sister, feeling inexplicably guilty, and shook his head.
"Four hundred and nine, the whole family worked hard for a year and earned this much money."
Chen Dongzhu narrowed his eyes: "Thanks to the good policy, it was only more than two hundred
yuan in the past few years. Have you three men ever cared about her?"
"Yes, yes. Donglai has been sending me money since he started working. I have received it. The
money is enough," Chen Dongmei explained timidly, with a sense of guilt. "We really don't have
much money in the countryside. Dongzhu, I have brought all the money you sent me in the past
two years. I am the eldest in the family. I don't have the ability to give you money or help you. I
shouldn't spend your money anyway. Whose money is blown by the wind? You can't be so
extravagant." She glanced at Cao Jinzhu carefully, her heart skipped a beat, and she was annoyed
that she spoke too quickly. What if Dongzhu secretly took the money from her husband's family
to subsidize her family, this would cause her big trouble. Fortunately, Cao Jinzhu was flipping
through an old picture book with his daughter as if nothing had happened. Chen Dongmei just
hoped that he didn't pay attention to what she said.
Dongzhu stared at her elder sister, and the hot tears finally flowed out and dripped onto her
hands. The woman in her forties in front of her had gray hair on her temples, her navy blue spring
and autumn shirt had white elbows, frayed collar, and thick and protruding finger joints. From the
way she held the cup and incense, she knew that her hands could neither be flat nor clenched.
When she came to beg for rice, she was obviously a girl with bright eyes and white teeth, and she
was cautious and more humble than a beggar. Just because she was the eldest daughter in the
family, her parents took it for granted and pushed her onto another path of no return. She
actually lived half her life without any complaints, married the nephew of her cousin in the
countryside without any objection, gave birth to three daughters and a son quietly, and gave
away her youngest daughter.
"The money I give you is yours. If you don't want it, throw it into the water or into the toilet!"
Dongzhu choked and yelled at Chen Dongmei. Ximei and Chen Dongfang went to persuade Chen
Dongmei to accept Ah Mei's kindness.
Dongzhu was persuaded by Cao Jinzhu to drink two sips of water. After catching her breath, she
stared at Chen Dongfang again: "You are exploiting us, you know? You have been exploiting us.
You want to get rid of us with these 500 yuan? No way. I tell you, Chen Dongfang, Chen Donghai,
I'm telling you, the house must be in the name of my mother and the three of us. No woman in
the Chen family can be left out!"
——
After school, Si Jiang and Jing Sheng went directly to Chen's house to pick up Si Nan and Si Hao,
but they ran into a chaotic scene.
Director Liu of the neighborhood committee, Director Shen, and Aunt Kang, the grandmother
next door, were all trying to persuade Chen Dongzhu to treat others with mercy and respect the
last wishes of the deceased. Chen Dongfang and Chen Donghai started fighting over the family
property. The two brothers competed in smoking competition. The windows and doors were
open and the room was still filled with smoke. Simei stared at Si Nan feeding Si Hao custard to Si
Hao who was watching TV, pretending to be deaf and dumb. Qian Guihua jumped up and down,
and was choked by Dongzhu three times after saying one sentence, feeling how the old man felt
when he was so angry that he had a heart attack. Li Xuejing saw that Dongzhu was soft-spoken
but not stubborn, so she just said how she would serve her mother and fulfill her filial piety in the
future, and it would definitely not cost a penny from the three sisters. Grandma and Chen
Dongmei held hands and looked at each other with tears in their eyes. One confided in her
mother's difficulties, and the other was considerate of her mother's difficulties and blamed
herself for not being able to fulfill her filial piety to her mother-in-law.
Chen Dongzhu stiffened her neck and refused to give in. Either the house should be changed to A
Niang's name alone, or the whole family's name should be put on it. If she didn't agree, she
would sue. Anyway, her reasoning was reasonable and legal, and she was not afraid to travel
around the world. Cao Jinzhu was lying on the bamboo lounge chair by the window and snoring.
The setting sun covered half of his body, and the shadows of three electric wires swayed slightly
on the front page of the Xinmin Evening News in his hand. Cao Yingying sat on a small stool next
to him, holding her chin and watching cartoons with Chen Sihao. "Ge ge ge ge ge ge ge ge ge, we
love you..." Sinan held the small bowl, fed Chen Sihao a mouthful, fed Cao Yingying a mouthful,
and ate a mouthful himself, watching more attentively than the two of them. Ikkyu the little
monk and Xiao Ye, they are very much like her and her, hehe.
Seeing Si Jiang coming, A Niang quickly took Si Jiang to recognize the two aunts. Aunt Liu and the
others also breathed a sigh of relief. It is difficult for a judge to judge family affairs, and the Chen
family's affairs are even more difficult to deal with.
Chen Dongzhu stared at Si Jiang without blinking, and asked Gu Ximei several times: "Is this the
daughter born to you and Chen Donglai?"
Gu Ximei: “???”
"How could you give birth to such a pretty girl?!"
Gu Ximei: “!!!”
Dongzhu stared at Jingsheng again: "Sister-in-law, can you give birth to such a handsome boy?"
After clarifying the relationship, Chen Dongzhu held Si Jiang's hand and said with regret: "What a
pity, I have wanted to marry your uncle since I was four years old, but I didn't expect that your
aunt got the upper hand."
Si Jiang shook his head seriously and said, "That won't work. My aunt is so nice. No one can
change her."
Sinan inexplicably felt like he had found a comrade. He dropped his bowl and smiled as he
exchanged secrets with Dongzhu: "My dear, I have always wanted to marry my eldest cousin
since I was a child. We are in the same group."
Cao Jinzhu opened his eyes, stretched out lazily on the recliner, glanced at Dongzhu, and coughed
twice.
Dongzhu looked back at her husband with a smile and winked at Sinan, "Then you will never get
married in the future."
"Ah?" Sinan pouted and shook off her hand: "Little lady, you are so mean. You and I are no longer
in the same group. Goodbye."
Seeing that everyone's tense nerves had relaxed a lot, Ximei asked Si Jiangjingsheng to take his
brothers and sisters out for a walk so that the adults could start a new round of discussions. Not
long after the children left and Dongzhu's firepower was not yet fully fired, the second sister
Chen Donglan came home.
——
Chen Donglan is one and a half years younger than Chen Donglai. She was born with an extra
thumb on her right hand. She went to the hospital for an operation to remove it when she was
twelve years old. The extra finger disappeared from her hand, and the scar became smoother
and rounder, but the extra finger in her heart was never removed. Because of this, she was the
most taciturn among the six siblings in the family. She was ridiculed at school and disliked by her
father when she went home. Her mother comforted her privately and said that she was unlucky.
With the excuse of "fate", Chen Donglan gradually accepted her fate. After barely finishing junior
high school, she took the initiative to go to the street work group to paste matchboxes. She
smelled of paste all over her body, and in less than half a year, her whole face became blurred.
She and Dongzhu were not close. Dongzhu was brought up by Dongmei. She was always out and
about, and liked to chase after the gang of Gu Dongwen and Gu Beiwu. She didn't like to be with
people, nor did she like to be seen. After knowing that she was forced by several boys in class to
press her palm prints on the wall with her right hand covered in ink, Dongzhu rushed into her
classroom with a folding stool, cursing and slashing, injuring two and driving away three. No one
dared to attack Dongzhu. Gu Dongwen and Gu Beiwu, one guarding the front door and the other
guarding the back door, were specially dragged here to support the girls of Wanchun Street.
None of her three brothers were there. But since then, Donglan and Dongzhu have become more
distant, and they avoid the Gu family as far as they can see.
When Chen Donghai received the notice to go to the countryside, Donglan thought about taking
the initiative to replace him. She felt sick when she smelled the paste, but Donghai secretly filled
in Dongzhu's name. The old man thought about it all night and decided to let Dongzhu, who
refused to go to work, receive re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants, so that
she would not follow Gu Nanhong and learn bad things and become a female gangster. Of course,
it may also be because Donglan could at least earn fifty cents for pasting a thousand matchboxes
a day, and because she was good at pasting, she was often rewarded with soap and towels by the
street, while Dongzhu would run home directly after pasting a hundred matchboxes a day, take
the money for buying vegetables from the drawer of the chest of drawers, and go out to walk on
the street and watch a movie. Dongzhu didn't know that her mother later cried and said to her: If
she didn't suffer a little, she couldn't settle down and would go astray.
Two years after Dongzhu left, Grandpa Chen asked Donglan if she was willing to marry the lame
nephew of his unit's chief accountant in his hometown of Zibo. He looked handsome in the photo
and worked in the logistics department of Shengli Oilfield. When he was a child, he was hit by a
car and his bones did not grow well. He had short legs, so he was not married until he was in his
thirties. However, his family conditions were good. His parents were employees of the oilfield and
were allocated public housing. His two older sisters were married. After marriage, the couple had
a separate room and they could arrange for Donglan to work as a telephone operator in the post
office. Donglan hesitated for a day and agreed. She married and went to Zibo, and Chen
Dongfang joined the financial office of the School of Finance and Economics.
Donglan found out that she was Xu Runchang's second wife on the third day after her marriage.
Her ex-husband left her with two daughters. The Xu family divorced her because they suspected
that she could not give birth to a son. Four people lived in the so-called separate room for the
young couple. Donglan secretly sent a telegram to her parents to cry about being cheated into
marriage. Grandpa Chen was so angry that he cursed her more than ten times. Donglan said she
wanted to go back to Shanghai. Mom asked her if she had consummated the marriage with the
man. How could she not have? The Xu family prepared everything properly. The two
granddaughters were sent to hide at relatives' homes for three days. No one let out a word of
truth when the bridal chamber was in chaos.
"You are already a member of the Xu family. What will you do after you come back?" Although
Chen A Niang felt sorry for her daughter being deceived by a second-married man, if her
daughter got divorced after a month of marriage, it would be more frightening than a second
marriage. Six of the seven stone archways in Linshan, Yuyao, her hometown, were chastity
archways. Although the four olds were destroyed after liberation, the idea that a woman cannot
serve two husbands was rooted in A Niang's mind and could not be broken. After scolding
people, Grandpa Chen sighed, "Now there are less than 600 couples divorcing in Shanghai every
year. As long as they get divorced, it means they are dissatisfied with reality, smearing socialism,
and learning the decadent life of the US imperialists and Soviet revisionists. Donglan, you have to
think about it."
It was useless to think about it. Not only did Shanghainese find it difficult to divorce, but
Shandongnese could not easily divorce either. Donglan could only resent Chen Dongfang,
thinking that she had been sold out by her family for his job. Like Dongzhu, she became a victim
of her brothers' future. She could only confide in Dongzhu, who really felt the same way. She
angrily scolded everyone in the family and told her to pack up and go back to Shanghai
immediately, or to break off relations with her family and go to Heilongjiang to join her.
"We female comrades must stand up and fight for ourselves!" Dongzhu wrote this line in very
large letters.
However, Donglan could not leave because she was pregnant, and after ten months of pregnancy,
she gave birth to a boy.

Chapter 160
Women who have experienced childbirth no longer consider themselves "human beings".
Donglan lay in the obstetrics ward, watching doctors, interns, nurses, and family members of the
mother coming and going. The curtain was purely decorative. Anyone, male or female, could lift
her clothes and press a few times at any time to see if she had milk or not. Everyone acted like an
expert.
The day before, she tried to cover her breasts with a towel, but her father-in-law pulled the towel
away and frowned, saying, "What are you doing? Be careful not to suffocate my grandson." He
then stared at her for a few seconds and said, "What's there to cover? It's as if everyone has seen
it before." Donglan's head was buzzing, and the blood rushed to her head and she was shaking all
over. But when she looked around, every woman in labor had her chest exposed with an
expressionless face, and their husbands didn't care, as if the exposed organ was just a pendant
without any gender characteristics. A doctor and seven or eight interns were surrounding the
pregnant woman in labor at the window and said, "This is a typical hanging abdomen. You all go
and touch it." Donglan's blurred tears made it difficult to see the woman's expression.
Five days later, Donglan's episiotomy wound was sutured. The female doctor asked the intern to
draw the curtain. Donglan clutched the bed sheet and cried, thanking the doctor. The doctors all
laughed. Life after returning home was even harder than in the ward. Relatives who came to see
her child touched her body without scruples and talked about the color of her organs. The door
was always open, as if they were visiting a sow or cow in the pen. However, Donglan became
numb after a few days. The baby needed milk every two hours, and each feeding took half an
hour. Her parents-in-law came in and out at will to check whether she was breastfeeding
diligently. Xu Runchang criticized her for not paying enough attention to her son.
One night, her milk was so full that she had a low fever. She went to the bathroom to express
milk. She didn't close the door because she was afraid she wouldn't hear her son crying. Her
father-in-law suddenly pushed the door open and came in. Donglan was so scared that she
stumbled back to her room. Xu Runchang cursed her for being so noisy, turned over and
continued to snore. Her son cried loudly but refused to drink milk. She held the baby and tried to
hold back her nausea while pacing back and forth in the nine-square-meter room with two beds.
She felt like her waist was about to break, her chest was swollen and painful, and she felt dizzy.
Her two young stepdaughters looked at her with their eyes open in the dim light. Every time she
walked to the window, Donglan wanted to open the window and jump down with her son in her
arms. She couldn't even tell Dongzhu about the pain caused by these trivial things. Day after day,
it became a serious illness and finally became truly insignificant.
People are very adaptable. After getting through the breastfeeding period and returning to work
at the Post and Telecommunications Bureau, Donglan was grateful for every bit of kindness that
life gave her. After giving birth to a son for the Xu family, her family status did improve a lot.
Although she could only eat at the small low table in the kitchen with her mother-in-law and
stepdaughters, the family could eat rice twice a week. Cooking was a waste, and a pot of porridge
could be eaten twice a day, so steamed buns with pickles were not so hard to swallow. After
working for ten years, Donglan unexpectedly applied for a small public housing unit of 12 square
meters in the Post and Telecommunications dormitory building. The previous owner was a lonely
old man who had retired for many years. He died in the house for seven or eight days before his
body was found to be smelly. The house was next to the public toilet and water room in the
corridor, so no one wanted it after it was vacated, so Donglan was finally offered a discount. Xu
Runchang and his parents felt embarrassed and were very unhappy, however, with his own
strength, he would not be eligible for a housing allocation even if he retired in the oil field. Finally,
seeing that Donglan was tidy and presentable, he moved in with reluctance.
Donglan had to hand in her monthly salary of 38 yuan, and then get living expenses from her
mother-in-law. Even buying toilet paper and menstrual belts had to be calculated clearly. In order
to clean up this small house, she gritted her teeth and sent a telegram to her eldest brother and
Dongzhu to borrow money. Chen Donglai quickly remitted her 50 yuan, saying it was a gift for his
nephew. In the letter, he wrote many words to comfort her, and also said that his brother-in-law
Gu Dongwen's son went to Xinjiang with them, so he really couldn't give her more money, and
asked her to be more considerate. Not long after, Chen Dongfang also remitted her 50 yuan, and
there was no word written on the remittance message column. Donglan guessed that Donglai
forced him to remit it, so she remitted another 20 yuan to Donglai, saying it was a return gift to Si
Jiangsnan, and by the way, she told him about Chen Dongfang's remittance.
The house had just been poured with cement and had not been painted yet, when Dongzhu and
Cao Jinzhu came to Zibo with 200 yuan. The Cao family was bold, careful and quick-witted. As
soon as the policy was relaxed and Sino-Soviet trade was resumed, his family began to secretly do
business with the Soviet Russians across the street. They were the first to become well-off in the
county. Donglan had not contacted Dongzhu for several years, and the first thing she asked was
to borrow money. Dongzhu was really worried. After she came, she ordered Cao Jinzhu to paint
the walls, buy furniture and paint, and even replaced the front door with a new one. She also
laughed and scolded at the Xu family, and after two fights, she asked for Donglan's salary back. In
just ten days, Xu Runchang's family was inferior to Donglan. Dongzhu helped Donglan move her
family before returning to Heihe. Before leaving, she said that she should not have accepted Chen
Dongfang's money, so that she could get it back with interest in one go in the future.
However, Donglan developed a subtle sense of apology and guilt towards Xu Runchang because
of Dongzhu's dominance. Xu Runchang was wary of his fierce and aggressive sister-in-law and his
muscular brother-in-law. The couple actually treated each other with respect. The family of five
lived in harmony with the couple's salary of about 80 yuan.
Life was harmonious, so naturally, she didn't want to cause trouble. For Chen Donglan, Shanghai
and her parents' home were already distant nouns, almost disappeared from her life. She didn't
feel anything about her father's sudden death. Grief was too extravagant, and forgiveness was
out of the question. What else could she do? She might not live better in Shanghai than in Zibo.
At least she would definitely not be able to get into the post and telecommunications bureau in
Shanghai. At least her life was much better than her elder sister's. Dongzhu asked her to go back
to her parents' home to "collect debts" no matter what. She didn't want to make this trip, and
the round-trip train ticket was not cheap. Later, Chen Dongfang leaked that the old man had left a
sum of money for the three of them, so Xu Runchang urged her to take leave to attend the
funeral.
Chen Donglan kowtowed six times in front of her father's portrait, three for herself and three for
Xu Runchang. She was a little surprised when she got the deposit slip. Five hundred yuan was not
a small amount of money. She and Xu Runchang had moved out for almost five years and had
only saved about two hundred yuan. After being urged for a long time, Donglan said in a
controlled tone: "The house belongs to my father. He can give it to whoever he wants. I am
already a member of the Xu family, and the unit has also allocated a house--" Seeing that her
elder sister Dongmei was winking at her, Dongzhu's face was too ugly, so she didn't continue.
The Chen Dongfang brothers breathed a sigh of relief. Qian Guihua laughed out loud and sighed
to Director Liu and Grandma Li, "Ah, it's true that the emperor is not anxious, but the eunuchs
are. Someone came all the way here to do justice and make the whole family restless, as if
grandparents and brothers owed them a lot of debts. They kept asking for debts and beat and
scolded them. Fortunately, the eldest and second sisters knew clearly and did not wrongly accuse
grandpa and mother-in-law. People should act according to their conscience, right? I have never
seen children behave like this. They even did not let go of the elderly who passed away. If
grandpa was still alive, she would be mad to death."
Dongzhu sneered, "If I had this ability, I would have used it 17 or 18 years ago. You look like a
smug person. Are you Granny Li or Aunt Liu holding a dog bone? Who are you showing your teeth
and wagging your tail to? If not my name, then your name will be on this house? Your mind is full
of shit, just like your husband's. He can even betray his brothers and sisters. Who else but himself
would care about you, his wife?"
"Bah, Donghai is so good to me." Qian Guihua's voice was much lower, but she didn't believe it.
She looked at Chen Donghai and said, "Why is the house in the Chen family written in my name?
Besides, Donghai is my husband, so what's his is mine."
"Just look in the mirror and forget about it. Chen Donghai wants to marry you, isn't it because
you look a bit like Gu Nanhong? He has been secretly following Sister Nanhong since he was
fourteen or fifteen years old, and was even taught a lesson by Brother Dongwen because of this."
Chen Dongzhu raised her eyebrows and stared at Chen Donghai, whose face was as red as pig
liver: "I'm afraid no one else knows what good things you have done? Chen Donghai, I'm giving
you a final warning. Since the eldest and second sisters said so, okay, I can't force them to fight.
The three of us can have our names excluded, but if you disagree to write Mom's name, don't
blame me for going to reminisce with Brother Dongwen."
The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Ximei's mind was in a mess. How did the
dispute over the family property involve Nanhong again? She couldn't figure it out for a while.
Qian Guihua was even more confused. She knew that Chen Donghai had some feelings for Gu
Nanhong, but she thought that there were too many men who were interested in Gu Nanhong,
and she never thought that there was such an old case. After Dongzhu pointed it out, she really
wanted to find a mirror immediately to see how her face looked like Gu Nanhong, and she also
wanted to grab Chen Donghai and ask him clearly whether he had such disgusting thoughts.
The cigarette in Chen Donghai's hand trembled a few times and was extinguished in the ashtray.
He raised his head and glanced at Chen Dongfang with a guilty conscience, and whispered,
"Mom's name should indeed be added, so that Dad can rest assured." After that, he pretended to
be calm and added, "I did like Sister Nanhong, but that was decades ago. There's nothing to say.
Didn't you invite Sister Nanhong to watch a movie and drink coffee with her, second brother?"
Chen Dongfang almost threw the teacup on his face on the spot. This shameless bastard must
have some leverage in Dongzhu's hands and wanted to drag him into the water. No wonder he
had the bad intention to send Dongzhu to Heilongjiang.
Dongzhu was unexpectedly willing to make such a big concession. Director Liu and the others
quickly struck while the iron was hot and did ideological work on Chen Dongfang, saying that if
you take a step back, the world will be broader. In fact, Dongzhu was just worried about her
mother, and her filial piety was worthy of praise. As her son, you should also set an example to
reassure everyone.
The matter has finally been settled.
At night, Dongzhu lay in the guesthouse room, crying. Cao Jinzhu coaxed his daughter to sleep
and held her in his arms.
"Forget it. Everyone has their own aspirations. You can't force them. You've tried your best. Be
good and stop crying. It's not worth it." Cao Jinzhu stroked her back.
"How could they be so disappointing? This is what they deserve. They were obviously full of
complaints, saying how hard life was and how biased the old man was. But in the end, they
backed down and gave up everything. Five hundred yuan, just for five hundred yuan, their whole
life is over..." Dongzhu had never been so sad, she felt depressed, feeble, and powerless. She
didn't even feel angry.
Cao Jinzhu didn't understand either, and he didn't want to find out. He just felt sorry for Dongzhu.
——
At night, after listening to Ximei's words, Grandma Gu shook her head and sighed, "Dongzhu, she
has a bad fate but good luck. It's right for her to fight for her reputation, but she shouldn't fight
like this. It's not legitimate. Her two sisters are more sensible than her. Alas, how can a married
girl fight with her brothers for the family property?"
Ximei's mouth twitched: "Don't worry, Mom, this house belongs to Big Brother and Beiwu, I will
never come back to steal it in my lifetime."
"Well, I'm not talking about you, why are you so suspicious?" Granny Gu said unhappily, "Isn't it
the same in every household? When a girl gets married, the house of her husband's family is
hers. If you want to go back to your parents' home to get involved, then your husband's elder
sister-in-law and younger sister-in-law will also have to go back to their parents' home to get
involved. In the end, it's your husband's property that will be divided up. It's not like I always
recruit sons-in-law. If no one argues, there will be no right or wrong."
Gu Dongwen looked up from the newspaper and smiled, "Mom, although what you said makes
sense, it is not rational. New China has put gender equality in the constitution. Since they are
equal, there is nothing wrong with writing my daughter's name on the land certificate."
"Brother, I don't need it." Ximei quickly clarified: "My school has allocated a dormitory, and
Donglai's unit also has a dormitory. We plan to stay in Urumqi after retirement. You and Beiwu
have always taken care of Mom, so the house should belong to you."
Jingsheng and Sijiang looked up from their books. Sijiang asked nervously, "Mom, you and Dad
are not going back to Shanghai? What about Sinan?"
"No, we won't go back. We have been supporting Xinjiang for so many years and have developed
feelings for Xinjiang. What will we do after we come back? There are hundreds of thousands of
unemployed young people in Shanghai who still don't have jobs." Ximei said calmly, "Let Sinan
follow us first, and we'll see what the policy is later. If you can come back, then come back. Your
mother's house can always accommodate you. If you can't come back, forget it. There are so
many children of educated youth in Xinjiang. Do they have no future? They all take the college
entrance examination and do the same paper."
When it came to her own affairs, Grandma Gu immediately put the mess of her in-laws behind
her and started worrying about the difficulties Nanhong would face in running her own business.
She was reluctant to let Si Jiang move back to Lane 74 and wondered whether Si Jiang and Si Hao
would come back to have dinner together in the future, whether Chen A Niang would be willing
to come with them to have dinner, and whether Jingsheng and Si Jiang would go to school
together. They talked about all kinds of things until after eleven o'clock in the evening.
After lying down, Jingsheng tossed and turned for a long time, and suddenly remembered that
incident, "What bad things did Si Jiang's third uncle do in the past? You must know, right?" He
always felt that Chen Dongzhu was a person who would avenge his grudges, and he would
definitely not hide it for Chen Donghai for more than ten years.
Gu Dongwen thought for a moment and said, "Well, Chen Dongzhu told me that Chen Donghai
was a bit of a fangirl when he was in middle school. One time, he sneaked into our house and
climbed up the loquat tree to steal your eldest aunt's clothes."
Jingsheng's hair stood on end: "Disgusting, pervert." Stealing clothes, of course, would only mean
stealing women's bras or panties.
"What happened next?" Jingsheng thought of something further away, and immediately sat up
and shook Gu Dongwen twice. Gu Dongwen slapped his hand away and lay flat, with his hands
behind his head and laughed twice: "He was guilty of his crime, and he stole a pair of shorts from
Aunt Feng next door."
"You didn't teach him a lesson? He didn't come to steal again?"
"He's that brave? Ha, after being played with by me with a fruit knife, he was so scared that he
didn't dare to approach your eldest lady for a year or two." Gu Dongwen opened his eyes, his
dimples filled with ridicule: "The way he played with the fruit knife during the Chinese New Year
this year was a reliving of his past. I guess he won't be able to sleep for ten days."
Jingsheng looked at the old man's smiling face dimly and felt that he had underestimated how
insidious and cunning he was.
The father and son lay side by side in silence for a long time. Jingsheng turned over and said,
"Hey."
"Um?"
"Little Miss said that Chen Donghai will come over often to accompany his mother in the future."
"Um."
"It's better for Sijiang not to move there."
Gu Dongwen opened his eyes, and the breathing of the boy beside him suddenly became lighter.
Jing Sheng turned over uncomfortably: "You will definitely still be a pervert when you get older.
Such a disgusting person -" Before he could finish his words, Gu Dongwen yawned: "That makes
sense."
Jingsheng breathed a sigh of relief, and after a while he didn't say the last part of his sentence
before kicking him.
"I know, I know, I will tell your little maid tomorrow, Cena, I'm so annoyed, I still have four hours
to go grab food, sleepy high, sleepy high. (You're so annoying. Now, I still have an hour to go get
food, go to bed)”
In the darkness, the corners of Jingsheng's mouth turned up.
The corners of Gu Dongwen's mouth also twitched slightly.

Chapter 161
It was Si Jiang's first time to attend a funeral. It seemed that the person lying in the auditorium
was not her grandfather, but a complete stranger.
Wanguo Funeral Home has 18 mourning halls. Those wearing black veils and red eyes are family
members, and those wearing navy blue or black spring and autumn shirts and solemn faces are
guests. The door is like two worlds. The guests all look sad when they enter the door. They
hurriedly hold the hands of the family members and shake them up and down. They say "I am
sorry for the loss" many times, walk to the small table, sign their names, and present the funeral
gifts. Then they look around and find acquaintances around and automatically blend in,
whispering about how hastily Grandpa Chen passed away and how regrettable it was. After
standing for a long time, the guests go out in twos and threes to get some fresh air, smoke and
reminisce. Although it is not convenient to laugh and joke, the sadness on their faces can be
temporarily removed for a moment.
Si Jiangsnan and other grandchildren lined up in front of the wreaths. Someone had sent two rare
fresh flower wreaths, which were surrounded by white and yellow chrysanthemums and several
lilies. The lilies were very fragrant. Si Hao sneezed twice in Jingsheng's arms and kept trying to
reach out to grab the flowers. Jingsheng grabbed his hand and warned him not to move. He then
twisted and turned in Jingsheng's arms like a piece of taffy.
Several people spoke up, and Si Jiang listened carefully. He found that Grandpa was well-known
in the accounting industry and could be called an expert with both ability and integrity. A middle-
aged female cadre tearfully recounted how patiently Teacher Chen guided them when they first
joined the company, taking the trouble to familiarize them with the relevant competent
departments, urging them to learn the latest policies, and encouraging them to continue their
studies. Another trade union chairman fondly remembered that Mr. Chen had trained several
accountants for the company, and the financial system he established has been running well to
this day, saving the company a lot of manpower and money.
Si Jiang had never experienced any of these virtues at her grandfather's house. She had some
sporadic memories of her grandfather scolding her for being picky or naughty when she was
three or four years old. It turned out that she was naughty when she was a child, and Si Jiang
sighed. Since she moved to her grandmother's house, her grandfather has been quite distant
from her, probably because he felt embarrassed by his uncle. What impressed her most was that
when she was in the fifth grade, her grandfather thought she was in the fourth grade. Si Jiang
couldn't help but look at the three aunts. The eldest aunt supported her mother and cried very
sadly, the second aunt lowered her head and wiped her tears, and only the youngest aunt had
her eyes facing the sky and her neck stiff, with a look of disdain.
Si Jiang lowered his head and found that Si Nan was rolling her eyes like the little girl. He quickly
twisted her gently and pouted towards the back of her mother in the front row. If Si Nan didn't
cry today, she would definitely be slapped when she returned home.
Only Grandma Gu came from the Gu family. She held Chen A Niang's other hand and persuaded
her not to cry, to make friends, and let him go with peace of mind. Unexpectedly, when the
funeral music sounded, Chen A Niang threw herself on the coffin with trembling feet and cried
out heartbreakingly.
Si Jiang burst into tears all of a sudden, not caring about Si Nans's task, and rushed forward, but
she was surrounded by people who were trying to persuade A Niang, two uncles, two aunts,
three aunts, as well as Si Qi's grandmother and uncle, whom she had never met, and Simin's
grandfather and aunt.
Jingsheng looked at her standing at a loss at the outermost circle, crying and snotting, and he
didn't find it strange at all. This person usually cries easily when reading books, watching movies,
or listening to music. She would cry when she was sad, upset, moved, and excited. It was
impossible for her not to cry in this tear-jerking sad music, not to mention that there was her
mother crying so hard. Jingsheng felt strange again. Lu Xun was right, "Human beings' sorrows
and joys are not in common, I just think they are noisy." Only Sijiang seemed to always easily
connect with the sorrows and joys of others, even strangers, which added a lot of unnecessary
emotions and troubles to herself. Or, Jingsheng guessed that Ximei's words of staying in Urumqi
and not returning to Shanghai hurt her heart. She has always been the abandoned one, and
under the name of doing it for her own good, this happened to be a place where she could cry
openly.
Sinan panicked in the midst of grief and tugged at Jingsheng's sleeve tightly: "Cousin, why is my
sister crying so hard? Why can't I squeeze out a single tear? I should have listened to grandma
and brought some chili peppers."
Jingsheng sighed and was about to speak when he suddenly froze and quickly pulled Chen Sihao
away from him. Chen Sihao tilted his neck back and cried loudly, struggling with his limbs. A few
suspicious drops of water dripped over Jingsheng's wet coat and onto the cement in front of him,
forming a dark circle.
Si Jiang cried halfway and was forced to rush back to Wanchun Street with Jingsheng Sinan and
the culprit Chen Sihao, the little fat boy, to change clothes.
——
Grandpa Chen's funeral was dignified and grand, with wreaths piled up like mountains and
mourning couplets like waterfalls. Chen Dongfang, who was in charge of receiving representatives
from various units, pondered the records on the funeral list and realized something was wrong. In
addition to the School of Finance and Economics and Lixin, which was reopened a few years ago,
more than 20 units came to pay their respects, all of whom regretted the loss of an old
predecessor in the accounting industry. Many people took the opportunity to inquire about Chen
Dongfang's ability and qualifications to measure whether he could inherit Grandpa Chen's
mantle.
Xu Runchang's uncle also attended the funeral and talked a few words with Donglan. He was
quite proud of his vision in choosing a wife for his niece. He talked more after drinking. He held
Chen Dongfang's hand and said with emotion, "Dongfang, you rely on the gold and silver left by
your grandfather. If you can just take on the accounts of seven or eight units, you will be a
millionaire in one or two years. Just remember to manage the old man's network of relationships
well."
Chen Dongfang toasted three or five glasses of wine before he got the information out. It turned
out that Grandpa Chen was responsible for the accounts of more than ten units before his death.
He went to each company once a month and charged consulting fees ranging from 60 to 100
yuan. He had been dealing with the industrial and commercial taxation of several districts for 30
to 40 years. He was very familiar with the county magistrate and the current manager. These
units relied on him to solve many problems, so the red envelopes given to him every Spring
Festival were 500 to 600 yuan. Unfortunately, Grandpa Chen was smart and capable all his life,
and had a good reputation in the industry for being honest, strict and meticulous, but he did not
expect that he would fall from a cerebral infarction, and the heart-saving pills were not used. He
died with hatred before he could explain the kingdom he had built.
Chen Dongfang tossed and turned at night, and calculated with Li Xuejing all night. He felt that
the old mother must have a large sum of money that she didn't take out. It was probably kept for
self-defense. No one could take it until the day she left. Anyway, just don't give it secretly to the
third child. After all, the eldest couple are honest people and won't covet their parents' property.
Dongmei and Donglan were sent away with 500 yuan. Although Dongzhu is a black-eyed chicken,
she will have nothing to do with it after she returns to the Northeast.
The day after the funeral, Chen Dongfang and Ximei settled the accounts on behalf of the public.
After leaving the money for the burial of the ancestral tomb in Yuyao, there was still more than
1,000 yuan left. Chen Dongfang decided to divide the money into three parts, and each family
took back more than 400 yuan.
"Dad told me a long time ago that he didn't want the house that the company allocated to him,
and I got a job in the finance department of the college instead." Chen Dongfang took out two
hundred yuan and gave it to Donglan: "Teacher Xu concealed the fact that Xu Runchang was
married, and Dad was very angry and said that you were wronged. Teacher Xu felt guilty, and he
always took good care of me for your sake. This is my apology for Teacher Xu, and you go to the
department store to buy something for your nephew."
Donglan accepted it half-heartedly under the persuasion of her mother, and the resentment in
her heart also had a suitable reason to dissipate. Ximei was a little angry that Chen Donglai had
sent money to Dongmei and Donglan without telling her, and the fifty yuan given to Donglan was
obviously taken from Jingsheng's living expenses of three hundred yuan that year. Although it
was returned to her at the end of the year and Jingsheng bought a new cotton-padded jacket,
cotton-padded pants and cotton-padded shoes, she always felt in her heart that she was treated
as an outsider of the Chen family. Seeing Chen Dongfang so hypocritically generous, Ximei felt
that compared to them, her husband was still a man of noble character, so she didn't want to
bother with him. Dongzhu looked down on their harmonious style of reconciliation, and just
sneered while peeling melon seeds for her daughter. Chen Donghai felt that his second brother
was not right. In terms of stinginess, Chen Dongfang claimed to be second, and no one in the
Chen family dared to claim to be first. He suddenly did this, and there must be something fishy.
A Niang had fainted several times since the funeral, and had been lying on the bed with IV drips.
Li Xuejing and Qian Guihua took turns to take care of her. Chen Donghai asked Qian Guihua to
look after Li Xuejing. Qian Guihua had a stern face and didn't want to talk to him. Seeing the two
nail marks on his face that she had scratched, she felt sad for no reason. Thinking that the money
issue was not just the business of Chen Donghai, the bastard, but also her business, and the
business of her son and daughter, she said "hmm" softly.
The three sisters of Dongzhu went to the bank to withdraw money, and at Dongzhu's insistence,
they had lunch at Dongsheng Canteen. Chen Dongmei and Chen Donglan were very surprised to
see Gu Dongwen. It was hard to believe that this smiling Shanghai uncle with a smell of oil smoke
was the same person as the high-spirited Wanchun Street tyrant back then, but the dimples
could not deceive people, and it was indeed Gu Dongwen. Dongzhu ordered seven or eight
dishes and opened three bottles of beer with great enthusiasm, and in the end, Gu Dongwen
accompanied her to finish the drinks.
Donglan offered three cups of tea to Gu Dongwen instead of wine. Thinking of the hidden
meaning in Ximei's words that day, she anxiously probed a few times, and was relieved to make
sure that Gu Dongwen didn't know that the fifty yuan was from his son's living expenses. She
took out a big unity and forced it on him, saying that it was a gift for Jingsheng. Gu Dongwen
refused to accept it. Finally, Dongzhu added four big unity and stuffed them into the empty beer
bottle, shouting: "Brother Dongwen, if you don't accept it, you don't treat me as your little sister.
Back then, you taught me to fight and helped my sister vent her anger. I should repay a drop of
water with a spring. No matter what, you must accept my kindness. (Brother Dongwen, if you
don't accept it, you don't treat me as your sister. Back then, you taught me to fight and helped
my sister vent her anger...)"
After leaving Dongsheng Canteen, the three sisters walked back along Wulumuqi Road. Jing'an
Hotel towered into the sky, and there was a constant flow of traffic at the entrance. There were
many foreign guests coming in and out. A group of men stood at the entrance, chasing Dongzhu
and asking if she had US dollars in the remittance vouchers. Dongzhu asked a few questions
casually, and found that US dollars were not as valuable as rubles, so she immediately lost
interest. Dongmei asked what rubles were, and was shocked to know that the Cao family was
doing business with the Soviets. Donglan kindly advised Dongzhu to find a unit to work, because
doing business was too risky. Now according to the new policy, state-owned enterprises can
recruit more contract workers. Although they are not as good as permanent workers and cadres,
they are still decent jobs. Dongzhu didn't agree with him, and after a few words, she felt bored
and simply turned back to the guesthouse.
Two days later, Chen A Niang was able to go out to the fields. Because Xi Mei privately told Gu
Dongwen why he did not allow Si Jiang to live here, the old lady cried several times, embarrassed,
angry, and sad. She did not treat Chen Donghai and his wife well in front of others. Qian Guihua
simply used the excuse that she was busy at work and went back to her own home. Chen
Donghai saw that Chen Dongfang and his wife had been unusually attentive and considerate
these days, so he insisted on staying to act like a filial son.
The night before the three Dongzhu sisters left, Chen A-niang called them to her bedside and
burst into tears without saying a word.
"Mom knows that you three have been wronged, and it is your parents who have let you down.
Dongmei, you should know that at that time, your father was locked up for investigation because
he had done accounts for the Kuomintang. He was worried every day, not knowing whether he
would survive. At that time, the countryside had to register for land certificates, and Donglai and
the others were all in school and had no business, so they asked you to go back to keep up
appearances. They thought that if they couldn't stay in Shanghai, there would be a place in their
hometown to shelter from the wind and rain. Later, they didn't ask you to come back because..."
"Okay, Mom." Dongzhu interrupted her mother's chatter impatiently, "Yes, yes, you parents all
have your own hardships. No matter what, you can blame the party or society, not us. Anyway,
we three deserve to be unlucky, right? Is it interesting to talk about this now after decades?
Anyway, if Chen Dongfang and Chen Donghai treat you badly in the future, you can go to the
neighborhood committee or the Women's Federation. It's no use going to us!"
With tears in her eyes, Chen A'niang fished out three small cloth bags from under her pillow and
stuffed one into each of their hands: "This is the coffin book your father left me. I have you three
brothers who are filial and obedient, so I don't lack anything. You can use it to protect yourselves.
Your parents are sorry for you. If you have an afterlife, remember to reincarnate as men."
Dongzhu shook open the cloth, and three small yellow croakers (31-gram gold bars) fell onto her
knees. Dongmei and Donglan were so frightened that they clenched the cloth with both hands,
and got goose bumps all over their bodies.

Chapter 162
Dongzhu weighed the three small gold bars and said with a smile, "These are the small yellow
croakers from before the liberation. Have they been hidden for more than forty years? Tsk tsk tsk,
no wonder the old man wanted to give the house to others when his company allocated it. Was
the gold bar placed inside the wall or under the floor? It would make too much noise if it was dug
out. It would be terrible if his wealth was exposed."
"It's a pity that the price of gold has dropped a lot this year. Two taels of gold is only worth three
thousand yuan now." Dongzhu took a bite of one and put it in his pocket. He stuffed the other
two with the cloth and returned them to Chen A Niang: "Since it's the coffin money, you'd better
keep it yourself. I think Chen Dongfang and Chen Donghai have bad intentions and are just
waiting to dig money from you. You should keep it as a precaution. Although this house is old,
broken and small, it is a private house after all. Your name is added to the land certificate. No one
can occupy it and not let you live in it in the future."
Dongzhu said so, and Dongmei and Donglan quickly took out two small yellow croakers and
returned them to their mother. Chen A-niang couldn't persuade Dongzhu, and she couldn't say
that she had a big yellow croaker in her hand, so she just cried and pushed it back and forth with
her daughters.
"You left home at a bad time. We didn't dare to do this back then. No matter how hard it was, we
had to tighten our belts to get by. No matter how bad your parents are, you won't lose your
dowry. It's just that it's more than ten years late. I'm really sorry for you. But you should be clear
in your heart. Your parents are worried about you."
Donglan hugged her waist and burst into tears: "Why is it so many years late? Why?"
"Lanlan, Mommy is sorry for you, I'm sorry, Mommy can't do anything about it."
Dongmei lowered her head and said nothing.
Dongzhu took a deep breath. The old lady took out the coffin book to save the old man's face.
What else could she do? If she really wanted to give them dowry, why would she abandon them
outside and ignore them for decades? People are old and soft-hearted. Mum is an old-fashioned
woman who has no ideas. After marriage, she obeys her husband. After her husband dies, she
obeys her son. This is the only time she "takes the initiative" with these nine small yellow
croakers. She is definitely her biological mother.
"Okay, okay, I'll accept this dowry." Dongzhu's hands turned into three small yellow croakers
again.
The door opened with a bang, and then slammed shut. Chen Donghai's eyes and mouth were
twitching, and his eyes were full of tears. He rushed to the bed with a face full of grievance,
indignation and disbelief: "Why? Why?! Mom, why?"
——
Ximei and Sijiang were woken up by Li Xuejing in the middle of the night and hurried back to Lane
74. It was quiet outside and no sound could be heard, but the room was a mess. Dongzhu had
one leg on a chair, the blade of the kitchen knife in her right hand had chopped three centimeters
into the table, and nine small yellow croakers were golden and cold next to it.
"Come on, money or life, choose for yourself."
Chen Dongfang was three meters away from Dongzhu: "Sister, let's be good friends and discuss
everything. It's sad to use a knife." Li Xuejing comforted her mother while looking at the pile of
gold. Her heart was pounding. Fortunately, she made it in time. It was a blessing in disguise.
Chen Donghai's forehead was swollen. He lay on the edge of the bed, holding his mother's hand
and crying in a low voice. What did the family owe their three daughters? It was unfair that his
parents left so much gold to their daughters instead of their sons. How could such a thing be
possible? It was the sons and their wives who served and saw their parents off to the grave. The
sons also paid for the funeral and the burial. Why would all these gold bars be given away to Xu
and Cao for free?
Ximei was dumbfounded. She had thought about it a lot, but she had never thought that the
vague words "a quarrel over some furniture" from her elder sister-in-law's mouth were this.
What do you call a little furniture? This is called a quarrel? When she came to her senses, she was
also very angry. It turned out that the daughter-in-law and grandchildren were only worthy of
500 yuan to be sent away. The girls in the old Chen family were the ones who were covered in
gold and silver.
Dongzhu spat at Chen Donghai, "Bah, Mom said this is the dowry for the three of us. You dare to
rob my sister's dowry? You are really shameless. You sold me to Heihe for fifteen years. This little
gold is three thousand yuan, which is only two hundred yuan a year, eighteen yuan a month. Can
you buy someone to go for you? If you are still a human being and have a conscience, you should
pay this money yourself to make up for me. I am not as easy to talk to as Chen Donglan. I bought
her away for life with two hundred yuan."
Chen Dongfang looked at Ximei awkwardly: "Sister-in-law, we all think that Mom should be fair,
right? My eldest brother has contributed to the country for decades. No matter how hard or poor
he was, he always sent money to my eldest and second sisters. In the end, he only got such a
small amount. It's too unreasonable."
Ximei choked, and just when she thought that Dongzhu's words were quite good, her heart was
blown back by the wind over the wall.
Si Jiang pulled the corner of Ximei's clothes: "Mom——"
"Go back to your grandmother's house first. Don't meddle in the adults' business. Also, don't tell
anyone about this, not even your uncle and Jingsheng." Ximei pushed Si Jiang out. Si Jiang had
grown taller since the spring and was now only three or four centimeters taller than her. She
pushed him twice but failed and glared at Si Jiang.
Si Jiang somehow found the courage to walk to the bedside and ask, "Third Uncle, is this gold
from my grandparents? Or did it fall from the sky?"
Chen Donghai said unhappily, "Of course it belongs to your grandparents! Don't ask nonsense if
you don't understand, kid. Go back."
"Since it's grandpa and mom's gold, they can give it to whoever they want. Doesn't the certificate
for the house include the names of the aunts? They said it was to respect the wishes of the
deceased, right?" Si Jiang's voice was soft and a little trembling, but firm. His clear black and
white eyes looked directly at Chen Donghai, and Chen Donghai turned his face away involuntarily.
A'niang cried and pulled Si Jiang into her arms: "Nan'nan, your aunts have a miserable life. Your
grandfather left these for them as dowries. This house will be left to your father and two uncles
in the future, so I can't add their names. A'niang can't do anything. The palm of my hand is flesh,
and the back of my hand is also flesh--"
Donglan was pushed aside and stammered, "Isn't this bowl of water quite fair?" She would not
fight for the name on the land certificate, but she would not give up the three small yellow
croakers no matter what.
Ximei looked unhappy, but she didn't say anything about Sijiang. She still had some dignity.
Compared with her and Nanhong, the three sisters of the Chen family had suffered much more.
Even in the whole Wanchun Street, Dongzhu was right. If a few thousand yuan could buy a
lifetime of someone to exchange for a good life, who wouldn't buy it? Who would be willing to
sell? Since this little compensation was to be given by the old man and the old lady, she was a
daughter-in-law and an outsider, so she shouldn't have any say.
"Donglai and I have no objection." Ximei walked between Dongzhu and Chen Dongfang and
looked at both sides. "Mum said it was a dowry, so it should belong to my eldest sister and her
family. Dongfang, our three families are all dual-income families in state-owned institutions. We
live with our own hands, not our parents, right? Even if this is not given to my eldest sister and
her family, Mom should keep it herself."
Dongzhu pulled out a kitchen knife and swung it around in her hand, smiling like a flower: "Oh, I
said that in our Chen family, only the eldest brother and his wife's family are respectable people.
Look, look, Chen Donghai, you are so embarrassed!"
Ximei's representative Donglai spoke, and the sons' camp immediately fell. If they continued to
make a fuss, the whole Wanchun Street would know that the Chen family had small yellow
croakers. Chen Dongfang thought far ahead and immediately stopped the fuss, saying that what
his sister-in-law said made sense. Chen Donghai could not stand alone, and finally he was so
angry that he squatted at the door of the cultural station and smoked all night. At four o'clock, he
met Gu Dongwen who went out to buy vegetables. He was so scared that he asked him and ran
away faster than a rabbit.
Unfortunately, the floor of the shantytown house is so thick that no matter how small the noise
is, it can't be hidden from the people upstairs and downstairs. Not long after the three sisters of
Dongzhu left, the news spread in Wanchun Street that they took away several small yellow
croakers. This was more serious than catching a cheating couple dead. Everyone looked at the
Chen family and the Gu family differently. All kinds of hearsay were flying around. Some said that
when Grandpa Chen bought a house, he invited Taoist Yan from Jin Situ Temple to look at the
feng shui, and he really made a lot of money. Who would be willing to move to the broken public
housing of the unit? Others said that Taoist Yan's skills were not good, and he only looked at the
wealth position, which shortened Grandpa Chen's life and prevented him from enjoying the
blessing.
Ximei was very upset and quickly bought a ticket to take Sinan back to Xinjiang, saying that he
would not come back during the holidays in the next few years. After all, he had to pay two
months' salary to the railway system for a round trip, which was not worth it. What was even
worse was that Chen Dongfang and Chen Donghai's families quickly moved back to Wanchun
Street, and Qian Guihua and Li Xuejing fought again for the attic. Ximei couldn't understand who
they were being so filial to, and Gu Dongwen smiled and said, "Since your mother-in-law can give
nine small yellow croakers to three girls, she should at least leave nine for her son. They are more
thrifty than you."
The word "jinggua" is too vulgar, and Ximei disdains to associate with it. Now, there are seven
people around her mother-in-law, including her sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, and
granddaughters. At night, people all sleep on the camp beds and sofas in the living room. She has
to prepare two meals in the morning and evening. A Niang doesn't even have time to cherish the
memory of Grandpa Chen, so she has to keep Chen Sihao in Gu's house.
——
Life and death are such big things, but they are worn away by the days. No matter how great the
sorrow or joy is, it will soon fade away. In mid-May, every household puts out cotton-padded
jackets, coats and thick quilts to dry in the sun. The number of bamboo lounge chairs on the road
increases day by day. The door curtains of Gu's family are replaced with thin plaid cloth, and the
bed is replaced with straw mats. Si Jiang has not yet learned how to swim.
Jingsheng went to the hospital for a follow-up check and an X-ray. His bones had recovered very
well. If it weren't for the long scars and traces of steel nails, it would be hard to tell that he had
suffered such a serious injury. The school kept its word and the track and field team and
basketball team were open to him. Jingsheng discussed it with Gu Dongwen and decided that if
he joined the track and field team, it would be easier to get good results in individual events,
while the basketball team was a team event and more prone to injuries. As the swimming class
exam was about to start in mid-June, Si Jiang, who still couldn't breathe, grabbed Jingsheng to
fulfill his promise and teach her how to swim.
Jing Sheng gritted his teeth and agreed, and said in advance with a stern face: "I have a bad
temper, and I will definitely scold stupid people when I see them."
"Eh? I'm not stupid." Si Jiang tightened the swimsuit and compared it to himself: "It seems that I
need to buy a new swimsuit. This one is tight, but it takes a long time to put on. It's harder to
take it off than to shed skin. Others have washed their hair, but I haven't taken it off yet. My skin
hurts so much. In the end, I had to take a quick shower and go out to get dressed. I can't let a
whole car of people wait for me. It's so embarrassing. And I smell like disinfectant, which is
terrible."
Jingsheng snapped the book in his hand shut, a frown formed between his brows, and he glanced
at Si Jiang, who was still muttering: This swimsuit given by my aunt-in-law is really nice, the styles
and fabrics in department stores are not suitable, either tighten it and wear it for another year,
the material is so good it shouldn't fall apart, next week she might as well wear the swimsuit
inside, and get through the two classes in the morning without going to the toilet, so that she
doesn't have to change clothes when she enters the swimming pool, oh, how can I be so smart
and wise, why didn't I think of this trick earlier...
Si Jiang made up his mind and was about to ask Jingsheng to praise him, but he saw this man
leap up to the attic in two steps and said, "You are really too long-winded."
Long-winded? Si Jiang reflected for a moment, pouted and put the swimsuit into the bag: "Really,
I'm too lazy to talk to others when they beg me to talk." She shouted to the attic: "Brother, come
after dinner, I'm relying on you!"
Jingsheng fumbled around in the attic, feeling a little anxious about his first swimming lesson that
night. He blamed the man for being so good at writing, and everything he said had a sense of
context, which almost caused him to have a picture that absolutely shouldn't have appeared in
his mind. Facing the street light that suddenly lit up outside the dormer window, Jingsheng
pressed his hands tightly on the desk, frowned for five minutes, and then came up with a perfect
teaching plan.

Chapter 163
However, plans cannot keep up with changes.
It was the first time that Jingsheng watched Si Jiang swim seriously. It was as if he was back to the
basketball court where he was breathtaking but couldn't help laughing. He was a man with long
arms and legs, graceful dancing and well-coordinated limbs, but when he swam breaststroke in
the water, his chin was ten centimeters off the water surface and he would never dare to enter
the water. He stroked and kicked his legs simultaneously. In the shallow water, he would stop and
look towards the edge of the pool after every three splashes. His face showed an expression that
wanted praise and encouragement, as if he could already swim and all he needed was to breathe.
"Try freestyle swimming for me." Jingsheng squatted down, put one hand on his knee and
supported half of his face, for fear that his chin would fall off from laughing.
Si Jiang spread his arms, pushed the water aside and walked over gracefully, smiling: "I can't swim
freestyle, but the teacher said breaststroke is enough. How do I breathe? I don't even need to
breathe."
Jingsheng nodded quietly: "Oh, why do you need to breathe when your face doesn't even touch
the water?"
"I can swim several times like this, did you see it just now? I swam quite far, right? It's just that
when I swim, I stand up straight." Si Jiang was really puzzled. She clearly saw an old lady
swimming leisurely from one end to the other and then from the other end to this end. It was so
convenient, and she didn't have to wash her hair. Unfortunately, the teacher pushed her into the
water to let her breathe, but she didn't breathe. She drank several gulps of disinfectant and had
to wash her hair.
"Brother, how can you teach me to swim if you don't get in the water?" Si Jiang curiously leaned
over the edge of the pool, stretched out his hand to touch Jingsheng's ankle, and said with a
smile: "Come down, don't be lazy, teaching swimming remotely will definitely not work. Hey, is
your leg injury uncomfortable and can't get in the water?"
Half of her body was pressed against the pool wall, and the whiteness of her neck and chest was
covered with water, which was glittering and undulating under the pale fluorescent light. The boy
next to her was pinching his nose and preparing to jump backwards, staring at her intently. He
didn't jump up, but with a "bang", his knees hit the pool wall directly, and he fell into the water,
choking and coughing. Si Jiang was splashed with water all over her head and turned her head to
glare at him. Just as she was about to complain to Jingsheng, a white old man's shirt was covered
on her head. She supported herself on the ground with her elbows and raised her head to pull it
off, but Jingsheng rubbed her head. The hand that wiped her face was really big, and a slap
covered her entire face, which was warm. Si Jiang suddenly understood why cats and dogs like to
be scratched on the chin through the half-wet and half-dry clothes.
Jingsheng paused and held up Si Jiang's jaw, which was sinking without warning. The man's head
was surprisingly heavy. Just as he was about to lift up his sweatshirt, Si Jiang, with his sweatshirt
covering his head, tilted his head and rubbed it against his palm, and asked in a muffled voice,
"Brother, do I look like a puppy like this? Hahaha."
"You were born under the sign of a dog." Jingsheng pulled off her sweatshirt and straightened her
head to hold it firmly: "Go into the water, I'll be down soon." Before he finished speaking, Si Jiang
suddenly pushed herself up impatiently and almost fell headfirst into the water, which was less
than 1.2 meters deep. She lost her balance and twisted in the water. She struggled with her
hands and feet but couldn't stand up. Bubbles kept coming up. Jingsheng immediately threw off
his sweatshirt and jumped into the swimming pool, pulling her two thin arms out of the water.
"Don't panic, this is a shallow area. Just stand up and you'll be fine." Jingsheng frantically pulled
down the two legs hanging on his waist, and then pushed the head that was tightly pressed
against his chest away, "Did you choke on the water?"
Si Jiang nodded, she felt tears rushing out of her seven orifices, her eyes and throat were burning
with pain, she felt miserable and embarrassed, her feet felt like they were stepping on cotton
when they stepped on the bottom of the pool, her heart was beating very fast, the feeling just
now was too horrible, she was completely weightless, her body was not obeying her, no matter
how hard she struggled she kept falling to the right, and then spinning like a crooked top, she was
surrounded by endless water, she couldn't see, touch or reach anything, it was the same when
she first went into the water as a child, she was very afraid of water after being lifted out of the
water by her uncle, no matter what, she had to keep her feet on the ground and her eyes could
see the water surface and other people, if possible, she hoped to finish the final exam of the
swimming class by walking instead of swimming.
"Are you afraid of water?" Jingsheng handed the sweatshirt to Si Jiang to wipe his face.
Si Jiang continued to hop on one leg a few times: "Well, don't be afraid. That's why I didn't go
down when you guys were catching crayfish. I hated you so much for pushing me into the rotten
mud that time. Humph! Brother has always been a bad person since he was a child, and he was
especially mean to me!" Of course it was his fault today. Who made him rub her like a puppy just
now, and then suddenly exposed his entire chest in front of her without even a program preview,
and there were two pink nipples, which scared her to death. Oh, it's terrible, she saw things she
shouldn't have seen. But she must be crazy. In the whole swimming pool, who among the old
men, men and boys would come to swim with a shirt on? In the summer, the alleys are full of
shirtless old men and uncles walking around, with mountains of flesh and seas of flesh. She has
never noticed it before. It must be because she was too close just now, and it was the one of
Brother, which was weird. It was normal for her to be scared. Well, there was nothing wrong with
her. She just blamed him.
"Who pushed you?" Jingsheng left her and went to get the kettle. He lowered his eyes and pursed
his lips to warn himself not to laugh, because if he laughed, this guy would get angry. He took the
kettle and turned around, and bumped into Si Jiang. Her face was only a few centimeters away
from him, with furrowed eyebrows and fierce eyes.
"You still don't admit it?! You, you, it's you, it's you! You made me eat a mouthful of rotten mud."
Si Jiang covered Jingsheng's head with the sweat shirt in his hand with great vigor and rubbed
him. It felt good to be a puppy, and the feeling of being a master was indeed better.
"Hurry up and teach me how to swim. You've wasted all my time. The competition class will have
a test tomorrow. Hurry up." Si Jiang stood by the pool and waved at Jingsheng, looking like he
was ready to die heroically.
Jingsheng helplessly put down his sweat shirt and sighed, deeply worried about his career as a
swimming coach.
——
The spring nights in May are the most charming time in this city. It is neither cold nor hot. The
gentle night breeze makes the fragrance of the magnolia become thicker and thinner. The sky
above the lights of thousands of houses is slightly bright. The curbs are more lively than during
the day. Citizens have a rich nightlife, with people reading newspapers, playing chess, and
gambling.
Si Jiang and Jingsheng turned into the alley in their slippers.
"Brother, look, the loquats of Zhu's father are ripe."
Jingsheng raised his hand and picked a few off: "They have all been pecked by birds."
"Oh, let me see." Si Jiang said regretfully, "No wonder no one picked them. Old man Zhu must
have gone back to Suzhou. He would have put the loquats in a cloth bag a long time ago. These
loquats are white jade loquats from Dongshan, Suzhou. They are delicious. In ancient times, only
the emperor could eat them."
"Si Jiang."
The glass window on the second floor of the west wall was pushed open, and Grandma Zhu
smiled and waved at them: "Jingsheng, do you know how to climb trees? There are still some
loquats on the top. I think they are still good. Help me pick some down. The old man has gone
back to the countryside, so there is no one to do it. (No one does it anymore)"
Jingsheng climbed up the tree carrying the bamboo basket that Zhu's grandmother had dropped.
The leaves of the loquats brushed against his arms, making him feel a little itchy. He picked a few
bunches and looked down at the tree. Si Jiang smiled and looked up and asked, "Are there any
good ones? Have they been pecked by birds?" The street light cast mottled light spots of pale
gold on her face through the swaying leaves. Jingsheng shook the branches hard, making them
rustle. The ripe or bird-pecked loquats fell down. Si Jiang was laughing so hard that he was hit
twice on the nose and forehead.
The breathtaking view was blurred by the swaying leaves, and Jingsheng climbed a little higher.
Si Jiang squatted on the ground and picked out three or five loquats that looked good.
"Well, I found another good one. Brother, try shaking it again, shake it harder."
Loquats were raining intermittently all over the ground. Grandma Zhu came out carrying two
small stools and said, "Si Jiang, don't be polite, just eat them. You don't need to wash them, the
skin is easy to peel, and they are so sweet. Come, eat loquats. (You don't even need to wash
them, the skin is easy to peel, and they are so sweet...)"
"Jingsheng, it's almost time to come down, come down and eat loquats." Grandma Zhu picked up
the broom and swept the rotten loquats that Si Jiang had picked out directly under the roots of
the tree: "Hey, you should have come to pick them earlier. At least 70 kilograms of the 80
kilograms of loquats are rotten. Your father Zhu is such a fool. I asked him to go back to the
countryside next week, but he just refused. What a waste. Such good loquats fall every day, and
the flock of chickens from the Huang family next door come to eat them every day. It's such a
pity."
Si Jiang expressed his envy: "Ah, the chickens in Grandma Huang's house are so happy, and being
a chicken is pretty good."
Jingsheng's voice came from the tree: "What nonsense are you talking about again?"
Si Jiang stuck out his tongue, locked his shoulders and smiled. The new era has its disadvantages.
Ever since the aunt said those shocking things about Guangdong and Hong Kong, even the word
"chicken" has become a sensitive word.
"Brother, please come down quickly and eat loquats." Si Jiang thanked Grandma Zhu with a smile
and deftly peeled two for her.
Jingsheng jumped down from the tree, handed most of the basket of surviving loquats to Zhu's
grandmother, and took the two peeled loquats from Si Jiang's hand and stuffed them into his
mouth.
"Look, brother, the skin comes off just by tearing it off. It's much easier than taking off my
swimsuit. I can't praise it enough." Si Jiang held up the loquat in his hand to show off. Three half-
moon-shaped loquat skins stretched out under the flesh.
Jingsheng almost swallowed the loquat kernel. This guy really has a problem with swimsuits.
Thinking of the failed swimming class tonight, Jingsheng felt that the white jade loquat in his
mouth was not sweet anymore.
——
Granny Gu was lying on a bamboo chair outside the kitchen, eating the loquats that Jingsheng
and Si Jiangshun had brought back. She asked Jingsheng, "Did your dad say he wanted to invite
Nurse Lu to our house for dinner?"
"Well, Sunday noon." Jingsheng added half a bucket of cold water to half a bucket of hot water,
and leaned against the pool to watch Sijiang wash his hair. Girls are really troublesome. It's not
like she has to rush back to school for swimming lessons. I clearly told her to wash slowly in the
swimming pool, but she just rinsed herself and came out, and had to wash again when she came
back.
"Brother, it's okay, help me rinse it." Si Jiang shouted with his eyes closed.
Warm water poured down from the spout of the kettle slowly. Si Jiang combed her hair along the
line and then inserted her fingers back up. The soap bubbles reluctantly said goodbye to her
fingers and hair. Some of them were too cunning and stuck to the ends of her hair and behind her
ears.
"Head down."
Si Jiang rubbed it twice with his backhand.
"Here." Jingsheng couldn't help but reach out and rub away the stubborn foam behind her ear.
"Wait a minute, pour another pot of water."
"Towel, towel!" Si Jiang's eyes were filled with tears. He stretched out his hands and grabbed
Jingsheng's sweatshirt, pulling it over and wiping his face with it as if he knew the way. He raised
his head and hit it on Jingsheng's chin.
Jingsheng's face darkened. He shook off the water from his chin and went into the kitchen to get
some hot water. Halfway through, he heard Si Jiang ask Grandma Gu outside, "Grandma, if Nurse
Lu comes on Sunday, shall we have chicken?"
Jingsheng's hand trembled, and the hot water spilled out, splashing on his legs. Forget it, Chen
Sijiang wrote good essays, but her brain was actually very dumb. She was described as smart on
the outside but stupid on the inside, so stupid.
"Don't say words related to chickens casually." Jingsheng kindly reminded Si Jiang on the way to
school the next day.
"Why? Why? Why? What's wrong with the chicken?" Si Jiang hugged Jingsheng's waist and
stretched his neck to see his expression. Seeing that he frowned and pursed his lips in a serious
manner, his voice gradually became lower, with a bit of indignation, "What did the chicken do
wrong? It's so pitiful."
Jingsheng expressed his understanding of Ji's difficulties, but he had no solution to her problem.

Chapter 164
Nurse Lu came to Wanchun Street on Sunday with some fruits and cakes. Gu Dongwen arranged
everything in the store at 11:30 and went back to Wanchun Street to cook. He didn't get a
chicken, but a duck in sauce.
Father Zhu came back from Dongshan yesterday, bringing with him a pair of chickens and two
duck brothers. The chickens were lucky, and were kept by grandmother Zhu to prepare for eating
their own loquats next year. She was determined to ensure that the sweet loquats did not go out
of the chickens' stomachs. The duck brothers shared the same hardship, so they were stabbed
twice, scalded with boiling water, and plucked. One of the ducks was sent to the Gu family. Thank
you Jingsheng and Sijiang for helping grandmother Zhu a lot some time ago.
In the past two years, hooligans have become more and more rampant. They snatch bags and
watches and molest female comrades in broad daylight on the road, and even don't let go of the
rice bags of old men and women. Last month, an old lady in Kangjiaqiao next door was kicked off
the road by hooligans for holding 20 kilograms of rice and breaking her pelvis. When Zhu's
grandmother went to buy rice, the small wallet dangling on her wrist was spotted by two little
hooligans, who rushed up to snatch it. Jingsheng happened to pass by and beat the two little
hooligans with his schoolbags. He and Sijiang escorted Zhu's grandmother to the grain and oil
store to buy rice and helped her carry it back to Wanchun Street.
Thanks to the two children, the duck was personally prepared by the famous Shanghai boss Gu,
and it died in style. When it was served, it was bright red with thick oil and red sauce, salty with
sweetness, and soft but not mushy. After lunch, Jingsheng and Sijiang wisely went to the district
library on Xinzha Road to study together. Only three adults, Grandma Gu, Gu Dongwen, and
Nurse Lu, were left at home.
Granny Gu was filled with joy, and the more she looked at Nurse Lu, the more satisfied she
became. She pushed the box of eight treasures in front of her and asked her if she wanted coffee
or Biluochun. Nurse Lu thanked her shyly and glanced at Gu Dongwen several times.
"There is something we need to talk to you, mom." Gu Dongwen smiled and handed her a cup of
warm water, and made a cup of strong tea for Grandma Gu, then sat down next to his mother.
"Speak up, what's there to be embarrassed about?" Grandma Gu was overjoyed, waiting for her
son to talk about marriage. Although her family was poor and could not afford small yellow
croakers like the Chen family, Dongwen, Beiwu and Nanhong had always given her money, and
she had also saved up some money for Dongwen and Beiwu to get married. But Beiwu was kind
and wanted to keep everything simple and refused to take any money. Now she finally had the
chance to use it on Dongwen. She was happy but also a little sad. The taste of sweetness after
bitterness really made her feel uncomfortable.
"Lu Jia and I don't plan to get married—"
"Okay, okay—ah? What did you say?" Granny Gu almost knocked over her teacup.
"We've discussed it. Marriage and divorce are both a lot of trouble. If two people get along well,
just stay together like this."
"Well, then, what about a treat? You have to treat us after all, right?"
"No marriage, no marriage certificate, no dinner parties, no living together." Gu Dongwen looked
at his mother's increasingly stiff expression and softened his tone: "I will continue to live like this
with Lu Jia."
Granny Gu was dumbfounded. After a while, she looked at Nurse Lu and said, "Little Lu, don't be
afraid. Although my eldest son made a mistake, he is not a gangster. Did he force you to do that?"
"No, Dongwen didn't force me. I thought so too. It's fine now." Lu Jia said with a red face. She
actually proposed to Gu Dongwen that they stop meeting so as not to delay him from finding a
partner. Because she didn't want to get married again in her life. The last marriage was too
terrible and the divorce was too painful. Unexpectedly, Gu Dongwen understood her so well.
"What a bullshit!" Granny Gu blurted out. If the girl in front of her was her own daughter, she
would immediately hit her with a rolling pin. "Then what is this? Having an affair?"
Gu Dongwen chuckled: "Mom, we are both single, it's ugly to talk about mistresses or not, dating
or making friends."
"Dating and having a boyfriend? Will you two ever sleep in the same bed together for the rest of
your lives?" Grandma Gu glared at her son, almost exploding with anger.
Lu Jia lowered her head in embarrassment. Gu Dongwen scratched his forehead and sighed,
"Why do you care so much? Anyway, don't worry about arranging blind dates for me in the
future. Lu Jia and I are fine. I will talk to Jingsheng about it."
"Is it Jingsheng who refuses?" Granny Gu immediately felt pity and apology for Nurse Lu. She
reached out and held her hand. "Don't worry, Jingsheng is a sensible child. He has been urging his
father to find someone who understands his father's well-being and live a good life. I'll talk to
him."
"It's none of Jingsheng's business." Lu Jia was anxious. "It's me who doesn't want to get married.
Really, it's me who doesn't want to. Dongwen is willing to live with me like this. I can't thank him
enough. Don't blame him wrongly."
"I know you've suffered, but it's fate. If you hadn't suffered before, how could you have met my
Dongwen?" Grandma Gu advised her earnestly, "How can a woman not get married and have
children? What will others say about you? What will you do when you get old? You can't live
without someone to rely on. If you fall, no one will help you. It's easy to get into trouble. Are you
worried that the house is too small and you have no place to live?"
"No, no!" Lu Jia shook her head and said, "Dongwen's mother, this has nothing to do with the
house - I just don't want to get married. If Dongwen wants to get married, I will break up with
him immediately and will definitely not delay him from getting married and having children.
Really, it's me who doesn't want to get married."
"You——" Granny Gu turned her head to look at Gu Dongwen and sighed deeply. This girl likes
Dongwen too much. She is still speaking for him. She will suffer in the future. Sigh. Gu Dongwen,
you bastard, which man can like a woman for a lifetime? In ancient times, no matter how loyal
and righteous a man was, he would have to remarry after three years of mourning. You don't
even give Nurse Lu a name. When you die in the future, what can you leave for her? Won't your
conscience hurt? My conscience will hurt.
"Forget it. I, an old woman, already have one foot in the coffin. You can do whatever you want. I
don't care!" Granny Gu said with red eyes, and she opened the curtain and lay down on the bed.
She felt chest tightness. There was no hope for grandchildren. The old Gu family had no
successor, and she felt really sorry for the old man.
Jingsheng found out in the evening, but he waited for Gu Dongwen to come back and talk to him.
He couldn't tell what he felt in his heart, but he was definitely a little happy. This happiness was
not very glorious or kind, but he didn't want to hide it. In his heart, he hoped that Gu Dongwen
would always have only his mother in his heart, and no one else was worthy of occupying that
position. But because of this, he felt a little sorry for Nurse Lu. Nurse Lu was a good woman and
was really good to Gu Dongwen. In the past six months, Nurse Lu bought Gu Dongwen's shorts,
socks, sweatshirts and vests for him. When she was not on duty, she would go to Dongsheng
Canteen to help. He could see that Gu Dongwen also liked Nurse Lu. When she spoke, she smiled,
and her smile was very gentle.
"Really not getting married?" Jingsheng was a little annoyed by the torture of reason and
emotion.
"Well, let's not get married in the next few years."
"What if she changes her mind and wants to get married later?"
"Who knows what will happen in the future. Maybe I will want to get married by then, or maybe
she won't want to marry me. She is still young and will meet many men. Your father is already an
old gangster."
Jingsheng rolled over, then turned back over, muttering, "You're just being a hooligan if you're
dating without getting married."
"I'm a gangster." Gu Dongwen rested his long legs on the desk and blew out a string of smoke
rings leisurely.
——
Final exams ended at the end of June, and summer vacation arrived during the rainy season. The
air was sticky, the ground was damp, and it was useless to mop it several times. The towel
blanket always felt wet, and the clothes hung outside could not get rid of the sour smell even
after a day. A thin layer of green moss grew under the gables that were exposed to the west all
year round.
Si Nan didn't come back, and Si Jiang felt as tight in the chest and short of breath as her
grandmother and mother. She performed normally in the final exam and ranked 16th in the class.
Since there were so many strong students in Class (1) and Class (4), she ranked 75th in the whole
grade. On the phone, Gu Ximei proposed a small goal: to be in the top 50 in the grade next
semester. Si Jiang looked up at the sky in silence. Of course, Mom would not know and was
unwilling to understand how difficult it was to improve a ranking in the city's key school.
Jingsheng comforted her, look, at least you are no longer required to be the first in the class and
the first in the grade. Si Jiang immediately calmed down after thinking about this.
Jingsheng missed half a semester of classes. Although he passed all the subjects in the final exam,
his total score was at the bottom of the class. The teachers and classmates were more anxious
than him. Wang Lu took the lead in organizing a reinforcement class. Class representatives from
various subjects signed up enthusiastically. Seven or eight people arranged a schedule for
remedial classes and divided them into three groups to take the initiative to go to Jingsheng's
home to make up lessons. The teacher came forward, and Jingsheng couldn't refuse the
kindness, so he had to accept it.
A week later, Si Jiang was unhappy.
"Brother, you should go to the library to make up for your lessons."
"what?"
Si Jiang said a lot of things at a loss, and after Jingsheng rejected all of them, he pouted and
whispered, "That Wang Lu is weird. There are three groups, but she is in every group. Why is she
here when you don't need her to tutor you?"
Jingsheng looked at her, and Sijiang snorted: "I think she shouldn't be called Wang Lu, she should
be called Wang Mei (Huangmei in Shanghai dialect is pronounced the same as Wang Mei). She's
so sticky and wet, so annoying."
"We have guests here, why are you, the host, so petty?" Jingsheng had actually already made an
appointment with everyone to go to the library for extra lessons, but he couldn't help but tease
Sijiang.
Si Jiang glared, stood up and rushed to the door, imitating Wang Lu's appearance, looking around,
taking a deep breath and walking to the side of the dining table, running his fingers quietly along
the edge of the glass, taking a look before sitting down.
"Oh, thank you. I don't drink water. If you have coffee, please make me a cup. Hey, is there
anyone else who wants to drink coffee?"
Jingsheng watched the show while holding back his laughter.
Si Jiang raised his eyebrows, with an innocent and embarrassed look on his face: "Oh, sorry, Si
Jiang, this Shanghai brand coffee tea is not actually coffee, it needs Nestle coffee. If there is no
coffee companion, you can add some milk, and two sugar cubes."
Jingsheng's chest rose and fell several times, and he couldn't help laughing. Si Jiang rolled his
eyes at him, and then imitated Wang Lu and said, "Oh, no Nestle? It doesn't matter, I'll bring it
over tomorrow and teach you how to make coffee." After saying that, he looked at Jingsheng
shyly and said, "I think Gu Jingsheng will definitely like coffee. Coffee is very similar to his
temperament."
Jingsheng's eyelids drooped and his heart started beating fast when she glanced at him like that.
He really didn't know whether there was such a glance or not. It seemed that he was only busy
looking at the notes of the physics class representative at that time. But he had to remember to
forbid Si Jiang from flirting like that, unless everyone in the world was blind.
Si Jiang, the class representative who had already made up for the lesson, rolled his eyes and
gently finished the subtext for Wang Lu: "Nestle coffee, it tastes great! Tsk tsk tsk, brother, why is
your taste so good? Why is it only your squad leader Wang who knows it?" After saying that, he
walked around Jingsheng, bent down and sniffed around like a puppy with his nose wrinkled:
"What is so good about rice? What is it that tastes so good? What is it that tastes like?"
After she finished speaking, she laughed so hard that her stomach hurt, and she shook
Jingsheng's chair vigorously: "Tell the truth, if you confess, you will be treated leniently, but if you
resist, you will be treated severely, understand?"
Jingsheng lowered his eyes and picked up the Shanghai TV at hand: "The disinfectant water from
the swimming pool will definitely not smell like coffee. You will know it if you smell it yourself."
"impossible."
"You smell it, we must smell the same."
Si Jiang raised his arm and sniffed a few times. The scent of soap on the clothes was mixed with a
slight smell of sweat. His heart tightened and he couldn't help but sniff a few more times. He put
his hand down suspiciously and said angrily, "Bah, I'm not the same as you."
Jingsheng asked thoughtfully, "You don't have body odor, do you?"
"Brother!" Si Jiang was so angry that he snatched the magazine from his hand and smashed it
several times, with his hand stretched straight, keeping a distance so that he could not smell
anything.
Jingsheng laughed so hard at her weird posture that he fell down. He let her hit him seven or
eight times before reminding her, "Play the whole act. What on earth is that mushroom? I didn't
even notice it."
Si Jiang glared at him, then gathered his strength and calmed down. He walked to the door and
prepared to change his shoes. He looked at the wall under the door frame and screamed, "Ah! Gu
Jingsheng, there are mushrooms growing in your house! Real mushrooms!"
Jingsheng smiled with his eyes curved: "And then you said you planted it?" He heard this
sentence very clearly, which made Wang Lu speechless, and she seemed to believe it.
Si Jiang squatted down, pulled up a newly grown mushroom, looked at it carefully, and seriously
imitated the respectable and amiable teacher Zhao Zhongxiang: "The plum rain season has
arrived, everything is moldy, and it is the mushroom breeding season again."
Jingsheng raised the magazine and hid his face with his hands, laughing. When he put the
magazine down, Si Jiang, who had been waiting for a long time, released his ultimate move. He
tilted his head and danced in front of him little by little: "I picked the most mushrooms, so many
that they are placed all over brother's room. Tia Luo Li Tia Luo Li Tia Luo Li Tia Luo Li Tia!"
Three slender little mushrooms were frozen under Jingsheng's nose.
——
After taking a shower at night, Si Jiang sat down for just ten minutes before she felt sticky all over
again. She kept waving a palm-leaf fan, fanning herself three times and Jingsheng across from her
three times. There were several mosquitoes flying around under the light bulb, buzzing around
her book from time to time.
Jingsheng took a plate of mosquito coils, lit it, and placed it next to the table leg. He patted
Sijiang's leg and said, "Be careful not to get burned. Look carefully. The mosquito coils are here."
"Oh, there are so many mosquitoes these days, it's so annoying. Yesterday, there was a mosquito
in the tent that kept biting me. I got up and swatted it several times but couldn't hit it. It actually
sucked my blood and slept next to my pillow." Si Jiang slapped the air twice, then raised his leg to
show Jingsheng: "Look, it's so unfair. You and Nan Nan were bitten by mosquitoes and got a small
red dot, but when I was bitten, it was a big bump that it itched like hell."
"Because you stink?"
"You are the one who stinks. The mosquito smells my blood, right? Humph."
"Where do you smell good?" Jingsheng laughed while doing a physics question: "You were staring
at your armpits and sniffing around this afternoon."
Si Jiang was dumbfounded. After a while, he leaned over to him and asked in a low and
embarrassed voice: "Brother, can you do me a small favor?"
"Huh?" Jingsheng looked at the red clouds on her face in confusion as they quickly spread to her
ears and neck.
Si Jiang hesitated for a moment and said in a whisper: "Everyone says that people with body odor
cannot smell their own odor. Can you help me see if I have that odor?" She quickly raised her arm
and waved it in front of Jingsheng, and asked nervously: "Do I have that odor?"
Jingsheng: “???”
Si Jiang shook rapidly again, and was so nervous that he almost cried: "Brother?! Is it true? Tell
me the truth——"
"It smells like soap, and a little bit of sweat." Jingsheng's pores stood upside down, and he leaned
back on the chair involuntarily. He turned his face away and felt his face burning: "What
nonsense are you imagining? There is no body odor."
His expression and actions made Si Jiang's eyes red. He said no even though he was so disgusted.
He must be afraid that telling the truth would embarrass her. The more he explained, the worse it
got. Si Jiang was frightened to the point of cold hands and feet. She had never thought that she
would have anything to do with such a terrible smell. Why had she never noticed it before? Did it
only happen this year? Was it related to development?
"Are you done?" Seeing that she was about to cry, Jingsheng felt angry and amused. He grabbed
the palm-leaf fan on the table and fanned her hard several times: "Okay, you don't have body
odor, no, really not."
"Then why do you look like I stink?" Si Jiang sniffed aggrievedly: "Does it really stink or does it
really not stink?"
"It doesn't stink, it doesn't stink, it doesn't stink!" Jingsheng desperately grabbed her thin arm
and sniffed it several times: "I told you it's just a normal smell of sweat. Fairies also sweat, fart
and poop, okay? Not sweating is a disease."
Si Jiang sniffed it a few more times, then bent over and sniffed Jingsheng's chest. It did not seem
to smell bad.
Jingsheng put a finger on her forehead and pushed it back: "What are you doing?"
"Brother, you don't seem to have body odor either." Si Jiang heaved a sigh of relief, stood up
straight and rubbed his chest, "I was scared to death."
"Little fool."
The two people continued to read their own books, but Jingsheng was completely unable to solve
the questions. There was always a smell floating around in his nose, which was indescribably
disturbing, and the blood was rushing restlessly under his skin.
"Hello."
"Yeah." Si Jiang responded without raising his head.
"Chen Sijiang."
"Ah?" Si Jiang finally raised his head, looked around blankly, and then focused on Jingsheng's face
beside him: "Brother, you called me?"
"You are not allowed to flirt with people anymore, understand?"
"What eyes?" Si Jiang was even more confused. She blinked, and the shadow of her eyelashes
danced lightly under her eyelids.
Jingsheng imitated her and raised his eyebrows, "It's not good to look at people like this."
"——Brother, are you sure you are flirting?" Si Jiang shuddered.
"if not?"
"Haha, okay. Got it." Si Jiang lowered his head and read the two lines of words. He felt that he
had lost out, so he quickly added the equivalent clause: "Then you are not allowed to look at
people like this."
"I am male."
"That's not good either. It's even scarier when a guy flirts with you. Who are you trying to flirt
with?"
Jingsheng raised his eyebrows.
"Look, you're flirting again, brother. This is very dangerous. Fortunately, I took over. If your
monitor saw it, he would definitely think you like her. Although you are very beautiful, you can't
squander your beauty so wantonly. Beauty is a dangerous thing. It can kill people, break people's
hearts, make cities fall, and bring disaster to the country." Si Jiang talked more and more fluently,
smiling happily: "Our teacher Zhou said that there were many male beauties who ruined the
country in history. The history books only recorded Baosi and Xi Shi, which shows the inequality
between men and women. Do you understand male beauties, brother?"
She tilted her head and glanced at Jingsheng proudly: "You are just like this. Hey, why did you hit
me? Are you angry and embarrassed?" Si Jiang stood up angrily after being hit by a chestnut and
complained to Gu Dongwen who had just entered the door: "Uncle, my brother hit me!"
Gu Dongwen blinked, and before he could say anything, Si Jiang excitedly picked up a fruit knife
and poked the glass with it: "Uncle, didn't you say that all men who hit women have to be treated
like this by you? Hurry up."
Gu Dongwen smiled, took out a towel, picked up the foot basin and went downstairs to take a
shower: "Jingsheng, take care of yourself."
Si Jiang immediately deflated, dropped the fruit knife and sighed: "Uncle, you have changed."
Jing was so angry that he picked up a fruit knife and pressed his left hand on the table. The tip of
the knife hit the glass intensively and in a moment it went back and forth between his five fingers
seven or eight times.
The fruit knife was thrown into the glass bowl with a clang, and Jingsheng gave Sijiang a string of
chestnuts: "We're done. How many more chestnuts are left?"
Grandma Gu yawned and walked out of the room: "What are you two little enemies making up
about? What time is it and you still haven't gone to bed? Things get messy as soon as the holidays
are over, and you get sleepy and sleepy."
"My brother bullied me, and my uncle didn't help me." Si Jiang hugged his grandmother and
showed her his forehead: "Look, it hurts, it must be red. I said my brother is good-looking and he
hit her." I."
"How can a boy like Xiaowei be said to be so good-looking?" Aunt Gu rubbed Si Jiang's hands
casually and asked Jing Sheng, "Your father is back again? Didn't he go to your Aunt Lu's place?"
Si Jiang was very confused and asked in a low voice: "Uncle comes back every day, why do you
want to go to Nurse Lu's house?"
Grandma Gu sighed: "You kid doesn't understand, so don't ask."
The old lady tiptoed downstairs to talk to Gu Dongwen. Si Jiang looked at Jingsheng, who raised
his eyebrows and said, "You kid doesn't understand, so don't ask."
Si Jiang: I’m really angry.
——
On the eve of the Spring Festival in 1993, Chen Sijiang, who had just started a new job, was
forced to drink a lot of alcohol at the company's year-end party. Her boss, Miss Gao, protected
her and let her rest on the sofa. As the party was coming to an end, colleagues began a
storytelling competition. The rules allowed them to only tell two types of stories, one was a ghost
story and the other was a dirty joke. Sijiang simply closed his eyes and pretended not to hear.
Suddenly a male colleague said, "Do you all know the pornographic song "The Flower Girl Picking
Mushrooms"? "
Si Jiang was shocked, but everyone in the room burst into laughter and said they knew it, they
knew it very well.
"Then I won't repeat it. Then a hunter heard that he could encounter such a good thing by lying
in the grass, so he also took off all his clothes and lay in the grass, waiting, waiting, and waiting."
Someone couldn't help laughing. Si Jiang had no idea what was going on. Although he knew it
was a joke, he still couldn't help but prick up his ears.
"After waiting for a long time, the hunter fell asleep in the sun and breeze. At this time, a bear
came out of the forest, humming a song: Little bear picking mushrooms, carrying a big bamboo
basket... From then on, there was one less hunter in the forest." The person telling the joke
remained serious, while the person listening to the joke laughed so hard that he fell down.
Si Jiang covered her face and laughed so hard that she started crying. She hid in the toilet and
vomited for a while and cried so hard that Miss Gao was so scared that she quickly asked the
company driver to take her home. Si Jiang returned to Wanchun Street and dialed the 126 paging
station and said the number she knew by heart.
"Okay, Ms. Chen, would you like to leave a call back number?"
"Need not."
"Then let me repeat, your message is 'Where the hell are you' right?"
"right."
"Okay Miss Chen, I wish you a happy Chinese New Year."
"Thank you, and I wish you a happy Chinese New Year."
During the Spring Festival of 2003, Si Jiang dug out a Motorola Chinese-language pager from a
drawer that still had power. Just ten years had passed like a lifetime ago. She couldn't even
remember the paging station number, but she remembered the date frozen on the screen.
01: Where are you?
1/21/93.
At that time, she finally couldn't help but ask: Gu Jingsheng, where are you?
Fortunately, she didn't lose him, and he didn't lose her.

Chapter 165
Time passes slowly or quickly. The days of relaxation and joy are gone in the blink of an eye, while
the days of hardship and difficulty seem to last forever. Recalling 1983, Si Jiang felt that only 2008
with the Wenchuan earthquake and 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic could be compared with
it.
Shortly after the new semester started, the crackdown began. Armed police officers in olive green
83 police uniforms patrolled the streets and alleys. The newspaper columns at the end of the
streets and alleys were full of good news. Hooligans were arrested every day, and the entrances
of the police stations and public security bureaus were hung with silk banners sent by the people.
Relevant propaganda can be seen everywhere in the streets, neighborhood committees, and
schools, with different styles and emphases. Streets are mostly case warnings. A certain hooligan
openly urinated on the side of the road and was sentenced to labor reform in Xinjiang; a certain
hooligan gang gathered to insult women and was sentenced to death. Before the execution, they
were paraded through the streets and the masses all applauded. The neighborhood committee
focuses on reminders and prevention. Neighbors should open their eyes and dig out male and
female hooligans hidden among the people. People who have promiscuous relationships with
men and women, gather for promiscuity, seduce foreigners, seduce male teenagers, and play
with women are all hooligans. Serious cases can be sentenced to death. There are also cases,
such as the Ma XX hooligan dance case in Xi'an, where more than 300 people were arrested,
which shocked the country.
There were overwhelming news reports about the crackdown on TV, newspapers, and radio
stations, but when people heard about it, their focus was completely biased. On the one hand,
they celebrated that the world was finally peaceful and that female comrades dared to go out
alone to watch movies, drink coffee, and walk on the street. On the other hand, they couldn't
help but discuss various hearsays in private, such as how beautiful and lewd that woman
surnamed Ma was, how she had slept with more than a hundred men, and how she made money
by sleeping with them, and how she even cheated her own daughter. Would such a woman be
sentenced to death? There were far fewer people who cared about the rule of law than those
who cared about erotic stories.
Si Jiang couldn't help but hear a lot of gossip. She suspected that she had entered the rebellious
period of adolescence described in books. She always had some inappropriate thoughts. She
couldn't help but ask Jingsheng: "Brother, do you think that female hooligan will die?"
Jingsheng thought for a moment and said, "If things get so serious, I'm afraid he won't survive."
"But isn't she divorced? Can't she sleep with other men after divorce?" Si Jiang asked worriedly,
"Didn't the lady boss of the flower shop who cheated Lao Yao out of money just get locked up for
a few days and fined a little? She has affairs with several men, and she still has a husband."
Jingsheng couldn't bring himself to say the words "group fornication" and explained vaguely:
"The florist and the man she deceived were both willing, and they didn't have dozens or even
hundreds of them..."
Si Jiang was even more confused: "Did Ma XX force those men? She forced more than 130 men to
sleep with her?"
Jingsheng tapped her forehead and said, "Why do you care about these messed up things? She
has done something illegal, so she has to pay the price. Go and learn about the crime of
hooliganism."
"Because she slept with a man who was not her husband, she was a female hooligan and should
be shot?" Si Jiang found it incredible: "Anyway, I think it is not a good idea to define promiscuous
relationships as hooliganism. If so, wouldn't patriotic prostitutes like Boule de Suif, Madame
Bovary, and Anna Karenina also be shot?"
"These are two different things." Jingsheng had never paid much attention to the case and didn't
know the details. Hearing Si Jiang's excited tone, he couldn't help but discuss it with her
seriously: "Your sympathy is a kind of sympathy. We don't know the actual situation. The police
will definitely investigate it clearly and will not sentence her to death casually. And the women in
those famous books you mentioned are definitely different from her." Jingsheng hesitated, "She
and more than a hundred men... will definitely be criticized. The social impact is too bad. If it
happened in ancient times, she would probably have been drowned in the river."
"So in ancient times, prostitutes who collected money from clients were fine? Nowadays,
prostitutes who don't collect money will die?" Si Jiang couldn't help asking, "And I really can't
figure it out. What's the difference between more than a hundred men and three or five men?
She slept with more than a hundred men, maybe once or twice with each of them, adding up to
one or two hundred times. If it's three or five men, but each of them slept thirty or fifty times,
wouldn't it also be one or two hundred times in total? What's the difference? Does society only
allow women to sleep with one man? But isn't being faithful to one man a remnant of feudalism?
If she and those men were willing, why is she a female hooligan?"
Jingsheng was dumbfounded. Chen Sijiang, you are so bold to think and say such things. It is
simply shocking. For a moment, he was confused by her and couldn't figure out what was wrong
with her words. After thinking for a while, he said, "It seems that there is a rumor that she
received more than 2,000 yuan."
"Then if a woman and a man get married and sleep together, it is legal for the man to give the
woman money?" Si Jiang was even more confused.
"Don't be so stubborn." Jingsheng smiled bitterly: "It seems that reading too much is not good.
You can say this to me, but don't say it outside, understand?"
"Of course I know." Si Jiang sighed: "Of course I only told you." She smiled helplessly: "Grandma
is worried that Uncle and Aunt Lu will also be arrested as hooligans."
Jingsheng was stunned: "Impossible, they are just friends, they are in a relationship, not a casual
relationship."
"But they are not married, and now there are many people writing letters of denunciation." Si
Jiang fell silent after saying this. My uncle would always stay at Aunt Lu's house for one or two
days every week. Could it be that he would just talk all night without sleeping?
Jingsheng thought seriously about Sijiang's impulsive words at night, and mentioned her and
Grandma Gu's concerns to Gu Dongwen. Gu Dongwen laughed: "Reading more books will make
your mind clear, Sijiang knows better than you." Seeing that Jingsheng was a little unconvinced,
Gu Dongwen kicked him: "It's more dirty to meddle in other people's crotch than the little things
in your crotch, don't you understand? It's not a sin for a woman to want to sleep with a man, and
it's not a sin to want to sleep with many men. It's OK as long as both parties are willing and don't
hurt others."
Gu Dongwen patted Jingsheng on the shoulder and said, "It's certainly okay for you to only want
to sleep with one woman in the future, but remember that you have no right to force your
woman to sleep with only you. She is a person, a living person, you can only be good to her and
make her willing to sleep with only you——"
"What do you mean by sleep or not? Are you annoying?" Jingsheng kicked him and said, "You old
rascal."
Gu Dongwen still had a lot of theories and experiences about sleeping between men and women,
but he rejected them all. Forget it, it would be strange for a young man to listen to the words of
an experienced person.
——
The school repeatedly warned high school students not to hold or attend so-called Christmas
welcome dances outside. The more Si Jiang thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. Before the
National Day, he called Nan Hong and asked her in a tactful way whether she was still going to the
dance.
"I'm so busy, who has time to dance?" Nan Hong just came back from Guangdong after selling
goods, and said with a smile, "Do you regret it? Last year, I taught you to dance and get a free
meal, but you didn't come. Now I'm a self-employed person, and it's too bad that I don't have
this kind of benefit anymore."
Si Jiang also laughed: "That won't work. My uncle said that my aunt is the richest person in our
family now, so he asked you to come back during the holidays and treat us to a good meal."
"Rich as hell. I'm dirt poor now. How dare he, a man, live off us? Bah, wishful thinking." Nanhong
calculated that it would take until November to get the money for this batch of autumn and
winter clothes, so she smiled and said, "I'll treat you and Jingsheng to dinner at the Peace Hotel
on Christmas, without your uncle."
"My uncle is going to be with Aunt Lu. He definitely doesn't want to see a bunch of light bulbs in
my eyes." Si Jiang felt relieved and smiled mischievously.
National Day is on Saturday, Gu Nanhong brought her sons to Wanchun Street for dinner. Da, Er,
and San went to Shantou to reunite with their grandfather during the summer vacation, and
missed Si Jiang Jingsheng very much. For a while, the Gu family was in an uproar, and the whole
family had a good meal. Nanhong invited the children to watch "Behind the Curtain" starring Liu
Xiaoqing. When they came back, Da, Er, and San were arguing with each other. There was no
dispute that Liu Xiaoqing was not as beautiful as Si Jiang, but in the end, Liu Xiaoqing or Mu Ma
was more beautiful. Da insisted that Empress Dowager Cixi was more beautiful, Er said it was
about the same, and San said Mu Ma was the most beautiful. The three of them forced Jingsheng
and Si Jiang to vote, and then turned around and encouraged Si Jiang to become an actress in the
future. She would definitely become famous. Then they would be the brothers of famous
actresses in the country, a stick! Model!
The next morning, Si Jiang was brushing her teeth by the sink and talking to Jing Sheng, who was
making breakfast in the kitchen, about the details of the movie she had watched the previous
day. Four or five men came in, looked at Si Jiang and the house number, and asked her,
"Classmate, does Gu Nanhong live here?"
Si Jiang asked back with a mouth full of white foam: "Who are you?"
The leading man took out a piece of paper from his shirt pocket and said, "The house number is
correct. Go up."
Jingsheng blocked the stairs with a shovel: "Where are you from? What do you want to do?"
"Step aside."
The men were very aggressive. Jingsheng grabbed the handrail of the stairs to avoid being
pushed down. He used the force to climb the stairs to pull the last two people. His hand touched
the waist, and the hard shape made his scalp numb. He hurriedly followed them: "Comrade,
comrade, did you find the wrong person?"
Si Jiang shouted from outside to the upstairs window: "Aunt! Aunt, there are bad guys looking for
trouble. Five bad guys, be careful!"
"Gu Nanhong?"
Nanhong put down the small mirror and half-painted lipstick in her hand, turned around and
asked, "Who?"
When Jingsheng squeezed into the room, two men were twisting Nanhong's arms and holding
her. The other two were busy dealing with the three little tigers, Da, Er, and San, who rushed
over. Grandma Gu was crying and tearing at the man in the lead.
"Who are you? What do you want to do?" Nanhong was shocked and angry, and she couldn't
remember who she had offended.
"Sign!" An arrest warrant was spread out in front of her.
"You're crazy, who is the hooligan?" Nanhong's lipstick was smeared on her cheek while she
struggled. The bright and strong lipstick was shocking. She shook away the long curly hair that
covered half of her face, and tried her best to straighten her body to read what was written on it.
It was totally incomprehensible.
"Alright, Jingsheng, A'da! Don't move." Nanhong saw the plainclothes officer was about to draw
his gun, and quickly stopped the four children: "Don't be afraid, I'll talk to them. Mom, don't cry,
it's okay. Jingsheng, help Auntie keep an eye on A'da and the others, don't let them run around."
Jingsheng struggled to break free from the plainclothes police with red eyes, gritted his teeth and
nodded, then pulled Si Jiang over and asked her to help the old lady: "Don't cry."
After Nanhong signed the document, she was taken away. People from the alleys of Wanchun
Street came out to watch the excitement, and the Dange Road was almost blocked. Si Jiang cried
and ran after them, taking one deep step and one shallow step. She didn't understand what was
going on.

Chapter 166
"Is dancing considered a hooligan crime?" Nan Hong raised her eyebrows and asked, "□□ and
many central leaders like to dance ballroom dance. The female soldiers in the art troupe have
danced with the leaders. Are only hooligan dance?"
"According to reports from the public, you have been maintaining improper relationships with
many men under the guise of ballroom dancing, and even went to a black-lit dance party on New
Year's Eve. Don't you remember?"
"It's true that I like dancing." Nan Hong sneered, "I've never been to a dark dance party. I have
nothing to do with any improper relationship between men and women. Except for my husband,
which man said that he had a relationship with me? Let's confront them face to face. I'm upright.
Can something that didn't happen become true just by talking? Police comrades, if you can arrest
and convict someone just by writing a letter of denunciation with a crazy red eye, that's the time
of the □□."
The plainclothes officer looked up at Nan Hong and said, "We will not let a bad guy go, nor will
we wrongly accuse a good guy."
Nan Hong laughed sarcastically, "Really? But you can easily turn a good person into a 'bad
person'. You came to my mother's house to arrest me with such fanfare. Who would still believe
that I am a good person with an innocent character? If I were a little weaker, I would probably
have to hang myself at the gate of your company with a belt and write 'wronged' all over my
body with blood."
The policewoman raised her head impatiently: "What's the point of being so stubborn? Do you
know Lin XX, Luo XX, Zhu X, Jiang Wei and Jiang Xiao from No. X, Maoming Road? They have all
confessed their crimes, and you are still denying it? Do you know that resisting will be punished
severely? Now it's not just one person who is reporting you. The public has sharp eyes. If your
personal conduct is fine, why would they report you? Why did they report you?"
"Because I'm pretty." Nan Hong looked at her nonchalantly and curled the corners of her lips:
"Also because I'm fashionable, I can make money, I have a model performance team, I'm famous,
I have many friends, I have a happy family and my husband treats me very well."
The policewoman and plainclothes officers were stunned. They had never seen such a shameless
suspect.
"Any one of these will cause the Red Eyes to report me. People who can't let others live well
because they themselves can't live well, haven't you met them? There are no such people in the
police force? If they can't get promoted, they will pull down capable people. They use any
despicable means and don't seek to benefit themselves but only to harm others." Nan Hong sat
up straight: "This kind of maggot just wants others to be covered in shit. The more outstanding a
person is, the more maggots there are around them. What's so strange about that? You don't
believe what people say but believe what maggots say, haha."
Two hours passed, and the policeman, who was very angry at being crushed by Nan Hong, left
her in a huff. Nan Hong still stood up straight for a long time, listening to the chaotic footsteps in
the corridor outside. After a while, she was sure that no one came in, and then she leaned back
on the chair. The curtains in the room were tightly drawn in the daytime, and the fluorescent
tubes on the ceiling were black at both ends. The strong smell of smoke made her throat sore.
She had offended too many people, so it was not surprising that she had suffered such a
hardship. In the past, Hu, who had always been competing with her in the factory, was slapped in
the face by her in the cafeteria for spreading rumors that she had a relationship with the factory
leader. Later, she also had a bad face for people in the clothing company who disliked her. There
were also many people like Team Leader Xu's wife and mother-in-law. Even Qian Guihua was
capable of such a dirty thing as writing a letter of denunciation. Nanhong considered herself a
good person, who had never hurt anyone and just wanted to live a more comfortable life
according to her own wishes. But this was an eyesore to others, and they had to step on her. It
was not enough to step on her, but they also wanted to ruin her reputation and even put her to
death. How big was the hatred, killing her father or stealing her husband?
As strong as Nan Hong was, she couldn't help but shudder. She said everything she should have
said, and didn't say a word she shouldn't have said. There were many men who went to the
movies, had meals, drank coffee, and sent gifts, but none of them really slept with her. She didn't
feel guilty about this. What she was afraid of was that someone would shamelessly frame her.
She wasn't a virgin, and it was technically difficult to prove that she hadn't slept with anyone.
Half an hour later, two men came in to question her, holding thick files in their armpits. They
pulled out chairs with a bang and kicked the small table when they sat down, hitting Nanhong in
the chest. Nanhong had no reaction to this show of power.
"According to a report from the public, last year in Shantou, you embezzled 20,000 yuan in
performance fees from a clothing company's fashion show team. Gu Nanhong, this is a major
criminal case. You should be clear-headed and confess honestly to the crime and return the
stolen money. You can try to get a lighter sentence. Otherwise, you will be punished for both the
crime and hooliganism, and a suspended death sentence would be a pardon." The plainclothes
officer with glasses stared at Nanhong with a burning gaze, wanting to see how she would
mentally break down and cry and confess.
Nan Hong was stunned for a few seconds before reacting. She smiled and said, "The informant is
Team Leader Xu from the performance team? He and I have a personal grudge. This is pure false
accusation. How can it be considered a case to frame a good person? Will he be sentenced?"
The plainclothes officer did not deny it and directly took out a stack of forms: "Look carefully,
there are signatures on it from the performance team members, acknowledging that they
received the so-called performance remuneration you issued after three days of overtime, a total
of 20,000 yuan, including the 960 yuan you received yourself. Do you admit this?"
"Twenty thousand yuan was distributed to each person, so what did I embezzle? Air?" Nan Hong
was very tired. She felt confused as to whether the police academies now lowered the admission
score.
The police were quite satisfied with her answer: "The members of the performance team are
contract workers of the clothing company. Although they are on a business trip, they are paid by
the clothing company every day. The remuneration they receive from the performance should
belong to the clothing company. No matter who you gave it to or how you divided it, your
behavior is embezzlement of collective property and misappropriation of it for private use."
"Didn't the report say that this performance had nothing to do with the company? It was
everyone helping to display the factory's samples privately after work. The factory owner is my
husband's boss and is also my friend. The 20,000 yuan was everyone's hard work pay for three
nights. Comrade, according to what you said, a kitchen chef leaves the hotel to help a friend cook
a meal for a wedding or funeral, and the hard work pay he gets has to be given to the hotel? A
repairman goes to help a friend fix a TV on his day off, and the hard work pay he gets has to be
given to the factory? Doesn't that make sense? My niece was in a children's performance troupe
at a TV station when she was young. She danced privately for the neighbors in exchange for eggs.
Should those eggs also be sent to the TV station?" Nan Hong sighed, "I have specifically reported
this performance to the company's leaders, and the leaders made it very clear that the company
has no control over what the workers do during non-working hours. You can ask Manager Zhang
of the clothing company about this."
The discussion lasted until the evening. Nanhong asked when she could go home. The police said
calmly that she could not go back until the investigation was complete. Nanhong was confused.
She was transferred to a room with more than 30 people, both men and women. Some were so
tired that they curled up on the floor and fell asleep. From time to time, someone came in and
asked them to go out. They kept asking anxiously about their cases. The answer was usually that
they had not received any notice yet, or they did not know. Nanhong asked several people, and
the longest one had been detained for five days. He was only questioned twice, and could not be
visited or go out. He could only wait.
Nan Hong realized the seriousness of the problem at this time, which was far beyond her
imagination. The factory had already placed an order, the fabric had been paid for, and next
year's spring clothes would be on the assembly line in half a month. She had to collect the
payment from several markets in Guangdong and Zhejiang, and there were still a lot of samples
to be confirmed at home. If she was wronged here, the 70,000 or 80,000 yuan of money and
goods that she had worked so hard to turn around might be lost.
"I have to call!" Nan Hong shouted outside: "Comrade, I have to call my family. I have business
matters to explain."
"First explain the crime clearly."
The people inside watched numbly as Nan Hong tried all kinds of things, from reasoning to
scolding to begging, but it was of no use at all.
——
When Shanli rushed to Dongsheng Canteen, the restaurant had already closed, leaving only one
light on. Gu Dongwen still looked calm. Shanli thought to himself that this was someone who had
experienced strong winds and waves.
"Thank you for your hard work. Have you seen anyone?" Gu Dongwen stood up and poured a
glass of hot water for Shanli.
"I'm not in good spirits when I see someone." Shanli thought of Nan Hong's tired face and sighed:
"She reassured you, saying that no matter what, she would not plead guilty to anything she had
never done, nor would she cry or make trouble. She won't hang herself, she can survive it."
Gu Dongwen nodded.
"The tricky thing is that the Jiang family's dance case has become a typical case. Hundreds of
people have been arrested, and many of them have implicated Nan Hong, saying that she was
close to the Jiang siblings. The man in the Jiang family has slept with many men, and two
intelligence agents were also caught. The case is a bit serious, so they are covering it up and not
making it public. Three bastards are lying that they have a relationship with Nan Hong. The
bureau said they will find a way to figure it out." Shanli's voice was a little muffled. What he could
tell Gu Dongwen was already good news. In fact, things were so bad that even the old man of the
Zhou family didn't care about his face. He and Shanrang had done their best, but the situation
was beyond their control.
"Nanhong won't mess around." Gu Dongwen paused, took out a cigarette and lit it for Shanli.
"She is the kind of person who has the desire but not the courage. If she wants to have a
relationship, she doesn't need to go to a dance to find someone. Twenty years ago, those who
wanted to be with her could have lined up from Jing'an Temple to the Bund."
Shanli nodded: "Now the key is the matter of the 20,000 yuan. The leader of the clothing
company said that Nanhong did not call to ask for permission, and this basically proves that she
abused her power to make profits without authorization."
The two grown men were silent for a long time. The wisps of green smoke rose into the sky,
gradually faded, and disappeared after passing over the light bulb.
"Let's go." Shanli said suddenly.
Gu Dongwen took a breath and said, "It's okay. You go first. I'll think about it. I'm sorry for
bothering you for more than half a month. I won't say thank you. My family really can't help her.
I've contacted Beiwu and Beijing more than a dozen times. Many friends are trying to find a
solution, but there has been no definite response."
"I mean let Nanhong go." Shanli fiercely extinguished the cigarette butt into the ashtray and
raised his eyes: "I'll find a way to get her out and let her husband secretly send her away.
Everything will be fine in ten or eight years, really."
Gu Dongwen watched quietly. He had already seen that Zhou Shanli liked Nanhong. He had
indeed had this idea in mind when he asked Shanli for help. Beiwu learned that the situation was
more serious than they knew. It had only been a few months, and thousands of people had been
executed for hooliganism alone. The county court could directly sentence people to death
without going through the provincial intermediate court and the high court. The appeal period
was only three days, and no appeal had been successful so far.
Beiwu asked Zhao Yanhong to find a way to send Nanhong to the United States, and he would
settle her down. Boss Fang from Shantou suggested that Nanhong and her family of five go to
Hong Kong, and they could also help him manage his business in Hong Kong.
"Okay." Gu Dongwen lowered his eyes. He didn't need to thank for the great favor. He kept it in
his heart.
——
Jingsheng's birthday this year was spent quietly. He and Sijiang read a lot of newspapers every
day at first, and whenever they had time, they would call and write letters to appeal for Nanhong,
but as the days passed, Nanhong never came out. Sijiang became increasingly silent, and her
grades dropped a lot. The head teacher and Fang Shuren talked to her several times, but there
was no improvement.
There was a fire burning in Si Jiang's chest. When she was young, she often heard her
grandmother and uncle gossiping in private. No matter how absurd the matter was, they only felt
a little regretful, regretting the lives that could not survive and passed away, including the matter
of Teacher Fang's family. She couldn't help crying every time, but no matter how miserable the
world was, it was always separated from her by a glass cover, and she didn't feel the pain deeply.
After being hit by the big stick of society this time, Si Jiang realized that she was just a miserable
young man who didn't know the taste of sorrow. She was worried about her aunt and her
grandmother. Zhou Shanrang called back almost every few days, but the storm of severe
crackdowns became more and more fierce, and all the words of comfort and consolation were as
light as a feather.
Before Christmas, Grandma Gu, who was already disappointed with the Bodhisattvas in the Jade
Buddha Temple and Jing'an Temple, followed Grandma Zhu to the International Chapel on
Hengshan Road. Many old ladies accompanied her to pray. The next night, seeing Nanhong
suddenly brought back by Shanli and Gu Dongwen, Grandma Gu was stunned. She immediately
ran to the bedside, took out the cross from under the pillow, knelt on the pedal and cried and
shouted thank you Jesus. After thanking Jesus, she ran out and slapped Nanhong several times,
crying, laughing and scolding: "I told you not to show off and not to dance, but you didn't listen.
Look at you! You have to look good, and beautiful women have a hard life. I told you hundreds of
times, but you didn't listen!"
Si Jiang cried with joy, hugged his grandmother and aunt and cried. Jingsheng was silent with red
eyes, looked at Gu Dongwen, went downstairs to boil water, moved the old bathtub behind
Grandma Gu's bed, filled it with hot water, and went downstairs to cook three bowls of plain
noodles and six poached eggs.
Gu Nanhong was so thin that only a bag of bones remained, with her cheekbones protruding. She
quietly went in to wash her hair and bathe, and then wore Grandma Gu's old cotton-padded
jacket to eat noodles in the living room. She took too long to wash, and the noodles had clumped
together. Jingsheng asked her to order another bowl, but Nanhong smiled and shook her head.
She ate it all up in big mouthfuls, even finishing the soup before pushing the bowl away and
asking Si Jiang, "Nannan, did Auntie leave a small bag at home last time? Have you seen it?"
Si Jiang quickly took it out from the drawer of the chest of drawers and gave it to her carefully.
Nanhong took a breath, lowered her eyes, opened her purse, took out a broken mirror, applied
powder, drew eyebrows and eyeliner. Her hands were shaking so badly that her eyeliner quickly
blurred into a messy black and gray. The street light outside the west window was broken,
flickering and occasionally making a crackling sound. Everyone in the room watched her put on
makeup quietly, and no one said a word.
Some of the lipstick spilled out, and Nanhong raised her ring finger to wipe it off. She wiped it
once, twice, and then pinched the corner of her lips tightly for a few seconds. She pursed her
bright red lips up and down, and looked left and right: "It seems that I have lost weight."
Grandma Gu suddenly covered her face with her hands, her shoulders twitching constantly, and
Si Jiang's tears fell like a broken string.
"Does Chen Donghai and his family still live in Lane 74?" Nanhong asked.
"Yeah." Si Jiang responded with a little surprise.
Nanhong put on Grandma Gu's woolen hat, wrapped most of her face with Jingsheng's scarf,
whispered a few words to Shanli and Gu Dongwen, and went downstairs. Sijiang and Jingsheng
wanted to follow, but were stopped by Gu Dongwen. Ten minutes later, Nanhong came back
calmly and called Grandma Gu to the inner room to talk. Sijiang was restless, and only heard the
grandmother crying and mumbling something inside. Then Nanhong strode out, hugged her
tightly, walked to Jingsheng, returned the scarf to Jingsheng, and hugged him lightly.
"Let's go."
"Okay. Be careful on the road." Gu Dongwen took out a newspaper bag from his arms and stuffed
it into her hand.
Nanhong took it, lowered her head and bit her lip, then left without looking back. Shanli nodded
to Gu Dongwen: "Don't worry."
Throughout the 1980s, Si Jiang never saw his dear and lovely aunt, or his dear and lovely three
cousins from the Zhao family again. Si Jiang always remembered that their names were Zhao
Jing'an, Zhao Changning, and Zhao Chang'an, very ordinary and Shanghai names.
Chapter 167
The bare branches of the sycamore trees were densely crisscrossed, cutting the weak sunlight
into countless pieces, adding a little warmth to the desolate road.
Nan Hong disappeared, but the various legends about her still exist. The police came to the
house several times. As soon as they opened their mouths, Grandma Gu and Si Jiang burst into
tears. Jing Sheng didn't know anything when asked. Gu Dongwen lost his temper twice and
shouted at the police that he wanted to see her alive or dead. There was almost a conflict, but
fortunately, Director Liu from the neighborhood committee and others persuaded them to stop.
Usually, Grandma Gu went to church with Grandma Zhu and other old ladies. On the eighth day
of the twelfth lunar month, she was formally baptized and became a devout Christian. Although
she was illiterate, she recited the Bible and spoke eloquently: In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God... She stopped singing Shanghai opera and Yue
opera at home and sang hymns instead. Whenever she had time, she would grab Si Jiang and Jing
Sheng to preach. Fortunately, the letter sent back by Bei Wu before the New Year hinted that Nan
Hong's family had settled in Hong Kong, and the family was truly relieved.
The experiences of individuals and small families are often not necessarily synchronized with the
times and society. After Si Jiang paid attention to the news and social pages in the newspaper, she
was deeply confused. It seemed that most of those sentenced and shot were real criminals. She
also felt that the public security had improved significantly and gangsters were almost extinct,
but she couldn't imagine how many unlucky people like her aunt there were. She began to be
interested in political courses, but after self-studying some superficial knowledge of the political
superstructure and ideological superstructure, she turned to study history. In the end, she finally
understood why her uncle finally chose the Department of Political Economy.
As soon as the winter vacation arrived, Zhao Youning came to Gu's house, bringing a lot of novel
food and school supplies. He won the championship in the Computer Basic Language
Competition of the China Welfare Association last spring, and he was busy like a top all year, with
math competitions, physics competitions, computer training and competitions. In this way, he
also heard a lot about Aunt Sijiang. Some people in Kangjiaqiao privately laughed that the Gu
family was simply a den of hooligans, with all the male and female hooligans in the family. I don’t
know if the two children Gu Jingsheng and Chen Sijiang will also follow this path in the future.
Just looking at their faces, they feel restless. Zhao Youning immediately got up and fought with
the man. He lost badly, but he dared to do it next time. He has always been a good boy who is
very obedient and has excellent grades. He was so desperate to protect his friend’s reputation.
After two or three times, no one in Kangjiaqiao talked about the Gu family anymore. Sijiang and
Jingsheng didn’t know about these things at all, and they were surprised that they hadn’t seen
Zhao Youning a few times in the winter, just thinking that he was too busy participating in the
competition.
Zhao Youning's stepmother Jia Qingqing couldn't help but complain a few words, fearing that she
would be branded as abusing her stepson because of the bruises on his face and body. After
talking to his son, Zhao Yan was relieved. Children who are too mature, sensible and well-
behaved often have big bombs buried in their hearts, which may explode one day. Youning was
too indifferent to his mother's affairs, which made him feel a little bit uneasy. Things between
adults are too complicated, and many details cannot be explained to children clearly. Now he is
aroused by blood to protect the reputation of his friend, which is a good thing, and he is like a
real teenager.
Zhao Yan didn't take it seriously and encouraged Zhao Youning to do whatever he wanted and be
a real "Zhao Youning". Jia Qingqing had to suppress all her complaints. She was one of the first
batch of graduate students taught by Zhao Yan and was very familiar with Zhao's preferences and
taboos. Fortunately, she found out that she was pregnant after New Year's Day. She was
overjoyed. She had always dreamed that her baby would have a beautiful nursery like in foreign
movies. It happened that Zhao Youning was promoted to high school in the summer, and if he
lived on campus, he would have a small room. Everything was perfect.
"You're going directly to high school?" Si Jiang expressed envy: "You don't have to take exams if
you're going directly to high school, right? I heard your school's new building is about to be
completed? My classmates said it's going to be very grand."
"Well, the new students can live in the new dormitories in September. When you are free on
Sundays, come to our school and I will treat you to meals in the cafeteria." Zhao Youning invited
with a smile.
Jingsheng raised his eyes: "You won't be back on Sunday?"
"My room will be empty anyway, so I'll give it to my little brother or sister." Zhao Youning
swallowed the second glutinous rice ball: "Aunt Jia's mother is coming to help take care of the
children. It will be inconvenient for everyone if I come back."
Si Jiang observed Zhao Youning carefully. He didn't seem unhappy at all. After thinking for a
while, he asked, "Did your dad let you live in the school? Are you okay?"
Zhao Youning took a sip of sweet potato tea and shook his head. "My dad asked me to choose. I
want to live on campus so I can save time on the way back and forth. I have to self-study
freshman math courses in the first year of high school. I heard that the physics in the second year
of high school is even more difficult. By the way, Jingsheng, have you signed up for the youth
computer programming competition in May? The teacher said it will be held every year in the
future. It's a good opportunity. Oh, it would be nice if there were 48 hours in a day."
Jingsheng and Sijiang looked at each other: "???" They didn't want to talk about studying with
Zhao Youning.
"Why don't you just take the high school entrance exam and come to our school." Zhao Youning's
eyes sparkled: "Aren't you good at sports? You will definitely be able to get in. Si Jiang, you can
also take the high school entrance exam and come to our school. We can even live on campus
together. How great."
Jingsheng shook his head: "Forget it, I still like our school. I don't have any lofty ambitions, I just
want to put in the least effort to get into a good university."
Si Jiang was stunned. She had always thought Jingsheng was very fond of learning and had great
ambitions.
"I can't get into your school, and I can't live in the dormitory. I have to take care of my grandma
and Si Hao." Si Jiang put down the bowl: "Brother, which university do you want to go to in the
future? What kind of job do you want to do?"
"I haven't decided on a university yet, but computer science and engineering are both good, as
long as it's easier to find a job in the future."
"What about you, Zhao Youning? A physicist or a mathematician? Or a computer expert? Anyway,
you will definitely become something in the future." Si Jiang suppressed his doubts and turned to
ask.
All three of them laughed. Zhao Youning scratched his forehead and pushed his glasses up: "I
haven't decided yet. I like computers more. It's very interesting to design programs by myself. I
really hope that my country's computer level can catch up with Europe and the United States, or
at least catch up with Japan. What about you, Si Jiang? Do you want to be a reporter or a writer?
Or a teacher?"
"I want to study at the School of Political Science and Law in the future." Si Jiang said without
hesitation: "I want to be a lawyer."
Jingsheng was a little surprised to hear her express her new ideal in such a powerful voice. All the
ideals Si Jiang had talked about before were related to words, but the direction suddenly
changed. It must be related to Nanhong's matter.
"Lawyer? The kind of person who defends criminals?" Zhao Youning was also quite surprised.
"Don't call him criminal! Call him defendant!" Si Jiang glared at Zhao Youning.
"Oh, sorry."
"I want to be a truly great lawyer, not the kind of lawyer who just follows orders and commands
now." Si Jiang took out a pile of newspaper clippings, turned to a page and showed them: "Look
at this case. The defendant was dazzled by the headlights of a pilot who had returned from the
Taiwan uprising, so he stopped the car and had a quarrel and shoved a few times. As a result,
Lawyer Li was not even allowed to make a not guilty defense. The leader did not approve it, so he
could only turn down the case. The young man was finally sentenced to jail with a 'severe and
expeditious' sentence. Don't you think it's wrong? Our teacher He said that this is called rule by
man, not rule by law. If the law treats people differently according to their status, wealth, and
status, it will become a dead letter. The victims will always be ordinary people, and it will become
the fundamental factor of social instability."
Zhao Youning read the report carefully, he wanted to know everything that Si Jiang was
interested in, and he was a little bit uncontrollable excited. This was the first time he saw Chen
Sijiang like this, passionate, full of ideals and concerned about the country and the people,
completely different from those girls who only liked to talk about movies, TV, and eat and drink.
Well, he didn't think that kind of girls were bad, but Si Jiang's current appearance made him
admire and appreciate her even more.
Jingsheng leaned over to take a look. The article clearly said something different, emphasizing the
pilot's merits and his role as a member of the people's
Representatives enjoy the right of the National People's Congress to "protect the personal safety
of representatives". We would like to remind readers not to lose their rationality and commit
crimes due to impulse over trivial matters in life.
"You are very much like your uncle." Jingsheng looked at Si Jiang and smiled: "He is particularly
good at reading the underlying content from the news."
Si Jiang stopped writing and thought for a while, then became happy: "Really?! I wish I could be
one percent, no, one thousandth as good as my uncle." She has been chatting a lot with teachers
He Hongwei and Zhou recently, and feels that she has entered a new field. She can't wait to share
with people around her: "I have read several foreign novels about lawyers. They are very
interesting. It turns out that lawyers not only defend good people, but also bad people. So when
the Gang of Four went to court, the state also appointed lawyers for them. And do you
understand the presumption of innocence in European and American countries? If we had this
rule here, my aunt wouldn't be so unlucky. Really, she wouldn't have been locked up for so long
and couldn't even make a phone call."
Speaking of Nanhong, Sijiang became depressed again: "I know the police are all trying to catch
bad guys, but what if they catch the wrong person? The wrongly accused person's life will be
ruined, and their family will be very miserable. Who will compensate them?" She straightened
her back: "I want to be a good lawyer who can help these people. Even if I can only help one
person."
Jingsheng sighed inwardly and flipped through the thick newspaper clippings: "If the higher-ups
don't allow you, there's nothing I can do. You should just be a teacher. Being a teacher is good.
No one is in charge of you, just you. There are also winter and summer vacations. Don't you want
to go to Xinjiang, Beijing, or the United States when you have time and money?"
Zhao Youning disagreed: "Lawyers are good. I think Si Jiang can do it. Your ideal is great. It can
change the fate of others, change society, and even make our country better. Laws are also made
by people. Maybe you can become the one who makes laws in the future, and you can help more
people in need."
Si Jiang smiled happily: "Thank you for your encouragement! Now we have started to rectify the
party and eliminate corrupt elements. The country is making progress, and civilization and the
rule of law will certainly improve. In the future, this kind of crude and lazy one-size-fits-all
approach of killing ten thousand people rather than letting one go will definitely be abolished."
Seeing that Jingsheng and Youning were very surprised, Si Jiang coughed twice and blinked: "I
didn't say this. I'm not that good. It was our teacher He who said this. I believe in Teacher He.
When we grow up, everything will get better. My first case in the future will be to help my aunt
clear her grievances."
Jingsheng and Youning listened to Si Jiang chattering about her conversations with Teacher He
and Teacher Zhou. Her thoughts jumped a lot, often she was talking about one topic in the
previous sentence and jumped to another topic at another time in the next sentence, but they
didn't care.
Zhao Youning felt excited that they would become a generation that changed the country like his
uncle Sijiang. However, Jingsheng always reminded her which words were "treasonous" and must
not be mentioned outside. He understood Sijiang's transformation after Nanhong's accident, but
he was reluctant to see her change from a sensitive, thoughtful, literary-loving girl to a sharp,
angry young woman who was keen on discussing political issues. But he could not stop or
participate in this transformation. Will everything get better? Maybe, maybe not. Jingsheng can
only see the ugliest part of human nature and the most sinister part of people's hearts. He does
not have such lofty ambitions, and he does not care what the country will become. He and his
mother have suffered too much, and he cannot be grateful or look forward to it. He can only see
the small world around him.
Si Jiang wrote today’s conclusion in his new diary: Anger produces poets.
Jingsheng was stunned: "Are you going to be a poet again?"
Zhao Youning asked excitedly: "Have you collected a lot of poems? Can you show them to me?"
Si Jiang suspected that the common language they just talked about was all fake.

Chapter 168
Before he had time to imagine how to conquer the sea of stars, Zhao Youning went berserk.
When he returned to Kangjiaqiao from Wanchun Street, he was in a very happy mood. He was
well fed and his hands and feet were warm, and his blood was boiling. He recalled Sijiang's ideals
and felt that they could work together in the future. As soon as he entered the alley, several
grandpas and grandmas reminded him: "Ningning, your aunt has many relatives coming. (Your
aunt has many relatives coming)"
Youning smiled and nodded, not caring. During the National Day last year, he accidentally heard
Jia Qingqing tell her father that she hoped to get pregnant soon. He admitted that he was a little
greedy at the time, hoping that his father would say something, even if it was just a word of not
being anxious. However, what he heard was the man smiling and saying "then you have to work
harder". He almost ran away from Kangjiaqiao in the ambiguous panting of men and women.
When he ran to the lake in Xigong, he felt that he was too ridiculous. He had become a
superfluous person in this family. He did not regret his decision to stay in Shanghai. Here were his
school teachers and classmates, as well as good friends he grew up with. He did not want to start
over in a foreign country, or he was selfish and cowardly in his bones and did not want to face his
mother who was often ill. He abandoned his mother first, and then was abandoned by his father.
He deserved it. Later, he applied to the school for skipping a grade and successfully entered the
third grade of junior high school, so that he could leave this home as soon as possible.
However, even though he had already excluded himself from this "home" and didn't care about
losing his room, he felt something was wrong when he approached the doorway. Someone was
touching his piano, and very rudely, almost like something was hitting the keys heavily, again and
again. A tuner had just come to tune the piano the day before yesterday, and my father had
promised that the piano would not be sold or given away no matter what. This was my
grandfather's piano. After it was confiscated, my mother had finally found it from the second-
hand goods store on Huaihai Road. The names of my mother and my uncle were engraved on the
back of the piano, which were the marks left by their mischief when they were young.
Zhao Youning rushed upstairs and pushed open the door. The noisy house immediately became
quiet.
"Ningning, you've come back a long time ago?" Jia Qingqing quickly winked at her second
brother. The man sitting on the piano bench casually picked up the little boy who was stepping on
the keys and laughing. The boy immediately struggled and screamed in displeasure, kicking his
small feet in shoes on the black and white keys. The piano made a series of sudden sounds, and
the buzzing resonance exploded in Zhao Youning's ears.
Seeing Zhao Youning's expression, Jia Qingqing hurriedly explained, "I'm sorry, Ningning, the little
one loves your piano so much that he doesn't even want to watch TV. Don't worry, he just
learned to walk not long ago and hasn't been on the ground much today, so his shoes are very
clean. Brother, hurry up and bring the baby down. Ningning wants to practice the piano."
The man smiled and turned to Zhao Youning: "Oh, you see, the baby likes the piano too much. He
cries when you ask him to come down. Baby, let your cousin play with you for two more minutes,
okay? Be obedient, and we'll come down in two minutes."
Five or six people sitting at the dining table and on the sofa began chatting and laughing again.
"Baby has already said that Qingqing is pregnant with a prince, so she will definitely give birth to
a son."
"Yes, yes, yes. Children under the age of three have the third eye. Don't see too clearly."
"Auntie, Qingqing is really blessed. The house is so luxurious, with a refrigerator, air conditioner,
and piano. The little guy is really lucky."
The piano kept shouting, mixed with the innocent and happy laughter and screams of young
children.
The door was slammed shut, startling everyone.
"Go away." The veins on Zhao Youning's forehead jumped. He walked to the piano, put his
trembling hands on the piano cover, looked down at the black and white in the high notes, and
whispered, "Don't touch my mother's piano. Go away."
The young man turned his head and called Jia Qingqing: "Hey, sister, why is your classmate Xiao
Zhao so stingy? Little brother, show off your wealth - Hey!"
The piano cover fell down with a loud bang, and the boy who was standing on the keys was
pulled back to his father by Zhao Youning. He felt weightless for a moment, and his little mouth
opened, crying loudly, and beating the piano cover desperately.
"What are you doing? You almost knocked my son down. Hey, Qingqing, don't worry about it. I'm
going to teach him a lesson today!" The man angrily carried his son to the sofa and stuffed him to
his wife, rolling up his sweater sleeves and posing like an elder. Jia Qingqing frowned and helped
to coax her nephew, but she was very panicked. She always wanted to touch the piano, but Zhao
Yan wouldn't let her. She felt very depressed when she saw Zhao Youning playing the piano every
day, as if that psychotic woman was still occupying this room and lingering. Today, she
deliberately opened the piano cover to let her little nephew play it for fun, thinking that there
were so many relatives around, and Zhao Youning had always had a good temper, so it would be
difficult to say anything if she bumped into him.
Zhao Youning didn't say anything. He reopened the piano lid, took out a soft cloth and round
brush from the piano bench and began to clean the piano carefully.
The man rushed over, but he didn't dare to take any action. He paced around meaninglessly and
scolded Zhao Youning with his mouth. However, Zhao Youning just ignored him. The man became
more and more annoyed when he heard his son's heart-wrenching cry.
"Your dad always said that you have a good personality, good temper and good grades. I didn't
expect you to be so cruel to a one and a half year old child. I think you are just like your mom. You
have a problem with your brain. You'd better go see a doctor - ah!"
The piano lid slammed shut again, and the vase on the piano fell on the man, breaking into
pieces. The man was covered in water, and the broken glass flew far away, spilling a lot of water
on the piano bench. The people in the room screamed and cursed one after another.
As soon as Zhao Yan entered the house with two bags of cooked food, he saw his brother-in-law
Jia Minyuan grabbing his son by the collar and pressing him against the piano and slapping him.
His son's glasses flew out and fell into a puddle of water on the ground, with the lenses cracked.
"Hubby, husband!" Jia Qingqing came trotting over holding her belly which hadn't even shown
yet, with a look of self-blame on her face: "It's all my fault. Baby insisted on showing off
Ningning's piano and I didn't stop her. Ningning got angry when she saw it, and she slammed the
piano cover down without saying a word, almost hurting Baby. My brother scolded him, and he
hit my brother with a vase. It's all my fault that I let Baby touch Teacher Wu's piano--" Her body
softened and she was about to fall, so Zhao Yan could only drop the cooked food in his hand and
support her first.
Zhao Youning is only half a head shorter than Jia Minyuan. He has been swimming for many years
and has taken physical education classes very seriously after entering middle school. Jia Minyuan
didn't get the upper hand when he attacked him at first. He hesitated and didn't fight back when
he heard Zhao Yan coming upstairs. He didn't feel any pain when he was slapped in the face. He
just wanted to know what the man as his father would do after seeing him being beaten.
Jia Minyuan stood up awkwardly and hated Zhao Youning even more. He thought this burden was
too cunning and deliberately let him get slapped so that Zhao Yan would protect him.
Zhao Youning watched Zhao Yan help Jia Qingqing sit on the sofa, bend down to pick up his
glasses, wipe them with his fingers a few times, and put them back on. He said calmly: "His son
stepped on the piano keys with his feet. I asked them to leave, but they refused."
Jia Minyuan followed behind Zhao Yan and stammered, "Teacher Zhao, don't get me wrong. I
noticed that Youning was not quite right today. He was so harsh on such a young child. After all, I
am his uncle. I can't watch him—"
"My uncle died a long time ago." Zhao Youning raised his head: "You said I was mentally ill like my
mother, and now you are vying to be a mentally ill uncle, just so you can beat me up with a clear
reason?"
Zhao Yan's expression turned cold and he moved his hand away from Jia Qingqing's belly.
"Jia Minyuan, are you saying this about my son?"
Jia Minyuan was shocked and stammered a few words. Jia Qingqing hugged Zhao Yan's arm to
prevent him from standing up, and regardless of the embarrassment, she begged softly, "Teacher
Zhao, Teacher Zhao, I have a stomachache."
Jia's relatives didn't dare to say a word. Although Jia Qingqing was a graduate student from a
prestigious university, the Jia family had no confidence in front of Zhao Yan. Jia Minyuan had just
changed to a decent job thanks to Zhao Yan, and the money Jia Qingqing took home privately
every month was equivalent to Jia Minyuan's monthly salary.
Zhao Youning lowered his eyes and smiled, then opened the door. The phone at home rang, and
he took his step back. It might be his mother calling. After she found out that he had skipped a
grade, she said she would call again during the winter vacation.
"Ningning, I'm looking for you." Zhao Yan gently put down the phone and looked at Jia Minyuan
with a frown: "You guys go back first, I won't keep any food for you."
Everyone in the room began to pack up their things slowly, but they couldn't help but prick up
their ears along with Jia Qingqing, wanting to listen to Zhao Youning's mother's voice. They were
also worried that if Zhao Youning complained, Jia Qingqing would suffer.
The person who called was Chen Sinan.
"Hahaha, Brother Ningning, the long-distance call I'm making to you is free. Please talk to me for
a while. My cousin and the others hung up after just a few words. It's such a loss."
Sinan happily covered the microphone and loudly thanked Chen Donglai's indirect leader,
Director Dong, again.
Somehow, hearing Sinan's laughter, Youning relaxed completely: "Okay."
"Didn't you go to my grandmother's house today? Why didn't you stay there and have dinner
with my sister and the others?"
"There's food at home."
"But you have a stepmother! And a stepfather!"
Zhao Yan, who was standing nearby, heard it clearly. His eyelids twitched twice, and he felt
inexplicably guilty.
Zhao Youning sat down, put the microphone on the coffee table, and took out a handkerchief to
wipe the lens.
Sinan kindly reminded his dear brother Ningning again: "All stepmothers in the world are evil.
You must be careful. They want to drive you away so that they can occupy your property. There
are also those vicious women who beat and scold you and don't give you food, while they
pretend to cry to your father and say, 'It's all my fault, I didn't take good care of Ningning.' Tsk tsk
tsk, the brainless stepfather immediately favors her side."
Jia Qingqing almost fainted from anger. She didn't realize that this was not Wu Xi's voice. She
looked at Zhao Yan with a red face. Zhao Yan looked down at the lens in Zhao Youning's hand
without making any sound. He originally thought that he was a cultured person with quality. He
couldn't fall to the level of Jia Minyuan who directly hit back to vent his anger on Ningning. He
would find a way to make up for the grievances Ningning suffered. Jia Qingqing was a little
confused. He would explain it to her in private, but in front of so many outsiders, he still had to
give her some face. Now he was mocked and scolded by the child on the phone. He felt a little
ashamed, especially the sentence that it was all my fault for the coincidence. It was really a great
insult to his IQ.
"Okay, got it, I'll be careful." Zhao Youning responded with a smile. He suddenly didn't care what
his father thought or did. He didn't even want to pick up the microphone, and even hoped that
Sinan would tell some more jokes like this.
"By the way, I'm going to tell you a shocking secret, but please don't be sad, okay?"
"you say."
"Oh, it's not one earth-shattering secret, it's two! The first one is that my mom knows your mom,
and your grandpa is my mom's piano teacher. How is that? Is it a surprise? Is it a surprise?"
Zhao Youning couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth again: "Surprise, surprise, then
your mother is also my--" What is the appropriate way to call her?
"Aunt Teacher, haha, if you round it off, you are also my cousin."
Zhao Yan frowned. It turned out that Chen Sijiang's mother in Xinjiang was actually a student of
Wu Xi's father...
"Second secret, Auntie Xiao He from my dad's workplace said that your stepmother must have
been having an affair with your stepfather a long time ago, otherwise they wouldn't have gotten
married right after your mom left. They are both so shameless. If your stepmother dares to bully
you, I will help you write a report letter to report her as a female hooligan!"
Jia Qingqing really fainted, and her stomach was cramping and hurting a lot.
When Zhao Youning hung up the phone, the room was quiet and no one was there. He cleaned
up the broken pieces of the vase, mopped the floor, and re-cleaned the piano. In the silver photo
frame on the piano, his mother was holding him as a child, smiling at him on the beach in
Fengxian. The man who took the photo of them was already someone else's husband and would
soon be someone else's father.
He took down the photo frame, packed a few simple sets of clothes and a full box of school
supplies, took out a key from the compartment of his wallet, held it tightly and put it in his
trouser pocket. His grandparents' house in Hongye Garden on Yuyuan Road had been empty for
too many years, and they must be very happy that he moved in.
——
"Wow! I'm so awesome, I'm an expert at identifying bitches, remotely at that! If your stepmother
were alive today, she would definitely be a green tea bitch, a white lotus, or a mistress, the kind
that would be cyberbullied, tsk tsk tsk, she's lucky I only scolded her a few times. Luckily, thank
goodness she didn't dare to do anything to you again, otherwise I would have almost become the
whistleblower I hate the most, tsk tsk tsk."
When Zhao Youning inadvertently mentioned why they moved out of Kangjia Bridge at that time,
Sinan was so proud that his tail was about to stick up to the ceiling.
"I'm such an angel."
“I’m definitely gifted.”
"Zhao Youning, do you owe me a big favor?"
"How are you going to pay it back?"
"Ten dollars? Zhao Youning, how did you fall to this point! It's almost 2020, you should at least
give an angel like me a five-digit red envelope, right?"
"A little less is fine, then 19,999."
"22222? Are you hinting at me? Come on, hint at me a few more times, hint at me every day,
come on, right now, come on!"
"What do you mean by middle-aged woman? I am obviously a middle-aged health-conscious girl,
okay? I will always be twenty this year and eighteen next year! Do you know that you are very
annoying for not being able to speak like this?"

Chapter 169
Although Zhao Yan was unhappy, he had no choice but to accompany Jia Qingqing to the
emergency room of the Women's and Infants Hospital. Jia Minyuan and others were like candied
haws, and no matter how Zhao Yan hinted, they refused to leave first and insisted on staying to
support Jia Qingqing. Their words were all about how Zhao Yan would compensate Jia Qingqing if
something happened to her.
Marriage is a good thing between two families, but Zhao Yan has never experienced that it is
easier to make enemies than to make relatives, nor does he have experience in dealing with his
wife's family. He can only frown and frown to express his unhappiness. He and Wu Xi were
elementary school classmates and grew up together. When the Wu family got into trouble, he
had just stayed at the school to teach. He was still a passionate young man. He took Wu Xi back
to his home from the hospital to take care of her, and almost broke up with his family.
He pitied her misfortune, admired her talent, and of course was obsessed with her looks. He
became a light for Wu Xi, illuminating her and elevating himself. Not long after they got their
marriage certificate, they were sent down to Fengxian. Of course, they had a very bitter and
happy time.
After Wu Xi gave birth to her son, she only had her son in her eyes. The couple had not had sex
for three years. When Wu Xi tried to open herself up again, she found that she had withered. No
matter how hard they tried, it was still painful, and it was useless even if they were bleeding. Wu
Xi cried and asked for a divorce, and Zhao Yan laughed and scolded her several times. After he
was transferred back to school, he thought everything would be better, but things did not go as
he wished. Wu Xi's situation was much worse than when she was in Fengxian. She appealed
everywhere and sat in the old house of Hongye Garden for a whole day. She often broke down
emotionally and soon placed all her hopes on her son. After Mr. Wu was rehabilitated, she
returned to the Conservatory of Music to teach. The two had more and more conflicts because of
their different expectations and requirements for Zhao Youning. There is no filial son for a long-
term illness, let alone a couple who are not related by blood. Zhao Yan can no longer remember
which quarrel they almost stopped talking to each other.
The Wu family never had any relatives who interacted with them. They didn't dare to do so
before, and later they felt embarrassed. So when Zhao Yan found out that the Jia family didn't
treat him as an outsider at all, he felt uncomfortable for several months before he recovered.
They spoke vulgarly and tastelessly, lived in a tube building, smacked their lips when eating and
slurped soup, didn't cover their faces when sneezing, didn't call him Teacher Zhao, but called him
son-in-law and brother-in-law. Although he did have these new identities, it still sounded very
strange. When they made requests, they always looked as if it was a matter of course. When they
asked for money, they never wrote an IOU or mentioned the time to pay it back. They asked for
work with open hands, as if he, a university teacher, was the leader of the personnel department
and could get a good job in a good unit with just a mouth. But every time Jia Qingqing cried and
begged him humbly and helplessly, he couldn't bear to not give her face. That family at least
supported her studies. He reluctantly understood vulgarity as simplicity and greed as protection.
He repeatedly reminded Jia Qingqing that she was already an independent intellectual woman
and there was no need to maintain an overly close relationship with her original family. She
should focus on her new home with him. She looked at him with ignorant admiration and said
she would do as he said.
Then she had his child, and of course he was happy. It didn't matter whether the child was a boy
or a girl. He already had such an outstanding son like Ningning, and the second child could be
more casual. He hoped that he (she) could grow up happily in this peaceful new world. But it was
obvious that the people in the Jia family were not willing to be too peaceful.
Jia Qingqing had symptoms of threatened miscarriage and had some bleeding. There was no
medicine for this, so she could only take some flavonoids. The doctor on duty told her to go
home and have a good rest, stay calm, and not to work hard. If she continued to bleed after
taking the medicine for a few days, she should go directly to the obstetrics ward to see a doctor.
Jia Qingqing was anxious and insisted on staying in the hospital for observation. Jia Minyuan and
the others immediately started to make a fuss.
"How can you send her home when her belly is bleeding? Who will be held responsible if
something happens?"
Being vulgar has its advantages at this time. If Zhao Yan were alone, he would definitely listen to
the doctor and go back. But the Jia family is different. In addition to showing how powerful they
are as the mother's family, they also want to show Zhao Yan that "unity is strength."
After causing a commotion in the emergency room, Jia Qingqing was admitted to the obstetrics
and gynecology ward with satisfaction. The Jia family left after showing off their contributions
with satisfaction. It was already nine o'clock in the evening when the film was taken. The doctor
asked some questions as usual. Jia Qingqing hinted that she was irritated to the point of bleeding
by her overbearing, vicious and unreasonable stepson until she saw the wrinkles between Zhao
Yan's eyebrows.
"Have you had a miscarriage before?" The doctor raised his eyes and asked calmly, "Please tell
the truth. Otherwise, if something happens in the future and it affects the doctor's ability to
make the right judgment, we will not be responsible."
The air seemed to freeze, and all the sounds outside the curtain became harsh and sharp. Zhao
Yan's gaze stopped at Jia Qingqing's face, and that young and beautiful face was full of fear and
embarrassment.
After a moment, Jia Qingqing lowered her head and said in a trembling voice, "Yes."
"several times?"
"Once."
"Please tell the truth. Only if you cooperate with us can you protect yourself and the fetus."
"Twice - it was really two times." Jia Qingqing covered her face and started crying.
The curtain opened and fell, and Zhao Yan's face turned pale, then blue, and then blue, and then
pale. He didn't pay any attention to what the doctor said.
"Teacher Zhao!" Jia Qingqing cried and hugged Zhao Yan's arm: "Teacher Zhao, I'm sorry, I, I, I am
the victim, I can't do anything, I dare not think about the past, I would rather die if I think about
it, I like you too much, so I dare not say it, I'm afraid you will look down on me."
Zhao Yan pulled his arm and slowly turned his head to look at her. His neck was stiff and his joints
clicked. He pretended to be calm awkwardly: "I remember I asked you--" When they had sex for
the first time, she bled. He asked in surprise, and she shyly said it didn't hurt and she had been
waiting for him.
"I lied to you, Teacher Zhao, I'm sorry, I really don't dare to tell the truth, I was afraid that you
would be angry, that you would think I'm dirty, that you would never want me again. Teacher
Zhao, please, forgive me for the sake of the baby." Jia Qingqing cried breathlessly, she hated
herself now, what was wrong with her brain that she had to stay in the hospital.
Zhao Yan looked at her disheveled hair and asked after a long while, "Well, what happened?" He
regretted asking and immediately said softly, "Forget it, it's all in the past. If you don't want to
talk about it, forget it." He considered himself a well-educated intellectual who was not
imprisoned by those secular ideas. He had heard a lot about the cruel things that happened to
female educated youth. When it really happened to his wife, he was indeed a little slow to react,
but there was no doubt that he should be more considerate of her, caring for her and pitying her.
Jia Qingqing hesitated for a moment and shook her head desperately. She moved forward twice
and hugged Zhao Yan's waist tightly: "Teacher Zhao, I really don't want to say it. I'm so sad.
Please, don't force me."
Zhao Yan touched her back and sighed: "I'm not forcing you. I'm divorced and have children
myself. I don't care what you've had with others, but——"
After Wu Xi left, Jia Qingqing suddenly rushed to his office and cried, saying that she could finally
say those words in her lifetime.
"Teacher Zhao, I like you. I have always liked you. I have liked you for several years. Let me take
care of you in the future."
He was frightened by her enthusiasm. When Jia Qingqing was his graduate student, he felt that
she liked him, but he didn't have the heart to do it, and he couldn't have a teacher-student
relationship, so he just pretended not to know. She was an educated youth who went to the
countryside to work in the production team. She was recommended by the commune for
outstanding performance and entered the university. She was considered the last batch of
workers, peasants and soldiers. She had a poor cultural foundation, but she was very strong-
willed, so he was extra patient with her and gave her more guidance.
After a long silence, Zhao Yan gently helped Jia Qingqing up and let her lie down to rest.
"I'm going out to smoke a cigarette." Zhao Yan deliberately spoke more gently than usual.
Jia Qingqing reluctantly released his fingers, buried herself in the quilt and curled up into a ball,
shivering, her heart collapsed and desperate, but she was lucky that she had fooled it. Zhao Yan
was a very gentle and generous man, open-minded, and privately tolerant of American hippie
culture and sexual liberation, which was why she was staring at him. She had no choice. Her
family had a handle on her when she went to the countryside, and they wanted to squeeze her
dry. She hated them but couldn't get rid of them and didn't dare to get rid of them. What did she
do wrong? She was just forced to choose the path that would make her life better. Between ease
and difficulty, who would voluntarily choose the difficult path?
——
The next day, Zhao Yan went to Hongye Garden to pick up Zhao Youning and the father and son
talked for a long time. No one in the Jia family would go to Kangjiaqiao again, and no one would
touch his piano. The child would stay with Jia Qingqing for at least three or four years after birth,
so his little room would not be touched until he went to college.
"Xiao Jia is actually a very pitiful woman." Zhao Yan did not elaborate, but mentioned it vaguely.
"She has a bad character, but I don't mean to stop you from being with her." Zhao Youning put on
his new glasses calmly and glanced at his father: "It's none of my business, it has nothing to do
with me."
Zhao Yan just thought it was his youthful impatience, and interpreted his words in the opposite
way, then tactfully explained why he did not teach Jia Minyuan a lesson yesterday.
"Violence is not the solution to problems. Fighting violence with violence is useless. If you always
argue with fools, you will become a fool yourself." Zhao Yan quoted Nietzsche: "When you stare
into the abyss, the abyss also stares back at you."
"So I got slapped on my left cheek, should I turn my right cheek to him?" Zhao Youning asked
calmly. It was ironic that Granny Gu was reading the Gospel of Matthew to the three of them
yesterday, and today she was directly borrowed by him.
Finally, Zhao Yan said, "Ningning, although Dad and Mom are separated, we are still the closest
people to you in this world, and you are also the closest person to me, without a doubt, don't
worry."
Zhao Youning turned his head to look at him, then walked past him and said, "You are the person
closest to you, and I am also the person closest to myself."
Zhao Yan was startled. Before he could process the meaning of these words, he hurriedly chased
after him.

Chapter 170
Zhao Youning insisted on staying alone in Hongye Garden for the winter vacation, and only
wanted to go back to Kangjiaqiao for the New Year's Eve dinner. Zhao Yan couldn't persuade him,
so he reluctantly agreed, accompanied him to the grocery store to buy daily necessities, and took
out a hundred yuan for him to eat and spend, repeatedly reminding him to pay attention to
safety. Fortunately, the Wu family had installed a telephone a long time ago, but it had been out
of service for more than ten years. I don't know when Wu Xi got it back online, so he can call
Kangjiaqiao every day, which is very convenient.
When Zhao Yan walked alone on Yuyuan Road to the First Maternity and Infant Hospital to pick
up Jia Qingqing from the hospital, he felt more and more frustrated and angry. Of course, he was
not angry with Youning, but with Jia Minyuan. As for whether he was angry with Jia Qingqing,
Zhao Yan himself could not tell. After Jia Qingqing suspected that she was pregnant, she refused
to go to the Jingxin Center for a check-up, nor did she go to the Chang Maternity and Infant
Hospital. She insisted on choosing between the National Maternity and Infant Hospital and the
First Maternity and Infant Hospital. She said that she worked at the Academy of Social Sciences
and Huaihai Road was much closer to these two hospitals, so it would not waste time. For this
reason, Zhao Yan specially greeted a student and followed his wife's way. They agreed to go to
the First Maternity and Infant Hospital to create a file in two months. As a result, Jia Qingqing
went to the emergency room yesterday, and not only did she make a scene, but she was also
found to have a history of miscarriage. This morning, the student called to express his cordial
condolences and kind hints, saying that his wife would definitely greet the colleagues and take
good care of the junior sister and the master's wife. Zhao Yan did not have high expectations for
doctors' medical ethics. The interns in the obstetrics and gynecology and anorectal departments
of Fudan University's First Medical College and Jiaotong University's Second Medical College told
the most "jokes", and he often heard them. He could accept the misfortune that Jia Qingqing had
suffered as a victim of educated youth, but he could not accept himself as the protagonist of the
joke. The former was based on the empathy and humanitarianism that an intellectual should
have, and the latter was to cherish one's reputation. In Zhao Yan's view, the two were not
contradictory.
After Jia Qingqing returned to Kangjiaqiao without saying a word, she took a few days of sick
leave and concentrated on taking care of her pregnancy. Without Zhao Youning at home, even
Wu Xi's smiling face on the piano disappeared. Her gloomy mood gradually improved, but on the
eve of the Chinese New Year, Jia Minyuan suddenly came uninvited.
"I beat my nephew. I was wrong." Jia Minyuan put a bottle of Moutai and a pack of Zhonghua
cigarettes on the table, staring straight at Jia Qingqing, and said to Zhao Yan: "I came here to
apologize to my brother-in-law and nephew."
Jia Qingqing was startled, but Zhao Yan frowned and pushed the things back: "I don't accept
these, you take them back." He also looked at Jia Qingqing: "Don't you remember what I said last
time?"
"No, I didn't ask you to come here." Jia Qingqing explained softly, looking at Jia Minyuan's fake
smile carefully: "Brother, what's the matter? Is your company on holiday? How many days?"
Jia Minyuan said with a smile: "How many days? It will be released forever. Sister, don't you
know? Just because I slapped my nephew, my brother-in-law asked the leaders of our unit to
dismiss me."
Jia Qingqing was frightened for the second time, her whole body was cold, and she looked at
Zhao Yan timidly.
Zhao Yan said calmly, "Let's put things in perspective. You beat Ningning, and he doesn't
recognize your relationship with the Jia family. The matter is over. As for your dismissal, Manager
Gong told me in advance that it was because you were absent from work during the night shift
twice. The TV factory warehouse is such an important place. If there is a theft or fire, you will go
to jail for dereliction of duty."
"So I should thank my brother-in-law for saving me?" Jia Minyuan felt guilty, and his voice
became louder.
"You're welcome then." Zhao Yan lowered his head and took a sip of tea. "Xiao Jia, it's better for
you to call me Teacher Zhao. After all, I'm ten years older than you, and it's my duty to teach you
some principles of dealing with people. You have to understand that it's you who is looking for a
job, not the job that is looking for you. There are hundreds of thousands of unemployed young
people now, and state-owned enterprises are not short of people at all. There are nearly twenty
people ahead of you who have used various connections to get in. Why do you want to be a
custodian? And a contract worker?"
"Of course it's because Manager Gong's son is your graduate student." Jia Minyuan shouted to Jia
Qingqing, "Sister, you are now Teacher Zhao's wife. You've been promoted. That's great. Your
senior brothers and sisters, junior brothers and sisters, all call you "Master's wife" now, right?
Why doesn't Manager Gong even give Teacher Zhao this little bit of face? Are you pushing him?
(Do you think he's bad?)"
Jia Qingqing pushed him out: "Go, get out, get out. Just tell me, don't look for Teacher Zhao. Do
you know how much effort Teacher Zhao put into arranging this job for you? He spent a whole
week revising Xiao Gong's paper, and even helped him get it published in a journal. It's not your
own effort, but you don't take it seriously at all. You even slack off when you're on duty. What a
fool!" Jia Qingqing was so angry that she wanted to vomit blood.
Jia Minyuan was not willing to leave. He was sure that Zhao Yan was deliberately making things
difficult for him because of the slap. Otherwise, why did he have to leave these days after
working for half a year? It was not the first time he had been absent. Besides, it was not his turn
to leave. He had not received any benefits from the inexplicable loss in the warehouse. It was
definitely not because someone thought he was in the way and took the opportunity to drive him
away.
The two siblings pushed and shoved each other. Jia Qingqing lay at home for a few days, and the
more she lay, the weaker she became. She twisted her foot and stepped on empty space at the
staircase. Her butt landed on the floor, and she slid down three steps before grabbing the railing.
Jia Minyuan didn't react at all, and he reached out his hand behind her, but it was empty.
A six-week-old embryo is about 0.85 centimeters and weighs about 3 grams. It is difficult for a
man to have deep feelings for such a microscopic organism. Most men cannot even feel the
instinct of "blood is thicker than water" when they see a baby after birth. Some men never learn
to love their own children in their entire lives. Zhao Yan felt regret and sadness about Jia
Qingqing's miscarriage, but also a hint of relief that was not humane.
This year was certainly the worst. Jia Qingqing lay in the ward of the Jing Center for a week and
was discharged on the fifth day of the New Year. For seven days, no doctor or nurse asked about
her past. She suspected that the doctor at the First Maternity and Infant Hospital did it on
purpose, but she could only put her hatred on the culprit, Jia Minyuan. Fortunately, she looked
forward to everything. After confirming that she could get pregnant again but had to be careful to
avoid habitual miscarriage, she immediately put her focus back on Zhao Yan. As soon as she
returned to Kangjiaqiao, she was busy cleaning, washing vegetables and cooking during the day,
and crying with self-pity at night until her eyes were red and swollen. Zhao Yan felt a lot of guilt
and pity for her. After all, Jia Minyuan's job was indeed lost by his phone call. That person was so
reckless that if he really continued to do it, something big would definitely happen. It would be
even worse if he caused a lot of trouble for Manager Gong.
——
On the eve of the Chinese New Year, Si Jiang suddenly discovered that his aunt's photo was hung
on the wall of the living room, and then he realized that the Dongsheng Canteen had changed
hands.
"Uncle is old and can't work anymore. He needs to rest for a year or so." Gu Dongwen rocked
gently on the recliner, smiling and asking Si Jiang to make him a cup of tea: "From now on, it will
be up to you and Si Jiang to support an old man like me. Someone seems to have received a lot of
New Year's money, and my requirements are not high. A pack of cigarettes and a bottle of wine a
day, and meat to eat is enough."
Jingsheng seemed to have known about it for a long time, and was not surprised at all. He moved
out several bags and boxes in the corner and cleaned them up. Si Jiang made tea in a daze and
handed it to his uncle, then sat beside him and stared at the TV in a daze. This year's Spring
Festival Gala seems to be very grand. Chen Sisi, a Hong Kong actress who played Qiuxiang in
"Three Smiles", is also one of the hosts. Granny Gu patted Si Jiang and said, "It's good for your
uncle to take a break. Running a restaurant is hard work, and it's exhausting work. He hasn't had
a good night's sleep in the past few years, and he has lost 7 or 8 pounds."
"A thousand gold coins cannot buy you a slim body in old age." Gu Dongwen happily stretched
out his hand and waved it in front of Si Jiang: "Girl, are you stupid? Is the TV so good? The gala
will not officially start until New Year's Eve. (Are you stupid? The TV is so good?)"
Si Jiang's eyes were sour. "Uncle, look at this You Benchang. He is an actor from Shanghai who
graduated from the Drama Academy. My aunt knows him. She mentioned during the National
Day that he would perform at the party. It turns out that he really has a show. I will write a letter
to praise him."
"I don't know. When it comes to skit actors, I only like Chen Peisi." Gu Dongwen asked his
mother: "Mom, do you like Qiuxiang?"
"Not bad." Granny Gu answered as usual: "Hong Kong actresses are still smarter than Liu
Xiaoqing and her ilk, and they are very fashionable, but not as good as our girls."
"The one your bald son owns is better. The toilet you own still smells better." Gu Dongwen
laughed.
Si Jiang came back to his senses and kept tickling his uncle: "My eldest uncle is the most
annoying. Who is the bald head and who is the toilet? Brother, come and help me. My uncle said
you are the bald head!"
Jingsheng was in the last month of his life, and when he heard this, he just raised his head and
said, "Use all your strength, be harder, even harder."
Si Jiang scratched a few times like a cat, then started to cry while laughing: "Why haven't I grown
up yet? I wish I were an adult."
Jingsheng stopped and said, "So what if you are an adult?"
"I will make a lot of money, buy my uncle's restaurant, and give lots of money to my aunt and Ada
Yila." Si Jiang sobbed on the armrest of the recliner.
"Nannan, how do you make so much money?" Gu Dongwen asked with a smile, touching her hair.
Si Jiang said in a muffled voice: "I--, how about becoming an actor? Everyone says that actors can
make a lot of money."
"Go, go, go." Granny Gu stretched out her little foot and gently touched Si Jiang's waist: "Children
from good families don't become actors. You should study hard and become a lawyer in the
future. That is respectable and can make a lot of money."
Gu Dongwen couldn't help laughing: "It's a new society, mother. There's no such thing as an actor
or not. An actor is an actor. It's a legitimate job with great financial prospects and hard work."
Granny Gu glared at him and sneered, "Although your mother can't read, she has walked over
more bridges than you have walked on roads. What's the difference? In the past, in Yangzhou, no
matter how famous an actor was, if the government asked you to sing in a party, would you dare
not go? Your great-grandfather had more than a dozen actors. When the war started, they were
the first to escape and stole many things, even opium. Anyway, our children are not allowed to be
actors, even if they have to sweep toilets or pick up garbage."
Gu Dongwen raised his hand: "Okay, okay, okay, when they invited Nanhong to film, you rushed
into the film studio holding a kitchen knife. Don't worry, Si Jiang was just saying it casually. Ha, it
seems that Si Nan's habit of carrying a kitchen knife is inherited from you, mom. Why do you
blame me for everything?"
Grandma Gu smiled and went to hit him. Si Jiang was stunned. He never expected that his
grandmother still had such decadent and old ideas. It was obvious that she liked beautiful
actresses like Wang Wenjuan, Xu Yulan, Yan Fengying, Ma Lan, Liu Xiaoqing, Pan Hong, Zhang Yu
and Gong Xue the most. She not only loved watching movies but also went to the theater to
watch plays. In the past two years, she and Grandma Zhu and others formed a Wanchun Street
Old Ladies Group to raise funds to send flower baskets.
"Grandma, it's wrong to think like that. This is called discrimination." Si Jiang tried to correct the
old lady: "There is no distinction between high and low professions. Everyone is equal. Some
people like to act and love acting. It is legitimate to use their skills to exchange for wealth-"
"Okay, okay." Grandma Gu smiled and nodded to show that she accepted the lesson: "I
understand, I understand. People laugh at poverty but not at prostitutes. Selling skills, selling
faces, and selling bodies are all equal. Okay?"
Chen Xiucai Sijiang didn't know what to say when he met a soldier, and what to say when he met
an old woman.
"Anyway, you, Jingsheng, and Sinans are good friends, so no one of you is allowed to be an actor."
Granny Gu looked at Jingsheng worriedly: "Fortunately, your look is not popular now. People like
those with thick eyebrows and big eyes like Tang Guoqiang and Guo Kaimin."
Jingsheng's face darkened: "I don't want to be an actor."
"That's right, my dear grandson. The right thing to do is to go to university and get a job in a good
unit." Grandma Gu glanced at Si Jiang, meaning, look at your brother and learn from him.
After being interrupted, Si Jiang's sadness was reduced. She woke up in the middle of the night
and thought about how her uncle sold the small restaurant he had worked hard for five years in
order to make it easier for her aunt's family to settle down in Hong Kong. However, when her
mother knew that her eldest aunt had an accident, she only blamed her aunt for not being
honest and responsible, and warned her that she must concentrate on her studies and not fall in
love too early or be infected with vanity. Si Jiang tried her best to defend her mother, saying that
she was such a conservative and unreasonable person, and she was not very talkative, but the
more she thought about it, the more tears she shed.
Grandma Gu woke up, looked at her granddaughter's twitching back, sighed and patted her,
"Okay, my daughter, don't cry anymore. The old must go before the new can come. Your uncle
has worked so hard running the restaurant. It's better for him to stop working."
Si Jiang turned around and leaned into his grandmother's arms, whispering several "I'm sorry". I
don't know if he was saying it on behalf of his mother or because he was upset that he was too
young to be of any help.
“Foolish man, what do you have to be sorry for? It’s okay as long as you are alive. How can you
starve to death with hands and feet?” Granny Gu closed her eyes and recited in a low voice: “Do
not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I
will help you, and I will uphold you with my righteous right hand…”
As his grandmother muttered to himself, Si Jiang lay down and gradually calmed down. The little
fat boy beside him turned over and put his legs on Si Jiang's stomach. He hugged Si Jiang's neck
tightly with his little arms, moved his head, and suddenly giggled twice in his sleep.
"Sister, sister."
Si Jiang's heart melted. She turned around and pressed her lips against Si Hao's chubby cheeks,
patting Si Hao's back gently like a grandmother patting herself: "Sister is here, dear baby, go to
sleep, go to sleep."
"Hallelujah." The little fat boy muttered, pushed Si Jiang away, kicked up the quilt, and shouted
loudly: "Hallelujah——"
Grandma Gu couldn't stop smiling, she knew that the first person to be saved in the family would
definitely be the good little girl Si Hao.

Chapter 171
Si Nan lived a happy and comfortable life in Urumqi. Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei didn't know
what they were busy with, so they left her in the branch of the Petroleum Administration Bureau
during the winter vacation, and gave her an empty lunch box and a pound of food coupons every
day, letting her do whatever she wanted. With her pretty face and sweet mouth, she made a
name for herself in the branch in just two or three days, and also gained a lot of "brothers and
sisters". More than a dozen people sang the theme song of the Hong Kong TV series "Going to
Tiger Mountain Again" in the corridor at the top of their lungs all day long: "Lao Bao! Hey! Lao
Bao!" As for who is Lao Bao, of course, Si Nan, who imitated the most moves of "Deadly Spear", is
the winner. When she returned to Shanghai later, Chen Si Nan suddenly discovered that this
popular theme song was not "Lao Bao Hey Lao Bao!" but the Cantonese "Stay! Hey! Stay!" So Bao
Si Nan had to become Liu Si Nan...
Gu Ximei was busy making extra money. The division of the Chen family had hurt her greatly. She
complained to Chen Donglai that his two younger brothers were worthless, and said harshly:
"The little money that the old lady had will be squeezed dry by their two families sooner or later.
The three girls took the gold bars, and they are separated by mountains and seas, and I will not
care about them in the future. Anyway, I don't want your family's gold, silver, money, and house,
but if your mother has any problems in the future, I will not ask for it. If you don't think about
me, you should also think about Si Jiangsnans. What will the three of them get in the end? It's all
other people's. It's not about how much money, but I can't let it go." Chen Donglai was naturally
disappointed with his two younger brothers and disdained to associate with them. Because he
was very guilty about supporting the sisters behind Ximei's back, he didn't argue with her. The
couple sometimes joined forces to attack their brothers and sisters-in-law, and sometimes
encouraged themselves that as intellectuals, they should have backbone and not be tempted by
wealth and fame. It was more harmonious than before.
During the summer vacation, the principal's daughter was going to Guangzhou to participate in
the "Pearl River Cup" National Youth Piano Invitational Competition, and asked Gu Ximei to
practice with her. Ximei had not played the piano for 17 or 18 years. In order to become a music
teacher, she borrowed the piano room of the Normal University to practice for a while, but she
was not sure. Unexpectedly, she was furious when she saw the little girl playing the piano. She
kept scolding the mediocre teacher for misleading her. Her gestures, music, and emotions were
all wrong. Let alone the competition, if she had been under Mr. Wu's tutelage, the ruler would
have swollen her paws. She was furious with a stern face, but the principal was very happy. He
said that only strict teachers can produce good students. He fired the original piano teacher and
asked Gu Ximei to give special guidance.
Because she was the daughter of a leader, Ximei symbolically charged two yuan per lesson, and
earned nearly two hundred yuan in one summer vacation. The girl's piano skills improved quickly,
and the neighbors heard about it. Soon, the leaders of the city's education system knew that
Teacher Gu was a good piano teacher, so Gu Ximei had three or four more students, and her
money became visibly more abundant. In the fall, the principal's daughter won an Excellence
Award from the Pearl River Cup, which caused a sensation in the city. After all, the first place was
the prodigy Wei Danwen from the Affiliated High School of the Central Conservatory of Music.
Winning an Excellence Award means that she is not far from being a prodigy of that level. Gu
Ximei's reputation was so great that she was almost busy like a spinning top during the winter
vacation. However, she never expected that the piano that she ruthlessly abandoned back then
would one day become the skill she relied on to make a name for herself. Whenever she thought
of her mentor, she felt ashamed and regretful. Occasionally, she mentioned it, and Si Nan
compared the two, and even pulled out the old story of Zhao Youning's family, which made
people sigh.
Ximei complained about Nanhong to Sijiang on the phone, but she felt very aggrieved. Nanhong
must be fine. If something happened, the family would not be so peaceful. But Dongwen and
Beiwu must know where she went. I'm afraid that Mum Jingsheng and Sijiang know about it. She
is the only outsider in the family who is kept in the dark. She cried secretly for this again. After
crying, she was determined to let her family know that although she was treated as an outsider
by them, she still treated them as relatives. On the morning of New Year's Eve, she collected the
piano teaching fees she earned in the past six months, plus the remaining money from the
division of the family, and collected a thousand yuan, and remitted it to Gu Dongwen. She didn't
write a word on the message board to avoid suspicion, and called Jingsheng to hint in a tactful
way.
Si Jiang didn't know that her mother had remitted 1,000 yuan until the New Year's Eve, and she
felt better. Grandma Gu sighed, "Your mother is just like that, with a sharp tongue but a soft
heart. She complains the most about things, and she is timid and afraid of things, but she is not a
bad person. When the earthquake happened, your uncle wanted to borrow money from her to
go to Tangshan, and she agreed without hesitation and didn't let him pay it back. Now that your
grandfather is gone, did she fight for the house, gold bars, etc.? Well, she looked down on them
for being so greedy. It's a pity that your mother has a bad temper. She believes that your two
uncles and I are partial to your eldest aunt, and she just can't stand your aunt. She has been
tossing around for half her life. Alas, what about your aunt? Forget it, everyone has their own
fate."
Si Jiang greeted his grandmother and uncle, and took Si Hao downstairs to the kitchen to get
food, ready to go to Chen's house for the New Year's Eve dinner. On the coal stove outside the
door, intestines and lungs soup was stewing. When the lid was lifted, the fresh aroma mixed with
the hot and spicy smell of white pepper was very tempting. Si Jiang swallowed his saliva and
slapped Si Hao's hand away from the pot: "Be careful not to burn your hand."
"Baby wants to be cut (cut)!" Si Hao hugged her elder sister's thigh and said coquettishly:
"Brother's cooking is the best. (Brother's cooking is the most delicious.)"
"Flattery is only useful when it's done in person." Si Jiang dragged the fat object into the kitchen
with great difficulty. Aunt Feng in the pavilion was watching Jingsheng flipping the pot with a
smile and saying festive words to suit the occasion.
"Ah, Jingsheng is really a master, even better than those master chefs. In the future, he will
inherit your father's business and take over your Dongsheng Restaurant. It's amazing. Your father
turned four tables into eight, and you can definitely turn eight into sixteen or eighty. Big
restaurants like Xinya Xinghualou will be a piece of cake."
Jingsheng smiled politely, turned around and saw Sijiang coming in, pointed to the food basket
beside him and said, "It's ready. There's a bowl of intestine and lung soup. Be careful not to spill it
and get burned."
"Thank you, brother." Si Jiang peeled Si Hao off his legs and said, "Happy New Year, Teacher Feng.
Si Hao, call someone."
"Happy New Year, grandma." Si Hao stood on tiptoe to look at the food in Jingsheng's pot, and
wanted to hug Jingsheng's thigh, but was pulled back by Si Jiang by the collar.
Aunt Feng felt a little uncomfortable being called grandma. She opened her own steamer and
took a look. She turned off the fire and brought out a plate for Si Hao to see. She looked up and
asked Si Jiang with a squinting smile, "Would you like to try our white-cut chicken? Oh, I still envy
your family. Your grandmother, uncle, and Jingsheng are all very good at cooking. Female cadres
like us were busy struggling when we were young, and now we are busy bringing up successors.
We eat in the company cafeteria all day long. We really don't have the time or know how to cook.
But we can only go to Xinya Xinghualou to buy some ready-made food to make up for the New
Year's Eve dinner. Come, try it. This is Xinya's white-cut chicken. It tastes pretty good."
Si Jiang felt something was a little strange. She had a psychological trauma about eating and
talking about chicken, so she smiled and refused: "No, thank you, Teacher Feng. My mother's
family also makes white-cut chicken. We'll go over first."
"Okay, okay. Be careful on the road." Aunt Feng put the steamed sea bass into the steamer with a
smile and heated it up: "Si Jiang, do you want to go upstairs and change your clothes? Wearing
navy blue on New Year's Day is too old-fashioned, or you should wear bright red and pink to
celebrate. If your aunt is here - oh my, I'm really old enough to be a grandmother. I won't say
anything more. You guys go quickly."
Si Jiang pursed his lips, picked up the food basket and walked out with Si Hao with a stern face.
Jing Sheng said lightly: "Come back early and eat less."
Si Jiang said, "Well, brother, remember to save a big bowl of intestine and lung soup for me." Si
Hao also turned around and shouted, "Brother, save some braised pork for me, as well as sweet
and sour spare ribs, fried shrimp, fish head and vermicelli skin—"
Aunt Feng held her head high and went upstairs with the white-chopped chicken in her hand.
Jingsheng listened to the footsteps on the stairs, opened Aunt Feng's steamer, and poured half a
bottle of white vinegar on the sea bass.
"Oh, that's strange, why does this steamed fish taste so sour!" Five minutes later, Aunt Feng was
puzzled.
Jingsheng leaned over to smell it and said seriously, "It's rotten. You can't smell it when it's cold,
but it smells good when it's heated. Look, the fish eyes are falling out."
Aunt Feng was unwilling to give up. After taking a bite, she was so angry that she cursed Xinya
restaurant for bullying customers. However, she was reluctant to not eat it, so she simply heated
up the pan and wanted to turn the steamed sea bass into sweet and sour fish. She was really not
modest because she couldn't cook. As soon as the fish was put into the pan, hot oil splashed
everywhere. Jingsheng calmly put up the lid to cover his head and face. Aunt Feng had seven or
eight blisters on her mouth, face and hands. She had a very miserable New Year.
Jingsheng was carrying the intestine and lung soup upstairs when he bumped into Aunt Feng who
was coming out of the booth after applying toothpaste. The two nodded and passed by each
other. Jingsheng suddenly said, "By the way, Teacher Feng, my eldest aunt said that bright red is
fine, but pink is the most tacky color, so don't wear it casually. But my Sijiang is pretty, so any
color suits him. Thank you for reminding me."
Aunt Feng was badly scalded. When she came down from the kitchen and saw the sweet and
sour sea bass that was broken into several pieces, she remembered that she was wearing a pink
Chinese cotton jacket with a peony pattern under her apron today.
——
Si Jiang brought Si Hao to Chen's house and saw that the uncles and aunts were very filial to A
Niang, combing her hair, washing her feet, cutting her nails, and massaging her legs, taking away
all her usual work. A Niang looked even more haggard, and asked them to stop arguing, which
gave her a headache. She held Si Jiang's hand and said a few words, then she kept saying with
tears in her eyes, "When will Dong Lai come back?" She picked up Si Hao and kissed him a few
times, crying and asking if the baby still missed A Niang and if the baby would come back after
the New Year to spend a good time with A Niang.
Chen Sihao is now a very honest little fat boy. He holds a candy in his mouth and pouts his lips
while shaking his head: "No, I like grandma's house." Grandma wipes away her tears and gently
spanks her butt: "You are a heartless little thing! Grandma raised you, but now you don't have
grandma in your heart? You are a heartless little thing, but grandma raised you, but now you
don't have grandma in your heart?
"Yes, grandma, I'm so happy, grandma." Si Hao put his arms around grandma's neck and kissed
her face: "The baby is happy, grandma. Is it okay for grandma and the baby to sleep in grandma's
house?"
Grandma smiled through her tears and shaved her good nose: "Baby Ala is still a little fool. Eat
more yellow croaker soup and become smarter. (My baby is still a little fool...)"
The children actually know what happened between the adults, but since the adults don't allow
them to talk, they can only argue. Chen Sijun has long stopped hanging out with his brothers and
sisters, and is still addicted to "Legends of the Past and Present". He has a few more copies of
"Story Club" and "Reader" at hand. When he saw Si Jiang looking at him, he scratched his head
and said, "It's not the kind of world classics you read." Si Jiang flipped through "Story Club"
casually and felt that the world is full of wonders. He curiously asked his cousin whether the
stories in it were true or false. Chen Sijun insisted that they were all true, while Si Min, Si Qiang
and Si Qi said they must be false. The argument made the Chen family's New Year's Eve dinner a
little lively.
Before the hot soup was served, Jingsheng's voice was heard from downstairs.
"Chen Sijiang——"
Si Jiang opened the window and responded, only to find that it was snowing outside. The snow
was falling in the air, and under the street light stood a young man in a navy blue coat, looking up
at him. The dilapidated brick wall and cement pool behind him formed the background of a
painting, heavy and steady. On the finely paved gravel road, a dim light shone with him as the
center, and the flying catkins floated in it, giving him a layer of dancing soft light, which was
another painting. Si Jiang's heart skipped a beat, and then skipped another.
The heart problem was probably inherited from my grandfather. Si Jiang took a breath of cool air
and waved his hand: "Brother!"
"Come down and set off the fireworks." Jingsheng took off his gloves and caught two snowflakes.
The coolness in his hot palms disappeared in an instant. He smiled and said softly, "Look, it's
snowing." It seemed as if he was telling Si Jiang, but also as if he was talking to himself.
For the first time, Si Jiang realized that beauty could kill people. She suspected that her heart
stopped beating for two or three seconds, and even her breathing stopped. She felt dizzy. She
had no recollection of when she closed the window, how she received the red envelope, or how
many words she spoke to her mother. She only remembered that this Spring Festival, there was
no Si Nan, no Ada, Aer, and San from the Zhao family, and even Zhao Youning did not come to
Wanchun Street. But among all these regrets and sorrows, there was such a warm and bright
color.
Whenever grandma recited "God said, Let there be light, and there was light," Si Jiang would
always think of Jingsheng.

Chapter 172
The little kids in the alley jumped around, making a constant "hissing" sound. The fairy wands
snaked in the snow and laughter, dragging out a half-long brilliant star trail. The sudden explosion
of firecrackers always scared Chen Sihao. The flesh on the fat boy's face trembled at any time,
and then he looked at his sister with a flat mouth, as if he was about to cry. Jingsheng and Sijiang
laughed so hard that they each held one of his hands and played on the swing.
"One, two, three! Let's fly—"
Si Hao chuckled and shouted: "I want more, do it again!"
Back at Gu's house, the intestine and lung soup was still heating up on the coal stove. The door to
the pavilion was closed. Aunt Feng changed into a red dress and went to the neighborhood
committee to watch the Spring Festival Gala. Before leaving, she gave two Harbin red sausages to
the Gu family in exchange for four braised lion heads. She felt a little bit of a loss, so she couldn't
help but express her contempt for the intestine and lung soup, and by the way, she pried into
when Gu Dongwen and Nurse Lu planned to get married.
When Si Jiang and the other two entered the house, Granny Gu was muttering in a bad mood,
"She talks as if red sausage is not sausage. Does pig offal bother her? It's not like she eats it
unwashed. Who can eat shit? Her mouth looks like she has eaten shit. She talks about how rich
and fashionable she is every day. No wonder men stay away from her. My father shouldn't have
coveted the money from the old Feng family. For a few cigarettes and a good single-family house,
he got someone like this. He is upset every day."
Nurse Lu smiled and brought out the dishes reserved for Si Jiangsi: "If you are living a good life,
why would you want to cause trouble for others? Come, Si Jiangsi, this is your New Year's
money."
"Thank you Aunt Lu." Si Jiang and Si Hao said a lot of blessings, put away the red envelopes and
sat down to drink soup.
Gu Dongwen picked up a pine nut candy and put it in his mouth: "I still have some extra money, I
want to buy back the pavilion. If Beiwu returns to China in July, there will still be time to renovate
the old house. It would be best if we could build our own bathroom so that everyone can take a
bath more conveniently."
Si Jiang's eyes lit up: "Is my uncle really coming back? My aunt wrote last time saying that the
University of California, Davis accepted him. I thought he was going to continue his doctoral
studies."
Granny Gu glared at her and said, "Still studying?! He's already thirty plus, got married and left
his wife to go study. Do you have any conscience at all? He let such a good girl be a widow for two
years. He will become a fool if he continues to study. This is not good. Boss, write a letter to
Beiwu and tell him not to come back unless he comes back."
Si Jiang stuck out her tongue and smiled at Jingsheng. She hoped that her uncle would return
home soon, but she also hoped that he would return after finishing his doctorate. A doctorate,
how great! Alas, being an adult is also difficult. If it were her, she would definitely not know how
to choose. On one side is the very good Aunt Shanrang, and on the other side is her own dream
and the title of doctor. Well, she would definitely choose Aunt Shanrang.
——
The fairy wand drew a circle in the air, and the lake also reflected a long circle. Si Jiang watched
the light and shadow disappear in an instant, and couldn't help asking Jingsheng: "Brother, if you
were my uncle, what would you choose? Continue studying or come back?"
Jingsheng said without hesitation: "I will definitely not go to study in the United States."
"Eh?"
Jingsheng lit another fairy wand and quickly danced it into the shape of a tree on the water.
Unfortunately, the fire was fleeting and only half of the tree appeared.
"I will definitely stay with my family," Jingsheng leaned over to light a new cigarette for Sijiang,
"because I don't know when I will never see you again, so I won't leave." When he was young, he
didn't know that people often can't choose the path they want, and it has always been difficult to
have everything.
Si Jiang looked at the sparkling fireworks in his eyes, and felt a sour nose after a while. Brother
must be thinking of his mother and uncle, but now uncle has Nurse Lu. The fairy wand in Si
Jiang's hand slowly went out, and not far away, fireworks exploded.
"Look, the fireworks are setting off." Jingsheng said softly.
The two stood by the water and looked up into the distance. For a moment, Si Jiang felt that she
could fully understand Jingsheng's feelings. She didn't want her uncle to die alone, but she
wanted to cry for her deceased aunt. She was so melancholy, helpless, and regretful. She turned
her head secretly and saw Jingsheng's expression was bleak, his lips were tightly pursed, the mole
under his eye flickered in the fireworks, and the lake light and flames cast irregular spots on his
long and thick eyelashes. For some reason, her tears suddenly burst out.
Jingsheng turned his head and saw tears in Sijiang's eyes. The tears had a convex mirror effect.
The fireworks in the sky and the water shrank into a tiny background and were a little distorted,
but his face was very clear. At this moment, Jingsheng suddenly realized that Sijiang understood
what he was thinking. The two looked at each other quietly for a moment and turned their eyes
away. A numbness like being electrocuted quickly spread from Jingsheng's arm, making him a
little overwhelmed.
Si Jiang coughed twice: "Why do I cry every time I watch fireworks? It's just stupid."
Jingsheng rarely took the opportunity to laugh at her. He lowered his head and took out a
handkerchief and handed it to her: "It's okay, it will be fine."
"Um."
After the splendor turned into silence for a few minutes, fireworks began to fly in the sky one
after another, some near and some far away, it was very lively, half of the lake was rustling and
half of the lake was colorful. I don't know when the snow stopped, the ground was wet and
slippery, without leaving any trace.
Without other companions to play with, Si Jiang and Jing Sheng had a rare and quiet New Year's
Eve. On the way home from Xigong, Si Jiang remembered to ask Jing Sheng: "Why did Mommy
only call you? What else did she say?"
"He told us not to worry, because state-owned enterprises will change their profits into taxes,
and your father will get a big bonus during the Chinese New Year."
"Oh." Si Jiang sighed, "How can Mom have so much money? I'm afraid Si Nan won't have any new
clothes to wear during the New Year."
"It's a waste to give her new clothes." Jingsheng laughed, "It will only last for three days at most.
Either the pockets will be torn or the sleeves will be black. She also refuses to wear sleeves when
she wears a gown. She deserves to have no new clothes."
Si Jiang glared at him, and vaguely felt that A Ge and Si Nan were the truly good kind of people,
they could talk about anything, tell any jokes, and were extremely close. But when he thought of
Si Nan's lifelong ambition -, Si Jiang immediately shuddered and shook his head to stop thinking
about it.
Jingsheng thought about it again and again, and finally said: "Miss also said one more thing."
"What's up?"
"She said that a girl who is too pretty might get into trouble, so she told me to be more careful
and to drive away quickly any dogs or cats that come up to me just because they are pretty."
Jingsheng looked straight ahead and tried to speak lightly.
Si Jiang was so angry that he hit Jingsheng with his elbow: "What? There's no such thing! Mom
just likes to talk nonsense."
Jingsheng took bigger steps: "Isn't Tang Zenian always waiting for you in the library?"
"Because I didn't do well in the final exam, he wanted to help me, a poor student, first in his
grade." Si Jiang felt a little guilty, and hurriedly followed him to explain: "Brother, you didn't tell
my mother about this, right? He is not the only one. Several of our classmates are reviewing and
preparing together. Li Nan, Lin Zhuoyu, Cheng Ying and others are all here. Zhao Youning also said
that he will come on the fifth day of the New Year. Besides, the district library is warm and
spacious, and the tables are big--"
Jingsheng stopped walking and Si Jiang almost bumped into his back. When he raised his head,
he saw him turn around and said with a half-smile: "It doesn't matter who helps you review. I
didn't say anything. Why do you feel guilty?"
"I, I, how could I have a guilty conscience?" Si Jiang blinked his big eyes innocently, took two small
steps to the side, and suddenly became bold: "Humph, I only allow officials to set fires but not
the people to light lamps, but that squad leader Wang not only tutors me, but also brings me
Belgian chocolate and Nestle coffee. Tsk tsk tsk tsk, they are more fashionable, no one can
compare to them."
Jingsheng caught up with her in two steps: "Who is that someone?"
"Whoever is guilty of something is guilty." Si Jiang rolled his eyes, angrily lit up all the remaining
fairy wands in his hand, and waved a big English letter "U" at Jingsheng. Looking at his annoyed
look, Si Jiang sang mischievously: "It's you, it's you, I'm talking about you! Sweet, ah, the
chocolate is so sweet——"
Before the fairy wand was completely burned, she was hit on the forehead by a hairy chestnut
several times. Jingsheng pursed his lips and snatched the fairy wand from her hand: "I didn't eat
or drink a single bite, don't talk nonsense."
"Really didn't eat?"
"without."
"Why don't you bring it back for me to eat?"
"You! Chen Sijiang, you have really been led astray by Chen Sinan."
"Sinan looks just like me, right? We are biological sisters!"
"Then you are too good at pretending, hypocritical."
"Well, unfortunately you discovered my true identity. Brother, you are finished."
"What do you want to do? What can you do?"
"You wait."
"Wait for you for ten thousand years."
"snort!"
Si Jiang herself didn't know what her true face was. The girl's temperament was undecided.
Sometimes she was sad and sometimes ambitious. Sometimes she was quiet and well-behaved,
sometimes she was reckless and silly. Sometimes she was dignified and sometimes she was lax. If
there was someone in the world who could always have only one face, it must be a wax figure or
a model in a shop window. But Si Jiang knew that no matter what she looked like, there would
always be someone who would accept her without any surprise.
——
After the first month of the lunar year, early spring arrives and a new semester begins.
Magnolias stood on the branches in full bloom. In a blink of an eye, it was the Qingming Festival.
The crabapples were dripping with dew, the lilacs were all over the garden, and the cherry
blossoms were falling. This year was Grandpa Chen's first Qingming Festival, and the whole family
should go back to Yuyao to visit the grave. Chen Dongmei came to Wanchun Street at the end of
March to pick up her mother. Chen Dongfang and Chen Donghai didn't want to make this trip at
first, but when they saw that their eldest sister was so attentive and considerate, they became
alert and asked for leave. They bought green rice balls and other offerings and returned to their
hometown with Chen's mother to pay tribute.
There was no telephone in the countryside of Yuyao. When Chen A-niang and her son and her
three children set out on their return journey, Li Xuejing's telegram had just arrived in Yuyao.
Chen Donghai did not answer it. The next day, when he returned to Wanchun Street, he learned
that Qian Guihua had been reported and imprisoned for having affairs with men and women. The
whole family was in a panic. After all, the people of Wanchun Street still remembered her clearly.
Gu Nanhong had just disappeared. Gu Dongwen went to the Public Security Bureau every now
and then to inquire about where the female corpse was found and whether there was any news
of women being trafficked. Grandma Gu would cry every time she mentioned her daughter.
The Chen family was in chaos again.

Chapter 173
Qian Guihua was really furious.
"I've said it hundreds of times. Zhang Xiongfa is an old pervert. He likes to take advantage of
others and is shameless. I have nothing to do with him! The female comrades in our union have
cursed him countless times behind his back. You will know once you ask. His wife knows it herself.
She wants to tie her eyes to his belt. When she sees a woman, she suspects that someone is
trying to steal her husband. She throws all kinds of dirty and smelly things at me! How can I be
interested in Zhang Xiongfa? How can an old bald man like him be worthy?"
"We have investigated, and other female comrades said they have never encountered such a
thing. We only know that you have a close relationship with him and often go out together on
'business'."
"???!!!" Qian Guihua didn't expect that her female colleagues could lie with their eyes open. She
defended herself aggrievedly, "He is the vice chairman of the labor union, and I am his staff! If he
asks me to do something, can I say no?"
"Does watching a movie count as 'business'?"
Four movie tickets were pushed in front of her.
"They were all tickets for two people. Zhang Xiongfa said he went to the movies with you. Your
colleagues at work also proved that you went to the movies with him alone. Why are you still
trying to make excuses?"
Qian Guihua's face flushed. She was really wronged. For the first time, the old pervert lied to her
that the union colleagues had made an appointment to go together. When they went in, they
found that there were only the two of them. She resisted the nausea and tried to resist, but he
still touched her several times. She went to the toilet more than ten times before she finished.
She ran back to the factory with a smile that was uglier than crying. When she asked everyone,
other people didn't know about the movie at all. A few days ago, he said he went to the street
hospital to visit retired cadres. When he came out of the hospital, he turned to the cinema and
said he was going to watch a movie. She didn't go at all. She said she was going to serve her
mother-in-law and ran away. She stammered and explained, and she didn't think the police
would believe it.
"There are four female staff members in charge of the areas under Zhang Xiongfa's charge. Why
didn't he call you instead of others?" The female police officer's gaze paused for a second on Qian
Guihua's chest. "Don't you always brag about how you can handle him?"
Qian Guihua was dumbfounded: "I'm not saying that I can handle that aspect, I'm saying——"
"What?" The policewoman took a file with disdain. "From February 18 to March 17, 1984, in just
one month, you were late 13 times, left early 9 times, and took two days of unrecorded personal
leave, but your salary and bonus remained the same. Is this what you call a fix? How did you get
Zhang Xiongfa to take such special care of you?"
"I really didn't do anything to him. You asked me and Zhang Xiongfa to confront him face to face!"
Qian Guihua said anxiously, "His wife was just imagining things. She rushed in and tore off clothes
and beat people. Why didn't you do anything?"
"It's everyone's responsibility to expose hooligan behavior." The policewoman snorted, "She's
called catching an adulterer."
Another male police officer persuaded him earnestly: "Zhang Xiongfa, confess that you seduced
him in the workshop before. You said that only an old cadre like him who is 'well-informed' can
arrange things in an orderly manner. Do you remember?" The female police officer said "Pah"
and walked away with a red face to get some water.
"In the car and workshop, everyone says this all the time. It's just a joke." Qian Guihua wanted to
cry but had no tears. Every married woman would have said a few dirty puns in the workshop.
"Later, you gave him a Playboy belt. You know what Playboy means, right? You also asked him to
ask the leader of the Fuxing Island Fishery Company's labor union to say hello, so that the
seafarers could buy lipstick for you in violation of regulations. Several lipsticks were found in your
drawer as evidence. Zhang Xiongfa confessed that you deliberately put on perfume in front of
him in the summer and raised your armpit hair to show him. According to the public, you often
flirted and used obscene words in front of your office colleagues, which can prove that you had
an improper relationship between a man and a woman."
Qian Guihua almost fainted. She still remembered the verbal battle that happened last summer
because she stretched too hard.
"Who was vulgar with him? He was the only one who was vulgar! I accidentally stretched that
time and my bat sleeves slipped down, and he said, he said--"
"What?" The policeman picked up the pen and prepared to record it seriously.
"He said my hair was thick and black, so I must want it." Qian Guihua said with shame and anger:
"He is my leader, I can't turn against him and scold him or throw a glass of water on him, right? I
had to make a joke to get over it."
"Are you kidding? You said at the time, 'I'm going to be very aggressive, are you afraid, Chairman
Zhang?' He said, 'No, no, three hundred rounds are not enough, let's have three thousand.' You
said, 'Three thousand is not enough, at least thirty thousand.' I'm not wrongly accusing you, am
I? There were three comrades present who heard and saw it with their own eyes, and their
testimonies were all consistent."
Qian Guihua had no words to defend herself. She only blamed herself for not being able to
control her mouth and being a slut. She also hated the villains who were doing bad things behind
her back. They were making fun of Zhang Xiong for saying something even more vulgar. Why
didn't anyone mention it? They were all smiling and cheerful at ordinary times, but they were all
evil people who stabbed her in the back when they saw her in trouble.
At this moment, she could feel what Gu Nanhong felt at that time. It was so difficult for a woman
to prove her innocence. Qian Guihua always felt that Gu Nanhong must not be dead. She clearly
came to see Chen Donghai that night, and she didn't know what they said secretly. Since then,
Chen Donghai has been particularly cold to her, and the couple never slept together again. She
really wanted it in that aspect. She asked for it many times from winter to spring, but was
rejected by Chen Donghai. He either said he was tired or that the child was next to him, as if he
was not tired before and had no children before. She always suspected that he knew something,
but she felt it was impossible. After the New Year, when Zhang Xiongfa made a move again, she
didn't avoid him as much as before. She just wanted to confirm whether she was still a beautiful
woman. But she really didn't have anything with Zhang Xiongfa. That bald head and that beer
belly made her feel sick.
When he looked up, he saw a shocking slogan with red letters on a white background posted on
the snow-white wall: "Those who can be arrested or not should be arrested resolutely; those who
can be sentenced or not should be sentenced resolutely; those who can be killed or not should
be killed resolutely!" Qian Guihua shuddered and trembled.
——
Si Jiang didn't know that something had happened to her third mother Qian Guihua until she
didn't see her on Wanchun Street on May Day. Chen Donghai moved back to his own home with
his children in mid-April. They came to have dinner on Labor Day. The three of them didn't smile.
Si Qi suddenly started crying while eating. After being scolded by Chen Donghai, she dropped her
chopsticks and ran away. Si Jiang lowered her head and kept silent. Since the incident with
Jingsheng, she has hardly talked to Si Qi alone. Although she knew that Si Qi was the same age as
Si Nan and didn't understand things, she just couldn't get over it. After Si Qi carefully approached
her several times, she was only a ten-year-old girl and was shy, so she didn't come close.
After dinner, Chen A Niang called Si Jiang into the room and said, "Wait a minute, girl, take uncle
to look for your uncle. Uncle has something to say to Yi Gang."
Si Jiang hesitated for a moment and nodded in agreement, not quite understanding why Chen
Donghai didn't go directly to the house. After the Spring Festival, my uncle bought the pavilion
from Aunt Feng and has been busy renovating the house in the past few months. He is in
Wanchun Street every day and can be seen by everyone. She walked behind Chen Donghai with
Si Hao, and noticed that he was holding two bottles of white wine in his hands, which made her
even more confused. My uncle should not be willing to drink old wine with my uncle.
Chen Donghai slowed down his pace and waited until Si Jiangsi recovered before asking softly, "Is
your aunt okay?"
Si Jiang was stunned: "Do you know where my aunt is?!"
Chen Donghai saw that her shocked expression didn't seem fake, and shook his head
uncomfortably: "She came to talk to me a few words before she left, but she didn't say where she
was going."
Si Jiang immediately became alert: "Then why didn't you tell my uncle?"
"I, I thought you all knew--" Chen Donghai was a little flustered and quickened his pace.
When he arrived in front of Gu Dongwen, he put down the wine, but he didn't dare to sit down.
"Brother Dongdong, I didn't tell the police about Nanhong looking for me. I didn't say a word.
Really! You believe me." Chen Donghai hurriedly clarified to Gu Dongwen: "Anyway, Sister
Nanhong and I grew up together. I definitely hope for her well and I would never harm her."
Gu Dongwen smiled slightly: "What do you want?"
Chen Donghai glanced at Si Jiangjingsheng who was watching him with a fierce look and
Grandma Gu who looked at him with contempt, and stammered, unable to say anything.
"Take it back." Gu Dongwen pushed two bottles of wine to him.
"No, no, no, that's not it, Brother Dongdong, it's just that Xiao Qian was reported by someone
——"
Although it was difficult to speak, Chen Donghai still stumbled over the matter and told it roughly.
Then he asked with a bitter face: "I came here just to ask you to help me think of a way to get her
out as well."
Gu Dongwen glared at him and asked with a smile: "Are you suspecting that someone in our
family reported your wife? Are you reporting Nan Hong in retaliation against her?"
Before Granny Gu could react, Chen Donghai lowered his head in shame: "It's her fault, Nanhong!
Please have mercy on the two little ones, Si Qi is only ten years old, and she is a cousin of Si Jiang
and Si Nan. After all, they are still a family."
Si Jiang was so angry that his teeth were chattering and his whole body was shaking. He hugged
his grandmother who rushed up to hit Chen Donghai and glared at Chen Donghai.
Gu Dongwen said calmly: "I, Gu Dongwen, am not that kind of person. There is no such villain in
my Gu family. Go away."
Chen Donghai wanted to bring up Nanhong's escape, but Gu Dongwen glared at him. All his
courage vanished, and he picked up two bottles of wine and ran away.
After cursing Qian Guihua's ancestors for eighteen generations, Grandma Gu thanked God for
bringing retribution to the wicked, completely forgetting that this retribution was a result of the
Buddhist law of cause and effect.
"Did she really write the report letter?" Si Jiang was so angry: "I want to write a letter to report
her too!"
Jingsheng poured a glass of warm water for Grandma and glanced at Si Jiang: "Then you will
become a piece of trash like her."
"Me?! What I did is called an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth!" Si Jiang's voice faded away,
but Jingsheng was right, she knew it very well in her heart.
Gu Dongwen stood up and took out four bottles of beer from the refrigerator. He opened the
bottle caps with a few clicks of his teeth, smiled and waved: "Come on, let's drink one together."
"Uncle, you are not a diamond, you are a diamond tooth!" Si Jiang took the beer bottle and
sniffed it curiously: "Can I really drink it?"
Gu Dongwen gently tapped the bottle of wine in his hand against the refrigerator door that Nan
Hong had sent to the hotel: "Drink, drink a bottle for your aunt, and go to sleep when you're
drunk. You can get your revenge without getting your hands dirty, how great, God finally opened
his eyes for once."
Si Jiang thought of Si Qi with tears in her eyes, and somehow the anger and cheerfulness just
now gradually disappeared. She sighed inexplicably. Jingsheng took out a glass and poured a glass
for Si Jiang: "Are you soft-hearted? We won't do such dirty things as reporting, so there's no need
to pity her. How can we repay kindness with kindness?" Si Jiang nodded and exhaled, and drank a
big mouthful of beer generously. He immediately frowned and smacked his lips: "It's so
unpalatable! Uncle, how can you like to drink this?" Si Hao threw down his toy car and jumped up
and stretched out his hand: "I want it too, I want it too, I want it too!" Grandma Gu smiled and
picked him up and sat him on her. She pushed the beer bottle away with disgust, took out a small
wine cup and poured white wine into it: "That damn thing is like horse urine, it's not good to
drink, let's drink some white wine together." She tilted her head and drank three glasses in a row,
dripped two drops of the empty glass into Si Hao's hungry mouth, raised the glass to the cross on
the wall and said: "Thank God!"
Jingsheng smiled and raised the bottle to clink with Gu Dongwen. The father and son tilted their
necks at the same time and drank the whole bottle without stopping, occasionally provoking
each other. Si Jiang stared at Jingsheng's face. The brother was too handsome. She was
embarrassed to look at him for too long. She unconsciously moved her eyes down to the Adam's
apple that was moving up and down. She stared at it blankly for a few seconds. It was terrible.
The big gulp of beer just now made her dizzy and her heartbeat became irregular again. It
skipped a beat and then beat wildly several times.
"If it tastes bad, don't drink it. Give it to me." Jingsheng dropped the empty bottle in his hand and
took Sijiang's glass. He could actually drink a lot, but it was easy on the face. After finishing a
bottle of wine, a thin layer of bright red appeared on his cheeks, as dazzling as peach blossoms.
Si Jiang quickly covered her cup: "I want to drink!" She glared at Jingsheng, held the cup with
both hands, closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, and finished the remaining half cup with a
fearless attitude. Alas, Li Bai, oh Li Bai, it's a good thing you lived in the Tang Dynasty. If you drank
beer now, you would definitely not be able to write "Drinking Song".
By the time Grandma Gu finished washing her feet, Chen Sihao had already fallen into Si Jiang's
arms, dancing and babbling with her eyes wide open.
"Rocking, rocking, rocking to Grandma's Bridge, Grandma calls me good baby, give me a piece of
candy and a piece of cake. Grandma, grandma! Baby wants cake! Cake!"
"Well, you little Xiazi (child) can't drink much but you have a loud voice. Okay, okay, baby, I'll
make cakes tomorrow. Sugar-coated rice cakes, okay?"
"Sugar! Sugar!" Chen Sihao rolled off Si Jiang and looked at the sugar jar on the chest of drawers
in a daze. Before his short legs could take a step, he staggered to the ground. Fortunately,
Jingsheng next to him stretched out his leg to catch him, but unexpectedly, Pangpang hugged the
leg in front of him and bit it.
——
"You are drunk! Why are you so heavy! Why didn't you poop today? Huh? Chen Sihao, you are
not a little fat boy anymore, you are a big fat boy, do you know? If you get fatter, you will become
ugly, and no one will like you anymore. Xiaoyu, whom you like, will not like you anymore and will
not play with you, do you know? You are not allowed to eat candy tomorrow!" Si Jiang couldn't
drag Chen Sihao, not knowing whether he was drunk and his hands and feet were weak or Chen
Sihao was really so heavy. He kept yelling like Sihao before, and they were indeed biological
siblings.
Jingsheng looked at the two people staggering, shook his head helplessly, carried Si Hao with one
hand and supported Si Jiang with the other, and sent the siblings into the inner room.
The little fat boy was thrown onto the bed, rolled around twice, and then curled up into a ball,
snoring. Si Jiang knelt on the edge of the bed with one leg, leaned over and patted his little butt,
laughing: "The baby's butt is so plump, so good looking. Plump, plump, plump..."
Jingsheng reached out and touched her forehead. It was burning hot. Her face was red, and it
spread to her ears and neck like a sunset glow. Her skin was thin, and there was transparent pink
underneath the red. You could faintly see blue blood vessels pulsating slightly under the pink
glow. Jingsheng lowered his eyes and helped her to bed: "Chen Sijiang, how come you are so
drunk?"
"I'm not drunk." Si Jiang suddenly turned his head and tried to stare at Jingsheng's face with wide
eyes, shaking his head seriously: "Brother, I only weigh 80 kilograms, not heavy at all." Jingsheng
raised his eyebrows, and before he could say anything to her, Si Jiang had already hugged his
neck tightly and jumped up: "You are talking nonsense, I really only weigh 80 kilograms, not
heavy, not heavy, not heavy!"
Jingsheng was caught off guard and was pressed down. He tried to support himself with his
backhand, but failed to hold on to the edge of the bed. The two fell on the footboard with a loud
"bang". Sijiang's chin hit Jingsheng's mouth directly. Jingsheng's mouth tasted rusty. He didn't
care about himself and quickly picked Sijiang up: "Does it hurt?"
Si Jiang's eyes were usually filled with clear springs, and at this moment, the two springs were
misty, reflecting Jingsheng's face. She raised her hand and waved it very seriously, close to his
nose: "Brother, I went to the toilet as soon as I came back today! A big one! Two big ones -
hahaha, otherwise I would be 82-jin!" She burped drunkenly and laughed: "Now! 80! Not heavy!"
Fairy Chen, who honestly confessed that she had pooped out two lumps of poop, muttered
something as she fell softly into Jingsheng's shoulder.
"It stinks so bad. It's all your fault that you treated me to stinky tofu. Gu Jingsheng! You're the
most annoying."
Jingsheng's heart was really touched. Time was like a tape recorder with the pause button
pressed, rewinding and playing in his mind, rewinding and playing again. Gu Jingsheng, it turns
out that his name is so nice.
From outside came Teresa Teng’s singing: “I’m drunk, because I’m lonely, I’m lonely, is there
anyone who can comfort me…”

Chapter 174
Little Chen Sihao has to report three things every day when he comes back from kindergarten:
what he ate, whether he took a nap, and whether he pooped.
"Okay, you're already a big baby. You don't have to report whether you poop or not in the
future." Si Jiang announced uncomfortably, squatting down and hugging Fatty: "From today on,
you have to tell everyone what you learned in kindergarten, such as what nursery rhymes you
sang, what paintings you drew, whether you recognized words, whether you learned to count--"
Chen Si was very unhappy: "No, these are too troublesome, I don't want to change. Report! The
baby ate vegetable rice and drank winter melon soup today, but still couldn't sleep at noon. But I
closed my eyes and didn't say anything. I took a shit in the toilet of the kindergarten before
school and didn't bring it back!"
Jingsheng, who was stretching his legs in front of the window, turned his head and asked quietly,
"How many piles of poop did you poop?"
“Two lumps!”
“Does it stink?”
"Of course it stinks!" Chen Sihao's eyes widened: "Whose poop smells good???"
Si Jiang hid his face in his knees, feeling ashamed and embarrassed. Why did she still remember
what happened last night? No, as long as she pretended to have forgotten it, she would really
have forgotten it. But why did she bring up the topic of her father in such a silly way?
Chen Sihao pulled her braids and pouted: "Sister, you haven't said that the baby is great yet."
"Well, baby, you're great today." Si Jiang pretended to be calm and pinched the two lumps of
flesh on A'di's face. Oh, not two lumps, but two pieces.
"Candy! Sister, give the baby candy."
"Okay, you can only eat one, otherwise your little teeth will get decayed and you won't be able to
eat any candy anymore."
"Yeah. Good baby." Chen Sihao patted his round belly and praised himself.
Si Jiang peeled a big white rabbit for Si Hao. Si Hao sat on the small stool under the window,
carefully tore a piece of glutinous rice paper with his chubby fingers and put it in his mouth. He
squinted his eyes and shook his big head with satisfaction: "Hmm——"
Jingsheng smiled and said, "Pangpang, is rice paper so delicious?"
"Delicious!" Si Hao raised the candy in a flattering manner: "Brother, do you want it? If you do,
you can't call me fat, I'm not fat!"
Jingsheng bit half of the rice paper and saw Sijiang running away quietly. He laughed and said
loudly, "Okay, the baby is not fat. The baby has pooped two stinky poops today."
"Brother is the most infuriating!" Si Jiang angrily slammed the door curtain and left, but he met
Granny Gu who was coming upstairs after looking at the new bathroom downstairs.
"Did the baby poop in kindergarten? He didn't poop the day before yesterday, and he didn't poop
yesterday. If he doesn't poop today, it will have been three days. I'm so worried." Grandma Gu
asked worriedly.
Aaaaaaa, why are you all so hard on your dad? Si Jiang yelled, "He pooped, he pooped in the
kindergarten! Two lumps! Very smelly!"
——
After the beginning of summer, the school organized a spring outing to Zhongshan Park. Every
city has Zhongshan Park and Zhongshan Road, but they are not very outstanding. It was Sijiang's
first time to go there, and he was quite surprised. As usual, there were a lot of old men and
women at the entrance of the park, doing Tai Chi, playing chess, stretching, leg stretching, and
sword dancing. The once popular ballroom dance was gone. The large-scale garden activity on
Labor Day had just ended. Rows of potted flowers of various colors were colorful. The Chinese
garden style and British gardening in the park complemented each other. More than 200 kinds of
trees, flowers and plants were lush and well-organized.
After visiting the National Anti-Smuggling Exhibition and seeing the Rose Garden, Peony Garden
and Landscape Garden, Si Jiang and his classmates enthusiastically went to the dock on the island
in the middle of Chenjia Pond to take a cruise. Of course, singing songs were indispensable on the
boat ride.
The burly sports committee member of the next-door Class 4 stood on the bow with his hands on
his hips and sang the lyrics of Liu Sanjie: "Sing folk songs, sing folk songs, hey, sing here and join
in there——" The singing was so powerful and majestic that it shook the mountains and rivers.
The boys and girls on the boat responded in unison: "Hey, sing here and join in there! Let me ask
you, Class 2, do you dare? If you don't dare, jump into the lake!"
Lin Zhuoyu rolled up his sleeves and jumped onto the bow, shouting at the top of his voice in
Shanghainese: "I dare not! Listen carefully, folk songs are like the water of the Huangpu River -
hi", he turned his head and waved his hand: "Brothers and sisters, come on!"
Cheng Ying stood up with a smile, and led a boat of classmates to sing loudly: "Don't be afraid of
the dangerous shoals - there are many fools on the other side, many fools!"
The students on both boats laughed so hard that they almost capsized. The singing turned into a
competition. Class 4 sang "Last night's stars have fallen and disappeared in the distant Milky
Way", while Class 2 sang "Unforgettable tonight, unforgettable tonight... Let's wish the
motherland well." The oars were rowed on one side, and on the other side, in the field of hope,
the competition was evenly matched, and the two boats were swaying with laughter. When Class
4 sang the song "Lao Bao, hey, Lao Bao,——!" which was sung in the streets and alleys, Class 2 fell
silent.
Lin Zhuoyu turned around and asked, "Who can sing Cantonese songs?" Everyone on the boat
looked at each other in confusion.
Si Jiang thought of a solution quickly: "Cantonese is a dialect, so how about Shaoxing opera or
Yue opera? I can sing "A Sister Lin Fell from the Sky", is there anyone who can sing Jia Baoyu or
Lin Daiyu? We can sing together."
Cheng Ying couldn't help laughing: "I only know the first sentence." The rest of the people
couldn't even say the first sentence. Li Nan quickly pushed Si Jiang to the bow: "Knowing a few
words of Cantonese is so great? Listen carefully. We are going to use the ultimate secret
weapon."
"Hey, Class 2 has let the fairies out. Where's Old Tang? Hurry up and get Old Tang out!" There was
a commotion on the next boat. Tang Zenian was pushed out by several boys with a helpless look
on his face.
Si Jiang suppressed his laughter and cleared his throat: "A sister Lin fell from the sky, like a light
cloud just emerging from a mountain." His voice was high-pitched, passionate and unrestrained,
almost exactly the same as the original singer Xu Yulan. After singing this sentence, he
immediately changed his voice and continued Daiyu's singing: "I thought he was a frivolous and
unsophisticated person, but it turns out that he has a noble character and is not ordinary." His
voice was soft and full of charm, and he was also very lifelike and like Wang Wenjuan.
"Ahhh! Good!" Lin Zhuoyu led the boys in howling: "The people on the other side can take off
their clothes and prepare to jump into the lake."
"My fairy is really a fairy, she's amazing. How could you have this ability? Hahaha!" Li Nan
stomped his feet so hard that the cruise ship crew were scared.
The boys from Class 4 on the opposite side were greedy and directly pulled off Tang Zenian's shirt
and tried to push him into the water. The people from Class 2 laughed so hard that they all ran to
the bow to watch the fun.
"Take it off--take it off, jump! Jump!"
"Old Tang, do your best to protect your shorts. Otherwise, if you go into the water naked, you'll
be considered a hooligan. Be careful of being caught and sent to labor camp!" Lin Zhuoyu was
delighted.
Tang Zenian laughed and shouted: "Wait, I don't admit defeat, I want to sing Huangmei Opera!"
"Bullshit, you can only sing Huangmeitian." Lin Zhuoyu pointed at Tang Zenian and exposed his
past: "You can do everything except singing. The teacher of the Children's Palace choir said that
they are absolutely in tune, but you are absolutely not."
Everyone on both boats burst into laughter.
"The birds on the trees are in pairs, the green water and green mountains bring smiles, from now
on we will no longer suffer from the pain of singing, everyone hurry up - jump ashore." After Tang
Zenian finished singing the four lines, he supported the boat's side railing with his hand and
jumped directly onto the dock, bowed to Si Jiang and smiled, "We can't compare to you, we
admit defeat."
Everyone was so stunned by his incomparable tone-deafness and out-of-tune singing that they
didn't even notice that the boat had docked.
"Catch Old Tang and you'll get a reward!" Lin Zhuoyu quickly led the boys to chase after him, and
a group of young people started fighting. The girls watched and cheered on the side, laughing so
hard that they fell over.
Tang Zenian was held by the arms by four or five "traitors" and taken to Si Jiang's side. A group of
people laughed and said, "You must accept the loss. Old Tang, sing one more line about husband
and wife working together. If Chen Si Jiang agrees to work together, it's fine. If he doesn't agree,
we'll send him to the water."
Tang Zenian knew that Si Jiang always avoided such jokes, so he shouted directly: "It's too hot,
push me into the water to cool down."
Si Jiang was a little embarrassed at first, but his voice aroused her chivalrous spirit. She raised her
hands to cover her ears and said with a smile: "Hey! You want me to listen to him sing again? I
might as well jump into the lake."
Even Tang Zenian was laughing so hard that he doubled over: "Is it that serious? I sound okay,
don't I?"
Si Jiang said seriously: "For the interest classes in the third year of junior high school, please skip
the Peking Opera class and the Yue Opera class. Don't sign up. I thank you on behalf of the
school."
Amidst the laughter, Tang Zenian luckily escaped from falling into the water, and dozens of
teenagers walked towards the amusement park.
Then the boats of the two classes of the third grade also came to the shore. Jingsheng watched Si
Jiang and Tang Zenian being surrounded by people and walked away. Suddenly, he felt that Si
Jiang was very unfamiliar. It turned out that she could sing Yue Opera. It turned out that she was
like this in front of her classmates. It turned out that she would protect Tang Zenian and help him
out. Tsk, they said that there was nothing wrong with the two of them. Does it seem like nothing?
Jingsheng frowned and felt more and more awkward and depressed the more he thought about
it.
"Old Gu, your sister is so amazing. She can sing both male and female voices really well. No
wonder I always saw her on TV when I was a kid." Someone poked Jingsheng and shouted, "Mei,
sister, wait a minute - ah." Before he could finish his words, the person was kicked by Jingsheng.
Wang Lu pursed her lips and smiled: "Gu Jingsheng's sister is so good-looking, I thought she could
sing an English song."
"We never thought of that! That's right, English songs definitely beat Cantonese songs. A birthday
song would be fine..."
Jingsheng had already gone far away.

Chapter 175
After walking quickly past the children's playground, Jingsheng suddenly stopped and turned
back.
There was laughter and joy around the large turntable with eight animal seats. A dozen boys
were shouting and pushing the turntable hard, and the turntable gradually turned faster. Si Jiang
huddled in the elephant seat, hugging the elephant's trunk and smiling like a little fool. Her
ponytail swung diagonally with the turntable, and the mottled sunlight kept jumping on her face.
"Dizzy, dizzy, I feel a little dizzy." Li Nan, who was beside her, lay on Tiger's head with his hands
raised flat: "Chen Sijiang, you just have to be responsible for me. What kind of crazy idea did you
come up with? Why are all the students in Class 4 boys and our class is all girls?"
Tang Zenian, who was squatting on the lion seat, smiled and reminded her: "Li Nan, it seems that
you were the one who almost knelt down to beg the old man just now? You are also the one who
said that girls have a good sense of balance. Brothers, push hard, this time we must convince
Class 2."
Lin Zhuoyu was so anxious that he wanted to run after the turntable: "Li Nan, if you dare to faint,
I will let you make the electric boat by yourself later."
Li Nan yelled, "No, no, no, I won't admit defeat even if I vomit."
"Hey, don't vomit!" The boys pushing the turntable were so scared that they immediately took
three steps back: "What you vomit will all be on us!"
Si Jiang couldn't help laughing: "Yes, even if we faint and vomit, our second class will not come
down. Victory will definitely be ours."
Zhang Leyi shouted arrogantly: "That's right, I'm not dizzy at all. If you have the guts, push me
and turn faster."
Cheng Ying patted her little bear and said, "Yes, don't be lazy. Hurry up and use all your strength.
Hey, we can still sing while spinning in circles. Tang Zenian, let's continue the competition. Si
Jiang, the happy fruit, come and sing a song?"
Si Jiang looked at her little bear and started singing with a smile: "The doll and the little bear are
dancing, dancing, one, two, one. They are dancing in a circle, dancing, one, two, one." Cheng
Ying, Li Nan and Zhang Leyi immediately started the children's chorus mode.
Suddenly, three boys from Class 4 heard a strange harmony. They looked at Tang Zenian and
shouted in unison: "Old Tang, you are not allowed to sing along! Please have some shame!"
Amid the laughter, Tang Zenian began to sing confidently: "Looking for a friend, I found a good
friend..."
Just as they sang "Salute, shake hands", his three comrades jumped off the turntable in a panic:
"Surrender! We surrender, Old Tang, you undercover! You are in Cao's camp but your heart is
with Han, have you married to the second squad?"
Si Jiang laughed so hard that she lay on the elephant's head. The turntable was slowly turning
around, and her eyes lit up. She waved her hand and shouted, "Brother! Brother! Come on, show
us some fun."
Still showing off? Jingsheng was really angry and amused when he saw her. Who said that the
three siblings of the Chen family didn't look like real siblings? They were exactly the same in their
mischievous nature.
The junior high school students were shocked to see the scene in the children's playground.
Wang Lu rushed over nervously: "What's wrong with you? This is a children's playground! Can't
you see the sign? There are height and weight restrictions. How old are you? This is simply -
destroying public property. Tang Zenian, you are a cadre of the Youth League Committee, how
could you -"
Si Jiang raised his hand: "Hey, that - Secretary Wang, it's none of other people's business, it was
my idea."
Tang Zenian jumped off the turntable: "We just played for a while, it's okay."
"What do you mean it's okay? Do you still want to save the reputation of the school? Who will be
held responsible if you damage the children's facilities?!" Although Wang Lu was angry, she still
remembered to save some face for Gu Jingsheng. After all, Chen Sijiang was his sister.
The old man on duty nearby came over and expressed his displeasure at Wang Lu's meddling:
"What are you doing? I'm in charge here. They came to ask me, and I told them to play, so what?
What are you doing? If you have any complaints, go find our leader. Anyway, I'm going to retire in
two days, haha."
Wang Lu looked at the smug faces of her classmates in the eighth grade and became really angry:
"Uncle, you are too irresponsible. Look, it is clearly written on the sign that each seat cannot bear
more than 40 kilograms. It doesn't look broken now. What if a child gets on and the seat falls over
or the turntable rod breaks? It will be a disaster!"
Jingsheng suddenly replied leisurely: "It's okay, my Sijiang weighs exactly 40 kilograms." He
ignored Wang Lu, walked straight to the elephant's seat, patted the elephant's trunk and said:
"Come down."
Si Jiang felt so happy that she smiled like a flower. She held Jingsheng's hand and jumped down.
She secretly made a face and said softly, "Thank you, brother!" As soon as she finished thanking
him, she was hit on the forehead with a chestnut.
"You're so naughty." Jingsheng snorted.
Wang Lu stared at the old man and educated him on professional ethics, which made the old
man very angry.
"Why is your classmate so annoying and long-winded? What could possibly happen?"
Si Jiang ran to the old man and bowed, "I'm sorry, old man. It's all my fault. I didn't think it
through. We were wrong. We shouldn't have come to play this. I'm sorry to trouble you. Let us
check it with you to see if we have crushed it or if there are any cracks or something."
The old man just nodded his head in delight, turned around and waved his hand at her with a
smile: "Don't listen to other people's nonsense, I know a lot, there are often 100-pound fat kids
going up to spin, and parents bring little kids along to have fun, how could there be any problem?
Besides, we're going to replace the electric turntable with a new one next month, don't worry,
what else do you want to have fun with? Just go ahead and have fun. All these old things are
going to be replaced with new ones, and the quality is actually still very good, alas."
Li Nan exaggeratedly hugged the tiger he had just sat on: "Ah! My little tiger, goodbye forever!
No! No! Don't go! Please, come home with me! I love you, tiger!"
Even the third grade students couldn't hold back their laughter, and Wang Lu was too
embarrassed to say anything. Everyone walked out, and the boys in Class 4 clamored to go to the
amusement park to compete again.
Si Jiang and the others were at the end of the group. After walking for a while, Si Jiang glanced at
Jing Sheng several times, and seeing that he was pursing his lips and looked unhappy, he quietly
approached and tugged at the corner of his clothes.
"What?" Jingsheng glared at her, "Do you also want to take the elephant apart and hold it every
day?"
Si Jiang held back his laughter, and imitated Si Hao, tilting his head, blinking his big eyes, and
pouting: "Brother, don't be angry, I'm still a baby, and big babies are also babies."
Jingsheng put his hand on her face and pushed her away: "You are really promising. Not only do
you learn from Si Nan, you also learn from Chen Si Hao?"
Si Jiang trotted after him and clarified with a smile: "Brother, it's obviously Nan Nan and Si Hao
who both look like me. I'm the eldest, so of course I have to pretend—"
Li Nan behind her covered his chest and fell softly on Cheng Ying: "Did you see it just now? Did
you see it! Our fairy! The fairy is like this in front of her brother! Aaaaa, I'm dead, my heart is not
beating, really, her seductive eyes, her voice is so coquettish, I can't take it anymore, why am I
not a boy?"
Lin Zhuoyu and Tang Zenian, both boys, looked at each other and said as if being a boy could do
anything. It was wishful thinking. When a pretty girl like Chen Sijiang started to act like a spoiled
child, it was unbearable. Only her dear brother Gu Jingsheng could handle it.
Gu Jingsheng was lecturing Chen Sijiang as he walked at full speed: "I told you not to flirt with
me, where's your brain?"
"???" Si Jiang was very depressed. Could it be that Si Hao's pitiful blinking was also considered as
flirting? The scope of this flirting was too broad.
——
On the group picnic that day, Si Jiang wisely squeezed next to Jingsheng and was warmly
welcomed. Even her little tails Li Nan and Zhang Leyi felt the enthusiasm of the seniors. After the
three of them finished eating the hundred-family meal, their bellies were full. The boys clamored
to go ice skating, and Si Jiang couldn't help showing off Jingsheng's excellent skating skills, so
dozens of people went to the skating rink. Now the hooligans have kept their tails between their
legs and behaved themselves, and the skating rink has become a real place for skating.
Just as Lin Zhuoyu said, Tang Zenian really can do everything except singing. He went into the
skating rink, warmed up for two laps, and then did a 360-degree mid-air turn, landing steadily
with his limbs stretched out in an extremely chic manner, causing cheers, screams, and whistles.
After Si Jiang finished shouting, he realized that Jing Sheng was glancing at him expressionlessly.
He felt guilty, but he didn't dare to explain that there was really nothing going on between him
and Tang Zenian. He was afraid that trying to cover up the truth would backfire. So he had to use
Si Jiang's three best tricks again: "Brother! You are the best skater. You will definitely outshine
everyone when you go on stage. No, no, no, you will stun everyone. Go! Help our class to knock
down the arrogance of Class 4. Come on, brother!"
Jingsheng pulled the corner of his mouth, looked at Tang Zenian who was waving at Si Jiang,
pushed the railing and slid into the venue backwards, sliding most of the way in the inner circle
like flowing water. He put his hands behind his back, lowered his head, his face was stiffer than
the concrete floor under his feet, without a trace of smile, but the girls outside the railing
immediately screamed.
Si Jiang turned her head and saw Wang Lu's eyes full of stars and love. She secretly made up her
mind that if Jingsheng talked about her and Tang Zenian again, she would bring up their class
leader Wang to mock him. Humph, who is afraid of who?
Jingsheng raised his eyes and scanned the field. He put some strength into his legs and slid
backwards faster and faster. He flew into the air at the turn, turned 360 degrees and landed on
the ground, then turned 360 degrees and landed on the ground, then changed to a straight slide
effortlessly. He strolled through the crowd in the outer circle and came back to Si Jiang and the
others. He frowned and said, "I won't slide anymore. My leg injury is a little uncomfortable. You
guys go play. I'll wait for you outside."
Si Jiang quickly bent down and took off the skates he had just put on: "Brother, does it hurt?
Come out quickly, I'll help you change your shoes, let's sit here for a while, where does it hurt?
Here? Here or here? Don't scare me, it's all my fault, I'm such a fool, I shouldn't have encouraged
you to skate."
She was so nervous that she knelt beside Jingsheng's leg and carefully pressed and touched his
wound two or three times, which made Jingsheng even more nervous than her. But she couldn't
move away and let her touch him, so she had to frown and say that he would be fine after a rest.
She also had to deal with the concern of Wang Lu and a group of girls, which was not worth it.
Suddenly, a group of young people squeezed in from outside the crowd, both men and women,
who all seemed to have spent quite some time in society.
"Gu Jingsheng? It's really you! I was just wondering, who else but you can skate so well? What a
coincidence, I didn't expect to meet you here!" Wu Xiaoli was so excited that her face turned red.
She didn't notice that she was dressed in a weird way, with a pair of glasses on her head, which
showed the obvious characteristics of a female gangster.
Jingsheng was also surprised, but he still remembered her, so he nodded and greeted her.
"Do you like him?" a young man next to him suddenly asked.
Si Jiang and the others were startled, and the surroundings suddenly became quiet. The sound of
the skate wheels sliding across the ground became particularly loud.
Wu Xiaoli blushed but nodded and mustered up the courage to ask Jingsheng: "Gu Jingsheng, are
you willing to be my friend?" In front of so many people, she was too embarrassed to say the
word girlfriend.
"Sorry, I don't have time to make friends." Jingsheng bent down and tied his shoelaces
indifferently.
Someone burst out laughing.
Wu Xiaoli was stunned for a moment and said "Oh" awkwardly.
"Hey, little bastard, don't be shameless even if I give you face. Our Xiaoli is making friends with
you because we think highly of you."
Wu Xiaoli quickly grabbed the guy who was about to make a move, pointed at a gloomy young
man next to him and asked Jingsheng: "Do you still remember Brother Qiang? He and you are
both from Ganlanba——"
"We fought every day when we were kids, how could I not remember that, Uncle Gu, ok?" Li
Qiang laughed like a snake that had just swallowed a mouse. Si Jiang looked at him and his hair
stood on end, and he immediately turned his eyes away.
Jingsheng tightened his shoelaces, stood up, crossed his arms, and stood in front of Si Jiang: "I'm
sorry, I really don't remember."
Wu Xiaoli wanted to say something, but Li Qiang looked at the dozen boys surrounding Jingsheng,
all of whom looked alert and eager to try. A group of students came out of the skating rink and
came over. He smiled and said, "I'll come and play with you next time I have a chance. We're
leaving first."
Jingsheng kept his mouth tightly pursed that day, and did not play any other games. Fortunately,
the spring outing ended successfully, and he did not encounter this group of strange people again
for more than ten days, and Jingsheng finally breathed a sigh of relief.
——
At the end of May, the list of students who were admitted directly was announced. Jingsheng
won the title of second-level athlete in both the 100-meter dash and the high jump, and was
successfully admitted directly to the high school. Based on the school's 98% undergraduate
admission rate and 90% key university admission rate last year, Jingsheng has both feet in a key
university. After all, second-level athletes can add 20 points to the college entrance examination.
Si Jiang was a little nervous. The math in the direct admission exam for the third year of junior
high school was incredibly difficult. The average score for the whole grade was only 57 points.
Although the direct admission rate remained at 20%, many students had a mental breakdown.
They performed poorly in the physics and chemistry exams, and some even cried loudly under
the teaching building after the exam. So when Tang Zenian offered to help her review the four
science subjects, Si Jiang hesitated but agreed.
"Brother, my classmates asked me to go to the library for math tutoring today. Can I go with you
next Thursday?" Si Jiang tried to ask after school, thinking that if her brother was unhappy, it
would not matter if she missed one day of review.
Jingsheng readily agreed: "It's okay, you don't have to go anyway. Just study hard. If you go to
another high school next year, you can--"
"No, no!" Si Jiang straightened his back: "Even if I can't get promoted directly, I will take the exam
to return to our school! You are here with me, brother."
Jingsheng rode his bicycle to the clothing company alone. In the past six months, he and Si Jiang
came here to find Manager Zhang and Team Leader Xu almost every Thursday after school. The
company usually organized study sessions on Thursdays, and they could almost always find
people there.
"Hey, Xiao Gu, why are you here again?" Manager Zhang was the last one to come out and
couldn't help but sigh when he saw Jingsheng. He felt guilty and in the wrong, but there was
nothing he could do.
"Hello, Manager Zhang." Jingsheng still greeted him politely.
"Your sister is not here?" Manager Zhang took out a cigarette and lit it.
"She has something going on."
The man and the boy stood and talked under a sycamore tree by the roadside. The sky gradually
darkened, bicycles and buses were flowing, and it seemed that another day was coming to an
end.
"Team Leader Xu has been demoted to the umbrella factory." Manager Zhang sighed, "Xiao Gu,
don't be so stubborn. This matter will be over in a few years."
Jingsheng smiled and said, "My aunt didn't embezzle. If she did, she did. If she didn't, she didn't,
right? The clarification report written by Boss Fang clearly states it. As long as Manager Zhang is
willing to stamp it, it will be fine."
"You can't just stamp this official seal casually." Manager Zhang has been pestered for half a year
and has said a few words until they are worn out: "I really can't do anything about this. Go back
quickly, study hard, and don't get involved in adult affairs."
"My aunt shouldn't be wronged like this, she is a good person, you shouldn't bully good people."
When Jingsheng first found him, he said this very fiercely, which scared Manager Zhang a lot.
Now he said it lightly and calmly, but Manager Zhang felt even more uncomfortable listening to it,
and his conscience was really painful.
"Well, I'll write this anonymously, and you can see for yourself if it can be useful." Manager Zhang
suddenly relaxed for some reason. Perhaps he thought of Nanhong's high-spirited and cheerful
face in the past, or maybe he remembered the pretty girl who blinked her eyes every time and
begged him to tell the truth. Or maybe it was because his conscience really played a role.
Jingsheng raised his eyes unexpectedly, but Manager Zhang had already hurried away. He jumped
on the bicycle almost in excitement, pedaling very fast. He wanted to go directly to the library to
pick up Si Jiang and bring her home. He wanted to tell her about this as soon as possible, at least
their efforts had a little hope.
The early summer evening breeze blew Jingsheng's shirt constantly. The slightly warm wind
playfully wandered between his skin and fabric, and the white shirt was puffed up for a while,
and then sucked back to cling to his body, as if it was also excited about it. Jingsheng rode faster
and faster, and the whole person almost stood up. His eyes became brighter and brighter, and his
smile became more and more wanton. Finally, the white shirt was content to cling to the boy's
tight body. The wandering wind was unhappy, and it mustered up its strength to push a white ball
out of Jingsheng's back, making a rustling sound.
Another summer is here.

Chapter 176
The district library on Xinzha Road is just across from the bathroom in the security area, and has
always been overcrowded. Most middle school students come to the large reading room on the
top floor in groups to reserve seats after school, and then go downstairs to return and borrow
books. Some graduating students have parents who work in shifts, so they don't even go back for
dinner, but buy two meat buns, vegetable buns, and tea eggs from the snack bar to make do.
Therefore, the reading room is filled with a secret smell of food all year round. In winter, the
smell is particularly hard to describe with the glass windows closed. Fortunately, it is early
summer now, the windows are wide open, and the electric fan is turned on the lowest setting to
blow.
Si Jiang liked a big table by the window in the northwest corner, far from the road. Outside the
window was an old magnolia tree. When it rained, he could smell its fragrance. When he was
tired of studying, he would pile up a few books and squint at the window for a while, not
worrying about being seen sleeping. Jingsheng often laughed at her for squeezing her cheeks and
drooling with her mouth open when she slept like that. She said he was talking nonsense, and
Jingsheng said he had wiped it off for her, and even took out a handkerchief with disgust to prove
that there were suspicious shiny marks on it.
"What's wrong? Do you understand this question?" Tang Zenian whispered and pointed at the
paper with a pencil, reminding Si Jiang who was in a daze again. He didn't know what she was
thinking about. She looked at the paper with a smile on her lips, a little silly, but particularly vivid.
Si Jiang bit his lower lip embarrassedly and looked at the question again carefully. His mind was in
a mess and he still didn't understand.
"The friction force on the object is not opposite to the direction of the object's movement, but
opposite to the tendency of the object's relative movement, so C is the correct answer here."
"Oh." Movement direction and relative movement direction? Si Jiang was stunned for two
seconds.
Tang Zenian rubbed his eyebrows and looked at the time. It was almost six o'clock.
"I'm sorry," Si Jiang felt ashamed: "Why don't you go first? Li Nan and the others have already
gone back to eat. I'll help them watch their schoolbags and wait for them to come back before
leaving." Tomorrow she will warn these guys that if they dare to leave her and run away like this
again, they will no longer be friends.
"are you hungry?"
"I'm not hungry." As soon as he finished speaking, Si Jiang's stomach growled. It's true that there
is a god above your head and you can't lie with your eyes open.
"I brought some chocolate, would you like to have one?"
"Why do the cadres of your Youth League Committee like to carry chocolates? Are they
imported? They can only be bought with overseas remittance coupons from the Friendship
Store?" Si Jiang thought of Wang Lu, held back his laughter and teased Tang Zenian in a low voice.
"No." Tang Zenian smiled and took out a few small golden footballs. "Italian chocolate with liquor
filling. I like playing football. My dad brought these back from a business trip to Beijing. He
thought I was a primary school student. Want to try them? But they are definitely not as delicious
as Wang Lu's Belgian ones."
"Then I want to eat it." Si Jiang picked up one, tore open the package and put it in his mouth:
"One day our country's chocolate will be better than imported ones."
"I didn't realize you were so patriotic." Tang Zenian said with a smile, "Didn't your uncle study in
the United States? I thought you would like European and American countries very much."
"My uncle went abroad to learn from foreigners." Si Jiang thought about it and felt that his
aversion to Wang Lu was indeed not objective, and he felt a little embarrassed: "It's not that I
don't like European and American countries, but people like Wang Lu think that the moon is
rounder abroad and everything imported is better than domestic ones. Maybe she is telling the
truth, because our country is so backward now, but I just don't like it in my heart and I feel
uncomfortable listening to it."
The football chocolate puffed up her cheeks like a small steamed bun, sweet and smooth. Si Jiang
was reluctant to chew it, so he just held it in his mouth and blinked, whispering to Tang Zenian:
"Later, I tried her Nestle coffee, it was not delicious at all, it was really not as good as the
Shanghai brand coffee tea bought by my aunt. Do you know what Wang Lu said?"
It was the first time that Tang Zenian heard Si Jiang muttering to him about these little girls' trivia,
and he found it particularly interesting. He smiled and approached Si Jiang: "Did she say that only
people with good taste can appreciate good coffee? Ordinary people would prefer sugary drinks
like coffee or tea?"
Si Jiang's eyes widened: "How do you know? Oh——!" She suddenly realized and smiled even
more mischievously.
Tang Zenian's ears turned slightly red and he moved back a little. The sweet smell of chocolate
with wine filling that Si Jiang had just exhaled and spoken lingered under his nose.
"Yeah, she said the same thing in the Youth League Committee office." Tang Zenian pressed his
forehead uncomfortably.
Si Jiang now looks at things from a completely different perspective than before. Instead, he
nodded: "It seems that she does think so. Well, at least she is a person who says what she means
and does not dislike our family."
Tang Zenian felt that he was not a gentleman, and his face turned red: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to
say bad things about her behind her back. Wang Lu is a very serious and responsible Youth
League Committee Secretary. She comes from a cadre family and naturally has a sense of
superiority. She doesn't mean to show off and belittle others. She is always enthusiastic to help
classmates who have difficulties at home.
"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Si Jiang felt even more embarrassed: "In fact, I have a prejudice against her.
You didn't say anything bad about her. I know you are not that kind of person. You are a very
good, excellent and gentlemanly boy. I understand what you mean and I agree with you." Si Jiang
organized his words and concluded: "Wang Lu just thinks that what she eats, drinks, wears and
uses is a better "standard", so she will naturally want everyone around her to accept this
standard. There is nothing wrong with her doing this. Just like civilized people will be eager to
instill everything in civilized society into primitive people when they go to primitive society." As
for whether others are willing to accept her standards, it is probably not within her consideration.
Si Jiang thought sourly that as long as the brother does not accept her standards, she can no
longer have a prejudice against Wang Lu.
Tang Zenian was stunned, as if a feather had gently brushed across his heart, a little itchy, a little
prickly, a little sour, and a little sweet. In Si Jiang's heart, was he actually so good? He had never
dared to tell her the deepest thought in his heart, for fear of scaring her away and affecting her
studies.
I like you, do you like me? Or do you have a little crush on me? Can we be good friends first?
Every word he wanted to say was stupid, and there was no suitable scene or time. She was
always surrounded by a vigilant "mother hen" Gu Jingsheng, or a group of chirping "chicken"
classmates. But she had her own gravity, like a star. He couldn't help but pay attention to her and
wanted to revolve around her. Her every frown, smile, word and action were infinitely magnified,
slowing down the flow of time and filling every cell of his body.
"What kind of boy did you say I am?" Tang Zenian lowered his eyes and closed the physics test
paper, pretending to ask casually: "You said it too softly and too fast, I didn't hear it clearly."
Si Jiang was stunned, hesitated for a few seconds, and repeated confidently: "Everyone knows
that you are an extremely good, excellent, and gentlemanly all-round boy, but I am curious about
how you passed your music class."
Tang Zenian couldn't help laughing and glanced at Si Jiang: "Hey, Chen Sijiang, why do you have
to bring up something else? Don't destroy your image in my mind."
Si Jiang couldn't help but ask curiously: "Eh? What kind of image do you have of me? All show
and no substance? Good-looking but not very smart?"
Tang Zenian was startled: "Why do you look at yourself like this?"
Si Jiang tidied up his books uncomfortably: "I thought I could learn math, physics and chemistry
well, but unfortunately I don't seem to like them now. But people like you who always rank first in
the grade can't understand the hardships of us poor peasants. I am always nervous after every
exam. When the class representative hands out the papers, the look in his eyes is: why don't your
scores match your face..."
Tang Zenian's heart was gripped and twisted a few times. He had so many words of comfort in his
heart that he couldn't utter a word. The sky gradually darkened, and the pale fluorescent light
turned Si Jiang's self-deprecating smile into an overexposed photo, which was burned into his
eyes.
"Everyone knows that you, Chen Sijiang, are a student with a very beautiful soul, very thoughtful,
very artistic talent, and a serious imbalance in your academic performance. When playing
basketball, you like to walk and squat down to hold the ball. The fact that you didn't take
advantage of me and let me jump into Chenjia Pond shows that you are very kind." Tang Zenian
lowered his head and touched the bag of his schoolbag, and added the last sentence almost
inaudibly: "In my heart you are perfect." The only imperfection is that you don't know that I like
you very much, or you don't want to know.
Si Jiang didn't expect to hear such words from Tang Zenian. She didn't know what to say. No one
had ever praised her like this before. She was a little shocked by such a corny and unrealistic
word. Perfect? She was too far away from this word.
The silence between the two did not last long. The teacher's voice came from behind: "Student,
why are you standing there? There are empty seats over there."
"Let me repeat, eating is not allowed in the reading room, eating is not allowed, eating is not
allowed. Some students please be more self-disciplined. It's embarrassing to be kicked out. Put
away your food and eat outside." The teacher walked around the aisle and checked strictly. More
than a dozen boys and girls pushed away their seats and stood up.
The chocolate with liquor filling in Si Jiang's mouth had melted long ago. She wiped the corner of
her mouth and turned her head to look. She found that the teacher was not talking about her.
She made a face at Tang Zenian with a sense of relief and pointed at the remaining chocolate in
his palm: "I almost got kicked out!"
"Let's go too. Let's go home and have dinner first. We need to study this physics chapter
thoroughly today. You were always absent-minded just now. What were you thinking about?"
Si Jiang stretched his neck and looked towards the gate again and again: "Just now there was a
boy who looked like my brother."
"Gu Jingsheng?" Tang Zenian stood up involuntarily, feeling inexplicably nervous and guilty.
"Definitely not. If he came, he would definitely find me. I have always sat in this seat." Si Jiang
shook his head.
——
Back at Wanchun Street, after locking up his bike, Jingsheng bent over the sink, turned on the
tap, and splashed water on his face. Gu Dongwen in the kitchen raised a ladle and knocked on the
window: "What are you doing? It's normal that you didn't succeed. Are you stupid enough to take
it out on yourself? Where's the Sijiang people?"
"She didn't go to the library today to review."
"Huh? Why didn't you pick her up?" Gu Dongwen put the fried tofu on a plate, took the towel off
his shoulder and wiped the sweat off his face, took out a cigarette and walked out: "It just so
happens that there is also a pickled mustard tuber, shredded pork and egg soup, which you can
make. I'm going to take a shower. A fresh toilet smells good for three days, and I want to be the
first to use this new shower room."
Only then did Jingsheng notice that the paint and tiles near the door had been cleaned.
Without Aunt Feng's stove, the kitchen was divided into two. Although there was no sewage, a
toilet could not be built, but a large shower room was built. There was no open window, and the
partition wall was only two meters high. There was still thirty or forty centimeters from the
ceiling to let in light. The walls were painted snow-white, and the whole kitchen was also painted.
The wall next to the stove was covered with a whole wall of white square tiles, which was clean
and refreshing. A long old wooden table was placed next to the partition wall of the shower
room. It was very convenient to prepare vegetables and make some pasta. When it was neither
too hot nor too cold, you could eat directly on it, saving the trouble of bringing food up and
down. Aunt Gu was most satisfied with this change.
Jingsheng had fried the shredded pork and was waiting for the water in the pot to boil. Gu
Dongwen was taking a cold shower beside him, singing an old Yunnan folk song as he did so.
"Oh, the moon is out, so bright, so bright, and I think of my sister in the deep mountains... Sister,
sister, sister, at the foot of the mountain the stream flows quietly. The moon is out, shining on
half the slope, shining on half the slope... Sister, sister, sister, can you hear my brother calling me -
hey, hey, hey."
Gu Dongwen has a good voice, which is totally different from his baby face and not like his usual
speaking voice. It is a clear and clean voice, like the bright moon and the stream in the
mountains. The sound of water stopped, and the last lingering "ah" turned and turned and slowly
became a sigh.
The water in the pot was bubbling. Jingsheng opened the lid with a wooden face and sprinkled a
little salt. The egg liquid slowly swirled around and rolled into a tender yellow cloud in the water,
spreading out. He suddenly remembered the way he saw Si Jiang and Tang Zenian whispering in
the reading room. The little girl who said one thing and meant another also smiled like a cloud,
which made him feel stuffy. All the joy and excitement on the way to the library were like soap
bubbles, reflecting the colorful world. It was very beautiful, but it disappeared in an instant.
Jingsheng was confused. He couldn't tell what he was angry about. Was he angry at Si Jiang, Tang
Zenian, or himself? He couldn't tell. Ha, what's the point of calling brother "sister"? Sister ran
away with someone else and lied to him that they were classmates. Oh, it wasn't a lie. She was
not wrong. Tang Zenian was also a classmate. Haha.
The chopsticks in Jingsheng's hand poked into the fluffy and soft egg flower.

Chapter 177
"Oh, finally I don't have to go upstairs with wet shorts anymore." Gu Dongwen wiped the water
droplets on his back with his bare chest, and said with a smile: "Throw your dirty clothes in the
basin over here, and I'll rub them off at night. Hey, it would be great if there was hot water when
I turn on the faucet." The shantytown is not like the new public housing, new lanes and old
houses. Not only does it have no sewage system, but it also has no pipeline gas or liquefied gas.
Every household uses coal cake stoves for cooking and coal briquettes for boiling water. He did go
to the First Department Store to see the Yuhuan brand water heater, but he could only look at it.
The water heater needs to be connected to pipeline gas, and it cannot be installed in Wanchun
Street.
"You wish." Jingsheng snorted.
Gu Dongwen kicked him on the butt, leaving a wet slipper print: "I'm doing this for you, a little
naked boy, so that there won't be any female hooligans coming to peek at you taking a bath. Alas,
summer is here, and the female hooligans on Wanchun Street are going out again. The son of the
Gu family has grown up——"
Jing was so angry that he almost scooped up a spoonful of boiling water and threw it at him:
"What are you talking about? Who has nothing better to do than watch people take a bath!"
Gu Dongwen laughed and picked up the kettle to boil water. "Before, in the summer, we always
had to wait until after 11pm to take a shower in Beiwu. There are many hooligans in this alley
who are as fierce as wolves in their thirties and as fierce as tigers in their forties. If you can't
touch them, you won't suffer any loss even if you take a look at them."
Jing got goose bumps all over his body and ignored him. He poured the egg drop soup into a large
bowl, added a few drops of sesame oil, scooped out a small bowl for Si Jiang, and then sprinkled
the chopped green onions in.
"You've spoiled your sister. She used to eat chopped green onions when she was little, but now
she doesn't. It's really troublesome." Gu Dongwen took a sip of the still warm teacup and put on
his sweat vest. Before he could straighten his arms, he heard laughter coming from outside the
door.
"Uncle, you've been secretly saying bad things about me again! I caught you red-handed again!"
Si Jiang playfully poked the hard muscles on his uncle's arm: "You're done!"
Gu Dongwen was both amused and annoyed. He pulled up his vest and raised his chin towards
Jingsheng's back: "This guy is unhappy, you go and comfort him. Tsk tsk tsk tsk, he came back and
slapped me in the face."
He went upstairs in his slippers.
"Madam, do you want to eat upstairs or in the kitchen?"
Granny Gu answered from upstairs: "Let's eat in the kitchen."
"Gemnon, come down and help me take down the TV newspaper. The TV is off. I've been
watching TV for an hour and my eyes are damaged. I've become a four-eyed ghost. It's so ugly."
The wooden stairs were slapped by the wind and the sandals made a clattering sound. Gu
Dongwen returned to the kitchen, but saw Si Jiang cringing and pointing at Jingsheng's back,
making a face at him, sticking out his tongue, and saying silently, "It's not easy to coax him."
The uncle and nephew were arguing with each other. After cleaning the stove, Jingsheng turned
around and looked at them coldly: "Are you stupid?"
Si Jiang blinked and pulled Jingsheng's clothes: "Brother, I will definitely go with you next
Thursday."
"No."
"Don't be angry, I brought you some chocolates with liquor filling, from Beijing. Don't you like
playing football?" Si Jiang took out two chocolates with liquor filling and presented them to
Jingsheng flatteringly: "How about we? Football chocolates——"
Jingsheng turned his body to the side, picked up the schoolbag on the table and left.
"Everyone likes to play football, haha."
The chocolate in Si Jiang's hand was knocked to the ground by Jing Sheng and rolled several
times.
"You must have caused trouble." Gu Dongwen poked Si Jiang with a gloating smile: "Yi Yehu's face
is exposed, and he deliberately knocked the chocolate away. Pick it up quickly. If he doesn't eat it,
I will. Is it alcohol-filled?"
Si Jiang shook his head a little guiltily, unable to figure out why his brother was fine after school
but was so angry now.
"Could it be that something strange has happened to the leader of the clothing company?" Si
Jiang became nervous.
Gu Dongwen almost choked on the football, and shouted loudly with chocolate in his mouth: "Gu
Jingsheng—Gu Jingsheng!"
——
When Jingsheng went downstairs, Si Jiang and the others had finished their meal. Gu Dongwen
and Grandma Gu took Si Hao out to digest their food. Si Jiang lingered beside them to test the
waters.
"Brother, since Manager Zhang has agreed to write the materials, why are you so unhappy?"
Jingsheng buried his head in his food: "Not unhappy."
"Then why don't you look at me?"
"What's so good about watching it every day?"
Si Jiang was furious and kicked the stool under his butt: "You are just angry. Did I provoke you?"
"No." Jingsheng hooked his foot and moved his stool a little further away. He looked at Si Jiang
indifferently: "I've seen you. Is that enough? Don't you still need to go to the library? Why don't
you leave?"
"Who said I have to go to the library again--" Si Jiang muttered guiltily.
"You haven't even brought your schoolbag back yet. How come your schoolbag can fly? Or will
your classmates bring it back for you?" Jingsheng brought the remaining soup in front of him and
drank it slowly, but he emphasized the word "classmate" a little more.
"Well, that - Li Nan is watching for me." Si Jiang stood up to clean up the dishes and suddenly
coughed twice: "It's that Tang Zenian, brother, you know him, he is always the top student in our
second grade. He is with us today. He helps me with math, physics and chemistry."
Jingsheng said nothing.
Si Jiang looked at him nervously: "There's really nothing between him and me, brother, don't tell
my mother."
Jingsheng tightened his grip on the spoon, not wanting to pay attention to her but still spoke: "I
don't know if you have any problem, but anyone with eyes can see clearly if he has any problem. I
don't want to get involved in your affairs, and I won't tell Auntie. You are not a three-year-old
child, you should know what you are doing."
Si Jiang blushed, pursed his lips and lowered his head.
Jingsheng snatched the bowl and chopsticks from her hand and walked out. When he reached
the door, he couldn't help but turn back to remind her: "You should be clear about this. Don't
take advantage of others' liking for you. Not everyone is willing to be used by you. If you like
them, then you like them. If you don't like them, then make it clear. If they know you don't like
them but are still willing to help you with your studies, that's another matter."
Si Jiang was a little angry and said in a low voice: "What do you mean by like or dislike? I haven't
said that. I don't like or dislike it - how can I say that..." Like? Dislike? It seems that neither counts.
She doesn't know how to distinguish. As a girl who is not slow, she can accept the unobtrusive
affection released by the opposite sex. Being liked by a boy like Tang Zenian, Si Jiang admitted
that she was actually a little happy, as if it at least proved that she was a good girl.
"Don't fall in love before going to college." Jingsheng was stunned for a moment, then left with a
stiff sentence. Outside, the faucet was running, and the dishes and chopsticks were clattering,
which made Bisijiang's heart even more confused.
Si Jiang was in a state of confusion. After hearing Tang Zenian's words "You are perfect in my
heart", she still hasn't come to her senses. She always feels a little unreal, as if she is stepping on
clouds. She is very touched and happy. Her little vanity is greatly satisfied, and her heartbeat
speeds up. For the first time in the world, someone told her that she is very special and precious.
The feeling of being cherished is wonderful, completely different from the cherishment of her
family. Is this considered puppy love? Si Jiang was at a loss.
——
Manager Zhang's materials were sent in early June. They were very simple, just a telephone
company call receipt. The location of the call was clear and the call duration was not short. Gu
Dongwen took the receipt to the police station. It was not very strong evidence, but the leaders
of the clothing company began to be interviewed one by one. The fact that Nanhong had not
called to ask for instructions before was definitely not true. Less than 5,000 yuan may not be
considered a crime of embezzlement, but more than 5,000 yuan is a major case. "Even if the
person is dead, he must be innocent. My Nanhong has never committed this crime and cannot
bear it." Gu Dongwen said firmly.
Time flies, and it is the end of June. The final exams are over, and the boys can't wait to sweat on
various courts. The most crowded one is of course the football field. In September, the national
team will compete in the Asian Cup. Last year, the men's football team was eliminated in Bangkok
in the Olympic qualifiers. It was really frustrating. The enthusiasm and hope of the people across
the country are placed on the Asian Cup.
Jingsheng started to like football in the second half of the third year of junior high school. He was
first pulled by two seniors from the school track and field team to save the game and guard the
goal. Because of his quick eyes, quick hands and agility, he kept a clean sheet throughout the
game. As a result, he became a substitute and started. After guarding the goal for a month, he
felt bored and didn't want to do it anymore. When he met the captain of the opposing team, he
came to pry him away and said that Gu Jingsheng, you are tall, have long legs, and are good at
running and high jumping. You should play as a striker. Shooting is the soul of football. It's so
frustrating to be a goalkeeper. Come on, run! Steal the ball! Dribble past the opponent! You will
know how cool it is if you try it. Jingsheng tried it and got addicted. The feeling of running on the
green grass reminded Jingsheng of running in the jungle when he was a child. He sweated
profusely and gave it his all. No matter how much he yelled, no one thought it was strange.
Everyone on the football field did this.
The experience of playing football is completely new. This is the first time that Jingsheng really
likes a sport. Before, he practiced and learned swimming, running, high jump, and even
computers with a little utilitarianism. Once he found that he did not have the talent or could not
win the prize in the shortest time, he would give up. Competition itself is very cruel. If you don’t
make progress, you will fall behind. Training is extremely boring and even painful. This boredom
is enough to wipe out the fun that sports bring to people. Jingsheng once asked Zhao Youning
how he could have fun in the endless sea of questions. Youning said that when he was immersed
in the questions, he would forget everything, including himself. There was only a straight road
leading to the exit with light. Running to that exit might encounter many difficulties, but
concentration makes people calm and selflessness makes people happy.
After dribbling past an opponent for the first time and successfully shooting, Jingsheng
experienced what Zhao Youning called "the state of selflessness". The joy was beyond words.
There was no stopwatch or scale, only the simplest and most direct goal of scoring a goal, which
made his blood boil. What was more interesting than Zhao Youning's tranquility was that he was
not fighting alone. His teammates passed the ball, scrambled for the ball, shouted loudly,
gestured and said secret codes, and even protected him at the risk of getting injured. All of this
was to allow a sharp knife like him to bring victory to the entire team.
For the first time, Jingsheng truly felt the power of the team. He used to disdain to participate
and stay out of it, but now he enjoys it even more. After scoring a goal, the chests of the men
collided with each other, the roars were hoarse, the laughter of the whole stadium, and the first
time he was lifted up by his teammates and thrown into the sky, he didn't think about how
miserable he would be if no one caught him and he fell to the ground. Of course, they caught him
steadily. They didn't call him Lao Gu or Jingsheng, but called him brother, including his offensive
opponents. When they lost, they would pat him and say, "Brother, you played well." When they
won, they would hug him and say, "Brother, come again next time." None of these "brothers"
cared whether he was good-looking or not, whether he could cook well, whether he had ever
fought, what his parents did, where he lived, and how his grades were. They only cared whether
he played football with all his strength, whether he was injured, how he felt today, and whether
he needed to go off the court to rest.
So, when a "brother" from high school asked him to play in the last game before the holiday,
Jingsheng agreed without hesitation. But before he went on the field, he saw a large group of
junior high school girls on the sidelines, including Si Jiang and her group. He squinted his eyes and
looked inside the field, and sure enough, he saw Tang Zenian in a yellow vest warming up with a
particularly bright smile.
"Your brother is here to play too!" Zhang Leyi is sharp-eyed. She bumped into Si Jiang and made a
trumpet with both hands: "The Red Team will win! Gu Jingsheng will score! The Red Team will
win!"
Si Jiang: "??? Brother?! The Red Team will win, Brother scored a goal!"
The girls who were cheering for Team Huang and Tang Zenian just now looked at the two traitors
angrily. Jingsheng put on the red vest given by his teammates, walked past them expressionlessly,
high-fived the goalkeeper, and started warming up with a few familiar brothers.
Si Jiang stuck out his tongue, slipped out of the crowd, and ran to the railing behind Jingsheng:
"Brother, why didn't you tell me you were coming to play in the game? Are you planning to do a
hat trick today?"
Jingsheng turned his head and looked at her: "Aren't you a member of the cheerleading team on
the other side?"
"I will be the cheerleader for whatever team my brother is on." Si Jiang took out his water bottle
from his schoolbag: "If my brother needs water, come to me."
Jingsheng ignored her and ran away with a few boys.
Si Jiang held the kettle in worry. It had been more than a month, why was his brother still always
acting weird?
"What should I do?" Zhang Leyi was also worried: "Can I have my feet on two boats? Forget it, I
will cheer for whoever falls behind. This is called sportsmanship and international
humanitarianism."
Si Jiang was amused by her, but his laughter didn't last for more than three seconds. He frowned
and bumped back at her: "It's all your fault for lying again. What do you mean our class's honor is
the most important? There is only one boy from our class! Now my brother is going to show me
his chamber pot face again. He must think I'm here to cheer for Tang Zenian."
"I know, I know. You're not allowed to fall in love before college." Li Nan hugged her neck from
behind and laughed, "We call this socialist schoolmate friendship, okay? What a noble and pure
friendship. Look, Yu Ping is on the court. We're here to cheer him on. This is Yu Ping's first game."
The girls who had moved the battlefield laughed so hard that they fell backwards. Si Jiang
couldn't help laughing, "Yu Ping was right when he said you should be called Morning Glory
instead of Pumpkin."
Li Nan was so angry that he shouted: "Come on, Yu Chu! Come on, Yu Chu! Yellow will win!"
Si Jiang smiled, looked at Zhang Leyi and nodded. All the girls around him shouted in unison: "Gu
Jingsheng scored a goal! Gu Jingsheng scored a goal! The red team must win!" Si Jiang looked at
Li Nan: "Tsk tsk tsk tsk, look, you are the only one who is yellow." The girls immediately burst into
laughter.
Tang Zenian and Yu Ping looked at each other in dismay, knowing that none of these girls who
forgot their principles for the sake of beauty were good people.
The referee called the captains of the two teams together to prepare for the coin toss. Jingsheng
glanced at the entire field, but found someone on the opposite side who was not from his school
at all.
Li Qiang lifted up his yellow vest and gave Jingsheng a smug smile.

Chapter 178
Jingsheng is a forward and Li Qiang is a defender. It is normal for them to have friction and
collision, but it is definitely not normal for them to keep rubbing and colliding. In the first half, Li
Qiang stared at Jingsheng like a sticky candy, often squeezing, bumping, pushing and kicking him
where the referee couldn't see. Even Si Jiang on the sidelines couldn't stand it anymore.
Si Jiang ran to their side and shouted loudly: "Yellow Team No. 2 is shameless! He deliberately
pushed and hit people. Referee, referee, look this way!"
Zhang Leyi and the others also shouted: "Red Team, protect our No. 9, Tang Zenian, let your No. 2
have some dignity! Is he kicking the ball or the person?"
Li Qiang smiled sinisterly and kicked out with his spiked shoes, which caught the flying grass and
dirt.
"Why, now that you've come to Shanghai, you need the help of a little girl? You don't even know
how to fight?"
Amid Si Jiang's scream, Jingsheng moved away in time, and the spiked shoes scraped against the
scar on his thigh, causing a burning pain.
The referee, a sophomore student, was inexperienced. He blew the whistle, gave a verbal
warning, and hesitated between pulling out a card or not.
"Referee! Red card, red card, why not send him off? He did it on purpose!" Si Jiang shouted at the
top of his lungs, his face flushed with anger, his hands gripping the railings trembling. The
moment just now was so scary. How painful it would be to be kicked in the old injury by a spiked
shoe. This little hooligan that Wu Xiaoli knew was definitely the worst kind of bastard.
Tang Zenian in the midfield and Yu Ping in the winger rushed to their own goal. They didn't know
Li Qiang either. They only knew that a second-year right back couldn't play temporarily, so they
introduced a neighbor to help. Li Qiang was a high school student at Xiangqun Middle School,
which was very close to the school and also played as a defender. The captain nodded and
everyone had no objection, but this wild way was absolutely not acceptable. Gu Jingsheng was
not only the forward of the red team, but also the forward of the school team next semester. An
outsider dared to do such a cruel thing. What did they think of the people of the city?
Facing the rebuke from Tang Zenian and others, Li Qiang playfully hooked Jingsheng's shoulder
and said, "It's just a joke between brothers. Gu Jingsheng and I have known each other since
childhood, and grew up playing and fighting like this. Gu Jingsheng, don't you think so? Your
mom, your dad and my mom are all from the Fourth Regiment of the First Division of the Yunnan
Construction Corps. Aren't my mom and your mom good sisters?" He emphasized the word "your
dad" for fear that Jingsheng would not understand.
Jingsheng was silent for a moment, letting his sweaty arm rest on his shoulder, feeling sticky and
cold, as if being entangled by a snake.
Tang Zenian looked at Si Jiang who was stamping his feet in anger outside the court, and warned
Li Qiang with a stern face: "Friendship comes first, competition comes second. If you play like this
again, you will not be allowed to play. Our school does not welcome or allow this kind of play."
"Oh, you are too naive, you striker. A striker has to go through this kind of test, understand? How
many times does Jia Xiuquan have to be beaten in a game? I am helping to train Gu Jingsheng."
Li Qiang finally received a yellow card.
During the intermission, Jingsheng sat on the grass and drank water calmly, his long eyelashes
covering his deep eyes. Li Qiang chatted with several high school students from Team Yellow from
a distance, turning his head to smile at Jingsheng from time to time, touching his right neck, not
hiding his malice at all.
Li Qiang's mother used to live in the same dormitory with his mother, but later his mother had an
accident and moved out, and they never had any private contact again. Jingsheng had been at
odds with Li Qiang since he could remember, and Li Qiang had a deep hatred for him. Children
aged six or seven maliciously spread rumors that "Jingsheng's mother was a slut" and gathered
children from the farm to look for Jingsheng. They beat the five-year-old boy in the mud and
water, laughing and clapping as they beat him, calling him a bastard who was a traitor. Until one
day, he sharpened a hard bamboo and hid it next to the big banyan tree he often went to, and
then deliberately led Li Qiang and others there. That day, he was bleeding from his head and
almost died, but Li Qiang and the other seven or eight people all had several bloody holes on
their bodies, and Li Qiang almost had a pierced a large artery in his neck. Gu Dongwen smashed
the farm office to pieces, and Li Qiang and the parents of those children were so scared that they
hid in Banna. From then on, no one dared to cause trouble for Jingsheng.
Jingsheng tightened the lid of the kettle and lowered his head. He thought that he would never
have any contact with these people and their past again. It seems that he was too naive. Fate is a
bitch.
The second half began, and the two sides changed sides. Jingsheng ran almost like flying, and Li
Qiang chased him but didn't even have a chance to touch his jersey. He watched him easily pass
him with the ball, and scored two of three shots in ten minutes. Li Qiang held his knees and
panted, spitting several times on the grass, wiped the sweat off his face, and slowly chased after
Jingsheng's back. He didn't believe that a person's physical strength could be so good.
Ten minutes later, Jingsheng really slowed down. Li Qiang, who had been warned again and again
by his classmates in Team Yellow, did not dare to kick him blatantly. He just held on to his jersey
and secretly hit his ribs with his elbow from time to time.
Another ball dropped from the air, Jingsheng stopped the ball with his chest, caught it steadily
with his knees, and rushed towards the yellow team's goal with the ball. Li Qiang rushed forward
and found that his injured thigh seemed to have sprained twice, and his speed slowed down
significantly. He had an idea, and looked at the referee and others running behind Jingsheng, and
immediately slid forward, shoveled the ball with his right foot, but raised his left foot to kick
Jingsheng's vital parts.
Tang Zenian and the others only saw Jingsheng suddenly fall forward on top of Li Qiang, then
rolled twice on the grass holding his mouth in pain, curled up in a ball. Li Qiang's face was hit by
Jingsheng's elbow when he fell, his nose was in great pain and his face was covered in blood. He
was a little confused, and he was a little unsure whether he had kicked Gu Jingsheng or not. The
football slowly rolled away from his feet.
The game was interrupted.
Si Jiang ignored the rules, climbed over the railing and ran into the stadium.
"Brother! Brother!" Si Jiang hugged Jingsheng's head, panicking and looking at Li Qiang angrily:
"Despicable! Vulgar! Shameless! You did it on purpose!"
Li Nan and Zhang Leyi also ran over to testify: "We saw it clearly! He deliberately raised his left leg
very high to kick Gu Jingsheng!"
Li Qiang defended himself guiltily: "I didn't do it on purpose, I just accidentally hit him when I
made the tackle—"
Tang Zenian smashed his fist in the face angrily, and Li Qiang's face immediately became red with
soy sauce.
——
The game did not continue. Li Qiang, with blood all over his face, was driven out of the school by
extremely angry classmates, and Jingsheng was sent to the infirmary.
"Brother, let Teacher Zhu check you out, or we can go to the hospital right now!" Si Jiang was so
anxious: "I'll call Aunt Lu."
A group of brothers in the football team were filled with righteous indignation. On one hand,
they cursed Li Qiang and that stinky guy who was absent at the last minute, and on the other
hand, they urged Jingsheng to check on Teacher Zhu first. There was a lot of noise and chatter.
Teacher Zhu was so angry that he drove them all out. Tang Zenian worriedly told Si Jiang: "Call us
if anything happens. We can take your brother to Huashan Hospital. Calling an ambulance will
take time. It's too slow."
Jingsheng curled up into a ball with his back to them, expressionless.
Teacher Zhu is a 26-year-old unmarried female teacher. After graduating from nursing school, she
joined the school as a school doctor. She was not aware that doctors in hospitals are not gender-
specific. After hearing what Si Jiang said, she felt very embarrassed and advised Jingsheng to go
to the hospital for a check-up.
Jingsheng slowly lay down, turned his head and said to Teacher Zhu: "Thank you, teacher. I am
much better now. Can I rest here for a while? I have a headache and want to be quiet."
Teacher Zhu considerately closed the curtain and gave the infirmary to Jingsheng: "If you still feel
uncomfortable, please tell me. I will go to your teacher to tell the situation."
Jingsheng heard the door of the infirmary open and the voices of the brothers outside gradually
faded away with Teacher Zhu. Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, he saw Si Jiang looking at him in
silence with tears in his eyes.
"Why are you crying? I didn't—"
Si Jiang suddenly hugged Jingsheng's arms, buried his face in his hands, and cried loudly, calling
out "Brother" incoherently several times.
Jingsheng had tears and snot in one hand and looked at the ceiling in silence.
"If I had anything real, all chances of saving my life would have been ruined by your crying."
Jingsheng tried to pull his hand away, but this guy was still holding him tightly and he couldn't
pull his hand away.
Si Jiang raised his face: "???"
"Okay, I did it on purpose to punish that gangster. Stop crying." Jingsheng spread his hands in
disgust: "Chen Sijiang, why do you have so much snot? It's so disgusting."
Si Jiang glanced at his indescribable part suspiciously: "Brother, are you really okay? No pain?
There is a kind of pain that you can't feel right away, but it will soon become extremely painful,
just like an internal injury. Do you want to be careful--"
Jingsheng rolled over from the bed with a dark face: "You are the one with internal injuries! I'm
fine, I'm fine, I said I'm fine."
Si Jiang sniffed and found that Jingsheng's sweaty face was suspiciously red, and the tips of his
ears were also red. Well, boys have their own difficulties, and brothers can also be shy and
embarrassed. She understood.
Jingsheng pulled up his vest and jersey. He was indeed kicked hard by Li Qiang. The purple-red
bruises on his abdomen caused by the spikes were very conspicuous. It was a pity that Li Qiang's
nose was not broken. He was lucky.
Si Jiang exclaimed and wanted to go out to find Teacher Zhu to apply mercurochrome to him.
"No, I'll wipe it myself. Don't tell anyone else." Jingsheng opened the glass door of the cupboard
and took out mercurochrome and a long cotton swab filled with iodine.
"Then I'll do it, just leave it alone and let me do it!" Si Jiang grabbed the cotton swab and
mercurochrome, and helped Jingsheng sit down on the nursing bed.
The weather changes a lot after the beginning of the plum rain. It was cloudy and hot before, but
then there were a few thunderclaps and it suddenly started to rain. The rain hit the glass
windows and splashed the windowsill. The wind and rain made the end of the bed humid. Si
Jiang ignored it and squatted beside Jingsheng's legs to apply red medicine on him. Jingsheng
looked at the tip of her beautiful nose and took a deep breath. It hurts.
Si Jiang watched the abdominal muscles in front of him suddenly sag and then tense up, raised
his head and frowned and asked: "Did I hurt you? I'm sorry, I'll be gentler, please relax."
Jingsheng frowned, turned his head and looked out the window, and snorted: "Hurry up." It was
such a small area, why did she keep painting over and over again? It was really...
Seeing that he didn't look like he was in pain, Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, carefully applied
the third coat, and blew towards the bruise as if possessed by a ghost: "Hoo, hoo, it won't hurt
anymore."
Amid the sound of wind and rain, Jingsheng looked down at Si Jiang, who was smiling awkwardly.
The two of them stared at each other, and the air froze for several seconds.
"Haha, Si Hao bumped into it. The pain will go away after two hits." Si Jiang quickly stood up and
put the medicine into the cupboard: "It will definitely be useful."
Jingsheng stared at the back of her head and slowly moved his eyes downwards.
"Why are you bleeding..."
"Ah?" Si Jiang was stunned, turned around and asked: "Who? You? Me?"
Jingsheng rubbed his eyebrows and whispered the truth: "Your pants are red." After saying that,
his face also turned red.
Si Jiang stretched her neck and looked behind her for two seconds. Suddenly, she felt a strange
feeling she had never had before. She realized what was going on. Oh my god, I am dying. I am
dying! (I am dying.) I really want to die.
Jingsheng stood up and said, "Let's go home quickly."
Si Jiang cried and shook her head desperately: "I can't walk, I can't walk!" She felt blood rushing
as she turned around just now. It happened that she was about to have a holiday. After the exam
yesterday, she took out the small cloth bag that she had carried for more than a year from her
schoolbag. She was so unlucky. She was mentally prepared, but when she was really in the
situation, she completely collapsed. She didn't dare to take a step at all. She couldn't move
anywhere. All her joints and muscles seemed to be scattered and unconscious. She lowered her
head and clamped her legs, fearing that if she moved, blood would flow to the floor. Somehow, a
word appeared in her mind: "Blood splatters five steps."

Chapter 179
Thanks to the popularization of physiological knowledge in Popular Medicine, Jingsheng had a
basic understanding of this. He pretended to be calm and said in a voice as gentle and kind as
possible to that of Teacher Zhao Zhongxiang: "Don't be afraid, all girls will have this. When they
reach a certain age, they will bleed - don't worry, you won't die."
Si Jiang was so embarrassed that he wanted to crawl into the ground. He looked down at his toes
and urged him: "I know. Please go first, go quickly."
"You're not leaving? Then what are you doing? Standing here waiting to be petrified? Will the
blood stop flowing if you don't move?" Jingsheng paused: "Don't move first——"
"Stop talking! Don't worry about it," Si Jiang squatted down as little as possible, not daring to
look down at all: "Or you can go to our classroom and help me call Li Nan and the others, or ask
Teacher Zhu to come back."
Jingsheng strode towards her.
"Ah - don't come over here, don't come over here, don't come over here!" Si Jiang buried her
head in her knees. She really would rather die on the spot.
The cupboard door behind him opened.
Jingsheng opened a pack of toilet paper, squatted beside Si Jiang, and wiped the ground silently.
Si Jiang took a look through the gap between her knees and burst into tears. No wonder she felt
cold on her ankle just now. How could she be so unlucky and miserable?
"There's paper here. I'll help you go to the women's room, and then we'll go home quickly. Don't
cry." Jingsheng's forehead was covered in sweat, and it felt more tiring than playing football.
Si Jiang barely helped him stand up, walked two steps and stopped to look, his face flushed and
tears welled up. Fortunately, the infirmary was not far from the staff toilet, and it only took two
minutes to walk there. Jingsheng stuffed a whole pack of toilet paper into her hands and stood
guard outside the door. The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the sky was gloomy as if it
was about to fall.
Being a woman is too hard. Jingsheng frowned, thinking of how Sijiang was particularly afraid of
pain. He would feel pain for three days after a bump. He couldn't imagine how hard it would be
to bleed for a week. He thought about it carefully. In his memory, his mother didn't seem to show
any abnormality, but it might be because she was the kind of person who would never say a word
no matter how painful it was. Jingsheng didn't think about it anymore. He paced back and forth
in the corridor, feeling a little irritated.
"I, I'm not well yet." Si Jiang heard the footsteps outside and shouted with sobs. As soon as he
shouted, blood rushed out again. It was over. The stack of toilet paper that had just been laid out
had to be changed again.
"Don't worry," Jingsheng thought for a moment and knocked on the door of the women's
restroom. "Don't come out yet. I'll go find Li Nan and the others. What do you call this? Can you
tell them about this?"
"Aunt, just say that I have my period." Si Jiang hoped that he could hear his soft voice.
Jingsheng couldn't understand how this thing had any direct relationship with Gu Nanhong, but
he still said "oh" and prepared to go to the classroom to find someone. He ran into Teacher Zhu
and heaved a sigh of relief.
——
In 1990, in a late-night chat show in the H University girls' dormitory, when talking about their
first period, eight girls had their own miserable experiences. Some had bleeding and soiled their
bedding in the middle of the night and were scolded by their mothers. Some dared not leave
their seats for the whole afternoon because their periods suddenly came. Some had dirty pants
in physical education class and were seen by all the boys in the class. It was almost a complete
episode of "I would rather die on the spot". The most frequently used word was "I want to die".
Si Jiang couldn't help but laugh when talking about his tough sister.
"My sister is the funniest. When she woke up in the morning, she found the bed sheet was dirty.
She touched it and wondered why her nosebleed had flowed to the middle of the bed. Then she
realized she was bleeding all the time, so she started screaming and shouting. I don't know if she
was too excited, but she actually had a nosebleed."
My roommates burst into laughter, but even funnier things were yet to come.
"My sister really didn't go to school the whole day. She kept pinching her nose and lying on the
bed howling, 'Ahhh, I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I won't survive today, I'm bleeding, from
top to bottom, and I can't stop it.' We told her many times that everyone would do this every
month, and that she could come down to eat and walk to school, and that it would be fine. We
absolutely guaranteed that she wouldn't die. But she screamed even louder—"
The bed boards in the dormitory were slapped loudly amid laughter.
Chen Sinan felt that her feminist consciousness started from that extremely dark day, and her
roar was absolutely deafening.
"Why! It's not fair! Why don't you men bleed, but only we women have to bleed? And we have to
bleed so much every month! We will definitely die, God, please open your eyes and see why we
have to endure this kind of suffering! I hate men - I want to be a man!"
In this regard, Grandma Gu said that the good girl should be happy, because from now on you are
a real woman and can get married and have children in ancient times. This is God's gift, and God
is with you. Hurry up and get down to eat, otherwise your brother will eat it all.
My uncle sighed and said, "You don't understand the sufferings of men. If you can crawl down to
eat and go to school, I will give you 50 yuan as blood loss allowance."
So the wealthy and lustful classmate Chen Sinan rolled off the bed quickly, holding her buttocks,
and took a piece of pork ribs from Chen Sihao's bowl. She asked if there would be blood loss
subsidies every month in the future. The answer she got was "You wish!" and Jingsheng asked in
disdain, "Is he dead? Why isn't he dead yet? It seems he can't die."
Of course she wouldn't die. Si Jiang was just very curious and envious of Si Nan's fearlessness.
She was ashamed to even mention the word "menstruation", but it was not a problem for Si Nan.
Before her period came every month, she would scream loudly: "It's over, I just saw a cockroach, I
will definitely have my period in the next two days, I know I'm going to be unlucky! I can't get my
blood back, one chicken is gone, two chickens are gone, six chickens in six days!" When her
period really came, she could also complain to her uncle and Jing Sheng and Si Hao at any time
without any scruples. A man would announce the news: "There is too much blood, it's so
annoying, I've already gone to the toilet six times today! Did you know six times? It's scary." Or he
would happily announce: "I'm telling you, I'll be free tomorrow, there's not much blood today."
The naive Chen Sihao would listen carefully to her second sister's "menstrual news" and
occasionally raise some scientific questions. Her uncle didn't think it was strange, and he circled
the dates on the calendar for her to summarize the pattern, and asked Sijiang to circle the dates
as well, so that he could buy pork liver and spinach. Even Jingsheng didn't feel embarrassed, and
always ridiculed Sinan for making a fuss and deliberately playing the victim just for the blood loss
subsidy.
Si Jiang's roommates were also amazed by this, saying that Si Nan was like an alien. When the
topic returned to Si Jiang, Si Jiang, who had a caring "brother" who also happened to be a
teacher in the infirmary, was the lucky one in the dormitory.
In fact, she was not a lucky person, because Si Jiang never mentioned what happened later. She
had never mentioned it, including to Si Nan and her uncles. If possible, she hoped that day would
never exist in the world.
——
When Tang Zenian ran to the infirmary to deliver an umbrella, he found that there was no one
inside. When he turned around, he met Teacher Zhu who had just washed his face.
"Teacher Zhu, Gu Jingsheng and Chen Sijiang are gone?"
Teacher Zhu looked at him and said, "Chen Sijiang is feeling a little uncomfortable. Her brother
just left with her on his back. They should be heading to the parking shed. Don't worry, I lent
them a big umbrella. Gu Jingsheng is fine now. You should go home early too. You must be careful
when playing football outside during the summer vacation. Football is a very dangerous sport—"
Watching Tang Zenian's hurriedly disappearing figure in the rain, Teacher Zhu smiled and shook
her head. As someone who had experienced this, she understood the little thoughts of young
people. Then she thought of Chen Sijiang's miserable appearance just now. Fortunately, it was
her cousin who accompanied her. If other classmates, especially Tang Zenian, were present, the
little girl would definitely cry.
Tang Zenian chased to the parking shed and saw Si Jiang carefully moving to the back seat of the
bicycle. He had Gu Jingsheng's red team vest tied around his waist and looked very
uncomfortable.
"Sijiang, Chen Sijiang - are you okay? Gu Jingsheng, how about you?" Tang Zenian asked with
concern: "Just now I heard from Teacher Zhu that you had a stomachache."
Jingsheng hung two schoolbags on the handlebars. Thinking of the punch Tang Zenian had given
Li Qiang earlier, he felt embarrassed to reject him, so he answered for Si Jiang in a gentle voice:
"We have nothing to do. We're going home first. Do you want to come with us?"
Tang Zenian was very flattered. Just as he was about to speak, he heard an unfamiliar female
voice shouting very urgently.
"Gu Jingsheng! Gu Jingsheng——"
Jingsheng turned around and saw Li Qiang, two boys and Wu Xiaoli running in from the back
door. The old security guard was holding up his student ID and shouting, "Students - students -
your IDs!"

Chapter 180
After being driven out, Li Qiang came to his senses after a while. When he was a child, he almost
died at the hands of Gu Jingsheng in Ganlanba. He believed that Gu Jingsheng was extremely
cunning and insidious. He always wanted to take revenge but didn't dare. When Gu Jingsheng
went crazy, he really didn't care about his life. The shadow of death was too scary. He was also
afraid of Gu Dongwen and his mother's resentful and disgusted face.
"You are a loser. You can't even beat a bastard who is two years younger than you. Why don't you
just die?"
"I'll be relieved if you die. The sooner you die, the sooner you'll be reborn. I shouldn't have given
birth to you in the first place!"
"Gu Jingsheng is so handsome, why are you so ugly? You look like a mouse, I feel sick when I see
you, get out!"
He is obviously much better than Gu Jingsheng. Gu Jingsheng's father is a rapist in prison, and his
father is the chef of the company cafeteria. But Gu Dongwen is particularly good to Gu Jingsheng.
If you don't tell him, you can't tell that they are not father and son. As for his father, he was also
very good to him at the beginning. He would protect him when he was beaten and scolded by his
mother. Until not long after the policy of returning to the city for educated youth came out, one
day he suddenly rushed back and smashed all the things in the house with a chair. He grabbed his
mother's hair and slammed her against the wall like crazy, hitting her face with blood, saying that
she was a liar and a slut who cheated on her, and scolded her for being a poisonous snake and
harming people. He also said that God has no eyes and good people don't live long. Why doesn't
this damn bitch die? He rushed over to stop her and asked what was wrong, but was kicked away.
"Who is your father!" He was drunk, his eyes were red, he cried and cursed, using the dirtiest and
most vicious words.
His mother, who often beat and scolded him, hid in the corner and laughed, crying and trembling
at the same time.
They are all crazy.
He still remembered that in April of that year, before his mother took him back to Shanghai, he
went to Jinghong Prison and was told that the murderer who killed Gu Jingsheng's mother was
caught by Gu Dongwen and sentenced to death. They did not see the execution, but only saw the
blind murderer tied to a truck and paraded through the streets, twitching occasionally like a dying
mouse, while the loud speaker read out his crimes over and over again.
The sun was particularly strong that day, making him dizzy and swollen. He told his mother that
he had seen Gu Dongwen. His mother's face turned pale, and she floated around like a female
ghost for a few circles. Then she took him to eat a bowl of very unpalatable rice noodles, and
then she did not get on the bus to Kunming, and took him back to Ganlanba. At night, he could
not help but vomit the bowl of rice noodles he had eaten during the day, and his mother
suddenly went crazy and beat and scolded him. He was already thirteen years old at the time, a
head taller than her. Although he felt uncomfortable, he could not help but push her to the
ground and ran out after being beaten a few times.
The next day was the Water Splashing Festival, and the few remaining educated youth in the
dormitory area also went to Banna. Li Qiang remembered clearly that when he rushed out, he
bumped into Gu Dongwen, and he was so scared that his legs went weak and he almost fell.
When he came back from Banna after the Water Splashing Festival in a daze with the locals, it
was already three days later. The corpse hanging in the house was covered with flies and geckos.
In the end, it was his mother who died early and was reborn, not him.
Gu Dongwen came to look for his mother, but he was not alone. There was also Captain Ling from
the Public Security Bureau. The leader said that his mother committed suicide because she could
not bear the condemnation of her conscience. As for why her conscience was condemned, the
adults were evasive and refused to explain clearly. In the end, he was sent back to his uncle's
house in Shanghai with his mother's urn.
It was not until he met Wu Xiaoli during the Spring Festival this year when he visited relatives that
he realized that Gu Jingsheng had been living well and had gone to a key middle school. Gu
Dongwen made a lot of money by running a restaurant and had been on TV and newspapers.
Why? Gu Jingsheng was the son of a rapist and murderer, but he lived so well, while he was
treated as a burden by his own grandparents, uncles and aunts. He slept on the floor for five
years, and he didn't even dare to stretch his chopsticks when there was occasionally a meat dish
on the table. Shanghai is so big, but there is no place for him to stay. If he has no money, he can
rob; if no one cares about him, he will recruit a group of brothers who are in a similar situation as
him to be his "big brother", but he just won't accept it.
——
Li Qiang came up and kicked the bicycle with his football spikes on his feet. He picked up a pair of
pointed leather shoes in his hand and threw them at Jingsheng's face with force.
The bicycle fell to the ground. Jingsheng pushed Si Jiang to Tang Zenian, dodged the leather
shoes, and without retreating or giving way, he jumped over the bicycle and hit Li Qiang's
stomach directly with his knee.
"Stop, stop, stop." Wu Xiaoli hurriedly tried to stop the fight, but the other two boys punched
Jingsheng. Tang Zenian also rushed over.
Si Jianglun raised his umbrella and poked, pushed, and slapped Li Qiang: "The hooligans rushed
into the school and beat people! Quick help!"
The old security guard arrived at the scene two minutes late, and the fight was already over.
Li Qiang's face was pressed firmly against the bicycle chain by Jingsheng's knee. One of his two
brothers was kicked out by Jingsheng and knocked over a dozen bicycles without getting up. The
other short man was grabbed by Tang Zenian's arms and legs and kicked around in the air,
spewing foul language. Wu Xiaoli watched Si Jiang waving an umbrella and still hitting Li Qiang's
legs hard, and weakly shouted a few times, "Stop hitting."
Jingsheng pushed Li Qiang's face down again: "Stay away from me."
"Hey, how dare this bastard come in and beat us up?! Beat him! Beat him first and talk later!"
Several boys from the team came running over, surrounded the man, and prepared to beat up
the troublemaker.
Li Qiang turned his face away with difficulty, smiling in a twisted but pleased manner, his voice
hoarse but high-pitched: "Gu Jingsheng! Do your classmates know that your biological father is
not only a rapist, but also a murderer? He killed your mother, cut her into pieces and threw her in
a pigsty! Hahahaha."
The blood in Jingsheng's body stopped flowing and the veins on the back of his hands bulged.
"What did you say?" He heard his own voice coming from far away, and yet it seemed as if there
was no sound. He couldn't even hear clearly what he said. A shrill sound came from his ears,
again and again, like needles piercing into his brain, and half of his face was numb.
"Your mother is a slut, your father is a murderer, and Gu Dongwen sent your biological father to
prison and had him shot. Are you happy living with the man who killed your father? Hahaha, Gu
Jingsheng, you are a born bastard! Bastard! What gives you the right to - cough cough cough." Li
Qiang stopped talking, leaving only the wheezing sound like a broken bellows.
The whistling sound in Jingsheng's ears became louder and louder, and the noisy voices around
him seemed to be separated by a barrier, distant and unreal.
"Let go, let go! Brother, he is going to die--!" Si Jiang cried and tried hard to pry Jingsheng's hands
apart.
"Gu Jingsheng, let go!"
Someone hugged Jingsheng's waist, and several people pulled his arms. Li Qiang's head
continued to hit the chain and the bar again and again. Blood flowed from the corners of his
forehead and eyes. He laughed like a chicken with its throat cut.
"What did you say?"
"What did you say?"
"What did you say?"
Jingsheng asked unconsciously over and over again, raising his hand again and again, and then
pressing it down again.
Gu Dongwen would not lie to him, he said that it was a local pig farmer who accidentally killed
her because his mother found out he was stealing. Li Qiang was talking nonsense, he was just a
rat crossing the street who couldn't stand seeing people doing well.
——
It was past eight o'clock in the evening and the rain had stopped long ago. Si Jiang and Jing Sheng
returned to Wanchun Street. Gu Dongwen and Grandma Gu were sitting on the stone steps in
front of the cultural station, watching Chen Sihao and a group of children playing in the water.
"Why are you so late? Have you had dinner?" Gu Dongwen put out his cigarette and stood up
with a smile.
᭙ꪶ Jingsheng looked at him steadily and shook his head slightly.
The light was on in the kitchen, and the pungent smell of the coal stove mixed with the aroma of
vegetables wafted out. Si Jiang took a shower, changed her clothes, hid the menstrual belt that
Teacher Zhu gave her under her dirty clothes, and took it out of the bathroom. Outside,
Jingsheng was washing his jersey by the sink.
"Brother, let me take a shower. You go take a shower first. There's a thermos of hot water left for
you." Si Jiang pushed him into the house.
Jingsheng went in quietly.
Si Jiang spread Jingsheng's red team vest toward the window and took a closer look. The blood
stains on it had been washed clean.
"Hey," Gu Dongwen's face appeared behind the railing: "Did he have a fight with someone?"
Si Jiang was startled.
"There's blood on his vest and shorts." Gu Dongwen pointed to the laundry tub, frowning,
"Someone else's blood?"
Si Jiang hummed and explained in a nonsensical way, rubbing the dirty clothes in her hands, not
daring to look up at her uncle's eyes. After talking for a long time, she found that her uncle had
returned to the stove to cook. She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She promised
Jingsheng that she would not tell anything. Teacher He and Director Cheng also told all the
students present that Gu Jingsheng was Gu Jingsheng. It didn't matter whose son he was. The
times were different, and heroes had different opinions. Why bother asking where they came
from? He is now a junior high school student in the school, an athlete of the school track and
field team, a forward of the football team, and their classmate. As an educated person, it is your
obligation not to believe in rumors, spread rumors, or make rumors, and not to cause trouble to
other people's lives. When Tang Zenian left them, he only said two words: rest assured. She
believed that Tang Zenian would definitely not tell anyone. But whether others would tell others,
Si Jiang didn't know. And that disgusting Li Qiang, whether he would come to the school to make
trouble after being sent to the hospital by the school, she didn't know.
Jingsheng came out of the shower and saw a group of mosquitoes buzzing around the exposed
light bulb on the brick wall. One of them landed on Sijiang's forehead. She was still busy washing
something. He flicked the mosquito away and saw a big red bump on her forehead. He couldn't
help but chuckled: "You don't even know that a mosquito bit you?"
When Si Jiang saw that he actually smiled, he felt as if he was in another world and his eyes
became sore.
"Brother?" How are you? Are you feeling bad? Do you want to talk to your uncle? What are you
thinking about? Or you can tell me.
Jingsheng raised his hand and slapped it, and a flower-legged mosquito turned into a blurry black
spot and a bright red spot of blood on Sijiang's arm. Sijiang screamed "Ah" and quickly put his
arm under the faucet to wash it. With the sound of water splashing, Jingsheng's soft words came
to his ears.
"I'm fine."
Si Jiang's eyes became hot. He raised his wet fingers to press the corners of his eyes and nodded
gently.
"It's time to eat!" Gu Dongwen shouted from inside.
"Here I come." Jingsheng scooped up the clothes from the washing basin and prepared to wring
them out, but Si Jiang quickly grabbed him and refused to let go: "No, no, no, I'll do it, I'll do it,
just leave it alone."
Suddenly, the two of them looked at the menstrual belts stretched straight in their hands, and
the air suddenly became quiet.
——
A few days into the summer vacation, Jingsheng went to Hangzhou with a group of classmates
from the graduating class of junior high school. In mid-July, just after the plum rain season in
Shanghai ended, Gu Beiwu flew back to Beijing. As soon as he landed, he heard from Shanrang
that Jingsheng had not gone to Hangzhou at all, and there had been no news from his family for
many days.

Chapter 181
Beiwu called Wanchun Street from the airport and it was Si Jiang who answered the phone.
"I received a registered letter from my brother this morning. He said he was going back to
Jinghong. He went alone and didn't say when he would be back or if he would come back." Si
Jiang received several calls in the morning. He was anxious, angry, aggrieved and excited. He
couldn't help crying when he heard Gu Beiwu's voice: "Uncle, when will you come back? Can you
come back soon?"
"Don't worry, Nannan. Where did his letter come from? Have you seen the postmark on the
stamp?"
Si Jiang quickly took out the letter from his trouser pocket and read it.
"Shanghai - Jing'an?" How come she didn't notice this? It seemed that the brother had sent the
letter before he left. He had planned it long ago but didn't tell her. Si Jiang felt even more
aggrieved.
"How much money did he take away?"
"Two hundred yuan." Si Jiang quickly explained: "It's my brother's own New Year's money. He said
it in the letter." If he didn't say it, no one in the family would know.
Gu Beiwu hesitated for a moment: "Did he tell him where he put the rest of his New Year's
money?"
Si Jiang hurriedly read the letter from beginning to end again: "No——" She had always thought
that Jingsheng's New Year's money was given to his uncle to deposit in the bank just like them,
could it be???
"Then don't worry, he will be back soon." Sherlock Holmes breathed a sigh of relief and told her
his analysis confidently: "He wrote a registered letter to you in advance, so he must have planned
it long ago. If he planned it well but only brought 200 yuan, think about it. The hard sleeper ticket
from Shanghai to Kunming was 29.6 yuan five years ago, and 60 yuan for a round trip. He has at
most 140 yuan left. Staying in a guesthouse usually costs 2 or 3 yuan a day, and he also needs to
eat, so he will only stay outside for a month at most."
"Really?" Si Jiang held the microphone doubtfully.
"Well, don't worry, he will definitely come back to participate in the military training for the first
year of high school. Although he was promoted directly without taking the exam, he has worked
hard to become a national second-level athlete." Bei Wu smiled and comforted Si Jiang:
"Jingsheng is the most promising one among you. He will not joke about his future. Nannan, tell
your uncle what I said - he may be anxious because of his concern."
"Uncle has gone to buy a train ticket. He is going to Jinghong to look for my brother." Si Jiang said
anxiously, "I want to go too. Nannan said she was going to Jinghong to look for my brother——"
Thinking of what Si Nan yelled at him on the phone this morning, Si Jiang couldn't stop crying
again. Si Nan was right. If it was possible, he was their eldest cousin Jingsheng. He must have
missed his mother when he went back to Jinghong. He must be so lonely. There must be
something particularly sad that made him leave Wanchun Street. "Chen Sijiang, why don't you go
to look for him? You are so boring and disloyal! It doesn't matter if you go or not, I'm going
anyway! I'm going to look for my eldest cousin. I'm sure I can find him and I'm sure I can bring
him home." Even Si Nan could say in a sonorous and resounding voice that he wanted to look for
Jingsheng, and she was the only one who knew the reason why he went back to Jinghong, but
she was not as brave and decisive as Si Nan.
"Si Nan is just fooling around." Gu Beiwu patiently comforted Si Jiang, and after hanging up the
phone, he thought about it, and then dug out the address book and called Chen Donglai's office.
Chen Si Nan was really capable of jumping on the train in a fit of rage. She was a repeat offender,
so she had to be watched closely.
Knowing that Jingsheng had returned to Jinghong, Shanrang was very worried: "Brother seems to
have never told Jingsheng that the murderer who killed Shusu was the man named Jiang, right?"
As a mature adult, she dared not imagine how painful it would be if she encountered such a
tragedy. After all, no one can empathize with the pain of others.
Gu Beiwu picked up the luggage and led her out: "He has the right to know the truth."
"But he's still a child."
"Jingsheng has never been a real child." Gu Beiwu thought of the boys and girls in California who
smoked, drank, and kissed in public places without restraint. They all had very young faces. Those
children who thought they could become adults by imitating the behavior of adults were more
worrying. Even more tragic than Oedipus were those who believed that fate was irresistible and
were willing to bear the so-called "original sin". Beiwu determined that Jingsheng was not a
person who accepted his fate. This process would be difficult and hard, but he had to get through
it, and he would definitely get through it.
——
Outside the airport, the July sun was blazing, the air was scorching, and the people who had
reunited were all happy. There were several taxis parked at the international exit, including Lada
and Lacia. Kitatake Jianshan waved at the back of the taxi and couldn't help laughing: "Don't
waste money, let's take the bus, and see the great changes in the capital and chat along the way. I
don't have much luggage."
An open jeep with a military police license plate slowly drove over and stopped outside the taxi
lane. Zhou Shanli took off his sunglasses and waved at them with a smile: "Oh, we can't squeeze
in. Can you two leaders please move your legs and take a few steps?"
"Why did you change your car?" Gu Beiwu raised the roof next to him and said, "You are so fresh
and refined even with the roof down in such a sunny day. It seems that you have become
stronger after being transferred to the armed police system."
Zhou Shanli laughed out loud: "Pfft, ptff, ptff, what do you mean by being demoted? I'm just
opening a new chapter in my career, okay? When you return to Shanghai, come and have a look
at our headquarters. There are big villas in French and British styles, and big lawns. They are so
beautiful. This car has to be opened with the top down. When the wind blows, it's very beautiful.
Do you feel it? The breeze is blowing, and the sun is shining beautifully——"
Just as he finished speaking, the sun was shining brightly not far ahead, but a large dark cloud
appeared overhead, and it started to rain heavily. Shanrang wiped the water off his face, laughed
angrily and shouted, "Brother, stop the car, put up the tent first!"
Gu Beiwu was about to jump out of the car to help, but Zhou Shanli slammed on the accelerator:
"Hold on tight, the top is broken, we have to leave it open!"
Beiwu and Shanrang looked at each other in bewilderment: "???"
The man chasing the sun finally drove out of the dark cloud area after five minutes.
"Look, a rainbow!" Shan Rang pointed at the sky and bent over with laughter: "Beijing welcomes
you, Gu Beiwu, by pouring water on your head."
"Don't worry, by the time we drive to your Peking University, both the car and the people will be
dry." Zhou Shanli assured them while directing them: "There are a few towels in the glove box,
take them out and wipe them." It can be seen that he has rich experience in being caught in the
rain.
Beijing in 1984 had not changed much compared to two years earlier, at least not as much as Gu
Beiwu had imagined. The 28-inch bicycle was still the main means of transportation for ordinary
people, and the color and style of people's clothing were not much different from those in the
1970s.
"The British bourgeois revolution started more than 300 years ago, and the United States has
been independent for more than 200 years. Even if we are fast, it is impossible for us to catch up
with the world's developed level in just five or six years of reform and opening up." Shanrang
held Beiwu's hand and smiled: "Besides, our country's population exceeded 1 billion two years
ago. A son will not dislike his mother's ugliness. Old Gu, don't look so heavy. I am stressed
because of your concern for the country and the people."
Gu Beiwu couldn't help but laugh and said, "Why has Secretary Zhou's ideological awareness
regressed?"
Shan Rang pinched him and said, "I have not worked in the Youth League Committee for a long
time. I wrote to tell you at that time. Have you forgotten?"
Bei Wu took her hand and placed it on her heart: "The time here has stayed at two years ago.
Now we need Professor Zhou to wind it up and adjust it." In fact, to him, the three words
"Secretary Zhou" carried a special warmth and charm, and it was almost a name that belonged to
him alone.
Shan Rang smiled and corrected, "Associate Professor." She punched him and looked at him
carefully. Men can withstand the test of time. Gu Beiwu has hardly changed in more than two
years. Among so many people in the airport, she found him at a glance. When their eyes met,
Shan Rang found that she was still as nervous as before, and after they really became lovers and
husband and wife, it was difficult to continue pretending to be calm.
The driver Zhou in the front row retched a few times: "That's enough, is it that serious? Do you
think I'm air? Or are you filming an American romance movie?"
Shan Rang patted the driver's seat unceremoniously and said, "Air should be aware of being air. I
didn't ask you to come to pick up Bei Wu, but you insisted on coming and promised not to
interrupt our conversation. What's the point of saying these things in a sarcastic tone now?"
Zhou Shanli was so angry that he sang loudly, "Get up, get up, get up——"
On the roadside, Sony's big billboards enthusiastically promised to provide convenience to
Chinese friends through various products. On the bicycle lane, a tricycle was going in the same
direction as them. A big red three-seater sofa was tied to it, and a young couple sat on the sofa,
laughing and talking. There was a distance of about 30 centimeters between them, and the girl
smiled shyly with her head down.
This bright color cheered Bei Wu up, and he held Shan Rang's hand tightly: "I have a lot to tell
you, please don't be impatient to listen."
"Then I'll just listen to it for another fifty or sixty years. If I listen to it any more, I'm afraid my ears
won't work anymore."
Bei Wu smiled, it was great, he was still as kind as ever, he hadn't changed at all. The driver's
protest was ineffective.
——
Gu Beiwu returned to his alma mater. Many of his former classmates had become associate
professors, and some had already obtained doctoral degrees while teaching. Since the students
of the classes of 1977 and 1978 entered the school in the same year, only half a year apart, they
heard that Gu Beiwu had returned from studying in the United States, and more than a dozen of
them came all at once, filling up the small dormitory. After talking about the changes in the
campus, the capital, and the country, they couldn't help but talk about the classmates who were
still studying abroad. Most of the people they knew chose to stay in the United States to pursue
doctoral degrees, but Gu Beiwu gave up his doctoral degree and came back only for the reason of
reuniting with his wife and having children.
"Where will Lao Gu settle down after returning? Will he go back to Shanghai or stay in Beijing
with his wife?"
"Have you contacted your employer? We all thought you would definitely go to the Ministry of
Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. You didn't rank first in the economics exam, but when
it comes to making money, you, Lao Gu, said you were second. No one in the department dared
to claim to be first. There were legends about you everywhere on Wangfujing Street."
"I ran into those people from Tsinghua University and Renmin University a while ago, and they
mentioned you."
"Lao Bi called yesterday to ask about you. He will be promoted to deputy director of the Price
Department in September. I think he will invite you to his Price Bureau."
"No, no, the Price Bureau is not going anywhere. Old Qiu's Central Office Secretariat is good. He
will go to the Central Office in the future. I think Old Gu is very suitable because he is good at
dealing with people."
"Old Gu, our Economic System Reform Commission is not bad either, you should consider it." The
speaker was Gu Beiwu's roommate Lao Shi: "Last year, the country just established the Economic
System Reform Research Institute, which is exactly when we need think tanks. To be honest, I
have to take care of my wife and children, so I can only spare some time for this kind of work in
the research institute."
"Old Shi, what you said is not right. If that's the case, then Old Gu should come back to school to
teach. He should be kind to me every day and see me every day. He should go home during both
winter and summer vacations."
Shan Rang was laughing so hard that he urged everyone to eat the watermelon quickly.
Unfortunately, even though the people were eating the watermelon, they did not forget to care
about Gu Beiwu's whereabouts.
Beiwu smiled and threw away the watermelon rind: "I am already 34 years old. I want to do my
job as a husband first, and try being a father if I have the chance."
There was whistle and applause in the dormitory.
"Come on, Shanrang. You don't have to wait until spring comes and everything comes back to life
before you work hard. Hahahaha."
Shanrang blushed, but Beiwu laughed and fought back: "It seems that you, Lao Shi, are very
experienced in waiting for spring. No wonder you always had a post saying 'A year's plan begins
with spring, a day's plan begins with the morning' on your bedside table."
Everybody burst into laughter. Zhou Shanli touched his nose and shook his head. It is true that
gangsters are not to be feared; the most fearful thing is gangsters with culture.
——
When it rains in Beijing, it is also raining in Jinghong. After the Water Splashing Festival comes the
rainy season. From May to October, Jinghong rarely has the continuous rainy days like the plum
rain season in Shanghai. A downpour is often followed by bright sunshine. Locals never use
umbrellas, they just find a place to hide and it's over.
Jingsheng stood by the Lancang River, pursing his lips as he watched the rushing turbid water. The
rain kept pouring down on his head, and his whole body was dripping, blurring him into a part of
the rainy scene, but he did not move at all.
A large rock on the shore had been washed away for who knows how many years. Suddenly, it
broke apart from the ground, fell into the river with a splash, and was swept downstream.
"Mom, come back—don't go to the bathroom!"
Jingsheng suddenly shouted at the receding stone.
"Don't go!"
"Wait for me!"
"Just tell me, and I'll go with you—!"
"Mom, come back—come back!"
The young man who stood upright like a javelin in the rain suddenly fell to the ground and
hugged his head. He kept shaking, but his voice became smaller and smaller, completely drowned
out by the sound of the rain.
"Mom, are you in pain——"
"I'm sorry, Mom."
"I'm back to see you."

Chapter 182
The wind and rain came and went suddenly, and a pair of rainbows hung over the green hills. The
fragrance of the grass and trees washed by the rain overwhelmed the muddy smell of the river.
Jingsheng lay on the beach, quietly watching the two rainbows become fainter and fainter, and
finally disappeared without a trace.
"Jingsheng, come out and see, there is a rainbow!"
"Jingsheng, come out and see, double rainbow, two rainbows!"
Why didn't he go out with her happily to see the rainbow? The rainbow was so beautiful. The
raindrops were dripping down his face, Jingsheng wiped them away, and his palms fell down to
cover his face. From the moment he stepped on the train, those trivial, sporadic and indifferent
details returned to their original positions one by one, as if they were returned to their original
owners, and he didn't need to make any effort to recall them.
"It's the rainy season now, it's bound to rain, wear a hat before you go out, and don't stand under
a tree if it rains."
"Don't go into the woods, you may get bit by snakes. If you get bit, don't be afraid. Remember to
kill the snake and bring it back so you can know if it is poisonous or not."
"Don't dig mushrooms randomly. Last time you ate poisonous mushrooms, you insisted that you
were a mushroom. Have you forgotten?"
Even when she said such words, her voice was always smiling, as gentle as the clouds in the sky.
He used to be most impatient to hear these things. He wanted to be like the heroic and vigorous
mother holding two guns in the open-air war movies, raising her hands and shooting two shots at
the bad guys, and facing death without fear and sacrifice. Ignorance is fearless. At that time, he
didn't understand that it was not shameful to be afraid of death, but it was precious. After almost
drowning in the river, he realized that death is the easiest thing, but it is difficult to live towards
death. It is even more difficult to live with a sin debt like him who should not have come to this
world.
Therefore, no matter how difficult it is, he has to live on, live well, live well with his mother's love,
and live clearly.
——
Jingsheng arrived at the Miao village and just found Wu Po's house when the sky turned gloomy
again.
On his birthday in Ganlanba, Granny Wu would come down to the farm and give him a bag of
eggs every year. The bag was tied with straw, sometimes with two eggs in it, sometimes with six
or seven eggs if it was full. His mother asked him to call Granny Wu "grandma", but he never did.
Granny Wu delivered Jingsheng. The situation was very dangerous that day, and the company
doctor was drunk outside and couldn't even get up. Gu Dongwen searched all over Ganlanba, and
finally went to the Miao village to carry Granny Wu down the mountain to deliver the baby.
Granny Wu dragged him out, slapped him a few times, and when he didn't make a sound, she
held his legs and sang Miao songs, running around the room, singing Jingsheng back to life.
Of course, these were what his mother and Gu Dongwen told him. Jingsheng never believed
them. When he saw Grandma Wu, he couldn't help but think of his own birth. He didn't feel any
relief or happiness, only indignation and resignation. Why couldn't he choose? He didn't want to
be born and shouldn't have been born.
As soon as Jingsheng said who he was, Wu Po recognized him, called out "Susu" and pulled him
to cry. After crying twice, a heavy rain fell outside. Jingsheng was pushed by Wu Po to the back of
the bamboo house to take a bath. When he changed into the Miao family's cloth clothes, he
smelled the familiar strong sour and spicy smell as soon as he entered the house. He was born in
the beginning of winter, just a few days away from the Miao New Year, so every year after Wu Po
gave him birthday eggs, a few days later, his mother and Gu Dongwen would bring him to
accompany Wu Po to celebrate the Miao New Year. The sour and spicy smell was everywhere in
the village, and he would have a runny nose after eating a bite.
"You're so old and still can't eat spicy food? You're almost choking and crying." Mrs. Wu stuffed a
cup in his hand and said, "Hurry up and drink some oil tea. Don't worry, it's sugared. It's not
bitter."
Grandma Wu spoke Chinese like singing, with a rising and falling tone, but Jingsheng felt at ease
listening to it. He took the cup and whispered, "Thank you, grandma." He was a little
embarrassed, so he just lowered his head and concentrated on drinking the oil tea, sip after sip. It
was very sweet, with a lot of sugar added, so sweet that it made him choke.
A skinny hand covered his wet hair and stroked it up and down. Grandma Wu sighed and said,
"Come back to see your mother?"
"Um".
"He's a filial child."
Granny Wu went barefoot to look at the soup in the pot, her bracelets and anklets jingling. The
heavy rain was white and wet a large area of the building. Jingsheng looked at the old woman
kneeling by the stove. She tasted the soup, turned her head and smiled at him, and suddenly
hummed a Miao song. The erratic sound went up and down, heavy and light, and the long tail
sound was a bit like the tone of calling children home for dinner on summer nights in Wanchun
Street. Jingsheng listened quietly, wondering if he heard the same song when he was born. His
soul was called by her, would his mother's soul also be called by her?
"Why did your mother give birth to you?" Mrs. Wu sat opposite Jingsheng and smoked her water
pipe. She smiled and shook her head as if she knew what he was thinking. "You are a living being.
How can we not want you? That would be murder. You had a head, hands and feet at the age of
two months. When your mother knew you were in her belly, you were already four and a half
months old." She nodded: "I remember your father said so."
Jingsheng looked at the heavy rain outside the bamboo building, feeling a little disappointed. Is
that it? Isn't it because women naturally love their children? If this is the reason why she gave
birth to him, would he feel better? The answer is no.
There were two pieces of salted fish in the extremely hot and sour soup. Jingsheng ate four
spoonfuls of steamed rice. Wu Po kept talking about what your mom and dad said and did. Some
of them he knew, some he didn't know. As for how much of her words were what she saw, heard,
or heard from others, Jingsheng didn't care. Those words were like pages of paper, filling in the
blanks in his past. The rain still didn't stop at night. Maybe it was because he ate too much, or
maybe it was because the oil tea was too sweet. As soon as he lay down on the blanket, he was
covered by boundless sleepiness. He curled up into the original shape of an embryo, feeling very
safe. The sound of rain was like the sound of amniotic fluid in the womb. Wu Po's humming came
into his mind from afar, like the Yangzhou tune that his mother hummed to coax him to sleep.
He can choose now, does he still want to come into this world?
Jingsheng knew what he wanted. He wanted to choose her to be his mother, Gu Dongwen to be
his father, Si Jiang Si Nan Si to be his sister and brother, and also Ada, Aer, Asan, and also
grandma and aunt.
Thank you, Mom, thank you for not killing me and giving birth to me.
——
When Gu Dongwen was on the train, for the first time in so many years, he carefully recalled Shu
Su, the little girl who blushed and spoke unclearly to ask for half a catty of rice, the little girl who
stayed up all night to embroider five handkerchiefs. Jingsheng is taller than him now, but his
mother will always be that little girl in his heart. He fell in love with her at first sight, because she
was pretty, because she would blush, because she looked like a trembling eyelash when she
lowered her head to talk, because she hid her needle-pricked fingers, and because she suddenly
raised her eyelids to glance at him, as if she had directly opened his heart. He was not an 18-year-
old boy, he had dated many girls, but as soon as he saw her, Gu Dongwen knew it was her.
He later went to Yangzhou twice to deliver rice. When he went the second time, there was no
one at the Shu family. His aunt said that she had taken her brother to Suzhou for medical
treatment.
"What are you looking at? An edematous abdomen will lead to death sooner or later. Alas." The
aunt thought of her own seventh child and started crying again. Gu Dongwen left all the rice to
his uncle's family. He ran to Suzhou People's Hospital. When Shu Su saw him, she was startled
and called him "cousin Gu" softly. She was the aunt's aunt's aunt's niece from the next room and
a goddaughter. According to the seniority of the Xu family, it was not wrong to call her that. He
said, "Come with me." But she misunderstood him. She blushed and held it in for a long time
before she said that she was really sorry for her cousin and that she couldn't go with him. He
would definitely find a very good girl to live with in the future. When she said this, her mother
supported her brother and stood at the other end of the corridor. Both of them were crying and
looked very miserable, as if he was going to take away their family's only hope.
He smiled and said, "Then bring your mother and your brother with you and follow me - I will
take your brother to the hospital in Shanghai for treatment."
She was so embarrassed, but she glanced at him several times with sparkling eyes, smiling a little,
as if she could see through his thoughts, which he certainly didn't hide. It was then that he
realized that the little girl was actually quite timid.
After visiting two hospitals in Shanghai, both said that her brother's abdominal swelling was not
only caused by eating Guanyin soil, but also due to late-stage liver cirrhosis. He said that as long
as there was hope, he should be treated, and she said yes. The next day, her family quietly
returned to Yangzhou. He followed her to Yangzhou and found out that she had signed up to go
to Yunnan to support the border areas. Her family gave her 30 yuan as a reward, but she spent it
all after a few days of treatment.
"Then wait for me in Yunnan, I'll go find you."
She lowered her head and said nothing. Suddenly she raised her head and asked, "Are you really
coming?" The water of Slender West Lake and the smoky green willows were reflected in her
eyes, sparkling.
"Really? Wait for me. Write to me when you get there."
"I'm waiting for you."
But he was assigned to Kunming. After going back and forth between Shanghai and Kunming
several times, he finally got transferred to Ganlanba. He went to find her without stopping. Her
roommate Luo Meizhen and two other male educated youths in the team were in the dormitory,
but she was the only one not there. His eyelids kept twitching. He went too late and missed her.
Later, he failed to catch up again. This was probably the greatest punishment from God for a man
who refused to accept his fate.
Gu Dongwen drank all night on the train. The more he drank, the more bitter it became. His eyes
became brighter and his heart ached more.
——
After arriving in Kunming, Gu Dongwen first went to the Public Security Bureau to find Captain
Ling of the special task force, but learned that he had been transferred to the Public Security
Bureau of Banna Prefecture as the captain of the anti-drug brigade. His main task was to fight
drug trafficking and he had been fighting on the front line all year round. He took out Jingsheng's
photo and told him about the child being alone outside, but the policeman laughed and said that
he had seen Jingsheng and had come to see Captain Ling several days ago, and he should have
gone to Banna.

Chapter 183
When Captain Ling of the Anti-drug Brigade of the Xishuangbanna Public Security Bureau
returned to the bureau, he was surprised to hear that a middle school student had come to see
him for two consecutive days. When he saw Jingsheng, he immediately called out his name. In
order to find Shusu, the task force printed countless missing person notices. No one could help
but be impressed by that indescribably beautiful face. Jingsheng, who looked like his mother, was
still a child at the time. He followed the task force up and down the mountains and rivers all day
without crying. Captain Ling was worried that he would get into trouble.
"What's wrong? Where's Gu Dongwen?" Captain Ling frowned. In order to bring the child back to
Shanghai under his own name, Gu Dongwen didn't bother with Lao Ding and his gang of
educated youth. He also contributed a lot. But in recent years, there are too many children of
educated youth who have been forgotten in Banna, Jinghong and Kunming. There are not just
one or two children who come to the Public Security Bureau to look for their parents. He has
seen 20 to 30 of them in the past two years. He really has no good feelings for those city people
who are hot-blooded and cold-blooded at times. They are said to be forgotten, but actually
abandoned. They have no conscience and no humanity.
After knowing that Gu Dongwen was not inhumane, Captain Ling's brows relaxed a little, but he
still rejected Jingsheng's request to learn about the two cases of Shu and Su. First, the case was
too cruel for Gu Jingsheng, and second, he had been transferred and it was not convenient to
retrieve the old files.
Jingsheng was not impatient and told him about Li Qiang's situation and his own guess.
"You said that Li Qiang's parents particularly hate your mother?" Captain Ling's brows, which had
just relaxed, twisted again: "But his father Li Xiangde claimed that Li Qiang was not his biological
son and insisted on divorce. His mother Luo Meizhen hanged herself before returning to the city."
Jingsheng was stunned.
"Your father and I went to see her just before she died, and we were investigated for two weeks
because of this. Didn't your father tell you about it?" Captain Ling smiled bitterly after he finished
speaking. Gu Dongwen, this bastard, was really good at protecting his cub.
"She committed suicide?" Jingsheng's first reaction was to suspect that Li Qiang's mother had
harmed his mother and was therefore killed by Gu Dongwen. This would explain why Li Qiang
hated him so much and took revenge on him so viciously.
"Yeah." Captain Ling saw what he was thinking. He finished the cigarette in his hand with two
puffs and lit a new one. "It wasn't Gu Dongwen who did it. He was with me that day investigating
some old things. It wasn't Li Xiangde either. Li Xiangde wanted a divorce, and Luo Meizhen
refused to give up even if she died. So he abandoned her and her son and went back to Shanghai
by himself. He left a month and a half before Luo Meizhen died." He paused and said, "Your
father suspected that Luo Meizhen was related to your mother's death. The man who ambushed
your mother was called Luo Hongxing. He was a colleague of Luo Meizhen's husband Li Xiangde.
They were both cooks in the company cafeteria. He was also Luo Meizhen's sworn brother. Not
long after Luo Meizhen arrived at Ganlanba, she recognized this sworn brother because they had
the same surname. Luo Hongxing was the matchmaker for her marriage to Li Xiangde. Your father
said that Luo Hongxing could come to the farm dormitory to scout for a year, so he might be
hiding in Luo Hongzhen's house."
"Luo Meizhen used to live in the same dormitory as your mother. She knew your mother's habit
of going to the toilet without a spittoon when getting up at night." Captain Ling put out his
cigarette and drank half a pot of cold tea: "Why did you come alone? Does Gu Dongwen know?
Where do you live? Did you bring a letter of introduction? What happened in the past is in the
past, don't think about it anymore. The murderer was shot, Luo Hongxing was sentenced to life
imprisonment, and Luo Meizhen committed suicide."
Jingsheng lowered his eyes and turned the glass in his hand, then looked up at Captain Ling's
eyes: "Could that Li Qiang actually be the son of Luo Meizhen and Jiang Hongbin?"
Captain Ling nearly choked on his tea and coughed several times: "What? Who said that?" He
was sure that he had never mentioned the name Jiang Hongbin, and Gu Dongwen would never
mention it. Suddenly, he heard such a cold three words from the mouth of this young man, as if
he was not talking about his biological father or the murderer of his mother but a stranger.
"After Jiang Hongbin went to jail, didn't everyone on the farm say that there were three women
who had always had relationships with him? One of them was Luo Meizhen, wasn't she?"
Jingsheng lowered his eyes again, looking at the water in the glass, where dust was floating. The
aunt surnamed Liu was scolded as a slut for several years and suddenly jumped into the river to
commit suicide. He was about four years old at the time and could already remember things.
Children have their own information network, and they were even more cruel and cold-blooded.
His mother was also one of those who was always insulted. The other was Wu Xiaoli's mother.
Their family moved to Banna when he was three years old. Later, they met at the market. He was
chased and beaten by Li Qiang and others, but no one chased Wu Xiaoli to bully her anymore.
Captain Ling rubbed his brows: "Luo Meizhen has never admitted it. When your mother got into
trouble, she was already married and had given birth to Li Qiang——"
"She does. She gets an extra five kilograms of rice and one kilogram of pork every month, just like
Wu Xiaoli's mother and Aunt Liu." Jingsheng looked at him, his tone still light, and even with a
hint of sarcasm at the corner of his mouth. Captain Ling suspected that he had seen another Gu
Dongwen.
"My mom said that once before." Jingsheng narrowed his eyes. "When Li Qiang and his friends
bullied me for the first time, my mom was so angry that she went to find Luo Meizhen. My mom
said that when they were arguing."
Captain Ling turned his face away and sighed: "We have investigated all this. Luo Meizhen
insisted that she bought the rice and meat from her foster brother with money and food
coupons."
"Then why did she commit suicide? She had a son and was about to return to the city." Jingsheng
asked.
Captain Ling had no answer to this question. If she was stimulated by Li Xiangde's divorce, she
would not have committed suicide a month and a half after Li Xiangde left, not to mention that
they did not get divorced. At that time, there was chaos. There were only three or four thousand
people tapping rubber in the rubber forest, and they were fighting with Vietnam. A female
educated youth who had already completed the household registration transfer procedure was
confirmed to have committed suicide by the company doctor, and no one wanted to cause
trouble again. The case was not his responsibility, so it was closed hastily. He was transferred and
Gu Dongwen returned to Shanghai, and the matter seemed to be really over.
——
Two days later, Captain Ling had no choice but to take Jingsheng back to Jinghong to check old
files, but then he received a call from Gu Dongwen in Kunming.
Jingsheng answered the phone, said a few words calmly and hung up, just staring at Captain Ling
with his eyes. Captain Ling raised his hands in surrender: "Go, go, go tomorrow. Hey, you little
guy, just go to the police academy in the future. You are especially suitable for interrogating
prisoners. You stared at me like this for a long time, and I confessed everything."
The three of them met in Jinghong. Captain Ling looked at Gu Dongwen and Gu Jingsheng, and
felt a little envious. The father and son had the same posture when they were slurping noodles,
and they would both have runny noses after slurping spicy noodles. They would take out their
handkerchiefs and turn their backs to wipe their noses. After wiping their noses, they would say
hello to him and say sorry. Captain Ling felt sad and wanted to laugh.
"Are you mad at me?" Gu Dongwen unscrewed the kettle, took a big sip, and took a breath. The
chili from Yunnan was really delicious.
Jingsheng nodded and shook his head, took the kettle and wiped it on his sweatshirt, then tilted
his head back and took a big sip of water. He took a few breaths, and his thin lips became swollen
and shiny red from the spiciness.
"Have you figured it out?"
Jingsheng shook his head: "There are still some things to clarify." He hesitated for a moment and
asked: "What if I have a half-brother?"
Gu Dongwen narrowed his eyes, and a dimple appeared on his cheek for a moment: "Luo
Meizhen's son Li Qiang?"
Jingsheng was startled: "You know?"
"No. Li Qiang is the son of Luo Meizhen and Luo Hongxing." Gu Dongwen sat up straight and took
out a cigarette. "When you poked Li Qiang with a few holes, it was Luo Hongxing who rushed to
the hospital to give Li Qiang a blood transfusion. Li Qiang's blood type is a bit strange, and the
hospital doesn't have it. His father is still grateful to this cheap brother-in-law. Luo Meizhen
herself is probably not sure whose son this is."
Captain Ling's eyes widened: "Why have you never mentioned this clue?"
Gu Dongwen was silent for a moment: "I didn't understand it at that time either." That time, he
and Su Su were only concerned with watching over Jingsheng. They saw Luo Hongxing in the
corridor and heard the nurse mention it, but they didn't take it seriously at all. It was only after
Jingsheng was hospitalized that he remembered the blood type when he occasionally heard Xiao
Lu mention the relationship between genetics and blood type. But Luo Meizhen was already
dead at that time, so he didn't go looking for her son for revenge.
With the additional clues of Li Qiang, Luo Meizhen and Luo Hongxing, and after reading the files
for a long time, Captain Ling closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Many clues that had been
neglected or even ignored emerged.
Gu Dongwen felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife, and his hands holding the old files were
shaking all the time.
Why did Jiang Hongbin attack Su Su on the morning of the day he was transferred to Ganlanba
Farm? It could only be because Su Su told Luo Meizhen about it. In order to change from a sent-
down youth to a corps youth to Ganlanba, he traveled back and forth between the Shanghai-
Yunnan line several times, causing a big disturbance in the Kunming Youth Office and the
Shanghai Youth Office, and staged both verbal and physical fights. His reputation as a fearless
troublemaker spread throughout Yunnan. Others thought that he wanted to change the collective
household registration of the rural commune to the corps, for more salary and allowances, and
for home leave. But Luo Meizhen definitely knew about his relationship with Su Su. So if Jiang
Hongbin didn't attack now, he would never have another chance. When he thought that Luo
Meizhen might be the culprit for Su Su's victimization, Gu Dongwen's ears buzzed and he heard
the sound of his back teeth biting.
Why did Luo Meizhen have a stomachache as soon as Susu and her team entered the rubber
forest that morning? She said it might be appendicitis and urged the other two male educated
youth to carry her to the farm clinic. Susu offered to go with her but she refused. Luo Meizhen's
reason at the time was that Susu was in poor health and the rubber tapping speed was slow. She
didn't want to delay Susu and fail to complete the quota. When she knew about Susu's accident,
she was so upset that she cried and said that if it weren't for her, Susu wouldn't be left alone and
in trouble.
Why did Luo Meizhen firmly refuse to admit that she had secretly maintained a relationship with
Jiang Hongbin after being raped? Because she was afraid that the police and Gu Dongwen would
suspect her, and she was even more afraid that Li Qiang would be regarded as Jiang Hongbin's
son. She did not marry Luo Hongxing but married Li Xiangde through Luo Hongxing, just because
Luo Hongxing was a native of Jinghong, and Li Xiangde was an educated youth from Shanghai,
and also from a cadre family.
Captain Ling hit his head hard. He was involved in both of Shu Su's cases. The first time, he was
still a freshman who had just graduated from the police academy. He remembered that Luo
Meizhen was unwilling to testify that Jiang Hongbin raped her, and cried and asked if they were
going to force her to death. He also had a quarrel with the captain. He understood those victims
who were unwilling to testify, not to mention the victims who already had families. But the
captain asked him to ask a few more times. The second time, he was the leader of the special
case team, but he did not find the clue of Luo Hongxing. In the end, it was Gu Dongwen who
found out the reason for Jiang Hongbin's commutation of sentence from Jinghong Prison and
found Luo Hongxing.
"Luo Meizhen has a motive." Captain Ling's voice was hoarse: "After she was raped by Jiang
Hongbin, she voluntarily maintained an improper relationship with Jiang Hongbin for the sake of
rice and meat. But she was very smart. In order to get rid of Jiang Hongbin, or to avoid exposing
the fact that she was pregnant, she was quickly introduced by Luo Hongxing and married Li
Xiangde, finding a father for Li Qiang. The dirty things between her and Jiang Hongbin and Luo
Hongxing could be hidden from others, but it was unlikely to be hidden from Shu Su who lived in
the same dormitory. Shu Su was sold to Jiang Hongbin by her. Jiang Hongbin did not give her up
after being arrested because he did not want his crime to become premeditated murder-"
Gu Dongwen suddenly punched the desk hard, and several cups jumped up. He took out a pack
of cigarettes from his trouser pocket and tried to take out a cigarette, but he couldn't take it out
for a long time. The whole pack of cigarettes was finally crumpled into a ball in his palm. Captain
Ling lowered his head and raised it again, raised his head and lowered his head again. The word
"sorry" was too light and there was no way to say it. Gu Dongwen slowly stood up, took a few
deep breaths, and walked out with heavy steps.
Jingsheng lowered his head. Captain Ling couldn't see his expression, but he blamed himself
when he saw the boy's shoulders and chest shaking. If they hadn't focused all their attention on
Jiang Hongbin at the time, if they had doubted the so-called coincidence, if they had asked Luo
Meizhen a few more times and learned more details when asking about the relationship between
Luo Meizhen and Jiang Hongbin as the captain requested, if they hadn't been easily confused by
Luo Meizhen's crying and tears, would Shu Su not have been killed by Jiang Hongbin and Luo
Hongxing later...
It is precisely because Shu Su was not defeated despite such misfortune that she had Gu
Dongwen, who was still very good to her even after giving birth to Jingsheng. The same
experience but different endings, Luo Meizhen's jealousy of Shu Su and Jingsheng was expressed
through her son Li Qiang. So after knowing that Jiang Hongbin became a "eunuch" in prison and
received a reduction in sentence, she deliberately told Jiang Hongbin about Jingsheng's life
experience through Luo Hongxing, in order to stimulate Jiang Hongbin so that he would continue
to entangle Shu Su after he was released from prison. Luo Hongxing was coerced by Jiang
Hongbin to attack Shu Su. Luo Meizhen is very likely to be an insider and provided her home for
Luo Hongxing to hide. As a former roommate, she knew that Shu Su would rather use a flashlight
to go to the toilet in the middle of the night than use a spittoon.
Gu Dongwen was right. Luo Meizhen committed suicide out of guilt. After meeting Luo Meizhen
that day, Gu Dongwen did plan to go back to Jinghong Prison to meet Luo Hongxing. He told Luo
Meizhen that none of the beasts who harmed Shu Su would escape. If the law could not punish
them, he had plenty of ways to make their lives worse than death.
"Gu Jingsheng, I'm sorry." Captain Ling finally said these three words. Sorry is useless, and he, as
a policeman, is also useless.
The chest area of Jingsheng's sweatshirt was already wet from swimming.
"Captain Ling, two female comrades came and said they were looking for you and Gu Jingsheng.
It seems that the information was given by the bureau."
Jingsheng raised his head, wiped his face and stood up.
"Cousin! Cousin, where are you? I'm here to find you! Uncle, uncle!"
Chen Sinan's 90-decibel shout came from the corridor.
When Jingsheng walked out, he saw Sinan hanging on Gu Dongwen, his two thin legs flapping.
The person next to him, who looked dusty and carrying a black leather luggage bag, was Gu
Ximei.
"Jingsheng!" Gu Ximei finally breathed a sigh of relief. Ancestors, everyone in the family is an
ancestor.

Chapter 184
When Si Nan, who was swept over like a tornado, hugged his thighs, Jing Sheng's heart was
warmed, and the bitterness in his eyes kept pouring out. He rubbed Si Nan's gray curly hair while
holding back his tears: "What's wrong with you!"
"Look, I really found you! How awesome am I!" Chen Sinan shouted this first as Jingsheng had
expected, but she started crying before she was praised. It was very unlike Chen Sinan to cry in a
suppressed manner.
"You didn't keep your word! You said you would take me to Yunnan to play, to show me blue
peacock slow lorises and wild elephants, why did you run away without telling me?"
"Didn't you say that children are not allowed to ride on the train or go out alone? Why did you
run away by yourself? You are a child too."
"If you're unhappy, tell me—" Sinan rubbed his face full of snot and tears on Jingsheng's trouser
legs, sobbing and aggrieved: "Didn't you say that everyone is happy with me? Aren't you also a
member of the family? Why didn't you tell me?"
This cry made the little bully seem to have grown up. Gu Dongwen shook his head and smiled. No
matter how much pain he had, it seemed to have faded a lot after being made trouble by this
little thing. Gu Ximei tried to tear Si Nan off Jingsheng's legs: "Chen Si Nan, what are you doing?
This is the Public Security Bureau. Are you behaving like this? Isn't it ugly? Look, the police uncles
are laughing at you."
Chen Sinan was not as stubborn as usual. She let her mother pull her down, then turned around
and threw herself into her arms and cried, "Mom, Mom, you are so kind. You are willing to bring
me to see my cousin. You are the best mother in the world. No matter how much you hit me, I
am still the best mother in the world. I will definitely get the first place in the exam next
semester. If you hit me by one point, I promise I won't hide."
Gu Ximei was about to spin her around by the ears when she noticed the police officers in the
corridor looking at her in a strange way. She endured it and held Si Nan in her arms to comfort
him, "Okay, why are you talking so much? Who hit you? Really, you haven't been beaten for
hundreds of years."
Captain Ling also settled Gu Ximei and her daughter in the Public Security Bureau guesthouse
where Jingsheng and his friends were staying. As soon as they settled down, Sinan eagerly asked
Jingsheng if he could take her to the rain forest. It didn't matter if she couldn't see the blue
peacock. Jingsheng softened his heart and took her out the door.
Gu Ximei put down her luggage, and Captain Ling came up with two thermoses, told her the time
to open the door in the morning and lock the door at night, and made tea for the Gu brothers
and sisters.
"You guys are amazing. How did you find this place? Urumqi is about 8,000 miles away from
Jinghong, right? Is there a direct train? I don't think I've heard of it." Captain Ling likes to get to
the bottom of things out of professional habit.
Gu Ximei blew away the tea leaves, drank a sip of tea and calmed down: "I didn't expect it to be
so troublesome. I took Nannan to Xi'an first, then to Chengdu, and just arrived in Kunming
yesterday. It took six days and five nights. Fortunately, the comrades from the Municipal Public
Security Bureau said they went to Banna to look for you as soon as they saw the photos of
Jingsheng and my brother, and called us first, otherwise we wouldn't have met today."
Captain Ling expressed his admiration: "You guys really have a clear goal. Lao Gu and Jingsheng
know me, but how did you know to go to the bureau to find me as soon as you arrived?"
Gu Ximei's face flushed: "It was Nannan who said that she wanted to find the police when she
had trouble. We went to the police station at the railway station first. A deputy director there
recognized Big Brother and sent us to the Public Security Bureau."
Captain Ling: “???” He understood, understood, he knew that Gu Dongwen was very famous in
Yunnan. When he went to Beijing to petition, the educated youth sat on the railway tracks, and
the entire railway line was shut down for three days. There was no cadre within a ten-mile radius
of Kunming Railway Station who didn’t recognize his two big dimples. In addition, after the Shu
Su case was solved, anyone who mentioned Gu Dongwen would give him a thumbs up and call
him a hero.
"Sinan has been lucky since childhood," Gu Dongwen smiled, picking up the thermos to add tea
for Ximei. He really didn't expect to see Ximei and Sinan in Jinghong, especially Ximei, who is so
cold and selfish, and came all the way for Jingsheng. It's really rare, "Thank you for your hard
work."
Ximei boarded the train with a lot of resentment and displeasure. With Sinan's chattering, she
became calmer the further she went. Before she reached Lanzhou, she followed Sinan's words
and recalled how Jingsheng had helped her in the past and how much worry he had saved her.
She thought of her elder brother who had such a difficult time in Yunnan but still sent her ham,
mushrooms and moon cakes, and the parcels that had been sent from Wanchun Street to
Shajingzi every day for many years. She in turn gave Sinan a gratitude lecture, of course, in order
to remind her how to take good care of Si in the future.
When they arrived in Kunming, Gu Ximei was eager to pour out her deep brotherly and sisterly
love, and also a bit of the heroic and self-touched feeling of rushing to the frontier with passion
and determination. At this time, when she heard her eldest brother, who never said nice things,
thank her, her eyes suddenly turned red: "You are my real brother, and Jingsheng has been with
me for a year. We are a family and should be like this." Thinking about the three of them who had
been together since childhood and only she was the outcast, but she had given so much
regardless of the past, she was so moved by herself that her heart was surging and tears were
streaming down her face.
——
Gu Ximei took Si Nan thousands of miles to look for his relatives because she was forced into a
corner by Si Nan's crooked tricks.
Si Nan was very sensible this time. She started crying after hanging up the phone and begged her
to take her to Yunnan to find Jingsheng. She made it clear that Jingsheng must have been
wronged. Maybe Aunt Lu had a child and Uncle didn't want him anymore. She kept crying and
crying. Ximei said your uncle is not that kind of person, you think too much, and told her to stop
bothering. Si Nan, on the other hand, followed her to the home of a student who was learning
piano. As soon as she entered the door, she started crying to the student's parents, begging
uncle, begging aunt, please let my mother take me to find my cousin, my cousin is so miserable
and pitiful... She didn't cry or make a fuss, she just spoke softly while silently shedding tears,
grief-stricken, and the student's parents cried so hard that they quickly sent Ximei out and asked
Teacher Gu if she needed help.
After Sinan cried so much that both families were driven away in the morning, Ximei angrily
slapped her several times downstairs of the student's home. Sinan looked up at her with tears in
her eyes, carefully pulled the corner of her clothes and choked up, saying, "Mom, I can't see my
three cousins from my aunt's family anymore, and I only have my eldest cousin left. Just think
about how good my eldest cousin is to us..."
Ximei was melted by her crying. She had never seen Sinan cry like this before. It was not the fake
crying she used to cry. No matter how much she was beaten and scolded since she was a child,
even if she cried, it was because of pain, and she was unwilling to accept it. She had never cried
like this before. Ximei suspected that Sinan would not cry like this even if she died. Although she
was soft-hearted, she still did not give in. The piano lessons of the six students in the summer
vacation would be delayed for at least half a month. Once this long journey was over, the train
accommodation and meals alone would cost a lot of money. She had been so stubborn last year
that she had collected 1,000 yuan for Nanhong. She had finally saved several hundred yuan in the
past six months, but it would all go down the drain if she gave in.
As a result, Sinan went to the Petroleum Administration Bureau in the afternoon, and after a
whole afternoon of tossing and turning, she happily told Ximei that her godfather had gotten
them two temporary regular tickets for hard seats, so they could take the train for free. Then she
opened all the "one-cent pineapple" that Chen Donglai had given her as a New Year's gift, and
handed over a total of three yuan and eighty cents to Ximei, along with all the coins in her little
tiger piggy bank.
"Mom, please spend all my New Year's money. When I make money in the future, I will pay you
back ten times, no, a hundred times, okay? Dad has agreed. If you don't believe me, call him."
Sinan blinked his big eyes with anticipation.
Ximei knew that Chen Donglai felt guilty towards Gu Dongwen and Jingsheng because of the
mess Qian Guihua had caused. He could not disagree with the train ticket. Even she could not say
no to Si Nan. She was shocked by Si Nan, but she was also a little proud. This was her daughter
who she had taught. How could she be so capable at the age of eleven? In this way, she was more
capable than Bei Wu who raised Si Jiang. She could not imagine how such a little head could
work. How could she solve the problem that adults hesitated and worried about without any
effort? She clearly did not mention the money, but Si Nan solved it so easily.
——
Sinan returned to his old ways and praised himself a lot, then dragged Jingsheng into the post
office.
"Cousin, please call my sister and tell her we found you."
Seeing Jingsheng hesitate, Sinan lowered his head guiltily: "I scolded her for being disloyal before
and blamed her for not coming out to see you. She must be angry with me. She actually really
wants to come to see you too. Can you help me say a few good words to her?"
Jingsheng stretched out his hand and tapped her on the forehead: "You are so disrespectful, you
should say sorry to her yourself later."
"Just say it." Sinan pouted: "Who's afraid of who?" Well, she was afraid of her elder sister, afraid
that she would cry. She and her mother got the ticket at the train station and called Wanchun
Street. Her elder sister cried on the phone, begging her mother to go back to Shanghai first and
take her with her. My elder sister must also want to come to see my cousin, alas.
Lisi Jiang was crying again on the phone, but it was tears of joy. A thousand words were
condensed into one sentence: "Brother, are you really okay? Are you really okay?"
"I'm fine," Jingsheng paused, "Actually, there are quite a few things. I'll tell you when I get back."
Sinan looked up with a questioning look on his face.
"No matter what happens, you and uncle must come back safely, okay?" Si Jiang's heart twitched
and he reminded anxiously.
"Well, we'll be back in a few days. Please tell grandma about it for me. She's worried."
"Yeah, okay, okay. How about Nannan? How is she after changing trains so many times?"
"She's fine, right next to me, wait a minute." Jingsheng handed the microphone to Sinan and gave
her a sidelong look: "I won't clean up your mess, speak for yourself."
Sinan pouted, shook his butt twice, and coughed reluctantly: "Sister?"
"Nannan, you are awesome! How come you are so amazing!" Si Jiang, with tears in his eyes,
enthusiastically praised his sister in all directions, which made Sinan dizzy. Is she amazing? Is she
smart? It seems that she is a little bit, and it seems that she is more than a little bit. Well, she is
so amazing, so smart, and so lucky, hehe.
"Sister, don't be angry. I scolded you for being disloyal last time, but you were very loyal. It was
me who was disloyal! You should be the one scolding me."
Si Jiang was stunned for a moment, then laughed on the other end of the phone: "Why are you
so disloyal?"
"I should have asked my godfather to get you a ticket so you could take the train directly from
Shanghai to Kunming. I didn't think about you, and I didn't go back to Shanghai to pick you up, so
it's me who is disloyal, not you. Sister—" Sinan turned his back awkwardly and said softly, "I'm
sorry, sister."
Si Jiang choked up and said he was not angry, "If I go too, it will be very hard for grandma to take
care of Si Hao alone."
Before hanging up the phone, Si Jiang told Jingsheng about the Chen family. The "severe
crackdown" was about to end. Qian Guihua was sentenced to three years in prison last month,
and Chen Donghai filed a divorce lawsuit with the court at the beginning of this month.
To celebrate the fact that evil has been punished, Jingsheng treated Sinan to a meal of fried
insects as soon as he left the post office. Sinan ate with great interest, with his mouth full of oil.
He returned to the guesthouse and unfolded the oil paper packages, showing the fried
grasshoppers, cicadas, bamboo worms, spiders and centipedes that did not look very good. Gu
Ximei was so scared that she knocked over her teacup and ran to the door, trembling while
hugging the door frame.
Sinan picked up a fried centipede cheerfully and chewed it: "Bad people like Sanma should be
fried in oil like Qin Hui. They deserve it."

Chapter 185
When Gu Ximei and Chen Sinan arrived, they pulled Gu Dongwen and Jingsheng out of their grief
and self-blame. Gu Dongwen didn't tell Ximei about Susu, but when he knew that Sinan thought
of him as a "stepfather", he was so angry that he gave her a good beating.
Ximei didn't ask much. After all, there was the example of Chen Sinan running away from home
and returning to Shanghai from Shajingzi. It was not surprising that Jingsheng suddenly made
such a trip because he missed his dead mother. She actually suspected that her elder brother had
the idea of getting married and having children. On the contrary, she felt that Jingsheng's
behavior was suspected of forcing the emperor to abdicate, which was not a good idea. She
privately advised Gu Dongwen: "Women are all like this. How can she rush to marry you when
you are a grown man and don't want to get married? Nurse Lu is willing to follow you like this,
and she is really good to you. Cherish the person in front of you."
Gu Dongwen waved his hand: "You won't understand even if I tell you, so let's not talk about
this."
Ximei got angry when she heard this: "From childhood to adulthood, you three have always been
talking to each other. Whenever I say something to you, you say the same thing to me. I don't
understand what you are saying. You all pursue individuality and only want to be happy and
comfortable. What's wrong with following the crowd? What's wrong with living a peaceful life?
Do you have to be like Nanhong, who forced her whole family to leave their hometown and can't
come back? Yes, I'm not as capable and promising as you, but I'm not much worse than you
either."
Gu Dongwen heard her talk off topic again, frowned and sighed: "Ximei, for all the decisions you
have made in your life, your family, your parents, me, Beiwu, Nanhong, has anyone ever stopped
you? You wanted to learn to play the piano, your parents shamelessly asked Mrs. Fang for help,
and owed her a lifetime of gratitude. You left the piano and went to Xinjiang. When you went
there, you wanted to marry Chen Donglai. After you got married, you wanted to have a child,
where to raise the child, whether to change jobs or stay in Xinjiang, were all up to you?"
Ximei was stunned, and after thinking carefully, she realized that it was indeed the case, so she
lowered her head and kept silent.
"How you live your life is your business. When you were a child, your family would help you if
they could fulfill your wishes. When you grow up, you live your own lives. Those who can help
will help, and those who can't can't help. You decide all the major events in your life. Why can't
we live according to our own wishes? Can't you stand it?" Gu Dongwen shook his head: "You have
been a teacher since you were a child. You like to prove that you are right. You know a lot, is it
interesting? Can you live for me, Nanhong, and Beiwu? In this world, your life is not the only right
life and good life."
Ximei didn't like what she heard, but she couldn't think of any words to refute it, so she just
muttered, "Anyway, you want Nurse Lu to be with you for the rest of her life without any status
or status. That's too outrageous and too unkind. She will have nothing in the future, no house, no
money, no little girl. What will she do when she gets old? She will have nothing to rely on."
Gu Dongwen smiled, lit a cigarette and stood up: "Ximei, not all women look for men to rely on or
to make a living. At least Xiao Lu is not like that, and neither is Shanrang. You found Chen Donglai,
how much do you rely on him?"
Ximei opened her mouth, speechless.
——
Jingsheng and his group of four took the No. 80 express train from Kunming back to Shanghai.
Sinan didn't recognize a godfather or godmother this time. She recognized two godbrothers and
three godsisters with Huo Yuanjia's Mizong Fist, and made an appointment to go to the movies
together after returning to Shanghai. Of course, she recognized too many godparents on the
railway line, and she really couldn't remember them until they were needed. Sinan lay on the
berth, swinging her two thin legs, humming "The Great Wall will never fall, and the Yellow River
will flow for thousands of miles", and carefully copied the address and phone number left by her
godbrothers and godsisters. Jingsheng was speechless at her carefree and careless appearance,
but Sinan smiled and said: "If you have more godfathers, you will have more ways to go.
Fortunately, the word godfather at that time was purely the meaning of "adopting a house",
otherwise Gu Ximei would be so angry that she would pull out all her curly hair."
The plum blossom season has ended in Shanghai, and the bright sun made the roads scorching
hot. As soon as Sinan got off the car, he flew out like a little cannonball.
"Aunt——!"
Shan Rang was knocked back two steps by her and fell into Bei Wu's arms. He smiled and lifted
her up: "How come you haven't gained any weight? You're still so light?"
"I just took a shit before getting off the train. It was so big that I almost burst it!" Sinan gestured
proudly: "As soon as I finished taking a shit, I was going to go into the station and lock the toilet."
She turned to Gu Beiwu and popularized railway knowledge: "Uncle, did you know? It turns out
that our poop is directly on the track. Because the train is going too fast, the airflow breaks them
up in an instant. So don't chase after a fast-moving train. If you chase it and shout, you will eat
shit at the same time, hahahahaha."
Jingsheng couldn't help but look at the railway extending into the distance and fell into deep
thought. Sijiang and Sinan were indeed biological sisters. Their weight was always closely related
to their father, and even the measure words they used were exactly the same. Is this the power
of blood?
With a slap, Gu Ximei pulled Si Nan off, smiled and greeted Shan Rang Bei Wu, saying how Bei Wu
hadn't changed at all in the two years since he went to the United States. When they walked
outside the station, they couldn't help asking Shan Rang if she was pregnant. As soon as she
asked, she remembered that Gu Bei Wu had just returned, and immediately added in annoyance:
"You see, my brain is confused, I just saw that you seem to be a little fatter than last year." Shan
Rang was stunned: "Well, maybe you eat a lot of noodles in Beijing, you have gained several
pounds."
Sinan turned around and made a face: "No matter how many times my mother took the train,
she would never recognize my godfather, godmother, godbrother, and godsister. She only said
things that others didn't like to hear. Aunt, you are not fat at all. Uncle likes you like this."
"Who is like you, who always has honey on his lips?" Ximei was not angry about being
undermined by Sinan, because she was used to being undermined in the past two years.
Si Jiang did not come to pick him up at the station because Si Hao had diarrhea after eating two
cream ice creams yesterday. He became very delicate and sticky. If he could not see his sister for
a few minutes, he would cry and look for her all over the house. He refused to sit on the toilet
and did not have time to run to the public toilet. His pants got dirty several times and the floor
was also a mess. He had a high fever at night and made the whole family run around. This
morning, the little fat boy hid behind the curtains and refused to come out. When Si Jiang carried
him out, he cried for a while. When he looked, there was another puddle under the curtains.
Fortunately, the fever had subsided a little and his forehead did not feel so hot. Bei Wu and Shan
asked to take down the curtains and wash them before rushing to the station to pick him up.
Grandma Gu and Si Jiang took care of Si Hao at home.
No matter how many things Jingsheng had on his mind, he couldn't help but pull the corners of
his mouth together. Well, these three siblings are really like family, and they are fighting with
their father.
When Gu Ximei heard that Si Hao was ill, she wished she could have wings.
"Two ice creams, one I bought for him, and one was given to him by his mother when we went to
her house." Bei Wu turned his head and said, "It has nothing to do with Si Jiang."
Ximei was startled and said awkwardly, "Why would I blame Sijiang?"
Dongwen, Jingsheng, Sinan and Beiwu all looked at her at the same time.
Ximei quickly walked to the front carrying her luggage.
——
When they returned to Wanchun Street, Nurse Lu had just arrived with a few packets of medicine
and was taking Chen Sihao's temperature.
Chen Sihao changed into clean clothes and put on an old diaper. He had just finished a small bowl
of glutinous rice porridge and half a salted duck egg. He was sitting on Gu's recliner with a
thermometer in his mouth, staring at the TV and watching the rerun of "Huo Yuanjia". Gu Ximei
called him several times before he turned his head. He usually recognized his parents' faces by
photos, and for a moment he did not match the real mother in front of him with the mother in
the photo. He was stunned for a long time, and was poked by Si Jiangsnan and he hesitantly
called "Mom". The thermometer went up and down in his mouth. Nurse Lu quickly pulled it out
and shook it: "It's still feverish, 38.3." Ximei sat at Sihao's feet and asked her if she wanted to go
to the hospital, but Sihao thought she was blocking the screen. She shook her big head left and
right, and shouted with an unhappy look: "You are blocking me, you are blocking me, make way."
Nurse Lu said that she would observe for another day and it should be fine if the fever and
diarrhea can be reduced. The pediatric department of the hospital was crowded during the
summer vacation. Even if she said hello, she would have to toss for most of the day. The child was
too tired. Si Hao shouted a few times and became impatient. She kicked Gu Ximei on the waist.
Gu Ximei was in so much pain that she got up and turned off the TV: "Chen Si Hao, you are sick
and you don’t have a good rest. You watch TV all day long. You haven’t seen your mother for such
a long time. When you see her, you don’t call her mother, and you don’t talk to her properly.
What did your teacher teach you? Are you polite? You cried after just a few words to you? Who
are you crying for? You are a boy, why are you crying? Boys are not allowed to cry. Is it a big deal
to be sick? Who allows you to be so squeamish!"
Si Jiang and Si Nan looked at each other and retreated to the inner room to talk. Very good, each
generation is more miserable than the last, and there will always be a successor to the scolding.
Si Jiang was anxious to ask Jingsheng what happened in Yunnan, but Si Nan was only concerned
with talking about what fun and delicious things there were in Jinghong. The two were not on the
same channel. Just when they found out that Si Nan didn't know anything about Jingsheng's
mother, Chen Sihao outside was already crying with veins on his forehead and sweat on his head,
which was comparable to the Big Bang.
"Okay, you're back now. Do you have anything else to do besides scolding Xiaonan?" Granny Gu
hugged the throbbing Chen Sihao in her arms and pulled down his sweatpants to cover his round
white belly. "Be good, baby. Don't cry. Mommy is a bad person. We won't pay attention to her.
Don't cry. If you cry so hard, you'll vomit."
Before he finished speaking, Chen Sihao opened his mouth and vomited all over the floor, rolling
his eyes and twitching. Half of Grandma Gu's arm was still covered with sticky applesauce. Gu
Ximei was dumbfounded.
Fortunately, everyone had been tempered by Chen Sihao's diarrhea and fever for two days. Gu
Dongwen and Jingsheng were calm and composed. Nurse Lu had seen everything in the
emergency room. She took Sihao and cleaned him with a handkerchief first, then pinched his
philtrum. Jingsheng followed her instructions and held Sihao's head back. Gu Dongwen brought
warm water to wipe Sihao's body. Grandma Gu got up to wash. Beiwu took yesterday's evening
paper to clean the floor, and Shanrang brought in a dustpan. Sijiang was sent downstairs by Nurse
Lu to get a chopstick and put it between Sihao's teeth to prevent him from biting his tongue.
Si Nan was the only one left with nothing to do. She went over to take a closer look at Si Hao,
then walked back to Xi Mei who was crying, and hugged her gently: "Look, it's not easy for my
sister and I, and you're pretty lucky too."
Ximei stared at Sinan's head in a daze. Is that so? Is she lucky?
Seeing that she didn't understand, Sinan explained sympathetically: "You really are not a good
mother."

Chapter 186
Gu Ximei's beautiful vision of being a good mother was shattered by Chen Sihao. The little fat boy
is a guy who draws inferences from one thing and wants more, which is obviously inherited from
his second sister Chen Sinan. Whenever Gu Ximei frowns and wants to discipline him, he gets a
headache, stomachache, nausea and rolls his eyes. His acting is vivid and natural, scaring Gu
Ximei so much that she can't tell whether it's true or not and can't speak or do anything.
Knowing that her precious grandson was ill, Chen A'niang ran over from Lane 74 on her tiny feet,
hugged the little fat boy and cried for a while, then wiped her tears and started talking to Ximei.
"Now the third family has moved back since Qian Guihua got into trouble. As for the second
family, Si Jun lives in the company dormitory. Si Min will be in his third year of high school in
September. Wanchun Street is too far from Yixuetang. When school starts, he and his mother will
move back to Hongqiao. Only Dongfang will be left at home alone. It would be better to let Si
Jiangsi move back. After all, she is the daughter of the Chen family. It is not reasonable to live in
your mother's house for a long time. I will be criticized and I will not feel at ease. Besides, your
Dongwen and Beiwu will have to raise a daughter (give birth to a child). It is not good to occupy
the place of the Gu family's grandchildren, right?"
Ximei was a little tempted, but then she thought, A-niang dotes on Sihao even more than her
own mother, who still had to chase her to feed him when he was two years old, but at least here
he dresses himself, eats and goes to the toilet by himself. There was no need to find an excuse to
refuse, so she turned around and asked Sihao if he wanted to go back to A-niang's house. Chen
Sihao, who had been curled up in A-niang's arms and sobbing and saying that his mother was not
good and that his mother was mean to him, shook his big head like a rattle and rolled down to
the ground to find the sisters to show off.
A Niang started crying again, crying about her miserable life and being alone. After some
persuasion from Grandma Gu, Si Jiang came over to hug A Niang and comfort her, promising that
he would go back every day to have dinner with her. She thought it was simple, since her second
aunt, third aunt, cousins and sisters had all run away, it was her responsibility to continue
washing A Niang's hair and feet, pouring bath water and cutting her nails.
"Our daughter is still the most filial." A'niang hugged Si Jiang tightly with tears in her eyes.
Si Jiang smiled and patted A Niang's back and said softly: "Didn't A Niang take care of me like this
when I was a child? This is not filial piety. This is what I should do."
Sinan peeled a candy and put it in Seth's mouth. He looked at the deep affection between the
grandparents and grandchildren and curled his lips and said, "Second Aunt, Third Aunt and
Grandpa have no conscience - they have none!"
"You are the only one who has it!" Ximei was still hurt by the words that she was not a good
mother, and slapped her on the butt: "Have you ever been filial to me? Where is your
conscience? Has it been eaten by dogs?"
When Granny Gu asked about Qian Guihua, A Niang's tears stopped flowing. She began to angrily
complain about this mortal who had killed the old man, cheated Chen Donghai, and had a bad
life outside, which made the two little girls unable to raise their heads. If this happened in their
hometown of Ningbo, she would be thrown into a nunnery even if she was not thrown into a pig
cage. As for Chen Donghai's request for divorce after she was sentenced, it was not a matter of
running away from each other because of the disaster, but a matter of being kind and righteous
and unable to endure it any longer. Granny Gu is still angry about Qian Guihua's harm to
Nanhong's family. She scolds Qian Guihua even more harshly than A Niang. But she can't
continue to sympathize with Chen Donghai. In Granny Gu's view, people from the same family
belong to the same family, and Chen Donghai is not much better than Qian Guihua. So she turns
to talk about the Bible to A Niang. The two old ladies can't agree on what to say, and slowly stop
talking. A Niang asks Ximei and Sijiang what they want to eat when they come over at night, and
reluctantly goes downstairs with a watermelon.
After lunch, Grandma Gu fell asleep, Dong Wen sent Nurse Lu back, Si Nan took Si Hao to the
cultural station and read a little book under the big electric fan, Ximei went to Chen's house to
pack her luggage, and Jing Sheng took a shower. Floor, I saw Si Jiangzheng and Bei Wu Shanrang
talking.
"She has caused so many things, she must be considered a bad person," Si Jiang sighed: "I don't
know why, but I didn't feel happy when I saw her sentenced and divorced." She glanced ‌Looking
at the door curtain, he lowered his voice: "Uncle and aunt, don't tell grandma. Of course I am
very angry that she reported on my aunt, very angry."
"Do you think her sentence was too light?" Jing Sheng interjected, picking up a towel and wiping
his head: "For a harmful person like her, a sentence of ten or eight years is not much."
Si Jiang lowered her head in distress, thought for a while, and then shook her head: "I actually
think she might have been wronged. What she and my aunt encountered is actually very similar
to the same thing..." After saying this, her eyes were already red, and she quickly explained a few
more sentences: "I'm not putting my aunt and her together! My aunt is of course very good, but
that's it--" What is it? The vague thought loomed, and she herself couldn't explain it clearly.
Bei Wu patted Si Jiang's hand and laughed: "This shows that you are more mature, Si Jiang. You
have the ability to distinguish between subjective consciousness and objective consciousness.
You hate your third mother and like your aunt. You think your third mother has done a lot of bad
things and you will not associate with her. This is your subjective consciousness, and the source
of your judgment is your own experience. But you are not happy about her sentencing because
you think she actually suffered the same fate as your aunt. This is the consequence of the law's
laxity. You even doubt whether this hooliganism crime is reasonable. This is an objective thing in
today's society. The judgment you make is based on your understanding of the world. You don't
have to feel sorry for your aunt."
Si Jiang pondered over his uncle's words in a daze, as if he understood, but also as if he didn't.
Jingsheng frowned and sat down. "No, the eldest lady is a good person. She was wrongly accused
because the bad guys framed her. Sijiang Sanma is a bad person. Even if she was wrongly
accused, she deserved it. What's wrong with that? It's good to crack down on hooliganism.
Otherwise, the streets would still be full of hooligans. If we don't crack down on them, these
people will think they will be released after a few days in prison, and they will only become more
rampant."
Bei Wu smiled and said, "I have a friend who studies law. He told me something that I think
makes a lot of sense. The law should protect ordinary people from encountering the worst."
"Not encountering the worst?"
"If Nanhong was sentenced, would you still say this law is good?"
Jingsheng was silent.
"There must be something wrong with the legal provisions that allow an innocent person to be
wrongly accused. Even if only one person is wronged because of a loophole in this law, it should
be improved and amended. It is precisely because a person can be labeled as a hooligan and put
in jail based on just a letter and a few reports from the masses that Qian Guihua's personal
venting of anger occurs. This is not a problem with people, but a problem with the law." Bei Wu
looked at the two teenagers and smiled and said, "As for personal style, it should never be under
the jurisdiction of the law. It is a private domain and a private morality. If everyone wants to care
about other people's private affairs and private morality, this society will regress to many years
ago. Your grandmothers will be dragged out to have their hair cut and sweep toilets because of
foot binding. Actresses in film studios were forced to jump off buildings. Those women who were
scolded as "sluts" can be thrown stones and spit on by everyone. Wasn't Nanhong reported
because she attended many dances? Is attending dances not a good woman? Who defines a bad
woman? What's wrong with a bad woman? Does everyone have the right to insult, hurt, or even
kill a bad woman?"
Beiwu stood up, patted Jingsheng on the shoulder, and asked Shanrang to go downstairs to get
the watermelon.
Jingsheng and Sijiang looked at each other, as if a tornado had swept through their minds,
shattering many things, but also generating a lot of new content.
"Brother?" Si Jiang was sensitive to the fact that his uncle's last words were suggestive. Li Qiang
had mentioned that word several times.
Jingsheng lowered his head and exhaled after a while: "He makes sense."
Si Jiang was stunned.
"But Qian Guihua deserves her punishment. Three years is too light a sentence." Jingsheng
looked at Si Jiang and pursed his lips: "She harmed my family. I can't sympathize with her." He
was silent for a moment, lowered his eyes and said: "If the law can't give her justice, one day I
will give her justice."
"Come, eat watermelon." Shanrang smiled and lifted the door curtain.

Chapter 187
This went on for several days, and with so many people at home, Si Jiang never had a chance to
have a good talk with Jingsheng.
Gu Beiwu had just returned, and he spent several days talking about American culture,
education, art, sports, economy, military, diplomacy, and other topics that everyone was
interested in. Zhao Youning came twice and was reluctant to leave, reporting every day. Beiwu
spoke in depth and briefly, and most of the time he did not draw conclusions, leaving it to the
young people to express their own opinions. Sometimes even Dongwen and Shanshan could not
help but let them participate in the discussion.
"Primary school students don't have books in class? And don't have homework?" Sinan exclaimed
in disbelief, sighing with envy and jealousy.
Zhao Youning nodded: "My mother also said that elementary schools in Germany only have half-
day classes, but some parents are not happy about this."
Grandma Gu was dumbfounded: "What should we do with this dual-income family? This is too
unreasonable."
Shan Rang smiled and said, "I heard from an old professor in the department that in the 1960s,
because there were too many children in Beijing, elementary schools had a two-part system, with
students taking turns to use the classroom half a day. This is definitely different from the half-day
system in Germany."
Jingsheng thought it was nothing. "It's OK. I barely attended primary school in Jinghong. My dad
got me a few books to read. Later, I went to study in Shajingzi without much difficulty."
Si Jiang asked Bei Wu: "Uncle, if their education method is wrong, why is the country so
developed?"
"What are the criteria for judging right and wrong?" Beiwu asked with a smile.
Jing Shengsijiang and Youning's eyes lit up.
"Uncle, it takes ten years to grow a tree and a hundred years to cultivate a person. In ancient
times, one had to study hard for ten years for the imperial examination. Dynasties changed for
thousands of years, and finally the country's borders were opened by artillery fire. Is this the fault
of ancient education?" Si Jiang asked again.
Granny Gu knocked on the edge of the sieve where the wontons were placed: "What's wrong
with the scholars? It's the emperor's fault!"
"That's not right. It should be the fault of Emperor Qianlong's policy of closing the country to the
outside world. Our country has always been in the lead. The Tang and Song dynasties were very
glorious." As a math competition expert, Zhao Youning did not forget to make vertical
comparisons.
Jingsheng asked Sijiang: "Why is it that a developed country is right and good, and an
underdeveloped country is wrong and bad? Then the rich are right and good, and the poor are
wrong and bad?"
Without any adult participation, the three teenagers chatted with each other, gradually
discussing the topic from individual destinies to national trends to value judgments. There were
arguments and additions, and the discussion became increasingly heated.
Shanrang poked Beiwu with a smile and said, "I seem to have learned something new. Is this also
the advantage of the American education method? Are you really unwilling to come back to be a
teacher? What a pity."
Bei Wu laughed and sighed, "These three young people are really formidable. Shanghai's
education is already very advanced."
Si Nan and Si Hao, who were confused, continued to discuss Huo Yuanjia.
After eating cold wontons at noon, Beiwu made a brief summary: "I don't know much about
Germany, but their vigorous development of vocational schools after World War II was very
effective. As for the American education method, there are several objective facts."
Si Jiang and the others asked with great interest what the two points were.
"Children from wealthy families are more likely to get a better education. For example, they have
both public and private elementary schools. If a family has enough money and energy, even if the
school does not have textbooks, the children will learn a lot of knowledge, similar to the various
interest classes of our China Welfare Fund. Then when they reach junior high school, high school,
and college, the better the students' own conditions and family conditions are, the easier it is for
them to succeed, and they will form an elite class that is less likely to be surpassed by ordinary
people." Beiwu smiled and added: "This is not what I think, but the data results of Americans'
own research."
"It's the same in our country!" Si Jiang raised his hand: "After I entered junior high school, I found
that some people in my class were already learning New Concept English. They were preparing to
take the TOEFL in their first year of high school."
Sinan, who had been unable to get a word in before, now had a chance to speak: "And brother
Ningning, he has learned a lot since he was a child and participated in various competitions! We
don't learn English in primary schools in Xinjiang."
Zhao Youning: “???”
Jingsheng thought thoughtfully: "Then will the United States still be ahead of our country for
many years?"
Kitatake praised Jingsheng's way of thinking, "From the country to the person, and from the
person to the country," and added, "You know, there are many illiterate people in the United
States, and most people can't do mental calculations for two-digit or even one-digit addition and
subtraction. They have to rely on computers."
"Ah?" Now even Grandma Gu and Si Hao were surprised.
"1+1=2!" Chen Sihao had no time to show off his math knowledge.
Everyone laughed.
——
The English magazines and illustrated books brought back by Beiwu also refreshed Jingsheng and
Sijiang. They slowly flipped through the dictionary and for the first time had a more real feeling
about the developed countries on the other side of the ocean compared to what they saw on TV
and radio.
One day, Beiwu seriously mentioned that a Chinese student fell off a mountain while driving.
Then an American policeman came and asked loudly, "How are you?" The student answered
reflexively, "I'm fine. Thank you, and you." So when the policeman heard that he was fine, he
waved his hand and said, "I am fine too. Byebye." and left.
Si Jiang thought this was true, and angrily accused the American police of being irresponsible,
and Bei Wu and Shan were laughing so hard that they fell over. Jing Sheng looked at her and
shook his head: "If you went to the United States, you would be cheated in one day, and you
would still help count money."
Beiwu asked Jingsheng and Sijiang to try to talk in English for a whole day. After half an hour, they
were in a mess. After all, they had been studying for seven or eight years, but they stuttered as
soon as they opened their mouths. Not to mention speaking complete sentences, they even had
to look up the words for many common objects in the dictionary. Sinan laughed so hard that his
stomach hurt, and proudly announced: "Well, it's great that there are no English classes in
primary schools in Xinjiang. I think you guys are learning in vain."
Si Jiang blushed and asked her uncle why this happened, since she had written English essays
fluently during the exam.
"I feel now that the only function of language is communication." Beiwu said with a smile: "It is
never too late to learn it. The most important thing is to have the context. A language will always
be a dumb language if you don't use it often in your daily life. If you don't read a lot in this
language, you won't be able to understand the culture and history behind this language."
Shan Rang nodded and said, "Your uncle was simply crazy in the six months before he went
abroad. He went to big hotels and tourist attractions to practice English with foreigners all day
long. He also spoke English to me when he came back to the dormitory -" He even practiced
English in bed, which made her laugh so hard that she could not concentrate at all.
Gu Dongwen interjected: "He must have volunteered to be their tour guide, right? Maybe he
even earned a lot of foreign currency."
"Brother, how did you know?" Shan Rang was stunned for a moment before he burst into
laughter. "No one knows my brother better than me. He clearly said that he was serving as a tour
guide for free in order to practice English, but every time those foreign tourists would give him a
lot of money, saying it was a tip."
"It's his face." Gu Dongwen cut the ripe watermelon in half with a knife. "Gu Beiwu's face is so
good-looking and fashionable that he should be popular all over the world. Chinese women like
Sun Daolin, Tang Guoqiang and Zhou Liqing."
Shan Rang pulled Si Jiang to Bei Wu's side and looked at him carefully: "Nephew resembles uncle,
Si Jiang and Bei Wu are becoming more and more alike, and Si Jiang's beauty is also very
international."
Bei Wu sighed: "Si Jiang, we two are the ones who suffer the most. We are obviously very
talented and have shining souls, but everyone can only see our appearance." Si Jiang nodded
vigorously in agreement.
Everyone laughed. Si Nan was not convinced: "Who said that! My cousin is prettier than my uncle
and aunt! I don't agree." She pushed Jingsheng to the edge of the Si River and said, "Open your
eyes and look, isn't my cousin prettier?"
Everyone agreed.
Jingsheng gave Sinan a hairy chestnut, saying she was annoying. Sinan was unhappy: "I'm so good
to you, big cousin, please be gentle to me, otherwise I won't marry you in the future."
"I couldn't ask for more. Thank God. Amitabha." Jingsheng rolled his eyes at her helplessly.
"Ahhh, where's your conscience? Has it been eaten by a dog?" Sinan grabbed him and refused to
let go: "Who went to Jinghong to look for you? Weren't you so moved that you cried? If you say
that again, I will really ignore you. Brother Ningning is much better than you!"
There were two knocks outside. Zhao Youning smiled and knocked on the open door: "Sinan,
what's wrong with me?"
"Brother Ningning!" Sinan glanced at Jingsheng proudly: "Ha, now I think Brother Ningning looks
very fashionable, and he dresses very fashionably, uncle and aunt, don't you think so?"
Zhao Youning was stared at by everyone in the room, and suddenly he felt a little nervous:
"Huh?" He did change his clothes several times before going out today. The last thing he wore
was the light blue denim short-sleeved shirt and khaki fisherman shorts that his mother brought
him a few days ago. His pair of white sneakers were so new that he deliberately wiped them to
make them look less new.
Shan Rang laughed: "Yes, Xiao Zhao's outfit is particularly good-looking."
Si Jiang also nodded: "It looks good and stylish."
Zhao Youning was a little embarrassed, his face flushed: "This - my mother bought it for me."
Sinan circled around him, giving him many exaggerated compliments. No matter how she glanced
at Jingsheng, Jingsheng just pretended not to see it.
"Okay, everyone is here, we can go to Cathay to watch a movie." Beiwu stood up and raised his
hand: "Let's go, I'll treat you today, after watching Thunderstorm, we'll go to Lao Dachang for ice
cream and coffee."
"OK!"
Chen Sihao followed her mother back to her grandmother's house from her mother's house.
When she saw that the house was empty, she burst into tears, "Sister! Sister! Sister!" The sound
echoed throughout Wanchun Street, deafening the neighbors.
——
"Thunderstorm" starring Sun Daolin and Qin Yi was too dull and depressing for children. Si Nan
was the first to sneak out to go to the toilet, and she insisted on dragging Si Jiang to accompany
her, regretting why she didn't go to see the Huangmei Opera movie "Dragon Girl". After washing
her hands, she didn't insist on going out for a walk, so Si Jiang had to go back to the screening
room and whispered a few words to Shan Rang, and agreed to meet directly at the entrance of
Lao Dachang later. She took Si Nan out of the cinema door, and the two sisters walked north
along Maoming Road. After walking a few steps, Jingsheng and Youning also chased out.
"Why don't you guys watch it?" Zhao Youning asked Si Jiang with concern, "Are you feeling unwell
anywhere?"
Si Jiang raised Si Nan's hand helplessly: "I can't stand watching this kid anymore, he's too bored."
Jingsheng looked up at the row of movie posters on the wall and nodded: "She is only worthy of
watching movies like "New Fang Shiyu"."
Si Nan pouted and complained: "Big cousin, you are the most boring. How did Fang Shiyu offend
you? It's so good, you don't understand Nan Fang Bei Huo, humph, and I also like "Battle of
Wisdom and Beauty Snake"!"
The four of them crossed the street, separated by a black European iron railing, and saw a large
lawn that was trimmed very neatly. Zhao Youning knew all about these things: "This used to be
the French Club, and now it is the No. 58 Club of the Jinjiang Hotel. Next year, they will start
building a hotel managed by Japanese, called the Garden Hotel. My mother said that the most
troublesome and awesome people in the world are the Germans and the Japanese--"
Sinan peeked inside while holding onto the iron railing and interrupted him: "The German devils
and the Japanese devils are all bad guys. The Eight-Nation Alliance is also bad guys. If they dare to
come again, I will use my mysterious fist and shadowless kick to beat them down, humph."
Zhao Youning: “…” It’s so difficult to chat with children.
Jingsheng didn't think it was strange: "Ignore her, you see, she usually seems to know everything,
but in fact, it's just a trick."
Si Nan was not convinced when he heard this, and Si Jiang quickly came to his rescue: "War is a
thing of the past. Now the world is at peace, and people all over the world are one family. Our
teacher He also said that the Germans and Japanese are very serious about their work, but the
most hardworking and able to endure hardships must be us Chinese."
The other three people had no objection to this.
The old Dachang had been renovated, and there was no space on the first floor, only a row of
very stylish sales counters. The hall was full of people, and there was no place to stand. The four
people asked the waiter, and walked out of the door with four cups of iced coffee with ice cream
sticking out, and sat down by the flower bed opposite.
Sinan was amazed: "They can even take out such a big glass. If I steal it and don't return it to
them, won't they be at a huge disadvantage?"
Jingsheng said quietly, "You are the only one who wants to steal a glass to take home. If you spit
on the road, you will be sent to labor camp. You stole a glass--"
Sinan screamed, his eyes bulging out: "How could that be possible?!"
Jingsheng looked at her sympathetically and stroked her curly hair: "At least three to five years in
prison, at most eight to ten years. Goodbye, Nannan."
Si Jiang smiled and comforted Si Nan who was about to explode: "Brother is just joking with you."
Sinan suddenly felt very aggrieved. He kept his head down and ignored everyone. He used the
plastic spoon to stir the ice cream and coffee into a mess and drank it with loud slurps.
Jingsheng couldn't help but smile, turned around and discussed the plot of "Thunderstorm" with
Si Jiang, and agreed to watch it again another day.
Zhao Youning listened attentively, and suddenly he saw a teardrop hanging on Sinan's long and
curled eyelashes. With a shake, the teardrop disappeared into the white foam of the ice cream
on the edge of the cup.
"By the way, Nan Nan, didn't you say you wanted to try Lao Dachang's whipped cream? How
about I treat you?" Zhao Youning asked softly.
Sinan bit the edge of the glass, turned his head and saw that his elder sister and elder brother
were still talking. He hesitated for a moment and nodded vigorously: "Thank you, Brother
Ningning."
Zhao Youning held three empty glasses and took Sinan back to Lao Dachang to return the glasses
and buy whipped cream.
The cicadas were chirping and the road was busy. Si Jiang poked his head out and said, "Nannan
seemed a little unhappy just now."
"No one can be happy all their lives." Jingsheng didn't care too much. He and Sinan always spoke
freely. Sinan was thick-skinned and might get angry and act like a spoiled child if he was teased
too much, but the word "unhappy" should not exist in Chen Sinan's dictionary.
Si Jiang sighed softly: "Yes, it would be nice to be like Si Hao. Children are very easy to be happy.
With a piece of candy, a piece of meat and a glass of orange juice, he can be happy all day long.
Sometimes I envy him very much."
The two were silent for a moment, and Jingsheng suddenly said, "Li Qiang was right about one
thing. It was that man who killed my mother."
Si Jiang's mind went blank. It seemed like a second had passed, and it also seemed like several
minutes had passed before she slowly turned her head to look at Jingsheng, not knowing what to
say.
Jingsheng had been staring at the glass window of Lao Dachang, with no sign of anything unusual
on his face. He briefly explained the cause and effect of the incident in a very even tone, including
the suicide of Li Qiang's mother. Strangely, he seemed to feel much better after speaking it out.
"Brother..." Si Jiang felt that he should cry, but he couldn't cry at all, and his heart was empty.
Li Qiang's mother is a devil, that person is also a devil, they are all devils, but why is it the best
aunt, why would such a good brother meet such a devil. Si Jiang thought of the catchphrase that
his uncle always said.
That's what a blind God is*&%￥#.
Jingsheng took a deep breath, pursed his lips, turned his head and looked at Si Jiang: "In the
future, I want to be a policeman, a criminal policeman, the kind who can save people and solve
major cases."
Before Si Jiang could react, someone in the Lao Dachang store across the street suddenly
shouted, "There's a fight, there's a fight, call the police, hurry up and call the police—"
Jingsheng stood up suddenly: "It's Sinan and Youning!" He pulled Sijiang and ran across the
street. Bicycles on the road were unable to avoid them. Cars braked suddenly, and the wheels
rubbed against the asphalt road, making a harsh sound. Car horns honked wildly, and drivers
stuck their heads out and shouted angrily: "You little bastard, you're going to die!" The traffic
policeman on the traffic booth ran down whistling.
Si Jiang nodded and bowed all the way, saying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry", but was involuntarily pulled
by Jingsheng into the glass door of Lao Dachang.
"Nannan!"
Chapter 188
Jingsheng thought Sinan had fought with someone again, but he didn't expect that it was Zhao
Youning who started it. The traffic police were also policemen. After blowing the whistle a few
times, the manager came down and the waiters followed his instructions to clear a space in the
hall.
The other party was a young man and a young woman, who kept talking to each other. Zhao
Youning told Si Jiang with an indignant look that he was fine, but Si Nan took his hand and looked
at it and blew on it, looking very touched.
"Xinjiang cream rubbed against my clothes! (Rubbed against my clothes)"
"I pushed her gently and she fell to the ground. (I pushed her gently and she fell to the ground.)"
"There's something wrong with Dieg Little Giant. He rushed up and punched me! (There's
something wrong with this little devil. He rushed up and punched me)"
"A country bumpkin is a country bumpkin. He won't even say sorry."
"Please keep your mouth shut! What kind of character do you have?" Si Jiang was so angry that
his voice trembled: "You are shameless in bullying a child!"
Jingsheng's face darkened: "Who are you calling a country bumpkin and who is a little Xinjiang
guy?" There was a buzz of discussion in the crowd.
"This woman has very poor quality."
"The bad guys complained first and bullied the little friends. Police comrades, please don't listen
to their nonsense."
Jingsheng took two steps forward and was stopped by the police.
"Don't get excited, classmate. Don't get excited."
Seeing Jingsheng's ferocious face, the young woman cursed him twice but took two steps back.
The young man raised his chin anxiously, and his shrill voice became even more piercing: "Oh, a
bunch of rural bastards came to Huaihai Road, how could it be possible? The police are here,
what do you want to do? "
The traffic police pointed at the two of them and said, "You two adults fighting with two children,
is that embarrassing? Is this the demeanor of Shanghainese people? Please help, you have ruined
the reputation of Shanghainese people! Come on, little girl, tell me what happened. Don't be
afraid, just speak slowly to the police uncle."
Si Jiang walked over and said, "Don't be afraid, Nannan. Tell the police what happened."
Si Nan raised his head, glanced at the two men timidly, and leaned softly on Si Jiang: "Uncle
police! Uncle - woo woo woo, Nannan is scared to death." He said this in authentic Shanghai
dialect, and then burst into tears, tears streaming down his face like wide noodles.
The traffic policeman's heart melted immediately, thinking of his daughter, he immediately
squatted down and took off his white gloves, but he didn't dare to wipe her pink face, so he could
only coax her softly: "Don't cry, talk slowly, the police uncle is here, don't be afraid."
The people nearby saw that the little girl was petite, with messy curly hair covered with cream,
and looked cuter than a doll. Her crying caused outrage in the hall, and more than a dozen
customers pointed at the two men and cursed them, making them want to hide behind the
counter.
Sinan sobbed and began to reenact the case: "Brother Ningning bought me a portion of whipped
cream. There were too many people. I didn't know that the cream rubbed against the aunt when
I turned around. She shouted from behind, 'Little Chiba, stop.' I was not a little chiba, so I didn't
stop. She grabbed my hair hard - hiss, it hurts so much. Brother Ningning pulled her hand away,
and she pushed me to the ground, saying that I didn't know where I came from. I was a bad kid."
She cried even more aggrievedly: "I'm not a little chiba, not a bad kid who came from some
corner. My father is an engineer who graduated from Tongji University and an oil hero in
Karamay. My mother is a teacher. They all went to Xinjiang from Shanghai to build the
motherland. Why did she scold me for being a country boy from Xinjiang? Xinjiang is a very good
place -"
"Brother Ningning came to protect me because he saw her beating me. There were two of them
beating him alone, and my brother's hands were all broken. Uncle police, they are all bad guys."
Many people nearby stood up to testify for Sinan.
The two people who were leaning against the counter were so angry that they were about to die.
The young woman yelled at the top of her voice: "She kicked me first! She also pinched me——"
Then, who was the bad guy who complained first? Who was the bad guy? Whose child was so
bad? She called her a country bumpkin, but this kid called her a toad and called her boyfriend
short and fat. What's wrong with the pimples on her face? It wasn't her fault.
The young man was actually a little shorter than Zhao Youning. He didn't gain any advantage from
the attack just now. Now he was being pointed at by thousands of people, feeling guilty, wronged
and sad. Looking at Jingsheng with a murderous look on his face, he felt that it was actually him
and his girlfriend who needed to call the police. How come the primary and middle school
students nowadays were more terrifying than the gangsters...
When Gu Beiwu and Shanrang arrived at Lao Dachang, the traffic police was scolding them
harshly while forcing the two unlucky guys to bow and apologize to Sinan and Youning, and also
asked them to compensate Sinan with a portion of whipped cream. Seeing the parents coming,
he scolded Beiwu and Shanrang as well, saying, "How can you be parents? You don't protect your
children well and let them get bullied. Such a lovely little girl is crying so miserably. It's so pitiful!"
A small storm ended. Si Nan held Zhao Youning's hand affectionately: "Brother Ningning, you
fought for me again! You are the Huo Yuanjia and Fang Shiyu in my heart. You are the number
one in my heart!"
"Goodbye." Jingsheng sighed, "It seems that both of them died young." As for him pulling Si Jiang
across Huaihai Road just now, it seemed unnecessary. But, is there anything in the world that
Chen Sinan can't handle? He couldn't think of it for the time being.
Si Nan's neck stiffened, and he ignored Jing Sheng: "Brother Ningning, let's go. Some people are
just like my mother and can't talk. They are not suitable to be brothers. Hum."
Jingsheng: “???”
Shan Rang couldn't help laughing after listening to Si Jiang's retelling. He rubbed Si Nan's curly
hair and said, "Nan Nan is really invincible. Were you crying for real or fake just now? Can tears
come at any time?"
Sinan didn't want to admit that he had recalled his feelings about his cousin's disappearance in
order to pretend to cry, so he deliberately smiled and said, "Really! Because Brother Ningning is
so good, he never leaves me alone, and would rather get beaten than not protect me. It's a pity
that I don't have a machete today, otherwise I would definitely grab it to scare them. Unlike some
people, they are not nice to me at all, always against me and don't give me face, huh."
Bei Wu scratched her nose and said, "It's OK. Nan Nan has grown up and started to care about
her appearance. Have you hidden your inner self?"
"I've grown up a long time ago." Sinan held his head high.
Si Jiang felt something was wrong, and smiled as he hugged Si Nan: "Who are those people? Is
the elder sister good to you? Is the elder brother good to you?"
"Of course my sister is good to me, and my uncle and aunt are also good to me--" Sinan looked at
Jingsheng walking in front with his long legs as if nothing had happened, and was so annoyed
that he ran and yelled at his back: "Someone! It's someone who has no conscience. I was so good
to him, but he still said that I would be arrested and put in jail!" Now that the eldest cousin came
back, he only talked to the elder sister and ignored her. He also always said things that she
couldn't understand and treated her like a three-year-old child. She was so angry, so angry, so
angry.
As soon as Jingsheng stopped, Sinan bumped into him, covering his nose and crying in pain. He
had been lifted into the air and spun twice in the air. His hair was scattered in a ball, spinning like
an electric fan, with a scent of whipped cream. Sijiang and Zhao Youning couldn't help laughing.
"You've grown up and your temper has also become bad. You can't take jokes anymore?"
Jingsheng smiled and put the person on the ground. He squatted down and supported Sinan,
who was dizzy and had dull eyes. "Are you still angry?"
"So angry!"
Jingsheng pretended to carry her again: "It seems that two turns are not enough, we need to turn
ten more turns."
Si Nan, who was still falling to the right, quickly shouted, "I'm not angry anymore, I'm not angry
anymore!" But he immediately took advantage of the situation and grabbed Jing Sheng's arm,
saying, "You made me faint, big cousin, carry me on your back!"
Jingsheng turned around and gave Sinan his back. The whole family chatted and laughed as they
walked to Yan'an Road to wait for the red light. Shanrang suddenly slapped his head and laughed:
"Hey, Beiwu, we haven't had ice cream coffee yet!"
"It's all Nan Nan's fault..." Jingsheng said halfway and turned his head to see the little girl staring
at him with a frown. He smiled and changed the second half of the sentence: "Forget to rely on
her to deceive people, otherwise you can guarantee that you can eat for free."
Si Nan hugged his neck contentedly, smelled the soap scent on Jingsheng's hair, and took a deep
breath: "Next time I will cheat you and your money! Humph." After saying that, he turned around
and shouted to Zhao Youning: "Brother Ningning, don't worry, I will never cheat you."
Zhao Youning smiled and said, "Okay, I'll remember it."
——
Jingsheng was the last one to finish his bath at night. When he went up to the attic, he saw Sinan
lying on his mat, flipping through a story book out of boredom.
"Why don't you go to bed?"
"It's so hot, I can't sleep. Isn't my uncle coming back today?"
"Um."
Sinan's feet tapped the bed board, and he suddenly turned around angrily, then got up and
waved to Jingsheng, "Brother, come here."
Jingsheng asked cautiously, "What?"
"Come here, come here."
Jingsheng sat on the edge of the bed.
Sinan hugged his arm and rubbed his face like he did when he was a child, and said with
satisfaction: "Ah - cool!"
Jingsheng was both angry and amused. Just as he was about to shake off the sticky candy, he felt
something strange on his arm. He raised his arm and was startled: "Why are you crying again?
Did your mother scold you?"
Sinan said with tears in her eyes: "I feel sad."
"Why?"
Si Nan didn't say anything for a long time. Jing Sheng didn't urge her, but he felt a little emotional
in his heart. Girls are really strange creatures. They are all different. Si Nan seemed to have grown
up suddenly, but she was definitely still a child. She and Si Jiang seemed completely different, but
they were very similar in some ways.
"Cousin, do you like other girls?" Sinan suddenly raised his head, stared at Jingsheng with bright
eyes and asked.
Jingsheng was startled and got goose bumps on his arms.
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Do you have?"
"Of course not." Jingsheng covered Sinan's head with a half-wet towel in his hand: "What do you
know about likes and dislikes? Ha, what are you thinking about in your little head? Study hard
and make progress every day, remember?"
"That's good." Sinan breathed a sigh of relief and pulled off the towel: "You have to wait for me."
"What are you waiting for?"
"Wait until I grow up. I can't quite understand what you, Sister, and Brother Ningning are saying
now. I will be able to understand when I come back next year."
"So powerful?" Jingsheng laughed.
"Of course, I can understand it when I go to junior high school, and I also want to read a lot of
books like my elder sister and uncle." Sinan raised the "Story Club" in his hand: "Not this kind, but
the thick one like my elder sister's."
"Okay, we'll wait for you. Go on, go downstairs and go to bed."
Sinan got off the bed reluctantly, took two steps, and then turned back to pick up the Story Club:
"But this one is also very good. I'll finish this one first and then read the others."
Before going down to the attic, she stuck her head out of the hole and suddenly comforted
Jingsheng, "Don't worry, cousin. I love you the most and will always love you. You are number
one. You will always be number one."
Jingsheng was a little confused: "What?"
Sinan said softly, "I won't be like my uncle. He likes my aunt and Aunt Lu. Don't be sad. I don't like
my uncle that much anymore. He ranks fifth."
Jingsheng's heart felt lightly hit, and he felt sore and swollen.
The sounds of Sinan and Sijiang talking and laughing could be heard downstairs.
——
"Didn't someone say that I, the eldest cousin, would always rank first? Tsk tsk tsk." Jingsheng
asked Sinan with a smile.
Sinan said confidently: "Double yolk eggs, you know? You can have two champions, two best
actresses, and I also have two first place winners. Who made me such a philanthropic person?"
Chapter 189
In late July, Ximei prepared to take Sinan back to Xinjiang early for piano lessons in August. Beiwu
and Shan asked them to go to Nanjing to visit relatives at the end of the month and then return
to Beijing, saying that they would take Jingsheng and Sijiang all the way north.
"Going to so many places? Wouldn't that be too much trouble for your uncle and aunt?" Ximei
looked at Sijiang's expectant eyes and couldn't bear to refuse, but she was a little reluctant. She
didn't understand why she was reluctant.
"No trouble." Bei Wu smiled and said, "When you are a teenager, you should go out and see the
world. Reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles."
Shanrang said: "Jingsheng and Sijiang are such sensible children. They always take care of us.
With them around, we feel more comfortable along the way."
"Yes, there are coolies carrying the luggage." Beiwu patted Jingsheng who was doing pull-ups on
the door frame and said, "That's enough. If you do this every day, Shanrang will be dissatisfied
with me."
Jingsheng jumped down and wiped his sweat: "Why?"
Shanrang pinched Beiwu's arm and patted his belly: "Look, your uncle's flesh has become loose
and soft, it's all because of studying."
Beiwu grabbed the collar of his sweat shirt and took it off his head. He rubbed his hands together
with the sweat vest on, and then did pull-ups against the door frame.
"One, two, three, four, come on, come on, uncle." Si Jiang kindly smiled and cheered him on.
There was a banging sound on the stairs, and Sinan and Sihao came back, sweating profusely,
holding a pile of trophies.
"Hey! I can do that, too. I can do that, too."
Beiwu did six, and then he couldn't do it anymore, so he let go and said, "Hey, Sinan, you little
bully from Wanchun Street can still do pull-ups?"
"Uncle, don't you believe I can do it?" Sinan asked with a smile.
Beiwu smiled and said, "This is particularly difficult for girls. If you can do one, I will——"
"Take me to Beijing!" Sinan's eyes sparkled: "Okay?!"
"If you have one, do I have to take you to Beijing? Then if you have two uncles, do I have to take
you to the United States?" Bei Wu laughed. Last night, the little girl pestered him and said that
she also wanted to see Tiananmen Square. It seems that if you have a goal, you have motivation,
and the motivation is not small. You will not miss any opportunity.
"I'll make the same amount as you, six." Sinan said proudly, with his hands on his waist and his
belly protruding, "I'll make six, and my uncle will take me to Beijing. I don't want to go to the
United States. There's nothing special about the United States."
Shan Rang asked himself that he had tried countless times but couldn't even do half of it, so he
smiled and stretched out his little finger: "Nan Nan, if you can do one, your aunt will take you to
Beijing. Come on, I'll keep my word."
Sinan quickly stretched out his hand and made a pinky promise with her: "Pink, pinky promise,
for a hundred years!" She corrected him seriously: "Six means six! Come on, big cousin, carry me
up."
Jingsheng smiled and lifted her up. Sinan spit into his hands twice, grabbed the door frame,
turned around and shouted to Beiwu and Shanrang, "Count for me."
Si Hao held a bunch of toy cars and tanks and cheered for his sister. Gu Ximei was anxious: "Chen
Sinan, what are you doing? Why are you going to Beijing? Get down, get down, and spit saliva,
you look so disgusting!"
"No, I want to go to Beijing with my eldest cousin and sister." Sinan motioned Jingsheng to let go.
Jingsheng let go of her and waited below with his arms outstretched.
Sinan hung on the door frame like a skinny monkey. He kicked his legs and swayed twice.
"It's okay if you can't do it." Si Jiang came over anxiously and stretched out his hand: "Come
down, don't hurt your arm, this is very difficult, no girl in our class has completed one! Nannan,
be good, come down quickly. I'll ask your uncle and aunt for you, and we'll go together."
"No, uncle, you haven't agreed yet." Sinan turned his head and looked at Beiwu: "I will do it if you
agree too!"
Bei Wu held back Xi Mei who was about to lose her temper: "Okay, I promise you." He could see
that among these kids, Si Nan was the most impetuous. In this respect, she was like Gu Dongwen,
bold, daring, but also careful. She was afraid that Shan Rang would not be able to change Xi Mei's
mind, so she had to get a double guarantee.
As soon as he finished speaking, the little monkey went up and rubbed his hands.
"One, two, three... six, seven, eight, nine, ten." Jingsheng was shocked: "Okay, didn't you say you
can just do six? Come on down."
"I'm happy! I'll give it to you four for free!" Sinan's hand loosened and fell into Jingsheng's arms,
smiling: "Look, cousin, I told you I would definitely find a way to be with you. Hahaha. Am I
awesome?"
Everyone said in unison: "You are such a stick! You are the stickiest!"
Gu Ximei looked at Bei Wu and Shan Rang, and sighed helplessly. Okay, this is not the first time
that Si Nan has been the master of her. What can she do? No way.
Si Jiang was chatting amiably in the pavilion at night. He was very envious and a little sad when
he talked about Si Nan who got a chance to travel to Nanjing and Beijing by doing pull-ups. "Aunt,
I envy Si Nan very much. I am so much worse than her. She has been more independent and
capable than me since she was a child, and she is also very courageous. This time she and her
mother went to Yunnan to visit her eldest cousin. Even if I was 20 years old, I probably wouldn't
be able to figure out what to do. But she was only 11 years old and she thought of everything and
did it. Last night she said she would not go back to Xinjiang and wanted to go with us. I thought it
was impossible——"
"Yeah." Shan Rang nodded with a smile: "Your uncle also said earlier that Si Nan will have an
easier life than you in the future."
"Huh?" Si Jiang was stunned. What does it mean to live an easy life?
"Sinan is a child who will do her best to get what she wants. She was like this when she was a
child. She doesn't consider the feelings of those around her. She dared to run back to Shanghai
from Shajingzi alone. Many people were worried about her and looked for her, but she didn't
care. Will you?"
"No." Si Jiang sighed.
"Because you are a child who values the feelings of people around you more than your own
feelings." Shanrang smiled and said, "Your uncle said that Sinan is actually more like a child who
grew up in the United States, who only cares about herself. Probably because she was not well
taken care of since she was a child and could only rely on herself, and Jingsheng took care of her
very well, so she has a bit of a fledgling complex towards Jingsheng and relies on and trusts
Jingsheng especially. As for you, you are a typical Chinese child, who cares about everyone and
would rather sacrifice yourself to make others comfortable. Our Sijiang is actually at a
disadvantage."
Si Jiang thought about it and realized that Shan Rang was praising her. His face turned red: "Aunt,
you really know how to comfort me."
"It's not comfort, it's heartache." Shan Rang reached out and patted her: "Si Jiang, you need to be
braver and fight for what you want, like Si Nan and me."
Si Jiang was puzzled: "Aunt?"
"If I don't fight for it, I won't be able to be such a good aunt to Si Jiang." Shan Rang smiled with
his eyes curved.
"Ah? You and uncle, you were the one who pursued uncle?" Si Jiang's eyes widened, and he
recalled the time when he and Shanrang first met: "You invited us to dinner for uncle's birthday,
so that means you were pursuing uncle?"
"Isn't it?" Shan Rang was surprised: "You didn't see it? I spent money and time, if it wasn't for
your uncle, this beautiful woman, what else would it be for?"
The door curtain moved, and Beiwu walked in with a smile: "The first love letter was clearly
written by me to you. Aren't you treating me to a meal for the sake of our pure, everlasting
friendship?"
Si Jiang held up his face and watched his uncle and aunt bickering with a smile. It was great, this
was true love.
After chatting and laughing for a while, Jingsheng brought Sinan down to the pavilion with a
thermos of ice water.
Shan Rang whispered to Si Jiang: "Can you tell Si Nan what you just said?"
"Of course I can." Si Jiang had actually expressed her envy of Si Nan several times in person, and
she had nothing to hide in front of Jing Sheng. Does an elder sister have to be better than a
younger sister? She didn't think so.
"Nannan, tell your aunt, if it weren't for today's pull-ups, how else would you have let us take you
to Nanjing and Beijing instead of going back to Xinjiang?" Shanrang asked curiously, "I can't think
of any good ideas."
Sinan held his chin with both hands: "Aunt, do you think I am cute?"
"Cute." Shan Rang couldn't help laughing.
"Then why didn't you take me?" Sinan pouted, his eyes reddening. "My sister has been with my
uncle since she was a child. You took my sister and my cousin but not me. Isn't that partiality? I
also want to be close to you. I also want to see Peking University. I also want to go to Peking
University in the future. Is it because I grew up alone in Xinjiang, a country boy, that I am not
qualified to go?"
Shan Rang's eyes became sore after hearing her words. She blamed herself and Bei Wu for not
thinking carefully and ignoring Si Nan's feelings. "I'm sorry, Nan Nan. Your uncle and aunt like you
too. We didn't mean that."
Bei Wu looked at his little niece and shook his head: "Forget it, we lost to you."
Jingsheng stretched out his hand and waved in front of Sinan's eyes: "Hey, stop acting." This line
sounded familiar. She learned it and used it on the spot. Who could bear it?
Sinan smiled slyly and hugged Shanrang's shoulders affectionately: "I'm just teasing your aunt,
don't cry."
Si Jiang wiped away his tears and slapped Si Nan on the butt: "Stinky Nan Nan! You are so
annoying. If you really think so, I will be angry!"
Sinan stuck out his tongue and said, "I wanted to tell Mom tonight that I have a ticket and can
ride the train for free. Mom will definitely agree. Hehe."
"Si Nan's move is to appeal to people's emotions and reason, to put herself in an invincible
position and seize the moral high ground." Bei Wu smiled and analyzed to Si Jiang and Jing Sheng:
"She said these things out of her simple instinct to seek her greatest interests. But think about it
carefully, what objective conditions did she take advantage of, and what subjective emotions did
she mobilize the listeners? What logical reasoning skills did she use? If we want to reject her but
not hurt her feelings, how should we say it?"
"Of course, your mother will never be able to resist." Bei Wu rubbed Si Nan's head: "You have
been using your mother as a training target for many years. You brought your aunt into trouble by
mistake."
Sinan opened his eyes wide and looked innocent: "Uncle, I am speaking from the heart. How
many letters do you write to my sister in a year and how many to me? You are biased."
Beiwu: “…”
Sinan laughed again: "You raised my sister. If you don't favor her, you're not a human being!"
Everyone in the room: “???”
"You are God! God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in
him shall not perish but have eternal life. Amitabha, God bless you." Sinan clasped his hands
together and recited his grandmother's catchphrase.
Jingsheng and Sijiang corrected her in unison: "No Amitabha!"
——
In the 1990s, Chen Sinan, who won the best debater in the International College Debate
Competition, returned to Shanghai. Si Jiang and Zhao Youning celebrated for her. When talking
about this past event, Si Jiang sighed that it was true that one can tell a person's future from his
childhood. Sinan waved a skewer with no mutton on it and pointed at Zhao Youning
disapprovingly: "This world is ours and yours, but in the end, it belongs to mathematics. Logic,
logic is the most important, right? Zhao Youning."
Zhao Youning smiled and sprinkled cumin on the new kebab in his hand: "Yours, all yours. Here,
eat as much as you can, it's my treat today."
"20 cents a skewer, I can eat 100 skewers for only 20 yuan, okay! You used to get 10,000 yuan in
Baosteel scholarships, and you treated me to mutton skewers, Zhao Youning, where is your
conscience?" Si Nan fiercely grabbed the mutton skewers and glared at the elder sister: "And you,
the general manager's secretary, at least treat me to Paul's salt and pepper king cobra and sing
karaoke at Qiangui, so that we can be real sisters, right?"
"Okay, we'll go after we finish eating the mutton skewers. Didn't you say you wanted to eat
Xinjiang mutton skewers?" Si Jiang asked with a smile, "Are you still helping the boss sell mutton
skewers today?"
Sinan finished the mutton skewers in his hand in a flash, returned the skewer to Shamusak, joked
with him in Uyghur, pulled up his long curly hair and tied it up with a hair tie, and shouted loudly:
"Mutton skewers, mutton skewers, Shamusak's mutton skewers! Authentic Xinjiang mutton
skewers, don't miss it if you pass by——"
Chapter 190
Gu Ximei agreed, and scolded Sinan privately. Thinking that the two sisters would need food and
daily necessities on the way, she forced a hundred yuan into Shanrang's pocket. Shanrang
accepted it generously, and said with a smile that Sijiang should keep a record of the amount and
refund if there was more money, and make up for the shortfall. Ximei felt better, and went to the
pharmacy to buy some ginseng and two kilograms of ganoderma lucidum. Lao Jiefu bought a few
pieces of silk cloth as a gift for General Zhou and his wife and Shanrang's sisters-in-law.
Si Nan disliked the smell of medicinal herbs in her bag, and Gu Ximei said to her: "You should be
grateful and repay your kindness. Your uncle and aunt are so good to you and have bought so
many things for you. How can you come to them empty-handed?"
Granny Gu nodded repeatedly: "Thank God, that's the truth. Even a beggar brings an empty bowl.
If I were not so weak, I would go and see my in-laws. Sigh. I don't know what your eldest brother
is busy with. He is nowhere to be seen. It's really sad."
"Not coming back is a good thing." Ximei said with a smile, "I hope I can give you a big fat
grandson soon."
"God bless you." Granny Gu made a cross: "I do want to, but what's the point of just wanting. If
she doesn't even want to get married or hold a wedding banquet, how can she give me a
grandson? I wish."
Sinan giggled, hugged his grandmother and acted coquettishly: "My eldest cousin is your best
grandson. My eldest uncle would be happy if he had one. Now in many places, having a second
child will result in the house being demolished and fined. It's scary. I heard that they will take the
pregnant woman to the hospital, cut her with a knife, dig out the baby and throw it into the pit.
Tsk tsk tsk tsk."
Gu Ximei slapped her on the head: "What nonsense are you talking about again! Don't say such
rumors, or the police will come to arrest you."
Sinan looked at his grandmother's frightened face and quickly rubbed her chest to calm her
down: "I was just talking nonsense, I was just talking nonsense, grandma, are you okay?"
Granny Gu tremblingly dug out a small notebook from the drawer of her chest of drawers, then
hurried downstairs to find Gu Beiwu in the pavilion: "Fourth brother, call your uncle's home in
Yangzhou and ask if his second brother's wife has given birth."
Bei Wu took the notebook and went downstairs: "Doesn't Xu Laoliu have two children?"
"Those two were daughters. Your aunt said the one she got pregnant last year would definitely be
a grandson. It's been nine or ten years, no, almost a year, and there's still no news." Grandma Gu
thought about what Si Nan said and became more and more scared. She urged Bei Wu to go to
the public telephone booth.
——
After about half an hour, Gu Beiwu helped Grandma Gu into the house, and both of them looked
unhappy.
Granny Gu sat still for a while, then suddenly slapped her legs and started to curse, howling as
she cursed. She cursed in Yangzhou dialect, which none of Si Jiang and the others could
understand.
Ximei understood, and her heart was beating fast. Beiwu whispered to Shanrang what happened,
and Shanrang asked in a lost voice: "Really?! Oh my god." Jingsheng and Sijiang also heard it, and
Sijiang shivered involuntarily, feeling cold all over in July. Jingsheng pulled Sinan and the fat boy
and walked out: "Let's go buy some mung bean popsicles, there's no stock in the refrigerator."
The Xu family's uncle had bad luck. The seventh child, who was born before and was engaged to
Su Su, first had a brain burnout and then died of abdominal swelling, leaving only the sixth child
in the family. The sixth child also married a distant cousin of the family. In eight years, he only had
two daughters. After getting pregnant with the third child last year, he hid from place to place
and even called to ask if he could hide in Shanghai to give birth. After a brief inquiry, Grandma Gu
said that it was absolutely impossible. Now the neighborhood committee's family planning is a
dead task. Every household has a person responsible. If a pregnant guest comes to a family, the
neighborhood committee will come to register within one night. The Xu family's aunt had no
choice but to let it go. Grandma Gu asked Dong Wen to remit 100 yuan to the uncle's family as a
token of her gratitude.
As expected, what you fear will come true. Xu Laoliu took his wife out to hide until her belly was
eight months old. Thinking that they were unfamiliar with the place and were afraid that
something might happen during childbirth, they sneaked back home. On the third day, his wife
was sent to the clinic. After one night, she was reported to have a stillbirth. The family was fined
3,000 yuan, but they said that they were from the same village, so they did not demolish the
seven-room blue brick and tile house that Laoliu had just built the year before.
Lao Liu was an honest man. He knew that it was illegal for his family to have a third child. There
were many such cases around him. It was good enough that his house was not demolished. He
could only cry and slap himself, scolding himself for being so greedy that he had to bring his son
back to die. Xu's aunt also cried and said that this was fate. The family was ready to borrow
money from everywhere to pay the fine. But Lao Liu's wife went to the toilet in the clinic and
heard that her son's Ziheche was sold for 50 yuan and given to some official's wife to replenish
her body. She went crazy and chased the people in the clinic and beat them up. After injuring
three people, she was arrested and said that she would be sentenced to at least two years. Xu
Lao Liu was desperate. He poured a bucket of rapeseed oil on himself and rushed to the gate of
the township government to die with the official who bought his son's Ziheche. Naturally, he was
also arrested.
The Xu family is a large family with a history of two to three hundred years in Yangzhou. Although
they have experienced wars and fled, there are indeed many relatives. When Lao Liu and his wife
suffered, relatives from all sides came to help. In the end, one or two hundred people ran to
make trouble, and seven or eight leaders were arrested. It was mentioned above that they must
be severely punished to prevent others from following suit. On the other hand, the Women's
Federation and the Village Committee sent condolence money to the door, saying that the
government will never tolerate the behavior of reselling placenta. The relevant personnel
involved have been severely punished, and the official has been suspended. However, having a
third child and gathering to make trouble are definitely illegal. I hope that Lao Liu's family will
recognize their own mistakes and take the initiative to review them. There is still room for
recovery. The son is gone, and there are two daughters. Will they not raise them? If both parents
are in prison, how will the children live in the future?
In the end, the big incident was resolved into a small one. Lao Liu's family paid a fine of 1,000
yuan, and the couple were released and went home. Those who led the riot were also fined and
imprisoned for seven days. A new round of propaganda began in all villages in the township.
Grandma Gu cried and cursed God for a long time, and finally knelt on the bed footstool and read
the Bible for an hour before she calmed down. She said that she would go back to Yangzhou in
the fall no matter what to persuade her brother, sister-in-law and their family to believe in God. If
they had believed in God earlier, her grandson might be fine.
——
This incident gave Si Jiang a huge shock, even a subversive one. Even after getting on the train,
she still doubted whether the world she lived in and the world of her sixth cousin's family in
Yangzhou were the same world.
What is right and what is wrong? What is the standard?
"If we don't control births, can the country with the largest population in the world feed so many
people?"
Shanrang gave Si Jiang a data: from 1953 to 1964, my country's population increased by 100
million in 12 years, but in the 19 years from 1964 to 1982, the population increased by 300
million.
Si Jiang remained silent. Even if it was a reasonable policy, did it have to be done this way? What
else could be done if it wasn't done this way? What would happen if it wasn't done this way? She
was very confused. She had never paid attention to these things in Shanghai. She had heard Li
Nan say that her mother had to travel across three districts every month to collect the five yuan
single-child fee, and everyone just thought it was a joke.
"If Sihao and I weren't here, and Mom had only my sister as a daughter, would our family be
better off?" Sinan asked, holding a salty plum in his mouth.
Without waiting for Beiwu and Shanrang to answer, Sinan shook his head and said, "But my
grandfather and mother definitely want my mother to give birth to a son. Why do people want to
give birth to sons? Aren't daughters good? My sister and I are much better than Sihao. I think
Sihao is a little bit stupid."
Jingsheng laughed: "How can you say that about your own brother?"
"Really? When she was just over three years old, she knew a lot of words and could do addition
and subtraction. When Sihao was five years old, I asked him what seven plus eight equals, and he
said nine!"
Si Jiang's heavy heart was relieved a little after Si Nan's interruption. Si Nan talked about Si Hao's
miserable state after being "abandoned" by them and laughed: "The little fat boy cried and said
he wanted to eat all the green bean popsicles in the refrigerator."
Si Jiang felt very sorry for his brother: "If he wasn't so young, I would really like to bring him
along. He is actually very well behaved and obedient."
"Forget it, he'll be happy again as soon as he turns around. When Mom leaves tomorrow, no one
will take care of him at home, so don't be too happy." Si Nan stuffed a handful of melon seeds to
Si Jiang disapprovingly: "Sister, don't think too much. You have to be happy when you go out to
play. If you're unhappy, your uncle and aunt will be unhappy, and your cousin will be unhappy
too. I'll be embarrassed to be happy alone."
Si Jiang looked at everyone and said, "I'm sorry."
Bei Wu laughed and said, "What is there to apologize for? If someone doesn't care about
something that happened to him, wouldn't he be a cold-blooded animal?"
"Not good." Jingsheng said while looking out the window.
Sinan leaned over and asked, "What's wrong?"
Si Jiang nodded and followed Jingsheng's words: "I feel bad too. Today it's Xu's cousin's mother,
tomorrow it could be my mother. I don't know what to do, but just thinking about it makes me
feel bad and uncomfortable."
Sinan understood, she spread her hands and said, "There's nothing we can do about it. If it
weren't for Aunt Meng, Mum wouldn't have been able to give birth to my brother. She had to
hide in Urumqi to give birth. If you can't help it, you can only not give birth. If you have to give
birth even if you can't, isn't it like delivering yourself to a tiger knowing that it wants to eat you?
And if you give birth to this one and that one too, it's okay to give birth to one, then won't the
family who obediently gives birth to only one child suffer a great loss? Anyway, I can't stand
having a son. If they had a son first, would they still hide like this to have a daughter? I don't
believe it."
Si Jiang frowned, wanting to say that Si Nan was wrong to say that, but she couldn't refute it at
the moment. Bei Wu and Shan Rang looked at each other and changed the subject.
Si Nan took Si Jiang's arm and said sincerely: "Sister, I'm quite happy that you told me this."
"Um?"
"It means you treat me as an adult. You only talked to your eldest cousin, uncle and aunt before.
What you said sounded very impressive." Sinan was a little proud: "Now I am also a thoughtful
adult, right?"
Si Jiang was amused by her: "Then let me ask you, if I get married and want to have children, if I
really like children, and I want to have another one after I have a daughter, it doesn't matter if it's
a boy or a girl, and I promise to treat my daughter very well, just like I treat you, and then I give
birth to a boy, does this count as favoring boys over girls?"
Sinan thought about it seriously and said, "Not really. You treat me better than you treat my
brother. If you want to have a baby, just give birth. The belly is yours."
"What if I'm about to give birth to this child, but someone doesn't allow me to do so and kills the
baby, would you think I deserve it?"
Sinan raised his eyebrows and yelled angrily: "Bullshit! I killed them!"
Si Jiang looked at her and smiled: "Then why do you think it's what she deserves when it's Xu's
cousin's mother?"
Sinan opened his mouth and stammered after a while: "I, I didn't say she deserved it. She is
pitiful, but, but——"
Si Jiang sighed: "Whether she wanted to have a son or not, she shouldn't have encountered such
a bad thing. Whether the child in her belly should not be born or not, she shouldn't have
encountered such a bad thing. Even if she is fined a lot of money, that is a living baby. Think
about Si Hao's face——"
Si Nan covered his ears and screamed: "No, no, no, I can't think about it. Who dares to kill Si Hao?
Aaaaaa——"
Jingsheng interjected calmly, "Didn't you say at the time that if your mother dared to give birth to
him, you would strangle her to death?"
Sinan: “Ah?” It’s over. She, the “adult” who was so thoughtful just now, is now confused. But if
anyone dares to touch her sister and brother, she will definitely wield a machete!
"We are about to arrive at Suzhou Station. Passengers who want to get off please be ready."
Jingsheng and Sijiang stood up and took the luggage off the luggage rack one by one.
Sinan suddenly looked up and asked, "Sister, who are you going to have a baby with?!"
Si Jiang: “Huh???”
Jingsheng: “Huh???”
Beiwu Heshanrang burst into laughter, happy for Sijiang's empathy and Sinan's frankness. My
daughter has grown up, and I am very happy.

Chapter 191
The ancient city of Suzhou and Shanghai are two completely different things. This was Sijiang's
first long-distance trip after he went to school, and he found everything new and interesting. The
cargo ships shuttled through the canal, the goods were constantly loaded and unloaded at the
dock, the tricycles jingled on the narrow green stone road, the old ladies on the roadside shouted
in Wu dialect to sell cakes, and even the unique alley names could cause exclamations.
What usually makes Sinan scream out is the "Xia Li Ba Ren" style: "Eunuchs! Hahaha, eunuchs
must have lived here."
"Vinegar Alley? Sister, you should live here. You love vinegar the most."
“Duck egg head? Hahaha, will all the kids living here go home with duck eggs?”
What makes Si Jiang stop and recite are often the "highbrow" type: "Youlan Lane, Lujia Lane,
Tongfang Lane, Pulin Lane, Banlian Lane..." The difference in the personalities of the two sisters
can also be seen.
Beiwu took everyone to several post offices and bought different garden postcards to send to
Wanchun Street and Urumqi, and one to Hong Kong.
"Where is this?" Sinan looked at the English address and name on it and was very puzzled:
"Uncle, your foreign friend?"
"It's not a foreign country, it's Hong Kong, our Chinese Hong Kong." Beiwu walked out of the post
office and told them with a smile: "The Miss Nan on the postcard just now is your aunt. Her
whole family is doing well now. The eldest, second and third children are all in school and are
learning to speak Cantonese and English."
This unexpected surprise made Sijiang and Sinan stunned for a few seconds, then they
immediately hugged each other and jumped up, both of them screaming and screaming,
regardless of the crowds of people on the road. Sinan let go of Sijiang, hugged Jingsheng and
jumped for several times. Jingsheng held her steady, and he and Sijiang smiled at each other,
both feeling relieved that the clouds had been cleared and the sun had come. When God closes a
door, he will always leave a window for you. Grandma Gu's simple catchphrase was indeed
correct.
Bei Wu smiled and patted Jing Sheng on the shoulder: "You and Si Jiang are amazing. No matter
how much you talk, it's better to get something done. The investigation report on your eldest
aunt's crime of corruption has come out. After the crackdown is over and the case is closed, she
should be cleared of all charges in September."
"Then my aunt will be back!" Si Jiang was so excited that he cried with joy.
Beiwu shook his head: "She doesn't plan to come back."
"Why!"
Why? Beiwu couldn't explain it in a few words.
"Why?" Sinan was very depressed: "Her home is in Shanghai, her grandmother is also in
Shanghai, doesn't she want them all? Doesn't she want her brothers, sisters and younger
brother? Doesn't she want us either? Is that Hong Kong so good? The eldest, second and third
brothers must want to come back. Isn't it good to speak Shanghainese? Why do they have to
speak Cantonese and English..."
The five of us walked to the twin towers in Dinghui Temple Lane, listening to Sinan's chatter, and
sat down on a stone bench under a big tree. There were not many tourists here. Several old
Suzhou men were playing chess under the shade of the tree. An old lady was sitting on a small
stool selling sugar porridge. A small straw mat was spread next to the steel wok for the sugar
porridge, on which a little girl of two or three years old was curled up and sleeping soundly. A
colorful windmill was across her face, moving with the wind. The old lady fanned herself with a
fan and hummed softly: "Knock knock knock, selling sugar porridge, three pounds of walnuts and
four pounds of shells, cut the meat, return the shells, old lady of the Zhang family, come back
tomorrow."
The cicadas were chirping loudly, and Si Jiang looked up at the towering tower, feeling
melancholy.
Jingsheng walked up to the old lady and bought five bowls of sweet porridge.
"Grandma wrapped it in cotton wool. It's a little cool. Want to try it?"
Shan Rang took the small bowl and said with a smile: "Ah, whoever becomes our Jingsheng's
girlfriend in the future will be so happy. Comrade Gu Beiwu, you must learn from Jingsheng in
this regard."
Sinan leaned forward and pointed at himself: "I am very happy."
Everyone was startled, and then they couldn't help laughing. Only Jing Sheng laughed and gave
her a chestnut.
Si Nan shook his head seriously at Bei Wu again: "Uncle, don't learn it. You can't learn it. It's
innate. There's nothing you can do about it."
Beiwu almost choked on the dumplings in the porridge, and raised his hand to reward her with a
chestnut.
Shanrang finished laughing, but then he started a new conversation: "Si Jiang, do you know?
Actually, since I was 21 or 22 years old, many people have always asked me, Shanrang, do you
have a partner? When are you going to get married? Why haven't you found a partner yet? Are
your requirements too high? There are so many good comrades in the army, you can just pick a
lot. Why haven't you gotten married yet? Why are you still going to college at this age?"
Si Jiang pursed his lips and said, "It seems that no matter how old we are, we can't escape other
people's 'concern'."
As far as she can remember, “When will your parents come back? Are you lonely in Shanghai? Is
your grandma nicer to you or your mother? What did your uncle buy you? Why are you wearing a
dress? Don’t copy your uncle…” When she grew up a little, those people began to care again, “Are
your parents not going back to Shanghai? You have your sister by your side, Si Jiang is so pitiful.
Why don’t you go to Xinjiang to find your parents? Why do you live in your grandma’s house?
Your last name is not Gu. You have to be filial to your grandpa and mom in the future. How do
you sign up for the Children’s Palace?…” Then, it was “Is it easy to join the choir? How can I get
on TV? Si Jiang, can you teach our daughter to sing and dance? If the new leather shoes are too
small, don’t throw them away, give them to your sister, okay? Is Si Jiang going back to Xinjiang? Is
your sister going back to Shanghai? Where are your parents…”
"Yes, even if I marry your uncle, there will still be many people who 'care' about me. How can I let
him go to the United States alone? If they go there, they will definitely break up. At least there is
a child. You are over 30 years old, why don't you have a child? That so-and-so always comes to
see you. Does he have feelings for you? You have to pay attention to the impact. He has a wife
and children--"
Bei Wu was stunned: "Huh? Who is who? How come I don't know?"
Shan Rang laughed: "It's Lao Shi, the honest guy in your dormitory. His younger brother was
admitted to Peking University and is in my class, so he often comes to our department office."
Sinan shook his head: "It's so annoying, it's none of their business!"
Si Jiang sighed. It seemed that even in his uncle and aunt's circle of high-level intellectuals, he still
couldn't escape the gossip about family matters.
Jingsheng asked Shanrang softly, "Will you be affected by them? Will you be unhappy, sad, and
annoyed?"
Shan Rang thought for a moment and said, "It's okay. I am definitely a little annoyed, but I can't
do anything about how others see me. I can't live a life I don't want to live just because of a few
words from them."
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng nodded thoughtfully. Si Jiang thought of the happiness he had felt after
giving up singing, dancing, and appearing on TV, and couldn't help but curl up his lips.
Shan Rang smiled and said, "So, the most important thing for people is to do what they want to
do and become who they want to be, rather than just follow the crowd. This crowd is usually
caused by the environment, others, or even many close people around you. It is not easy to keep
your will unchanged. Jingsheng wants to be a policeman, Sijiang wants to be a lawyer, Sinan -
Sinan, what do you want to do in the future?"
Sinan held the empty bowl and thought for a while: "I have never thought about what I want to
do, but the uncles and aunts in my father's unit all said that I am suitable to be the general
secretary. They said that the general secretary is not as busy as I am and does not have as many
things to do as I do."
Si Jiang smiled and nodded, saying, "Then you can try hard to become the first female general
secretary of our new China."
Sinan: "I wish I could become the general secretary, then I will..."
Seeing her so beautiful and smiling, Jingsheng couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's the
matter?"
"I eat pig's trotter soup and grilled mutton skewers every day!" Sinan smiled proudly, "Brother
Shamusak from Shajingzi wrote to me and said that his family has set up a stall selling mutton
skewers in Aksu County. Business is booming and they can sell 2,000 skewers a day! His hands are
full of holes from red willow branches. Wow. In fact, if I were to sell mutton skewers, I'm sure I
could sell 3,000 skewers a day! 3,000 skewers, all mutton!"
Jingsheng smiled and said, "Yes, you can eat a thousand skewers by yourself."
"One thousand is difficult, so one hundred is enough." Sinan stretched and collected everyone's
empty bowls to return them. I don't know what he said to the old lady, but he just lay down at
the girl's feet and sang "Selling Sugar Porridge" with the old lady. He held the windmill in his hand
and waved it, looking very comfortable and happy.
Shan Rang said softly, "Hong Kong is a very fashionable and advanced city. If your aunt goes
there, she will definitely find something more suitable for her. If she feels that she can live a
better life in Hong Kong than returning to Shanghai, then why not?"
Si Jiang was startled and lowered her head: "Aunt, you are right. My eldest uncle always said that
people should live the life they want, and it doesn't matter if they are poor or suffer. Even if my
aunt doesn't come back, she is still our good aunt--" She suddenly looked up and asked Bei Wu:
"Uncle, can you copy that address for me? I have a lot to say to my aunt, and I want to write to
her. Is it okay to write a letter? I will write after September."
"Of course." Bei Wu nodded with a smile: "Your aunt must have a lot to say to you."
Thank you, Si Jiang, thank you, Jing Sheng, thank you for being so nice.
Jingsheng was silent for a moment, then said with emotion: "It's better to have a choice than to
have no choice."
"My aunt will definitely choose to give birth to you!" Si Jiang blurted out, and was embarrassed
after being shocked by himself: "I'm sorry, brother, I have been thinking about my cousin's
mother in Yangzhou these days."
Jingsheng stared at her and smiled slightly: "I know."
Si Jiang's heart was hit hard, and it felt sore and painful.
Beiwu patted Jingsheng on the shoulder and said, "At any time, it is better to be able to make
choices. Whether to get married, whether to have children, which city to live in, and what job to
do should not be decided by others. Everyone should make their own choices. Of course, this is
very difficult. For example, even in the United States, there are many conservative states that do
not allow women to have abortions. Even pregnancies caused by rape or incest are not allowed
to be terminated. This is the greatest harm to women."
Si Jiang hugged Shan Rang and said, "Aunt, I will never say that I want a brother or sister born
from you and uncle again. I'm sorry."
Shan Rang smiled and said, "We can tell you now. We are working hard. Do you like a brother or a
sister? Hahaha, I'm sorry, I shouldn't ask you such a question."
Jingsheng also smiled: "Brother, I want a younger brother."
"Then I also want a younger brother!"
Bei Wu smiled and shook his head: "I want a younger sister. A good girl like our Si Jiang can even
join a basketball team."
Amidst the laughter, Si Nan suddenly waved over and shouted, "Uncle, aunt, cousin, sister, what
do you think of Miss Nan from my aunt? Is her Nan my Nan, or is it the Nan that is too difficult?"
Beiwu: “???”
He couldn't answer this.
Gu Nanhong, who was standing in front of a lingerie stall on Tung Choi Street in Mong Kok, Hong
Kong, sneezed once, then sneezed once again. After three sneezes, the man with a big gold chain
opposite laughed: "Oh, Miss Nan, you're freezing? (You sneezed, are you cold?)"
"It's just a little uncomfortable, it's okay." Nanhong smiled and waved her hands, busy greeting a
few big-name foreigners in English.
Miss Nan, of course it is very difficult, but no matter how difficult it is, Gu Nanhong is not afraid.
She certainly wants to go home, but she must return home in glory.
——
At night, on the spacious balcony of the guesthouse, Si Jiang took out the account book and
asked Jingsheng: "Brother, how much did you spend on the sugar porridge? Let me write it
down."
"No need, I told you it's my treat." Jingsheng said with a smile, "Dad gave me two hundred
dollars."
"So many!" Si Jiang was amazed: "Okay, if I had known I would have eaten an extra bowl today.
The dumplings in it are really delicious."
"You're the only one who knows how to eat. You've gained three pounds in just two days, right?"
"No way! You're talking nonsense again." Si Jiang was so angry that he waved the account book
and slapped it randomly.
The two chatted and laughed for a while, and saw Beiwu strolling back from the street holding
Sinan's hand. Sijiang sighed: "Ah, fortunately I have such an amazing uncle and aunt, they are the
guiding light of my life, I am so happy."
Jingsheng turned his head to look at her, smiling without saying a word.
"Really, I really feel that I am very happy." Si Jiang was anxious.
"Your light is yourself." Jingsheng looked downstairs and said, "Chen Sijiang, you are the light that
shines."
"Brother, come down and wash the watermelon! Uncle said we'll eat it downstairs."
Jingsheng smiled and waved: "Coming."
Si Jiang stared blankly at Jingsheng's back.
"Sister, come down, bring a plate of mosquito coils!"
Si Jiang woke up as if from a dream: "Here it comes!" She ran quickly, her heart beating very fast
and her ears buzzing.
Chen Sijiang, you are the lamp that shines.
Yeah?

Chapter 192
Traveling is a fun thing.
In Shanrang's words: "You will see a different self." In Beiwu's words: "You will see a different
you."
That’s a very good point. Unfortunately, Jingsheng, Sijiang and Sinan felt full before every meal.
"I only saw a different uncle and aunt." Sinan sighed seriously, "You are the strangest couple in
the world, so weird, so abnormal."
"Huh? What's wrong with us?" Shan Rang was no longer surprised by Sinan's witty remarks along
the way and was even looking forward to it.
Sinan tapped her chopsticks on the empty bowl and made a "phone call" with a serious face:
"Hello, how is your work? How is your health? Are you short of money? Is there anything wrong
at home? Has Nannan's grades declined? Okay, I'll hang up now." She hung up the "phone" and
raised her eyebrows: "My parents, uncles and aunts are all like this. But if we live together, it will
be a little different."
Beiwu poured vinegar into everyone's vinegar dish and asked with a smile: "What's the
difference?"
Sinan pinched his throat and made faces, imitating him: "I told you so many times what to do,
why did you forget again? I just took five dollars yesterday, how come it's gone again? You smoke
a pack of cigarettes a day, and you can buy four wheels with the money you saved. Huh? Why did
you stuff a stinky sock under the bed again? The spittoon is not emptied again? It stinks-"
She spread her hands and said, "They quarrel every day. The husband scolds his wife, and the
wife scolds the husband. They quarrel about everything, including eating, working, and children.
They quarrel about sleeping. They scold those who snore, those who have smelly feet, and those
who don't wash their butts. Anyway, married people are very nagging."
Jingsheng and Sijiang listened with great interest. The four brothers and sisters of the Gu family
were both ordinary and extraordinary. Gu Nanhong, who was married, looked the same as if she
was not married. Gu Dongwen, Susu and Nurse Lu were not married. Gu Beiwu and Shanrang
lived in different countries after marriage. Ximei and Donglai were not in the same city in
Xinjiang. In addition, they were not familiar with the two couples in the Chen family, so they
really didn't know what it was like for the couples who saw each other every day to get along.
Most of the families in Wanchun Street were three generations living together, and there were
also many dual-income families. Unless they were like Chen Donghai and Qian Guihua, who
quarreled and fought and were known to everyone, the family usually quarreled behind closed
doors. Outsiders only saw neighbors quarreling and cursing over water, electricity, coal and public
land. After listening to Sinan's description, they felt quite fresh and curious.
"Besides, married people will become slovenly, tsk tsk tsk." Sinan leaned over and sniffed
Shanrang, looking intoxicated: "Wow, aunt, how come you still smell so good and so pretty! You
don't look like you're married at all. And uncle, he's still so handsome! If it weren't for my cousin,
I would definitely marry you in the future!"
Beiwu and Shanrang were both amused and laughed. The fact that this little guy has been so
successful since childhood must be due to good luck and some real skills.
Si Jiang laughed so hard that he grabbed Si Nan and squeezed him hard a few times: "Bah, my
uncle is mine, don't steal him!"
"That cousin is mine, don't fight with me for him!" Sinan narrowed his eyes: "Humph, now the
cousin treats you the best, I have a problem with that!"
Jingsheng stretched out his arm and knocked her on the forehead with a chopstick: "You have no
right to comment. Eat the noodles quickly, they are about to become mushy."
Si Jiang was stunned: "Nannan, you are small, how come your mind has become small? Brother is
obviously just as good to us."
Si Nan's eyes widened, staring at Jingsheng and Si Jiang indignantly: "You two are in the same
group, bullying me. Yesterday, when we passed that road, I wanted to eat crabapple cake, but my
eldest cousin said that he was going to have lunch soon, and he couldn't eat rice after eating
cake, so he was so disappointed. You said that the red bean and lard cake smelled good, so he ran
to buy a bag, a big bag, saying that it was good as a snack after dinner."
Jingsheng said nonchalantly: "The name of Haitang Cake sounds nice, but the cake is so ugly, it's
yellow and fuzzy, like something that has been vomited or defecated."
Si Jiang looked at his bowl of noodles and put down his chopsticks: "Brother——" You're not
going to do that, are you? How can I eat this?
Shanrang burped. She just discovered that Jingsheng actually had great potential for black humor.
"What about the squirrel mandarin fish?" Sinan was not convinced and continued to give
examples: "You gave all the meat around the fish's eyes to my sister! Even the fish fairy made a
wish for her first, humph."
Jingsheng was actually used to it and had never thought about the issue of differential treatment.
Chen Si looked down on the tiny bit of meat around the fish eyes and only liked to eat the big
chunks of fish belly. After being pestered by Sinan, he asked in a bad mood: "Chen Sinan, what do
you think is the most delicious?"
"Meat!"
"What kind of meat?"
"Horse trotters! Lamb skewers! The kind sprinkled with lots of cumin and chili powder!"
"Do you like fish?"
"No - it's okay, fish is also meat." Sinan's arrogance immediately dropped by three points. He
glanced at his uncle and aunt, and lowered his head to eat noodles.
"Have you ever learned what it means to squander natural resources?"
Sinan raised his head and blinked: "What do leopards like to lick?"
Beiwu and Shanrang burst into laughter. Sijiang couldn't help laughing, and picked a piece of skin
from the big piece of meat in his bowl and gave it to Sinan: "You like to eat pig skin, come, lick it
more."
Jingsheng raised his hand and poured a dish of vinegar into Sinan's noodles. Sinan covered the
bowl and cried, "I don't want vinegar! I don't want vinegar! You are so annoying! Big cousin, you
are so annoying!"
"Then what are you eating, fish, cakes, and vinegar for? You like cakes? Cake, you shit. You
obviously don't like sweet food. Your favorite is big solid steamed buns with pickles and double
peppers. A few days ago, I specially fried a big jar of double peppers for you and asked your aunt
to take it back to Urumqi. You like fish? Were the four big pieces of red square meat on the table
yesterday eaten by a dog?" Jingsheng asked one question after another, knocking Sinan on the
head with the chopsticks in his hand.
Si Nan ran behind Si Jiang with his head in his hands and made a face at Jing Sheng: "That fish is
sour and sweet, it tastes terrible!"
Jingsheng hooked his leg and kicked her on the butt: "Then why are you talking nonsense? How
are we in the same group? How did we bully you?"
Sinan rolled his eyes, pointed at Jingsheng and shouted, "Look, look, your eyes light up when you
look at me, and now you look at me, look at me! Oh! You look so disgusted! Why don't you bully
me? Uncle and aunt, look, my cousin despises me."
"She was seven or eight years old and even dogs disliked her. Chen Sinan, you are already twelve
years old and still even dogs dislike you." Jingsheng shook his head in annoyance and continued
to eat his noodles.
Si Jiang looked at Jingsheng, then at Si Nan, and then at his uncle and aunt. He felt his face
getting hot and his heart beating a little faster. He didn't have time to think about it and pushed Si
Nan back to his seat: "Eat quickly, the noodles are delicious with some balsamic vinegar. Try it, it's
really good."
Sinan snorted, "Sister, you are so boring. You are just a follower of your cousin. He is always right
and nice to everything. Eh? How come I am twelve years old?! I am only eleven!"
Si Jiang said seriously, "Your birthday is in April so you will be eleven years old. Add one year to
your lunar age. My brother was right when he said you are twelve."
Sinan glared at his sister angrily: "You still say you are not in the same group?"
I'm so angry! I shouldn't have followed them out to play.
——
We chatted and laughed all the way and arrived in Nanjing in early August.
General Zhou was in poor health, with too many old injuries from the war. After the Zhongshan
Cadre Sanatorium in the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Zijin Mountain was completed last year, the
organization arranged for the old general to stay there for recuperation. When Shanrang and the
others arrived, the old man had just been sent for acupuncture and physiotherapy, and the old
lady was both happy and angry.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier that you were coming back so that your brother could pick them
up? It must be hard for three children to follow you all the way in this hot weather."
Sijiang Sinan said that the journey was not hard and he was very happy. Jingsheng took out the
gift he had brought from his bag.
"Alas, it would be great if you could come and visit. Why are you all so polite to each other?" Mrs.
Zhou sighed, "Old Zhou's health is really not good. He wanted to go to Shanghai to visit his
mother-in-law several times, but he couldn't do it."
Bei Wu smiled and said, "Dad's health is the most important thing. I and Shanrang will come to
see you often in the future. By the way, Mom, your gums are always inflamed. I have already cut
this American ginseng into slices. Just put two or three slices in boiling water and drink it as tea. It
is very effective in reducing inflammation."
The old lady took it away like a treasure and smiled at Shanrang: "Look, my son-in-law still thinks
of me. What about you? He told me to drink more hot water over the phone, and I really thought
it would work. But it turned out that my legs were swollen, and Doctor Xiaobai was shocked."
Shan Rang stuck out his tongue and said, "Whenever I feel unwell since I was a child, you always
told me to drink more hot water."
The old lady had participated in the revolution and had carried a gun, ridden a horse and fought
against the Japanese. Upon hearing this, she laughed heartily and said, "You are just a spoiled
child! When we were fighting, a sip of hot water could cure all diseases."
Wow, Sinan suddenly became excited and pestered the old lady to listen to the story of the
fighting heroine. Jingsheng looked at the old lady with more admiration. He had admired such
female warriors and heroines since he was a child.
Old people talk a lot when they get older, and they especially like to reminisce about the past. If
they were a little more courageous, they would like to publish a memoir from birth to old age,
millions of words are not a problem, but their children and grandchildren are busy with their own
things, and ordinary people really can't understand the pain of having nowhere to vent their
surging emotions. Old lady Zhou looked at Si Nan's shining and admiring face, and it was like a
long drought finally coming to an end. She immediately ignored her daughter and son-in-law,
stood straight in the living room, pointed and drew on the huge map of China, and told the
history of the Long March and the two crossings of the grassland. Speaking of the four crossings
of the Chishui River, the old lady suddenly winked at Si Jiang Si Nan and whispered: "We old men
and women have joked privately about why we had to cross the four times. In fact, it was
because the Chairman didn't know the way--"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" As soon as the door opened, General Zhou, who was
sitting in a wheelchair, said with a stern face, "Do you think you can make fun of the Chairman?"
Si Jiangsnan and Jingsheng were dumbfounded. After being yelled at, they couldn't help but
stand at attention, waiting to be scolded.
The old lady patted them with a smile and said, "Well, the Chairman is also a human being, why
can't he take jokes? Ignore him, come on, let's continue--"
Shanrang and Beiwu took the wheelchair from the nurse and greeted the old general with a
smile.
General Zhou looked at Beiwu carefully, asked a few questions, waved Jingsheng and the other
two over, and nodded, "Beiwu, your three children are good seedlings. They should all join the
army in the future and hone their wills in the army. Do you three want to?"
Jingsheng smiled and said, "Thank you, Grandpa. I want to apply to the police academy and
become a policeman."
"The police and the military are inseparable, that's fine, they both serve the people, which is
great." The old man nodded with satisfaction.
Si Jiang said: "Grandpa, I want to be a lawyer in the future."
The old man was stunned. He turned his head to look at Shanrang and smiled: "Being a lawyer is
not as good as being a prosecutor. To deal with bad guys, you still have to rely on the
organization. But you are still young, don't worry, study hard first." As soon as he looked at Sinan,
Sinan saluted and shouted: "Grandpa, I want to be a heroine like grandma. Be a soldier without
fear of death, and don't be a soldier if you are afraid of death. One person serving in the army
brings honor to the whole family. You will lose skin and flesh but will not fall behind, and you will
bleed and sweat but will not shed tears! Serving the people is not hard--!!!" Chen Sinan, who
grew up in the company dormitory of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, could
recite all kinds of military slogans effortlessly.
The old general and the old lady both opened their mouths wide. Wow, they didn't expect that
there was a little hero lurking in their son-in-law's family.
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng looked at each other in tacit understanding, then turned their bodies to
hold back their laughter. Bei Wu reached out and ruffled the little hero's curly hair: "Come on,
stop pretending. Being a soldier doesn't mean you can't eat endless lamb skewers and pig's
trotter soup."
"Uncle! I'm serious! I just came up with this great ideal after listening to my grandma's stories
about the past. Why don't you support me? That's too disloyal. I'm breaking up with you!" Sinan
was deflated and grabbed his uncle's hand and shook it.
The old general and the old lady both laughed out loud, they were happy that there was a child in
the sanatorium, and such a fun child at that, it was great, full of vitality, and they all felt much
more comfortable.

Chapter 193
"Aunt, why did you fall in love with my uncle?" Si Jiang was particularly curious about Shan Rang's
first love when he was sixteen years old: "He came to your house because he was injured in a
fight. Can you tell he's good-looking?"
Shan Rang choked: "Who said I only looked at his face?"
Si Jiang giggled. Last time in the pavilion, she had clearly said that she had spent money, time and
effort on her uncle, this beautiful man.
"I saw that he doesn't like duck blood vermicelli soup." Shan Rang narrowed his eyes and smiled:
"Since moving to Nanjing, my family eats duck blood vermicelli soup every day. The most terrible
thing is that we eat it in the morning and at night! I hate eating vermicelli the most. It's slippery,
like a lot of bugs sliding down my throat together--" She took a breath of cold air when she
thought about it. It was such a painful past.
Si Jiang was stunned: "This..." It was difficult for her to look at the duck blood vermicelli soup dish
seriously from then on.
"The vermicelli soup smells of pepper and has a lot of coriander in it, which is like putting all the
things I hate the most together. It's rare that someone doesn't like to eat this, and because he
doesn't like it, my mother didn't let the cook cook duck blood vermicelli soup for a whole month!
It saved my life! Of course, although your uncle lost the fight and ran back with my brother, his
face was only bruised and broken, and his facial features were still recognizable." Shanrang
looked into the living room, turned around and smiled in a low voice: "And he has a very good
temper. I applied the medicated oil to them very hard, and my brother yelled and scolded me,
but he smiled and said thank you to me. When he smiled, my heart beat fast, I felt dizzy, and I
couldn't even breathe, so I had to put on a straight face and pretend that nothing was wrong and
ran away quickly. Thinking about it now, it's so stupid, but it's also beautiful."
Si Jiang looked at her instantly blushing cheeks and felt extremely envious. It was so romantic.
The feeling of liking someone at the age of sixteen was so wonderful and wonderful. His aunt still
remembered it so clearly after more than ten years and even blushed when she mentioned it.
Oh, his heart was beating so fast, he felt dizzy, and he couldn't even breathe. Why did it sound so
familiar?
Jingsheng knocked on the door: "It's time for dinner. Today we have salted duck and the Nanjing
specialty snack duck blood vermicelli soup."
Shan Rang stroked his forehead and sighed: "No way——"
Speaking of fans, here come the fans. When Si Jiang saw Jingsheng, she suddenly remembered
the smile on his face when he looked up in the snow and called her name on New Year's Eve. She
seemed to have had that smile too. Her heart beat very fast, she felt dizzy, and she even forgot to
breathe...
Si Jiang lowered her head suddenly and wrung her hands nervously. It was over. She was going to
die. How could she do this to her brother? Thinking of this, her heart was pounding wildly, almost
jumping out of her chest. Goose bumps appeared from her legs to her back to her arms. Si Jiang
pinched herself several times in panic. It hurt. Okay, don't think about it. She didn't do it. It wasn't
her. It's impossible. It can't be done. If her brother knew, it would be over. She would die again. If
Si Nan knew, she would die a third time. If her mother knew -
"I, I want to eat duck blood vermicelli soup!" Si Jiang suddenly stood up and announced
stubbornly, but then he shivered several times.
——
Si Jiang specially sat diagonally opposite Jingsheng, looking at the more and more vermicelli in
the soup bowl with worry. She quite liked duck blood, duck gizzards, duck intestines and duck
liver, but when the vermicelli entered her mouth, it really looked like what her aunt-in-law said...
The more she thought about it, the more it looked like that. It would be too difficult to eat it all.
Jingsheng suddenly pointed his chopsticks at her bowl of soup and said, "Si Jiang, you can't eat
your vermicelli soup anymore?"
Si Jiang was stunned and just as he nodded, the bowl had been moved in front of Jingsheng.
Sinan immediately protected his bowl with both hands, stared at Jingsheng and shouted: "I can
eat it! I don't need your help!"
"Brother, that, that is what I left over—" Si Jiang reminded Jingsheng tremblingly, it's over, why is
her heart beating fast again, stay calm, she is not, she doesn't have it, don't think about it. It's
hereditary, she must have inherited her grandfather's arrhythmia.
"Don't waste it." Jingsheng poured two tablespoons of chili oil on it as if nothing had happened,
then stood up and scooped another bowl of vegetable soup for her.
The clear soup reflected half of a face that looked calm and normal. Si Jiang breathed a sigh of
relief and stole a glance at Si Nan beside her. Chen Si Nan was happily gnawing on a big white
steamed bun with salted duck gizzards. He looked normal. She then stole a glance at Jing Sheng,
who was fighting hard with his fans. He also looked normal.
Well, now she is normal and nothing happened.
Seeing Si Jiang drinking the vegetable soup in a gentle and elegant manner, Old Lady Zhou
couldn't help but say to Shan Rang with a fierce face: "It's you. You don't want to eat such a good
duck blood and vermicelli soup, but insist on eating the bland vegetable soup. You made Bei Wu
and Si Jiang follow you and become vegetarians. If you want to have a baby, you have to keep up
with your nutrition. Come, you have to eat all these pieces of duck meat."
"Mom, I don't like duck meat. It's too fatty and greasy."
Sinan raised his head and said, "Then let's eat tomorrow."
Jingsheng and Sijiang were stunned, looked at each other, and neither of them spoke to correct
Sinan. Sijiang felt guilty for some reason, as if her arrhythmia had come back. She quickly drank
the vegetable soup, which was delicious. A'niang was right, vegetables and tofu would keep her
safe.
General Zhou, however, also turned his face to the old lady: "Chicken is good, chicken soup is so
delicious, you arrange whatever Shanrang likes to eat, knowing that she and Beiwu don't like it,
but you still do it. Really, the older you get, the less you remember."
"Hey, you old fool. Last night, Xiaolin came to ask you what you wanted to eat today, and you said
you wanted to eat salted duck and duck blood soup. Why are you blaming me? You are the only
one in the family who likes to eat this. You want to eat it three times a day. None of us likes this
soup. I have eaten it with you for more than ten years, and you still blame me? It's really like a
dog biting Lu Dongbin and not knowing the kindness of a good person."
Shanrang cried out, "Mom! You guys are not right, are you? I was the only one who said I didn't
want to eat this, and you all came to lecture me, saying that I was ungrateful and ignorant. It
turns out that you were all trying to flatter Dad."
Old Master Zhou glared: "Zhou Shanrang, are you rebelling? Who is the horse? Who wants them
to flatter me?"
"You are a thousand-mile horse, the Chairman's thousand-mile horse." Beiwu held up the wine
glass with both hands: "Dad, I toast you a glass, thank you and mom for your kindness."
"What's good about that?" General Zhou lowered his wine glass, which was three points lower
than Beiwu's. "Thank you. Finally someone took her away. My blood pressure is back to normal
after you married her."
"How can you say that about your own daughter? Really!" The old lady was unhappy again, and
suddenly remembered something: "No, we can't have chicken tomorrow. The eldest brother said
that he would invite everyone to the revolving restaurant of Jinling Hotel for a good meal
tomorrow. I don't know if Shanli can make it in time for dinner tomorrow. Alas, he is the only
bachelor left in the family for us to worry about. Shanrang, if you have any daughter, no matter
her family conditions, whether she is a rural or urban hukou, as long as she has good character,
please think of your brother a little."
Shan Rang waved his hand: "No, I can't cheat my female compatriots."
"How dare you talk about your brother like that?" The old man and the old lady shouted in
unison.
Shanrang made a face at them and put his hand over his mouth as if he was zipping up his pants.
Si Jiang smiled with his eyes curved. Oh, such a lovely aunt, it would be strange if the uncle didn't
like her.
Jingsheng glanced at Si Jiang and wondered how come this man just came back to his senses
after a meal. He wondered what kind of mess he had been thinking about just now. It was really
weird.
——
At night, Shan Rang was worried that she was not getting enough nutrition, so she lay down and
got up again, ate an apple and drank a glass of milk. Just as she was about to go back to her room
to rest, the ice milk was so strong that her stomach felt heavy and painful before she could take a
few steps. She tossed and turned in the toilet for a long time, and when she returned to her
room, she saw Bei Wu was still writing a letter to Gu Dongwen.
"Brother, do you want Jingsheng to apply to the police academy in the future?" Shanrang stood
behind him and watched for a while, then asked softly.
Bei Wu thought for a moment and slowly folded up the letter paper: "Of course I don't want to,
but big brother knows that this kind of thing can't be forced. When you wanted to go to college,
weren't your parents also against it?"
"Jingsheng wants to apply to the police academy because of his mother's matter, right?"
Shanrang hugged Beiwu's neck and rubbed his chin against the top of his head: "Alas, this child
must feel very guilty, so he wants to make up for it in this way."
Bei Wu held her hand and nodded: "There must be an outlet. Jingsheng won't say what's on his
mind, and it's not good to keep it in your heart."
"Dad specifically mentioned to me that there are not many good police academies in the country.
All of them have technical secondary schools and higher education. The Criminal Police College in
Shenyang is not an undergraduate institution. Only the People's Public Security University just
upgraded to an undergraduate program this year, but it is not at all The treatment at the police
academy is far inferior to that at the military academy. The National Defense University and the
National University of Defense Technology are both top universities. You get military treatment
and state subsidies after entering for three months. After you leave, you will be at the deputy
company level, like me. The eldest brother's Zhiyuan has only been a battalion-level cadre for two
years. After entering the police academy, he has to start at the grassroots level. It's a pity that his
three years of high school have been in vain. He sighed again. The young man is so full of energy
that he can't get that far. Even if he knows that he has to endure hardships, he will probably be
happy with it. But as an elder, he is the first one to feel sorry for him, so what? I can't bear to see
him take detours.
Bei Wu turned his head and pecked her on the chin: "Don't worry, I will find a chance to have a
good talk with him. Jing Sheng is not the type who likes to get stuck in a rut. He is like his elder
brother in this respect and is very pragmatic. But Si Jiang and Si Nan——"
"Si Jiang is much better now. Although she is sensitive, she is actually a gentle child with a strong
heart and a strong mind." Shan Rang's tone became much gentler when he mentioned Si Jiang:
"If we have a daughter, please don't let her look like Si Nan."
Bei Wu laughed out loud: "Didn't you always say Si Nan is a treasure?"
Shan Rang also laughed: "I really admire my second sister. How did she get through all these
years? I would have had countless heart attacks. This child is too timid and too docile. She is too
stubborn and prone to breakage. In fact, she is more sensitive than Si Jiang. Fortunately, she is
very good at protecting herself."
Bei Wu squeezed her hand, his smile faded a lot: "Those who know Si Nan know how to give in. Si
Jiang was raised by her mother and us, so she really didn't suffer the hardships that Si Nan
suffered. When Si Nan was a child, she was often locked in the dormitory by Xi Mei for most of
the day. Giving her a box of biscuits -"
Shan Rang recalled Si Nan laughingly saying that Xi Mei almost went crazy when she saw her
eating poop in a pile of shit and urine when she came back to the dormitory. It happened once or
twice. Tears suddenly burst out. Outsiders only knew that Nan Nan was sweet-mouthed and noisy
and loved to get into trouble. Who knew how she struggled to survive like a weed? Only Jing
Sheng had taken care of her meticulously for a year, so she would desperately try to find Jing
Sheng in Yunnan. In her heart, perhaps only Jing Sheng was her closest person.
"Sinan is a very loyal girl." Shanrang took back his joke: "It would be great if our child was like
her." How could a child who would give his whole heart when given a little warmth be bad?
The two leaned their heads against each other in silence for a moment. No matter what, these
three children have grown up and are still such good children.
"Then let's hurry up and try to have a baby?" Bei Wu stood up and hugged Shan Rang in his arms.
Shanrang kissed his chin helplessly: "It's not my time - I'm sorry."
Beiwu laughed and said, "Then take this time to rest and recuperate, and fight again another
day."
Shan Rang bit his lip and said, "What if I can't have a baby? I'm really worried. Let's go for a
physical examination when we return to Beijing."
"How many days have I been back? You have so little confidence in me?" Bei Wu raised his
eyebrows and kissed her eyelids lightly: "Why are you so stressed? If you don't have a child, then
don't have a child. Don't we have Jingsheng Sijiang and Sinansi? Aren't they close to us?"
Shanrang smiled and shook his head.
"Are you afraid of what others will say? Even Nurse Lu is not afraid, but Professor Zhou is?"
Shan Rang burst out laughing and punched him twice: "You only know how to make me happy."
"Don't worry, I will have a job, and we will have a child. Forget about the basketball team. Having
a child is too hard. Let's respond to the country's call and just have one. I'll get a sterilization after
that." Bei Wu said softly.
Shanrang's eyes widened: "What? Why are you going?"
"Vast sterilization. Gender equality. You've paid so much to give birth to a child, so I'll do the
sterilization." Beiwu grabbed her hand and kissed her: "Listen to me for this little thing."
Insects chirp and the breeze blows in the summer night. It is a peaceful and beautiful night.

Chapter 194
Facts have proved that life ideals are too far away and too difficult to remain steadfast, so it is
better to take it one step at a time.
During the day, the Hong Kong TV series "Empress Wu Zetian" was broadcast on TV. It was the
first time that Sinan knew that there was such a female emperor in Chinese history. At that time,
sleeping in a nunnery and returning to the harem and then turning evil into a full-level king had
not yet become a must-have killer move in palace fighting, but it did not affect her great interest
in nunneries and palaces.
"I want to be an empress." Sinan's ideal went straight to the class opposition. After learning that
the few queens in the world were in Europe, she was very disappointed, but she comforted
herself by saying that a female general secretary was similar to an empress.
"Uncle, will we go to see the Imperial Palace when we get to Beijing?"
"It's renamed the Palace Museum? Then there are no emperors, empresses, or concubines. Oh - I
know about Empress Dowager Cixi. She was in charge of government. The country had no money
to build warships, but she only thought about building a garden to celebrate her birthday. She
was a bad woman."
"Huh? Nanjing was also the capital of many dynasties? Is there an imperial palace? Okay, then is
there a nunnery?"
"Did Wu Zetian really kill her own daughter? Is she really as pretty as she is on TV? But I think she
is a little bit worse than my elder sister and my eldest cousin. My elder sister, you can probably
get a chance to be an empress in the Tang Dynasty."
"Forget it, sister, you'd better not go. Wu Meiniang married my father and then my son, which is
not good. What? There was an emperor in the Tang Dynasty who married his own daughter-in-
law? Ah - why was the Tang Dynasty so chaotic!" Si Nan was amazed and then laughed: "I want to
go back to the Tang Dynasty to play. It must be fun if no one cares."
Gu Beiwu deeply realized that dealing with a girl who mixed history and fiction and liked to get to
the bottom of things was much more difficult than getting a graduate degree.
Si Jiang was very happy. Both Chinese history and world history were subjects that interested her,
and she had almost photographic memories. She quickly took out a pen and paper and began to
draw from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Qing Dynasty,
turning five thousand years into a long river of history. She even used the clothing and hairstyle
of ancient beauties to distinguish different dynasties. When she just came to the Wei, Jin,
Southern and Northern Dynasties, Si Nan had already yawned several times.
"Sister, in our family, you are the only one who is responsible for learning. I will be responsible for
playing." Si Nan has indeed grown up. She would have walked away before, but now she is willing
to say a few nice words to Si Jiang to coax her. Jing Sheng saw that Si Jiang looked disappointed
with her unfulfilled ambitions, and looked at her seriously for a long time.
"It's like playing the lute to a cow to draw it for Sinan. If you like it, just finish it. It's very good."
"Really?" Si Jiang himself was a little unconvinced.
"It's really good." Jingsheng called Beiwu and Shanrang to come and see, and they both agreed.
Shanrang said with a smile that if Sijiang didn't become a lawyer in the future, he would be more
than qualified to be a history teacher. The old man and the old lady came over, listened to
Sijiang's explanation for a few sentences, and decided to take this to Jinling Hotel in the evening
so that their grandchildren who were still in school could also learn from it.
When Si Nan saw that everyone was surrounding Si Jiangkua, he went back into the crowd, lying
on the paper and shouting, "This is what my sister drew for me. No one else is allowed to copy it!
Mine, mine, mine!"
Si Jiang was so angry that he ruffled her curly hair into a mess: "You just occupy the toilet without
taking a shit, go away!"
Sinan turned around and shouted, "Sister, you are not a toilet. Even if you are not a toilet, I will
occupy you."
General Zhou almost laughed to death.
However, her dream of becoming an empress did not last more than eight hours. In the revolving
restaurant on the top floor of Jinling Hotel, Chen Sinan quickly changed her ideal back to joining
the army because she met Zhou Zhiyuan.
——
Zhou Shanli was not able to attend the meal, but the rest of the Zhou family was there.
Shanrang's eldest brother Zhou Shanyong, the third brother Shanzhi, and the fourth brother
Shanxin all brought their wives and children. There were more than 20 people, all dressed in
green military uniforms. After a round of greetings, they sat at two tables according to their
seniority. Zhou Zhiyuan was the eldest son and grandson of the Zhou family. He had just
graduated from the military academy two years ago. In June, he was promoted to captain of the
Air Force, a battalion rank, for his meritorious service. He did not inherit the thick eyebrows and
big eyes of the Zhou family. He had delicate features, a short waist and long legs. He wore a 74-
style Dacron Air Force officer uniform. He spoke softly to everyone and looked very gentle and
amiable.
"It turns out that there are PLA soldiers as good-looking as you." When Chen Sinan occasionally
said something honest, it was easy to knock down a boatload of people. The five or six children of
the Zhou family retorted unconvincedly: "The PLA soldiers are all good-looking! My dad is good-
looking too!" "My mom is good-looking too." "Grandpa and grandma are good-looking too."
Sinan chuckled, "Yes, yes, yes! Your whole family is good-looking! Unlike ours, ours is just average
looking."
The adults were all very happy. Old Mrs. Zhou smiled with her eyes curved: "Nannan's little
mouth is so unforgiving." If Gu Beiwu and these three children were just average, who would
have the nerve to say that they were good-looking.
The two middle school-age granddaughters of the Zhou family were both very honest people.
They said seriously: "No, no, no, my uncle-in-law is the best-looking. All the people in your family
are good-looking, much better-looking than ours." There were two little boys who were Zhou
Zhiyuan's loyal followers. They immediately grumbled in dissatisfaction, saying that their eldest
brother was the most handsome, the air force was the most handsome, and the pilot was the
most handsome.
Si Jiang smiled and said, "That's right. Being handsome or not still depends on one's ability. It's
useless to just look at one's face. Good looks can't make a living. Otherwise, my uncle wouldn't
have had to apply to Peking University."
All the grown-up children at the table were satisfied. They nodded in agreement and became
familiar with Si Jiang.
Si Nan muttered to herself: Of course, good looks can trick people into eating and riding trains.
Good looks are powerful. But she must give face to her elder sister, so forget it. Anyway, "good
looks are useless" is the only thing that good-looking people are qualified to say. She made a face
at Jingsheng beside her, but Jingsheng ignored her and helped Si Jiang unfold the scroll of the
long river of history. The children at the table were amazed and stood up and squeezed over. Si
Nan simply left her seat and walked away. She walked for a long time before she found Zhou
Zhiyuan following her slowly.
"Dugugu." Sinan called out with a smile. She called her big brother in Shanghainese, which
sounded like "Dugugu", which was particularly soft and cute. Zhou Zhiyuan was stunned for three
seconds before he understood.
"Why are you following me?"
"I'm worried that you might get lost. Do you want to go to the bathroom?" Zhou Zhiyuan asked
with a smile.
"No, I was just taking a walk." Sinan proudly held his head high and said, "I was able to run back
to Shanghai from Shajingzi in Aksu by myself. How could I get lost in such a small restaurant? I'm
already twelve years old and will be a junior high school student soon."
Zhou Zhiyuan asked her how she ran back to Shanghai alone, and his questions were always on
point, praising Sinan's observation and ability to grasp the opportunity. Sinan's face was flushed
with joy. Every time she talked about this, her eldest cousin would give her a serious warning,
saying a hundred "what ifs" just like her mother, but this officer brother was completely different
from them.
The two finished their third circle and returned to their seats. The baptism of education in the
long river of history had been completed. Si Jiang and other junior high school students were
discussing why the Yuan Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty were both colonized by foreign races, but
the latter existed for nearly three hundred years.
Sinan asked Zhou Zhiyuan curiously: "There are many people sitting there for a long time,
drinking only one cup of something and not eating anything else. What are they drinking that
tastes so good?"
"Coffee. Three yuan for a tour ticket, with orange juice or coffee." Zhou Zhiyuan smiled and said,
"Sinan, do you want to try it? We can also order some. Sijiang, Jingsheng, what about you? Who
of you wants coffee? Raise your hands."
The children at the table looked at each other and shook their heads.
"The coffee tastes bad, it's bitter."
Si Jiang teased Jingsheng in a low voice, "Ahem, Nescafe coffee, it tastes great. Brother, do you
want me to cut the coffee?"
Jingsheng smiled and shook his head to thank Zhou Zhiyuan, saying that he didn't like the taste of
coffee.
Si Jiang raised his hand and said he wanted to try, but Jingsheng glared at him.
Sinan shook her head: "Dugugu, I want to drink orange juice." Zhou Zhiyuan couldn't help but
stretch out his hand to smooth the small curls on her forehead. Sinan avoided it vigilantly and
warned with a stern face: "No one is allowed to touch my head, Dugugu, come here (not even big
brother)."
Zhou Shanxin's youngest son Zhou Zhimin, who is still in kindergarten, protested: "Of course big
brother can touch it, he is a captain!"
Zhou Zhimin spoke in Nanjing dialect, Si Nan could almost understand it, and immediately glared
back at the little carrot-headed girl: "So what if you have a big appetite? Our whole family has big
appetites. My eldest cousin, my sister, me and my brother all have big appetites. But no matter
how big my stomach is, you can't touch my hair! My stomach is here, it has nothing to do with my
hair." She stroked her curly hair proudly: "My hair is naturally curly, so precious, more precious
than the fine wool of our Xinjiang fine-wool sheep. Only people in my family can touch it. If
everyone touches it, I will become bald. Who will compensate me?"
The children at the table laughed out loud because she was so funny. Zhou Zhimin blushed and
ran to Zhou Zhiyuan, pointing at his military uniform and shouting, "Captain is the battalion
commander, second lieutenant, second lieutenant, captain, captain's captain! Grandpa is a
general, a major general, and dad is a colonel. You don't even know the military rank, you are
stupid!"
"Zhimin, apologize. You can't call Sinan stupid." Zhou Zhiyuan still had a smile on his face, but his
tone was the standard military coldness. The children at the table immediately fell silent and
straightened their backs to prepare for the training. Zhou Zhimin was the youngest, and his eyes
immediately turned red, but he still stood in a military posture and saluted Sinan: "I'm sorry,
sister, I was wrong, I shouldn't have called you stupid, I am the stupid one."
Si Jiang quickly came out to smooth things over: "It's okay, it's okay. We know you were joking. In
fact, Sister Nan Nan was joking with you too. She is a master of the Four Nations War. She is
familiar with battalion commanders, regiment commanders, and brigade commanders."
Si Nan blinked and put his head close to Zhou Zhiyuan's hand: "Dugugu, you are only allowed to
touch it once. Don't scold this brother, he has been crying because of you."
"A real man should not fall behind even if his skin and flesh are shed, and should not shed tears
even if his sweat and blood are shed! I didn't cry!" Zhou Zhimin was so angry that his chest rose
and fell, and he shouted slogans loudly, attracting the attention of people around him. He didn't
dare to leave after shouting, and stared at his idol with his chest and belly protruding, for fear
that the tears would fall.
Zhou Zhiyuan smiled and smoothed down Sinan's hair, then patted Zhou Zhimin's head and spoke
in a slower tone, "Very good, go back to your seat, would you like some orange juice?"
Zhou Zhimin nodded vigorously, turned around and ran to Beiwu and Shanrang's table, hugging
Shanrang tightly.
Si Nan glanced at Zhou Zhimin for a few times: "Is this little thing doing this on purpose? This way
he can hug his sweet-smelling aunt..."
After the reunion dinner, the adults were still drinking. Si Nan pulled Si Jiang to spin in the
revolving restaurant again. Zhou Zhiyuan and Jingsheng followed behind them. Because of Shan
Rang's instructions, Zhou Zhiyuan talked about the life in the military academy, and Jingsheng
really listened very carefully.
Shanrang smiled and called Sinan: "Nannan, you don't have to keep turning around to look at the
scenery, the restaurant will turn by itself."
"But the restaurant rotates too slowly." Sinan stood beside her and pressed her face against the
glass: "Dugugu said that this restaurant rotates once an hour, but I can't feel it rotating at all. The
high-speed elevator is quite exciting, my ears are buzzing, and it reaches the 36th floor in a flash."
She turned her head and asked Zhou Zhiyuan: "Dugugu, how long did it take for the elevator to
reach the top floor?"
Zhou Zhiyuan smiled and said, "It seems like half a minute. Does your ear hurt?" He reached out
and touched Si Nan's hair. Si Nan did not dodge this time.
"It doesn't hurt, it's fun, and it's like riding a rocket. Are there elevators like this in Shanghai?"
"Not yet. Jinling Hotel is now the tallest building in the country, and it also has the first high-
speed elevator in the country. By the way, it also has the first rooftop helicopter pad in the
country. Do you want to see it? I'll take you there." Zhou Zhiyuan stretched out his hand.
Si Nan hesitated for a moment: "I want to see it." She ran over, took Jingsheng and Si Jiang's
hands, and wanted to take them to see the helipad together.
Finally, all the people at two large tables went to the rooftop.
There was actually nothing to see on the tarmac. It was just a bare piece of land that looked a bit
like a basketball court, with a big H drawn in a large circle. Sinan took two steps and heard Zhou
Zhiyuan and the old man talking about flying fighter jets.
"Then, Dugugu, can you fly a helicopter?" Sinan couldn't help but interrupt.
"Yes, a helicopter is the easiest. You can learn it when you grow up."
"I still want to be a member of the People's Liberation Army in the future." Si Nan circled around
Zhou Zhiyuan: "Dugugu, what kind of fighter are you driving?"
"The one flown most often is the J-6." Zhou Zhiyuan smiled as he talked about the glorious
history of the J-6, and told the old man that the J-8II had successfully completed its maiden flight
in mid-June, and it is estimated that the design will be finalized in four to five years.
"Wow!" Sinan looked at him admiringly, his eyes sparkling.
——
By the time the group returned to Zhou Shanyong's home in the pouring rain, Zhou Zhiyuan had
already ranked ahead of Zhao Youning in Sinan's heart, at least tied for first place with Jingsheng.

Chapter 195
A tree as thick as an arm snapped in the typhoon and heavy rain, and its trunk hit several cars on
the roadside, splashing water everywhere.
"Wow, the weather forecast is actually accurate this time!" Sinan's face pressed the glass window
to look like frosted glass. She turned around and asked Shanrang, "Aunt, are we going back to the
mountain to sleep?"
"Not tonight." Shan Rang sighed as she saw a group of soldiers downstairs moving the broken
tree off the roof in the rain. She had originally planned to stay at her brothers' homes tonight, but
she was so happy over the reunion dinner that the typhoon came. The old man and the old lady
only walked a few steps into the building, but they were still soaked even with several large
umbrellas. She was now worried about Shan Li's safety.
Zhou Zhiyuan hung up the phone: "It happened to be my second uncle calling. He came out late
today and stopped in Xuzhou an hour ago. He said he would come back after the typhoon passed.
He was worried because he couldn't contact us before." He took out a stack of towels to wipe
everyone's face. Seeing Si Nan rubbing her face with the towel, he smiled and unfolded the towel
to gently wipe her hair: "Little girl, be gentle with yourself, just like your sister."
Sinan turned around and leaned into his arms with a smile: "Dugugu (big brother), you are so
nice." After that, he stuck out his tongue at Jingsheng and said proudly: "Big cousin, look how
nice Dugugu is."
Si Jiang laughed and teased Jingsheng: "Brother, your position is no longer secure."
Jingsheng was calm and said, "I'm used to it."
Grandpa Zhou and the old lady went to take a shower and clean up. Zhou Shanyong and
Shanrang discussed it and decided that the old man and the old lady would sleep in the master
bedroom, Beiwu and Shanrang would sleep in the room of Zhou Zhiyuan's two younger sisters,
and the others would have to sleep on the sofa or on the floor.
"Let the sisters squeeze together on this mat and spread it on the floor, and Jingsheng will sleep
on the sofa. My dormitory is in the next building, Sijiang and Sinan can go to sleep in my room,
and I can sleep on the sofa bed in the study." Zhou Zhiyuan smiled and asked Sinan: "It will take
three to five minutes to walk, and we will definitely be soaked. Are you afraid?"
Si Jiang said quickly: "Nannan and I will sleep on the floor here, and Zhizhen and Zhilan will sleep
over there with brother Zhiyuan."
Zhou Zhizhen and Zhou Zhilan, one a sophomore in college and the other a sophomore in high
school, were not willing to let the guests sleep on the floor, so they grabbed the mats first and
told Si Jiang with a smile to leave it at that.
Sinan jumped up and said, "I want to sleep over at Dugugu's place. Go ahead, go ahead, sister,
please. Dugugu said he has lots of airplane models, I want to go and see them!"
Si Jiang was a bit embarrassed. It would be inconvenient for her and Si Nan to go there, since
they were not Zhou Zhiyuan's biological sisters. But she was too embarrassed to say it in front of
so many people. Bei Wu was about to refuse, but Jing Sheng said, "Si Jiang, Si Nan and I will go
together. Nan Nan talked a lot in her sleep at night. She drank four glasses of orange juice for
dinner, so she must have woken up several times at night. It would be bad to disturb grandpa and
grandma."
"That's fine too." With Jingsheng around, Beiwu and Shanrang both felt that it was appropriate.
Zhou Zhiyuan touched his nose and smiled shyly: "I didn't think it through and treated them like
children."
"I'm not a child anymore, I've grown up!" Sinan declared hastily.
After Zhou Zhiyuan said this, Si Jiang felt embarrassed. He glanced at Shan Rang secretly, and felt
relieved when he saw her smiling and nodding at him.
"How about this, I'll send you three over there and explain a few things to you, and then I'll come
back here and sleep on the sofa. This way it's more convenient for everyone." Just after he
finished speaking, Zhou Zhiyuan turned his head and sneezed twice, and everyone in the room
burst into laughter.
"No, no, Dugugu, you promised to tell me about airplane models," Sinan pulled Zhou Zhiyuan's
clothes tightly, "and you will definitely catch a cold and get sick if you run back, how can that be
possible?"
Shan Rang smiled and said, "Okay, okay, Zhiyuan, stop running around. If you're not here, Si Nan
will tear down all your models."
Si Jiang took the change of clothes Zhou Zhilan handed over and said with a smile: "Nannan
won't do that. She is an adult, right?"
Sinan blinked her big eyes and pointed her fingers: "This - I just want to look at it and touch it, I
won't take it apart." If the various toys in the two boxes in Wanchun Street and Urumqi that she
had taken apart could talk, they would definitely jump up and scold her for talking nonsense.
Jingsheng wrapped a towel around her head and said, "I won't believe you. Let's go."
——
There is a whole row of bookcases in Zhou Zhiyuan's study. In the glass cabinets are dozens of
models of fighter jets from various countries, many of which are made by Zhou Zhiyuan himself.
On the desk is an unfinished J-8 model. Sinan wiped the water stains off her body and yelled at
Zhou Zhiyuan to teach her how to make models.
Si Jiang borrowed a historical biography and read until 11:00 in the middle of the night. He
couldn't keep his eyes open and his head fell down after reading two lines. Jingsheng sent her to
sleep in the next room and lay down on the sofa in the living room. He watched two people, one
big and one small, making models with great interest in the study across the street. Zhou Zhiyuan
was explaining patiently and carefully, and Si Nan giggled from time to time. He couldn't bear it
after watching for more than half an hour and closed his eyes in a daze.
Suddenly there was a "bang" sound, Jingsheng opened his eyes and jumped up, and a section of
the wing and a lot of parts flew out on the ground at the door of the study.
Si Nan ran out barefoot, clattering. Seeing Jing Sheng, she wanted to say something but didn't say
anything. She looked a little dazed. Zhou Zhiyuan followed her out, looking annoyed and
apologetic: "Si Nan was too tired and fell asleep on the table just now. I wanted to carry her to
the room to sleep, but ended up scaring her."
He stretched out his hand and asked softly, "Nannan, are you okay? Did you get hit?"
Sinan lowered his head and ran to Jingsheng, trying to hug his waist. He stretched out his arm
and then dropped it. He took a step back and whispered, "I, I need to go to the bathroom."
"Come on, I'll go with you." Jingsheng looked at Zhou Zhiyuan in confusion.
Si Jiang heard the noise and stood up and walked out: "What happened to Nan Nan?"
Si Nan ran over, hugged Si Jiang tightly, and suddenly burst into tears.
Jingsheng repeated Zhou Zhiyuan's words.
"I'm so sorry, Brother Zhou. Is the airplane model broken?" Si Jiang patted Si Nan and said, "Okay,
why are you crying about something you've wronged? You broke the Dugugu model all over the
floor and didn't even apologize."
Sinan turned his head and glanced at Zhou Zhiyuan who was picking up spare parts at the door of
the study, then turned his head back and said, "Sister, my stomach hurts. My stomach hurts so
much."
Zhou Zhiyuan raised his head and smiled: "It's okay, Sinan just said he wanted to go to the
bathroom, go quickly."
Si Nan pulled Si Jiang into the bathroom. Zhou Zhiyuan helplessly watched the bathroom door
slam shut, and smiled at Jing Sheng and shook his head.
Jingsheng bent down to pick up a few spare parts in the corner, walked into the study and looked
around silently. The sofa bed inside was still the same as when he and Si Jiang went out, flat and
tidy, without any signs of having sat or slept on it.
"Just leave the parts here, I'll clean them up tomorrow." Zhou Zhiyuan put the parts down and
patted the edge of the table: "Sinan's knee probably hit here just now. If it's bruised, use
safflower oil to rub it thoroughly."
Jingsheng raised his eyes and saw Zhou Zhiyuan with a frank look on his face, still as gentle,
amiable, patient and meticulous as ever.
"OK, thanks."
"You're welcome."
Jingsheng left the study and closed the door gently.
——
In the bathroom, Lis Jiang looked at Sinan helplessly. Sinan sat on the toilet, rubbing his toes on
the ground, rubbing his head between his knees, and humming.
"Still can't pee?" Si Jiang laughed and said, "How can I pee when someone is watching me? I'd
better wait for you outside."
Sinan raised his head suddenly: "No, no, sister, please don't leave. I'm scared."
"Silly girl, what are you afraid of just squatting on the toilet?" Si Jiang bent down and touched her
head. "Is there anything in this world that my Nan Nan is afraid of?"
Sinan sniffed and nodded with tears in his eyes: "Yeah."
"Okay, okay, okay, then I'll wait for you. Forget it if you can't pee, just go to sleep first." Si Jiang
said and yawned.
There was a knock on the door.
"Why haven't you come out yet? Chen Sinan, are you okay?"
Si Jiang was about to speak when he saw Si Nan nervously pull up his pants and stand up quickly.
After they left the bathroom, Jingsheng grabbed Sinan and squatted down to check where she
had bumped into, but Sinan pushed him away and ran into the room. Jingsheng was almost
pushed to the ground by her, but fortunately he was able to support himself with one hand.
Sijiang quickly helped him up and said with a wry smile, "Maybe she is in a bad mood after
waking up. Brother, don't worry about her. I'll go in and take a look."
After a while, Si Jiang came out and told Jing Sheng: "My left knee is swollen. No wonder you got
so angry."
Jingsheng asked Zhou Zhiyuan for safflower oil. Sinan covered her knees to prevent him from
rubbing them. Jingsheng slapped her on the back of her hand. She curled up into a ball and
started sobbing again. When Jingsheng rubbed her, she cried and grumbled.
"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts so much."
"Go away, go away, ignore me, all of you, ignore me, I want to sleep."
Jingsheng asked Sijiang to hold her legs down: "If you don't rub it now, you will be in so much
pain tomorrow. You won't be able to walk, and you won't be able to go to Beijing."
"Be good, Nan Nan. Brother is right. Just bear with the pain now. It will be healed in a few days."
Si Jiang comforted her softly.
"No, I can't stand it. I won't go to Beijing anymore. I won't go!" Sinan struggled to get away,
holding his hair in anger, "I want to go home!"
"Little fool, we are all going to Beijing, and you are running back to Shanghai alone? Grandma
must think you are being naughty again." Si Jiang freed a hand to touch Si Nan's face: "Ah, are
you still in a bad mood after waking up? How did Si Hao catch your bad mood? Wake up quickly,
you see that Brother is sweating all over, why are you still pushing him?"
"I'm not feeling well, I'm not happy, I won't go back to Shanghai, I want to go back to Urumqi
alone, I want to find my mom!" Sinan showed his face and yelled a few words, then immediately
became listless again.
"Okay, I'll send you to the train tomorrow, you can go on your own." Jing was so angry that his
hands became heavier. Si Nan cried out in pain, and Si Jiang stroked her while sighing, "How
could you think of such a thing? It's not easy for us to go out and play together, and you want to
leave us and go on your own when you're unhappy. How boring. I will be sad, and my brother will
be sad too."
"I do not care."
"Aren't you the closest to my brother? Aren't you the best friend to me? Why don't you care?"
"No matter what, cousin, I'm still on good terms with you."
"Why?"
"No reason, anyway, I don't like my cousin anymore, and I don't want to marry him in the future."
Si Jiang was really surprised. "Huh? Is Brother Zhou so nice? You don't even want me for a model
airplane?"
Sinan almost curled up into a ball: "No, I don't like him anymore either. He is not a good person."
Si Jiang remembered Jingsheng saying that Si Nan was not good even for dogs, and he managed
to hold back his laughter: "Oh? What's wrong with Brother Zhou again? Even if he's not good, you
still insisted on coming to his house. No matter what I said, you refused to come to sleep. You had
to pester Brother Zhou to learn how to make models?"
Sinan said nothing.
Jingsheng withdrew his hand: "Okay, go to bed early."
Si Nan sat up suddenly, glared at Jingsheng and said viciously: "Cousin, I don't like you anymore, I
don't like you anymore, and I will not marry you in the future!" He cried as he spoke, which
scared Si Jiang.
Jingsheng slowly squatted down, frowning: "Chen Sinan."
Sinan bit his lower lip, blinked, and tears fell down like pearls that had fallen off the string.
"Brother, please be gentle, you're hurting Nannan." Si Jiang felt panicky for no apparent reason.
She reached out to pull Jingsheng, but Jingsheng didn't move. She hugged Sinan, but Sinan also
didn't move.
"You fell asleep on the desk just now." Jingsheng suddenly felt his heart beating violently and
breathing became very difficult. He took a deep breath, stared into Sinan's eyes and asked: "Then
what happened? What happened?"

Chapter 196
Sinan opened his mouth and subconsciously pressed his knees tightly, lowering his head and
hissing in pain.
Si Jiang quickly grabbed her hand: "Nannan--" She seemed to hear the sound of her own
heartbeat, and her scalp was numb. What was Jingsheng asking? What did he think of or see... Si
Jiang didn't dare to think about it anymore. She stared at Si Nan's knee, as if she wanted to see
through the red and swollen flesh and see what had just happened.
"Then what, Nan Nan, what happened?" Si Jiang heard himself repeating Jingsheng's question,
his voice very soft and timid.
Si Nan shook her head, and Si Jiang could only see the top of her head. He was surprised to find
that Si Nan had two whorls on the top of her head, just like her uncle.
"Nannan, don't be afraid. I will not let anyone who bullies you go. Do you remember Yang Guang
from Wanchun Street? He was scared to death by my plastic knife, right? That naked old gangster
had blood on his face. And those little gangsters who beat Zhao Youning and you, did your
machete come in handy when I was here?" Jingsheng spoke softly, forcing a smile.
The more Si Jiang listened, the more panicked he became, and he hugged Si Nan even tighter.
"It'll be useful," Sinan muttered. "They're scared to death."
"That's true, you're really awesome. By the way, you said who God sent to protect you?"
Jingsheng curled his eyes and said, "Someone has said it five hundred and twenty times, for
several years, why can't I remember it for the moment."
Sinan stammered with red eyes: "It's you——"
"I just accidentally fell asleep. Did you also accidentally fall asleep because you were tired?"
Sinan turned his head to look at the door, then lowered his head and said "hmm" awkwardly.
Jingsheng and Sijiang looked at each other, and Sijiang nodded silently. Jingsheng took a breath
and was about to ask more questions, but Sinan suddenly hugged Sijiang tightly and said softly
after a long while, not quite sure: "He seemed to touch me." After that, she hid her head in
Sijiang's arms and shook her head in distress: "I don't know..."
Si Jiang's scalp exploded, and her mind went blank for several seconds. She couldn't react to what
this sentence meant. She looked at Jingsheng blankly, trying to confirm whether Si Nan meant
that, but another voice in her mind was louder: No, you think too much, you think wrong, it's
impossible, Si Nan said it was just as if, she didn't know, he must have wanted to send Si Nan to
sleep, and when he held her, he accidentally touched something, which scared her. Zhou Zhiyuan
was an excellent officer praised by his aunt many times, and he had just made a contribution. He
looked so upright, open-minded and amiable, but Si Nan was just a child. She didn't know
anything, she hadn't started to develop yet, and she was so careless that she didn't even look like
a little girl... Her Si Nan would never encounter such disgusting people and disgusting things,
absolutely not. If Zhou Zhiyuan was that kind of person, she would definitely feel it, but the way
he looked at her and the tone of his voice when he spoke to her definitely didn't mean anything
else, she could tell. Si Jiang confirmed this again and again, and the string that had just broken in
her heart was barely connected.
"It's okay, it's okay, Nannan," Si Jiang rubbed his chin against Sinan's head. Her heart was broken
just thinking about it. "Sometimes when adults hold children, they will touch their backs, chests,
legs and buttocks. Think about it, if Sihao fell asleep on the recliner, would we be like this when
we hold him? Sometimes we can't hold him up right away, so we have to change the position to
hold him, right?"
Si Nan's body tensed up again. She groaned softly, broke free from Si Jiang's embrace, hugged her
knees and lay down, pulling up the towel to cover herself: "My stomach still hurts, I want to
sleep."
Jingsheng frowned as he watched Sijiang pat Sinan's back gently. Just as he was about to speak,
he heard a flurry of footsteps and voices outside the door. Sinan poked his head out from under
the quilt, and the three of them looked at each other in bewilderment.
When the door opened, it was Bei Wu and Shan Rang, both wet, followed by Zhou Zhiyuan.
"Uncle! Aunt?" Si Jiang quickly got out of bed and couldn't help but look at Zhou Zhiyuan the first
time. Zhou Zhiyuan smiled and nodded at her, without guilt, shame, or anything strange, only
apology and concern. If he was a bad guy, why would he specially call his uncle and aunt over in
the middle of the night? Yes, it must be because the brother was too sensitive about the matter
of the eldest aunt that she almost thought wrongly.
Sinan called for help, then turned his back and covered his head against the wall.
"Si Jiang, Zhiyuan said Si Nan had a stomachache. Is she feeling better? I brought some stomach
medicine." Shan Rang lifted the towel blanket and turned around to blame Zhou Zhiyuan angrily:
"Look at how you take care of your sister. Your knee was hit so hard."
"It's all my fault." Zhou Zhiyuan said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Nan Nan."
Bei Wu smiled and said, "Children grow up with bumps and bruises. What's the big deal? They'll
be full of life again in a few days."
Zhou Zhiyuan stood at the door and did not come in: "I just woke up Xiaolin on the way. Why
don't we go to the Military Region General Hospital for a thorough check-up? Zhongshan Road is
not far away. It's all main roads. Drive slowly. It will take 20 minutes to get there."
Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief. If he had really done something bad, how could he have offered
to send Nan Nan to the hospital for a checkup? Jing Sheng's eyes fell on Zhou Zhiyuan's face, and
he said nothing.
"I'm not going, I'm not going!" Sinan shouted from under the quilt, "My stomach doesn't hurt
anymore. I don't want to take medicine or go to the hospital. I want to sleep!"
Bei Wu saw her wriggling like a giant insect, her two thin legs kicking vigorously, and said with a
smile: "I can see that you are in good spirits."
Shanrang gave the medicine to Si Jiang and carefully explained how to take it.
"I'm sorry, auntie, for making you and uncle come all the way here." Si Jiang said guiltily, "Go back
and take a hot bath. Don't catch a cold."
"It's okay, it's just a few steps. Then you guys go to bed early. If the rain stops tomorrow morning,
we can go to Confucius Temple to have Nanjing breakfast." Shan Rang slapped Zhou Zhiyuan: "It's
all your fault. You made Si Nan drink so much iced orange juice."
Zhou Zhiyuan brought over a dry towel.
Shan Rang smiled and said, "Don't just focus on us, Zhiyuan, you should also go take a shower
and drink some hot water. It's rare that Si Nan didn't keep you up all night, you're lucky."
Jingsheng looked at Beiwu, then at Zhou Zhiyuan, then sat down on the sofa bed with his eyes
downcast and silent. His thumb slowly stroked his index and middle fingers, then slowly clenched
them into a fist.
Zhou Zhiyuan poured Shanrang a cup of hot water and said, "Aunt, Uncle, please come to the
study. I have something to tell you. Sijiang, Jingsheng, you can come too."
——
Zhou Zhiyuan's explanation was simple and clear, his tone was calm, with a hint of self-mockery
and helplessness.
Si Jiang looked down at her tightly clasped hands, not daring to look at Shan Rang, feeling very
uncomfortable. How could she and Jing Sheng suspect Zhou Zhiyuan? They were so sorry to Aunt
Shan Rang and Uncle Shan Li. Their family was such good people. And Zhou Zhiyuan, with the
precedent of the eldest aunt, she knew how terrible it was to be wrongly accused of being a
hooligan, but she and Jing Sheng suspected Si Nan of being a hooligan just because of his temper.
It was really unreasonable to suspect the neighbor of stealing the axe.
Zhou Zhiyuan apologized, "No matter how young Sinan is, she is still a little girl. I was wrong. I
shouldn't have picked her up so directly. She looks a little scared. When she was a child, she ran
back to Shanghai from Aksu alone. Did nothing happen on the way?"
Si Jiang raised his head suddenly: "What will happen to her?! What do you mean?"
Beiwu frowned and looked at Jingsheng, but Jingsheng was looking at Shanrang.
Shanrang hesitated for a moment: "Are you saying that Sinan overreacted to the physical contact
of an adult male?"
"She mentioned to me today that she found a godfather on the train who treated her very well
and let her sleep in the staff berth," Zhou Zhiyuan frowned. "Aunt, your school should also have
internal information. This year, the railway system has arrested several repeat offenders--"
Beiwu interrupted him: "Nothing will happen on the train. I have a friend who is a train attendant
who has been taking care of her. Sinan is sleeping with her."
Shanrang was startled, Beiwu stood up and glanced at the scattered model parts on the table
calmly: "It's too late, we'll go over first, don't think too much, go to bed early."
Si Jiang had a lot to say but couldn't get it out, so he responded dejectedly.
Jingsheng said nothing from beginning to end.
Bei Wu gently pushed open the bedroom door. Si Nan's breathing was shallow and slow, and he
had fallen asleep.
"If there is anything else, let Zhiyuan come and call us." Beiwu patted Jingsheng on the back and
smiled at Sijiang: "Don't be afraid of trouble."
——
"What's wrong with you?" Shanrang turned over twice and finally couldn't help asking Beiwu.
Gu Beiwu put his hands under his head and looked at the top of the mosquito net silently for a
long time.
"Do you know Zhou Zhiyuan?" Bei Wu stretched out his hand and took Shan Rang into his arms.
Shan Rang was stunned and sat up: "What do you mean by asking this? Because of Si Nan? He
said that he didn't hold her up all of a sudden, so he held her butt, and his knees hit the table,
scaring Si Nan awake - what do you suspect him of? Impossible, absolutely impossible, Gu Beiwu,
please don't scare me, okay?"
"Zhiyuan is only eight years younger than me. I watched him grow up. He has been very
outstanding since the first grade. My parents have never praised the five of us, but they have
praised Zhiyuan many times. Among their seven grandchildren, they have only praised him."
Shanrang was a little anxious: "Hey, say something. There must be something wrong with your
question. Tell me quickly."
Beiwu also sat up, holding Shanrang's hand and exhaling softly. Yes, what was he doubting?
Maybe because there was a Susu in his family, he was a little too sensitive.
"Because he's a little bit..." Bei Wu thought for a moment, then chose his words: "Too much to
show that there's nothing wrong with it." And that sentence from Si Nan's godfather was too
leading.
"But isn't Si Nan okay? She fell asleep when we left. If there was anything wrong, she would
definitely tell us, right? And Si Jiang and Jing Sheng—" Shan Rang was stunned, "Did Jing Sheng
say anything to you? He seemed to have been silent the whole time."
"It's because Jingsheng didn't say a word that I felt something was wrong." Beiwu patted
Shanrang's hand and said softly, "Sinan is the type who only reports good news and not bad
news. She laughed when she talked about eating shit when she was a child. If there is anything,
she may not say it. Maybe she doesn't understand it yet. Even if she understands, she will
probably only tell Jingsheng. I'm just giving you a shot of prevention first, what if Zhou Zhiyuan--"
Shan Rang shook his head subconsciously: "Impossible, our Zhiyuan is definitely not that kind of
person!"
"I'm just saying in case."
"Nothing will happen," Shan Rang lowered his voice, "I believe in Zhiyuan just as I believed in you.
He is definitely not that kind of person. He used to take care of the injured cats and dogs in the
compound. Even though his brothers and sisters are afraid of him, he is actually very good to
them. You can tell by the way Zhimin speaks."
Bei Wu stared at her: "I know, because he is not only someone you are familiar with, but also the
son of your eldest brother, the glory of the third generation of the Zhou family, the next general,
or even a higher position. When you say there is no possibility, do you mean there is no
possibility or it is not allowed to happen?"
Shan Rang was silent for a moment: "I understand what you mean. I am biased. Don't worry, if
something happens, I will only stand on the right side."

Chapter 197
The next day, the typhoon stopped, the rainstorm stopped, the sky was clear and the sky was
bright. The original Zhou family moved to the Yonghe Garden in Confucius Temple. The Yonghe
Hall on the second floor was filled with more than a hundred people, the aroma of various dishes
and teas mixed together, and the noise was bustling. It was completely different from the
prosperous scene of the typhoon last night.
Mrs. Zhou especially liked the crab-shell yellow biscuits and hot dried bean curd. Knowing that
her in-laws were from Yangzhou, she was in high spirits. She praised the Yangzhou master chef
who made Yonghe Garden famous, and told the younger generation about the anecdotes of Zhu
Ziqing, Mei Lanfang, and Hou Baolin's visits to this place. Mr. Zhou rarely complained about his
wife's nagging, and even asked what crosstalk Hou Baolin performed when he was recognized.
Zhou Zhiyuan smiled and said, "He said "Wu Song Fighting the Tiger."
"Oh, I've heard of this." Grandpa Zhou also laughed: "At first, the tiger wouldn't die no matter
how hard we hit it. In the end, we didn't hit it anymore, and the tiger died on its own."
The old lady smiled with her eyes curved: "The actor who played Wu Song was anxious, and said
to the actor who played the tiger, 'What happened to you? You're dead, did you know that?'"
Everyone at the table was laughing so hard.
Shan Rang listened with a smile on his face and occasionally answered to support the old lady,
but his eyes kept glancing at Zhou Zhiyuan and Si Nan at the next table. Zhou Zhiyuan smiled as
he made tea for the elders and ordered food for his brothers and sisters, just like he always did. Si
Nan sat with his head down, occasionally biting his thumb, nodding and shaking his head at the
questions of Jing Sheng Si Jiang, but never looking at Zhou Zhiyuan. Shan Rang felt a weight on
his heart. Children don't lie. Even if Si Nan was cunning, he wouldn't be so different if nothing
happened.
After the tea, Beiwu and Jingsheng got up and left the hall, and came back after a long time.
Shanrang saw that Beiwu looked unhappy, so he squeezed his hand and asked, "Are you okay?"
Gu Beiwu said nothing, but his eyes fell on Zhou Zhiyuan. Zhou Zhiyuan seemed to have sensed
something, turned around and nodded to them with a smile. Shanrang couldn't help but look at
Jingsheng. Jingsheng and Sijiang seemed to be arguing about something in a low voice. Sinan
frowned and stared at his thumb. The nail must have been bitten.
After an hour of morning tea, Zhou Shanli excitedly caught up with the end of the party. He swept
across the two tables like a typhoon, pinched the shoulders of the old ones and touched the
heads of the young ones, and sat down next to Gu Beiwu with his arms and legs spread.
"Well, luckily Zhiyuan told me yesterday that you guys were going to Yongheyuan today. It's
worth it that I set out on the road at five o'clock and finally made it in time."
"Don't add more food. I see there's still a lot left on the children's table. Zhiyuan, if you don't
want to eat it, bring it to me."
"Hey, Chen Sinan, why don't you recognize me? You didn't even call me today, and you wouldn't
let me touch your curly hair. I brought you a lot of delicious food."
Si Nan pursed her lips and forced out a sentence: "Hello, uncle." Then she lay on her arm, looked
at Si Jiang, and then closed her eyes tightly. Her eyelashes fluttered, and her fine hair was wet
with sweat and stuck to half of her face, like a net, and then copied onto her slender arms.
"My sister's stomach is not feeling well." Si Jiang explained with a forced smile, and reached out
to take out the hair that was pressed under Si Nan's face, and then put it behind her ears and
pressed it.
"Ah, it's quite cold in this typhoon day, will she catch a cold? Give her more hot water." After
Zhou Shanli showed concern for Si Nan, he turned around and was busy dealing with the old
lady's concern for her lifelong affairs. The table was very lively and there was constant laughter.
After breakfast, we went to Mochou Lake in several cars, and then to Xuanwu Lake. When the sun
came out at noon, the road dried up quickly, and the lake was calm. Unfortunately, the lotus
flowers in half of the lake were ravaged and drooped, with only a few small boats floating on the
lake.
Since Shanli had arrived, Beiwu Shanrang and his party naturally followed his car. Zhou Zhiyuan
was responsible for serving the old man and old lady who were in high spirits. He would come
over from time to time to ask if they wanted water, cold drinks, whether they would be hungry
after lunch after swimming in the lake, and whether they would feel seasick. Si Nan hid behind Si
Jiang when he saw him coming, and shook his head no matter what he asked. Jingsheng was
silent with a look of surprise. Only Si Jiang responded politely and awkwardly. Zhou Zhiyuan was
treated coldly by them several times, and he shrugged and shook his head helplessly at Shanrang,
smiling, meaning that he would not argue with the child and let her rest assured.
Shanrang saw that Beiwu's face was getting worse and worse, and he didn't know what Jingsheng
had said to him, so he became anxious. Even Zhou Shanli realized that something was wrong.
After making a few jokes, he suggested going back to Zhou Shanyong's house to take a nap before
meeting up with the main force at the restaurant.
"No! I won't go!" Si Nan jumped up as if he was pricked by a needle, hugged Si Jiang and shouted,
"Sister, I miss grandma, I want to go back to Shanghai."
Si Jiang had no choice but to hug her tightly and ask his uncle for help.
Bei Wu called Zhou Zhiyuan over: "Your second uncle just came back, let him accompany the old
man. Please take us back to the nursing home so that Si Nan can be examined."
Zhou Zhiyuan agreed readily and went to make the arrangements himself.
Si Nan was silent now, just twisting and turning on Si Jiang, still not looking at Zhou Zhiyuan. Shan
Rang was sweating in his hands.
——
On the way back to Zhongshan Sanatorium, Shan Rang sat in the passenger seat and talked with
Zhou Zhiyuan all the way. He learned that Zhou Zhiyuan came back from vacation this time to
prepare for engagement. The girl was his classmate in military academy, and her father was a
colonel in the Air Force. They knew each other well. In a few days, the girl's family would come to
Nanjing to visit the old man and the old lady. The parents of both sides would meet and have a
meal to finalize the engagement, and the wedding would be held on National Day next year.
The four people in the back seat were silent. Si Jiang looked at the green light passing by outside
the window, feeling a little confused and relieved. He already had a girlfriend and was getting
married, so there was no reason for him to do something like that. She gently touched Si Nan in
her arms, "It's okay, Nan Nan, it's okay."
Si Nan also heard what Zhou Zhiyuan said. There were too many things she couldn't figure out,
but the fear in her heart didn't decrease, but increased. In the cramped space of the car, she even
breathed lightly, wanting to become air so that no one could see her.
This was the first time that Chen Sinan clearly understood what "fear" was.
Everyone said that she was different from ordinary children, even she thought so. In fact, she was
still an ordinary child. At first, she was confused and really scared. She even wondered if she had
a terrible dream, but after seeing Zhou Zhiyuan's smile, Chen Sinan shuddered and realized that
the hand was not her imagination.
Disgusting, really disgusting. Hateful, really hateful. She wanted to hug Jingsheng, but she didn't
dare. Who should she blame? Blame yourself. Sinan could fully imagine her mother's angry face.
"I've told you thousands of times not to be so bold and timid. What if you run into a bad guy?
You'll suffer!"
She used to be stubborn and unconvinced, always saying three things in return: "I'm not afraid of
bad guys, I can tell good guys from bad guys at a glance, I can run fast, I can hit, kick, bite, and I
can use knives and scissors, I will find the police..."
Can you tell the difference? No. There is no word on the bad guy's face, and if there is, it is
written as a good guy. Mom will definitely scold her and say that she deserves it. Who made her
like this "big brother" whom she just met for a day? Who made her clamor to sleep here? Who
made her insist on playing with airplane models and refused to sleep with her elder sister? Who
made her fall asleep on her own? Compared to being touched twice by the disgusting bad guy,
the words from mom and adults such as "I told you a long time ago, but you didn't listen", "I told
you not to listen to adults", "Who told you to get close to me", "Now you know you are wrong
and you have suffered the consequences", etc. made her feel more uncomfortable.
Why you? You asked for it. Even Si Nan thought so in her heart. Then she thought, what if it
wasn't her, but her sister who encountered such a disgusting thing? Then she was the one who
harmed her sister, so she was glad that her sister didn't encounter it. Because of these thoughts,
Si Nan tried hard to pretend that nothing happened. She was touched twice, just as if she was
pushed by a dog in the sand well. It's okay. When she opened her eyes, she, Chen Si Nan, would
be a brave man again in the future. One day she would be able to take revenge, but as for how to
take revenge, she couldn't think of it for the time being.
But Jingsheng's words made her heart collapse, sour, bitter, sweet and painful. She had never felt
this way before. How could she have such a good cousin? Did he find something wrong? He
always found something wrong with her. When she was a child, her mother said she was ugly, but
only he and her sister would lie and say she was pretty. She would lose two points for a wrong
math question, but he would block her mother's slap for her. When she wanted to raise chickens,
he bought her chicks and took good care of them. He would cook whatever she wanted to eat for
her. She used him to sell tickets, but he didn't get angry. He even won more toys for her to play
with.
Who did God send to protect me? It was you, my dearest cousin Jingsheng. You won't say that I
asked for it or that I deserved it, right?
Sinan's hope of "being a brave man again in the future" that she had managed to hold up with
great difficulty suddenly collapsed. She couldn't help but tell the truth, but she regretted it as
soon as she said it. Her cousin would go to fight, and her sister would be very sad and upset.
After all, she loved her aunt so much, so she shrank back. She didn't want her cousin to get into
trouble. She knew what her cousin would do, but she might not be able to beat that person in a
fight. If a knife was used, it would definitely be her cousin who would suffer, as that person's
family was full of high-ranking officials. But she got angry when she heard her sister's words. She
was angry with herself and her sister. She was not a child anymore. She knew that it was not an
accidental accident. Her sister didn't believe her and spoke for him. Others would not believe her,
and her mother would definitely not believe her either.
Later, when she grew up, she recalled this incident countless times, despised her cowardice,
angry at her fear, and regretted her retreat. Why was she so bad at that time? It was totally unlike
her. She imagined many "correct" reactions: she should yell at him immediately, scratch his face,
bite off his flesh, or shout "You are a bad guy, you touched me secretly!" in the hall of Yonghe
Garden in front of hundreds of people, and then pour boiling dried shreds and hot tea on his
face, and then the eldest cousin would rush up and smash his dog head. Or she would cry and tell
her uncle and aunt... Unfortunately, time will never come back, and there is no if in everything. If
there was an if, the following things would not happen.
——
Arriving at the sanatorium, Bei Wu asked Zhou Zhiyuan to have a cup of tea before leaving. Zhou
Zhiyuan hesitated for a moment, turned off the engine, locked the car, and followed him upstairs.
Shan Rang took Sijiang and Sinan into the bedroom to change Zhou Zhilan's clothes. Sinan
refused to wear a skirt and old man's pants. She rummaged through the clothes in her bag and
took them out to vent her anger. She turned around and looked for trousers in Sijiang's bag.
When she put them on, she found that they were too loose and too long. She rolled up the
trouser legs and held the waistband to look for a belt. Sijiang followed her and kept packing. He
tried to persuade her to change her mind in a gentle voice, but Sinan was very stubborn and
refused to listen.
"It's okay. I have a belt. I can use it by poking a few holes in it with nails." Shanrang comforted the
two sisters and went to his room to get the belt.
As soon as she closed the door, she heard Beiwu say, "Sinan said you touched her." Shanrang's
hand stopped on the door handle, and his whole body twisted into a weird posture. His elbow
seemed to have hit a tendon, and he felt numb and painful all the way to the top of his head.
The teacup in Zhou Zhiyuan's hand stopped at his lips. He raised his eyes and saw Gu Beiwu
looking at him indifferently.

Chapter 198
"What did she say?"
Zhou Zhiyuan asked in surprise: "How could this happen...Aunt, do you believe it?" He crossed his
legs, leaned on the armrest of the sofa, turned slightly to look at Shan Rang, frowned slightly, and
the teacup in his hand remained steady.
Something choked Shanrang. She couldn't speak, nod or shake her head. Did she believe it? Deep
down in her heart, she did, but she didn't dare to believe it, and she didn't want to believe it.
"I believe it." Jingsheng suddenly spoke.
Gu Beiwu narrowed his eyes: "I believe it too."
The door closed completely and silently. Shan Rang felt someone push the door from the inside.
She didn't know whether it was Si Jiang or Si Nan. The weight made her temples throb. She let go
of the door handle, inhaled, exhaled, inhaled again, exhaled again, staring at Zhou Zhiyuan
intently, getting closer and closer.
Zhou Zhiyuan uncrossed his legs and said with a wry smile: "Aunt, do you think I could be that
kind of person?"
"Did you?" Shan Rang asked softly, "Zhiyuan, tell me the truth, have you ever done it?"
"No." Zhou Zhiyuan raised his chin slightly and frowned: "I told you, it was just an accidental
bump, why make such a big deal out of it? The kid doesn't understand anything——"
"She understands everything." Jingsheng interrupted him, his brows becoming more aggressive.
Zhou Zhiyuan sighed, smiled helplessly and shook his head: "Forget it, since you have already
convicted me, there is no point in me saying anything, then what?"
"Turn yourself in." Gu Beiwu said calmly: "You are committing hooliganism, go and turn yourself
in." His tone left no room for doubt.
Zhou Zhiyuan laughed, as if this was too absurd. He looked at Shanrang, but Shanrang pursed his
lips and said nothing. So he stood up and said, "This is such an inexplicable disaster. I didn't do it,
and I won't do it. If you don't believe me, I'll go find the police and have them arrest me and
interrogate me."
Gu Beiwu looked at Shan Rang and said, "Zhou Zhiyuan, how do you know what Si Nan meant by
that? Si Nan said that you touched her, maybe you touched her head, maybe you touched her
arm. You have been explaining that you touched her private parts since last night. Why did you
say just now that we have convicted you? We have not convicted you of any crime. It is you who
knew that it was a crime. You know what the crime is."
Zhou Zhiyuan froze in place, his mind quickly recalling every word Gu Beiwu had said.
Shan Rang saw his suddenly tense neck and shoulders, and the heavy stone in her heart fell down
heavily, and a fire suddenly burned from the bottom of her heart, burning her eyes. How could it
be, why, how could Zhiyuan... At this time, thinking back to all the abnormalities of Si Nan,
everything was about to come out, but she didn't even want to think about it deeply. Si Nan was
such a lovely, lively and quirky little girl!
"So you know very well that an eleven-year-old girl is not completely ignorant," Gu Beiwu stood
up. "You are afraid that she will tell the truth after escaping from you, so you first rationalize your
behavior. You are sure that we will believe you and not a child."
Gu Beiwu's voice fell off: "I guess you have had a lot of successful 'experiences', and there should
be few girls who have the courage to escape from you, or even no girls. You know exactly what
you are doing, and you know very well that you are that kind of person." A normal "big brother"
would not deliberately explain an unintentional touch, only a thief would feel guilty.
Behind the door, Si Jiang hugged Si Nan tightly in her arms, trembling all over, unable to cry. She
only hated herself for being so stupid! Ah Mei had clearly said it but she didn't believe it, and she
still spoke for Zhou Zhiyuan. How sad Ah Mei must have been at that time. As an elder sister, she
failed to protect Ah Mei. Why did she go to sleep alone and leave Nan Nan alone? She should
have been with her all the time. When the two of them were together, the bad guys would have
no chance to attack.
"I'm sorry, Nannan, I'm sorry——"
Sinan's hands desperately grabbed the waistband of his pants, using so much force that his whole
body was shaking, and his mind was blank. My eldest cousin knew, my uncle knew, my aunt knew,
my sister knew, and what about my mother? Would she know...
——
Zhou Zhiyuan's mind was in a mess. He had imagined countless "what ifs". Even imagining them
would bring great excitement. He was sure that there was only one "what if". There was no "what
if". He had never had a "what if". He didn't have time to tell whether this "what if" was Chen
Sinan, Gu Jingsheng, or Gu Beiwu. His face had already been tilted to one side by Shan Rang's
slap.
"Zhou Zhiyuan! How could you become this kind of person? Do you know what you did? That's a
child! Do you understand? He's a child, a child who has no power to resist at all! What are you
thinking? How dare you--" Shanrang's slaps fell on Zhou Zhiyuan's body like a storm.
Zhou Zhiyuan held her arm tightly, the corners of his mouth slowly curled up, and a gentle and
amiable smile appeared on his face again, as if nothing had happened.
"You think too much, aunt." Zhou Zhiyuan's voice was filled with a trace of regret: "If I didn't treat
my uncle and my brothers and sisters well and made them angry, you should beat me and scold
me. But I won't admit to anything I didn't do."
He turned and looked at Gu Beiwu: "Uncle, don't forget that I am an active-duty officer. My last
name is Zhou. I carry the hopes of my whole family. I know what kind of person I want to be in
the future, so I will never do that kind of thing. I have never done it. Please don't insult my
personality and damage my reputation. Today's matter is just a misunderstanding. I won't bother
with you, and I won't tell my father and grandfather. You should go to Beijing as soon as
possible."
Jingsheng suddenly rushed up, and his fist flew straight towards Zhou Zhiyuan's nose.
Zhou Zhiyuan dodged easily and hit Jingsheng in the ribs with an elbow from the side of his
shoulder.
Gu Beiwu reached out and pulled Jingsheng over: "Shanrang, come here."
"I don't want to fight with you." Zhou Zhiyuan let go of Shan Rang, raised his hands and sighed:
"Aunt, I'm not afraid of fighting, I just don't want them to get hurt. You should believe me, not
the lies that a child tells."
The bedroom door flew open and slammed against the wall.
"My sister doesn't talk nonsense!"
"I'm not talking nonsense! I'm not lying--!"
The afternoon sunlight shone through the glass window, slanting down on the faces of the two
girls with very different expressions. Si Jiang's face flushed red, her fists clenched, tears welled up
in her eyes, but she insisted on looking straight at Zhou Zhiyuan, not flinching.
"You are a gangster, you are a gangster!" Si Jiang's sharp voice sounded again: "If you don't turn
yourself in, we will report the case today. The police will still arrest you and the court will
sentence you!"
After Si Nan finished yelling, she saw Zhou Zhiyuan looking at her, and she couldn't help but lean
towards Si Jiang, then she mustered up the courage to stand up straight. Now that everyone
knows, she doesn't seem to be so scared anymore. Will the police come to arrest him? Will he go
to jail for touching her twice? My uncle said that it was a hooligan crime, which seemed very
serious, but the old hooligan who showed his penis was taken to the police station by my eldest
cousin and didn't seem to go to jail. My aunt has beaten him several times, and my aunt and her
family will definitely not let him go to jail. Si Nan's mind was spinning fast, and she looked at Shan
Rang, Jingsheng and Bei Wu in a daze.
Shan Rang wiped away his tears and nodded to Si Jiang Si Nan: "Okay, if he doesn't turn himself
in, we will report the case. We will go together. Don't worry, Nan Nan, don't be afraid. We all
believe that you are telling the truth. Auntie believes you!"
Gu Beiwu was startled and held Shanrang's hand. He was furious after hearing what Jingsheng
said in the morning, but he couldn't overturn the table and fight, so he could only consider how
to solve it. With only Sinan's accusation, it was obviously very unlikely to punish Zhou Zhiyuan
through the law. Because of Nanhong's matter, he carefully studied the crime of hooliganism, and
the only corresponding crime was insulting women, which also depended entirely on how the
judicial authorities defined it. Even in the United States, the crime of sexually assaulting children
and women is often difficult to be successfully convicted, and the crime of child molestation
committed by acquaintances is even more difficult to be convicted. There are often related
reports on TV and newspapers. Although the legal systems of China and the United States are
different, it is conceivable that it is extremely difficult to make a public settlement. He also took
Shanrang and Mr. and Mrs. Zhou into consideration. For Shanrang's situation, he would rather
break Zhou Zhiyuan's hands or legs directly after getting Zhou Zhiyuan's words to confirm that
they were correct, and then privately inform the Zhou family to find a way to keep Zhou Zhiyuan
under his nose to prevent him from poisoning other children. But it is different when Shanrang
takes the initiative to report the case. It is not easy to make such a decision.
Jingsheng suddenly said, "It's useless to call the police, let's just break one of his hands." Those
who were sentenced in the major farms in Jinghong and Banna were all rapists with solid
evidence. He had never heard of anyone being arrested and imprisoned for touching a woman.
Zhou Zhiyuan took two steps towards Si Nan, and Si Jiang stood in front of Si Nan vigilantly:
"What do you want to do?!"
"Zhou Zhiyuan!" Shan Rang roared, his throat almost breaking.
Zhou Zhiyuan looked at the wall of people that suddenly appeared in front of him, and the little
panic he had completely disappeared.
"Then you can try to find the police."
He left after saying this.
Si Jiang held Jingsheng back and said, "Don't fight. If you do, he will sue you."
Sinan also raised his head: "Don't go, cousin. His father is a high-ranking official, and his
grandfather is an even higher-ranking official. If you hurt him, you will go to jail."
Jing Sheng gritted his teeth and glared, "Uncle! Let's beat him first, it's easy for the two of us to
beat him alone!"
Shan Rang squatted down and hugged Si Nan: "Nan Nan, don't worry, he must be punished for
what he did wrong. His father is my brother, his grandfather is my father, and I and your uncle
Shanli, whether we are officials or not, we will not cover up for him. I promise." After all, Si Nan
was not the only girl who suffered, and she would never allow any other girl to be harmed. She
firmly believed that her parents, old revolutionaries, would not allow it, and her brothers would
not allow it either.
Sinan asked doubtfully, "So are we really going to call the police?"
"Yes. Call the police." Si Jiang held Si Nan's hand angrily: "Go now!"
Chapter 199
Chen Sijiang's dream of becoming a lawyer was shattered on this day, and it was shattered very
easily.
At around nine o'clock in the evening, the five of them were silent when they came out of the
fourth police station. They still couldn't file a case, let alone arrest anyone. Angry? Angry.
Furious? Furious. But more of it was powerlessness, powerlessness. The reason why Gu Beiwu
insisted that Zhou Zhiyuan send them back to the sanatorium was to use the recorder. He didn't
fight unprepared battles, and it did make Zhou Zhiyuan reveal his flaws, but it didn't help much.
One police station tried its best. Because the case involved military personnel and the parties
involved were all family members of General Zhou, the director of the police station consulted
the district bureau and made a special phone call to the procuratorate and the court for
consultation. After waiting for two hours, the court concluded that the data obtained by
recording without the consent of the other party cannot be used as evidence and must be
excluded according to the rule of illegal evidence exclusion. The procuratorate listened to the
recording and said that there was no direct evidence in the conversation to prove that the parties
involved had committed hooliganism. Logical reasoning is just reasoning, and the law requires
evidence.
Shan Rang argued with others for five or six hours, which was much more tiring than teaching
students. His voice was so hoarse that he could not speak at all. Gu Beiwu, who was not anxious
or flustered no matter how big the situation was, could not hide his anger. Jingsheng walked
silently at the end of the team. He knew it would be like this, but he felt even worse after it really
happened.
Si Jiang still held Si Nan's hand tightly, the sweat in his palms dried and became sticky, but he
couldn't let go of A Mei. She made a mistake last night, and it seemed that she made a bigger
mistake today. She insisted that she was right, and Shan let her aunt say so. They had all tried
their best. Uncle prepared the recording so wisely that Zhou Zhiyuan was exposed, but why was
Zhou Zhiyuan unscathed, and Si Nan was the one who suffered. Si Jiang couldn't figure it out.
Witnesses were not witnesses, and evidence was not evidence. They were all useless. Those
excuses were pale and absurd, but they were useful.
"Active-duty officers? We can't do that. Go find the troops."
"Where did the hooliganism happen? Oh - that place is not under our jurisdiction. You have to go
to the police station there."
"Is there a witness? Is it her? She is a child, and it's useless for her to say anything."
"What? Your nephew molested your lover's niece? Does your family know about this? Does your
brother and sister-in-law know that you are reporting this to the police? Have you discussed
this?"
After the adults lost their temper and had heated arguments with their leaders, the police finally
came to question Sinan.
"What did he do to you?"
"Where did you touch?"
"How did you touch it?"
"How long did you touch him? How many times?"
"Were you awake or asleep? Why didn't you call for help?"
"Did anyone else see it?"
"Are you injured? Have you been to the hospital for a checkup? Do you have a medical report?"
"Why don't you sleep with your uncle and aunt instead of going to his house?"
"Your sister and brother have gone to bed, why don't you go to bed and stay alone with him?"
"Think about it carefully. Could it be a dream? Children sometimes can't figure things out and
take dreams as real."
The police asked while smoking, the smoke rings spread out, the mist made Si Nan's head droop
lower and lower, and finally just nodded and shook his head. Si Jiang just stood by and listened
with a broken heart, why couldn't there be a female police officer, why did they ask like this,
every question was like a knife, cutting Si Nan over and over again, but they didn't believe her
answers, didn't make any records, didn't even file a case, and wouldn't arrest anyone, in the end
she suspected that these questions were just to make them give up.
In the end, the matter still comes back to the adults.
"It's not easy. There's no evidence and no witnesses."
"Nowadays, we are very cautious in handling hooliganism. We have to report it. We can't arrest
people based on a report letter or a child's words. That's nonsense."
"The most we can do is investigate and see if there are other people willing to testify. Your child is
not injured at all, so it's hard to do anything."
"Comrade Xiao Zhou, you must be cautious about this kind of thing. Don't be impulsive. Your
nephew is so well-off, there is no reason for him to do this. You rushed to the police on impulse,
which could easily ruin a young man's life. Is it easy for the country to train an officer? Do you
understand military life? Where did you get the opportunity to insult a girl?
"Have you ever thought about how your parents and your brother and sister-in-law feel? You
can't side with your husband's family just because you have a good relationship."
The person who said this even thought he was giving good advice. Si Jiang really didn't
understand. For such a big matter and such a bad gangster, why did they treat it as a trivial
matter of quarrels and fights among families, as if the neighborhood committee and the police
could mediate a few words and it would be over. Who destroyed whose life? Who can guarantee
that a person with excellent studies, outstanding work, and a happy family will not commit
crimes? Power, wealth, or status? What do these have to do with human nature? According to
this, the noble young master Alec could not have stabbed Tess? Archbishop Claude could not
have persecuted Esmeralda? Si Jiang could not understand why those who guard the law only use
their daily life experience to understand the law.
Even when Si Jiang was 28 or 29 years old, some people would still say to her with a smile: "Don't
be so cynical. Look at everything from the bright side."
Chen Sijiang's answer was: "I have every reason to be angry." Being able to be angry is a valuable
ability, which is better than being numb.
——
Kicking the pebbles under his feet, Sinan turned his head and asked, "Uncle, are we going to the
next one?"
Shan Rang felt extremely frustrated, and shook his head with red eyes.
Gu Beiwu put his arm around her shoulders and whispered, "This way doesn't work, let's try
something else."
Si Nan broke free from Si Jiang's hand, trotted a few steps, stretched, turned around and said,
"Forget it, I'm fine anyway." She definitely didn't want to go to the police station again. Her
cousin was right, it was useless. Her matter was insignificant to others, and no one believed her.
After being asked too many times, the hidden sense of shame was torn off layer by layer like a
perpetual calendar, and finally a pile of insignificant white edges was left, and only the disgust
and contempt for Zhou Zhiyuan did not decrease. If she had not been reminded by the female
police aunt who was kind enough to let her aunt quarrel and come to check her body, she would
not have known that the place to pee and the place to give birth were actually separate, and the
place to give birth would bleed every month in the future. It would be better to go back to what
she thought at the beginning, she would just think that she was rubbed by the dog twice, and she
didn't have to wait for the next day. Now she shook her head and she was a brave man again. In
the past, the guard dog in the school once hugged her legs and rubbed her, and she couldn't kick
it away. The adults laughed, and only her mother raised her eyebrows and beat the dog with a
broom. She would always find a way to beat Zhou Zhiyuan up like a dog one day. The more afraid
of dogs one is, the more likely one is to be bitten by them. She is not afraid, not now, at least not
that afraid. All reactionaries are paper tigers.
"I'm sorry, Nannan." Shanrang choked and stretched out his hand.
Sinan leaned into Shanrang's arms meekly: "I'm fine, aunt, really. I'm not in pain." The big stone
in her heart was gone, and her uncle and aunt did not blame her for not listening to the old
people, nor did they say that she deserved it. They were relatives, and they all stood by her
without hesitation.
Shanrang felt pain, so much so that she almost didn't have the courage to look Beiwu in the face.
Si Nan took the initiative to hug Si Jiang again: "Sister, don't cry, I'm really fine, it doesn't hurt.
The aunt said that I was lucky that nothing serious happened."
What is a big deal? Death is a big deal, bleeding and injury are big deals? Si Jiang was furious. The
many "abnormal" interrogations forced Si Nan back to a "normal" state, forcing her to make a big
deal out of a small matter. Of course, she was not really fine, she just didn't want everyone to go
to waste for her, and didn't want to make her aunt even more sad. She was too sensible.
What Si Jiang could not accept the most was that a few letters of denunciation could force the
aunt and her family to leave their hometown, but when the real victim like Si Nan stood up, he
had no way to sue. What use would it be for her to become a lawyer in the future? What went
wrong? Was it the police? They were just doing things according to the instructions of the clauses
and documents. Some people shirked their responsibilities while others were kind enough to
help. Was it the documents? But many people did applaud those regulations. Was it the legal
clauses with loopholes? Who will correct them, when can they be corrected, and how can
someone correct them? But Si Jiang knew that whether it was Si Nan or the aunt, they had no
right to speak, and they would not be believed even if they spoke. It was absurd and magical.
——
When they returned to the sanatorium, Zhou Shanli was squatting downstairs smoking. When he
saw them, he stood up abruptly, threw away his cigarette butt, stepped on it casually, and ran
over.
When they ran to the front, Zhou Shanli found himself so guilty that he dared not look at the
three children.
"Why did you come back so late? Mom and Dad are waiting for you—" Zhou Shanli looked at
Shanrang: "Big brother and sister-in-law are here too."
Shanrang nodded tiredly. The District Court and the District Procuratorate had already been
alerted. It was impossible that no one had notified the old man. Gu Beiwu nodded to Zhou Shanli
and held Shanrang's hand. Shanrang turned away and wiped away the tears from the corners of
his eyes.
The three of them walked side by side into the building. Sinan followed two steps and called out
"Uncle".
"I want to go to the old cadres' activity room to watch TV. I missed several episodes of Wu
Zetian."
Zhou Shanli couldn't help but look back at Si Nan. This kid was really good at reading expressions,
but he didn't look like anything was wrong. Instead, Si Jiang looked a little strange.
"You three go together, I'll come find you later." Gu Beiwu nodded.
Watching Si Jiang and the others go away, Gu Beiwu stretched out his hand to Shanli: "Give me a
cigarette."
The two men sat on the steps and smoked, and Shanrang played the recording to Zhou Shanli.
Zhou Shanli cursed, and the red dot of the cigarette between his fingers suddenly flew up into the
sky and landed on his knees.
"You guys go ahead, I'm going to beat this little bastard to death first!"
Shan Rang held him back and asked, "Did Dad scold me?"
"He cursed." Zhou Shanli glanced at Gu Beiwu: "My father has never been so embarrassed in his
life. Zhiyuan's matter seems to have spread. Big brother and sister-in-law are so worried--" Not
only the old man and the old lady are embarrassed, but the whole Zhou family is embarrassed.
He thinks Shanrang was really foolish to go to the police station without going home to explain
things first. But after listening to the recording, he is 100% sure that Zhou Zhiyuan, the bastard,
did something inhuman. What did he say? He even threatened others. He is the hope of the Zhou
family? No one can control the military officer? Bullshit, his own nephew is useless. He has
something to control. He is going to do it. At least take off his military uniform. He doesn't
deserve it!
However, Gu Beiwu bowed to Zhou Shanli, which scared Shanli.
"Mr. Gu, what are you doing?" Zhou Shanli said anxiously, holding Gu Beiwu's arm.
"A thumb." Gu Beiwu said in a deep voice: "Shanli, if you trust me, help me cut off Zhou Zhiyuan's
right thumb, and this matter will be over. I will apologize to the old man."

Chapter 200
Seeing Shanli and Shanrang stunned, Gu Beiwu said with a smile: "If my elder brother is here,
Zhou Zhiyuan will inevitably lose his arms and legs. The men in our family are very protective and
vindictive. They will never speak when they can take action, and they are also very patient. Zhou
Zhiyuan can't stay in the army every minute, right? With my elder brother's ability, he can get
away with it even if he gets rid of harm for the people. Now all he wants is a thumbs up to give
Shanrang face."
Shanrang wiped away her tears, she couldn't say "no". From civilization to barbarism, she vaguely
saw the 18-year-old Gu Beiwu and the early 20-year-old Zhou Shanli, who used fists, sticks and
blood to defend their beliefs and prove their passion. Nearly 20 years have passed, but Beiwu still
wants to use blood to solve this matter. Whose fault is it? But other than this, how can she give
justice to Sinan and how can she make Zhou Zhiyuan never commit the same crime again?
Zhou Shanli had never heard of this discount, so he asked with a wry smile: "Can we break one of
his arms?" If it can be reattached after being broken, it is a great punishment, better than being
disabled. He understood that what Gu Beiwu wanted was for Zhou Zhiyuan to retire due to
disability and end his career, and he also wanted the Zhou family to take action themselves.
Gu Beiwu shook his head: "Shanrang and I have done what we should do. My Sinan is ten
thousand times braver than we thought. There are also good police officers in the police station
who try their best, but it's useless. Since the law can't give justice, I can only seek justice myself."
Zhou Shanli stared at Gu Beiwu, and after a while he let out a breath: "Good old Gu, you are
forcing me to go up. I will go up with you now. I can't give you a thumbs up, but no matter what, I
promise that Zhou Zhiyuan will retire, okay?"
"Okay." Gu Beiwu got this promise and nodded to Shanrang: "Let's go."
Shanrang was stunned and looked at Shanli: "I'm sorry, second brother, this is our business--" She
really didn't intend to involve Shanli.
Zhou Shanli touched his nose and sighed: "Forget it, it's all our Zhou family's business, don't
blame me for trying to avoid the old man, if it wasn't for Dad's intervention, we really couldn't
get Nanhong at that time." He was in a difficult situation. Last year, when Gu Nanhong got into
trouble, the old man never asked her if she was a female hooligan. He kindly begged for help, and
the old man finally put his face aside to say hello to the old leader. In the end, the person ran
away, and never asked him kindly. He turned around and transferred him to the armed police. It
was a punishment in public, but it was secretly paving another way for him. Now the old father is
furious, and the eldest brother and sister-in-law have always been close to him. If he is present,
no matter whether Zhou Zhiyuan is a human or a ghost, it will only make everyone more
embarrassed. The old lady specially drove him and the third and fourth sons away for the face of
the eldest son kindly.
——
When Zhou Zhiyuan was called to the sanatorium, he smoked three cigarettes downstairs, looked
at his watch and saw it was already one in the morning before he went upstairs. Two orderly
soldiers were carrying cardboard boxes and a pile of wooden planks down the stairs, and when
they saw Zhou Zhiyuan, who was not wearing a military uniform, they nodded and greeted him.
The door was open, the room was brightly lit, and the smell of cigarettes had not yet completely
dissipated. Zhou Shanli had three finger prints on his face, and was refilling tea for everyone. The
glass coffee table in front of the sofa was gone, replaced by an odd-looking square stool.
Shanrang's eyes were red and swollen, and he dozed on Gu Beiwu's shoulder. Zhou Shanyong and
his wife looked at the old man in the wheelchair with pale faces. Secretary Xiaolin and the doctor
had just taken General Zhou's blood pressure and were packing up to leave.
"Grandpa, Dad, Mom, I'm here." Zhou Zhiyuan walked over and squatted beside the wheelchair.
The old man took a breath, didn't open his eyes, the frown between his brows tightened and
tightened, and waved his hand. Shanli sent Xiaolin and the doctor out and closed the door.
The old lady who had just finished sweeping the windows saw Zhou Zhiyuan coming, opened her
mouth, turned around and went up to the balcony again, raised the broom and rushed to him in
two steps and hit him on the head.
Zhou Zhiyuan didn't say anything or dodge, he just lowered his head and let the old lady whip
him more than ten times.
Shanli quickly supported her staggering and tearful old mother and said, "Mom, please don't get
angry and get yourself sick!"
General Zhou suddenly swung his walking stick, and with a dull "bang", Zhou Zhiyuan was hit on
the back and fell to the ground.
Zhou Shanyong knelt down in front of the old man and held the cane: "Dad, let me do it." His
wife burst into tears and grabbed Zhou Zhiyuan's arm tightly: "Zhiyuan, what are you doing this
for? Why——"
Zhou Zhiyuan shouted, "Grandpa, I didn't! It's not fair that you believe my aunt and not me."
Zhou Shanyong took the cane, pulled his wife away, and hit Zhou Zhiyuan hard on the arm. Zhou
Zhiyuan held his arm in disbelief and climbed up: "Dad, are you crazy? Are you all crazy? My aunt
was deceived by Gu Beiwu, and you were fooled too!"
Zhou Shangyong was shaking with anger. He pursed his lips and swept his crutch across Zhou
Zhiyuan's legs again without mercy.
Zhou Zhiyuan knelt on one leg. The muscles on his face twitched uncontrollably due to the pain.
His forehead was covered with sweat. He took a few breaths and looked at Gu Beiwu and Shan
Rang.
There was a knock on the door and the room suddenly became quiet.
Zhou Zhiyuan heaved a sigh of relief, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise. There
was no such thing as a single event. He would not allow any such event to happen.
——
Si Jiangsnan was woken up by Shan Rang in the middle of the night.
"What? My uncle was arrested? Why?!" Si Jiang was stunned.
Shanrang took the shirt and put it on Sinan, then hugged them tightly: "Zhou Zhiyuan falsely
accused your uncle of being an American spy, do you believe it?"
"He's talking nonsense!" Si Nan and Si Jiang shouted in unison.
"The two uncles outside will take you to ask a lot of questions about your uncle. Are you afraid?"
“Don’t be afraid!”
"Nannan, you may be asked about that matter again. If you are sad, just cry--" Shanrang's tears
began to fall.
"I won't cry!" Sinan jumped off the bed. "I won't cry no matter what they ask me! Aunt, don't cry
either. Don't be afraid. I'll go and testify for uncle."
"Okay, just tell the truth," Shanrang touched Sinan's head, "I won't cry, I'm not afraid, your uncle
is the most patriotic person, no one can frame him. Let's go."
That night, Gu Beiwu, Shanrang, Jingsheng, Sijiang and Sinan were all taken away by the National
Security Bureau, along with Gu Beiwu's camera, sketchbook and recorder.
Sijiang Sinan and Jingsheng discussed this many times later, but they still didn't know whether
this "spy incident" was Zhou Zhiyuan's deliberate back-up plan or a temporary decision after he
had gone too far. Coincidences seemed to be everywhere: Gu Beiwu "married up" to the
daughter of a military leader, and insisted on studying in the United States after graduating at an
advanced age. He brought a camera, a sketchbook, and a recorder that ordinary people had
never heard of. After meeting Zhou Zhiyuan, Sinan asked Zhou Zhiyuan what fighter plane he was
driving, which led to the topic of the new J-8 fighter plane. Sinan also took the initiative to see
Zhou Zhiyuan's fighter plane model in an attempt to find out the secrets of the new fighter plane.
After being "seen through" by Zhou Zhiyuan, he bit back and tried to destroy the career of an
excellent officer with the crime of hooliganism, causing huge losses to the country. Shanrang's
behavior was also very abnormal. After the incident, she did not discuss a word with her family,
but went directly to the police station and went to the police station four times in a row. It is very
likely that she has been instigated by her husband. As for Sinan, his overly enthusiastic and
proactive approach to Zhou Zhiyuan was obviously arranged by the adults.
Jingsheng and Sijiang were questioned separately, mainly about Gu Beiwu's experience in the
United States and the content of his correspondence with his family. Sinan was questioned for
two days. She was quite proud of this experience and claimed that she was a little □□. It is not
difficult to tell the truth. Children's words and body movements, and intense emotional outbursts
are very easy for professionals to identify. Fortunately, there is nothing suspicious in Gu Beiwu's
camera sketchbook and recorder.
It was two days later that Si Jiang saw Si Nan again. Then Shan Li took them to see Jing Sheng.
Two days later, they finally met Shan Rang, who had lost weight, and Gu Beiwu, who had a
stubble on his face.
Everyone was able to get out safely because Zhou Zhiyuan was reported by the old lady.
The reason why the old lady was so angry that night was that all the abnormalities of Sinan that
Shanrang described seemed familiar to her. When she put the two together, she understood
what her niece had experienced that year, and she exploded.
That night, the old general finally decided to break one of Zhou Zhiyuan's legs to give the Gu
family an explanation, and then transfer him to Shanli's watch. But Zhou Zhiyuan did this. The
grandson was already useless, and the two elders could not bear to see their daughter and son-
in-law being harmed by him. After weighing it over and over again, they took the old lady's
niece's granddaughter to Nanjing, persuaded her with reason and emotion, and finally got a
witness.
Soon, Gu Beiwu and Jingsheng took Sijiang and Sinan back to Shanghai. Sijiang learned that in
just a few days, all the letters, photos, and items that his uncle had sent back, including the
picture album for Jingsheng's rehabilitation training, had been taken away.
Gu Dongwen personally sent Sinan back to Urumqi in late August. In the following three months,
Gu Beiwu was still often "asked" to leave, sometimes for half a day, sometimes for a whole day
and a night. Before New Year's Day 1985, the three boxes of letters and belongings were
returned, and it seemed that everything was finally over. The thrilling summer vacation a few
months ago seemed to have been gone for many years.
During the Spring Festival of the Year of the Ox, Zhou Shanrang did not come to Wanchun Street.
She had just finished the follow-up investigation and sent a letter from Beijing.
Zhou Zhiyuan retired due to injury last October and was sentenced to five years in prison for
hooliganism in January.
There were two witnesses. One was the granddaughter of the old lady's mother's family. When
she was eight years old, she went to Shanghai with her mother to visit the old lady. She was
molested by Zhou Zhiyuan, who also went to Shanghai for the summer vacation. Her vagina was
torn and bleeding. Zhou Zhiyuan was fifteen years old that year. The old lady took the little girl to
the infirmary to apply medicine. At that time, Zhou Zhiyuan was very nervous and said that the
little girl was accidentally injured while playing on the horizontal bar. He blamed himself for not
protecting his sister. The little girl's mother was so angry that she slapped her twice and scolded
her for being playful. The little girl cried and said she would never dare to do it again. Originally a
very lively little girl, she sat at home after that day, hiding beside the old lady, refusing to go
anywhere, and not talking to Zhou Zhiyuan. Soon she pestered her mother to go back to the
countryside. No one thought much about it. After all, the injury there was really painful, and
Zhou Zhiyuan was particularly concerned about her. He bought her a lot of popsicles and toys and
said a lot of apologies. The old lady specifically reminded him several times that he must be
careful and thoughtful in taking care of the children. If something serious happened, he would
not be able to explain to his relatives and he would never feel at ease. Zhou Zhiyuan was indeed
becoming more and more like a "big brother". None of his brothers and sisters disliked him or
were unconvinced by him.
Another witness was found by Shan Rang based on Bei Wu's ideas. The child was the little
daughter of Zhou Zhiyuan's aunt's cousin. She was only five years old when the accident
happened.
This cousin was two years older than Shanrang and liked her very much. She called Shanrang
"little cousin" all the time, which made Shanrang very embarrassed. In the early 1970s, she often
went to Shanghai and would always go to play with Shanrang. She had a close relationship with
the Zhou family. Later, when she got married and had children, the Zhou family also went to give
gifts. After Shanrang was admitted to Peking University, she also sent Shanrang towels from her
factory, and the two of them kept in touch.
The year before last, Shanrang went back to Nanjing to visit her relatives. I didn’t see her during
the Spring Festival, and then I remembered that I hadn’t received her letter for a long time. When
I asked, Zhou Zhiyuan’s mother was very angry. She said that she had sent her little daughter to
the military kindergarten before, and she had asked for permission to join. Whenever she was on
night shift, she would help her pick up the little girl and bring her home to eat and sleep. After a
year of studying well, she suddenly transferred to another kindergarten without saying hello. She
also went to the kindergarten and made a big scene, saying that the teacher didn’t take good
care of her daughter and that she fell and accidentally fell on a girl’s vital part. The teachers said
that it must not have happened at school. In the end, she still paid 500 yuan for medical
expenses, but the head of the kindergarten complained to Zhou Zhiyuan’s mother about this
troublesome relative of hers. As a result, the two families gradually had less contact.
Shanrang was reminded of this old incident when the old lady mentioned the first little girl's
injury, so she personally went several times to confirm that Zhou Zhiyuan was the one who went
to the kindergarten to pick up the little girl on the day of the accident, and that he was the one
who fell in the kindergarten. After hearing Shanrang's story about Sinan and the girl, the aunt and
cousin asked her daughter in detail and almost went crazy, and wanted Zhou Zhiyuan to go to jail
no matter what.
Zhou Zhiyuan was indeed sentenced to jail for his crime, but General Zhou was critically ill.

Chapter 201
In February, the Year of the Ox Spring Festival arrived as scheduled. Shanghai is still Shanghai, and
Wanchun Street is still Wanchun Street.
The New Year's Eve dinner will not be skipped just because someone is missing. The Spring
Festival couplets with auspicious characters are still festive and busy, and people come and go to
visit relatives. There is a new batch of children of Chen Sihao's age. Many of them are only
children. The elderly in the family cherish them very much and will not let them pick up
firecrackers easily, let alone set off firecrackers. Chen Sihao, who turned six years old after the
Chinese New Year, has acquired some of the style of a family-oriented person. He has the
momentum of a leader. A group of naked little friends from kindergarten followed him and
shouted, running around in the alley to find electric firecrackers. When they met their mother
calling them, they would not stop and rushed over like the wind. Chen's mother felt bad. Another
girl she raised became a family-oriented person. Who could she blame?
Although no one talked about Si Nan's case, Grandma Gu experienced two major events last
year: Jing Sheng went south and Bei Wu was investigated. She was very nervous and fell ill twice
after the winter. Nurse Lu brought a bottle of saline to hang her water and talked to her softly.
The old lady finally recovered before the New Year. She kept talking about Nan Hong, thinking
about Shan Rang Xi Mei and Si Nan, and quietly told Bei Wu to go to the Jade Buddha Temple to
burn incense on the first day of the New Year to get rid of bad luck. She completely forgot that
she believed in God and should not believe in Bodhisattva anymore.
Because his father-in-law was critically ill, Beiwu rushed to Nanjing on the second day of the New
Year to reunite with Shanrang. Before leaving, Grandma Gu stuffed two hundred yuan into his
pocket and said, "A son-in-law is half a son. You are the only son-in-law in the Zhou family. If
anything happens, it doesn't make sense to let only your brothers-in-law contribute money and
effort." Beiwu accepted it readily. As he was going to Beijing after Nanjing, he spent most of the
day sorting out the affairs of the clothing stall with Dongwen. Jingsheng and Sijiang were also
listening in, and Sijiang took a lot of notes seriously.
Last September, the Xuhui District Industrial and Commercial Bureau moved more than 70
clothing stalls on Zhaojiabang Road and Wuyuan Road to Huating Road and established the
Huating Clothing Market. The big clock under the sign has English names on both sides:
HUATINGROADCLOTHESMARKET, which looks very fashionable and stylish. After the news came
out, Gu Beiwu asked Dongwen to take up a position quickly and find a way to sell the batch of
goods that Nanhong had that year. Nanhong left in a hurry, but several factories were very
trustworthy after receiving the money, and kept the goods worth 70,000 or 80,000 yuan in her
warehouse without moving. Those styles were carefully selected by her from famous European,
American and Japanese brands, and they would not be out of date in another ten years.
Gu Dongwen was one of the first self-employed people in Shanghai to deal with industrial and
commercial taxation. He was very familiar with the people and could get twice the result with
half the effort. At the end of October, he got a small stall, three meters deep and one meter wide.
The stall fee was 90 yuan a month, which was almost the same as a factory worker's monthly
salary. It was really not cheap. Under Nanhong's arrangement, factories in Guangdong and
Zhejiang sent the seasonal goods to Shanghai first. Gu Dongwen's tricycle went in and out dozens
of times, bringing back thousands of autumn and winter clothes, filling up the Gu family's
pavilion.
Jingsheng and Sijiang came home after school to help with the inventory. No one in the family
knew anything about the business, and Nanhong was far away in Hong Kong, so the brothers Gu
Beiwu and Gu Dongwen had to figure it out on their own. Gu Dongwen collected a lot of old
wooden strips and boards and banged the shelves. Xiao Weimin and a few brothers from the
alley volunteered to help.
Xiao Weimin was quick-witted and felt that guarding the public telephones every day was really
boring. He saw the Dongsheng Canteen being built up with his own eyes, so he pestered
Dongwen to work with him. Gu Dongwen laughed and said that he couldn't afford to pay him a
salary, but he said that he was willing to work even without a salary, and he would be an
apprentice with a meal provided. Gu Dongwen knew his difficulties. Xiao Weimin didn't finish
junior high school, and his mother ran away when she was angry, and there was no news of him.
His grandfather was off work at night, and was hit by a car at an intersection and thrown more
than ten meters away. The vehicle that caused the accident fled, and it was nowhere to be found.
There was still an old father left at home, who had suffered two minor strokes and could barely
take care of himself. If it weren't for this family situation, Xiao Weimin wouldn't have gotten the
chance to guard the public telephones, as there were a lot of old men and women waiting in line.
Last year, his old father passed away. Xiao Weimin had no diploma or work experience, and his
age was beyond the range of young workers, so he had to shamelessly continue to guard the two
public telephones.
Finally, Gu Dongwen offered him a monthly salary of 60 yuan, with bonuses calculated separately,
and asked him to open and close the stall to sell clothes, working six days a week and resting one
day. Xiao Weimin went to the neighborhood committee to give up his position and announced
that he and Dongdong were going to start their own business, which earned him a lot of
congratulations and envy. The residents of Wanchun Street knew that the Gu family was a traitor,
and now some people have heard about Gu Nanhong's affairs in Hong Kong. Two years ago, when
Nanhong was mentioned, people would sigh and say, "What a pity! Women should still do their
duty, otherwise something will happen sooner or later." Now it has become "tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk". A
Hong Konger earns 2,000 yuan a month, which is equivalent to what a Shanghaier earns in two
years. People with ability are the same everywhere. Gu Dongwen's Dongsheng Canteen is even
more famous. After changing the boss for a year or two, the business has become much quieter.
The market is still the same, and the decoration has not changed. This shows that it is still a
problem with people. At one time, many neighbors came to ask Boss Gu if he still wanted to hire
a worker. When they heard that the stall was only three square meters, they all turned around
and left with a smile, leaving a few words to wish Dongwen a prosperous business. Xiao Weimin
couldn't help but laugh and spit a few times behind them.
Beiwu was free to come and go, and he didn't care about the "tail" following him. He went
around several major department stores and clothing stores on Nanjing Road and Huaihai Road,
and then went to the stalls of the small commodity market for a few days. He bought a bunch of
things from Fuzhou Road and started to log in the inventory and outbound ledger with Gu
Dongwen and Xiao Weimin. The style, color, quantity, size and cost of the clothes had to be fully
recorded. Fortunately, Nanhong had set the selling price at the beginning, and the sizes of
sweaters, windbreakers and coats were only small, medium and large, and the colors were not
complicated. It took five or six days to clean up.
The next step was to match and make samples. This was not difficult. When making the samples,
a thick folder was filled with magazine pictures. Si Jiang was responsible for selecting the most
similar ones and pasting them on several small blackboards. He then wrote fashionable slogans in
Chinese and English in cursive characters in the blank spaces, which were more attractive than
the windows of department stores. Gu Beiwu asked Si Jiang to be a model again. He wore several
coats and went to the lakeside of Xigong. He took a roll of film. After the film was developed, he
selected six or seven photos and enlarged them. He mounted them in a simple pine frame, strung
them together with hemp ropes, and hung them at the stall, with two bunches of dried flowers
and a handful of wheat ears. Granny Gu shook her head after seeing them.
The market opened, and sixty or seventy small stalls filled half the street. Plastic hangers were
stacked ten by ten, in so many colors and patterns that they burst out. Spring bed boards were
piled up like a small mountain, and the inventory was piled up like a small mountain below. The
bosses of each store sat on small square stools and held up loudspeakers to attract customers:
"Hong Kong products, samples are released simultaneously on Hong Kong Women's Street, and
you can't find them in Shanghai..."
Gu's stall was the simplest, with a total of more than 20 samples, all of which were well matched.
A windbreaker was worn over a shirt, and a sweater was worn under a coat. There was a
magazine sample next to each set for comparison. Everything that could be ironed had been
ironed. It looked unique and high-end. A wooden mannequin stood outside the stall wearing a
shirt, sweater and coat like a real person, with a woolen beret from Sijiang on his head and a
black leather gold chain diamond pattern quilted bag from Nanhong on his hand. The bag was
randomly selected from a box of bags that Dongwen brought back from Fuxing Island. Beiwu
praised him for his good taste and specially drew a "not for sale" picture and hung it on the bag,
telling Xiao Weimin that it didn't matter if his clothes were stolen, but he must take good care of
this bag. Xiao Weimin curiously asked if the bag cost a few hundred yuan. Beiwu smiled and said
that he would add a zero at the end, which scared everyone. Dongwen wanted to change it, but
Beiwu said it didn't matter. Buddha relies on gold and people rely on clothes. This small stall is
also the face of Nanhong, and it depends on the bag.
After one week of opening, many people came to see and ask questions, but we only sold three
sweaters in total, earning 90 yuan. Seeing that they were making so much money, Xiao Weimin
was very anxious. He scratched his head and analyzed a lot: they all sold cheap goods, but our
prices seemed to be a bit high (a bit expensive). They had many styles, but our styles seemed to
be a bit less. They had loud voices and were easily unkempt and busy. Shanghai people like to be
busy the most. The better the business, the more people will come. It looks good, but it is not
suitable for Huating Road. The quieter it is, the fewer people will come. And now red skirts are
popular all over the country, so should we also buy some red skirts and red coats? Dongwen
waved his hand and said that there was no hurry. He firmly asked Beiwu and Sijiang to choose the
clothes that the model would show tomorrow.
In November, the autumn rain brought a chill. Suddenly, a large group of fashionable young
people rushed into the Huating Road Market, sweeping from head to tail, and from tail to head.
The owner of the Apple Jeans next to Gu Dongwen laughed so hard that his mouth couldn't
close. He handed Gu Dongwen two cigarettes, turned his palms over and over, and calculated
that he could sell ten pairs of jeans at thirty yuan each, and he could make a living for a month in
half an hour. Xiao Weimin felt so sour that he stood at the door of the stall and touched the
model from head to toe, cursing these people in his heart that they were all fake fashion, and
everyone had a pair of fake brand jeans, but no one could understand the genuine international
brand version, ugh. But even though he cursed, he stretched his neck and stared at the figures of
the young people. As long as they looked at him, he would wave and smile at them
enthusiastically without dignity, hoping that they would take a look at the fashionable clothes in
his hands. Unfortunately, they turned away with expressionless faces, so he pretended to
recognize the wrong people and muttered a few words to himself. Gu Dongwen sat on a small
rattan chair in the stall and smiled at him.
When it was almost time to close the stall, Xiao Weimin had just moved the model when the
group of young people rushed over carrying large and small bags.
"Brother Dongdong, I saw a coat last week, can you give me a discount of 10 yuan? (I saw a coat
last week, can you give me a discount of 10 yuan?)"
"Brother, I bought too many things today, and I only have a few dollars left. I want the set the
model is wearing. One hundred and fifty dollars is okay."
"Boss, do you want to sell your bag? Please help me sell it to you and give me a price."
After a lot of arguments, Xiao Weimin was forced out. Now it was the turn of the owner of Apple
Jeans next door to be very upset.
In the last quarter of an hour, Gu Dongwen sold six coats, five windbreakers and eight sweaters.
The beret on the model's head was also snatched away by a little girl for 20 yuan, and the total
amount was 1,230 yuan. Xiao Weimin came to his senses. No wonder Brother Dongdong was so
confident. Almost every one of these young people came to ask for the price several times, and
he was disgusted by them for asking but not buying.
The clothing business is sometimes hard to understand. Once it started, it seemed that all the
fashionable young people in Shanghai had decided that the Huating Road clothing market was
the most fashionable place in Shanghai. On Sundays, it was packed with people, and many stall
owners soaked puffed tamarind in their tea cups to soothe their throats. Before the Spring
Festival, the Industrial and Commercial Bureau held a meeting to commend the 800-square-
meter market, more than 100 stalls, and an average monthly turnover of more than 700,000
yuan. Hundreds of merchants lined up to apply to enter the market, and the city also issued
guidance to expand the market and develop the other half of Changle Road as soon as possible to
form a small business district.
Gu Dongwen had not expected that Nanhong's products from the previous year would still be so
popular this year. The small Nanhong fashion has become a spokesperson for fashion. Before the
Laba porridge was eaten, all the coats were sold out, and nearly 40,000 yuan of payment was
collected. There were only 40 to 50 sweaters left, which could still be sold in the spring of next
year. There were still 20 windbreakers, so there was no need to worry about not being able to sell
them in spring and autumn. There were many people who came to learn from him. Most of the
goods that were originally piled up like a mountain in the market now use half-length plastic
mannequins, which are hung in a row and are quite spectacular. It is also common to match them
with samples. Most of the stall owners have learned to cut out pictures from European, American
and Japanese magazines and show them to customers, boasting that they are the last batch of
export orders. There are also some more sophisticated ones who are familiar with the fabrics and
production lines. They directly make orders according to the magazine patterns. They also rush to
get new coats in the twelfth lunar month and make a lot of money. When Xiao Weimin received
the 300 yuan bonus on New Year's Eve, he almost cried, calling out "brother, brother, brother"
more than a dozen times, and then bought a lot of New Year gifts for the Gu family. Some people
in Wanchun Street couldn't help but regret not catching up.
Jingsheng and Sijiang were also happy. Dongsheng Canteen had been open for a few years, and
they had been busy counting and changing money for several years. In the past two years, they
had not seen any money coming in, and they felt uneasy. They were very frugal with food and
daily necessities. Sijiang was reluctant to buy books, and several of his library cards had become
worn out. Jingsheng took out his own private money and gave it to Gu Dongwen, saying that it
was to supplement the family expenses, but Gu Dongwen gave him a lot of money. He said that
he wanted to repay the kindness of raising him with such a small amount of money? It was
wishful thinking. It should be at least a hundred times. Jingsheng was so angry that he didn't
wash clothes for Gu Dongwen for several days. After the clothing stall business became popular,
the two began to go to the bank to change change every Sunday morning, and went to Huashan
Hotel to eat two baskets of bamboo shoots and pork steamed dumplings and two bowls of
shrimp wontons, and then brought back three baskets of raw steamed dumplings for the adults.
"As a man, no matter what you are busy with, it doesn't matter whether you make money or not,
as long as you are happy doing it." Nurse Lu said with a smile while chatting with Si Jiang.
Si Jiang was afraid that she would misunderstand, so he quickly explained that his uncle was
helping his aunt sell the unsold inventory, and that he must be making money.
Nurse Lu laughed, "Don't worry, I know everything. It means that men can't be idle. Idleness
brings trouble. Playing mahjong or billiards, smoking cigarettes and drinking wine are all bad for
the body. Your uncle doesn't play mahjong when he's idle, but he feels bored and eats less than
before. People who are used to being busy can't be idle."
"Women can't be idle either. They have to do things and earn their own money to spend on it,"
said Si Jiang.
"That's true." Nurse Lu nodded repeatedly.
As a model, Si Jiang received a bonus of 100 yuan on New Year's Eve. Jingsheng thought about it
and asked the old man, "The eldest lady also opened a clothing stall in Hong Kong. Why don't you
ask her to find a way to send some men's clothing back? Jeans, jackets, T-shirts, etc. I can also
help take pictures and sell them. They will definitely sell well." Then he was kicked in the butt by
Gu Dongwen.
"Study hard and go to college!"
——
Beiwu and Heshan had kept the two apart for half a year. They felt like they were in a different
world when they held hands and looked at each other, but when they spoke, they said the same
thing.
"sorry."

Chapter 202
"I'm fine."
The two of them responded at the same time and couldn't help but smile at each other. As they
smiled, Shanrang leaned on Beiwu's shoulder and cried happily.
How could it be okay? Some things can never be reversed. After Zhou Zhiyuan got into trouble,
the old man collapsed. The old lady sent her grandson to jail with her own hands, and her hair
turned white overnight. Zhou Shanyong and his wife were forced by the sick old man to take the
initiative to submit a report for demobilization, so that Zhou Zhiyuan would have no basis after
being released from prison. The two sisters Zhou Zhizhen and Zhou Zhilan stayed in Nanjing to go
to school. Not only were they separated from their parents, but because of Zhou Zhiyuan's
notoriety, their situation was really difficult. The two gentle and lovely girls suddenly became
silent and rarely smiled. Zhou Shanzhi and Zhou Shanxin's families also had a hard time. The army
was not a pure land outside the world, but a more complicated small society. A scum who
specifically targeted little girls came out of a family of meritorious service. Others couldn't help
but talk about the Zhou family's education. Children like Zhou Zhimin were ostracized in
kindergarten, and they would have to transfer to another government kindergarten next
semester.
After Zhou Shanyong, who was at the division level, was demobilized, he took up a corresponding
deputy department-level position in Hubei and was able to enjoy the treatment of a full
department-level official. However, there was no more division-level officer in the Zhou family.
Only Zhou Shanli was left in the Armed Police Corps, which was at the brigade level.
Unfortunately, the Armed Police Corps was only a division-level unit. Only commanders and
political commissars could be promoted to divisions. With Shanli's qualifications, if he did not
return to the army, he could only be promoted to deputy division at most. Zhou Shanzhi and
Zhou Shanxin were both at the critical moment of being promoted from deputy brigade to full
brigade. They were dragged down by Zhou Zhiyuan and without Zhou Shanyong's care, it is
conceivable how difficult it would be for them to be promoted in the future. Although they did
not say anything to Shanrang, their lovers could not help but have a disagreement with Shanrang,
and it naturally showed on their faces. The children also avoided their sister-in-law. Zhou Zhimin
even cried and shouted that his elder brother could not be a bad person.
Shan Rang was too perceptive, she saw everything but was powerless. She did not regret her
desperate move, she just regretted not trusting her parents enough. If she had handed it over to
the old man and the old lady, she would never have let Zhou Zhiyuan go unpunished, and it
would not have damaged the family's dignity and the future of her brothers and sisters-in-law. As
a direct beneficiary of this general's family, Shan Rang understood that her brothers and sisters-
in-law, nephews and nieces would never be able to let go of the storm she had set off.
When General Zhou saw Beiwu, he waved him over.
"Dad." Bei Wu held his hand, choking with sobs and red eyes. The old general fought in many
battles, and five of his nine children survived. Only Shanrang was the only daughter. He not only
favored her, but also respected her wishes. He nagged her about college entrance exams,
marriage, and work, but in the end, Shanrang let her make the decisions. She never disliked Shan,
a poor boy from a shantytown, and had no intention of arranging his life. He wanted to study in
the United States. The old general and the old lady were not happy about it, but they just asked
him if he had enough money like his mother did, and if not, he could ask for a loan. They also told
him to return to China as soon as possible after completing his studies and contribute to the
country.
"Come here, all of you." The old general looked up at his sons and daughters-in-law standing in
front of the bed.
"Regarding Zhiyuan's matter, I know you all blame me and Shanrang in your hearts—"
"Dad——" Zhou Shanyong felt extremely ashamed and blamed himself. He wanted to explain a
few words, but was interrupted by the old man with a wave of his hand.
"Boss, you and your wife will definitely not cover up for him, I know that," the old man smiled, "I
am your father, I know you, but you are Zhiyuan's father, but you don't know him. Zhiyuan was
sent to boarding school at the age of fourteen, and you beat him with a belt whenever there was
anything, just like I beat you. I remember during the April 5th Movement in 1976, he climbed on
a train to Beijing to mourn the Premier, and you beat him half to death when he came back, but
he still shouted that he would go even if you beat him to death-"
Zhou Shanyong's wife covered her face and sobbed.
"Such a good child, who clearly knew what was right and what was wrong," the old general
looked at the ceiling, his chest rising and falling sharply, and he closed his eyes to calm down for a
moment before opening them again: "How could he become a ghost? I don't understand, and
neither can your mother."
"Blame me, it's all my fault." Zhou Shanyong straightened his back.
"Your mother and I have been engaged in revolution all our lives in order to become masters of
our country." The old general coughed twice, and the old lady kindly helped him up and leaned
him against the pillow. Beiwu handed him a cup of warm water, and he lowered his head and
drank two sips. His spirits were much more excited: "What is the master? The people are the
masters. We are the masters, you are the masters, and so are the children. No matter whether
they are generals, division commanders, brigade commanders, or soldiers, no matter whether
they are soldiers, workers, farmers, or students, they are all masters of the country and are
equal."
"Shanyong should remember this when he goes to the local areas. You are not going to be an
official, but to serve the people. You cannot beat the people if they are disobedient. What is
service? Don't let the people go hungry or cold. Children and the elderly should be taken care of.
Farmers should be helped to solve their problems. In Yan'an and on the Long March, when we
fought against Chiang Kai-shek, our party won the hearts of the people and the country. You can't
think of yourself as an emperor or a minister now that conditions are better, understand?"
"I know." Everyone in the room answered in unison.
"Zhou Zhiyuan is so unscrupulous that he even dares to attack the children of his relatives. What
does he rely on?" The old man's tone became stern.
"He relied on the fact that I, an old man, am a general, his father is a division commander, and his
family are all officers in the army. He relied on the fact that our Zhou family cannot afford to lose
face and will help him hide it. He relied on the fact that you all don't want to throw away the
good life you have now. Do you all think that the good life you have now is earned by yourselves?
Have you ever been on the battlefield and killed the enemy? How many merits have you made?
How much contribution have you made to the people?"
You could hear a pin drop in the house. Zhou Shanyong's wife wiped her tears and dared not
utter a word.
"I am very angry with Shanrang, but I am angry about how she doesn't trust me and my mother.
Would we protect Zhou Zhiyuan?! So it's not unfair for Shanli to take a slap for her. Thinking
about those kids, your mother would want to shoot him. Five years in prison is too easy for him."
The old general sighed, "You are able to have what you have today because of your parents. It is
called prosperity for all. Because Zhiyuan is no longer a good life, it is called loss for all. It is not
due to yourselves. What is there to complain about?"
Zhou Shanzhi and Zhou Shanxin stood up and saluted: "My son has no complaints!"
The old general nodded and looked at the three wives. The three wives immediately stood up
and saluted, shouting: "No blame!"
"For Zhiyuan's matter, not only the eldest brother is responsible, but the whole family is
responsible. Do you agree?"
"Recognize!" @Infinite good ᭙ꪶ text, all in Jinjiang Literature City
"Shanli will continue to stay in the Armed Police Corps, and Shanzhi and Shanxin should also
prepare to transfer to civilian jobs." The old man waved his hand.
"dad?!"
"You two have to start over on your own," the old man looked at them and said without question,
"You two have never been able to see the big picture, and now you can't make any progress. It's
better for you to change jobs and work hard in the local area."
"Dad..." Shan Rang held his father's hand: "Zhiyuan's matter has nothing to do with my third and
fourth brothers. This is too unfair."
"Third brother, how many soldiers do we have in our country now? How much is the military
expenditure? What is the ratio of officers to soldiers?" The old general patted Shanrang on the
shoulder, looked up and asked Zhou Shanzhi.
Zhou Shanzhi thought for a moment and said, "The army has four million people. This year's
military budget is 19.1 billion yuan, which is equivalent to 2% of the US military budget. The
officer-to-soldier ratio is 1:2.45." His voice gradually tapered off.
"The military also needs reform. The officer ratio in West Germany is 1:10, in France it is 1:17,
and even in the Soviet Union, the officer ratio is only 1:4.65, but our military budget is not even a
fraction of that of the Soviet Union." The old general sighed, "In recent years, each major military
region has had dozens of leaders, and there are regimental-level security officers and battalion-
level typists everywhere. The Military Commission has long had a plan to streamline the military.
Disarmament is the general trend and it is urgent."
The four sons of the Zhou family were all silent.
"According to Comrade Xiaoping's courage, it is not the soldiers who need to be cut, but the
officers." The old general slowly lay back down: "Once the army is really cut, the country will have
more difficulties. How to place so many officers? Let them transfer to local officials? Transfer the
bloated army to the government? That won't work either."
"Think about it carefully. I think Beiwu's elder brother is a very good person. He was an educated
youth in Yunnan for so many years. After returning, he had no family background, no education,
and no money. He opened a small restaurant with his own hands. Now he has opened a clothing
stall. His business is doing well. It shows that as long as people want to work, are willing to work,
are willing to learn, work hard, and use their brains, how can they have a bad life?"
This is also the last teaching that General Zhou left for the next generation of the Zhou family.
In early March, the old man passed away. His will was to keep everything simple, no memorial
service would be held, and the ashes would be sent back to Hubei and scattered into the Han
River after cremation. Zhou Zhiyong and Zhou Zhixin also submitted demobilization reports and
received good demobilization placements. The old people in the Nanjing Military Region were all
very moved. Who would have thought that the Zhou family would pay such a high price because
of Zhou Zhiyuan alone? Of course, they would have to strictly restrain the younger generation in
the family. Unexpectedly, in June of this year, the enlarged meeting of the Military Commission
announced a million-man troop reduction. The major military regions were immediately
panicked, and many people sighed that General Zhou was foresighted or unintentional. Now one
of the Zhou family members is treated at the prefecture-level, one is in the armed police system
and does not have to worry about being laid off. There are also two people who, because of the
death of the old general, one is placed in the municipal government and the other in a public
institution. They are both at the level of a director. Even the brothers Zhou Shanzhi and Zhou
Shanxin were secretly glad.
——
Beiwu and Shanrang returned to Beijing in late March. The campus was full of spring and colorful
flowers, and the young people were full of vigor. Most of the old classmates did not know what
happened to the Zhou family, and they were all surprised that Beiwu had wasted half a year.
Fortunately, there were still many olive branches and many lobbyists. Beiwu was invited to
several units and received interviews from the leaders. After Labor Day, because of his excellent
English and familiarity with the current economic situation in Europe and the United States, he
officially entered the International Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its third year, and
participated in the preparations for the application for re-entry into the WTO, which will begin in
June next year. In 1948, the Kuomintang signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of
the World Trade Organization, and China became one of the contracting parties. However, due to
various historical reasons, the country began to prepare for the application for re-entry into the
WTO five years ago. Now is the critical moment for coordination among various ministries.
Shanrang saw that Beiwu was always busy, leaving early and returning late, or even not coming
back at all. One day, he finally rested at home and slept until almost noon. Finally, he couldn't
help asking him, "Is it in time? Are you sure?" She had heard about the application for re-entry
into the GATT, and the economics department had discussed it many times, but everyone was not
optimistic about the difficulty of the re-entry negotiations. At the moment, the United States and
the Soviet Union were in the Cold War, and third world countries were also choosing sides. Trade
mostly followed the political trend, and imports and exports were opportunities and risks.
"It's a tough mission, we have to complete it. If we don't, everyone will be punished." Beiwu
smiled and stretched, "Not only us, but also the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the General
Administration of Customs. When the China-UK Joint Declaration was signed last year, I knew
there would be such a day."
"Why?" Shan Rang pulled the quilt out from under Bei Wu and slapped him: "Are you so
amazing? I didn't see you mention it in the letter." Thinking of his situation last December, he
answered himself: "Well, I guess you couldn't mention it then."
"I heard from an English radio station that after Hong Kong's return, the Special Administrative
Region can become a contracting party to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, but it
should be jointly sponsored by my country and the UK. Think about it, the UK is a contracting
party, and we only have observer status. If Hong Kong becomes a contracting party alone, it will
be extremely inconsistent with our country's sovereign status." Beiwu leaned over to pull the
quilt in Shanrang's hand: "Thatcher fell outside the Great Hall three years ago. I guess she still
holds a grudge. This time, she has made things difficult for us."
"Hey, are you still eavesdropping on the enemy radio station?" Shan Rang was unable to fold the
quilt because of his disturbance, so he simply laughed and threw the quilt on Bei Wu's face, but
Bei Wu grabbed his hands and threw himself into his arms.
"Are there still enemies now?" Bei Wu said with a smile, "We even have trade cooperation with
the Soviet Union. The whole world is our friend. My beautiful friend from Peking University, are
you free today?"
"Hey, Comrade Gu, you finally remembered me?" Shan Rang raised his head and touched his
chin, but was tickled by his stubble. He quickly smiled and dodged: "Why? Do you want to
establish a trade relationship with me?"
Beiwu held the back of her head with one hand to prevent her from escaping, stared at her and
said seriously: "Yes, I have some export business, and you can consider the import business--"
"Then you should apply for re-entry first." Shan Rang frowned: "As a husband who has not been
seen for three to five days, you are only qualified to be an observer. Hey, Gu Beiwu, what are you
doing with your hands? I haven't approved it yet--"
"According to the regulations, those who apply for re-entry are eligible to participate in the new
round of multilateral trade negotiations," Beiwu said in a low voice with a smile, "I'm sorry, this
can only be considered unilateral. And here, here, we have to form a diversified and all-round
import and export market structure. Come, welcome Mr. Zhou to our side for an in-depth
inspection."
"Hey, I didn't even lock the door." Shanrang murmured in confusion.
"Secluding the country from the outside will not lead to good results. Open up, open up more, be
bolder—" Bei Wu took a breath of cold air and laughed, "You, you are quite courageous, but you
are too strong."
"Practice brings true knowledge. I'm not very good at it, so I need to practice more." Shan Rang
laughed so hard that he lay on him and trembled.
"Then we still have to lock the door and close the windows first." Beiwu quickly got off the
ground and went to lock the door barefoot.
"Hey, why do you say one thing and do another?"
"I'm worried that you can't control your strength. If my voice is too loud, it will disturb the
neighbors and be impolite."
"Bah—shameless."
"Why do you need a face in bed? Come, let me continue practicing for you."
In the end, Shanrang didn't have the chance to practice. The two of them were busy with import
and export business for the whole afternoon. It was not until the evening when they were
starving that they remembered that they had not eaten all day.
"We are so busy that we really forget to eat and sleep." Bei Wu sighed while hugging Shan Rang.
Shan Rang was so tired that he didn't even have the energy to laugh, but he couldn't help but
reply, "Damn it! Is this what they call not opening a shop for three years and then eating out for
three years?"
Beiwu laughed so hard that he almost couldn't breathe.
No one expected that his words would come true. Two months later, Shan Rang became
pregnant, and Comrade Gu Beiwu's export business really stopped for three years.
Life has its passing, but it will also have new inheritance.

Chapter 203
"The waves are running, the waves are flowing, the vast river is surging without stopping. It
washes away all the things in the world and mixes them into a surging tide. Whether it is joy or
sorrow, it is impossible to distinguish between laughter and sorrow in the waves..."
Hong Kong people sang Huangpu River in Cantonese with great seriousness, and Shanghai people
had no objection at all, and were very excited. The summer of 1985 belonged to Xu Wenqiang
and Feng Chengcheng. People all over the country fell in love with Chow Yun-fat. His shiny
slicked-back photos were posted at the doors of major barbershops. However, mousse and
hairspray were rare, and the "Xu Wenqiangs" who came out of the barbershop became unkempt
lions after washing their hair. The girls in the school braided their hair again, and the bows had to
be tied in the middle of the braids. If the braids were tied to the ends of the hair, they would look
like country girls. Of course, they also had to have bangs, and they had to use coal briquette
tongs to heat them up and curl them inwards to make them slightly curled, otherwise it would be
unfashionable. Shanghai girls would never allow such a small mistake to happen.
Si Jiang, who had just passed the direct entrance examination, could not quite understand this
enthusiasm and trend. During the break between classes, Li Nan and the others were discussing
heatedly. She eagerly read the "Reading" magazine sent by her uncle from Beijing. Her uncle
always said that she should read more miscellaneous books, from ancient to modern times, from
Chinese to foreign, and more importantly, read books in different fields, but how could she finish
reading them? Si Jiang loved novels, but she was completely clueless about which miscellaneous
books were worth reading. After experiencing the darkness of last summer, she hoped to gain
strength from the text. The faith she had collapsed overnight. She was confused for a long time,
thinking countless times about what would happen if there were no witnesses, and what would
happen if her uncle's camera did not only have photos of them but also took photos of a factory.
Her uncle smiled bitterly and said that he was lucky, but how much good luck can a person have
in his life? Si Jiang did not dare to think about it.
Last month, my uncle sent me this magazine, along with an invoice for the journal subscription.
This is a brand new world, completely different from the new world opened up by the novel.
There are many contents in it that Si Jiang does not understand at all, such as "From ISM to DIM -
Reading "Comparative Economic System", "The Enlightenment of Educational Economics", and
"Exploration under the Challenge of New Technology Revolution" on the structure of national
economy. Is it appropriate to read so many economic contents in a magazine? But my uncle asked
her to read it, and if she did not understand, she would write it down and go to the library to
check it and ask Teacher He and Teacher Zhou. If that did not work, she would write to her uncle.
It was also because of this magazine that she realized that her knowledge was so narrow and her
understanding of the world was too shallow. Fei Xiaotong, Qiao Guanhua, Manon Lescaut,
Herodotus, these are many names she has never heard of, and Huang Yufu's "Selby and
Schechter's "Aging in 2000"", see, someone is already studying the world of the next century.
"I know why my uncle can accomplish everything he does." Si Jiang said to Jingsheng with
emotion.
“???” Jingsheng looked up from the physics test paper given by Zhao Youning, still not coming
back to his senses.
Si Jiang grabbed his draft book and drew a three-dimensional diagram of longitude and latitude
lines on it, similar to the earth. He said excitedly: "Brother, look, what we are learning now is that
Chinese is this point, mathematics is this point, physics, chemistry and biology are all points.
From elementary school to university, it is to extend from this point to become a line, but each
longitude line goes to its own place. But my uncle, he not only learns these cultural knowledge-"
Si Jiang compared them along the latitude lines one by one: "Economics, international relations,
law, news, and many other things that we need in our lives, and that we can see on TV and in
newspapers, he learned them all. Then you see, there is such a big network in my uncle's mind, a
three-dimensional network. We only have the length, but he also has the depth and breadth. We
should learn from my uncle and do——"
"A ball?" Jingsheng blinked.
Si Jiang was almost choked. After a few seconds of silence, he waved the draft book and threw it
at his arm: "What ball? It's the net, the net!"
"So he can catch everything he does?" Jingsheng suddenly realized, picked up the draft book and
looked at it carefully again.
"That's not bad." Si Jiang laughed and was excited about his new discovery.
Gu Dongwen walked over holding a newly bought purple clay teapot and said, "What's that net
or ball thing? Let me see it. It seems like Nannan is trying to flatter me, her old uncle."
Jingsheng was puzzled: "How come my dad has not received much education and rarely reads the
news or newspapers, but only watches TV dramas and listens to Teresa Teng? How come he
seems to be able to do anything?"
Gu Dongwen was stunned: "Gu Jingsheng, are you praising me? Are you praising me?"
"What else?" Jingsheng raised his eyebrows, thinking about what he had just said, and couldn't
help laughing: "How is it not a compliment?"
Si Jiang held his chin in his hand and pondered. Looking at his uncle and brother staring at each
other, he suddenly came up with a new idea: "It's different. My uncle has traveled thousands of
miles. He has experienced a lot. He has a deep understanding of the world and his knowledge of
human nature. Otherwise, why can my uncle always sell the clothes that Uncle Weimin can't
sell?"
Gu Dongwen smiled and took a sip of tea: "Silly girl, this is called a social university, a social
university, do you know?"
Granny Gu came up with a jar of fresh bayberries that had been salted, and said with a smile,
"What's the difference between college and no college? If you know how to behave, you can do
things. It's innate. You two brothers are like your father, and you work very hard. Otherwise, how
could a poor guy riding a tricycle be spotted by Boss Fang and sent to learn how to drive, and also
support the four of you and send you to school. Alas--"
Seeing that grandma was reminiscing about the good old days and then complaining about the
lack of successors in the Gu family, Si Jiang quickly hugged grandma's neck and acted
coquettishly: "I think uncle and aunt are good because they look like grandma. People like them
when they are good-looking, and they can do anything smoothly wherever they are. Oh, by the
way, uncle, didn't aunt say that she would send back a batch of new goods from Guangdong?
Have they arrived?"
Jingsheng pulled out the inventory account book and said, "Oh, by the way, Uncle Weimin said
this morning that the number of two shirts that were incorrect last month was because he
remembered the wrong item number. He wrote the long-sleeved and short-sleeved ones in
reverse. Dad, come and take a look. These are the two."
Grandma Gu's attention immediately shifted to her son and daughter's new business. Although
she was illiterate, she leaned over and stared at the account book intently.
"Is the clothing factory run by boss Zhao Yanhong reliable? The workmanship of that shirt seems
so-so, with a lot of loose threads, and it takes a lot of effort to cut the loose threads for each
piece. The cotton cloth in the store is only 78 cents a meter, and a shirt costs at most one dollar.
How come their factory charges four and a half dollars for a shirt? Guangdong people are very
cunning and are the best at taking advantage of their acquaintances. Boss, you should tell
Nanhong not to be embarrassed. It's better to compare prices from three different stores. The
coats made by the clothing factory in Hangzhou look pretty good to me. It's close to Shanghai, so
the shipping cost should be cheaper."
"Where can I buy it for 78 cents now?" Gu Dongwen laughed, "Old lady, that was the price two
years ago. Now a meter of cloth costs 1.3 yuan. The factory needs to pay rent and the workers
need to be paid. The production line is also bought with money, not dropped from the sky. How
can the water and electricity bills of the canteen be free? What's more, this cotton cloth has been
soaked in water according to Nanhong's requirements."
"Hey! Why are you pouring water? Won't this cause more cloth to shrink?"
Granny Gu patted the table, as if all the fabric that was lost after washing was flesh that had
fallen off her body. She was so disgusted (and heartbroken) that she didn't even bother to eat the
bayberries.
To prove that his aunt's decision was not wrong, Si Jiang said with a smile: "Grandma, everything
has gone up in price this year. My second mother bought a pair of new leather shoes yesterday.
They were priced at 25.6 yuan last month, but this month they have risen to 30.8 yuan. The
salesperson said that the raw materials have been rising in price. If we don't buy them now, they
might have to sell for 35 yuan in a few months. My second mother thought that she could make 5
yuan by buying them now, so she bought them. But she regretted it terribly when she came
back."
"Alas, everything is going up in price. Pork is now 1.55 yuan. When my daughter first moved in,
spare ribs cost 70 cents a pound, and there was no need for meat coupons. Looking back,
although it was a chaotic time, it also had its benefits. Wait, big brother, have you received this
month's non-staple food subsidy?" Granny Gu thought of this important matter again: "8 yuan
per person is not a small amount. It's almost the end of the month, don't forget it. Eh? No, did
you receive it this month? Did you receive it? Did you not? Why am I so confused?"
"I received it a long time ago. I used the last bit to buy five pounds of eggs and three pounds of
meat. I mentioned it to you the day before yesterday, and you said you knew it." Gu Dongwen
pushed the old lady back to her seat, stuffed a bayberry into her hand, and took out a handful of
big unity from his trouser pocket, counted out six and gave them to Jingsheng: "Didn't you say
that Sijiang's sandals were too small? Go buy some tomorrow, Sunday, and buy a pair for yourself
as well."
Si Jiang was stunned, and moved her toes awkwardly in her slippers. For sixteen years, the living
expenses sent back by her parents were still thirty yuan a month. Now the price of meat has
doubled, and clothes and shoes are more expensive. It has always been her uncle and
grandmother who have been subsidizing her. After she entered junior high school, she secretly
kept an account without anyone knowing, thinking that when she works and earns money in the
future, she will at least return it tenfold.
Only when you are in charge of the household do you realize how expensive firewood and rice
are. Si Jiang learned to save money only after keeping accounts. Every month, her uncle and
uncle each gave her five yuan in pocket money, and she could save three or four yuan. Together
with the royalties from four submissions, she finally saved more than seventy yuan last year. She
used it at a critical moment, and the money was gone in the blink of an eye. First, the birthday
gifts from her uncle, brother, and grandmother all came from the "small treasury". Si Jiang was
willing to spend this money and felt particularly comfortable and proud. Secondly, she didn't
know when it started that when classmates celebrated their birthdays, in addition to sending
greeting cards, they would always give small gifts. Although they were called small gifts, she
received sets of books or imported stationery worth four or five yuan. There was a lot of money,
and the favors that needed to be repaid in the small notebook would cost more than forty yuan a
year. This large amount of money really made her upset and helpless. She finally understood why
Jingsheng never accepted gifts from his classmates. In addition, I usually buy some snacks and
toys for Si Hao, and send some new stationery to Si Nan. It doesn’t matter if I spend a few cents,
but it actually costs 10 to 20 yuan a year.
Last year, Si Jiang didn't want to buy new sandals because her instep was thin and it didn't matter
if her big toe stuck out a little. This year, she wore size 37 sneakers, but size 35 sandals could still
fit in, but it was too embarrassing to have her big toes digging into the ground. She originally
wanted to hold on a little longer, anyway, she didn't go far during the summer vacation, and she
usually wore slippers or sneakers when she went out. She saved the money for a pair of sandals
and could prepare six pairs of red shorts for Si Nan to wear in her zodiac year next year. Most
importantly, she wanted to buy her some sanitary napkins that were particularly hygienic and
convenient, which Li Nan used. They cost 70 cents a pack of 16 pieces, and she used two packs
each time, which would cost 17 yuan a year. But she couldn't bear to use them herself, and
wanted to give them to Si Nan. Considering her temper, the laces of her sneakers were tied into a
knot and then put on directly. If she used a menstrual belt, she would definitely have to fight with
the four straps several times a day, and she might even have to use scissors in the end. Li Nan had
used that sanitary napkin on her once. She didn't know how to use it the first time and put it on
upside down out of nervousness. She almost cried in the toilet. But it was really convenient, but
each napkin could only be used once and then thrown away, which was a pity.
Jingsheng took the money, counted out half and gave it back to Gu Dongwen: "I have made an
appointment with Brother A Mao at stall number 63. I will buy from him. Ten yuan a pair."
Gu Dongwen patted him on the shoulder and said, "You have a quick mind. No wonder you gave
one pair of those three pairs of Li's jeans to A-Mao at the purchase price last month. I was
wondering how you suddenly became so tactful."
Si Jiang didn't have time to sip the bayberry juice that was overflowing from his lips. His eyes
widened immediately. "Is it the one that my aunt sent back last month? An English brand with L
in the front, Levis, with a red flag? There's no way those three pairs of jeans were purchased at
all."
Gu Dongwen was amused: "Oh, my family is going to have another fashionable person. Si Jiang
also knows what a red flag is. A Mao also mentioned this. What's wrong?"
Si Jiang was so angry that he punched Jingsheng hard: "Auntie said in the letter that it was a gift
for you and your uncles, why did you sell it to someone else?"
Gu Dongwen laughed: "We would lose money if we wore it. Guess how much your brother sold it
for?"
Si Jiang asked angrily, "How much can they sell for on Huating Road? Thirty? Forty? The Apple
jeans next door are said to be a famous brand, but they only sell for thirty yuan."
Jingsheng raised his hand and swiped the bayberry juice from her mouth onto his fingers: "Your
saliva is dripping, look! You are obsessed with money all the time now, do you look like a cultured
person?"
"I'm not money-minded!" Si Jiang wiped the purple stain on his mouth with his backhand and
quickly stood up to brush his teeth.
As soon as I picked up the towel, I heard Jingsheng say casually behind me: "I gave it to Brother
Mao for 90 yuan. He wanted all three and we really didn't have any left. I sold the other two for a
total of 240 yuan."
"What?!!!" Si Jiang was dumbfounded.
"You're crazy, who would spend one or two months' salary on a pair of pants!" Granny Gu was
shocked, and then she came to her senses and grabbed Jingsheng: "You can't cheat people
blindly, we all know each other and it's so embarrassing, quickly return the money to them. Boss,
you are so stupid, this kind of thing is not acceptable."
"One is willing to buy and the other is willing to sell. What's wrong with that?" Gu Dongwen
carried Chen Sihao, who was snoring on the rattan chair, into the room, took the account book
and went to the pavilion to count the goods.
In early 1993, Hongxiang Department Store on Nanjing West Road opened. The first pair of men's
jeans sold at the Levi's counter was priced at 998 yuan. Si Jiang really couldn't understand why
Jingsheng spent three months' salary on a pair of jeans that looked no different from the ones his
aunt had sent back before. Jingsheng sighed quietly and said nothing. At the end of the year,
Hong Kong compatriot Gu Nanhong brought Ada, Aer, and Asan back to Wanchun Street in style.
Aer patted Jingsheng's butt and said, "After all, we are brothers who wear the same pants. How
can your Levi's 501 be so new?" Si Jiang secretly inquired and found out that the three pairs of
jeans were all bought by Gu Nanhong at a counter in Hong Kong in the summer of 1985. At that
time, they were cheaper, one pair costing RMB 400, and three pairs costing RMB 1,200. Jingsheng
sold them for RMB 330, and was proud of it for several years.
Several years later, Gu Beiwu heard this story and laughed: Even if Gu Nanhong bought a club, it
would definitely be the Hermès of clubs, and it would be a family heirloom. Si Jiang sighed and
said that Jingsheng sometimes looked like a club. Chen Sinan immediately squinted at her: Tsk,
tsk, tsk, you are so dirty!
Si Jiang/Jing Sheng/You Ning who were present: ??? Chen Si Nan, you are really a drifter...

Chapter 204
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the autonomous region, and a
central delegation is coming to inspect. The Youhao Road in Urumqi has completed its widening
project. After the original Anti-Revisionist Road was renamed Youhao Road, it is still the busiest
road in the city. The No. 2 bus runs diligently back and forth on Youhao Road. I never thought that
I would be sung to world-famous by a man named Daolang in the future.
Chen Sinan used to like strolling on Youhao Road. In the past, both sides of the road were lined
with tall poplar trees, which blocked out the sun in the summer. However, the poplars were too
annoying in the spring, so many of them were cut down during the widening project, which Sinan
felt was a pity. Overnight, high-rise buildings sprang up on Youhao Road, and the "Eighth Floor"
was no longer the tallest building in the city. The People's Hall, the Trade Union Building, and the
Economic Commission Building were all taller than the Eighth Floor. There were also many
buildings with more than 20 floors, which looked much more unfamiliar.
Si Nan subconsciously hated Jinling Hotel. He had no good feelings towards tall buildings. He
would go to the area he was familiar with from time to time to inspect. The three major bureaus
of petroleum, geology and nonferrous metals were considered brother units. Teenagers and girls
had been together since childhood. Si Nan was also a well-known oil tyrant. He had no shortage
of brothers and sisters wherever he drilled. Twenty or so people took the route of No. 2 bus to
visit Youhao Shopping Mall, Exhibition Hall, and Geological and Mineral Exhibition Hall. They
feasted their eyes and satisfied their hands, and went to hang out in Beiyi Park opposite the
"eighth floor". It was said that the park was going to be transformed into a children's playground.
Si Nan also felt it was a pity. The small woods and wasteland here had a bit of the flavor of a sand
well. At least it was different from the appearance of the big cities outside. There were also
several large sand pits, which were very helpful for them, the young heroes and heroines of the
Jianghu, to practice Qinggong.
When the people of Shanghai were indulging in the waves, Chen Sinan was fully immersed in the
iron-blooded "The Legend of the Condor Heroes". What was there to see in Shanghai? It was
boring with guns coming and going. Of course, Guo Jing's Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms and
Huang Rong's Dog Beating Stick Technique were powerful. There were also Qinggong,
acupuncture, and Emei Splitting Water Stab. Even when walking on the street, Sinan hoped to
meet the children of the Beggars' Sect. Of course, this also reflected her little regret. If she had
learned Huang Yaoshi's Falling Flower Sword Palm, Orchid Point Finger Flicking Magical Skill
earlier, Zhou Zhiyuan would definitely have died on the spot, and her uncle would not have been
investigated at all.
But it is not too late to mend the situation. Chen Sinan did what he thought and quickly raised
the banner among the children of the three major bureaus and established a Peach Blossom
Gang. He claimed to be Chen Xixie and accepted five men and two women as apprentices.
Among them, only two girls were willing to follow Chen Gang Leader. The other five were forced
to sell themselves as apprentices after losing a bet in a sand pit. Soon Chen Xixie felt that the
Peach Blossom Gang was too feminine and not majestic enough, so he added the two words
"dragon-subduing" to it, and it became the Peach Blossom Dragon-Subduing Gang. However, it
was not enough to just subdue the dragon, the dog had to be beaten as well, so it became the
Peach Blossom Dragon-Subduing and Dog-Beating Gang. One day, the eldest disciple suddenly
blurted out a simplified version of "our Peach Dog Gang"... From then on, the young men of the
three major bureaus never changed their words and called Chen Sinan the leader of the Dog-
Escape Gang. So angry!
Practicing Qinggong is really hard work. Each person brought two small sacks, filled them with
three to five pounds of sand, tied them to their calves, and began to climb up from the sand pit.
They had to climb up. Gang leader Chen held a dog-beating stick and hit the buttocks of each
person at the bottom of the pit. The slower you climbed, the worse it was, and it was easy to get
hemorrhoids. Because of the hemorrhoids on the front buttocks to warn the disciples, the
disciples of the Runaway Dog Gang really used all their strength.
But the leader is the leader. Chen Sinan has the strength to convince everyone. She tied a heavier
sandbag than anyone else, climbed faster than anyone else, untied the sandbag, jumped up and
kicked, and could really stay in the air for a second and a half, which was very intimidating. She
punched with great vigor and the dog-beating stick was also a shadow. Of course, she poked
herself more often than others, but leader Chen never cried out in pain. She returned home with
bruises all over her body, hiding her achievements and fame. In the morning, she took safflower
oil to the school toilet to apply it secretly. It was a pity that after half a year of training, she could
only fly over the eaves and walk on the walls in her dreams. She was dragged by the physical
education teacher to participate in 800-meter competitions at all levels. After running a few
times, the teacher shook his head and sighed: It’s a pity that you are a little short and your legs
are a little short. You have to run three steps when others run two steps, otherwise you still have
hope of winning a medal. Sinan was so angry that she kept yelling: Why don’t you say that I am
two years younger than others! I should go to the elementary school competition...
The Runaway Dog Gang was not just a name, they had done a lot of chivalrous deeds. Chen Sinan
pondered over and wrote a long sheet of gang rules. The first rule was not to bully children.
Anyone who touched the head or butt would be beaten, at least thirty times with a dog-beating
stick. Stealing a primary school student's celebrity sticker was also forbidden. Not only would
they be beaten, but they would also be fined. Those who stole a 20-cent sticker would be fined
40 cents, and the 20 cents would be returned to the primary school student, and the 20 cents
would be confiscated. The confiscated money had a place to go. Hongliuhe seedless white wine
cost 1.08 yuan a bottle. Gang leader Chen would buy two bottles every year and festival, along
with a few cans of Merlin brand luncheon meat and a few bags of preserved peanuts stolen from
the cupboard at home. He and his disciples and grandchildren would eat meat in big bowls in the
North Art Park (no, one mouthful each time), and drink wine in big gulps (no, one mouthful each
time), giving rise to lofty ambitions, pointing out the martial arts world, and on the road of
friendship, who could compete with him?
Since becoming such a gang leader, Chen Sinan has felt more at ease, and the shadow of last
summer vacation has gradually faded. She really thinks of herself as a "female knight". When she
was a child, she had a melon-shaped head, was ugly, dark and thin, and Gu Ximei was not free
and unwilling to take good care of her. She had to rely on herself. The crying child got milk, and
the more she made a fuss, the safer she was. From not drowning, scalding or falling to being well
fed, warmly dressed and having fun, she slowly developed a set of short, flat and effective
strategies. She does not need to think about what adults like to hear or watch. She is 90% sure
when she starts speaking and always speaks to the heart of people. In Gu Ximei's words, she
speaks differently to different people. This can be regarded as another form of God's gift, which
probably comes from the selective inheritance from her uncles and aunts. After being tempered
by the survival wisdom of educated youth and Uyghur people from different backgrounds in a
remote place like Shajingzi, she formed the unique "Chen Sinan" rogue philosophy.
Thanks to this talent, Chen Sinan had never suffered too much loss in the past. Others saw her as
being carefree and having good luck, but in fact, she was very clear about all kinds of minor
interests. For example, she had to get the first place in the exam so that her mother would not
compare her with her excellent and beautiful elder sister. For example, when she was beaten, she
had to pretend to cry and run around to ask for help so that her mother would stop for the sake
of face. For example, when her parents quarreled and scolded each other, she should add fuel or
water. Sinan had her own account in her heart. She grew up in this reckless way. All the flattery
was to get more things. Even to Si Jiang, there were times when she was careless and
perfunctory, just relying on her elder sister's sincerity to her, but she knew deep down that
although her elder sister was good, she was too far away from her and could not help her.
Fortunately, she inherited Gu Dongwen's chivalrous spirit, which kept Chen Sinan from going
astray for ten years. She was born with the ability to distinguish right from wrong, and would not
deviate from it. Of course, whatever she and the people she likes do is right. Now that this
chivalrous spirit has been inspired by the heroes of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, Chen Sinan
has transformed from a realistic and utilitarian rogue to a generous and generous Wushi
chivalrous woman. She cannot tolerate a grain of sand in her eyes. Everything in the world is
either black or white, and she wants to take care of all the injustices in the world.
From this point of view, Chen Sinan, who is about to turn twelve, has the same goal as Chen
Sijiang, who once dreamed of becoming a lawyer.
——
As summer vacation approached, Gu Ximei counted the money she had on hand and felt more at
ease. She had to go back to Shajingzi before July to contact education departments at all levels to
confirm the teaching experience issue.
This year, the teacher salary reform stipulated that the monthly subsidy for teaching service is 3
yuan for five to ten years, 5 yuan for ten to fifteen years, and 7 yuan for fifteen to twenty years.
She was transferred to the regiment kindergarten as a teacher after giving birth to Si Jiang, and
this year is exactly fifteen years, but the teacher establishment of the Corps kindergarten is not in
the education system, so the city only counts from the central primary school in Shajingzi Town.
The teaching service was shortened from fifteen years to nine years, and 48 yuan was lost per
year. But this is not a matter of one year, but a matter of a lifetime, and the retirement salary in
the future will also be short of this.
According to Chen Donglai, four yuan a month is something that can be saved everywhere, so
there is no need to argue with the country, as it is often a waste of effort. Gu Ximei is a stubborn
person. She would never take advantage of the country or the unit, but she would argue for an
explanation for four yuan and eighty yuan a year, let alone forty-eight yuan. If it is not for money
but for a sense of pride, how can teaching in kindergarten not be a teacher? Everyone calls her
Teacher Gu. She teaches music in all classes and takes care of more than twenty little kids. Not to
mention the hard work, she also has to arrange programs for the division headquarters
performances during the holidays. This is not just four yuan less for her, but the six years of her
dedication to the Corps are wiped out. In six years, primary school students have become college
students, so how can it become a blank?
Ximei thought that Sinan could ride the train for free, so she asked her if she wanted to go back
to Shanghai, but Sinan shook her head and said no. She was busy rectifying the gang affairs.
Recently, a fake "Quanzhen Sect" appeared in the Geological Institute. The leader was a high
school boy from another middle school on Youhao Road. He was also a martial arts fan. He called
himself "Zhongshentong" and boasted that he could use the One Yang Finger. When talking about
their gang, he would give a thumbs up and say that they were not worth mentioning. This
"Quanzhen Sect" without any Taoist priests often occupied the sand pits in Beiyi Park, and also
took advantage of the good things of helping the weak and helping the traitors, even helping old
ladies cross the road, which caused several traitors in her gang. Of course, Sinan only got the
news recently. That "Zhongshen" could make everyone really eat lamb skewers to their heart's
content, and drink at least three bottles of wine each time. Despicable! Sinan thought about it for
several days and decided to put morality aside and earning pocket money in the middle. Who
made these little bastards so easy to cheat? When she can afford a hundred skewers of lamb and
ten bottles of wine, she will turn that "crazy guy" into a commander without troops, huh.
Chen Sinan's pocket money is no longer earned from playing marbles as a child. In the past two
years, his main income has come from selling test papers. The competition papers sent by Zhao
Youning sell the best, and a set of physics and math papers can be sold for three yuan. Of course,
he can't sell them to classmates. Sinan's main sales battlefield is in the teacher's office and the
Petroleum Bureau office.
"Oh, Teacher Wang, this physics paper is for a national competition. I can't understand it. What
does it mean?"
"Don't mention it, Aunt Liu. My brother Ningning is a seed player in the national competition of
the Second Affiliated High School of East China Normal University. He is forcing me to improve my
math level. I'm only in the first grade of junior high school. It's really hard. Can your sister Lili
teach me?"
"No, no, these test papers are confidential. Many schools in Shanghai can't get them no matter
how hard they try. Last time, Uncle Mao paid my mom three yuan to print a whole set. I was so
worried. What if Sister Lili becomes good and participates in the competition? She will become
my brother Ningning's rival. Winning a competition will add a lot of points to the college entrance
examination."
Si Jiang's junior high school test papers are sold at a lower price. Six-subject test papers from a
key middle school in Shanghai are sold for two yuan. Jing Sheng's high school test papers are also
sold at the same price. But Si Nan can sell more than ten sets a week. Zhao Youning's competition
papers are expensive, so he can only sell four or five sets.
But when Sinan tried this year, his ambitions were not fulfilled and he failed. When the parents in
the office saw it, they all laughed and said, "What a pity! We can't use your Shanghai papers
anymore."
"Why???!!!" Sinan's eyes widened.
"This year, you guys in Shanghai are taking your own exams for college entrance exams, and they
are different from the exams in other parts of the country. Don't do it, it's useless, the books are
different."
I am so happy! (I am dying) Chen Sinan was so angry that he called back to Wanchun Street and
lost his temper at Jingsheng: "What's wrong with you Shanghai people? You like to be special?
You have to be different from us? What's so great about you! Did we agree? Who allowed you to
do this? It's outrageous!"
Gu Jingsheng, who had to take the Shanghai college entrance examination in two years and also
had to take nine additional examinations, looked up at the sky speechlessly. Could this be blamed
on him?
In short, without this huge windfall, Chen Sinan was almost scratching his head. Why is it so
difficult to make money?

Chapter 205
When everyone is worried about money and busy with money, Chen Donglai has no time to
worry about these things.
In March, the construction of Karamay Oilfield District 9 began. This is the first thermal recovery
test area of the Petroleum Administration. Heavy oil has a high asphalt content, high viscosity
and is very sensitive to temperature. In addition, the oil layer is deeply buried and the water at
the bottom is active. The effect of single thermal recovery technology is very poor. As a technical
backbone of the Petroleum Administration, he worked day and night in the oil field. He often
forgot about his wife and children, not to mention money. There was no place to spend money in
the oil field.
In July, Chen Donglai got a few days off. When he returned to Urumqi, he found that only Sinan
was at home. Gu Ximei had gone to Aksu and had not returned yet.
"Why didn't your mother take you with her? How could she feel at ease leaving you alone at
home like this? Really!" Chen Donglai was a little annoyed.
"I'm so busy that I don't have time to go to Aksu!" Chen Sinan was busy pasting his new money-
making secret book "Huang Rong Pictorial". He pointed to the cupboard without looking up: "The
meal ticket and money are in Gangzong's lunch box. Dad, go to the canteen to get food. I want
300 grams of rice and a meat dish. Let's see if there is any watermelon. If there is, buy one.
Remember to pick a ripe one."
The staff dormitory of No.2 Middle School is much more impressive than the dormitory of
Shajingzi Town Central Primary School. It is no longer a one-room apartment with a one-room
layout. There is a four-square-meter compartment at the entrance, with two windows facing
south, which provides good lighting. It is used as a kitchen and dining room by Ximei. There are
cupboards, stoves, washstands, and newly added coat racks, magazines and newspapers. Chen
Dong came to see the Hong Kong actress stickers spread out on the table by his daughter, shook
his head, and turned around to see the dirty clothes piled up like a mountain in the washing
basin. It is estimated that the faint sour smell he smelled when he entered the door came from
this. He sighed and carried his bag into the inner room.
Ximei was not at home, so the house was naturally in a mess. The towels on the big bed were not
folded, the door of the big wardrobe was half open, and the clothes inside were piled up like a
small mountain. One of his trouser legs was hanging in the air, swinging back and forth in the
wind from the floor fan.
"Chen Sinan! What's wrong with you? You don't even fold the quilt?" Chen Donglai yelled while
folding the quilt.
"Why do I have to fold it? I still have to sleep at night." Chen Sinan yelled louder than him.
"Why don't you turn off your electric fan? You're wasting electricity. I'll tell your mother later!"
Chen Donglai was so angry that he brought up Gu Ximei.
"I accidentally forgot, so you can just turn it off for me. Why are you so petty and always tell
tales?" Sinan was also unhappy: "I'm fine at home alone, why did you come back? You don't take
care of me, you don't even give me food, you just find fault and scold me. The motherland's oil
fields need you!"
Chen Donglai folded a few pieces of clothes, pressed down the pile desperately, and slammed the
door of the wardrobe: "Look at what you have done to the house when you are alone at home,
it's a garbage dump, and you don't wash your own dirty clothes? Have you ever swept or mopped
the floor? When your sister was your age, she was the one who cleaned upstairs and downstairs
at grandma's house. How can a girl like you be so careless about cleanliness? You don't do any
housework at all, is that reasonable?"
"Why is that inappropriate? Why do you want me to do housework? Why don't you do it? My
eldest cousin at grandma's house does much more housework than my sister. He also buys
groceries, cooks, washes clothes, and changes light bulbs." Sinan retorted confidently: "Besides, I
wash my hair and take a bath every day, so why shouldn't I be clean? I just like to wash a large
basin of clothes at a time, isn't that okay?"
"No, summer clothes smell of sweat and will become smelly after two days. Come and smell it."
Chen Donglai did not forget to explain to himself: "I also did the work in Dad's dormitory. Think
about it, when you went to the oil field, was my dormitory very clean and tidy? You know, if you
can't clean your own room, how can you clean the world——"
"If I don't want to sweep the world, I don't have to sweep just one room." Sinan rolled his eyes:
"I'm very busy!"
"What are you busy with? You're busy playing all day. What place did you get in the exam last
semester?"
"I'm not playing, I'm making money. I can make two dollars from one book. Two dollars!"
"Why does your family need you to make money? Why don't you answer when I ask you what
place you got in the exam?" Chen Donglai pulled out a chair and sat down, patting the glass table:
"Huh?"
"Didn't mom tell you that you are ranked sixth in the class and thirty in the grade? Why are you
asking even though you already know the answer? If you want to scold me, then scold me. If you
want to beat me, then beat me. Aren't you adults annoying?" Sinan frowned and said
impatiently.
"When did I hit you or scold you? Dad wants to have a good talk with you and talk about reason."
Chen Donglai picked up a few stickers of Weng Meiling and looked at them. "Do you think this
kind of thing will help you study? Your sister and Jingsheng don't do these messy things. You
should learn from them. You are a middle school student now. Studying is the most important
thing and should be ranked first. Do you understand? It won't work just by relying on your
previous cleverness. Can the county and the city be the same? Can ordinary middle schools and
key middle schools be the same? You have to work hard and study hard. If you have time after
class, you can read as much as your sister, but what's wrong with you? I heard it in Karamay. You
learned to form gangs and factions from TV dramas. You have wild ideas all day long, tying
sandbags and jumping in sand pits. It's simply outrageous. Your mother has told you so many
times, why don't you correct it?"
"I like it, I'm happy, I won't change it, I'm going to practice, I'm going to sign up for a martial arts
class." Chen Sinan snatched Pretty Huang Rong back from him and carefully pasted it next to the
lyrics of "Iron Blood and Loyalty": "I earn my own tuition, I don't spend your money, anyway you
don't understand me, just leave me alone."
"If your parents don't care about you, who will?"
"I take care of myself."
"Do you manage yourself well? Look at how your family manages you so badly that your grades
are not even in the top three. If you transfer back to Shanghai, can you get into the key school in
the city? I think even the key school in the district is in danger." Chen Donglai laughed angrily.
"Why should I go back to Shanghai? I'll stay in Urumqi. No. 2 Middle School is a key middle school
in the city, it's pretty good."
"Can Urumqi's key schools compare to those in Shanghai? You are not a Uyghur child. What if you
can't get into university in the future? Work in a factory and work in three shifts? Working hard to
earn 60 or 70 yuan a month, are you willing? Your eldest cousin and sister are both graduates
from prestigious universities, and you are the only one in your family working in a workshop. Are
you embarrassed?"
Sinan put away all the notebooks, stickers and colored pens in his hand: "Dad, why are you saying
the same thing as Mom? There is something wrong with you."
"What?" Chen Donglai was stunned.
Sinan walked to the newspaper and magazine section and flipped through them. He placed a
cutout of Xinjiang Daily in front of him and raised his eyebrows: "This is your problem. Study it
carefully. Humph. I'm going to get some food."
The cupboard door slammed, and then the door of the room slammed. In the hallway, Li Nan's
slippers clattered as he ran away. Chen Donglai looked down and saw a palm-sized editorial: "If
you can't go to college, you can only be a worker? Occupational discrimination is unacceptable!"
The article denounced some bad trends in today's society. Since the founding of the People's
Republic of China, workers and farmers have made many contributions to the country. After the
reform and opening up, people have begun to look down on workers and farmers. This kind of
discrimination is unacceptable...
Chen Donglai almost suspected that this was Chen Sinan's contribution. He read it quickly and
sighed deeply. This family can only rely on him to see further. Shanghai began to set its own
college entrance examination papers, obviously to ensure that more students with Shanghai
household registration can enter universities. Sijiang's household registration is still in the
collective household registration of No. 2 Middle School with Ximei. What should he do with the
college entrance examination in the future? Sinan and Sihao will also face this problem. It's time
to go back to Shanghai and go to the Education Bureau and Municipal Government of the Youth
League Office. If Xiao He hadn't reminded him that seven or eight colleagues in the oil field had
applied for home leave to return to Shanghai for their children's college entrance examination, he
would not have thought of this. But Gu Ximei herself is obviously a middle school teacher, but she
doesn't think about solving these important problems, but only focuses on the difference of four
yuan a month in teaching age allowance, which really makes him speechless.
Gu Ximei certainly knew about this. There were more than 2,000 educated youth from Shanghai
in Urumqi, and most of them had sent their children back to Shanghai to study. Now, children
who were not registered in Shanghai could not take the Shanghai college entrance examination,
and had to return to their hometown to take the college entrance examination. The textbooks
and examination papers on both sides were different, and that would cause a big problem. Many
educated youth united and went back to Shanghai to make trouble. There was a teacher in No. 2
Middle School who was also an educated youth from Shanghai. Her two sons were both studying
in Shanghai, one in September and the other in September. She came to Ximei to seek allies, but
was politely rejected by Ximei.
Gu Beiwu wrote a long letter to Ximei in June, talking about this matter. Various signs and
dynamics indicate that the solution to the problems left over by the educated youth has been put
on the agenda. It is estimated that there will be a policy in the next two years, which should allow
the children of the educated youth to move their household registration back to Shanghai. As for
the details of the move back, it has not been made public yet, but the most pessimistic view is
that there will be at least one quota. If there is only one quota, Si Jiang's household registration
will be moved. If the policy is not announced in time for her college entrance examination,
instead of returning to Urumqi to take the national examination, it is better to apply for an
undergraduate degree in an American university directly, and you can also apply for a
scholarship. Of course, a full scholarship is the best, and a half scholarship is also good. If there is
really no scholarship, he will sponsor the tuition first, and then pay it back when Si Jiang gets a
job in the future. The most urgent thing is that Si Jiang should prepare for the TOEFL from
September. Whether she takes the Shanghai college entrance examination or studies abroad,
learning English will not be in vain.
Ximei had never thought of sending Sijiang to study abroad, but when Beiwu mentioned it, it was
like a window was opened. Why not? Why can't her daughter catch up with this wave of going
abroad? She was very excited just thinking about it. Beiwu joined such a good unit after returning
from studying in the United States, and his salary was more than three times hers. If Sijiang could
even study for an undergraduate degree in the United States, she could certainly join such a good
unit. The title of "sister of an international student" is far less exciting than the title of "mother of
an international student". In comparison, the mother of a college student is even inferior. Key
universities are not as glorious as international students. After all, only studying abroad can be
gilded, and what is gilded is real gold. It is worth it for Gu Ximei to have a daughter studying in
the United States, no matter how hard her life is.

Chapter 206
Gu Ximei arrived home only six or seven hours later than Chen Donglai. Chen Donglai was almost
broken by Chen Sinan's torture. He thought that Xiaonan should be disliked by dogs when she
was six or seven years old, why is she still disliked by dogs when she is twice as old? She is simply
as annoying as "Commander Tang arrives, the thermos explodes, the machine guns sweep, and
the scab jumps". She always says "I don't want" to say anything, and always says "What are you
doing" three times to answer every question. She also always looks at people with squinted eyes,
no, she only looks at him, the old man (father), but she looks like a decent person when she goes
out, and smiles at everyone she sees, as sweet as honey, which is so annoying.
Seeing Ximei coming back and Chen Sinan still hanging out outside, Chen Donglai couldn't help
but complain: "How do you manage Sinan? Why has she become like this?"
Gu Ximei rushed back from Aksu before dawn. When she entered the house, she was tired and
hungry, and her body was sticky with sweat. When she heard what ᭙ꪶ said, she got angry:
"What has she changed? She has been like this since she was a child!"
"How could she have been like this since she was young..." Ximei's voice was loud, and Chen
Donglai's momentum weakened by three points: "You don't know, when I came back today, she
didn't make the quilt, sweep the floor, or wash the clothes. The electric fan was always on, and
the big closet was a mess. I said a few words to her, and she gave me a cold look. I mopped the
floor and asked her to lift her feet, but she ran away and hasn't come back yet."
"Have you washed her clothes?" Ximei threw her dirty clothes from yesterday into the basin in a
bad mood: "Can't you just wash them for her? They stink!"
"I just want to take a bath in the evening and then take a bath together." Chen Donglai felt
wronged and his voice rang again: "Not doing housework is one thing, but her attitude is a big
problem. She has no respect for me as a father. You really need to take good care of her. She is
twelve years old, she is not a child anymore. Why don't you take it seriously that she is involved
in a gang, practices martial arts, and makes money? You need to be strict when it is necessary. If
she gets into big trouble, it will be too late to regret it then."
Ximei slammed the soap in her hand into the empty basin, and went back to the inner room to
get clean clothes. She kept working and talking: "How can I take care of her? I take care of her
eating, her going to school, and her sleeping place. What else can I do? Do I have the time? There
are three grades and twelve classes. I have to teach four classes a day, and I have to go to two
families to teach piano in the evening. The 30th anniversary celebration took four months to
rehearse the program. Oh, you oilfield heroes are the ones who are busy, right? Haha, I would
rather go to the oilfield. I don't have to take care of anything in the oilfield. I don't care whether
my family members live or die, are full or hungry. Anyway, my wife is responsible for it. If you do
well, it's your duty. If you don't do well, I will criticize you. Oh, don't be too relaxed!"
Chen Donglai's face was hot: "You, what are you doing? You are talking about the child's
education problem, why do you drag us into it? I have no way to take care of my family since I
went to the oil field. It has been like this for more than ten years. You know——"
"I know. So how can my daughter respect you? Respect can be obtained by me saying a few
words? That would save me trouble. I was counting on her to respect me, too." Gu Ximei pulled
off her towel and rolled her eyes at him. "You went to work in the oil field, and your salary went
to work in the oil field? After the Chinese New Year this year, I was the only one raising three
children. Si Jiangdu went to high school. Have you called any of them? I get a salary of 78 yuan a
month, and it costs 60 yuan just to send it back to Shanghai. Why don't you think about how Nan
Nan and I live? You come back and complain about this and that. If I were Si Nan, I wouldn't be
happy with you either!"
"I came back specially to give you the money." Chen Donglai sighed and rummaged through his
black briefcase. He couldn't help but mutter, "I thought you still have money for piano lessons so
you shouldn't be in a hurry—"
The washbasin in Gu Ximei's hand fell back onto the washstand, making a loud clanging sound.
"Where is your mother? The 20 yuan a month pension will be paid to you when you come back?
Chen Dongfang and Chen Donghai don't know what to say. You can take care of your son and
daughter but not your mother? Chen Donglai, do you think I'm a golden hen? Your mother and
three children all have the same surname as me, Gu, and I raise them all by myself! If not, I'll go
sell blood!"
Chen Donglai's scalp tingled, and he quickly stuffed the salary slip and envelope into her hands:
"Okay, okay, it's all my fault. It's all my fault. Stop arguing, okay? I'm actually afraid that the
remittance slip will be too conspicuous and it won't be good if someone knows about it..." Life
has been much better in the past two years, but Ximei has become more and more irritable.
Every time she comes back, they have seven or eight small quarrels and two or three big quarrels.
They can't even think about having a life with their husband. This is one of the reasons why he
would rather take the initiative to go to the oil field.
Gu Ximei read the salary slip carefully and breathed a sigh of relief. Working underground has its
benefits. In the past five months, Chen Donglai has taken home nearly 1,500 yuan, which is
comparable to Beiwu's salary.
"So, I wanted to save some money to buy a piano." Ximei's tone also slowed down: "Running
around to teach is really time-consuming. If I can have students come to my house, it will save
energy, time, and bus fare. Besides, Sinan can be more restrained when learning the piano. Alas,
Sijiang's fingers are so good, we don't have the conditions to let her learn the piano-"
Chen Donglai pursed his lips. Buying a piano was a huge sum of money. A Nie Er brand piano cost
nearly two thousand yuan with a ticket. He was definitely reluctant, but Ximei made the decision.
There was no point in opposing it. After a few arguments, he still had to listen to her. After nearly
twenty years of marriage, the only thing she listened to was Sheng Sihao.
"But now Si Jiang is going to study abroad, so I won't buy the piano." Gu Ximei counted the
money, wrapped it up in a stack of ten, and finally put it back into the envelope with the salary
slips: "Bei Wu and I have discussed it. Regardless of whether the policy allows children to return
their household registration, Si Jiang should go to college in the United States. If she is admitted
to an American university, we will move Si Hao's household registration back to your home. At
that time, no matter what Chen Dongfang and Chen Donghai say, I will not care. You should know
this in your heart. Tell your mother as soon as possible."
Chen Donglai was confused: "What? Si Jiang went abroad? To study abroad? Why? What's the
policy? What's the matter with the household registration transfer?"
Knowing that her mother had returned, Sinan tiptoed to enter the house quietly, blinked under
the window, and then went downstairs quietly. The street lights on the playground were lit alone.
Sinan looked up from under the basketball hoop. The night sky was caught in the net. The stars
were still the same stars, and the moon was still the same moon. She suddenly jumped up and
reached out to scoop, but found nothing.
When the whole person is hanging upside down on the horizontal bar, the blood will rush to the
head. Sinan has always liked this feeling. Her messy hair is swinging, just about to sweep the
ground. She folded her hands on her chest and swung hard like a swing.
She is now the leader of a gang, with seven disciples and more than a dozen disciples. How can
she abandon them? Well, her Peach Blossom Dragon-Slaying Dog Gang is the most cohesive and
chivalrous gang in Youhao Road. Everyone is as close as brothers and sisters. Those who defect
for wine and meat are of course not included. Others will not abandon her, the most righteous
and powerful gang leader.
But Si Nan couldn't help but feel a little sad, just a little bit.
——
The electric fan was blowing loudly at night. The first setting was too soft, and the second setting
was too strong. It was too hot when covered with a towel, but a little cold without it. It was
always so far from satisfactory. Chen Donglai tossed and turned more than a dozen times and was
disliked by Xi Mei several times. He sat up and looked at Si Nan who was sleeping on the sofa,
and then lay down again.
"Look, she was so calm as soon as you came back. She took a shower and wiped the dirty clothes
directly. She even listened to you when you told her not to put stickers on her. This little girl is so
real!" Chen Donglai whispered angrily. Accusation: "She didn't mean to bully others, relying on
me to be nice to her. What a heartless little thing, ugh."
"Why are you being nice to her? Didn't you think she was still in elementary school during the
National Day last year?" Ximei was so sleepy that she kicked him impatiently: "You go to sleep
over there, the electric fan won't make any noise. Blocked by you, hot."
Chen Donglai put his hand on her waist and said, "You know what, it's a good idea to let Si Jiang
go abroad. Beiwu is well-informed and has many classmates in the United States. At least Si Jiang
won't be able to wash dishes when he goes there, right? I read in the newspaper that Chen
Chong went to the United States and worked in a restaurant washing dishes. It was very hard—"
Gu Ximei picked up his hand and threw it back: "Can it be the same? Si Jiang is a serious college
student. Can actors who change careers halfway and try to earn a diploma and US dollars be the
same as us?"
"It seems that Zhang Yu has also gone to the United States to study at a university. There are so
many celebrities going abroad now. I just remembered it when you mentioned it. By the way, do
you remember Xiao He from my office?"
Gu Ximei opened her eyes: "Huh? What's wrong?"
"Her sister-in-law is a flight attendant. She fell in love with a Japanese man and abandoned her
husband and son. Her brother went to the Qianjin Amateur Continuing Education School every
day to study English at night after his divorce last year. He was going to the United States to make
a name for himself." Chen Donglai sighed: "Well, you see, reform and opening up also has some
downsides. Many people can't hide their little thoughts. For money and for a bourgeois life
abroad, they can abandon their families. I heard that there are many divorces in Shanghai now.
The world is really going downhill."
"Oh." Gu Ximei sneered, "You are free, right? Divorce was not allowed a long time ago, right?
Besides, didn't your parents abandon Donglan, Dongmei, and Dongzhu for you three sons? Can
you blame the reform and opening up?"
Chen Donglai took a nap.
Gu Ximei perked up: "Hey, you and Xiao He have such a good relationship? She told you about
this kind of thing in her family? What? Are you sharing hardships and revolutionary feelings?"
Chen Donglai was so scared that he shuddered: "Don't talk nonsense, she said it to everyone in
the office, and I just overheard it."
"Hey, I just said it casually, why are you so nervous?" Ximei turned over and stared into Chen
Donglai's eyes: "Are you guilty of something?"
"What kind of thief have I committed?" Chen Donglai reached out to hug her: "You can check the
public grain and you will know the answer."
Gu Ximei was pushed by him and pinched him with a red face: "Bullshit, Xiaonan is right next to
us, don't do anything stupid."
Chen Donglai was in his prime, and had worked in the oil field for half a year, so he was unwilling
to let go. Gu Ximei received a huge sum of money, and it seemed a bit awkward not to give it
back, so he half-heartedly agreed. Fortunately, there was a curtain between them, and the two of
them made a quick decision. After they finished, Chen Donglai suddenly remembered something:
"Is the one I'm using today expired?"
Ximei was so scared that she broke out in a cold sweat. After thinking carefully, she was sure that
this box of birth control products was given to her when she first moved to Urumqi, so it
shouldn't cause any death. After thinking again, she pinched Chen Donglai hard and said, "Okay,
you have planned it all along, and you don't care how hard I work."
"This is also a kind of relaxing exercise, you lie down, I'll go get some water." Chen Donglai got up
diligently and gently opened the curtains. He got out of bed, raised his head, and fell back into
bed in fright. Si Nan, who was sitting on the sofa across from him, sat up at some point and
looked at him expressionlessly.
"You! Why aren't you asleep yet?!" Chen Donglai asked dryly, hiding the things in his hand behind
his back.
Gu Ximei didn't say a word, but stretched out her leg and kicked him.
"It's so hot!" Chen Sinan suddenly got up from the ground, rushed over, turned the electric fan to
30 degrees, and then rushed back to the sofa and lay down with an expressionless face.
Chen Donglai walked out of the closet carefully, holding his slippers tightly with his toes. Just as
he picked up the washbasin in the dark, he heard Chen Sinan yelling from inside: "Don't give me
another brother or sister!"
Gu Ximei lifted the towel to cover her head and said, "Chen Donglai, you'd better go to hell."
Chen Donglai really wanted to die.

Chapter 207
Si Jiang also received Bei Wu's letter. After reading it carefully three times, she suddenly felt
enlightened and excited. She had a goal, motivation and aspirations. She had never thought that
she could study abroad like her uncle.
Gu Dongwen said: "It's good to learn English. Everyone is learning English now."
Si Jiang looked at Jing Sheng and smiled sweetly. Before she could speak, Jing Sheng immediately
raised his hands and said, "Don't ask me to practice English with you. It's too tiring. I can't get
anything done all day if I just think about words and grammar."
Si Jiang made the second best choice: "Then can you accompany me to the English corner? My
uncle said that it's best to practice speaking with foreigners. You have to speak fluently."
Gu Dongwen laughed: "Then you have to find the British and Americans. Forget about the
Japanese. A Mao said that the Japanese speak worse English than us Chinese. The French, Italians
and Germans are not good either. They don't speak English."
Si Jiang gave his uncle a thumbs up and said, "Old Master."
There are two English Corners in Shanghai, one is in the lotus pond at Gate No. 7 of the People's
Park, and the other is in Fuxing Park. There is also a news corner in Fuxing Park, which is a
gathering place for people preparing to go abroad. Various insider information, personal
experiences, official news, and consulate information emerge in an endless stream. Those who
are sent by the government, those in foreign marriages, and those studying abroad each have a
small circle. Smiles and tears coexist, as well as pride and frustration.
Si Jiang and Jingsheng took a tour of the English corner and were amazed. There were not many
foreigners in the English corner, and all of them were enthusiastic "Hello, How are you?" "What's
your name?", which was of little use to Si Jiang. The news corner was even more complicated.
How to fill out the application form, which visa officer is good, and what materials are required
for foreign marriage registration, were not very relevant to Si Jiang. Instead, a scalper came up
and asked: "My friend, are you going to study abroad? Are you going to take an English class? Ten
dollars an hour, guaranteed to learn."
"Where are you from, teacher?" Si Jiang took the small card and asked doubtfully.
"My English teacher at the University of Foreign Languages is very good, and has a genuine
British accent. Have you seen the CCTV show "Follow Me"? He has that Oxford and Cambridge
accent, do you know Oxford and Cambridge? Don't worry, I won't cheat you, you will know after
you try it."
"How do we try?" Jingsheng and Sijiang switched places, pushing the scalper uncle a little further
away: "Ten yuan for one trip and try it out?"
"Well, ten dollars a class is the price for buying thirty classes at once. The trial fee is always a bit
more expensive. But if you buy a class for three hundred dollars, the trial class is free. If you are
not satisfied, I will refund you the money immediately."
"If I don't buy the course first, how much is the trial class fee?" Si Jiang asked.
"Thirty, thirty dollars an hour."
"You're trying to rob me of my money." Jingsheng rolled his eyes at him and pulled Si Jiang out.
"Hey, hey, hey, how much is it in Nonggang?" The scalper uncle caught up with him, stared at Si
Jiang and asked.
Suddenly, two young men squeezed through the crowd and grabbed the scalper, demanding his
money back. It turned out that the only teacher invited for the trial class in this English cram
school was a teacher from a foreign language university. His accent was indeed very standard, but
for 300 yuan for 30 classes, it was just too unconventional.
"Luckily you didn't get fooled." A young woman with fine eyebrows and eyes told Si Jiang: "A
class at Qianjin Night School only costs five yuan, and the teachers are all very professional. This
scalper is very bad. He takes one hundred yuan out of the three hundred yuan tuition. People get
fooled every month."
Si Jiang was shocked: "How can this person be so evil?"
"People die for money, birds die for food." Jingsheng was very calm: "Just look at his appearance
and you can tell he is not a good person."
This sentence inevitably reminded people of Zhou Zhiyuan, and the two of them were silent for a
long time.
"How about iced coffee?" Jingsheng pointed at the boss Dachang in front of him, "To celebrate
your new goal, I'll treat you."
Si Jiang smiled and nodded: "I haven't been here for a long time. Remember the last time Zhao
Youning and Si Nan had a fight here? My aunt-in-law didn't remember that she didn't buy iced
coffee until she walked to Yan'an Road."
Jingsheng also smiled: "I haven't seen Zhao Youning for a long time. He will be a senior this year. I
wonder which university he will choose."
"He has such good grades that he can get into any university. That's great, it's not the university
that chooses him, it's him that chooses the university." Si Jiang was sincerely convinced: "In
elementary school, I thought I was only a little bit behind him, and it was just bad luck that I was
always the second. Now I know that a genius is a genius, and ordinary people like us can't
compare with him."
"Youning said that he envied us." Jingsheng glanced at Si Jiang.
Si Jiang also knew about Zhao Youning's family. The gossip in Kangjiaqiao Lane could be spread to
Wanchun Street by the old ladies who went shopping together in one morning. For some
unknown reason, Zhao Yan suddenly proposed to divorce Jia Qingqing last fall. Jia Qingqing sat on
the windowsill and said that she would never divorce him, and if she was forced again, she would
jump off the building. Then all the aunts and uncles of the Jia family rushed into Kangjiaqiao
Lane. They first cried to Zhao Yan, saying that his daughter was young and ignorant, and had
suffered a lot when she went to the countryside. They didn't deliberately not tell him, but didn't
want to expose the scars, and asked him to be more tolerant. Later, they didn't know why they
said that Zhao Yan wanted to dump his daughter because he had done something wrong outside.
A group of people rolled around and grabbed Zhao Yan's face with bloodshot, and everyone in
the lane knew about it. That's not all. The Jia family turned around and reported Zhao Yan's
personal style problems to the university, and also implicated the two female graduate students
he was leading. The twists and turns were even more bizarre than those in The Bund. In the end,
Zhao Yan was disqualified from supervising graduate students, and his research project was also
suspended, but he was not able to get a divorce. Jia Qingqing said that she would rather die than
divorce. The neighborhood committee cadres went to the Zhao family every day to mediate, but
Zhao Yan was stuck like this.
Zhao Youning hadn't been back to Kangjiaqiao for almost a whole year. Grandma Gu had slapped
her thigh and scolded countless times: "Such a decent and good little girl, just because of her
grandfather's lust, she lost her family and her dignity. Her father deserves to be miserable for the
rest of his life, but Ningning is so pitiful. Which girl will want such parents-in-law in the future?
Oh my! Let that kind of woman jump off the building, and see if she jumps or not. She dares to
jump!" In order to comfort the old lady, Gu Dongwen even joked: "Don't worry, Alasnan will take
the loss, Ningning happens to like the lion's head you make."
Although he didn't go back to Kangjiaqiao, Zhao Youning's letters often came to Wanchun Street.
Every week he sent papers to Jingsheng and to Sinan in Urumqi. During the New Year, in addition
to papers and notes, he also sent greeting cards. This year, on Sinan's birthday on April 1st, he
gave her a set of 24-color German brand pens. Because these were sent to Wanchun Street first,
Sijiang knew that Sinan was obsessed with making celebrity collages after reading his letter. This
also made Sijiang feel ashamed for a while, thinking that he was too busy reviewing for the direct
entrance exam to pay enough attention to Sinan. But Jingsheng revealed the secret: "I guess she
did it because she could sell it for money. She even sold Youning's papers..."
In the hot summer of July, Lao Dachang was still crowded with people. Jingsheng held two glasses
and squeezed out the cream on them. The cream was so thick that it didn't tremble at all. The
two of them crossed the road and sat by the flower bed as usual, watching the vehicles and
pedestrians on Huaihai Road coming and going like a tide. Behind them was the construction site
of the Garden Hotel, where various large excavators were busy in full swing.
Si Jiang stretched his legs and suddenly sighed: "It would be great if Nan Nan could come back to
Shanghai." This year Si Nan seldom called or wrote back. She didn't know if the incident was over.
She felt sad when she thought of Si Jiang, because it would never be over with her. Mum was so
busy that she asked about Si Nan on the rare occasions she called. Mum either complained that
Si Nan didn't do well in the exam or was angry that Si Nan had messed up something and spent
all day practicing martial arts and swinging a stick.
"Brother," Si Jiang took a big sip of cream and looked at Jingsheng: "Have you decided which
university to apply to? Or the police academy or military academy?"
Jingsheng stared at the glass window of Lao Dachang across the street and stirred the stirring
stick in his hand several times: "No more exams."
Si Jiang knew why. Jingsheng would never get over that incident. When Si Nan left Shanghai last
year, she seemed no different from usual, still laughing heartlessly. But when she found out that
the southern goods store outside the alley had become a hardware store, she burst into tears.
Jingsheng went to Sanyang Southern Goods Store to buy seven or eight kinds of summer cakes
and preserved fruits, but she refused to try them, saying that the taste was different and boring.
The store was gone, so where could she find green bean cakes, poria cakes, salted plums, candied
dates and olives that tasted the same? Si Jiang always remembered that August evening, the bell
of the postman's bicycle rang, and the shouts of "Night report, night report--" were long and
distant. The old lady in the next doorway was washing her daughter's hair, the sound of water
splashing, and the little girl cried and said that the soapy water got into her eyes, and then cried
and said that her scalp was pulled and hurt. Si Nan's crying was mixed in, just the crying of an
unreasonable little girl. Grandma was dizzy because of her crying, and she smeared a handful of
cooling oil and dragged Si Hao to the cultural center. Si Hao cried and refused to go. After a long
time of hesitation, she said that she wanted to eat mung bean cakes and candied dates. She took
the bags and packed them, and went out humming. The eldest uncle was chopping with a knife
and a chopping board downstairs, and the younger uncle patiently tasted and praised each one,
and persuaded Si Nan to try the new taste. But she didn't eat a single bite. She was tired of crying
and curled up in the recliner, staring at the TV, and fell asleep while staring.
She didn't remember what she and Jingsheng said or did at that time, but she often recalled that
dusk. Like a slow motion in a movie, she pondered frame by frame, slowly piecing together every
background, every expression, and every sound like a puzzle. Something was broken and moved
away, but she didn't know how to repair it. She seemed to be floating in the air, only able to
watch but unable to participate. It was a farewell between Sinan and her childhood, the
loneliness and pain that belonged to a young girl that could not be expressed in words, but it was
insignificant and even shameful for an adult.
She had said goodbye like this before, so she felt even more ashamed of her own powerlessness.
In 1994, Zhang Chu could be heard singing in the streets and alleys: "They don't seek or rely on,
they are very proud, lonely people, they want to be as beautiful as flowers...Shameful people,
they are against life, against boredom..." Twenty-five-year-old Chen Sijiang has accepted this fact:
everyone is born lonely. She doesn't mind being lonely forever, but she will try to be proud
forever. No matter whether fate gives her a green eye or a cold eye, a carrot or a stick, she will
always stand straight and proudly look beautiful.
After drinking this cup of iced coffee, Si Jiang and Jing Sheng returned to Wanchun Street and
received the good news that Shan Rang was pregnant.
The future is promising.

Chapter 208 (Catching Bugs)

The happiest person was of course Grandma Gu, who was busy thanking God dozens of times,
and then went to burn incense for Grandpa Gu, scolding him for being useless.
"You bastard, if you want money, a house, and a car, please come to me in your dreams as soon
as possible. Tell me, did the boss burn a Sang-Sang-what's that? Hey, boss, what was the name of
the car you made for your dad during the Qingming Festival?"
Gu Dongwen poked his head out from a pile of goods in the booth and shouted, "Santana!"
Grandma Gu smiled as she filled the small wine cup in front of Grandpa Gu's portrait with white
wine: "You dead devil, you still want to drive a car and be a driver? Do I have to burn a car for you
before you bless Beiwu to give birth to a son? Pah!" She smiled and wiped her tears: "Now that
you can drive the car, remember to let Beiwu's wife give birth to a son. You remember, it must be
a boy. Daughters have suffered too much. Look at our Nanhong Ximei, they are suffering terribly.
And Sijiang is also suffering. He hasn't seen his parents for more than ten years. Sinan is also
suffering. He almost fell into a cesspool and drowned because he couldn't walk. If you dare to let
Beiwu give birth to a girl, forget about having a car next year."
Jingsheng couldn't help but say, "Grandma, my dad has a hard life too."
Chen Sihao was also unhappy: "Grandma, I'm suffering too!" Of course I'm suffering. The
kindergarten teacher said that we can't take naps from the next semester, and we have to start
learning pinyin and writing.
Granny Gu spilled the wine in the cup in a semicircle, pulled over the kneeling mat, and pulled
Jingsheng and Sijiangshao over to kowtow, muttering: "How can his suffering be called suffering?
It's all his own fault. No matter how hard your life is, it's not really suffering. It's incomparable to
us women. When you grow up, you will understand. Just giving birth to a child is more painful
than you can endure in ten lifetimes."
After she finished speaking, she also laughed: "Pah, pah, pah, what kind of suffering is that? Look,
now your daddy (grandfather, pronounced diadia) drives a car worth more than 200,000 yuan,
don't be too comfortable. In the future, remember to burn more gold ingots for me, okay? I don't
want a car or a house, I just want gold."
Jingsheng and Sijiang looked at each other. Sijiang kowtowed nine times and stood up, tidying up
the altar with a stern face: "Grandma, I'm angry!"
Si Hao quickly parroted and expressed himself: "I'm angry too! I'm going to burn grandma's big
car and big house!"
Jingsheng covered Chen Sihao's mouth, picked him up and put him in front of the TV: "Watch
your TV."
Grandma Gu smiled and coaxed Si Jiang: "Okay, okay, dear girl, it's grandma who is talking
nonsense. I know, I want to live to be a hundred years old. Old man, I'm sorry, you have to wait
for me for another twenty years." She turned around and hurriedly reminded them: "Don't tell
anyone. Wait until your aunt is pregnant for three months. No, seven months. Forget it, wait until
your little cousin is born before telling others. It's best to tell others after a full month, double full
month, and a hundred days. Alas..."
Gu Dongwen came upstairs after washing his hands and just happened to hear this. He burst out
laughing, "How can that be possible! It's better to wait until he goes to school, gets a job, gets
married, and has kids before you tell people that your Gu family has a new grandson. People ask
how old he is? Oh, he's twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and just became a father."
Jingsheng and Sijiang couldn't help laughing. Chen Sihao was a little slow and laughed three
times in front of the TV.
Granny Gu glared at her son and said, "You know nothing. Good things should not be publicized.
The longer they are suppressed, the better they are. The wealthier they are, the more they will
be. Si Nan sent a telegram back as soon as she became pregnant, but what happened? She gave
birth on the train! Both the adult and the child were almost killed. Look at Si Hao, she told us
when she was about to give birth. How smooth it was."
Gu Dongwen glanced at Chen Sihao and said, "I don't know if he's rich or not, but he's getting
fatter and fatter. Mom, I'm telling you, you really can't feed Si so much meat and rice anymore.
He's only six years old and he's almost 60 kilograms. He's too fat."
Si Jiang took the mung bean cake from Si Hao's hand and said, "Did you hear me, brother? You
can't eat any more. You are too fat."
Chen Sihao stared at the mung bean cake with his eyes wide open. Three seconds later, he raised
his head, closed his eyes, and opened his mouth. Tears dropped from the corners of his eyes and
he cried heartbreakingly.
Si Jiang was unmoved, he broke the mung bean cake in half and gave half to Jing Sheng, the two
of them ate it slowly, one bite at a time, in front of the TV. Jing Sheng got up and poured himself
two glasses of water, and handed one to Si Jiang: "Don't buy this next time, it's too sweet."
"Well, what's for dinner?"
"There are green peppers and mung bean sprouts in the kitchen. How about some three-shred
cold noodles? Scramble four eggs with celery, and cut two Cantonese sausages and steam them."
Jingsheng glanced at Si Hao who was still trying to cry: "Just cut one. A little kid will keep crying
anyway, and he will definitely not have time to eat dinner."
Chen Sihao stopped crying immediately and bargained with Jingsheng with sobs: "Two sausages!
Brother, steam two! I won't cry anymore. (I won't cry anymore)"
"Chen Sihao, you are already six years old. Tell your sister what your mouth is used for?" Si Jiang
squatted in front of him and wiped his face with a handkerchief.
"Have a meal."
"anything else?"
"say."
"Is it used to cry for the scoundrel?"
“…”
"How many mung bean cakes have you eaten today?"
"Five, six, six bucks."
"We agreed that we can only eat a few pieces a day?"
"Two."
"So did you secretly eat too much?"
“…”
"Sister asks you again, what should you do if you are unhappy or angry?"
"Tell my sister, brother, uncle, and grandmother."
"Is crying useful?"
"It's no use."
"Still crying?"
"Do not cry."
"Is Si Hao a reasonable kid?"
"Yes. Reasonable."
"That's right. You eat so much sweets, so much meat, and so much rice. Have you gained some
weight?"
"no."
Si Jiang raised his eyebrows.
Chen Sihao carefully lowered his head and checked his chubby fingers: "Yes, I am fat. Xiaomao
and the others call me Fatty--" He was even called a pig when fighting over toys, but he didn't go
home to complain. Sihao looked up at his elder sister aggrievedly. Si Jiang was angry and amused
when he saw tears hanging on his long curly eyelashes. He pinched the greasy fat on his face: "It's
good that you know. When you are fat, you can't walk, jump or run. You see, you didn't even pick
up twenty firecrackers during the Chinese New Year this year. You saw many of the firecrackers
first, but others ran over and picked them up first, right?"
"Yeah." Si felt wronged and didn't want to cry.
"Then you have to control your mouth and eat less. You are not allowed to be lazy. Follow your
brother to exercise. You must do the radio exercises three times a day. When I tell you to go to
the West Palace for a run, you are not allowed to hide behind your grandma and be lazy. Okay?"
"good."
Granny Gu came over and hugged Si Hao: "You are all as skinny as monkeys, and you don't allow
our baby to gain some weight? This is called blessing! Everyone can see that the family takes
good care of us. Besides, we are not fat, we are strong. Why are you running around in Xigong in
the hot summer? What if you get heat stroke? We won't go, dear. We won't go. Once you gain
weight, you will become thin all of a sudden. Your sister doesn't understand, we don't care about
her."
Si Jiang looked at Si Hao seriously.
"I'll listen to my sister." Si Hao said tactfully.
——
Si Jiang wrote a long letter to Bei Wu and Shan Rang. No matter how she wrote, she felt that she
could not express how happy she was. She had not seen perfect love in novels or movies. The
two people she respected and loved the most not only had the best love, but also had the fruit of
love. It couldn't be better. Finally, she quoted a passage from Shakespeare's sonnet and dedicated
it to them:
“Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake,
And die as fast as they see others grow;
And nothing'gainst Time's scythe can make defence
Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.”
Beiwu replied quickly and sent a few original English novels from foreign bookstores. The letter
told about Shanrang's recent situation. They were still immersed in great joy and were also very
happy that Sijiang started reading Shakespeare's original works. Reading and speaking are always
the most effective ways to learn a language. At the end of the letter, he also quoted a passage in
English:
“For everything there is a season，and a time to every matter under heaven.and a time for every
thing under the heavens.A time to be born ，and a time to die;A time to plant ，and a time to
uproot the plant……A time to love，and a time to hate;A time of war，and a time of peace.”
Si Jiang liked this poem very much. Although she could understand it, it was difficult to express it
in words. She read it several times and tried to translate it into Chinese. She felt that the words
did not express the meaning several times. She also discussed it with Jingsheng several times.
Once, Grandma Gu heard it and was very happy: "Nannan! Grandma said a long time ago that
God is by your side and with you."
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng: "Huh?"
It turned out that Bei Wu was quoting a poem from Ecclesiastes 3:1 to 8. Although Granny Gu
was illiterate, she recited it fluently: "To everything there is a season, a time for everything. A
time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to reap… a time to love and a time
to hate, a time to war and a time to peace." She recited it without forgetting to preach: "That is
to say, God has arranged everything. What will happen will happen. Your aunt got pregnant when
she was supposed to—it's all fate."
This was the first time that Si Jiang realized the artistic charm of religion, and it also made her
realize the wonderful mutual communication between English and Chinese. Starting from this
poem, she finally picked up the English poems and novels left to her by her uncle, and the
problem of getting a headache after reading two pages in the past was gone.
Summer passed slowly with the sound of cicadas singing and Sijiang reading English. In mid-
August, Jingsheng carried Sijiang to school on a camp bed. Military training for the first year of
high school began.
Chen Sijiang, who studied hard day and night for many years and unfortunately had 150-degree
myopia, returned to the familiar campus wearing a round-neck white short-sleeved shirt and a
navy blue-bottomed white polka-dot pleated skirt, which were hot-selling products at Huating
Road Nanhong Fashion this summer, and white Warrior sneakers. Myopia made her originally
sparkling eyes misty, and when she occasionally squinted her eyes and slightly opened her mouth
to carefully identify the people or objects in front of her, in the eyes of boys and girls, she became
a close-up soft light shot of a female star in movies and TV, so beautiful that it was outrageous.

Chapter 209
Coincidentally, the military training dormitory assigned to Si Jiang according to her class number
was her former junior high school class 3 (2) classroom. The blackboard newspaper she drew last
semester was still there. There were two rows of desks against the wall in the classroom, and
they were filled with net bags filled with uniformly distributed toiletries. On the other side were
piled uniform pillows and quilts. Seven or eight camp beds had been set up. Two parents were
talking at the door. When they saw Jingsheng and Si Jiang, they smiled politely and nodded to
make way.
Si Jiang looked at the blackboard in front of him and smiled. Twelve girls slept in one classroom.
Li Nan and Zhang Leyi's names happened to be one in front of and one behind Chen Sijiang. The
handwriting on the blackboard looked like it was written by Li Nan herself.
Taking out the list of must-bring items on the military training notice and carefully checking it one
last time, Jingsheng nodded: "Everything is ready. Tell me tomorrow if you need anything. If you
really feel uncomfortable, remember to raise your hand and report it. The instructor will let you
step out of the line to rest." Seeing that the two parents had already left, he turned his face away
and lowered his voice and added: "Especially during that time, don't hold on, okay?"
"Hey! Brother, you're really angry! I know, I know, you can go back now..." Si Jiang's face was hot,
he muttered a few words, turned around and ran downstairs to find his old friends. Jing Sheng
had been struggling all night, but he felt relieved after saying it out loud. He took Si Jiang's
slippers out of his bag and placed them in front of the bed, then put his hands in his pockets and
slowly walked down the teaching building.
In the open space beside the cafeteria, four classes of the first grade were gathering. There were
many familiar faces to Si Jiang, but many more unfamiliar faces. Si Jiang, who had been used to
being the center of attention since childhood, squinted his eyes and stood on tiptoe to squeeze
towards the class nameplate at the front. The loudspeaker was talking about the precautions for
military training registration. The voice sounded very familiar, like Tang Zenian.
"Haven't you seen it yet? Your class is in the second row on the left." Jingsheng sighed, "I'll bring
your glasses to you tomorrow at lunch. It's not okay to be blind, right?"
"I see, I see. Our class 2 is over there." Si Jiang pushed him out helplessly: "Okay, okay, thank you,
thank you, you go back first, let's go."
"Fairy, fairy - my Si Jiang! I miss you so much!" Li Nan relied on his own size and weight to rush
over from the front of the team unstoppably, and hugged Si Jiang with a cry: "You are not tanned
or fat at all, and you are even more beautiful. God is really blind. Did he put all the fat you should
have on me? Fortunately, we are still in the same class, hahaha, Tang Zenian is so mad, he is still
in Class 4 and we are Class 2. God is really kind. Come on, come on, we are waiting for you to
meet us."
Tang Zenian put down the loudspeaker and smiled as he squeezed over to greet Jingsheng. He
turned around and said with a smile, "Li Nan, how can you have the final say on whether God has
eyes or not? Be careful, there is a god above your head. Eh? Chen Sijiang - are you nearsighted?"
Si Jiang was stunned: "Can you see this?" She opened her eyes wide and moved closer to Li Nan's
face: "Did you see it?"
Li Nan covered his chest and stepped back a few steps, then fell on Zhang Leyi who had finally
escaped from the encirclement and sang: "This trap, this trap, this trap! I just happened to run
into it!" Zhang Leyi tacitly posed and added: "Admiration!" They both cast a wink at Si Jiang at the
same time.
Si Jiang helplessly watched the funny duo return to the stage, surrounded by laughter. Alan Tam's
song "Love Trap" was really heard by many people as "this eye, this eye, this eye"...
"Brother Si Jiang, is military training really that scary? I heard that some of your girls fainted from
the sun last year."
"Did they use real guns for target practice? How far away was the target? How many rings did
Agonon hit?"
"Brother, have you been awarded the title of National First-Class Athlete?"
Zhang Leyi stared at Jingsheng with shining eyes, speaking one sentence after another, as if she
had done her homework.
Tang Zenian smiled and helped Jingsheng stop the laughing girls who rushed over: "The instructor
is here, the teacher is here, line up, line up!"
Screams, footsteps, horns, whistles and laughter intertwined into a familiar symphony of military
training. Jingsheng stepped out of the crowd and let out a long sigh. When he reached the school
gate, he remembered Chen Sijiang, that heartless bastard, who didn't even say goodbye to him.
At this time, Si Jiang was looking around in the team and found that Yu Ping was only two or
three people away from her, so she smiled and nodded and waved to him. Yu Ping, however,
seemed not to see her and went on talking to Xu Hao next to him. Instead, Xu Hao nodded to Si
Jiang a little embarrassedly and adjusted the frame of his glasses on his nose. Si Jiang had long
equated the word "crazy" with Yu Ping. People with special talents are qualified to have strange
tempers. She didn't care and continued to look for familiar faces in the four long lines. She found
that Lin Zhuoyu and Cheng Ying were in Class 3, while Guo Chengyi and Yin Ying were in Class 1.
Lin Zhuoyu was still the leader of the class he was in, just like Tang Zenian. He was busy calling the
roll and checking the students' numbers. Guo Chengyi and Cheng Ying were also looking for old
friends. They excitedly waved to Si Jiang, Li Nan and the others across the crowd. After three
years of studying together, even though we are still in the same school, Si Jiang still feels a little
disappointed. There is a time to gather and a time to separate, that's probably it.
At the front of the team, a dozen instructors and teachers were discussing something. Si Jiang
accidentally saw Cheng Ying give Lin Zhuoyu a secret elbow punch, but Lin Zhuoyu was smiling
happily. The two looked at each other and then smiled and turned away. The expression on their
faces was obviously different from when they were in the same class in junior high school.
"You know? Lin Zhuoyu and Cheng Ying are dating." Li Nan took Si Jiang's arm and shook his head
a little sourly: "Oh, men, no."
Si Jiang laughed in horror: "Why?"
"Lin Zhuoyu has asked me to send you three love letters in the past three years. When we were
watching the lanterns during the National Day last year, he even chased us to eat tofu pudding.
Look, he has fallen in love with someone else in just one summer vacation. Tsk tsk tsk." Li Nan
raised his chin towards Lin Zhuoyu and asked in a low voice: "But we didn't expect Cheng Ying to
be with him. He knew he liked you, but he should at least ask you. It's weird that you are so close
to each other. It's a bit like a rabbit eating grass in its own burrow. I'm not the only one who
thinks so. Zhang Leyi thinks so too."
Si Jiang remembered that after the direct entrance examination, Cheng Ying seemed to have
jokingly asked her whether she would consider Lin Zhuoyu. She should have said that she had not
thought about it. She really didn't want to date anyone. If the brother knew about it, she would
be finished, and the boy would definitely die even more miserably. But after hearing this news, Si
Jiang felt a little sad.
"Once you enter high school, Tang Zenian will definitely not let you go." Li Nan glanced at Si Jiang
with a cunning smile, as if sharpening a knife to kill a pig or a sheep: "I feel that you can't escape
his clutches. Old Tang is still loyal to you, what do you think? Be moved."
Si Jiang shook his head: "I haven't thought about it. By the way, can I still get into your English
class? I also want to take the TOEFL."
Li Nan was stunned. Just as he was about to ask more questions, the instructor's loud voice came
from the front: "Everyone - stand at attention!"
Si Jiang had never thought that the platoon leader of his class would be Ren Xinyou. Perhaps
because he was a military kid and tall and strong, he was naturally chosen by the class teacher,
Mr. Gao, and Instructor Lin and entrusted with the important task. Li Nan had always been an
active participant in major school activities and was designated as the deputy platoon leader.
Teacher Gao has always been known for being strict in the high school department, and the class
slogan he has set is also very straight: "Obey orders, obey commands; unite and help each other,
and show the prestige of our class." The military training has not officially begun, but the goals
are already in place: The military training report evaluation in two weeks will take the first place
in the grade.
Li Nan's pumpkin face turned into a bitter gourd face, and he looked silently at Tang Zenian and
Lin Zhuoyu not far away, as well as the majestic leader who looked like he could cross the
Huangpu River with just a lift of his legs.
Si Jiang held back her laughter and stood up straight. Sweat flowed into her eyes. She blinked
hard a few times, but refused to reach out to wipe them. She followed the class and shouted
loudly: "Obey orders, follow instructions; unite and help each other, raise your voice." I am
Banwei!”
——
"Ah? You need to write about your experience in organizing the housework?!" Si Jiang, a young
composition master, was shocked.
Li Nan distributed quilts and pillows while crying, "It's miserable! Very miserable! Very
miserable!"
Zhang Leyi and another female classmate pulled the rope straight: "Hey, someone come and
help! The toothbrush head of No. 5 needs to be a little further out."
Si Jiang hurried over to help adjust the toothbrush head, the handle of the mouthwash cup, the
edge of the washbasin and the towel. The three of them almost got cross-eyed. After finishing
the toiletries, two young instructors and Teacher Gao came in.
"Very good." Teacher Gao was quite satisfied that they had consciously sorted out their toiletries.
Compared with the messy boys' dormitory, the female students were much more worry-free and
reassuring.
The young instructor looked no more than 20 years old. He was a little nervous in front of the
twelve girls. He folded the tofu-shaped quilt three times, and his face became redder and more
serious. However, the girls laughed and tried to tease them. The quilt did not look like tofu, but
more like tofu pudding.
Teacher Gao watched for ten minutes and then retracted his previous thoughts. Men and women
are equal and each has their own troubles. Looking at the time, he finally couldn't help but yell,
"Alright, alright, stop talking nonsense with the instructor, you guys! Hurry up, the whole
company will have housekeeping scores at five o'clock, don't hold us back! There are four
dormitories for boys and girls, and whoever has the lowest score will be responsible for cleaning
the cafeteria."
The classroom immediately became quiet, with only the rustling sound of quilts being folded. The
two instructors made a round of inspection, and most of the students' quilts were folded again.
At half past five, the results were announced over the classroom loudspeaker. Class 4 ranked first
in housekeeping, while Class 2 unfortunately ranked last, with a difference of only 2.5 points in
the total score of 40.
"It's over—" Li Nan pressed the dried tofu into bean skin. She collapsed on the bed and kicked
her legs: "Teacher Gao, I'm sorry, please allow me to resign!"
"Lao Gao probably wants you to commit seppuku to apologize." Zhang Leyi kicked her with the
washbasin and towel in her hand: "Let's go, go take a shower. There will definitely be a lot of
people after dinner, and it will be hard to grab the shower head. Fairy, do you want to go with
us?"
"You go first. I'll write down my thoughts first." Si Jiang pointed to his eyes and said, "I just went
to get my glasses fitted the day before yesterday. My brother will deliver them tomorrow. It's too
hard to write at night."
The classroom gradually became empty. Si Jiang sat cross-legged on the bed and wrote quickly.
How could he come here with high expectations, yet be stunned by the rules that were so
detailed that they could not be any more detailed? No matter how hard he studied and how
strictly he followed the rules, how could his students form into shape? Unexpectedly, they lost to
the other classes with a slight disadvantage. Of course, he must not admit defeat and must make
progress. Finally, he must praise the most lovely people of our time.
"Chen? Chen Sijiang?" A sweet voice sounded from next door.
Si Jiang raised his head and felt that the man looked strangely familiar.
The female classmate next to her in the bed smiled and waved her hand: "I'm Zeng Xin. I was Wu
Minglan's deskmate for two years in Qiyi Junior High School. We met at the entrance of Jing'an
Park on National Day two years ago. You probably don't remember me."
"Ah——" Si Jiang poked his temples with a pen and smiled shyly: "Yes, I have seen it before, sorry,
I didn't recognize it."
Zeng Xin smiled even sweeter: "You have changed a lot, and become more beautiful. I didn't dare
to recognize you at first, and only confirmed it was you after asking Zhou Jiaming. What a
coincidence, our beds are right next to each other."
She moved to Si Jiang's bed and looked at the essay he had written: "You're amazing. You finished
it so quickly! No wonder Zhou Jiaming keeps talking about you."
Si Jiang came back to his senses: "Zhou Jiaming? He's also in our school? Which class is he in?"
Zeng Xin was surprised: "We are in Class 2! He was standing behind you when they were lining
up. Didn't you see him?"
Si Jiang: “Ah???!!!” She clearly looked back, but she really didn’t see Zhou Jiaming…
"Hey, he clearly said that you turned around and greeted him," Zeng Xin stuck out his tongue and
made a face, "Oh - don't worry, I definitely won't tell you!"
"I, I," Si Jiang felt inexplicably guilty, "I am nearsighted and I haven't received my glasses yet, so I
can hardly recognize people——"
But she clearly recognized Yu Ping, Xu Hao and the others. Si Jiang lowered his eyes and tried to
reorganize his thoughts on the ending.

Chapter 210
Si Jiang has always been slow to warm up to people. It was only after she entered junior high
school that she realized she belonged to the "minority", or even the "extreme minority". Most of
her classmates were as enthusiastic and cheerful as Li Nan, Zhang Leyi, and Lin Zhuoyu, or at
least as sociable as Guo Chengyi and Cheng Ying. This is why she had an inexplicable sense of
identity with Yu Ping.
When she was in the choir and dance team as a child, Si Jiang was always very nervous, afraid
that she would be singled out for singing or dancing incorrectly. When she was called by the
teacher to present flowers at the airport, she couldn't sleep for several nights, afraid that she
would fall or drop the flowers, afraid that she would salute incorrectly, and afraid that her smile
would not look good. Fortunately, she only presented flowers once and nothing went wrong.
Later, she went from dancing in a group to leading the dance, and she felt more comfortable with
different movements. Although she was the monitor, leader, and team leader in elementary
school, she was not very sociable, and she only focused on completing the tasks assigned by the
teacher in a rigid manner. If Lanlan and Chuchu hadn't asked her to go to and from school
together, she would probably have been alone like Jingsheng.
Getting along with people is much harder than getting along with books. In fact, getting along
with girls is even harder. During the three years of junior high school, it was not uncommon for Li
Nan and Zhang Leyi to ignore each other, and small conflicts happened every day. It was almost
nothing for Yin Ying to gossip in the toilet. Fortunately, the school atmosphere was positive and
the learning tasks were heavy. There was never any quarrel or fight. At most, they would just
form small groups and ignore each other. However, the mood of the girls was like the weather in
June. They would ignore each other and then go to the toilet together hand in hand. Si Jiang was
a member of the core group of Class 2. Although she had never experienced this kind of sudden
change from rain to sunshine and then cold to hot, she had seen it a lot, so she could not help
but keep a certain distance from everyone. She rarely contacted her classmates during the winter
and summer vacations. Many people called her on the public phone to go shopping and watch
movies together, but she hardly went out, and she really had no time to go out. I had to review
and prepare for class, help my uncle with the inventory and the stall, look after Si Hao,
accompany my grandmother to church, and spend an hour or two with my mother every night. In
addition to my favorite things like reading, writing letters, and painting, I was busy until late at
night every day.
Si Jiang reflected on her slowness in warming up, and she envied Li Nan and Zhang Leyi's ability
to be at ease at any time and in any place. So when Zeng Xin also showed this trait, Si Jiang
envied her again.
"You look a bit like my sister." Si Jiang carefully examined Zeng Xin's facial features and
understood why he felt she looked familiar. But looking closely, they were not quite alike.
Although Zeng Xin also had slightly curly long hair and a pair of shallow dimples, she still looked
like a typical Han girl. Si Nan's facial features were three-dimensional and her eye sockets were
sunken, which made her eyes look particularly deep and bright. Therefore, she was mistaken for a
Uyghur girl since she was a child.
Zeng Xin's eyes curved into crescents: "When is your birthday?"
Si Jiang smiled awkwardly: "I was born in February 1970. How about you?"
"Haha, I'm older than you. My birthday is November 7, 1969, the day of the October Revolution
in the Soviet Union." Zeng Xin laughed and said, "Your birthday always falls on the Chinese New
Year, right? That's a big disadvantage, it's easy to be forgotten."
Si Jiang opened his eyes wide: "Ah! You and my elder brother have the same birthday! What a
coincidence, this is the first time I meet him, and his birthday is also on November 7th, the
beginning of winter, right?"
Zeng Xin was also surprised: "Oh, what a coincidence! Your brother is Gu Jingsheng, right?"
"You know my brother too?"
"Of course I know. Wu Minglan has liked your brother for four years. She also applied to our
school for the high school entrance exam, but she missed by three points and went to the No. 1
school in the city." Zeng Xin said regretfully, "She sent your brother a greeting card every
Christmas, but unfortunately he never received a reply. Your brother is too cruel."
Si Jiang was shocked: "You said Lanlan likes my brother? Impossible!" How come she never saw
it? Lanlan and Chuchu were obviously afraid of Age, and they stayed away from him every time
they went out together. The little girls in Wanchun Street all remembered the ugly scene when
Age scared Yang Guang to pee with a rubber knife.
Zeng Xin smiled and shook her head: "You didn't notice anything? I remember she even said that
she took the initiative to ask you to go to and from school together in elementary school because
she liked your brother."
Si Jiang was very stupid.
"Zhou Jiaming has liked you for four or five years, you know this, right?" Zeng Xin lowered his
voice and approached her, blinking: "You don't like him, right? So when you saw him, you
pretended not to see him, right?"
"Huh?" (What?) Si Jiang's jaw almost dropped.
"He wrote you letters in the first and second year of junior high school. They weren't greeting
cards, but very formal 'love letters'. You never wrote back. And the lantern-watching event on
National Day two years ago seemed to be the last time you met? After that, you never went to his
house to buy things or attend elementary school reunions, right? You and your brother are really
-"
"Huh???" Si Jiang's mind was in a mess. What was going on? What kind of letter was this? She
had never received one before.
"But I admire him very much. He didn't give up and was admitted to the same school as you!"
Zeng Xin made a face: "I will definitely support Zhou Jiaming!"
Si Jiang stated for the Nth time in one day: "No, no, no, I really didn't think about it——"
Why does high school life seem so difficult?
——
Si Jiang was dubbed the "heartless man" because Li Nan and Zhang Leyi found out she had a new
lover when they came back from a bath. The threesome going to the cafeteria suddenly became
a foursome, which was unbearable.
"I didn't expect that, huh." Zhang Leyi glared at Zeng Xin with hostility.
"Three years of love is not as good as thirty minutes." Li Nan looked at Si Jiang with resentment:
"Fairy, you finally exposed your nature of having fun and then abandoning."
Si Jiang was both amused and annoyed, pointing at the steak on her plate: "You've got to give up!
Come on, eat your steak."
Zeng Xin was eager to explain for Sijiang, and in just a few words, she explained the whole story
of Wu Minglan's love for Gu Jingsheng and Zhou Jiaming's pursuit of Chen Sijiang. Li Nan and
Zhang Leyi's eyes lit up, and they immediately sold out Lin Zhuoyu and Cheng Ying, and
enthusiastically discussed the common topic.
As the subject of the topic, Si Jiang looked at the three people with a puzzled look on her face.
She felt deeply that she was the one who was abandoned after being seduced. She quickly
finished her meal and knocked on the plate: "I'm leaving first. Don't forget to gather in the big
auditorium at seven o'clock."
"Hey! You heartless bastard, why did you abandon us?" Li Nan screamed, picked up the big chop
and started to eat it, but she didn't hold it firmly, and with a bang, the meat juice splashed
everywhere. Zhang Leyi and Zeng Xin hurriedly helped her clean up.
Si Jiang sighed and stood up to take the empty plate away.
"Chen Sijiang, long time no see."
Si Jiang turned around and saw Zhou Jiaming standing beside him a little shyly, wearing a red
armband and holding a rag. This time he recognized him. Zhou Jiaming had grown a lot taller,
wearing a pair of black-framed glasses, very gentle and delicate.
"Ah——" Si Jiang was caught off guard. Thinking of what Zeng Xin had just said, his face turned
red uncontrollably: "What a coincidence, eh, your dormitory has the lowest housekeeping
score?"
Zhou Jiaming raised the rag and said, "Yes, our slippers were not aligned, and one of our
classmates forgot to put out the mouthwash cup, and no one noticed that one was missing."
"Oh," Si Jiang looked around, "Cleaning the cafeteria is quite tiring, do you want to help?"
"No, no. Have you eaten?" Zhou Jiaming's face turned red. What nonsense was he asking?
"Well, I just finished eating. How about you?" Si Jiang also asked nonsense questions.
"I just finished eating, too. By the way, your brother must have brought you here today." Zhou
Jiaming casually wiped the windowsill of the food window and said as casually as possible: "I
went to your house to find you last week. I wanted to ask if you wanted a tricycle to ride the
camp bed to school. Your brother said he could ride a tricycle--"
"Have you been to my house?" Si Jiang was surprised again. Her brother, uncle and grandmother
had never told her.
"You seem to have gone to your mother's house." Zhou Jiaming smiled and scratched his head,
then he remembered that his hands were dirty, so he quickly put them down. After secretly
glancing at Si Jiang twice, he finally mustered up the courage to ask, "Does your brother have any
opinions about me?"
"What?" Si Jiang was completely confused.
"He seems to have confiscated all the letters I wrote to you." Zhou Jiaming explained a little
embarrassedly: "I didn't really write anything, just some things about study, and sometimes my
dad bought some interesting stationery from Japan and I would tell you, see if you want to get
some for your sister..."
Si Jiang was stunned for a moment before he realized what was going on. Just as he was about to
say something, someone suddenly squeezed in between them and shouted, "Zhou Jiaming,
everyone is busy, what are you doing? You've been cleaning the two windows for ten minutes
and you still haven't finished?"
"I'm sorry." Si Jiang and Zhou Jiaming apologized to Platoon Leader Ren Xinyu at the same time.
Ren Xinyou rolled his eyes at Zhou Jiaming and picked up the basket of dirty dishes next to Si
Jiang. "Si Jiang, you should be careful. Don't listen to nonsense from people you don't even know.
Really, coming from another school, you don't know any rules. It's annoying."
Zhou Jiaming smiled helplessly and lowered his head.
"We are classmates in elementary school." Si Jiang frowned. "Platoon leader, please stop talking
nonsense. Can't you be polite to your classmates and comrades? What do you mean you are
from another school? We are all classmates now!"
"Platoon leader of the second platoon, your instructor Lin is looking for you outside." Tang Zenian
walked over quickly and took the plastic basket from Ren Xinyou: "Let me do it, you go quickly."
Ren Xinyu's face turned red and he trotted out.
"I'm sorry, Si Jiang is right. We are all from Shixi now, regardless of whether we are from this
school or other schools. Don't take it to heart." Tang Zenian smiled and nodded at Zhou Jiaming:
"We are old acquaintances. We have eaten tofu pudding together."
Zhou Jiaming reached out to take the basket: "Thank you. But cleaning the cafeteria is our second
platoon's job, so I can't let you do it. Let me do it."
"Yes, I'll help." Si Jiang held the other side, but Tang Zenian smiled and refused to let go, saying
that he couldn't watch a girl work. The three of them were pulling at the basket.
"Hey, Old Tang, you are in Class 4 but your heart is in Class 2 again?" Lin Zhuoyu and a few boys
came over to deliver the food trays. They slapped Tang Zenian in the face and winked at him: "Are
you starting now?"
Tang Zenian kicked him and said with a smile: "If we are brothers, stop talking nonsense and
come to help."
"Well, I listen to you if you say so. I don't care about face. Unless we, the fairy, give the order." Lin
Zhuoyu shouted to Si Jiang: "Fairy, how about it? Do you want us to help?"
Si Jiang shook his head repeatedly to humbly give in, but Cheng Ying interrupted and said with a
smile: "You are the only one who talks too much. If you want to help, then help. If you don't want
to help, forget it. You are still putting on airs after three years of being in the same class? Si Jiang,
ignore him!" She hugged Si Jiang and waved her fist at Tang Zenian and Lin Zhuoyu: "If you are a
man, help quickly!"
Finally, many boys from Classes 3 and 4 voluntarily helped Class 2 clean the cafeteria.
——
"Tsk tsk tsk, Lin Zhuoyu is really..." Li Nan expressed disdain: "He did it on purpose just now,
right? He talked to Cheng Ying and still came to attract the attention of our fairy."
"He always speaks in this tone," Zhang Leyi shook her head, "Cheng Ying's words were weird."
Si Jiang picked up the washbasin and rushed out: "You guys think too much. I still have fifteen
minutes to take a shower. Please save me a seat in the lecture hall."
Zeng Xin looked at her back and concluded: "Being the class beauty is quite tiring."
"School belle, our Si Jiang is the school belle." Li Nan corrected her.
"The district flower is the most beautiful in Jing'an and in my Sijiang." Zhang Leyi added.
"The city flower, the most beautiful in Shanghai."
"The national flower is okay, right?"
"Why don't you say it's the ball flower?"
"What is the ball flower?" Zeng Xin and Zhang Leyi asked at the same time.
"Flower of the Earth!"
“…”
I am convinced.
Si Jiang trotted into the women's bathroom, but bumped into Tang Zenian and two other boys as
soon as she entered. She was so scared that she screamed and ran away, thinking that she was
shortsighted and didn't see the sign clearly and entered the wrong men's bathroom.
"You're not in the wrong place. The light bulb in the women's bathroom is broken. Chen Sijiang,
wait a moment..." Tang Zenian put up the ladder, laughed and called Sijiang, then turned to his
classmates and said, "Old Zhu, go and see if the sign that said "Under Repair" just now has fallen
to the ground?"

Chapter 211
After failing to take a shower, Si Jiang ran back to the classroom on the second floor with the
washbasin in his arms, and quickly changed into a white shirt and sweatpants and put on
Liberation shoes.
"You finished washing so quickly? Three minutes? It's faster than going to the toilet!" Li Nan
quickly changed his shoes as well.
"The light bulb in the girls' bathroom is broken, Tang Zenian and his friends are fixing it," Si Jiang
raised his head and muttered angrily, "Why would the school let boys fix the light bulb in the girls'
bathroom! What if someone is taking a shower in there?"
"Are you stupid? Of course you'll shout before you go in, otherwise how will the cleaning lady
clean the men's restroom? Are you ready? Are you ready? You're coming in--" Li Nan shouted
twice in a vivid voice and laughed until he fell down.
Si Jiang looked at her in confusion, not knowing what was so funny. Li Nan quickly picked up the
pen and notebook and said seriously, "Nothing, nothing, let's go."
The twelve girls filed out of the hallway and joined the crowd. The whole floor was filled with the
girls' laughter and screams. It was even more lively on the first floor. Some boys were already
practicing military songs, some were shouting one, two, three, four, and there was a group of
boys cursing the Chinese national football team, and of course they were also cursing the Hong
Kong football team. Before they even left the teaching building, the two groups were already
arguing and cursing at each other. The sound of the voices could not stop.
"Thirteen o'clock, there's something wrong with the Gebangzi men." Zhang Leyi curled her lips in
disdain and pulled Si Jiang to speed up. Si Jiang couldn't help but look back several times and
found that Yu Ping was jumping up and down in the crowd and cursing the national football team
excitedly. The curse was particularly loud, and she couldn't help but laugh.
The May 19 incident this year was a big deal. China's third attempt to enter the World Cup was
thwarted by a 1:2 match. Not only were the fans in Beijing so angry and disappointed that they
lost control and committed horrific and vicious vandalism, but even my uncle, Uncle Weimin, and
Jingsheng were so angry that they smashed a basket of beer bottles. Of course, they cleaned it up
the next morning. Si Jiang remembered that the whole Wanchun Street was full of the ping-pong
sound of bottle heads being smashed, and the men's roars and curses mixed with howling, from
players to Zeng Xuelin to the leaders of the Football Association, from Hong Kong people to
foreigners, no one was spared. The school was also filled with wailing for a week or two, and
even many boys were affected by this and did not perform well in the direct entrance exam. She
couldn't quite understand why men would collectively invest so much joy, anger, sorrow, and
happiness in a sport. It must be much more than how they care about their parents, wives,
children, studies, and work. They didn't celebrate the women's volleyball team's three
consecutive championships all night. Now seeing that his classmates are like this, and even the
unsociable and talented Yu Ping is like this, Si Jiangshi can't help but want to laugh.
As I walked out of the teaching building, I ran into Tang Zenian.
"Chen Sijiang——!" Tang Zenian walked in the opposite direction and walked towards Sijiang with
confidence.
"Ahhh." Li Nan screamed strangely, and he and Zhang Leyi dragged Zeng Xin and left Si Jiang.
"Hey, let's wait for Si Jiang." Zeng Xin hasn't come back to his senses yet.
"What are you doing? Do you want to wait for someone to come and fix your light bulb?" Li Nan
grabbed her and said, "You are from the Jiaming Party, and we are from the Zenian Party. You are
not allowed to cause trouble."
Tang Zenian pretended not to notice the winking expressions from Li Nan and the others, and
walked side by side with Si Jiang frankly: "The light bulb has been fixed. The meeting will probably
end at nine o'clock. If you want to go to the bathroom, ask someone to go with you. Remember,
there will be no hot water at half past nine."
Si Jiang said thank you awkwardly and quickened his pace. He saw Tang Zenian looking at him
with a smile, and his heartbeat suddenly accelerated.
"I heard that you are preparing for the TOEFL? The TOEFL class that Li Nan and I are taking now is
pretty good, you should come too." Tang Zenian asked with a smile.
Heard? Who else could he hear? Si Jiang glared at Li Nan's back and said, "You have been
studying for several years. I am afraid I can't keep up with your progress."
"No, we are studying New Concept English in junior high school, and we just started taking TOEFL
this semester. By the way, we also have a small class of three people. The father of one of my
classmates hired a translator from the US Consulate to teach oral and written English. He teaches
very well. Come on, it's a rare opportunity, and the tuition is not expensive." Tang Zenian invited
earnestly.
Si Jiang really couldn't refuse this opportunity.
"Where do you have classes? What time of the week? How much is the tuition?"
——
The meeting went smoothly and ended on time at nine o'clock. At half past nine, the lights had to
be turned off and it was time to go to bed. Si Jiang regretted not going to take a shower with Li
Nan and the others. Seeing that everyone was busy writing their housekeeping experience, he
rushed to the women's bathroom again with a washbasin in his arms.
"Si Jiang! Wait for me——"
Cheng Ying caught up with Si Jiang with a smile, and they smiled at each other and quickly went
downstairs.
"Great! I thought I was the last one." Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief.
There was a commotion and hurried footsteps ahead, and a dozen boys rushed over. When they
saw Si Jiang and Cheng Ying, they all slammed on the brakes and stood against the wall to make
way. The washbasins and mouthwash cups made crisp clattering sounds.
"Ladies first, please."
"Thank you." Si Jiang and Cheng Ying smiled and nodded at them, then ran out of the door.
Behind them came a few strange cries and complaints of someone stepping on someone else,
followed by a burst of laughter.
"All the students just now are from our class and Class 4." Cheng Ying said with a smile, "There
are quite a lot of people admitted from Qiyi and Minli. There must be quite a few in your class as
well, right?"
"Well, there are two students from Class 71 in our dormitory," Si Jiang narrowed his eyes. There
seemed to be many people at the door of the female bathroom in front of him: "Eh, no way,
there are so many people coming to take a shower so late at night. The girls in which class are so
tall..."
Cheng Ying laughed out loud: "It must be Old Tang. He brought three platoon leaders to see
Teacher Chen and Captain Fu and proposed that the boys take turns on night duty."
"Why?" Si Jiang was a little confused.
"During the military training for the first year of high school last year, didn't a boy break into the
girls' bathroom? It was quite a big deal, luckily it wasn't in our area," Cheng Ying sighed, "They
said they didn't see it clearly, who knows if it was intentional, anyway, the two girls who were
taking a shower inside suffered the most, they both transferred out when school started."
When he got closer, he saw that it was indeed Tang Zenian and two other boys, wearing red
armbands for duty. They were laughing and scolding the boys in the men's bathroom across the
wall. Si Jiang vaguely heard the sound of wolves howling.
Seeing Si Jiang, Tang Zenian smiled and waved to her, shouting, "Hello, Teacher Li, Hello, Teacher
Zhang!"
Si Jiang and Cheng Ying were startled, but they heard Tang Zenian turn around and loudly warn
the students in the men's bathroom: "Hey, pay attention to your image, a teacher has entered
the women's bathroom."
The other two boys on duty laughed so hard that they held onto the wall.
There was a moment of silence in the men's bathroom, and suddenly there was a strange cry:
"Male student in the first row, please stop singing □□. We all know that you are a lustful wolf!"
"Ce Na, it was clearly you guys in row 4 who were singing just now, and you were howling!"
"We are rehearsing the song in the fourth row. Unity is strength! This strength is iron, this
strength is steel, harder than iron, stronger than steel..."
"The sun sets in the west and the clouds turn red. The soldiers are returning to the camp after
target practice. Returning to the camp..."
Across the wall, revolutionary songs were sung in the men's bathroom. Si Jiang and Cheng Ying
were laughing so hard.
Cheng Ying bumped into Si Jiang and said, "Hey, Tang Zenian is so thoughtful. Are you touched?"
Si Jiang opened the door of the locker and said casually, "Well, I'll send you to thank them on
behalf of all the girls in the company."
"Tsk tsk tsk, keep pretending." Cheng Ying tied her ponytail tightly with a smile: "First year of high
school is the best time to relax for a year. Let's have some fun, don't be so serious. It's still not too
late to start studying in the second year of high school next year. If you miss this opportunity, you
won't be able to meet a good guy like Lao Tang when you work in the future, and it will be too
late to regret it."
Si Jiang looked at her in surprise and asked, "You and Lin Zhuoyu are only planning to spend a
year together?"
Cheng Ying turned on the faucet and said something with a smile. Si Jiang didn't hear it clearly
and didn't want to ask again. She definitely wouldn't be so self-indulgent as to think that Tang
Zenian did this for her, nor would she relax her studies in the first year of high school, and of
course she would never flirt with any boy. The shower head sprayed a stream of cold water,
which made Si Jiang shiver, but fortunately the water temperature rose immediately.
From the other side of the wall came the voice: "Ali, Alibaba, Alibaba is a happy young man, open
sesame, open sesame, open sesame, open sesame..."
Suddenly someone sang: "Shake your head, shake your hands, and all the troubles will slip away
under your feet. Instead of dancing tango or hazo, why not dance disco..."
"DDDDDDDisco——"
"Let's go! Hurry up, you're still D!"
"I smile when I see you. Your disco is so beautiful. When I'm with you, I never have to use my
brain—"
The sound of water could not cover the laughter. It seemed that boys' happiness was simpler. Si
Jiang wiped the water on his face and felt a little envious.
——
When Si Jiang and Cheng Ying came out, Tang Zenian was the only one outside.
"I'm leaving first, Old Tang, come on!" Cheng Ying ran faster than a rabbit.
The campus had gone quiet at some point, the streetlights were dim on the ground, and in Si
Jiang's eyes, they were as blurry as the moon. Si Jiang suddenly became a little nervous, and
could almost hear her own heartbeat. She stood still in the circle of light, lowered her head,
squeezed the towel in the basin, straightened the mouthwash cup, and quickly imagined two or
three possibilities. What if he said something, how should she answer? No answer, just a blank.
Tang Zenian saw Si Jiang's ears were red, his eyelashes were fluttering, and his toes were twisting
outside his slippers. His thoughts turned into a thousand thoughts in an instant, and the words
that came to his lips turned into a natural friendly reminder: "There will probably be an
emergency meeting at night, remember to put away your clothes and shoes before going to bed."
Si Jiang was startled, raised his head and responded subconsciously: "Ah? Then I might as well
sleep in my military training uniform!"
Tang Zenian smiled and waved his flashlight, "That's a good idea. I still have to go to the canteen
carport for a walk. See you tomorrow morning."
Si Jiang watched him go away, the flashlight's light circle lingered up and down, left and right with
his slender and upright back as the center, just like her heart just now. After taking a deep breath,
Si Jiang quickly walked towards the teaching building. Fortunately, fortunately, she didn't say
something like "I just want to study hard and don't want anything else for three years in high
school", which was really silly.
After entering the gate of the teaching building, Si Jiang could not help but look back, only to see
Tang Zenian standing only seven or eight steps behind her. When he saw her looking back, he
shone the flashlight left and right and up and down, and seemed to wave at her.
Si Jiang ran upstairs quickly, his heart beating much faster.
At 1:30 in the morning, a sharp emergency assembly whistle sounded throughout the campus. Si
Jiang was vaguely pulled up by Li Nan.
"It's okay, I don't need to change clothes!"
"Hurry up, hurry up. If you exceed five minutes, you will be deducted points."
Three minutes later, Si Jiang stood in the line and realized that he was still wearing slippers with
his left and right feet on the wrong way.
In this score, the second row ranked last again, and the fourth row won the first place again.
After a short rest, Si Jiang, who was secretly trying to change his slippers while standing on one
leg, heard the instructor in front of him solemnly announce, "After discussion, this score will not
be included in the total score, because half of the students in the fourth row slept in their military
training sportswear, taking advantage of the situation. The housekeeping inspection before
bedtime tomorrow night will especially check this."
Si Jiang: “???”
I didn't expect that Tang Zenian is this kind of person...

Chapter 212
Jingsheng got up at five o'clock to light a fire, cooked a pot of rice, stir-fried mustard greens with
edamame, chopped three thin green peppers, added three eggs and made three pancakes.
Sijiang couldn't eat spicy food, but she loved this green pepper and egg pancake. Sometimes
when the green pepper was particularly spicy, she would bite the bullet and eat it. One mouthful
of pancake and three sips of water, the tip of her nose and lips were all red from the spiciness,
and she would not let it go even when tears and snot came out. Jingsheng thought of this while
biting the pancake and reaching for the evening newspaper. He couldn't help but smile and shake
his head at the circle of oil stains on the corner of the newspaper. Chen Sijiang is a good eater,
Chen Sinan is playful, and Chen Sihao is a combination of the two. They are really a close family.
When Gu Dongwen yawned as he went downstairs, he saw Jingsheng hanging on the door frame
with his bare chest doing pull-ups. He turned his head to look at the clock and saw that it was
only half past six in the morning. He stretched out his leg and kicked Jingsheng on the butt:
"What are you doing? Si Jiang military training, are you doing military training too?"
Jingsheng jumped down, dodged the second kick nimbly, and grabbed the towel from the towel
rack next to him and rubbed it twice. His wet hair was scattered on his forehead, and he brushed
it up: "We have to play football at seven o'clock, so warm up first."
"Playing football so early?"
"Yeah, it's cool in the morning." Jingsheng put on his sweat vest and asked, "Is Uncle Weimin
going today? If he's not free, I can go to the stall and deliver a pair of glasses to Sijiang at noon.
It's very fast to ride a bicycle from Huating Road to the school."
"No need. You are busy." Gu Dongwen carried the washbasin downstairs in his slippers, and came
back up to instruct him, "Go to Maochang to get your glasses, and go to the bank to exchange
one hundred yuan in small amounts and send it to Huating Road. Then go to Huashan Hospital
and ask Xiao Lu for two tubes of plaster. She mentioned it for several days, but I forgot."
"What kind of plaster?"
"Didn't you get sunburned and peeling during military training last year? She gave Si Jiang two
tubes of medicine, saying they were for sunburn. Tell Si Jiang to remember to use them." She
went downstairs again, tapping her slippers, and her voice came up clear and crisp.
"What's the big deal about a little boy sunbathing and shedding his skin? And you're still saying
that I don't care and I'm not a good father. I'm so annoying."
"Women are troublesome. They are always nagging."
Jingsheng knew that he was saying this on purpose, so he ignored him and went upstairs to
change into his jersey and shorts. Old people become like children, and they have to remind him
secretly that Nurse Lu cares about him. He is not stupid, so how can he not know who is good to
him, whether it is real or fake?
——
The Workers' Stadium in Jing'an District, at the intersection of Changping Road and Jiaozhou
Road, opens at six in the morning. The football field is the busiest, with middle school students,
college students, young workers, young people and middle-aged people working in units, school
teams, factory teams, and teams organized by units, all playing various games. It seems that as
long as you are a man, there is no one who doesn't like to play football. If you can't get a
conversation started when talking about football, you will probably be asked back, "Are you still a
man?"
When Jingsheng arrived, his teammates were almost all there. Many people were stretching their
legs and sprinting back and forth on the sidelines, and some were practicing dribbling and
shooting near the goal. Jingsheng greeted his teammates and just as he took out his spikes, a
shadow loomed in front of him.
Wang Lu smiled and waved at him: "Three of my cousin's team members are from the District
Sports School. They are very good at playing football. I'm afraid you will lose today."
Jingsheng said "oh" and squatted down to put on his shoes.
"By the way, Gu Jingsheng, do you still have the competition papers of your friend from the
Second Affiliated High School of East China Normal University? Would it be convenient for you to
lend them to me to make a copy?"
Jingsheng raised his head: "Can you make a copy?"
"I'll take it to my dad's workplace to make a copy. Do you want it?" Wang Lu said with a smile,
"My dad's secretary said she could help me put the answers on the test paper on a piece of white
paper first, so that I can directly answer the questions on the copied test paper."
"Will it be too much trouble?"
"No, the secretary usually has nothing to do anyway. He can make tea, read the newspaper, or
take meeting minutes. He shouldn't be too idle."
"Then could you help me make two more copies? I'll buy the paper myself."
Wang Lu kicked Jingsheng's spiked shoes lightly with her toes: "Hey! What are you doing?
Classmates should help each other. Do I need a few pieces of paper from you? You don't have to
divide them so clearly. Do you want to pay me for photocopying?"
Jingsheng was a little embarrassed: "How much is the photocopy fee?"
"You look so disgusting," Wang Lu stood up. "So I have to pay for the materials too? I'm leaving
you alone."
After walking two steps, she turned around and said with a smile: "How about this, after playing
football, you buy me a cold drink, and don't mention money or paper anymore, okay?"
Jingsheng hesitated for a moment and nodded.
"Tsk tsk tsk, Old Gu, you are such a blockhead!" The captain of the team sat down next to
Jingsheng and turned on the kettle: "Wang Lu is pursuing you so actively, why don't you invite her
to watch a movie or walk around the street or something?"
Jingsheng smiled and shook his head.
"You don't like Wang Lu's offer?" The captain punched Jingsheng and said, "Well, you should
reject her offer immediately. Only then will the brothers have a chance."
"She came to borrow the competition ticket. You think too much."
"Pretend, just pretend. I think you are deliberately keeping her hanging. You are too cunning. You
are not a good person, you hooligan!" The captain shook his head and sighed, "But seriously, your
sister is now in the first year of high school, and she really needs more brothers to protect her.
Don't worry, your sister, Lao Gu, is also my biological sister. When her military training is over, we
will call Wang Lu and your sister to go to the movies together. By the way, how about "Youth
Festival"? It tells the story of female educated youth going to Yunnan to join the team. I heard it
is quite touching. Didn't you just come back from Yunnan? - Hey, hey, hey, Gu Jingsheng! Lao Gu!
Wait for me -"
As expected, the game was lost, 6:1. Jingsheng scored the only goal for his team, but the price
was a kick, and his right calf was bleeding. His teammates were suppressed and beaten for half
the game. They were already depressed, and when they saw Jingsheng injured, they exploded.
The two sides pushed and shoved and almost fought. In the end, the cold drink promised to
Wang Lu was naturally gone. Jingsheng himself didn't care much. He didn't hurt his bones, and it
wasn't a big deal to break the skin and bleed. He rinsed it with water and wiped it with a towel,
then changed his shoes and went to the carport with his teammates to get the bicycle.
Wang Lu caught up with him: "Gu Jingsheng, are you okay? Do you want to go to the Jing Center
(Hospital) to check it out?"
"It's okay." Jingsheng got into the car: "There's another match at 7 o'clock the day after
tomorrow. I'll bring the test paper to you - if you play well, I'll treat you to a cold drink."
Wang Lu was startled, then smiled: "Well, you buy me a cold drink, and I'll treat you to a movie!
Invite everyone on the team to go together. Sorry, it's really embarrassing today. My cousin and
the others really didn't mean it—"
"Everyone who listens gets a share." The captain took the lead and laughed, "Let's go together!
Lao Gu, you are not allowed to say no. It's not easy for the brothers to get someone to treat them
to a movie!"
Amidst the laughter, Jingsheng nodded helplessly. Wang Lu smiled and said goodbye to everyone.
She walked out of the carport, turned onto Changping Road, and got into a black Crown sedan.
The sedan started slowly, the window was rolled down, and Wang Lu smiled and waved to
everyone.
The boys in the carport started whistling and teasing Jingsheng. Some of them talked about Wang
Lu's family background and expressed their envy and jealousy towards Jingsheng. Hahaha.
Jingsheng quickly got on the bike and rode towards Nanjing Road.
——
Huashan Hospital was still crowded with people. People kept coming in and out of the nurses'
lounge. Several new intern nurses came in with sad faces. They complained a few words and saw
Jingsheng. They immediately stopped, blushed and ran out quickly. Soon they ran back
pretending to be calm. Some drank water, some took lunch boxes, and kept glancing at Jingsheng.
There were also brave nurses who smiled and asked Jingsheng who he was looking for, whether
he was still in school and which school he was in. Jingsheng responded uncomfortably and picked
up a medical journal on the desk and started flipping through it.
Fortunately, the head nurse came in and shouted, and the girls dispersed with coquettish
laughter. Soon, Nurse Lu came in with a lunch box: "Are you here? Sorry, there are too many
people queuing in the cafeteria today. Have you eaten?"
"I had noodles with my dad on Huating Road." Jingsheng took the ointment and thanked him:
"He asked if you wanted to go to his house for dinner tonight. We had cold noodles with
shredded eel at night."
Nurse Lu pulled over a chair and put down her lunch box: "No, my colleague has something to do
at home, so I have to help cover the night shift." She opened the drawer and took out a tin box: "I
got some vitamins for your father, tell him to remember to take them."
Jingsheng took it and said, "To treat ulcers?"
"Yes. Tell him to smoke less, drink less, and go to bed earlier at night." Nurse Lu smiled and said,
"He doesn't listen to me. Talk to him more."
"oh."
Jingsheng stood up and said, "Then I'm leaving."
"Be careful on the road and ride your bike slowly." Nurse Lu walked him out. The young nurses
winked at her along the way and she smiled helplessly.
After sending Jingsheng away, the head nurse sighed, "Xiao Gu really looks harmful."
"Sister, sister, who is he to you? Brother? Nephew? Seventeen or eighteen years old? How can he
be so good-looking?" The young nurses gathered around Nurse Lu and asked questions in unison.
Nurse Lu put down the fried gluten stuffed with meat on her chopsticks and said openly, "He's my
son! He's going to call you auntie, so forget it and go to work. You're just thinking about dating all
day long. How old are you? Just focus on your work. Xiao Wu, the patient in bed 2 is using an
oropharyngeal airway today. Why did you leave the oxygen tube in the nasal cavity? Xiao Zhu, did
you forget to seal the catheter of the patient in bed 17?"
The young nurses admitted their mistakes, begged for mercy and ran away.
Jingsheng came back and knocked on the door awkwardly: "Sorry, I forgot to take my things."
Nurse Lu was startled and her face flushed. She wondered if Jingsheng heard the words "my son".
Jingsheng picked up the bag containing the glasses case without looking away: "I'm leaving."
Nurse Lu stared at the hole in the box where the fried gluten and meat were stuffed. After a
moment, she stood up and chased after him.
“Jingsheng—! Jingsheng!”
At the hospital gate, Nurse Lu caught up with Jingsheng.
"Jingsheng, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. I, I--" Nurse Lu was ashamed and almost embarrassed. She
didn't mean to take that position, and she knew she would never take it. She just occasionally
wished that she could have a child like Jingsheng.
"It's okay." Jingsheng hesitated for a moment: "You should go and get the certificate with Dad."
The sun was so strong that it made people dizzy. Nurse Lu stood there for a long time before she
walked back with her legs weak. She should have said thank you.
——
Si Jiang, who was exhausted by the sun, didn't want to eat lunch. Repeating the boring standing
at attention and marching over and over again was not a big deal for her, but it was really too hot
and sunny. Her lips peeled off in just one morning and her face was as red as if she had a high
fever. When she drank distilled water, she let the cold water spray on her face. She could feel all
the cells start to absorb water desperately, which hurt even more.
Jingsheng handed the glasses case and plaster to Si Jiang: "Don't wipe your sweat with your
hands. Remember to use a handkerchief to wipe off the sweat when you take a break. Did you
wipe it with your hands? It's as red as a monkey's butt. It's so ugly."
"Yeah." Si Jiang took the ointment, but did not talk back as usual. He just stared at him with an
inquiring and hesitant look.
"What? Is there something on my face?" Jingsheng touched his face.
Si Jiang lowered his head and squeezed out some ointment and smeared it directly on his face:
"No - it's my elementary school classmate Zhou Jiaming. Brother, do you remember him? He is in
the same class with me now. What a coincidence."
"Oh." Jingsheng raised his eyebrows and tiptoed on the ground with his long leg that had already
crossed the bicycle.
"He came to my house to see me a few days ago, why didn't you tell me?" Si Jiang pretended to
be indifferent and looked at the sycamore tree outside the school gate. The leaves were lush and
green, and the cicadas were singing, which made her feel a little upset.
Jingsheng turned the bicycle around by the handlebars: "I forgot."
Si Jiang grabbed the back seat of the car and said, "He wrote me several letters before, why didn't
I receive any of them? You were the one who always went to get the letters, newspapers and milk
at home—"
Jingsheng turned around and said, "I put the first letter on the table, and your mother opened it
directly."
"Ah?!" Si Jiang was stunned and sweat broke out on his forehead.
"Later, my aunt told me to put away the letter if he wrote to me again and not give it to you."
Jingsheng skipped the part where Gu Ximei was so angry that she wanted to rush to Zhou's house
to scold Zhou Jiaming. After all, after the diary incident, Si Jiang was obviously much more distant
from her. Gu Dongwen smiled and said at the time that it was normal for a daughter to be sought
after by many families, and it should not be made too ugly. The more strict the adults are, the
more the children will be dissatisfied and want to go against them, and things that did not exist
will become true instead.
Si Jiang calmed down, his fear gone, only anger and disbelief remained: "Why? How could you do
such a thing, brother! That was a letter written to me, no one has the right to open it, let alone
confiscate it!"
Jingsheng simply got out of the car and said, "I didn't confiscate it. I'll keep it for now. Your
mother said she'll give it to you after you get into college."
"Isn't this considered confiscation? No matter whose letter it is, it's all mine. What qualifications
do you have to make such a decision?"
Jingsheng was silent for a moment: "Your mother is doing this for your own good."
"What do you mean by 'for my own good'? I don't need this kind of good. You are simply, simply
KGB spies! Shameless! Do you think I am a prisoner?!" Si Jiang's face flushed and he shouted, "It's
been two or three years, and you didn't even tell me. I am so close to you, but you only know
how to listen to my mother. Have you ever thought about what I would think? I am not a three-
year-old child. I don't need you to think about me! That is my letter, my letter! You really are-"
Jingsheng raised his eyes and looked at Si Jiang quietly. In addition to the first letter, he
intercepted two letters in total, both from Zhou Jiaming. He never opened them. On the National
Day two years ago, he clearly told Zhou Jiaming that Si Jiang's mother didn't like him writing to Si
Jiang, and if there was anything, she should say it to him in person. Later, he almost never
thought about this matter.
Si Jiang's eyes slowly filled with tears, she felt ashamed, she had been distrusted by her mother
countless times, she thought she was numb, but it turned out that she would still feel sad. After
every test, if she did well, she would be asked what her highest score was and sighed that the gap
was still large. If she did not do well, she would be asked what she was thinking about and she
needed to clear her mind. If she passed the direct entrance examination, she would be said to be
lucky and lucky. Every time she called, she would be hinted that she was not allowed to read idle
books and go out less with classmates. But what made Si Jiang even more uncomfortable was the
feeling of being betrayed by Jingsheng. She always felt that the person closest to her in the world
was Jingsheng. They were not only siblings, but also classmates and the closest friends and
comrades. She even told him that she had thought about suicide. They had many unknown
secrets that only each other knew. But between her mother and her, he stood on her side
without hesitation, leaving her on the other side of the world, where she was the only one.
Tears finally fell, sliding down the cheeks that had just been coated with ointment, burning with
pain. Si Jiang let go of the bicycle without saying a word, turned around and ran to the women's
restroom in the distance.
She never said again: "Brother, you are so annoying." Nor did she say: "I don't want to pay
attention to you anymore."
Jingsheng watched her back. The cicadas chirped loudly in the afternoon, but he heard nothing.

Chapter 213
The two weeks of military training passed in a flash. On the last day, the shooting test was held at
the Tianma Mountain Military Camp. Unfortunately, it was drizzling, and the test was held
outdoors. At the end of the grass was a whole row of targets, with twenty people in a row. After
firing ten shots, they stepped back and took over.
"Ahhh, how can I see clearly from such a distance!" Li Nan sat cross-legged on the ground and
screamed in a low voice.
Zeng Xin also lamented: "It's fatal. I think I will hit someone else's target. Help me, just pass the
test, just pass the test."
Zhang Leyi, who was usually noisy, was calmly resting with her eyes closed. Si Jiang squinted his
eyes and looked ahead carefully. The bruise on his right shoulder from the recoil from target
practice was aching slightly.
"Hey, why are you two so confident?"
Zhang Leyi opened her eyes and said, "I have a guarantee, so I am not worried."
Si Jiangdu couldn't help but glance sideways: "Guaranteed minimum?"
“0.” Zhang Leyi straightened her chest and looked forward with determination: “My minimum
score is 0 rings, so if I get one ring, I’ll win. Hahahaha.”
There was a burst of laughter all around. Well, you are worthy of being called the pistachio.
"There are two kinds of people in this world." Si Jiang sighed.
"Which two?" Zeng Xin asked curiously.
"Men and women." Zhang Leyi answered quickly.
"You're wrong. There are people who are neither male nor female." Li Nan said with a sly smile.
"Pessimism and optimism." Si Jiang smiled and raised his chin towards Zhang Leyi: "Do you think
she is pessimistic or optimistic?"
Li Nan and Zeng Xin were both laughing so hard. Instructor Lin blew the whistle: "Second Platoon,
First Class, get ready! Stand up—"
Si Jiang quickly climbed up holding the rifle.
"Everyone, take your positions—"
The green grass came to an abrupt end just twenty centimeters ahead. Upon hearing the order, Si
Jiang threw himself down in the mud without hesitation. He took out his glasses and put them
on, praying for a quick victory so that he could quickly fire ten rounds to avoid his glasses being
blurred by the rain and unable to see anything. He then took out a handkerchief from the other
pocket, folded it and put it under his shoulder socket, then he set up his rifle and carefully aimed
forward.
Wow! Who is her target? It looks like there are at least three of them in a straight line with her.
With her scalp tingling, Si Jiang glanced to the left and right, and became even more dizzy. It
seemed that she was the only one who encountered this difficulty in identifying the target? Zeng
Xin and Li Nan, who had been shouting fiercely just now, now seemed very calm. How did the
brother score a perfect score of 100 rings? He is simply not a human being. Humph, is 100 rings
so great... Si Jiang shook her head and threw Jingsheng out of her mind. It was terrible that her
glasses started to blur so quickly.
Three points in a straight line, conscious aiming and unconscious shooting, who cares, go for it,
the hero Tenel must achieve it!
After the target practice, one hundred and eighty clay figures sat in the back of a military truck,
singing the aptly named "Returning from Target Practice" as they returned to school, preparing
for the evening's military training report.
Si Jiang no longer had any expectations for her shooting results. Whether she passed or failed
would not affect her admission to the first year of high school. In this regard, she felt that she was
optimistic when she could be optimistic. But how should she face Jingsheng when she got home
tomorrow? Should she pretend that nothing had happened or ignore him like when they were
children? Si Jiang had never thought about this question and even avoided thinking about it. In
this regard, she became a pessimist again.
The next day, the results of the military training report were announced. The second platoon did
not rank last, but took second place in the entire company. Teacher Gao's whiteboard face rarely
showed a smile, and he specifically praised Yu Ping and Si Jiang for writing the summary report.
The students took the address book and looked for the instructor's signature and mailing
address. Si Jiang returned to the classroom early to pack all the toiletries, clothes and shoes, and
folded the camp bed. Parents came in one after another, and the classroom was noisy. It was only
after half an hour that it slowly quieted down. Only Li Nan's camp bed, who had not returned yet,
was left alone in the middle of the classroom. Si Jiang looked out the window several times and
felt that Jingsheng would definitely not come to pick him up.
"Chen Sijiang."
"Zhou Jiaming?" Si Jiang was a little surprised.
"My yellow fish cart is pretty empty," Zhou Jiaming nervously squeezed the net bag in his hand,
"Do you want my dad to take your luggage back on the way?"
On the way? His home is along Yuyuan Road all the way west, and Wanchun Street is along
Wanhangdu Road all the way north, so how can it be on the way? Si Jiang smiled and shook his
head: "My brother will come to pick me up, no need, thank you."
"Oh, okay then. See you at the beginning of the school term." Zhou Jiaming pushed the frame of
his glasses on his nose and added, "By the way, my dad bought some Japanese correction fluid
this time. It's very useful. I'll bring two bottles for you to try at the beginning of the school term.
It'll be very convenient for correcting typos and so on."
"I'll take it if you pay me." Si Jiang said with a smile.
"Okay, I'll give you a discount."
"Si Jiang - Si Jiang." Xiao Weimin rushed into the classroom in two steps, panting and shouting,
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I waited for Lao Yang's tricycle for a long time today - is this your classmate?
(I'm sorry, I waited for Lao Yang's tricycle for a long time today, is this your classmate?)"
Zhou Jiaming said goodbye to Si Jiang under Xiao Weimin's vigilant gaze.
"Jingsheng went to the factory in Hangzhou to follow up on the orders." Xiao Weimin got on the
yellow fish cart, waved the towel on his shoulder, and happily watched Si Jiang get into the
bucket and sit down: "Your uncle asked me to ride his bicycle to pick you up. It's terrible. There
are so many things. How can I come on a bicycle? (How can I ride a bicycle to carry so many
things)! Sit tight?"
The leaves of the sycamore trees on Yuyuan Road intersected in the middle of the road, blocking
out the sun. The yellow fish cart moved forward steadily and slowly. A breeze blew, and Si Jiang
seemed to be lost.
"The new windbreaker your aunt sent this time will definitely sell like hot cakes," Xiao Weimin
looked back at Si Jiang with great interest, "The plaid polka dot skirt you're wearing sold 700 pairs
in one summer! Hey, Sister Nanhong's vision is really amazing! (Really amazing) After all, it's a
new model from Hong Kong."
"This is a Japanese style. It's not called a polka dot skirt, but a pleated skirt." Si Jiang was also
very proud when he mentioned this: "There are only seven or eight female classmates in our
school who have this skirt. It seems that they all bought it from my family."
“Well, you didn’t come to the stall in August, so you don’t know. When Mr. Huang, who makes
shirts at the front, saw that our skirt was selling well, he was so shameless! He asked his wife to
buy one for sampling and sold it for twelve yuan each, which is six yuan cheaper than ours. The
materials are completely different, and it’s obviously cheap stuff. Bah! Otherwise, we could have
sold more than a thousand of them!” Xiao Weimin angrily rang the bell of the yellow fish cart and
turned onto Wanhangdu Road.
"I just knew to copy you! That XXXX——" After a string of curses, Xiao Weimin remembered that
the person sitting behind him was a gentle and pretty girl, not Jingsheng, and he stopped talking
in embarrassment.
Si Jiang had already accepted this fact. The eldest aunt didn't care at all and said that she copied
these styles from magazines anyway. The younger uncle said in the letter that the more people
who follow the trend, the better. The market will recognize that you are the standard. Those who
create the standard will always get the most profit, and because they are imitated, they have to
continue to innovate.
"Uncle, you've worked hard. You've lost a lot of weight." Si Jiang noticed the protruding spine
under the old man's shirt when Xiao Weimin bent over to pedal: "Is blind dating so hard?" She
heard from her uncle that Uncle Weimin had taken seven or eight days off in the past two
months because he was busy with blind dates.
Xiao Weimin smiled awkwardly: "Yeah, well, blind dating - it's not easy."
Si Jiang's thoughts gradually drifted away.
When he returned to Wanchun Street, Grandma Gu was busy in the kitchen. Si Hao didn't know
whose house he had gone to. Si Jiang had just put his luggage away when he saw his
grandmother following him and took out three letters from under the mat: "Here, Jingsheng said
these are your letters and asked me to remember to give them to you."
Si Jiang took the letter. In the middle of the envelope was written "Chen Si Jiang", and below was
the sender's detailed address and the words "Sent by Zhou Jiaming". One letter had been torn
open. Si Jiang looked at the torn hole for a long time, touched the rough cross section, and
imagined how her mother felt at the time. She gently took out the letter. Sure enough, a small
strip of the two thin sheets of letter paper was torn off along with the envelope. The torn piece
fell out of the empty envelope silently and floated to the floor, like a broken wing.
Si Jiang bent down to pick it up, and pieced the letter together carefully. It was indeed as Zhou
Jiaming said, there was no shameful or ambiguous words. If he had to find a fault, it might be the
sentence at the end: "Please recommend a few novels you are reading to me, thank you." If she
had received the letter at that time, she should have replied.
"Gu Jingsheng - Hello, grandma, is Gu Jingsheng home?"
Just as Si Jiang was about to open the other two letters, he heard someone downstairs calling
Jingsheng's name. The voice sounded familiar. He leaned out of the window and saw the girl in a
blue pleated skirt with white dots looking up.
Wang Lu smiled and waved to Si Jiang: "Hello, sister, long time no see."
Si Jiang had no choice but to force a smile.
——
It was Jingsheng’s first time in Hangzhou. The factory workshop manager met him at the train
station gate with a big sign. When he saw him, he asked three times in a row: “Gu Jingsheng? Gu
Jingsheng? Gu Jingsheng?”
"Hello, my name is Gu Jingsheng, my father is Gu Dongwen, my aunt is Gu Nanhong, and I spoke
to your Director Wang on the phone before. My home phone number is 2XXXXX, and the address
is No. XX, Lane XX, Lane 63, Wanchun Street, Jing'an District, Shanghai." Jingsheng took out a
letter of introduction issued by the neighborhood committee to prove his identity.
The workshop director Xiao Wang is the nephew of the factory director Lao Wang. After verifying
that Jingsheng's identity is correct, he blames his uncle for not telling him the problems with the
batch of goods in advance. Now a high school student has come, who can be of no use to him. He
can only provide him with good food and drink for a few days and then send him back while he
telegraphs or calls Miss Gu to find a solution.
The factory specially sent a newly purchased Toyota Subor van to pick up Jingsheng. When
Jingsheng got on the car, he noticed that Director Xiao Wang was absent-minded and frowning,
and he had a vague bad premonition in his heart. When he arrived at the factory, good things
were not guaranteed, but bad things were.

Chapter 214
Among Nanhong's batch of autumn clothes is a brown khaki windbreaker. She placed an order for
5,000 pieces, preparing to export 3,000 pieces back to Hong Kong and put 2,000 pieces on sale in
Huating Road.
This was the first time that Nan Hong placed such a large order. She was bold and confident. She
relied on the fact that her stall on Huating Road had been open for ten months and the funds she
had brought in were considerable. Secondly, she adopted the method of looking at photos before
placing an order on Ladies' Street in Hong Kong, selling "clothing flowers" like selling pre-sale
properties.
The cost of shipping a windbreaker to Hong Kong is 16 RMB, equivalent to 40 HKD. She sells it
wholesale at 60 HKD and collects half of the deposit first. If the customer doesn't believe in the
sample and insists on waiting for the goods to arrive before wholesale, that's fine. The minimum
order is two pieces, and each piece costs 80 HKD. This windbreaker is almost identical to the
Japanese imports in the newly opened Sogo Department Store in Causeway Bay in May. The
model in the window is wearing a price tag of more than 1,600 HKD. Even Hong Kong girls
working in Central with a monthly income of 5,000 or 6,000 may not be willing to buy it. They
disdain to patronize Ladies' Street, so the same style of two or three hundred yuan in small
boutiques is not worried about not being able to sell. In less than a month, Nanhong actually
received deposits for 2,000 pieces, pocketing a full 60,000 HKD.
Zhao Yanhong brought the payment back to Shantou from Hong Kong with the head of the Fang
family, and as usual, he made things clear in front of Boss Fang. Boss Fang took a look at the
samples and the bill, waved his hand and let them do whatever they wanted, and couldn't help
but praise Nanhong a few words.
Boss Fang bought two garment factories in Hong Kong a few years ago in order to make a clear
account of his shady money. However, legitimate business is the lasting one, and of course he
wanted to do it well. Unfortunately, the factory director and manager he hired from Hong Kong
have not been able to make the business work, and the business is languishing and he still has to
lose a lot of money every year.
After Nanhong and her family went to Hong Kong, Boss Fang asked Nanhong to manage the
factory, but Nanhong refused resolutely and was only willing to take over the stall on Women's
Street to help the factory sell some goods. After working for half a year, she drew a batch of
drawings for Boss Fang. After another half a year, the two garment factories fired their designers
and focused on exploiting Nanhong. Boss Fang did not mention salary or bonuses, rented the stall
to Nanhong, let her use the existing channels to be responsible for her own profits and losses,
and only charged a symbolic rent of a few hundred yuan. Last year, Nanhong was so busy that she
had no time to manage the stall, so she hired another girl from Shanghai who had just arrived in
Hong Kong to look after the stall.
At the end of the year, when Boss Fang saw the report, he was delighted. He thought that the
difference between people and talents was too big, so he gave Nan Hong a big red envelope of
50,000 Hong Kong dollars. Nan Hong was not polite this time and accepted it generously. She
calculated that a factory only paid her 2,000 Hong Kong dollars a month, the same as the
workshop workers, and she also had to pay the salary of the Shanghai girl who came to help.
Later, Gu Dongwen wanted to open a stall, so Nanhong reconnected with several domestic
factories and old units. Unexpectedly, the sales on Huating Road were so good, so she rekindled
the idea of making her own brand of clothing. She did not hide it from Boss Fang, and gave all the
drawings and samples to the factory. As for whether the factory would make it or not, she did not
care. Boss Fang just wanted her to stay, and he gave Nanhong a lot of convenience by giving her
instructions, so both the host and the guest were happy.
After Boss Fang finished praising Nanhong, he saw Zhao Yanhong walking out with a face full of
caution, holding the insignificant 60,000 Hong Kong dollars. He thought it was really funny and
asked him what he was going to do. Hearing that he was going to find someone to exchange
money and remit it to Shanghai, he waved his hand and asked his bodyguard Gangzai to
exchange money for Zhao Yanhong. Zhao Yanhong sat for half an hour longer. He took the money
bag and counted it. He was shocked and quickly told Boss Fang that it was not right. At present,
one Hong Kong dollar can be exchanged for 40 cents of RMB, but the 60,000 Hong Kong dollars in
his hand were exchanged for 48,000 RMB, which was twice as much. Boss Fang pointed at him,
shook his head and smiled, saying that Lao Zhao was honest. The Fang family has its own foreign
exchange black market. One Hong Kong dollar can be turned into 80 cents of RMB by boat. There
are many people who want it. Just this kind of back and forth every year, it is a drizzle to support
ten more factories.
Zhao Yanhong was pushed out by Gang Ge. He went to the post office to make an international
call to Nanhong in fear. He was afraid that someone would hear him and report him, so he
muttered vaguely in Shanghai dialect for a long time. Nanhong had known what was going on for
a long time, so she just told him not to make it public and to pay Gu Dongwenhui 24,000 yuan for
the goods. The other half should be deposited in a time deposit. If something went wrong, he
would have to get the money back. They had already waded into the muddy water of the Fang
family. If they wanted to leave with a clean conscience, they had to see if Boss Fang would give
the nod. At least Zhao Yanhong couldn't get away anyway, so he could only take one step at a
time.
The fabric for the windbreaker was arranged by Nanhong through the former cotton mill leader. It
was shipped at a very low price as a stockpile, but it had to be bought in batches, which was
enough to make 5,000 pieces. With the deposit of 2,000 pieces from Hong Kong as a base,
Nanhong made up its mind and placed an order for 5,000 pieces. The order was placed at the
end of July. When signing the contract, considering the complicated matching of this
windbreaker, it was agreed to be delivered on September 5, which was very ample time.
In early August alone, Xiao Weimin went to Hangzhou three times. After all, this was the largest
order for Nanhong Fashion. It was important to deliver fabrics, inspect fabrics, check patterns,
and settle accounts in batches according to the processing procedures. Every time he came back,
he said everything went smoothly. Last week, Gu Dongwen received three or four calls from
Director Wang, who insisted on inviting him to Hangzhou. Dongwen was very enthusiastic.
Dongwen suspected that there was something wrong with this batch of goods. When he asked
both sides, Xiao Weimin and Director Wang smiled and said that everything was normal. Finally,
Jingsheng volunteered to go there, thinking that seeing is believing, and to see whether this
order was going smoothly.
When Jingsheng entered the factory, he found out that this batch of fabrics had a serious color
difference problem after washing. This style has high requirements for matching pieces. If they
are forced onto the machine, there will be several color differences on each piece. Xiao Weimin
actually knew about this problem in early August. Director Xiao Wang was the person in charge of
the accident. He and his uncle, Director Lao Wang, secretly gave Xiao Weimin two hundred yuan
and asked him to help. The factory should re-purchase fabrics as soon as possible. It would
definitely be in time if they rushed. At most, this job would not make any money. Xiao Weimin
was short-handed and thought that less trouble was better than more, so he agreed.
Unexpectedly, there was really no identical Nanhong fabric on the market. The delay continued,
and the more he delayed, the more anxious he became, holding on to the hope that "I will
definitely find it tomorrow". Seeing that he could not deliver the goods on the delivery date
agreed in the contract, Director Wang thought of "inviting" Gu Dongwen to come over first,
thinking that they could always discuss things over a drink in person. However, he did not expect
that it was Jingsheng who came.
"In fact, at the beginning of the month, people in our factory were looking for this cotton-
polyester-stretch khaki fabric everywhere. Alas, we didn't expect that we couldn't get the same
one. Seven or eight people searched everywhere, even to Guangdong, really." Factory Director
Wang was really ashamed and anxious in front of Jingsheng because of his nephew's momentary
thought. "The day before yesterday, I finally found a factory willing to help customize a batch, but
Xiao Gu - you probably don't understand, let me explain to you, this fabric, the warp is made of
cotton yarn, and the weft is made of polyester wrapped in sand. After weaving, it still needs
singeing, pre-shrinking, shaping, and dyeing. The fastest time to produce it is 20 days. Once I get
it, no matter how hard I rush to work, it will take two days for cutting, six days for sewing, and
two days for finishing. It will not be shipped until at least the beginning of October, which is more
than 20 days later than before -"
"So I want to talk to your father and see if we can make some concessions. The fabric money will
definitely be paid by our factory, but can the penalty for breach of contract in this contract be..."
Factory Director Wang, who was over fifty years old, was humble in front of the seventeen-year-
old girl, his old face flushed.
Jingsheng really didn't know much about fabrics and craftsmanship, and he had no idea how to
deal with it, but he immediately felt that something else was wrong, so he asked, "How much has
the factory paid for the goods so far?"
Factory Manager Lao Wang waved his hands repeatedly: "Once the fabric problem occurred, we
stopped production. We only collected 20% of the first batch, 12,000 yuan."
Jingsheng had a bad feeling again. He had often heard about money. Xiao Weimin had received
48,000 yuan since the order was placed. He would pay the final payment once the inspection was
completed. If the factory only received 12,000 yuan, Xiao Weimin would have 36,000 yuan in his
hand. Jingsheng always believed that human nature was evil and could not stand the test. After
reading the receipt sent by the finance department, he immediately called Wanchun Street.
——
When the phone rang, Si Jiang was startled. He looked around and found there was an extra
phone next to the sofa.
"Is your home telephone installed?" Wang Lu put down her glass and followed with a smile:
"That's great, I'm going to praise my dad when I go back today. What's your home phone
number?"
Si Jiang picked up the receiver in confusion and pointed to the six-digit number above the dial on
the phone to Wang Lu.
"Hello?"
Jingsheng didn't expect that it was Sijiang who answered the phone: "--You went home? Who
picked you up?"
"Uncle Weimin."
"Is my dad home?"
“No.”
Jingsheng thought about it, but heard Si Jiang say with a hint of sarcasm: "But your good friend,
squad leader Wang Lu, is here, please wait a moment."
The three words "good friends" were of course emphasized, and there was a slight pause.
"Gu Jingsheng," Wang Lu took the phone, smiled and nodded to Si Jiang to express her gratitude,
her fingers wrapped around the new phone line and her body inadvertently leaned to one side, "I
told you it would be easier to get things done with a note, right? Isn't the phone number installed
here? Well, if you're not going to play football today, why didn't you call me in advance to tell me
—"
Without waiting for Jingsheng to answer, she smiled and shook her head twice and turned to the
other side: "Oh, I'm so stupid. I haven't given you my phone number since I changed it. Oh, you
want to talk to my sister? Okay, okay."
Si Jiang sat on the sofa with his arms folded, sneering. Haha, worried that she would fall in love
too early? He shared Zhao Youning's test paper with his "good friend", had cold drinks, watched
movies and strolled around Fuzhou Road together, and even went to the Bund Lover's Wall. He
still had the nerve to confiscate her letter. It was completely like the officials were allowed to set
fires but the people were not allowed to light lamps. How despicable!
Wang Lu's smile made Si Jiang's eyes hurt. She reluctantly picked up the phone: "What's the
matter? I'll hang up now."
Not only is there something wrong, but it is also a big deal, extremely urgent. Si Jiang hung up the
phone and hurried downstairs to get his bicycle. Wang Lu chased him down and dragged Si Jiang
to the entrance of the alley to take the car of her father's unit. Si Jiang made up an excuse to
Grandma Gu without hesitation and ran out with Wang Lu.
Jingsheng hung up the phone and called Nanhong in Hong Kong directly to ask what to do with
the goods.
Nanhong had worked in the cotton mill for decades, and she did some calculations in her mind
within a few minutes. She told Jingsheng not to worry and that she would call back in half an
hour. Then she immediately went to find the manager of the garment factory.
The sample of this windbreaker was made in Fang's Garment Factory, and the fabric supplier was
also a local manufacturer she found. However, the factory's export orders were too full to fit into
this order. The sales department faxed the design photos and quotations to several major
customers in Japan, Italy and the United States, and successfully signed an order for 30,000
pieces, with a delivery date of February next year. It happened that the factory director was a
timid person, and he purchased the fabrics as soon as he received the customer's deposit just in
case. At present, it would be best to borrow the factory's fabrics to Hangzhou for emergency use.
If Boss Fang agreed, it would only take one or two days for a shipload of fabrics to be shipped
back to Shantou, whether it would go through customs or not. A car could reach Hangzhou in one
day, and the factory could deliver the goods on the 10th. She was confident that she could get
regular customers if the delivery was delayed by four or five days. If it was delayed by a month, it
would not only be a matter of refunding the money, but also Gu Nanhong's reputation would
collapse.
Jingsheng waited anxiously for a long time, and half an hour later, it was Gu Dongwen who called
first.
"Xiao Weimin lost the payment for the goods." Gu Dongwen lowered his eyes and looked at Xiao
Weimin who was kneeling at his feet and crying, and told Jingsheng while suppressing his anger.
Si Jiang's mind was still buzzing. Uncle Weimin was taking drugs? The promotional materials he
had seen at the exhibition suddenly became the reality around him. It was really unacceptable.

Chapter 215
"Brother! Brother Dongdong!" Xiao Weimin kowtowed, his forehead red and swollen: "I'm sorry,
I'm sorry, I deserve to die, why am I not dead yet——"
Then she started to cry and said, "I can't help it. I was also deceived. I'm addicted and I can't
stand it. I know something bad is going to happen. I can't control it. I can't control my hands and
feet. Brother, can you chop off my fingers? Left hand, right hand, whatever you want. Brother,
please help me! Give me a way to live."
Gu Dongwen asked Jingsheng to listen to Nanhong's arrangement first, and put down the phone
and stared at Xiao Weimin in silence for a long time. He watched him grow up, a poor child, a
good person, how could he suddenly take this road of no return, he couldn't figure it out. Once
you get involved in gambling and drugs, you're done.
Last year in Jinghong, Captain Ling talked a lot about the Xishuangbanna Anti-drug Brigade. This
was the first professional anti-drug team in the country, established in 1982. It was composed of
young men who dealt with desperate criminals every day. The first comrade who died was only
25 years old. He was shot in the stomach by a drug dealer with a copper cannon gun. He was
beaten to death by clubs before he could escape. The salary of the anti-drug police was not as
good as that of the rubber tappers on the farm. The team did not have advanced test paper like
those abroad, so they could only rely on observation and smell to test the drugs themselves.
When the team was equipped with Changjiang 750 three-wheeled motorcycles, the drug dealers
drove jeeps. When the anti-drug police were equipped with 79-type submachine guns, the drug
dealers had already used bulletproof guns and Kevlar bulletproof vests. Even if they were risking
their lives, no one felt that they were so noble or amazing. They just had to keep doing it, and
they couldn't let it go. When Jingsheng heard this, his blood was boiling and tears filled his eyes.
Captain Ling even patted Jingsheng on the shoulder and asked him to work as an anti-drug police
officer in Yunnan in the future, but was punched several times by Gu Dongwen.
"Hey, Weimin, what are you doing?!" Granny Gu came in with the dishes and was startled. Si
Jiang quickly stepped forward to take the dishes.
"Get up, get up. You get up first and talk. Boss, what's wrong with you? You ran back and there's
no one at the stall. What should we do? Forget it, it doesn't matter if you're locked up for a
while." Granny Gu asked Si Jiang to go downstairs to bring soup, and stretched out her hand to
pull Xiao Weimin up. "Okay, what big thing happened that made you look like this? What's wrong
with you? Oh! It's really outrageous. Come on, since everyone is here, let's eat first."
"Man is like iron and rice is like steel. If you don't eat for a meal, you will be hungry. Weimin,
come and help me put the chopsticks and spoon on the table. You have been too thin recently.
Are you too tired? You can't make all the money running around all day long. You should take a
break. Is your new partner good? Are you planning to get married? You need to take good care of
your health, otherwise your father will be worried." Grandma Gu said a lot of rambling, ran to the
window and leaned her head out to shout: "Chen Sihao - Sihao - baby, come back for lunch."
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Sihao's big head appeared at the entrance of the alley.
"Grandma - I'm back!" No matter how long he plays, he never misses meals. Fortunately, Chen Si
is better than Sinan in this aspect.
The meal was a blessing because of the endless chatter between Grandma Gu and Chen Sihao.
Xiao Weimin finished his bowl of rice, dropped his chopsticks, ran out and squatted in the
corridor, howling again, banging against the wooden railings of the stairs.
"What's going on?" Granny Gu was shocked: "His girlfriend doesn't want him anymore?"
Si Hao wanted to go out and take a few peeks, but Si Jiang pulled him into the room and forced
him to take a nap. He refused to sleep and kept making noises with Si Jiang.
——
It gradually became quiet outside. Si Hao reluctantly lay on the mat and played with the car, while
Si Jiang stood by the wardrobe and listened attentively.
"How did you get it?"
"I went to the dance hall with Xiao Sun, and a man she knew gave me a pack of cigarettes. I didn't
expect that—"
The sound of a slap startled Si Jiang.
Gu Dongwen asked in a low voice: "Last time you gave Jingsheng a cigarette? Did you?"
"No, no! Brother, how dare I! If I did that, would I still be a human being? At that time, Jingsheng
asked me what cigarettes tasted like and why he smoked a pack a day, so I gave him a hard Peony
cigarette and he smelled it--" Xiao Weimin defended with red eyes: "Brother, if I were a black-
hearted person, I would definitely drag you into it first, right?" As soon as he said this, he saw Gu
Dongwen's murderous eyes, and he quickly slapped himself twice with his backhand.
Si Jiang covered his pounding heart and became more and more scared the more he thought
about it.
"How long?"
"Half a year."
"What about the other payments?"
"I gave it all to the factory, brother, believe me, really, I didn't want to do it either!" Xiao Weimin
choked up and said, "I used all my own money. I really had no money, so I borrowed some from A
Mao and others. How could I dare to touch the payment for the goods! Those three sums of
money were robbed by them. I couldn't beat them, so I was useless. Xiao Sun said that after they
bought the goods and sold them, they would pay me back 50,000 yuan with interest. She
promised. She said that she would marry me after she got the money, quit drugs with me and live
a good life. Really, brother, she said she would pay it back at the end of the month. There are only
two days left, two days! Brother——"
He lifted up his sweatshirt to show Gu Dongwen that there were large bruises on his skinny body
and marks of being beaten with a stick on his back.
"Let's go to the police station and find the police first."
"No, no, no, brother, I can't go. I beg you. The police will arrest me. They say I am now a shipping
person like them. If I am caught, I will die. Brother, I don't want to die. Please help me. I will work
like a slave for you all my life. I don't want a penny of salary. If they don't pay me back, I will pay it
back. I will pay you back. Thirty-six thousand. Give me thirty years. I will definitely pay it back in
thirty years. If thirty years is not enough, I will pay it back in fifty years. Brother, please give me a
way to live."
Gu Dongwen grabbed his collar and shook him: "Ce Na, can you live for thirty years? Look at
yourself in the mirror with your awful appearance! You won't even live for three years!"
"I want to live, brother. If you tie me up in the pavilion, I will definitely be able to quit. I really
want to be a new person, otherwise I would have run away long ago. Brother, please, believe
me." Xiao Weimin hugged Gu Dongwen's thighs.
Si Jiang silently calculated that she could save more than 70 yuan a year by living frugally. It was
hard to imagine what 36,000 yuan would mean, but it was gone in the blink of an eye. If
Jingsheng were here, he would definitely take action. Thinking of Jingsheng's desperate situation
in the factory, Zhou Jiaming's letter and Wang Lu's boasting immediately became insignificant.
She took a breath and dragged out the old black suitcase from under the big bed.
"Sister, what are you doing?" Chen Sihao jumped off the bed.
"It's okay, go to sleep."
"Sister, my stomach hurts! It hurts so much." Chen Sihao held her stomach and lay on the edge of
the bed, groaning, looking at Si Jiang: "Sister, come here."
Si Jiang glared at him unhappily: "You won't say your eyebrows hurt this time?"
"It really, really hurts!" Si Hao rolled off the pedal and threw himself into the open box.
"What are you doing, Chen Sihao? Go away." Si Jiang pried open his fat and took out the
Xinghualou mooncake box from underneath. Although it was a drop in the bucket, she had only
saved more than 50 yuan this year, and she should give it all to her uncle.
Si Hao rolled aside swiftly and looked at Si Jiang timidly.
The box was empty, without a penny.
Si Jiang was stunned for a moment before he came back to his senses. He turned his head and
looked at A-di angrily: "Chen Sihao? You stole my money?!"
Chen Sihao blinked innocently: "I took it. I didn't steal it."
"That's my money. You took it without telling me. That's stealing. How dare you steal money?!" Si
Jiang threw down the mooncake box, and with a fierce look on his face, he grabbed Si Hao and
slapped him on the butt three times.
Chen Sihao burst into tears and cried, "I didn't steal, I'm not a thief. What belongs to my sister is
mine. Didn't you eat my mung bean cake? You didn't tell me!"
Si Jiang left him, squatted on the ground holding the empty mooncake box and started crying. Si
Hao actually stole money. The sky fell. How could she be a big sister?
Under Gu Dongwen's interrogation, Chen Sihao confessed with a clamor that the little friends in
the alley took turns to treat the guests. It was not uncommon to buy white rabbit milk candies,
salted dates, biscuits and pastries. Only those who could take out money to treat popsicles, ice
cream and fruit candies at the tobacco and paper shop were considered the boss. Some people
said that Sihao's parents were not around, so he must have no money and could only eat for free.
In a fit of anger, he boasted that he would treat everyone to steamed buns and wontons. All his
New Year's money was given to Si Jiang, and Si Jiang's money was of course his money, so he
secretly took it to treat the guests. At that time, he hurriedly grabbed a handful of money into his
pocket and didn't know how much money was. After eating wontons and steamed buns, more
than a dozen children still had a lot of money left, so he generously treated them for three
consecutive days. Now the little kids in Wanchun Street have changed their way of calling him the
boss.
Grandma Gu was so angry that she raised the feather duster high, and looked at the little fat boy
with tears in his eyes and aggrieved look, but she couldn't hit him anymore. Gu Dongwen
grabbed it, held Chen Sihao down, and hit him five or six times.
Chen Sihao cried until he was hoarse on his lap, Chen Sijiang cried heartbrokenly in the room
holding the mooncake box, and Xiao Weimin was banging his head against the wall outside the
door. In short, it was a mess.
——
Gu Dongwen first went to find Zhou Shanli, who then contacted the Municipal Bureau. The next
day, Xiao Weimin and his girlfriend Xiao Sun were arrested. A drug trafficking route from the
Golden Triangle to Banna and then into the inland was revealed. In order not to alert the enemy,
Xiao Weimin continued to travel back and forth between Wanchun Street and Huating Road. In
early September, Xiao Sun took the 5,000 yuan given by the Bureau to find her brother and asked
if she could still join the gang to ship goods. The shrimp hooked the crab, and the small fish led to
the big fish. Following the clues, in mid-September, the Banna Anti-Drug Brigade and the police
seized a large amount of opium and heroin, a number of fully automatic rifles, submachine guns
and bullets, and arrested more than a dozen drug dealers.
Zhao Yanhong personally escorted the fabrics from Hong Kong to Hangzhou in early September.
Gu Dongwen met him at the factory when they were inspecting the fabrics. Gu Dongwen smoked
half a pack of cigarettes and advised them to return to Shanghai. Zhao Yanhong smiled and shook
his head.
"Nanhong said that she would not be able to come back until she made a million."
"Bullshit, there's no end to making money." Gu Dongwen spat at him, "She's now making 10,000
yuan a year, isn't that glorious enough? Shanghai is her home, with brothers, sisters, parents and
relatives. No matter how poor or underdeveloped it is, it's better than being an illegal resident in
Hong Kong. There are still twelve years before Hong Kong returns to China. What are you doing?
Letting the three of A-Da and others be illegal residents forever?"
Zhao Yanhong lowered his head and was silent for a moment: "Brother, our boss was very
thoughtful. He made a certificate when we settled down, and counted us as those who came to
Hong Kong in September 1980. According to the immigration policy, we can get Hong Kong
identity. We have been waiting in line for half a year. Now Ada and the others are doing well in
the school--"
Gu Dongwen looked up at the bright sun in the sky. The sun was so bright that it made his eyes
swell.
Zhao Yanhong explained in a steady voice that the majority of people in Hong Kong are
Cantonese, Teochew and Shanghainese, and Shanghainese is quite popular in Hong Kong. Ah Da
and his friends are the best in the school because most of the children in Hong Kong are very thin
and small, and Cantonese people are not very tall. The boss treated him and Nanhong as his own
family, and the boss was willing to make things convenient for Nanhong when he was doing his
own private work, giving them big red envelopes during festivals and inviting them to dinner in
the big villa on the mountain.
Of course, they didn't go to the boss's big villa for dinner. Their family of five squeezed into a
pigeon cage near the school. There were two sets of bunk beds in 12 square meters, and there
was no window. When Ada and his friends first entered the school, they couldn't understand
anything. The three fat boys returned to the cage at night and cried and said they wanted to
swim back to the Huangpu River. These hardships that had been endured were not worth
mentioning. Zhao Yanhong smiled and said that they moved to a new house this year, living on
the top of a 20-story building. The neighbors were all decent people. When they made a lot of
money, Nanhong said that she would buy her own house in Hong Kong, a private house, which
would be hers forever and could be passed on to her sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons. It
would not change for a thousand years, and no one could occupy their house, not even the
Queen of England.
"Hong Kong property prices dropped so much in the past few years that many people jumped off
buildings. Mr. Fang said prices will rise again this year, so he told us to buy now while prices are
low." Zhao Yanhong laughed. Mr. Fang even said he could lend them money, but they dared not.
"How much does a house in Hong Kong cost?" asked Gu Dongwen.
Zhao Yanhong had calculated this price countless times. He was afraid of scaring Gu Dongwen, so
he thought for a while before saying, "We have three wives at home. If we want to get married in
the future, we can't buy a house that is too small. One hundred square meters with four rooms is
enough. If we buy it this year, it will cost eight thousand Hong Kong dollars per square meter,
which is eight hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars, or more than three hundred thousand RMB.
Once we get our identity, we can also apply for a bank loan to buy it, and then we can pay the
bank back slowly."
Gu Dongwen put out his cigarette and said, "Now a Santana costs more than 200,000 yuan. It's
better to buy a house. You decide your own life. If you don't want to come back, then don't come
back. Just live a good life. Don't force yourself, okay? But it's not good to borrow money from the
bank. Beiwu said that the interest rate of bank loans is high. Beiwu and I will support you with
whatever money you need, and you can pay us back slowly in the future."
Zhao Yanhong scratched his head. The little money that Gu Dongwen earned from running the
restaurant was all given to Nanhong. If he dared to take his brother-in-law's money again,
Nanhong would kill him. The two grown men pushed and shoved each other, and almost
quarreled. Finally, the old director Wang and the young manager Wang came to mediate,
promising that the factory would work overtime day and night to deliver the goods as soon as
possible.
Gu Dongwen watched Zhao Yanhong get on the big truck and rumble away, and sighed softly.

Chapter 216
In the first month of high school, Si Jiang was a little absent-minded. She often lost focus in class
and couldn't take complete notes. When she saw the red 56 next to her name in the first physics
test, she was glad that she got a lot more points than she expected. After all, when she saw the
test paper, she thought there was something wrong with her brain. Except for a part of the fill-in-
the-blank questions, she didn't know the rest. She knew the characters, and she knew the
characters, but she just couldn't do it. She didn't understand at all.
"What on earth is Lao Wang talking about in class?" Zeng Xin copied Zhou Jiaming's physics notes
with a sad face: "I don't understand it at all!"
Si Jiang held her chin up to her hand and looked out the window. She sighed deeply, "You don't
understand either? I don't understand either. Pre-study is really useless." In fact, she had already
prepared more than half of the physics book, but she didn't do the test paper given by Zhao
Youning. Now the test papers were all copied by Wang Lu. Every Sunday afternoon, Jingsheng
would put the test papers neatly on the dining table. The first time, he was very angry and asked
her why she didn't do the test paper. Si Jiang replied coldly that she didn't want to do it, so he
didn't say anything. The next time, he put them neatly and took them away intact. Si Jiang
counted silently. She and Jingsheng hadn't spoken for three days. But he definitely didn't care.
Anyway, now on Sunday mornings, someone would go to watch him play football and print test
papers for him. He would treat people to cold drinks and snacks. It was spread in the school that
Gu Jingsheng and Wang Lu from Class 2 (3) of Senior High School were dating. One of them was
the class monitor and the secretary of the Youth League Committee, and the other was a top
athlete of the school team and a national first-class athlete. No one cared.
Li Nan, his old deskmate who scored 62 points, pushed Si Jiang and looked back at Zhou Jiaming,
the physics class representative sitting in the back seat. "Is the class representative the only one
in the class who can understand? He scored 91 points on this test. He is definitely not a human
being!"
Zhang Leyi, who was three points behind Sijiang, patted his physics book and stretched out in the
sun. "I'm so annoyed. They didn't even talk about what's in the book. What's the point of giving
us books? The exam questions are not in the book. I studied until 1am but it's useless."
The students in the class were basically all devastated, gathering in small groups to complain
about the physics teacher. The class average was only 47 points, the lowest in the grade, and
although the grade average was only 52 points, Lao Wang was touching the Mediterranean Sea
above his head, looking like he had expected everything, which made people angry and wronged.
The last class was metalworking, and he had to make a small hammer again. Si Jiang packed his
schoolbag listlessly, and just as he was about to stand up, he was poked by Zhou Jiaming from
behind.
"Chen Sijiang, which two of your interest courses did you choose?"
“Yue Opera and cooking.”
"What a coincidence, I also chose these two subjects." Zhou Jiaming couldn't suppress a smile on
his face.
Si Jiang blinked: "Oh, what a coincidence." What's a coincidence? The course selection schedule
was sent from front to back. Didn't he see what she chose?
"Let's go, let's go. If you don't leave now, you'll be late or you'll get beaten." Li Nan glared at Zhou
Jiaming and dragged Si Jiang out.
Zhang Leyi laughed all the way down the stairs, and only after she got down did she hold Si
Jiang's hand and mutter, "Zhou Jiaming is the only boy in the Yue Opera class!"
Si Jiang suppressed his laughter and said, "Not all Yue Opera actors are female, okay? My
grandmother is a big fan of the Yue Opera Prince Zhao Zhigang."
"Are you learning Yue Opera for your grandmother? You can be considered the twenty-fifth filial
piety by dressing up in colorful clothes to entertain your parents." Li Nan gave a thumbs up
exaggeratedly.
"Go, go, go." Si Jiang patted her hand and said, "What about you? Why did you choose the Yue
Opera class?"
“Without the sky, there would be no earth. Without the earth, there would be no home. Without
the home, there would be no you. Without you, there would be no me.” Li Nan sang in all
seriousness.
Behind me came the strange voices of the boys: "No more wine! No more wine——"
“Hahahahahaha.”
Several boys jumped directly from the railing beside Si Jiang and the others, landed steadily on
the ground, and whizzed past with loud laughter.
"Hammer, hammer, here we come——"
Si Jiang's hammer was only a prototype, but there was one made by Jingsheng last year at home,
which was polished very nicely, and the long handle was tied with a red thread to prevent
slipping. It had been placed in Si Jiang's schoolbag before, in case he encountered the stripping
maniac again. Jingsheng said very seriously at the time: "Don't hit the head, it can easily cause
death, hit the ribs, hit the exposed - cough cough, disgusting places." In order to let Si Jiang react
in time, he also put on a military coat, and when he approached her, he suddenly lifted the coat:
"Little girl? Look here -" Unfortunately, Si Jiang laughed and fell on the sofa next to him every
time, and he didn't practice effectively a few times.
Oh, what's wrong with her? Why does she think of Chou Jingsheng for everything? She has
clearly made up her mind not to make peace with him again. Si Jiang tossed the hammer in his
hand viciously.
——
Thursday was the first cooking interest class, and more than 40 students from the whole grade
signed up. When Si Jiang entered, he found that they were all familiar faces, including Tang
Zenian, Lin Zhuoyu, Cheng Ying, and Guo Chengyi.
"No one cooks in your family? No way." Cheng Ying looked surprised: "Didn't your uncle run a
restaurant?"
"Be self-reliant and have enough food and clothing." Si Jiang walked to her stove with a smile and
straightened her chest. When she learns how to cook, she can cook for herself and make
whatever she wants. Don't be too clever, or you will have to look at someone's angry (hateful)
face. Haha, is it great to be able to cook?
Tang Zenian switched seats with a boy behind Si Jiang and said with a smile, "Si Jiang, you must
have good cooking skills after learning from your surroundings. I heard that every dish in the
cooking class will be tested. Remember to help me out when the time comes, for the sake of our
three years of being classmates."
Si Jiang really didn't dare to agree to this. She said honestly: "I can only cook rice and boil eggs,
and I can also eat them."
"I know one more thing than you: poached eggs." Tang Zenian smiled with his eyes curved and
raised the pot.
"Then you are better than me. It is very difficult to make boiled eggs well." Si Jiang turned around
and shook the pot. Fortunately, it was not an iron pot and was quite light. She also knew how to
boil boiled eggs. She just boiled the water and put the eggs in. But Jingsheng always disliked it
because the egg whites in the pot were all over the place and the eggs looked ugly when they
were fished out.
"Oh, the school really spent a lot of money. They are afraid that we won't get into college and
won't have food to eat. They have to make hammers, hold shovels, and practice their voices.
That's great. If you don't do well in the college entrance examination, you can go straight to the
workshop, the kitchen, and the theater. Wow." Li Nan raised the shovel and posed forward,
singing a military song: "Forward, forward, forward - Fairy, come on, hurry up and continue the
lyrics."
Si Jiang helplessly picked up his shovel and crossed it with hers: "Our team is heading to the
kitchen!"
"These two female classmates hold the shovel very steadily. They have a bright future." The chef
wearing a chef's hat walked in with a smile on his face. His voice was loud and his face was
glowing. It was obvious that they were eating well at the stove.
The classmates burst into laughter. Si Jiang stood at attention quickly with a red face, not
forgetting to give Li Nan a cold look.
Li Nan was thick-skinned and answered loudly: "Thank you, Master. We definitely have a bright
future in food!"
"Okay, classmates, thank you for choosing the cooking class. This semester I will teach you ten
dishes. Today, the first dish is quail eggs in tomato sauce. Since this is the first class, I will make it
and you can watch. You can practice it on your own when you go back. Next Thursday, we will
have a practical class and each person will make one portion. After the grades are determined,
we will move on to the second dish."
It was the first time that Si Jiang knew that quail eggs could be made sweet. He was very curious
and raised his hand immediately.
"Hey, the girl in the second row who holds the shovel very steadily, what's the problem? Tell us."
The master said cheerfully.
Si Jiang asked crisply: "Excuse me, Master, will you let us taste the dishes you cooked today?
Otherwise, we will go back and cook without knowing whether the taste is right. What if we fail
the exam?"
There was laughter in the classroom again.
The master smiled and raised his hand to ask everyone to be quiet: "This is a must. Don't worry, I
have prepared 60 quail eggs today. I will make sure that each of you has at least one. If you are
lucky, you can have two."
"Teacher Lu, the school is too stingy. Give us at least ten each! One or two will taste bland and
won't even be enough to fill our stomachs." Lin Zhuoyu shouted to the teacher in charge next to
his master.
"As if ten quail eggs are enough to fill your teeth!" Teacher Lu said with disdain: "Lin Zhuoyu, you
are the one who eats ten tea eggs in one meal. Is there anyone in Jing'an District who hasn't
heard of you? When the quails see you, they are so scared that they dare not lay eggs."
Amid the deafening laughter, Lin Dantong scratched his head and subconsciously glanced at Si
Jiang, but was frightened by Cheng Ying's rolling eyes and quickly pretended nothing had
happened.
The chef's operation is as smooth as flowing water. He slides the pan, fries the quail eggs, coats
them with tomato sauce, blanchs the vegetables, and arranges three plates of finished products,
which are orange-red and emerald green, with full color, aroma and taste.
After school, Si Jiang went straight to the small vegetable market on Wanhangdu Road to look for
quail eggs. He would not have looked for them, but he was sweating all over. There were chicken
eggs and duck eggs, but no quail eggs. He asked the aunt at the egg counter, and she shook her
head: "No, we don't sell quail eggs." (We don't sell quail eggs.)
As dusk fell, Si Jiang returned to Wanchun Street. Granny Gu chased him out of the kitchen and
said, "Oh, my dear, Jingsheng bought you some quail eggs, saying you need them for class? What
kind of nonsense class are you taking? Why do you need quail eggs?"
Si Jiang was stunned and ran into the kitchen. On the table was not only a small bag of quail eggs,
but also a bottle of tomato sauce and a bag of vegetables.
"Oh, I chose that cooking class. Next week I will take a test on quail eggs in tomato sauce. So I
have to cook it at home first. It's delicious, grandma. You must try it when I'm done." Si Jiang
hugged his grandma's arm: "I also learned how to smooth the pan and thicken the sauce. Our
chef is amazing, he's a first-class chef. I'm now the apprentice of a first-class chef."
Granny Gu smiled and shook her head: "You just need to study hard, why do you need to learn
how to cook? There are so many people in the family, and it's not enough for them to know how
to cook. Your brother knows everything, and you are wasting your time on him. It's useless."
"Who said that? I will definitely be better at burning fever than him in the future, grandma! I am
smart, I am smart." Si Jiang refused to give in.
The door of the shower room next to him opened, and Jingsheng came out holding a washbasin.
He glanced at Si Jiang indifferently and went out. The faucet outside started to run.
Si Jiang was discouraged for no reason, pouted his lips, and said, "Hmph, you look weird,
eavesdropping on her conversation with her grandmother." She picked up her schoolbag and
went upstairs.
"Hello, Chen Si! Why are you still watching TV? Go wipe the table and get ready for dinner. Did
you dust today? Have you finished your ten chores?"
"It's done, it's done! Brother has already cut off 20 cents for me!" Chen Sihao jumped up from
the recliner and showed the small notebook next to the phone to Si Jiang: "I still owe you 49.60
yuan."
"Yeah." Si Jiang patted his fleshy buttocks: "Next time you must wait for me to come back to
settle the account. I am your creditor, not someone else. Do you understand?"
Chen Sihao walked down the stairs slowly: "You girls are so annoying. You're nice to people one
moment and not nice to them the next. What are you talking about others? My brother is not
someone else."
He walked to the kitchen door, took two more steps out of the door, walked to Jingsheng who
was washing clothes, patted his wet arm, and sighed: "Brother, don't be sad (Don't be sad), you
are the best brother, the two of us will ignore her, okay? (You are the best brother, the two of us
will ignore her, okay?)"
Jingsheng raised his hand, and water and soap bubbles flew all over his face.
"Go get the dishes and chopsticks. Listen to your sister's gossip and remember it." Jingsheng bent
his legs and gently pushed Sihao on the butt.
Chen Sihao touched his face and butt, then went into the kitchen angrily to complain to his
grandmother and make an alliance.
At eleven o'clock at night, mosquitoes were buzzing around the street lights. Si Jiang, who had
been fighting with the eggshells of quail eggs for ten minutes, collapsed. Of the thirty quail eggs,
less than five were intact. The rest had broken egg whites or leaked yolks. They didn't seem to be
the same variety as the ones on the chef's plate. Why? She had clearly moved the eggs to cold
water after boiling them, so why were they so difficult to peel! The chef was so mean. He didn't
even tell him that the most difficult part of this dish was peeling the eggshells...

Chapter 217
Sitting on a small stool in the kitchen, after eating five broken quail eggs, Si Jiang's mouth was
already full of the taste of quail. It was hard to imagine how Lin Zhuoyu could eat ten tea eggs. He
wondered if they would taste like chicken shit.
Hearing the sound of footsteps on the stairs, Si Jiang quickly took a big gulp of water to swallow
the egg yolk, poured out the mixture of egg shell, egg white and yolk on the plate, quickly took
the gauze to cover the bowl in front of him, turned around, picked up the steel wok on the stove
and walked out. It was indeed Jingsheng who came.
"Is it cooked?" Jingsheng looked at the stove, which didn't look like it had ever been frying in oil.
"No." Si Jiang didn't even look at him, he went straight out and turned on the faucet.
Jingsheng saw the horrible corpses of quail eggs in the trash can at a glance, raised his eyebrows,
and turned his head to look out the window. The light on the wall of this person was not turned
on, and I don’t know if it was cleaned. Her face was hidden in the dimness with her back to the
street lamp, and she could see that her lips were pursed. It has been nearly a month since the rift
caused by the three letters, but she is still like when she was a child. When she is angry, she treats
him as air. When you talk to her, she occasionally responds with one or two words, and she will
never look at you. It’s useless to be humble and try to please her. She looks like an adult, but she
is still a child. It’s hard to coax her, and it’s even worse if you don’t coax her. Jingsheng lifted the
veil and sighed softly. He went to the Changshou Road vegetable market to buy it. He hesitated
for a while whether to help her cook and peel it. Sure enough...
"I'll return the thirty quail eggs to you on Sunday," Si Jiang came in with a stern face, "Thank you."
Si Jiang thought that although he did not intend to forgive Jingsheng, he could not owe him a
favor in vain, so he should deal with the person and not the matter.
Jingsheng picked up an egg and put it in his mouth: "What about these?"
"I'll eat it for breakfast tomorrow." Gang Zong's wok and the enamel pot kissed each other twice.
"Heat up the pan and try making quail eggs in tomato sauce. You'll definitely forget how to make
it in two days." Jingsheng set up the wok and lit the fire.
Si Jiang was startled: "The eggs are all broken."
"It doesn't matter if you're eating it yourself." Jingsheng pushed it away and gave her the position
of chef in front of the stove: "What's the first step?"
"Ah?!" Si Jiang frantically looked at the hot pot that had begun to smoke: "Slip, slip the pot!
Where's the oil?"
"here."
Si Jiang poured the oil and turned back to the chopping board to look for his cooking notebook.
"The oil temperature is ready. I need to lubricate the pan again. I only need half the oil from
before. Wait, I need to pour the oil in this pan to--"
"Here." Jingsheng had already taken out a large teacup and placed it next to the pot: "Remember
there can't be water in the cup, or it will explode."
Fifty centimeters away from the jar, Si Jiang held the wok with both hands and carefully poured
the hot oil into it. It didn't explode, and he breathed a sigh of relief, but then his eyes went dark
and an apron fell from the sky.
Jingsheng tied a bow for her: "Don't move."
Si Jiang froze in place, the wok in his hand shaking irregularly with his heartbeat. Two drops of oil
fell on the stove, and the area under the light bulb was greasy.
"pour oil."
Si Jiang looked at the pot silently, and ripples soon appeared on the oil surface.
"alright."
The half pot of oil trembled and went back into the jar. The large colander used for draining water
was gently placed on the large bowl beside the stove. The ugly-looking quail eggs were squeezed
together, looking very pitiful.
"You should wait another ten minutes. There seems to be some water on the egg."
"It's okay, it's okay." Si Jiang shook the colander and didn't see any water. He then heated up the
pan and the quail eggs slid down the edge of the pan. Before she put the bowl down firmly, there
was a series of crackling sounds in the pan like firecrackers, and her face and hands suddenly felt
burning.
"Ahhh!" Si Jiang dropped the colander, covered her face, turned around suddenly, and bumped
into Jingsheng's shoulder. She squatted down with a groan, inhaling with a hiss.
Jingsheng quickly covered the pot, turned off the fire, and pulled Si Jiang up: "Rinse it with cold
water quickly, it will hurt you if bubbles form. I told you to wait another ten minutes, but you
didn't listen. Are you suffering now?"
"Why are you so fierce? I'm in so much pain!" Si Jiang whimpered and shook off his hand: "It's
none of your business even if it hurts so much."
Jingsheng looked at her shaking ponytail speechlessly.
The ping-pong sound in the pot finally stopped. Si Jiang sat on a low stool, hugging his knees and
looking at the ceiling.
"Let me take a look for you."
"No."
"Put some toothpaste on it."
"No."
"Does it still hurt?"
"None of your business."
Jingsheng glanced at her sideways and said, "I've already given you the letter. You've been angry
for a month. Is that ok?"
Si Jiang sneered twice, then stood up and prepared to go upstairs to sleep.
"Hey - Chen Sijiang!"
Si Jiang stopped at the door of the kitchen and asked without turning his head: "What are you
doing?"
"What on earth do you want to do? For an elementary school classmate and a few letters, you
have to make such a fuss with your family. Is it fun?" Jingsheng wanted to ask if this person
named Zhou Jiaming was so important?
Si Jiang turned around suddenly, with two fires burning in his eyes: "Gu Jingsheng, you don't
understand at all!"
"What don't I understand? Tell me."
Si Jiang's chest rose and fell violently for a few times, and he suddenly sneered, "You don't even
understand why I'm angry with you, what can I say to you. You are just my cousin, and you just
treat me as your aunt's daughter. I treat you as my best friend and the closest person, and I tell
you everything. It's my own fault. We will go our separate ways in the future, and you don't have
to meddle in my affairs. I won't meddle in your affairs either! Don't worry, if you treat your
girlfriend to cold drinks, strolling on the street, or watching a movie, I won't complain to my
uncle, and those rumors circulating in school have nothing to do with me. Ha."
There was an angry thumping sound on the stairs. Jingsheng looked quietly at the halo of light at
the door.
The best friend, the closest person, told him everything. Didn't he treat her the same way? What
about girlfriends, what about going out to the movies? He only treated Wang Lu a cream ice
cream, and he didn't even buy ice cream. Every time after playing football, Wang Lu wanted to
treat the team to a movie. He invited three times, but he couldn't refuse the captain and his
friends, so he only went once. What else was going around in school...
The next morning, orange-red and green quail eggs in ketchup appeared on the table. The quail
eggs were wrapped in ketchup. Under the sour and sweet taste, there was the crispy fragrance of
the tiger skin, and then the rich fragrance of the egg yolk, which blended with the ketchup. Chen
Si ate more than a dozen in one breath before he remembered "others": "Sister, why don't you
eat? Where is my brother? Why hasn't my brother come yet?"
Si Jiang put down his chopsticks and said, "I'm done eating, you guys take your time."
Gu Dongwen and Grandma Gu looked at each other and looked towards the attic.
Jingsheng went downstairs carrying his schoolbag, but Si Jiang was no longer in the living room.
"Oh, what a nemesis." Grandma Gu sighed: "Jingsheng, you are the eldest brother, and you are a
boy, you should give way to Sijiang."
Chen Sihao had a mouthful of ketchup and raised his head unconvincedly: "Gender equality!"
"Hey, Gu Jingsheng, why don't you eat breakfast?"
"I ate it on the stove."
Jingsheng's bicycle bounced on the dange road and rushed out of Wanchun Street quickly, but he
only saw Si Jiang's back as he got on the bus.
——
"During the National Day holiday, the high school students are organizing a trip to the Grand View
Garden. Should we go too?" Li Nan was in the Youth League Committee and got first-hand
information.
Si Jiang shook her head. She had just started the TOEFL class and felt that she was far behind
Tang Zenian and Li Nan. She wanted to make up for it during the holidays. Besides, Zhao Youning
had also agreed to return to Kangjiaqiao and made an appointment to help her with physics.
"Class 4 is also going. Old Tang will definitely come to invite you later." Li Nan stretched lazily. "Oh
my god, my hands are shaking from peeling quail eggs. The chef is so mean. He said he would
teach us the simplest dish in the first class. Is this just to intimidate us?"
"You can't peel it well either?" Si Jiang sighed, then thought of Jingsheng and sighed again.
Zhou Jiaming's voice came from behind: "Ahem, actually peeling the eggshell is very simple--"
The four girls in the front row suddenly turned around and stared at him.
Zhou Jiaming shrank back and sat up straight: "When boiling eggs, add some salt to the water.
The buoyancy of the water will increase, and the eggs will float in the water instead of sinking to
the bottom. The heat will be more evenly distributed, and it can also avoid collisions and remove
the fishy smell."
The four pairs of eyes staring at him immediately revealed admiration.
"You are worthy of being the representative of the physics class. You put your knowledge into
practice. I admire you." Si Jiang immediately took out his cooking notes and took careful notes.
Zhou Jiaming breathed a sigh of relief, his face burning. "Wait for the water to boil, cook for five
minutes, then move the eggs to the ice water, and shake the pot vigorously. Most of the eggshells
will fall off automatically, and those that don't will be easy to peel. Don't worry, the eggs won't
break. That's it - that's it -"
"What?" Si Jiang asked curiously.
"It would be best if you have a refrigerator at home so you can put a big bowl of ice water in it."
"What kind of meeting are you having?" Tang Zenian knocked on Si Jiang's desk with a smile.
Si Jiang turned around and spread out his notebook: "Do you want to copy homework? Zhou
Jiaming's secret to boiling eggs."
"Hahahaha." Tang Zenian laughed: "Zhou Jiaming is amazing. Do you want me to provide another
method?"
Si Jiang and Li Nan looked at each other in bewilderment. No way, they, the girls, are inferior to
the boys in cooking? Shame!
"It's still a question of even heating. In fact, steaming it in water is enough. No need for ice water.
Ordinary cold water will make it easy to peel. Go back and try. If you can't peel it well, I'll treat
you to beef pan-fried buns or vegetarian noodles from Jing'an Temple."
"Keep your word, Old Tang." Li Nan was puzzled: "You guys are so boring. I should learn how to
cook, but you turned it into math, physics and chemistry questions. It's so boring."
"Cooking should be considered a chemistry subject after all." Tang Zenian asked Si Jiang with a
smile: "Does your class have any activities during the National Day? Will we still watch the
lanterns this year?"
Li Nan made a "hush" gesture to him and waved his hand. Tang Zenian leaned on Si Jiang's desk
and listened attentively.
"Don't mention it. Ren Xinyou in our class has become so arrogant since he became the class
monitor. We don't want to go with him. We're just a few acquaintances. Let's go to the Bund by
ourselves. Do you want to come?"
Tang Zenian turned his head and looked at Si Jiang and smiled: "Are you going?"
Si Jiang leaned back in the chair unnaturally, lowered her eyes and nodded: "Yeah." How did this
man's face suddenly get so close to her, she was startled. Well, Tang Zenian is indeed handsome.
Li Nan smiled smugly and made a face at Tang Zenian: "Let's gather at the same place and time.
By the way, don't call Lin Zhuoyu, if you call him we will go our separate ways."
Tang Zenian stood up and took out a stack of tickets from his school pants pocket and gave them
to Li Nan: "These are the tickets to the Grand View Garden issued by the Youth League
Committee. These are the ten tickets allocated to your class. Let's go together if you have nothing
to do. I heard that almost all of them have been made. The TV movie of Dream of Red Mansions
will be filmed there."
As soon as Si Jiang raised her eyes, she saw Tang Zenian smiling at her and said, "You must come.
This time our Youth League Committee is responsible for receiving a visiting delegation of middle
school students from Washington, the United States. There is no professional translator, so we
need to do it ourselves. This is a particularly good opportunity to practice speaking."
Si Jiang: "???!!! Okay."
I really can't refuse this, it's a really great opportunity to practice.
In the corridor outside the Grade 2 (3) classroom, Jingsheng rejected Wang Lu's invitation
without hesitation. The reason was simple: someone had to cook at home and help at the stall. A
few days ago, he heard Si Jiang and Zhao Youning make an appointment on the phone for physics
tutoring. Most importantly, he was going to Daguanyuan with Wang Lu again, and he didn't know
what she would say about him.

Chapter 218
The annual National Day lantern viewing event was held. Because Si Jiang's class was promoted
to high school, his junior high school and elementary school classmates felt a strong sense of
nostalgia. The new classmates who had regrouped were also very enthusiastic. The entrance of
Jing'an Park was crowded. Looking around, there were only teenagers around 15 or 16 years old.
The lights were reflected in their eyes, bright and gorgeous.
The youngsters' faces were full of childishness, and they were forced to look mature. If they were
alone or in pairs on the bus or on the street, they would be obviously out of place. But when they
gathered together, they became the synonym of "youth". They talked about the impact of
Gorbachev's coming to power on the world situation, whether the million-man army reduction
would weaken my country's national defense, whether the establishment of women's football
meant that the country had given up men's football, and whether the first visit of the Japanese
prime minister to the Yasukuni Shrine meant that Sino-Japanese relations had cooled. Everyone
was involved, either passionately or sarcastically criticizing, as if they would become a part of the
decision-making process of how the earth rotates as soon as they graduated, and that every man
had a share of responsibility for the rise and fall of the world.
The world of young girls was not that broad. They cared much more about the suicide of Barbara
Yung than the death of Hua Luogeng. The disturbance caused by the first Teachers' Day of Grade
1 (2) class not long ago was once again brought up for discussion and recollection.
“Lao Gao had that chamber pot face at that time——” Li Nan laughed so hard that he fell down.
“It’s a pity that there was no camera to take pictures. But He Hongwei is really something. Why
was he embarrassed? He even apologized to Lao Gao. And Lao Gao definitely didn’t think he was
apologizing. Instead, he would think he was showing off. After all, as our class teacher, he didn’t
even receive any gifts. Hahahaha.”
Si Jiang shook his head: "It's a bit unfortunate, it must be awkward. Teacher Gao is narrow-
minded, but He Hongwei just came to get a Teacher's Day gift. It's really unnecessary for him to
look at us with a frown for half a month."
Guo Chengyi said apologetically: "In fact, we should have asked He Hongwei to come to our class
to pick up the gift. We also have six old (2) students in our class. And our Chang Pangpang is a
very nice person, so she definitely won't mind. We just gave her a greeting card."
"On one hand, we have been teacher-student friends for three years, and on the other hand, we
have only known each other for a month. What is there to compare?" Si Jiang really can't like his
current head teacher, Mr. Gao.
Zeng Xin did not attend the Teachers' Day activities of the old Junior 3 (2) class. As a bystander,
she made an objective assessment: "I can understand Lao Gao's feelings. Don't scold me first.
Think about it. This is the first Teachers' Day, and you all chipped in to buy foreign wine and made
a big fuss. Lao Gao must have thought you were giving it to him, so he came here with great
enthusiasm. In the end, he only received a greeting card. All the classmates in your Junior 3 (2)
class who were promoted to high school ran to his class, solemnly invited He Hongwei, and gave
him such an expensive bottle of foreign wine. Lao Gao's face was really trampled on the ground,
and he would definitely lose his temper, unless he is not a man."
Everyone burst into laughter, and then started to laugh and scold, saying that it was Lin Zhuoyu's
clever idea.
Although Li Nan warned Tang Zenian, and Tang Zenian did not call Lin Zhuoyu, Lin Zhuoyu himself
and a group of good brothers showed up as promised. Face to face, no one was embarrassed to
put on a stern face, and they remained friendly and affectionate, laughing and scolding freely.
Lin Zhuoyu turned back from the crowd of boys and asked: "Who among you is saying bad things
about me behind my back?"
"I, I scolded you, how could I?" Li Nan was veiled in criticism: "Other people forget their old loves
when they find a new one, but you guys from the old (2) class are only thinking about your old
loves. You are so ignorant!"
Cheng Ying smiled and clapped her hands: "You scolded very well and in a wonderful way. People
with weak bones need to scold more."
Lin Zhuoyu picked his ears in a casual manner and said with a smile: "Didn't you hear me? Hey,
Pumpkin, you've gained weight, why is your voice so much smaller? Are you weak? No wonder
you failed the lung capacity test. Come on, let me help you practice. Swear louder."
Si Jiang kicked Li Nan with a smile. Li Nan was also amused by Lin Zhuoyu's shamelessness. He
ignored him and hooked Si Jiang to buy big balloons.
"Chen Sijiang, don't buy it. I just happened to have an extra one at home. This one is for you."
Zhou Jiaming handed Sijiang a huge pink balloon.
Ren Xinyou squeezed over and said, "Chen Sijiang, Li Nan, Zhou Jiaming, let's all go together. We
won't get separated. Let's give each of us a big red balloon. We will be the Red Army of Class 1 (2)
of Senior High School. When the time comes, we will march in step on the Bund. How cool!"
Li Nan was dumbfounded: "Do you know how crowded the Bund will be tonight? You can't even
touch the ground with your feet, and you're still marching? Lao Ren, you always say, is this your
first time to see the lights at the Bund?"
Ren Xinyou blushed and stammered, "Well, I was busy learning how to play basketball before—"
Si Jiang had no intention of embarrassing him. Seeing Ren Xinyu would remind her of Zhou Shanli,
and she felt quite friendly: "Thank you, monitor, but it's okay. I still have to wait for some
elementary school classmates to leave together. You guys can have fun. Lanlan - Chuchu! Over
here, come over and pick up the balloons!"
Old friends met again, and Si Jiang, Zhou Jiaming, Zeng Xin and others talked and laughed with
Wu Minglan and her friends. Ren Xinyou stood silently by for a moment, then turned and left.
Zhang Leyi poked Si Jiang's waist and said, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, you have so many romantic debts, but
they are all bad ones. Please take a good look at our Old Tang. Only after a thousand sails have
passed will you know that he is the best in the world. Old Tang is here, here, wow!"
The girls screamed.
Tang Zenian was holding a bunch of balloons in his hand, with a yellow circle inside and a red
circle outside, forming a huge heart-shaped three-dimensional balloon.
"Be careful, don't poke, it will explode!" Tang Zenian raised his hands high to avoid the clutches of
Li Nan and Zhang Leyi: "Three of them exploded in the inner circle this afternoon. It's hard to glue
them again."
"Oh, Broke your heart! That's too cruel." Li Nan pushed Si Jiang forward: "This is the deepest love
for the motherland, and we, the school belle, must get it. Fairy, we will all follow you, it's too
conspicuous now, we will definitely not get lost."
It was the first time Si Jiang saw such a special balloon and was a little nervous: "What if it
explodes?"
Zhang Leyi laughed: "He died at the hands of a beautiful woman. What a worthy death. Balloon
must be smiling in his grave. Ah, bah, bah, bah, children speak without restraint. How did I get
infected by Li Nan?"
Tang Zenian tied the balloon string around Si Jiang's wrist, smiled and took out a bunch of
balloons from his pocket: "It's okay, the reserve team is always ready, you just need to hold the
sign and lead the team. This time at the sports meet, I'm sure you'll still be the one holding the
sign for your class, right?"
"Our teacher, Mr. Gao, hopes that the class will be full of masculinity, so he should let the class
monitor hold up a sign." Si Jiang smiled and moved his wrist, and a combination of heart-shaped
balloons swung in the air.
Jingsheng, who was not far away, looked at the big balloon in his hand, which was an ordinary red
balloon like in previous years. He suddenly felt that it was meaningless for such a large group of
people to spend an entire night squeezing through tens of miles among hundreds of thousands of
people.
Many students from Class 2 (3) waved at him, and Wang Lu ran over with a smile.
Jingsheng loosened his grip, and the balloon floated away with the wind. It hit an electric wire in
mid-air and exploded. The ball died before the mission was accomplished.
Wu Minglan nudged Si Jiang and said, "Your brother, he seems to be leaving soon?"
Si Jiang turned around and saw Jingsheng pushing his bicycle towards the crowd, with a girl
following him. Judging from the back, it should be Wang Lu.
"Yeah." Si Jiang responded calmly, turned around and put on a bright smile: "Classmates, let's go!
Head towards the Bund——!"
"Eh? Is that your brother's girlfriend?" Wu Minglan looked back every few steps, reluctant to
leave.
Zeng Xin smiled and pulled her forward: "Yes, yes, yes, give up, they are the golden boy and jade
girl of our high school department. His girlfriend is in the same class as him and is the secretary
of the Youth League Committee. Her family conditions are very good. It seems that her father,
mother, grandfather and uncle are all officials."
Wu Minglan blushed and spat at her: "Bah, what do you mean by giving up? What are you talking
about? I just think that boys seem to ignore their sisters when they have girlfriends. It's quite
boring."
Yes, it is quite boring. Si Jiang lowered his head for a second, then continued to walk forward with
his head held high.
"Be careful." Tang Zenian put his arm around her shoulders and moved her to the side, letting the
two reckless children pass.
There was laughter behind him.
"Wow, a hero saves the beauty."
"This scene seems familiar. It reminds me of the novel in which it appeared—"
Si Jiang thanked him shyly.
Tang Zenian smiled and walked side by side with her: "Protecting patriotism is everyone's
responsibility."
Unfortunately, when we reached Sichuan Middle Road, the heart-shaped balloons could not
withstand the crowds. The high heart was intact, but the low heart was half broken. Tang Zenian
was squeezed so hard that he couldn't even take out his hands, let alone blow up the balloons to
replenish them. Everyone laughed so hard that they fell over, and in the surging crowd, they sang
at the top of their lungs: "The Yangtze River, the Great Wall, Huangshan Mountain, and the Yellow
River are all very important to me. They are always dear to my heart no matter when or where...
My Chinese heart!"
"Protect our Chinese heart!"
"Wait for me, wait for me, slow down--"
"My shoe fell off—"
"Old Tang, you are such a bastard that forgets your principles for the sake of beauty—"
——
Compared to the bustling crowds and bright lights of the city center, the night on Wanchun Street
is no different from usual. The night breeze of early autumn is slightly cool, and there are fewer
people enjoying the cool breeze on both sides of the road. There are also fewer mosquitoes, and
even the halo of the street lamps is less irritable than in the bitter summer and has become much
softer.
Jingsheng stopped helplessly and said, "Wang Lu, go back. Don't come to watch us play football
or treat us to movies in the future."
Wang Lu looked at him and smiled: "Why do you always chase me away?" She just wanted to be
with him, even if it was just for a walk like this, and she hoped that this road would never end.
Jingsheng hesitated for a moment, raised the handlebars, and looked at the dim figure in the
alley in the distance: "I'm sorry, I have a girl I like."
Wang Lu was stunned: "What?"
Jingsheng pursed his lips and lowered his head: "I have a girl I like."
"Who?! Who do you like? When?" Wang Lu was completely unable to react. She followed Gu
Jingsheng with her eyes almost every day. Gu Jingsheng said he had a girl he liked? Impossible.
He didn't date girls.
Jingsheng twitched the corners of his lips: "I'll go back first."
"Gu Jingsheng!" Wang Lu grabbed his shirt, her eyes red: "You have to tell me who you like - does
she like you?" How could a girl not like Gu Jingsheng? He was a guy that anyone would fall in love
with at first sight, but no one liked him as deeply as she did. They had experienced life and death
together, and he even gave up his legs for her. He was just more introverted, more sensitive, and
less articulate. She had everything he lacked...
Wang Lu finally burst into tears of grievance as she faced the silent Jingsheng: "You must tell me!
You must tell me!"
Jingsheng gently pulled out the corner of his clothes and looked at Wang Lu calmly: "She is not
familiar with you, you don't need to know who she is. She doesn't like me, she - already has a boy
she likes." The words that came out of his mouth were false, but the bitterness was real, many
times more bitter than Jingsheng himself had imagined.
Wang Lu tried to understand the melancholy and loss in Jingsheng's eyes through his tears. He
and she were the same people. They both fell in love with someone who didn't like them.
"If she doesn't like you, then you shouldn't like her," Wang Lu choked and shook her head, but
she didn't neglect the key information: "Not familiar with me? She's from our school, not our
class, right?"
Jingsheng got on his bike and said, "Sorry, goodbye."
"Gu Jingsheng!"
"Gu Jingsheng - tell me clearly, why not? Why?" Why can't I like her?
People and cars disappeared deep into the alley, leaving only a hopeless and sad 17-year-old girl
standing quietly under the street light, unable to understand why the boy she liked didn't like her,
but liked another girl who didn't like him. The tears she shed, the wishes she prayed for, the tiny
details of her ecstasy, and the crazy beating of her heart, turned out to be meaningless.

Chapter 219
Most of the people in the alley had gone out to see the lights, and there were only a few bamboo
lounge chairs and stools on both sides to enjoy the cool breeze. Half of the street lights were
broken at irregular intervals, and the narrow alley was flickering.
The tires of the bicycle vibrated rapidly on the splintered road, but not as fast as Jingsheng's
heartbeat. A strange emotion surged out of his chest, eager to burst out, even close to fear, so
that his skin trembled in the gentle night breeze, his hair stood on end, and his scalp tingled.
It was even like the feeling of being on the verge of life and death. Jingsheng couldn't help but
ring the bell. The crisp tinkling sound spread to the brick walls on both sides and was silently
absorbed. He kept pressing the bell until he finally escaped from the tension that almost
suffocated him.
He has a girl he likes.
This is a lie, a polite and respectable excuse.
She doesn't like me, she already has a boy she likes.
This is the truth. When he said this, what came to his mind was Si Jiang and Tang Zenian standing
side by side, smiling and looking up at that "heart". The bitterness immediately pierced his heart
like a sewing needle.
Jingsheng was scared by himself. Why would a false excuse bear true fruit? There is only one
possibility, that is, what he thought was false was actually true. But this is a truth that no one
allows, including himself. He dared not imagine what would happen after this assumption, but he
dared not think about it, but he would still think about it. Just thinking about it made him feel
breathless. It was painful and had a heavy sense of guilt, but it was also wrapped in a secret
happiness.
He took a few deep breaths, lowered his head to lock his bicycle, and silently turned on the
faucet. The cold water splashed on his face, and Jingsheng slapped his face hard, trying to wake
himself up.
"Hey - Saningle, who is using the water? Turn it off, I'm out of water!" Gu Dongwen's loud
shouting came from the bathroom.
Jingsheng silently scooped up some water, even soaking his hair, before turning on the faucet and
saying, "It's me."
The sound of splashing water drowned out his answer.
——
The Yue Opera "Chasing the Fish" was being sung on the TV screen upstairs. Grandma Gu was
sleeping on a recliner, wearing a white coat and snoring softly.
"Hush, grandma fell asleep after watching TV." Chen Sihao gently put down the gauze mask in his
hand, wiped his greasy mouth and tried to eliminate the evidence that he had just secretly eaten
two chicken legs. The fat meat slid down from the chair smoothly. He looked behind Jingsheng
twice: "Huh? Where's my sister?"
"I went to the Bund to see the lights."
"Brother, why don't you come with me?" Chen Sihao followed Jingsheng and climbed up to the
attic on tiptoe. He took two breaths and said, "Are you guys not well yet?"
Jingsheng touched his big head. Sihao's soft curly hair was very smooth, much more comfortable
to touch than Sinan's messy hair.
"Children shouldn't ask about adult matters. You don't understand."
"I understand, but I don't want to understand too much!" Chen Si was very unconvinced. She
rolled her big black eyes around and told Jingsheng mysteriously, "Last time your girlfriend came
to see you, she was wearing the same skirt as your sister. You took her to buy it, right? Your sister
was so mad that she ignored you."
"She has to be angry, but she still wants to ride in your girlfriend's car. Tsk tsk tsk." Si Hao fiddled
with the football under Jingsheng's desk and sighed, "I also want to ride in your girlfriend's car,
but she won't take me with her. What a stingy person!"
"My girlfriend?" Jingsheng was startled, squatted down and asked: "When did you come?"
"When you went to Hangzhou, she brought imported chocolates with her, saying that they were
only sold at the Friendship Store and that you had to use a bridge to buy them."
Jingsheng stood up suddenly, which scared Si Hao.
"Brother?"
Jingsheng came back to his senses and pinched the little fat boy's face: "Why don't I see any
chocolate?"
Chen Sihao confessed with a bitter face: "It was so hot, so hot that it melted - I ate it -"
"The time when you had a big nosebleed? Grandma said it was from eating chocolate?"
"Hmmmm." Chen Sihao rubbed his cheeks and cried out in pain, "Brother, what kind of bridge
can I buy? It's really delicious. Can you buy it for me on my next birthday?"
"It's not a bridge, it's an overseas remittance voucher. You little fool, you can't eat sweets, have
you forgotten?" Jingsheng jumped down from the attic in two steps.
"Brother, brother, please help me, I can't go down." Chen Sihao lay at the entrance of the stairs,
not daring to stretch his feet down.
Granny Gu was woken up by their noise and slowly stood up with the help of the recliner: "Stop
making so much noise. Baby, why are you climbing up to the attic again? Have you forgotten that
you rolled down and cried for a long time when you were a kid? Don't move, don't move, I'll help
you."
"Jingsheng? Jingsheng? Where's Sijiang? Hey, why did he run away again?"
Gu Dongwen turned around and shouted while wiping his hair, but his voice was empty. He
muttered a few words, went to get the purple clay teapot, and suddenly looked up and asked,
"Chen Sihao, did you steal the chicken leg?"
"No." Si Hao wiped his mouth again. It was not greasy.
Gu Dongwen lifted the net cover with a mixture of anger and amusement, picked up two chicken
bones and knocked them on Chen Sihao's head: "You only know how to eat meat! Where are the
bones? Did the bones come out by themselves?"
Si Hao held his head and cried: "It ran out by itself, what does it have to do with me? (It ran out
by itself, what does it have to do with me?)"
——
The bicycle quickly passed Wanhangdu Road and Nanjing West Road. Jingsheng turned right from
Xizang Road, slowed down at Jinling Road, and stopped at the intersection. Would Sijiang and the
others go back from Jinling Road, or Yan'an Road or Beijing Road?
Jingsheng was a little unsure. He took a few breaths, lifted the hem of his shirt and wiped the
sweat off his face. His tense thigh muscles suddenly relaxed, and the tension in his mind also
suddenly loosened. It seemed that everything in front of him had happened before, and it was
inexplicably familiar, including his current confusion and feeling ridiculous. It seemed that
everything had happened before, but he couldn't remember what the result was.
He rushed out so stupidly, of course he was looking for Si Jiang. What would he do after finding
him?
Should he tell her that Wang Lu is not his girlfriend? Should he say that he did not take her to buy
the skirt? Should he say that no one can look better in it than she does? Or should he not tell her
that Wang Lu came to his house to find him, so they are even? Or should he let her leave Tang
Zenian and the others behind and go home with him?
Both of them are stupid and ridiculous. How could he think that a six-year-old kid said those two
sentences...
A seventeen-year-old boy stopped quietly at the traffic light. The green light turned red, the red
light turned green, and the green light turned red again. The bus horns sounded sometimes
louder and sometimes softer. The low clouds reflected the color of neon lights, and the sky above
was not black, but a vast gray-blue.
Gu Jingsheng's eyes were sore and painful, and he suddenly remembered what his mother once
said:
"Anyway, I want to be good to him, and he wants to be good to me, no matter what others say,
no matter if it lasts for a few days, even if it only lasts for one day, it's good enough."
The hard part is not what people say behind your back, nor is it one day, one month, one year, or
even separation. It’s that I like you, and you like me too.
Jingsheng turned around and rode west along Changle Road. Finally, he got off the bike and
pushed it slowly along the upper street. He tried to observe every doorway, every window, and
every person behind it. Who doesn't have a story? Tell it to others, or can't tell it to others. Over
the years and decades, storybooks were piled up on the floor inch by inch, silently, without
anyone recording, and soon forgotten. Perhaps his unspeakable mood tonight will also seep into
the grid road of Wanchun Street bit by bit, and soon even he will no longer remember it.
At the door of a tobacco and paper shop, a little girl in her early teens was lying on a low stool
under a street lamp doing her homework. She was crying as she was doing it, complaining that
her parents would not let her go to see the lamp. From inside came a middle-aged man's
scolding: "Look at you, you got 32 points in math, are you a pig? You can't even do such a simple
question, you are just like your mother, a fool! You are just like your mother, a fool... (Look at you,
you got 32 points in math, are you a pig? You can't even do such a simple question, you are just
like your mother, a fool, no more scolding)"
Jingsheng looked at the little girl and saw that her head was about to fall on the notebook,
blocking out the light from the street lamp completely. He wondered if she could tell addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division clearly on the dark paper.
There were clanging sounds from the upstairs of the tobacco and paper shop, mixed with the
cries of women. Jingsheng stopped. To the left of the tobacco and paper shop was a small
restaurant with a blackened door frame and a closed door. To the right was a doorway with seven
or eight tattered mailboxes hanging on the red wooden door, clearly in the format of "Seventy-
two Tenants". Three or five old men and women were sitting on the street chatting, ignoring the
cries and scoldings from the neighbors next door.
There was a loud bang, and then a bang, as if someone was rolling down the stairs and attacking
them. The old man and the old woman looked up, shook their heads, and continued to roll
mountains and rivers.
Jingsheng locked his bicycle and knocked on the glass counter of the tobacco and paper shop:
"Are you there? (Is anyone there?) Boss? Are you there?"
The little girl under the street light turned around, hesitating whether to continue doing her
homework or greet the guests.
"Ala Ye Le Da Ala Niang——(My father is beating my mother)"
Jingsheng noticed a slap mark on the little girl's face that had not yet disappeared, and he
couldn't help but frown and purse his lips.
A narrow door behind the counter creaked open, and a woman in her thirties came out with her
hair combed and head lowered: "You have Ningge, what do you want to buy?"
Through the door behind her, Jingsheng only saw a pair of thin men's legs walking up the stairs in
slippers.
"Want to pee? (What do you want?)" The woman flipped through the half-worn account book on
the glass counter uncomfortably.
Jingsheng saw a stream of blood slowly flowing down her forehead.
"Your head is broken."
"Oh. It's okay, it's okay." The woman quickly bent down and took out a piece of cloth from
underneath and covered her head with it.
"Mom?" The little girl ran over and looked up at her mom: "You are holding a rag!"
"Hurry up and do the questions, or you'll get beaten up by your dad."
The little girl stammered a few words, glanced at Jingsheng, and then walked away reluctantly.
There was a thumping sound on the stairs, and the man's legs appeared behind the door again,
along with his cursing voice. The woman looked back like a frightened rabbit, stuffed the cloth
covering her forehead into the counter, and gave Jingsheng a forced smile: "What do you want to
buy?"
Jingsheng looked at the messy shelves and said, "Thank you, a pack of soft peony."
"Fifty cents a bag."
"Get another box of matches."
"One corner."
Jingsheng took out a cigarette, lit it while leaning against the counter, took a puff, and blew out
the smoke directly from his mouth.
The woman looked at Jingsheng, turned silently and walked into the narrow door.
The cigarette burned out quietly between Jingsheng's fingers, and he took out another one and
lit it.
After finishing a pack of cigarettes, there was no more sound of the man beating the woman.
Jingsheng threw the last cigarette butt into the trash can and took out the bicycle key to unlock it.
There were already many people walking back from the Bund on Changle Road, and it was very
busy. The bicycle could not pedal fast. Jingsheng turned onto Ruijin Road and sped up. He had
done two stupid things tonight and spent six cents. If it were Gu Dongwen, would he rush in and
take that skinny man out and beat him up? Probably not. Jingsheng thought that the six cents
were well spent. He didn't know where the ruthlessness came from, and he gritted his teeth,
thinking that since he had done two stupid things, it wouldn't be a big deal to do one more.
——
Si Jiang and her friends didn't walk back to Jing'an Park until half past eleven. As usual, a group of
old classmates went to eat tofu pudding together. They didn't see the tofu pudding stall, but they
saw Jingsheng sitting on the back seat of a bicycle.
"It's not allowed to set up stalls here now." Jingsheng stood up.
Zhou Jiaming scratched his head: "Ah? I haven't been here for a long time, I didn't know——"
Si Jiang looked around Jingsheng and didn't see Wang Lu.
Li Nan asked with a smile: "Brother, where is your girlfriend?"
"I don't have a girlfriend, don't talk nonsense."
Si Jiang looked down at his sneakers which were covered with many footprints, and said nothing.
Amidst the laughter, everyone waved and said goodbye.
The night wind blew by, Si Jiang smoothed his loose hair and looked at Jingsheng uncomfortably.
"Get in the car." Jingsheng got in the car and nodded at her.
The bicycle passed through Jiaozhou Road. Under the street lamp, the shadows of the two
wheels rotated tirelessly on the road again and again, and the two figures above it rose and fell
slightly at a distance.
"I'm sorry." At the traffic light, Jingsheng stepped on the brakes and stretched out his legs to
support the ground.

Chapter 220
"What?"
Si Jiang came to his senses and suspected that he had heard it wrong.
"I'm sorry, I was wrong about Zhou Jiaming's letter." Jingsheng turned sideways and looked down
at Si Jiang who was sitting on the mountain behind him.
The street lights in the night divided his profile into two halves, light and dark, like the undulating
mountains. The light part was gentle and shining, while the dark part was tranquil and extremely
heavy. There was also a starry sky in his eyes, vast and dazzling.
Si Jiang looked at Jingsheng in a daze.
"sorry."
Jingsheng said it again, as if to make sure that she really heard it clearly this time, before turning
back.
"The light is green, hold on tight."
His back was slightly arched, and his white shirt was a gentle light golden color under the street
lights. His fine hair was slightly damp with sweat, and it reflected specks of light as his body rose
and fell.
The bicycle suddenly accelerated, and Si Jiang leaned back, reaching out to grab Jingsheng's shirt.
No one had ever said sorry to her so seriously. When she was a child, her parents said every year
that they would return to Shanghai soon and the family would be together soon, but every year it
was empty talk, and no one said sorry to her. Her mother read her diary and beat her, but she
never said sorry. Her father remembered the wrong grade she was in, but he never said sorry.
Her most fierce resistance was just to tell herself that it didn't matter.
"Why?" Si Jiang lowered her head and asked softly, suspecting that Jingsheng could not hear
what she asked at all.
The bicycle slowed down, swayed slowly, and even seemed to twist twice on purpose.
A night bus whizzed past them from behind. The driver was probably startled by the bicycle's
sudden swerving movement and honked his horn loudly.
"What?" Jingsheng asked loudly without turning his head.
Si Jiang hugged Jingsheng's waist as usual and rubbed the tears that had just fallen onto his back.
Jing Sheng stiffened for a moment, and his chest and abdomen shook continuously for a few
times.
Still laughing! Si Jiang asked loudly and fiercely:
"Why are you saying sorry? Gu Jingsheng, what did you do wrong? Tell me! Tell the truth!"
Jingsheng smiled and said, "Chen Sijiang, I was wrong. I should have stood by you
unconditionally. No matter what Auntie said, I should have informed you first. I shouldn't have
treated you like a child. I shouldn't have thought that less trouble is worse than more trouble. I
shouldn't have obeyed Auntie's instructions. I shouldn't have disrespected you. I shouldn't have
been unable to recognize my mistakes for so long."
"That's right!" Si Jiang hit him hard twice. "You actually stood on the side of my mother! You are
so annoying, so annoying. You are a traitor and a traitor. You are not worthy of being friends with
me! It's a pity that I was so nice to you. I am so angry, so angry, so angry! I don't want to forgive
you."
Jingsheng laughed: "You have the right not to forgive me."
"I won't forgive you! You are the most annoying one!" Si Jiang lay on Jingsheng's back and cried.
"Well, I should have believed in the organization and the party, and believed that the great and
wise Comrade Chen Sijiang would never take the path of premature love. I shouldn't have
cooperated with the three mountains to oppress the proletariat. From now on, I will stand by
your side unswervingly. If you want me to go undercover, I will go undercover. If you want me to
resist, I will help you resist."
Si Jiang burst into laughter, but felt ashamed to be bought off so easily by his "I'm sorry": "Bah,
what nonsense! I'm still very angry and want to hit someone!"
"If you want to hit someone, I'll help you pass the rolling pin. If you want to kill someone, I'll help
you bury the body."
"I'm going to hit you."
"You can hit me as you like."
Si Jiang slapped his hands on his back.
"I'll hit you, I'll hit you! I'll hit you!"
Jingsheng smiled slightly. This scene seemed to have happened many times and was extremely
familiar.
"Don't be so reluctant, are you hitting me or tickling me?" Jingsheng blurted out, and then
realized that this was what Gu Dongwen often said to his mother with a smile before, but it was
too late to take it back. A surge of heat rushed to his head, burning from his neck to the tips of his
ears, and his scalp was slightly numb. He quickly stood up and kicked a few times: "Sit down,
we're going into the alley."
Si Jiang's butt was hurt by the bumpy road.
"Slow down, slow down, it's so shaky! Brother! Are you deliberately taking revenge on me? You
don't really mean it, do you?"
"It wasn't intentional—" Jingsheng smiled and slowed down: "It was intentional."
The bicycle stopped, Si Jiang got off the bicycle dizzy and kicked Jing Sheng: "I didn't mean to do
that, I did it on purpose, huh."
She turned on the faucet, washed her hands, and splashed water on Jingsheng's face: "This is
intentional!" She turned around and ran upstairs with a smile.
"Sijiang!"
"what?"
Jingsheng held up the rolling pin in the kitchen with a serious look on his face: "Do you want to
continue beating me?"
Si Jiang couldn't help laughing, and replied in a serious tone: "I'm so tired today that I don't have
the energy to beat you. I'll just take it for granted. If you dare to rebel again in the future, we'll
beat you together!"
The rolling pin in Jingsheng's hand flew into the air, turned 360 degrees, and landed steadily in his
hand.
"I didn't get to eat the tofu pudding, so I might as well just make a bowl of noodles. There's some
pickled mustard greens and shredded pork in the refrigerator..." Jingsheng thought for a moment.
"I also want a poached egg! The kind with runny egg." Si Jiang smiled with his eyes curved.
"Hey, a bowl of noodles, please—"
"No forgiveness! You wish!" Si Jiang went up the stairs arrogantly, her footsteps making a
thudding sound, like a victorious female general returning to the capital.
Jingsheng smiled and threw the rolling pin into the air again.
A head popped out from the pavilion.
Gu Dongwen: "I also want a bowl of pickled mustard greens and shredded pork noodles,
scallions, and two poached eggs, thank you."
The rolling pin slipped out of Jingsheng's hand, hit the kitchen door with a bang, and almost fell
to the ground.
"You wish!" Jingsheng glared at him uncomfortably.
Gu Dongwen smiled with deep dimples and curved eyes.
——
The three of them gathered around the dining table for a midnight snack.
After Si Jiang finished talking about the new lights on the Bund, he glanced at the scenery for a
few times and announced in a casual manner: "I have something else to do tonight."
"It's the boy in our class four, called Tang Zenian," Si Jiang blushed and confessed, "When he was
looking at the lights today, he suddenly said--"
Chen Sijiang wanted to prove that he had no distractions and could speak openly and honestly to
others, but when the words came to his lips, he couldn't speak frankly.
Jingsheng put down his chopsticks.
Gu Dongwen laughed: "He said he likes you? He wants to be your boyfriend?"
Si Jiang shook his head in embarrassment: "No, no, no, I didn't say the latter one--"
"If someone doesn't want to be your boyfriend, then his love is fake. Ignore him." Gu Dongwen
deliberately put on a stern face.
Si Jiang became even more embarrassed: "No, uncle, that's not the case..." Tang Zenian was very
serious when he said it, and Si Jiang knew that his love was definitely not fake.
Jingsheng drank the soup in silence, slurping loudly.
Gu Dongwen tapped Jingsheng's bowl with his chopsticks: "Be gentle, be careful, the little fat boy
might cry if he hears us secretly cutting (eating) midnight snacks."
He turned his head and sighed, "Alas, Nannan, you are far inferior to your great aunt. How come
you are already sixteen years old before someone really likes you? When your great aunt was in
fifth grade, there were little naked guys waiting at the entrance of the alley. Hey, this little Tang,
was he the first to speak?"
"Uncle?!" Si Jiang's face flushed, but all the awkwardness and embarrassment he had just felt
were gone, and he even felt inexplicably relieved.
Gu Dongwen looked at Si Jiang with his chin propped up, as if smiling.
Si Jiang checked herself, and found that the noodle soup had not leaked out, and there was no oil
on her mouth. She couldn't help but secretly kick Jingsheng beside her under the table. Jingsheng
raised his head to look at her, and Si Jiang blinked inexplicably with guilt.
"Nannan, you will meet at least a hundred boys who like you in the future. But you will only like a
few or a dozen of them——"
Si Jiang interrupted him quickly: "No, no, no, just one! I will only love one person in my life." Just
like in countless love novels, holding hands with your lover and growing old together.
Gu Dongwen laughed out loud and shook his head: "It's terrible, this kind of thinking is the worst.
Uncle tells you, don't ever think like this. This kind of faithful thinking is deadly. How come you
read so many books in vain? Your brain is so dull."
"This is not called rigidity, this is called strict requirements and high standards that are
consistent!" Si Jiang retorted unconvinced.
"Silly girl, how can a person only like one person for a lifetime? When you were a child, you loved
eating boiled eggs. What about you now?"
“It’s not the same as eating.”
"How are they different? Hahaha. Forget it, you are like your mother, stupid." Gu Dongwen stood
up to pour tea.
Jingsheng put down his chopsticks: "It's different." He paused: "My mother has only loved you in
her life."
The teapot in Gu Dongwen's hand shook.
Si Jiang received Jingsheng's unconditional support and nodded vigorously: "I also think that true
love should be like this."
Gu Dongwen looked at the two children with determined faces under the light and couldn't help
but sneer.
Adults can't help but want to impart their insignificant experiences to children, but teenagers
won't listen. They won't turn back until they hit the wall and get their heads bruised and
bloodied. Everyone's life is like this. He himself was threatened by his father that he would break
his legs if he dared to go to Yunnan, but he still went and never saw the old man again. Ximei was
the same. He stole the household registration book and ran to Xinjiang and never came back.
I like you, you like me, that's good too. There is no word for love in Shanghai dialect, it's too
heavy, so heavy that there are no words to express it, so it's better not to have it.
Gu Dongwen returned to the table and sat down.
"Ge Mo, girl, do you like him?" Gu Dongwen asked Si Jiang with a smile.
Si Jiang was stunned, his face reddened as he thought for a while: "I don't know - (I don't know). I
just said that I have never thought about that, I just want to study hard, do well in the TOEFL, get
a scholarship to study abroad..." His voice became smaller and smaller.
"Oh——" Gu Dongwen dragged out the last word and looked at Jingsheng with a smile: "By the
way, Gu Jingsheng, that Wang Lu likes you, how about you?"
"What nonsense! I have explained everything to Wang Lu."
"What did you say?" Si Jiang was surprised, having forgotten that this was the first time he was
confessed to tonight.
Jingsheng turned away in panic: "Nothing. Anyway, she is not my girlfriend."
He turned back to look at Si Jiang: "Those messy things circulating in school are all rumors, don't
believe them."
Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief and pouted: "I didn't believe it - but you treated her to a cold
drink."
"Please everyone. Everyone. There were seventeen people in total, and they spent twelve dollars
and thirty cents on my meal!" Jingsheng still felt sad when he thought about it.
"You deserve it!" Si Jiang's eyes widened after a quick mental calculation: "What did you eat to
cost so much?! An average of 72 cents? A medium ice block only costs 60 cents!"
"There's a new kind of creamy double-color ice cream now, it costs 80 cents." Jingsheng sighed in
frustration. Twelve dollars and thirty cents! I can buy an English tape.
"The one with half chocolate?"
"Have you eaten yet?"
Si Jiang blinked. Tang Zenian had treated them all to meals several times. She didn't know it was
so expensive.
"Did your classmate treat you to a meal?"
"Yeah. Then how come Wang Lu also has our skirt?"
…
Gu Dongwen looked back at the two kids talking endlessly at the attic stairs, smiled and shook his
head. The old lady was right, enemies always meet.
Before he reached the attic, a howl of grief was heard from below.
"You ate it secretly from me! I smell it! The fragrant smell of pickled mustard greens and
shredded pork! You ate it secretly!" Chen Sihao rubbed his eyes and cried, accusing the
conscienceless brothers and sisters.
Gu Dongwen quickly turned off the lights in the attic.
Enemies, all enemies.

Chapter 221
After the National Day, the autumn rain came and it was cool. Si Jiang and Jing Sheng both put on
long sleeves, and the various interest classes in the school were also carried out in a lively
manner. After the test of quail eggs in tomato sauce, we learned to braise pork ribs. The boys
were the happiest because they had meat to eat. On the day of the exam, they banged the pork
ribs loudly. Si Jiang got Jing Sheng's advice and first cut a few incisions on the edge of the ribs
where there were belt tendons. The master saw it and praised her for her attentiveness.
"I did this move in my last class, but I didn't explain it. After looking around today, only one pretty
girl, Aladie (our classmate), noticed it."
The chef picked up the ribs on the cutting board and gestured, "See? Here, here, where there are
tendons, they need to be opened, otherwise the ribs will be exposed to the oil. Everyone knows
that heat expands and cold contracts, but the meat wants to expand, and it is held tightly by the
tendons. What should we do? It has to curl up and roll up, which will not look good, and the
heating will not be even. Everyone, remember this, to learn cooking, you must use your eyes,
hands, and heart. No matter what job you do in the future, no chef will teach you step by step, it
all depends on you to watch carefully, do you understand?"
The classroom was filled with applause. Si Jiang blushed as he used the back of a knife to beat the
pork chop until it was thin enough to let light through, and then he coated it with bread crumbs.
The deep-fried pork chop smelled so good that Lin Zhuoyu couldn't wait to eat it and secretly
took a big bite.
"Master, actually, we just need to learn how to deep-fry the pork chops, as they are easier to cut
and eat." He tried to resist after being caught by the master.
"For Shanghainese side dishes, braised pork is the essence. Thick red soy sauce, soy sauce, rice
wine, salt, sugar, water, and starch are all important. Conditions are much better now than in the
past, but it is impossible to have meat every meal. You can eat fried pork chops in three or five
bites, but braised pork chops are different. For one bowl of soup, you can eat three bowls of rice.
Be careful, classmate! "
The classmates burst into laughter. Li Nan laughed so hard that the pork chops that had just been
taken out of the frying pan flew over the plate and hit the ground. As she stared in amazement,
the chef quickly picked it up, shook it and threw it back into the frying pan.
"It's disinfected at high temperature. It doesn't matter. I won't taste it anyway, so don't worry
about it." The master smiled.
In the classroom, screams, clapping of the table and loud laughter were intertwined.
The chef raised his hand to signal for silence: "I would like to remind you of one thing. When you
go out to eat, never complain that the food is not well prepared and ask for it to be redone. In a
regular restaurant, of course, the food will be redone in a proper manner, but in most
restaurants, the food may go through this ordeal after it is taken back. There are also some nasty
workers who spit and shake cigarette ashes. It has been reported in the newspapers."
The classroom was even more excited now. Si Jiang laughed so hard that her stomach hurt. She
took her master's words as a joke. Anyway, such a thing had never happened in her uncle's
Dongsheng Canteen.
After the finished product was cooked, a small piece was cut out and poured with soup to give
the chef a score. The rest was for himself. Si Jiang brought a lunch box and carefully packed it
with the soup, ready to take it home for his grandmother, Jingsheng and Si Hao to taste his
cooking skills. The boy ate it in a few bites on the spot.
Tang Zenian smiled and asked Si Jiang: "I really can't eat anymore. I didn't bring my lunch box. You
can take my steak back. Don't worry, mine is only three points less than yours. It's definitely not
bad."
Si Jiang couldn't help laughing. Thinking of Si Hao's greedy look, he gladly accepted this "gift".
Walking out of the classroom, a girl's shadow was stretched out by the setting sun.
"Si Jiang! Wait."
Wang Lu walked over in a hurry. Si Jiang's scalp tingled. She didn't want to be a close sister at all,
especially after Jingsheng had made it clear to Wang Lu. She didn't want to become the one who
helped Wang Lu save the country in a roundabout way.
Tang Zenian was very understanding and immediately smiled and said, "Then Li Nan and I will
wait for you in the parking shed. Remember that you have a TOEFL test today, so hurry up."
Si Jiang, who did not have a TOEFL class today, nodded at him gratefully. Li Nan made a face and
walked away with Tang Zenian laughing.
Wang Lu forced a smile and lowered her head: "I'm sorry, Si Jiang, I know it's not good for me to
look like this, but I really can't help it——"
Si Jiang had many complaints about Wang Lu behind her back, but when he saw her looking so
worried, he couldn't help but soften his heart.
"What do you want from me?"
Wang Lu was silent for a moment, then suddenly reached out and pressed the corners of her
eyes.
Si Jiang was a little panicked: "Wang Lu, you?"
Wang Lu raised her head with tears in her eyes and smiled: "I'm sorry for making things difficult
for you. I just want to ask who the girl that Gu Jingsheng likes is. Si Jiang, you must know her,
right? Don't worry, I won't look for her. I - I just want to know who she is? I want to know why I
am inferior to her..."
Si Jiang was stunned.
"The girl my brother likes?!"
Wang Lu bit her lower lip and nodded, sniffing: "He told me this himself, and said that the girl has
a boy she likes and doesn't like him. I don't believe it unless I see that girl. Si Jiang, please tell me.
I'll go and take a look, and then I'll give up."
Si Jiang stared at Wang Lu in a daze, her head buzzing. The sympathy she had for Wang Lu and
the feeling of "feeling sorry for one's own kind" that came from being a woman were all gone,
and what flooded into her heart was a huge pain and discomfort. The dramatic scene
automatically emerged in her mind without any construction. The brother, who was as
affectionate and loyal as her uncle, loved but could not get it, and watched "that girl" from afar,
while that girl was smiling and talking with the boy she liked and who also liked her. The brother
left lonely in the sunset.
"My mother has only loved you all her life."
So, is the brother actually talking about himself? He will only like that one girl in his life, but that
girl doesn't like him! In this world, the brother has a girl he likes, but in this world, there are girls
who don't like the brother? !
"Si Jiang?" Wang Lu was startled by the tears on Si Jiang's face. She had always felt that she was
not liked by Si Jiang, but she took this as the natural alienation and hostility between the
shantytown and the old foreign house, and did not take it to heart. She really did not expect that
after her embarrassing posture of "broken love" was exposed, she was not laughed at by Si Jiang,
but was understood by her. This understanding was too precious. At this moment, Wang Lu
regarded Si Jiang as her lifelong confidant, completely unaware that the tears were not shed
because of her.
"Sijiang?"
After playing football, Jingsheng didn't find Si Jiang in the classroom. He met Tang Zenian and Li
Nancai in the carport and hurried over.
The two girls looked at him with tears in their eyes.
The seventeen-year-old boy with long arms and legs came running like the wind, dressed in fine
clothes and riding a vigorous horse.
Si Jiang's heart was broken.
Jingsheng looked at Wang Lu nervously: "Are you all right?"
Wang Lu hurriedly wiped away her tears. She didn't want to show her vulnerability and jealousy
in front of Jingsheng.
"I'm leaving first. Thank you, Si Jiang. I'll bring you some TOEFL reference materials and tapes
tomorrow, which will definitely be helpful to you." Wang Lu still remembered to say goodbye to
Jingsheng with a smile, and reminded him: "Remember to read the list of things to learn about
agriculture in the countryside carefully, and bring everything with you. Your kitchen team must go
two days in advance, don't forget."
"Okay. Goodbye." Jingsheng nodded.
Watching Wang Lu leave, Jingsheng took the schoolbag and lunch box from Si Jiang.
"Did you pass the test? How many points did you get?"
"Ninety-five." Si Jiang wiped his tears and followed him to the carport sullenly.
"Brother."
"Um?"
Si Jiang couldn't ask. It was such a painful thing, probably no man would be willing to open the
wound again and again.
"Brother, where are you going to learn farming in the countryside?"
“Nanhui.”
"How long?"
"Two weeks."
"Have you signed up for the cooking class?"
"Well, I heard that the food conditions are not very good, but the kitchen staff can at least get
enough to eat."
"Oh, then I will also sign up for the cooking class next year."
"Don't report it."
"Why?"
"It's hard work. We have to clean the canteen and prepare food in advance. I heard that it takes a
whole day to wash hairtail. A senior on our team said that his hands were all cracked from
washing vegetables last year. It was so painful."
"I am not afraid of hardship."
"Bullshit. You can't even peel a quail egg."
"I peeled it very well later."
"You won't go hungry. Your classmates in the kitchen will definitely make sure you have enough."
Jingsheng snorted. There were too many boys who liked Si Jiang. If she hadn't said it, she would
have thought he didn't know.
Si Jiang suddenly sighed. Brother went to the kitchen to suffer, maybe it was to give the girl he
liked an extra spoonful of meat, but what if the girl gave the spoonful of meat to the boy she
liked? What if the girl refused coldly and said that she liked fish but not meat? Brother, holding
the spoon with a face full of forbearance, loneliness and helplessness -
Si Jiang's heart was sore and painful, and tears fell down again, and he couldn't hold it in.
Jingsheng was startled: "What did Wang Lu say to you? What are you doing?"
Si Jiang saw a shadowy figure in the carport in front, stopped and grabbed Jingsheng's jersey.
"Brother."
Jingsheng had goose bumps on his arms and was very nervous: "What's wrong?"
There were so many things he couldn't say, and finally, Si Jiang sobbed, "Brother, you need to be
nicer to yourself, okay?"
Jingsheng was stunned, rolled his eyes, and let out a breath of temper.
"Nonsense, I'm already in the kitchen, how can I starve myself?"
"No. I mean—"
"What?"
"You, if you fall in love with someone——"
Jingsheng almost fell down.
"What if, I mean what if, what if that girl is blind and doesn't even like you, then you shouldn't
like her. I think uncle is right, who can only like one person for a lifetime? People like my aunt are
rare, it's just my uncle who got lucky, it's just a blind cat - bah bah bah. I'm not, hey, I just want
you to not be so stubborn, okay?" Si Jiang's words became more and more confused, almost
incoherent. She was afraid that Jingsheng would find out that she had known his secret, so she
ran to the carport.
"Pumpkin! Tang Ze Nian——"
Jingsheng took a deep breath and smiled bitterly.
Yes, he was not as lucky as Gu Dongwen. The cat was not blind, but the mouse would have run
somewhere else.
"Why is it taking so long? She's so annoyed. Hurry up, the two-color ice cream is about to melt."
Li Nan sat carelessly on the back seat of Tang Zenian's bicycle and stuffed an ice cream into Si
Jiang's mouth. "Old Tang is treating us. It's a waste if we don't eat it."
Si Jiang took the ice cream, turned around to look at Jingsheng who looked expressionless,
blinked, unwrapped it and handed it to Jingsheng in a flattering manner: "Brother, do you want to
eat it?"
Jingsheng took it without hesitation.
The four of them walked side by side towards the back door of the school.
Li Nan asked Jingsheng in a low voice with a smile: "Brother, our Old Tang and the fairy are a good
match, right? Don't worry, it will not affect the study at all. Old Tang knows what to do, and will
help the fairy to improve her math, physics and chemistry. We will promote each other and work
together towards a better future."
Jingsheng glanced sideways: "???"
"Wow, they took the TOEFL together, went abroad together, attended the same university, and
started a beautiful love in a foreign country. Ah, I believed in novels and movies. After six years of
hard pursuit, it finally came to fruition. What a great love..." Li Nan's eyes were full of stars.
Jingsheng bit off the popsicle stick with a snap, and finally a large piece of popsicle fell into his
throat, and he swallowed it whole, feeling a burning sensation.
Li Nan suddenly remembered something, and took out three pink and blue letters from his
schoolbag, and surreptitiously stuffed them into Jingsheng's coat pocket, clasping his hands
together and saying, "Brother, please help me, at least open them and take a look, and don't
throw them into the school trash can. I have completed my mission. I will have three big chops
next week. Don't worry, these are not love letters, but pen pals, one-sided pen pals. Shh - don't
let Si Jiang know."
Jingsheng looked at the two people in front of him who were talking and laughing. They seemed
to be very pleasing to the eye.
It's just a look, but in fact it's very eye-catching and hurtful.

Chapter 222
Si Jiang had never met a boy like Tang Zenian. She actually didn't know how to get along with the
opposite sex other than her uncles and Jingsheng. She had no one to learn from and no
opportunity to practice.
Boys like Zhao Youning who grew up together are naturally familiar with each other, so there is
no obvious gender feature, boy is just a noun. As for other boys who "like her", she can feel their
liking, such as Zhou Jiaming, Lin Zhuoyu, the current class monitor Ren Xinyou, and even Yu Ping
who blushes when he sees her. The way they look at her and talk to her is different from other
girls, but she keeps a safe distance from them, acquaintances; classmates; old classmates who
are closer than classmates; old classmates who can joke around casually; they are clearly in the
personal social circle she has drawn, and this distance is not difficult to maintain.
But Tang Zenian seemed to have crossed that safety line since he taught her how to play, and she
didn't mind. Tang Zenian had a temperament similar to Zhao Youning, which was the result of
innate environment and acquired cultivation, and it was difficult to imitate. Excellence was just a
habit for them, and it seemed to be easily obtained. Their excellence did not make them weird or
even difficult to get along with. On the contrary, they were more attractive because they were
particularly approachable and considerate. Few girls could resist this attraction.
Si Jiang also admitted that in her heart, Tang Zenian was indeed different from other boys. It was
not awkward to get along with him, but very suitable. He always made her feel like a spring
breeze, and this spring breeze was unique, very obvious in the details, but not so obvious that
she felt pressured. He could always help her in advance with a very natural way for anything she
needed. It seemed unnoticeable, but actually took a lot of effort. Because Si Jiang herself was a
sensitive and delicate person, looking back afterwards, she had a better impression of Tang
Zenian. Accumulating bit by bit, the good impression was slowly mixed with sweetness.
When Si Jiang was confessed to during the National Day, she was flustered because she didn't
expect that the paper would be suddenly pierced. She blurted out her words and thought it was a
euphemistic rejection, so she was prepared to lose this "good teacher and helpful friend" who
was closer than a friend, but after returning to school, she found that nothing had changed. Li
Nan, the leader of the "Pro-Tang faction", was even more excited, and he often announced that
she had given Tang Zenian a promise.
What the hell is a promise? Si Jiang herself was confused. It was not until Tang Zenian leaned on
the playground railing and said with a smile that he would apply to the same university as her
that Si Jiang understood. She felt a mixture of shame, surprise, touching, happy, fortunate, and
the pleasure of her vanity being satisfied. This was the first time a boy valued and cherished her
so much, even putting her before his own future. This feeling was too sincere and precious. Si
Jiang felt that no one would treat her better than Tang Zenian.
Recalling Tang Zenian’s words, “I like you and have liked you for quite a long time.” Si Jiang
suddenly understood why the brother had to “make it clear” to Wang Lu like that.
It turns out that if someone says "I like you," the standard rejection answer is not her "I haven't
thought about it now, I just want to study hard...", because for boys it means "I can think about
you and like you after I finish my studies." There are even more implicit testing questions: "Can
you wait until I finish my studies and pass the exams? Can your love stand the test of time?"
The standard answer is: "Don't bother me, I'm not happy with you."
Of course, this is not enough, because if the Huanongning people (people who like you) retreat
so easily, how can they deserve the word "happy"? They will definitely ask "Why?" "What did I do
wrong?" "Then what do you like?" Then they will ask themselves and answer "I can become the
way you like." "You don't like it now, or you will like it after a while." "Then I treat you better, and
you will like me." And so on. As for your dislike, it is actually simple and real dislike, and they will
never admit it. This is also a common problem of "secret admirers".
So Jingsheng directly told Wang Lu that he had a girl he liked.
But Si Jiang didn't like any other boys, so she couldn't use this as an excuse to lie to Tang Zenian.
Lying was certainly wrong. Tang Zenian was so good to her, and Si Jiang thought it was an insult to
his sincere and precious feelings to use deception to please him.
"So do you like Tang Zenian or not?" Zeng Xin asked curiously with a blink of his eyes after
listening to Si Jiang's analysis.
The autumn rain was swaying outside the window, and the blackboard eraser in Si Jiang's hand
stopped in mid-air.
"I just don't know what true love is like?" Si Jiang sighed faintly. This was probably what it meant
when one was involved in a situation that made one confused. She claimed to have read
thousands of books and was considered to be proficient in all kinds of romance novels, but she
didn't expect that they were still just talk on paper. When it came to herself, she was completely
confused and couldn't make sense of anything.
Zeng Xin also sighed deeply, waving the broom high in the air: "Only a beauty like you would have
such troubles. After all, there are too many boys who like you, and you have to decide whether
they are real or fake. I never think about such profound questions. I would think about it if I don't
see it, and I would laugh if I see it. Alas, anyway, people don't like me, and I can tell at a glance."
Si Jiang came back to his senses: "Ah? You have a boy you like?"
Zeng Xin hesitated for a moment and nodded.
"That's great. I'm a little envious of you." Si Jiang said sincerely.
A rag was thrown over and landed heavily on the podium.
"Chen Sijiang, you look so bad! (I hate you so much)" Zeng Xin started to talk, her voice was even
clearer than Li Nan's: "Check your conscience! How can you say such a thing? The boy I like
doesn't like me, and you still envy me? Then I also hope that the boy you like doesn't like you!"
Without waiting for Si Jiang to respond, she wailed again: "The problem is, is there any boy in the
world who doesn't like a fairy like you? Unless he is blind!"
This sentence touched Si Jiang, who picked up the rag and wiped the podium listlessly: "Don't tell
me, there really is such a blind person."
No matter how Zeng Xin asked, Si Jiang just said that there was a boy who was very handsome,
very outstanding and good in every way, but the girl he liked liked someone else.
Zeng Xin suspected that Si Jiang was talking about Tang Zenian and herself.
Si Jiang: "Really not! I'm not blind! I know Tang Zenian is a good person."
"Oh oh oh oh oh." Zeng Xin screamed and observed a three-second silence for Zhou Jiaming.
"You misunderstood me. When I said I was envious, I meant that you were very clear about
whether you liked or disliked that person." Si Jiang sighed again: "I really don't know."
"Then do you think Tang Zenian is happy?"
Si Jiang recalled carefully and nodded: "Happy."
"Do you find it annoying when he talks to you?"
"Of course not."
"Has he ever told you that he likes you?"
Si Jiang blushed: "Secret."
Zeng Xin clicked her tongue twice: "Then did your heart beat faster, your face became red, and
you were too embarrassed to look at him?"
Si Jiang's face looked strange.
Zeng Xin made the decision: "Then you like him, but you don't dare to admit it. Because you are
timid and you are afraid."
“???” Si Jiang heard this theory for the first time and was very curious.
"This is normal. Once we admit that we like a boy, we will feel anxious and worried, and we will
feel very humble. In fact, we are afraid that the other party will suddenly fall in love with
someone else and get tired of the old and fall in love with the new. If you don't admit it, there
will be many benefits." Zeng Xin analyzed confidently like a love master.
"What's the benefit?"
"For boys, the harder it is to get something, the more precious it is, understand? If he says he
likes you, you should answer that I like you too. I guarantee that in less than three months, no no
no, one month, the boy will find it boring. Don't disbelieve it, it's true." Zeng Xin held Si Jiang who
rolled his eyes and said, "There was a boy in my junior high school who liked four girls in one
semester, it's true, and every time he got tired of the old and fell in love with the new. If you
don't believe it, ask Zhou Jiaming, it's true. No man is a good thing. He won't cherish what he
gets."
Si Jiang said it was unbelievable. If you like it, you like it. If you don't like it, you don't like it. Not
knowing whether you like it or not is another matter. But what kind of nonsense is Zeng Xin
talking about?
"Well, you have to believe me anyway." Zeng Xin made a firm judgment: "You like Tang Zenian,
but deep down you want to protect yourself and don't want to be dragged down by this kind of
love. After all, you are going to take the TOEFL and go abroad. You don't want to be irresponsible
to him and break up after just a casual date, right? Like Lin Zhuoyu and Cheng Ying, everyone just
talked nonsense (often), so you convince yourself 'I don't know if this counts as love', at least this
way you won't get hurt."
Si Jiang had to admit that this statement sounded reasonable.
"Old Tang is very handsome, right? It's very prestigious to take him out. Every time you two walk
together, everyone will look at you twice. Of course, his handsomeness is different from your
brother's. Your brother is fairy-like in appearance, while Old Tang is just a handsome guy in the
human world. But your brother is not easy to get along with. If I had to choose, I would definitely
choose Tang Zenian. Liking this kind of thing is superficial. You have to feel comfortable together.
Really, believe me, I've seen too many." Zeng Xin became more and more excited as he spoke.
"Your comparison is a bit strange." Si Jiang was puzzled: "Then do you like Tang Zenian too?"
"I don't like Tang Zenian." Zeng Xin laughed: "Huh? Like him too? Chen Sijiang, do you admit that
you like him?"
"No, no." Si Jiang's face turned red and he was too embarrassed to look at her.
"Hahaha, don't worry, I'll keep it a secret for you and won't let Li Nan be happy, let alone Tang
Zenian being cocky."
"Don't talk nonsense, I really didn't, I haven't thought it through yet!" Si Jiang was anxious. If a
girl says she will keep it a secret, it's like reducing five speakers to four.
"You really don't have to worry!" Zeng Xin smiled and said, "I'll tell you my secret too. The boy I
like is called Gu Jingsheng."
Si Jiang looked at her and rolled his eyes helplessly for the second time. Yes, she knew that no girl
around her could escape the prince's pomegranate pants, so how blind was that stupid woman
who was liked by the prince but didn't like him!
——
Jingsheng heard about the "scandal" between Si Jiang and Tang Zenian when he went to the
countryside to learn about agriculture in November.
The kitchen staff said that it was very hard work, but they were also very happy. As long as the
steamed buns, steamed buns, pork ribs and hairtail were out of the pot, the kitchen staff's own
stainless steel basin would always be filled. The boys would use this to please the girls they liked
and save face. After preparing the dishes, the canteen chef would naturally cook, and they would
play cards and gossip. Other students went to the fields to learn how to farm. Although they said
they were learning how to farm, the farmers were not stupid. They really believed that they could
grow crops before, and all the seeds were wasted, resulting in a big loss. Now everyone is just
trying to save face. They will give you some useless seeds to scatter. The teachers will take
pictures, call it a day, plow the fields again, and plant crops and vegetables after the students
leave. Everyone is happy. After two or three hours of hard work, the students gathered at the
farmers' homes, where they also played cards, drank tea, ate melon seeds and wentssip, laughing
and having a good time. The revolutionary friendship that came from working in the fields
together was truly extraordinary; the two revolutionary groups of boys and girls, who originally
had little contact with each other, became close friends in just a few days.
The night was even happier. There was no TV in the row of dormitories for the boys. They turned
off the lights at nine o'clock and went to bed. Some sang, some played guitar, some played cards
by candlelight, and some whispered. They had talked about the big things about the physical
education and political exams during the day, so it was inevitable that they began to reveal their
young thoughts. There was a boy who liked Wang Lu and expressed his envy to Jingsheng. There
were also people who curiously asked who the girl Gu Jingsheng liked was. Was she from the
same school? From the same grade? From the same class or another class? Even Jingsheng's
subtle movements of sharing the steamed buns for breakfast were over-interpreted.
Jingsheng said nothing about these. He just listened silently and answered with "no" or "no" at
most.
Suddenly someone mentioned Si Jiang.
"Hey, Lao Gu, is your sister dating Tang Zenian?"
Before Jingsheng could come to his senses, the discussion in the dormitory was already in full
swing.
"Mr. Gu, you are so mean. When I was in junior high school, I wanted to pursue your sister, but
you beat me up. Now, the good things are going to be taken away from me."
"Mr. Zhang, if you compare yourself to Tang Zenian, I would rather choose Tang Zenian, okay? Go
look in the mirror."
"Old Tang is still okay. He is the main force of our basketball team. I heard that his family is well-
off. He is a perfect match for Old Gu's sister."
"They both seem to be studying for the TOEFL. I saw them once at the Foreign Language
Bookstore on Fuzhou Road, head to head and shoulder to shoulder. Old Gu's sister smiled so
sweetly. Tsk tsk tsk. You know what, they are a perfect match. Anyone who can get a nod from
Old Gu must not be a jerk like you, Old Zhang."
"What is TOEFL?"
"Lao Wang, you don't even know TOEFL? Hahahaha, then do you know America?"
“Go to hell!”
There was a constant ping-pong sound.
Jingsheng turned over, looked at the wall silently for a while, and closed his eyes.
"By the way, this Sunday, student representatives from each class of Grade 1 will come to visit
and study. I saw the list in Wang Lu's hand, and Tang Zenian and Chen Sijiang are both on it."
Jingsheng opened his eyes, looked at the wall for a while, and closed his eyes again.

Chapter 223
The first-year high school teacher and student delegation consisted of eight students and four
teachers. It took two hours to drive from the city to Nanhui. All their energy was spent on the
road, and they felt a little depressed when they got off the car.
Among the eight students, Si Jiang had been to Nanjing and had seen vast fields and small
bungalows on the train. The others had never even been to Yangpu District or Pudong. They were
all urban kids. They had been as far east as the Bund and as far west as the zoo. To the south,
they had been to the top of Zhaojiabang Road. To the north, they had only seen the new
passenger station under construction from afar. To them, the city of Shanghai was nothing more
than a chessboard consisting of four east-west roads, Beijing Road, Nanjing Road, Yan'an Road,
and Huaihai Road, and countless north-south small roads. Ten years later, the Xujiahui
commercial center, centered on the Pacific Department Store that played "Baby Sorry" on a loop,
was now just a desolate countryside. During military training, we went to Tianma Mountain for
shooting. We got on and off the bus, got off and on the bus, and no one paid attention to what
the real countryside looked like. Once we got off the bus, we were all amazed.
"Our hometown is in the field of hope--" someone sang happily.
Once we entered the camp gate, we were all dumbfounded. The canteen was an empty factory
building in an abandoned factory, more than five meters high, empty and dilapidated, with most
of the window glass broken, not to mention tables, not even a stool, and a few Guangming Daily
and Xinmin Evening News scattered in the corners.
"There are no tables or chairs in the cafeteria?"
Wang Lu, secretary of the Youth League Committee of the Agricultural Student Representatives,
nodded calmly and smiled at Si Jiang: "We sit on the floor to eat. The boys are very nice and give
us girls newspapers to use as cushions. It's just a bit annoying on rainy days. It rained for three
days last week and the roof is leaking badly. The village said it should be fixed when you come
next year."
She pointed to a few darker cement floors. Everyone realized that the bright light they stepped
on occasionally was the sun shining through the cracks in the roof. The first-year high school
student representatives were silent. It was said that the life in the middle school was very easy,
and they could play cards and eat the old hens of the farmers.
When visiting the student dormitory, Gu Jingsheng was hanging clothes outside the boys'
dormitory.
Si Jiang smiled and waved at him secretly. Tang Zenian, who was walking side by side with her,
also greeted Jingsheng openly.
Jingsheng nodded to them, wrung out the towel in his hand, poured out the water in the basin,
and carried the basin and small wooden stool back to the dormitory.
"This is the girls' dormitory. There are ten people in one room." Wang Lu pointed to the door
with a smile. "The door of this room is broken. It can't be locked or repaired. I think we need to
replace it. But it should be replaced by the time you come next year."
The female representative of Class 4 exclaimed: "How are you going to sleep at night if you can't
lock the door?"
"League cadres and class cadres can take over." Wang Lu glanced at her and said, "This is my bed.
Use my bed to hold the door at night so that other students can sleep peacefully."
Everyone is convinced that the Secretary of the Youth League Committee is the Secretary of the
Youth League Committee, reliable and excellent!
"Secretary Wang, you are so awesome! We can't do that. We will be scared to death. Awww."
The two girls praised sincerely.
Seeing that Wang Lu could actually do this, Si Jiang couldn't help but show admiration on his face,
and by the way, he reflected on his prejudice against her.
Tang Zenian put his fist to his lips and smiled silently. When the two fell behind the team, he
whispered, "The teachers' dormitory is at the entrance of the barracks. The front and back rows
are boys' dormitories. The girls' dormitory is surrounded and very safe."
Si Jiang rolled his eyes at him and said, "She is also amazing. She doesn't complain at all despite
such difficult conditions."
A scream from Wang Lu came from the front of the team, and the crowd became agitated.
“Rat! Rat! Aaaaaaaaa——”
Si Jiang was stunned. Tang Zenian had already pulled her to his side, blocking her eyes. His warm
palm touched her eyelashes. Si Jiang was so scared that he quickly closed his eyes. Then his nose
seemed to hit someone, but fortunately it didn't hurt.
The three girls in front were screaming and jumping, pointing at Si Jiang and shouting, "Chen Si
Jiang, a rat just ran right under your feet!"
Si Jiang looked in the direction they pointed and saw a huge, furry, gray-black mouse running
away quickly with a long tail. It looked not much smaller than a kitten. Si Jiang shuddered and got
goose bumps. Rats were also common in the alleys of Wanchun Street, but they were always
seen at night. I saw a small black dot running by from a distance, and only later realized that it
must be a mouse. It turns out that even rats in the countryside are several times bigger than
those in the city!
"Thank you!" Si Jiang was now sincerely grateful to Tang Zenian for his timely help. She was
almost devastated at the thought that the mouse might touch her.
The mouse was actually also scared to death. It squeaked and ran wildly in an irregular curve. It
suddenly turned around at the wall and rushed towards the crowd again. The screams in the
corridor immediately rose by several decibels.
Suddenly a shovel fell from the sky with a "bang" sound.
Everyone was stunned, including the teachers.
Amid the girls' even sharper and more tragic screams, Gu Jingsheng also stopped.
"I'm sorry - I didn't expect you to be so accurate."
Jingsheng raised his eyebrows and looked at Sijiang: "Turn around. Don't look at me, you're
disgusting."
Si Jiang immediately turned around and covered his eyes. Before the others could react, Jing
Sheng calmly flipped his hand, shoveled up the bloody and shaking body of the rat, and walked to
the big kitchen on the right with a nonchalant look on his face, and explained: "The big kitchen is
the only one in the entire camp that has two big trash cans. There are more rats over there, so be
careful when you pass by."
Wang Lu leaned against the wall and vomited.
The female representatives of the first grade of high school huddled together, trembling and
almost crying as they asked the teacher, "Will we, will we still come here next year?"
Mr. Song, a sophomore teacher, adjusted his glasses and coughed twice: "Yes, but don't worry,
the school will carry out rat and insect extermination in advance." It would be useless to
exterminate the rats and insects, so there is no need to tell these poor children.
Si Jiang's heart was twitching, and he was so scared that he could barely keep his composure on
his face, and cast a sympathetic look at Wang Lu. Tang Zenian sighed: "The one who beat your
brother to death is called a rat."
"ah?"
"The rats that often appear in our alleys are called mice, and the big rats in the countryside are
called rats." Tang Zenian's voice was not loud, but just loud enough for everyone to hear.
Everyone was immediately attracted by this topic. The bloody and disgusting scene just now
faded away in an instant.
"Mouse is a city mouse who likes to eat cheese, while Rat is a country mouse who eats
everything, so Mouse looks down on Rat." Tang Ze Nian explained with a smile: "So Mickey
Mouse can only be Mickey Mouse, not Mickey Rat. Now think about it, Mouse is much cuter,
right?"
"Old Tang! You are not a human being. You are still learning English at this time!"
Tang Zenian looked at Si Jiang with a smile: "Are you feeling better?"
Si Jiang took a few deep breaths. It was strange that after he said that, the only cute images of
Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck came to her mind. But it was also possible that she did not see
the most disgusting scene.
When sitting down with Wang Lu to drink a glass of water and rest, out of sympathy and
understanding for her, Si Jiang couldn't help but want her to reduce her romantic impression of
her own brother.
"Actually, my brother is not the type you usually see in class." Si Jiang considered his words: "He
is quite ruthless, the type who kills rats. He doesn't really care what girls think."
Wang Lu tried hard to hold back her vomiting and waved her hand to Si Jiang: "Don't, don't talk
about that. What I'm most afraid of is——"
But Gu Jingsheng hitting the mouse, no matter how disgusting the mouse is, can't weaken the
goodness of Gu Jingsheng in her heart. Wang Lu didn't ignore the meaning of the first half of Si
Jiang's sentence: "I know what you want to say. No matter what your brother is like outside of
school, I think he is very good."
Si Jiang thought about it and changed his words: "Have you ever thought that your feelings for
my brother may not necessarily be love?"
Wang Lu was startled, then shook her head and smiled: "Thank you, Si Jiang, you are so kind, you
don't need to enlighten me. I know best what I think. I just like Gu Jingsheng, only him."
"No, I mean you don't necessarily know the real him." Si Jiang sighed, "You only see his excellent
and attractive side. But you have never seen his annoying and annoying side. Just like the Chen Si
Jiang in other people's eyes is not the real me. I am actually very narrow-minded, think a lot, and
it is difficult to get along with me. I am also very stingy and care about money."
Wang Lu was deeply moved by Si Jiang again and couldn't help laughing: "How can you belittle
yourself like this? You are beautiful and gentle, your essays are always on the list, and you have a
sense of collectivism. When the class competition asks you to take the lead, you never refuse.
The teachers like you very much. And you are so kind, always trying to make me not sad. I
actually thought you didn't like me. No wonder everyone calls you Fairy Chen Si Jiang."
Si Jiang blushed. She really had never liked Wang Lu and thought she didn't know. "No, no, no,
you don't know my true self. Really. I have a lot of shortcomings. My mother never praised me
since I was a child. I always lose my temper with my brother and beat my younger brother. Really,
I beat him very hard."
Wang Lu couldn't help laughing as she watched her seriously discrediting herself.
"What about your brother? What is he like at home? Tell me about it. Maybe if you reveal some
of his true colors, I won't like him anymore." Wang Lu subconsciously used the technique of
ideological work.
Although Si Jiang expressed doubts about this, in order to help his brother reduce his emotional
debt, he still felt obligated to "betray" Gu Jingsheng.
"He likes to pick his feet!"
"Ah?" Wang Lu looked incredulous.
"My brother has been walking barefoot in the rain forest in Yunnan since he was a child. I don't
know how many times his heels have been rotten. No matter how much clam oil or Pechoin he
applied, it was useless. In autumn and winter, the skin sheds and it itches badly." Si Jiang imitated
Jingsheng and struck a carefree pose: "Look, he likes to cross his legs when watching TV. He keeps
scratching his heels. After watching an episode, there is a pile of white crumbs on the floor. Tsk,
tsk, tsk, it's disgusting, really. I'm not kidding you. I can't stand it, can you?"
Si Jiang looked at Wang Lu expectantly.
Wang Lu's eyes sparkled. "I used to think he was a little high and mighty and hard to approach,
but it turns out he's so casual and fun. By the way, I have a lard-like ointment at home, which
Americans call Vaseline. It's great for applying to the soles of feet. I'll give it to him when I get
home. Si Jiang, tell me something else."
Seeing Si Jiang's disappointed look, Wang Lu smiled: "Don't you think he's quite cute like this?"
Cute as hell!
Si Jiang rolled his eyes and racked his brains to think of several more. For example, in the middle
of summer, the brother liked to hang on the door frame shirtless and do pull-ups every morning
and evening, which made it very inconvenient for her to go in and out of the house and brush her
teeth and wash her face; for example, when they were doing homework together, he would
suddenly take off his slippers and kill a big mosquito on the ceiling with a snap, and there would
always be a pool of blood on the ceiling; for another example, he never read the newspaper page
by page, always taking the sports page alone, so that she could never find the entertainment
page behind the sports page.
"Also, he was riding a bicycle in the alley. When he was unhappy, he would ride very fast. You
know, the roads in our alley are made of small pieces of stones. It made my butt hurt so much!"
Si Jiang looked up and saw two lines of tears on Wang Lu's face.
"Ah, don't cry, don't cry." Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief. Good people and good things have
finally been accomplished: "It's okay, you just need to see his true face now. You will definitely
meet a very good boy in the future. You are so beautiful and outstanding. You are also the
secretary of the Youth League Committee. You are so responsible to everyone. You are not afraid
of hardship, fatigue or danger. You have noble character. Which boy doesn't like you? He is simply
blind."
Wang Lu wiped away her tears embarrassedly, looked at Si Jiang with a smile in her tears and
said: "No, I just envy you very much."
"ah?"
"Thank you, Si Jiang. You are right. I actually have never known the real Gu Jingsheng."
“That’s right!”
"I think he's better now." Wang Lu was so moved by herself: "No wonder he doesn't like me,
because I didn't have the qualifications to like him before. Now it's different. Thank you Si Jiang!"
Wang Lu hugged Si Jiang excitedly: "You are right, I only know the Gu Jingsheng that others see. I
should be like you, to understand the most real him, and I should also let him know the most real
me——"
Si Jiang was dumbfounded: "Ah? Wang Lu, no, no, you misunderstood me."
Wang Lu held her shoulders tightly and whispered to her, "Actually, I'm not the 'Wang Lu' you
think I am. I'm very picky about food, it takes me 20 minutes to go to the bathroom, and my skin
is very bad. Look here."
She scooped up the leg of her sweatpants.
"I have snake skin and I shed my skin a lot in autumn and winter, just like your brother! Isn't it a
coincidence?" Wang Lu couldn't contain her excitement. Gu Jingsheng closed a door, but Ke
Sijiang opened a window!
"I was very depressed, but now I understand the reason. Don't worry, I am not sad anymore, and
I will not ask him who the girl he likes is anymore." Wang Lu smiled and said, "I know how to like
him correctly."
Si Jiang tried hard to recall where he said the wrong thing and why Wang Lu had such an illusion.
"If he still doesn't like me this time, it doesn't matter." Wang Lu stood up and looked at the messy
ivy on the old factory wall: "I will help him chase the girl he likes. If he succeeds, I will try to
convince myself to be happy for him. If he fails, I will always be with him. When he is 20, 30, or 40
years old, I will be with him."
Si Jiang was deeply moved by Wang Lu's great, noble and bright sentiment: "You, Wang Lu, you
are really amazing. I, I definitely can't do it."
Gu Jingsheng and Tang Zenian, who had been eavesdropping outside the door, looked at each
other in bewilderment.
Gu Jingsheng put his hands in his trouser pockets, turned around and walked back silently.
Tang Zenian leaned against the wall. When he saw Wang Lu and Si Jiang coming out, he smiled
and raised the small stool in his hand: "It's time for dinner. Let's go. I got you a small stool."
"Thanks!"
Wang Lu shook Si Jiang's hand and winked at her: "You two are so nice. Be careful not to affect
your studies. Tang Zenian, if you dare to treat Si Jiang badly, I will not let you go."
Si Jiang: ???……
Watching Wang Lu running away briskly, Si Jiang fell into deep confusion. Falling in love with
someone is like hypnosis, it's scary.
"What you just said——"
"Ah? Did you hear that?" Si Jiang said dejectedly: "Hey, do you think I was encouraging her? I
obviously didn't mean that."
"I don't think you're encouraging him. I just think you're undermining your brother."
"Yes! I said so many bad things about my brother, why didn't Wang Lu listen to a word?"
"But your brother heard everything, and he must have taken it to heart." Tang Zenian looked at
the girl he liked with pity: "He seemed angry."
Si Jiang felt that this time it was her turn to be doomed. There were so many ways to apologize,
and she had to think carefully about it.

Chapter 224
Visit the barracks in the morning and the farmland in the afternoon.
At noon, about a hundred people gathered in the factory cafeteria to eat. The place was in an
uproar. Si Jiang suspected that the leaky roofs were broken by the shouting of the seniors who
had studied agriculture in previous years. After a week of sharing the hardships of studying
agriculture, some invisible barriers in the school were broken. There was no competition for
grades, and there were no boundaries between classes. Boys and girls quarreled like a family, and
they were also like a family when they were getting along. They chased and fought for a piece of
meat, exchanged glances with affection, and mocked each other without scruples. The teachers
turned a blind eye.
Fortunately, the plates were provided by the school cafeteria, which was the most luxurious
material in the camp. Si Jiang dragged the stainless steel soup bowl and tray, looking eagerly at
the gate.
Two boys came in carrying soup buckets and waving soup spoons.
"Don't rush! Don't rush! Go away, you fool, get out of the way. Line up -"
"Lao Zhang, what are you cutting today? Do you have any potatoes? I saw you peeling potatoes
this morning."
"Curry beef soup! I have beef curry beef soup!" Lao Zhang slammed the soup spoon on the soup
bucket: "Little girls and boys in the first year of high school, come over first. You are guests, so
you will be treated with special treatment."
Tang Zenian took Si Jiang's soup bowl: "I'll help you serve it."
Si Jiang quickly stood up and stretched his neck to look behind him for the seniors from the
kitchen team who were coming in with basins of vegetables, but he didn't see Jingsheng.
Old Zhang glared at Tang Zenian unhappily and asked, "Which bowl belongs to our Sijiang
A'mei?"
Tang Zenian raised his right hand, and immediately three thin slices of beef appeared.
The boys gathered around him howled like wolves, and their fists rained down on Lao Zhang's
head and body.
"Old Tang, hold the bowl of soup tight and don't spill it. It has nothing to do with you. Let's teach
this ungrateful villain a lesson."
Lao Zhang waved the soup spoon and roared angrily: "Amei is a family member of our kitchen
team. You know nothing. The chef has already figured it out. Ten people get three slices of meat.
We are willing to give the three slices of meat saved by Gu Jingsheng to Amei. It's none of your
business! Get lost."
Everyone stopped, and suddenly a boy yelled, "You're lying!"
Old Zhang's face turned red and he yelled even louder: "Who lied?!"
Just as several boys from the kitchen were about to squeeze over to testify, the boy raised his
soup bowl exaggeratedly: "Yesterday's pickled mustard tuber and shredded pork egg drop soup
didn't have a single shredded pork, only three precious pickled tubers! Today, ten people can
actually get three slices of beef???!!! I don't believe it, I don't believe it, I don't believe it, oh my
god, did the sun rise from the west?"
The cafeteria was suddenly filled with laughter. Si Jiang laughed so hard that he quickly took the
shaking bowl of soup from Tang Zenian's hand and put it on the ground.
"I don't believe it, I don't believe it, I don't believe it!"
"The sky in the liberated areas is a bright sky, and the meat in the liberated areas is meat that
cannot be caught—"
The teachers couldn't help laughing. It seemed that the school had spent a lot of money to host
the delegation of first-year teachers and students.
Finally, Si Jiang's bowl was filled with three slices of precious beef, which the cooking class loved.
She carefully divided it into twelve portions, one for each of the teachers and students, and
everyone was happy. I don't know if it was because of the big pot, but Si Jiang felt that the food
tasted better than the school cafeteria. She finished the meal easily. After finishing the meal, she
went to deliver the plate and couldn't help asking Lao Zhang why her brother didn't come.
With Lao Zhang's guidance, Si Jiang found the small river behind the kitchen.
——
The river was certainly not the kind of river described in poetry with small bridges, flowing water
and people's homes, but a dirty river. On the river surface in the kitchen, patches of oil and dirty
water plants were visible to the naked eye. Sijiang walked down the river bank and saw someone
flushing the toilet in the distance, and two or three people standing in the river, looking like they
were fishing.
"Brother!"
Jingsheng turned around, and Sijiang was shocked to see a cigarette hanging from his lips.
"You? Why are you smoking?!"
Si Jiang ran over quickly, thinking that he should snatch the cigarette from his mouth and stomp
on it viciously, but in fact he slowed down his pace out of guilt and squatted down beside him.
"Ah? The vegetables are washed in the river?" Si Jiang was shocked when he saw the big red
plastic tub floating on the river and the vegetables inside. "The river is so dirty, there must be
someone flushing the toilet in it!"
Jingsheng twisted the cigarette into the mud at his feet, and Si Jiang then noticed that there were
a lot of cigarette butts in the mud.
"You? Do you all smoke?"
"Just smoking for fun. Boring."
Jingsheng grabbed a handful of green vegetables from the basket at his feet, put them into the
river, shook off the mud on the roots, and threw them into a red plastic basin. Without looking
up, he said, "As long as the river water is still running water, it can't be that dirty. If you wash
directly under the faucet, there will be too much mud and the drain will be blocked." They didn't
understand when they first came, and they were busy for most of the day just cleaning the drain
of the vegetable washing sink.
"Oh." Si Jiang glanced at him secretly, but didn't see that Jingsheng was angry. He got a little
bolder, rolled up his trouser legs, moved closer to him, and stretched out his hand flatteringly:
"Brother, your sleeves have fallen down, I'll help you roll them up."
Jingsheng tried to move but didn't. His arm was frozen in the air. He looked at the little girl with a
sidelong glance as she carefully stretched out her sleeves and rolled them up one by one. After
she was done, she patted her hands to show her satisfaction.
Si Jiang pretended to be casual and said, "By the way, did you hear me saying bad things about
you to Wang Lu? Brother, are you angry with me?"
"Heh." Jingsheng twitched his lips and said, "Why should I be angry? You are telling the truth."
"No, no, no." Si Jiang quickly stated: "I just felt sorry for her and wanted her to stop liking you, or
at least like you less, so she wouldn't be so sad. I didn't expect that she seemed to like you more.
But brother, Wang Lu is really nice. I used to have prejudice against her, which was not good. Now
that I said such bad things about you, she said that she likes you more than before. I was moved
by her. You——"
Si Jiang didn't dare to say that he already knew that he had a girl he liked, so he said in a
roundabout way: "Do you want to consider her?"
Seven or eight large green vegetables fell into the basin with a bang. The plastic basin swayed in
the water. Si Jiang leaned over to hold it, but she didn't expect the plastic basin to be quite heavy.
She stumbled forward. Fortunately, Jingsheng reached out his hand in time. Si Jiang fell directly
on Jingsheng's arm, and both hands were pressed into the mud.
When he was rolling up his sleeves just now, Si Jiang was surprised at why the boy's arms were so
stiff. Now he understood what it felt like an egg hitting a stone. He grimaced in pain and almost
cried, but he was too embarrassed to rub his arms.
"Bain! Basin!"
Jingsheng held her steady, picked up the long rake next to him, and easily hooked the plastic
basin back.
"eventful."
Si Jiang didn't know whether he was only talking about holding the basin or whether he also
included Wang Lu's matter.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been nosy." She was indeed nosy and messed up.
Jingsheng couldn't tell how she felt when she admitted her fault so readily. Was he angry?
Actually, not really. She described it vividly and emotionally. He understood what she meant. He
even felt a little bit of joy when he heard it. Her usual little expressions seemed to have vivid
footnotes, and they belonged only to the two of them. But this joy was only for him, which was a
bit sad. Her hope that others would not like him had nothing to do with her liking Tang Zenian.
Jingsheng felt annoyed when he thought of Tang Zenian's smiling expression and sparkling eyes.
"I'll help you wash them." Si Jiang picked up a handful of green vegetables and imitated Jing
Sheng by dipping them into the river and shaking them vigorously.
Jingsheng looked at her coldly, confirmed that she would not fall into the river again this time,
and continued to work on his own.
"Brother, I brought you a chestnut cake." Si Jiang said with a smile, "It's from Kaisling. Your
birthday is on Thursday. Did your classmates help you celebrate your birthday?"
"Um."
With Wang Lu around, no classmate's birthday will be missed. That day, the boys and girls had a
dormitory party. There was no cake, so the kitchen staff asked the chef to make a bowl of
longevity noodles and two poached eggs. Lao Zhang played the guitar, Lao Li played the
harmonica, the girls lit candles, and the boys held lighters and sang Happy Birthday. Everyone
was very involved, except him. He was always distracted, always thinking about the box of
"birthday wishes" from Si Jiang that year when he was in the hospital, and the things he wanted
to do for him. She really did everything.
Later in the party, after the teachers left, the boys took out cigarettes and white wine and beer
from under the bed. They bought them from the village store, and they were not good brands.
They immediately caused a sensation, and many girls also drank a few glasses. They sang songs
one after another, and finally played around with the bottle. Whoever got his turn had to answer
a question. Those who lied would drink pickled mustard, pork and egg drop soup without pork or
egg drops for the rest of their lives.
"Gu Jingsheng, which girl do you like?"
Jingsheng didn't expect that besides Wang Lu, there were other girls who were obsessed with
this question. Everyone started to make a fuss, trying to guess how he was going to play the edge
ball.
He had already drunk half a bottle of Erguotou and two bottles of beer that night. His heart and
brain were both burning hot. This question was like a spoonful of boiling oil poured on him.
Suddenly, he answered without caring about anything:
"Chen Sijiang."
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, his heart and brain stopped working for a second,
and then exploded into pieces. Before he could even call himself a fool, deafening laughter broke
out all around him.
The girl blushed and raised her hand and asked: "Wait, can I ask again, besides your two sisters,
which girl do you like?"
Some boys laughed so hard that they fell backwards and called her a fool, saying that she actually
forgot to set a premise and missed such a great opportunity.
Jingsheng's heart dropped from mid-air. He was grateful to have survived the disaster, but also a
little disappointed.
——
The vegetables in the sink were submerged in the rushing tap water, and Si Jiang took out the
chestnut cake from his schoolbag.
"Brother, happy birthday to you!"
Si Jiang handed the flat cake to Jingsheng with a smile. Jingsheng broke the cake in half and said
with disgust: "It's so ugly."
"As long as it tastes good." Si Jiang approached him playfully: "Brother, are you really not angry
with me?"
"Yeah." Jingsheng finished the cake in two bites and shook his head.
"Li Nan was originally the student representative of our class. I specially asked Lao Gao to replace
him. It took a lot of effort." Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief: "It's all right now. I can finally help
you celebrate your birthday."
"Chen Sijiang, let's go. We're going to visit the fields." Tang Zenian strode over, took Sijiang's
schoolbag, and said with a smile: "You are too heartless, aren't you? Your brother and his cooking
team saved three slices of beef for you, but you hid here and ate cake by yourself?"
Si Jiang couldn't help but laugh: "Anyone who sees it gets a share. This is my brother's birthday
cake. Here, I'll give you half."
She broke her half of the cake into two halves, compared them, and handed the smaller piece to
Tang Zenian. Tang Zenian raised the schoolbags in his two hands, bent down and opened his
mouth.
Si Jiang blushed and stuffed the cake into his mouth generously: "Okay, now I don't eat alone."
Tang Zenian smiled so hard that his eyes curved. He nodded to Gu Jingsheng and said, "Happy
birthday to you. I am so lucky."
"Thanks."
Someone waved in the distance: "Old Tang, fairy, let's go, it's time to drive."
"Brother, I'm leaving now. When you finish your agricultural studies, let's go to Huashan Hotel to
eat bamboo shoot and pork steamed dumplings and shrimp wontons. I'll treat you!" Si Jiang
smiled and waved goodbye.
Tang Zenian and Si Jiang blended into the crowd. Before turning, she seemed to turn back and
waved to Jingsheng.
The vegetables in the sink were caught in a whirlpool, spinning faster and faster.
How can you not be sad if you like someone?
——
After the agricultural studies, there was a midterm exam in late November. Si Jiang scored 78
points in physics and was so happy that he sang "Su San Qi Jie" five times in the shower. Even the
always supportive Grandma Gu couldn't help asking Jing Sheng, "Have you asked her to stop
singing?" Jing Sheng looked at Chen Si Hao, who was covering his ears, and said, "Go downstairs
and tell your sister."
Classmate Chen Sihao immediately lay down on the sofa and began to snore.
So Si Jiang sang it for the sixth time. "...I feel so miserable before I even open my mouth.
Gentlemen passing by, please listen to me. Which one..."
"Where can we find such a cheerful and happy Su San? Really!" Grandma Gu shook her head and
sighed.
After entering December, the days passed even faster. The calendar on the wall was replaced
with the one from 1986. Fang Shu, who played Miss Chen Bailu in "Sunrise", defeated Liu
Xiaoqing, who had dominated the calendar for many years, and became a celebrity in thousands
of households.
Si Jiang finally got the good news: Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei would take Si Nan back to Shanghai
for the New Year, and Gu Beiwu and the pregnant Zhou Shanrang would also return to Shanghai
for the New Year. The family reunion was just around the corner.

Chapter 225
All the interest classes in the first semester of the first year of high school were finished before
New Year's Day. Si Jiang's cooking class was excellent. In the last Peking Opera class, the school
invited old masters to explain and demonstrate Peking Opera makeup and head-binding to
students. Ren Xinyou was selected as the bronze hammer painted face to play Zhang Fei, and Si
Jiang was selected as the green-clothed woman to play Su San. Si Jiang felt sick when her head
was tied. Zhou Jiaming didn't know where he got the courage from, and suddenly rushed to the
stage and shouted "She's going to vomit! Let her go!" Immediately, he was grabbed by the collar
and thrown back to the stage, causing the whole audience to laugh. Si Jiang suffered from the
pain of his whole face being hung up and couldn't laugh.
When taking the final photo, Si Jiang felt her face was numb, she couldn't tell whether she was
laughing or crying. But when the teacher started talking, well, it was true that "I felt so miserable
before I even opened my mouth", and my face was even more miserable. The classroom and the
front and back doors were all crowded with classmates who came to watch the fun, and there
was a constant stream of praise.
The old master of the Peking Opera Troupe was amiable and repeatedly praised Si Jiang as a good
talent, with good looks and a good figure, and most importantly, a pair of sharp eyes, a natural
female role. Before removing her makeup, she picked up a pen and moved it randomly left and
right, up and down, asking Si Jiang to keep his head still and just follow the tip of the pen with his
eyes.
"See, you guys, how sharp her eyes are? She hooks whoever she hooks, and whoever she hooks
dies. If she doesn't die, she'll have no soul either."
The old wizard looked around at the stunned geese with pride and said, "Hey, hey, he's back to
life, he's back to life."
Si Jiang blinked: "Teacher, please let go of my head first, it hurts."
The students all burst out laughing. Peking opera sounds old, outdated, and decadent, but it
turns out that there are such interesting teachers working hard. When Si Jiang's eyes flickered,
everyone really felt the breathtaking beauty, not just the beauty of the opera costumes, but
everyone found that they were not far away from Peking opera at all.
The two commemorative photos were posted on the school bulletin board, so that the next
Peking Opera class could attract more freshmen in the first year of high school. However, a year
and a half later, Si Jiang's photo disappeared inexplicably, leaving only "Zhang Fei" on it, which Si
Jiang felt was a pity. Li Nan and his friends slammed the table and concluded that it was stolen by
a bastard boy who liked her. Li Holmes locked his target on the senior high school graduates of
Jingsheng's class. Fortunately, the Academic Affairs Office quickly found the film, developed
another one and posted it, and also locked the bulletin board.
——
The final exam results came out at the end of January. Si Jiang was above average in his grade,
with lower scores in biology, chemistry, and political science and geography. However, he ranked
in the top ten in the class in algebra, geometry, and physics, the subjects he was most worried
about. Thanks to the TOEFL, his English ranked in the top ten in the grade for the first time.
"Why did your Chinese score drop so much?" Jingsheng was extremely surprised. Chinese has
always been Si Jiang's strong point. She has never been out of the top ten in the grade during her
three years of junior high school. Yet this time she only scored 79 points.
"I don't like Chinese class at all now." Si Jiang was also annoyed. Teacher Gao and Teacher Zhou's
teaching methods were completely different, rigid and boring, and the requirements for writing
were also very standardized. Teacher Zhou would appreciate the same writing style and circle
paragraphs in red, but in the eyes of Teacher Gao, it was all too free and undisciplined, not closely
related to the theme, the central idea was not positive, and there were a lot of problems.
Originally, the full score for the essay was 40 points, and Si Jiang could always get more than 36
points. This semester, it suddenly became less than 28 points, a world of difference.
"Yu Ping is worse off than me." Si Jiang threw the Chinese textbook aside, feeling both amused
and annoyed. Yu Ping had a wider range of knowledge and more unique insights than her. He was
particularly good at writing satirical essays. His prose was also unique, with refined words and a
distinct "Yu Ping-style" black humor. Si Jiang always admired his meticulous observation of every
detail of life. His black humor was usually self-deprecating, but he could always accurately hit the
"group" he wanted to satirize, making people smile and savor it. Because he had studied painting
for many years, even the words and paragraphs of his writing had a special rhythmic beauty.
"Teacher Zhou asked me and Yu Ping to participate in the city essay competition next semester."
Si Jiang's eyes lit up when he mentioned Teacher Zhou. "If I can win a prize, I can get extra points
in the college entrance examination, and it will also let Mr. Gao see clearly that it's not Yu Ping
and I who have problems, but that he is too old-fashioned and rigid."
"Aren't you going to take the TOEFL and go abroad?" Jingsheng glanced sideways: "Isn't Tang
Zenian going to go abroad with you too?" Now Tang Zenian and Si Jiang are already recognized as
a "couple" by the whole school. They don't avoid suspicion and often go in and out together.
Although there are always classmates like Li Nan and Zhang Leyi, everyone knows that those two
are just a cover.
Si Jiang blushed, "You may not get a good score on the exam, and you may not get a scholarship
even if you do well on the exam. And I heard it's hard to get a visa now. Last year, Lu Ying, who
ranked first in the senior year, did quite well on the TOEFL and applied for a half-scholarship, but
she was still rejected."
Jingsheng remained silent.
Si Jiang shook his head and quickly put aside the shadow of failure in the Chinese test. As for
what Gu Ximei would say when she saw her Chinese score, she was no longer afraid of boiling
water.
——
On February 1st, Gu Beiwu and his wife returned to Shanghai. Shanrang was still four weeks away
from the due date. Shanrang's mother, Old Lady Zhou, and Shanli came to Wanchun Street that
day. The mother, daughter, and brother and sister had not seen each other for more than half a
year. When they saw Shanrang's bulging belly, they cried, laughed, and were surprised. They
talked endlessly about family matters. Old Lady Zhou and Grandma Gu hit it off immediately. The
two elderly people with completely different fates were particularly affectionate. One was afraid
that the mother-in-law would not see how much she loved her daughter-in-law, and the other
always said, "It's right to listen to Beiwu." Si Jiang found it interesting.
Mrs. Zhou planned to go back to Beijing with her daughter and son-in-law on the second day of
the first lunar month to accompany Shanrang to recuperate after her baby's death and to help
her take care of her grandson for another year. Now Beiwu and Shanrang have moved out of the
dormitory at Peking University and rented a small apartment with three bedrooms and a living
room near the embassy area. It was Beiwu's idea to ask the old lady to help. On the one hand, he
was very busy. He had to submit the application for re-entry into the GATT in a few months. Then
there would be multilateral negotiations for re-entry next year, and he would definitely travel
frequently. The time he could take care of the children and Shanrang was really limited. When
Shanrang finished her maternity leave, there would be no one to take care of the child. In
addition, he also wanted to give the old lady something to do and cheer her up. Since the old
general passed away, the old lady was very depressed. She lived in the countryside for three
months and lost 15 kilograms. Shanli was so scared that he "kidnapped" the old lady to Shanghai
and forced her to "take care" of his daily life. Only then did the old lady slowly recover.
Grandma Gu agreed with this: "Mother-in-law, it's good to take care of the baby. Really. After my
old man passed away, he came to see me many times. I was so sick that I really thought he would
call me away. But there was no way. Dongwen was in Yunnan and Ximei went to Xinjiang. I only
had Beiwu by my side. He didn't even have a unit at the time and was idle all day. If I followed the
old man, what would happen to his brothers and sisters? Who would send things to my Ximei?
Alas, I had to tell the old man that I was sorry for him and asked him to stay down there for a few
more years and wait for me. Later, Si Jiang was born. Mother-in-law, I'm not lying to you. Si Jiang
slept with me for one night, and the old man never came again. He knew that he couldn't leave
the little girl behind and someone had to take care of her."
As a staunch Marxist-Leninist atheist, Mrs. Zhou nodded with tears in her eyes: "Yes, yes, my old
Zhou has called me many times! He said that the grass was bitter and his feet were rotten, and
asked me to accompany him and make straw sandals for him."
Fortunately, the two old ladies remembered that it was almost Chinese New Year, so they
reminisced about the past and started discussing enthusiastically how to raise Beiwu and
Shanrang's children, what to do if Shanrang had no milk, and how long he would need milk.
A day later, Chen Donglai, Gu Ximei and Si Nan also came back. Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei went
to Chen's house first, and Si Nan called out "Hello, Grandma" and ran to her grandmother's
house.
"Sister! Huang Rong is dead! Dead!"
The whole family was completely confused by her yelling.
Si Jiang calmed down and said, "Didn't she commit suicide last year?"
Granny Gu was so angry that she picked up a feather duster and wanted to hit Sinan: "It's New
Year's Day, and you, a little trickster, died as soon as you came to my house. It's unlucky and
disgusting!"
Sinan learned of this devastating news while chatting with her sisters on the train. After being hit
twice by Granny Gu, she stood there blankly, looking at everyone in the room. It was obvious that
no one could understand her feelings at the moment.
"You are so ruthless!"
She turned around, went downstairs and ran out of the alley.
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng quickly chased after him: "Nan Nan! Nan Nan!"
Chen Sihao came back to his senses: "Who died? What is ruthless?"
"Ptah, pah, pah!" Grandma Gu covered his mouth and shouted "God bless you" several times
towards the cross on the wall, hoping that God would not blame Xiaonan for not covering his
mouth.
Beiwu and Shanrang looked at each other in bewilderment. After a while, Beiwu sighed: "Sinan
seems to have changed a lot."
"It's good for the little girl to have someone she likes," Shanrang looked at Beiwu and smiled,
"She will feel happy inside, and it will be a precious memory for her to recall when she grows up."
Si Nan ran into Kangjia Bridge and shouted several times at the Zhao family's window. The old
lady next door said that Zhao Youning would come back for two days during the National Day
holiday and would definitely not come back before New Year's Eve. She walked out dejectedly
and met Si Jiang and Jing Sheng who came to look for her, and was pulled back to Wanchun
Street. She sat at the dining table, with red date tea poured by Si Jiang and egg rolls brought by
Jing Sheng. Chen Sihao ate the egg rolls while curiously asking her: "What happened to Ning Xi?"
(Who died?)
Si Jiang touched Shan Rang's belly and smiled to Si Nan: "Come and touch it, it's moving so
vigorously. Can you guess if it's a brother or a sister?"
Grandma Gu placed a bowl of lion's head meat heavily in front of her: "Okay, it's New Year, don't
say unlucky things, don't you love meat the most? Come, your elder sister and elder brother
specially saved four lion's head meat for you."
Sinan picked up a lion's head with chopsticks and took a big bite. Chen Sihao swallowed his saliva
and said, "Sister, can you eat it? If not, I can help you."
Si Nan took another big bite, his cheeks trembling with bitterness and resentment. He stared at
Chen Si for a while, threw down his chopsticks, and lay on the table, crying loudly.
"Ah? Don't cry!" The little fat boy was so scared that he ran three feet away: "I won't help you, I
don't want to help you, all of them are yours, I ate two yesterday...Brother! Sister?"
Si Jiang held Si Nan's shoulders, listening to her sobbing and calling out for the unclear Huang
Rong, and his nose was also sore. It is really great to like someone. Wang Lu was so sad because
she liked A Ge, and even Nan Nan liked Weng Meiling, but she would be so sad because of losing
her.
Fortunately, after crying for a long time, Sinan turned her grief into appetite and ate all four lion
heads. By the evening, she was basically healed. Holding a small phone book, she told Zhao
Youning how sad she was. After talking for ten minutes, Grandma Gu kept reminding her that she
was calling to ask for money, asking for money, little ancestor.
Thirty minutes later, Chen Sinan hung up the phone, glanced at Jingsheng and Sijiang, and raised
his chin: "You don't understand me! Only Brother Ningning understands me."
Jingsheng touched his nose and said, "Zhao Youning—so polite." It's too miserable.
——
In order to show his new cooking skills to his uncle, aunt and sister, Si Jiang enthusiastically took
Jingsheng to the Wuning Road market early the next morning. He carefully calculated the money
for the non-staple food coupons and the grocery store and bought two pounds of ribs for sweet
and sour pork ribs, a pound of quail eggs for Si Hao's favorite dish of tiger skin with tomato sauce,
a stir-fried young chicken, three stir-fried vegetables and a winter bamboo shoot, and finally
hesitant between braised pork ribs and stir-fried river shrimp.
"Shrimp, please." Jingsheng decided: "You fry the shrimp better than ours, it's really delicious,
and we already have spareribs."
Si Jiang smiled with his eyes curved: "Really? Really? I cook better than you and your uncle?"
"Really? This year's New Year's Eve dinner will be yours to make." Jingsheng also smiled: "Buy
four more black crucian carps and make a crucian carp and tofu soup."
"Yes, yes, shrimps dipped in vinegar taste like hairy crabs. It's a good deal. My uncle loves hairy
crabs the most." Si Jiang was overjoyed. Last fall, the price of hairy crabs increased to five yuan
each. Gu Dongwen bought ten of them, and Grandma Gu kept talking about them for several
days. Speaking of hairy crabs, Si Jiang and Jingsheng remembered the old lady's words and smiled
at each other.
"What grandma said makes sense. After eating fifty dollars, what comes out is still——"
"Don't say that! You're disgusting!" Si Jiang picked up a bamboo shoot and poked Jingsheng's
face. Jingsheng smiled and dodged, going to the soy products counter to buy tofu first.
The waiter who sold live fish and shrimp was a young man about 18 or 19 years old. He knocked
the crucian carp unconscious with a few bangs of a stick, and the scales and water splashed
everywhere, which scared Si Jiang. The young man rinsed the crucian carp, wrapped it in
newspaper, put it in Si Jiang's basket, and asked her how she planned to eat the river shrimp and
how much she wanted to buy.
"I want to stir-fry some shrimps. How many live shrimps do you think I should buy?" Si Jiang was
unsure and asked for advice humbly.
The young man blushed at her look and picked up a net bag of live shrimps: "One pound is
enough."
"Oh, so much is needed." Si Jiang squatted down: "Master, can you please help me drain some of
the water?"
The net basket shook vigorously a few times, and the young man picked out a few whitish
shrimps and threw them into a pile of dead shrimps on the table.
"Thank you! You are so kind!" Si Jiang didn't even notice that there were still half-dead shrimps
inside. He was immediately moved: "Master, what is your work ID card? I want to write a letter of
praise to your vegetable farm."
The young man looked up at her and couldn't help laughing: "Next time you buy shrimp,
remember to check it yourself."
"Oh oh oh." Si Jiang felt ashamed. It seemed that knowing how to cook was not enough, one also
had to know how to buy.
The young man weighed the live shrimp and asked, "Do you want me to peel the shrimp for
you?"
Si Jiang was dumbfounded: "Ah? Can you still peel it for me?"
The young man had a smile on his face and his hands kept working. More than a dozen shrimps
had already been put into the stainless steel basin.
"Now we advocate good service, including filleting fish, removing fish bones, making fish balls
and peeling shrimps. We do all of these."
Si Jiang noticed the floating red flag above the stall, with the words "Excellent Waiter" shining in
gold.
In just a few minutes, a pound of river shrimp has turned into six ounces of shrimp meat.
Before Si Jiang had the time to say thank you, the young man took out a toothpick and quickly
picked up the shrimp thread, casting the skewer as if by magic.
When Jingsheng came back, he saw Si Jiang looking at the market waiter with a look of
admiration and gratitude.
After leaving the seafood stall, Si Jiang kept looking back.
"Brother, I'm so sorry, they didn't even charge for the service, how can they be so nice!"
"Because you are good-looking?" Jingsheng glanced at her sideways and sighed, "Can you be a
little more promising? You are so moved by peeling shrimps and picking out shrimp threads. No
wonder--" Tang Zenian was nice to you, so you stuffed my birthday cake into his mouth and ran
away with him.
Si Jiang rolled his eyes at him unconvincedly: "What does it have to do with good looks? You are
good-looking too. By the way, what special services are there at the soy products counter?"
Jingsheng raised his hand: "Service? No, probably because I'm not bad looking, the waitress gave
me a bunch of green onions as a gift."
Si Jiang looked at the juicy little cong and fell into deep thought. Then he looked at the serious
elder brother. Was he showing off himself or mocking her?
When he got home, Si Jiang praised the vegetable seller who sold fish and shrimps again. Granny
Gu glared at him and dropped the half-finished cotton shoe sole in her hand.
"This little bastard! Last time I asked him to help me make some fish balls, he charged me two
dimes as service fee!"
"Also, I'm going to go with Grandma Zhu. Last time, she bought three taels of river shrimps, and
when she came back, there were more than a dozen white, half-dead shrimps inside! She's taking
advantage of us because we're old and can't see clearly."
Jingsheng stopped Grandma Gu and said, "Forget it, Grandma. The service fee is clearly marked.
There is a small sign hanging on the side."
Granny Gu and Si Jiang: “Ah?”
"Filling fish with bones is one dime, making fish balls is two cents, and peeling shrimps is also two
cents." Jingsheng raised an eyebrow at Sijiang: "Amei is too beautiful, the waiter forgot to collect
the service fee."
Si Jiang blushed: "Then, will he have to pay compensation to the company? Or, should I pay him
the money?"
"He volunteered to serve for free. Wouldn't it be embarrassing for him if you gave him money?"
Jingsheng disagreed: "Two dimes can buy four ribs."
Granny Gu muttered, "He's taking advantage of us old ladies because we can't read. If I'd known
he wanted money, I wouldn't have let him do it. He didn't do it cleanly, and there's a fish bone in
it. Hmm. Don't buy fish from him next time, understand?"
"Then I'll go buy it with you next time." Si Jiang hesitated for a moment, looked at Si Hao, and the
attraction of the four ribs prevailed.
"Petite!" Jingsheng laughed at Sijiang: "I didn't expect you to become this kind of person."
Si Jiang was not convinced: "Then why did you take the shallots that were given to you???"
Jingsheng was disappointed. Finally, Grandma Gu carefully calculated that if she sent Jingsheng
and Sijiang to buy groceries every Sunday and holiday, she could save at least six or seven yuan a
year, enough to buy a hairy crab.
Jingsheng and Sijiang looked at each other with sympathy.
At night, Si Jiang prepared a large table of dishes. Jing Sheng repeatedly stated, "I just helped Si
Jiang. She cooked all the dishes. The battering of shrimps is her secret recipe, and she refused to
show it to me."
Beiwu and Shanrang were full of praise, and Gu Dongwen also smiled and sighed: "It would be a
waste if we don't open a shop with this skill. It seems that our Dongsheng Canteen can make a
comeback."
Sinan ate sweet and sour pork ribs and made a suggestion: "It can't be called Dongsheng
Canteen, it has to be called Shengjiang Canteen!"
Everyone at the table laughed. Granny Gu also smiled with her eyes bent: "What ginger canteen!
You're talking about green onions and garlic."
Halfway through the meal, Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei came over from Chen's house. Dongwen
and Beiwu asked them to sit down and taste a few bites.
Chen Donglai smiled and said that Jingsheng's craftsmanship was getting better and better.
Gu Dongwen laughed: "Okay, the Ginger Canteen can be set up now."
After Gu Ximei knew that all the dishes on the table were made by Si Jiang, she frowned and said,
"Si Jiang, you have time to think about these messy things, why don't you think about writing?
Writing has always been your strength, why did it suddenly become a weakness? Is a score of 70
or so in Chinese good enough? Have you really thought about it? Taking the TOEFL and going
abroad is one thing, but you can't abandon Chinese just because you want to study abroad. One
thing is one thing. You can't always be so careless when studying and doing things."
Everyone at the table fell silent. Chen Sihao quickly slipped away from the table and hid in front
of the TV to continue eating ribs.
Si Jiang lowered her head and slumped her shoulders without saying a word. She had been
prepared. She had simulated these words with Jingsheng, but she really had expected everything.
She felt only a little uncomfortable, but mostly thought it was ridiculous.
Beiwu and Dongwen looked at each other and were about to speak when Chen Sinan suddenly
stood up and dropped his chopsticks.
"Mom, you are so annoying!"
"Did you know that Huang Rong is dead? What's more important, Chinese, math, or English?
Which is more important, grades or human life? I've been telling you for a long time that my
favorite person is dead, and you just say that I'm not good at English, and now you're saying that
my sister is not good at Chinese. Who can be good at everything? Huang Rong was good at
everything, but she committed suicide! Would you be satisfied if we commit suicide too?"
Gu Ximei was stunned, completely unable to comprehend the connection between her words.
"Ah? My water broke! Beiwu! Beiwu——" Shanrang shouted.

Chapter 226
"Luckily, we have a telephone at home!" Si Jiang sighed afterwards, and did not forget to give a
side note to Wang Lu, who had contributed to the project: "Luckily, we have the note from Wang
Lu's father. Now, you have to wait in line for half a year to install a telephone."
Gu Dongwen called the nurse Lu on duty at Huashan Hospital, who immediately found the head
nurse, who then called the First Maternity and Infant Hospital and the National Maternity and
Infant Hospital respectively. Half an hour later, the ambulance of the National Maternity and
Infant Hospital stopped at the entrance of the alley on Wanchun Street. Fortunately, Shanrang
was in good condition. He insisted on changing into clean cotton pants at home, and put on the
sanitary napkin that Sijiang bought for Sinan, and helped Gu Beiwu walk into the ambulance by
himself.
Gu Ximei had a lot of say in childbirth, and she quickly sorted out all the things that Shanrang and
the baby would need.
"Let's do a cesarean section if possible." Ximei said to Beiwu, "Shanrang must have little amniotic
fluid left, which is not good for the baby. Besides, natural childbirth is too painful, and this is her
first child. It's easier to just give her anesthesia and do the cesarean section."
Granny Gu glared at her unhappily and said, "I heard that babies born by caesarean section are
not smart! They are not smart. Look at Jingshengsi and Jiangsinan, they are much better."
Gu Ximei had even less patience with her mother than with her own children, and she
immediately retorted impatiently: "Beiwu and Shanrang are both so smart, how dumb can the
child be? Besides, Shanrang has never suffered from hardship since he was a child, how can he be
the same as us? Giving birth to us is as easy as picking melons, so you think it's easy for others to
give birth to children too? I went through the gates of hell twice when I gave birth to Sijiang
Sinan, and I'm the only one who knows how painful it is to give birth to a child, okay? Really!"
Grandma Gu muttered to herself as she took out a bag of brown sugar and a bag of Xinjiang dates
and stuffed them into Shanrang's luggage for hospitalization.
"Listen to the doctor." Beiwu made the decision.
Shanrang's household registration was at Peking University, and her maternal records were at
Union Hospital. After entering the obstetric emergency room and undergoing a B-ultrasound, the
doctor recommended an immediate caesarean section. She had no labor pains, her cervix was
not dilated, and there was only about 200 ml of amniotic fluid left. The fetus' umbilical cord was
wrapped around its neck for three weeks, and there was a risk of suffocation. At this time, Mrs.
Zhou and Shanli also rushed to the hospital, and Beiwu signed to agree to the operation.
Shanrang was pushed into the operating room. Beiwu and Ximei sat outside with the old ladies
waiting. Ximei pretended to be nonchalant and recounted her thrilling childbirth adventure on
the train again. She felt relieved when she received a compliment from old lady Zhou, "You are
amazing".
Jingsheng, Sijiangsnan and Sihao were strolling in the hospital corridor.
"Look, it's my uncle." Sinan leaned over the windowsill and looked down: "What is he doing
there?"
"Eating a cigarette." Jingsheng's angle was just right to see a red dot on the tip of his finger.
"I'm hungry." Si Hao touched his belly, missing the half piece of spareribs that was thrown on the
armrest of the recliner and had not been finished.
Gu Dongwen went out at some point and was squatting on the curb outside the hospital,
smoking a cigarette. The street lights were high above him, illuminating his entire back with a
bleak white glow. There were still many bicycles and buses on Huashan Road, which made his
stillness seem inexplicably desolate.
Si Jiang silently looked at his uncle's back. Brother Jingsheng was of course very good, but my
aunt and uncle had never had a child of their own. I wonder if they were sad. Now that Nurse Lu
and my uncle were together, they didn't have children. Did they really not want to have children,
or did they not have children because of their brother? It was hard for adults too. Si Jiang
couldn't help but look at Jingsheng. Seeing Jingsheng looking outside with his eyes downcast,
motionless, with the corners of his lips tightly pulled down, Si Jiang knew that he must be
thinking about this too.
"Brother?"
"Hmm?" Jingsheng raised his head and saw Si Jiang's slightly red eyes. He took a breath and
turned away.
"Aunt Lu is here!" Sinan is worthy of being the leader of a gang, with extraordinary eyesight.
The three of them leaned against the window and looked out again. Chen Sihao squeezed and
shoved below: "I'm so hungry, I'm so hungry."
Si Jiang saw Nurse Lu walk up to his uncle, and the two of them, one with his head up and the
other with his head down, looked at each other for a while from two steps away, seemingly
saying nothing. Then Nurse Lu turned around and leaned against the lamppost.
"Aunt Lu also smokes cigarettes!" Si Nan shouted in surprise and turned to look at Jingsheng and
Si Jiang.
Gu Dongwen gave his half-smoked cigarette to Nurse Lu, who lowered her head, took two puffs,
and gave it back to him.
"She smiled." Sinan narrowed his eyes: "Uncle and Aunt Lu are weird. I don't understand."
"They're just not going to get married? And not have children?" Sinan was thinking about
Jingsheng wholeheartedly: "Aunt Lu is a pretty good stepmother. From now on, my uncle's house
and money will belong to my cousin alone. I feel relieved."
Jingsheng glanced sideways, raised his hand and gave Sinan a slap on the face: "What nonsense
are you talking about! (What nonsense are you talking about)"
Si Jiang, who had experienced the dispute over the Chen family's inheritance, remained silent.
She was convinced that Nurse Lu was not a woman like her second and third mothers.
Si Nan covered his head and talked about Zhao Youning: "You don't know how bad Ningning's
'fake' stepmother is. She stole his father's passbook and took away 8,000 yuan from the bank.
She also almost sold his mother's piano secretly. Fortunately, the old lady next door called his
father. Tsk tsk tsk."
"Ah?" Jingsheng and Sijiang really didn't know.
Sinan glanced at them proudly: "I said you are all too heartless, right? You don't care about
Brother Ningning at all. I am the only one who is his confidant!"
Si Jiang was really ashamed. Last year during the National Day holiday, Zhao Youning came to her
house to tutor her in physics and algebraic geometry for two days. She benefited a lot from them,
but she never paid much attention to his recent situation.
"His father deserves it! Who made him forget his loyalty for the sake of beauty? Husband and
wife are birds of the same forest, but they fly away when disaster strikes. Humph, he has no
loyalty, and he deserves to meet such a bad woman. Good will be rewarded with good, and evil
will be punished with evil. It's not that there is no retribution, but the time has not come yet. It's
a pity that the money can't be returned. It's all Brother Ningning's money. If he gets married in
the future, his wife will definitely be very angry when she finds out. Maybe she will turn around
and beat up the "fake" stepmother, hahaha." Si Nan now speaks with a set of Jianghu cuts from
martial arts novels, mixed with cause and effect, and it sounds very mysterious. In addition, the
time span is too long and the thinking is too jumpy. Chen Sihao temporarily forgot that he was
hungry and looked at his second sister with admiration.
"In short, we will never allow such ruthless and ungrateful people to exist in our Taohua Jianglong
Dagou Gang. I will kill one if I see one." Si Nan raised his hand knife and chopped it, instilling his
own underworld ethics at Chen Si Hao: "Eliminate violence and protect the good, do you
understand?"
"Sister, do you really dare to kill the bad guys?" Chen Sihao asked: "With a knife? With a gun? Or
with your hands?"
Jingsheng and Sijiang walked away silently, leaving space and time for the junior high school
students and kindergarten children.
"Are you interested in the 'jianghu'?" Sinan's eyes lit up: "Come on, since you are my brother, I
will make you a four-bag elder."
"What is the Four Bags Elder?"
"You have two pockets on your cotton-padded jacket and two on your trousers, which makes four
in total. Elder means someone who is very powerful without having to grow up. The most
powerful one is the Nine-Pocket Elder."
"Sister, I have six pockets." Si Hao lifted up the cotton jacket, and the knitted cardigan inside really
had two pockets.
Sinan poked it and saw that it was not a fake pocket, but a real pocket, so he nodded reluctantly
and agreed: "Then you can be the six-pocket elder. But I tell you, if you have more than five
pockets, you have to contribute to the gang. Five bags pay fifty cents a month, six bags pay sixty
cents, and seven bags pay seventy cents. Don't forget to give me seven dollars and twenty cents
when you get the New Year's money this year. I will give you a big red certificate for your
contribution."
"Well, then I'm old, what good is that?"
"It is an honor to serve the people. It is an honor to fight against violence and uphold justice. Do
you understand? Why are you thinking about benefits? Come, let's talk about it. Your idea is very
dangerous."
"Is there any meat to eat?"
"without."
"Do you have any chocolate? The imported kind?"
"No! You wish."
Si Hao covered his two pockets and said, "Forget it, I'll just be four bags. I don't have to pay you
for four bags."
Chen Sinan crossed his arms and looked coldly at his unambitious brother: "Humph, a lazy and
petty person like you is not worthy of joining our heroic gang."
Chen Sihao blinked his eyes and shrugged his shoulders like Mickey Mouse: "Oh, all right."
Fortunately, he didn't tell his sister about the pocket on his shorts, otherwise he would have
seven bags of money and would have to give her 70 cents a month. She would have been wishful
thinking, because 70 cents could buy a bowl of wontons and a basket of steamed dumplings.
——
The lights above the operating room went out.
The nurse came out with a stroller, and the baby was crying loudly, with a very loud voice, quite
like Si Jiangsnan and Si Hao.
"Gu Beiwu? Is Gu Beiwu here?"
Gu Beiwu's legs went limp and his eldest brother pulled him over, allowing him to run over as if
he was walking on cotton.
"Congratulations, your wife gave birth to a son. Both mother and child are safe. The baby weighs
3.3 kilograms and is very healthy."
Gu Beiwu looked at the crying, red lump in the small box and didn't even dare to touch it: "Excuse
me, are his fingers and toes normal? When can my wife come out?"
The nurse smiled and said, "Your wife will be out soon. Why do all of you fathers have the same
first question? Don't worry, the baby has ten fingers and ten toes, which is normal. Your family
members, please take a closer look and check the name on the bracelet. I'm going to send the
baby to the nursery."
It was easy for Sijiangsnans to squeeze in.
"My little brother is so ugly." Sinan poked the baby's face and found that he cried even harder. He
judged with great pride: "He is uglier than I was when I was a child."
Gu Ximei slapped her hand and said, "Have you washed your hands? You just touched your
brother? No one in this world is uglier than you when you were born."
Si Nan was not angry either: "The uglier he was when he was young, the more handsome he
became when he grew up. Alas, then my brother will only be as good-looking as Chen Si Hao in
the future. He will be far inferior to my eldest cousin."
Chen Sihao touched his face in confusion: "???" He suspected that his second sister said that to
him because he refused to be the Six-Bag and Seven-Bag Elder.
Jingsheng grabbed her collar and made way for the nurse: "You are the only one who talks too
much. I won't look ugly when I give birth."
"Then maybe you were ten times more beautiful than you are now." Sinan said as a matter of
course.
The baby stroller entered the elevator. Old Mrs. Zhou and Grandma Gu stamped their feet
repeatedly. They were so busy watching that they didn't even hold the baby!
Grandma Gu repeatedly made the sign of the cross in front of the elevator door: "Thank God,
thank God for giving our Gu family a great grandson! My heart, you must praise the Lord, and all
who are within me, praise his holy name!"
Old Mrs. Zhou did not believe in God. Seeing her mother-in-law so pious, she was so moved that
she put her hands together and said, "Old Zhou, thank you for blessing Shanrang and my
grandson. Both mother and son are safe. You did a good job this time. I will burn a pair of leather
boots for you tomorrow. Straw sandals are useless. Just tell me what you want in the future,
okay? Don't be too frugal when you go to the underworld..."
——
Shan Rang was transferred to the eight-person obstetrics ward, and the nurse pressed her
stomach to expel the blood. Si Jiangsnan and others were outside, and they were frightened
when they heard Shan Rang screaming. Nurse Lu comforted them, saying that this was only the
case with a caesarean section, and that a natural birth would be fine.
"I don't want to have a baby." Sinan asked Nurse Lu, "Auntie Lu, are you happy that you don't
have a baby?"
Nurse Lu smiled and stroked her curly hair: "I'm happy. My salary is mine and I can spend it
however I want. But having a baby also has its own joys. Go ahead and ask your uncle and aunt."
Jingsheng suddenly interrupted: "If you want to have a baby, then have one. If you don't want to
have one, then don't have one."
Gu Dongwen and Nurse Lu couldn't help but turn their heads to look at him.
Jingsheng stood up, put his hands in his trouser pockets, and walked out of the ward area.
Sinan immediately chased after him.
Chen Sihao followed suit and walked out. He put his chubby little hands into his trouser pockets
for a long time, but his two lumps of fat flesh couldn't fit in, leaving two red marks.
Si Jiang smiled and winked at Gu Dongwen: "Uncle, come on!"
Gu Dongwen looked at Jingsheng's back, smiled and shook his head: "Little bastard."
——
Gu Nian, whose nickname was given by Grandma Gu, was Hutou. In fact, he was born three days
before the Year of the Tiger. On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, his parents brought him
back to Wanchun Street from the hospital. Grandma Gu held Hutou and sat in front of the
portrait of Grandpa Gu, talking for more than half an hour, crying and laughing. The whole family
sat in the living room quietly accompanying him. Fifty years of time passed in a flash, and there
were life and death separations without warning. Wars, movements, everything good and bad, in
the mouth of the old lady was just a light complaint or a word of relief.
"Okay, I won't say any more. Things will get better and better at home. You have to be well down
there by yourself. Just tell me if you need anything."
Grandma Gu gently rocked her grandson who had fallen asleep due to her nagging. Finally, she
thanked God and returned Gu Nian to Gu Beiwu with satisfaction.
Si Jiang wrote in his diary that night: "When you live to the end, it turns out that people will
become fossils, and their joys, sorrows, anger and happiness will become the texture of time."

Chapter 227
The Gu family was overjoyed to have a new baby, so they made 600 red eggs and distributed
them lavishly. Even the vendors on Huating Road and Nurse Lu's department at Huashan Hospital
enjoyed them.
People who came to congratulate Gu Hutou had a lot of things to say (many). Many aunts and
grandmothers began to sigh when something went wrong, saying that their son looked like his
mother, which was a pity because the child would not be as good-looking as Gu Beiwu when he
grew up. Of course, it is not very useful for a man to be good-looking, but a woman who is too
pretty is prone to get into trouble. Then everyone envied Gu Hutou for being reborn, with his
parents both high-level intellectuals, golden rice bowls in state-owned units, and the only child in
the Gu family.
Chen A'niang brought her three sons to congratulate the couple and presented a three-liang pure
gold longevity lock.
"Xunfang, don't be polite, you must accept it," Chen A Niang held Gu A Po's hand and sighed, "Si
Jiang was raised by Bei Wu, and now Si Hao is also taken care of by you and Dong Wen (you and
Dong Wen are taking care of him). Our Chen family owes you (the Gu family) too much."
Old Mrs. Zhou heard Shanrang talk about the misfortunes of the three sisters of the Chen family
and their disputes over the inheritance. She was an old revolutionary and did not have a good
impression of the Chen family. However, she was too embarrassed to show disrespect for the
longevity lock, so the three old ladies seemed to be quite harmonious when they talked about
family matters.
Chen Donglai saw that his mother had given him such a valuable gift, so he turned around and
secretly stuffed an extra thirty yuan into the red envelope, turning fifty into eighty. They couldn't
catch up with Gu Nian's full-month gift, so they gave the red envelope first. Chen Dongfang and
Chen Donghai still gave twenty yuan, which was not impolite as in-laws.
Gu Dongwen turned around and brought out three bottles of Feitian Moutai with iron caps,
giving each of them a bottle as a return gift. Chen Donghai was flattered and repeatedly declined,
saying that this bottle of wine would cost 18.5 yuan to buy internally at their vegetable company,
and Gu Dongwen was too generous.
In the kitchen, Si Jiang complained angrily that her uncle shouldn't be so generous to her second
and third uncles. Jing Sheng knew the whole story and explained to her: "When your second and
third uncles got married and had children, my father and uncle didn't do any favors. Now that my
uncle and his family have returned to Beijing, it's impossible for them to repay the favor of my
little cousin, so Dad simply settled it on the spot without delay or debt." Afraid that Si Jiang still
didn't understand, he added: "Dad doesn't want to owe the Chen family any favors."
Si Jiang poked a hole in the fried gluten and stuffed it with meat sauce, remembering that when
Si Hao celebrated his first birthday, his mother also wrote down the red envelopes in a small
notebook. Favors always have to be repaid.
"You and Snans are actually not real members of the Chen family." Jingsheng thought that his last
sentence made her think too much.
Si Jiang was stunned, then smiled: "It's okay, I don't consider myself a member of the Chen family.
It would be nice if I could change my surname to Gu like my mom. Gu Sijiang, Gu Sinan, Gu Si is
good, doesn't it sound good?"
"That won't do." Jingsheng snatched the fried gluten from her hand: "What are you thinking?
There's too much meat stuffed in there."
"If I have a child in the future, I will definitely not let her have the surname Chen." Si Jiang picked
up a piece of fried gluten and shook it: "Although men and women are equal, and they can have
the same surname as their father and mother, I still hope that she will have her father's surname,
or just Gu is also good. My mother is pretty good, but my grandfather is too son-centric. I get
angry every time I think about it. Sigh, I wonder if the three aunts are doing well now."
"People who live a good life can live well no matter where they are. People who do not live a
good life cannot live well even if they have mountains of gold and silver." Jingsheng's men worked
non-stop to prepare a large pot of fried gluten stuffed with meat, and instructed Si Jiang to take
out a bundle of green onions on the ground and wash them.
"Huh? Was this bunch of green onions also given to you by the people who bought you
vegetables?"
Jingsheng turned around and took the pot: "I bought it."
"Tsk tsk tsk, it seems the waiter has been replaced by a man." Si Jiang muttered as he walked out.
Through the window, Jingsheng raised his voice a little: "Every time Chen Sinan comes back, you
will be infected by her and speak in a sarcastic tone. Be careful, don't let her lead you astray."
Si Nan ran down the stairs with a thump. "Hey, why am I so sarcastic? How did I lead Chen Sijiang
astray? Gu Jingsheng, you are the one who is sarcastic and says bad things about me behind my
back. What kind of hero are you?"
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng both ran to the stairs and glared at Si Nan.
"What?" Sinan stretched his neck: "Want to fight?"
"What did you call us just now?" Jingsheng frowned. Si Jiang also wanted to ask this question.
"I'm calling you by your names." Si Nan raised his eyebrows: "Gu Jingsheng, Gu Jingsheng, Gu
Jingsheng. Chen Sijiang, Chen Sijiang, Chen Sijiang. What? Did I call you by the wrong names?"
Si Jiang had studied TOEFL for half a year and was quite accepting of the foreign custom of
brothers and sisters calling each other by their names. Thinking that she was making a fuss out of
nothing, she raised her hand, smiled and splashed water on Si Nan's face: "Chen Si Nan, you're
great. It's okay. Just call me by my name. It doesn't matter if you don't call me sister." After her
statement, Jing Sheng didn't know what to say to Si Nan, but it was indeed a bit of a psychological
gap to suddenly call him cousin instead of calling him by his full name.
Si Nan wiped his face in disdain and squeezed through the two of them: "I'm going to Kangjia
Bridge to see Brother Ningning. I won't be back for lunch."
"Is Zhao Youning back?"
"Um."
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"Why should I tell you? You two are whispering to each other all day long. I don't know what you
are talking about. You always hide in the pavilion or the kitchen to talk. Why don't you tell me?"
Si Nan turned around, put his hands on his waist and shouted: "Gu Jingsheng, you are no longer
my dearest cousin. You are an ordinary cousin now. And Chen Sijiang, you are no longer my
dearest sister - humph, goodbye!"
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng looked at each other.
"Don't bother with her. She's always acting weird." Jingsheng shook his head: "Even dogs would
hate her."
Si Jiang laughed: "I'll go find her, and by the way, ask Zhao Youning to come to our house to eat
red eggs and play with tiger heads. Si Nan will definitely come back with me."
Jingsheng bent down and said angrily: "Chen Sijiang, I didn't realize you were so sinister."
"Hahahaha." Si Jiang chased after him with a smile: "Brother, you speak in a sarcastic tone. It
seems that you have been infected by Si Nan. Be careful."
——
Zhao Youning came back to move the piano, and Chen Sinan happened to call him, so they made
an appointment to go to the Meixin Dim Sum Restaurant on Shaanxi Road to eat Tangyuan
together.
Si Nan was very generous: "I'll treat you to a meal, I have money." She received a lot of New
Year's money this year. Gu Ximei was busy traveling between Chen's house, Gu's house and the
hospital, and did not notice that Si Nan had handed over a big red envelope from Gu Beiwu, who
also gave her ten yuan pocket money and told her not to get into trouble.
Zhao Youning was startled when he saw Sinan.
"Yeah, Nan Nan Nong has grown up."
Sinan lowered his voice and looked towards the bedroom door warily: "Is that person here?"
Zhao Youning was happy. The little girl was still the same, she hadn't changed at all.
"No. My dad will be back with the piano mover later."
Sinan frowned: "She's sensible, otherwise I would not only scold her, but also -"
"You haven't seen my dog-beating stick technique yet, have you?" Sinan looked around to see if
there was any handy weapon he could use, even a feather duster would do.
Zhao Youning had been laughing since she entered the door.
The piano stool, music sheets, and the photo frames and vases on the piano were all put away,
leaving a large empty space in the entrance. Sinan walked around the living room and dining
room, but found no trace of Jia Qingqing.
"She never came back after stealing the money. Now my dad lives here alone." Zhao Youning
laughed again: "What do you want to drink? But here we only have boiled water or Coca-Cola."
"Coke, do you have iced one?" Sinan sat down on the sofa with a flourish.
Zhao Youning opened the refrigerator, took out a bottle of Coke, and poured her a glass. The
doorbell rang downstairs. Sinan stood up as if facing a great enemy: "Is your stepmother here?
Will she still want to occupy your mother's piano?"
Finally, it was Si Jiang who came up.
Zhao Youning asked Sinan: "Why don't we go to your grandmother's house to see your little
brother first, and then go to Meixin?"
"You can stay at our house and eat." Si Jiang invited warmly with an apologetic tone: "My elder
brother cooked a large table of dishes, and I can also stir-fry shrimps and braise pork ribs. I
learned this in the cooking class last semester. Come on, come and try my cooking skills?"
Zhao Youning's ears felt hot. He didn't dare to look at Si Jiang and turned to ask Si Nan for his
opinion.
Sinan was very happy when he saw Ajie chasing after him. He didn't have to pay for the meal, so
why not? He nodded immediately: "Her fried shrimp is really delicious, it tastes like crab meat."
Zhao Youning left a note for Zhao Yan and followed Si Jiangsinan to Wanchun Street.
Gu Nian, who had been a prop for the tour for several days, was being teased by Chen Si. Before
Zhao Youning dared to reach out, he burst into tears, making everyone's ears buzz.
"Oh, my grandson is so full of energy! Just like his grandfather." Grandma Gu happily ran over,
holding Gu Nian carefully in her arms and rocking her: "In the past, when your father saw
customers looking for rickshaws on Jing'an Temple Road, he would shout to them across the
street. Customers all liked to take his rickshaws, because his voice was loud and he could pull the
rickshaws very fast."
The old lady smiled and shook her head a few times. Gu Nian stopped crying and stared at
Grandma Gu with her dark eyes.
"Come, Ningning, touch your little brother." Grandma Gu brought her grandson in front of Zhao
Youning and smiled expectantly, "Ningning, you are a child prodigy. Touch your little brother more
often and let him get some of your literary talent."
Chen Si was short, and when he stretched out his hand, he only pulled Gu Nian's feet. Gu Nian
frowned, kicked her legs, and started crying again. Zhao Youning was so scared that he just
touched her little hand and then retracted it.
Granny Gu was so angry that she turned around and slapped Si Hao: "Don't pull your brother's
feet. What if he becomes short-legged?"
Chen Si was very unhappy: "Grandma, you are so mean. You don't want me anymore now that
you have a little brother. I'm going back to my mother's house."
"You little heartless bastard, go back, go back, go back. If I give you some color, you will open a
dyeing factory?" Although the words were very tough, Grandma Gu bent down and sent Gu Nian
to Chen Sihao's hand: "Don't poke your brother's face secretly all the time, he will drool. Touch
him gently, yes, then he will stop crying. You made him feel hurt and uncomfortable and cried. If
grandma doesn't say anything, who will you say?"
Everyone in the living room looked at the three of them and smiled. Old Mrs. Zhou walked over
and was eager to hold Gu Nian. Granny Gu reluctantly handed her grandson to her: "Hold your
head and neck, hold your waist. Good, good, good, you hold me so well."
"Oh, it's really exquisite." Old Mrs. Zhou also sighed: "When the eldest brother Shanrang was
born, we were chased and beaten by the Kuomintang. I was busy holding a gun with both hands.
His eldest brother grew up in a basket and was never held. Later, Shanli was born, and it was our
turn to chase the Kuomintang, still holding guns in our hands. Shanli was thrown in the
countryside and raised until he was four years old. We took him to live with him. When we met,
he didn't recognize us at all. Only Shanrang was lucky enough to be born in a peaceful era.
Unfortunately, I didn't hold him. My aunt held him - oh, how could the baby be so small, so soft
and so light." The old lady thought of Zhou Zhiyuan and sighed. She had held all her
grandchildren, but she had never taken care of them. The daughters-in-law took care of them
themselves. She only held them symbolically. Thinking of being able to hold Gu Nian every day in
the future, the old lady's eyes softened a lot, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but
bend up.
"Oh, he smacked his lips. Hahaha." Granny Gu gently touched Gu Nian's little mouth: "He's
looking for milk. How can he be so smart? He's only a few days old, but he already knows how to
look for milk. Look, his eyes are moving back and forth. Shanrang, Shanrang, your son is looking
for you."
Shan Rang took Gu Nian and went to the inner room to feed the baby. The two old ladies
followed him in and told Chen Si to guard outside the door curtain and not let anyone in.
Chen Sihao moved a small stool, sat in front of the door curtain, and stared at Zhao Youning.
"Don't you recognize me?" Zhao Youning asked him with a smile.
"know."
"I just saw you on National Day, how could I not recognize you?" Si Jiang smiled and peeled a red
egg for Zhao Youning: "What would you like to drink?"
"Boiled water is fine."
Si Nan picked out a handful of melon seeds from the snack box, stuffed them into Zhao Youning's
hand, and then gave some to Chen Si. Curiously, he gently opened the door curtain a little and
looked inside.
Chen Sihao took the melon seeds, cracked them skillfully, and tugged at Sinan's trouser leg: "Hey,
second sister."
"Um?"
"Don't steal my big sister's boyfriend."
"What?"
Si Nan squatted down, eyes wide open: "Who? Who is Chen Sijiang's boyfriend?"
Chen Si looked at her with disdain and pointed the melon seed shell in his hand at Zhao Youning:
"Him."
The little fat boy was finally severely scolded by his two sisters and an older cousin, and was
forced to explain what had gotten into his little head in kindergarten. His melon seeds were also
confiscated, and facing Zhao Youning, who looked helpless and blushed, Chen Si wisely gave up
his principles and said sorry.
But the one who was scared was actually Zhao Youning.

Chapter 228
Zhao Youning's heart was pounding, and he pretended not to hear what Chen Sinan and Chen
Sihao said.
"Nan Nan, your blow really hurts." In the chaos, he took two punches from Si Nan for the fat boy,
and saved the fat boy's ear from Jing Sheng's hands.
Sinan rubbed his fist proudly: "This is my Iron Sand Fist."
When Chen Sihao grew up, he always remembered Zhao Youning's kindness and was proud of his
unique "insight".
"I discovered your affair five hundred years ago!" He had shouted this sentence in his heart
thousands of times, but he never dared to say it out loud, for fear that he would be silenced if he
said it.
This important social activity of visiting the baby came to an end when Gu Nian fell asleep after
feeding. Zhao Youning was dragged by Si Nan to sit between her and Si Jiang. As soon as he sat
down, Gu Ximei came back. He quickly stood up and gave way: "Hello, Si Jiang's mother. Happy
New Year."
Gu Ximei was stunned: "Xiao Zhao? Oh, Happy New Year. Please sit down." She looked at Si Jiang
and then Jing Sheng suspiciously, but she didn't expect that Zhao Youning was pulled here
because of Si Nan.
Gu Beiwu brought the rich, white and mellow soybean pork trotter soup to the table: "Hey, why
are you back?"
Gu Ximei added a set of bowls and chopsticks next to Grandma Gu and sighed, "Qian Guihua is
here again, let them worry about it, I'm coming back to have some peace and quiet."
Sinan was stunned: "Is Third Mama in jail?"
"Well. It's adults' business, kids shouldn't interfere. Just eat your meal." Gu Ximei frowned and
glared at Si Nan: "I told you to come back and learn English with your sister, have you learned it?"
Qian Guihua was released early, and he came to the door every few days to cry and scold Chen
Donghai for being heartless and the Chen family for being heartless, demanding money, a house,
and a son. Before the Lantern Festival, A Niang had been admitted to the local hospital twice.
Chen Donglai tried to settle the matter and gave Qian Guihua two hundred yuan, but he couldn't
stop her. Instead, Chen Donghai complained about him, saying that he was neither a good person
nor a bad person.
"I have learned it," Sinan's eyes widened. "I even sang the ABC song to Hu Tou today. If you don't
believe me, ask my uncle and aunt."
Shan Rang had just settled his son down and sat down with Old Lady Zhou. He smiled and
testified for Si Nan: "Yes, our Nan Nan sang it five or six times."
"Okay, okay, it's time for dinner." Granny Gu rolled her eyes at Xi Mei and said, "Eating is not the
way to teach your children."
"Who has time to teach her?" Xi Mei gave Si Nan a glare and brought the two prawns in Si Hao's
bowl to herself: "Come, let Mommy help you peel the prawns. By the way, Xiao Zhao, I heard you
skipped a grade?"
Chen Sihao quickly stood up and put two more prawns into his bowl, happily waiting to eat the
ready-made food.
Si Nan quickly put two large shrimps into Zhao Youning's bowl and said, "Chen Si Hao, you are
already so fat, how dare you eat so many shrimps? Brother Ningning, you must not be polite
when eating at my house. If you are quick, you will get something. If you are slow, you will only
get - air."
"Second sister, you wanted to say eat shit! Hahaha."
"Bullshit! I was going to say air."
"Eat, eat. The two of you are not allowed to say any disgusting words anymore." Seeing his
mother's unhappy face, Si Jiang quickly came out to smooth things over.
"My uncle said that eating shrimps won't make you fat! They are high in protein and nutritious."
Chen Sihao picked up his chopsticks quickly and picked up two more for Shanrang: "Aunt, you eat
too."
Zhao Youning then answered Gu Ximei's question: "Yes, Mother Si Jiang, I will go to university in
September this year."
"Ah? So soon? Aren't you and Si Jiang from the same class?" As a teacher, Gu Ximei has a natural
liking for outstanding students: "You have won so many awards, you must be able to go directly
to college without taking the college entrance examination. Have you decided which university
you want to go to?"
"It hasn't been decided yet." Zhao Youning peeled the shrimp carefully and put it back into
Sinan's bowl.
"I'm giving it to you to eat! I don't want you to peel it for me to eat!" Sinan didn't appreciate it,
and he returned the shrimp to him with his chopsticks: "Peking University is good, Ningning
brother, you should go to Beijing. My aunt-in-law will definitely protect you. She is a teacher at
Peking University. University is also a world of its own, a big world of its own, you have to make
good use of it."
Everyone at the table, including Ximei, was amused by Sinan's talk.
Beiwu smiled and said, "We warmly welcome Xiao Zhao to study at Peking University, but the
mathematics department and the physics department may come to blows."
Shan Rang also smiled: "I heard from Si Nan that you went to Nankai University in January to
participate in the National Middle School Students' Mathematics Winter Camp?"
"Yes, I went for six days." Zhao Youning was a little embarrassed. He was reluctant to say this in
front of Sijiang and Jingsheng, fearing that he would be suspected of showing off. However, he
did not have this concern because of the age difference and grade difference between him and
Sinan. He did not have anyone to share these things with. If he told his father, his father would
have heard about it for many years, and now he did not have the heart to tutor him. After
listening, his father would just say "good, you should work hard". But Sinan would be particularly
enthusiastic in asking him how he was selected, which powerful child prodigies went with him,
what they usually ate, played, watched TV, knew the Legend of the Condor Heroes, whether they
would be distracted during the competition, and if they had to pee urgently, could they run to the
toilet in the middle of the game. She seemed to be full of enthusiasm and curiosity about any
trivial matter, and she would not tire of asking him questions until she got to the bottom of it,
which made him fall down from the world of questions to the ground. It was really good to be
cared for by others.
"What is the National Mathematics Winter Camp?" Ximei asked in confusion, "We have never
heard of it in Urumqi."
Shan Rang was still working at the school before the winter break, so he explained: "It's a camp
to prepare for the International Mathematical Olympiad. Last year, the country selected two
children to participate in the competition, and the results were not ideal, so this year Peking
University, Nankai University, Fudan University and USTC jointly organized a winter camp to train
students like Youning and then select them."
"Yes." Zhao Youning nodded and turned his head to look at Si Nan, wanting her to keep the
selection results secret.
Si Nan misunderstood and thought he had received the feather that Zhao Youning had passed to
him. He immediately shouted excitedly, "Mom, let me tell you, there are a total of 81 math
experts from all over the country going to this winter camp, and only 21 people were selected.
They will go to Beijing for another two months of intensive training in March, and then six people
will be selected to compete abroad. Brother Ningning was selected this time, what a stick! He will
definitely be selected next time, too, model! Going abroad!"
Gu Ximei looked at Zhao Youning differently again, and turned to Sinan unhappily, "Xiao Zhao is
going abroad to compete, why are you making such a fuss? Besides, going abroad is not
uncommon now. In two years, when your sister is admitted to an American university, you can
make as much fuss as you want."
Sinan pouted: "You don't want to say something nice to make people happy."
"I wish Xiao Zhao to pass the selection successfully, go abroad to compete, and win glory for the
country. Doesn't that sound good? Then you should learn from brother Xiao Zhao. He sent you so
many papers, but you only knew how to sell them for money. You didn't know how to try them
yourself and didn't strive for progress. You were the first in elementary school every year, so why
is it so difficult to get the first place now?" Gu Ximei couldn't understand. Her two daughters
were obviously outstanding children in elementary school, but why did they become mediocre
after entering middle school? If she intervened, they would not be happy. If she didn't intervene,
she would feel uncomfortable.
Sinan's voice was louder than Ximei's: "Then why didn't you get the title of the city's outstanding
teacher? Is it hard to get first place? Outstanding teachers get a 200 yuan bonus, but I don't get
any bonus for getting first place."
Gu Ximei's face turned pale with anger. She couldn't scold or hit him in front of two outsiders,
Mrs. Zhou and Zhao Youning. In addition, this matter really hurt her lungs, so she had to say
lightly, "What do you know? This is not based on an exam."
Beiwu's kindness made the couple look at each other with a smile, thinking of the saying
"everything can defeat another". Fortunately, Sinan hit the target and stopped while he was
ahead. He turned around and started talking about which country's capital is Warsaw, the venue
of this year's Olympic Games, why the previous champions were either Soviet or American, and
when will the Chinese team win the championship...
Zhao Youning ate the whole meal with trepidation. Fortunately, as soon as they put down their
chopsticks, Beiwu sent the four children to Nanjing Road International Hotel to buy butterfly
cakes. Jingsheng and Sijiang quickly called Sinan and Zhao Youning to sneak away, leaving Chen
Sihao at the door, slapping his thighs and crying loudly with his neck tilted back.
"Brother and sister, please don't take me with you! I want to go!"
Gu Ximei squatted down and tried to pick up her son. Chen Sihao was too fat and she almost fell.
Fortunately, she supported herself on the ground with one hand, but she also got some skin
scraped off.
"Look, Mommy's hands are broken because of you."
Chen Sihao hugged her mother's neck with tears in her eyes and blew on her palms. Thinking
about the misery of being abandoned, she started crying again.
——
Four people took bus No. 20 from Jing'an Temple and prepared to get off at Nanjing West Road
and Huanghe Road. The atmosphere of the New Year was still there. Red lanterns were hung on
the treetops on Nanjing West Road. Going west from the Hendry Watch Shop, the children's
library at the corner of Shimen Road was full of old ladies basking in the sun. They were reluctant
to wear new clothes and still wore navy blue cotton jackets, which was also a unique landscape.
Fashionable young people walked proudly on the road under their sight, and occasionally glanced
at them with disdain. It was these old men and women who hindered Shanghai's return to the
status of the world's fashion center. After all, Modern is no longer modern now, and Fashion is
needed to be fashionable enough.
"It's no different. Nanjing Road is our Friendship Road."
"It's still different. The old ladies basking in the sun on the curb here are not fashionable and
wear shabby clothes. The old ladies in Urumqi all wear flowery headscarves, which are very
beautiful."
"We also have a refrigerator in the window of the Youhao Department Store. There is cola inside.
I touched it and it is real, but the apples and bananas are fake."
Along the way, Sinan chattered about comparing Shanghai and Urumqi.
Jingsheng couldn't help but ask her: "Are you from Urumqi or Shanghai?"
Sinan thought for a moment and said, "I am one of us."
Si Jiang and You Ning laughed out loud.
Sinan pressed his face against the glass window of the bus, and immediately a cloud of white
steam appeared on the glass.
"When I'm in Urumqi, I'm a Shanghainese. When I return to Shanghai, I become an Urumqi
person again. Actually, I'm from Aksu, right?" Sinan stepped back two centimeters and blew a
long breath towards the glass: "Anyway, I'm myself, so I'm one of our own."
Si Jiang took Si Nan's arm and said, "Then I am one of us, too. I am one of Nan Nan's people."
Sinan smiled with her eyes curved, two dimples appearing and disappearing, and she looked at
Jingsheng and Youning proudly.
"Me too." Zhao Youning expressed his stance firmly.
Jingsheng smiled and pulled Sinan's fluffy braid: "Okay, the three of us are your own people."
"Then do you want to join my gang? Elder Jiubao, you can be the left or right protector!" Sinan's
eyes widened as he issued an invitation.
Jingsheng and Si Jiang shook their heads at the same time and stopped Zhao Youning from
hesitating.
"We are our own people. We don't join gangs and we don't pay gang membership fees. Why do
we talk about money when we are on our own? It hurts our feelings." Jing Sheng said seriously.
"Then I'll give you a discount! Just give me fifty cents a month, and I'll also give you the Elder
Certificate and the Dharma Protector Certificate."
"By the way, uncle said how many kilograms of butterfly cake should I buy? I forgot." Si Jiang
frowned and asked Si Nan.
Si Nan was stunned: "I forgot. Cousin, how many kilograms do you want to buy?"
"Two kilograms of butterfly cakes. By the way, on the way back, I have to buy ten vegetable buns
from Luyang Village on Jiangning Road, twenty glutinous rice dumplings from the dim sum shop
on Shaanxi North Road, and fifty fresh rice dumplings from Meixin. Meat dumplings. "Jingsheng is
like a treasure.
Zhao Youning was stunned, and just as he was about to correct himself, Si Nan shouted: "No, no,
no, there are twenty vegetable buns, and there are ten glutinous rice dumplings!"
The three siblings discussed for five minutes, and Zhao Youning suppressed his laughter and
reminded them: "We have arrived at the station."
Jing Shengsijiang and Zhao Youning exchanged a knowing look, and smiled as Lasnan got out of
the car.
After walking two steps, Si Nan turned around and took Jing Sheng and Zhao You Ning's arms:
"Brother, you are my left protector, brother Ning Ning, you are my right protector. Sister, look, the
three of us are walking sideways on Nanjing Road. Isn't it cool? Isn't it awesome?"
Seeing Jingsheng and Zhao Youning's petrified expressions, Si Jiang suddenly bent over with
laughter.
Sinan smiled and pulled his left and right bodyguards with him on the journey to conquer Nanjing
Road.
——
After the Lantern Festival, Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei were going to take Sinan back to Xinjiang.
Gu Beiwu and Shanrang were going to take Gu Nian and Old Lady Zhou back to Beijing. Grandma
Gu was a little unhappy but pretended to laugh.
Bei Wu asked his mother privately: "You are reluctant to part with the tiger head, right?"
"Not bad." Grandma Gu hurried to make twenty more cotton diapers for her grandson. She used
old bed sheets from church members' homes, which were the softest.
"Shanrang said that she was worried that her mother would be too busy. If you are willing, why
don't you come to Beijing and live with us for a year or so." Beiwu lowered his head to look at his
mother's expression.
Granny Gu paused, sighed and shook her head: "I am a useless person. I am so worried about
walking with my bound feet. I am illiterate. I will not be able to adapt to the climate in other
places. If something happens, it will cause trouble to you. I will not go. My mother-in-law has
been shot in the right arm and can't use it. Don't let her hold the tiger's head all the time."
Beiwu was surprised: "Why don't we know?"
Granny Gu glared at him and said, "You know nothing. Your mother has never had courage in her
life. She was scared to death by the Japanese when she was fleeing. Do you know that?"
Beiwu was silent.
"Don't ask, fourth brother. The day before yesterday, Hu Tou slipped off the sofa, and your
mother-in-law didn't catch him. She regretted it so much that she slapped herself twice, because
her hands were weak. Alas." Grandma Gu folded twenty diapers neatly and said, "I felt something
was wrong, and she only told me after asking for a long time. She was afraid that you would know
and not let her take care of Hu Tou. Just keep it in mind, and don't tell Shan Rang. Shan Rang will
definitely cry. She had a cesarean section, and she has to stay in bed for at least two months. It's
not good to cry during the confinement period. If you cry, your eyes will be damaged. Look at me,
and now you have to ask Jingsheng for help when you want to thread a needle."
Beiwu took the diaper and unfolded it piece by piece. The hand-sewn stitches were fine and
dense, without any rough edges.
"Mom."
"Um?"
Beiwu was silent for a moment, and folded the diapers again: "Then we will send you photos of
Tiger Head every month."
"Okay, take more photos, take them yourself, don't go to a photo studio. Shanrang said that the
poplar flowers in Beijing are very strong in spring, and Hutou is still young, so don't go out too
much. Oh, take more photos of your family, and bring your mother-in-law." Grandma Gu lowered
her voice and advised her son, "They have never been apart in their lives, even in wars. It will
take them three to five years to recover from the sudden loss of someone. You should keep an
eye on her more. It's better to let her revolve around Hutou than to leave her alone. She will
easily have wild thoughts when she's alone."
On the 16th day of the first lunar month, Gu Beiwu dragged Gu Dongwen and the entire family to
Jing'an Park and shot two rolls of film.
After returning to Beijing and developing the photos, Bei Wu's eyes were wet. In one photo,
Grandma Gu was standing alone on the grass, standing straight, with her hands hanging on the
sides of her trouser legs. Her hair was neatly tied up, and she was wearing a brand new navy blue
Chinese style stand-up collar cotton jacket with a hidden pattern of Baoxianghua. The jacket was
slightly nipped at the waist, and under her black trousers were small embroidered cotton boots
made for her by Gu Dongwen. She smiled at the camera with a shy and reserved look.
Gu Beiwu remembered that the photo was backlit, so he changed the angle and kept chasing Si
Nan and Si Hao away, who were chasing and playing behind her, causing her to stand there for a
long time. It was very cold and windy that day, but she just stood there quietly without moving,
looking at him with a smile.
"When I was fleeing, I thought I was going to die. Who would have thought that I could live a
good life and have a baby? Old man, you didn't enjoy the blessing. You lost a lot."

Chapter 229
To describe it using words from the vocabulary bank for primary school students to write essays,
1986 was a new year with a new atmosphere; it was a year of prosperity and we were proud of it
in the international arena.
In the eyes of Gu Beiwu and Zhou Shanrang, the rise of the motherland is unstoppable. In
January, Comrade Xiaoping appeared on the cover of Time magazine as the global person of the
year; in February, launch vehicle technology entered the practical stage; in March, the 863
National High-tech Research and Development Program was implemented. At the end of March,
the "Seventh Five-Year Plan" was released, and the "Sixth Five-Year Plan" achieved gratifying
results, with the total import and export trade reaching 230 billion US dollars. All existing rigid
regulations have been broken or entered a gray area. Except for grain and oil, which still require
tickets, other tickets have been basically cancelled. Whether or not to stay in a hotel with a
"letter of introduction" has become negotiable. Friendship stores can directly buy import and
export goods with RMB without foreign exchange coupons. In Beiwu's words: marketization is
unstoppable.
In the eyes of the little fat boy Chen Sihao, this is his last six months of happiness and freedom.
He will go to primary school in September, and will start to have homework, exams and rankings.
These words that his mother has repeated countless times have become the source of Sihao's
nightmares. He doesn't want to grow up, he wants to be a baby forever, even if he is always
ruthlessly abandoned by his elder brother and sister.
"You are so heartless!" The new word learned from Sinan became the fat boy's catchphrase,
accompanied by the same heartbroken expression as Tang Monk in "Journey to the West", which
had a full comedic effect.
Si Jiang thought Si Hao's state of worrying in the morning and being happy in the evening was
very interesting. Most children were like this. They couldn't worry all day, and they couldn't be
happy for long. Jing Sheng said, "You can tell a person's future from his age. Chen Si Hao is just a
lazy guy who just muddles along. It would be great if he doesn't hold you and Si Nan back in the
future." Si Jiang argued with Jing Sheng for a long time about this. In the eyes of her sister, her
brother was of course smart, cute, naughty, and would have a promising future, although he once
stole her pocket money that she had saved for a long time and squandered it all.
Of course, the argument between the eldest cousin and the eldest sister was meaningless to
Chen Sihao. He was very busy, watching "Journey to the West" and "Calabash Brothers". If he
missed one episode, he would not be able to join the discussion of the kindergarten children. As
the famous "fat guy" in the big (3) class, he had to be on guard against others associating him
with the second brother Zhu Bajie. Otherwise, it would be very insulting, so he absolutely could
not come (no). In all role-playing games, he would play the role of Tang Monk, holding a small
broom as a Zen stick, and looking helplessly at the children playing the role of Sun Wukong:
"Wukong! You are too ruthless." The child playing Wukong was not happy with it, saying that he
was making it up and should have said "Wukong, your master has wronged you." Chen Sihao was
not happy with it either, and insisted on asking, "Do you understand what ruthless means? You
don't understand, right?" In the end, the children elected another Tang Monk and would not play
with him. He would then join in and ask to play "Real and Fake Tang Monk". Even if he had to play
the fake Tang Monk and the real monster, Chen Sihao would be satisfied.
As a result, when she told her second sister Si Nan on the phone, Si Nan flew into a rage: "You!
Don't tell anyone that you are my Chen Si Nan's younger brother. Why do you want to be Tang
Monk when you don't want to do anything else?! Tang Monk is the most useless, stupid and
annoying. Even if you are a monster, it is a hundred times better than being Tang Monk. No, ten
thousand times. Chen Si, I am so disappointed in you!"
"You - you are too heartless." Si Hao held the microphone and sobbed, feeling aggrieved.
"You must be Sun Wukong tomorrow. If anyone tries to snatch it from you, you must use the
Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms and Dog Beating Stick Technique I taught him to deal with him."
Sinan demanded sternly: "Sun Wukong's golden hoop is also a stick, just right!"
Chen Sihao, who had been threatened by his second sister, did not obey orders to fight for the
role of Sun Wukong, and simply refused to answer calls from Sinan.
"You are useless!" Si Nan said to Si Jiang bitterly, "Sister, you are too gentle and too good to my
brother. He has been spoiled by you and grandma."
Si Jiang sighed: "Look at you, now you talk like mom. Mom always said that I was spoiled by my
uncle and grandma."
Sinanbeite muttered a few words and changed the subject, talking about Zhao Youning going to
Beijing for training.
——
Zhao Youning arrived in Beijing on March 5th to train at Beijing No. 101 Middle School for two
months. The head coach is Qiu Zonghu, a teacher from USTC. Last year, two contestants were
selected, one from Peking University High School and the other from Shanghai Xiangming Middle
School. Wu won the bronze medal in Helsinki, achieving a breakthrough in China's IMO. But for
the Chinese team, which wants to win the championship and catch up with the United States,
this is certainly not enough. So this year's preparations can be said to be done with all efforts.
The Institute of Mathematics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has issued several boxes of
questions, and the test questions of the American Mathematics Invitational Competition AIME
are also the focus. The goal is that the six contestants can achieve a breakthrough in the gold
medal in Warsaw this year, and the team score must be maintained at five and strive for three, so
as to strive to introduce IMO to China.
The camp opened on the 8th. Zhao Youning had been to Beijing several times and had no plans to
visit the Great Wall and the Forbidden City again, so he called Zhou Shanrang to say hello and
wanted to deliver the gifts that Gu Apo and Si Jiang had asked him to bring. Shanrang warmly
invited him to meet at Peking University.
Under Shanrang's guidance, Youning visited Peking University and the Department of
Mathematics and the Department of Physics. To his surprise, several teachers were particularly
enthusiastic when they heard his name.
"Come on, Xiao Zhao, remember to come to our mathematics department. Don't even think
about the physics department, because the end of physics is mathematics. Physicists are all
mathematicians, but mathematicians are just mathematicians."
"Xiao Zhao, although you have participated in many math competitions, you must not waste your
talent in physics. Think about it carefully, why doesn't the Nobel Prize have a mathematics prize?
Only by coming to our physics department can you become a colleague of Hawking and Einstein.
Rutherford once said that other than physics, other subjects are just stamp collecting."
Seventeen-year-old student Zhao Youning experienced the academic contempt chain for the first
time. His kindness made him laugh so hard that he fell backwards by the Weiming Lake.
Shanrang went to the Changzheng Canteen to buy six dishes and took Youning home for dinner.
Mrs. Zhou and Hutou had already returned, and Beiwu called to say he would be back later.
"Mom, is Aunt Li okay?" Shan Rang asked loudly while heating up the food.
"Not good." The old lady asked Youning to help lift Hutou's two chubby legs and wipe his butt and
change his diaper. "Today she said that while she is still here, she will arrange for Hutou to go to
the General Political Department Kindergarten. What kind of words are you talking about? Really,
an old lady who is almost 80 years old, and she still worries about us old subordinates. Our Hutou
is only two months old, and it will take another two years before he can go to the kindergarten."
The old lady Li that Old Lady Zhou mentioned is the only female general in the founding of the
country. She used to be the principal of the Eighth Route Army Women's School and her old
leader. She is also very familiar with General Zhou. It turns out that Old Lady Zhou is now as busy
as Gu Beiwu. There is no other reason, but the old comrade-in-arms and old leader are too
enthusiastic. There are only more than 1,600 generals in the founding of the country, and
someone dies every year. General Zhou's funeral is simple, as simple as it can be, which inevitably
makes the old generals who are still alive sigh. Since Shanrang went to Beijing to study, she has
been cared for by the old generals in various ways. Many people want to make her their
daughter-in-law, and even Gu Beiwu has received a lot of attention. When they learned that
Shanrang had given birth to a son and Old Lady Zhou went to Beijing, the old generals couldn't sit
still and sent a car to pick her up every few days. Little Gu Hutou followed his grandmother
around Beijing when he was just one month old. Today he went to visit General Li.
Shanrang heated up the dishes, and Beiwu just came in. He brought back a roast duck from the
company cafeteria. Zhao Youning realized what Sijiang always said about "the best uncle and aunt
in the world" was like, and his heart was warm.
Beiwu couldn't help laughing when he heard Shanrang vividly recounting the mutual
disparagement between the Physics Department and the Mathematics Department during the
meal: "They are used to joking, Ningning, don't take it seriously. In fact, it is our Economics
Department that has always been looked down upon by them. The Mathematics Department and
the Physics Department are high and mighty, looking down on other departments, and they have
always been in cahoots with each other in looking down on our other disciplines."
Zhao Youning almost choked on the roast duck.
Shan Rang blinked and said, "No, no, no, there are still students at the bottom of the list in
literature and history."
Beiwu laughed and said, "Don't the liberal arts and history students always say that there are at
least students from the sports and arts departments at the bottom?"
Youning choked and coughed several times. This was the first time he had a conversation with
adults on an equal footing. They did not treat him as a "middle school student" or a child, nor did
they treat him as an outsider. During the meal, they talked about everything from military and
national affairs to strange stories among the citizens. They patiently explained to the old lady and
him what they did not understand.
"Why do you have to train for two months before the competition?" Beiwu told Youning with a
smile: "Because the competition also involves our country's status in the United Nations."
Zhao Youning was stunned. Although he didn't understand, his blood immediately boiled.
"As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, we have not participated in the IMO, and
we have lost this precious stage. If we do not participate, there is no way we can introduce this
international event. UNESCO questioned this issue in Paris last year. Now almost all major
countries will participate in the IMO. This competition is more like a world youth party, a platform
to show the level and charm of one's own country," Gu Beiwu rolled the last piece of roast duck
and put it on Youning's plate. "To integrate into the international community and to showcase our
country, we must not miss any aspect. So if you win a gold medal, it is no less important than the
world championship gold medal of the women's volleyball team. You are winning glory for the
country. Of course, it is also very beneficial for you young people. You can broaden your horizons
and make friends from all over the world."
Youning really envied Sijiang, and understood why Sijiang always had a different understanding of
the world. Her world was so rich and broad. And Gu Nian, it was so lucky to have such a father
and mother.
The topic returned to the war between the Department of Mathematics and the Department of
Physics. Zhao Youning scratched his head and said that he really hadn't made up his mind yet. In
the past few years, his interests in mathematics, physics, and computers were almost equal, and
he really couldn't make up his mind how to decide.
"Passion," Beiwu gave sincere advice: "The most important thing is passion. Ningning, you are a
talented person. The key is where you want to use your talent the most. Whichever subject can
inspire your deepest passion, you should choose that one. Don't waste your precious time on
other things. It will take more time to correct it in the future."
Seeing Zhao Youning was thinking about something, Shan Rang smiled and said, "There was a
genius in our class, named Feng Xiqiao. At that time, we didn't fill in the application form first and
then take the exam. We took the exam and were admitted before choosing a major. He chose the
physics department because he always got full marks in physics in middle school. Unexpectedly,
he turned out to be an amazing physics genius. You should know that there are almost no
freshmen in our class of 1977. Your uncle Gu is not the oldest. Many of them have already
married and had children. Feng Xiqiao was only 18 years old at the time. He studied for two years
and went to Harvard with the help of Mr. Tsung-Dao Lee. This year, he should be able to get a
Ph.D. in physics from Harvard."
Listening to the legendary experience of the legendary figure, Zhao Youning couldn't help but be
fascinated by it, but he burped three times in a row.
He covered his mouth in embarrassment, Beiwu and Shanrang laughed, and the old lady quickly
poured him a glass of warm water.
"Luckily you didn't sneeze three times." Shanrang blinked.
"Why?" Zhao Youning asked curiously between hiccups.
"Sinan often says, if you sneeze once, someone will think about you, if you sneeze twice,
someone will blame you, and if you sneeze three times, I'm sorry, you have a cold, go take
medicine quickly. Hahahaha."
Zhao Youning couldn't help laughing while burping. He suddenly thought that even without the
teachings of Gu Beiwu and Zhou Shanrang, Si Nan still grew up to be the quirky person he is now
and was still so kind and considerate. It was not easy.
Chen Sinan, who was far away in Urumqi, sneezed three times in a row and looked around in
confusion. Did she have a cold? Should she take medicine?
——
In mid-May, Zhao Youning failed to become a member of the six-member team. He was definitely
disappointed, but there are always better players among the strong, and the head coach must
have his reasons for choosing him. The two-month training camp also yielded a lot of gains. At
least he figured out which university he would like to apply for and what major he would choose.
Almost all the trainees in the training camp received invitations from major universities. Although
Tsinghua University and Shanghai Jiaotong University did not participate in this training camp,
they also extended olive branches.
At the end of May, Zhao Youning returned to Shanghai, and at the age of seventeen, he was
admitted to the Department of Physics at Peking University.
In September, Zhao Youning became a new student in the Department of Physics at Peking
University.

Chapter 230 (280 words added)

By the time Si Jiang went to the countryside to learn farming, in the eyes of others, she and Tang
Zenian were already an open couple. Si Jiang went from repeatedly denying to not bothering to
pay attention, and in the end, even her explanations seemed hypocritical. Because it was
undeniable that Tang Zenian was the person of the opposite sex with whom she had the closest
relationship, except for her brother.
I don't know when it started, but Tang Zenian and Li Nan always took the bus to the entrance of
Wanchun Street Lane to wait for Si Jiang, and then walked to school together. Of course, it was
not convenient, but the reason was very good. The three of them were only allowed to speak in
English on the way to improve their listening and language sense. Whoever got the answer wrong
five times or spoke Chinese would pay for the snacks during the break. After school, the three of
them would walk together. After the TOEFL classes three times a week, they would often have
dinner near the Foreign Languages College. Tang Zenian would pay for dinner, and Li Nan laughed
and said that he wanted to eat for free. Si Jiang tried to grab it several times but couldn't beat
Tang Zenian.
"Let's pay for our own meals. You can't always pay. No one's money comes from the wind." Si
Jiang insisted.
"If you get 580 on the TOEFL, you can't ask us to help you." Tang Zenian: "I usually come here,
otherwise I'll become a gigolo. Please allow me to stick to my chauvinism in this regard."
"Don't worry," Li Nan was kicked by Si Jiang, but he still stood firmly on Tang Zenian's side: "He
has plenty of money, and he is definitely not pretending to be rich. Old Tang, if one day you
become extremely poor, considering that we were friends in kindergarten, as long as I have a bite
to eat, I will definitely not let you down."
Tang Zenian smiled helplessly: "It would be better if there is no such day, otherwise I can only
wait outside your door with a toothpick and a straw."
Li Nan yelled and went to hit him: "He said such disgusting things during a meal! He's looking for
death, fairy, beat him up quickly."
Si Jiang was confused and asked what the story behind the toothpicks and straws was.
Tang Zenian quickly finished the noodle soup in his bowl, put down his chopsticks and soup
spoon, and said seriously: "There are two beggars who have been hungry for several days and
can't find anything to eat, so they wait outside the house of Mr. Li, a famous tycoon in Shanghai
——"
Si Jiang smiled and looked at Li Nan: "Oh, it turns out to be Boss Li."
Li Nan rolled his eyes, focused on eating noodles, and ignored the two of them.
Tang Zenian continued to speak seriously: "Because Boss Li invites guests to dinner every day,
they hope that the servants can pour out some leftovers at night so that they can fill their
stomachs."
Li Nan covered his face to hold back his laughter, and finished his meal in two bites: "I'm full."
Si Jiang looked at her and Tang Zenian in confusion, then looked at the spicy noodles and half a
poached egg in his own bowl, and suddenly had a bad feeling.
"The servants didn't wait until midnight, when a guest finally came out. The two beggars rushed
over, but they didn't expect that the guest would hold on to the wall and vomit violently. Oh,
there were so many good things vomited out. Beggar A was quick-witted and quickly took out
two toothpicks and ate all the good things that could be poked on the ground. Beggar B had no
choice but to take out a straw--" Tang Zenian, who was serious, couldn't be serious anymore:
"Sorry, Si Jiang, you'd better eat quickly. Do you want a straw?"
Li Nan laughed so hard that the whole table was shaking. He turned around and shouted, "Uncle,
do you have any toothpicks?"
Si Jiang laughed and kicked Tang Zenian several times: "Hateful! You two are so annoying, I
haven't finished eating yet!"
“Those two beggars, one’s surname is Tang, the other’s surname is Chen.” Li Nan hugged Si
Jiang’s arm and cried out that his stomach hurt: “It’s okay, Si Jiang, Old Tang asked you if you
wanted a straw, so he was the one using the toothpick, hahahahahaha.”
Tang Zenian felt like he was shooting himself in the foot, but when he saw a hint of annoyance in
Si Jiang's smile, he thought it would be worth it even if Li Nan insulted him a hundred times.
On the way back to Wanchun Street, after passing Xinzha Road, Li Nan always found excuses to
fall behind so that Tang Zenian and Si Jiang could talk alone. The topic was always what Tang
Zenian brought up, school matters, social matters, going abroad, American universities,
intermittently, as if there was always endless things to say, mostly Tang Zenian was talking and Si
Jiang was listening with a smile, she would occasionally look back and always see Li Nan making
faces at them, with endless snacks in his hands.
Although Li Nan is also her best female friend, Si Jiang often can't help thinking: If she were Tang
Zenian, she would be very, very satisfied to have a good friend like Li Nan.
Si Jiang laughed. She had taken three TOEFL mock tests and scored between 550 and 560 each
time. If she could score 580, she would have a better chance of applying for a scholarship.
——
The situation of this year's agricultural students is not much better than last year's. The door is
still broken, there are still rats, and the ceiling of the cafeteria is still leaking. This abandoned
factory is only used once a year, and only for half a month each time. The village thinks it is really
unnecessary to spend the effort and money to repair it.
Zhang Leyi was assigned to the kitchen squad. After doing dirty and tiring work all day, she cried
like crazy and said she was exhausted. She didn't dare to ask Lao Gao to change her. Si Jiang
offered to switch with her. She was not afraid of hardship or tiredness. Instead, she thought that
Jingsheng was in the kitchen squad last year, and she would also go to the kitchen squad this
year, so she and A Ge would be classmates, which was quite interesting. As a result, when she
went to the cafeteria, she found that Tang Zenian was the squad leader of the kitchen squad,
which inevitably attracted a round of whistles and booing. Explaining was a cover-up, so Si Jiang
simply greeted everyone openly and became one of the only two girls in the kitchen squad.
The result was just as Jingsheng said, only the first two days were hard, and the next two weeks
were quite comfortable. Good looks really gave her a lot of advantages. She picked up the broom,
and Ren Xinyu rushed over to grab it: "I'll do it. You go and help weigh the vegetables, right?" She
was going to wash the hairtail, and Tang Zenian instructed her to put on gloves and put the
washed hairtail into the bucket. The boys washed the mud off the roots of the vegetables by the
river, and she and another girl were responsible for tasting the saltiness of the vegetable and
meat wontons.
For the first time, Si Jiang discovered that boys were full of curiosity about the world of girls.
"Fairy, why do you female classmates have to go to the toilet together?"
"Because - there is no time to chat during class?" Si Jiang actually couldn't answer this question
and could only infer based on his own experience.
"What are you girls chattering about after class?"
"They talked a lot about homework and questions, and then they talked about movies, TV, music,
and all sorts of other things." Of course, there were also complaints about Lao Gao behind his
back, but that cannot be revealed.
"So do you like Alan Tam or Leslie Cheung?"
"Me? Both of them are OK. I especially like Cui Jian."
"Who is Cui Jian? From Hong Kong or Taiwan?"
"He's from Beijing. He sang 'Nothing' at this year's World Peace Year concert." Si Jiang explained
with a smile: "He's a rock singer who composes his own music and lyrics. He's very good at
playing guitar and trumpet. He used to be a trumpet player in the Beijing Symphony Orchestra.
My aunt-in-law likes him very much, so she recommended him to me."
Rock and symphony orchestras were too unfamiliar and distant to the boys. Only Ren Xinyou
smiled and nodded: "Actually, I can also play the trumpet. This Cui Jian sounds really good."
Tang Zenian took out the Walkman on his waist and said, "After Si Jiang recommended it to me, I
went to the China Record Studio and bought a tape. Do you want to listen to it? It's quite
interesting."
After listening to this, everyone fell silent.
Ren Xinyou scratched his head: "It's a bit noisy, but - it's interesting, right?"
"Is this good?" Someone else laughed and joked, "I didn't expect you like this kind of song, Si
Jiang. Who are you going to go with?"
"Old Tang, you are really good. You and the fairy are soulmates."
Someone whispered "the wife sings and the husband follows", and everyone burst into laughter.
Tang Zenian put away his walkman, smiled and said nothing.
Si Jiang blushed: "Actually, the bands that Lao Tang recommended to me are also very effective,
The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and U2——" Seeing everyone's expressions, Si Jiang stopped
awkwardly, thinking that there are also A Ge's favorite Queen and Bon Jovi... Forget it, it's better
not to say.
"I understand, I understand. Although we don't understand these bands, we understand you and
Lao Tang. You're going to study abroad together and take the TOEFL. Your world is really different
from ours." The girl from Class 3 said with a smile, "But I still like our Chinese songs. The Chinese
lyrics are so beautiful. I like Gu Jiahui's works. The lyrics and music are particularly classical and
beautiful. I also like the award-winning song "Downstream and Upstream" by Teresa Teng last
year. Every tear accompanies every dream. Have you heard it?"
"I still praise Alan Tam. Last year, both his songs "Romance on a Rainy Night" and "Love Trap" won
awards."
The momentary silence was over and the discussion became heated again.
At night, Tang Zenian sent Si Jiang back to the girls' dormitory.
"Actually, I didn't mean that when I mentioned the Rolling Stones and the Beatles." Si Jiang still
explained that she didn't mean to "follow the husband's lead" or show off their good English,
although every time she talked about her favorite English songs, other students would smile
knowingly.
"I know. Don't worry about what others think. You can't control it." Tang Zenian understood that
she was a little bothered by the previous embarrassment: "We won't dislike our favorite bands
and singers just because of other people's opinions, right?"
"That's true."
"Actually, I can play the guitar too," Tang Zenian said with a smile.
Si Jiang was stunned and burst out laughing.
"Last year, the school held its first art festival. I specially signed up for a guitar class, thinking that
I could win a prize by playing and singing by myself. I learned a song called "Childhood". But I
didn't expect that everyone thought it was too quiet and directly rejected me." Tang Zenian
expressed his helplessness: "A hero has no place to use his skills. If you are free one day, let me
show you my skills."
"Your class did a group aerobics afterwards, right? We won second place." Si Jiang said honestly,
"Singing solo will definitely not score as high as a group performance, unless you sing as well as
Alan Tam and Leslie Cheung."
"Didn't the aerobics competition lose to your class's fashion show? I remember you were the
main contributor."
"No." Si Jiang quickly stated: "The program was thought up by Li Nan and Zeng Xin, the music was
composed by Zhang Leyi, Li Nan was the general conductor, I just helped to put on some clothes
and walk a few steps, and both the girls and boys in our class were very active, a total of 24
people went up, and the participation score was the highest."
"Didn't they say that all the clothes were provided by your family? They are very fashionable.
Teacher Fang even went to ask where to buy them." Tang Zenian teased Si Jiang with a smile:
"Boss Chen?"
Si Jiang thought of the story of the toothpick and the straw again and couldn't help but glare at
him. The two of them laughed at the same time.
——
On the last night of the agricultural study, the Youth League Committee organized a bonfire
activity. It was a cold autumn night, and the girls huddled together affectionately, sharing the last
few packages of snacks that survived. Tang Zenian and Ren Xinyu brought two buckets of sweet
potatoes and threw them into several bonfires. Everyone was eager to eat the baked sweet
potatoes. Having food easily makes people feel happy, and the atmosphere instantly became
lively.
The head teacher of Class 4, Mr. Guo, was a well-known fashionista in the school. He took out a
Sharp GF-777 tape recorder, put the tape in it, and the music started. The first song was Alan
Tam's fast song "Love Trap". There were screams and whistles, and the students were in high
spirits. Lin Zhuoyu grabbed Mr. Guo and started dancing disco by the campfire.
"Lin Zhuoyu, I'm sending you to invite some female classmates to dance with us." Teacher Guo
twisted his hips with disdain, almost making Lin Zhuoyu fall over. The girls laughed so hard that
they fell forward and backward.
"Teacher Guo, you are more charming than me. Even Chen Sijiang can come down to dance with
just one call from you," Lin Zhuoyu shouted, "Sisters from Class 2, please give me some face and
come down, come down, come down, sisters from Class 2 (3), let everyone see your style! At
disco, you must be the most coquettish!"
"Remove the word 'wind'!" someone shouted in the dark.
The laughter around the campfire became louder. Si Jiang hadn't realized that he had been called
out for no reason. He was whispering to Zeng Xin when he was suddenly poked in the arm by
Zhang Leyi.
When I raised my head, I saw Teacher Guo walking in front of the group of girls from Class 2 in a
very elegant manner, causing a burst of screams.
"Chen Sijiang, come and dance, come on!"
Teacher Gao quickly ran up and pulled Teacher Guo: "You can be crazy, but don't lead our class
astray." As a result, Teacher Gao failed to stop them, and Teacher Guo pulled her hand and
danced the rumba with two steps to the left and two steps to the right.
Teacher Guo sang with great emotion: "I smile when I see you. You are the serious Lao Gao. Hey,
did you notice, students? It rhymes! It has to be Teacher Gao."
The whole audience laughed like crazy.
Lin Zhuoyu and Cheng Ying jointly reached out to Si Jiang: "Come on, Si Jiang, put down your fairy
shelf and dance for a while."
Si Jiang waved his hands in embarrassment: "No, no, no, I can't. I really can't dance disco. You
guys dance and I'll applaud and cheer for you."
Unable to stand up to the many traitors around her, Si Jiang was finally pushed into the venue by
Li Nan and Zeng Xin. She looked around and fortunately, more than half of her classmates had
already left the venue and were twisting their bodies to the music. The tape recorder was playing
Leslie Cheung's "Unruly Wind", and Lin Zhuoyu was twisting his Leslie Cheung hairstyle while
twisting his body, which attracted screams.
"Stop the wind, Baby! Hold Darling all night long!" The whole audience sang together.
Seeing the funny look of Teacher Gao frowning and stumbling but unable to break free from
Teacher Guo, Si Jiang couldn't help laughing with Zeng Xin and the others. Soon, he was led by
everyone to start dancing. It was strange that he hadn't danced for many years, but he didn't feel
awkward when dancing. It seemed that his body would sway with the rhythm automatically, and
his lips would curl up involuntarily. The more he danced, the happier he became. The girls stood
face to face and back to back, constantly changing formations. The boys competed in hip-
bumping and even started cockfighting. Suddenly, Lin Zhuoyu took the lead, Cheng Ying put her
arm around his waist, and one after another started the disco train. A long line of people
surrounded the bonfire, and the students who were too embarrassed to dance applauded
around the "train".
"The sweet potatoes are burnt!" Someone shouted miserably. Instantly the disco train broke into
pieces, and the boys picked up branches to poke the roasted sweet potatoes in the fire.
The bonfire gradually died down, the crowd gradually dispersed, and someone took out a guitar
and sang while playing the guitar while singing to the baked sweet potato skins.
"Tang Zenian, I'll give you a chance, do you want to show off your skills?" Si Jiang asked the young
man beside him with a smile.
Tang Zenian's eyes lit up, and Li Nan on the other side immediately opened his eyes that were
about to close.
"Tang Zenian, come one! Tang Zenian, come one! Tang Zenian, come one!"
Si Jiang couldn't help laughing, he hugged his knees and smiled with his eyes curved.
Tang Zenian stepped in front of Si Jiang and gently brushed her ear with his fingers. Si Jiang was
stunned for a moment, then quickly lowered her head to smooth out her messy hair.
"If Li Nan roars three times, Shanghai will shake three times." Tang Zenian's fingers were also
burning hot. He gave Li Nan a chestnut and sighed. What a romantic thing, but it was completely
ruined by this guy's roar.

Chapter 231
"Now we are already senior classmates, with mature and grown-up faces, looking forward to
graduation, looking forward to tomorrow, and looking forward to the day when I will fall in love
with you..."
Tang Ze Nian sang slowly and the revised lyrics were too bold and straightforward, instantly
creating the second climax of the night. Although there were only 30 to 50 people left, the
screams were no less than when the disco train was just now.
Si Jiang's face suddenly turned red, and she could only stare at the spark in front of her, her heart
burning. She raised her eyes and saw a boy next to the bonfire, holding a guitar and smiling at
her, his eyes shining, his fingers stretched, playing the last string of notes of the song.
The strings of the zither moved gently, and Tang Zenian continued to play, the music was gentle
and lingering.
"The Romance of Love," Li Nan leaned over to Si Jiang and sighed, "Fairy, you are not moved. You
really have become a fairy, you are not a human."
The corners of Si Jiang's mouth rose slightly.
After the song ended, the lights in the dormitory had long been turned off. Tang Zenian and the
kitchen staff cleaned up the scene. It was already past midnight. The others left one after
another, leaving only Si Jiang who was still slowly tidying up the ropes of several buckets by the
well.
Li Nan yawned several times: "I'm going to go back first. The light bulb is out of power today. Old
Tang, I'm leaving first."
She walked away humming a little tune. Si Jiang could tell that she was humming the "Romance
of Love" played by Tang Zenian just now. Interestingly, this piece of music was the soundtrack of
the French movie "The Forbidden Game". When Li Nan talked about this, he made several faces
and repeatedly emphasized the word "forbidden".
Thinking of these three words, Si Jiang's heart began to beat wildly. She was a little annoyed that
she was so slow, as if she was waiting to be alone with Tang Zenian. Is this what it means to be
attracted to someone? Si Jiang suddenly became afraid, and a little ashamed of her inner
expectations. Is there anything different? What will happen? She was just thinking about it, and
Tang Zenian walked over with a smile.
"Let's go. I'll take you back to the dormitory."
The flashlight shone a small ball of light under Si Jiang's feet.
In front of us is a tree-lined path in the old factory area, with pine trees and weeds planted on
both sides. It doesn't seem like anything during the day, but it is very scary in the dark at night.
With a shrill scream of "Meow——", a black mass rushed out from the roadside.
Si Jiang was startled and reflexively hid near Tang Zenian.
"It's okay, it's the black cat. I guess you've been feeding it for the past few days, so it remembers
your smell." Tang Zenian naturally put his arm around Si Jiang's shoulders.
Si Jiang came back to her senses and struggled slightly. The hand on her shoulder was warm and
firm, with no intention of letting go. She lowered her head and followed the light in front of her
slowly, her heart was in turmoil. Without glasses at night, the light was gently blurred, and the
edges were so blurred that they lost their boundaries with the night. Neither of them spoke. In
the silent night, the only sound left was the sound of two rapidly beating hearts.
Si Jiang bit his lip and said "Hello" with a red face.
Tang Zenian said "hmm". Si Jiang could hear the smile in his voice, and couldn't help but feel a
little embarrassed and a little sweet. She had never imagined that she would encounter such a
situation, and she had no idea how to deal with it, but it seemed that everything she said was
redundant. She was just an ordinary girl, not an immortal, so of course she would be moved and
fall in love with a very good boy. She was indeed very lucky.
After exiting this path, the dormitory area is in front.
Tang Ze opened his hand easily, Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, but his left hand was gently held
again.
"Be careful, there is a step here." Tang Zenian's voice was a little trembling, and the first two
words were broken. He laughed a little embarrassedly.
"What are you laughing at?" Si Jiangzhen forgot that there was a stair here. Fortunately, he was
pulled up by him, otherwise he might have fallen flat on his face on such a romantic night.
"I'm really happy," Tang Zenian squeezed her fingers tighter, "I'm really nervous, I can't even talk
anymore."
"It's a lie." Si Jiang responded casually. All her senses were concentrated on her left hand. She
was indeed very nervous, but also a little happy.
"Don't lie to me." Tang Ze sighed softly, "My heart rate is about 160 now."
Si Jiang chuckled: "More than 100 means tachycardia, you need to go to the hospital for a check-
up. Hey, let go of your hand, it would be bad if Ning saw it. (Let go of your hand, it would be bad
if someone saw it.)"
Tang Zenian was startled and let go of Si Jiang's hand as he was told. Only then did he feel
embarrassed as his palms were sweaty.
"Then I guess I'll have to go to the hospital for check-ups more often in the future." He was
speaking from the heart.
Si Jiang couldn't continue, so he walked a few steps faster, turned around and said with a smile:
"I'm going in, thank you for sending me back, goodbye."
"Chen Sijiang——"
As soon as Si Jiang turned around, she heard Tang Zenian calling her name from behind, and her
voice was quite loud. She was so scared that she quickly turned around and put her finger to her
mouth: "Shh - be gentle!" Thinking that he had been pinching this finger a few seconds ago, Si
Jiang quickly put down her finger as if burned by fire, and rubbed it against her body
uncomfortably.
Tang Zenian took two big steps and stopped in front of her. Si Jiang quickly took a step back and
leaned against the cold blue brick column. Her heart was beating like a deer. The first thing that
came to her mind was what should she do if he wanted to kiss her...
"We can be good friends together." Tang Zenian completely guessed what Si Jiang was thinking.
Her face clearly said "don't mess around." He forced a smile and lowered his head, whispering in
Si Jiang's ear, "I'm sorry, I like you too much." So without her permission, he put his arm around
her shoulders, held her hand, and got so close to her, so close that the distance was no more
than one centimeter.
Si Jiang's hands and feet were numb, and he stared blankly at Tang Zenian striding away. He could
vaguely see that he turned around and waved at him, probably asking her to go in quickly.
Eh? She didn't mean to watch him leave reluctantly, but there was no way to explain it, it was a
fait accompli.
Si Jiang quietly pushed open the dormitory door, stopped and held her breath. It was quiet inside
without any sound. She breathed a sigh of relief and walked in, gently lifting the door and then
closing it to avoid any creaking sound.
Three or four flashlights shone on her, and a burst of laughter rang out.
"Kiss! We saw it! Aaaaaaaaaa——"
"Wow, so romantic! The talented man and beautiful woman are a perfect match. It turns out that
novels and TV shows are true!"
"Oh my god, my heart almost jumped out of my chest!"
In the chaos, Si Jiang jumped onto the bed with a red face and hid himself under the quilt: "Don't
talk nonsense! No! I didn't kiss you!"
"Hahaha, we are all witnesses. We saw it with our own eyes. A kiss on the face is also a kiss."
Zhang Leyi jumped onto Si Jiang's bed, dragged her out, and shone a flashlight on her: "Come
here and tell the truth. What else did you do? That dark little forest, tsk tsk tsk."
Si Jiang grabbed the flashlight and spanked her butt: "You are the only one making trouble. There
is really no such thing!"
Finally, Si Jiang had to explain that the two of them just put their arms around each other's
shoulders, held hands, and there was no kiss on the cheek, but they just wanted to stay together
well in the future.
Zhang Leyi pressed on Si Jiang and hugged her tightly: "Old Tang, you are so useless! You should
learn from me——"
Fortunately, everyone had already tacitly accepted that they were a couple, so there was no
further ridicule.
Si Jiang lay on the bed with a red face, unable to fall asleep. Tomorrow is another new day. Will it
be better or worse?
The moonlight was also blurry through the frosted glass window, smudged on the head of Li
Nan's bed next door. Si Jiang suddenly noticed that Li Nan's quilt was shaking slightly.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Si Jiang crawled over and patted Li Nan.
Li Nan lifted the quilt, hugged Si Jiang tightly, and sobbed softly: "I am so moved, really, I feel very
happy. Fairy, you won't understand."
"Pumpkin, thank you." Si Jiang expressed her gratitude sincerely. If Li Nan had not been
persistent in matchmaking for her over the years, she would not have had the opportunity to
experience how wonderful it is to be liked by an outstanding boy.
"No, it's thank you!" Li Nan moved aside a little, and Lasjiang got into her bed: "Don't worry, if
Old Tang dares to treat you badly, I will castrate him!"
Si Jiang couldn't help but laugh in horror.
"But you have to be nice to him, too. You don't have to be as nice to him as he is to you, but at
least be nicer than you are to other boys, okay?"
"Um."
"Old Tang is really good. You won't go wrong by choosing him. I guarantee it for him." Li Nan
wiped away the tears that kept coming out: "I'm really so happy. I finally don't have to be a light
bulb anymore. Dad and mom, being a light bulb is not easy. It's so tiring. I can sleep half an hour
longer in the morning from now on."
The two girls were laughing together in bed.
——
At the end of November, the whole school reported that the second grade was criticized. The
loudspeaker announced that the four classes of the second grade were not active in learning
agriculture and lacked organization and discipline.
The information that Li Nan got from the Youth League Committee originated from the disco
party at the bonfire party. Lao Gao was very angry and thought that the boys and girls in the
second year of high school had no sense of propriety, were too intimate, and were almost
frivolous. He also pointed out that many students had forgotten that learning was the first task,
and were corrupted by the decadent bourgeois ideas of Hong Kong and Taiwan, and began to fall
in love early, which had an extremely adverse negative impact on the school spirit. After being
severely criticized by the Party Committee, Teacher Xiao Guo was no longer the head teacher of
Class 4. Lin Zhuoyu, Cheng Ying and others were called to the principal's office for ideological
education. Tang Zenian and Si Jiang were the second batch to be summoned. Because of the
rumor that the two of them kissed that night, the situation was quite serious. The school
attached great importance to it. Not only did the head teacher, the Youth League Committee
counselor and the vice principal come forward, but also their parents were called.
Young people are different from adults. When faced with strong external forces, they will not feel
regret or blame themselves. They have not yet learned to be tactful, to compromise, or to give in.
They will only generate endless courage and anger and rush into the battlefield like Don Quixote.
"We didn't kiss," Sijiang told an office of adults frankly: "No."
"Yes, I started to have a special affection for Tang Zenian after I finished my agricultural studies."
Si Jiang announced calmly: "I have a little more affection for him than classmates and friends, but
we have a consensus that we will not date before entering university. We did not fall in love
prematurely."
"Even if it is puppy love, we have not violated the law. It is human instinct to like someone. We
cannot control the time and place of this feeling, but we will try our best to use appropriate
methods so as not to affect our studies or the studies of other students."
"Teacher Gao, maybe you can't understand us, but I hope you can respect us and respect our
basic rights as 'human beings'."
Tang Zenian looked at Chen Sijiang beside him without blinking. She was more beautiful, brave
and precious than he had imagined. Meeting and falling in love with Chen Sijiang was the luckiest
thing in his life.
Outside the office, Gu Jingsheng, who was caught by Gu Dongwen to be the "parent", was silent
for a moment, raised his hand and knocked on the door gently.
Chapter 232
The moment he saw Jingsheng, Si Jiang, who had just been speaking frankly and with reason,
suddenly felt guilty.
"Brother?!" She then looked at Teacher Gao with even more anger. It was too shameful that the
school actually invited parents for this matter. If my mother was in Shanghai, Si Jiang could easily
imagine her reaction.
"Yes." Jingsheng replied calmly and nodded to several teachers: "Gu Jingsheng from Senior 3 (3)
Class, I'm Chen Sijiang's cousin. My family asked me to come and see what's going on."
"Such a big thing happened, and none of your parents came?" Teacher Gao couldn't believe it:
"Cousin? What kind of parent is a cousin?"
"My aunt and uncle both work in Xinjiang," Jingsheng stood beside Sijiang, unyielding and
aggressive like a javelin, "My dad said that except for life and death, everything else is trivial, and
I can do it."
The office suddenly became quiet, with only the sound of Teacher Gao's panting. Tang Zenian
couldn't help but look at Gu Jingsheng. His profile was smooth and lively, and there was no sign
of anger or nervousness at all.
The vice principal smiled helplessly, and signaled Teacher Gao, who was angered by Si Jiang's
words just now, to calm down: "Okay, then sit down and listen to Teacher Gao's detailed
explanation."
Teacher Gao suppressed his anger and briefly explained the situation. Looking at Jingsheng's face,
he felt that he might have fallen in love too early, so he took the opportunity to criticize him,
"Being good-looking is an advantage, but it can become a disadvantage at any time. I don't care
whether your family plans to let Chen Sijiang study abroad or take the entrance exam for a
domestic university. As long as you are in my class for one day, you must abide by the rules and
put away all your thoughts that you shouldn't have. Puppy love is absolutely not allowed. Holding
hands, hugging, and kissing are even more unacceptable. Your family must pay attention to it.
Young people get excited. What if something really happens? Who will be responsible? The
school can't keep an eye on them every minute. Go back and tell Chen Sijiang's parents that they
must take precautions early to avoid regrets in the future."
"And Chen Sijiang, what was your attitude just now? How can you accept criticism and education
from the school and teachers like this? Are we educating you or you educating us? Just do it as
long as it's not illegal? You didn't affect other students? Then why did some classmates report
that you kissed? Don't use those empty theories you read in books to make excuses for your
behavior. What about your basic rights as a 'human'? Your only right is to live up to your parents'
expectations, study hard and get into your ideal university. The teachers and the school are all for
your good!"
Teacher Gao has now come to his senses and refuted Si Jiang in one go. The more he speaks, the
more emotional he becomes. I want to give my heart to the bright moon, but the bright moon
only shines on the ditch! It is really heartbreaking. Doesn't the dignity of a class teacher need to
be respected?
Tang Zenian coughed and said, "Teacher Gao, Chen Sijiang and I did not have a premature love
affair, let alone kiss. If any student reported it, please let her come out and confront us about the
time and place, so that we can find evidence to refute it. We have quite a few witnesses."
"You good classmates are used to covering for each other! Don't treat the teacher as a blind
man!" Teacher Gao glared at the new head teacher of Class (4) beside him, Teacher Liu, and felt
very disappointed. Xiao Liu was a young female teacher who could not be fierce. When she saw
that Tang Zenian was always ranked in the top three in the grade, she kept silent from beginning
to end.
Without waiting for Si Jiang to speak, Jing Sheng frowned and stepped forward: "Then please ask
Teacher Gao to give me a detailed explanation document on premature love. I will take it back
and show it to my family. What behaviors are considered premature love? If Si Jiang really did
something that caused misunderstanding, my father would definitely have a good talk with her."
The office was silent again. Si Jiang pursed his lips and lowered his head to hold back his smile,
but his heart was sour and swollen. Brother had said that no matter what the situation was or
who he faced, he would stand by him unconditionally.
Tang Zenian was also startled. He quickly straightened his expression and turned to look out the
window, hoping that his parents would not come over so soon and affect Gu Jingsheng's
performance.
Jingsheng looked at the teacher of the Youth League Committee again and said with a serious
face: "It is best to post this document on the bulletin board so that all teachers and students in
the school know clearly whether boys and girls can talk, how many words they can say in a day,
and what words they can and cannot say. Should the cafeteria be divided into boys' and girls'
areas? How many centimeters should boys and girls be apart when walking to avoid premature
love. And junior high school swimming classes are too dangerous. Boys swim shirtless in the
same pool with girls. Sometimes they splash water on each other. Is this a sign of premature
love? As a student who has been affected, I suggest that the school cancel swimming classes. The
art festival is not good either. Boys and girls line up together to do aerobics. They wear tight
clothes and hold hands from time to time. The lifting movements are not elegant. By the way,
there are some problems in the school sports meeting. There are always boys who take off their
sports vests. In the mixed relay race, when a girl falls, the boy carries her to the infirmary. Are
these also behaviors of premature love?"
Teacher Gao tried to interrupt several times but failed, and his face turned red.
"Gu Jingsheng, what are you talking about?" Teacher Gao was confused and couldn't even utter a
decent rebuttal.
Teacher Liu turned her back and pretended to drink tea, and smiled at the teacher from the
Youth League Committee. It was pointless to make such a fuss about such a thing. Teacher Gao
was too old-fashioned, and he was still living in the past 20 years. Xiao Guo was her senior in
college, and he demoted Xiao Guo, maybe because his senior was nominated for the excellent
teacher selection, so he pushed her up, making her feel unpopular. It was really annoying.
Jingsheng turned around and looked at Tang Zenian: "Tell me the truth, have you ever kissed my
sister?"
"Brother!" Si Jiang pulled Jingsheng's sleeve.
"No." Tang Zenian looked frank. He thought it was natural, but he had the desire but not the
courage to do it, so he didn't have the chance to do it.
"If you dare to touch her before she turns 18, I will make sure you don't see the sun the next
day." Jingsheng narrowed his eyes sinisterly: "When I was a child, I did most of the work in the
rubber forest, tapping rubber, understand?"
"Brother!" Si Jiang was so angry that he almost kicked him.
Tang Zenian suppressed his laughter and nodded.
Jingsheng was unmoved. He turned his head and looked at Teacher Gao again, frowning and said,
"I have another suggestion. Teacher Gao, you have been married for many years, and your child is
also in our junior high school. How can you sit so close to a female teacher? Premature love is
terrible, but - hey, it is even more terrible for a married person to fall in love again. If something
goes wrong, who will be responsible? The school can't keep an eye on it every minute. I'm sorry,
Teacher Liu, I know you will never - but I am really thinking about Teacher Gao and for her own
good."
Teacher Liu spit out a mouthful of tea and coughed repeatedly. Teacher Gao was furious and
stood up suddenly, only to find that he was half a head shorter than Gu Jingsheng.
"Okay, okay, Gu Jingsheng, please stop talking. The school understands what you mean. You
young people should not be cynical. We understand that you have your own ideas, but the
starting point of the school and teachers is indeed for your sake. You must understand this." The
vice principal stood up to smooth things over. It was outrageous, too outrageous. It was the first
time that the school encountered such thorns as Gu Jingsheng and Chen Sijiang. It was a
headache. Students nowadays cannot be beaten or scolded. They are difficult to deal with.
Gu Jingsheng nodded: "I understand, I really understand. Thank you school, thank you teachers.
But Teacher Gao, luckily I am here today-"
"If it was my dad who came, he would beat you up if he knew my sister was wrongly accused."
Jingsheng said sympathetically, "He would at most spend seven days in the police station, and
you would probably have to suffer for seven weeks, so he would have made a profit."
Teacher Gao was so angry that she was shaking. She began to doubt her life. What kind of words
were these good-looking brothers and sisters Gu Jingsheng and Chen Sijiang saying? Are they
from a family of hooligans? How dare they openly threaten the teacher like this!
"When my dad was in prison, he once rushed from Jing'an Temple to Baidu Bridge with a
machete in hand. When he was an educated youth in Yunnan, he blocked a train at Kunming
Railway Station. In the 1970s, he fasted and held up a sign in Tiananmen Square for the return of
educated youth to the city. He also cursed Vice Premier Wang Zhen to his face. He is an
uneducated and straightforward person. No one can stop him when he goes crazy. Teacher Gao, I
say all this for your own good. Really, I really mean it for your own good. If you have any other
problems, please don't call my dad. It's really not worth it."
Jingsheng said sincerely that this was not a threat, but the most sincere advice.
When Tang Zenian's mother rushed over, only Teacher Liu and Tang Zenian were in the office.
Teacher Liu explained the incident with difficulty: "But they have clarified it, and the school has
also found some other students to verify that they were wrongly accused. Tang Zenian did not
have a premature love affair. I am sorry to bother you to come to the school specially."
Although Gu Jingsheng has taken Chen Sijiang away, the shadow he left behind remains.
——
At night, after finishing his homework, Si Jiang glanced at Jingsheng cautiously.
"Brother?"
"Hmm." Jingsheng flipped through the "World Knowledge" magazine slowly and leisurely. He
found an arms advertisement on it, which was a bit strange.
"Thank you!"
Jingsheng raised his eyelids, and after a while he asked: "Has Ge Moyi ever kissed you? Don't
worry, I won't let his blood flow." Jingsheng lowered his eyelids, because he couldn't guarantee
the latter sentence.
"No!" Si Jiang argued with a red face, "Really no, it was just too dark at night, I didn't see a step
and almost fell, he just pulled me up! Later at the dormitory door he leaned close to me and
whispered something, I don't know who went to tell the spies about that, how is it possible!
Really."
Jingsheng turned a page of the magazine, raised his eyes to look at Si Jiang's lips, and said
nothing.
"Agonon, believe me. (You believe me.)"
"Yeah." Jingsheng didn't comment.
"This is the first time I've discovered that you're so amazing, brother! You kept talking and talking,
and Lao Gao's face turned pale! Hahaha. Why don't you usually talk much? You're so eloquent,
aren't you? If you don't say anything, you'll make a big splash! You're really like my uncle. Why
didn't I think of rebutting like that..."
Jingsheng twitched his lips and accepted her flattery. In fact, many of these words were indeed
what Gu Dongwen said when he argued for Gu Nanhong's relationship with men and women in
the police station a few years ago. He changed them and felt a little proud of himself for changing
them very appropriately, especially in terms of angering people to death without losing their
lives.
After Si Jiang finished using the water, he filled the thermos, carefully placed it in the shower
room, and asked Jingsheng to go downstairs to wash his feet.
"What are you doing?"
"To thank you for fighting such a hard battle for me, I'll make you some wontons for supper. Hush,
don't let Si Hao know - he has gained another two pounds. How could that be? I clearly stopped
giving him candy, and I only gave him a small bowl of rice tonight."
"Then don't spread the egg skin, just fry two poached eggs directly." Jingsheng was sitting on a
stool soaking his feet, with the magazine in his hand still in his hand.
"Okay! I'll show you my cooking skills." Si Jiang's blood was still boiling, his feet were light, his
mind was noisy and he couldn't calm down. He was happily frying eggs in a pan. How could the
brother be so smart? The whole person was shining. Si Jiang couldn't help but review the words
he said over and over in his mind. The more he thought about it, the funnier, more enjoyable and
more wonderful it felt. The little uncle was right. She and Si Nan were clever, but Brother
Jingsheng was very wise. Convinced!
The eggs sizzled in the oil, the egg whites coagulated into white clouds, trembling. Si Jiang smiled
slightly, not noticing that he hadn't thought about Tang Zenian since he left the office.

Chapter 233
On the surface, the premature love scandal passed quietly, but the conflicts between teachers
and students in Grade 2 (2) became increasingly intense. Even He Hongwei and Fang Shuren
heard about it and went to talk to Si Jiang.
"Your brother is amazing." Teacher He smiled and shook his head: "Old Gao really suffered a lot
this time."
"Is your brother okay?" Fang Shuren knew that Teacher Gao had consulted the principal and Gu
Jingsheng's head teacher afterwards. Gu Jingsheng's words were treated as a joke by the junior
high school teachers, and "I'm really doing this for your own good" even became a new
catchphrase among the young teachers and spread.
"It's okay." Si Jiang smiled mischievously: "It turns out that Teacher Gao is not popular in school...
Anyway, he is far worse than Teacher He and Teacher Fang. We are so unlucky to have fallen into
his hands. Now no student in our class likes Chinese class."
He Hongwei laughed and said, "It should be said that he is unlucky to have fallen into the hands
of a bunch of lawless students like you. Lao Gao is not a bad person, just a little old-fashioned. His
teaching level is actually still okay."
"Times are progressing," Si Jiang shook his head. "Teachers need to progress more, right? He
respects us, so of course we will respect him. Teacher He, why do we like you so much? It's
because you respect us and treat us equally. And Teacher Fang, you never scold us, punish us, or
insult our personality. We are all 16 or 17 years old, and Lao Gao often punishes us by making us
stand, clean the classroom, and scold us. It's meaningless."
“Only a loser who fully acknowledges his own powerlessness would attempt to use his position of
power and physical strength to defeat his opponent.”
"Mr. Gao is now like the Qing Dynasty before its demise, oppressing us crazily every day," Si
Jiang's eyes widened. "Teacher He, can you imagine that? Because of Yu Ping's incident, he
searched the schoolbags and desks of the whole class the day before yesterday! It's crazy."
He Hongwei and Fang Shuren looked at each other.
"It's not right for Yu Ping to read novels in Chinese class, but Teacher Gao is really scary. He
suddenly rushed down from the podium, overturned Yu Ping's desk, and cursed Yu Ping in
Shanghai dialect. The curse was very ugly, calling him a Chongming little bastard and so on, and
threw his novel out of the window. Our whole class was stunned. Yu Ping picked up his schoolbag
and went home, saying, 'If you have the ability, ask the school to expel me. Cursing and making
people stand in the corner is too low-level.'" Si Jiang held back his laughter. Yu Ping cursed several
times in Shanghai dialect, and his voice was louder than Teacher Gao's.
"Then he started searching everyone's schoolbags and desks. He was just like a fascist Nazi! He
threw the girls' sanitary products on the desks, and several female students cried." Si Jiang took a
breath and whispered firmly to the two teachers: "Yesterday, our whole class jointly wrote a
letter of protest to the principal, demanding that the Chinese teacher and the head teacher be
replaced!"
Fang Shuren was startled: "Who came up with this idea?"
Si Jiang blinked and confessed: "It was my idea, I took the lead, I wrote the letter of protest, and I
was the first to sign it."
He Hongwei sucked in a breath of cold air: "Chen Sijiang, you are really good. You are really
brave."
Fang Shuren became nervous: "Old He, will Si Jiang be okay?"
He Hongwei pondered for a moment, looked at Si Jiang, who had a red star shining on his face,
and shook his head: "If the whole class signs, the school will definitely favor the students, and Lao
Gao will probably fail this time. But——"
Si Jiang was very happy to hear Teacher He's analysis.
"But, Chen Sijiang," He Hongwei said earnestly, "I've said before that you are a very special and
excellent girl, gentle on the outside but strong on the inside, with a chivalrous spirit in your
bones, but you must act prudently in the future, especially avoid being a leader. The tree that
stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind, and many things are not as simple as you
think. Since ancient times, students, especially enthusiastic students, are very easy to be
instigated and used, and the ones who are sacrificed in the end are often those who rush to the
front."
"But if everyone thinks this way, the world will not progress or change. Someone has to stand up
first." Si Jiang does not agree with Teacher He's point of view.
"Lao Gao, this is a bit too much." Fang Shuren sighed: "Si Jiang, Teacher He is a political science
major. You may not listen to his words now, but when you experience many things, you will
understand that the teacher is doing it for your own good-"
The three of them laughed out loud at the same time. Gu Jingsheng had used this sentence so
much that it could no longer be used normally.
"By the way, have you been targeted by Teacher Gao?" Fang Shuren asked worriedly. After all,
even if the school changed teachers, they would have to wait until the next semester or even the
next school year, and it would only take a few minutes for a head teacher to make things difficult
for a student. It was the easiest thing to do.
"I'm fine. He gave me an 18 on my essay last week. I was so mad that I went to find Teacher
Zhou." Si Jiang smiled, "Then the Chinese teaching and research group held a meeting and
changed my score to 38. Hahahahaha. Lao Gao's nose was almost crooked with anger."
"You have a strong sense of resistance," He Hongwei smiled and shook his head, "I didn't notice it
during the three years of junior high school. It seems that I am very lucky."
"Because you are the best class teacher, Mr. He!" Si Jiang smiled with his eyes curved: "Water can
carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."
——
The school did take the protest letter signed by all students in Grade 2 (2) very seriously. The
Party Secretary and the Principal first contacted the class leaders to learn about the situation,
and then randomly selected nearly ten students for a discussion. Si Jiang and Yu Ping were not
among them.
The students in class (2) were like chicken blood, discussing this matter every day after class, and
they would not stop until Teacher Gao was brought down. The only person who was not
enthusiastic was the person involved in the whole incident: Yu Ping.
"Boring and sick." Yu Ping rolled his eyes at Si Jiang.
Si Jiang thought he was talking about Teacher Gao: "He's old, and he takes his temper out on you
and us students. It seems like he has a problem."
"I'm telling you, you're meddling in other people's business." Yu Ping slammed the novel in his
hand on the desk and looked at Si Jiang with disdain.
Si Jiang was confused.
"You're free, I'm full," Yu Ping stroked his unruly hair impatiently, "Why fight with someone like
Lao Gao? Most teachers are like him, just ignore him. If you really don't like it, just deal with it
yourself, why say it's because of me?"
"Yu Ping!" Zhou Jiaming was the first to jump up: "I never thought you were this kind of person!
We were standing up for you, but you actually said something like this. You are really - full of
servility!"
"Get lost!" Yu Ping stretched out his leg and kicked Zhou Jiaming's chair leg: "You are just a dog of
Chen Sijiang. You only know how to follow her around. Don't block me from reading."
Li Nan was so angry that he slammed the desk. "Yu Ping, are you still a man? You are the one who
was scolded and had your desk flipped. If you want to be a coward, you can be a bastard. We just
don't like it. What do you think? We want to protest. We don't want such a teacher. What do you
think? Go to school and tell them that you will be Gao's dog and follow him around. Don't stand
in my way of upholding justice!"
The girls applauded.
"You know shit!" Yu Ping rolled his eyes and looked at Si Jiang with disdain, "You know shit!"
Ren Xinyu suddenly rushed over and kicked Yu Ping's desk with a bang, scattering all the books on
the desk to the floor.
Xu Hao angrily pushed Ren Xinyu and said, "What are you doing?"
"Apologize! Yu Ping, you fucking need to apologize to Chen Sijiang!" Ren Xinyu pushed Xu Hao
easily, causing him to stagger, and grabbed Yu Ping's collar and lifted him up.
Yu Ping did not resist, but just sneered at Si Jiang: "Look, you are a bunch of rabble, you can't
even understand or listen to one or two words of truth, you are just a bunch of shit."
"And you, you're a junior high school student with a medical condition who took a year off from
school. Your brain must have been damaged, right? And you're the class monitor, tsk!" Yu Ping
slowly pried Ren Xinyu's hands apart: "Idiot."
The bell rang, and Yu Ping picked up all the textbooks on the ground as if nothing had happened.
Si Jiang turned around and sat down silently, and the prelude music of eye exercises sounded.
After school, Si Jiang was watching Jingsheng and his school team play football on the football
field, and Li Nan hurried over.
"Yu Ping really went to the principal's office. Traitor! Coward! Shameful!!!"
"Forget it." Si Jiang stood up and said, "I'll go find the principal too. I initiated this matter, so I'll
take the responsibility."
"I'll go with you!" Li Nan held her hand tightly: "We share the good times and the bad times!"
The door of the principal's office was closed. Si Jiang and Li Nan slowed down their steps, looked
at each other and encouraged each other.
"Come in."
"Hello, Principal Yang. I am Chen Sijiang from Class 2 (2) of Senior High School." Sijiang suddenly
remembered what Teacher He had said. She straightened her chest and said, "The joint protest
letter from our class—"
"It's none of Chen Sijiang's business." Li Nan said loudly, but heard Yu Ping say exactly the same
thing.
Si Jiang and Li Nan looked at Yu Ping in surprise.
Principal Yang had an impression of Si Jiang. When she was in junior high school, her math scores
improved by leaps and bounds. She was recommended by Fang Shuren to join the school's math
competition class, but unfortunately she didn't stick with it. He taught several classes in the
competition class, and it was hard for a particularly good-looking child not to be remembered. He
smiled and said, "Don't worry, the school has no intention of investigating who the leader is."
Yu Ping didn't even look at Si Jiang: "Principal Yang, it was really me who violated the class rules.
It has nothing to do with other students. I want to change classes."
Li Nan had no idea what Yu Ping was thinking, and blurted out, "Ah?"
Si Jiang seemed to realize something and immediately stepped forward: "Principal Yang, the
school has already held a meeting with the class leaders and classmates in our class. They should
know that what is written in the protest letter is true. I was the one who came up with the idea of
the protest letter. If there is any responsibility to be taken, it should be me, not Yu Ping."
"Who asked you to meddle in other people's business? Who asked you to take responsibility?!"
Yu Ping pulled Si Jiang back in frustration.
Si Jiang broke free from his hand and looked directly into the principal's face. "Our whole class
and grade love our school very much and are proud of it. When I was admitted as a freshman in
junior high school, I was so happy that I couldn't sleep for several days. In school, I not only
learned knowledge, but also learned the principles of being a human being. Our junior high
school class teacher, Mr. He, Mr. Zhou for Chinese, and Mr. Fang for mathematics, each teacher is
kind and amiable. They preach, teach, and answer questions, which has benefited us a lot. I have
always believed that good teachers are like them. I can understand that Mr. Gao and other
teachers have different personalities and concepts, but Mr. Gao treats us students as a group of
sheep ruled by him, which is wrong."
"You continue." Principal Yang looked at Si Jiang with a smile.
"National leaders can walk into campus and have equal dialogue with students. It is really difficult
for us to accept Mr. Gao's condescending and hegemonic teaching method. He almost wiped out
all of us' interest in the Chinese language course. He searched our schoolbags and desks and
insulted our personality. He did not use his authority as a class teacher, but the authority of the
school. We are not rebelling against the school or the discipline, but Mr. Gao's personal behavior.
If this is the 'teaching' he preaches, it is contrary to the general direction of inclusive
development of the school." Si Jiang paused, and seeing that Principal Yang was still listening to
him with a smile, he became bolder.
"When I was in the first year of high school, I remember you said, Principal, that our school would
insist on 'the comprehensive and personalized development of every student'."
"Yes, I did." Principal Yang nodded, his smile deepening.
"So, in order for every student to have a comprehensive and individual development," Si Jiang
concluded calmly, "Our class hopes that the school can change the head teacher and Chinese
teacher. This has little to do with Yu Ping's personal experience. The three-foot-thick ice is not
formed in a day. Our opinion was not caused by this incident. Yu Ping was at most a fuse."
Principal Yang looked at the three students several times and said with a smile, "The school will
seriously consider your opinions. I have seen that your class 2 (2) has a strong sense of
community and deep friendship among classmates. You can go back to school with peace of
mind. On behalf of the school, I thank you for your trust in the school. The school is very happy to
have nurtured students like you who dare to raise opinions."
Only after leaving the principal's office did Li Nan breathe a sigh of relief.
"Hey, there's a chance, isn't there? The principal sounds like we can win."
Yu Ping rolled his eyes at her, jumped down the stairs in two steps, and quickly disappeared
around the corner.
"You're crazy! You're stupid! Bah!" Li Nan was so angry.
"He just doesn't want girls to stand up for him." Si Jiang smiled, and his pounding heart gradually
calmed down. In any case, she was no worse than her brother today. But when I think back, there
are many better words that I haven't used, and I should have compared Teacher Gao with other
teachers. I'm upset!
——
The 1987 calendar was put up on the wall. After New Year's Day, the school announced that the
former head teacher of Grade 2 (2), Ms. Gao, would need to take a year off due to heart disease.
Ms. Zhou, the head of the Chinese teaching and research group, would be transferred to be the
Chinese teacher of (2), and Ms. Meng, the English teacher, would take over as the head teacher.
The announcement caused a sensation throughout the school. Senior 2 (2) class was in an uproar.
Si Jiang was regarded as a hero by the whole class. Only Yu Ping still looked at Si Jiang with
disdain: "This guy just likes to meddle in other people's business."
Li Nan turned around and rolled his eyes at him: "You say one thing and mean another! Just be
happy in secret, 13 o'clock!"

Chapter 234
In order to celebrate the victory in the unprecedented battle of "Old Gao stepping down", under
the planning of Tang Zenian and Li Nan, the second grade of high school decided to hold a
collective birthday dance on the first Saturday night of the new semester. Seven or eight teachers
were invited, all of whom were young teachers such as He Hongwei, Fang Shuren and Xiao Guo,
who have always had a close relationship with the students.
According to statistics from each class, there are twelve students whose birthdays are in
February, seven boys and five girls. Two of them have their birthdays on February 14, the day of
the dance. They happen to be Yu Ping and Chen Sijiang, the parties involved and instigators of
this battle.
"It's no coincidence, we never thought that our hero and heroine would be so destined to be
together!" There were always people in the class who started to make fun of it.
"It's a pity that it's not the hero saving the beauty, but the beauty saving the hero, hahahaha."
Li Nan slammed the table and shouted: "What nonsense are you talking about? Be careful or you
will be criticized by the loudspeaker again."
"What are you afraid of? We will ask anyone who dares to criticize us to step down!"
"Is this school owned by your family?"
"Pumpkin, you are so boring. What's the matter? Did the fairy in our class stamp Tang Zenian's
seal? You are always like a howling dog, eager to protect your master. Don't you understand that
good things should be kept in the family? Why did the fairy in our class get chased away by Class
4?"
"Get lost! You are the Sky-Howling Dog. You insulted my personality. You don't have to come to
the dance." Li Nan threw a stack of homework books at the other party.
"Help, help, I was wrong, I was wrong—"
The classroom was in chaos, but the male and female protagonists were absent. Si Jiang and Yu
Ping went to the Chinese teaching and research group to get materials for the composition
competition.
Seeing Yu Ping and Chen Sijiang, Teacher Zhou's forehead lit up and he smiled as he handed them
the competition notice and precautions.
"Yu Ping, you need to be more restrained and not be so reckless."
"Chen Sijiang needs to open up a little more and stop being so reserved in expressing his
emotions. It would be better if the two of you could complement each other."
Teacher Zhou gave them detailed guidance on various genres before letting them go.
——
Si Jiang went to the toilet and just as she approached the back door of the classroom, she heard
loud laughter and her name coming from inside.
Li Nanzheng asked Yu Ping sarcastically, "Oh, Mr. Yu, I didn't realize you care so much about
whether our Chen Sijiang looks good or not."
Yu Ping raised his eyelids and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Li Nan and Zhang Leyi looked at each other and began to reenact the case: "Don't talk nonsense.
Yu Ping doesn't like class beauties or school beauties. He once said that Chen Sijiang is getting
uglier and uglier."
Ugly? Si Jiang's hand stopped on the door handle of the back door of the classroom, and he
looked at Yu Ping in astonishment through the small glass window.
Yu Ping looked down at the materials for the essay competition and saw wrinkles on several thin
sheets of paper.
"Ah? Our Chen Sijiang is ugly? Is there something wrong with your eyes or your Chinese level?"
Yu Ping's old deskmate Xu Hao lay on the desk, facing the wall and thinking about his mistakes.
Yu Ping raised his head, but his voice was steady: "Why? I said the same thing in front of Chen
Sijiang. She was never at her best now."
As soon as the words were spoken, boos broke out everywhere.
"I'm evaluating her from a sketching perspective, nothing else. Chen Sijiang looked her best when
she was five or six years old and presented flowers to leaders at the China Welfare Foundation.
Her front teeth are a little big after she changed her teeth, and her eyes are a little out of focus
after she became nearsighted. Also, she probably used to chewing with her right teeth, so her
masseter muscles are uneven on both sides, and her left and right faces are a little asymmetrical.
This is called an objective fact, can't I say it?"
Si Jiang was stunned and wanted to find a mirror to carefully see where the asymmetry was, but
it seemed that she did use her right big teeth more when eating.
The boos turned into discussions, exclamations and laughter.
Li Nan looked puzzled: "Is there a symmetrical or asymmetrical face?"
Yu Ping sneered twice: "You won't understand even if I tell you, you're so stupid." Anyway, he was
the only one in the school who had seen Chen Sijiang at his best.
The girls went to their deskmate to discuss the new problem of asymmetry between the left and
right sides of their faces.
Yu Ping suddenly said loudly: "What are you looking at? No matter how ugly Chen Sijiang is, he is
still a hundred times more beautiful than ordinary people. You know nothing. There are always
about a thousand people on this earth at the top of the pyramid of beauty. They are not born
according to the appearance standards of earthlings. Many people will never meet a real beauty
in their lifetime. Forget it, what can I say to people like you..."
He pushed the desk open with a bang, held his head high, put his hands in his pockets, and
arrogantly opened the back door of the classroom, but bumped into Si Jiang who was unable to
avoid him. The two looked at each other for a few seconds.
The classroom was filled with laughter and howling.
Yu Ping's eyes turned up and he walked towards the men's restroom without changing his
expression.
Si Jiang walked back to his seat as if nothing had happened. Li Nan and the others immediately
rushed over and scolded Yu Ping half to death.
"He wants to be a painter, so it's normal for him to say that." Si Jiang smiled as he opened the
pencil case and looked at it in the small mirror on the lid. "Strange, why can't I see the
asymmetry?"
The people on Earth in the classroom silently pondered over the words of the great scholar Yu.
"Is he praising you?"
"Is it a compliment? It's also very rude to compliment someone in a rude way."
Si Jiang suddenly came to his senses: "Huh? Did Yu Ping know me when we were in
kindergarten?"
Xu Hao then raised his head and added faintly: "He is the boy Xiaowei who went to present
flowers with you."
"Wow!"
Li Nan jumped up and hit his knee on the corner of the desk, causing him to hiss in pain.
"I'm not afraid of thieves stealing, I'm afraid of thieves thinking about us! Isn't Yu Ping too
shameless? He has been thinking about us fairies for more than ten years."
"Don't talk nonsense." Si Jiang quickly pulled her to sit down.
No matter how everyone mocked him, Yu Ping finally signed the form to participate in the group
birthday dance, and the words he said were still unpleasant.
"Don't make that ugly birthday cake, with margarine and a bunch of red and green flowers on it.
It looks ugly like a wreath."
Li Nan was so angry that he snatched the form back: "Thank you for your kindness! If you have
the ability, make a cake that you think looks good. I warn you, keep your mouth shut on the day
of the dance, or I will smear your face with a wreath - no, cream cake!"
This was the first time Si Jiang met someone who had the same birthday as him. They had known
each other since kindergarten and had been classmates for six years in high school. After hearing
what Yu Ping said, he turned around and said, "My uncle has a friend who works at Ruby who can
help make custom cakes. If you think one looks good, why don't you draw a picture and let him
see if he can make it?"
"No." Yu Ping replied lazily while flipping through the Go game manual.
Si Jiang said nothing, smiled and turned away.
Yu Ping raised his eyes and looked at Si Jiang's ponytail still shaking in front of him. He pursed his
lips and thought, as for the chess record, he didn't read anything.
——
After packing her schoolbag and pouring out the water for washing her feet at night, Si Jiang
couldn't help turning her neck towards the clock face when she passed by the large clock on the
wall. When she ate at night, she paid special attention to chewing with both teeth, and her
cheeks were sore from chewing.
"What are you looking at?" Jingsheng stood behind her and looked at the wall clock.
Si Jiang turned his head and turned his face left and right: "Brother, can you see that my left and
right faces are asymmetrical? Which side is bigger and which side is smaller?"
Jingsheng narrowed his eyes and leaned back.
"Can you tell?"
"I can't tell. Who said that?"
"It's okay," Si Jiang rubbed his cheeks vigorously and observed Jingsheng's face carefully,
"Brother, don't move, let me see your face."
When she came closer, Jingsheng almost became cross-eyed, looking up with nothing to look at,
and took a step back: "Have you seen it?"
"No! Don't move!" Si Jiang looked for another three seconds, then sighed, "Brother, do you
know? There are only about a thousand people on Earth who don't look like Earthlings. They are
the top beauties. Many people will never meet a real beauty in their entire lives. I'm so lucky.
When I open my eyes, there's a room full of top beauties, hahaha. Hey, brother, don't frown——"
Si Jiang put his finger on the middle of Jingsheng's brow and pressed hard: "Oh, forget it, you look
good even when you frown. But why do I have an uneven face? Hey, hey, hey, Chen Si! What are
you doing?! Put it down! Do you know that you gained another three pounds after the New
Year?"
Si Jiang rushed to the back of the dining table to stop the fat boy's "crime". Chen Sihao
immediately stuffed his mouth with peach cakes and vaguely said that he had grown three
centimeters taller. The two siblings ran around the dining table, one chasing the other, attracting
the help of Grandma Gu: "It's a blessing to be able to eat, what if you are hungry?" Gu Dongwen's
laughter came from the attic: "The fat boy is still the fattest in Wanchun Street after being hungry
for seven days and seven nights, don't worry."
Jingsheng rubbed the area between his eyebrows that had been pressed by Si Jiang. On the
printed glass dial of the wall clock, a young man with a flushed face vaguely emerged. For the
first time, he carefully examined his facial features. Also, what was going on with his uneven face?
——
On Saturday night, more than one hundred high school students gathered in the cafeteria of a
certain unit on Caoyang Road.
The red lanterns and paper-cuts in the cafeteria were still there, adding to the festive
atmosphere. A disco ball hanging in the middle was dazzling. At the top was a decent stage with a
red carpet, two microphones, an amplifier, and a set of Western drums. It was obvious that this
company often held dances.
The cadres of the Youth League Committee and the Student Union spent a lot of effort. A string of
red and yellow balloons was hung in the middle of each round table, and a colorful decorative
ribbon with the words "Happy Birthday" in English surrounded the whole venue. The big
blackboard where the menu was written was the collaborative product of the blackboard elites
from Si Jiang's class. In the center of the blackboard was the Chinese and English words "Happy
Birthday" and the names of the twelve birthday boys in cursive fonts. Surrounding them were
various photos of the military training, agricultural learning, spring and autumn tours, and sports
games for the second grade of high school. Si Jiang closed his eyes and raised his fists, but he
didn't catch the ball and was hit on the head by a volleyball. Li Nan lay on his back at the side of
the shot put competition field. Lin Zhuoyu ran wildly on the track with a deformed face. Tang
Zenian washed the hairtail with a numb face. The boys on the zoo spring outing wanted to
compete with the gorillas. There were also solemn flag-raising ceremonies, serious aiming at
target shooting, and other serious topics. Several teachers watched with relish and laughed
continuously.
More than a dozen student leaders from the first and third years of high school were also invited.
Some took photos, some recorded records, and of course most of them praised the great idea of
a group birthday dance.
Jingsheng was dragged here by Si Jiang. After turning around, he could no longer see Si Jiang.
Instead, Zhang Leyi and Zeng Xin followed him and asked him who would be invited to dance
later. Could he give them a favor and dance with them? He was shocked: "Sorry, I don't dance."
The two little girls chattered and said it was a pity.
Zeng Xin muttered, "Old Tang will definitely ask Si Jiang to dance. The moving Tang Zenian, I am
also a member of Old Tang's faction now. He really put a lot of effort into celebrating the fairy's
birthday."
Zhang Leyi saw that Jingsheng looked unhappy, and quickly explained: "It's a collective birthday
celebration for the students whose birthdays are in February, not just for us fairies. But Brother
Sijiang, our Old Tang is really good, right? This venue belongs to his mother's unit, and he also
asked the canteen chef to prepare a Western-style buffet, which is so fashionable!"
Zeng Xin expressed her envy: "Si Jiang and Yu Ping are really good at picking birthdays. Li Nan said
that today is a very special holiday in Europe and America, called Valentine's Day!"
She and Zhang Leyi leaned their heads against each other and laughed in low voices, "Valentine's
Day!"
When I turned around, Gu Jingsheng was gone.

Chapter 235
At around five o'clock, Tang Zenian's mother and a few people who looked like leaders of the unit
came in. Tang Zenian and Li Nan went to greet them and took them to greet the teachers. Tang
Zenian looked around for Si Jiang, but Si Jiang lowered his head and turned away from his sight.
Cheng Ying laughed and teased Si Jiang: "Oh my, are you going to meet your mother-in-law in
advance?"
"Fairy! Old Tang is looking for you. Let's go and say hello to his mother." Li Nan ran over with a
smile, his nose full of beads of sweat from enthusiasm.
"I'm not going. It's good enough that you're here." Si Jiang frowned slightly.
"Let's go, let's go. His mother just asked about you. There are so many people here, what's the
harm in saying hello?" Li Nan gently bumped Si Jiang's arm.
"Si Jiang, come here."
Si Jiang looked up and saw Jingsheng waving at him from the food preparation area, so he quickly
made an excuse to leave. Li Nan stamped his feet in anger and sighed.
Cheng Ying also sighed and shook her head: "Pumpkin, why are you doing this? Working so hard
to help others is too noble."
Li Nan smiled and said, "I can't be as cool as you anyway."
The dinner was very rich, with potato salad, fruit salad, borscht, mushroom soup, fried pork
chops, fried chicken chops, toast, sandwiches, and drinks, in addition to orange juice and cola,
there was also coffee and coffee creamer, which was very fashionable. Many boys were already
around the table, ready to get ready for a big meal.
Si Jiang stood in the shadow behind the dining table, having a good view of the whole scene.
"Brother, have you decided what to eat?" Si Jiang asked while paying attention to the movements
of the crowd over there with Tang Zenian and the others.
Li Nan ran back and whispered something to Tang Zenian. Tang Zenian was a little disappointed.
He looked up and found where she and Jingsheng were. He smiled and waved at them. Tang
Zenian's mother turned her head and looked over here. Si Jiang recognized her at once. She was
a female leader who often appeared on TV and in newspapers. She was in charge of education
and health. Tang Zenian lowered his head and said something to his mother, who smiled and
nodded.
Si Jiang quickly took off her glasses and put them in her pocket. Her heart was beating fast. If she
had known earlier, she shouldn't have worn glasses. She could have just dealt with the unclear
vision. Now she felt a little embarrassed. But she couldn't tell why she felt embarrassed.
"Without your glasses, can you tell the difference between potatoes and apples?" Jingsheng
glanced at her.
"I'm only 300 degrees myopic now, how can I not tell the difference so close?" Si Jiang pointed
with a smile: "Isn't there a sign? I wrote the sign. This is potato salad."
Soon, the group of people came over here.
Si Jiang panicked: "I'll go find Zeng Xin and the others."
Jingsheng grabbed her and said, "It's not you who came up to me. What are you afraid of? Just
stand still and don't move."
The students at the dining table moved out of the way. Tang Zenian’s mother inspected them and
thanked Mr. Shen next to her with a smile. Mr. Shen smiled boldly and said, "No matter how hard
it is, you can't hurt your children," which made everyone laugh.
Without her glasses, Sijiang felt much more at ease. She stood quietly in the shadows and felt a
scrutinizing gaze falling on her. As sensitive as she was, something was about to come out in an
instant.
Teacher Gao's resignation is not a victory for all the students in their class (2), let alone her
victory, Chen Sijiang. Otherwise, there would not have been the previous school-wide
announcement of criticism.
——
The leaders left soon, and the music started. It was "Let's Row the Boat Together", which
everyone had to sing during the spring and autumn tours since elementary school. The whole
audience burst into laughter.
The music gradually faded and Tang Zenian and Li Nan came on stage.
"Hey, isn't this our school's most handsome boy, Tang Zenian? Hello, Old Tang." Li Nan stretched
out his hand seriously and shook hands with Tang Zenian.
"Hello, school beauty Mr. Li." Tang Zenian answered seriously.
There were whistles from the audience.
Li Nan smiled and supported his waist with both hands: "Lin Zhuoyu, don't whistle. Are you not
convinced? Every girl in our school is a precious flower, or school belle in short. People like me
are pumpkin flowers. Have you seen pumpkin flowers?"
"Never seen it? No wonder you get criticized for not taking agricultural studies seriously!"
Amidst the laughter, Tang Zenian and Li Nan, one the funny one and the other the supporting
one, quickly led the topic to the seventeenth birthday.
"Old Tang, how many years have we known each other?"
"Let me count. It's been fourteen years since kindergarten."
"Ah? It's over. I've only had three years of happiness in my life?"
"Hey, Lao Li, you can't say that. You should say that we have been friends for fourteen years and
we have a very good relationship. (We have been friends for fourteen years and we have a very
good relationship.)"
Li Nan rolled his eyes and said, "I really want to thank you!" (This sentence is sarcastic in Shanghai
dialect.)
There was laughter from the audience.
"As we all know, those we met in kindergarten are called bare-bottomed friends. Please don't just
think about your bare butts. Everyone should be civilized. If you want to think about it, just
suppress it in your mind and think about it secretly, like me--" Li Nan was interrupted by laughter
before he finished his lines.
For the first time, Si Jiang discovered that the Tang Zenian who could tell jokes on the stage was
not the same as the Tang Zenian she knew, at least not completely. And Li Nan was also different
from the Li Nan she was familiar with. She was so lively and dazzling, and her eyes sparkled when
she looked at Tang Zenian. She was not unfamiliar with such eyes. Wang Lu looked at her brother
with such eyes, Tang Zenian looked at her with such eyes, the aunt looked at her uncle, and Nurse
Lu looked at her uncle. They all looked like this.
This is the look of liking someone.
Her best friend had pushed her favorite boy to her and gave her the most sincere blessing, but
she had only discovered it now. Was it because the distance was too close, or because she was
actually an extremely selfish person, so she had never avoided imagining this possibility?
The people on the stage were in perfect harmony, and the people below were enthusiastic and
jubilant. Si Jiang was glad that she hid in this inconspicuous dark place. When the pot of boiling
oil was poured down, no one knew except the closest brother. She was confused, but she
remained extremely calm in the confusion, re-examining herself, Tang Zenian and Li Nan.
Si Jiang knew very well that she couldn't do what Li Nan did. She couldn't even imagine how
much she had to like someone to be able to do this. She felt ashamed because she found that her
"like" for Tang Zenian was undoubtedly not even one tenth of Li Nan's. And what about Tang
Zenian? Did he also know nothing? Or did he know it but took advantage of Li Nan's "like"? Si
Jiang felt even more ashamed of her mean-spiritedness. In just a few minutes, her mind turned
over and over, but in the end she was a little glad that she had insisted on getting into college
first. Thinking this way, she wasn't too sorry for Li Nan.
"Have you seen it? Li Nan likes Tang Zenian." Jingsheng concluded lightly.
Si Jiang was silent for two seconds, then uttered a soft "hmm". When he moved, he realized that
his legs were numb.
Jingsheng held her steadily and let her lean against him.
"If you really like him, don't feel sorry for Li Nan." Jingsheng pursed his lips tightly after saying
this, regretting that he had talked too much.
Si Jiang took a breath and sighed. Jing Sheng's heart rose and then fell.
"I don't know," Si Jiang said honestly, "I just feel very sorry for Li Nan——"
Jingsheng glanced at her with his eyes downcast, and suddenly felt relieved. On Sijiang's face,
there was no normal reaction to discovering that "a good friend likes a boyfriend", so...
Si Jiang was thinking: It is so difficult to like someone, the relationship between people is so
simple, yet so complicated. Maybe art does not come from life, but life has been imitating art.
Soon, the twelve birthday boys and girls were invited to the stage. Si Jiang and Yu Ping were
pushed to the center. The flash went off several times. These photos have been a joke in Class 2.
Yu Ping's eyes were as big as bells, with an expression of "I'm impatient" on his face. Si Jiang
closed his eyes precisely at the time of each flash.
——
At eight o'clock, the disco ball flashed with colorful lights, and Zhang Qiang's voice rang out: "Let
me hold your hand, and dance happily to a disco song to the hot rhythm..."
Because Yu Ping refused to go down to dance, he became the center of attention. He kept
laughing and scolding Ce Na, but Lin Zhuoyu held him tightly on his back, with his feet off the
ground and swinging back and forth.
The birthday celebrants were gathered in the middle, and firecrackers went off, scattering confetti
all over Si Jiang's head. Li Nan, Zhang Leyi, and Zeng Xin came up and cheered: "Fairy! Happy
birthday!"
Si Jiang was pushed into Tang Zenian's arms.
Tang Zenian saw Jingsheng opposite him with a serious face, smiled, opened his arms, and
stepped aside politely and gentlemanly.
"Happy birthday, Chen Sijiang."
The teachers were also pulled off the field one after another. The enthusiasm of youth was very
contagious. Even a cautious and introverted person like Fang Shuren couldn't help but smile and
nod slightly to the rhythm off the field. This generation of young people is so happy.
The disco ball stopped spinning, and in the dim light, the band "Careless Whisper" rang out. The
party was about to end, and after two hours of swinging, the atmosphere was emboldening.
Some boys and girls who liked each other started dancing the three-step dance, holding hands,
shoulders and waists. Although they still kept a distance of 20 to 30 centimeters from each other,
Fang Shuren was already frightened. She whispered to He Hongwei: "Is this really okay?"
He Hongwei smiled, "Teacher Fang, it is better to keep away from them than to block them. It is
normal for young people to admire each other. The more nervous and opposed we are, the more
they want to try. It is better to let them have a normal friendship under our eyes. Don't worry,
they are all good kids. They know everything. In the joint examination of five schools at the end
of last year, their grade 2 seemed to be the only grade to get second place. Our grade was able to
get third place thanks to your math, which raised the total average score."
Fang Shuren smiled and shook his head, looking at Si Jiang not far away.
Tang Zenian put his hands on Si Jiang's waist, and both of them made several wrong steps.
"You looked a little unhappy tonight," Tang Zenian explained softly, "I'm sorry, my mother
originally said she wouldn't come. If I had known she was coming, I would definitely -"
"The matter with Teacher Gao was actually arranged by your mother, right?" Si Jiang raised his
head and asked.
Tang Zenian was stunned and a little embarrassed.
"So the real demands of our students are not as good as the leaders' words." Si Jiang smiled
bitterly and said, "Yu Ping is right, we are too naive, I am too naive."
“That’s not entirely true.”
"Thank you anyway," Si Jiang lowered his eyes, "although I don't want to thank you."
"I'm not asking you to thank me—"
"We don't want your help," Si Jiang stepped on Tang Zenian again, "I'm sorry, I stepped on you
again."
"It doesn't matter."
"At least I don't want you to help. The consequences should be borne by me and ourselves. Now
this is a backdoor, right?" Si Jiang raised his eyes: "What's the difference between us using your
mother's power to attack Teacher Gao and Teacher Gao using the power of a teacher to attack Yu
Ping?"
"There is no difference. We are even worse off. At least Teacher Gao does not have the power to
force Yu Ping to drop out of school." Si Jiang was so frustrated that he stepped on Tang Zenian
twice.
"We seek equality between teachers and students, mutual respect, and an open, fair and just
approach to the issue rather than the person, so we stand up and say what we think." Si Jiang
said sternly, "Tang Zenian, it's really not good for you to do this."
"I'm sorry." Tang Zenian apologized in a low voice: "Do I have the right to explain a few words?"
"Of course."
"I complained to my mother after I knew that Teacher Gao deliberately lowered your composition
score. Because she happened to be in charge of education, she paid attention to it. She knew
about the school's previous criticism, and she also knew about the school's talk to us about
premature love. She thought the school handled it well." Tang Zenian held Si Jiang's hand
helplessly: "If you put me on the side of officials' children who are bullying others because of the
result of this incident, to be honest, I feel a little wronged, and it is not fair to my mother. It is also
her duty, not the person. If Teacher Gao arbitrarily lowers the scores of students he doesn't like
and retaliates, not everyone is as strong as you and will find the Chinese teaching and research
group to fight back. Then who can the other victimized students ask for fairness?"
Si Jiang had to admit that what Tang Zenian said made sense.
The music ended, the lights went out, and the seventeen birthday candles on each cake were lit
one by one.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you..."
"Make a wish, birthday boys and girls, louder so we can all hear what you wish for!"
Just as Si Jiang and his friends were about to blow out the candles, they heard a loud voice from
an unknown teacher: "Don't forget the baseline test next Monday—"
The birthday celebrants were all smiling so hard that the candlelight flickered, but most of them
were still stubbornly lit.
Lin Zhuoyu pulled out two crumpled pieces of paper from his jeans pocket and waved them
loudly: "Teacher Zhu, look! Aladu came to dance with a collection of wrong questions. Don't
worry, this time our (3) class will definitely beat their (4) class."
Zhang Leyi laughed and shouted, "And Zeng Xin, he was reciting an English text while doing the
three-step dance just now! He made me do all the steps wrong."
——
It was still chilly in February. Si Jiang sat on the back of a bicycle, waved goodbye to everyone,
and a thin layer of mist came out of his mouth.
"Goodbye! Goodbye! Thank you everyone!"
Tang Zenian chased after him: "Si Jiang! Wait a moment."
Jing Chang stretched out his legs and supported himself on the ground, and Si Jiang jumped out
from the back seat.
"This is the birthday present I prepared for you." Tang Zenian took out a small box that was
beautifully wrapped and said with a smile, "Happy birthday, good luck on your TOEFL."
"Thank you." Si Jiang thanked him but did not accept the gift: "You have already given us a very,
very memorable birthday gift. I can't accept this."
Tang Zenian was startled, then explained with a smile: "Don't worry, it's not a ring or necklace or
anything like that. It's a souvenir I carved myself. It's not valuable, and it's not well carved. Don't
despise it."
After he said that, Si Jiang felt embarrassed to refuse and accepted it.
Not far away, Li Nan smiled and waved at her.
Si Jiang was stunned, and waved vigorously at Li Nan. With a sad heart, she quickly said thank
you and got on her bicycle.
"Brother, let's go."
Many classmates rode together on the way, and the happy and lively atmosphere was still there.
Some people took off their handlebars and sang while riding, and some people shouted and
made S-shaped overtaking. Si Jiang turned around with the small box in his hand and saw that
under the bright street light at the entrance of the unit, Li Nan laughed and punched Tang Zenian.
Tang Zenian staggered a few times exaggeratedly, and the two walked into the gate talking and
laughing.
Si Jiang hugged Jingsheng's waist, buried his head and pressed his tears into his soft cotton coat.
The bicycle turned quickly, away from the laughter and noise of the classmates.
The seventeenth birthday has laughter and tears. No matter how much you like someone, it will
eventually become a pink memory.

Chapter 236
For teenagers, the world is big and their minds are broad. They can see the vast mountains,
rivers, universe and stars. But the world is also small. They only travel between home and school
every day. The people and things around them will not change for many years. If they get stuck in
a dead end, then the world will be left with only a tiny piece as big as the tip of a needle. They
have to chew and ruminate on their own joys and sorrows.
Si Jiang always reminded himself not to get stuck in a rut, so after being sad for a night and
shedding a bowl of tears, he got up early the next morning to continue memorizing the Oxford
English-Chinese Dictionary. This was also due to the influence of his family, such as Gu Dongwen's
"Except life and death, nothing is a big deal", Grandma Gu's "Everything has a time", and
Jingsheng's consistent calmness and composure even when facing a catastrophe. After so many
years of subtle influence, Si Jiang felt that although he had not reached the state of not being
happy or sad because of things, he had made some progress.
Jingsheng went downstairs to make breakfast and saw that the rice was ready on the coal stove.
He glanced out the window and saw Si Jiang walking around outside.
"vagabond: a person who has no home or job and who travels from place to place.vagabond."
"vagabond..."
Jingsheng beat six eggs into a large bowl and took out a handful of leeks to make leek omelette.
"Brother, good morning. The rice porridge is ready." Si Jiang came over and greeted him with a
smile.
"I see. I heard you've recited up to V?" Seeing that her eyes were still swollen, Jingsheng moved
the soaked rice away, put on the hot milk pot, and added water to boil another poached egg.
"Well, I just started reciting today. I was too slow. Tang—Tang Zenian and Li Nan have already
started reciting it for the second time."
"Don't worry. If you recite it in English, it will definitely be slower than reciting it in Chinese."
"Oh, my uncle said that this is the only way to learn it, it's really too difficult. Then I'll go learn the
words."
"Well, the chive pancakes are ready. I'll call you to eat."
Outside, there was the clear sound of Si Jiang reciting words, inside, there was the sizzling sound
of leek and egg batter being put into the frying pan, and the sound of water in the milk pot
boiling. Jingsheng felt inexplicably relieved, as if everything had finally returned to normal.
From upstairs came the sound of Grandma Gu coughing and clearing phlegm, followed by the
little fat boy Chen Sihao crying and shouting in grievance.
"Sunday, Sunday! Take a rest today - Grandma!!!"
"Oh my, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, dear. I forgot. Go to sleep, go to sleep until whatever time you want."
"Why are you sleeping? Fatty, hurry up and go to Xigong for a run with me." Gu Dongwen
shouted with a smile.
Then there was a brutal sound of slaughtering pigs that echoed throughout the alley.
Fortunately, the aroma of the chive omelet saved the little fat boy.
"Cut breakfast, cut breakfast, brother! Sister! Help me, I want to die -"
"The first month of the lunar year isn't over yet, what nonsense are you talking about? Xiao Xiazi
doesn't know how to talk nonsense, please don't blame him, God." Granny Gu was so anxious
that she tried to twist Si Hao's mouth. There was another commotion upstairs, which was no
different from any other Sunday.
Jingsheng and Sijiang smiled at each other across the window.
"Brother, grandma had a severe cough last night. I stewed a bowl of candied pears and kept it
warm in the steamer. Remember to take it out." Si Jiang put away the dictionary and prepared to
bring the rice porridge and omelet upstairs.
"Wait," Jingsheng handed her the peeled boiled egg, "Roll it around your eyes while it's still hot
to reduce the swelling."
Si Jiang was stunned, took it embarrassedly, and ran to the shower room to roll his eyes in front
of the mirror.
After the family had a good breakfast, they all went about their own business. Gu Dongwen first
sent Grandma Gu to the International Church on Hengshan Road for worship, and then went to
Huating Road to open a stall. Jingsheng and Sijiang took Sihao to the Industrial and Commercial
Bank of China on Nanjing West Road and Shimen Road to exchange loose banknotes, and left
Sihao at the Children's Library to do homework. Then Sijiang took bus No. 37 to the TV station
entrance to attend the TOEFL class. Jingsheng gave the change to the Urumqi vegetable market to
buy side dishes, and after buying the side dishes, he took Grandma Gu home to cook lunch.
After the TOEFL class, Si Jiang would go to the library to pick up Si Hao and take him home for
dinner. He would usually bring back a bunch of little radishes. The neighbors in the alley all
thought that the Gu family had a good way of educating their children, and they liked to keep an
eye on Grandma Gu to ask about her. After knowing that Chen Si Hao went to the children's
library every Sunday morning to do homework and borrow books, they also drove Xiao Ning (the
child) there and told them to follow Chen Si Hao closely. Si Jiang became a kindergarten teacher,
directing seven or eight children to cross the road and get off the bus with the handle steady,
which was more strenuous than taking ten TOEFL classes. Grandma Gu was so angry that she
shouted dozens of times in the alley: Your Xia Zi (child) go home, don't follow my Si Jiang Si Hao
back home, if something happens on the way, my family won't be responsible! The neighbors
laughed and joked, but they followed anyway. After all, the little kids walked to and from school
by themselves, and it was more reassuring to have an older child taking care of them. Besides, Si
Jiang was a well-known good kid who respected the elderly and loved the young.
After lunch, Grandma Gu usually takes a nap. Si Jiang goes to A Niang's house to deliver some
fruit, snacks and side dishes, and helps A Niang wash her hair, bathe her and cut her nails.
In the past few years, none of the three sisters Chen Dongzhu returned to Shanghai for the Spring
Festival. Chen Dongfang and Chen Donghai also gradually relaxed their vigilance and stopped
watching over the gold bars. They came for two nights during the Spring Festival and went back
to their own homes on the second day of the New Year. A Niang was too lonely to be alone, so
she was led by Grandma Gu to believe in Christianity. A cross was hung on the wall opposite the
statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva at home, and the Bible and Diamond Sutra were placed side by
side. Grandma Gu told her several times: If you believe in God, you can't believe in other gods.
Chen A Niang pretended to obey, but secretly disobeyed, telling Si Jiang that there are more gods
and more paths, and it is always right to worship more. Grandma Gu stopped taking her to
church, and Si Jiang mediated several times. Unexpectedly, gods have their own paths, Buddhas
have their own paths, and those who play both sides have their own paths. A Niang found more
than a dozen like-minded friends in Wanchun Street and Kangjia Bridge. The most amazing one is
an old widow. Jesus, the Virgin Mary, Guanyin, and the Jade Emperor are all sitting in a row at
home, just like a gathering of gods. Christmas and Buddha's birthday are celebrated, and
churches and temples are not spared. She even goes to the Tantric Zen temple like Jing'an Temple
to burn incense with sincerity. If the mosque had not refused to let her in, she would have hung a
star and crescent flag at home. She worships a lot and has a lot of experience. When the old lady
goes to the community, she gets free blood pressure measurement, volunteers come to help cut
her hair during the New Year, and the market delivers vegetables to her door. All of these are
manifestations of gods.
Grandma Gu was dismissive of all this. While basking in the sun in the alley, she said bluntly:
"Bullshit! These are clearly all because of the good party, good government, good policies, and
good young people who do things. It has nothing to do with gods."
The old lady's voice was three times louder than hers: "You are talking nonsense. It must be the
Bodhisattva or the gods who showed up that these good things happened. Otherwise, why didn't
these good things happen to you?"
Granny Gu thought, nonsense, I am a good person and I am not alone. But it is hard to say, so she
had to turn around and promote the benefits of believing in God, not these trivial things, but the
major life events related to the future. Granny Gu cited Gu Dongwen opening a restaurant and a
clothing stall, Gu Beiwu studying in Peking University in the United States, and Si Jiang
determined to take the city key exam. One by one, God finally won with an absolute advantage.
The old ladies moved to Gu's house to talk about life and recall the bitterness and sweetness.
After dinner, Si Jiang checked Si Hao's homework and recited the English dictionary for a while. At
eight o'clock, Gu Ximei called as expected, and occasionally Chen Donglai called. First, she asked
if Grandma Gu was in good health, then asked about Si Jiang's academic performance in various
subjects. Then Si Hao answered the phone and received all-round care, such as how many clothes
he had to wear, whether he had drunk water at school, whether he had time to go to the toilet,
whether he had lost weight, whether he should remember to eat more meat and less rice, stay
away from TV to protect his eyes and not become nearsighted like his sister, whether his
classmates still laughed at him for being fat, and whether he should not run around during
breaks, whether the girl at the same table had still thrown his pencil... After Chen Si Hao
answered five or six sentences, he stared at the TV absent-mindedly until Chen Si Nan impatiently
grabbed the microphone and called Jingsheng to answer the phone, and the little fat boy was
free.
Gu Beiwu and Shanrang usually called at 8:30. Gu Nian was already one year old and was very
enthusiastic about the phone. Before Gu Beiwu could even start talking, she would hold the
receiver and yell, "Dad, Mom, Grandma, Sister, Hello." Every time she uttered a word, she would
hear cheers and applause from Old Lady Zhou, as well as Beiwu Shanrang's laughter, and laughter
from this side as well.
The phone calls usually lasted a long time. When Gu Nian had enough fun and was taken away,
Beiwu would tell Sijiang where he had been on business, what interesting people and things he
had met, what books he had read that were suitable for Sijiang and Jingsheng to read, the latest
developments and policy trends in the country, and some major events that happened abroad,
which were usually different from what Sijiang read in the newspaper. The uncle and nephew
talked and laughed while discussing, and Jingsheng sat beside them and listened carefully, asking
a few questions from time to time. After Beiwu finished speaking, Shanrang would also chat with
Sijiang for a long time, telling him interesting stories about Peking University teachers and
students. When Sijiang heard that Mr. Li from the Economics Department held 47 social positions
and insisted on teaching a course to freshmen every semester, he was amazed.
"If you don't go abroad to study, you must be admitted to Peking University." Shan Rang never
forgets to cast a spell on Si Jiang.
"If I didn't study abroad, I would apply to Jiaotong University and stay with my brother." Si Jiang
laughed.
Jingsheng has already decided on his direction. His first choice is to take the mechanical
engineering major at Jiaotong University. With the 20 extra points for being an athlete, he has a
good chance of getting in. This year, the Minhang campus of Jiaotong University will be
completed, and all new students will have to live on campus in Minhang. Gu Dongwen even took
the time to take him to the construction site for a tour.
That night, Bei Wu announced a good news on the phone: the Shanghai Municipal Government
would introduce a policy in early March that the children of educated youth from Xinjiang who
were fourteen years old or older could have their household registration transferred back to
Shanghai and directly attend junior high school, technical secondary school, vocational school,
high school and university.
"Let Sinan come back!" Si Jiang blurted out without thinking.

Chapter 237
Whose hukou should be moved back to Shanghai? Gu Ximei and Chen Donglai didn't have to
think about it, of course it was better to move Chen Si. But in March, they saw the notice that if
only one of the spouses was an educated youth, the children had to be 14 years old to go back to
Shanghai to study. Chen Donglai was assigned to Xinjiang after graduating from university and
was not considered an educated youth. Only Ximei had an educated youth certificate, so they
gave up.
"Then move to Sijiang's." Gu Ximei didn't hesitate between Sijiang and Sinan. Sinan grew up
beside her, and she and Chen Donglai owed Sijiang too much. Moreover, Sijiang grew up and
studied in Shanghai, so it was natural for him to become a 100% authentic Shanghainese.
"Move back to your home," Ximei discussed with Chen Donglai, "If you register your household
under mother's name, I'm afraid your two younger brothers will be unhappy and gossip about
you." She inevitably spent another half an hour mocking and ridiculing Chen Dongfang and Chen
Donghai.
Chen Donglai was even a little angry at the pillow talk. The next day, he called Wanchun Street
directly, but his mother had gone to the Jade Buddha Temple with her old sisters. He had to leave
a message. His anger subsided and he organized his words again.
After Chen A Niang finished worshipping the Bodhisattva and came back, she tiptoed to Grandma
Gu's house at night to make a long-distance call.
"Okay, okay, okay, yes, yes, move Si Jiang's household registration here and let him be with me.
No one will dare to gossip about Hong Kong! (Who dares to say a word)" Chen A Niang agreed
with a smile.
Si Jiang got anxious and snatched the microphone to scold his old man (father).
"Of course Nannan will move! My brother and I both study in Shanghai, so Nannan should come
back to study as well. I'm going to apply to study abroad anyway, so it doesn't matter where I get
my hukou. My uncle has asked the Education Bureau, and Nannan can come back next semester
as a transfer student to study in the third year of junior high school, and then get his hukou
officially registered next year."
Chen Donglai thought carefully: "But...what if you can't go abroad? I mean, what if? Then you
have to go back to Xinjiang to take the exam. How can you take the exam if the textbooks and
exam subjects are different?"
"Then I can pass the exam and return to Shanghai! I have confidence in myself. Don't you and
mom have no confidence in me?" Si Jiang asked.
"You do have confidence. You have always worked hard and are in a key school in the city. But the
teachers at your mother's school said that the Shanghai college entrance examination papers are
easier than the national papers, so..." Chen Donglai hesitantly brought up Gu Ximei, but refused
to give the microphone to Ximei.
"Give it to me, I'll talk to her!" Ximei was so angry that she snatched the microphone and pushed
Chen Donglai out with her elbow.
Si Nan, who was doing homework next to him, propped up his cheek, started spinning a ballpoint
pen in his right hand, and looked at Chen Donglai with squinted eyes.
Chen Donglai walked over angrily and took the ballpoint pen from her hand: "Just write, why are
you turning around? You look like a second-rate person, which is not good."
Si Nan rolled his eyes at him, snorted coldly, and ran out with a disapproving look.
"Chen Sinan! Chen Sinan——?" Chen Donglai shouted twice, shook his head and sighed. No, if he
sent this little devil back to Shanghai, who knows how much trouble he would cause. He would
be scolded by the dean every other day under Ximei's nose.
But no matter how hard he tried, Si Jiang couldn't win over his mother. Gu Ximei had her own
reasoning, which had nothing to do with confidence and dignity. Everything had its pros and
cons, and one had to seek the pros and avoid the cons. The key was to avoid the worst outcome.
Si Nan's return to Shanghai would be a hundred disadvantages and no advantages for Ximei, and
if Si Jiang failed to go abroad, returning to Xinjiang to take the college entrance examination
would naturally be the worst outcome. Besides, there was Gu Beiwu's previous advice.
——
In May, the documents for applying to move the collective household registration of Urumqi No.
2 Middle School back to Shanghai were sent to Wanchun Street. After Si Jiang checked the
documents carefully, he breathed a sigh of relief. The regulations and requirements were very
detailed. The family's household registration certificates, the birth certificates of the three
siblings, Ximei's educated youth certificates, marriage certificates, etc. were all complete.
Chen Donglai also wrote an earnest letter to the relevant departments, recounting in detail the
hardships and blood and tears he and Ximei had gone through when they entered Xinjiang.
Perhaps because he had hoped to return to Shanghai too many times but was always
disappointed in the end, he hoped to play the emotional card to successfully complete the
household registration transfer this time.
Although Si Jiang had heard his grandmother talk about his parents' aid to Xinjiang, it was only a
few words. Their "hardship" was just a light word in his grandmother's mouth, which was not
considered hardship. After all, they had not been chased by guns and artillery, nor had they faced
the death and lifelong pain that his uncle had faced. But this letter made Si Jiang know for the
first time that his father had eaten meat less than ten times in the three years in the desert, and
the tomatoes transported to the oil fields were always rotten and sour. In the first two years, his
mother lived in a cave in Aksu. She had to crawl out of the sand every day and work for twelve
hours. All her rest days were mobilized to contribute to the border. They did not stand up forever,
did not have uterine prolapse, and did not even die, just because they were lucky. She had always
felt that she had not received enough care from her parents, and had secretly envied Si Nan for
growing up with them, but this time she faced her parents' lives and suddenly stepped half a foot
into adult society. From their perspective, everything seemed to have their own difficulties. What
made Si Jiang most sad was that her father's words contained a subtle and humble plea.
"When I was a child, my father was a very tall figure in my mind," Si Jiang took out a black-and-
white photo from the album and showed it to Jingsheng, "This is him teaching me to write
calligraphy. My uncle took the photo." Chen Donglai in the photo is young, handsome and gentle,
and both father and daughter have satisfied smiles on their faces.
His father was a model worker and his mother was a teacher. For a long time, their images in Si
Jiang's heart were always glorious. Later, he could not explain how they became more and more
ordinary, "nothing special", and even unfamiliar.
"But my dad is quite tall," Si Jiang thought for a moment, "I don't know if my dad is taller or my
uncle is taller. You will probably be the tallest in the family in the end, right?"
Jingsheng is already 1.83 meters tall this year. When he goes up to the attic, he has to bend down
and lower his head to reach the third step.
Chen Donglai's letter Jingsheng also read it. He had lived in Shajingzi for a year, but he was not as
surprised as Si Jiang. Seeing her red eyes, he continued to flip through the photo album: "Every
generation has its own hardships. My father and your parents suffered first and then enjoyed
happiness. Maybe we will enjoy happiness first and then suffer."
Si Jiang quickly said "Pooh!" "No way! We will be the happiest generation, sweet from beginning
to end."
"Are you happy?" Jingsheng asked with a smile.
Si Jiang thought about it seriously and nodded: "Happy. Although there are some small troubles,
compared with my parents' time, it seems that it is really nothing. At least I have enough food to
eat, warm clothes to wear, go to a good school, my family members are healthy, you are all so
good to me, and I have several good friends."
"Are you not lacking anything?" Jingsheng smiled with a hint of playfulness and narrowed his
eyes.
"No need!" Si Jiang said firmly, and couldn't help but kick Jingsheng lightly: "Age Nong is a bit
annoying, weird (yin and yang). What about you? Are you happy?"
Jingsheng also thought about it seriously: "It must be much happier than before."
"So what are you missing?"
"There's a lot missing."
"What do you think?" Si Jiang smiled mischievously, "It's OK as long as you are not immoral."
Jingsheng raised his hand and tapped her forehead lightly: "You're so rude."
"Hey, you really need - that." Si Jiang launched a sweeping kick, but Jingsheng was prepared and
jumped away, leaving her with nothing.
"Why are you fighting again?" Chen Sihao folded his arms and sneered at the side: "If you want to
fight, fight seriously and hard! Sister, you ate a bowl and a half of rice at night, how come you
don't have any strength at all? Stand up!"
Jingsheng clicked his tongue twice, took two steps forward, grabbed his arms and lifted him up,
swinging him left and right in the air for several times: "Oh, now you know how to sow discord,
Chen Sihao, you didn't go to elementary school in vain."
Chen Sihao was so scared that he screamed and called for help from his elder sister and
grandmother. After landing on the ground, he hugged Jingsheng's arm and refused to let go:
"Brother, try again! I'm on your side. Our boys' team will definitely beat my elder sister."
Si Jiang was so angry that he stood up suddenly, and was about to teach the little brother a
lesson, but he saw Si Hao let go of Jingsheng's arm in frustration.
"Forget it. You definitely won't be willing to hit my sister, and I'll be the one who suffers in the
end."
Si Hao blinked his eyes and complained: "You two are just wearing the same pair of pants!"
Jingsheng gave him a light kick on the butt: "You fence-sitter, go wash your feet quickly."
Si Jiang also gave him a light kick on the butt: "You fence-sitter, you know that my brother and I
are in the same group, yet you dare to say such sarcastic things? You are so bold, go and get
kicked."
Si Hao rolled downstairs holding his butt with a resentful look on his face.
"Brother! There's no more hot water! Sister! I forgot to bring the foot basin—(I forgot to bring
the foot basin)"
Jingsheng looked at Sijiang.
The two men raised their fists and said in unison: "Guess Dongli Guess!"
Stones appear in the Si River, and cloth appears in the scenery.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I won again." Jingsheng smiled and said, "I've got you again."
Si Jiang snorted, picked up the footbath and went downstairs to teach his biological brother a
lesson.
Gu Dongwen turned over while lying on the sofa, opened his eyes, looked at Jingsheng, and
laughed twice.
Jing Sheng turned to look at him and saw that he was sleeping soundly, so he thought he was
talking in his sleep.
"I'm sleepy when I go up. (I'm sleeping)" Jing Sheng shook Gu Dongwen.
Gu Dongwen pretended to wake up and slapped Jingsheng on the arm: "Ah! I was shocked."
"Go upstairs and sleep. You're old, so be careful of catching a cold."
"You are the most annoying and the most lenient," Gu Dongwen sighed: "I finally had a good
dream and watched a good show, alas."
Jingsheng looked at him warily, and seeing that his two dimples were very deep when he smiled,
he thought it had nothing to do with him, so he rolled his eyes at him and went to collect the
photo album for Si Jiang. However, he was still worried, so he went downstairs to check the coal
stove.
Gu Dongwen then stretched lazily and pulled himself out of the sofa with a smile.
——
A few days later, the school's list of recommended students was finalized. According to
Jingsheng's six A's and three B's in the nine subject examinations and his title of national first-
class athlete, he could be recommended to colleges such as the Normal University and the
Maritime College. However, Jingsheng gave up these admission opportunities without hesitation
and chose to take the college entrance examination.
The format of Shanghai's college entrance examination this year is still 3+1, 3 is Chinese,
mathematics and English, and 1 is any of six secondary subjects. Jingsheng chose physics, and
thanks to his pen pal Zhao Youning, a "remote correspondence teacher", his physics score after
entering the third year of high school directly ranked among the top in the grade. He also
participated in two city-wide physics competitions and won a second prize, becoming a dark
horse. His physics teacher joked that he was a late bloomer.
The last semester of high school was not as tense as everyone imagined. In the words of the
principal, cramming at the last minute is useless. The daily bits and pieces are the most solid
foundation. As long as you learn all the key points assigned by the teacher, you should have no
problem with your first choice. At the end of the month, the district mock exam had a total score
of 600 in four subjects. Jingsheng scored 503 points, with full marks in physics. Counting the
bonus points, compared with last year's first-tier science score of 470, Jiaotong University is
basically stable. The total score of the entire senior year, regardless of arts and science, is 476.5,
and more than 20 people have more than 500 points. If there are no accidents, 98% of the
students can enter the first tier.
Because of Jingsheng, Si Jiang paid special attention to every exam and ranking. After seeing the
city mock exam results for the senior year, she really realized the strength of her alma mater. The
total scores of the top ten city key schools in the city were all within ten points, while the total
scores of the district key schools and the city key schools suddenly differed by 30 or 40 points.
The difference between ordinary high schools was more than 100 points, and some even had 150
points. At this point, Si Jiang was even more convinced that the great decision she and her uncle
made was absolutely correct.
In August, Jingsheng received the admission letter from the Department of Mechanical
Engineering of Jiaotong University with a total score of 529.
In the same month, Chen Sinan's household registration transfer approval notice was mailed to
Chen's home at Lane 19, Lane 74, Wanchun Street. Chen's mother thought it was a mistake. At
the same time, Gu Ximei also received Chen Sinan's registration notice for studying at Xiangqun
Middle School.

Chapter 238
The long-awaited storm did not come as expected. After several days, Gu Ximei's telegram
arrived, and Si Jiang found that someone had unplugged the telephone line at home. When he
asked his uncle, Gu Dongwen was surprised, and when he asked Jingsheng, Jingsheng avoided
the question.
The telegram contained only a few words, which hardly reflected Gu Ximei's anger.
The phone call was not connected, and no one answered the public phone. The anger that
rushed to his head was slowly worn away by time. After two days, Chen Donglai went back and
forth in Urumqi. After a long sigh, he said forget it. It would be good for Si Nan to go back to
study. After all, there is still a certain gap between the key schools in Urumqi and Shanghai. The
English pronunciation here has the flavor of kebabs. Gu Ximei was furious. Looking at Si Nan who
was happily packing her luggage and Chen Donglai who was used to making the best of it, tears
fell down. She couldn't say what made her most angry. This time, the household registration
transfer is a foregone conclusion. It shouldn't be like the previous one that was stamped and then
declared invalid and turned into a pocket household registration. Whether it is Si Jiang or Si Nan
who moved back, they are her biological daughters, and there should be no difference. And such
a big thing, of course, can't be done by Si Jiang alone. Gu Dongwen definitely knows it, and
maybe Bei Wu also knows it. But she was just angry. She was angry that Sijiang acted without
authorization, and she was even more angry that Sijiang had completely wasted her efforts. She
was also angry that Dongwen had kept it from her again, and she was also angry at Sinan, that
heartless bastard.
After seeing the registration notice, Sinan ran to the train station the next day to get a temporary
ticket and said happily, "It's great to be your adopted son. Look, Mom, I saved you half a month's
salary."
Gu Ximei became even angrier and slapped her claw away with a cold face.
She tossed and turned in sleep at night, and suddenly she felt very sad, as if everyone in the
world had abandoned her, even Sinan, the baby she had given birth to with great effort on the
train, had left her behind.
There was a rustling sound on the small bed opposite. Sinan ran down barefoot and jumped onto
the double bed.
"My straw mat is so hot, your mat is more comfortable."
"Bullshit." Ximei turned her back and ignored her. It was hot as hell. The temperature was only 17
or 18 degrees at night these days. If she hadn't fainted from anger, she would have replaced the
mat with a bed sheet long ago.
"Ah," Sinan stretched his legs and stretched, "I feel a little reluctant to leave."
"Hmph." Ximei breathed out through her nose.
"I probably can't eat fried lapia in Shanghai, but there are lamb skewers, pilaf, and big plate
chicken," Sinan swallowed and consoled himself, "But it's good to eat the food cooked by my
eldest cousin again. Oh, no, is my eldest cousin going to live in the university when he goes to
college?"
"nonsense."
"Ah," Sinan sighed and cheered up again, "My uncle's cooking is delicious too."
The mother and daughter were silent for a few seconds.
Ximei asked: "Have you packed all your clothes?"
"My bright red sweater is missing, Mom, can you help me find it?" Sinan crossed his legs and
started shaking.
Ximei turned around and slapped her on the leg: "Why are you shaking? Men who shake are poor
and women who shake are cheap. How many times have I told you that!"
"mom!"
"I gave that sweater to Juanjuan from Teacher Li's family. The sleeves are too short, so you can't
wear it."
Sinan got up quickly and said, "What are you doing? I can still wear it. I like that one the most.
Why didn't you tell me and just give away my things? It's so annoying."
Ximei also jumped up and shouted in a low voice: "Chen Sinan, why are you making so much
noise? Teacher Wang and the others next door have gone to bed early. You should have some
sense of public morality! What's wrong with the wool sweater? I spent my money, bought the
wool, and knitted it stitch by stitch. I can give it to whoever I want. You are so annoying."
Sinan, with her furry curly hair, glared at Ximei, and the mother and daughter confronted each
other on the bed for a while.
Sinan suddenly jumped out of bed with a bang, stomped the cement slab with his bare feet,
made a crackling sound, jumped onto the small bed, pulled the towel blanket over himself and
wrapped himself tightly.
"Whatever you want!" An angry roar came from the towel blanket.
Ximei stared at her daughter, who looked like a cocoon, for a long time, then turned on her side
and fell asleep.
Early the next morning, Ximei took a bag of Hengyuanxiang's snow-blue mohair yarn to Teacher
Li's house and asked for the red Yuanbao needle sweater back. She rummaged through the boxes
and found half a ball of red yarn. She took apart the two sleeves and extended them a little.
There was no yarn left for the hem, so she had to make do with it and wear it as a short style.
Si Nan wandered around Youhao Road all day, and said goodbye to his gang members with tears
by eating and drinking. He also announced his ambition to conquer Shanghai. Youhao Road was
upgraded to the headquarters, and Wanchun Street was the first branch. There was no other
way. There were only a few places to practice in Shanghai, and it was not easy to recruit gang
members. Guys like Chen Sihao were the majority, and even if they were tricked into joining, it
was not easy to lead the team. Si Nan was very worried about the future of the gang's business,
but she couldn't show it on her face. As the leader of a gang, she had to be the main force, and
she had to shoulder the responsibilities of Shanghai in the east and Wushi in the west.
At 9:30 in the evening, Si Nan returned home and saw the red sweater neatly folded on his bed,
and turned to look at his mother. Gu Ximei was listening to tapes carefully at her desk to learn
English. She was going to study for a bachelor's degree by correspondence next semester. She
was weak in all the courses, but if she didn't get a bachelor's degree, she would never get a
higher professional title.
Sinan stuffed the sweater into his luggage bag and muttered, "The sleeves look like two shades of
red now."
Ximei pressed the pause button of the tape recorder, and was furious, but she heard Sinan
continue, "It's quite fashionable."
The tape recorder continued to play the English text with a standard American accent, without
any hint of kebab.
That night, Sinan slept with his mother again.
Ximei couldn't help but say a lot of things, asking her not to get into trouble, to be nicer to her
brother, and to listen to her grandmother and uncle. When Sijiang went abroad, it would be her
turn to take care of her mother, and she should not forget to wash her hair, bathe her, and cut
her nails.
Si Nan was not convinced: "Why doesn't Si Hao take care of A Niang? A Niang is very good to
him."
Ximei choked: "Sihao is still young, and Sihao is a male Xiaowei! (boy)"
Sinan snorted coldly and turned his back to ignore her.
Ximei was depressed for a while, and continued to remind him: Get along well with your
classmates in the new school, don't yell at the male classmates, and don't use the wheelchair. If
you hurt someone, it won't be as easy to solve as in No. 2 Middle School.
Sinan was not convinced again: I like to repay kindness and revenge. If anyone bullies me, I will
definitely fight back.
Ximei talked for a long time, but it was still the same. Sinan had something to say to whatever she
said. Finally, she was so angry that she kicked him several times and said, "I won't say anything
more. Go back to your bed and sleep. Don't come to me when you get into trouble! I'm so
annoyed."
"You are so far away, it's useless to look for you!" Sinan was kicked off the bed. He turned around
to look at his mother and said something after a while: "Mom, don't quarrel with Dad in the
future. When I go back to Shanghai, no one will help you reconcile."
"You are the only one who can do this. Go to sleep. We have to take the train tomorrow." Ximei
replied coldly.
It was late at night, and Ximei listened to Sinan's even breathing. She got up gently, sat by the bed
for a long time before going over to cover her with a blanket, and rubbed Sinan's messy curly hair.
Sinan frowned and groaned, which scared her. Then she checked her luggage again with a
flashlight, and then went back to bed and lay down.
Someone in the corridor got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, the door
opened and closed, the sound of slippers tapping from the east to the west, and soon there was
the sound of flushing, then the tapping sound came from the west to the east, followed by the
door opening and closing again. Ximei listened carefully, but couldn't tell which family it was.
Suddenly she realized that she would have to spend many such nights alone in the future. She
stared at the top of the mosquito net with wide eyes for a while, her eyes were so sore, she
closed her eyes, turned over, and gently rubbed the wetness in the corners of her eyes on the
pillow. Thinking of the three children who were not by her side, she felt indescribable self-pity,
but what could she do? She had tried every means to give them the best conditions.
At this moment, Ximei understood that what made her most angry was that Sijiang snatched
Sinan away from her, or it could not be said to be snatched, but stolen.
——
Si Jiang stopped going to Tang Zenian's TOEFL class in March because her family was too busy and
the commute was too time-consuming. Tang Zenian tried to persuade her several times but
failed, so he had to copy her notes and reference materials and bring them to her every time. Li
Nan was so angry that she didn't talk to Si Jiang for several days. Si Jiang was not active in
interpersonal relationships, so she kept her mouth shut and waited for her to calm down.
Unexpectedly, after the midterm exam at the end of April, the new head teacher, Mr. Meng,
directly adjusted the seats. Si Jiang and Zeng Xin became new deskmates, and Li Nan sat behind
Si Jiang, and the two gradually drifted apart.
The relationship between people is very delicate. Si Jiang later recalled this period of time
countless times. Her five-year friendship with Li Nan seemed to fade away inexplicably and
tacitly. Li Nan no longer mentioned Tang Zenian and Si Jiang.
Si Jiang didn't know whether it was because of what happened after the birthday party or
because everyone was going to take the TOEFL exam in August. Throughout the spring and
summer, she and her uncle were busy with Si Nan's relocation and enrollment, and she didn't
care about anything else, nor did she want to take the initiative to save anything.
Si Jiang signed up for the TOEFL class at the Qianjin College in mid-April. He took the test in
August and unexpectedly scored 603 points, the highest in the class, which was almost 90
percentile. The teacher said that he was also in the top ten in Shanghai. The school specially hung
a festive banner and sent a congratulatory letter to all students in the college. It also gave Si Jiang
a bonus of 100 yuan, which was equivalent to half a month's salary for a worker. It was definitely
a big reward. Of course, this also triggered a wave of registration for English classes at the end of
August.
With a decent TOEFL score, and considering that the spring semester in the United States would
start in mid-January, Gu Beiwu asked Si Jiang to immediately prepare the application materials for
colleges. He asked his alumni to send Si Jiang several thick catalogs of American colleges, which
were like telephone yellow pages, with general information, fees and contact information for
each state and school. Si Jiang wrote application letters to several colleges he liked and asked for
application forms based on the results of his discussion with Beiwu Shanrang.
——
On August 29, Chen Sinan returned to Wanchun Street carrying a suitcase and a snakeskin bag.
Jingsheng was going to register at the Minhang campus the next day, so he packed his luggage
early. Gu Dongwen reorganized the pavilion and moved in to sleep, leaving the attic to the sisters
Sijiang and Sinan, and Grandma Gu took Sihao to sleep as usual.
Previously, Chen A-niang came to the house and wanted to take the three siblings back to live in
the Chen family. Si Hao shook his head and said no. A-niang asked Si Jiang with tears in her eyes
what he said. Grandma and grandma are both flesh and blood. Si Jiang had to cry with A-niang,
saying that living in the same alley, seeing each other every day is the same. In the end, it was
Grandma Gu who made the decision generously and let Si Jiang and her three siblings stay at A-
niang's house for a day and a night every Saturday after school. A-niang stopped crying.
The dinner that day was both a welcoming party for Sinan and a farewell party for Jingsheng to
go to university. Gu Dongwen was busy all day, and Nurse Lu also took a special day off to come
and help, and brought a lot of daily medicines for Jingsheng.
"Of course it would be best if it is not used." Nurse Lu said this deliberately because she was
afraid that Granny Gu would think too much.
Granny Gu made the sign of the cross: "God bless you, nothing will be needed. Thanks to your
carefulness, Xiao Lu, we didn't even think about it. Tsk tsk tsk, Jingsheng will have to go through
military training for a month this time. He got sunburned during the last training, so he must be
careful this time."
Jingsheng accepted the medicine, thanked him, and solemnly took out a red Underwood
typewriter for Si Jiang.
"You need to go slow and send the materials and personal statement to the American school. It
will be more convenient if you have a typewriter." Jingsheng paused and reminded Sinan:
"Nannan, you should also learn typing when you have time. There are typing classes in high
schools now. Your sister and others will take the qualification certificate exam next year."
Sinan curiously clacked on the keyboard and sang an ABCD song.
Si Jiang hugged Jingsheng's arm and shouted "Thank you, brother" more than ten times with a
smile on her face. For the typing class last semester, Si Jiang specially drew a one-to-one
keyboard diagram and "typed" English reading comprehension questions for 30 minutes every
night. Now she can type 280 letters per minute. With the typewriter, it will be much easier for her
to prepare application materials later.
"It's time to eat--" Gu Dongwen came up with a clay pot of pig's trotter soup. He smiled when he
saw the typewriter and winked at Jingsheng while smiling.
Jingsheng just pretended not to see it.

Chapter 239
Early the next morning, a red taxi stopped at the entrance of Wanchun Street, attracting many
glances from grandfathers and grandmothers.
When the driver Wang Qiang saw Gu Dongwen and his group, he quickly dropped his cigarette
butt and greeted them with a smile: "Congratulations, congratulations, brother Dongdong! A
Jingsheng, a model, a stunner! Tsk tsk tsk tsk! Brother Dongdong, you are really a talker who
doesn't even offer a drink. Lao Ding said that he will come to settle the score with you when he is
discharged from the hospital!"
Jingsheng was also surprised: "Hello, uncle." Wang Qiang was also an educated youth who
returned to Shanghai from Yunnan. He went to Beijing to petition with Gu Dongwen. When
Dongsheng Canteen was open a few years ago, he and a group of educated youth brothers often
came to eat and drink. In recent years, everyone has been busy with their own things and they
have hardly seen each other.
Granny Gu got nervous and tugged at the corner of Gu Dongwen's clothes: "Boss, how much
money is it going to cost? People say that taxi drivers are ripped off by the head, and it's really a
big rip-off!"
Wang Qiang laughed loudly and said, "Don't worry, Mom! Brother Dongdong and I are like-
minded in Jinghong. We killed foreigners without any discussion. Jingsheng is my nephew, so it's
my duty to send him off. I'm so happy."
Sinan circled the taxi twice and said, "Uncle, are we going to take a taxi to go to my cousin's
school?"
"That's right. Come on, sister, get in the car." Wang Qiang opened the trunk and put Jingsheng's
luggage in.
Si Jiangsinan and Jingsheng sat in the back seat. Chen Sihao tried to squeeze into the car but was
held tightly by Grandma Gu and burst into tears: "I want to go too! Take me with you, sister!
Brother!"
Si Jiang rolled down the window to comfort him, but Si Nan had already jumped out of the car:
"You are so stupid, get in quickly."
Granny Gu stamped her feet and said, "Baby, don't go. Baby, come down."
Chen Sihao burst into laughter and tried to move his big butt forward, squeezing in between
Sinan and the car door, clinging to the car window and shouting, "I want to go, I want to go, I
won't get off, I won't get off."
Gu Dongwen smiled and got on the passenger seat: "Forget it, just take it with you, the little fat
guy is so pitiful."
Chen Sihao wanted to rub his big head against Sinan's shoulder to show his flattery, but was
slapped away by Chen Sinan.
"It's so hot, stay away from me." Sinan looked disgusted and pushed him forward again: "Why is
your butt so big! My sister and I put together are not as big as your butt!"
I feel so wronged, but I don't want to cry. I win as long as I can get on the bus.
Chen Sinan rolled his eyes at Chen Sihao's pitiful blinking eyes, and pushed Si Jiang towards
Jingsheng to make some room for him: "Okay, okay, stop looking at me like a puppy, sit down."
Si Hao's eyelashes were filled with tears. She moved back cautiously and confessed in a sobbing
voice: "Second sister, you are the best to me!" She did not forget to lift her double chin to glance
at Si Jiang and Jingsheng.
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng turned their heads and looked at the car window on the other side.
Sinan said unhappily, "I'm so good to you, why don't you join the gang?"
"I'm poor. I have no other choice." Si Hao defended himself in a low voice and turned to look out
the window.
In the car, Fei Xiang sang passionately: "You are like a fire, the blazing flame warms me, you are
like a fire, the blazing flame illuminates me, your big eyes are bright and flickering..."
Gu Dongwen and Wang Qiang were chatting about being a chauffeur.
Sinan suddenly jumped between the front and rear seats, and asked with bright and twinkling
eyes: "Uncle, do you know Fei Xiang?"
Gu Dongwen was stunned, then smiled: "Yes, but he doesn't know me."
Wang Qiang laughed loudly: "Yes, yes, yes, I know him too. Why? Sister, you like Fei Xiang too?
Then, why do all women like him? But his butt is very pretty, right, brother Dongdong?"
Chen Sihao came over and showed off his professional knowledge in a low voice: "That's not
called hip shaking, that's called disco!"
Si Nan used his elbow to push Si Hao away and nodded like a chick pecking at rice: "Have you
noticed that Fei Xiang looks a lot like someone?"
Si Jiang looked at Jingsheng thoughtfully.
Sinan revealed the answer in no time: "Fei Xiang looks a lot like my cousin, doesn't he?"
Gu Dongwen looked back at Jingsheng. Does he look alike? Does he not look alike? It seems that
after Sinan's words, he does look alike.
Wang Qiang shook his head like a rattle: "Then our Jingsheng is still good-looking. Fei Xiang is not
a pure Chinese after all. He is——"
"Mixed-blood!" Sinan half lifted his butt off his seat, excitedly saying, "Let me tell you, mixed-
bloods are either very good-looking or very ugly. Fei Xiang is very good-looking. When he
appeared at the Spring Festival Gala, hey! I noticed right away that his eyebrows, eyes, nose and
mouth looked exactly like my older cousin!"
Now even Si Jiang couldn't help but turn his head to carefully examine Jing Sheng's facial
features. The more he looked, the more he felt that they were very similar, especially the thin lips
and slightly upturned corners of the mouth. Si Hao even climbed onto the seat and squeezed in
from behind Si Nan: "Brother, can you show me too!"
Jingsheng was so annoyed that he simply reached out and pushed Si Hao away, and covered Si
Jiang's eyes: "What are you looking at? It's annoying."
Si Jiang was held in his arms, giggling and trying to pry his hands apart: "Stingy guy! Look how
much meat you have lost."
Jingsheng only felt her eyelashes trembling in his palms, and her breath spraying on his hands,
warm and moist. Only then did he realize that his posture was inappropriate, so he quickly let go
of her hand and turned his face away to ignore them.
Sinan laughed: "Cousin, you are blushing! As red as a monkey's butt! Hahahaha."
Jingsheng gave her a stern look.
Gu Dongwen and Wang Qiang also laughed.
Si Nan and Si Hao sat rudely, leaning on Si Jiang and staring at Jing Sheng.
Wang Qiang laughed and said, "Tsk, it was because Fei Xiang sang "A Fire in Winter" that the
Greater Khingan Range burned for 28 days! Did you hear about that? The higher-ups said Fei
Xiang is no longer allowed to perform here."
Sinan was anxious: "Why? What does this have to do with him? He didn't start the fire. Besides,
he was singing about a fire in winter. May is considered summer, okay?"
——
At No. 800 Dongchuan Road, at the gate of Jiaotong University Minhang Campus, Si Jiang was
stunned as he got off the car. Two white curved arch beams stood on a bridge like the wings of a
flying swallow. It was magnificent and special, but it was surrounded by fields of crops.
Gu Dongwen and Gu Jingsheng came to see it specially at the beginning of the year when it was
not yet completed. They were quite calm.
Sinan looked around and exclaimed, "Is this a gate or a bridge? It's so ugly. Hey, there are fields
beside it! It's not as good as our Shajingzi Town. This is a village, right? Minhang Village? Hahaha,
cousin, it's your turn to go to the countryside now."
Wang Qiang had hardly been to Minhang for the first three or four years of his career as a driver.
He proudly put his arm around Gu Dongwen's shoulders and asked for credit: "I'm not bragging,
Dongdong brother, if a foreigner wanted to come here, I would also dare to offer two hundred US
dollars, hahahaha."
Gu Dongwen gave him an elbow and scolded him with a smile: "The reputation of Shanghai has
been ruined by these idiots. Be careful that Mayor Zhu will arrest you one by one."
The security guard came over and told Wang Qiang to stop the car.
Wang Qiang drove out five meters and then backed up, rolled down the window and yelled,
"Brother Dongdong, wait for me, I haven't even entered a university yet, I must take advantage of
Jingsheng's influence, go back and don't wash my hands for three days, and rub my hammer a
thousand times, so that he can learn to study."
"This uncle..." Sinan shook his head: "A bit weird." Having said that, his hand touched Jingsheng's
arm.
"What?" Jingsheng tried to shake his arms but couldn't.
Sinan hung on his arm, smiling: "I'll take advantage of my cousin and open my mind."
Si Hao rushed over and hugged Jingsheng's thighs: "I want it too, I want it too."
"You just say you want it too, huh." Si Nan laughed at A Di and pointed at Jing Sheng's right arm
towards Si Jiang: "Sister, hurry up, I'll keep this for you."
Si Jiang took Jingsheng's right arm and said, "Brother, can you give me some credit?"
Jingsheng looked up at the sky. The sky was a good sky, the clouds were good clouds, but these
three things on him were not good people.
Wang Qiang ran over excitedly, and the group went onto the bridge.
The sun at eight o'clock in the morning was obviously very mild. Chen Sihao was sweating after
walking only a few steps, but he dared not say a word, or he would be beaten by his second
sister. He had no choice but to walk in. He cried and shouted to come here, and no matter how
hard or tired he was, he had to walk in.
There are 2,600 students entering the Minhang campus of Jiaotong University at this level. The
Xuhui campus has sent almost all the staff it can. The seniors of the Student Union and the Youth
League Committee have done their best to make the freshmen fall in love with their alma mater
on the first day. Banners welcoming freshmen can be seen everywhere, and their good intentions
are reflected in every detail. Welcome words and detailed campus maps and off-campus maps
are posted at the entrance of each dormitory staircase. The bus routes to the city center, postal
offices, canteens, stadiums, teaching buildings, study rooms, libraries, bathrooms... are clearly
marked at each gate.
Sinan was very convinced: "University is really different. University is really good, it's just good."
"Sister, what are American universities like?" Sinan was a little curious and a little envious.
Si Jiang was unable to answer this question, but Jing Sheng interjected quietly, "I've heard from
my uncle before that in American universities, there are dormitories where boys and girls live
together, and even the bathrooms are mixed—boys and girls use the same bathroom."
Si Jiang blushed and whispered: "I didn't apply to that kind of school--"
Si Nan and Wang Qiang surrounded Jing Sheng in an exaggerated manner: "Really? Mixed use?
Boys and girls can take a bath together?"
Jingsheng's face also turned red. He really didn't know this. When he heard it, he just felt it was
incredible. Who would have the nerve to ask so carefully?
Sinan suddenly looked at Jingsheng seriously: "Cousin, tell me the truth, do you really want to live
in that kind of dormitory? Do you want to take a shower with girls?"
Gu Dongwen and Wang Qiang just took some distilled water and drank it, and they burst into
laughter. Jingsheng's white shirt was half wet.
Gu Dongwen smiled as he stroked his penis: "It's okay. It's not a crime to think about it. You're
almost 20 years old. It's a problem if you don't think about it."
Si Jiang was so angry that he slapped him: "Uncle! Why are you here again? You bully my brother
all day long. What should I do if he doesn't come back on Sundays?"
Gu Dongwen laughed: "If he doesn't come back, I will take his last name."
Si Hao was puzzled: "Uncle, do you have the same surname as my brother or Gu?"
Gu Dongwen rubbed his big head: "You also found this?"
When Sinan saw Jingsheng's narrowed eyes, he tried to escape, but Jingsheng grabbed his neck
and rubbed him.
With a head of curly hair that could never be smoothed, Chen Sinan, the leader of the Peach
Blossom Dragon Subduing Gang, was defeated in Minhang Village, Shanghai. He got into a red
taxi in shame and returned to Wanchun Street with a sigh.
"Chen Sijiang——"
Tang Zenian, who was waiting at the entrance of the alley, brightened his eyes and walked over
quickly.

Chapter 240
"Who are you? What do you want to do?" Si Nan immediately stood in front of Si Jiang and stared
at Tang Zenian with a vigilant look.
Tang Zenian was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "You are Sijiang's sister Nannan, right?
Hello, I am your sister's classmate, my name is Tang Zenian."
Gu Dongwen looked at the children, then took Wang Qiang home to drink some old wine and eat
some ice watermelon.
Chen Sihao, who was exhausted, suddenly regained his energy: "Uncle, wait for me, I want to cut
some ice watermelon too!"
Si Nan looked at Si Jiang and then at Tang Zenian in confusion, revealing a weird smile: "Oh? Oh!"
She stretched her neck and shouted at Si Hao's back: "Chen Si Hao! You are not allowed to use a
spoon to dig in the middle, uncle, remember to cut the watermelon into slices--"
In the summer evening in Xigong, the heat had not yet subsided. There were only a few cruise
ships on the lake, and the willow trees on the shore were listlessly withered. Si Nan was chewing
a double-color cream ice cream, staring at A Jie and Tang Zenian in front of her. The shadows of
the two people were so long in the sunset that she could only step on them if she raised her foot
behind Si Jiang.
This feels a bit strange. I didn't expect that my elder sister actually had a boyfriend. I don't know
if my mother knows about it. She definitely doesn't know. If she knew, the family would be in an
uproar. When she was in No. 2 Middle School, my mother always told her not to hang out with
boys. This year, the school conference room would turn on the big color TV at night, and almost
all the faculty and staff and their children would squeeze together to watch "Dream of Red
Mansions". She was kicked out of the conference room by my mother after watching it for only a
few days. It's not okay to fall in love at such a young age. No matter how handsome Jia Baoyu is,
he is a useless bad guy, and Lin Daiyu is not a good person. My mother went to watch it every
day, but when she came back, she held a criticism meeting against her. Si Nan thought that Lin
Daiyu was not pretty. Her nose was too big and she looked miserable. She would cry whenever
she was wronged. Women in the feudal period had no spirit of resistance. If they learned the
dog-beating stick technique,... Tsk tsk tsk tsk - thinking of the beautiful but ill-fated Weng Meiling,
Si Nan took a big bite of the ice cream stick and his gaze at Tang Zenian immediately became
unfriendly.
Tang Zenian turned his head to look at Si Nan, then said to Si Jiang with a smile: "Your sister
doesn't look like you at all. She is very alert and looks at me like a policeman looking at a thief."
Si Jiang looked back at Si Nan, and saw the same look a police officer gives to a thief. He couldn't
help but smile, "Nan Nan looks like my aunt, and I look like my uncle."
"Congratulations on doing so well in the TOEFL this time." Tang Zenian said with a self-
deprecating smile: "I didn't even see you on the day of the exam. I only knew about it when Li
Nan told me—"
Speaking of Li Nan, Si Jiang was speechless. She didn't know what to say.
Tang Zenian glanced at her several times, unsure of what she was thinking. After thinking about
it, he was afraid that it was because of Li Nan, so he pretended to be relaxed and explained: "Did
you misunderstand something? Li Nan and I are neighbors, and we have been classmates since
kindergarten, but there is really nothing between us. It's just pure friendship, like brothers."
Si Jiang couldn't help but look up at him, wondering whether he really didn't know that Li Nan
liked him, or was pretending not to know.
"Do you think there is pure friendship between boys and girls?"
"I think it should exist," Si Jiang thought for a while, "Anyway, the relationship between boys and
girls in our class is pretty good, it's definitely not that kind of love. Why can the relationship
between boys and girls only be admiration? Isn't mutual appreciation pure friendship?"
"I also believe in the existence of pure friendship," Tang Zenian said cautiously, "I'm just worried
that you're overthinking it. What happened between you and Li Nan? Why did you suddenly
ignore her? Did she say anything?"
Si Jiang was a little surprised. It was because she didn't go to the TOEFL class that Li Nan was
angry. Li Nan didn't talk to her first, so how come she ignored Li Nan? But it was too weird to
argue about this in front of Tang Zenian, and it didn't make any sense.
"The moon waxes and wanes," Si Jiang looked down at his toes, not wanting to explain further.
"Then..." Tang Zenian asked softly, "Why did you suddenly ignore me?"
"I didn't--" Si Jiang's face became hot.
"I actually hope that I'm just being overthinking. I wanted to talk to you the day before the
semester ended, but you turned around and walked away when you saw me in the corridor,"
Tang Zenian said with a wry smile. "Ever since that collective birthday dance, you've been
different. I know you mind what happened to Teacher Gao, and if you think I really did something
wrong, then let's have a good talk, at least let me know what you think. You said you were busy
at home and it was inconvenient for you to go to class with us, but you went to Qianjin to take
classes. You always avoid me at school, and I called you several times during the summer
vacation, but you refused to come out."
Si Jiang was a little flustered. She had never thought that a boy like Tang Zenian would say such
resentful words as Zhang Leyi and Zeng Xin. She quickly interrupted Tang Zenian and explained,
"My family is really busy. In March and April, we were busy moving my sister's household
registration back to Shanghai and finding a school for her. And -"
In a flash, Si Jiang suddenly changed his mind: "I'm sorry, I was avoiding you on purpose."
Tang Zenian was stunned and regretted that he had spoken too openly.
Si Jiang stopped and turned to look at him: "I have said it many times, I just want to study hard
before graduation. Tang Zenian, don't be so nice to me, just treat me as an ordinary classmate."
"I didn't even look for you during the midterm and final exams last semester." Tang Zeyang
defended himself in a young voice, "Weren't we good friends when we were studying
agriculture? And I really didn't treat you any special favors. Can't we just get along like that? Why
do we have to be like ordinary classmates? Would ordinary classmates run away without even
saying hello when they see each other?"
"Then don't keep saying that you want to apply to the same university as me," Si Jiang frowned,
"Do what you want to do, go to the university you want to go to, and choose the major you like,
okay? I--" She thought about it and told her feelings truthfully: "Everyone tells me every day that
you are so good to me. I, I am afraid that I can't bear such a big responsibility."
"Si Jiang! I don't want you to be responsible for me, I--" Tang Zenian tried to defend himself
anxiously, but was interrupted by Si Jiang.
"No one can be responsible for your future except yourself." Si Jiang tried to make his voice softer
to cover up the subtle tremor. "It's the same for me. I can only and only want to be responsible
for my own future. I'm sorry."
"Okay, I'll be careful in the future and try not to let others say that," Tang Zenian said a little
embarrassedly, "But I want to go to the same university as you do. This is what I want to do, and
your point of view is not contradictory."
Si Jiang continued to walk slowly, looking at the sunset: "Before my uncle went to study in the
United States, he wanted my aunt to go with him. But my aunt said that she would not sacrifice
herself, put herself in a difficult position, or change her willingness to work just because she liked
my uncle, because all sacrifices would eventually become a burden to the other party."
"That only means that your aunt doesn't love your uncle as deeply as your uncle loves her." Tang
Zenian sighed.
"No," Si Jiang smiled, "My aunt is very good to my uncle. Their love - should not be compared in
terms of who is deeper or shallower. It is the kind of equal love, the love of mutual respect. It is
very happy and perfect, and it is really very good."
Tang Zenian chewed over Si Jiang's words, seeming to be thinking about something.
"I'm sorry, I got off topic. I should have told you this earlier, and I shouldn't have kept relying on
you and Li Nan. My petty-bourgeois habits are not presentable enough—" Si Jiang finished
making fun of himself and couldn't help but emphasize, "I just think that feelings that require
sacrifice are not true love."
"I don't quite agree with your point of view," Tang Zenian's mind was in a mess, and he tried his
best to stay calm and organize his words. "Of course love involves sacrifice. Love without sacrifice
and sacrifice is too selfish. I think it can only be called liking, not love. If you like someone, you
will want to get close to her and think about her, right? You will regard her as the most important,
like what she likes, hope that she gets the best of the world, and everything you give for her is
meaningful, even including giving up your life and freedom. I think only love can make both of
these things go away. For example, Romeo and Juliet, and Quasimodo and Esmeralda."
Si Jiang was silent for a moment, then smiled: "You see, actually, I have many different opinions
from you. My understanding of love is different from yours."
"I can only say that your understanding of love has not yet reached the level of love compared to
mine." Tang Zenian smiled confidently: "When you really understand love, you won't think like
this now."
Si Jiang sighed softly: "I don't want you or others to agree with my point of view. There are a
thousand Hamlets for a thousand readers. Why can there be only one Hamlet?"
"Then let's put aside our differences and study together, okay?" Tang Zenian quickly regained his
eloquence: "Have you already started applying to universities? I promise not to intentionally
apply to the same university as you, so we can refer to each other, okay?"
Si Jiang hesitated for a moment and mentioned several universities from which he had requested
application forms.
Tang Zenian did not imagine their future as college classmates as before, but seriously discussed
the characteristics and teachers of each school, and then compared his ideal universities one by
one, and also some precautions for writing application materials. His mother was in charge of
education, and some of her perspectives were completely different from what Gu Beiwu said. Si
Jiang carefully wrote them down one by one.
"I'm starving!" Sinan finally couldn't help but yell.
Before leaving, Tang Zenian asked Si Jiang somewhat helplessly: "Even if we are just ordinary
classmates, we can still talk to each other if we meet on the stairs, right?"
Si Jiang couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed. She thought she was acting quite naturally, but
she didn't expect that Tang Zenian had already noticed that she was avoiding him.

Chapter 241
As soon as Sijiang Sinan turned into the lane, he heard Uncle Wang Qiang's voice. The city
stipulated that the uniform installation of ceiling lights for policemen would cost a certain
amount of money. Saning (someone) held twelve policemen in his hands, making a lot of money.
Occasionally, he would speak a few words in the Northern Jiangsu dialect from "Funny Wang
Xiaomao", with nine tones and eighteen tunes. One person is like a radio.
In front of the Gu family's doorway, Gu Dongwen and Wang Qiang were drinking Lao Jiu Zai
Shanhe on the tangled road outside the kitchen. Wang Qiang was shirtless, revealing his white
flesh, and his smile was rolling like silver waves. Gu Dongwen was wearing a sweat vest. A plate
of pig ears and a bowl of fried peanuts were placed on the square stool between their knees, and
there was a pile of cigarette butts on the ground.
Wang Qiang's face was red, and he was talking in high spirits, waving his hands and slapping his
thighs. Gu Dongwen, with a half-smoked cigarette in his mouth and a bottle of Shanghai beer in
his hand, was scolding with a smile: "You are so stubborn, but you know a lot." Seeing Si
Jiangsinan coming back, he raised the beer bottle and asked loudly: "Nannan, do you want to
drink some wine?"
Si Jiang could see that her uncle was really happy today. She smiled, squatted down, raised her
hand and waved it in front of his eyes: "Uncle, are you drunk?"
Gu Dongwen leaned over and took out another beer from the beer box next to him. He put the
cigarette behind his ear, opened the bottle with his upper teeth, and handed it to Si Jiang: "Want
a sip?"
Si Jiang quickly shook his head: "Beer is hard to cut. (Beer doesn't taste good)"
Sinan took it, tilted his head back, took a big gulp, and wiped his mouth with the back of his
hand: "It tastes good."
Si Jiang reached out to grab it: "You are still a child, you are not allowed to drink."
Gu Dongwen laughed: "Si Hao is already drunk."
"Ah? Where are the others?"
"He went to your mother's house to sing." Gu Dongwen waved his hand: "It's okay, your
grandmother sent him there."
Si Jiang couldn't pull Si Nan, so she had to leave her alone. She went upstairs and saw that the
clothes on the clothesline had not been collected yet. They were hard and hot from drying. She
went up to the attic, spread the clothes on the bed, and turned on the electric fan. The attic had
been exposed to the sun for several hours, and it was very hot. After a while, Si Jiang was
sweating profusely. She stood and looked around, but she couldn't calm down. She didn't know
whether to sit or stand. It seemed that she was missing something or forgot something and
couldn't remember it. She thought it was probably because it was too hot and she felt dizzy. It
might also be because Tang Zenian suddenly rushed to the door. She said so many things that she
should and shouldn't say.
The attic hasn't changed much now. Jingsheng probably forgot to take the Maradona poster on
the wall, and there is an old football on the top of the small bookshelf next to it. The only
difference is that the four shelves of the bookshelf have been replaced with her books and
magazines, while the previous photo frames are still there.
Si Jiang picked up a photo of the six siblings of Bei Wu when they took wedding photos at Wang
Kai Photo Studio. Si Nan was still arguing with her that day, and couldn't buckle a pair of red
leather shoes properly. You couldn't see it in the photo, but Si Nan's cheeks were bulging with
two lumps, showing her gums. Jing Sheng stood behind her, much taller, and his face looked only
half the size of Zhao Er's round face next to him. He looked serious, with his chin slightly raised,
and his hair was very smooth. His eyes looked straight at the camera but seemed to penetrate
the camera. Compared with her stage-performance-style mechanical smile showing six teeth, Si
Nan's fake smile, and the silly smiles of the three Zhao brothers, he was like a mountain mist
floating in the distant mountains, a real crane standing out from the crowd.
Si Jiang couldn't help but curl up her lips. It turned out that her brother was so handsome when
he was so young. Thinking of Si Nan saying that he looked like Fei Xiang, she turned on the desk
lamp, looked at the photo frame carefully again and again, and shook her head.
In her eyes, Fei Xiang is still a river away from being as good as her brother.
A rare evening breeze blew in, and Si Jiang put the photo frame back, but couldn't help picking up
the other photos and examining them one by one. Strangely enough, after the photos were put
into albums or framed, they were rarely looked at. There were two black-and-white photos that
Si Jiang couldn't remember where they were taken.
"Brother?——"
As soon as he said this, he remembered that Jingsheng no longer lived at home. Si Jiang looked
around, feeling lost, and then looked at the photo. Behind the rugged rockery was a stained glass
window of a Chinese garden. In front of the rockery, Jingsheng was wearing a white shirt and
navy blue trousers, still looking at the camera with a serious face. She was wearing a blue and
white striped dress with her eyes curved with a smile.
Was it Jing'an Park or Hongqiao Zoo? Why was she smiling so happily? Si Jiang thought he would
ask Jingsheng after he came back from military training.
The attic was actually quite different from before. The desk was neatly lined up against the wall
with her senior high school textbooks and reference books. Next to it were stacks of papers
neatly clipped with wooden clips, with small notes on them marking the subjects. Her English-
Chinese dictionary and new typewriter took up a small half of the table. She had replaced the
desk lamp with a new one, also red, which matched the typewriter. Si Jiang pulled out a chair and
sat down to touch the keyboard of the typewriter, and the corners of his mouth curled up again
unconsciously.
The clothes on the bed no longer felt hot, so Si Jiang folded them one by one and laid them out.
During the summer vacation, Jingsheng always wore a white short-sleeved shirt and navy blue
trousers, and a sweat vest under the shirt. Usually, Jingsheng would do the laundry collection and
folding. Today, Si Jiang discovered for the first time that Jingsheng was wearing a plain knitted
white vest, which was a bit elastic and completely different from the cotton vest that his uncle
wore. Thinking about it again, it seemed that he had stopped going shirtless at home since last
year.
Really thin-skinned, deadpan, dignified, wow.
Si Jiang saw some dust stains on the hem of her white vest, so she reached out and rubbed it. A
few spots of dust turned into a piece of dust. The sweat beads on her nose and forehead fell on
it, and the mud color became darker. Oh no, it's over, she needs to rub it again. She simply used
the clean part of her head as a towel and wiped her sweat. Hey, it smells good. In addition to the
sun and soap, there is also a faint strange fragrance. Si Jiang stared at the vest in her hand, wiped
her sweat again, and it smelled good. Then she picked up the folded white shirt next to it, and
smelled it like a thief. She smelled it again, and it smelled really good.
The white shirt was slapped twice for no reason, and there was a dent on the chest. Si Jiang
sighed: "Brother is the most annoying." The laughter of Si Nan and his uncle came from
downstairs. Si Jiang smelled Si Nan, Si Hao and his own clothes one by one, and none of the three
siblings smelled good. It was infuriating, infuriating to death.
Si Jiang carried Jingsheng's white vest down to the living room. There was still half a bottle of ice
water in the thermos. She poured it into the basin and squeezed a towel. She didn't dare to cover
her face directly, so she pressed it on her forehead, nose, and chin. After rubbing the hem of the
white vest clean, she passed it through the clothesline and hung it alone outside the window, like
a white flag of surrender.
——
The phone rang. Si Jiang picked up the receiver and was startled when he heard Jingsheng's
voice, like a thief caught in the act. He glanced toward the window, feeling guilty.
"We just had a welcome meeting. Military training starts tomorrow so it will be hard to call. Tell
my dad."
"Oh, then can we go to Minhang to see you?"
"It's too far and it's hot, so don't run around." Jingsheng waited in line for half an hour and
wanted to say a few more words, as there were several people waiting behind him.
"What's for dinner in the cafeteria?"
"There are many side dishes to choose from. I had braised pork ribs, meat patties and egg stew,
fried loofah with tofu, and pickled mustard tuber soup." Jingsheng answered in a low voice while
leaning against the wall. He felt a little embarrassed to use the public phone to talk about such
boring and useless things.
"Oh, I like meat pie stewed with egg the most. Is it salted egg or egg? Why doesn't the cafeteria
have this dish at noon? Oh, by the way, does the pickled mustard soup in college have egg drops
or shredded pork?"
"Maybe, but I didn't eat it. What are you having for dinner?"
"Cold wontons. My uncle and Uncle Wang are having some old wine, and I think they have pig
ears and fried peanuts."
"There are edamame and chicken feet that were pickled yesterday in the refrigerator. Don't
forget to cut them up."
"I didn't forget. On the way back from Xigong just now, Nan Nan was still talking about the bad
chicken feet."
"Why did you go to Xigong to show off?"
Si Jiang was startled, the telephone cord wrapped around his fingers several times.
"Well, I didn't go there for free. It was Tang Zenian who came to see me--" Si Jiang was out of
breath.
Jingsheng didn't respond on the other end of the phone.
"He asked me why I ignored him, so I said a few words to him," Si Jiang said vaguely, "Anyway, it's
clear now. It's nothing. We are just ordinary classmates. Everyone applies to their own schools.
By the way, Nan Nan is having fun. He keeps an eye on Yi like a police officer keeps an eye on a
thief. Brother? Brother?"
"Um."
"Brother, do you think there is pure friendship between boys and girls? Is there?"
"I don't know what girls think, but for boys, if they are ugly, they should just be able to have pure
friendship."
"Eh?" Si Jiang reacted: "Hey! Agon is the most annoying!"
"If a boy is ugly, I'll just have to take a step back and be friends with him first to see if there's a
chance. Anyway, you have to be clear-headed and not be moved to tears just because someone is
nice to you. Do you understand?"
"I'm not stupid!" Si Jiang was not convinced.
"Haha. I'm hanging up. There's someone else waiting to make a call."
"Oh, I see. At least I have to treat you better than my brother does, so that you can be so moved
that you can burst into tears, right?" Si Jiang snorted, "Goodbye!"
Jingsheng looked at the dripping microphone and didn't even have time to say goodbye.
"Ahem, classmate, excuse me, can I make the call now?"
Jingsheng hung up the phone, paid the money, and nodded slightly to the two girls behind him:
"Sorry."
The two girls looked at his back and let out a long breath at the same time.
"He was right just now, wasn't he? Only ugly people can have pure friendship, like me..." Girl A
sighed. Why did she get such a cruel life motto on the first day of college?
"Who knows the tall, handsome guy who just made the phone call? Which department is he
from?"
"From our class, Department of Mechanical Engineering." A boy volunteered to answer from
several people away: "Gu Jingsheng, from Shanghai."
"The girls in your class are so lucky!"
"There are only two girls in our class."
"Oh, that should be the happiness of the boys in your class."
The students in line burst into laughter.
——
"May I ask where the road leads? The road is under our feet!" Chen Sihao lay on the sofa with his
arms and legs spread out, singing loudly.
Chen Sinan grabbed his vest and gritted his teeth: "Chen Sihao! I told you not to eat the
watermelon in the middle with a spoon!"
Granny Gu blocked her fist with a palm leaf fan: "Okay, okay, I'll keep an eye on him next time.
He's drunk, and he won't know anything if you scold or hit him. What's the point?"
Sinan pinched the flesh on Sihao's cheeks and pulled them to the sides.
Si Hao whimpered and cried: "It hurts, it hurts!"
"See, it's useless!" Si Nanlun took up his slippers and slapped Si Hao's butt three times.
"Hahahaha." The little fat boy laughed so hard that his white fat body shook.
"Nannan! You wronged A-di." Si Jiang took out two small bowls from the refrigerator: "He
scooped out the sweetest ones in the middle and left them for us."
Sinan's slippers stopped in mid-air.
"Baby has already eaten a bowl of melon." Grandma Gu quickly testified: "We have all eaten,
these two bowls are for you two."
Facing the electric fan, eating ice watermelon, and watching "Dream of Red Mansions" on TV, it
was a really comfortable day. Si Nan turned his head and glanced at Si Hao on the sofa, dropped
his spoon and walked over, threw his drooping leg back on the sofa, and moved two stools to the
side of the sofa.
"How stupid! It will hurt you so much if you get off here."
"One is a fairy flower in paradise, the other is a flawless jade..." Heavenly music came from the
TV.
"Enemies! Alas, Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu are also a pair of enemies." Grandma Gu happily fanned
the palm-leaf fan in her hand.
Si Jiang nodded: "Enemies always meet again."

Chapter 242
Xiangqun Middle School is located at No. 154 Wanhangdu Road. It is an ordinary middle school. It
is not as famous as Wuding Middle School and Haifang Middle School, which are the old rogue
middle schools in Jing'an. It is even worse than Huangpu District Xiangming Middle School, which
is only one letter different.
Si Jiang and Gu Dongwen spent a month haggling with the Education Bureau over which school Si
Nan would be admitted to. They requested that the city key schools match the city key schools,
but were rejected. They took a step back and asked the district key schools to accept the students
transferred back from the Urumqi city key schools, but were still rejected. There were no quotas,
just for this reason. There were too many children of educated youth who were eager to return
to Shanghai to study, and it was impossible to arrange them. It was already very difficult not to
arrange you to the bottom seven middle schools. In fact, Xiang Qun has been a popular middle
school among ordinary middle schools in the past two years. The original high school department
has become a vocational school, which is commissioned by the banking system, referred to as a
banking vocational school. After graduation, you will be directly assigned to major banks, sitting
behind the counter counting money. It is a golden rice bowl established by the state. Once you
enter, you will earn more than 200 yuan a month, which is much more than your parents worked
hard in the factory for most of their lives. In the words of an education bureau staff member:
"People are trying their best to get in, and you still complain that Xiangqun is not a district key
school?"
Tang Zenian took the initiative to ask if he wanted his mother to help say hello, but Si Jiang
hesitated for a moment and insisted that she didn't want to. She herself was admitted to the
city's key middle school from an ordinary primary school, and she had confidence in Si Nan.
It was May, and if they didn't make a decision, they would have to wait until next spring to enroll.
Si Jiang called her uncle and finally the matter was settled. She felt that Si Nan had been
wronged, so she took the time to choose a new school bag, new sneakers, and a new pencil case,
and bought English tapes early. Bei Wu and Shan Rang also sent back a Sony Walkman from
Beijing.
Chen Sinan put on her new schoolbag and went to the new school happily. She didn't feel
wronged, because transferring schools was a normal thing for her, and she would graduate in one
more year of junior high school and had to go to a new school to study in high school. In Sinan's
mind, there was only one high school to choose from, and that was the high school where her
eldest cousin and elder sister studied.
On the first day of the third grade (3) class, the girls were discussing who was prettier, Feng
Baobao or Liu Xuehua. Feng Baobao has been very popular in the past two years. From last year's
"Yang Guifei" to this year's "Qin Shi Huang" as Meng Jiangnu, and "Xi Shi", she has played almost
all the famous beauties in ancient times. Liu Xuehua is not bad either, in "A Few Sunsets",
"Swordsman and Eagle", and "The Proud Wanderer". Even the boys like her. The boys made plans
after a summer break to go play football after school, discuss whether there are any pretty girls
among the first grade students, and whether to go to Yuyuan Road for lunch to eat beef fried
buns. As for exams and further studies, that will be next year, which is still a long way off.
Moreover, half of the third graders last year were admitted to vocational schools, and they are
waiting to get a golden rice bowl job in a bank after graduation. They are sure of it.
Mr. Mao, the head teacher, wore black-framed glasses. He was over 40 but not bald. His hair was
parted in the middle and combed sleekly. His belly was protruding, high and broad. A Goldlion
leather belt with more than five or six buttonholes held his suit pants tightly under his chest,
making him look like a Korean national costume.
"There are two new students transferring to our class this semester. Let's get to know each other
and get along well with each other in a friendly way."
Teacher Mao was full of energy and the eraser made a loud noise when hitting the podium.
The noisy voices in the classroom died down. The desks and chairs slid across the floor with a
harsh rustling sound, and a boy in the back row whistled.
"Hello everyone, my name is Chen Sinan. I used to go to No. 2 Middle School in Urumqi, Xinjiang.
I grew up in Xinjiang and like making friends." Sinan stepped forward carelessly to introduce
himself and glanced around the stage. It seemed that they were very different. The boys and girls
in Shanghai all looked snow-white.
Teacher Mao pushed his glasses and said, "Chen Sinan is the youngest student in our class. She
was born in April 1974 and is only fourteen years old this year."
"Little Xinjiang!" Someone shouted.
The classroom burst into laughter.
"Mutton skewers, mutton skewers, Mamtim's mutton skewers—"
"Hey, why don't you speak Xinjiang dialect? Come on!"
"Ah (whispering) damn it!"
Sinan raised his eyebrows and cursed in Uyghur. The blackboard eraser flew as fast as a meteor
and hit the forehead of the boy who asked the question. Fortunately, the class had not started
yet, so there was no chalk dust.
The classroom was in chaos. Teacher Mao managed to suppress the troublemakers and coughed
at Sinan twice, "Chen Sinan, students should get along with each other in a friendly manner and
not fight. Tomorrow you must hand me a letter of apology of no less than 500 words. Okay, you
can sit in the empty seat by the wall in the fourth row."
The empty seat in the fourth row was right in front of the boy who had just been hit by the
blackboard eraser. Several boys waved their fists at Sinan provocatively.
Sinan walked over with her schoolbag, but a boy at the same table ignored her and refused to let
her in. He turned around and asked behind her: "Brother, are you okay?"
Teacher Mao patted the podium and said, "Yang Wenyi, please stand up and make way."
Si Nan threw her schoolbag onto her desk and propped herself up with her hands. Before anyone
could see clearly, she was already standing on Yang Wenyi's desk, looking down at the group of
boys.
Like Chen Zhen, he slid his thumb lightly under his nose and jumped lightly into his seat.
"Shuttle."
She glanced at Yang Wenyi, raised the corner of her mouth, and told him in fluent Shanghainese:
"This is also Xinjiang slang, which means useless and stupid. Do you understand?"
The desk behind Sinan hit the back of her chair hard, almost knocking her onto the desk. Sinan
propped herself against the wall with one hand and looked back.
"Hey, little Xinjiang, you have some tricks up your sleeve. Do you dare to fight me? Come to the
library during the break." Hu Yadong, who was hit on the head by the blackboard eraser in the
back seat, gritted his teeth and challenged her to a fight. Hu Yadong's brother was a bully in the
old Jing'an Junior High School at Wuding Middle School. He followed his brother and fought in
Gutian Middle School, No. 8 Middle School and No. 17 Middle School in Zhabei since he was a
child. He also defeated Xuhui Fenglin Middle School and Lingling Middle School. Except for Putuo
No. 2 Middle School and Caoyang No. 5 Middle School, he had to avoid them. He had never
suffered such a loss in Xiang Qun, not to mention a little girl from Xinjiang.
Another girl on the stage was introducing herself in Mandarin: "Hello everyone, my name is Tang
Huan, and I'm transferred from Rudong County, Nantong. Thank you." Perhaps because of the
experience of Chen Sinan who "likes to make friends", Tang Huan gave up the second half of her
personal interest.
"Jiang Beining!" Hu Yadong slammed the table and shouted.
"Why are all the students who transferred to my class from the countryside?"
Tang Huan blushed and lowered his head in silence.
Teacher Mao shouted: "Alright, alright, you want to rebel? I'm warning you, Hu Yadong, this is not
Wuding Middle School! (This is not Wuding Middle School)"
"Teacher Mao, please don't sit with Su Beining!" Cai Jingjing from the second row raised her hand
in protest.
Tang Huan bit his lower lip and lowered his head even more.
Chen Sinan stood up suddenly, kicked her legs back, and her chair knocked Hu Yadong's desk
directly into his chest.
"Teacher, I want to sit at the same table with Tang Huan!" Chen Bangzhui and Bo Yuntian are keen
on helping the weak and injustice. Moreover, Xinjiang is discriminated against just like northern
Jiangsu, so the two of them can still sympathize with each other.
Teacher Mao looked at the empty seat in the second row, feeling a little hesitant and having a
headache.
Tang Huan looked up at Si Nan, lowered his head and stammered: "Thank you, but I'm a little
nearsighted--"
Hu Yadong laughed so hard that he slammed the desk, and the whole classroom was filled with
laughter.
Si Nan sat down calmly. As a person of society, it is enough to have a clear conscience. As for
what others think, she does not care. Maybe Tang is timid and afraid of trouble. Seeing that she
has offended the troublemakers, he is afraid of being implicated by her. This is also human
nature.
Tang Huan finally sat next to Cai Jingjing.
Cai Jingjing drew the 38th parallel with a ballpoint pen, put her books and stationery at the other
end, and started whispering with the girls in front, behind, and around her. They glanced at Tang
Huan from time to time and laughed in unison. Although their eyes towards Si Nan were also
unfriendly, they did not dare to laugh so freely.
The first class was a moral education class. The teacher spoke in Shanghainese and the content
was extremely dry and boring. Sinan dozed off against the wall and was woken up by laughter.
It turned out that the teacher called Tang Huan to answer the question, and Tang Huan took a
long time to say that he didn't understand Shanghainese.
"Student Diege Tanghuan, since you have transferred to Shanghai to study, you should learn
Shanghainese. Otherwise, what are you doing here?" The teacher shook his head and switched to
Shanghainese. After a few words, he unconsciously switched to Shanghainese.
Si Nan propped up his chin and sighed for Tang Huan. This girl is so pitiful. She looked around
again. Yang Wenyi looked at her and immediately turned away. Behind him, Hu Yadong blew his
beard and glared at her, and mouthed: "How could it be!?"
Sinan rolled her eyes at him, and lay on the desk, staring at the wall in a daze. It's a transfer,
nothing can't be solved by fighting, if there is, then just fight again. Every class has such boring
boys who like to fight, oh. I miss my cousin. Sinan reached into her schoolbag and touched her
cousin's plastic knife. Forget it, these boys who grew up eating white rice can't help but be
scared. What if they are like the boy in Wanchun Street, and are scared to pee, and can't hold
their heads up for the rest of their lives, which makes her seem unrighteous.
Xiang Qun's snacks during class breaks are also very famous. The most delicious one is the curry
beef bun. The crispy skin is layered and shiny, the yellow curry is extremely flavorful and fragrant,
and the beef and onion fillings can't be finished in three bites.
Si Nan bought one for 15 cents and ate it in a few bites. Then he calculated his pocket money for
this month and bought six more in one go. Everyone got one, including Sister Si Hao, Grandma,
Mother, and Uncle. The fat lady in the cafeteria happily took a piece of newspaper and wrapped
it for her: "Is it good?"
Sinan gave a thumbs up: "No gossip, Lingge! (No words, very smart.)"
Turning around, he saw Tang Huan still hesitating in front of the blackboard, not knowing what to
buy. Sinan smiled and went over to give him some pointers: "The curry beef buns are delicious,
really, I'm not kidding you. Look, I bought six to take home."
Tang Huan bought a curry bun and saw Si Nan looking at the bulletin board at the entrance of the
cafeteria, so he walked up to her and said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome. We're all from the countryside. We should help each other." Sinan turned his
head and winked at her: "My mother was an educated youth from Xinjiang, so she brought me
back to study. What about you?"
"My brother and sister-in-law are in Shanghai, and I'm here to study." Tang Huan looked at Si Nan
carefully again: "You don't look much like your sister."
"Huh? You know my sister?" Sinan was surprised.
"Well," Tang Huan laughed, "My sister-in-law was your sister's former junior high school math
teacher. Her name was Fang Shuren."

Chapter 243
Tang Huan had never met Chen Sijiang in person. Fang Shuren's photo album contained many
graduation photos of classes. Although she was not the class teacher, she was always invited to
take group photos when the classes she taught graduated. The only graduation photo placed in
the photo frame on the desk was the one of Sijiang's class.
There were about forty students and a dozen teachers, arranged in four rows of different heights,
but Tang Huan saw Chen Sijiang at first sight. She was so beautiful and shining that it was
impossible to take your eyes off her.
"How can there be such a good-looking person?" As a girl herself, Tang Huan couldn't help but
sigh.
Fang Shuren smiled and told her, "This is Chen Sijiang. Her mother studied piano with me when
she was young, and our two families used to visit each other frequently. She has been very
beautiful and outstanding since she was young, and she has a good personality. Unfortunately, by
the time you were admitted to our school, she should have gone abroad to study. However, her
sister also transferred to Xiangqun after returning from Xinjiang, and I wonder if she will be in the
same class with you."
We used to visit each other frequently, but not anymore? Did my sister-in-law learn piano
before? But the piano in the living room has never been played. Study abroad? How good must
one's family be to be able to study abroad right after graduating from high school?
Tang Huan pursed her lips and listened quietly with a slight smile. She learned very early not to
ask any unnecessary questions. She was not beautiful or outstanding since she was a child, and
her personality was not good either, but there was one thing: her brother and her old Tang family
in Rudong were not worthy of her sister-in-law and the beautiful room in this old western-style
house in Shanghai. She understood this since she was a child. There were more than a dozen
nephews and nieces in the family who were about the same age as her, and she was the luckiest
one to be brought to Shanghai by her brother and sister-in-law to go to school. But this was her
sister-in-law's home, not her brother's home, so she had to be more careful so as not to
embarrass her brother. So when she watched the TV series "Dream of Red Mansions", she could
empathize with Daiyu. When she listened to her sister-in-law's mother, Mama Mei, laughing and
talking about the furnishings, costumes and food in the play, she became more aware of this
point. The same world was actually divided into different small worlds very early.
She had expected that her identity as a northern Jiangsu native would be ridiculed from the radio
play "Funny Wang Xiaomao", but the humiliation was still more direct and sharp than she had
imagined. She even doubted whether she could last three days. The teachers taught in
Shanghainese, and she could only understand a little. Nantong is called "Little Shanghai" and the
languages have many similarities. People in Rudong have always been proud of belonging to
"Little Shanghai" rather than Taizhou. Every time my sister-in-law went back to Rudong with her
brother to visit relatives, she never saw any "Shanghainese" arrogance from her, which made her
feel lucky. She even imagined that she would be liked by her classmates, but of course it seems to
be a pure dream now.
But in Chen Sinan's body, Tang Huan could not see the boundaries between the small worlds. She
seemed to be unable to see these barriers at all, and did not care at all. She was not afraid of
anything.
The ideal of "becoming a girl as beautiful and outstanding as Chen Sijiang" immediately turned
into "becoming a girl as difficult to mess with as Chen Sinan."
Tang Huan regretted that he didn't dare to be her deskmate at that time.
Sinan said with a smile: "Well, since you know my sister, you are one of us—are you afraid?"
Tang Huan was stunned.
Sinan scratched his curly hair and said, "Those boys have a grudge against me, so they will
definitely cause trouble for me. Are you afraid of being implicated by me? But you are right not to
sit at the same table with me. I am not angry."
Tang Huan's heart was poked softly by a small hand, and she almost burst into sour and sweet
juice. She hesitated for a moment: "But we just met today, are you willing to be friends with me
now?"
Sinan's eyes widened. "Does being friends have to have a time limit? I've known some people for
more than ten years, but they still can't be considered my own. I'm very picky!"
Tang Huan felt that she should act very honored, but this expression was difficult to make, so she
could only nod to show her sincerity: "I want to be friends with you."
"Then do you want to join our gang? You are the first one to join in Shanghai, I can let you be the
deputy gang leader." Sinan smiled very earnestly, with a bit of flattery, and there was absolutely
no carelessness.
With a lot of chivalrous ideas stuffed into his head, Tang Huan willingly gave a month's pocket
money to Chen Sinan as gang dues, and became the deputy leader of the Peach Blossom Dragon-
Subduing Dog Gang, three levels higher than the leader of the Shanghai branch.
Is this really not protection money? Tang Huan thought of a question as he approached the
classroom.
——
"Chen Sinan! I've been waiting for you for ten minutes. Are you scared? You don't dare to
challenge me in a one-on-one fight?" Hu Yadong slammed the table and yelled.
Yang Wenyi and several other boys followed suit.
Tang Huan sat down in his seat and looked towards the back row nervously.
Chen Sinan rolled his eyes at Hu Yadong and said, "Did I agree to a duel with you? You fool. You
are as stupid as a pig at thirteen o'clock. Are you mentally ill?"
The bell rang, but the Chinese teacher, Mr. Mao, had not come in yet.
Hu Yadong leaned forward and slapped Chen Sinan in the face, not at anyone, as a warning. He
slapped Chen Sinan's hand directly on the newspaper bag, which was covered with oil. He raised
his hand to take a look: "Eh? What is that?"
The curry bun fell on the chair and Solo rolled to the ground.
Yang Wenyi laughed: "It's a curry bun!"
Teacher Mao entered the classroom and said, "Hu Yadong, Chen Sinan, Yang Wenyi, class has
started. Sit down and do your best."
Tang Huan raised his hand: "Teacher Mao, Hu Yadong deliberately knocked over Chen Sinan's
curry bun."
Cai Jingjing and several girls nearby stared at Tang Huan with wide eyes.
"Little Xinjiang and Little Northern Jiangsu have become one family." A girl rolled her eyes and
laughed.
Tang Huan's face flushed, and his voice became much softer, but he still repeated: "I saw it with
my own eyes."
Teacher Mao had a headache and walked to the fourth row: "Hu Yadong, you are looking for
trouble for no reason, right? (You are looking for trouble for no reason, right?) Go out and stand
in the corridor. Stand there for a quarter of an hour and reflect on yourself."
Hu Yadong kicked the desk reluctantly: "I accidentally bumped into Yige. Teacher Mao, please
don't listen to Jiangbei Ning's nonsense. Can you come in five minutes?"
Teacher Mao was so angry that a clump of her middle-parted hair fell off, and she slapped the
desk: "You're still bargaining? Get up and get out!"
"Oh, how about ten minutes?"
Teacher Mao slapped Hu Yadong on the back of the neck, but of course it was just a lot of noise
but little action, like stroking a cat's fur.
Hu Yadong stood up and said, "Old Mao, I am giving you face. (I am giving you face.)"
Chen Sinan crawled under the desk and picked up the six curry buns on the ground, complaining
aggrievedly: "Teacher Mao, they are so dirty, I can't cut them. I can't eat them."
A pile of dusty curry buns was held in front of Teacher Mao. Sinan looked at the curry buns with
great reluctance and said with a sob, "I bought them especially for my mother and grandmother.
My grandfather is dead, and my grandfather passed away a long time ago. They, like me, have
never eaten such delicious snacks--"
Teacher Mao took a closer look. Ouch, he didn't expect the new female student to be so fragile.
Tears hung on her long eyelashes, and her big eyes blinked hard, trying hard to hold back the
tears. Thinking of his own daughter's first day of elementary school, when the little boy at the
same table almost poked her eyes with a pencil and went home crying, Teacher Mao's fatherly
heart was immediately broken.
"Hu Yadong! Remember to compensate Chen Sinan for the meal ticket and cash, otherwise call
old man Nong Ye (call your father)."
This was the first time that Hu Yadong bullied a girl and made her cry. Just when he was
panicking, Teacher Mao hit him with a big stick. He obediently lowered his head and went out the
back door to the corridor to get some fresh air.
"Teacher Mao, I thought all the students and teachers in our school were good people..." She
couldn't hold back her tears, and finally one or two drops fell, almost silently dripping on the
desk.
The students in the classroom seldom saw their classmates crying when they reached middle
school, so they were a little confused now. Just because they mocked her by saying a few words
like "country bumpkin", they were not good people?
Teacher Mao coughed twice and said, "You don't have to write the self-review you wrote this
morning. Go to class first. Tomorrow, Teacher Mao will buy you six, no, eight curry buns. You can
take them back for your grandma and mother. Of course, the teachers and classmates in our
school are all very good, very good."
Sinan raised her head with tears in her eyes: "Teacher Mao, you are so kind."
Yang Wenyi sat back in his seat uncomfortably, watching Chen Sinan carefully wrap up the dirty
curry bag and put it away. He couldn't tell what he felt in his heart, and suddenly he stared at the
textbook and whispered, "I'm sorry."
"Ah."
Yang Wenyi turned his head, thinking he had heard it wrongly.
Tang Huan felt a little lost as she watched Teacher Mao write on the blackboard. Chen Sinan like
this seemed very different from the Chen Sinan in the morning. She couldn't help but turn her
head and look back.
Chen Sinan turned his head, blinked his right eye at Tang Huan, and smiled proudly.
Tang Huan thought about it for the entire Chinese class, but couldn't figure out why she was still
laughing.
——
After two classes in the afternoon, Hu Yadong was called to Teacher Mao's office for half an hour
of ideological and moral education. He felt extremely depressed, and after leaving the teaching
building, he and three or four good brothers went to the carport to push bicycles, preparing to go
to Xigong to show off and find some young boys to spend some spare cash.
The carport is squeezed behind the canteen, with a narrow road leading to it. On the other side is
a high wall, and on the other side of the wall are residential buildings.
"You cried because your curry bun fell off, and you even asked Lao Mao to help you. Tsk tsk tsk."
A boy smiled and patted Hu Yadong: "Lao Hu, forget it, a good man doesn't fight with a woman."
"Little Xinjiang is crying, it's boring."
"Tsk, I scared her and made her cry to death." Hu Yadong shook his head in disdain.
With a "puff" sound.
Hu Yadong was hit on the head, but it didn't hurt. He touched the back of his head and turned
around.
Chen Sinan was juggling a few curry buns in his hands, his chin raised high, and he smiled at him
with narrowed eyes: "Do you want a one-on-one duel?"
"Hey! You're looking for death!" The boys were so angry that they laughed.
Hu Yadong is 1.76 meters tall, not the tallest in the class, but he has been in many fights with his
brother. They were real fights, not the kind where they just yell and swear at each other or point
fingers. Anyway, no one in the group dares to mess with him.
Chen Sinan looks to be at most 1.623 meters tall and as thin as a bamboo pole. He wants to
challenge Hu Yadong? He is looking for death.
Hu Yadong threw his schoolbag to the brother next to him, crossed his hands and flexed his
wrists. Just as he was about to shake his half-curled Alan Tam-style bangs, his vision went dark,
and two curry buns hit him in the face with incredible accuracy, leaving his face covered in oil and
the smell of dust.
"Ce Na!" Hu Yadong was furious and rushed over.
What happened next was a scene that would be recorded in the history of Xiangqun Middle
School (the history of fighting), although there were only two parties involved: Hu Yadong VS
Chen Sinan, and there were only four witnesses: three of Hu Yadong's brothers and Tang Huan.

Chapter 244
Sinan threw the remaining curry buns in her hand at Hu Yadong. She had rolled these curry buns
in pepper and used them as "hidden weapons".
Hu Yadong screamed, "Ouch! Pepper!" But his eyes were burning with pain, and his fist reacted
faster than his brain. He automatically retracted it to rub his eyes, and his steps slowed down.
Sinan stretched out his hand, grabbed the iron bar next to him, and nimbly jumped onto the back
seat of a bicycle. Holding the iron bar, he spun around, and used the force to sweep Hu Yadong's
back with a tornado kick in mid-air.
The three boys screamed a few times and watched Hu Yadong stumble and fall to the concrete
floor with a thud. They prostrated themselves before Tang Huan, who was leaning half of his
body forward to peek at them.
Hu Yadong knelt on the ground and was about to get up with his hands, but a mountain pressed
down on his head, and his chin hit the ground with a bang. He sneezed twice, tears streaming
down his face, and slapped him all over the head.
"You have too many hands, do you? You talk too much? You want a duel? Are you convinced? Let
me ask you, are you convinced?" Si Nan sat on Hu Yadong's back and asked while beating him.
Tang Huan hurriedly ran up with Si Nan's schoolbag in his arms, and inexplicably felt a trace of
sympathy: "Forget it, he's crying."
Hu Yadong was so ashamed and angry that he wanted to die. However, he didn't know where
Chen Sinan was holding him back. He just couldn't muster the strength to flip her over. He could
only close his eyes and shout loudly: "I don't accept it! You used a hidden weapon! You even used
pepper powder. How despicable and vulgar."
Sinan slapped him on the head again: "Fool, do you know how to fight alone? You can use
anything!"
She pulled out a rubber knife from her trouser pocket and waved it across Hu Yadong's face like a
razor: "I still have a knife. Do you want to try it?"
Tang Huan was dumbfounded: "Don't, don't, don't - put it down, put it down (the butcher knife)
-"
The three boys behind him finally reacted and surrounded Chen Sinan: "What are you doing?
How do you have a knife? If we call the police now, you will be arrested immediately, believe it?
You will be expelled from school and sent to a juvenile detention center! Hu Yadong, don't move,
don't move! He really has a knife in his hand, a real knife."
Half of Hu Yadong's face was pressed to the ground, and he really didn't dare to move.
"You probably don't know that we Xinjiang people can carry knives with us? It's legal. I'm not
afraid of the police. And I tell you, it's okay for us to stab you to death. It's a legal self-defense
counterattack, and it's okay."
"No, that's impossible," the three boys looked at each other, "but who said that Xinjiang people
can carry knives?"
Sinan laughed: "Why are you messing with me? Are you looking for death? When our Corps
soldiers were fighting from the east end to the west end of Youhao Road in Urumqi, you little
Shanghai guys could only bully female classmates? You don't even care about your dignity!"
"I didn't bully—"
Before Hu Yadong could finish his defense, he stuffed half a curry bun full of pepper and mud into
his mouth.
"No bullying? How did my curry bag fall off?"
Seeing that the situation was not good, the three brothers quickly begged for peace: "I was just
joking with you. Tomorrow he will buy you eight, no, ten as compensation. Don't do anything
stupid. Put away the knife first and we can talk it over."
"But that move you just made was pretty powerful. How did you do it? It was like you were
filming a TV show, like Jet Li—" Suddenly a traitor appeared.
Hu Yadong was so angry that he kicked his legs on the ground, but he didn't dare to move his
head. He finally understood that this little Xinjiang girl was a lunatic, a lunatic woman. A lunatic
woman was even scarier than a lunatic.
——
After the truce, Hu Yadong put his face under the distilled water faucet and rinsed it for a long
time. All the tears and snot were washed away. His eyes were red like a rabbit, his nose was also
red, and his chin was broken.
"Don't tell anyone, not even my brother." He raised his arm, wiped the water off his face on his
shoulder, turned around and warned his three brothers because it was too embarrassing.
The three boys shook their heads wisely. They looked warily at the two petite and innocent-
looking girls next to them.
Si Nan suddenly pulled out a rubber knife, spun it on his fingers, and asked Hu Yadong with a
smile: "Do you still want to fight one-on-one?"
Hu Yadong really wanted to fight with his true strength, but when he saw the rubber knife in her
hand move from under her thumb to her little finger and then back again, spinning faster and
faster until only a residual shadow was left, he gave up immediately.
"Ahem, a good man doesn't fight with a woman, a gentleman uses words instead of fists, from
now on we won't interfere with each other and walk on our own sides."
"Hey, which gang are you from?" Sinan asked curiously.
The four boys looked at each other.
"Following your brother is considered a coastal defense—help, is there a help?"
Hu Yadong shook his head: "She doesn't belong to any gang or faction. She's not part of any gang.
It's not like the Green Gang or Red Gang before liberation." But in his heart he thought, no
wonder this crazy woman is so crazy, it turns out she has a very strong background and is actually
in a gang.
"Then you can join our gang. How about that? If anyone dares to bully you, just tell me." Sinan
smiled and made the second invitation of the day. Shanghai is good, Shanghai students are not
only easy to be deceived, hehe, happy.
"What gang are you from?" Hu Yadong asked after hesitating for a moment.
"The Dragon Subduing Gang." Sinan rolled his eyes and automatically omitted the mention of
Peach Blossom beating the Dog.
Tang Huan was stunned. Well, that makes sense. Boys might not want to join when they hear
about peach blossoms.
Seeing the four boys looking a little disgusted and reluctant, Sinan suddenly jumped up and
almost hit Hu Yadong's chin.
Hu Yadong took a step back, his waist pressed tightly against the distilled water drinking fountain,
so he could only lean his upper body backward as far as possible.
Sinan took one of his hands and placed it on the water table: "Let me show you. Come on, spread
your fingers."
"Ah? What for?"
"Be a little more separate."
Hu Yadong raised his eyes and saw the crazy woman with a serious look on her face. There
seemed to be the legendary murderous intent in her eyes, so he quickly separated his fingers.
“Boom boom boom boom boom”…
Tang Huan and the three boys who were watching almost dropped their jaws, their eyes bulged.
The rubber knife kept poking between Hu Yadong's five fingers, raising it high and dropping it
fast. It was terrifying just to watch.
The rubber knife made some cuts on Sinan's fingers and then stopped.
"What do you think? Come join our gang and I'll teach you this trick." Si Nan smiled wickedly at
Hu Yadong and blinked his right eye.
Tang Huan instinctively felt that someone was going to be in trouble.
Hu Yadong's heart was hanging in the air, and suddenly fell. He broke out in a cold sweat. He
moved his fingers again and again.
Sinan released his wrist and gently patted the five surviving fingers: "Look, it's fine. Am I
awesome?"
Hu Yadong nodded silently, his face wooden.
Sinan smiled and said, "So the four of you are mine?"
Although Hu Yadong and his four friends were not authentic hooligans, they were willing to
accept defeat. They really couldn't beat this female classmate. She was too amazing. They were
not on the same level at all. Amateur hooligans versus professional (female) hooligans. A man of
insight is a hero. He accepted it.
"Sister Nan." The four boys blushed and spoke in such low voices that they could not even be
heard.
Si Nan waved his hand and said, "No, no, no, I'm younger than all of you. We are a chivalrous
gang in the new society. We don't do these things. We call each other by name and everyone is
equal. Come on, pay the membership fee first. You are the first batch of members of our
Shanghai branch. Hu Yadong, do you want to be the leader of the branch?"
"Me?" Hu Yadong's mind was filled with confusion. What was going on? It seemed so real.
"Our headquarters is on Youhao Road in Urumqi. We have hundreds of brothers in the gang. You
know, they are all from our Corps. They are good at fighting and can support the Shanghai branch
at any time. The railway lines are also our world. (This is) true." Chen Sinan was talking nonsense
and fooled everyone he could.
"Well, today, let our deputy gang leader Tang Huan help everyone learn our gang rules—"
The four boys kept silent, glancing at Tang Huan, wondering how little Su Bei could be the deputy
gang leader? Huh? Could it be that Chen Sinan was the gang leader in charge of hundreds of
soldiers? No wonder he was so powerful, it wasn't that I was not powerful enough. Hu Yadong
felt a little relieved.
Gang leader Chen Sinan took out the ten yuan membership fee that the deputy gang leader had
paid in the morning and said, "Let's go, eat and learn at the same time. I'll treat everyone to
some steamed buns and wontons. We're all family members from now on, so don't be polite."
Hu Yadong muttered awkwardly: "I didn't realize you were quite wealthy." And he cried in front of
Teacher Mao for six curry buns? The four boys vaguely felt that something was wrong. They
followed Chen Sinan to the school gate, and their minds returned to the scene in the classroom.
"You are so cunning——" Hu Yadong came to his senses.
"It saves me from writing a self-criticism. I can stretch and shrink. You can learn from me. It will
be useful."
"Sinan, it means being able to bend and stretch." Tang Huan couldn't help but correct him. Being
able to stretch and shrink makes him look like a turtle.
"Yes! Be able to bend and stretch." Sinan laughed: "Also, when we treat our enemies, we should
be like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, not letting go of a dime. When it comes to our
own people, ten or eight yuan is not a big deal, we should be as warm as the spring breeze."
The leader, altar master, and guardian of the Shanghai branch of the Dragon Subduing Gang did
feel the warmth of a spring breeze after being swept by the autumn wind.
Tang Huan thought about it and felt that Zhang Datuanjie looked very familiar. She followed the
gang leader and the comrades from the Shanghai branch out and fell into deep thought.
Hu Yadong secretly glanced at Boss Chen. Well, although Xiao Xinjiang is dark, his eyelashes are
curly and curled when viewed from the side. He looks pretty good. I guess he can hold two
pencils.
When Chen Sinan turned his head, Hu Yadong felt a chill on his back. The shadow left by the
rubber knife was still there.
Chen Sinan smiled and pointed at the corner of his mouth: "There are still some curry buns that
haven't been cleaned."
Hu Yadong: ...If I quit the gang now, will I be beaten again?
Four or five years later, Hu Yadong and his friends realized that not every Xinjiang person could
legally carry a knife, and no one could stab someone to death without paying for it. The so-called
Jianglong Gang in Urumqi, Xinjiang, only had eleven or twelve soldiers and had long since ceased
operations. As for the hacking from the east end of Youhao Road to the west end, it had never
happened. But Chen Sinan was indeed born into a family of professional gangsters, and her
family's unique skills were well-deserved. She had an uncle who was an old gangster Gu
Dongwen, who was famous in Yunnan and Shanghai. She had a younger uncle who had
conquered Yangpu a long time ago, but later retired and went to college. She also had an older
cousin Gu Jingsheng. When Gu Jingsheng was in junior high school, he broke the bones of an old
gangster who showed his penis in the street garden. A young gangster from the swimming team
brought several people and was beaten to a pulp by him alone.
At this time, Boss Chen had gone from being a domineering flower to an outstanding graduate
who ranked among the top 200 in the city in the college entrance examination and entered a
prestigious university. They went to her school to settle the score with her. Boss Chen recognized
them and was very happy. She patted their shoulders and asked them if they had practiced
martial arts recently. Then she did three side flips and three backflips on the grass, landed
steadily and did a split.
Hu Yadong only remembered that Boss Chen was too stingy. In 1993, she received a Baosteel
scholarship of 10,000 yuan, but she only treated the old people from the Shanghai branch to a
bowl of pork chop noodles. But they didn't dare to do anything, and they were too embarrassed
to do anything. Who would have thought that Boss Chen, who was skinny and dark in the third
grade of junior high school, would become a beauty.

Chapter 245
After school, Si Jiang went to Xiangqun first. The junior high school had already finished school,
so he went home and waited for a long time but still couldn't find anyone. He was very anxious,
fearing that Si Nan had lost his way.
Chen Sihao stared at the TV and laughed: "I heard that my second sister ran back to Shanghai
from Xinjiang alone, don't worry, sister." He reached out to the small coffee table next to him and
found no snacks. He looked at his eldest sister with resentment: "Sister, what are you going to eat
at night? What time do you want to eat?"
Si Jiang was stunned: "What are you cutting? Oh, brother——?!"
Chen Si shook his head and laughed so hard that the whole bamboo recliner creaked: "Brother is
not at home! Sister, you are confused again." After laughing, he grabbed the handles on both
sides of the recliner and stood up with great effort, preparing to find some snacks to cushion his
stomach.
Si Jiang didn't know why she couldn't remember this. She stood there in a daze for several
seconds and slapped her head hard: "So stupid." Habit becomes nature. It will definitely take her
some time to adapt.
"Grandma! I'm back!" Chen Sinan's voice came from downstairs.
Si Hao's fat paws immediately retracted from the snack box, ran back to the TV screen, and
started doing the sixth set of radio gymnastics.
Sinan went upstairs with a thump and lifted the bamboo curtain with high spirits: "Sister, hey,
Fatty, why are you still stretching? Did you start doing it when you heard my voice?"
Si Jiang was amused: "Nannan, you are really Sherlock Holmes. You just started doing this a
minute ago."
Chen Sihao almost lost control of his hands and feet. It was useless to lie and resist in front of his
two sisters. He simply shut his mouth, changed the four eight beats into two, and started the
second section of four-limb exercises directly.
Sinan kicked him lightly on the butt and threw him an oil-paper bag: "Don't pretend, are you
hungry? Here you go."
Si Hao opened it and shouted, "Shengjiang mantou! Long live my second sister! I'm almost
starving to death!"
Sinan slapped his face a few times with the water in the basin, then grabbed a towel and wiped
it.
"Second sister, you took my towel!" Si Hao shouted quickly.
"Can't you just wipe it twice?" Sinan raised his chin and said, "Give me back my steamed buns,
you heartless bastard!"
"You wipe it, you wipe it." Si Hao quickly swallowed the remaining two pan-fried buns whole.
Fortunately, the gravy inside was no longer hot.
Si Jiang poured Si Hao a glass of water: "Eat slowly, second sister is just joking with you, don't
choke." She also poured Si Nan a glass of water: "Did your first day of school go well? How are
your classmates? Did you make friends? Is your deskmate a boy or a girl? Did anyone laugh at you
for coming back from Xinjiang? Show me your class schedule, are there any classes that you find
difficult?——"
Si Nan almost choked on the water and slammed the table repeatedly to interrupt Si Jiang:
"Sister, are you my sister? (You are my sister, right?)"
"What's wrong?" Si Jiang was stunned.
"Why are you as nagging as Mom? Tsk tsk tsk." Sinan picked up his schoolbag and rushed up to
the attic: "You old people are really the same."
"Chen Sinan! I am concerned about you." Si Jiang laughed angrily, chased him to the attic, and
shook the ladder several times.
Chen Sihao walked to the elder sister's side holding the empty oil paper bag, raised his big head
and whispered in agreement: "A dog bites Lu Dongbin, who doesn't know the kindness of a good
person."
Si Jiang turned around and slapped his brother on the head: "You are such a bad boy, Chen Sihao,
for eating your second sister's steamed buns and still saying bad things about her. Don't do that
next time."
Chen Sihao covered his head and walked away: "It's not easy for my brother to be away from
home, why are you feeding me chestnuts again? I spoke up for you and you called me a bad guy.
I'm not going to talk to you anymore."
Si Jiang laughed: "You are a fence-sitter, swaying all day long. Do you want to see us fighting each
other?"
"What are the fish and clams fighting about?" Chen Sihao ran out and shouted downstairs:
"Grandma - is it time to eat?"
Granny Gu banged her shovel loudly: "You only have vegetables to eat, no rice!"
Chen Sihao lowered his head to look at his protruding belly, and was glad that he had already put
four steamed buns in it.
——
Sinan slid down the ladder headfirst, put his hands on the floor, folded his feet forward, and
turned over and stood up. He clapped his hands and said helplessly, "Alas, diligence makes
perfect, play makes waste. Now this is the only way I can practice."
Chen Sihao was stunned. Si Jiang smiled and shook his head. While cleaning the table, he asked Si
Nan: "Do you have snacks during breaks in your school? Is the library big? Have you applied for a
library card? How is lunch? If it's not tasty or you're not full, you can go home to eat. Anyway,
Sihao goes home to eat at noon every day."
Sinan was standing in the living room, and suddenly he sprinted towards the door. He pushed his
left foot on the door frame, jumped up, hung on the door beam, and started doing pull-ups like
Jingsheng did his usual exercise.
"I had some snacks, they were delicious. I didn't go to the library, so I didn't come back for lunch.
I made a friend, and her sister-in-law was your former math teacher—"
Sinan adjusted his breathing and continued to pull up: "Teacher Fang."
Si Jiang was stunned by her miraculous training method, but he came back to his senses when he
heard the three words "Teacher Fang". "Huh?" Thinking carefully, the sister of Teacher Fang's
husband? How could she be in the same class with Si Nan? Oh, according to seniority, what
should Si Nan call her? Auntie or auntie? Si Jiang had a headache.
However, Chen Sihao moved a small stool and sat down near the gate to watch the acrobatic
performance for free.
"She is a loan student from Nantong and now she is my friend."
"You've made good friends on the first day, Nan Nan, you're awesome!" Si Jiang quickly praised
his sister. When he heard his grandmother calling for food, he quickly urged Si Nan, "Okay, don't
make yourself too tired, get ready to eat."
Sinan responded and looked back at his brother: "Hey, do you want to learn? I'll teach you, for
free."
"I want to!" Chen Sihao said this excitedly, and then his whole body softened again: "Forget it, I
can't learn it, I definitely can't do it."
"You have to have confidence in yourself," Sinan said as he pulled up again, "As long as you can
endure hardships, you will definitely learn it."
"Hardship? Forget it." Chen Sihao's eyes lit up: "Sister! You are so awesome, even better than Jet
Li, please help us."
Sinan jumped down and blew on his red palm: "What's the matter?"
"There is a group of middle school students who always wait at the gate of Xigong and borrow
pocket money from us elementary school students! They never pay it back, how shameless!"
Chen Sihao cursed indignantly.
Sinan was overjoyed. Wow, she received five people on the first day, and there would be
chivalrous deeds waiting for them. Beating dogs was her favorite.
"No problem, Saturday, take me to see who is so shameless on Saturday."
Hu Yadong was applying red medicine to his chin in front of the mirror, when he suddenly
sneezed three times in a row. The boy in the mirror had a red smear on his mouth...
——
Gu Dongwen closed his stall and returned home. There was rice left under the bamboo rice cover.
When he looked at the dishes, he remembered that Jingsheng would not be the one cooking for
him anymore, and he couldn't help but sigh.
Before he could finish his sigh, a feather duster hit him on the back of his neck.
Granny Gu frowned and lowered her voice: "What are you all doing here? Only Jingsheng cooks
well? Then don't come back to eat in the future!"
Gu Dongwen smiled and touched his neck: "How could that be? Mom, you cook Yangzhou dishes
that are second to none in Shanghai. I love your cooking. I'm happy, but I feel bad for you. How
about I just close the stall an hour earlier and cook for myself."
"Bullshit, I can make dozens of dollars in business in an hour. I'm not so old that I can't move.
How can I not know east, west, south, and north after enjoying the good life for a few years? Go
away, go and eat quickly."
While eating, Gu Dongwen looked at Si Nan who was holding the phone on the sofa and asked Si
Jiang who was doing homework next to him: "Who is Nan Nan talking to on the phone?"
"Zhao Youning."
Gu Dongwen looked at the clock on the wall: "Your mother's phone won't be able to get through.
School starts today, she will definitely call to ask."
Si Jiang raised his head and curled the corners of his lips: "Nan Nan may have intentions?"
Gu Dongwen raised his eyebrows and smiled with two dimples deep and deep: "Oh, this little
thing."
Sinan turned his back, covered the microphone and whispered to Zhao Youning: "I'm only telling
you one person. Actually, I had a fight with a boy today."
"Fighting again?" Zhao Youning laughed out loud: "Winning again?"
"It's easy. The male students from Shanghai can't do it." Si Nan glanced at Si Jiang and his uncle,
unable to suppress his pride: "I accepted five people in one go today, and the membership fee is
fifty yuan. Hehe."
"Does Sijiang know?"
"Of course not! Don't tell anyone. If you do, we won't be friends anymore—we won't be best
friends anymore."
"I promise not to tell. By the way, how is your sister's application to American universities going?"
"Oh, not really. The university hasn't replied to her letter yet. My uncle said it will probably take
until next month to hear back."
“Which colleges did she apply to?”
"I don't know. Ask her yourself." Sinan shouted, "Sister, come on over here. Brother Ningning
wants to ask you something."
"No, no, no, no need, I was just asking casually." Zhao Youning was startled and quickly stated.
"Oh, sister, he said there's no need to ask again."
Si Jianggang stood up, smiled, shook his head and sat back down.
Sinan chatted for another ten minutes before hanging up the phone. As soon as he hung up the
phone, it rang.
"Hello Chen Si, come and answer the phone. Mom is looking for you." Si Nan quickly grabbed A Di
and came to answer the phone.
In the end, the person who called was not Gu Ximei, but Jingsheng.
"Big sister, it's my brother's call!" Si Hao didn't even think about it and directly handed the
microphone to Si Jiang.
——
"Was that my auntie's call just now? I called for half an hour but the tone was busy all the time."
Jingsheng queued up three times before he got through.
"No, Nan Nan is talking to Zhao Youning. Brother, how is the military training at the university?
Are you tired?"
"It's OK, almost. The first day was spent practicing military posture, but this time we also have to
learn how to fire a cannon, the real kind." Jingsheng asked, "How is Sinan today?"
"She said everything is fine. There are only two classes on Thursday afternoon. I plan to go to her
school to see her head teacher and ask about the situation." After Si Jiang finished speaking, he
saw Si Nan's eyes widened and shook his hands at him, and then he smiled: "She must only
report good news and not bad news, and she won't let me go to school."
"Tell her not to fight, not to fight with boys, and -" Jingsheng hesitated for a moment and then
told Sijiang: "Tell her not to use a rubber knife to scare people when she fights."
"Chen Sinan, my brother told you not to fight, not to fight with boys, and not to scare people with
a rubber knife—" Si Jiang was shocked: "Rubber knife?! How did my brother's rubber knife end
up in your hands? Chen Sinan, come here!"
Si Nan hugged Gu Dongwen's arm and said, "Tell my eldest cousin that I have inherited my eldest
uncle's legacy and he has nothing to do with me anymore."
Gu Dongwen patted her little head: "Did you have a fight?" He had heard Gu Ximei complain a lot
about Chen Sinan's bad deeds. He would fight for at least three days every time he changed
schools, and every time he fought, the parents of other students would come to the house.
"No!" Sinan rolled her eyes. Only when she hit others it wasn't called fighting.
Si Jiang told Jingsheng what Si Nan had just said, and also told him about Si Hao's situation today.
Jingsheng asked, "What about you? Which courses in senior year have teachers changed? Are
there any courses that you find difficult? I remember that physics and chemistry in senior year
became much more difficult, and algebra also has some first-year university courses. How do you
arrange your class schedule?"
Si Jiang answered the questions crisply and suddenly felt that these questions were extremely
familiar and he couldn't help laughing out loud.
"why are you laughing?"
"As soon as Sinan came back today, I asked Sinan these things. As a result, you also asked me
these things when you called. Nannan also said that I look more like my mother than my sister,"
Si Jiang laughed: "Brother, it turns out that you look like my mother too."
Jingsheng: “…”
"Okay, I'm hanging up." Jingsheng picked up the towel from his shoulders and threw it into the
basin on the windowsill, preparing to take a shower.
"etc!"
"Anything else?"
Si Jiang's eyes curved, "Brother, do you know? I've called you brother seven or eight times since
yesterday. Isn't it strange? We are really not used to you not being at home. We all miss you very
much. When we were having dinner today, Si Hao was still talking about you..."
Listening to Si Jiang's non-stop chatter, Jingsheng couldn't help but reveal a barely perceptible
smile.
"Alas, although my brother is always so nosy and annoying at home, it's good to have someone to
take care of us." Si Jiang sighed faintly and laughed again: "Okay, okay, I won't say any more. I'll
hang up now. I guess Mom will call soon. Brother, you have to take care of your body. Don't work
too hard in military training. Be lazy when you can, don't get sunburned, eat more meat, and also
- you have to think about us!"
"Um."
Gu Dongwen put down his wine glass and shook his head: "Little bastard, the phone bill is so
expensive, and you didn't even tell me a word?"
Si Jiang looked at the phone and blinked. Oh no, why did she forget to let her uncle answer the
phone? Why didn’t her brother say anything?

Chapter 246
Gu Ximei didn't call Wanchun Street that day because she had just returned to Urumqi from
Karamay yesterday after a quarrel with Chen Donglai.
The music teacher had nothing to do on the first day of school, and she didn't need to go to the
teacher's house to teach piano. She angrily threw Chen Donglai's clothes into a snakeskin bag in
the dormitory, and then cried twice. She also tore the half-knitted wool sweater into a pile of
messy wool. She didn't go to the cafeteria for lunch, worried that her colleagues would find out.
At dusk, several teachers with whom she had a good relationship came to knock on the door.
After a few perfunctory words, she simply pulled a thin silk scarf to wrap her head and face, and
carried her purse out of the school.
Ximei took the No. 2 bus twice, and the neon lights on Youhao Road became a blur in her eyes.
It is said that men become bad when they have money, and Chen Donglai seems to be no
exception. Now thinking back on him and Xiao He, there were clues in the past, but she still chose
to believe Chen Donglai, or to say, she believed herself. She thought she was an impeccable wife,
good-looking, responsible at work, motivated, and never gossiped. His parents were so partial,
and she only muttered a few words behind his back. In the past twenty years, she had to endure
hardships. In Aksu, when it was so hard, there were only two taels of oil a month, and the two of
them could only see each other once every few months, but he never thought of anything else.
Now Si Hao is in elementary school, how dare he do such a thing.
The bus stopped at the station. Ximei stared at the beautiful window of the department store in a
daze. Tears flowed down her face, not just drop by drop, but endlessly like a sea.
What did she do wrong? Was she too fierce? Did they quarrel too much? But what couple in the
world can live their whole life without quarrels? When he retorted, he had a lot of things to say.
He was a man, so he should give in to women and his wife. Besides, she came to Xinjiang for him.
Thinking of this, Ximei felt as if her heart was being cut by a knife. She lowered her head and
trembled all over.
Fortunately, Si Nan returned to Shanghai. If she knew about it, Xi Mei took out the wrinkled silk
head from her trouser pocket with shaking hands, and chose a slightly cleaner place to wipe her
nose. She couldn't tell this kind of shame to her daughter. It was too embarrassing. Thinking of Si
Nan's instructions to her before leaving, Xi Mei cried even harder. If she didn't tell Si Nan, she
didn't know who she could tell. She couldn't tell her mother. It would be useless if she told her
eldest brother and Bei Wu. They would definitely ask her to divorce. What would happen to Si
Jiang, Si Nan and Si Hao? She couldn't discuss it with her colleagues. Xi Mei raised her head and
pressed her wet face against the glass window that was still warm. For the first time, she felt that
she was a failure. She had lived for so many years, but she didn't have any particularly good
friends. She didn't have close friends with classmates, colleagues, and students' parents, and she
couldn't afford to lose face. The former comrades in the Corps went their separate ways. In an
instant, she suddenly understood why Meng Qin and Cao Jingzhi never wrote back to her. It turns
out that the pain that can be shared with others is really not pain at all. The most uncomfortable
and painful things can only be silently swallowed by oneself.
There was a moment when she regretted her "additional trouble" because Sinan went back and
two other piano students asked for leave. She wanted to give Chen Dong a surprise so she went
to Karamay, but in the end there was no surprise but only shock. If she hadn't gone to Karamay,
maybe her whole life would have passed like this, and she would never know, and it was good not
to know.
Thinking of Xiao He, who could get up from Chen Donglai's bed and put on his clothes in front of
her as if nothing had happened, Ximei pressed her face against the glass again, and the
watermark became misty.
How could there be such a shameless woman? Ximei closed her eyes. She had never seen such a
woman before and couldn't imagine it.
——
"Teacher Gu, please don't be angry," Xiao He put on his clothes and took out a comb from his bag
to comb his bangs in front of the mirror. "Don't worry, I don't want to destroy your family at all.
Lao Chen and I are just good friends. We are just mutually beneficial."
Ximei couldn't do anything like beating up the adulterer, she just stood there, as if she was the
superfluous one. Later, she thought countless times that she should at least slap him twice, or at
least scold him for seducing a married man.
But she really couldn't do it at that time, or maybe Xiao He's accent was too strange and she
didn't react. What was Chen Donglai doing at that time? Ximei had a vague impression. Did he
turn his back to hide from her and put on his clothes? Or was he as open and honest as Xiao He,
thinking that it was no big deal to just have sex with each other for free? Ximei didn't ask, and
she didn't want to ask.
The first thing Ximei said after she came to her senses was: "I'm going to find your leader." If
there is any problem, go to the police; if there is an accident, go to the leader, the organization,
and the party committee, as if the country can guarantee that every couple will live happily for a
lifetime.
"Teacher Gu, I have resigned," Xiao He told Ximei while applying lipstick with a smile, "Nowadays,
personal behavior is not a big deal, but if you make trouble, Lao Chen will definitely be in trouble,
and he will be punished and demoted. I will return to Shanghai tomorrow, and go to the United
States in November, and never come back. Teacher Gu, think about it and feel refreshed. Is it
interesting to find a leader? Is it cost-effective?"
"I found an American husband and got the marriage certificate this month. I came here to say
goodbye to Lao Chen." Xiao He walked past Xi Mei gracefully with her skirt fluttering. She smiled
and gave Xi Mei some advice: "Men also have needs. It's not good for a wife to not let her man
have enough. Also, you have to let your man have more money. Lao Chen is in good condition
and there are many women who are eyeing him. Teacher Gu should be nicer to Lao Chen."
Xiao He is younger than her and not very good-looking but knows how to dress herself and is very
fashionable. Even after living in Karamay for many years, you can still tell at a glance that she is a
girl from Shanghai. How many men can resist a girl like this who takes the initiative to be your
"good friend", comes to you to sleep with you, does not force you to divorce, and helps your wife
find a job and your children go to school?
Ximei didn't know. Dongwen was a lovesick man, and he still had Nurse Lu. When Beiwu went to
Aksu, he wrote letters and sent photos to Fang Shuren, and then he married Zhou Shanrang. After
marrying Zhou Shanrang, he went to the United States alone for several years.
Ximei cried for three hours on the bus, not only for herself, but also for all the miserable women
in the world. Chen Donglai's confession was insignificant. He never thought of getting a divorce,
never thought of giving up her. Bullshit! Whether to get a divorce or not was her decision.
But what does she have after the divorce? Chen Donglai must want a son, and both daughters
belong to her. Whether she can afford to raise them or not, she has to raise them. She will
definitely not give Chen Donglai a penny, but the family only has about 2,000 yuan, and she is not
sure whether Chen Donglai has private money. Chen A Niang doesn't need to say anything. No
matter how wrong her son is, it is still his wife's fault in the end. If you hadn't treated him badly,
how could he have second thoughts? My Donglai is such an honest person... Ximei can
completely imagine what Chen A Niang would say.
Should she stay in Urumqi after the divorce? Thinking about her current job that was arranged by
Xiao He, Ximei felt sick. But the policy is very clear now. Sinan can go back, but she can't go back
no matter what, unless she goes back to Shanghai as an illegal resident, which is absolutely
impossible. Besides, what can she do if she goes back? Work as an individual like her brother?
She is over the age of being recruited as a waiter, so where will she live? Live back in her parents'
home? What about her retirement salary and years of service? And her twenty years in Xinjiang
have become a joke...
Ximei cried bitterly again. Her mother might forget what she said to her when she left home, but
she could not.
——
The last bus stopped at the terminal. The driver got off the bus with a cup of tea and shouted to
Ximei: "Comrade, please be careful at night."
The tears that Ximei had managed to hold back burst out again. She didn't even dare to turn her
head and quickened her pace.
When she returned to school, the main gate was closed, and the concierge, wearing a spring or
autumn shirt, opened the small door for Ximei.
"Hey, Teacher Gu, your husband has been looking for you for a long time."
Ximei forced a smile, wrapped her headscarf a little more tightly, and entered the school from the
shadow of the wall.
Chen Donglai was lying on the sofa with his clothes on. Next to the sofa was a snakeskin bag filled
with his clothes. When he heard the sound of the key opening the door, he quickly got up.
Ximei just treated him as air, hung her bag on the clothes hanger, took off her headscarf, picked
up the basin and towel and went to the bathroom to wash up.
Chen Donglai lowered his head and sat on the sofa, feeling ashamed. He knew that this day
would come, and he was always worried about being discovered by Ximei. But after being caught,
he seemed not so scared anymore. He made a mistake, but Xiao He was right. If there is a
problem in a marriage, there must be problems with both parties. It was this sentence that made
Ximei furious and she smashed his dormitory into a garbage dump.
She always felt that she was not wrong, and even if she was wrong, she would not admit it. The
couple quarreled countless times, and in the end he always coaxed her in a humble manner. He
also had to look at her mood when having sex. He would have sex once every three to five
months when he was in a good mood, and once or twice a year when he was in a bad mood.
When they did it rarely, he had to consider his daughter who was separated by a tent, and he had
to make a quick decision like a war. When he was young, it was too hard to work on the well, but
he could endure it. Now he works in an office and rarely goes down the well. It seems that his
energy has nowhere to go. He would think about it, and it was guilty to think about it. For a long
time, he felt that he might be sick. He only thought about that kind of thing in his mind, but he
didn't dare to show it. The more he thought about it, the more serious he became. He kept a
distance from the few female colleagues in the unit when talking to them. No matter how hot the
weather was, he would button his shirt to the top button and wear a sweat vest underneath.
He had never thought of Xiao He. She was not the same as them. She helped Ximei with the
diploma and work problems, and she took money. He didn't owe her anything. She joked with a
group of men and women in the office, often mocking him, deliberately sitting on him and
hooking his neck, laughing at his steadfast and embarrassed look, and made him look like Liu
Xiahui. Until one day, he didn't have time to control his instinctive reaction, and she found out,
and it was like the Yellow River bursting its banks and it was out of control.
Xiao He seduced him, and he was willing to be seduced by her. Chen Donglai knew it well and had
no excuse. This kind of thing is addictive. He never believed it before, but once it happened, it
happened countless times. He became another man that he was afraid of, or that was the real
Chen Donglai. He never knew that there were so many tricks between men and women. He died
and came back to life, and came back to life and died again. He seemed to have become a young
man in his twenties. After every time, he turned back into a human, Gu Ximei's husband and the
father of three children. He was ashamed and embarrassed, but he was easily seduced every
time and easily turned into a beast.
Does he like Xiao He? Chen Donglai has thought about it many times, and it is definitely not love.
He can't stand Xiao He's frivolous behavior and has said it several times. Xiao He sneered and said
that he was doing the work of an adulterer but caring about her grandfather's heart. This was too
harsh, although it was true. So he stopped talking about it. She was right, he wanted women and
she wanted men, they just took what they needed. He was relieved that she would not force him
to divorce, and she was also unrestrained because he would not pester her. In front of Xiao He,
he even unconsciously felt inferior. The first time she poked a hole in his shorts in the office, he
laughed so hard that tears came out, and said that Chen Gongnong was really pitiful.
Ximei slammed the washbasin back onto the shelf with a bang, still ignoring Chen Donglai as if he
were nothing. She opened the curtain, went into the inner room, changed into pajamas, and lay
down on the bed.
Chen Donglai followed quietly in and sat down on Si Nan's small bed.
"Get up!" Ximei suddenly turned over and sat up, with a look of disgust on her face: "I think you
are dirty! (I think you are dirty!)"
Chen Donglai froze for a moment, then slowly stood up. He could see that she had been crying
hard, her eyes were swollen like walnuts, and he really disliked her. Not only did she dislike him,
he also disliked himself.
Ximei's chest rose and fell violently several times, and she whispered in a hoarse voice: "Divorce!
I want to divorce you."
Divorce or not

Chapter 247
Chen Donglai stood beside Si Nan's bed, not saying a word for a long time.
The empty sounds of doors opening and closing could be heard in the corridor, and someone
walked past the door in slippers tapping on their feet. Soon, the water tank in the toilet made a
rumbling sound, followed by the sound of tapping, which came from far away and then from near
to far.
With a bang, the door closed.
Xi Mei stared blankly at the slippers on Chen Donglai's feet and repeated, "I want a divorce."
"This time I am sorry for you—" Chen Donglai pursed his lips and stammered.
"Divorce, I want a divorce."
"Ximei‌——" Chen Donglai choked a little.
"Don't call me by my name!" Ximei lowered her voice, but her anger was no less: "Disgusting!"
Chen Donglai looked at his wife's swollen facial features at a loss. Her eyes, nose and mouth were
all red and swollen. He had never seen her cry like this. Ximei's sadness was beyond his
imagination, but he felt a little relieved, which showed that Ximei cared about him more than he
thought, but this realization also made him feel more ashamed and regretful.
"I never thought about divorce, never." He lowered his voice and reiterated: "I never thought
about leaving you. (I never thought about leaving you.)"
Ximei raised her head suddenly: "How could it be possible? You are having an affair outside, and I
am working hard to take care of the family. You let me be your wife and work like a cow and a
horse. I should thank you, right? Thank you? (You let me be your wife and work like a cow and a
horse. I should thank you, right? Thank you?)"
The voice was not loud but very sharp, and the last two questions were broken and trembling.
"That's not what I meant." Chen Donglai switched to Mandarin to explain in a more formal way:
"It must be my fault—"
Ximei interrupted her with a sneer: "Isn't your mistress my fault? (Didn't your mistress say it was
my problem?) What did you do wrong? Did you stop her from taking off your pants? (What did
you do wrong? Did you stop her from taking off your pants?)"
"Can we talk it out nicely? Stop making so much noise." Chen Donglai took out a pack of
cigarettes, but couldn't get any cigarettes out after shaking them for a long time. He squeezed
them in his hand and put them back.
"Haha, yes, I don't know how to gossip. I only know how to quarrel with you all day long, so if you
have a mistress, blame me." The more Ximei talked, the colder her heart became. Did she want
to quarrel with him? Was this considered quarreling?
"Don't say that. I've already admitted that it's my fault. It's all my fault. It's my fault alone." Half a
pack of cigarettes was crushed into a ball through his trouser pocket.
"Yes, Saning knows that you have a hard time thinking about it. (Who knows what you are
thinking about?)"
"No, it's really my fault."
"Whatever you think or say, you can't imagine it," Ximei smiled sadly, "I was like a fool for twenty
years. I came to Xinjiang for you, and I suffered so much. I raised Sijiang and lost half of my life. I
raised Sinan and lost the other half of my life. I also risked my life to help you raise a son (and I
risked my life to give birth to a son for you), and what was the result?"
Chen Donglai admitted his fault and regretted it, but he couldn't change his habit of quarreling
with his wife over the past 20 years. He said without thinking: "Don't think like that. Our son and
daughter don't belong to me alone. They belong to both of us——"
"For two people? Why didn't you think about your son and daughter when you were having an
affair? For two people? Have you ever done anything? Sijiangsi is fine, but Sinan follows me. Have
you ever kept an eye on her? On her first birthday, you were busy drinking and smoking with
others, and you didn't even know she crawled to the edge of the pit!"
Chen Donglai lowered his head and said nothing, but in his heart he added, "You didn't keep a
close eye on it either..."
"I had to go to class, so I had to leave her alone in the basket in the dormitory. When I came back,
I saw her eating her own poop!" Ximei grabbed the pillowcase next to her and wiped it roughly,
then covered her face and sobbed. Compared with the poop that Sinan ate, it was nothing.
"Divorce, I want a divorce." Ximei showed her face shiny with tears and made up her mind again:
"I want to vomit when I see you now, you're too disgusting, I can't live with you (I want to vomit
when I see you now, it's too disgusting, I can't live with you)." As soon as she closed her eyes, the
two white bodies entangled together, countless details would come to her mind, expressions,
movements, colors, those few seconds would go back and forth endlessly in her mind, stabbing
her again and again until she was bleeding.
Chen Donglai looked at Ximei holding the edge of the bed and covering her mouth with a
pillowcase, trying hard not to vomit. He sat down on the ground dejectedly and scratched his
hair: "What do you want? What do you want to do in exchange for a divorce? If we get divorced,
what will Xiaoning do?" He leaned his back against Sinan's bed, his empty heart sinking. He still
couldn't believe that they would really get to the point of divorce.
Ximei raised her eyes and said, "All three of them follow me. You are not worthy of being their
father."
After she said this, Chen Donglai felt that she was obviously speaking in anger. If this sentence
was spoken in anger, then the request for divorce should also be spoken in anger.
"I am sorry for you. But you definitely can't take care of three children by yourself. Si Jiang and Si
Nan are grown up, and they are close to you - why don't you let Si Hao follow me." Chen Donglai
didn't dare to look up at Ximei, and he didn't have the confidence to speak.
Ximei sneered, her words were cold: "I knew you wouldn't want two daughters. You don't care
about them at all. If I hadn't given birth to them, you would have been having an affair outside a
long time ago."
Chen Donglai explained awkwardly: "It's not that I don't want to, it's that Si Jiang and Si Nan must
go with you--" Thinking of the disappointed looks of his two daughters, Chen Donglai covered his
face. Every time he became a human being, he was always so tormented and painful that he
wished he could chop the beast Chen Donglai out of his body.
"It's good that you know." Ximei felt a little better when she thought that Sijiang and Sinan would
definitely stand on her side. But when she thought of her son, she felt uncomfortable again.
"All the money in the house belongs to me," Ximei said, "You give me living expenses every
month."
"All given to you," Chen Donglai lowered his head and smiled bitterly: "Originally, all was given to
you—" Thinking of Xiao He's "advice", Chen Donglai quickly swallowed the second half of the
sentence.
"What do you mean?!" Ximei was stabbed in the lungs and was shaking with anger. She suddenly
jumped off the bed, picked up her slippers and threw them at Chen Donglai's face: "Am I not
treating you well? Am I too strict with you? Do you spend your money on me? How many people
can you support with your salary?"
"You blame me for having a mistress? You blame me for not treating you well and not giving you
money? Can you have some shame? Chen Donglai, are you still okay? Do you admit your
mistake? You don't think you are wrong at all! (You blame me for having a mistress? You blame
me for not treating you well and not giving you money? Can you have some shame? Chen
Donglai, are you still a human being? Do you admit your mistake? You don't think you are wrong
at all.)"
"Have you ever thought about divorce? You think that even if I knew, I would not help you divorce
for the three little ones, how happy you are, outside there are flowers and colorful flags flying, at
home there is a wife to take care of the red flag, you are so disgusting, shameless! You think I
came to Xinjiang for you, so you are sure of me, right? (You have never thought about divorce?
You think that even if I know, I will not divorce you for the three children, how happy you are,
outside there are flowers and colorful flags flying, at home there is a wife to take care of the red
flag, you are so disgusting, shameless. You think I came to Xinjiang for you, so you have me,
right?)"
However, Ximei's vocabulary for cursing is too limited. She only uses words like "sickening" and
"shameless" over and over again. The more she curses, the more depressed she feels. The more
she curses, the more she feels that she must divorce. Otherwise, she would have to be so
despicable to endure the rest of her life.
The slippers hit Chen Donglai's head and body with a "pa pa pa" sound. After being hit dozens of
times, he couldn't help but defend himself: "I really haven't thought about divorce. I don't like
Xiao He. Only you are my wife. I have always been very clear in my heart. It's not that one of us
has the final say -"
Ximei panted and dropped her slippers, laughing in despair: "You can sleep with me even if you
don't like it?! And you slept with me for more than a year? You are really amazing! Chen Donglai,
you are a beast! Worse than pigs and dogs! You only know how to get into heat!"
Chen Donglai stared at her with red eyes and took a step forward.
Ximei took two steps back: "What? You want to fight me just because I scolded you? Anyway, you
are no longer a human being, it's up to you, hit me, and then leave me."
Chen Donglai shook his head: "No, you are angry, you deserve to scold me and beat me. I just
want to say that I don't want a divorce. I admit my mistakes and I will change. I promise that I will
never have sex with any woman again from now on."
"You killed someone, so all you need to do is say sorry and never kill again? That's a good idea
you have." Ximei glared at him and asked back.
Chen Donglai pursed his lips and lowered his head.
"Heh." Xi Mei ignored him, turned around and sat back on the bed, rubbing her face with the
pillowcase: "Don't be so hypocritical. It's boring to say such things when you can do such things."
Chen Donglai slowly squatted down and pulled his hair.
"You're always like this—" he sobbed.
Ximei was startled: "What?"
"Nothing I say is right. We have to listen to you about everything at home. I've told you many
times that Sinan is old enough for him to sleep next to our bed all the time. The year before last,
the bureau allocated housing to us, a new public housing with two bedrooms and a living room,
but you thought it was too far away and refused to take it."
"That's because your new dormitory is too far away. It takes me an hour to ride my bike there. Eh,
did I tell you not to give it up? I told you to wait until the old dormitory in the city is vacant. And if
you take that apartment, I won't be able to apply for housing allocation at school. Our school's
staff dormitory will be built next year. It will be allocated according to length of service. I'm in the
first batch. It only takes ten minutes to get to school! It also has two bedrooms and a living
room!"
"You said you didn't want the apartment, so you didn't want it. I rarely take a few days off and
came back. I persuaded you to stay with me in the guesthouse for a night and have sex, but you
never agreed."
"A guesthouse costs more than 10 or 20 yuan a night, and my monthly salary is only more than
100 yuan. Am I sick? Will men and women die if they don't sleep? Why didn't I die? I didn't do it
for more than two years after giving birth to Sinan. Did you die? You didn't die either? And we
went to sleep in a guesthouse. What would Nannan do? What would she think? What would my
colleagues think? You have no shame, but I have! Why are you saying all this? Aren't you trying to
say that it's my fault that you slept with your mistress? Do you think you're right? Do you still
want to not get a divorce?"
"That's not what I meant. I won't say anything more. Tell me, what do you want me to do to stop
being angry? To stop getting a divorce? I'll do anything you ask me to do, seriously." Chen Donglai
choked up and said, "We've been in love for decades..."
"Go to hell." Ximei sneered: "I'm a widow, so there's no need to get a divorce."
Chen Donglai stood up suddenly and went outside.
Ximei tightened the tent hook.
After a rustling sound outside, Chen Donglai lifted the curtain and walked in again. He went
straight to Ximei, stared at her with red eyes, and suddenly raised his hand.
Ximei saw the scissors in his hand and shrank back into bed in fear: "What do you want to do?"
Chen Donglai's face was full of tears: "Didn't you say that if I died, you would not divorce me?
Then if I stab myself to death now, will you not be angry anymore? Just nod your head, and I will
stab myself to death right away to make you feel better. This is also good, my son and daughter
will not think I am ashamed."

Chapter 248
The alarm clock rang, Ximei opened her eyes, but her eyes were so swollen and painful that she
could hardly open them.
She stared at the top of the tent for a while, and Sinan's alarm clock went off.
Ximei sat up and saw Chen Donglai huddled against the wall on the small bed, wearing a spring-
autumn shirt.
It turned out that all this was not a dream, but really happened. She caught her husband in bed
with his mistress, and she cried bitterly on the bus. The man refused to divorce her, and took a
pair of scissors and said he would stab himself to death to vent her anger.
Ximei stared at the scissors thrown on the snakeskin bag for a while, her mind felt numb. She
remembered the words that came out of her mouth at that time. She wanted to laugh and cry at
the same time, but in the end, she couldn't laugh or cry.
"You can die if you want, why are you holding a pair of scissors? What if the police think I killed
you?"
Chen Donglai was shocked by her words for a moment and stared at her for a few seconds.
Ximei stretched out her feet to pull off her slippers. Yes, what he complained about was probably
true. She always thought about herself in everything, but who doesn't? Later, he threw down the
scissors, opened the window, climbed up with one leg, turned around and asked, "Then I'll jump
down! If I jump off the building, it has nothing to do with you."
"This is the second floor. If you don't die from jumping, you'll be crippled. You want me to be
disgusted by you for the rest of my life and still want me to serve you?"
Ximei stopped the alarm and her gaze stayed on Chen Donglai's back for two seconds. Haha, she
never expected that the best retort she could ever make in her life would be this sentence.
Chen Donglai turned around and saw Ximei's cold eyes and the sneer on her lips. People in the
daytime and at night are often not the same person. He watched Ximei lift the curtain and walk
out as if no one was around. He sat on the edge of the bed and hugged his head, feeling
ashamed. If it were now, he would not have the courage to jump off the building with scissors. He
really wanted to atone for his sins and make Ximei feel better, but in the end it became a joke.
Thinking of this, Chen Donglai couldn't help but feel a little discouraged.
Ximei looked at her class schedule. This semester, she has nine classes per week. Today, two
classes are in the afternoon. The half-full bottle of water in the thermos was from the day before
yesterday. It has long been cold. She twisted a small towel and sat on the sofa to apply to her
eyes. Most people who shout that they want to jump off the building will not jump. They are
waiting for someone to stop them. Of course, Chen Donglai will not jump either. Why? It seems
as if she has wronged her by having an affair.
Chen Donglai put the scissors back into the mooncake box in the drawer of the chest of drawers,
turned around and looked at Ximei silently, like a drowned dog waiting for trial. He hoped that
Ximei would change her mind and forgive him this time so that they could continue to live
together, but he was also afraid that if she promised not to leave him, she would use these things
to laugh at him, ridicule him and humiliate him endlessly, and Sinan would never help him to
smooth things over again.
After waiting for a long time, Chen Donglai saw Ximei take off the towel and stand up, then go
out with the washbasin, toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash cup as usual.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Teacher Gu, do you have no class this morning?" A greeting came from the corridor outside.
"Hello, Mr. Li. My two classes are both in the afternoon. How is your semester going? Are you
busy?"
Chen Donglai walked to the window and looked out, only to see the fat and short teacher Li next
door and Ximei walking together to the bathroom at the end of the corridor. From the back
alone, Ximei still looked like the girl who had just arrived in Shajingzi 20 years ago.
"Oh, don't mention it. I have 15 classes a week and I have to be the homeroom teacher. I am
lucky that I am not dead from exhaustion. Do you still have that Pang Dahai?"
"There are still quite a few left. I'll give them to you later."
"Is it time to start rehearsing the National Day program? You work hard every year."
"Fortunately, as long as I can win the award, it's worth it no matter how hard it is."
Chen Donglai vaguely heard Ximei's laughter, and he couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable
that she could still talk and laugh freely with her colleagues.
——
On this day, Chen Donglai cleaned the house inside and out on his own initiative, went to the
market to buy an old hen, stewed a pot of black fungus chicken soup, and fried a few side dishes.
When the sky was full of rosy clouds, many neighbors in the corridor were attracted by the smell
of the chicken soup.
"Hey, Engineer Chen is here? You work so hard and yet you are so virtuous that you stew chicken
soup? Old Zhu, look at Engineer Chen and learn from him!"
"Not hard-working, not virtuous, hehe."
"Teacher Gu hasn't come back yet?"
"not yet."
"Well, without your Si Nan in this building, it's boring (peaceful). How is Chen Si Nan doing in
Shanghai? Is he still adapting (harmful)?"
"It's fine. I'm back to school. School started yesterday."
"It's great that all three children are studying in Shanghai. Teacher Gu is really thinking long-
term."
"No, no, yes, yes, she is very thoughtful."
"Has your eldest daughter gone abroad?"
"Not yet. I just took the TOEFL in July."
"I heard that he scored over 600 points, which is among the top in Shanghai. That's incredible.
Ah, Mr. Chen, you are so lucky. Teacher Gu is a good teacher with a good personality and is so
capable. Your son and daughter will have great prospects in the future."
Chen Donglai tied an apron and stood at the door to deal with wave after wave of enthusiastic
teachers and staff. He didn't think Ximei and Sinan were so popular in the school before.
Ximei came back after it was completely dark, but she did not come back alone.
Teacher Li came back with Ximei in the morning. Ximei's eyes were swollen again.
As soon as Teacher Li entered the room, he looked Chen Donglai up and down with a stern face.
"Hello, Teacher Li, come, please sit down, I'll make you a cup of tea. Ximei, there is old hen soup
in the pot, have you eaten?" Chen Donglai asked cautiously.
"Mr. Chen, you don't need tea. As the vice chairman of the labor union of No. 2 Middle School, I
came here today to have a good talk with you about your personal style. What you did this time
was very wrong, and we, Ximei, suffered such a great injustice." Teacher Li patted Ximei's hand
gently: "Teacher Gu filed a divorce report today, and we didn't believe you would do such a
thing."
Chen Donglai was caught off guard and stammered in embarrassment.
"You seem to be a very loyal, honest and reliable male comrade, and you are also a model worker
in our autonomous region. Do you know how serious the consequences of such behavior are?
You have not only let down Ximei, you have also let down the expectations of the Party and the
organization!"
Chen Donglai glanced at Ximei and lowered his head: "I was wrong. I made a big mistake in a
moment of confusion. I am sorry to Ximei and the children."
"You must have studied the Party rectification decision of the Third Plenary Session of the 12th
Central Committee of the Communist Party of China seriously, right? In the past five years, the
party has expelled 170,000 people. This year, nearly 100,000 party members have been punished
by various party disciplines. Have you thought about your future?" Teacher Li said with great
sorrow: "Have you ever thought about it? Why does a young cadre in the oil system, a female
college student, suddenly want to marry an American and go to the United States, and claim that
she will never return to China? Why does she want to be your mistress? Is there any political
purpose? Old Chen - you are not confused for a moment, you are too confused. Your party
organization life is definitely not in place!"
Ximei was also surprised, but she didn't think about it: "Teacher Li, Teacher Li, I just want you to
verify the facts and help me review the divorce report--"
Teacher Li held her hand and shook his head firmly, "Ximei, we know you feel wronged and sad,
but we cannot approve your divorce report."
"Ah?" Ximei was dumbfounded.
"Old Chen, please sit down. Don't stand. Our Party Committee Secretary Wu will come to talk to
you tomorrow. Your problem is quite serious. We will definitely report it to our superiors."
Chen Donglai's heart sank. He looked at Ximei. Ximei pursed her lips and wanted to make some
excuses, but she was too weak to do so.
"We all know the facts of your marriage to Lao Chen. You came from Shanghai to the frontier and
shared joys and sorrows for twenty years. You have a solid revolutionary emotional foundation.
Ximei, we female comrades should also have a broad mind and not be easily defeated. Family is
another battlefield. You still have three children. If you run away like this, what will happen to the
children? Are you going to leave them without a father forever?"
"Everyone makes mistakes, and it's a great honor to improve once you know your mistakes. Even
prisoners have a chance to reform and start a new life after they are released from prison, right?
Not to mention a couple of twenty years. Ximei, emotionally, we definitely understand,
sympathize with, and support you, but you still have to think carefully about it and don't go to
extremes just because of a momentary anger. Once you really get divorced, the relationship
between the couple is broken and can never be repaired, right? Although Lao Chen made
mistakes, he is still a good comrade and a good man. He works diligently and responsibly, and
hands over all his salary. He also knows how to clean, cook, and stew soup when he comes home.
As we walked upstairs, everyone praised him, and you heard it."
"Speaking of which, which cat doesn't cheat? All men in the world are the same. If you divorce
Lao Chen, can you find someone better than him? You are almost 40 years old and have three
children. Even if the children don't want to live with you, will you and your new husband still have
children? If the other party wants to have children, will you have them? If you want to have
children, you have to remove the IUD, which is a big risk. If the other party also has children, will
you still be a stepmother? Is it easy to be a stepmother?" said Mrs. Li. Teacher's eyes flashed with
compassion, and she shook her head and said, "In all the years I have seen, there are not many
male comrades who are better than Lao Chen. It's not that I encourage reconciliation rather than
divorce. I used to work in the Women's Federation in Turpan, and later joined the trade union. I
have seen too much in the past ten years. The conditions in Xinjiang were tough enough, weren't
they? There were people who did that kind of thing secretly in the cotton fields without the
knowledge of their husbands and wives. Are there many divorces? Among ten women, there are
three stubborn women who insist on divorce. Then what?"
Ximei didn't respond.
"No one is living well. It's too hard to be alone, really," Teacher Li wiped away tears. "You may
have heard about Teacher Wang from the Education Bureau. After her divorce, she found another
husband, but he turned out to be worse than her previous husband. He didn't give her a penny
and beat her son behind her back. Her son didn't dare to tell her, and it was later discovered by
the secretary of our union."
Ximei lowered her head and said, "I don't plan to look for another one. My two daughters are
grown up and don't need me to take care of them. I will live alone."
Teacher Li was startled and felt even more sympathetic towards Ximei: "Look at you, are you mad
at all the men in the world? Is it necessary? Do you live alone? Are there few lonely elderly
people in our education system? You have visited them, and every year on Lei Feng Day, our
students will go to help them clean up. Do you still remember the smell in the house? In April this
year, the 78-year-old teacher Zhu fell down. It took three days for someone to find him and send
him to the hospital. He died before he could be hospitalized."
Chen Donglai's heart, which had just calmed down, slowly returned to its original place.
——
The three-day leave Chen Donglai had requested soon expired. He left all the money he had on
him to Ximei and took the Petroleum Administration bus back to Karamay.
Ximei's divorce report still hadn't been approved. The whole school knew that she was going to
get a divorce. They all knew that the seemingly righteous Engineer Chen, the hardworking,
virtuous and capable steward, was having an affair in the workplace.
Without Chen Sinan shaking the building, everyone's sympathetic looks and private gossip were
unbridled. Of course, the school was full of intellectuals, and everyone's private discussions were
also measured. The most outrageous thing was to imagine the appearance and figure of the
"mistress". What did she look like that could make Engineer Chen abandon such a good teacher
Gu? After all, Teacher Gu was a flower in the education system. Not long after she entered the
school, she was spotted by the Education Bureau and was about to be transferred to be a
researcher. At that time, everyone said that the director of the Education Bureau "lit up" when he
saw Teacher Gu. But Teacher Gu's character was here, and in the end he declined the Education
Bureau on the grounds that the salary was twelve yuan less. Who would have thought...
Because of Gu Ximei's experience, the husbands of the female teachers had a hard time for a
while. They had to explain clearly where they went, what they did, how much they spent, and
whether they bought hard or soft cigarettes.
Ximei, on the other hand, became calmer day by day. Things had come to this point, and she had
no more face to lose. She devoted herself to the arrangement of the program for the National
Day performance. At the end of September, Ximei called Sinan.
"Nannan, I mean, what if, what if, what if mom wants to divorce dad, who will you live with?
Mom or your dad?"

Chapter 249
There are always unexpected things in the world.
Sinan lay on the attic floor, resting her head on her head and looking at the ceiling. She crossed
her legs and shook for a quarter of an hour. Suddenly, she felt a little uncomfortable. After all, no
one would slap her in the face and stop her from shaking her legs anymore.
"Sister?"
Si Jiang, who was typing at the desk, responded in a low voice: "Yeah."
I received three thick packages from the United States last week. Si Jiang has been busy writing
application letters recently.
"If our parents divorced, we would definitely live with our mom, right?"
The crisp "da da" sound suddenly stopped.
Si Jiang turned around abruptly: "Nannan, what did you just say?"
Sinan stood up with a somersault: "Mom said on the phone that she wanted to divorce Dad. Dad
must have done something fishy."
"Why didn't mom tell me--" Si Jiang was a little confused: "Did you hear it wrongly or get
confused?"
"No," Si Nan bent down, grasped his ankles with both hands, and looked back at Si Jiang from
between his legs, "She's afraid that it will affect your going abroad. But if I knew it and didn't tell
you, it would be too disloyal. We should share the difficulties."
Si Nan stood up and waved his hand in front of Si Jiang: "Sister? Sister?"
"Why is it Dad's problem?" Sijianglasnan sat down and asked seriously.
"Oh, when I went to Karamay on Labor Day, I saw Auntie Xiao He put her hand on Dad's thigh." Si
Nan put his hand on Si Jiang's leg and moved it upwards. Si Jiang shuddered and quickly moved
away.
Sinan raised an eyebrow: "Anyway, Dad didn't dodge and pretended nothing happened."
"You didn't tell Mom?"
Sinan shook his head. "What's there to say? They quarrel every day, over every little thing. If I say
anything, Mom will definitely stab Dad to death with a pair of scissors."
Si Jiang was silent for a while: "Did mom cry?"
"No, well, I don't know. I'm not in Urumqi. If I call back and ask someone, wouldn't that be a bad
idea? Others can guess, right?"
"Don't, don't call and ask. I'll call dad directly tomorrow!" Si Jiang stroked Si Nan's curly hair: "I
didn't expect that you would also -" She couldn't think of a suitable adjective for a moment. Not
living well? Having a hard life? Exhausted?
Sinan shook his head: "I'm used to it. Men are not good enough and women are troublesome
too. Alas, this world will never be better."
Si Jiang was full of worries, but was also amused by her childish words pretending to be an adult.
"Sister, you are good, my cousin is good, and Brother Ningning is also good. In the future, I will
marry my cousin, and you will marry Brother Ningning. The four of us will buy a big house, have a
bunch of children, raise a few guard dogs, and live together until we grow old and die." Si Nan
earnestly advised Si Jiang: "Sister, please don't marry a foreign devil, okay?"
Si Jiang laughed and slapped her on the forehead: "What are you thinking about all day? Don't
talk nonsense. Why didn't I hear you reciting the English text today?"
"Our sissy teacher is so annoying. No matter how I recite, he always laughs at my country
pronunciation. Tsk." Sinan packed his schoolbag nonchalantly: "I might as well not recite. I know
all the answers in the exam anyway."
"Your English teacher has a bad character." Si Jiang frowned: "Doesn't your school have any
measures?" She wrote a letter of protest to the school on September 8th. Now 21 days have
passed and the school has not responded at all. After the National Day, she will continue to write
letters to the district education bureau and the municipal education bureau to express her
opinions.
"No. Tang Huan is worse off than me." Si Nan put his parents' affairs behind him: "She is too
honest. Empress Kang laughed at her so much, but she still recited the scriptures honestly. Those
girls laughed at her all day long. If I didn't beat the girls, hmph——"
"Don't fight again. Last time in Xigong, you guys even got to the police station!"
"It is the duty of every citizen to punish evildoers! Those little hooligans stole pocket money from
primary school students and had to be beaten. They were not used to being beaten, and they
cried and shouted, 'I have a brother who is from a work-study school.' Tsk, my subordinate Hu
Yadong said that he was talking nonsense, his brother was obviously from Wuding Middle
School."
Si Jiang stroked his forehead. For the first time, he realized that it was not easy for his mother to
take care of Si Nan. What do you mean by not being able to withstand a beating? Si Nan came
back with a nosebleed. The bruises on the back of his hand have not completely disappeared yet.
He was considered a hero. More than a dozen parents of elementary school students from
nearby streets came to thank him. Snacks, desserts and fruits piled up like a small mountain.
Those little hooligans not only often robbed the pocket money of elementary and middle school
students, but also lifted the skirts of little girls. They deserved to be beaten. But when
encountering such things, Si Hao didn't tell anyone in the family for more than a year. As soon as
Si Nan came back, he told Si Nan. Thinking of this, Si Jiang couldn't help but sigh softly again. And
the same thing happened to his mother. When such a big thing happened, she only told Si Nan.
Seeing Si Jiang in a daze, Si Nan lay back on the floor.
"My cousin, is the military training going to end soon? Oh, I miss my cousin."
Si Jiang sorted out his disordered thoughts and thought for a while: "Nannan, you are already a
grown-up girl, and you will soon be a high school student. Don't talk about marrying your eldest
cousin anymore, okay?"
"Why? I've known since I was a kid that I would marry my oldest cousin."
"Ahem," Si Jiang took a breath, "My cousin has a girl he likes. She's from the same school as us—"
Sinan jumped up and said, "No! Absolutely not!"
Si Jiang: "??? Who my cousin likes is his business, no one has the right to interfere with him."
"If I say no, then it's no!" Sinan was furious: "My cousin is mine!"
This question was too difficult to explain. Si Jiang could only deal with it calmly and continued
typing.
"Why didn't you help me keep an eye on my cousin?" Sinan muttered unhappily, "You were just
focusing on dating someone else."
Si Jiang turned his head and looked at her: "I don't have a boyfriend."
"hehe."
Sinan walked around the attic and said, "I'm going to call Brother Ningning."
"What time is it? The public phones in the university have been closed for a long time."
"Then I'll fight again tomorrow. Sister—" Si Nan hugged Si Jiang's neck from behind.
Si Jiang was strangled by her and couldn't breathe. He slapped her several times in anger and
said, "What are you doing? Let me go."
"When my eldest cousin comes back, you have to help me."
"What can I do for you?"
"I want to make it clear to my cousin, what if, what if, I mean what if, what if he doesn't want to
marry me--" Si Nan choked up and buried his head in Si Jiang's shoulder.
Si Jiang couldn't understand. She didn't seem sad even when we talked about such a big thing as
her parents' divorce!
"I just don't want to live anymore." Sinan said aggrievedly.
Si Jiang grabbed her curly hair and moved a little further away, completely ignoring Si Nan's cries
of pain.
"Chen Sinan! What are you thinking? You don't want to live anymore? Are you mistaken? My
cousin is my cousin. He takes care of you and loves you like his own brother. What do you want to
do? You are threatening me. You are cowardly and mean! If anyone says that they will not live if
they cannot marry my cousin, what will my cousin do? Let me tell you, there are many girls in our
school who like me. If they are all like you, I will not have enough lives even if I have 90 lives."
Sinan's eyes widened with tears: "So many girls like my cousin?"
"Yes! There are seven or eight of them in our class, including my friends, Zeng Xin and Zhang Leyi
whom you have met. They have liked the prince for many years, but they have never bothered
him. Liking someone is not for the purpose of getting him, do you understand?" Si Jiang felt guilty
and anxious. How could she have forgotten that Nan Nan was also at the age of the young boy
Mu Ai, who was just beginning to fall in love? What if she really misunderstood family affection as
love? It would not only harm herself, but also the prince. She was such a dereliction of duty as a
sister!
"If you like someone, of course you want to get him or her!" Sinan retorted unconvincedly: "I like
to eat meat, so I have to eat meat. It's so painful to see that I can't eat meat."
"These are two different things. If you like to eat meat, you also want meat to like being eaten by
you, right? If you like someone, you want to get him, but what if he doesn't like you and doesn't
want to be gotten by you? Whose wish is more important?" Si Jiang said earnestly, "If you like
someone, as long as this person is happy, you should also feel happy. This is true love, not selfish
possessiveness. As for whether he is happy because of you, it is not important."
Sinan lay back down, tossing and turning for a long time, and admitted that what the elder sister
said made some sense. As for whether meat likes to be eaten, it definitely doesn't like it. She had
seen pigs being slaughtered in Aksu, and the pigs screamed so miserably that the sound lingered
in the room for three days.
"Then..." Sinan asked again, "Who does my cousin like? Is she pretty?"
"I don't know." Si Jiang's fingers stopped on the keyboard, and he suddenly felt the loss and
sadness in Si Nan's tone.
"Do you look good with sister?"
"Brother is not the kind of shallow boy who judges people by appearance."
Sinan was quiet for a while, then he hugged the pillow and started howling.
Si Jiang turned around and saw Si Nan curled up on the floor like a caterpillar.
"Ahhhhh, no no! I can't stand it!"
"Cousin, please come back soon and explain it to me clearly!"
"You are not allowed to like ugly women! At least not uglier than my sister! I would be too
embarrassed to lose to a girl uglier than my sister—"
Si Jiangmu turned back with a sullen face and continued to concentrate on typing. He no longer
wanted to pay attention to that bastard Chen Sinan.
——
Si Jiang was thinking about calling her father, so she asked for leave from the last political class
the next afternoon. At this time, her grandmother had gone out to exchange scriptures, and Si
Hao and Si Nan had not yet finished school, so she had a good opportunity to ask clearly.
Si Jiang rode her bicycle back to Wanchun Street and just parked her bike when she heard the
sound of the faucet in the kitchen. She immediately became alert, thinking of her grandmother's
complaints about the ridiculously high water bills in the past few months, and suspected that
someone was stealing water. Si Jiang picked up a bamboo broom and tiptoed to open the door of
the kitchen.
The sound of water in the shower suddenly stopped. Si Jiangxin rushed over and kicked the
shower door open, raised the broom, and met Jingsheng who had just finished taking a shower
and was holding a towel to wipe his hair.
"Brother?!"
Si Jiang shouted with a laugh, waved the broom in her hand unconsciously, and blinked. She saw
nothing, she saw nothing. She saw nothing.
Jingsheng covered his vital parts with the towel in his hand and turned around quickly: "What are
you doing back so early?!"
Si Jiang then let out an "Ah" and quickly ran out. After running two steps, he turned back to close
the shower door for Jingsheng.
"Eh? Ah, brother, please close the door yourself, please close it. (Brother, please close the door
yourself...)" Si Jiang looked at Jingsheng, who was covering his lower body with one hand and
preparing to close the door with the other hand, and forced out an awkward smile without
looking away. He turned around and rushed out of the kitchen, and rode out of the alley at full
speed.
Jingsheng put on a sweatshirt and shorts, walked outside the gate to take a look, and then took
back the schoolbag that Si Jiang had placed on the back seat of the bicycle.

Chapter 250
Seeing Jingsheng coming back, Granny Gu breathed a sigh of relief: "It's hard to go from
extravagance to frugality. I've enjoyed a few years of happiness. Now my feet don't hurt when I
walk to the market and back, but my knees are sore. Oh, Jiangsnans, I'm so happy today that I'm
going to die."
Speaking of Si Jiang, Jingsheng's face, which had just turned pale, turned red again.
"Si Jiang just came back. Maybe he had something to do, so he went out again."
Grandma Gu fished out fifty yuan from her chest of drawers and said, "Hey, where did this little
girl go? She went out even when you were at home? Jingsheng, go to the market and buy some
more vegetables. I wanted to send them off at night and make some fried rice and chicken and
vegetable soup, but now I'm leaving it to you. You can buy whatever you want."
"Grandma, I have some money on me, and I haven't spent much on living expenses this month."
"Nonsense, that's for you to spend at school, how can you spend it on us? Take it, take it."
Granny Gu put down her work, happily sat on the recliner and started watching Yue Opera.
Jingsheng smiled, picked up two vegetable baskets and went out, but unexpectedly, his classmate
Chen Sijiang ran away, taking the key to the bicycle lock with him. Jingsheng turned around and
went upstairs to look for the spare key, but as soon as he came downstairs, he was jumped into
the arms.
"Cousin! Why are you back? Uncle said he would pick you up tomorrow with Uncle Wang Qiang's
car."
"Cousin, where are you going? Going to buy groceries? I'll go with you!"
"Cousin, what do you want to eat? I have money, I'll buy it for you."
"Cousin, I have something to tell you, very seriously—"
"Chen Sinan, stop bothering me!" Jingsheng walked quickly.
Si Nan wanted to pursue her, but was held back by the word "annoying". Was his cousin also a
man who forgot his loyalty for the sake of beauty? He found her annoying because he already
had a girl he liked? On this bright autumn afternoon, Chen Si Nan experienced for the first time
the horrible fragility and sensitivity of a girl's heart.
When Jingsheng came back from buying groceries, Sinan had completely forgotten her girlish
heart. She approached Jingsheng mysteriously, holding a pile of torn waste paper.
"Something big has happened!"
Jingsheng glanced at her while picking vegetables: "What are you doing?"
"Brother, look! I'm in trouble! Please help me!"
Jingsheng took a few glances, reached out to turn off the faucet, took the pile of waste paper and
pieced it together carefully. It was all in English, a letter typed out on a typewriter.
"What did you do?"
"Actually, don't blame me, blame my dad!" Sinan was worried and panicked.
——
In the evening, Gu Dongwen came back and was surprised to see Jingsheng in the kitchen:
"Military training has ended? Why didn't you tell us on the phone? Your uncle Wang Qiang also
said that he would go to Minhang with us to pick you up tomorrow morning."
"There's nothing to do at school now, so I thought I'd try the bus route, so I came back,"
Jingsheng arranged the six male crabs in the steamer, looked up at Gu Dongwen, "Tomorrow is
National Day, I plan to go to the stall to help out."
Gu Dongwen took out a pack of cigarettes and weighed them: "Want some cigarettes?"
Jingsheng shook his head and glared at him in dissatisfaction: "Young Master, please cut the
cigarettes."
Gu Dongwen smiled and put the cigarette behind his ear: "Oh, my son is controlling me now?"
"I'm not asking you to stop smoking, just smoke two less cigarettes. One pack a day is too much,
one pack every two or three days is about right."
Gu Dongwen went upstairs, washed his face, drank tea, and read the evening paper. He then
returned to the kitchen, casually broke off a large pair of tongs, and dipped them in ginger
vinegar: "Hey, if you are free at night, go talk to Si Jiang."
The hairy crab tied tightly in Jingsheng's hand hit the edge of the pot.
"What to talk about?" Jingsheng asked calmly. His eyes flashed across the shower room and fell
back on the six hairy crabs that had just been thrown into the steamer. He reached out and lined
them up neatly, forming a flower.
"Your young lady probably wants a divorce." Gu Dongwen sneered, "She could have divorced a
long time ago. It would be better if she divorced. After that, she came back to Shanghai. What
can't she do now?"
Jingsheng breathed a sigh of relief and covered the pot: "Sinan also told you?"
"Well," Gu Dongwen bit the crab leg, "Si Jiang is thoughtful. She always listens to your advice. You
should talk to her and tell her not to be affected. Just do what you need to do and prepare the
application form. Once she goes abroad, it will have nothing to do with her. Her father didn't
fulfill his responsibility anyway. It doesn't matter if she doesn't go abroad. She can go to Jiaotong
University with you and study hard. Let her parents solve the problems privately. (Let her parents
solve their own problems.)"
"She went out and hasn't come back yet." Jingsheng replied while staring at the stove.
Gu Dongwen stretched his neck and looked out: "Speaking of the devil, here comes the devil,
back." He brought the crab and a plate of ginger vinegar and walked away, shouting: "Chehala,
Chehala (Eat crabs, eat crabs)"
The footsteps upstairs immediately became chaotic.
Jingsheng sat on a low stool, staring at the flames under the steamer. The tips of his ears felt hot
and he was sweating all over.
When Si Jiang saw that his schoolbag was missing from the bicycle, he slapped himself on the
forehead, took a deep breath, straightened his chest, borrowed a thermos of courage from Si
Nan, and took two deep breaths. Very good, just pretend that nothing happened.
"Thank you for your hard work, brother. I'm back." Si Jiang stepped into the room, greeted him,
and immediately jumped up the stairs without looking around.
Jingsheng lowered his head, trying to respond nonchalantly, but when he opened his mouth, the
only sound behind him was the thudding of stairs. He stood up and took two steps toward the
door, then took three steps back after thinking for a moment, opened the lid of the pot, and the
crab shell was already red. The steaming hot air hit his face, but he didn't feel hot at all.
——
Gu Dongwen opened two bottles of beer and a bottle of rice wine.
Granny Gu poured herself a small cup of white wine and warned Sinan: "Don't get drunk. Your
brother sang Journey to the West for an hour last time, and your mother and I were exhausted."
Si Hao sucked a mouthful of crab roe and asked in confusion: "I am the one singing, so I should be
tired. Why are you and my mother tired?"
Granny Gu took a sip of wine and said, "Haha, you undressed while singing, and I picked up each
piece after you took it off. It's easy for you to take off your clothes, but I don't know how hard it is
to help you put on your clothes! We two old ladies with bound feet, chasing you upstairs and
downstairs, how can we not be tired?"
"Then don't chase him, just let him take off his clothes!" Si Nan raised a glass of beer and clinked
it with Gu Dongwen's glass disapprovingly: "He deserves to be frozen after taking off all his
clothes! It's better to let him run around the alley naked, and see if he dares to get drunk again
next time."
Si Hao didn't dare to offend Si Nan, so he had to pout and eat crabs.
Granny Gu laughed and said, "Okay, next time I'll do as Nan Nan said. Let him be naked and
exposed to others."
Si was very unhappy: "Everyone who sees this will have needle holes in their eyes!"
Gu Dongwen also laughed: "The little fat guy is not afraid, he is a man, he won't suffer any loss if
people stare at his balls, hahahaha."
Si Hao was so angry that he almost cried: "What a loss! What a loss! I lost a lot!"
Grandma Gu laughed and scolded her son: "Bullshit! Nannan and Nannan are grown girls now,
and you're talking nonsense just because you drank a few mouthfuls of horse urine! Shame on
you!"
Si Nan looked at Si Hao and laughed heartlessly.
A thief is bound to feel guilty. Hearing these sensitive words, "naked", "bare bottom", "exposed",
Si Jiang subconsciously glanced at Jingsheng next to him. He was clearly nearsighted and didn't
wear glasses, but he could see clearly. Jingsheng's ears turned red.
Noticing Si Jiang's gaze, Jing Sheng stopped unpacking the crabs, coughed twice, and then raised
his chopsticks to knock on the glass: "Okay, okay, stop talking about this nonsense. Let's talk
about the business at the stall, and how is the business with the lady?"
Gu Dongwen drank the remaining half cup of rice wine in one gulp and sighed: "Business is OK,
but Xiao Weimin, the bastard, went in again."
"Ah?" Si Jiang was stunned: "Didn't he quit?"
"It's very difficult to quit pornography, gambling and drugs," Jingsheng added.
Gu Dongwen nodded: "He came out after the Spring Festival. I asked him to come and help, but
he refused. He looked for a job everywhere. He is in his thirties, has only a junior high school
diploma, and there is such a thing in his file. How can he find a job?"
Granny Gu sighed: "So, people really shouldn't take a wrong step. If you take a wrong step, all of
them will go wrong. It will be hard to turn back."
Si Jiang thought of his father and realized what his grandmother had said was true. He felt sad
and lowered his head silently.
A pile of crab meat was put into her bowl.
Jingsheng took back his chopsticks and asked Sinan: "Do you want to go to the Bund to see the
lights at night?"
Si Nan looked at Si Jiang and said, "Sister, are you going?"
Si Jiang shook his head: "I'm not going this year. There's no point in going every year. There are
crowds everywhere."
Si Hao was very disappointed: "I've never been there before! You didn't even take me with you!"
Sinan curled his lips and said, "You? Walk to the Bund and then walk back? Last time you went to
your cousin's school, you were out of breath after just a few steps. Who would hide in the shower
and cry after coming back?"
Si Hao answered honestly: "Me."
Jingsheng made the decision: "Then let's go to Xigong. There are lights, not many people, and the
skating rink has been re-cemented, so there are no potholes. Okay, do you want to learn
skating?"
"Want to teach me, Brother?" Si Hao's face wrinkled. He had the painful experience of being
taken running by his brother, and he really didn't want to be taught by Jingsheng.
"Let Sinan teach you. Sinan, you were not very good at skating before, how are you now? Are you
good enough?"
"Why can't I do it!" Sinan dropped his glass onto the table, patting his chest proudly and saying,
"Go to our Youhao Road in Urumqi and ask, is there anything that I, Chen Sinan, can't do? I'm
telling you, cousin, there is absolutely nothing! I've been practicing for a whole year, even on the
river, practicing ice skating. You all definitely can't do this, I'm the only one in my family who can
do it! When the river freezes over, I'll teach you how to skate!"
"Really?!" Si Hao became excited.
Gu Dongwen laughed and stroked Sinan's curly hair. "Silly boy, if the rivers in Shanghai were
covered with thick ice that could be used for ice skating, that would be a natural disaster."
——
I can't count on the ice skates, but I can still use the four-wheel skates. Tomorrow is the National
Day, and the West Palace is indeed quieter than usual Saturdays and Sundays, but the skating rink
can still skate fast.
Si Hao fell down with a grimacing face, holding his butt and crying out in pain, but Si Nan, who
had strict requirements and high standards, forced him to continue. He fell down again and again,
and climbed up again and fell down again.
Jingsheng walked around for more than ten times, and when he saw Sihao finally able to hold the
railing and walk seven or eight meters, he gave Sinan a few words and prepared to go out. Sinan
turned his back to Sijiang and winked at him with his hands clasped together, but Jingsheng
flicked him, and he covered his forehead and howled.
Si Jiang sat on the side holding a few bags of snacks, in a daze, and didn't notice their movements
at all.
"Hey, what are you daydreaming about?" Jingsheng changed his shoes, washed his hands, and sat
next to Si Jiang.
Si Jiang blushed and stammered, "No, nothing."
Jingsheng glanced at her and asked, "Are you thinking about your parents?"
"You know too?" Si Jiang was stunned, thinking that since Si Nan had told her, he would definitely
tell his uncle, and his uncle would definitely tell his brother.
"Have you called them?"
"Yeah, I called my dad. I didn't ask my mom. She didn't tell me, she only told Si Nan. She probably
didn't want me to know." Si Jiang's voice became softer and softer.
"What did your dad say?" Jingsheng stretched his legs: "It's okay if you don't want to tell me."
Si Jiang shook his head and was silent for a moment before speaking: "No, if I don't tell you, I
can't tell anyone. My dad - he didn't say anything, he just admitted that he made a mistake and
asked me to persuade Mom."
"Made a mistake?"
"He was with another woman and my mom caught him." Although it was difficult, Si Jiang still
said it out loud. She felt relieved after saying it. She looked at Si Nan in the skating rink. Si Nan
probably didn't have a concrete concept of what happened between men and women, so she
could forget about it immediately after saying it. Or maybe Si Nan didn't care much about her
parents' affairs and didn't care whether they divorced or not.
After Si Jiang finished her pay phone call in the afternoon, she actually sat by the lake in Xigong
for three hours. She didn't cry, but she once believed that her mother went to the frontier for
love. But even if that was true, that "love" had been worn away by the long years and the life full
of thorns and hardships. At least she had seen what "love" looked like, and it was not like her
parents'.
What made her sad was the complete collapse of the role of "father". Si Jiang couldn't help but
compare the men around her. "Father" has always been in a position that is not as good as the
best but better than the worst. Compared with her uncles, her father is certainly far inferior to
them. At least for Si Jiang, it is mostly disappointing, but compared with her two uncles, her
father does not seem to be too despicable. Even if he is no longer tall and majestic in her heart,
he is definitely not mean and vulgar. However, reality is so cruel.
Si Jiang felt ashamed of having a despicable father. The more he explained and complained, the
more Si Jiang looked down on him. The more she looked down on him, the more she reflected on
whether she had inherited her father's coldness and selfishness. What Tang Zenian did to her
made her feel pressured and annoyed. Was this exactly the same as her father's complaints
about her mother's dedication?
As a woman, she could imagine her mother's pain, but she dared not imagine her inner thoughts,
which would make her hate her father even more. However, rationally, she understood that her
father's complaints and explanations were reasonable no matter how much she looked down on
him. The more Si Jiang thought about the ugliness and complexity of human nature, the more
painful it was.
"I—" Si Jiang looked at Jing Sheng, "I don't want to go abroad. I can't leave my mother, Nan Nan
and Si Hao behind."
Jingsheng looked at Si Jiang quietly, and suddenly felt inexplicably jealous of Gu Ximei.
"How old is your mom?"
"Ah?" Si Jiang was stunned.

Chapter 251
Chapter 251
Jingsheng sighed: "Chen Sijiang, you are not a hen, your mother is not a chick, Sinan and Sihao
are not chicks either, as time goes by, there are no eagles to eat them. They don't need you to be
responsible, you only need to be responsible for yourself. There is nothing you can't leave behind,
just don't leave yourself behind, and you haven't left anyone behind, your mother will always be
your mother, and your brothers and sisters will always be your brothers and sisters. They -
grandma, my father, me, and you will always be one family."
This sounded vaguely familiar. Si Jiang lowered her head and said nothing. She had thought too
much in the past day and night, and she suddenly felt like crying when Jingsheng said that.
"After my mom disappeared, I swore that I would not go anywhere and do nothing until I could
find her." Jingsheng laughed at himself. "But later my dad beat me up and scolded me for three
days. I had no choice but to walk to Kunming with 200 yuan in my pocket to catch a train."
"My father said that as long as I'm alive, I can't stay where I am. He forced me to go, saying that
my mother also wanted me to come to Shanghai to study--" Jingsheng's voice gradually became
softer.
Si Jiang sniffed. She had also vowed not to cry easily again, especially in front of her brother.
"Yeah. I understand."
"I also asked my dad, what would my mom and he do if I was missing, if I was gone." Jingsheng
raised his head and looked towards the skating rink. Si Nan was sitting on the railing and yelling at
Si Hao.
Just thinking about this possibility according to Jingsheng's words, Si Jiang's hair stood on end
and his whole body tensed up and felt cold.
"My dad said that grief will never heal, but life must go on." Jingsheng laughed at himself twice:
"He also said that if my mom still wants a child, they will adopt one."
Jingsheng paused and said, "My mother had a difficult labor when she gave birth to me, so her
uterus was removed. I was the only child she could have in her life."
The two were silent for a moment, and Si Jiang said, "My elder uncle and aunt are so kind, but
they only have you as their son. My younger uncle and aunt are also very kind, but they can only
have one child. It's really unfair when you think about it."
Jingsheng thought for a moment and said, "Didn't your eldest aunt also give birth to three
children?"
Si Jiang smiled bitterly and said, "Then the three of us are just unlucky."
Jingsheng laughed: "No, it's your parents who are very lucky."
"My dad wasn't like this before—" Si Jiang narrowed his eyes and sighed. The anger dissipated,
leaving only confusion. In fact, she never knew what kind of man her father was. He was a top
student at Tongji University, an oil hero stationed on the frontier, very filial to his grandparents,
and everyone who mentioned him said he was a rare good man. When she was a child, she only
saw her father once every three or four years. In Si Jiang's eyes, he was like all fathers. He would
lift her up and sit on his shoulders, teach her to write calligraphy, and his eyes would sparkle
when he listened to her describing the content of the performance, as if she was the most
beautiful and well-behaved daughter in the world.
But more than a decade later, he told her on the phone that he was sorry for his mother and had
made a mistake that he shouldn't have made. Adult matters are complicated and can't be
explained in a few words. Children shouldn't think too much. Daddy will always be their daddy.
He even complained about how Mommy had brought this matter to them. The noisy and bustling
noise in the public telephone booth became the best barrier, firmly stabilizing Si Jiang in this
world, so that she could directly transform the people and things on the other side of the
microphone into the content of a not-so-exciting novel.
"You know what? It's very strange. If people's words are turned into text, they will be very
strange. It's not about the difference between written language and spoken language, but the
text will reveal people's nature, really."
Si Jiang explained to Jingsheng: "As for what my father said on the phone, it all seemed to make
sense, but it was particularly boring after it was turned into text. He was guilty, weak, flustered,
and wanted to save face. He was ambiguous. He couldn't hide it at all. Isn't it strange? I originally
thought of a lot of questions to ask him——"
“It’s boring.”
The two people uttered these three words in unison, smiled at each other, and turned their
heads to continue watching Si Nan "teaching" (abusing) Si Hao.
"Does uncle know about this too?"
"Um."
"what did he say?"
"He said that it would have been a long time since they divorced, so that your mother could
come back to Shanghai and the family could be reunited."
Si Jiang sighed: "My mother will definitely not get a divorce."
Jingsheng looked at Si Jiang and said "hmm".
"My mother cares most about the company, job title, and household registration. She has never
looked down on my aunt and uncle for selling clothes." Si Jiang thought for a moment and said,
"She cares most about face."
Jingsheng hummed again.
"So don't think too much about it. Retype your application letter tonight. Remember?"
"Remember."
"Don't give up so easily, as if you have the final say on whether to go to the United States. Isn't it
said that visas are difficult to get now? Have you applied for a scholarship?"
Si Jiang turned to look at Jing Sheng: "???"
Jingsheng pretended not to see it and stomped his long legs on the concrete floor: "Then how
can you say you don't plan to go to the United States? How many American universities have
invited you? Tsk."
"Brother, you are still so annoying even after going to college!" Si Jiang raised his leg and kicked
Jingsheng.
Jingsheng bent down and brushed his trouser legs: "Because someone is still so stupid even
though he is in his third year of high school."
He stood up, stretched, put his hands in his pockets and went to rescue the little fat boy leisurely.
Si Jiang packed up the oil paper bag and saw his brother hugging Jingsheng's thighs through the
railing. He couldn't help laughing. Suddenly, he thought of a scene he shouldn't have thought of.
Si Jiang quickly closed his eyes and shook his head, saving himself from the road of no return of
the female hooligan.
That night, the sound of typewriters clacking away could be heard in the attic.
The pavilion was too stuffy, so Gu Dongwen took a shower and spread two mats on the floor of
the living room. He listened carefully and heard that Chen Sihao in the inner room was already
snoring.
The TV was replaying the Olympic football qualifiers match in which the Chinese team defeated
the Philippines. Jingsheng sat on a recliner, his toenails half cut, and watched intently.
"Do you want to cut the watermelon? (Do you want to eat the watermelon?)" Gu Dongwen
pulled over a chair with an armchair, stretched out his legs and hooked the small stool where
Jingsheng was resting his feet.
As soon as Jingsheng's legs were free, he shrunk back into the recliner. He stretched out his hand,
took a piece of watermelon and took a bite.
"Hey, when is the Olympic qualifier against Japan?" Gu Dongwen kicked Jingsheng.
"On the 26th of next month, we will be away."
"Jia Xiuquan and his team can do it this time. They won 9-0. I remember Jia scored a hat trick,
right? We have been pushing for so many years, and this year we should definitely break out of
Asia."
"The Olympics will be held in Seoul next year." Jingsheng lowered his head and spit the melon
seeds on his left hand, and replied coldly.
"Then, you go play. Make it to the World Cup?" Gu Dongwen rolled his eyes at him.
"I can't do it. I have many horizontal push boards. I can try for the youth team. Oh, I joined the
school football team." Jingsheng changed his posture and found that his legs were numb. He held
a handful of melon seeds and pushed them with the back of his hand: "Next time, bring Sijiang
and others to the school to watch our game. No tickets are required."
"I don't have time. I'm so busy."
"Didn't you hire a handyman?" Jingsheng turned his head and looked Gu Dongwen up and down.
"Do it? Let's see?" Gu Dongwen laughed: "Did you find that you are old and your father is still
young?"
Now it was Jingsheng's turn to roll his eyes: "Haha, grandma said you hired a woman?"
"Yeah. He's quite good-looking and can be a model. Xiao Qin and your eldest aunt used to be
colleagues in the same factory. He offended his boss and applied for unpaid leave to come out
and earn money. It's not easy."
"Xiaoqin?" Jingsheng gave her a teasing look.
"Qin in Qin Shi Huang's name. My last name is Qin." Gu Dongwen smiled and kicked Jingsheng
again: "What nonsense is in your mind after you went to college? You are like a little wolfdog."
"Keep your distance, Boss Gu." Jingsheng leaned forward and transferred all the melon rinds and
seeds in his hand to the old man, and said meaningfully: "Don't let Nurse Lu have any ideas."
Gu Dongwen was both amused and annoyed, and was about to scold him when he heard a noise
from the attic stairs.
Sinan slid down barefoot, yawned twice, and sat cross-legged at Jingsheng's feet: "I'm so tired, I
just can't sleep."
"You haven't fought for a few days, so your bones feel lighter?"
Sinan leaned his head on Jingsheng's knees, but was pushed away by Jingsheng, but he stuck to
them without getting discouraged.
"Cousin——"
"Um?"
Jingsheng was too lazy to pay attention to her and continued to concentrate on watching the
game.
"well."
Sinan glanced at Jingsheng secretly and sighed again: "Alas."
Gu Dongwen threw away the melon peel and washed his hands. He came back and stroked Si
Nan's curly hair with a smile: "Hey, our leader Chen sighed? What happened? Do you want me,
an elder, to help you solve it?"
Sinan pouted: "Uncle, you and sister don't help me look after my cousin. He has a girl he likes, so
he definitely doesn't want to marry me. Oh."
Gu Dongwen smiled so hard that his eyebrows were not visible: "Hey, Gu Jingsheng, this is your
fault. Come on, turn off the TV, and let's have a good chat. Tell me who you like."
"Huan Xinong!" Jingsheng stood up unhappily and skillfully tore Si Nan off his legs: "Huan Xinong
family!"
Sinan supported himself on the floor with his hands, looking at Jingsheng with resentment as he
strode to the dining table, poured himself a glass of water, drank it in two gulps, opened the door
and went downstairs.
Gu Dongwen looked at Si Nan, who was lying on the recliner pitifully, and almost laughed until his
stomach hurt: "Nan Nan, do you really like Gu Jingsheng? Not the kind of love you feel for a
brother or sister?"
"Of course it's the kind of brother and sister, but we have to get married." Sinan became alert:
"Uncle, don't you want a daughter-in-law like me?"
Gu Dongwen slapped his thigh and said, "You figured this out?"
"You! I don't like you anymore!" Sinan snorted coldly: "Then my cousin and I are Liang Shanbo
and Zhu Yingtai, Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu, Romeo and Juliet!"
"It's death anyway? It's not worth it." Gu Dongwen sighed.
"Good things should be kept within the family!" Sinan declared confidently, "My cousin is mine
anyway."
Jingsheng came up with a thermos, frowning, and glanced at Sinan, who raised his chin: "Cousin,
please be quick with me. Will you marry me when you graduate from college?"
"I graduated from college, and you just graduated from high school."
"Then when I graduate from college, will you marry me?"
"Not with."
"Why?"
"Don't you know that?"
"Do you really like someone else?" Sinan hugged the armrest of the recliner tightly, feeling really
sad and heartbroken: "Obviously, you and I are the best of friends."
"You are my sister," Jingsheng sat back on the recliner and tapped Sinan's forehead. "How can a
brother marry his sister? Are you stupid? Are you going to Wanping South Road? Turn around
and watch football. Do you play football in Urumqi?"
"Our school doesn't have a football field, only a basketball field. I can play basketball." Sinan has
been watching football with Gu Dongwen for a month and has become like a football fan: "Hey,
hey, hey, hey, pass, pass! Don't dribble! What are you sticking to! Hey——"
"Then you are better than your sister."
"Brother! You are saying bad things about me again." Si Jiang poked his head out from the attic
and caught Jingsheng red-handed.
Sinan became happy: "Sister, I am better at playing ball than you! I am also good at high jump,
long jump, shot put and everything else. Even my uncle's finger-poking was so ridiculous to me.
(We are all so good at playing)"
"Are you good at shot put?" Si Jiang was a little skeptical.
"Of course, I'll throw it to you next time."
Gu Dongwen looked at Si Nan who was happy again, and suddenly felt that Dieg Xiaoning was
actually like a shot put.

Chapter 252
That night, Si Jiang had a long dream, which was chaotic and complicated.
She suddenly became a mother, but she knew clearly that she was not a mother. She walked out
of Wanchun Street and took the No. 23 bus to an unknown place. The bus was full of people, and
everyone's face was blurry. Something was urging her. She knew where she was going, what she
was going to do, and what she would see. She was so nervous that she couldn't breathe.
She was carried out of the car by the crowd. She looked around and saw the endless desolate
desert and tall oil well facilities. She walked forward and after two steps she entered a building.
The building was quiet and no one was there. The endless cotton fields were reflected on the
glass.
A staircase leading up suddenly appeared at her feet, full of unknowns like a Hitchcock movie,
and the road ahead was dark. She was pushed forward by an unknown force and came to a door
that looked familiar. She wanted to escape, but she pushed the door open involuntarily.
There were two bodies intertwined on the bed inside the door, a man and a woman. She knew it
was her father and that woman, but she was angry as a wife. She was so angry that her temples
bulged. She was jumping, there was blood surging in her chest, and she was bored to death, but
she couldn't make any sound, only her shadow cast on them. She seemed to be just a ray of
consciousness. The man and woman on the bed did not notice her existence at all. They
continued to be obsessed with each other and ignored her. Their expressions were distorted to
the point of being ferocious. She could smell the smell and feel the temperature. , but she
couldn't touch them and couldn't make a sound. No matter how she beat or yelled, it was of no
use. She floated around them, and she could not help but see all the details, disgust, anger,
grievance, The helplessness and fear reached the extreme.
Finally, a path appeared in the space. She turned around and ran forward desperately. She
couldn't hear any sound or any image behind her, but she knew that something was chasing her
and she had to run. She turned all her anger into speed, but the thing chasing her was getting
closer and closer. Her heart beat faster and faster, almost jumping out of her throat. There was a
cliff in front of her, and she rushed forward with all her strength, into the void.
My heart rose to my throat and then dropped heavily, with a strong sense of weightlessness.
Someone was calling her: "Chen Sijiang! Sijiang!"
She was picked up and stepped onto the solid ground. She suspected that she was dreaming, but
the road was still under her feet, there was still a staircase not far away, and it was still so dark
above.
She continued to go upstairs involuntarily and opened another door.
There was also a bed in the door, no windows, and the cramped space was filled with clothes. It
was the attic of the family. She felt relieved, but she felt a little breathless thinking about what
she had just experienced. The grievance and resentment still remained in her mind.
The door opened, and a beam of light shone on the person who came in. His face was blurry, he
was wearing nothing, his limbs were slender, his muscles were strong, and there was a clear black
and white dividing line above his sun-tanned arms and neck.
"You're here." He hugged her naturally and kissed her gently.
She then realized that she was not wearing anything either, and his arms were too strong for her
to break free. She opened her mouth to speak but still no sound came out. She completely lost
control of her body, and he rubbed her around until she fell on the cot. The cot made a creaking
sound.
The scene suddenly turned into a classroom during the military training of the first grade of high
school. Many people were walking around the camp beds, but it seemed that no one saw them.
Those people were all very familiar to her, Tang Zenian, Li Nan, Zeng Xin, Zhang Leyi, Fang Shuren,
He Hongwei, and the teachers were holding test papers in their hands. People came and went,
like an absurd pantomime. Suddenly Zeng Xin sat on the edge of the bed and lowered his head to
tie his shoelaces.
Her consciousness and body gradually became unified. After she opened her eyes as wide as she
could, the blurry face of the person on her body gradually became clear. It was someone she was
very familiar with, very familiar.
Si Jiang screamed in fear. She really woke up this time.
Si Nan, who was sleeping on the floor, groaned twice, turned over and continued to lie on her
back, kicking her pillow to the side of Si Jiang's slippers.
A faint light came in from the dormer window, and the sky was getting light.
Si Jiang was sweating all over, and her heart, which had been beating up and down, slowly
calmed down. Everything in the dream was very clear, and it was infinitely close to her own
experience. She covered her face and rubbed it hard. Si Jiang didn't know whether her mother
had experienced everything she dreamed about, or what her mood would be, but she was
already filled with sorrow just by having such a dream. For this dream, which was clearly divided
into two parts, Si Jiang believed that it was a dream at night because she thought about it during
the day, and there should be no logical connection. She took out a nightgown and quietly went
down to the attic.
On the floor of the living room, Gu Dongwen was sleeping very elegantly, with his hands folded
on his belly and an open novel next to his pillow. Jingsheng's mat had been rolled up and stood in
the corner, with the towel blanket and pillow neatly placed on the sofa. Si Jiang bent down and
picked up the novel, vaguely recognizing that it was "The Return of the Condor Heroes". She
hadn't read it, but had seen stills from the TV series in magazines and heard her classmates
discussing it. The love between Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu, a master and apprentice, was not
tolerated by the world, but in the end, of course, the lovers finally got married.
The door was open, and Si Jiang walked down the stairs lightly. When he passed the pavilion, he
couldn't help but pause, feeling very embarrassed and ashamed. The door of the pavilion was
ajar, and a ray of light came from below, and there were rustling sounds from inside. Si Jiang
thought of his dream, quickly looked away, and hurried downstairs, almost spraining his ankle.
"Sanin? (Who)"
Jingsheng zipped up the two snakeskin bags containing the goods, looked up and asked, but no
one answered. He opened the door and saw that the light in the kitchen downstairs was on.
Si Jiang was struggling with the bolt in the shower room. How come the bolt was working fine
last night and suddenly broke?
"Do you want to take a bath?" Jingsheng walked in wearing slippers.
Si Jiang was so frightened that he couldn't speak clearly: "Ah? Ah, brother! Where is the die
latch? How can it be fixed? (What's wrong with this latch?)"
Jingsheng walked into the shower room. Si Jiang quickly stepped back, her back pressed against
the wall, the tiles felt cool. She concentrated on staring at the bolt, but the slender fingers on the
bolt made her shudder, and she immediately thought of that absurd dream. She quickly lowered
her eyes, and what caught her eyes were her toes, but it didn't work. Nowhere was right to look,
and she had no place to put her eyes.
"This is too bad," Jingsheng frowned, "When I tried to insert it yesterday, it didn't seem to work. I
clearly inserted it--"
Both of them were a little embarrassed and didn't know what to say for a moment.
Si Jiangping moved out and picked up the nightgown: "Forget it, I won't wash it."
Jingsheng turned his head to look at her half-wet hair and the two thermoses on the ground, and
closed the door for her: "You wash, I'll help you watch the door outside, and it's time to cook
breakfast, and the milkman will be here soon."
Si Jiang sat on a low stool. When she heard the sounds of woks, spatulas and spoons outside, she
gently turned on the faucet and filled the bathtub with water. The water splashed on the bottom
of the plastic basin, soaking her plaid pajamas.
To wash or not to wash, that is the question. It is embarrassing to wash, and even more
embarrassing not to wash. Si Jiang threw the towel into the bathtub and sighed. Very good, now
she really understands the meaning of the word "embarrassment".
Who to blame? Of course she can only blame herself.
The teenagers who grew up in Wanchun Street were not unfamiliar with the human body, and
were even numb to it. In the summer, all you could see was white. Men were shirtless, with
mountains of flesh and seas of flesh. Old ladies were wearing sleeveless sweat jackets, with the
flesh on their arms swinging back and forth. Xiaowei, a two or three-year-old boy with a bare
bottom, ran around in the alley. Women holding babies sat in front of the doorway to enjoy the
breeze, and would lift up their shirts to feed at any time. At eight or nine o'clock in the evening,
the men outside the faucet began to take a bath in shorts. But these organs and bodies that
could be seen everywhere were no different from the clothes drying poles, flower pots, and low
stools in the alley in Si Jiang's eyes. They gradually lost their original meaning and became
abstract symbols. Similarly, there are bodies in the bathroom in winter. When Si Jiang first saw
them as a child, she was shocked. But day after day, year after year, she had become accustomed
to them and even turned her own body into an abstract symbol that had nothing to do with
gender, let alone "sex".
Only in school do boys and girls represent two genders. The sweaty bodies on the court and
track, regardless of gender, are vigorous and full of vitality, no longer meaningless symbols. But
this never includes Jingsheng, nor does it include Sijiang himself.
Si Jiang tried to convince himself to treat everything as if nothing happened, and began to
imagine optimistically: Fortunately, she saw it. What if other girls saw it and insisted on taking
responsibility? Jingsheng could only declare that it was in vain to see it? Fortunately, it was she
who saw Jingsheng, not Jingsheng who saw her. Oh, no, I can't think about it anymore. It didn't
happen, it didn't happen, nothing happened. But my brain didn't listen, and I started to comfort
myself: Anyway, I have seen it since I was a child, so what does it matter? Before the shower
room was repaired, Jingsheng and his uncles stood in front of the cement platform to take a
shower from April to the end of November. Not only she can see it, but many people can see it.
This consolation was somewhat useful, and Si Jiang nodded in approval. However, something that
shouldn't have come to her mind came to her mind automatically. She cried out and slapped the
soaked towel directly on her face.
I am ill and I am lustful.
"The milk is here—"
The milkman's yellow fish cart came in from the Dange Road. Jingsheng carried six bottles of milk
into the kitchen. He could not hear the sound of water in the shower room. After a moment's
confusion, he knocked on the door.
"Ah—someone, someone, someone!" Si Jiang shouted from inside: "Don't come in, don't come
in!"
Jingsheng's finger stopped on the door, and he replied with a smile: "Is there enough hot water? I
boiled two more thermoses."
"Enough, enough, I've already washed it."
Si Jiang hurriedly put on her nightgown. In case anything happened, nothing would be seen.
Safety first.
Jingsheng was peeling eggs when he heard the shower door open. He saw Si Jiangren come out
and then run back in, followed by the sound of splashing water.
He walked over and took a look. He couldn't help rubbing his brows, then turned sideways and
half-closed the door: "Why did you pour out the bath water? Why don't you keep it for mopping
the floor?"
Si Jiang put down the bathtub and saw Jingsheng blocking the door. He immediately became
nervous and smiled awkwardly: "It's not convenient today." As soon as the lie came out, he felt
even more embarrassed when he thought about when his menstrual period was, as Jingsheng
knew it very well.
"Haha, oh, by the way, I just heard the milk was delivered?" Si Jiang bent down and picked up the
washbasin containing dirty clothes, pretending nothing happened.
"Well, let me heat up the milk for you and beat two eggs in it." Jingsheng's hand was still holding
the door, and he turned his face away and whispered, "Skirt, pull up your skirt."
Si Jiang looked down and blushed as she flattened the collar of her nightgown. If she looked from
top to bottom, she probably wouldn't be able to see anything. She pushed Jingsheng away and
said, "I'm going to do the laundry."
"Si Jiang——" Jingsheng shouted.
"Eh?" Si Jiang got nervous and the washbasin hit the corner, causing his stomach to hurt. Before
he could react, he felt a chill on his back.
Jingsheng pulled a corner of Sijiang's nightgown out of her underwear: "Okay."
Si Jiang's head buzzed, and she almost cried on the spot, and the wash basin fell to the ground
with a bang. If possible, she wanted to die on the spot, immediately, right away.

Chapter 253
As soon as the Gu family's breakfast was placed on the table, Wang Qiang came to the door
carrying a bag of seafood.
Gu Dongwen was quite surprised: "Didn't your son tell you about the phone call I made last
night? Jingsheng came back by himself yesterday, so there was no need to trouble you to go all
the way to Minhang."
Wang Qiang was so angry that he slapped his thigh and said, "Ah, this little bastard, he only
knows how to show off his Soul Fighting skills. He has lost all his soul! Let's go back and give him a
good meal of bamboo shoots and braised pork!"
"Don't fight, don't fight." Granny Gu called him, "You have to eat anyway. Come, let's have
breakfast together. You came so early in the morning. You must have worked hard for it."
Jingsheng added a set of bowls and chopsticks, and Sijiang added a chair. Everyone squeezed
together, and Wang Qiang sat down calmly, saying cheerfully: "Well, it's rare for me to have a day
off. Money is not earned all the time. Otherwise, I can send Jingsheng to Minhang at night. Do we
have to go to school tomorrow?"
"You're in class, don't bother me." Jingsheng smiled and served Wang Qiang a bowl of salty soy
milk. "I can take the school bus. Our Xuhui campus has buses going to the Minhang campus every
day."
Sinan's eyes lit up: "Can we go sit there too?"
"You need to show your student ID." Jingsheng saw through her thoughts at a glance: "Don't
always think about riding the bus for free. The bus, school bus and train are different. You have
been spoiled by your godfather and godsisters."
Sinan rolled his eyes and defended himself: "I didn't take the train for free."
Gu Dongwen and Si Jiangshaojingsheng said in unison: "Haha".
Si Nan's face turned red. "I had planned to buy sugar-roasted chestnuts and fresh meat
mooncakes today. After buying them, I will go to the train station to give them to my grandfather,
my sisters and my brothers. Humph. What do you mean by haha?"
Grandma Gu picked up a steamed bun for Sinan and another for Wang Qiang: "Nannan, this is
the right thing to do. Your godfather and godsisters treat you well, you should know how to repay
them, and you can't take it for granted. God is watching, you will have to pay back the benefits
you have taken. Do you understand?"
Sinan nodded vigorously: "I have the most conscience."
Everyone at the table, including Wang Qiang, burst into laughter at the same time.
Sinan sighed secretly, it seems that he won't be able to get the free ride today.
After breakfast, Wang Qiang insisted on sending Gu Dongwen and Jingsheng to Huating Road,
and took Si Nan to the West District Lao Da Fang to queue up for mooncakes. Si Nan was so
happy that he almost jumped up, and quickly took out a handful of gang fees from his schoolbag.
Si Jiang was worried and insisted on going with Si Nan. Si Haobian also insisted on going.
In the end, the car was still packed, but Jingsheng and Sijiang sat by the door on each side, and
they didn't talk all the way. Sinan smiled and sat next to Jingsheng, and Sihao finally took up a
whole seat. All you could hear was Sinan and Sihao chattering non-stop.
Arriving at Jing'an Temple, Si Jiang and Si Nan Si Hao got out of the car and watched the driver go
away. Si Hao touched his head and said, "How strange."
Sinan asked, "What's strange?"
"Big sister didn't talk to big brother today, not a single word." Si Hao observed Si Jiang carefully:
"Did you quarrel again? Big brother looked at you several times, but you didn't even look at me."
Si Jiang's face suddenly became hot, and he walked two steps faster uncomfortably: "No, don't
talk nonsense."
Si Nan grabbed Si Jiang's arm and said, "Sister!"
"What?" Si Jiang slowed down his pace helplessly.
"You are not allowed to bully my cousin." Sinan said seriously, "My cousin is mine. If you bully
him, you are bullying me."
Si Jiang laughed angrily: "What are you talking about? Who can talk to others all day long? Except
you. How can we say we had a quarrel when we didn't talk? Even if we had a quarrel, how can it
be that I must have bullied him? Besides, between me and my brother, who is closer to you, Chen
Sinan? You really are!"
"And you, Chen Sihao, why are you so fickle all the time? Why didn't I see you study so hard?" Si
Jiang squatted down, grabbed Chen Sihao's arm and shook it: "Don't stir up trouble,
understand?"
Chen Si looked at his sister with grievance. He had only stated a few facts. Was it wrong to seek
truth from facts?
"If you don't speak, no one will think you're dumb." Si Jiang stood up and glanced at Si Nan: "And
you too. Why don't you go and line up?"
The three siblings, each with their own thoughts, lined up at the end of the line.
Si Jiang touched his face, his heart was beating fast, and he subconsciously pulled the back of his
shirt down. Si Nan counted the number of people in front of him anxiously. Si Hao stared at the
fresh meat mooncakes and sugar-roasted chestnuts in the hands of others and drooled.
——
Jingsheng hadn't been to Huating Road for a month or so. After posing the model, he realized
something was wrong. The uncles and aunts at the stalls next door were angry and cursed
Shanmen. No one cared about their business. People kept coming to greet Gu Dongwen: "Old Gu,
do you want to go with us? Let's kill these bastards." In just half an hour, Jingsheng was forced to
listen to 300 sentences of Shanghai curses.
Unable to resist Jingsheng's questioning, Gu Dongwen told the whole story. The Huating Road
clothing market had been open for three years, and the business was getting better and better
every year. The number of stalls had increased from more than 70 to more than 100. After the
section from Yanqing Road to Changle Road was developed, the business of the original southern
section was not as good as that of the northern section. Therefore, the old stall owners were very
dissatisfied and made a fuss several times to request a relocation. However, the vendors who
were able to enter the northern section had some backdoors, so making a fuss was useless.
Gradually, two factions formed and competed with each other.
Clothing wholesale is a small business, and originally everyone was in friendly competition. Even
if some vendors copied the best-selling styles of Gujia Nanhong Fashion, they only sold them at
the end of the season, which had little impact. But things are very different after resentment
arises. After all, there are only a few sources of clothing wholesale, and everyone's greed is
bound to be ugly.
There are several shops with the best business in the northern section. One shop specializes in
fake Levi's jeans. A pair of red-label jeans with cuffs can be sold out at 200 yuan. Gu Dongwen's
neighbor, Apple Jeans, can't catch up with the sales of the shop even if he sells them at a fraction
of the price. He made up his mind and bought a batch of fake Levi's jeans, selling them at 100
yuan each. Unexpectedly, the buyers had very strange ideas. They thought the 200 yuan Levi's
jeans were genuine and bought them after bargaining. But the same jeans here were bargained
down to 80 yuan, but they thought they must be fake and refused to buy them at a good price. In
the last two weeks, only seven or eight pairs were sold. The matter was not over yet. When the
small boss in the northern section found out, he held a megaphone and cursed across Yanqing
Road. After cursing, he went home and complained to his brother-in-law. In mid-September, the
owner of Apple Jeans received a notice that the stall would be adjusted and his lease contract
would be terminated at the end of the year.
Now the stall owners in the southern section are not happy with this. The owner of Apple Jeans is
not a decent person and his behavior is a bit ugly. We are all doing business, so we should save
some face. There has always been a dispute between the southern and northern sections of the
market. The people in the northern section are so blatantly using backdoors and connections to
drive people away. If one is driven away today, there will be a second and a third tomorrow.
When the market was first opened, they were specially invited to gather popularity. Now that
there is popularity, more tax revenue, and business is booming, they want to demolish the bridge
across the river and let their relatives make money, cutting off their financial resources. Their
behavior is even more ugly. So the new and old hatreds were ignited by this fuse and became a
big deal. More than 50 stall owners in the southern section went to the Industrial and
Commercial Bureau and asked for an explanation. For a time, rumors were everywhere and
people were uneasy. There was also a rumor that the southern section market would be
completely replaced next year and all the people would be relatives.
Gu Dongwen had never been involved in the dispute over the site before. If someone has power,
there will be someone who uses it for profit. It's the same everywhere. He can see through it.
Nanhong Fashion does business with regular customers, so the impact is limited. He doesn't
believe the rumors of a major change. Although the trend of backdoors has become increasingly
prevalent in recent years and corrupt officials have emerged one after another, Nanhong Fashion
has never been troubled. The area managers are all acquaintances. Everyone is polite when they
meet. He also gives cigarettes, liquor, fruits and snacks during festivals, but he is determined not
to give cash, which is called bribery. Gu Dongwen knows that the emperor has his own ministers.
If you pull out the radish, you will bring out the mud. Last year, the case of Yu, the deputy
director of the Municipal Party Committee Office, who accepted a bribe of 30,000 yuan, was
pronounced at the Jing'an Stadium. 30,000 yuan is not a lot, but he was directly sentenced to life
imprisonment. The Huating Road Market is not only Xuhui's business, but also the city's business.
Who dares to cover up the sky with one hand? Unless you think that no one is watching your
official position.
So even though everyone was shouting that they should unite to fight against corrupt officials, Gu
Dongwen never gave in, and was therefore privately discussed by the small bosses in the
southern section as "unrighteous and unmotivated". A few days later, he was also classified as
having a backdoor, and the rumors were very detailed, such as that Lao Gu's brother was a high-
ranking official in Beijing, and Lao Gu's girlfriend was the child of a cadre in the medical system.
However, no matter how they spread rumors behind his back, they were more polite in person,
and more actively invited him to join everyone's "battle of justice", hoping that Gu Dongwen
would suppress other officials with his power.
After listening to a few words, Jingsheng realized the subtlety. He stood next to the model and
observed the market. Many fashionable girls came up to chat with him. Seeing that he was not
polite, they deliberately bargained with him. In the end, they had to pay a little money to save
their face. After spending money, they felt like "God" and became bolder. They asked Jingsheng
for a small stool in the stall to rest, using the excuse that they were tired of shopping. Soon, a
group of girls, aunts and mothers gathered in front of the stall. Another sister enthusiastically
handed Jingsheng a business card, saying that she was from a film studio and persuaded him to
go with her to try out the camera.
Gu Dongwen finished smoking and walked around. He came back and looked at the crowd of
people in front of the stall. He sighed. Since ancient times, beauties have always been the focus
of gossip, regardless of gender. He finally squeezed in and urged Jingsheng to go to the boss's
room to find Si Jiang and the others so as not to interfere with his business.
Jingsheng walked along Huating Road towards Changle Road and entered the north section.
Some vendors recognized him and greeted him with a smile, while others looked at him with a
frown. He looked all the way and found that no one was selling Levi's jeans in the south section,
but there were three more vendors in the north section selling the same goods at different
prices, and each one claimed that its own was the most authentic.
——
"Cousin! Cousin is here!" Sinan saw Jingsheng from a distance.
Si Jiang raised her head from the English novel. She was wearing glasses today, so she could see
very clearly. Among the group of people waiting for the red light across the street, she saw
Jingsheng at a glance, and she could only see him.
Jingsheng smiled and waved at them. Si Jiang suddenly remembered the scene on the snowy
night of New Year's Eve when he stood under the street light and called her. Her heart was
suddenly hit by something, and the blood rushed into her head. She could only hear her
heartbeat "thump, thump, thump", one after another, one faster than the other. She quickly
lowered her head and stared at the novel in her hand, but the English words were blurry and she
couldn't read anything.
"It's not your turn yet?" Jingsheng looked ahead and said, "You guys go take a rest over there, I'll
take the line."
"I'm not tired. I want to queue up with you." Sinan smiled with his eyes curved.
Si Hao was as if he had been pardoned: "Agon Nong is the best!" He immediately spread his short
legs and rushed to the side railing. He struggled to move his butt onto the lower railing, grabbed
the upper railing with both hands, and sighed in the air like a fat monkey. Alas, he really shouldn't
have cried and shouted to come out together. Isn't it better to watch TV and eat snacks at home?
Who would have thought that fresh meat mooncakes and sugar-roasted chestnuts would not be
available after such a great effort!
"Si Jiang? Why don't you go read a book over there? The sun hurts your eyes." Jingsheng looked
at the front of the team and said casually.
"Oh." Si Jiang walked out of the team without raising his head, leaned next to Si Hao and
continued to stare at the blurry English words on the book, trying to calm his pounding heart.
Si Hao raised his head, his nose glistening with sweat: "Big sister?"
"Hmm?" Si Jiang came back to his senses.
"You still said you didn't quarrel with your brother?"
"without."
"Then take a look at Brother and try to smile at him."
"Thirteen o'clock."
"Haha. I knew it."
"what do you know?"
"I won't tell you."
“???” Si Jiang put down the novel and pinched Si Hao’s cheek, causing Si Hao to scream.
Si Jiang looked at the team, and Jing Sheng's sight just happened to sweep over him. The two of
them looked at each other across the crowd walking on the curb, and turned their faces away, as
if nothing had happened, and as if something had happened, and everything was different from
before.

Chapter 254
After buying sugar-roasted chestnuts and fresh meat mooncakes, Chen Sihao kept saying that he
was starving. Jingsheng saw that it was almost eleven o'clock, so he suggested going to Jing'an
Temple to eat a bowl of Luohan vegetarian noodles.
Si Nan always cared about Si Hao's legs and not his mouth, and gave him food whenever there
was any. Si Jiang and Jing Sheng had something on their minds and didn't care, which was a good
thing for Chen Si Hao. He gobbled up a bowl of plain noodles in no time and drank up all the
noodle soup. He also finished three mooncakes before reluctantly saying that he was a little full.
Before finishing, he did not forget to take out a handful of sugar-roasted chestnuts and stuffed
them into his pocket.
After finishing a bowl of noodles, Si Nan also realized something was wrong. He poked Jing Sheng
and Si Jiang: "Did you really have a fight?"
"No." Jingsheng and Si Jiang denied it in unison. Their eyes met and then separated. In Si Nan's
eyes, this was evidence of a quarrel.
Sinan took a bite of the mushroom with soup in it, shook his head and came to a conclusion: "It
must be the elder sister who bullied the elder brother."
Si Jiang ignored her.
Jingsheng also denied it outright: "That's not true. Stop making up stories. Does your English
teacher still laugh at you?"
"Yeah, whatever." Sinan boasted with a smile: "In the English test last week, I ranked third among
the first grade in the class. His chamber pot face, hahahaha. Tang Huan ranked fourth among the
second grade in the class. It's so funny. He looks down on the two of us and laughs at our country
accents every day. So what if he looks down on us? It pissed off this bastard to death."
With this topic, Si Jiang felt more comfortable: "Nannan, you are awesome. You speak with your
strength and leave him speechless. Come on, you will definitely be admitted to our school next
year."
Sinan paused for a moment and said, "I actually want to apply to the school that Ningning's
brother is studying at—"
Jingsheng and Sijiang: "Hmm???"
Si Nan's eyebrows curved and his mouth was full of greasy oil: "Forget it, I still have self-
knowledge. Anyway, I am not a child prodigy like Brother Ningning, so I will just go to your school.
Even if I get in, you two will graduate, which is boring."
"What do you mean just go to our school? Do you think our school has wronged you?" Jingsheng
tapped Sinan's head with his chopsticks before putting them down.
"Brother, the oil on your chopsticks is all over Nan Nan's hair!" Si Jiang glared at Jing Sheng and
took out a handkerchief to wipe Si Nan's head.
Sinan clasped his hands together nonchalantly, "It's okay, it's okay. I ate the noodles and stole
some oil. I made a profit."
Jingsheng and others couldn't help laughing.
The four of them finished their vegetarian noodles, squeezed out of the crowd, and took the bus
to Beijing West Road. The bus was also crowded during the National Day holiday. Jingsheng,
holding sugar-roasted chestnuts and fresh meat mooncakes, grabbed the handles on the high
ground and helped Si Jiang and Si Nan stand firmly on the edge of the seat. Si Hao's face was
directly pressed against Jingsheng's thigh, and his two hands grabbed Si Jiang's arm and refused
to let go.
"I want to go back first." Si Hao weakly requested to get off at the next stop: "I can walk back by
myself." The request was ruthlessly rejected. He lingered between several thighs with no hope in
life, and his big head was bumped by other passengers' bags, vest bags and fruit net bags from
time to time.
"Take notes?" Sinan asked in surprise, "Why do you need to take notes?"
Si Jiang was even more surprised: "You didn't take notes in class? Do you remember everything
the teacher said?"
"Isn't it all in the book? Why should I copy it?"
"Your teacher doesn't teach you about things outside of class?"
"No, why would I want to talk about something outside of class? It won't be on the exam."
Si Jiang felt it was a bit mysterious that Si Nan was ranked third in the first grade in his class, and
subconsciously turned to ask Jing Sheng what he thought.
"Be careful - pull the trigger, pull the trigger!" the conductor's shrill voice sounded like an alarm.
The bus braked suddenly, and the whole car was filled with screams. Chen Sihao couldn't stand
steadily and screamed: "Brother, help me, help me."
Si Jiang's nose hit Jing Sheng's collarbone directly, the soft hitting the hard, the pain made her cry,
fortunately she was firmly held by Jing Sheng's arm and was not thrown out by inertia. When the
second wave of severe pain came, Si Jiang realized that the "life-saving straw" she was holding
was Jing Sheng's arm. This hard arm was strangling the place she was most afraid of pain, and
one hand was covering the place she dared not touch even when taking a bath.
Jingsheng hugged Sijiang with one hand and grabbed Chen Sihao's collar with the other, and used
his thighs to hold the handlebar to stabilize the three people, but he didn't care about the fresh
meat mooncakes and sugar-roasted chestnuts in his hands, which hit Sinan's head and slid into
her arms. Sinan instinctively hugged the two bags with one hand and held the handrail with the
other hand, and the whole person still rushed out in the direction of the front of the car, with
most of his body pressed on the passenger in the seat. Fortunately, the dozing passenger hit his
head on the backrest of the front seat and didn't recover yet.
The carriage was in chaos.
Jingsheng immediately retracted his hand and supported Sijiang's arm: "Hold the handrail."
Si Jiang's mind was blown into a mess by the tornado, and there was not a blade of grass left. He
turned back in a daze and grabbed the handle. His mind was numb and he still felt pain, but the
hairs on his back stood up like a hedgehog, automatically calculating the tiny distance between
him and the scene behind him. Even if he was one millimeter closer, there seemed to be a
difference in temperature.
"Someone is bleeding!" A voice came from the front row: "The old lady hit her head and is
bleeding, master, please pull over quickly and take the old lady to the hospital."
The bus driver stopped cursing at the motorcyclist who suddenly hit him, withdrew half of his
body from the window, and pulled the car to the side in a sullen manner.
The bus was full of people who got off reluctantly and waited for the next bus to pick them up.
The next bus came quickly and pulled over under the conductor's red flag, but it was also
crowded. The two conductors had a hard time pushing three or four people up, and then closed
the door and drove away amid a chorus of curses.
The sun was scorching, and Chen Sihao sat down on the curb, crying in pain: "I twisted my waist,
it hurts so much. Brother, sister, I want to go back."
Sinan kicked him angrily: "Get up, where is your waist?"
Si Hao squeezed his lifebuoy: "See? This is Yao Yao Yao!"
"You are like this every time, crying and shouting to come out, and then crying and shouting to go
back. I am so annoyed. I will never take you with me again."
Si Hao sniffed and twisted her waist: "Or you can give me some mooncakes?"
"Eat, eat, eat. You only know how to eat. You are already a small fat pig, and you still want to
become a big fat pig, right?" Si Nan knocked Si Hao on the head with the mooncake bag, dong
dong dong several times: "I think you look like a mooncake! Fresh meat!"
Si felt so aggrieved and looked at his elder sister with his big eyes blinking.
Si Jiang looked at the direction of the bus seriously, his face was calm, his heart was in turmoil,
but he was not thinking of anything fancy, but kept repeating to himself: Nothing happened, just
pretend it didn't happen. It's really nothing if it happened. Repay what you should not have seen,
now I have paid it back. Grandma is right, you have to pay back for the advantage you took, even
if it's not the advantage I wanted to take, since you took it, you still have to pay it back. Be more
natural, be more natural, be more natural.
So she naturally waved her hands vigorously at the bus: "Pull over! Pull over! Pull over!" Then she
turned around and said to Jingsheng very "naturally": "Brother, you push Adi and I'll push
Nannan. We have to squeeze in no matter what!"
Sinan and Sihao looked at each other in confusion. What had just happened? Sister had become
so strange.
——
The new passenger station will be officially opened at the end of the year, and the old North
Station is still crowded with passengers. Sinan's godfathers and godsisters were very happy to
receive the gifts, and they stuffed a bunch of big and small bags back to Sinan. The advantage of
the railway system is resource sharing. When Sinan returned to Wanchun Street, she was very
happy to count the items. In addition to Xinjiang's jujubes and naan, there were also Dezhou's
braised chicken, Harbin's big red sausage, Sichuan's pickles, Guangzhou Restaurant's mooncakes,
Beijing Daoxiang Village's snack boxes, Lanzhou's day lilies, Nanjing's pressed duck, and most of
them were good things they couldn't even imagine, more complete than the northern and
southern goods stores.
Si Nan was very proud, but he tried not to show it on his face. He sighed to Grandma Gu, "Look,
this is another big advantage. What can I do? Why do my godfather and godsister like me so
much?"
Grandma Gu handed the pressed duck to Jingsheng and said, "This is all God's blessing, Nannan,
you must go to church with me on Sunday."
Sinan was dumbfounded. Sihao laughed hahaha, gloating over the misfortune.
"Put it down! The big red sausage is mine! The roast chicken is mine too!" Si Nan looked down at
the little fat man and coldly rejected his thoughts.
Si Hao bit his thumb and complained: "You are too ruthless!"
"Now you know why you don't eat it, haha." Si Nan opened the box of Daoxiang Village snacks,
picked up a snack and took a bite, paused for three seconds and handed it to Si Hao: "Forget it, I
feel sorry for you, do you want to eat it?"
“Eat, eat, eat.”
Another three seconds passed. Si Hao climbed onto the table, picked up a fruit knife, cut off the
gap he had made, put the remaining half of the dessert back into the box, and stared at Si Nan
for a moment.
"Mother should like this. I'll save it for her." Si Hao added weakly.
"Then send it over now." Si Nan gave the opportunity to show filial piety to his younger brother,
turned around and sighed to Si Jiang: "My uncle, aunt and brother Ningning are so pitiful."
Si Jiang looked up from Si Nan's paper, puzzled: "Why?"
Seeing Si Hao happily walking out with a box of snacks in his hands, Si Nan collapsed on the sofa
and crossed his legs. "No, Beijing is not good. The food is too bad. Their best snacks are so bad
that even Si Hao can't eat them. Tsk tsk tsk tsk, I will never go to a university in Beijing."
"No way, my aunt-in-law wrote in a letter that Daoxiangcun's snacks are delicious, and one year
she even brought us two boxes..." Si Jiang fell into deep thought.
Jingsheng put the dried duck he had cut on the table and said calmly, "You only ate two bites, and
then gave it all to your mother."
——
Before six o'clock, Gu Dongwen and Wang Qiang went back to Wanchun Street. The incident on
Huating Road had become a big deal. On the afternoon of National Day, when there were the
most customers, the fifty or so stalls in the southern section suddenly closed their goods, hung
banners and big-character posters, and used small loudspeakers to denounce the unscrupulous
bureaucrats. Soon, reporters came to take pictures and interview, and the TV station also went.
Because it was a holiday, no one was in the street committee of the Industrial and Commercial
Taxation Office. After two hours of commotion, a secretary from the Municipal Party Committee
Office came and talked to everyone in a friendly manner, inviting the small bosses to come to the
Municipal Party Committee Office for a talk next week. The self-employed were very excited, and
no one was doing business, so they closed their stalls early. Wang Qiang had done a few business
and happened to go to Gu Dongwen to buy cigarettes. He was very happy and recalled the
passionate youth when he went from Kunming to the capital to return to the city. He must send
Gu Dongwen back to Wanchun Street.
As soon as he sat down, Wang Qiang slapped his head and said, "Oh, a bag of clams was
delivered this morning. How stupid of me to have forgotten about it."
Granny Gu smiled and said, "Don't worry, I took it out a long time ago and kept it in water. I'll ask
Jingsheng to stir-fry it with onions, ginger, garlic and some chili peppers and serve it to you with
your wine."
Wang Qiang quickly stood up and said, "Don't stir-fry it. It won't work if you stir-fry it. Let me
teach you a fresh way to eat it. Just blanch it in boiling water, mix it with seasoning and you can
eat it. It's so delicious that it will make your eyebrows fall down."

Chapter 255
That night, the dining table at Gu's house was filled with delicious food. The hairy clams prepared
by Wang Qiang were indeed very delicious, and everyone tasted them. Usually, when the family
made stir-fried shrimps, because they were raw, Grandma Gu would not let Chen Si eat them. But
when she saw that the hairy clams were blanched in boiling water, she could not resist his
pestering and let him eat a few bites.
After dinner, Jingsheng put away the dishes and the stove, and went to the pavilion to pack his
luggage. From the time he returned yesterday afternoon to the time he left tonight, it was only
thirty hours in total. He said nothing was wrong, but big and small things happened one after
another, and each one made him uneasy. He said something was wrong, but it was calm. It was
all his imagination. He almost didn't sleep all night yesterday. After a whole day today, he could
see Si Jiang's embarrassment, tension and avoidance. Coupled with the accident on the bus, it
undoubtedly made her more embarrassed. He wanted to apologize, but he was afraid that he
was trying to cover up his mistake. Just as he was thinking about it, Si Jiang came and knocked on
the door.
"Brother?"
Jingsheng raised his head, and the two of them looked at each other quietly in this small pavilion.
Si Jiang forgot all the words he had prepared in his mind in an instant, and after a while he
blurted out, "I, I'll take you to school."
"Okay." Jingsheng lowered his head and zipped up his pants: "I won't be back this Sunday."
"Oh." Si Jiang was a little disappointed and a little relieved. He turned and walked to the stairs to
wait for Jingsheng. The light bulb at the corner flashed and went out.
"Be careful, don't move. The light bulb is broken, I'll go change it for a new one." Jingsheng
turned around and went into the pavilion and turned on the light.
A warm orange light fell at Si Jiang's feet. Si Jiang leaned on the stair railing and looked at the
blackened light bulb above his head.
"I'll be right there." Jingsheng turned his head and glanced at Si Jiang.
"It's okay. No rush." Si Jiang simply sat on the stairs and waited for him.
The sound of Si Nan and Si Hao arguing could be heard in the room, and the volume of the TV
was turned up.
"Toshiba Toshiba, the Toshiba of the new era!" a cheerful female voice sang.
"Did you hear me? It's clearly about inhaling more, inhaling more." Si Hao shouted at the top of
his lungs.
"Bullshit, just mop it, mop it. I told you to wash the mop."
"Toshiba doesn't have a mop!"
"So what did Toshiba let you smoke?"
Granny Gu laughed and scolded, "Can't you two just be quiet for a while?"
The corners of Si Jiang's mouth curled up unconsciously. No matter what happened to his parents
in Xinjiang, whether they were divorced or not, Wanchun Street would be fine as long as it
continued like this.
Jingsheng came out with a square stool and handed Sijiang a flashlight: "Light it up for me."
Si Jiang stood up and held the stool.
"It's okay, no need for help." Jingsheng held the new light bulb in his mouth, stepped firmly on
the stool, and raised his hand to screw in the light bulb.
When the old light bulb was unscrewed, it made a grinding sound. Si Jiang raised her head and
saw a piece of warm skin under Jingsheng's shirt. She turned her head away, silently went behind
Jingsheng, and took the hot old light bulb.
"Go pull the switch and try."
light is on.
"alright."
Si Jiang followed Jingsheng downstairs and noticed that his hair had grown longer and his hair
roots were neat and tidy. Logically, he should have a good temper.
Outside the doorway, Gu Dongwen and Wang Qiang were still cutting old wine and drinking
Shanhe.
"Did he go back to school a long time ago?" Gu Dongwen put down the small wine cup: "Hey, girl,
don't go and see him off. He's such a big man, we can't get him lost."
Wang Qiang took out the small black waist bag from behind with a cigarette in his mouth: "I'd
better drive to Minhang."
"Uncle, you've been drinking, you can't drive!" Si Jiang quickly stopped him.
"Then I'll go." Gu Dongwen pretended to get up.
"I'll go, I'll go." Si Jiang pushed his uncle back onto the small bamboo chair and said, "I still have
something to say to my brother. You accompany me to cut the old wine."
Watching the two of them walk out of the alley one after the other, Wang Qiang sighed, "Alas,
when I went to Yunnan that year, the little girl in the alley cried so hard that she sent me to the
alley entrance, but she couldn't bear to leave me. She got on the educated youth truck with me,
and then sent me to Laobei Station. She still couldn't bear to leave me and almost got on the
educated youth train with me. If I had refused to leave at that time, the little girl would have
been my wife a long time ago."
"What about now? Where's my little sister?"
"She married a fishmonger." Wang Qiang took a long puff of his cigarette. "She's from Qidong.
She's rich now. I heard she's contracted to supply seafood to more than a dozen company
cafeterias. Look, the hairy clams we ate today were sent by her. It's free. You can have as much as
you want. Eat as much as you want."
There was a faint smile on Gu Dongwen's face.
Wang Qiang tilted his head back and finished half a cup of white wine: "But money can't buy
happiness. Men are really worthless. They can't control their three legs just because they have a
little money. Bah!"
"But I'm even less happy without money." Wang Qiang sighed again and waved his hand: "Let's
not talk about this. Oh, how did Chen Chong sing the song "Little Flower" a long time ago? The
one where the sister asked the brother for the song?"
Gu Dongwen knocked his chopsticks on the wine cup and said, "My sister is looking for me with
tears in her eyes, and I am worried when I can't see my brother——"
Wang Qiang was about to continue singing when the neighbor complained that they were too
noisy. The volume of the TV suddenly became much louder, and the high-pitched and passionate
singing lingered in the air for three days: "The golden shield is forged with blood, and in times of
crisis, we must show our skills..."
“Hey, you bastard! Don’t you give me face? You think we can’t sing higher than a TV set? We
started to hone our voice in the Ten Thousand Mountains of Yunnan a long time ago!” Wang
Qiang stood up with a smile, put his hands on his hips, took a breath and sang loudly: “Sister is
looking for her brother with tears in her eyes——” Unexpectedly, the next sentence was taken
away by Liu Huan’s “The Glorious Years Are Not Feared by the Wind and Flow”, which was quite
rhyming.
Gu Dongwen laughed so hard that he fell forward and backward.
——
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng got on the bus, which was still very busy. Si Jiang stood next to Jing Sheng
at the rear of the bus, and the two deliberately kept a distance of 20 to 30 centimeters, but Si
Jiang could not help but think of the dangerous experience on the bus during the day, and felt
that he and Jing Sheng were shrouded in an invisible cocoon, and the air was condensed.
"I've bought the tickets, I've bought the tickets——"
"Next stop, Jing'an Temple. Get off at Jing'an Temple."
"Sorry, please give way and adjust."
An elderly couple in the last row stood up tremblingly. Jingsheng and Sijiang reached out to
support them.
"thanks, thanks."
Many people got off the bus at Jing'an Temple, and even more got on. Si Jiang and Jing Sheng
didn't have time to walk back before they were squeezed together again.
"We have arrived at West Yan'an Road, we have arrived at West Yan'an Road——"
"Did you get off at Jiangsu Road?"
"Huaihai Road, Huaihai Road, we're entering the station, pull over, pull over."
The conductor's voice announced that the distance was getting shorter and shorter. Si Jiang and
Jing Sheng chatted about Huating Road and soon arrived at Jiaotong University.
The two stone lions at the entrance of Jiaotong University are wearing red flowers, and red
lanterns and banners celebrating the National Day are hung high in a festive manner.
Seeing that Si Jiang still had a lot to say, Jingsheng asked, "Do you want to go in and take a look?"
Si Jiang left his student ID card and followed Jingsheng into the school.
When Jingsheng was in his third year of high school, the school organized a visit. He was
unfamiliar with the Xuhui campus. He took Sijiang around and finally returned to the stadium.
The lights were still on on the football field. The boys were sweating profusely, and there were
girls watching nearby.
"Brother?"
"Um."
"I accidentally rushed into the shower room yesterday afternoon," Si Jiang followed the football
on the field with his eyes and laughed twice, "It's nothing, right? I'm nearsighted and didn't see
anything. Really, I don't know why I was confused at the time and ran away. I'm sorry."
Jingsheng was silent for a moment, glanced at Si Jiang, then lowered his eyes to see that her
fingers holding the railing had turned white, and he just said "hmm" again.
Si Jiang felt relieved after saying this. He laughed foolishly and continued, "And you just
pretended not to see my skirt getting stuck this morning. It's nothing. It's not the first time I've
embarrassed myself in front of you, haha. Fortunately, it didn't happen in a public toilet or at
school."
Jingsheng: “Haha.”
Si Jiang secretly glanced at him and took a deep breath: "Okay, that's just two things, just say it
out."
Jingsheng glanced at her and twitched his lips: "Actually, I didn't remember these two things..."
Si Jiang was stunned for a moment, then realized that he was teasing him, blushed, and kicked
the railing: "You are so arrogant!"
"Don't think too much. Write your application letter carefully. Don't relax at school. Don't let your
parents influence you." Jingsheng paused. "Is everything okay now?"
"Yeah." Si Jiang nodded with a smile. Cheers came from the football field. The boy who scored a
goal suddenly took off his jersey, ran across the entire field with his upper body naked, waving his
jersey.
"Then I'll take you to the school gate, and you go back early."
After walking for a while, Si Jiang suddenly asked: "By the way, how is that girl you liked before
now?"
"What?"
"Are you still in touch? I mean, do you still see her?"
"Well, it's not common. We are not in the same school."
"Oh." Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, but then she was also worried: "Then you..." She looked at
Jingsheng cautiously, "Do you still like her?"
"Um."
The response was crisp and clear, without hesitation, and full of the immovable power of a rock.
Si Jiang lowered his head and looked at his moving toes.
"What?" Jingsheng frowned: "Didn't I tell you not to think about these things?"
Si Jiang blinked: "No, because Nan Nan has always said that you are hers, and I told her that you
already have a girl you like, and she was so angry, haha, haha, she is also in the third year of
junior high school, and she probably doesn't understand the types of feelings-"
"Do you understand clearly?" Jingsheng asked back.
Si Jiang was stunned.
"Nannan actually knows it very well." Jingsheng said indifferently, "She must know it better than
you."
Si Jiang was shocked. Thinking of the dream and the moment when he ran into the crowd, he felt
guilty: "What? No, that's impossible."
Jingsheng took her student ID card, looked at the photo on it carefully, and gave it back to her:
"Come on, I'll take you to the bus."
"No, no, no, it's too troublesome to send it back and forth. It was obviously me who came to send
you off, why are you sending me off too?" Si Jiang took the student ID in embarrassment and
walked away.
In the end, Jingsheng watched her get on the bus at the bus stop.
After the car drove for a while, Si Jiang couldn't help but turned his head to look.
On the empty platform, Jingsheng was still standing there.
Si Jiang wanted to lean out and wave, but he thought it was too silly. He felt something sour,
sweet, and bitter in his heart, a mixture of feelings that were hard to describe. Suddenly, his nose
felt sore and his eyes swollen.
What would the girl he liked look like? One day, there would be another girl standing next to him,
and she would no longer be able to tell him everything. They would have to go to different places
and endure the loneliness and pain that only they could bear.
Si Jiang looked out the window, the neon signs on the street were shining vigorously, and a lost
face was reflected on the glass, with a few sparkling eyes. Something flashed across Si Jiang's
mind, and just as she tried to catch it, the spark had disappeared without a trace.
That day, Si Jiang missed his stop and it took him more than an hour to get back to Wanchun
Street.
Chen Sihao, who had already had diarrhea six times, sat on the toilet that Grandma Gu used to
use and cried, "I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm definitely going to die."

Chapter 256
Gu Dongwen wanted to take Si Hao to the hospital, but Si Hao refused to go and kept clinging to
the bed frame. The fat boy was not afraid of seeing a doctor, but he was afraid that he would pee
in his pants on the way. He was even more afraid that he would pee in his pants before he even
walked out of the alley, then he would be too embarrassed to see anyone.
Si Jiang was so angry that he dragged him out: "Which is more important, your face or your
stomach?"
Chen Si cried so hard that he yelled, "It's important! I'm going to ejaculate again. I'm going to
ejaculate again. Let me go." As soon as Si Jiang let go, he immediately rushed behind the bed.
‌However, there was another big bubble, and it took me a while to sit on the toilet until I had
enough energy to move out crying.
Si Nan was so angry that he shouted: "You just go to the public restroom, defecate and then
come back. The room will be filled with the stench of your diarrhea. It stinks like hell."
Tears really fell from Si Hao's eyes: "I don't want to either, my butt doesn't listen to me, blah blah
blah."
"Grandma told you not to eat cockles, why didn't you listen? You are worse than your butt! If you
don't go to the toilet, go to the hospital. If you poop at home, I will stuff you into the toilet."
Si looked at Si Jiang and his grandmother with teary eyes, hugging the bed frame and crying.
Grandma Gu was so distressed that she stepped over with a spittoon and pushed the toilet out.
Si Jiang quickly took it over: "Grandma, give it to me, I'll go empty the toilet."
"No, let him go by himself. He's nine years old, and he can't empty the toilet?"
"I'm only eight years old! I haven't even had my eighth birthday yet!" Si Hao muttered
aggrievedly.
Grandma Gu sighed, "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have let him eat hairy clams. The little girl has a
weak stomach and can't eat raw or cold food. Your mother will be so mad if she knows." Thinking
of all the things Chen's mother had warned Si Jiang about when he first moved in as a child,
Grandma Gu regretted it so much that she raised her hand and slapped herself twice. Two loud
slaps were so crisp.
"Grandma!" Si Jiang and Si Hao were both scared.
"It's okay, it's okay. I'm just too angry with myself." Granny Gu raised her sleeves to wipe away her
tears and said with a forced smile, "Nannan, don't scold the baby. He's still young and doesn't
understand these things. Look, he's been pooping for two hours and his face has become
smaller."
Si Jiang went out with red eyes to empty the toilet. Grandma was disgusting to my brother, and
she was disgusting to her grandmother.
Si Nan frowned, rummaged through the boxes and found an old bed sheet to wrap Chen Si Hao
up like a dumpling. Gu Dongwen rode his bicycle and rushed to Huashan Hospital.
Chen Si was lucky. It was also possible that he had nothing to defecate, so the old bed sheet was
spared. He was hung with saline in the doctor's duty room and stopped for three hours. He
defecated twice in the early morning, but it was no longer watery, so he passed this stage. He
returned to Wanchun Street at noon the next day to recuperate and rest at home for two days as
ordered by the doctor.
Si Jiang and Si Nan returned home from school and saw the fat boy lying in a recliner, watching
TV leisurely.
"Well, I can't do anything. The doctor told me to rest at home for two days. I have no choice but
to go to school next Monday."
Si Jiang saw him sighing, with the word "happy" written on his face, almost shaking his head in
the recliner, so he immediately became strict with his brother: "You still have to do your
homework."
Si Hao was stunned, wrapped the towel tightly and frowned: "My stomach feels uncomfortable
again."
Sinan pushed the recliner forward and said, "You keep pretending. Come down. Let's go read."
Si Hao held on to both sides and shouted for his grandmother to help.
At night, Nurse Lu came to Wanchun Street and asked everyone carefully whether they felt
uncomfortable after eating hairy clams. She said that Shigella dysenteriae was found in the stool
test, which was not like ordinary acute gastroenteritis.
"There have been quite a few patients with diarrhea recently, and most of them have eaten razor
clams." Nurse Lu used a steel spoon to scrape a small bowl of applesauce for Si Hao: "Our
hospital has reported it to the Municipal Health Bureau. Let's see what they say."
Grandma Gu was stunned: "Oh, I saw that we were eating hairy clams yesterday, and Mr. Zhu
next door also bought two kilograms of hairy clams today. Should I tell them?"
Si Jiang came back from going out and shook his head: "All the clams at Uncle Zhu's house have
been eaten."
"If anyone in their family has diarrhea, please rush to the hospital for a check-up." Nurse Lu was
worried and gave a reminder.
Grandma Gu and Si Jiang did care about the follow-up, but no one in Old Zhu's family had
diarrhea. For a while, the suspicion of the hairy clams faded, and after Si Hao recovered his
stomach, the incident was quickly forgotten.
Hairy clams are a hot-selling item in the market. No tickets are required, and they are only 60
cents per pound. They are very cheap. Shanghai people especially like to eat raw river seafood
such as stir-fried shrimp and drunken crabs. But because of this, when all Shanghai people are
busy eating hairy clams in autumn and winter, the Gu family refused to buy them once. Just after
the New Year's Day, the Liberation Daily reported that more than 20 patients who had eaten
hairy clams had been found in Huangpu District and were infected with hepatitis A. Soon, rumors
spread in the streets and alleys that someone had contracted hepatitis A, someone had died of
hepatitis A, and that babies and pregnant women had been infected. It was also said that the
infectious disease hospitals in various districts were so crowded that they were overflowing. For a
time, everyone was in danger. No one locked the public taps in Wanchun Street because it was
said that stair railings, keys, and door handles could transmit hepatitis A. When I met an
acquaintance on the street, the greeting became: "Did you not eat the clams? Is there no
hepatitis in your family?"
From the end of the month, the TV broadcast news about the hepatitis A epidemic every day,
hundreds, thousands, and by the end of the month, there were nearly 20,000 hepatitis patients.
People were completely panicked. When they heard that Isatis root could prevent and treat
hepatitis, the Isatis root in pharmacies was immediately sold out. Some people also said that if
you got hepatitis A, you would be disabled for life, and many brothers and sisters became
enemies because of this.
Gu Beiwu kindly asked Tiantian to call back to stabilize the morale of the troops, popularized a lot
of medical knowledge, and said that he would bring Hu Tou back to Shanghai for the New Year.
Granny Gu was so angry that she slapped her thighs loudly: "No, you are not allowed to go back.
You are just fooling around, stay in Beijing. Shanghai is full of hepatitis patients, and the air is full
of bacteria. Xiaoxiazi has a poor resistance and is more likely to be infected."
Gu Beiwu laughed and said that Comrade Xiaoping would come to Shanghai to celebrate the
Spring Festival, so they were not afraid.
"Of course the big leaders are not afraid, but we ordinary people have to be afraid. We should be
prepared for the worst. The schools have closed early, and you are not in Shanghai, so you don't
know how scary it is. The No. 20 National Cotton Mill at the entrance of the alley has vacated its
dormitory to be used as a ward. Your brother's stall has been closed for several days, and we
don't know when it will reopen. This year's business is over. Alas."
Gu Dongwen looked up from the newspaper and said loudly with a smile: "Don't listen to Mom's
nonsense, our winter clothes have been sold out a long time ago."
In the end, Gu Beiwu obeyed his mother's orders and gave up the idea of returning to Shanghai
for the New Year.
"How is my mother-in-law?" Granny Gu was still thinking about Granny Zhou. "Looking at the
photo, she seems to be in good spirits."
Old Mrs. Zhou took the phone, and the two elderly people chatted about little Gu Hutou's recent
situation for ten minutes before they hung up the phone reluctantly.
Gu Dongwen was stunned: "Hang up?"
"Eh? Do you have anything else to say?"
Gu Dongwen thought for a moment and said, "Forget it."
He originally wanted to ask Nanhong and Ximei whether they had contacted Beiwu.
Nanhong mentioned in her previous letter that Zhao Yanhong was now following Mr. Fang in
Hong Kong to do stocks and futures, and that it was very profitable, sometimes earning tens of
thousands a month. If she didn't like the clothing business, she really wouldn't be motivated to
continue, as it was hard work and little money. She persuaded Gu Dongwen to invest 10,000 or
20,000 yuan, and guaranteed that it would double in a year. Because the RMB and Hong Kong
dollars could not circulate freely, Gu Dongwen directly asked Nanhong to pay back 30,000 yuan
less as a deposit for the goods, which would be counted as his capital. Nanhong was also
straightforward, and she added the money Dongwen had given her for the transfer of the hotel
and the interest to make up an integer, and asked him to wait for the money to buy a Santana
next year. She and Zhao Yanhong also planned to take out the money at the end of the year to
buy a bigger and better house.
Who would have thought that in October last year, the Hong Kong stock market encountered a
major crash after a period of crazy bull market. After being suspended for four days, the market
failed to be rescued, and it fell by one-third again on the first day after it resumed.
Gu Dongwen wanted to ask about Nanhong's situation, but he was afraid that she would be
suspicious, so he delayed it for two months. The matter on Zhonghuating Road also came to a
conclusion. The stalls were adjusted uniformly. More than a dozen core members in the southern
section were transferred to the northern section. The lease contract was still signed for one year.
Whether it was renewed depended on whether there were any complaints about the product
quality and the amount of tax paid, etc. Everyone was convinced by this. The fittest will survive,
and the clothing market will definitely not let everyone eat from the same pot. However, the
contract for the stall selling Apple jeans was not renewed. The reason was simple: someone was
provoking trouble, disrupting the market order, and affecting the image of the Huating Road
clothing market. The small boss of Apple jeans jumped up and down, but those who benefited
from it did not say a word. Those who did not benefit from it passed the time of excitement,
fearing that their stalls would also have their contracts terminated. Everyone turned a deaf ear
and watched the small boss make a fuss for two days before being invited to the police station for
a seven-day education. Then the lease contract that was supposed to end at the end of the year
was terminated ahead of schedule, leaving both people and money empty-handed. The market
was completely peaceful, but it was a pity that it was less than two months before the hepatitis A
outbreak occurred again. The market was closed for disinfection, and everyone was saying that it
was bad luck, and many people were left with winter clothes.
After all, there was no news of divorce from Ximei. Gu Dongwen didn't believe she would divorce.
But Chen Donglai often called back to ask about his son and daughter's study and life, and sent
Xinjiang specialties back twice. In Sinan's words, "Dad finally acts like a dad."
For Si Jiang, on the one hand, she was a little disappointed with her mother's inaction. It was not
that she could not do it, but that she did not do it. She could not imagine how her parents would
continue to live together. On the other hand, she was a little glad that they did not divorce. At
least the three siblings did not have to face the choice of living with their father or mother. But
every time she faced her father's concern on the other side of the microphone, Si Jiang could not
help but despise the hypocrisy and affectation of adults again, even if this concern was true.
Si Jiang sent out all his application letters in mid-October, and he expected to receive a reply
between February and May. If everything goes well, he can apply for a visa before the college
entrance examination. If not, he will have to apply for admission in the spring of next year. So
after sending out his application letters, Si Jiang began to prepare for both scenarios, and at the
same time, he reviewed the national college entrance examination papers.
Si Nan got angry when she found out. She cursed that it was too troublesome to study in the
United States, and that Americans were too nagging. Why couldn't they just give her a quick
death? She also complained that Si Jiang should move her own household registration back to
Shanghai and shouldn't care about her. Grandma Gu scolded her for being heartless, but Si Jiang
smiled and said that her grades were better than Si Nan's, and that she could pass the exam in
Urumqi and go back to Shanghai, but Si Nan might not. Chen Si Nan knew that her elder sister
was provoking her, but she still took her bait. She worked hard to get the first place in the grade
to show Si Jiang, but she ran into a hepatitis A epidemic and the final exams were cancelled. She
was so angry that she stamped her feet and scolded the hairy clams. Chen Si Hao said: Second
sister, it's useless to scold, because everyone says that hairy clams grow in manure pits. When
Chen Sihao thought about how he had diarrhea during the National Day because he ate hairy
clams that grew up in a manure pit, he immediately felt unwell. He ran out and retched into the
faucet.
Jingsheng's college life is very orderly. He goes back to Wanchun Street every Saturday night and
goes back to Minhang campus on Sunday night carrying large and small bags. The most important
thing he brings is food. The school cafeteria is actually cheap and beautiful, and the meal stamps
and food stamps are enough. One hundred and fifty yuan per month is more than enough. But
Gu Dongwen's father's love is as strong as a mountain. At first, he cooked fried prawns, stewed
tendons, big white pomfret, hard vegetables that were not available in school. Later, even fried
pork chops, Yangzhou fried rice, boiled dry shredded three-piece buns had to be stuffed into the
lunch box. Nurse Lu didn't hesitate to give in. She bought twenty meat and vegetable steamed
buns from Luyang Village, half of which were given away from Wanchun Street, and half was
stuffed in Jingsheng's bag. The fresh meat mooncakes in Guangming Village are also stuffed in ten
pieces. Anyway, it is autumn and the weather is getting colder every day. These things will not go
bad if they are left for a few days. What Gu Dongwen and Nurse Lu thought was that if Jingsheng
couldn't finish it, his roommates would share it with them. They didn't expect that Jingsheng's
roommates were from all over the world. Most people don't like the taste of Jiangsu and
Zhejiang. Who wants to get Shanghai's meat and vegetable buns? The fresh meat mooncakes
were actually sweet, so he barely swallowed one whole and ran away. In the end, Jingsheng had
no choice but to go all out. He gained five pounds in three months and played football from two
games a week to three. It's no use either. Fortunately, he is tall, so the five pounds of meat is
spread out everywhere and is hard to see.
The four children were all at home on holiday, unable to watch movies, hang out, or go to
classmate gatherings, and even couldn't go to the library. Si Nan and Si Hao quickly became
casual friends, playing cards, chess, and even mahjong. The two siblings hooked up with Grandma
Gu and kept shouting that they were short of one person, but Jingsheng and Si Jiang ignored
them, one in the attic and the other in the pavilion, leaving the living room for them to do
whatever they wanted.
The family was very empty when they were empty, and very busy when they were busy. The well-
informed aunt in the alley neighborhood committee raised her arms and called for Aunt Gu to
call Chen A Niang to take Jingsheng and Sinan with them, and rushed to major pharmacies to
grab Isatis root and peracetic acid disinfectant, and even white vinegar. The prices of these things
were rising every day, sometimes once a day, and you could even run into Isatis root scalpers in
the street gardens.
Sinan likes to rush to buy medicines the most, because it is too boring to stay at home. Although
people are 50 to 60 centimeters away from each other when queuing, you can still hear all kinds
of gossip. At the beginning of February, the number of infected patients was over 20,000, and in
the following days, tens of thousands of people were infected every day. Nearly 3,000 isolation
points have been set up in the city, and the number is still increasing. There is no festive
atmosphere of the New Year on the streets, and people are panicking. People in the queue
cursed the hairy clams, Qidong, the manure trucks, the aquatic company, the small vegetable
market, and the health center that refused to accept hepatitis A patients. They even dared to
curse the deputy mayor and the mayor. Sinan still selectively remembered a lot of news amid the
curses, and went home to watch the news broadcast.
"Ala Jing'an District won, with the lowest number of infections. Hahaha. Safe!"
"Nanshi District and Yangpu District are still competing for the first place. Tsk tsk tsk, I heard that
Hongkou District will soon catch up with Yangpu. Don't go to these three places."
"Old Uncle Pan from Lane 32 is so miserable. After he got hepatitis A, his family sent him to the
hospital, but there was no bed available, so he had to sleep on the floor in the hallway. No one
went to see him. Chen Sihao, you are not allowed to date little Pan Bai. This family has no
conscience."
"You know what? No hotels or hostels in XX city allow people from Shanghai to enter."
Chen Sinan sighed: "I never thought that one day Shanghai people would be so disliked by people
all over the country. Fortunately, I am from Xinjiang."
Chen Sihao suddenly had an idea: "I grew up with my grandmother. I'm from Yangzhou, so I'll just
stir-fry leeks and green onions!"
However, the two siblings did not expect that it was not just the Shanghainese in Shanghai who
disliked the Shanghainese, nor was it just the Shanghainese who were on business trips to other
places who were disliked by outsiders. Even Gu Ximei and Chen Donglai, a couple in Xinjiang,
were forced to live together again for quarantine because of hepatitis A. Have you not been back
to Shanghai this year? Have you received a package from Shanghai? Those who have received
one have to be quarantined. The Shanghai educated youth in Urumqi were forced to hold a
memorial meeting for the educated youth.
As of March 18, the number of hepatitis A patients in Shanghai, a city with a population of 12.5
million, reached nearly 300,000. Fortunately, Gu Jia and Chen A Niang were both safe and sound.

Chapter 257
At the end of March, Si Jiang received three admission letters from H University, C University and
P University, two of which gave her half scholarships. In the application letter she sent out, Si
Jiang only had a try attitude towards H University and C University, and did not expect that she
would be admitted. After reading it several times, she was so happy that she was shaking. She
immediately called Beiwu Heshan to tell her the good news, and she burst into tears after a few
words.
Gu Beiwu was also very happy.
"Have you decided which college you want to go to?"
"C University, right? H University is the best, but without a scholarship, I'm afraid I won't be able
to get a visa." Si Jiang's mind cleared up a little, and he smiled and discussed with his uncle: "And
if I want to study for a master's degree, the law school of C University is also very, very good."
"Then apply for a visa quickly. Don't worry about the money. It's no problem for your uncle. You
can pay it back slowly when you get a job." Bei Wu said softly, "Si Jiang, being admitted to these
universities shows that you are very, very good. Don't be discouraged even if your visa application
is not successful. You can continue to apply. School admission can generally be delayed for one
year. It's not too late to go abroad in the first or second year of university. It's not too late even if
you graduate from university and then go abroad to study for a master's degree. Do you
understand?"
"Yes! I know, uncle!" Si Jiang laughed and cried, "I just don't quite believe that I will be admitted!
Uncle, uncle, it would be great if you were there. Please pinch me, I'm afraid I'm dreaming."
"I'll do it!" Si Nan twisted Si Jiang's arm fiercely. Si Jiang howled and dodged her next Nine Yin
White Bone Claw.
"You have always been great. Your uncle said that a long time ago." Bei Wu smiled and said, "You
may not succeed if you work hard, but you will definitely fail if you give up. How do you know
how far you can go if you don't try? Come on!"
"I'm far worse than Zhao Youning. I can't even make it into the top 20 in my grade. I really don't
have any confidence." Si Jiang said embarrassedly. In terms of study, she was discouraged by
Zhao Youning since she was a child. After entering middle school, she was discouraged countless
times by even more excellent and hard-working classmates, so that she has never been so
confident in herself.
"American universities value not only your class and grade rankings, but also your publications in
newspapers and magazines, the awards you won in essay competitions, the sports you
participated in, and your persistence in caring for the elderly. You need to be more confident."
The uncle and nephew chatted for an hour before hanging up the phone, feeling unsatisfied.
Gu Dongwen asked Si Jiang to remember to call Xinjiang to announce the good news. Si Jiang
hesitated for a moment and shook his head: "Let's get the visa first before telling Mom."
"Yes, yes, yes," Sinan ate an apple and shook his legs. "If mom knew, the whole Urumqi, no, no,
no, the whole Xinjiang, the whole China would know that she trained a foreign student from C
University. What if she can't get a visa? What if? Mom will definitely not blame the Americans,
but my bad luck."
Chen Sihao looked at Sinan thoughtfully: "Is Aram's mother this kind of person?"
Gu Dongwen patted Si Nan on the head and said, "You're the only one who keeps talking. Okay,
let's talk about it after we get the visa."
Sinan laughed heartlessly: "Sister, I advise you to inform Mom after you arrive in the United
States."
The whole family was laughing so hard.
Si Jiang made his second call to Jingsheng's dormitory to announce the good news. Soon,
Jingsheng called back.
Hearing that Si Jiang was admitted by three universities, Jingsheng was silent for a few seconds
and asked her when she would apply for a visa so that he could accompany her to queue up.
"No, no, you need to ask for leave, that's too much trouble." Si Jiang smiled and said, "I can go by
myself, it's close to home anyway."
Jingsheng held the microphone. The building manager knocked on the glass window and pointed
at the clock on the wall. The lights were about to be turned off.
"Sijiang——"
"Ai?"
Even with just this one word "Ai", Jingsheng could tell she was very happy and excited. Sihao and
Sinan could be heard arguing over the TV channel. Granny Gu complained unhappily, "You two
siblings must have been enemies in your past lives. You won't stop fighting for even a day."
Jingsheng heard himself quietly ask, "If you go to America, will you come back?"
"Of course I have to come back." Si Jiang smiled and pulled Si Hao out of the sibling conflict,
patting his head and saying, "You are all in Shanghai, why should I stay in the United States alone?
Of course I have to come back to study hard and make a lot of money."
"Yeah." Jingsheng twitched his lips and said, "Congratulations. I think you are better than Zhao
Youning."
Si Jiang smiled and said, "I think so too. Since he can't hear me anyway, let me be arrogant this
time."
The next day, Zhao Youning really called Wanchun Street to congratulate Si Jiang. He heard it
from Shanrang.
"You're not going to choose H University?" Zhao Youning was also a little excited: "Actually, I
might go to H University's Department of Physics to study for a master's degree next year. If you
choose H University, we will be classmates again."
Si Jiang's arrogance only lasted for one day and one night before she lost her temper. It turned
out that the world of geniuses was not something that ordinary people like her could touch: "..."
Sinan was the happiest person to hear the news. He grabbed the phone and set a new goal in life:
"Then I want to go to the United States too. Brother Ningning, you have to protect me. I will
definitely be good at physics. Just wait."
Zhao Youning: “…Okay.”
"Did you know? Your stepmother has hepatitis A! Hahaha, evildoers will be punished. It's not that
the time has not come yet, God has opened his eyes. She was kicked out by her family and had
nowhere to go, so she ran to Kangjia Bridge. The old lady across from your house saw her and
was shocked. Her face turned pale. She quickly notified the neighborhood committee, and the
neighborhood committee immediately arrested her and quarantined her in the isolation building
of the National Cotton No. 20 Factory." Sinan excitedly reported the old news: "Are you back from
summer vacation? Don't worry, your house, upstairs and downstairs, the stairs and door handles
have all been disinfected. There are no bacteria."
Zhao Youning smiled bitterly and said, "I know. Actually, my dad also got hepatitis A. He lives in
the isolation building of the school. He is well now and will be able to come out next week."
This Si Nan really had no idea. He stared with eyes wide open and thanked God, Buddha, and
Guanyin. He also described his own wisdom and bravery in school before returning the phone to
Si Jiang.
Si Jiang asked curiously: "Then you go to H University's Department of Physics to study for a
master's degree, do you have a scholarship?"
"Yes, a full scholarship."
Very good, Chen*arrogant* Sijiang was hit hard again. He chatted with some irrelevant old
classmates and hung up the phone.
——
After great joy came great sorrow. In early June, Si Jiang’s visa application was rejected for the
first time.
After leaving the US Consulate, Si Jiang still felt dizzy. Although he had been prepared for visa
rejection, it was still hard to accept when it was his turn. The weather was already cold during the
rainy season, and Si Jiang looked back at the people still queuing and the guards standing
straight, and was unable to move for a long time.
"Little sister, were you rejected?" someone came up to inquire.
Si Jiang nodded blankly.
"Saning interviews Nongge (who interviews you)? The one with the beard and gold-rimmed
glasses, right?"
"Um."
"Oh, these red guys are the most annoying! Five out of ten were rejected. You are so unlucky. It
would have been better if you came yesterday. Yesterday the red guys had a rest." Someone felt
sorry for Si Jiang.
"What question did I ask you? (What question did I ask you?)"
Si Jiang thought for a while: "I asked why I wanted to study abroad, why I wanted to study law,
and who would pay for my study abroad——"
"It's hard to get a visa to study abroad at your own expense. I heard that over 100,000 people
have applied in the past three years. Alas, Americans are also afraid. With so many Chinese going
to the U.S., in ten years, the U.S. will become China." Someone put on the tone of an old wizard.
Si Jiang was surrounded by seven or eight people, questioning her for details. She felt even more
short of breath. She took two steps, but the crowd followed her.
"Hey, hey, hey, little girl, are you answering the question in Chinese or English?"
"English."
"The little girl doesn't understand the scriptures! No wonder she was rejected," someone felt
sorry for Si Jiang, "You should answer in Chinese, they all speak Chinese. You speak English too
well, the Americans think you definitely don't want to come back. Your English is not good, they
think you can't stay in the United States even if you study hard, so they have no intention of
immigrating, do you understand?"
Si Jiang stopped. She really didn't know that a visa interview would have so many twists and
turns.
"You can't say that your ideal is to work in the legal field," a young woman wearing glasses added
softly, "My classmate was denied a visa three times to study for a master's degree in law school
because the continental law system and the maritime law system are different. If you study the
maritime law system, it will be useful only if you stay in the United States to work."
Si Jiang took out a small notebook and wrote it down carefully. No wonder the interviewer had a
strange expression on his face after she talked so much about her yearning for law and her
understanding of judicial independence.
"Also, you are so pretty, little girl," someone laughed, "Americans are worried that you went to
the United States to marry an American."
Si Jiang blushed and shook his head subconsciously to deny it. The enthusiastic crowd burst into
laughter.
The young woman smiled and comforted Si Jiang: "It's okay. It's very difficult to get a visa this
year. It's hepatitis A again. Try to get a visa a few more times. You should be able to get one with
half the prize. I've been here three times."
Si Jiang took a breath and nodded.
"I keep fighting after repeated defeats, and keep losing after repeated defeats." A young man
sighed, "Liu Bei visited Zhuge Liang three times, and I visited the U.S. Consulate six times.
Miserable."
Everyone started laughing again, and many of them shared the same hatred for the enemy.
When Si Jiang returned home, he told her what happened. Grandma Gu made the sign of the
cross and said, "God has his own reasons for everything. Don't think too much, because good
things may come after bad things."
Si Nan hugged Si Jiang and shook him for a long time: "Then you must take the college entrance
examination and return to Shanghai."
Si Jiang smiled and patted her: "Sure!"
At night, Gu Ximei learned that Si Jiang's visa was rejected and he had to return to Urumqi to take
the college entrance examination. Surprisingly, she didn't say anything.
On Saturday, Jingsheng came back with a bunch of mock exam papers for the national college
entrance exam, which he got from his roommates and football teammates. Si Jiang calmed down
and immersed himself in the sea of questions.
——
Si Nan and Tang Huan's junior high school life is about to end. The number of members of the
Taohua Gang has grown to about 20, all boys. The girls in the class still don't talk to them. Their
hot topics are the Little Tigers, "Detective Hunter" and "A Cut Plum". Si Nan is not interested in
these and doesn't care about being excluded. Tang Huan can no longer be seen as a person from
northern Jiangsu from her dress. With the training of Si Nan and the gang brothers, she can also
speak fluent Shanghainese. With Si Nan as a good friend, she has become much more lively and
cheerful.
The hepatitis A epidemic at the beginning of the year was caused by Qidong hairy clams.
Although Tang Huan's hometown is in Rudong, 100 kilometers away from Qidong, they are both
in Nantong and northern Jiangsu, so Tang Huan can't help but get a lot of cold stares every day,
and even got the nickname "Tang Hairy Clam". The English teacher even asked her to go home
and quarantine for two months in a joking tone. In that class, Tang Fang was punished to go to
the corridor to "correct her accent" because of the "accent problem" when reciting the text.
Chen Sinan was furious and walked out of the classroom directly. The gang leader was so
righteous that Hu Yadong also ran out. In the end, more than a dozen people in the class blocked
the corridor and laughed, attracting the attention of the principal and the dean of teaching.
The principal asked them to go back to the classroom to continue the class. Chen Sinan stiffened
his neck and said, "Let Teacher Kang apologize to Tang Huan! We will go back to class after he
apologizes, otherwise we will not attend his classes anymore."
Hu Yadong's blood boiled, and he raised his arms and shouted: "Yes, we want to strike!"
The entire third grade was in an uproar.
Finally, English teacher Kang reluctantly apologized to Tang Huan in Shanghainese. Chen Sinan
won a great victory and led his "brothers" back to the classroom with his head held high.
When Si Jiang found out about this, he was extremely angry. He wrote an argumentative essay
about the incident and submitted it to the Liberation Daily and Xinmin Evening News. He also
mailed it to the Municipal Education Bureau, the Institute of Education, and the mayor's mailbox.
The Xinmin Evening News published this letter soon, and many children of educated youth who
returned to Shanghai wrote to the newspaper to express that they had encountered such
discrimination. Some citizens even angrily expressed that it was because of such bad habits that
outsiders were discriminated against, so when hepatitis A broke out, outsiders also discriminated
against Shanghai people. For a time, discrimination and anti-discrimination became a hot topic.
The mayor's mailbox also received a response. Teacher Kang was transferred from his post in
early May.

Chapter 258
The third year of junior high school is about to take the entrance examination, and the English
teacher is replaced at the last minute. A young new teacher who was assigned last year becomes
the head of the class, Mr. Mao. However, as for the troublemaker Chen Sinan, Mr. Mao knows
very well that she is not easy to deal with because she is soft-hearted and only responds to tough
measures, so he can only adopt a conciliatory policy.
"Chen Sinan, although you are the second in the grade now, you are still a little bit away from the
city's key school," Teacher Mao advised earnestly, "Last year, the first in our grade did very well in
the exam and just passed the score line for the district's key school. Now the school has a few
places for direct admission to the vocational high school department of our school. Go back and
discuss it with your parents. After three years of study, you can directly work in a bank. If you
want to go, the teacher can help you get it."
Sinan's eyes lit up: "Work in a bank?"
Teacher Mao's eyes lit up as well: "Yes, yes, yes. Come, let me give you a detailed introduction. In
all of Shanghai, there is only one school called Nanhu Bank Vocational School in Hongkou District.
All graduates go to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. The other one is us. All
graduates go to the Bank of China. It's very famous and the treatment is very good. After working
for one year, you can earn more than your parents who have worked for decades."
Sinan carefully read the vocational high school courses and the assignments of the previous two
classes, and his eyes lit up: "Teacher Mao, what are the conditions for direct promotion?"
Teacher Mao took out the recommendation form and said: "The top ten students in the class
have a chance. Come, fill out the form first."
"How many people in our class can be directly promoted? Will the competition be fierce? I heard
that our vocational school is very popular." Sinan held the form tightly, but his face showed a lack
of confidence.
"Each class has five places. Teacher Mao is very optimistic about you," Teacher Mao smiled and
said, "I'm sure you will have no problem."
"Then I'll take the form back and discuss it with my family, okay?"
"Sure, no problem. Just hand it in before next Wednesday."
Teacher Mao smiled as he watched Chen Sinan leave the office and nodded with satisfaction. He
thought that being able to send excellent students to the vocational high school would definitely
bring him another commendation and bonus. And Tang Huan, the girl who didn't have a Shanghai
hukou, would still have to go back to Nantong to take the university entrance exam even if she
entered high school for three years. He would definitely be able to convince her to go directly to
the vocational school.
A week later, Chen Sinan came to hand in the form. Teacher Mao took one look and said: ??? !!!
The name filled in on the form was Hu Yadong.
"Eh? How can you be so serious!" Teacher Mao was stunned for two seconds and then his
eyebrows stood up.
Chen Sinan scratched his ears helplessly. "My mother said that if I dare not take the high school
entrance examination and go to a vocational high school, she would come back from Urumqi and
break my legs. My father said that if I don't become a Tongji University alumnus with him when I
take the college entrance examination in the future, he will sever the father-daughter
relationship with me. My uncle and aunt said that Peking University is very welcoming to me and
insisted that I apply to their school. My eldest cousin who is in Jiaotong University said that
Jiaotong University is the most brilliant. And my sister, she has been admitted to the most
powerful H University in the United States, and she wants me to go to the United States to study
after a good high school-"
Teacher Mao was stunned. He took out Chen Sinan's home-school contact book and read it again
and again to confirm that he was not mistaken. The household registration was in the
shantytown of Wanchun Street. The contact person was his uncle Gu Dongwen, and his
occupation was self-employed. How did all these "scholarly families" and famous universities
come from?
Chen Sinan quickly picked up the thermos and filled Teacher Mao's cup with tea: "Teacher Mao,
you care so much about us students. My family is not so conscious and has held me back. I am
really sorry to have wasted your hard work. Hu Yadong ranked 13th in the class in the last final
exam, and his family is in such a difficult situation. If I could give him this chance, it would be the
best of both worlds."
Before Teacher Mao could react, Chen Sinan spoke eloquently: "You've visited his family before.
The shantytown on Changhua Road where he lives is much worse than our Wanchun Street. You
had to stand on the curb to talk to his father. Tsk, tsk, tsk," Sinan counted on his fingers, "There
are four people in his family, his uncle's family of three, and his grandparents, nine of us live in a
small room of six or seven square meters. We have to eat, take a bath, and do homework on the
street since we were young. His brother is not very good. He didn't get into any secondary school
or high school, and he didn't go to work to earn money. He just hangs around in society every
day, quarreling and fighting with his father every day. Alas, Teacher Mao--"
Teacher Mao saw the twinkling light in Chen Sinnan's big eyes that were filled with concern for
the country and the people, and he stepped back a little creepily.
"Teacher Mao, if Hu Yadong can go directly to our vocational school, he will be a bank employee
in three years. He will not become a gangster or even a hooligan like his brother. You see, he has
studied much more seriously this year, right? He rose from 38th in the class to 11th. That's a big
improvement, right?"
Teacher Mao really couldn't deny this fact. Chen Sinan and Tang Huan not only had good grades,
but also inspired many male students in the class to study hard. He suspected that they were in a
premature relationship and followed them several times. Later, he found that every time they
went to Jing'an Park, they would do exercises and memorize them next to the old men and
women playing poker and chess. It was really touching to see the friendship between classmates
in Shanghai. His class ranked first in the final exam last year and the midterm exam this year, and
this group of little guys also contributed to it.
"So, Mr. Mao, if you recommend Hu Yadong for direct promotion, you will not only help a good
classmate in need, but also help a big family. Our Jing'an District will lose a gangster and gain a
promising young man who will contribute to the banking industry of our motherland. It's great."
Chen Sinan blinked his eyes and said, "As long as you sign here, I guarantee that Hu Yadong will
definitely be in the top ten in the district mock exam next month."
Teacher Mao looked at his notebook and saw that the top ten students in the class had to take
the high school entrance exam and college entrance exam, but only one of the five
recommended places was filled... It seemed that it was not impossible, and he really had an
inexplicable feeling surging in his chest.
At the end of May, Hu Yadong appeared on the list of students who were directly admitted to
vocational high schools. Hu Yadong was so excited that he bought half a month's supply of curry
beef buns for Boss Chen. He sincerely advised Boss Chen not to be too ambitious and just apply
for a key school in the district. Boss Chen beat him with the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms and
he ran around the campus.
——
Si Jiang is scheduled to go to Urumqi in mid-June. Her household registration was transferred
from Aksu to the collective household registration of the No. 2 Middle School along with Gu
Ximei early in the year. At the beginning of the year, Xi Mei gave her a greeting after registering
her name in the No. 2 Middle School, and the procedures were completed in a few days. Before
leaving, Zeng Xin and Zhang Leyi gathered a group of old classmates to see her off, and also
invited several teachers from the junior high school.
After Fang Shuren found out, she tried her best to invite everyone to her house for a gathering. Si
Jiang hesitated for a moment and then agreed.
After so many years, Si Jiang was filled with emotion when he stepped into Yugu Village again.
"Ah, Si Jiang is such a big girl. If we meet her on the street, I will definitely recognize her at a
glance." Fang Shuren's mother, Mrs. Fang, greeted Si Jiang to come in with a smile: "Alas Jiang, I
have been there since I was a child. It’s so good, it’s the only one, and you will never admit it.”
Zeng Xin and others pestered Mrs. Fang to hear Si Jiang's childhood stories. Knowing that she
would beat people with a rolling pin, they all claimed that Si Jiang hid it too well. Si Jiang quickly
acted as half the owner and took the students to the big garden to see the scenery.
"Such a large garden belongs to Teacher Fang? It is very nicely maintained, with so many flowers
planted. It is so beautiful."
"Stupid? Of course not. Look at the clothes hanging over there, and the messy house. My
grandma would definitely not do that. It would be a waste of money for the neighbor."
"Wow!" Zhang Leyi and others were stunned by the waterfall of white roses in the corner.
"It's so beautiful, so beautiful that I feel like crying. What's going on!" Zeng Xin hugged Si Jiang
exaggeratedly.
"Wait for Old Tang to come and ask him to take more photos for us! Si Jiang, just stand under the
flowers and don't move. We will take turns to take photos with you one by one."
Si Jiang was stunned: "You called Tang Zenian?"
"Teacher Fang called me," Zhang Leyi scratched her head and whispered, "It seems that Li Nan
will come too, is that okay?"
Speak of the devil, and here he comes. Tang Zenian and Li Nan appeared side by side at the big
iron gate.
Zhang Leyi curled her lips and said, "You're still talking about Cheng Ying, but you also like to steal
someone else's girl."
"Don't talk nonsense, Li Nan didn't steal my girlfriend," Si Jiang immediately clarified, "and don't
say that about Cheng Ying, it's not nice."
The boys and girls from the third class came forward and laughed. With the college entrance
examination approaching, they had such a rare opportunity to relax. It might also be the last
gathering in their entire middle school life, so they all cherished it very much.
Tang Zenian took out his camera and asked everyone to take photos in front of the flowers.
Because the purpose was to see Si Jiang off, everyone rushed to take photos with him, two-
person, three-person, multiple-person, and group photos. The shutters kept clicking for more
than ten minutes. Si Jiang's face was numb from smiling, but fortunately, there was no sun during
the plum rain season.
After the teachers took photos with Sijiang, He Hongwei went up to take the camera and said,
"Xiao Tang hasn't taken photos with Chen Sijiang yet, right? Come, I'll take a few photos for you."
Tang Zenian smiled and asked Si Jiang: "Do you want to take a picture?"
Si Jiang smiled and nodded.
The two stood side by side under the rose waterfall.
"What are you two doing? Come closer, there's no one else here." He Hongwei put down the
camera and shouted with a smile.
The two of them smiled and moved a little closer to each other.
"Okay, come on, one, two, three, smile." He Hongwei pressed the shutter.
"Teacher He, please take two more pictures for us. I think I blinked." Tang Zenian lowered his eyes
and asked, "Is it okay, Chen Sijiang?"
Si Jiang lowered his head, a little apologetically: "Sure."
"Okay, stop blinking. One, two, three, smile."
At the moment the shutter sounded, a hand gently rested on Si Jiang's left shoulder, so light that
it was barely noticeable. Si Jiang's smile froze for a second, and when she turned her head, Tang
Zenian had already put down his arm, as if nothing had happened. A gust of wind blew, and a few
white rose petals fell.
Tang Zenian raised his hand and took the petals off Si Jiang's hair, and said with a smile: "I hope I
can meet you again next year when the Jiangnan scenery is beautiful and the flowers are falling.
Chen Si Jiang."
The three words "Chen Sijiang" sounded tender, sad, charming and moving when he said them.
Si Jiang was flustered and confused. She lowered her head and patted the hem of her skirt: "I'm
sure my classmates will have a reunion in Shanghai in the future."
Neither of them noticed that He Hongwei was still pressing the shutter button.
——
All the food and beverage for the party was arranged by Mrs. Fang, including butterfly cakes from
the International Hotel, chestnut cake from Ka Sling, cream squares from Ruby, cream ice cream
coffee from Lao Da Chang, potato salad, borscht, fried pork chops, braised duck, roast chicken,
cold noodles and cold wontons, and glutinous rice dumplings made with osmanthus wine.
Zhang Leyi muttered privately: "Teacher Fang likes you too much. We saw it when we were in
junior high school. She really treats you like her own daughter. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, we each only
contributed five dollars. How could we possibly prepare so much food? Whoever can prepare it
will give me my head!"
Si Jiang looked at Fang Shuren in the crowd, guessing that he was being favored by the man in his
family, and he felt a lot of emotion in his heart.
"Si Jiang, are you free? I have something to tell you." Li Nan walked over through the crowd.
Zeng Xin and Zhang Leyi looked at each other.
Si Jiang nodded: "Then let's go to the garden."
Tang Zenian stopped them at the door: "Li Nan, what are you doing?"
Li Nan turned away and said, "We girls are just talking privately. Do you have any right to
interfere? Who do you think you are?"
This was too rude, and Tang Zenian was a little embarrassed. Si Jiang didn't understand what was
going on between the two of them, and didn't know how to smooth things over.
Many people in the room noticed their movements, and the laughter and talking gradually
disappeared.
Tang Zenian took a breath and lowered his voice: "Li Nan, Chen Sijiang is going back to Urumqi to
take the college entrance examination. You just need to know some things. Don't affect her,
okay?"
Si Jiang took a step back and said, "Why don't you guys discuss it first? I'll go get something to
eat."
Just as she was about to turn around, Li Nan grabbed her arm and pulled her away, and she
almost collided with Tang Zenian.
Li Nan dragged Si Jiang to the roses and said stiffly, "Although you don't consider me a friend
anymore, I still consider you a friend."
Si Jiang was stunned, then thought there was no point in arguing about this, so he just looked at
her quietly.
Tang Zenian stopped the others who wanted to follow him, walked a short distance but stopped
again, as if hesitating whether to interfere.
Li Nan turned to look at Tang Zenian, and then looked at Si Jiang with red eyes: "Do you know?
Tang Zenian gave up the opportunity to study at H University for you!"

Chapter 259
Looking out from the octagonal window on the first floor of the old house, although the sky is
gloomy, the trees are lush, the roses are lush, the red brick wall is faintly visible under the ivy
curtain wall, and the young man and girl are a painting just standing there. The people outside
the window don't care how they will appear in the eyes of the people inside the window.
Si Jiang couldn't help but look at Tang Zenian.
"He has a full scholarship from H University and his visa has been approved. When he found out
that you haven't got it approved, he said he couldn't go—" Li Nan choked up a little, but was
more anxious. "He had several arguments with his family about this. Si Jiang, can you persuade
him?"
This news was too heavy for Si Jiang, and she didn't know what to say for a moment.
Li Nan turned sideways, lowered her head, and sniffed. Si Jiang sighed softly, took out a
handkerchief and handed it to her.
Li Nan took it, rubbed his face randomly, and looked at Si Jiang: "I know you are angry with me, I
like Lao Tang."
Si Jiang was a little dazed. There was a tragic look on the face of his once best friend, as if he was
gone and would never come back.
"But I really hope that you will be with him. I am not the kind of person who wants to take
advantage of the opportunity to steal your girl. Do you believe me?" Li Nan was a little excited.
His chest rose and fell violently, and tears fell down: "He is the boy I have liked since
kindergarten, my favorite boy, and you are my favorite girl. He likes you so much that he can do
anything for you and give up everything. I really hope that you two can be together well. You are
so suitable for each other and have the same ideals——"
"Pumpkin." Si Jiang also choked.
Li Nan was stunned. She hadn't heard this intimate nickname from Si Jiang for a long time.
"Since you like him, why don't you--?" Si Jiang didn't understand.
Li Nan looked at her steadily for a while, then lowered his head and took two steps towards the
white rose.
"I'm sick."
Si Jiang's heart suddenly tightened.
Li Nan leaned against the tree trunk, his eyes fixed on Tang Zenian: "I got sick when I was in
elementary school, and I had to take medicine all the time. Before I took the medicine, I was
quite slim, even thinner than you."
Seeing Si Jiang's expression, Li Nan smiled and said, "Actually, I don't want to eat that much at all,
but I feel uncomfortable if I don't eat, and I also feel uncomfortable if I eat too much. Do you
remember that I lost five kilograms during the second year of junior high school?"
Si Jiang remembered that Li Nan had to stay in the hospital for several days because of the weight
loss program.
"Every day before going to bed, I would scrub my teeth into the toilet and spit out everything I
ate. It really helped me lose weight." Li Nan lowered his head and said, "I did lose weight, but I
ended up being hospitalized. I then took more medicine, but ended up being even fatter than
before."
"But liking someone has nothing to do with being fat or thin. We all like you, everyone likes you."
Si Jiang held her hand, feeling distressed.
Li Nan exhaled: "That's because you're not fat, Si Jiang, you won't understand. You will never
understand what ugly girls have experienced and what they are thinking."
"We really think you are cute. You study well, have a good personality, are humorous, can take a
joke, are enthusiastic, have strong organizational skills, and can get along with everyone. You
were the one I envied the most when you were in the first grade!" Si Jiang was anxious.
"I have a bad personality! I'm fake in my humor and can't take a joke, but if I can't take a joke I'll
have no friends!" Li Nan raised his voice for a moment, then lowered it again: "Old Tang is
different, he's the one with the real good personality, good studies, and everything else. He
should be with a girl like you. He's always just treating me as a brother, and I'm the one being
infatuated with him. Don't ignore him because of me."
Si Jiang was so angry that he raised his hand and slapped her: "Li Nan! If you say so, if I gain ten
pounds and don't look good, Tang Zenian will not like me at all, and I don't deserve to like him,
right? This kind of liking based on appearance is not liking at all! I don't like this kind of liking
either."
Li Nan smiled bitterly and raised his head: "If Gu Jingsheng was only 1.6 meters tall and weighed
160 grams, do you think Zeng Xin and Zhang Leyi would still like him?"
Si Jiang was shocked and got goosebumps just thinking about it.
"People are very realistic, Si Jiang," Li Nan stuffed the handkerchief back into her hand and said
with a self-deprecating smile, "What's the important thing about the beauty of the soul? If you're
not good-looking, others won't want to know your soul at all."
"Tang Zenian is not that kind of person." Si Jiang shook his head.
"I am. I can't stand it myself." Li Nan raised his head and looked at the flower waterfall hanging
from the sky: "I dare not even think about it. If I think about it, I will think 'I am not worthy'."
At this moment, Si Jiang felt that everything she said was condescending and self-righteous. Yes,
she was not Li Nan, so she could not and should not "teach" her. She was not qualified. What is
right and what is wrong, no one has the right to decide and judge other people's thoughts and
choices.
After a while, Si Jiang said softly, "I'll go talk to Tang Zenian."
"Thank you!" Li Nan's eyes lit up and he hugged Si Jiang tightly: "Thank you!"
——
Si Jiang and Tang Zenian walked slowly around the large garden.
"What did Li Nan say to you just now?" Tang Zenian looked at the faces pasted on the glass
window of Room 101 and smiled, "It made me very nervous."
"Why don't you go to H University? You have a full scholarship and a visa, why?" Si Jiang frowned
and asked him, "Didn't we agree on that in Xigong? You have to be responsible for your own
future and don't sacrifice for others. I didn't get the visa this time, but there is still next time, but
I will definitely not give up. You have already got the visa, but you give up so easily. Is it worth it?"
She paused, and finally decided to speak clearly and unequivocally: "Please don't give up
studying abroad because of me, okay?"
Tang Zenian was startled, stopped and looked at Si Jiang carefully.
"What's wrong?" Si Jiang touched her face uncomfortably. She had eaten a small square of
cream, so there should not be any cream on her face.
"I gave up on enrolling in this fall because of my mother. I applied for next spring's enrollment a
few days ago and am waiting for the school's reply." Tang Zenian's eyes curved and he smiled
deeply: "Si Jiang, thank you for your concern for me."
Si Jiang was stunned for two seconds, his face turned red, and he said "Oh" in embarrassment
and embarrassment.
"Well, that's good."
"Sijiang!"
Tang Zenian caught up with Si Jiang in two steps, and asked with a smile as he backed away,
"Didn't you also receive the admission letter from H University? Will you go to study there?"
"How did you know?" Si Jiang was surprised and realized that she had never told any of her
classmates about the admission notice and visa. How did Tang Zenian and Li Nan know about it?
"Teacher Fang came to ask me about the problems I encountered when applying for a visa. He
asked in great detail and occasionally mentioned a sentence." Tang Zenian immediately betrayed
Fang Shuren: "It seems that because your sister and her sister-in-law said a few words, Teacher
Fang is concerned about you-"
Si Jiang stopped and took a few deep breaths. No wonder Teacher Fang promised to give her
some visa information after the party today. That's great. The embarrassment and awkwardness
just now can all be blamed on Chen Sinan.
"Have you applied for spring admission?"
Si Jiang walked around the small flower bed built by Mrs. Fang and sat on a long bench. "H
University didn't give me a scholarship. I chose C University and just sent in my application letter
yesterday."
Seeing the expression of "Don't change your choice to C University" on Si Jiang's face, Tang
Zenian smiled helplessly and said, "Don't worry, I won't pester you. I didn't even apply to C
University."
Si Jiang blushed, thinking that the air pressure was too low during the plum rain season: "Sorry,
that's not what I meant."
"It's okay. Just focus on your college entrance exam. Li Nan..." Tang Zenian sat down, putting a
person's distance between him and Si Jiang.
He paused and continued, "She was very sad after she broke up with you. She looks carefree, but
she actually thinks a lot and keeps a lot of things in her heart. You - after graduation, can you still
be good friends? She is just stubborn and will mention you wherever she goes, eats, or does
anything."
"Tang Zenian." Si Jiang turned his head and called softly.
Tang Zenian's heart skipped a beat. In Si Jiang's clear eyes, he saw himself and every little thought
of his. He wanted her to have the best of everything. He lied. He wanted to wait for her to leave
together. If she couldn't leave, he wouldn't leave either. This was of course absurd and she didn't
like it, but he had no choice. No matter how calm and rational he was, no matter how much he
persuaded himself, it was not as good as her look. He had tried his best to convince himself, but it
was all in vain.
Tang Zenian lowered his eyes and changed the subject: "I have had arguments with my family
several times, but they were all about hepatitis A."
Si Jiang was startled: "What's wrong?"
Tang Zenian took a breath and said, "Actually, this hepatitis A infection might not have been so
serious."
Si Jiang thought of his mother and couldn't help but hold his breath.
"In December last year, it was detected that hepatitis A was caused by razor clams, and it was
confirmed that there would be an outbreak period of hepatitis A," Tang Zenian's voice deepened,
"but my mother and others didn't make it public. They were clearly arranging for beds to be
vacated, and they only announced that razor clams would cause diarrhea and that their sale was
banned, but they didn't mention hepatitis A at all."
"Did you know? At the end of December, there were people in our alley picking up razor clams
from the garbage bins in the vegetable market and eating them, and then taking a few berberine
tablets after eating," Tang Zenian clenched his fists. He was extremely angry almost when he
thought of this. "If the relationship between razor clams and hepatitis A had been announced
earlier, so many people would not have been infected. 350,000 people, in the end 350,000
people were infected!"
Si Jiang's scalp tingled. She remembered that the first report in the Liberation Daily that
mentioned that hairy clams might carry the hepatitis A virus was on January 18. That day, there
were more than 18,000 new cases, and then on January 21, the hepatitis epidemic was reported
once a day instead of once every ten days.
"I am so disappointed in my mother and her colleagues. In April, the CPPCC asked their
leadership team in charge of health to resign. I told her that she really didn't deserve to sit in that
position, and she-" Tang Zenian lowered his head and sneered: "She slapped me. She said I was
too naive and childish. She also said a lot of things, saying how hard they worked, and all the
leaders were thinking about how to solve the problem effectively, beds, medicines, medical care,
isolation points, they were busy day and night, and finally controlled the epidemic in such a short
time. She said a lot of things like this, as if the disaster caused by their bureaucratic style has
become their credit. It's ridiculous."
Si Jiang asked in a low voice after a long while: "Are you okay?"
Tang Zenian took a breath and straightened his back. "I later figured out what happened with
Teacher Gao. You're right. This is also a form of abusing power for personal gain. So this time,
maybe I was too naive, but I couldn't pretend I didn't know. I couldn't understand why
confidentiality was so important. Why didn't citizens have the right to know the truth first?
Bureaucracy, this is complete bureaucracy."
"Last Thursday, 257 children at Shaanxi North Road Kindergarten were poisoned by food. Parents
were furious, but there was no news coverage. Have you heard about it?"
Si Jiang was shocked: "How are the kids? Is it serious?"
"They are still under observation in the hospital, and the situation is still confidential," Tang
Zenian turned his head to look at Si Jiang, smiling brightly, "So I wrote a letter to the CPPCC
yesterday, and also to the Commission for Discipline Inspection, reporting my mother by her real
name, asking her to resign, and requiring that similar incidents must be made public. I will not
leave the country until there is a result in this matter."
"Si Jiang, I remember you said in a speech in your second year of high school: When the world is
at peace, the words of the nobles are as light as a feather. When the world is at war, the words of
the common people are as heavy as Mount Tai."
"Now, for me, what is more important than studying abroad is that every citizen has his or her
responsibilities."
Tang Zenian's voice even carried a hint of teasing, but Si Jiang felt her blood boiling. For the first
time, she got to know Tang Zenian like this. He was not the president of the student union, not a
sports star on the football field, not top of the grade, nor the boy who simply liked her, but an
upright, independent, and remarkable person.

Chapter 260
In addition to admiration, Si Jiang couldn't help but worry about Tang Zenian: "If your parents
knew you did this--"
"If it were in ancient times, I would definitely be beaten half to death and kicked out of the
family, and if there was a family tree, I would be removed from the family name," Tang Zenian
said half-jokingly.
Si Jiang also half-jokingly answered: "It may not be impossible now."
"Then - do you think I'm wrong?" Tang Zenian was inexplicably a little uneasy.
Si Jiang shook his head: "Of course not, the major issues must be put first. Oh, that's it, I don't
know how to say it, maybe your mother has her own difficulties, she can't have the final say
alone, she has so many leaders above her. She will definitely be very sad and upset if you do this,
after all, you are her closest person-"
"I know." Tang Zenian lowered his head: "I am a coward in this regard, not even as good as Don
Quixote."
"No, no, no. You are certainly not a coward, you are a warrior." Si Jiang pondered for a moment:
"From the perspective of your family and your mother, you are a betrayer, but you are not
targeting her alone. Teacher He once said that most people only consider things from the
perspective of their own gains and losses, so that they are numb to the misfortunes of others.
You are not one of the majority, you have already wielded the spear."
"Conscience comes before profit. Thank you for understanding me." Tang Zenian paused and
said, "Teacher He's political class is indeed very good. High school political classes are not
interesting at all."
Si Jiang agreed with this: "No matter how others view you, I support and admire you. Someone
must be held responsible for such a big thing. Since the CPPCC has brought it up, it means you
are not the only one who understands the facts and sees the problem. Otherwise, next time
something similar happens, it will definitely be kept secret first, and the ordinary people will
suffer."
"Yes, a reporter from the Economic Daily also asked at the end of March what responsibilities the
Shanghai Municipal Government should bear. Mayor Zhu said a lot at the time. I had thought that
at least someone at the deputy mayor level would come out to take responsibility, but no one
did. Not even a single person resigned, let alone made a self-criticism. I am really disappointed.
My mother even now thinks that confidentiality is a matter of course. Failure to keep it
confidential will cause panic among citizens, leading to a rush for drugs and attacks on hospitals.
It will be out of control." Tang Zenian became angry again as he spoke.
Si Jiang could probably imagine how angry Tang Zenian would be when he heard such words, and
she was completely unable to understand the thoughts of those in power.
"So many children in a kindergarten in northern Shaanxi got food poisoning the day before
yesterday," Tang Zenian clenched his fists. "Who is responsible? From their perspective, no one
wants this to happen. The head of the kindergarten is also wronged. He is actively handling the
situation and will take strict precautions next time. It's still this set of official rhetoric. In the end,
the children's suffering is in vain. What's the source? What about the system defects? What
about the problems of the people involved? Haha, from top to bottom, it's the same way of
handling it. They even think that it's good enough for the leaders to go to the scene to express
their condolences and move the victims."
Si Jiang hesitated for a moment: "It's better to go to express condolences than not to go. At least
when hepatitis A was prevalent, the leaders went to the quarantine points and hospitals to visit
the patients. I was really moved at that time. Do you know? When someone got hepatitis A, her
family kicked her out..."
"You're right," Tang Zenian paused and sighed deeply, "but if the severity of the disease had been
announced earlier, that person might not have been infected."
"Good fortune and bad fortune go hand in hand, so she may not know how mercenary and
heartless her family is." Seeing Tang Zenian's surprised look, Si Jiang came to her senses and
found that she had unconsciously become independent from Tang Zenian on this topic. She
awkwardly smoothed her hair and said, "You are right, being realistic is the most important thing.
If the relationship between razor clams and hepatitis A had been announced earlier, so many
people would definitely not have been infected."
"I'm not a fence-sitter, really." Si Jiang blinked: "I support you."
Tang Zenian laughed and said, "I have already done it. It doesn't matter if you don't support me.
In fact, it is very likely that what I have done is of no use at all."
"At least the government has started the five major projects now." Si Jiang breathed a sigh of
relief: "We don't know when the renovation will be completed on Wanchun Street. There is
always sewage leaking next to the public toilet. In the summer, we really have to run over there
at the speed of a 50-meter sprint. The sanitary conditions are really too bad. Wherever the
manure boats go in Suzhou River, the manure leaks there-"
Si Jiang wrinkled his nose: "Actually, what's wrong with the hairy clams? It's the people who are
wrong."
Tang Zenian looked towards Room 101: "Are you sure you still have an appetite to go in and eat?"
Si Jiang: “…”
——
No one expected that the gathering after eating and drinking suddenly turned into a small math
class. The reason was that Fang Shuren gave the visa-related information he sorted out to Si
Jiang, and Si Jiang asked two math questions. The senior high school graduates, who had a rare
chance to relax for half a day this semester, immediately studied the types of the last two big
questions like a conditioned reflex, and then couldn't stop.
Sinan and Tang Huan tiptoed down from the second floor, thinking they would see the senior
high school dance they had longed for, but their jaws almost dropped.
"Sharpening the sword before the battle will not be a good idea, even if it is not sharp." Sinan
held a piece of fried pork chop in his mouth, borscht in his left hand and cold wontons in his right
hand. There were several pieces of braised duck on the cold wontons, and he made a vague
mocking remark.
Tang Huan stared at Si Jiang intently and exclaimed: "Your sister is so beautiful, much prettier
than in the photo."
Sinan put his face in front of her, his eyes wide open, and raised his chin provocatively, and the
fried pork chop began to sway.
Tang Huan burst out laughing.
The good students sitting in a row in the living room turned their heads around.
Tang Huan blushed and nodded to everyone, bowed, and motioned Si Nan to follow her upstairs.
"Sinan!" Sijiang stood up suddenly. The anger she had felt for this little traitor had long since
disappeared. She smiled and came over to pull the fried pork chop out of Sinan's mouth. "I told
you to come play with me, but you refused. Why did you sneak in here?"
Sinan balanced the braised duck and fried pork chop on the cold wontons in his hand and
pouted: "You call that an invitation? There is no sincerity at all."
Zeng Xin, Zhang Leyi and others came over, touched Si Nan's curly hair, lamented that the two
sisters were not alike at all, and analyzed how much Zeng Xin and Si Nan looked alike. Si Nan
endured for a long time and finally rolled her eyes: "Are you done? I'm starving."
Amidst laughter, Tang Huan and Si Nan escaped from Room 101. Before leaving, Si Nan looked
back at Tang Zenian and raised his eyebrows, with a warning clearly written on his little face:
"Stay away from my sister."
Tang Zenian couldn't help laughing and waved to Sinan.
"Is that guy surnamed Tang your relative?" Sinan motioned Tang Huan to look back.
"No. His last name is also Tang? What a coincidence." Tang Huan just noticed that the boy was
particularly clean and good-looking: "He seems to like your sister, his eyes are always glued to
your sister. But he and your sister are quite a match."
"What a match! You can tell at a glance that you are fake - Tang Huan, your taste in judging male
classmates is not good."
Tang Huan rolled her eyes and was speechless, as if she had very good taste.
Two third-year junior high school girls went into a small room on the second floor and ate while
playing games.
"Hey, do you like Hu Yadong or not?" Tang Huan asked, trying not to laugh. "Cai Jingjing and the
others said that you and Hu Yadong were a couple, so you helped him get Lao Mao."
Sinan almost choked on the fried pork chop: "Bullshit, Hu Yadong and the others are my brothers!
They think about these messed up things all day long, no wonder Lao Mao laughed to death
when he said they could get into ordinary high schools."
"By the way, do you still have the math test you gave me last week? My third sister-in-law said
that the questions were very good."
"Of course, that's the test paper of a genius child prodigy, okay? The most amazing child prodigy
in our Jing'an District will be recruited by Americans to study for a master's degree next year.
Alas, he was supposed to come back for the Chinese New Year, damn hepatitis A, but he will
definitely come back during the summer vacation. I'll introduce him to you. No tickets are
required, just come and see him."
"Paying respect - usually used for the deceased, it's unlucky. Eh? How come the sun suddenly
came out on a rainy day?" Tang Huan laughed and joked, "Your genius child prodigy is really
amazing."
The bamboo curtain fell halfway and stopped in mid-air. Tang Huan moved his feet and got a
clearer look at the boy who had just walked into the garden.
The setting sun melted into gold, and the boy narrowed his eyes slightly. He held a football in his
hand, and his walking posture was casual and beautiful. He looked like he had just finished
playing football, and some places of his white short-sleeved shirt were wet with sweat and stuck
to his body.
Perhaps he felt someone was looking at him, so he raised his head and looked in that direction.
Tang Huan quickly hid against the wall, grabbing the curtain rope. The bamboo curtain was pulled
into an angle. The world seemed to suddenly become completely quiet. Sinan's words, the
laughter and music downstairs, the cooking sounds in the public kitchen, the noise of the
children in the garden, everything was blocked out. She could only hear the sound of her own
blood rushing and her heart beating like a drum.
She leaned out and looked down again, but the boy was gone.
"Hey, hurry up and put down the curtains. It's so hot that it's killing me." Sinan finished his meal,
squinted his eyes and shouted.
"Huh? What's wrong with you? Why is your face so red?"
Tang Huan loosened his grip, and the bamboo curtain hit the windowsill, making a crisp sound.
"Tang Huan?"
"Nothing. It's too sunny."
The setting sun was like a last ray of light. It appeared for more than ten minutes and then quickly
returned behind the dark clouds, and the dusk gradually deepened.
Someone knocked on the door.
Tang Huan opened the door and froze.
Jingsheng took a step back and nodded: "Hello."
"Hello." Tang Huan replied at a loss, and then he heard the boy in front of him turn his head and
ask, "Chen Sinan, are you there?"
Sinan jumped up immediately: "Cousin! I'm here, here, here, here!"
Tang Huan was pushed aside by Si Nan, and his head was still dizzy and he couldn't recover.
Sinan narrowed his eyes. "Huh, I asked you to pick me up this morning, but you said you were
busy. Why did you sneak here?"
"I'm here to pick up Si Jiang. She said you were here too, so I called you by the way." Jingsheng
nodded politely to Tang Huan: "Is our Nan Nan causing any trouble to your family?"
"No, no!" Tang Huan hurriedly moved aside.
Sinan wrinkled his nose and punched Jingsheng: "Biased!"
Tang Huan thought silently as he went downstairs, with a brother like this, Chen Sinan would
definitely not be interested in any of the boys in school.

Chapter 261
The party in Room 101 was not over yet. Most of the lights were off, math tutoring was over, and
the TV was playing a video of A Chinese Ghost Story. The video was brought by Zhang Leyi. After
she joined Leslie Cheung's fan club, she spent all her pocket money on tapes in the alley
downstairs of the Zhongtu Company on Yan'an West Road and in the video store on Qiujiang
Road. She copied lyrics into three large books and pasted stickers into five stamp albums. She
would drag the girls to listen to songs and watch videos when she had nothing to do. She even
persuaded her class to sing and dance Leslie Cheung's "Monica" for their last art festival
performance.
Si Jiang couldn't understand the enthusiasm of Zhang Leyi and Si Nan. When it comes to worship,
she worships her uncle very much. But it is incredible for a singer or actor to gain the love of
countless strangers because of a song or a play. Zhang Leyi asked her if Tolstoy, Chekhov,
Shakespeare, and Lao She were alive and meeting readers in the contemporary era. Would she
buy all their works and would she want to meet them? Si Jiang was speechless. She asked
Jingsheng if he had ever worshipped anyone. Jingsheng said that when he was a child, he
admired Gu Dongwen very much, but the feeling was very complicated. It was not just worship,
but also competition. He went against him every day and was beaten badly by him every day. Si
Jiang envied him very much. Her worship of her father disappeared when she was in the third
and fourth grades of elementary school. It is undoubtedly a kind of luck to have an "idol" that can
be loved for a long time. What Si Jiang saw from Zhang Leyi and Si Nan was pure love, selfless
dedication, lasting dedication, and no pursuit of return. So every time Zhang Leyi dragged her to
listen to songs and watch videos, she would try her best to stick to the end, and then honestly
admit that she really had no way to join their fan club.
Seeing Jingsheng coming with Si Nan and Tang Huan, Zeng Xin and Zhang Leyi squeezed together
to make room next to Si Jiang.
More than a dozen people crowded in the living room, and most of the boys sat on the floor.
Jingsheng sat cross-legged at Sijiang's feet. Sinan refused to sit on the sofa and sat on the floor
next to Jingsheng. From time to time, her curly hair fell on Jingsheng's shoulder. Jingsheng
pushed her head away with a slap. After a few minutes, the curly hair fell over again without
getting tired. Zeng Xin and Zhang Leyi saw it and laughed so hard that they pointed at Sinan and
winked at Sijiang. Tang Huan was forced to sit next to Sijiang by Sinan, but she couldn't
concentrate on the screen at all. The strangers around her exclaimed, laughed, and discussed
heatedly. She was like an outsider. The only connection with this real world was the silhouette of
Sinan's cousin.
After watching for a while, Si Jiang couldn't help but bend down and pull Si Nan to his legs and
lean against him: "Don't bother me, brother."
Si Nan twisted a few times and leaned on his sister's lap unwillingly.
Jingsheng turned around, glanced at Jiang Sinan, and bent his eyes.
Tang Huan looked at the screen, but unconsciously held his breath, and a layer of goosebumps
appeared on his arms.
——
After getting together and finally breaking up, a dozen classmates rolled out of Yugu Village after
bidding farewell to Fang Shuren.
Zeng Xin and Zhang Leyi hugged Si Jiang without letting go, laughing and crying. Only then did
they have a sense of farewell. A few more boys bravely sent letters or cards under Jingsheng's
stern gaze. Si Jiang repeatedly promised to attend all class reunions during the summer vacation,
and everyone let him go.
After walking along Yuyuan Road for a short time, I saw the brick-red teaching building of the
school across the road, which looked quiet and solemn at night.
"Nannan must be admitted to our school," Si Jiang dragged Sinan across the street, "Here we
have the most delicious fresh meat buns in Jing'an District, the most handsome male classmates,
and the best teachers—"
"Don't lie to me." Sinan snorted and took a look at the stone tablet with the school name
engraved on it: "My cousin has already graduated, so how can there be a most handsome male
classmate? Right, cousin?"
Jingsheng ignored her servile behavior and walked to the railing to look inside.
"Brother, you never came back to visit your alma mater after you graduated. It's really..." Si Jiang
sighed halfway and was taken over by Si Nan. Si Nan happily concluded: "It's really heartless."
Suddenly realizing that yesterday was her last day at her alma mater, Si Jiang felt a lump in her
throat. She had spent one-third of her eighteen years here, and even the most ordinary days
were hard to forget, not to mention that she had so many unforgettable memories. Peking opera
classes, cooking classes, small hammers, the big cafeteria, the big playground, the locker room
with the chirping girls, the white and green shutters, the blue and white striped sportswear, the
sports meet, the art festival, the embarrassing moments during military training, the bonfire
party during agricultural studies, the struggle with Teacher Gao, and the "vegetable family" in
junior high school, the strong and weak friendships in high school, no matter what her mood was
at the time, at this moment, Si Jiang only felt a strong reluctance.
Jingsheng looked at Si Jiang and turned to walk towards the gatehouse.
The old man at the door came out, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan, his voice still as loud as
ever: "Hey, Gu Jingsheng, do you still want to come back to see me? Chen Sijiang from Class 3 (2),
Senior 3, why don't you come in?"
Si Jiang was stunned for a moment, then ran over: "Hello, Master Liang. I'm going back to Urumqi
tomorrow."
Master Liang raised his eyebrows and said, "How can that be possible? You won't recognize our
school when you go back to Urumqi to take the exam? You have to study here for one day, and
you are our student. You can come back anytime, anywhere, and go in and have fun. (What? You
won't recognize our school when you go back to Urumqi to take the exam? You can study here for
one day, and you are our student...)"
Si Jiang smiled and nodded vigorously.
"Is the friend next to Diege your little sister?"
Si Nan looked towards the school and said, "Uncle Liang, can I go in and take a look at my elder
brother and elder brother's school?"
"Come on, come on, come in."
Si Jiang led Si Nan inside: "Ah, there won't be many opportunities for the three of us to stand
here together in the future."
"Eh? You didn't come to see me off for military training? You didn't come to the parents'
meeting? You didn't come to the sports meet? Aren't you too heartless?!"
Si Nan shook off Si Jiang's hand and strode forward.
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng smiled at each other: "Our uncles always come to our parent-teacher
conferences, why is it us who come when it's your turn?"
"You are college students now, so it is your turn to make contributions. Uncle still has to go to
help Si Hao to attend the parents' meeting." Si Nan stood at the gate of the teaching building:
"Sister, which floor is your classroom on?"
"Third floor."
"Brother, which floor was your classroom on?"
"The senior year students are all on the third floor."
"Then I'll go to my brother's classroom first. I want to sit in the seat you sat in. You must be sitting
in the last row, right?"
"You are so heartless. Now that you have a brother, you put your sister behind."
The three of them chatted as they climbed the stairs.
"It's boring. I came here and you all left. The more I think about it, the more boring it becomes."
Sinan lay on Jingsheng's former desk, still feeling aggrieved.
Jingsheng walked around the classroom twice, pushed open the glass window and looked down:
"The small garden is now quite nice."
Si Jiang leaned forward to take a look and said, "We change the flowers every holiday. Last
Christmas we even put up a circle of poinsettias."
"Aren't we not allowed to celebrate Christmas?"
"Even though we can't hold a Christmas dance, we can still put flowers on display. There are
always countermeasures for every policy. In fact, Tang Zenian's class still held a Christmas dance
and 18th birthday party outside—" Si Jiang was glanced at by Jingsheng, and hurriedly explained:
"I didn't go. I was too busy."
"Haha." Jingsheng pushed himself up with his hands and sat on the windowsill.
Sinan in the last row held his chin in his hand and looked at the two of them, not knowing what
he was thinking.
Si Jiang turned around, leaned on the windowsill and asked casually: "Is there a dance in
college?"
"I don't know, I don't care, and I'm not interested." Jingsheng swung his legs.
Si Jiang glanced at Jingsheng and felt that there was something else behind his words.
"I'm going to the toilet." Si Nan stood up suddenly, and the chair fell to the ground with a rustling
sound, which scared Si Jiang.
"Did you bring tissue?" Si Jiang quickly searched his schoolbag.
"I have." Sinan opened the back door and ran out with a bang.
The classroom suddenly became quiet.
"Let's go after Nannan comes back. You still need to take the school bus back to Minhang in the
evening, right?"
"I'm not going back today. I've asked for half a day off tomorrow. I'll send you on the train and
then take the bus directly to Minhang. It's very convenient." Jingsheng raised his hand and
rubbed his nose: "It's almost vacation, and the classes are not tight."
"Is it really not a big deal to take a leave?" Si Jiang's eyes curved, but he still remembered to
worry about Jingsheng.
"It doesn't matter. Did you submit your college entrance examination application form from No. 2
Middle School?"
"Well, Mom filled it out and submitted it for me last week."
"What did you fill in for your first choice?" Jingsheng's fingers clenched the edge of the
windowsill.
Si Jiang glanced at Jingsheng and said, "Brother, don't be angry. I didn't fill in Jiaotong University."
Jingsheng turned his head to look at the small garden and heard himself laughing: "Why should I
be angry? There is probably no department in our school that you are interested in."
"Jiaotong University has a humanities and arts department that has only been open for three
years. I have studied it seriously." Si Jiang gently nudged Jingsheng with his elbow: "Brother, are
you really not angry?"
Jingsheng turned his head back and looked down at Si Jiang, feeling both angry and amused:
"University and major are so important, of course you should choose the one you like and are
best at. Am I such a petty person?"
Si Jiang blinked and nodded slightly.
Jingsheng raised his hand and gave her a chestnut.
"Brother, you're the most annoying!" Si Jiang shouted, covering his forehead.
They both laughed.
"My first choice was the Journalism Department of Fudan University, and my uncle also said it
was a good choice. Even if I'm unlucky and can't get a visa, at least I can study the major I really
want to study."
"The Journalism Department is great. You've always wanted to be a journalist or a lawyer. Now
you can realize your dream."
"I hope I can pass. Last year, Fudan University's score was 542. I'm a little scared." Si Jiang took a
breath nervously. "The score line for the Department of Journalism has always been the highest. I
only got 548 in the last mock exam——"
"You'll definitely pass, don't worry. You've always been better at arts than science. Your mom is
probably more nervous than you are."
"Fortunately, it has come to this point, and there is no point in worrying. However, she doesn't
like me applying for the journalism department."
“Because being a reporter is too hard?”
"Maybe." Si Jiang sighed and smiled: "She thinks being a teacher is the best, it's stable, and there
are winter and summer vacations."
Jingsheng also smiled: "Winter and summer vacations are really good."
The back door of the classroom slammed against the wall, causing a buzzing echo in the
classroom.
"Hey! Are you guys done talking?"
Chen Sinan closed the classroom door gently with a fierce look on his face.
Si Nan glanced at the two of them with a cold look, then turned and left.
"Nannan, do you want to go to the cafeteria and the playground?"
"No, there's nothing to see."
"What's wrong? Are you angry?" Si Jiang smiled and tried to touch her curly hair, but Si Nan
dodged him in a flash.
"Don't worry about her. She probably can't poop out, so she's holding it back in her head."
Jingsheng snorted coldly.
Sinan turned around suddenly and kicked Jingsheng in the knee.
"You're such a biased person! Hate you!"
Jingsheng bent down and rubbed his knees, then looked at Sinan's back as he ran towards the
school gate and shouted, "Chen Sinan, you are the only one in the world whose heart is located
right in the middle! You should join a research institute!"
"Then you should be locked up in No. 600 Wanping South Road!" Sinan replied harshly and ran
even faster.

Chapter 262
In order for Si Jiang to go back to Urumqi, Si Nan specially asked Fang Ye for a temporary bus
pass, and when he got home he was eager to show off. Although the student ticket was half
price, it was better to save as much as possible, and Grandma Gu couldn't help but thank God
and Si Nan and Fang Ye.
Si Jiang privately told Si Nan that he should not use the backdoor like this in the future. To put it
bluntly, it was abuse of power for personal gain and taking advantage of the country. Si Nan felt
that her kindness had been wasted and that her sister was biting Lu Dongbin, so angry that she
ignored her for two days.
After watching Si Jiang board the train, Si Nan muttered to Jing Sheng on the platform: "They said
you couldn't use the ticket, but you're still using it happily, huh."
"Your sister is right. You can't be so angry when you see others use the back door, and then rush
in when it's your turn to use the back door." Jingsheng laughed and said, "Last year, when you
were queuing to buy fresh meat mooncakes, someone cut in line and handed in a note to take
away half the pot. Weren't you so angry that you jumped up and down?"
Sinan rolled his eyes and said, "Oh, you were hit by a car and your leg was broken. Aunt Lu asked
her colleagues to take special care of you, and you didn't say no."
"I live in the same big ward as everyone else. How can I get any special care? You are talking
nonsense again." Jingsheng replied casually and walked out with Sinan.
Sinan said unconvincedly, "I clearly heard the head nurse say that Aunt Lu was very worried and
specially asked her to prepare your skin! She even asked the head nurse to come and prepare
your skin. Isn't it special?"
Jingsheng's face suddenly flushed, and he slapped Sinan on the back: "You are the only one with
long ears and a long mouth."
"What is skin preparation?" Sinan said excitedly: "You look guilty, your face is red."
"Go read a book yourself." Jingsheng ignored her and walked faster and faster with his long legs.
"Then I'll ask Chen Sijiang on the phone! She has been with you all the time, she must know." Si
Nan snorted coldly and trotted after him.
"Are you annoying? Skin preparation is shaving. Shave the leg hair clean so that the surgery can
be done. Also, Chen Sinan, why do you call me sister with my full name?"
"Haha, look at you, you are so biased. You can all call me by my name, but I can't call you by your
name? Everyone is equal, understand? I will call. Chen Sijiang, Chen Sijiang, Chen Sijiang; Gu
Jingsheng, Gu Jingsheng, Gu Jingsheng!" Si Nan became angrier and angrier. "Also, I took half a
day off to see her off, but when the train left, she just waved at you and said goodbye. I will never
help her with anything again, and don't ask me to pick her up when she returns to Shanghai!
Humph."
Jingsheng turned around and glanced at her: "No one wants you to come and see them off
today."
"Gu Jingsheng!" Si Nan stopped where he was, puffed up his cheeks and stared at Jingsheng's
back in a muttering voice.
Jingsheng walked back helplessly and rubbed her curly hair: "Why are you so difficult to deal with
now? You suddenly lost your temper last night, and now you are like this again-"
Si Nan yelled with red eyes: "Because you are biased! You are not good to me, you don't like me
anymore, you only like Chen Sijiang!"
"You're blocking the exit. Let's go home first." Jingsheng softened his voice.
"No, no, no, I won't leave!"
"Are you going to leave or not?"
"No! If you want to leave, go ahead!" Sinan said stubbornly, but tears kept falling down. "You've
been mean to me, I won't like you anymore! You have no conscience, I'm the best person to you,
I'm going to Jinghong to find you..."
Seeing Sinan wiping his face with the back of his hand in grievance, his tears and snot reflecting
the sun, and being squeezed here and there by the passengers rushing out, Jingsheng sighed,
reached out his hand, held Sinan's, walked forward a few steps, and lowered his shoulders: "Wipe
your snot."
Sinan choked and tilted his head, leaving a watermark on Jingsheng's shoulder.
"Okay, I'll treat you to cold wontons at Meixin, okay?"
"No, I ate at Teacher Fang's house yesterday."
"Then let's go to Yuyuan Road to eat beef ramen and grilled lamb kebabs?"
"I want five skewers of lamb, no! Ten! And a portion of beef with my noodles! I'm going to eat
you bankrupt!" Sinan tried his best to act as vicious as possible.
Jingsheng smiled and said, "Okay, I'll make sure you have enough food today. Come, let me help
you carry your schoolbag."
"Are you trying to please me?"
"Yes, Second Miss, Boss Chen, Chen Lao Hu, the most fierce and powerful woman in Wanchun
Street."
"Then tell me, do you know you are wrong?"
Jingsheng tapped her forehead with his finger and said, "You started a dyeing factory just
because I gave you some color?"
"Who told you to like my sister more than I like me!" Sinan held Jingsheng's arm tightly, "I'm not
happy anymore."
"Then you will be unhappy in the future." Jingsheng pulled out his arm and pushed her onto the
bus.
"Eh?" Sinan was about to get to the bottom of the matter when he was hit on the head by a lifted
snakeskin bag.
"Why are you pushing so hard? Your luggage hit me. Be careful!" Sinan shouted and lifted the
snakeskin bag higher.
"sorry Sorry."
Turning around, Sinan began to talk about mutton skewers: "In fact, the mutton skewers on
Yuyuan Road are just barely edible. Alas, the mutton skewers at Shamusak's house are delicious.
Mutton must be from Xinjiang. Also, how can mutton skewered with iron rods taste good? It must
be made with red willow branches. Cousin, do you still remember? There are many red willow
trees in Awati County, as many as in Aksu. Hey, what do you think about asking Shamusak to
come to Shanghai to sell mutton skewers? He will definitely make a lot of money, 1.5 cents a
skewer, and he used to sell hundreds of skewers a day! I can eat twenty skewers by myself..."
"Yes, that time you ate up all my grocery money for the whole day." Jingsheng added dimly.
Finally, Sinan sat on the curb of Yuyuan Road, eating while feeling disgusted, eating while feeling
disgusted, and still finished ten skewers of mutton.
——
Si Jiang joined No. 2 Middle School for two weeks, bringing a storm to No. 2 Middle School and all
the middle schools on Youhao Road. Urumqi is not short of beauties. When Si Nan was there, she
was not noticeable because of her small eyebrow and eye distance, slightly sunken eye sockets,
and her appearance similar to that of Uyghur girls, but darker and thinner than Uyghur girls. But
Si Jiang has the appearance of a genuine Jiangnan beauty, pure and beautiful, and rare things are
precious. She does not have the arrogance of Shanghai girls at all, and is humble and amiable.
Boys and girls all want to be friends with her.
The teachers inevitably praised Gu Ximei, and after praising her, Si Jiang praised her for her good
parenting. This was the best consolation for Ximei in the past six months.
At the end of last year, Chen Donglai was transferred to the technical department of Zepu
Petrochemical Plant as deputy section chief due to his personal style problems. Although Zepu
Petrochemical Plant is a national key "poverty alleviation" project with an investment of more
than 500 million yuan, for Chen Donglai, he was only one step away from becoming the youngest
deputy bureau-level cadre of the Petroleum Administration Bureau, but he failed. He has to stay
in southern Xinjiang, 1,500 kilometers away, for at least three years. The price of a loose belt is
not small.
As a "victim", Ximei received more care from her leaders and colleagues at school. On the one
hand, she felt that Chen Donglai deserved to be demoted and sent to southern Xinjiang, but on
the other hand, she was a little unwilling to accept it, because the instigator Xiao He went to the
United States unscathed, and Chen Donglai's salary and bonus were reduced and his future was
cut off. The biggest losses undoubtedly included her and her three children. For this reason,
Ximei took on three more piano students. In the dead of night, Ximei occasionally imagined what
life would be like if she had not filed for divorce at that time. She knew that some people talked
about her behind her back that she was ruthless, and some people talked about her being
useless. She didn't have a mistress but only her husband, and she was the one who suffered, but
she turned a deaf ear to all these, and thinking too much would embarrass herself. Because she
and Chen Donglai were three thousand miles apart physically, out of sight, out of mind, the two
seldom contacted each other. Ximei gradually regarded herself as a real divorced woman, the
only thing missing was a divorce certificate.
Fortunately, after the Spring Festival, the Education Bureau once again extended an olive branch
to her. Gu Ximei didn't care whether there was any arrangement behind the scenes by some
leader. She took this opportunity as a life-saving straw without hesitation and waited until
September to be transferred to the Municipal Education Bureau as an archivist. Although the
salary would be more than 30 yuan less than now, the hidden benefits would be much greater.
After Si Jiang came to Urumqi, he did not ask much about his father's transfer, which made Ximei
feel relieved. But the mother and daughter saw each other every day, and there were constant
frictions.
"There are only a few days left before the exam. Don't waste your time hanging out with your
classmates. You'll never see them again in your life." Ximei never had a good face to the
classmates who came to her house, and she always made Sijiang very embarrassed.
"Just take a look at the test paper."
"Oh, let her go find the teacher. You're a transfer student, and you can't figure it out yourself."
Si Jiang had no choice but to remain silent.
"Don't read while eating. It's bad for your stomach. How did you develop such a bad habit? Have
you influenced me?"
Si Jiang silently put away the English novel. She didn't have the habit of reading while eating, but
if she had to listen to her mother's meaningless nagging at every meal, she might as well read a
book to relax.
"I've told you for hundreds of years not to read idle books, but what about you? You didn't listen
to the old people and suffered the consequences. Now you've become nearsighted. Are you
happy?"
"My myopia will only get worse every year. Glasses are so expensive, and I have to change them
all the time. How much money does it cost? If I had listened to my mother earlier, I wouldn't have
gotten into so much trouble."
Si Jiang still didn't say a word. In the first week, she would explain this and that, but later she
didn't have the energy to answer. She was exhausted and would rather study in the classroom
until the lights went out at nine o'clock in the evening than go back to the dormitory. Because of
the comparison with her mother, Si Jiang missed her grandmother's free and easy home more
and more. As for why her mother didn't like her, Si Jiang attributed it to the misfortune of
marriage that distorted her mother's character. But whether the misfortune of marriage was
caused by her character, Si Jiang didn't know.
When Si Jiang saw his long-lost father at the Petroleum Administration Bureau's guesthouse at
the end of June, he unexpectedly felt sympathy for the middle-aged man in front of him.
Chen Donglai's temples were dotted with gray hair. He should be in his prime at this age, but he
looked haggard and old. When he saw Si Jiang, Chen Donglai was surprised. He hadn't received a
photo of his daughter for a long time. The bright and quiet girl in front of him was completely
different from the daughter he remembered. He thought of many things to say before coming,
but he found it difficult to speak when he really saw her. All explanations and disguises were just
self-humiliation in front of Si Jiang's clear eyes.
"Si Jiang has grown up, Dad almost didn't recognize her," Chen Donglai asked his daughter a little
awkwardly: "Dad will take you to Kunlun Hotel for dinner, okay?"
"Okay." Si Jiang curled his eyes and agreed happily.
Kunlun Hotel is the famous "Eighth Building" on Youhao Road. A few years ago, it was rebuilt into
a "building within a building", and the eleven-story North Building rose from the ground.
Although it is no longer the tallest building on Youhao Road, it is still the top foreign-related hotel
in the autonomous region and symbolizes the glory of Urumqi.
Eating with her father was far less difficult than eating with her mother. Si Jiang had to admit that
she was a little split. Compared with her mother's daily all-round devaluation and attack on her
father who was far away in southern Xinjiang, her father's apology and guilt made Si Jiang feel
better, but that was all. Si Jiang had no right to forgive or blame her father on behalf of her
mother. She had no expectations of her father for a long time. After more than half a year of
cooling down, she was not disappointed or desperate.
The father and daughter had not seen each other for a long time, so they had no shortage of
topics to talk about. Si Jiang first talked about A Niang's recent situation, and Chen Donglai took
the opportunity to ask about the recent situation of Gu's family. When talking about Jingsheng's
college life, Chen Donglai couldn't help but recall the year when Jingsheng lived in Shajingzi when
he was a child. Si Jiang listened with great interest.
After learning that Si Jiang scored 558 points in the most recent mock exam, Chen Donglai was
very happy: "With this score, you will definitely be admitted to Fudan University. Don't worry
about the money. I have asked, and even if you are a self-funded student, the tuition and
miscellaneous fees for a year are only a little over 1,000 yuan. Mom and Dad will have no
problem with this. When the time comes, I will send you another 100 yuan a month for living
expenses. Is that enough?"
"Thank you, Dad." Si Jiang felt much more at ease.
In Wanchun Street, her grandmother, uncle, Jingsheng and she all kept accounts together. One
account was for household expenses, including money for buying groceries, water and electricity
bills, newspapers, milk, snacks, drinks, favors, etc. It was always interesting to count them
together. The stall on Huating Road had another account, including purchases, shipments,
transportation, fabric processing, industrial and commercial taxes, rent, etc. The running account
was not complicated, and Si Jiang learned a lot from it. But in Urumqi, every night when her
mother kept accounts and reported the figures, Si Jiang felt depressed. Ever since she could count
as a child, she knew that her parents had to send 30 yuan a month for living expenses to
Shanghai. Eighteen years later, it was still 30 yuan, but her mother never tired of repeating every
day: "You don't know how expensive firewood and rice are until you run a household. You three
need 90 yuan a month for living expenses, and you also have to provide for your mother's
retirement. My monthly salary is not enough to cover all of this. Otherwise, why would I have
accepted so many piano students? When you go to college or go abroad, you will need money
every day. What if you want to study for a master's degree..."
From Si Jiang's relieved expression, Chen Donglai remembered Xi Mei's endless chattering
without thinking too much. He sighed softly: "Si Jiang, your mother has a hard time too. She just
complains the more she does, the more uncomfortable she will be if you don't let her talk."
Si Jiang was quite surprised. Obviously, his father knew his mother very well.
After dinner, Chen Donglai sent Si Jiang back to the gate of No. 2 Middle School and stuffed an
envelope and a bag of apples into her hand: "Take Dad's salary and bonus this month back to
your mom first. This bag of apples is from Aksu, they are very sweet, you can take some back to
eat as well."
"Thank you, Dad."
"You should study hard for the exam and put your plans of studying abroad aside for now."
"knew."
"I'll come back on the 10th and take you to the train station. Are you going back to Shanghai
directly?"
"Yes. Mom has bought the tickets."
"Okay. Dad will leave first then."
"See you, Dad."
"Have you got Dad's address and phone number? Go slow and let Sinan call Dad when she's free.
She wasn't home the last few times I called her."
Si Jiang nodded silently. It was not that he was not at home. After knowing about his
grandparents' affairs, Si Nan refused to answer his father's calls.
Chen Donglai nodded, turned and left.
The neon lights on Youhao Road kept flashing, and the No. 2 bus whizzed by. Chen Donglai's back
looked very thin and lonely. He was a little clumsy when crossing the road. He looked left and
right, hesitant, and nearly collided with a bicycle with one step. He hurriedly ran to the curb on
the opposite side, turned around, and saw Si Jiang still standing at the school gate. He smiled and
waved to her to let her in.
At this moment, Si Jiang's nose felt sore.

Chapter 263
On the morning of July 7, Ximei sent Sijiang to the examination room half an hour in advance. She
patiently asked Sijiang to take out her pencil case and admission ticket and checked them again.
She repeatedly reminded her not to talk to herself in the essay and that it was most important to
get a good score according to the rules. Sijiang listened patiently and silently before entering the
examination room.
Ximei thought Sijiang would look back, but he didn't. She stood there as if she had lost
something. She looked around. There weren't many parents who came to send their children to
the exam, and even fewer who didn't have to go to work and waited outside like her. For a while,
she couldn't find anyone who could relieve her, who was even more nervous than Sijiang. She
wandered at the gate of this strange school for ten minutes. When she suddenly saw Chen
Donglai's face, she was stunned. She took another look before confirming that the man in front of
her was her husband.
"Has Si Jiang already been in jail?" Chen Donglai had a training meeting in Urumqi in the
afternoon and returned half a day early.
Ximei bowed her head and responded, then turned away. The two were silent for a while.
"Going back to Shanghai on the 10th?"
"Um."
"You're coming back too?"
"What else?" Ximei sneered, "Si Jiang can only see his parents once every four or five years. Do
you want Si Hao to be so pitiful?"
"That's not what I meant." Chen Donglai was stunned, explained weakly, and subconsciously
stepped aside.
"Heh." Ximei glanced at him and walked quickly to the other side.
Chen Donglai hesitated for a moment, looked at Ximei's back, and followed her with big strides.
"Ximei -"
"Hongya. (Speak.)"
"How do I check my scores? Should I call or wait for the school to notify me?"
A laugh escaped from Ximei's throat: "Now you remember to care about your daughter?"
Chen Donglai couldn't respond to this. No matter how he responded, Ximei would explode. He
had just arrived in Zepu, and this was the final critical period of factory construction. It would
definitely be difficult to ask for home leave, so he had to keep silent.
The two walked one after the other for five or six minutes.
"Have you had breakfast?" Chen Donglai took two steps forward and asked humbly, "Do you want
to eat something together?"
Ximei hesitated for a moment and nodded, which was rare.
——
It was long past breakfast time, and there were only three or four customers in the state-owned
restaurant.
Chen Donglai ordered two servings of mutton soup dumplings. Seeing Ximei across from him with
her chin slightly raised, she looked away and stared at the beverage poster on the wall with a
look of condescending disdain, so he took back what he wanted to say. He quickly pulled out a
handkerchief from his trouser pocket, wiped the two chopsticks and soup spoon, and brought
them to Ximei.
Ximei did not appreciate his kindness. She stood up abruptly, asked for a large bowl and half a
bowl of hot water, put her chopsticks and spoon in it to scald them, then turned around and
poured the water out the door.
The two of them ate the dumplings in silence.
"Then I will remit next month's salary directly to your mother's house."
"Um."
"Did you receive the money I asked Si Jiang to bring you last time?"
"Um."
"Is it enough?"
Ximei raised her eyelids and sneered, "When have we ever had enough? What if it's not enough?
Steal or rob? We've survived all these years like this. I save a little here and there. Anyway, I
already owe my mom 120 yuan for living expenses in the past six months."
Chen Donglai ate three dumplings in silence, and suddenly whispered, "Don't talk about this in
front of Si Jiang."
Ximei was stunned, her fingers holding the chopsticks turned white with force: "What did I say?
What did she tell you?"
"She didn't say anything." Chen Donglai raised his head and sighed tiredly, "I'll pay for all the
money needed for college, okay?"
Ximei looked at him steadily, and then she noticed that her husband, who was in his forties, had
gray hair at the temples.
"No need, just take care of your mother's pension money and Sinan's living expenses. I have
prepared everything here for Sijiang," Ximei picked up the vinegar bottle beside her and poured it
into the bowl. "If her visa comes out, how much money will she need to go to the United States?
Borrow from Beiwu first."
"How did Nannan do in the high school entrance exam? She has been refusing to answer my
calls." Chen Donglai's voice was filled with a hint of grievance.
Ximei felt a little relieved. She put down her jealousy and smoothed her hair. "She always said it
was fine and that she was fine. Ignore her. There is no way to control her. She knows what she is
doing."
"I probably won't be able to go back for the New Year this year, so please bring something for my
mother on my behalf..." Chen Donglai was interrupted by Ximei before he could finish his words.
Ximei said calmly, "I will be transferred to the Municipal Education Bureau in September to work
as an archivist."
Chen Donglai was shocked.
"I will still file a divorce report after the National Day. I'd like to ask you to cooperate with your
company at that time."
Ximei put down her chopsticks, smiled at the two remaining dumplings in the bowl, and told
Chen Donglai, and also told herself: "I can't get over it."
After watching Ximei's back disappear across the street, Chen Donglai sat alone with his empty
bowl for another five or six minutes before he took Ximei's bowl over, added two large spoonfuls
of chili, and silently finished her two remaining soup dumplings.
——
The three days of the college entrance examination passed in the blink of an eye. On the night of
the 9th, Ximei and Sijiang packed their luggage.
Everything that can be packed in the dormitory has been packed long ago, and we are just
waiting for the tricycle to make a few trips back and forth to move to the dormitory building of
the Education Bureau at the end of August. Ximei took Sijiang to find out the way, and he could
see clearly from the windows of other people's houses that the conditions were much better
than the staff dormitory here, with two bedrooms and a living room, a separate kitchen and
bathroom, and it finally looked like a "home". Unfortunately, this "home" would only be lived in
by Ximei.
At around nine o'clock, Teacher Li came to the door.
"Teacher Gu, come on, go downstairs and get some watermelons."
"No, no, Teacher Li. We have to go back to Shanghai tomorrow. It would be a waste if we can't
finish it." Ximei declined with a smile.
"Well, if you can't finish it, just take it back. The melons in Xinjiang are much more delicious than
those in Shanghai. Come on, if your eldest daughter hadn't taken an exam these few days, we
would have held a good farewell party. Alas, without Teacher Gu, we'll have a hard time getting a
place in the National Day performance next year." Teacher Li enthusiastically pulled Ximei out.
Before leaving, Teacher Li turned around and smiled at Si Jiang: "Then we will wait for you to
graduate from college and become a teacher. It's a good thing for a daughter to follow in her
mother's footsteps."
Si Jiang was stunned.
Ximei quickly closed the door, and the laughter in the corridor gradually faded away. Sijiang was
puzzled for a moment and then continued to pack his luggage.
——
Si Nan's score was five points higher than the admission score of the city's key school, and she
and Tang Huan were admitted to the city's west school. In Xiang Qun's junior high school class,
only the two of them were admitted to the city's key school. There were also students in other
classes who barely exceeded the admission score of the city's key school, but unfortunately they
only applied for the district's key school.
Sijiang scored 561 points in the liberal arts national exam, ranking first in No. 2 Middle School and
third among all Han students in the autonomous region. Teacher Li laughed so hard on the phone
that the ceiling of the Gu family rustled: "Female third place, amazing, oh, Teacher Gu, your
daughter is really amazing, no no no, it's still Teacher Gu who knows how to train. How about the
second daughter? Did she also get into the city's key school? Great, great, congratulations,
remember to treat us to a meal when you come back!"
When Si Jiang received the admission letter, he was stunned when he saw the envelope. He
opened it and read it again and again.
English Department of H Normal University, the big red seal is extremely clear.
Chen Sijiang, her name is also very clear.
On the last night in Urumqi, Teacher Li's words "daughters follow in their mother's footsteps"
suddenly came to Si Jiang's mind.
Jingsheng immediately understood what was going on. Sinan also figured it out and muttered,
"She's always been like this, so annoying."
Si Jiang couldn't believe it.
She ran downstairs holding the notice. As she ran on the checkered road, the pebbles under her
feet seemed to poke at her brain, causing her pain. The pain made her extremely clear-headed.
This was certainly not a dream. The sun was overhead, the faces of the neighbors on the roadside
were clear, and the water from the faucet was gurgling.
After turning into the alley, A Niang's home was getting closer and closer.
Si Jiang slowed down her pace. She saw her mother and mother sitting in the shade by the door
picking vegetables, and Aunt Kang and Grandma Li were sitting next to the sink.
"Hey, Nannan is back?" The first person to see Si Jiang was Chen A Niang.
Chen A-niang smiled with her eyes curved, and waved to Si Jiang: "It just so happens that A-niang
bought you and Si Hao's favorite two-color ice cream this morning, and originally asked your
mother to bring it over."
"Mom——" Si Jiang called softly.
"Hey, go up and eat your portion, don't give it to your brother. Mom! Sihao can't eat ice cream
anymore. He hasn't lost a pound of weight in this summer vacation," Ximei responded, frowned
and said a few words to her mother, then turned around and complained to Aunt Kang with a
smile, "You don't know, no matter how strict my mom and brother are over there, once he comes
here, my mother is so nagging and gives him everything to eat, how can he control his mouth
——"
"Mom!" Si Jiang held up the letter of admission. "I received the admission letter."
Ximei was stunned for two seconds, then stood up and took it. After taking a look at it, she smiled
and handed it to A Niang: "Si Jiang was admitted to the university!"
Aunt Kang and Grandma Li came over to see, and said, "Oh, congratulations on getting married."
Si Jiang kept his eyes on Ximei. There was no doubt that his mother was happy from the bottom
of her heart and was almost showing off with great enthusiasm.
"You don't know that the English Department of H Normal University is actually a foreign-related
secretary program commissioned by Shanghai Foreign Service, but it follows the process of H
Normal University." Gu Ximei was delighted. "As soon as the students are admitted, they are all
booked by the Foreign Affairs Office and trading companies. After graduation, they will directly go
to foreign companies to work as translators or secretaries."
"No tuition fee, sponsored students don't need tuition fee, they are not self-funded students, and
our Si Jiang's scores are so good! Yes, the state also subsidizes, 70 yuan a month, the Normal
University subsidizes much more, my Beiwu student used to go to Peking University with only 30
yuan a month, which was barely enough for food." Ximei was very excited: "These were all found
out by the leaders of our Education Bureau, how would I know, I don't understand university
admissions, but after more than ten years of hard work, I finally made it. Oh, your mother has
worked hard too, Si Jiang, come and thank your mother——"
Si Jiang stared at her with red eyes.
"What are you doing?" Ximei reached out to pull her.
"My first choice was the Journalism Department of Fudan University." Si Jiang let his mother
pinch his wrist, but he couldn't help but feel his vision becoming increasingly blurred: "I want to
apply for the Journalism Department of Fudan University. Why did you change my choice? You
didn't even tell me--"
"Didn't I tell you now? I'm afraid what I said before will affect your performance in the exam."
Ximei pulled Sijiang into the house: "Come here, let's talk inside."
Si Jiang choked and broke free from her hand. He took a deep breath and asked loudly, "Why?
Why? Why do you change my wish without permission?"
Aunt Chen was dumbfounded, and so were Aunt Kang and Grandma Li.
Ximei's voice was louder than Sijiang's: "What do you know?! Do you know how high the Fudan
admission score is? If you fail to pass, you will fall into the second tier."
"I said I can pass! I scored eleven points higher than the passing score! Eleven points higher!" Si
Jiang's voice was loud.
"You are just talking after the fact!" Ximei snorted coldly, "You are still a child, what do you know?
Naive! Is it so easy to be a reporter? What's so good about it? When encountering things like
hepatitis A, reporters have to go to the hospital or quarantine points. Are there not many
reporters who have been infected this year? You can't make much money, and it's so hard."
Ximei waved the letter of recommendation in her hand and said, "Look, Mom has considered
everything for you. This is a great opportunity. You don't have to be a teacher after graduation.
Don't you like English? You can put your knowledge into practice and become a translator or
foreign affairs secretary in the future. People say that the salary of such companies is 400 to 500
yuan as soon as you enter! And if you study for a year or half a year and get a visa to go abroad,
what difference does it make whether you study at Fudan University or H University?!"
Aunt Kang and Grandma Li took a deep breath. "The salary is that much!? Impossible? It's almost
as much as the mayor's salary. Si Jiang, your mother really treats you with great care. She is an
experienced person. You won't be wrong if you listen to her."
Ximei's eyes also turned red: "What do you know as a little kid? Don't you think about the future?
Even if you study at Fudan University, if you can't go abroad, what about your assignment after
graduation? Can you guarantee that you can stay in Shanghai? Your father is from Shanghai, and
he was assigned to Xinjiang after graduation. You were admitted from Xinjiang, so you can only
be assigned back to Urumqi after graduation. Have you thought about this? It's different at H
University. After graduation, your personnel relationship will be transferred to the foreign service,
and you will also have a Shanghai hukou. Who else will help you worry about these big things
except your mother!"
Si Jiang gritted his teeth and wiped away his tears: "Tuition, subsidies, salary, household
registration, you have thought of everything, but have you ever thought about my ideal? Being a
reporter is my ideal!"
"What can ideals do? Eat them?" Ximei looked at Sijiang with disappointment and anger: "I'm
doing this for your own good!"
"Okay, okay, why make such a big event so unhappy?" Aunt Kang held Si Jiang back and said,
"There is no overnight hatred between mother and daughter. Your mother is really thinking about
you. When you get married and have children in the future, you will understand her painstaking
efforts. Come on, come on——"
Si Jiang gently broke away from Aunt Kang, stared at Xi Mei and whispered, "If I were your father,
I wouldn't be able to stand you either."
There was a crisp "pop" sound and several screams.
Si Jiang was slapped and slowly raised his chin.
Ximei put down her trembling hands, her palms burning with pain. She then realized that Si Jiang
had become taller than her without her knowing when.
Si Jiang slowly turned around and walked out of the alley. The spring road no longer hurt her and
even felt a little soft. Her right cheek was burning with pain and she could even feel a few
fingerprints slowly floating up.
"Chen Sijiang!"
"Nannan, Nannan——"
Si Jiang walked faster and faster and quickly disappeared around the corner.

Chapter 264 (Catching Bugs)

When Jingsheng rushed out of Lane 63, he saw Si Jiang at a glance.
She stood blankly on the small open space in front of the cultural center, her hands clenched into
fists, her vision unfocused and her feet without direction.
The comic book stand next to it was crowded with young people of all ages. A yellow croaker cart
selling popsicles was parked at the corner, next to a few toilets basking in the sun. The "flags of all
nations" overhead cast uneven shadows on the crisscross road. The sound of mahjong came from
deep in the alley. I wonder who was watching Shanghai opera with the volume turned up high.
Wanchun Street was always busy.
"Let's go back." Jingsheng patted Si Jiang gently.
Si Jiang woke up from a dream, and when she saw Jingsheng's concerned eyes, her tears burst
out immediately. But she didn't want Jingsheng to know what her mother had done to her,
because it was too humiliating. She also didn't want to tell Jingsheng how she had angered her
mother and earned the slap, because it was too cruel. Si Jiang endured it again and again, and
finally pulled the corner of her mouth to Jingsheng with difficulty, and shook her head: "No, I'll go
out for a walk."
Jingsheng followed silently.
Si Jiang walked through the alley, onto the road, and headed straight for Jing'an Temple. Jing
Sheng lagged behind her by a step, and neither of them said anything.
The sun is bright and the streets are crowded with cars. This summer, the typhoons that occur
every two or three days are too hot but not strong enough.
Crossing Beijing West Road, the people queuing in front of the No. 9 Department Store turned
several corners and looked like a sea of people.
"Please make way, thank you." Si Jiang squeezed through the crowd.
"Don't cut in line, little girl!" The person in the queue pushed Si Jiang away unhappily, "Can't you
see that everyone is queuing?"
"That's right, Ala came to line up at three o'clock in the morning!"
Suddenly, a scalper came out of the entrance of the department store, waving the ticket in his
hand with sweat on his forehead, and yelled at the top of his lungs: "The last thirty men's woolen
sweaters, sixty-five each! Who wants it, Sanin?"
Dozens of people immediately rushed out of the team, waving their vest bags: "I want them! I
want them all!"
Si Jiang was pushed out of the team by the crowd. Fortunately, Jingsheng kept holding her arm,
otherwise she would have been trampled by the people behind her if she fell.
Another scalper came out and shouted, "Ten televisions have just arrived, no tickets required—"
Before he could say whether they were black and white or color, or how many inches they were,
dozens of people rushed out of the line to grab them.
"I want it, I want Wutai——"
"Give me all ten of them!"
In a moment the place was packed with people again.
Si Jiang stared at it for a moment, remembering the rush to buy Isatis root and disinfectant by her
family before and after the Spring Festival. However, the scene before her was too magical. She
couldn't help but ask Jingsheng, "What happened? A TV costs several thousand yuan. Who would
buy five or ten at once?"
Jingsheng said calmly, "You can make money by reselling it. The price of any brand and size of TV
has increased by several hundred yuan in the past two months. It is said that it will increase by
several hundred yuan or even thousands of yuan."
"What if the price doesn't go up, what if it goes down?" Si Jiang was dumbfounded, watching an
auntie walk over contentedly with a dozen sweaters in her arms. From her expression, it looked
like she was holding not sweaters, but mountains of gold.
"Everyone thinks that they won't be so unlucky." Jingsheng pulled Si Jiang aside to make way for
two old men and was bumped by the heavy fertilizer bags they were carrying.
Someone in the team shouted, "Uncle, what did you buy? Fertilizer?"
"Salt." The old man mentioned it with a smile: "Fifty kilograms of salt, buy it and feel at ease. You
can eat it until you die. No matter how much the price goes up, even if it goes to Jinshan (a
suburban county in Shanghai), I am not afraid."
There was a commotion in the crowd, and someone immediately ran out to ask which store they
bought the items from.
Si Jiang listened carefully, and the more he listened, the more unbelievable it seemed to him.
"People are definitely rushing to buy wine. The price has gone up dramatically. Moutai has gone
from 20 yuan to 240 yuan! My neighbor next door borrowed money to buy 100 bottles when it
was 60 yuan, and he just sold half of it yesterday, making a profit of 6,000 yuan!"
"Zhonghua is also good. The price has increased from 1.8 yuan a pack to 16 yuan a pack. The
profit is not worse than Maotai. As long as you have a note, you can buy it. Tsk tsk tsk tsk."
"Help me! The cigarettes and alcohol can't be snatched away! The officials have already approved
them for their relatives."
"What you are talking about are all small things. A little gangster in the alley, his sister became
the mistress of XX's top leader, and the big tigers are really bad. Gold, silver, copper, iron, tin,
wood, steel, pesticides, fertilizers, cars, all go in and out, hundreds of thousands or millions,
thousands or tens of thousands of dollars are traded back and forth, and they won't even look at
it. Where do you think these ten color TVs came from today? Our little people have been making
a fuss for 20 days, and they got ten TVs to fool us, but what happened? They still fell into the
hands of scalpers. Do you understand the business? Now you have to be an official, and you can
get rich by being an official. 90,000 officials lose money, and their power does not expire."
"It's hard to make ends meet. Our workshop made 160 yuan a month last year and 210 yuan this
year. That's considered good performance, right? But what's the result? The price of everything
has doubled, tripled, or even increased by 10 times or 8 times."
…
Si Jiang and Jingsheng turned onto Nanjing Road and walked towards the Bund. After paying a
little attention, she realized that as long as it was a store, no matter what they were selling, there
were queues. The people in front wanted to buy out everything, and the people behind shouted
angrily. Even the Jingdezhen porcelain store at the intersection of Shaanxi Road had a long queue.
The half-person-high blue and white plum vase in the window was priced at 9,800 yuan a pair,
and the white porcelain blue-rimmed noodle bowl increased from 2.5 yuan to 12 yuan each.
Some people even came out happily carrying a bunch of them.
The shoe stores, watch and glasses stores, and children's food stores were all crowded along the
way.
"It seems that ordinary people have a lot of money," Si Jiang's attention temporarily shifted to
social news: "But I've never seen reports in newspapers or on TV about official corruption, panic
buying, and price increases reaching this level. It's simply crazy."
Jingsheng pointed out cryptically: "Reporters can't report everything, especially when it comes to
'officials' and 'civilians'. Isn't it the same during the hepatitis A outbreak -"
Si Jiang turned his head sensitively and asked, "Do you think my mother was right to do that?
Was it for my own good?"
Jingsheng smiled bitterly: "Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"
"Of course it's true!" Si Jiang took a deep breath and said, "Don't worry, I'm much better now and
I won't lose my temper with you. This matter has nothing to do with you. It's just between me
and her. I will never forgive her in my life."
"It's wrong for her to change your choice without consulting you," Jingsheng glanced at Si Jiang's
face, "very wrong."
Si Jiang felt relieved.
"If she discussed it with you, would you agree to change it to the English Department of H
University?"
"Of course not!" Si Jiang blurted out and then remained silent, laughing at himself, "It turns out
that my mother knows me quite well, so I just acted first and asked for permission later. No, there
is no need to ask for permission at all, since it's already been done -"
"I guess she is scared." Jingsheng said softly.
Si Jiang was startled and turned to look at Jing Sheng: "Why?"
"Maybe she's afraid you'll become her again."
At the intersection of Tibet, Si Jiang quietly raised his head to the traffic light. Stop at the red
light, go at the green light, but life is always in the yellow light state. Whether to move forward or
stay still seems to be more difficult than Hamlet's choice. What kind of ideal did the 18-year-old
Gu Ximei have to steal the household registration book and rush to the border? When did her
ideal shatter? Or did it really exist? Si Jiang didn't know. She felt the anger withdrawing bit by bit,
but there was no forgiveness in the emotion after the anger was stripped away. After many years,
the swelling and pain on her cheeks again no longer made her want to retaliate with death. She
could never become another her.
When crossing the road, the sky suddenly turned gloomy, dark clouds rolled in, thunder and not-
so-conspicuous lightning, and the strong wind rustled the leaves of the sycamore trees. People
queuing in front of the stores automatically shrank under the eaves or awnings, some braked
their bicycles, took out raincoats and put them on, because it was going to rain.
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng only had time to rush into Nanjing East Road before they were drenched
by the heavy rain.
The rain was getting heavier, and the thick raindrops hit my face, carrying the smell of mud from
the sweltering summer heat, and soon it was just cold. The sky was getting dark quickly, and
there were almost no pedestrians on the road.
Si Jiang felt refreshed. She raised her head and walked forward against the wind.
Jingsheng walked side by side with her, and the rain washed his eyebrows and eyes into a
beautiful black.
“Are you going to hide or not?” Most of the roaring voice was swallowed up by the wind and rain.
"Don't hide!" Si Jiang roared louder than him.
Jingsheng directly held Sijiang's hand tightly and shouted heroically: "Let's go!"
Five minutes later, the rain was so heavy that one could not see clearly what was happening
more than 50 to 60 centimeters away. The rain and dust rolled up to half a person's height. They
were the only two people still staggering along Nanjing East Road.

Chapter 265
There was water under Si Jiang's feet and in his sandals. He walked forward against the wind,
taking one deep step and one shallow step. His face, body and arms were numb from the rain,
and his heart was burning hot, as were the palms of his hands, which were held tightly by
Jingsheng.
Jingsheng wiped the water off his face, smiled and shouted to Si Jiang: "Roar twice!"
Si Jiang pushed away the hair stuck on his face: "Ah?"
"If you feel unhappy, shout it out." Jingsheng lowered his head, almost putting his ear close to
Sijiang's. Even so, a mouthful of water poured into his mouth as soon as he opened it, and his
words sounded intermittent.
Si Jiang understood what he heard. He looked around and saw that the sidewalk was empty. All
people had hidden in the shops.
“Ah——!!!” Si Jiang squeezed Jingsheng’s hand tightly and roared with all his might.
There was no movement around, only the sound of strong wind and heavy rain, and a few people
were looking at these two silly young people. But this is Shanghai, there are always strange
people and strange things, and no one would meddle in other people's business.
After Si Jiang roared, she felt a little better. She looked at Jingsheng, and Jingsheng nodded.
"Hate--!"
“Why?”
"You don't understand anything!"
"Am I your daughter?!"
"Why are you doing this to me?!"
"Why!!!"
"Go away!"
“Aaaaaaa——!!!”
Si Jiang bent over and stomped her feet desperately in the water that was over her ankles. She
yelled back and forth more than ten times, and finally burst into tears. The heavy rain and wind
were like a cover of fogged glass, covering her inside.
Jingsheng pulled her into his arms, put his chin on the top of her head, and patted her back
gently: "It's okay, just shout it out, it's okay."
Si Jiang choked up and shook his head: "It's not good, it won't get better, it will never get better. I
hate her so much, I hate her so much. Why is she my mother..."
"Let's go to Beijing. I'll accompany you to see your uncle, aunt, and Hu Tou."
Si Jiang raised his head in a daze, and in the rain, there was a sea in Jingsheng's eyes.
"Do you want to go?"
Si Jiang didn't know whether he was drowning in the storm or falling into the gentle sea, and
nodded subconsciously.
A pair of hands gently wiped away the tears and rain on her face, and pressed her into a solid
embrace. The sound of her strong and rapid heartbeat was transmitted directly from her skin to
her eardrums through her cold and wet shirt.
Si Jiang raised his hands and hugged him tightly, tears flowing uncontrollably into Jingsheng's
heart.
——
When Si Jiang and Jing Sheng returned to Wanchun Street, the rain had lessened a lot. As always,
whenever there was a storm, the public toilets would overflow, the sewage at the entrance of the
alley would reach above their calves, and clumps of feces would float everywhere. It was a
touching scene.
"Same as always, let's find some bricks to pad it." Si Jiang looked around helplessly.
"Forget it, it seems that stacking three bricks together is useless," Jingsheng bent down, "Let's go,
I'll carry you back, and I'll wash it twice more when I get back."
"No, no!" Si Jiang looked like he was sharing the pain. "I'll wade through it with you. I'll also take a
few more showers and rub the soap a few more times. It's okay. We all did this when we were
kids."
"Come up." Jingsheng turned around and looked at her.
Si Jiang climbed up obediently: "Oh, thank you, brother."
"Close your eyes."
"oh."
Jingsheng recalled the scene when Si Jiang waded through a rainstorm one year in elementary
school and vomited all the way home. He couldn't help laughing so hard that his back kept
shaking.
"Hey, don't think about my past!" Si Jiang immediately understood what he was laughing at and
punched him on the shoulder.
"I was thinking about the incident last year when the little fat boy stepped on some shit and
brought it home. Which one are you talking about?" Jingsheng asked knowingly.
"Hmph. You - be careful, there's a pile of dirt (shit) nearby!" Si Jiang was so nervous that his
whole body was tense and he almost stood up on Jingsheng's back.
Jingsheng held her legs tightly with both anger and amusement, waded through the dirty water
quickly, and walked another five or six meters before putting her down.
"Stay away from me, or I'll stink you to death."
"I'm not such an ungrateful person. Come, show me if there's anything greasy on the soles of
your shoes."
Jingsheng lifted his foot and Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief.
Almost every household in the alley was scooping water out, and in the low-lying areas on the
first floor, half of the table legs were submerged.
Snanshao was following his grandmother as she scooped water out of the kitchen basin by basin.
As soon as he saw Si Jiang and Jing Sheng, Si Hao immediately jumped out: "Don't come in, check
the soles of your shoes first!"
"Do you think everyone brings shit home like you?!" Si Jiang pushed him away angrily, "Get out of
the way, I need to wash my feet."
"No water!" Sinan leaned on the door frame and bent over with laughter: "The water supply is
cut off! Hahahaha."
Si Jiang shook all the thermos bottles, and only half of them were filled with ice water.
Grandma Gu leaned on the table and sighed, "It's terrible. They said a water pipe burst and I
don't know when it can be fixed. The weather forecast was wrong. It was cloudy and overcast. I
didn't even have time to put away the clothes at home. I have to wash them again."
Si Jiang supported her and said, "Grandma, hurry up and wipe yourself and go upstairs to rest.
We are here. Your small feet are not convenient and you may slip easily."
Granny Gu touched her hair and frowned, "What's going on between you and Jingsheng? I don't
know. Just hide for a while and come back when the rain stops. Anyway, you have nothing to do
during the holiday. What should we do now? Wait a minute. Nannan, Nannan——"
"What's up, grandma?" Sinan poured the basin of yellow water in his hand onto Jingsheng's legs
and turned to ask.
"Go to your grandma's house and borrow a thermos of water. I'll make a pot of ginger tea for Si
Jiang and Jing Sheng, otherwise they will definitely catch a cold." Grandma Gu grabbed Si Jiang's
hand: "Look! Bing Bing Yin!"
Sinan immediately threw the basin to Jingsheng and ran away.
When there was no response from Si Jiang's calls, he had no choice but to carry a small stool for
Jingsheng and some soap for him to use first.
——
Sinan ran to Lane 74, Lane 19. There were many people in the Chen family's gate, so they had
great strength. The sewage had almost been scooped out and they were mopping the floor.
"Mother, do you have any hot water? Lend me a thermos."
"Silly Xiaoning, why do you have to borrow water? Does your grandma want to return a
thermos?" Chen A Niang stood up and pounded her waist. "Go upstairs and get two bottles. Is
that enough?"
"That's enough. My sister and eldest cousin are back. Grandma is going to make ginger tea for
them."
Gu Ximei said nothing, turned around, went out, put the mop on the sink, and wrung out the
water.
Aunt Kang smiled and asked, "Nannan, where did your sister go just now?"
"I don't know. I didn't ask." Sinan went upstairs with a thump, picked up two thermoses and
came down again with a thump. "Mom, will you come with me?"
"Wait a minute, I'll go after I've packed up."
Sinan glanced at Aunt Kang and Grandma Li who were busy in the doorway, and moved closer to
her: "If you don't tell me that you changed my choice of major, I will never recognize you as my
mother in this life."
"Chen Sinan!" Ximei was so angry that she smashed the mop head directly into the sink: "Are you
rebelling?"
"I will rebel!"
"roll!"
"I'll leave right away, but you have to go and apologize to my sister! Otherwise, haha, just wait
and see." Sinan responded without giving in, and ran faster than a rabbit with the thermos in his
hand.
Ximei swung the mop, splashing out scattered water spots.
——
The water didn't come until half past five. Jingsheng, who had been standing under the eaves,
finally took a good shower. He went upstairs and saw Si Nan lying on the sofa reading Gu Long's
martial arts novel "The Twins of the Red Lotus", and Si Hao was reading "The Flower Fairy" on the
bamboo lounge chair. The two siblings were in their proper places, but Si Jiang was nowhere to
be seen.
The light in the attic was dim. Si Jiang didn't wait for water to come to take a bath. He just wiped
himself and changed his clothes hastily, pulled a straw mat and slept on the floor. There was still a
sip of ginger tea in the big bowl on the desk. Jingsheng picked up the bowl and thought about
going downstairs to make dinner, but his feet walked to Si Jiang's side and sat directly on the
floor.
Si Jiang's brows were still slightly furrowed while she was sleeping. The finger marks on her
cheeks had faded, but Jing Sheng kept staring at them. This was the second time she was beaten.
Si Nan had been beaten since she was a child, but she was unscathed. But Si Jiang was different.
When Jing Sheng thought of Si Jiang pretending to be nonchalant and mentioning that she had
wanted to die, his heart suddenly tightened and was extremely painful.
Jingsheng traced the positions of the fingerprints in the air with his fingers, and his chest was
stirred by an inexplicable emotion. He gently brushed Si Jiang's slightly damp hair, not knowing
where to stop to calm himself down. His fingertips slid across Si Jiang's forehead and stopped.
Jingsheng covered it with the back of his hand, which was scorching hot. He touched her neck
again, which was also scorching hot.
Si Jiang was awakened in a daze. Her eyelids were too heavy to open, and her body felt so heavy
that it didn't seem like her own.
"Um?"
"You have a fever, come and take some medicine." Jingsheng put his arm around her, spread out
two white antipyretic pills in his palm and put them to her mouth.
Si Jiang murmured and lowered his head.
Jingsheng's hand shrank, and there was a small wet spot on his palm, but the pill was still there.
The Sijiang people fell back again.
"Eh, I didn't cut it, (I didn't get to eat it)" Jingsheng used his arms to help her up again: "Watch it
carefully."
Si Jiang licked his palm twice like a cat looking for water to drink. The medicine finally entered his
mouth and his face wrinkled.
"Come on, cut some water."
A cup of warm water was brought to her mouth. Si Jiang closed his eyes, gulped down two gulps,
and then sipped it.
Jingsheng put down the water cup and laid her down carefully. Just as he pulled his arm out, Si
Jiang turned over and hugged him, pressing him directly under the face.
The coolness was much more comfortable, and Si Jiang forced himself to open his eyes:
"Brother?"
"Um."
Si Jiang pressed his hands tightly under his face, his eyes misty with tears, and he felt extremely
wronged: "Don't go, don't go."
"Don't go." Jingsheng responded softly.
Si Jiang relaxed his brows contentedly and closed his eyes.
Jingsheng dared not move, half of his body was tilted, his neck was stiff and stretched
uncomfortably, but the face in his hands made him forget everything.
I don't know how long it was, but suddenly there was a sound downstairs.
"Where's your elder sister?" Gu Ximei reached out and turned off the TV: "You watch TV all day
long. Your eyes are damaged. Don't you want to study during the holidays?"
Sinan shouted from the sofa: "Why turn it off? I want to watch it!"
"Why do you watch TV when you're reading? How many eyes do you have? Put your legs down,
and they're shaking again?"
"It hurts so much. I asked you to come here to apologize to my sister. Why did you hit me?" Sinan
cried.
The chair made a harsh sound as it rubbed against the ground.
"Okay, things are not peaceful as soon as you get back, with beatings and scolding. You'd better
go to No. 74 Lane! Really. It's time to eat. Be gentle, Si Jiang has a fever and is sleeping, don't
disturb her." Grandma Gu complained in a low voice.
Jingsheng's thumb gently rubbed Si Jiang's red lips, and his heart felt burned as well. He bent
down, lifted Si Jiang's head, and pulled out his arm.
Ximei went up to the attic and stopped at the stairs to adjust to the dim light.
Jingsheng turned on the desk lamp.
"Huh? Why are you sleeping on the floor?" Ximei frowned and squatted down to touch Sijiang's
forehead. "Jingsheng, please help the lady get a basin of cold water and a towel."
Jingsheng was silent for a moment, looking at her hunched back, but in the end he said nothing
and went downstairs silently.
——
In the middle of the night, Lisjiang's fever suddenly rose to over 40 degrees. He twitched and
started talking nonsense. Scared, Ximei hurried downstairs to the living room to call Gu
Dongwen.
Jingsheng hadn't slept yet. He rushed up to the attic in two steps, touched the man's forehead,
and immediately picked him up and walked out.
Sinan followed him bleary-eyed.
"Hey, hey, hey, Jingsheng, where are you going?" Ximei grabbed Sinan.
"To the hospital."
Gu Dongwen put on his shirt and said, "Let's go and see if there is a taxi outside."
Ximei hesitated: "Should we wait a little longer? Maybe the fever will go away in the morning--"
Gu Dongwen frowned: "Wait for nothing! Are you going to burn your brain out?"
Jingsheng carried Sijiang downstairs.
Gu Dongwen put his keys and wallet into his trouser pockets. Before he left, he thought of
something and suddenly turned around and stared at Ximei and said in a deep voice, "Gu Ximei,
if you dare to hit Si Jiang again, you will never enter this door again in your life."
Ximei's face flushed and her head was buzzing.
Sinan closed the door gently: "Did you hit her?"
Ximei stared at Gu Dongwen's back as he disappeared around the corner of the stairs and pursed
her lips.
"You hit my sister?!" Sinan pulled Ximei.
Ximei slapped Sinan's hand away and said, "Yes."
"Where did you hit her?!" Sinan followed her downstairs and asked again. Seeing that she
ignored him, he pulled her again and his voice became louder: "Where did you hit her?"
"What are you doing!" Ximei shook off Sinan's hand: "What are you doing? What's wrong with a
few hits? You've been beaten a lot since you were a child--"
"You are crazy!" Si Nan suddenly shouted loudly, and ran past Ximei to chase after Gu Dongwen's
back. After running a few steps, she stopped and turned back.
Ximei just breathed a sigh of relief, but she saw Sinan shouting at her with a frown under the dim
street light: "If I were my sister, I would not recognize you as my mother! I don't want either you
or my father!"
"Chen Sinan! Stop right there! Come back!" The blood rushed to her head and Ximei was shaking
with anger.
Si Nan, however, caught up with Gu Dongwen without looking back. The uncle and nephew soon
met up with Jingsheng. Si Nan held Si Jiang's legs, and Gu Dongwen said a few words and hurried
to the front to find the captain.
Ximei walked out of the alley in a daze.
Sinan looked back at her, hesitated for a moment, and slammed the car door shut.
Ximei stood on the curb, watching the red car's taillights getting farther and farther away.
"Mum? Mum——"
Chen Sihao pulled the corner of Laximei's pajamas and asked, "Where did my uncle and sister
go?"
Ximei lowered her head and saw her son's big head shaking, tears streaming down her face.
"Mom? Are you crying?" Si Hao was startled, loosened his hand and shrank back: "I won't watch
TV tomorrow."
Ximei squatted down and hugged him tightly.
"Mom, you are the only one left!"
"I tried my best for her good! But no one appreciated it!"
Thinking that Si Hao would follow Chen Donglai after the divorce, Ximei was overwhelmed with
grief. She no longer cared about her reputation and cried bitterly at the entrance of the alley in
Wanchun Street.
——
"In fact, when my eldest sister graduated from high school and had a fever and chills and was
hospitalized, my mother cried her eyes out."
On the night of his 30th birthday, Chen Sihao drunkenly told Si Jiang and Si Nan: "Sai Gu Oh (poor
you), asked me whether I followed my grandfather or my mother (my father or my mother), it
scared me to death."
Jingsheng and Youning looked at each other, picked up their glasses and went out to the yard to
continue drinking.
Sinan stretched and kicked Sihao off the sofa: "Oh, you are a fence-sitter. You will definitely say
that you will follow Mommy no matter what."
Si Hao leaned on the sofa and turned his head to explain: "You all ignored her, so I couldn't ignore
her. After all, I am your son." After that, he lay across the carpet and began to snore.
“You deserve it.”
Sinan muttered something, and it was unclear whether he was talking about his mother or his
brother.
Si Jiang silently looked at the projection on the wall.
"Sister?"
"Um?"
"Have you forgiven her?"
Si Jiang smiled faintly and shook his head.
It is impossible to forgive, it is just pointless to bring it up again. If she doesn't love her, then she
doesn't love her either.

Chapter 266
"It's raining so hard today, and you two walked in the rain for an hour?!" Dr. Wang, the deputy
chief physician of the Department of Neurology, was so angry that he almost slammed the table
and glared at Jingsheng: "What nonsense."
Jingsheng nodded silently. Sinan blinked, bit his lower lip, and stared at the ceiling without saying
a word.
Gu Dongwen was furious and slapped Jingsheng on the back of his head: "Ce Na! You are the
elder brother, don't you know? Do you think Si Jiang is you and Nan Nan? (You are the elder
brother, don't you know? Do you think Si Jiang is you and Nan Nan?)"
Jingsheng clenched the edge of the chair with his fingers in silence, wishing that Gu Dongwen
would slap him a few more times and scold him even more harshly.
Doctor Wang carefully read the blood test results and EEG report again, and said unhappily:
"Fortunately, it is not acute meningitis. Keep him in the hospital for observation for three days to
reduce the fever. Be careful in the future. Don't delay if an adult has a high fever. Don't take
medicine blindly to cover up the fever. If it is acute meningitis, it is very dangerous, understand?"
"Got it," Gu Dongwen breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you, Doctor Wang, thank you so much."
Nurse Lu opened the door and walked in, saying hello to Doctor Wang: "I'm sorry to ask you to
help me in the middle of the night."
Doctor Wang sighed as he washed his hands: "We are colleagues, please don't be polite."
Gu Dongwen's face turned red: "Blame me, it's all my fault. I was so nervous when I saw the
young doctors in the emergency room. I'm sorry."
Doctor Wang smiled and said, "It's okay, it's normal. Most people would rather wait until daytime
to come to the outpatient clinic. In fact, although our emergency department has only been
established for four years, the resident doctors are all good doctors and absolutely trustworthy."
Jingsheng stood up, bowed deeply to Dr. Wang, and walked out with his head down.
Si Nan followed and slipped out, catching up with Jingsheng: "You didn't want this to happen,
don't be upset."
Jingsheng glanced at her, forced a smile, stood against the handrail, and waited for Gu Dongwen
and Nurse Lu to come out.
"Next time I have a high fever, remember to send me to the hospital immediately, okay?" Sinan
held the handle and tapped the skirting board with his toes.
"Nonsense," Jingsheng looked up, "I'm sorry you didn't hear me. Children's nonsense doesn't
count."
Sinan chuckled: "Why are you imitating my mother?"
Seeing Jingsheng lower his head again with a look of "I am guilty and I deserve to die", Sinan
kicked him and said, "Hey, do you remember when you were a kid in Shajingzi, and it snowed
heavily during the winter vacation? I got my clothes wet while playing in the snow, and I had a
high fever in the middle of the night. You and my mom rode bicycles to take me to the People's
Hospital—"
Jingsheng laughed, and stroked her curly hair with his hand: "I was the one who wronged you
that time, and you still hold a grudge against me?"
Sinan opened his eyes wide and shook his head: "I don't bear a grudge. It was just a strong wind.
It's normal that you didn't notice I fell off the bike halfway through. Fortunately, you turned
around and looked for me quickly. My mom was so funny. She was riding in front of you and
didn't know anything. She only realized we were gone when we reached the hospital gate,
hahahaha."
"You're funnier than your mom. You fell into the snow and actually fell asleep. If I were five
minutes later, you would have been dead."
"I'm lucky and blessed," Sinan laughed. "If you hadn't insisted on sending me there, and my mom
had come back to look for me after she arrived at the hospital, I would have probably really
died."
"But you were pretty energetic when you got to the hospital. You broke three needles. Two
nurses and your mother couldn't hold you down."
"They wanted to stab me in the forehead! How scary. People give injections in the buttocks or on
the back of the hand."
"You have been different since you were a child."
"That's true," Sinan stuck his butt out and stretched his arms downward, "I'm from the country.
My sister is a city girl, very spoiled. My mom told me that when she was a child, she would vomit
all night if she ate a few more pieces of meat. Tsk, tsk, tsk, what a pity. If Sihao was there, he
would definitely pick them all up and eat them."
Jingsheng reached out and hit her on the face: "Don't say bad things about your sister."
Sinan said to him seriously, "I didn't say anything bad about my sister. I was warning you, cousin.
I'm warning you seriously."
"Huh?" Jingsheng was stunned.
Sinan waved his fist and said, "If you make my sister sick again, I will fight you."
Jingsheng sighed softly: "Okay."
"Don't let her cry. She cries easily. She'll shed tears even when she's reading a book or watching
TV, so you have to be careful." Sinan suddenly raised one leg and placed it on the bar, glaring at
Jingsheng menacingly.
"Okay." A smile slowly appeared on Jingsheng's lips.
Sinan snorted coldly, raised his leg high in the air and gave Beihai a vigorous kick: "Anyway, you
have to be the best to her. It can be a little worse than to me, but at least she is the second best.
She is the best to me, the best to you, and the two of you are the best to me, so you have to be
the best to both of us, understand?"
"Oh." Jingsheng's fist gently touched Sinan's shoe sole: "A gentleman's word is a gentleman's
word..."
"It's hard to catch up with him!"
Si Nan raised his head and ran back to the doctor's office door. Gu Dongwen and Nurse Lu just
came out with Dr. Wang holding the medical records and test reports.
——
Si Jiang stayed in the hospital for three days. On the first day, Chen A Niang, Gu A Po, Xi Mei and
Si Hao's whole family came to visit. After that, Xi Mei came to bring dinner every day, but neither
mother nor daughter spoke.
When Ximei returned to Wanchun Street, only her son spoke to her in a friendly tone. Granny Gu
had a stern face and was throwing things around. If she had anything to say, it was not nice.
"How many days did you raise her? You had the heart to hit her? You beat her once or twice, but
you think you're great because she was reborn in your belly?"
"When you were 18 years old and stole your household registration book and ran to Xinjiang, I
should have broken your legs and locked you up at home. You cried and begged me not to go.
Wasn't that for your own good?"
"You can secretly be your own master, but you don't let Si Jiang be his own master. Only you can
do it, you are the most capable one in the world!"
Ximei didn't talk back this time. She just stared at Chen Sihao doing his summer homework.
On the night before Si Jiang was discharged from the hospital, Gu Dongwen took out four plane
tickets and said, "Next week, Jingsheng will accompany Si Jiang to Beijing to relax and come back
in a week."
Ximei was stunned, and all the words in her mind vanished in the face of Gu Dongwen's cold
eyes.
"How much is the ticket? Let me do it."
"No need. Go back to Urumqi," Gu Dongwen picked up the beer bottle and bit off the cap. "I'm
telling you, if Si Jiang doesn't want to go to H Normal University, if she wants to repeat her
studies and take the entrance exam to Fudan University, it's up to her. Don't bother her
anymore."
"Brother!" Ximei's eyes turned red.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Chen Sihao quickly slipped out and went to A Niang's
house.
Gu Dongwen tilted his head back and drank half a bottle of wine.
"Si Jiang is not you, she is not confused. Nowadays, everyone is looking at money and power, but
she doesn't have that. She has ideals and ambitions. Do you know how rare that is? You can't
destroy her. You don't have that power, understand? None of us has that power, neither do I, nor
Bei Wu. It has nothing to do with who gave birth to her and raised her."
"I've said it so many times, I'm really doing this for her own good! It's because I made such
outrageous mistakes in the past for my ideals! I was ignorant, stupid, idiotic, and made such a
huge mistake, I don't want her to take a detour. Being a reporter is really not a good job, it's not
about the money!"
"Good or bad, it's all her own choice. Whether she regrets it or not is her business. Gu Ximei,
that's what Mom and I said to you back then. Don't stop me, don't break your legs and lock you
up, and don't go to the Youth League Office to make trouble."
Ximei covered her face and cried.
"You don't understand. If you hide it from her and don't let her choose, she will feel unhappy no
matter how much money she makes in the future. People don't have hypotheticals in their lives.
There is no comparison."
"I really did this for her own good..."
"She is Chen Sijiang first, and then your daughter!" Gu Dongwen slammed the empty wine bottle
on the table: "You don't need to choose for her! Who among us has ever taught you how to be a
wife and a mother?"
Ximei raised her face and cried, "Then why don't you teach me? Why don't you teach me? I will
listen to you. If you break my legs, I won't be able to go to Xinjiang. If you don't let me marry
Chen Donglai, I won't have any business with him having an affair! If you force me to divorce him,
I won't feel sick of him! None of you know how much I have suffered! You let her choose for
herself now, what will she do if she suffers in the future?"
"Gu Ximei!" Gu Dongwen tried his best to suppress the anger in his chest, and in a blink of an eye
the fire burned to ashes: "Forget it, let's just leave it at that. You take care of yourself."
After a long while, Gu Dongwen opened another bottle of wine, stood up, took out a telegram
from the chest of drawers and handed it to her: "It's from Chen Donglai, saying that he will
divorce you when you return to Urumqi. He will leave the house with nothing and doesn't want
anything. He just wants the three children to be with him."
Ximei was stunned: "He wishes!"
The telegram was torn to pieces.
——
Gu Dongwen specially closed his stall for a day, stopped a courier, and took Si Nan and Si Hao to
send Si Jiang Jingsheng to Hongqiao Airport.
"Uncle, are you really going to take us to the zoo?" Si Hao was overjoyed.
"When did your uncle ever lie to you?" Gu Dongwen took out a cigarette from the passenger seat
and put it back.
Sinan stared out the window in a daze the whole way.
Si Jiang coaxed her for a long time, fearing that she would be unhappy because she couldn't go to
Beijing.
Sinan shook his head and said, "I don't want to go. Brother Ningning is back. We've made plans to
go to the movies and have ice cream and coffee."
"Hey, doesn't he have some experimental project to do? When will he be back?"
"The day before yesterday, he came back for two weeks." Sinan sighed, "It's such a coincidence
that he came back from Beijing and you are going to Beijing."
"Then let's meet him again when we come back, okay? Please tell him for me." Si Jiang shook Si
Nan's arm.
"Yeah." Sinan leaned forward to look at Jingsheng and raised his fist: "A gentleman's word?"
"It's hard to catch up with someone once he's done something stupid." Jingsheng replied
indifferently.
"What are you doing?" Si Jiang laughed, looked left and right, and thought that the two of them
were a little weird.
"It has nothing to do with you," Sinan suddenly became happy again, "Uncle, please treat us to a
meal at Ashan Restaurant. I want to eat braised pork."
"I want to eat too!" Si Hao responded immediately.
"Okay." Gu Dongwen agreed readily.
——
There is a large area of farmland next to Hongqiao Airport. The rice has just started to rust and is
swaying in the wind.
"So much grass! All the same height! So neat—" Chen Sihao exclaimed while leaning against the
car window.
Everyone in the car was laughing so hard that they were bent over. Si Jiang recalled that there
were classmates who didn't know how to farm and had sighed like that in the past. He couldn't
help but look at Jingsheng.
Jingsheng was also looking at her with a smile.
The two smiled knowingly.

Chapter 267
Amid the huge roar, Si Jiang looked at the ground outside the window getting farther and farther
away from him, closed his eyes silently and prayed. This was what Granny Gu had repeatedly
reminded him of.
Jingsheng laughed: "Cramming at the last minute?"
"In the name of Jesus, Amen." Si Jiang finished his homework after making the sign of the cross
and said with a smile, "Don't tell me, I feel much more at ease."
"Psychological effect. Do your ears feel uncomfortable?"
"A little."
Jingsheng took out two pieces of fruit candy from his shirt pocket and put one in each of their
mouths.
Si Jiang's eyes lit up at the thought of seeing his long-missed uncle and aunt soon. He was in high
spirits for a short while. After all, the patient who had just been discharged from the hospital was
not fully recovered yet. He fell asleep after flipping through a few pages of the book in his hand,
with his head leaning against the window.
Jingsheng unfastened their seat belts, put away her book, pulled down the sun visor, sat back in
his seat and thought for a moment, then leaned over and gently moved her head to lean against
his shoulder, deliberately lowering his shoulder to the most comfortable position for her before
he let out a soft sigh.
He exhaled a breath, and countless breaths were hanging in his chest. The air-conditioning was
on in the small cabin, causing a dense layer of bumps on his arms, but his shoulders and neck felt
like a furnace. Si Jiang's hair swept back and forth on his neck and jaw irregularly with the
vibration of the plane, with an amplitude of perhaps only one or two millimeters.
Jingsheng stared at the front seat, silently thinking about the problem of friction coefficient. This
was really inconsistent with the principles of dynamics.
Si Jiang was awakened by Jingsheng.
"Ah? I actually fell asleep?!"
Jingsheng relaxed his shoulders and neck: "Yeah, he slept soundly with his mouth open all the
way, snoring and drooling."
"You're so annoying! (I hate you so much)" Si Jiang was so angry that he hit Jing Sheng's elbow
with his elbow. The head-on collision hit the numbness, making her grimace in pain. She couldn't
help but touch her cheek, and felt a little wetness. She immediately felt extremely guilty.
Jingsheng held back his laughter and moved sideways to fasten her seat belt.
"I lied to you."
Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief and asked softly, "Didn't they say that there would be Maotai
liquor for free when you take the plane?"
Jingsheng glanced at her with a half-smile, then leaned out and raised his hand: "Hello, waiter
——"
"No, no, no!" Si Jiang grabbed Jingsheng's arm in embarrassment, "Hey!"
The flight attendant who was checking the seat belts of the passengers in the front row came
over with a smile.
"Excuse me, can I use the toilet now?"
"Sure, hold on tight please."
"Thanks."
Jingsheng stood up and asked Sijiang: "Do you want to go with me?"
Si Jiang was so angry that he muttered, "I'm not going, you go, lazy people poop a lot!"
Jingsheng held back his laughter and walked towards the tail of the plane.
After a while, the plane encountered turbulence and suddenly began to shake violently. An
explanation to comfort the passengers sounded over the radio.
Si Jiang twisted his neck to look back, extremely anxious.
Fortunately, after shaking for a minute or two, the fuselage continued to descend steadily.
"Are you okay just now?" Si Jiang looked Jingsheng up and down nervously.
"It's okay." Jingsheng fastened his seat belt, looking calm. In fact, it was his first time on a plane,
and his first time using the toilet on board. He was caught off guard by the violent turbulence and
was in a mess. He could only clean up after himself before getting out. The flight attendant
knocked on the door twice to show concern for his safety.
Si Jiang blurted out: "Fortunately you are squatting, otherwise——"
Jingsheng closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, not wanting to pay any more attention to
this foolish boy with strange ideas.
Si Jiang looked at Jingsheng's slightly red ears, and she seemed to realize something. Her
imagination could not be stopped and she slid out ten thousand meters directly. She thought of
all the things she shouldn't have thought of. After secretly glancing at Jingsheng several times,
she felt more and more that her guess was correct. Tsk tsk tsk tsk, the embarrassing incident of
her nightgown being caught last time didn't seem to be a big deal.
"Don't look." Jingsheng opened his eyes and caught Si Jiang stealing his eyes at him.
Si Jiang tried hard to hold back his laughter, his eyes wandered over his clean trousers, and he
turned his head to look out the window: "Yeah, I can see the ground." But in his heart he was
thinking, how do you know I'm looking at you if you don't look at me...
——
Zhou Shanrang and Old Lady Zhou came to the airport with little Gu Nian to pick them up, and
they saw Jingsheng and Sijiang from afar.
"Oh, these two children are so good-looking." Mrs. Zhou picked up Gu Nian and pointed them
out to him: "The two best-looking ones are your big brother and big sister, can you see them?"
“I see.” Little Gu Nian shouted, “Brother! Sister! Come here!”
Si Jiang excitedly and kindly hugged him. Just as he was about to speak, Gu Nian beside him
narrowed his eyes, opened his mouth, twisted his body and howled: "Hold! Hug! Hug with the
tiger's head!"
"Hutou, can you hold me, sister?" Si Jiang was so happy to see his mini version of uncle that he
stretched out his hands to ask for a hug.
"Gu Hutou, stop pretending to cry!" Shanrang frowned.
Gu Nian immediately extended his hand to Si Jiang.
Si Jiang held Hutou in her arms and smiled: "Oh, how come our Hutou is so cute? Come, sister,
hold him, hold the baby."
Gu Nian glanced at her mother secretly and hugged Si Jiang's neck tightly.
"Jingsheng seems to have grown taller again. He's about 180 now?"
"One hundred and eighty-seven."
Shan Rang said enviously: "I will be satisfied if Hu Tou can grow to 1.8 meters in the future."
"Of course there is. Children nowadays are well-nourished," Jingsheng smiled and looked
carefully at Gu Nian in Si Jiang's arms. "Tiger's head looks very long now, about 90 centimeters?"
"I measured my height when I got the vaccine in June, and it was 93 centimeters." Mrs. Zhou
smiled from ear to ear: "All indicators are very good."
"Grandma has worked hard," Si Jiang said. "Old people are very careful. Si Hao and I have been
well taken care of, unlike Si Nan who suffered a lot in Xinjiang when he was a child."
"How is Sinan?" Shanrang asked quickly, "She didn't come this time. Is she angry?"
"No, Zhao Youning returned to Shanghai, and they had a lot of plans." Jingsheng replied with a
smile.
"She's doing fine now." Si Jiang added.
Mrs. Zhou sighed, thinking of Zhou Zhiyuan, and everyone fell silent. If it were somewhere else, Si
Nan would naturally clamor to go with them.
"Let's go, we're going to eat Quanjude Roast Duck tonight." Shan Rang smiled and took the old
lady's arm.
"Duck! - Duck!" Gu Nian turned around and shouted loudly.
"I'm going to Tiananmen Square tomorrow. The tower is open to the public this year. We can go
up there and see it."
"Red flag! Stars!" Gu Nian immediately shouted again.
"Ahhh, how come our Hu Tou is so smart! He really is worthy of being the son of my uncle and
aunt!" Si Jiang was genuinely excited.
——
Beiwu and Shanrang moved to Changchunyuan Community last year. The fifteen buildings here
were newly built in 1985. Half of them are for the families of Peking University faculty and staff,
and the other half are for the families of Peking University Founder Group. Shanrang had little
experience in school, so it was not her turn to get a house. She rented a three-bedroom, one-
living-room apartment of 100 square meters from an old professor. The old professor and his
family lived in a courtyard house on the shore of Houhai. The house was originally intended for
his daughter and son-in-law, but the son-in-law wanted to go abroad and immigrated to Toronto
as a skilled immigrant. The house was vacant and new inside. Shanrang liked it at first sight. The
old professor had some impression of Gu Beiwu, so he signed a five-year contract. Prices have
risen sharply this year, and the professor's wife mentioned it to Shanrang in a tactful way.
Shanrang took the initiative to increase the rent from 80 yuan to 100 yuan. Mrs. Zhou was very
unhappy and wondered why senior intellectuals were still so stingy. Shan Rang joked that the old
lady was the noble person living in the ivory tower.
Because Sijiang and Jingsheng were visiting, Shanrang tidied up the house and made some
adjustments. Gu Nian's small bed was placed next to their big bed, and the old lady slept in the
guest room. Now the old lady and Shanrang accompanied Gu Nian in the big room, and Sijiang
slept in the old lady's room. A camp bed was temporarily set up in the small study for Jingsheng,
and Beiwu slept on the sofa in the living room. Sijiang and Jingsheng tried to give in for a while,
but they couldn't get over Shanrang, so they had to obey orders.
After a long trip, not long after returning home, Mrs. Zhou took Gu Nian to take a nap. Shanrang
took Jingsheng and Beiwu to visit the Peking University campus.
Sitting on the island in the middle of Weiming Lake, Si Jiang felt much more relaxed and
expressed all his feelings to Shan Rang.
"So what are you going to do now?" Shan Rang asked, holding her hand with concern.
Si Jiang hesitated for a moment, then fell seriously ill and stayed in the hospital for three days.
The injustice and resentment in her heart gradually subsided, and she considered more practical
issues.
"Do you want to repeat the exam?"
Si Jiang shook his head slightly and smiled bitterly: "She is right. If you can sign the document,
you will go out. It doesn't matter which school you go to now."
Shanrang frowned.
Si Jiang held her hand tightly: "Nannan is in high school, and Sihao is still young. My dad went to
Zepu again, and the family is in a difficult situation. My mother and grandmother told me all this.
I am the eldest in the family, and I can't just think about myself - my mom and dad are getting
divorced, and she will transfer to the Education Bureau as an archivist in September. Her monthly
salary will be reduced by more than 50 yuan, and I don't want to add to her burden. The Normal
University has subsidies, and I will submit more papers, so that I can afford my living expenses in
the future."
"Actually, I don't want to apply for a visa this year. I want to wait until I finish my undergraduate
studies before applying to study abroad for a master's degree. The chances of getting a full
scholarship will be much higher," Si Jiang lowered his head. "Aunt, I don't want to use my uncle
and your money to study abroad."
The thin stone in Jingsheng's hand drew a beautiful arc and flew out, jumping seven or eight
times on the surface of the lake, creating a small circle of ripples.
Shanrang sighed: "Money is really not important."
"No, it's very important." Si Jiang smiled bitterly. She was not an unworldly person, but during the
more than half a month in Urumqi, she realized for the first time that money was so important
and so heavy, heavier than a mountain.
Jingsheng glanced at Si Jiang and said, "Wealth and honor cannot corrupt you, and poverty and
humbleness cannot change you. If you still want to go abroad, go ahead and apply for a visa.
Otherwise, all your previous efforts will be in vain. If you back down when you encounter this
little difficulty, you will have a hard time backing down in the future."
The Si River was silent.
Shan Rang punched Jingsheng: "Stinky boy, why do you sound so dogmatic now? Have you joined
the Youth League Committee? I feel like you look a bit like me in 1970s or 1980s? Hmm?
Secretary Gu?"
Jingsheng and Sijiang couldn't help laughing when they thought of Beiwu always calling Zhou
Shanrang "Secretary Zhou".
"I have more than 3,000 yuan, you can take it." Jingsheng looked at the sky and promised
generously.
Si Jiang was shocked: "You are so rich!?"
Shan Rang teased, "Tsk tsk tsk, Jingsheng, you are saving your wife's money, are you willing to
give it all to Si Jiang?"
Jingsheng stood up, patted his pants, turned his head and looked at Si Jiang: "I collect interest."
"Jingsheng is right about one thing. Not being able to get a visa is a matter of luck. Not applying
for a visa is a matter of mentality and principle. Studying abroad is something the whole family
has discussed, and we all support it. Didn't your uncle get help from all sides before he went to
the United States? Family members shouldn't be so clearly divided. Don't worry, if you borrow,
you must repay. Your uncle and I are very confident in your ability to work and earn money in the
future. We will also charge interest, okay? Just think of us as investors, and just work hard. As for
your choice not to repeat the year, we will discuss this together when we meet your uncle
tonight."
Shan Rang patted Si Jiang's hand and said, "No matter what, we understand and support you."
Si Jiang followed Jingsheng who was already walking towards the north bank and nodded.

Chapter 268
Ten years have passed since the reform and opening up, and the 1980s is coming to an end. In
the minds of contemporary young people, this is an unprecedented good era, with industrial
development changing with each passing day, agricultural achievements shining brightly, science
at the highest level, and culture and art flourishing, and the future will only get better and better.
But for Gu Beiwu in the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation at No. 2 East
Chang'an Street, he sees more problems. Although the inflation in the past two years is caused by
official corruption, it still shows from the side that the goal of a soft landing of the economy
proposed by the country in 1985 is at risk of failure, and administrative intervention is imminent.
In September, the People's Bank of China will begin to implement value-preserving subsidies for
urban and rural residents' regular savings of more than three years, and the state will also
introduce controls on prices and infrastructure. But from an economic perspective, administrative
control cannot fundamentally solve the problem. It is easy to go from overheating to economic
decline, thus causing market weakness.
But Beiwu could only put these worries aside in his heart, as his main job was still in the re-entry
negotiation team of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade.
Last October, the first meeting of the China Group of the GATT was held in Geneva to determine
the work schedule. Just preparing for the two face-to-face Q&A sessions in February and April
last year was a massive task. The questions raised by the contracting parties need to be answered
in person. Even if there is a simultaneous interpreter, the time to think about the questions is
very short, so a lot of information needs to be collected in the early stage to prepare questions
that the representatives may ask, and then formulate the most appropriate answers. Finally, for
the 17 major categories of questions that were sorted out, the participants conducted multiple
exercises, among which sensitive price and tariff issues were the top priority. The Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation have sent special
personnel to guide negotiation skills. Answers need to be refined and accurate, without too much
explanation, and they must be sincere. Diplomatic rhetoric such as "no comment" is absolutely
not allowed, and those that cannot be answered can only be informed tactfully.
Apart from work, Beiwu has a lot of worries. The capital is big and it is not easy to live there. It is
even more difficult to work in government agencies, and there is a strong sense of urgency. Most
of his classmates who were younger than him in the past have made their mark. Xiao Wu has
become Lao Wu and has gone to the General Office of the Central Secretariat. He is a "think tank"
and will be promoted to associate researcher in the fall. Lao Tao joined the Research Office of the
Central Secretariat after graduation and is already a researcher. Lao Qiu is a deputy director in the
Secretariat of the General Office of the Central Committee. Lao Shi went to the State Sports
Commission and was immediately promoted to director. Although Xiao He still teaches at Peking
University, he spends most of his time doing research at the Southeast Economic Information
Center of Xinhua News Agency in Hong Kong. Even the classmates of the Economic Department
of 1978 and 1979 are mostly deputy director-level cadres in state ministries and commissions.
Beiwu suffers from his age. The country now focuses on training young cadres. If you are not a
director at the age of 40, there is basically no hope for you in the future. You will not be pushed
to key positions. In addition, Beiwu had studied abroad and had been investigated once in
Shanghai. Each political review was always more troublesome than others.
With Gu Nian, these constraints became more obvious. It is impossible to separate the housing.
The current Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade was merged six years ago by the
Import and Export Administration Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the Ministry of
Foreign Economic Relations and the Foreign Investment Administration Commission. After the
merger of the units, the number of retirees will not decrease, but there will be fewer pitfalls for
leaders and titles, and there will be no less complicated personnel relations. The subordinate
department-level units are numerous, and more and more fresh graduates are recruited from
major prestigious universities every year. The dormitories of the organs are crowded with six or
eight people in a room, just like university dormitories. With the elderly above and the children
below, it is naturally a "heavy burden" for the organs. There are countless people like Beiwu who
are caught in the middle.
Money is also a problem. The work is too busy, and there are often no off-get off work hours. The
salary is fixed, and the travel allowance is in the single digits per day, including going abroad.
Although it seems that his salary is much higher than Shanrang's, teachers have more benefits. In
the end, most of the household expenses are borne by Shanrang. Mrs. Zhou even took the
initiative to cover Gu Nian's daily expenses. It can be said that the grandmother loves her
grandson, but for Gu Beiwu, who is forty years old, these are not a matter of doubt or doubt, but
intolerable. Shanrang always laughed at him for being a bit chauvinistic, which Beiwu never
denied. Shanghai men have always had three advantages: handing in wages, cooking, and picking
up children. Now he has none of the three, and occasionally doubts whether his life decisions are
wrong.
With Gu Nian going to kindergarten next year, Bei Wu found out that he couldn't get a number at
the kindergarten of his own company. His colleagues laughed at him for not understanding the
market. It turned out that he had to go to the trade union to queue up as soon as the child was
born and registered. But Shan Rang successfully got a number at the kindergarten affiliated to
Peking University.
All in all, the ambition to serve the country was passionate and exciting, but Beiwu was also
shaken this year. Xiao He visited him three times and persuaded him to go to Hong Kong to
partner with him. Xiao He was very sharp and outspoken in school. He almost failed in his
graduation thesis. He was always disgusted with the tedious and stale officialdom. He felt that
Beiwu was wasting his life by being trapped in the government.
“Is your current job irreplaceable?”
"Don't you have any other job you'd rather do?"
"Does the time and energy you put in match the social status and money you get in return?"
Every time Xiao He asked the three questions indignantly, Bei Wu had no answer.
——
By the time Beiwu arrived at Quanjude, Gu Nian had already started eating the dough and
cucumber shreds, with a circle of dark sauce around his mouth.
"Uncle!" Si Jiang stood up happily, but when he saw that he was only a head shorter than his
uncle, he felt too embarrassed to throw himself into his uncle's arms and act like a spoiled child
like he did when he was a child.
"You two have grown a lot taller," Beiwu looked at Sijiang and then at Jingsheng, smiling,
"Beijing's attractions really need you two to add some brilliance."
This sentence made everyone at the table laugh.
Gu Nian shouted at the top of his voice, "Dad, Dad, Dad."
Bei Wu lowered his head and kissed him on the forehead: "Why are you only eating the dough
and not the meat?"
Gu Nian pushed the half-eaten dough in her hand into his mouth: "Delicious, delicious, Dad, eat
it."
Beiwu stuffed the dough back and said, "Thank you. You eat the dough and I'll eat the meat."
Gu Nian patted her belly and said, "Full, full."
Shan Rang put his small kettle on the table: "Come, Gu Nian, drink some water. You haven't had
much water all day."
Gu Nian shook his head: "No."
"Say it all," Shan Rang coaxed. "Say you don't want to drink water."
"You don't drink."
"When you talk about yourself, say 'I'."
"You don't drink."
Shanrang held his forehead.
Si Jiang and Jingsheng couldn't stop laughing.
Mrs. Zhou smiled and said to Shanrang, "Why are you in such a hurry? He's only two and a half
years old. Boys start to speak late. You and Beiwu speak English to him all day long. Isn't it clear in
his mind? You didn't speak long sentences until you were three years old when you were a child."
Bei Wu also laughed and said, "Si Jiang was also late in speaking. He didn't start talking until he
was 28 months old. When he spoke, he just kept talking like a chatterbox, from morning till night.
This is called planning before taking action."
Jingsheng looked at Sijiang.
Si Jiang made a face at him: "Brother, how old were you when you started talking?"
"Less than two years old." Jingsheng was very calm.
Now Shanrang was even more envious.
Gu Nian gave Jingsheng a thumbs up: "Great!"
Si Jiang smiled so much that he held Gu Nian's big head in his arms and kissed her several times.
"Baby is great." Gu Nian calmly turned his thumb and pressed it on his chest, blinking his big eyes
and looking at Si Jiang.
Everyone at the table smiled and said, "Yes, Bao Bao is great, Hu Tou is great, and Gu Nian is
awesome."
"Axe stick!" Gu Nian repeated cheerfully.
——
For Si Jiang, the roast duck at Quanjude is not bad except that it is a little too oily. If he is too full,
the whole family can take a walk on the Peking University campus to digest the food.
Beiwu was not surprised by Sijiang's decision.
"Uncle, what do you think I should do? Is it wrong for me not to repeat the year?" Si Jiang held
Bei Wu's arm with a worried look on his face.
Beiwu sighed and laughed, "I thought you young people were unwilling to listen to us old
people."
"Uncle, how can you be an old man!" Si Jiang smiled with his eyes curved.
"Let me put it this way," Beiwu patted her hands, "our life experience is no longer enough to
provide you and Jingsheng with the correct reference opinions. So I have no way to answer your
question."
Jingsheng looked at Beiwu in surprise, and suddenly remembered that since Gu Dongwen
returned to Shanghai, he always said "Okay, let's give it a try" to his decisions, never interfering or
giving any opinions. He now felt that Gu Dongwen did not seem to simply go along with him and
let him do whatever he wanted.
Si Jiang chewed over Bei Wu's words carefully.
"When you were a child, we could give you some advice and guidance," Bei Wu said softly, "Now
that you are eighteen years old, the information channels you have are almost the same as ours,
and you definitely understand yourself better than we do. If we influence your life based on the
information we have and our own life experience, it will easily be biased."
"The future is unpredictable and full of infinite possibilities. Your mother did a despicable thing,
but the outcome is unknown," Bei Wu said tactfully. "Everyone's ideals are lofty and beautiful,
but there are many difficulties and dirt in government agencies that you can't imagine now.
When a huge machine is running, the power of an individual is insignificant."
"If you choose not to repeat your studies, then don't repeat your studies. If you choose to
continue applying for a visa, then continue applying. If you choose to finish studying English at H
University, then go ahead and study. The end of every road is neither success nor failure."
Si Jiang asked doubtfully: "What is that?"
"It's an experience," Beiwu said with a smile, "a life experience that can't be replicated."
There is no wasted life experience.
——
While giving Gu Nian a bath at night, Shan Rang couldn't help but ask Bei Wu: "Is there anything
going on at your workplace?"
Beiwu was startled: "No."
"Xiao He is back from Hong Kong. He called in the evening and said he would come to see you the
next day."
“This guy is really—” Beiwu smiled and shook his head.
Gu Nian poured two handfuls of water on his father, but didn't get the expected scream, so he
turned the gun around and attacked his mother.
Shan gave a few surprised screams to save face, while Gu Nian laughed in the bathtub, twisting
her little body to avoid her mother's counterattack.
"If you are unhappy at work, Hong Kong is not bad." Shan Rang turned his head and looked at Bei
Wu: "It's not like you won't go back to Beijing. I think Xiao He's family has been doing well these
past two years."
"I will never separate," Beiwu looked at Shanrang and smiled, "I can't bear to leave him."
Shanrang's face flushed and he smiled as he squeezed the bubbles in his hand into his son's little
hand.
"Because of this little thing, you have greatly reduced my usage," Beiwu said quietly, "Last year,
our country's export trade increased by 28.1%, but our family's export trade decreased by 80%
——"
Shan Rang smeared the foam on Bei Wu's face: "You are being a hooligan again!"
"Of course an old rogue will seize every opportunity to act like a rogue." Bei Wu smiled and held
her in his arms. The two of them kissed each other, filled their mouths with soap bubbles, and
then spit them out.
Little Gu Hutou stood up holding the edge of the bathtub, stretched out his little arms, and
pouted: "Baby! Baby! Together!"
He hugged his parents and kissed them again and again, and concluded with a satisfied look: "I
love you, I love you."
Shan Rang screamed: "Tiger Head, what did you just say?"
"I love you." Gu Hutou calmly kissed his mother on the face again and held her face tightly
without letting go.
Shanrang hugged his son tightly, tears streaming down his face.
Bei Wu slapped his son's bare buttocks and said, "Stinky boy, do you have to compete for favor
like this?"
Gu Nian's mouth opened, tears flowed faster than Shan Rang's, crystal tears hung on her cheeks,
making me feel pity for her.
Shan Rang was so angry that he kicked Bei Wu: "Our import trade will be completely stopped this
quarter!"
"Secretary Zhou, let's talk about this again—" Bei Wu surrendered immediately.

Chapter 269
Gu Nian is a bit of a show-off. Normally, she can fall asleep after taking a bath and drinking some
milk. But that night, she rode on Jingsheng's neck and groaned towards the ceiling for half an
hour, pestering her brother to lift her up high. She was so excited that she kicked her legs in the
air.
Si Jiang took a picture book of Journey to the West and tried to calm him down. Unexpectedly,
after reading it over and over again for more than ten times, her throat was about to smoke. Gu
Nian was still energetic and pointed at the book to arrange her properly: "Sister, read Su, Monkey,
Ju Ju (pig), Horse."
"Sun Wukong shouted loudly, 'Master, Master--'" Si Jiang insisted on replaying it with great
emotion.
"Hey! Hey!" Gu Nian smiled and nodded in response, winking at Si Jiang mischievously. Si Jiang
suspected that he did it on purpose.
"Stop chanting the spell! Stop chanting it!" Si Jiang hugged his head in pain.
Gu Nian was even more devoted than her. He rolled around on the bed with his head in his arms,
crying out, "It hurts! Baby, it hurts, baby, it hurts so much!"
Si Jiang laughed for the Nth time and lay down next to Gu Hutou. If Sun Wukong had learned the
phrase "baby hurts" earlier, he would have suffered less torture.
After saying "baby, it hurts" eighteen times, Shan Rang slapped Gu Nian on the butt three times.
This time it really hurt, and the little guy cried with tears in his eyes. Before Si Jiang had time to
feel sorry for him, Gu Axe had already spread out his limbs and started snoring, with tears on his
cheeks.
"Huh?" Si Jiang was stunned.
Shanrang wiped the tears off his son's face with a handkerchief, looking angry and amused. He
shook his head and said, "There's nothing we can do. It's almost eleven o'clock. If we don't give
him three slaps, the quarrel will last until one or two o'clock."
Si Jiang sighed in disbelief: "Aunt, you actually hit the tiger's head?!"
Shan Rang suppressed his laughter and said, "There are only zero and countless spankings. Don't
worry, I will only spank him, it works very well, he will fall asleep immediately after one spanking,
he won't bear grudges."
The two of them arrived in the living room, and Bei Wugang lay down on the sofa.
"You spanked your son?"
"Well, you are not allowed to mention this matter again tomorrow. You always want to destroy
the revolutionary friendship between us mother and son. You have very bad intentions."
Shanrang slapped Beiwu on the leg.
Bei Wu smiled with his eyes curved: "No matter how much you try to destroy it, it's useless. Gu
Hutou only loves you. Tsk, tsk, tsk, hearing your son say he loves you, isn't Hutou's mother super
happy today?"
Si Jiang was very surprised: "Hu Tou said 'I love you' to my aunt?" She was eighteen years old and
had never said these two words!
Shan Rang smiled from ear to ear: "Yes, it is very clear, I have said it several times. Gu Beiwu, are
you jealous?"
"Well, envy, jealousy, sourness, and sweetness." Beiwu looked at Shanrang and smiled.
Seeing that his uncle and aunt looked at each other with such sweet eyes, Si Jiang pretended to
yawn and slipped into the room to sleep.
Shanrang lifted Beiwu's legs and put them on himself: "Then you have to behave well?"
Bei Wu turned his head and looked towards the doors of all the rooms, then quickly got up and
pounced on Shan Rang, pressing him under him. Their noses were touching, and their breaths
were meeting.
Shanrang's face flushed, but he didn't dare to say anything. He just put his hands on his chest and
stared at him with wide eyes: "What are you doing?!"
"Good performance."
Four words were murmured vaguely between lips and tongues.
After a long while, Shanrang moved his head away with great effort, gasped for several breaths,
bit Beiwu's shoulder, and silently twisted the soft flesh on Beiwu's waist and turned it half a
circle: "Hey, what's wrong with you? There are so many people at home, and you still want to -
um?" The question was righteous, but his body was limp like a pool of spring water.
Beiwu buried his head in the crook of her shoulder, laughing so hard that his whole body shook,
and he arched his body to calm down for a while.
"Is this perhaps the charm of not being able to steal something better than stealing it?" Beiwu
leaned over to Shanrang's ear and sighed, "I get really excited when I think about how high the
risk factor is. I'm even more excited than when Hutou was sleeping next to me. Feel it."
Shanrang's hand reluctantly experienced Beiwu's "good performance", which was worthy of the
name.
Some things are hard to put down once you start them. If the sofa hadn't made a creaking sound
under the weight of two adults, the unsuccessful attempt to steal would have escalated into a
successful one.
"Shh, Jingsheng doesn't seem to be asleep yet." Shanrang and Beiwu slept on their sides in the
same position, like two soup spoons.
Beiwu rubbed his chin against Shanrang's head and said, "It would be nice if Sijiang and Jingsheng
were together in the future."
Shan Rang smiled and turned his head to kiss his Adam's apple: "You noticed it too? Jingsheng is
a bit like me before. Alas - it's just that someone never responds, which is quite bitter."
Bei Wu's arms tightened: "Why didn't I respond to you? I was the one who wrote the first love
letter to you."
The two never tire of talking about the past, and it takes them a long time to recall what is new.
"I don't know when Si Jiang will come to her senses. There was a boy named Tang in her school
who seemed to have a good relationship with her." Shan Rang started to worry about Jingsheng
again.
"Let it be. Except for Nan Hong, everyone in our family is slow to catch on. But Jingsheng has
something very rare."
"Which one?"
"A young man of 17 or 18 years old can hold back from speaking. He really cares about Si Jiang.
He thought we couldn't see it," Bei Wu chuckled. "Silly boy. Look, give him a chance this time."
"Oh, I envy them so much, they grew up together as childhood sweethearts," Shanrang kissed
Beiwu's fingers, "If I had a time machine, I would go back to your childhood and take a look at
you, just secretly take a few glances."
"Then you should look at your son more often." Beiwu suddenly came to the conclusion: "You tell
your son that you love him every day, but you are actually talking to me, right?"
"You wish!" Shanrang smiled and bit his finger.
Bei Wu sighed contentedly, "I finally won against Gu Hutou. Well, I won't compete with him for
favor tomorrow. But your way of expressing your love is a bit roundabout, Secretary Zhou."
Shanrang turned around with difficulty, raised his head and murmured, "I love you."
Bei Wu got excited and the sofa creaked several times, followed by a "thump" sound.
Shanrang lay on the sofa and laughed so hard, but he didn't dare to laugh out loud.
Gu Beiwu knelt on the floor, smiling silently, and reached out to pull Shan Rang into his arms.
"Come here, let me love you too."
"You hooligan, let me go, let me go!" Shan Rang struggled hard to hold back his laughter, but was
finally pulled off his horse.
Beiwu pressed on her back, and the two of them laughed almost in resonance.
"Say it again." Beiwu bit Shanrang's ear and begged in a low voice.
Shan let his upper body lie on the edge of the sofa and turned his head with all his strength: "I
love you."
"No, another one."
"???"
"What a hooligan." Beiwu pushed her: "I felt it again when you said it just now."
“You rascal! Let me go, I’m serious—! Wuuwuwu…”
——
Si Jiang was a bit attached to his bed, and as he had something on his mind, his mind was
constantly racing. He tossed and turned for a long time before falling asleep. He had several
unrelated dreams, but Jing Sheng appeared in every dream.
First, she dreamed that she was locked in the airplane bathroom. She was just halfway through
her relieving herself when the plane started shaking violently. She was so scared that she opened
her mouth but couldn't make a sound. The door was suddenly knocked open, and a water pipe
broke somewhere, spraying all over her head, face, and body. She grabbed her pants and cried
loudly, but she couldn't make any sound. Jingsheng came in from outside and seemed not to see
her. He turned on the faucet and washed his hands. Si Jiang was so angry that he was shaking.
Suddenly the scene shifted to the shore of Weiming Lake. Jingsheng put his hands in his pockets
and said to her with a smile, "That summer, I lent you 3,000 yuan and said I would charge
interest. Now pay me back 30,000 yuan."
Si Jiang gritted his teeth and asked, "How can you charge interest like this? You are worse than a
loan shark!"
"It's been decades, and now thirty thousand is not as much as the three hundred before. If it
weren't for our XX relationship——"
"What do you mean decades later? Wasn't it just last year? What's the relationship between us
now?"
Si Jiang was so angry that she blinked her eyes, and that face that looked so cruel suddenly
enlarged in front of her. She was so scared that she turned around and ran, but there was no road
in front of her, only a lake. She jumped into the lake with a splash, and a bunch of water plants
from nowhere entangled her legs. A pair of hands pulled her out of the lake. When she looked
up, Jingsheng raised his eyebrows: "Oh, you really added a lot of glory to Kunming Lake. Are you
so depressed?" She looked carefully. Although she had never been there, she could tell that the
campus next to it was not Peking University but the Summer Palace.
After having several dreams that were more unlucky than the last, Si Jiang woke up in anger.
When he woke up, his back teeth were still sore from biting, and his back was sticky with sweat.
After he regained consciousness, he remembered that he was in his uncle's house in Beijing,
sleeping in Grandma Hutou's bed.
Si Jiang stood up and opened the curtains. The street lights in the community were pale and the
sky was a deep dark blue. It was high and far away, and she couldn't tell what time it was. She
tiptoed to open the door, and it was quiet outside.
In the small living room, Beiwu was lying on the sofa, with half of his body sleeping on three
armchairs.
Si Jiang walked towards the bathroom with an apologetic look on her face. When she got closer,
she realized that her uncle was still holding her aunt in his arms. It was the first time she had seen
a man and a woman so intimate outside of TV, movies, or novels. She was unable to react for a
moment and stared blankly at Bei Wu and Shan Rang. She felt touched, envious, and blushed.
They were like mandarin ducks embracing each other, golden wind and jade dew, and lovebirds...
For the first time, Si Jiang realized that English vocabulary was too poor and lacked poetic
meaning.
When Jingsheng walked out of the room, he saw Si Jiang staring at the person on the sofa
without blinking.
"Getting up in the middle of the night to peek?" Jingsheng asked almost silently, which scared Si
Jiang.
"Shh!" Si Jiang pressed his lips with his index finger, fearing that his uncle and aunt would be
woken up by them. Then he thought of Jing Sheng's irritating look in his dream, turned around
and went straight to the bathroom.
Jingsheng glanced at the two people on the sofa, turned around, and leaned against the wall
outside the bathroom, his heart beating a little faster. Somehow, he suddenly remembered his
childhood in Jinghong. There was a period of time when he was determined to dominate his
mother. Every night, he insisted on kicking Gu Dongwen off the bed, but when he woke up in the
middle of the night, his mother was always on the opposite bed. Every time he was angry and
ignored the two of them, Gu Dongwen always smiled with great pride. Is this how a couple with a
good relationship is? Jingsheng was a little confused.
The sofa creaked and Beiwu woke up.
"Saning?" Beiwu reached out and took the watch on the coffee table and took a look at it. It was
not yet half past three.
Jingsheng and Sijiang, who had just come out of the bathroom, responded in unison: "Wu." The
two hid at the bathroom door, neither of them willing to go out, staring at each other.
Shanrang snorted twice and woke up. When he heard the voices of Jingsheng and Sijiang, he
immediately pulled up the blanket and covered himself up embarrassedly. He obviously didn't do
anything shameful, so he still hoped that they didn't see anything.
Beiwu smiled and covered Shanrang's face through the quilt, then pushed away the chair, got up
and stretched.
"Are you awake or not?"
Si Jiang said: "I woke up."
Jingsheng said: "I didn't fall asleep."
The two couldn't help but look at each other again and turned away.
Beiwu drank half a glass of water, turned on a floor lamp next to the sofa, and patted Shanrang,
who was curled up in a ball under the blanket: "Don't hide, you are trying to cover your ears and
steal the bell."
Shan Rang pulled down the blanket, revealing half of his red face. He winked at Jing Sheng and Si
Jiang, and explained in a way that was not entirely clear: "I can't sleep well when your uncle is
not at home..."
Si Jiang also nodded with a red face, but in his heart he thought that he could sleep well on such
a narrow sofa, which showed the great power of love.
"What's wrong with Jingsheng? Didn't you sleep well?" Beiwu handed Shanrang half a cup of
warm water.
Jingsheng touched his nose uncomfortably and changed the subject: "No, I was so engrossed in
reading that I forgot the time."
"Hey, which book are you reading?"
"I'm reading a handwritten copy—" Jingsheng touched his nose again, "It's the one on my uncle's
desk..."
Si Jiang's eyes were immediately filled with question marks.
Bei Wu smiled and said, "It's not what I read. It's the book The Crowd written by Le Bon, which is
a study of the psychology of the masses."
Shanrang sat up from the sofa and said, "I have only translated half of it. Jingsheng, have you
read it?"
Jingsheng nodded: "Very interesting, it turns out that you are the one translating, no wonder I
saw the French and English versions on the table."
Si Jiang's eyes lit up: "Aunt, are you learning French?!"
Shanrang smiled and nodded: "I have studied for five years. One of our senior sisters wanted to
introduce this book and asked me to translate it from English to Chinese. My English is actually
average, so I asked someone to bring me a French version. Let's compare the two and try it out."
Bei Wu smiled and said, "Secretary Zhou, let's not be overly modest. Is your current English level
considered average? Third in the country?"
Si Jiang nodded with a chuckle: "My aunt must be amazing. Anyway, all the English novels I read
were recommended by you. Being too modest is the same as being proud!"
Shanrang smiled and glared at Beiwu.
Since Beiwu went to the United States, Shanrang's teaching work was not very busy, so she
focused on English. At first, she wanted to understand more English economics works and not fall
behind Beiwu. Later, because her English ability was as good as her professional ability, she was
often borrowed by other departments to translate professional papers and materials. Because
more and more overseas scholars visited Peking University, she was often borrowed to do on-site
translation. Although Shanrang did not graduate from the English department, she grew up
watching internal documentaries in the military compound. She has always liked English and has
studied it by herself for many years. When the college entrance examination was resumed, she
successfully entered Peking University with a full score in English. Before accompanying Beiwu to
go abroad, she practiced hard again. She had no problem with British pronunciation, American
pronunciation, and even Eastern European and Southeast Asian accents. The most important
thing is that Shanrang resolutely refused to charge the simultaneous interpretation fee of 200
yuan a day. She was also humble and honest, always saying that she was the one who got the
advantage, not only got the opportunity to practice, but also got free tickets to various lectures
and conferences. No one wanted to let an honest and kind person suffer a loss, so all kinds of
securities flew into Shanrang's desk drawer like snowflakes, and every department was thinking
about her as to the intangible benefits, and she was indispensable.
"You never stop learning," Shanrang said, not really feeling modest. "There is still a big gap
between me and those who majored in English."
It was the first time that Si Jiang heard about the job of simultaneous interpretation, so he asked
a few more questions, also as a way to learn about his future university life in advance. Shan Rang
patiently answered his questions, inadvertently opening a door for Si Jiang.
The end of every road is neither success nor failure, but an experience that cannot be replicated.
From Shanrang's experience, Si Jiang has a deeper understanding of his uncle's words. The ideal
is still the same ideal, and there may be a thousand ways to achieve it. The current "detour" may
not necessarily be a detour.
Jingsheng, however, showed great interest in the content of the book: "I think it's a bit ridiculous
that he said that people from the barbaric tribes of Asia would eat the hearts of their opponents.
It's like the level of "Story Club". But I think the part about education and mob makes sense. The
word mob is quite interesting."
"Do you think the word 'qunmang' is appropriate?" Shanrang asked with a smile, "I didn't invent
this word. The ancients used it as 'qunmang antisu, shiwen zaiyu'."
Bei Wu said in approval: "It's appropriate, very appropriate. We are a bunch of hooligans. If we
were in Wanchun Street, people would think our Gu family is a bunch of hooligans."
"Oh, it will be dawn if we keep chatting. Go to bed quickly. If you can't get enough sleep, you will
have to go to Tiananmen Square." Shanrang glared at the "old rogue" and urged Si Jiang and
Jingsheng to go to bed.
Si Jiang looked out the window. It was already dawning. His first night in Beijing had passed by in
a daze.

Chapter 270
When Zhao Youning returned to Kangjiaqiao, Zhao Yan was home alone.
An unhappy marriage destroys people fairly equally, regardless of gender. Zhao Yan was
tormented by Jia Qingqing and everything went wrong. Although the school restored his
qualification to supervise graduate students, the "rehabilitation" to dispel rumors was so weak
that it could be almost ignored. The girls kept their distance from him, and the newly recruited
male graduate students had already begun to regret taking advantage of the opportunity and
entering the wrong school.
Zhao Yan was both expected and a little surprised that Zhao Youning was so outstanding. He was
very proud and a little disappointed. This was of course because he was not only Zhao Youning's
father, but also Wu Xi's ex-husband. He and Wu Xi had been arguing for more than ten years, and
finally pushed his son to the path of a scientist instead of the obviously hopeless path of a
musician. Now the facts have proved that he was right. What was unexpected was that Zhao
Youning walked much more smoothly and further on the path of a scientist than he had
imagined, especially after he married Jia Qingqing. He did not make any contribution to his son's
education, and this regret could not be made up.
Looking back, Zhao Yan suspected that he was possessed by a demon and was bewitched by Jia
Qingqing. Whenever anyone mentioned Jia Qingqing, he couldn't help but complain like Xianglin
Sao: Who would have thought that she was so scheming! Deliberately cheating on marriage!
Bringing a family of uneducated robbers who were only interested in cheating money! After
finishing the accusation, he turned around and felt extremely ashamed. He felt that he was
completely different from the original Zhao Yan. He had no self-restraint and decency, and he
seemed to care a lot about that little money. That little money was not really "a little". In total, Jia
Qingqing took away more than 20,000 yuan of foreign money from him. The specific number
could not be said, so he couldn't help but feel a little more unwilling to swallow his anger.
Wu Xi remarried in Austria last year. He heard about it from Zhao Youning on the phone. He only
knew that the man was Austrian, in the timber business, and five years younger than Wu Xi. He
asked what the man was like, and Zhao Youning said indifferently that he looked good in the
photo. Zhao Yan smiled and said that was good. Of course, he was not shy in his heart, and felt
that his son was implying that he had chosen Jia Qingqing. In this regard, he lost to Wu Xi, and
lost very badly. In addition, from the early 1980s to the present, the craze for going abroad has
been getting hotter and hotter, and the indisputable fact that Wu Xi became a boss's wife in
Austria has also added a lot of pressure to Zhao Yan.
"Ah?" Zhao Youning was stunned after hearing Zhao Yan's idea, "You want to go to the United
States with me?"
"I'm not going with you," Zhao Yan corrected him with a smile, "I'm going to study with you."
"You are only eighteen years old. Studying for a master's degree is different from studying for an
undergraduate degree. The United States and Beijing are also completely different. Dad will
accompany you and take care of you. I have visited H University several times and am a
researcher there. Look--" Zhao Yan smiled and took out a certificate.
Zhao Youning lowered his eyes and looked at it: "Associate, Dad, your certificate expires in five
years. It has expired."
Zhao Yan blushed: "It's okay, it's very convenient to apply."
"What about that guy?" Zhao Youning raised his eyes, "Are you divorced?"
"Not yet," Zhao Yan said in a somewhat embarrassed tone, "I had already sued her in court in
May, but she made up some medical records, saying that she had contracted hepatitis A and was
driven out by her family and suffered a lot, leaving her with many sequelae. If I insist on a
divorce, I will be abandoning her——"
"Hepatitis A is an acute, self-limited liver disease. Once antibodies are produced, the patient will
be immune for life. Hundreds of thousands of people in Shanghai have contracted hepatitis A,
and I have never heard of any sequelae." Zhao Youning's voice was so cold that it seemed to keep
people at a distance.
"Don't you want your dad to go with you?" Zhao Yan asked disappointedly.
"Well, I don't want to." Zhao Youning frowned and refused cleanly, "Dad, I will return to China
after I finish my doctorate. I will not stay in the United States, I will not become an American, and
I will not take you to the United States."
Zhao Yan was a little embarrassed: "Of course your mother and I have never thought about it this
way."
Zhao Youning asked back: "Are you having a hard time at school?"
"That's not the case," Zhao Yan avoided his son's scrutinizing and even penetrating gaze, "I have
several friends who run companies in the United States and have been persuading me to develop
in the United States—"
"Persuading a Chinese professor to go to the United States to engage in business development?"
Zhao Youning stood up disappointedly, picked up his bag and prepared to go out.
"Youning?"
"Dad, you weren't like this before." Youning held the door handle and lowered his head.
"Youning, Dad——"
In the end, Zhao Youning said nothing, closed the door gently, and went downstairs.
Kangjiaqiao Lane has not changed much in the past few years. Like hundreds of other alleys in
Shanghai, the sky is cut into different sizes of blue by the flags of all nations. In the corners that
are not facing the sun, spider plants, asparagus ferns and mosses blend into a blurred green
boundary. There are honeycomb coal stoves, pliers, a clean toilet, double-locked bicycles, small
stools, rattan chairs and lounge chairs, all squeezed into snail shells for a ritual.
"Ningning is back?"
"Hello, grandma."
"Ningning is leaving again?"
"Well, goodbye, uncle."
——
Zhao Youning entered Wanchun Street and found that the cultural center had become a local
specialty exhibition hall. Businessmen from Zhejiang went deep into the residential area to sell
dried fish, various salted fish, dried bamboo shoots, black fungus, day lily, and many other
strange and bizarre small commodities. Two big red balloons were tied with nylon ropes at the
door, and under the balloons were two banners that read "Foreign trade commodities are on sale
at special prices". The female salesperson with permed hair and lipstick lazily raised the sky blue
leaflet in her hand to him. The tape recorder was playing the song "Snowflakes are fluttering and
the north wind is whistling, the sky and the earth are vast, a cut of winter plum blossoms stands
proudly in the snow, just for the fragrance of the lover", which was completely out of place at the
scene. It probably helped to cool down a little.
Because of the trade fair, there were two more cold drink trucks at the entrance. Zhao Youning
bought five medium cream ice blocks and turned into Lane 63. The sadness caused by his father
was diluted by the smell of seafood in the air. Thinking of Si Nan's always energetic and cheerful
appearance, Zhao Youning raised the vest bag in his hand and couldn't help but curl up his lips. If
he told her, she would probably say a bunch of insulting words like a machine gun. Although it
was his father, he felt quite happy just thinking about it.
"Chen Sinan, can you lift it? Do you need help?" Zhao Youning looked up and shouted with a
smile.
Sinan was trying his best to lift the clothesline, but when he looked down, he immediately
screamed, "Yes, yes, yes, come up and help me quickly. Did you buy a cold drink? I want to eat an
ice brick!"
Zhao Youning picked up the vest bag.
"Zanger! Come on."
There were many typhoons this summer, and the sun finally came out. Grandma Gu asked Gu
Dongwen to move the cotton mattresses out to dry early in the morning. It was even more
difficult to put them away on the clothesline. After putting away the four cotton mattresses, Zhao
Youning was sweating.
"Why are you alone at home?"
"Oh, my sister and eldest cousin went to Beijing, Si Hao is at my mother's house, my uncle is at
Huating Road, and my grandmother went to recruit new believers." Si Nan tore open the
packaging of the ice brick in a few seconds, turned around and turned the electric fan to the
highest speed, let out a long breath happily, and took a big bite. A circle of white beard appeared
on his mouth. He smiled with satisfaction and gave Zhao Youning a thumbs up.
"Your sister went to Beijing?" Zhao Youning was stunned, and the gift he had just taken out
paused in mid-air.
"Well, my mom did something bad. She changed my sister's major and got her into the English
Department of H Normal University. She had a high fever and was hospitalized for three days.
Then she went to Beijing to relax with my eldest cousin. What is this?"
Sinan reached out and picked up the gift bag, then quickly put it back, wiping his wet, sticky
fingers on his sweatshirt.
"For my sister?"
Zhao Youning blushed: "Well - you all have them. This is for you, this is for Jingsheng, and this is
for Sihao. Your sister must be very sad, right?" He lowered his head and took out each item from
his bag.
"Well, of course I'm sad, otherwise why would I be in the hospital? Can I see this gift?"
"Sure, take care of her. Is she feeling better?"
"Okay, don't worry, my cousin is here. Then I'll open it and take a look."
"Look." Youning felt lost.
Chen Sihao's gift was a double-layer color-changing Autobot pencil case, Jingsheng's gift was an
adjustable mini desk lamp, Sinan's gift was a snowflake crystal ball, and Sijiang's gift was an
English book, which was obviously read before.
"What's this?"
"This is A Brief History of Time written by physicist Stephen Hawking." Zhao Youning said with a
smile, "Coincidentally, this book was published on your birthday this year. April 1st is also called
April Fools' Day in foreign countries."
"I'm not a fool!" protested Sinan.
"April Fools' Day in foreign countries is a holiday for playing pranks on people. Even newspapers
and television will publish some fake news."
"Cheating? I'm good at that."
Zhao Youning couldn't help laughing and nodded in agreement.
"Can my sister understand an English book on physics?" Sinan expressed doubt.
"Of course you can understand it. My mother can understand it, and ordinary people can
understand it. This book was sent to me by my mother from abroad. It is very interesting. Really,
quantum cosmology is a self-sufficient theory. Do you know about black holes? He proved the
area theorem of black holes and pioneered gravitational thermodynamics--" When talking about
physics, Zhao Youning was beaming with joy.
"Wait! I, an ordinary person, can't understand what you are saying at all. Are you speaking
Mandarin?"
Zhao Youning was stunned.
"But I understand that you like my sister." Sinan took a big bite of ice cream, winked at him
mischievously, and made a face.
"How did you know this?" Zhao Youning scratched his head uncomfortably. People who study
science never deny facts, and this is not something shameful enough to be denied.
"You like this book so much, and you gave it to my sister. Isn't it obvious? And it's about physics.
Don't you know my sister hates physics the most?" Sinan shook his head: "Tsk tsk tsk, but all the
boys in the world like my sister, it's not surprising."
Sinan pointed to a pile of things on the chest of drawers and said, "You are the seventh boy to
give her a gift this summer."
Zhao Youning couldn't help but take a few more glances at the pile of things.
"Food, cards, love letters, movie tickets, everything. There are also books, but they are very
popular romance novels." Sinan smiled and patted his shoulder: "You are the eighth person who
doesn't know how to give gifts. At least there are seven people at the bottom of the list before
you. It doesn't matter."
Zhao Youning had known about Si Jiang's popularity since elementary school. When Si Nan
suddenly revealed his thoughts, he did not feel embarrassed but relieved. The probability of
liking or disliking is always 50%, whether the denominator is 8 or 80 is meaningless.
"You guys are so weird when it comes to giving gifts." Sinan collapsed onto the sofa and finished
the rest of the ice brick in a few bites. It was so cold that she was shivering.
"Is it strange?" Zhao Youning asked Si Nan humbly, "What gift does Si Jiang want to receive the
most?"
"US visa, admission letter from the Journalism Department of Fudan University?" Sinan raised his
arm, and the blue and white ice brick wrapping paper flew towards the trash can beside the gate.
With a snap, snowflakes splashed on the ground.
"Shit! I actually missed!"
"What's the meaning of 'fuck'?" Zhao Youning rushed to pick up the trash for her.
"What does that mean?" Sinan poured some water on the rag, squatted down to wipe the floor,
and suddenly had an idea. "You said I would open a class to teach boys how to choose gifts for
their girlfriends. Would you like to come and learn for ten yuan a class?"
"This - can you do it?"
"Is there anything I can't do?" Sinan swung the rag in his hand on the floor with a snapping
sound, protesting against Zhao Youning's suspicion.
"Ten dollars isn't expensive, but you can't just ask people to pay for it. You have to have real
ingredients."
Sinan rolled his eyes and said, "Of course, I can't just rely on my sister to make money. She only
has eight fat sheep in her hands - hehe."
Zhao Youning raised his hand and asked her to eat a chestnut: "Hey, what am I?"
"Zhao Youning!" Si Nan almost smeared the dirty rag on Zhao Youning's face, "Since you look
okay, I'll forgive you this time."
You Ning was also surprised: "You are old now? Didn't you always call me brother before?"
"Gu Jingsheng, Chen Sijiang, Zhao Youning. Okay, now the three of you are equal." Sinan
announced seriously, "Because I have grown up, do you understand?"
"Okay, whatever you want, as long as you're happy." You Ning was not bothered by the name and
thought of another thing.
"I actually prepared a big gift for you."
"Hey, give it to me." Sinan stretched out his hand.
Looking at the thick stack of test papers and materials in his hands, Sinan silently raised his head
and looked at Zhao Youning.
Zhao Youning boasted with a smile: "I'm not good at liberal arts, this is a summary of science
knowledge points and question types from the first to the third year of high school. The last one
is a summary of difficult questions and competition questions."
"Depend on!"

Chapter 271
In order to repay this extremely generous gift, Sinan decided to make Zhao Youning "bleed a
little".
There aren't many places to "bleed" in Wanchun Street. From the Cultural Station to the south to
the elementary school, there are coal briquette shops, pharmacies, grain stores, oil stores, barber
shops, and waste stations on the 100-meter-long road. It's convenient for the public, but it's not
convenient for Chen Sinan. To the north of the Cultural Station, there's only a tobacco and paper
shop and a soy milk shop. The tobacco and paper shop does have various bulk snacks such as
peach cakes and hawthorns, but this can't get rid of Chen Sinan's resentment.
The two walked to the gate of Xigong under the scorching sun. Zhao Youning found that
compared with Kangjiaqiao Lane and Wanchun Street, which had not changed much, Xigong was
completely transformed. Under the new pointed-roof Western-style building in Chiguali, a cheap
snack shop opened. Business was still very good at three or four o'clock in the afternoon. He
didn't eat lunch, and he couldn't help swallowing his saliva when he smelled the smoke of
noodles, wontons, and shredded radish mixed together.
Si Nan knew the hunger from the smell of saliva, so he pushed the door open and went in. He
ordered a table of wontons, steamed buns, curry buns, pork chop noodles, and tofu pudding.
This dim sum shop had one advantage: it did not require food coupons, only cash. One big ticket
would only give him a few coins in return.
"You still have such a good appetite, why are you still so thin?" Zhao Youning wondered as he
scalded his chopsticks and soup spoon.
"I'm naturally beautiful and it's hard for me to gain weight. There's nothing I can do about it."
Sinan poured two small dishes of vinegar and boasted without any modesty.
Youning laughed.
"Eh? When you went back to Kangjiaqiao, your father didn't even give you food to eat," Sinan
asked himself without waiting for Youning to answer, "Are you angry again? Is your stepmother
still hanging around?"
Before all the snacks were served, Sinan had already finished a scolding that was as long as an
essay. It was well-reasoned and reasonable, and could be called an excellent manifesto.
The remaining blockage in Youning's heart was also cleared away.
"I'm sorry, are you angry when I scolded your father and your stepmother?" Sinan asked
belatedly.
"not angry."
"Then you are more ruthless than me."
"Why?"
"Although my dad is not on the road, I will still jump up if someone scolds him. I am the only one
who can scold him." Sinan ate one steamed dumpling at a time and cried out in pain from the
scalding soup.
Youning smiled and stood up to buy her a bottle of ice cola.
Sinan raised the glass bottle towards him: "Congratulations on your breakup."
The pork chop on Youning's chopsticks almost fell back into the bowl of noodles: "Eh? It's not lost
yet?"
"I gave my eldest cousin to my sister, and my sister will definitely be with my eldest cousin. Don't
even think about it, it's impossible."
"Are you saying that Jingsheng and Sijiang are dating?" Youning was a little dazed. In a flash,
many past events emerged in his mind, and they all seemed to match. He was certain in his heart,
but he still didn't believe it. "Jingsheng told you? Or did your sister tell you?"
The question was a bit cruel, and Zhao Youning had a premonition that no matter whether the
answer was the former or the latter, it would be met with a barrage of criticism.
"Nonsense, I can see it with my butt!" Sinan raised his eyebrows: "Even my brother can see it."
You Ning was stunned for a moment, the more he thought about it, the more depressed he
became. He was hit by thousands of arrows, but they were all bare-shaft arrows, without steel
arrowheads that could draw blood. They felt dull, and it wasn't even painful. He had felt real pain
just now at Kangjia Bridge, which was completely different from now.
"Oh, my heart is broken, but the two of them are traveling in Beijing, they must be having a
blast." Sinan corrected sourly, "You don't even ask me to give in. It's useless whether I give in or
not. Anyway, my eldest cousin is partial to the Leaning Tower in Songjiang, and he only has eyes
for my sister."
She raised the glass bottle in her hand again: "We are both lovers who have lost their love in the
world. We must eat dumplings when we meet. Give me the money. I will buy four more
dumplings, two vegetables and two meat. Can you help me share them?"
Youning came back to his senses and looked at Sinan carefully: "You don't look heartbroken at
all."
Sinan rolled his eyes at him and said, "Don't bully me because I'm younger than you and think I
don't know anything. I've been praying to the Buddha and God since third grade to let me marry
my cousin. Are you as hardworking as I am?"
Zhao Youning felt inferior to him.
"When did you start liking my sister? In elementary school? Did you have bad ideas when you
were in Kaohsiung? So you asked us to go to Longhua to catch crayfish? And you even took the
initiative to help her with physics, algebra and geometry?" After Si Nan said this, she suddenly
felt that Zhao Youning was much more miserable than her, and she smiled happily.
Zhao Youning couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. How could there be a clear boundary for
this kind of hazy joy? It was nothing more than a quantitative change leading to a qualitative
change. A pretty girl with good grades must be particularly outstanding. He was used to seeing
her in his eyes and keeping her in his heart since he was a child. He certainly didn't dare to have
any bad thoughts. He just thought of her often, hoping that everything would go smoothly for
her, and that he would be decent in front of her.
——
After eating and drinking, the two men watched people rowing by the lake. There was a young
couple who didn't know how to row, and the boat kept spinning in the water. Circles of ripples
spread out on the water, gradually becoming lighter and lighter. The two men started arguing,
and the oars made splashes on the lake.
"Stupid." Sinan sneered and shook his head.
Zhao Youning's mind was still on Gu Jingsheng and Chen Sijiang, but she brought him back to his
senses with just one word. In front of him, there was the blue sky, white clouds and turquoise
water of the lake. The word "broken heart" seemed to have faded away a lot. It was more like
loss than broken heart.
"Um—are you sad?" Zhao Youning regretted asking, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
Si Nan was stunned for a moment, then realized what he was asking. He sighed and propped
himself up on the ground with his arms behind his back, "I've been sad for a long time. I've cried,
I've made a fuss, I've scolded, the sky wants to rain, my mother wants to get married, and my
cousin wants to like someone else. There's nothing I can do."
"You - had a fight with your sister?" You Ning was shocked by the direction of this Qiong Yao TV
series.
Si Nan rolled his eyes at him and said, "Why am I arguing with my sister? She didn't force my
cousin to like her with a knife. I just argued with my cousin a few times, but he ignored me."
As soon as he said the last sentence, grievance and sadness flooded over him. Sinan felt ashamed
and simply buried his face in his knees.
Zhao Youning saw her shoulders trembling slightly, hesitated for a moment, reached out and
gently patted Sinan on the back: "How about I treat you to some tangyuan later? Buy four meat
ones, all are yours."
Sinan burst into laughter and slapped him away: "You're so annoying, I'm going to be sad for a
while." Having said that, he was too embarrassed to shed tears anymore.
Zhao Youning pulled out two dogtail grasses and folded them in his hands, sighing softly, feeling
indescribably melancholy. Compared to Si Nan, his "joy" for Si Jiang seemed shallow, never down
to earth, light and airy, so his sadness was also limited. Or maybe it was because he chose
physics, thinking about the universe and nature, all man-made unhappiness became insignificant.
But although that kind of unhappiness disappeared on the surface, there was still an invisible
"force" radiating outward.
"I've made up my mind. I'm not going to get married or have children in this lifetime." Sinan
announced firmly.
Zhao Youning was stunned: "Is it really that serious?"
Sinan sighed: "My good friend thinks the same. We agreed to go to the same high school, get into
the same university, work in the same unit, live together, eat together, travel together, and grow
old together. What is a man? Humph. There is not a single good man in the world."
"You seem a little too extreme," Zhao Youning carefully counseled the little sister, "You are only
fourteen years old now. When you are twenty-four or thirty-four, your thoughts will definitely be
different. People change. Think about what you were thinking when you were four years old."
Sinan thought about it seriously and said, "You have a point, but Tang Huan and I have other
reasons for making this decision."
"Tang Huan is your good friend?"
"Well, I gave her the test you gave me, and we both did pretty well on the test. By the way, she
also said she wanted to thank you very much and treat you to a movie and ice cream coffee."
Zhao Youning laughed and said, "Okay, let's go together. Then, will you still pretend when you are
in high school? Wouldn't it be good to be a hardworking and diligent student? Why do you have
to study secretly behind others' backs?"
Sinan raised his eyebrows: "Well, how does that make me look so powerful?!"
Zhao Youning saw that her face clearly said "Are you stupid?" and he couldn't help but laugh so
hard that he fell forward and backward.
Sinan blushed for a rare moment and snatched the dogtail grass from his hand: "If you want to
pretend, you have to pretend like a genius. There are many benefits. You don't understand."
"Okay, but if I go to the United States, what should I do if you call me in the middle of the night to
ask questions and I might be in class?" Zhao Youning thought far ahead for Sinan.
Sinan was much more practical than him: "Huh? Do you think I'm stupid? My phone can't make
calls to the United States! Even if I could, I wouldn't do it. International long-distance calls are so
expensive!"
Zhao Youning scratched his hair and said, "That's true."
"Call me. I answer the phone for free," Sinan said with a smile as he made clear arrangements for
Zhao Youning. "How about this, every Friday at 4pm Shanghai time, you call my house and I'll ask
all the questions at once. Saturdays are not allowed. If my eldest cousin and my sister don't have
classes and go home early, we'll be caught."
Zhao Youning agreed readily and admired Sinan's thoughtfulness.
Sinan snapped his fingers and whistled proudly: "They saw that I was just fooling around at home
and didn't even take notes in class. They were so anxious that they secretly discussed it for
several days, but they didn't dare to tell me directly because they were afraid that I would lose
my temper. Hahaha, it was so funny, but when the test scores came out, wow, I was convinced.
My sister said that I was the smartest in our family, very close to a genius."
Zhao Youning silently sympathized with Jingsheng and Si Jiang: "Do you really have to work so
hard for the sake of face?" No wonder they eat so much but are still so thin.
"Of course it's worth it! Face is the most important thing!" Sinan held his head high and
announced his life motto.
Zhao Youning thought about it for a moment and gently reminded him, "There will be a gap
between ordinary junior high school and key high school in the city. I have encountered this
before. I also felt this way when I entered university. There are so many top scorers in each
province, and they are all very good. If you find it difficult, it doesn't matter if you work harder.
Don't think you are not good enough—"
"It's not that I can't do it. If I'm struggling, it means you're not a good teacher," Sinan made a
face.
Zhao Youning began to silently recall the question types he had sorted out, feeling a little
stressed.

Chapter 272
Si Jiang had a very good impression of Beijing. It was a city very different from Shanghai, strange,
messy, and full of contradictory attractions.
During the few days I have been in Beijing, no matter when or where, the uncles and brothers
talk about everything as if they were talking about the people and things around them. In the
mouths of Beijingers, world events and national events are as common as the things in the
workplace and the things in the alley. The Seoul Olympics are about to start, Chiang Kai-shek on
the other side of the strait is gone, the Hainan Special Economic Zone has been established, the
supertanker was sunk by Iraq, the railway began to recruit workers, and Van Basten scored a goal
with a zero-angle volley.
In just two or three days, Si Jiang and Jing Sheng were familiar with all the hot topics of the
people in the capital. Housing reform was naturally ranked first. "Relying on the state to build
houses, relying on organizations to distribute houses, and relying on units to provide houses" had
been implemented for decades. Once the policy announced that land ownership could be
transferred according to law, people with ideas and money began to think about it. Many
Beijingers in the hutongs were discussing raising funds to build houses. The old landlord of
Dongjiaominxiang, where Beiwu and Shanrang used to live, called to ask Shanrang if he wanted
to participate.
"We sincerely welcome Teacher Zhou to join us. Teacher Zhou, please discuss this with Xiao Gu
and give it serious consideration."
"Yes, the street office will come forward, and all the formalities will be complete. Just build two
buildings, with about 100 households, all of whom are old acquaintances. They can move in in
two years, and water, electricity, coal, and heating will all be in place."
"Well, this is different from the public housing allocated by the company. You can get two
certificates. It's a private house. Believe me, the house prices in Beijing will definitely increase in
the future. It's the capital, and people all over the country look up to the capital. Isn't that right?"
"For two-bedroom apartments, each family pays 100,000 yuan, and for three-bedroom
apartments, 150,000 yuan. After completion, the more money will be refunded and the less
money will be paid. Let me tell you something. My nephew's company is building commercial
housing. Your Xiao Gu must know about commercial housing. It will be available for sale next
year. They want to sell it for 1,600 yuan per square meter. Ours is a good deal. It only costs a little
over 1,000 yuan."
"Okay, can you please let me know by the end of the month? Of course, there are so many
people who want to participate, we can't just let them in casually, right? We need to know their
background. Meng Mu even moved three times. We have to think about the next generation,
right? The neighbors should at least be cultured, knowledgeable and educated, so that we can
feel at ease living here in the future."
Shanrang thanked him repeatedly, and after dinner he smiled and said to Beiwu that after ten
years of hard work, he finally got the recognition of the people of the capital, and he deserved a
banner of a good citizen. Sijiang was shocked by the figures of 100,000 and 150,000, but when he
thought about the fact that Jingsheng had a deposit of 3,000 before he even started working, it
didn't seem like a big deal. Beiwu was reminded by this incident, and called Wanchun Street to
ask Gu Dongwen to take the new land certificate he had obtained a few years ago to apply for the
house ownership certificate.
Old Mrs. Zhou thought that private housing was not reliable, but the old revolutionary was
pragmatic, so she carefully asked what the concept of commercial housing was, how it was
different from private housing before liberation, and whether the risks were great. Beiwu and
Shanrang, both graduates of the Department of Economics, tried to explain it to the old lady in
easy-to-understand terms, and Sijiang and Jingsheng also attended a class.
"Economic development follows certain rules. Although our country is currently a planned
economy, it is already transitioning towards a market economy," Beiwu said with a smile. "Of
course, the term market economy is very sensitive now and cannot be mentioned outside, but
marketization is certainly unstoppable. We will most likely experience what developed capitalist
countries have experienced, such as allowing or even encouraging private purchases of houses
and ownership of property rights. Foreign banks will also provide loans. For example, if we want
to buy a house worth 100,000 yuan and you only have 10,000 yuan, the bank will lend you
90,000 yuan and you can buy it and move in first. The bank will charge you an additional 70,000
to 80,000 yuan in interest—"
Old Mrs. Zhou and Si Jiang shouted in unison: "So much interest?!"
Jingsheng blurted out: "Like the rural credit cooperatives? Many factories in Zhejiang will take out
loans."
Shan Rang smiled and nodded: "Yes, the rural credit cooperatives were originally spun off from
the Agricultural Bank of China. In fact, during the Qing Dynasty, money houses were closely
connected with industry and commerce."
Si Jiang shook his head: "I can't bear to do that. I borrowed 90,000 and had to pay back 160,000
or 70,000. I'm out of my mind."
Kitatake couldn't help laughing: "Only if you are willing to spend can you have the motivation to
earn money."
Old Mrs. Zhou also shook her head: "The bank is too heartless. This is not serving the people, this
is taking people's lives. Don't borrow from the bank. I will lend it to you without paying a penny in
interest!"
Shan Rang smiled and hugged his mother's arm and shook it: "How can that be possible? You
have to charge me at least 40,000 or 50,000 yuan in interest."
"Why do I need interest? I'm not short of money. You have too much money to spend, right?" Old
Mrs. Zhou frowned and slapped Shan Rang. "Don't borrow money from others. We, the older
generation, have more than enough to support you. It's nothing, understand?"
"Mom is so nice to me." Shanrang smiled and complimented the old lady.
Si Jiang thought of his mother and felt inexplicably melancholy.
From commercial housing to finance to stocks to inflation, Mrs. Zhou didn't take it seriously.
"These are nothing new. The Kuomintang did them before liberation and made a mess of them.
You who study theory should be careful and not be too superstitious about Western experience
and laws. You should take it easy."
Bei Wu nodded: "Mom, what you said makes sense. Old people are more experienced. The
General Office of the Central Committee should invite you older generation to serve as
consultants."
"Well, you are talking nonsense with your eyes closed. I still have self-knowledge. The country
still needs young people like you. You Peking University and Tsinghua University are the pillars of
the country." The old lady waved her hand. "Jingsheng, you can go to Jiaotong University or
Shanghai University. The universities in Shanghai are also the best--"
In order to prevent the old lady from starting a political study class, Shan Rang quickly stuffed Gu
Hutou into her arms and pushed the grandparents and grandchildren into the room to prepare
for bed.
——
As soon as Shanrang walked out of the room, he saw Beiwu Jingsheng and Si Jiang had changed
their clothes consciously, and he smiled.
"Shh, Hu Tou just fell asleep, let's go, hurry up."
The four of them excitedly rushed to the large dining hall next to the Peking University cafeteria.
The dining hall is famous, not because of the weekend dances, after all, there are not many
beauties from Beijing Film Academy, Beijing Dance Academy, and Central Academy of Chinese
Drama at the dances, but because of the foreign movies that are often shown in the dining hall.
In the past, Beijing Wushu Academy watched a lot of movies for free by hand-painted movie
tickets. Ten years later, the dining hall has become a must-visit place for young literary people in
the capital. "Sissi", "Zorro", "The Wild Geese", "Water Lily", etc. are all old dubbed films or
internal reference films, which make young college students in their teens eager to watch them.
The American movie "Love Story" was being replayed that day.
"This movie was filmed at H University," Shanrang actually watched it with Beiwu last semester,
and this time he bought tickets specifically for Jingsheng and Sijiang. "The theme song 'Love
Story' is very nice. It won the Oscar for Best Original Score in 1971. I love it so much."
Kitau whistled.
"Ah, it's this song," Si Jiang exclaimed, "It was played all the time at the party."
Beiwu and Shanrang looked at each other with a smile, then walked ahead hand in hand.
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng hurried to catch up.
"They are so nice," Si Jiang approached Jingsheng, "Hey, isn't my uncle very handsome and
romantic?"
After being looked at by Si Jiangduo, Jingsheng also played the melody of the song.
"You can do it too?!" Si Jiang smiled and said, "Brother, you are also handsome and very
romantic."
The melody in Jingsheng's mouth immediately went out of tune.
"Hahaha, you don't deserve praise." Si Jiang smiled with his eyes curved.
When Si Jiang arrived at the entrance of the dining hall, she realized that although it was summer
vacation, there were a lot of people rushing to watch the movie, most of them were boys. As
soon as the door opened, the crowd rushed in like crazy, as if they would miss the movie if they
entered later. After being pushed in a few meters, Si Jiang was squeezed into the air before she
could even move her legs. Fortunately, Jingsheng grabbed her in time and carried her into the
venue with his chest pressed against her back.
After landing on the ground, Si Jiang's legs were still weak. He held Jingsheng's hand and patted
his chest: "It's terrible. I almost lost my life just for watching a movie!"
Jingsheng looked at her: "It's quite romantic."
Si Jiang: “???”
Jingsheng looked away and quickly found Beiwu and Shanrang, the last group of people who
came in steadily, and waved to them.
Although the movie is old, it has Chinese dubbing, which makes it easier for the audience to
immerse themselves in it. After the movie, Si Jiang came out with swollen eyes: "Ah, my aunt-in-
law is so mean, I cried to death."
"Tragedy is the most beautiful." Shanrang turned around and explained in the crowd.
Si Jiang agreed with this.
——
The four of them walked out and met an acquaintance who came to say hello on the way. It
turned out to be a junior girl in the law department who did not go home for the summer
vacation.
"We are short of one person. Can Teacher Zhou come?"
"No, I'll spar with you guys some other time," Shan Rang asked with a smile, "Are you going to
play in the dormitory or at Xiao Hu's house?"
"At Xiao Hu's house, and at Teacher Da Lin's house, Xiao Xiao Lin. Did Teacher Zhou take the
family to see a movie?"
"Yes, Love Story is playing today. Why don't you go watch it?"
"I've watched it twice. Once in the dining hall, and Teacher Zhu also showed it to us once in class.
Oliver got his lawyer's license, so he has some connection with our class."
Si Jiang listened to their conversation for ten minutes and was very curious: "Is she studying
law?"
"Yes, I majored in economic law."
"She asked you to play mahjong?" Si Jiang was shocked.
Shanrang laughed: "Yes, I can barely be considered a half-baked Ma faction. Your uncle is a
Trotskyist."
Beiwu smiled and put his arm around her shoulders: "Leader, please don't create conflicts among
the people."
This was the first time that Sijiang got to know the true face of Peking University, and he was
shocked. The Trotskyists were those who took the TOEFL, and most of them were science
students. It turned out that most of the students who were good at English at Peking University
were science students, and they all wanted to go abroad. The Mahjongists were those who
played Mahjong. Chen Sijiang, who graduated from a key city middle school with a strict
academic atmosphere, found it incredible.
"That's probably why I've always wanted you to come to Peking University," Shanrang said
proudly. "A university should be a place that tolerates everything. Different ideas, different
lifestyles, and different life choices can all coexist here. They can adapt, collide, and argue. But
more importantly, tolerance is the key. Among the current Peking University students, there are
those like your uncle who get up at five in the morning to memorize English, those who get full
marks in every subject, those who like to play mahjong, those who like mountain climbing,
dancing, and even those who fall in love all day long. But it doesn't matter. Everyone can take
care of what they like, and then share and learn from each other. This is a microcosm of a healthy
social order."
"Respect, understanding, tolerance, and coexistence." Beiwu Youran added, his eyes sparkling in
the night.
Shanrang pointed to the sculpture in the central flowerbed and said, "This DS sculpture, Mr.
Democracy and Mr. Science, symbolizes democracy and science going global. It was donated by
alumni of the class of 1982. It cost 30,000 yuan. The leaders of the school at all levels strongly
supported it. In the end, the flowerbeds around it were rebuilt for this sculpture, and the General
Affairs Department spent 150,000 yuan."
Si Jiang and Jingsheng walked around the sculpture, praising it.
"Eighteen-year-old college students can fall in love." Beiwu suddenly said with a smile.

Chapter 273
Facing Beiwu and Shanrang, Si Jiang said frankly: "The future is still uncertain, how can I have the
heart to date? Besides, dating is always tiring. It hurts bones and tears all the time. It's scary."
After saying this, thinking of Wang Lu, Si Jiang couldn't help but glance at Jingsheng with
emotion. Then he changed his mind and wondered how the girl that the brother liked was doing
now. It's a pity, so pitiful.
Jingsheng was puzzled by her meaningful look.
Shan Rang said with a smile: "When there are flowers to be picked, pick them immediately, don't
wait until there are no flowers left to pluck empty branches. If there is one you like, don't just sit
there and wait, you should take the initiative."
When Jingsheng heard this, his heart began to pound wildly and a hot sweat rushed from his
back to his head. He secretly observed Shanrang and Beiwu and felt that they should not have
noticed anything.
"Yes, if I hadn't run into Zhou Shanrang every morning when I went out for a run and memorized
English, I wouldn't even know where little Gu Hutou was." Bei Wu tucked Shanrang's hand into
his elbow, smiled and said thank you.
"It's because some people just won't wake up," Shan Rang smiled and winked at Si Jiang, "I
chased him every day in the cafeteria, library, and stadium. I lost ten pounds in one semester. I
didn't hurt any bones, but I was full of fighting spirit."
Si Jiang snatched Shan Rang from his uncle's hands and said, "Aunt, you are amazing, simply
great. My uncle is so lucky. Your university is so romantic."
Jingsheng interrupted leisurely: "Didn't Tang Zenian always meet you by chance in the past? That
was great. Do you feel lucky? Romantic?"
Huh? Si Jiang rolled his eyes at Jingsheng angrily: "Brother, you are the most annoying!" So
infuriating and annoying.
Beiwu and Shanrang exchanged a tacit look and tried hard to suppress their laughter.
Shan Rang thoughtfully added: "That's right, when two people are in love, it's called romance,
and when two people are in love, it's called entanglement."
Bei Wu nodded: "The one in front is called a gangster, and the one in the back is called a rogue."
This time even Jingsheng couldn't help laughing out loud.
Four people took a walk on the Peking University campus at night. When they arrived at Yannan
Park, there were several small gray buildings that were inconspicuous. Beiwu sighed: "I
remember that Mr. Zhu Guangqian liked to take a walk on this path in the past."
"The Psychology of Tragedy, The Psychology of Literature and Art, and The History of Western
Aesthetics!" Si Jiang's eyes lit up.
"There are also Feng Youlan, Wang Li, Chen Daisun, and many other academic masters who lived
in Yannan Garden," Shanrang lowered his voice. "It is said that Chen and Zhou Peiyuan fell in love
with the same girl, but the girl chose Zhou, and Chen ended up being lonely for the rest of his
life."
Si Jiang unexpectedly heard Taidou's love gossip, took a breath of cold air, and pestered Beiwu
and Shan to tell him more.
"Mr. Lu Zhuoming, who taught the International Economic Geography course, was also a very
good teacher. He was an audiophile and liked to take us home in groups to listen to Beethoven's
Symphony No. 5," Beiwu recalled with a smile.
"Let me tell you something funny. Our school has a lot of lectures and performances. Most
people who come to perform will first flatter the Peking University students. Last time the
symphony orchestra came to perform, the students applauded very enthusiastically, but they
applauded in the wrong place. Teacher Li Delun was so angry that he scolded everyone on the
spot. Hahahaha." Shanrang knew all the funny and embarrassing things that happened on
campus in recent years.
The four of them returned to Changchun Garden chatting and laughing. Beiwu was in high spirits
and opened a few bottles of Yanjing beer. He looked through the refrigerator but found nothing
to eat.
Jingsheng used local ingredients and fried some peanuts, shredded green peppers and fried three
eggs.
When Shanrang came out of the shower, he saw that the three of them were already eating and
drinking on the sofa.
"Ah, Jingsheng, our quality of life has improved dramatically since you came. We are having
midnight snacks now. If you don't apply to Peking University, your uncle and I will be the ones
who suffer the most." Shanrang joked, "You will be a sophomore soon. If you have a girl you like,
you have to hurry up. If you keep it in your heart, no one will be responsible."
Jingsheng's face turned red and he felt a little guilty. He raised his hand and finished the
remaining half glass of wine.
Bei Wu raised his glass to Si Jiang and said, "I'll say it again. My daughter has grown up. She's
eighteen years old now. She's an adult and can date. Who doesn't allow you to date? Let her
come to me."
Shan Rang quickly followed up: "But you must pay attention to your physiological safety, Si Jiang,
have you read all the magazines I gave you?"
Si Jiang blushed: "Aunt! Uncle!"
Jingsheng stood up and ran to the bathroom.
Beiwu pressed his lips with a fist and tried to hold back his laughter: "Ahem, you are all adults,
why are you embarrassed to talk about adult topics? Don't high schools have health classes?
Protecting yourself is not something to be ashamed of. You can fall in love, but you can't kill
someone, you have to know this. Our country's education in this area is not very good, and it is
easy to go wrong."
Shan Rang smiled and pinched him: "Okay, I will find time to talk to Si Jiang in private. Look at
you, you scared Jingsheng away. Jingsheng - Jingsheng, don't be afraid, your uncle is a gangster."
Jingsheng washed the sweat from his palms again and again in the bathroom, and splashed water
on his face a few times. He raised his head, and the boy in the mirror was no longer as immature
as before. The lines of his facial features tended to be gentle and smooth. Because of drinking,
the person in the mirror had a gleam in his eyes, with a little red at the end of his eyes. The peach
pink swept directly into his temples and spread to his cheekbones. His heartbeat was strong and
powerful, like thunder in the sound of splashing water. The dreams he had had in the past and
the thoughts he had in the past washed ashore from the silent seabed with foam.
He was 100% sure, and Beiwu and Shanrang could see it. He regarded their words as tangible
encouragement, and was very excited and uneasy about it. Could he say the words that he had
tried so hard to suppress on the National Day a few years ago? Jingsheng was unsure. If he was
rejected by Si Jiang, he didn't know what he would do. In fact, he could do nothing. He was no
different from Tang Zenian, Zhao Youning, Zhou Jiaming, Ren Xinyou and Yuping, the other boys
who liked Si Jiang. He was even more likely to be rejected. Si Jiang had always regarded him as
her closest brother. Once she knew that her "brother" had improper thoughts about her——
Jing Sheng suddenly put his face to the faucet and let the water wash over him. He couldn't
imagine that Si Jiang would look at him with disgust and fear, and she might even compare him
with Zhou Zhiyuan...
——
Si Jiang outside shook his head like a rattle: "No, let's finish college first."
Shan Rang laughed so hard that he fell backwards: "Well, if anyone likes you, it will be miserable."
Jingsheng returned to his seat and heard this, and couldn't help asking: "Why?"
"I remember that there were many boys who liked Si Jiang in the past. Si Jiang always seemed to
say that she would study hard and get into college first. Now that she's admitted to college, she
said she'd talk about it after finishing college. She'll definitely talk about it after finishing her
master's degree, her doctorate, or after she starts working..." Shan Rang teased Si Jiang.
Si Jiang smiled and asked, "Isn't this good? Aunt, you have been waiting for uncle for many years,
right? Why don't you date other people?"
Shanrang's face turned red, and he smiled and slapped Beiwu: "It's all your fault that I became an
older woman. My mother was so worried before."
Beiwu said meaningfully: "Once the standards are raised, it is very difficult to lower them."
Shan Rang nodded with a smile: "Si Jiang, what are your standards? Please tell me in detail and I
will give you some reference. The Xiao Tang that Jingsheng mentioned sounds good too. Which
university did he get into?"
"Fudan Journalism Department." Si Jiang sighed, feeling that it was a bit of a coincidence of fate.
Jingsheng stroked the wine glass and lowered his eyes.
Bei Wu filled a glass for Si Jiang and Jing Sheng: "How is Zhao Youning? I think Xiao Zhao is quite
good. He is very good-looking and will definitely achieve great academic success in the future. He
has been to our house several times, right?"
Si Jiang was stunned: "Zhao Youning? He was my elementary school classmate! What's the
difference? He has always only communicated with Si Nan. We haven't spoken a few words or
seen each other in the past few years. Hey, does he come here often?"
"I've been here three times," Shan Rang thought for a moment, "It's really rare for someone your
age to be so outstanding, so calm, and so kind."
Si Jiang waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, no, I am not worthy of him. It is absolutely
impossible for him and I to be together."
"Why are you not worthy?" Jingsheng's tone sank and his eyebrows raised.
Shan Rang opened her eyes wide. What was going on? She couldn't understand.
Si Jiang thought about it seriously: "Maybe it's because I have been suppressed by Zhao Youning
since the first grade. I used to think that it was because of my bad luck and carelessness, but later
I found that it was a qualitative difference. Every time I see him, I feel quite pressured. Alas, when
I see him, I feel that I am not good enough and need to work harder. Of course, he is a very good
boy and has a good relationship with us, but it is definitely impossible to have that kind of
relationship. Brother, you understand?"
Jingsheng turned his face away and hummed.
Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief: "You are more experienced than me, you must understand."
Now even Beiwu couldn't understand. What was going on with Jingsheng? Was there a romantic
debt outside?
That night, Si Jiang was dizzy after two glasses of wine. She listened to Shan Rang's private
conversation in the middle of the night. She hid under the quilt, feeling shy and embarrassed, but
couldn't help wanting to hear more. She had no idea how she fell asleep.
——
In the morning, Si Jiang woke up from a dream, covered with a towel, gnashing her teeth, kicking
her legs and pinching her flesh. She was done. How could she have such a dream again? She
didn't care about her face. It must be because her aunt-in-law described it in too much detail. In
high school, there was indeed a physiology class. Boys and girls took it separately. They watched
the video in the lecture hall. When the screen lit up, the teacher disappeared automatically. It
was said to be a physiology and hygiene video, but it looked more like a pre-marital physical
examination. There were no specific details. Everyone pretended to be relaxed and held their
breath to stare at the screen. A man and a woman snuggled together, and then, nothing
happened. The girls laughed at the subtitles "Thank you for watching". As for the names and
locations of the various parts of the male and female sexual organs, the rough picture on the
page of the book looked more like a map of acupuncture points in traditional Chinese medicine.
Everyone tacitly pretended not to see it and turned the page as if nothing had happened.
As a person with a rich imagination, any description would bring up a picture in his mind. After a
long time of self-reflection, Si Jiang felt guilty and went out to wash up.
Beiwu went to work early in the morning, and Shanrang and her grandmother took Gu Nian to
get vaccinated. Jingsheng left a note saying that he was going to Peking University for a run, and
asked Sijiang to eat breakfast by himself.
Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, silently said sorry to Jingsheng and the girl Jingsheng liked in her
heart, and slapped her face to remind herself. After she finished her meal, she washed the dishes
and hung the clothes in the washing machine. Just as she picked up a book to read, Jingsheng
came back. Fortunately, Si Jiang no longer thought about the messy and colorful dreams at night,
and felt much more comfortable. After Jingsheng finished his meal, the two of them took the
map and set off to the tourist attractions.

Chapter 274
Without Shanrang and Hutou, the two of them took a detour, but luckily Beijing had a subway, so
they could take the subway from Lama Temple to Qianmen without being exposed to the sun and
the speed was amazing, so they didn't waste much time. Si Jiang was very envious of this,
because the capital was the capital, and it had a subway in 1969, but it was still unknown when
Shanghai would have a subway.
Qianmen Street was bustling with people, completely different from Nanjing Road and Huaihai
Road. Most of the shops had red letters on a white background saying "Guarantee Supply" at the
door, probably to prevent panic buying. There was a stall selling Guoguang apples at the door of
the Silk Shop, 35 cents per pound. An old lady was picking and choosing while complaining about
how the price had risen so much since it was only 15 cents per pound a few years ago.
Jingsheng thought the apples were good, so he picked four to eat in the afternoon. The boss
rolled his eyes at him and said, "You're from the South? You're from Shanghai? Who would buy
only four apples? Ugh!"
Si Jiang got angry when he heard this, and pulled Jingsheng away with a stern face: "What kind of
service attitude is this? I don't want to buy it, let's go."
Jingsheng held the apple with both hands, seemingly without using much force, and with a snap,
the apple split into two halves, with a very smooth cut surface.
"Sorry, I accidentally broke it," Jingsheng raised his eyes, "I'll pay for this apple."
Two tourists from the south gave Jingsheng a thumbs up and said, "Brother, you are great. This
boss is not a good person. He is just doing business. Customers are king. Just buy as many as you
want. Why are you talking so much nonsense? We in the south can buy anything for free. We can
buy soy sauce and old wine in small quantities of two or three ounces. Why can't we buy four
apples? We want four too. Will you sell them to us, boss?"
In the end, four apples were sold to Jingsheng, including the one that was broken. Jingsheng
rinsed the apples with boiled water from a kettle on the roadside, and he and Sijiang ate half
each.
"That boss is a bad person, but the apples are quite delicious. Does it hurt your hand when you
force the apple in half?" Si Jiang's eyes fell on Jingsheng's hands.
"It doesn't hurt." Jingsheng opened his palm and stretched his fingers.
Well, brother's hands are also very wickedly beautiful, wow.
"Fortunately, he didn't sell pears, otherwise I wouldn't eat them. It's unlucky to separate the
pears." Si Jiang picked up the apple and looked at it again and again.
"What's the big deal? When there's reunion, there's separation. What's unlucky about that?"
Jingsheng replied nonchalantly.
Si Jiang felt a little depressed when she heard this. Jingsheng glanced at her several times, but
she just pretended not to see it.
"Hey, what can I do?" Jingsheng bumped into Sijiang's shoulder.
"Nothing."
"Didn't I say this a long time ago? Our family will never be separated. We will always be
together." Jingsheng pointed to the front. "KFC, there are quite a lot of people lining up. Do you
want to eat?"
Si Jiang looked at Jingsheng and smiled: "Eat it! My aunt specially recommended it, it must be
delicious. Oh, we don't have it in Shanghai, we lost."
"It will be available sooner or later. When it's available in Shanghai, we can go and eat it
together."
"Okay, let's take Sinans with us." Si Jiang said excitedly.
"forget about it."
"Why?"
"I can't afford it. They both eat too much." Jingsheng squinted at Si Jiang, "Don't you know your
sister and brother's appetite?"
"Okay, you're done. Wait until I get back to tell Sinan." Si Jiang carefully looked at the price tag
through the glass window. "Hey, 7.3 yuan for a set meal, two pieces of original chicken, mashed
potatoes with chicken sauce, shredded salad, and small buns. It's so expensive! And they're
selling white wine?! Can we share a set meal between the two of us?"
Si Jiang turned his head and saw Jingsheng's expression, then smiled and blinked: "I'm afraid that
Agonongqie will go bankrupt."
Jingsheng thought for a moment and said, "Let's order a few more chicken nuggets and one set
meal to try their salad and mashed potatoes."
"It's definitely not as delicious as what you cook." Si Jiang quickly flattered him.
The fried chicken nuggets are crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside, and they
are really delicious.
Si Jiang looked at the customers around him and saw that many of them were putting their
fingers in their mouths and sucking on them, making a loud banging sound.
Jingsheng looked around and couldn't help laughing. He whispered sarcastically, "This hometown
chicken should hire Chen Sihao to advertise it."
Si Jiang deeply agreed. Chen Sihao had a special skill. Any food tasted doubly delicious in his
mouth. When a chicken leg was placed in front of him, he smiled even before he ate it. After he
put it in his mouth, he shook his head and squinted his eyes with satisfaction. After dropping the
bone, his chubby fingers took turns "popping" in his mouth, reluctant to leave. He looked so silly
and hundreds of times cuter than the customers in the store.
"Let me try it too." Si Jiang was eager to try. He glanced around to see if anyone was paying
attention to him. He lowered his head and put his greasy fingers into his mouth, just about to
take a big bite.
Jingsheng grabbed her hand and pulled it out, then took out a clean handkerchief, wrapped it
around her fingers and wiped them again and again.
"Hey--," Si Jiang pulled his hand back and smelled it. Only a slight smell of fried chicken was left. It
was wiped quite clean.
"It's ugly." Jingsheng lowered his head and stuffed the greasy handkerchief back into his trouser
pocket.
Si Jiang pouted and said "oh" unwillingly, feeling very regretful. When he looked up again, he saw
Jingsheng opposite him with a red face and wandering eyes.
"Brother?" Si Jiang waved his hand in front of Jingsheng.
Jingsheng grabbed her hand and pressed it onto the table: "Don't move."
The two looked at each other, and time stood still for two seconds. Si Jiang found himself
shamefully stunned.
Jingsheng immediately let go of Si Jiang's hand and lowered his head to pick up the packaging on
the plate.
Si Jiang withdrew his hand stiffly, placed it on his knees and twirled his fingers unconsciously, "I
am ill, seriously ill."
Jingsheng on the opposite side suddenly said, "Bring Sinans with you to try this, and it would be
best if you can bring Zhao Youning along."
"Eh?"
"He still owes us a meal," Jingsheng thought for a moment, "but this time Youning returns to
Shanghai, it will probably be a miserable situation. Chen Baopi will definitely not miss the
opportunity to blackmail him."
Thousands of miles away, Chen Sinan sneezed three times in a row in the cinema.
——
The two entered the Summer Palace at around 2pm. Young people were physically fit and didn't
feel tired after walking for three or four hours. Si Jiang was upset that he didn't have time to do
his homework. At the critical moment, he couldn't think of many ancient poems to respond to.
Facing Kunming Lake, he could only think of "Ten hectares of clear water open up the makeup
mirror, and the jade forest is blooming again."
After visiting many scenic spots, Si Jiang could understand where Beijingers got the confidence to
make decisions. These are the accumulation of history from generation to generation. The
mountains, the waters, the winding corridors, the green lakes and mountains, the Great Wall, the
Imperial Ancestral Temple, the Forbidden City, the Nine Gates, and even the names of alleys,
roads and bridges are all the sedimentation of history. How many people from all over the world
have come and gone, how many heroes who sacrificed their lives have gathered here, how many
rise and fall of nations have been witnessed, and how many rivers of blood have been shed. The
common people living under the imperial city see and hear the most vivid things, and it is difficult
not to participate in them.
Si Jiang talked to Jingsheng in a random manner about the similarities and differences between
Beijingers and Shanghainese.
"No one looks down on people from other places." Si Jiang said with a smile.
"You can't generalize. Do you look down on people from other places?" Jingsheng asked with a
smile.
"How could that be? I am the one who is looked down upon," Si Jiang laughed. "I should be
considered a mixed race of Ningbo and Yangzhou. Anyway, I am not a real Shanghainese. My
third mother used to always mention Little Su Bei——"
Jingsheng thought of himself and smiled without saying anything.
Si Jiang was sensitive to his words and said sorry in a low voice.
"It's okay," Jingsheng said with a smile, "When you were a kid, didn't you fight with the boys in
the alley for the nickname 'Little Xinjiang'? I heard that you were very powerful and never lost?"
"That's true. It's quite funny when I think about it now. Si Nan is better than me in this respect.
She doesn't care at all." Si Jiang thought for a while, "But she looks down on me in the same way.
People from Beijing and Shanghai are different. Maybe it's because they are from Beijing. One
look carries a warning, don't do anything weird, we are under the feet of the emperor. Hahaha."
Jingsheng added: "It feels like the old ladies can transform into police officers or cadres anytime
and anywhere, each with sharp eyes."
The two chattered along the way. Jingsheng counted the pillars and looked at the paintings on
the corridor while listening to Sijiang's various literary and artistic thoughts. He liked listening to
Sijiang talk about these things and watching her eyes sparkle. She was completely different from
other people, although he didn't know much about other people.
"Do you remember? When you were in your second year of high school, after reading Zhu
Guangqian's book, you gave a speech in Chinese class titled "The Tragedy of Chinese Aesthetics".
It was a good speech, but you were criticized." Jingsheng asked with a smile.
Si Jiang chuckled and nodded: "Yes, yes, before the speech, I thought that my manuscript was
well written. Really, I went to the library to look up a lot of information and used the movie "Red
Skirts Popular on the Street" as an example. In the end, Teacher Gao criticized it as worthless. I
was so angry that I even doubted myself."
"You wrote very well, and he probably felt offended. Maybe he felt that the decline of the
national aesthetic you mentioned also included him," Jingsheng thought of the fine plaid fake
collar that Teacher Gao wore every autumn and winter, and laughed again. "Yu Ping in your class
said that he didn't understand what you said at all, and gave you such a low score, which proves
that your argument is completely correct. You don't understand beauty and are even afraid of
beauty."
Si Jiang smiled so hard that his eyes curved. Suddenly he paused: "Hey, brother, how did you
know? I told you when I got home? Why don't I remember? I usually don't talk about
embarrassing things--"
Jingsheng patted the pillar and said, "How much did you count just now? I forgot it after taking a
break. Oops."
"Don't talk about other things. How did you know? Who told you? Zhang Leyi or Zeng Xin?" Si
Jiang pulled Jingsheng's shirt to stop him from leaving.
"It seems like I went to the district to participate in a competition that day, and took a look on the
way back." Jingsheng was dragged back two steps by her and had to confess half of it.
"On the way?" Si Jiang couldn't help but think more. How could it be on the way? Before she
could ask further, Jingsheng continued to count: "499, 500, 501..."
——
You must wait for the sunset at Kunming Lake. The area near the Bronze Bull on the east bank is
full of tourists, many of whom are wearing khaki photography vests and cruising around with
cannons in their hands.
Jingsheng and Sijiang walked along the lake to a place where there were not many people and sat
down, waiting to watch the beautiful sunset.
"A few days ago, I dreamed that I fell into Kunming Lake and was fished out by you with a head
full of water plants. Now I think it's not right. I should have come out with a lotus leaf or a lotus
flower on my head." Si Jiang sneered.
Jingsheng looked at her and smiled: "Nezha?"
"What Nezha!" Si Jiang gave him an elbow.
"When you were a child, you really fell into the river in Kobang, but there were no lotus flowers."
Jingsheng teased Si Jiang.
Si Jiang gave him another elbow hammer: "You pushed me on purpose and you still say that! You
deserve to be bitten by a turtle."
"It really hurts. I had to keep silent to save face when I was little." Jingsheng held up his finger.
"Look, there's still a mark."
"The glans has retracted into its body, but it's still biting you hard. It's both funny and scary." Si
Jiang smiled.
Jingsheng was startled, coughed dryly and barely suppressed his laughter, and said softly: "It's a
turtle, not a tortoise."
Si Jiang was stunned, and realized her mistake in a second, and her face immediately turned red
with embarrassment. Fortunately, Jingsheng snapped open another apple and handed her half.
The evening breeze blew gently, thousands of golden scales rippled, and the setting sun slowly
slid over the Seventeen-Arch Bridge and Nanhu Island, falling down the west mountain.
"Ancient emperors really knew how to enjoy themselves," Si Jiang sighed. "If I were an emperor, I
would definitely not be willing to live in the Forbidden City. It's too depressing. How beautiful it is
here."
"If you were the emperor, you would definitely make the eunuchs die of anxiety." Jingsheng said
in a low voice.
"Why?"
"You, the emperor, only think about studying and working all day long. The six courtyards in the
harem cannot give birth to children, and there is no one to inherit the country. Tsk tsk tsk."
Jingsheng imitated Beiwu and Sijiang's tone, "You are 18 years old, you can have a relationship.
No, wait until you finish college."
Si Jiang chuckled: "You're still talking about me? What about you?"
Jingsheng paused while biting the apple, silently looking at the half-moon of sunset behind the
western hills without responding.
Si Jiang noticed his disappointment, and his heart tightened. He quickly changed the subject:
"Hey, Beijingers are really rich. My parents have worked for decades, but they haven't saved
10,000 yuan, maybe even 5,000. The gap between the rich and the poor is too big."
Jingsheng thought it was quite normal: "There will be more and more rich people, and the rich
will get richer. But by the time we are in our 40s or 50s, we will definitely be able to save enough
money to buy our own house."
Si Jiang was shocked: "It's such a waste to spend so much money on a house?"
"What would you like to buy if I gave you 100,000 yuan?"
"Let's buy some books. First, buy a huge bookcase, and then buy lots and lots of books," Si Jiang
smiled and shook his head. "I really can't think of what to buy with so much money. It seems like
there's nothing to buy."
"Okay, then you buy books and I buy houses from now on." Jingsheng slowly unscrewed the
kettle and took a big sip of water.
"Why do you want to buy a house?" Si Jiangqi asked, "Don't you like your current home?"
Jingsheng was silent for a few seconds. He had known for so many years that Chen Sijiang was a
smart-looking guy with a stupid mind. He could make people angry when he got angry. He
glanced at her with disdain: "At least buy a new house with a bathroom and gas, otherwise when
it rains heavily, the house will be flooded and the outside will be flooded."
Si Jiang sighed sadly: "That's right, when you have a boyfriend, a girlfriend, and get married, they
will definitely think that the shantytown on Alawanchun Street is too shabby."
"Do you dislike it?" Jingsheng looked at the lake, his palms sweating, and he had a vague
premonition that his punches would hit cotton.
"Me? I'd be lying if I said I didn't mind," Si Jiang said, putting himself in her shoes. "When I was
little, I envied my third aunt when she first told me about her new public housing. I didn't have to
clean the toilet or go to the public toilet. The kitchen uses gas, and the house is open from north
to south. When I open the window, I won't see the shirtless old man across the street. If I had
lived in a public housing, a Shikumen, or an old Western-style house, I would definitely not be
willing to move to Wanchun Street. It's hard to go from luxury to frugality. It's not so bad now. No
place is worse than your own. Anyway, it's good to be together as a family. Besides, my aunt's and
my grandmother's are both good places. My grandmother's house is a separate house. It's called
a villa now, right?"
Jingsheng silently withdrew his gaze from her face.
Si Jiang secretly glanced at Jingsheng and saw that he was a little disappointed. She then carefully
thought about the conversation between the two just now. It seemed that something was not
right. She glanced again and her heart skipped a beat. She must have thought too much.
"I——" Jingsheng suddenly spoke.
"You——" Si Jiang blinked, "You speak first."
"You speak first." Jingsheng raised his chin.
Si Jiang coughed twice, smoothed his bangs and looked over: "Just, just want to ask casually, are
you still in touch with the girl you liked before?"
"Well, she just got admitted to university, but I don't know what she thinks now."
Si Jiang was startled: "She is also from our class?"
"Yeah." Jingsheng looked at Sijiang with a teasing smile in his eyes, "He's from your class."
Si Jiang was stunned, as if a bolt from the blue had hit her head. Her mind went through all 20
girls in the class like a revolving lantern, but she couldn't think of who was so lucky. Zhang Leyi?
Zeng Xin? Li Nan? She felt sour in her heart when she thought of each face. After a long while,
she pretended to be calm and forced a smile: "Eh? Why didn't you say it earlier? Otherwise, I
could help you get married, hehe." After that, she laughed again, not knowing what she was
saying.
"Who is it?"
"Forget it, don't tell me, don't tell me, she's a girl from our class, right? Let me guess."
"Number one Liu Yuting?"
Jingsheng shook his head.
"Number two Zhang Meng?"
Jingsheng shook his head again.
After calling out several names in succession, Si Jiang smiled nervously: "Number nine Zeng Xin?"
Jingsheng couldn't help but raised his eyebrows and asked back: "She is your good friend, right?"
Si Jiang stared at him blankly and nodded. It was August, the height of summer, but she felt like a
suspended sieve, with the wind blowing through her holes, chilling her heart, feeling wronged, so
wronged, why didn't Jingsheng tell her? She was sad, so sad, Si Jiang suddenly understood Li
Nan's feelings, and when she came to her senses, she was shocked by her own thoughts.
"Haha, how come I didn't notice it at all? Am I too stupid?"
Jingsheng also chuckled twice: "Yes, you are the only one who didn't see it, you are so stupid."
"You are so unsophisticated." Si Jiang scratched his eyes, not wanting Jingsheng to see anything.
"I tell you everything. Why didn't you tell me that you like my deskmate? She was admitted to a
foreign country——"
"Who likes your deskmate?" Jing laughed angrily.
"You, you said it yourself!" Si Jiang screamed, tears streaming down his face.

Chapter 275
"When did I say I liked her?" Jing Sheng asked anxiously.
"Just now! You said I was stupid and didn't realize it!" Si Jiang wiped his tears and tried to calm
his breathing and mood.
Jingsheng stared at her for a few seconds and urged her in a muffled voice, "Keep guessing."
Si Jiang's hand was still on his face: "What?"
"Didn't you guess number nine just now? Keep guessing," Jingsheng turned away, "Hurry up, the
park is about to close."
Tourists who had just finished enjoying the sunset walked by one after another. Si Jiang was
stunned for a moment before finally coming to his senses: "Don't you like Zeng Xin?"
"I don't like it." Jingsheng sighed.
Si Jiang shouted again without thinking: "But she is really good!"
Jingsheng turned around and stared at Si Jiang for a few seconds: "What does it have to do with
me whether she is okay or not? Forget it, let's go back."
Si Jiang tilted his head and watched Jingsheng stand up and leave, and quickly grabbed his
trouser leg: "Don't leave, I want to guess more."
Jingsheng took a step forward, held his trouser waist speechlessly and raised his eyebrows at Si
Jiang: "I'm not wearing a belt today!"
Si Jiang relaxed his strength and blinked: "Then guess three more times and we'll go?"
Jingsheng calmed down, and inexplicably felt flustered. He sat back next to her involuntarily:
"Three times."
"Is it number 10 Zhang Leyi? I don't think she looks like him. Is she?" Si Jiang looked at Jingsheng
cautiously, fearing that he would say something nonsense.
"no."
Number 11 was Si Jiang himself. In a flash, an idea came to Si Jiang's mind. He felt ashamed and
immediately cut off the thought in shame. He pretended to be calm and guessed the next
number: "Number 12, Mary?"
Jingsheng, who was also pretending to be calm and looking at the lake with sweat in his palms,
was stunned for a second, as if a bucket of ice water was poured over him. Then he thought that
his roundabout probing and hinting was ridiculous and shameful. Without waiting for her to
guess the last one, he stood up, picked up the bag, and threw the vest bag of apples over his
shoulder. The remaining two apples hit his shoulder blade, causing a sharp pain.
"Eh? Is that true, brother? Why don't you answer?" Si Jiang stretched out his hand, but pulled
nothing.
Jingsheng paused, tilted his head slightly, and laughed at himself: "Answer: No, no no, no no no,
no no no. Okay, let's go." After replying nine nos in one breath, he turned and left, walking very
fast, and in the blink of an eye he was lost in the crowd of tourists.
Si Jiang got up inexplicably: "Brother? Brother? Wait for me!" Jingsheng's shadow was nowhere
to be seen. She felt lost, but also relieved. Maybe he was just joking, or maybe she had touched
his sore spot by asking so many questions, or maybe? Si Jiang lowered her head, scratching her
toes nervously on the thin straps of her sandals, her heart skipped a beat, then two, then
another.
She dared not think about it anymore. Her heart was beating fast and chaotically, floating lightly.
Heat rushed out from the back of her head in all directions, turning into hot sweat on her back,
and buzzing in her head. From her shoulders to her arms, a layer of fine goose bumps appeared.
She stared blankly at the gray-purple sky at the foot of the West Mountain opposite, and
suddenly fell on her knees and hugged herself.
Don’t want to think about it, can’t think about it, shouldn’t think about it.
"Girl, don't lie there. The park is closed. Hurry up and get out."
Si Jiang raised her head and saw an old man wearing a red armband, smiling at her kindly, with a
folding fan stuck in his collar.
"Your boyfriend has been waiting for you out front for a long time, go quickly. Hey, you are such a
well-dressed girl, you are just waiting for your boyfriend to admit his mistake to you, but he still
refuses to admit his mistake when he sees you and breaks up with you immediately, it's really
tactless of him." The old man said cheerfully and walked over to shout.
"Thank you." Si Jiang half understood and half didn't, and didn't have time to explain to the old
man that Jingsheng was not his boyfriend. Looking ahead, a large number of tourists had gone far
away, and Jingsheng was standing on the side of the road, which was particularly eye-catching.
Si Jiang walked over awkwardly. The two of them were silent all the way. One was silently angry,
the other silently aggrieved. After leaving the Summer Palace, they got on and off the car one
after the other, with quite a tacit understanding. No one left the other behind, and no one
abandoned the other. The corners of their eyebrows and eyes were filled with the thoughts of
the three thousand one-man shows they had performed, acting out all the ups and downs, joys
and sorrows.
After getting off the bus, when crossing the traffic light, a motorcycle suddenly rushed onto the
sidewalk. Before Si Jiang could react, Jingsheng grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into his
arms, barely avoiding another fatal disaster. Yes, watching a movie is life-threatening, and
crossing the road is also life-threatening. The whistling sound of the wheels and the road pierced
Si Jiang's head and ears. Amid the crisp cursing in the Beijing dialect, the motorcycle rushed out
crookedly for more than ten meters and was stopped by several young people who rushed to
catch up. The driver just cursed and was hit by a brick and the motorcycle fell to the ground. The
crowd rushed up. There were people cursing, shouting for the police, and celebrating Si Jiang's
good luck. It was a mess.
Soon the traffic police arrived, and the attacker had long since disappeared. The motorcyclist left
in disgrace after being educated by the police. Si Jiang crossed the road, and then she realized
belatedly that there was a weight on her shoulders, which was neither light nor heavy. It turned
out that something as light as a feather and as heavy as a mountain could be used in the same
place. Her heart was pulled to a high place by an invisible line. When she made up her mind to
lower her eyes to take a look at the hand on her shoulder, Jingsheng quietly put down his arm,
paused behind her waist, and put it back into his trouser pocket: "Be careful."
His voice was calm, without any blame for not looking at the road carefully, nor any unnecessary
worry or concern.
Si Jiang lowered her head and said "hmm". She had never felt so clearly that she seemed to have
missed something.
——
It was already dark when they returned to Changchun Garden. Beiwu hadn't come back yet, so
Shanrang left some food for them.
"Are you tired?"
"Not bad." Si Jiang smiled and glanced at Jingsheng, who was riding a big horse with Gu Nian.
"I'm glad you're not tired. Let's go dancing after dinner." Shan Rang said in a low voice and
glanced at little Gu Nian warily.
"Still in the dining room?" Si Jiang hesitated for a moment, still feeling scared when he thought
about how he was almost trampled while watching a movie last night.
"No, the dances in our university are all drizzled. Tonight we will go to the Glass House of Kunlun
Hotel and take you two there to broaden your horizons." Shanrang smiled slyly.
"Want a ticket?"
"My friend who's in a band gave me some tickets. They're performing there tonight," Shanrang
looked at the clock on the wall. "Your uncle will meet us there. Jingsheng, give me the tiger head
and you can go over there to eat."
Jingsheng handed the tiger head to Old Lady Zhou and said, "I won't go."
"No, no, we agreed to go in and out together," Shanrang smiled and winked, "What if we both get
drunk? We still have to rely on you to know the way."
"Well, A'ge is the most reliable," Si Jiang told him about the time he was almost hit by a
motorcycle, and sighed, "I never thought Beijingers were so aggressive. They started fighting right
away, and they even carried bricks with them! It's incredible. In our Shanghai alleys, men can
quarrel for ten minutes without fighting. People like A'ge and Si Nan, who have fought before, are
not very popular with others."
Shan Rang laughed out loud: "Your uncle once said that in Shanghai, those who dare to fight will
become famous, but in Beijing, those who don't dare to fight will become famous. During the
fighting in the 1960s, your uncle and my second brother rushed to Beijing with courage and fled
back to Nanjing covered in blood, hahahaha."
Si Jiang exclaimed in surprise, and Jingsheng couldn't help laughing out loud.
Shan Rang blinked his eyes and said, "Shh, don't tell tales about me behind my back. Let me tell
you another interesting story. There was a classmate named Shi from the Class of 1983 in our
school. He lived on the 32nd floor. One day, when he was returning from a self-study class at the
library, he was blocked in his dormitory by a dozen Beijing thugs. They brought daggers,
machetes, steel bars, and bricks, saying that they came specifically to find him to destroy Shaolin
with bricks."
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng both found it unbelievable that a dozen hooligans rushed into the Peking
University dormitory with sharp weapons. It was scary but also inexplicably funny.
Shan Rangshi couldn't help but smile: "Fortunately, Shi didn't panic at the critical moment. He
pretended to be someone else and asked a few questions. It turned out that someone had a
bicycle collision with one of them in the triangle area and punched him. He reported Shi's title as
the president of the Peking University Wushu Association, and they came to seek revenge."
Si Jiang couldn't help laughing: "What happened next?"
"They turned hostility into friendship. They found all the eighteen kinds of weapons that Shi had
kept in his dormitory for martial arts practice and returned them to him. It turns out they have
more than a dozen thugs downstairs." Shan Rang couldn't help laughing. This anecdote was one
of the most famous in Peking University.
Si Jiang recalled that she had spoken out to Jingsheng in the Summer Palace, saying that
Beijingers were not brave enough. Jingsheng just smiled and said nothing. Maybe he was
laughing at her in his heart. She immediately blushed and took back her comments in front of
Shanrang. As she spoke, she glared at Jingsheng several times.
Jingsheng said leisurely, "You didn't say anything wrong. Isn't it written in history textbooks? It
took only three days for the Qing army to enter Beijing. The Eight-Nation Alliance of more than
10,000 soldiers broke into Beijing, which was said to have 150,000 regular Qing soldiers, in two
days. But they fought for more than five months at Niangzi Pass and more than 3,000 people
died. Oh, and the Japanese devils occupied Beijing and Tianjin in two days, and it took 800
warriors four days and four nights to capture the Sihang Warehouse."
Shanrang laughed out loud: "Why are you, Jingsheng, a science and engineering major, able to
cite historical materials so clearly?"
"Brother got full marks in the history exam!" Si Jiang said with a smile, but he felt very happy and
sweet in his heart.
Jingsheng blushed, but said, "There are often battle analyses in weapons magazines, including
wars involving cold weapons and hot weapons in ancient and modern times, both in China and
abroad."
Shan Rang sighed, "Every historical event does not happen in isolation. There are many factors
that determine success or failure. We cannot use group behavior as a standard to measure
individuals, nor can we use individual behavior to replace group behavior. History emphasizes
facts, but many historians record history with their own opinions. The history recorded by
different countries is also beneficial to their own countries. History written by the ruling class will
benefit the ruling class. So we would rather study economics, which is relatively much simpler
than politics, history, law, etc."
"Ah, aunt, you are now expounding a point of view from your perspective that sounds incredible
to me!" Si Jiang's eyes widened: "Economics, medicine, science and engineering are definitely
much more difficult than our liberal arts - well, this is also my personal prejudice -!"
"Pride and prejudice are everywhere." Shan Rang and Si Jiang said in unison, and all three of
them laughed.
After this "internal academic exchange", Si Jiang and Jingsheng seemed to have resumed their
usual way of getting along, and the scene of guessing student numbers in the Summer Palace
seemed to have never happened.
——
Raising funds to build houses made Si Jiang realize that in addition to the many officials in Beijing,
there were also many rich people. When he arrived at the Kunlun Hotel, Si Jiang discovered that
there were more fashionable people in Beijing. The young people in Beijing were flamboyant,
talking loudly, laughing loudly, dancing crazily, and drinking even crazier.
As soon as the band came on stage, Si Jiang was stunned.
"I used to ask you over and over again, when will you come with me, but you always laughed at
me for having nothing—" The familiar song echoed throughout the venue, and the last sentence
was ushered in a chorus.
There was jubilation in the audience, and countless young and passionate bodies began to sway.
Shan Rang's arm was hurt by Si Jiang's pinching, so she directly pried her hand apart and placed it
on Jing Sheng's arm: "Pinch this man as hard as you can, I'm afraid of the pain."
Si Jiang was completely unaware and shook Jing Sheng's arm: "Cui Jian! Cui Jian!"
Jingsheng didn't feel any pain at all. Every drum beat hit his heart, and the blood vessels under
Sijiang's fingers surged together. Yes, he also wanted to give her his pursuit and his freedom. At
this moment, in the boiling music, he didn't care whether he had nothing or not.
When Beiwu arrived, Jingsheng and Sijiang had already yelled until they were hoarse. During the
band's break, disco music sounded and the colorful laser balls spun around, making people dizzy.
Soon, more than a dozen acquaintances came one after another. Among those who came to say
hello and toast, there were several Tsinghua University students who played in rock bands. They
also did simultaneous interpretation when watching foreign movies. Si Jiang realized that his
aunt's "simultaneous interpretation" job actually involved this kind of killing chicken. He couldn't
help but be stunned again. After chatting for a few more sentences, it was very good. Those who
played in the band had never taken the college entrance examination. They were specially
recruited and won various awards. Fortunately, Si Jiang's little universe was relatively strong,
otherwise he would definitely be too inferior to speak.
"Sister, are you studying at the Central Academy of Drama or the Beijing Film Academy? Are you
from the Dance Academy? Don't be afraid when you get in, tell us the names of the brothers. If
anyone dares to bully you, we will show you how to beat him to death with bricks."
Si Jiang thought of Shan Rang's previous words about a brick breaking Shaolin, and couldn't help
but smile. As soon as she finished smiling, two handsome guys immediately squeezed in beside
her and directly pushed Jingsheng to the outer circle.
"Don't pay attention to him. He only knows how to hang out with girls all day long. He's not a
good guy. Let's put it this way. Just because of Brother Gu and Teacher Zhou, you can walk
sideways in any school. Don't pay attention to those scoundrels in your school. All the good men
are in Tsinghua. Sister, do you like modern poetry?"
Si Jiang blushed and didn't know how to respond. The enthusiasm of the people in Beijing
seemed to be particularly special...
Beiwu and Shanrang laughed loudly, and looked at Jingsheng with a bit of gloating.
Jingsheng was not idle either. He stood aside for less than two minutes before two girls came to
invite him to dance. Si Jiang took a sneak peek. Beijing girls are so cool. They wear tank tops,
expose their belly buttons, and are full of energy and confidence. Jingsheng lowered his head and
whispered something to one of the girls wearing a yellow tank top. The girl's earrings flashed
under the light, reflecting on Jingsheng's face, like two lightning bolts that made Si Jiang's head
swell. Soon, the girl laughed so hard that she leaned forward and backward. She raised her hand
and gently knocked Jingsheng's shoulder with a fist, and raised the bottle in her hand and clinked
it with Jingsheng's.
Si Jiang looked away, trying to concentrate on appreciating the eloquence of the Tsinghua
"brothers". After less than a minute of hard work, she was pushed into the dancing crowd. Si
Jiang turned around and saw her uncle and aunt waving at her with a smile, saying "Have fun".
Where was Jingsheng? Si Jiang didn't see him, maybe he went dancing with others.
The dance floor was packed with people, backs bumping against each other, hands touching
hands. It was completely different from the student dances Si Jiang had attended in high school.
It was full of hormones, mixed with the smell of alcohol and sweat, vulgar and barbaric, yet full of
the attraction of breaking taboos. Si Jiang vaguely remembered a sentence: music and dance are
another way to express sex.
Soon Si Jiang found that there were two more guardian gods around him. The two girls who had
just talked to Jingsheng twisted their buttocks and knocked the "brothers" from Tsinghua
University to pieces. The girl in the light yellow suspenders stood in front of Si Jiang and twisted
her body vividly. Gradually, Si Jiang, like the others, stepped back a few steps and formed a circle
to sway to the rhythm, smiling and watching the girl's wonderful personal performance.
"Your boyfriend really spent a lot of money. He bought us 20 bottles of wine and asked us to
protect the girl. Wow." Another girl poked Si Jiang with a smile.
Si Jiang looked at her blankly, but he quickly did some mental arithmetic in his head. A bottle of
beer here costs eight yuan, so twenty bottles would be one hundred and sixty yuan? ? ? It could
buy more than twenty KFC chicken meals!
The crowd cheered, and then some people lined up, twisting their bodies in pairs, screaming. Si
Jiang finally squeezed out of the crowd, sweating all over. Suddenly, the music stopped, and the
soothing piano music of "Love Story" sounded. The young men and women who were just
reveling in the venue suddenly became tender and held hands one by one and hooked their
waists.
Si Jiang turned around and looked at the dance floor, and found her uncle and aunt leaning
against each other in the corner. Well, it seemed that they just wanted to be happy, and brought
her and Jingsheng along as a burden.
"Sister, come on, let's dance."
A hand suddenly took Si Jiang's hand. Before Si Jiang could say no, he was embraced by the
"brother" who claimed to have beaten him to death with a brick.
"No, no, no, I don't want to jump." Si Jiang pushed him out with a red face.
"When a woman says no, she actually means yes. I understand." The boy smiled and lowered his
head, and his face quickly enlarged in front of Si Jiang.
A fist grew faster than his face and was directly placed between Si Jiang and the mouth that was
approaching.
Jingsheng rolled his fist and said, "Let her go."
"Who are you?"
"let go."
Si Jiang broke free from the boy's hand and hugged Jingsheng's arm: "Forget it, forget it, we all
know each other."
Beiwu and Shanrang walked back quickly. The boy smoothed his long hair and raised his chin:
"Give Brother Gu some face today. Take it easy, kid."
"These guys get into trouble when they see pretty girls after drinking a little bit of wine,"
Shanrang hugged Sijiang and asked, "I'm sorry, luckily Jingsheng is here, are you okay?"
Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief: "It's okay, he asked me to dance, I don't want to dance--"
"He wants to kiss you, not dance with you." Jingsheng suddenly said, stood up and walked out.
Si Jiang hesitated for a moment, Shan Rang looked at Jingsheng's back, Si Jiang nodded and
quickly chased after him.
The night wind was hot, Jingsheng leaned against the railing and took out a cigarette.
"Hello."
Jingsheng put the lighter and cigarette back, turned around, leaned on the railing with his
backhand, and looked at Si Jiang in silence.
"I didn't expect him to be like that—" Si Jiang wrung his hands and thanked him dryly, "Thank
you."
The light shone on her long eyelashes, flickering and making Jingsheng feel upset.
"Number 11." Jingsheng looked at the tip of Si Jiang's ear and heard his own voice overflowing
from his lips and teeth, penetrating into the air and spreading out at a speed of three hundred
and forty meters per second.
Si Jiangbi, who was 1.5 meters away, heard it 0.004 seconds later than Jingsheng himself.
Irrevocable.

Chapter 276
"No——" Si Jiang blurted out and lowered his head.
Time probably stopped for one or two seconds, Si Jiang couldn't be sure. Her mind was in a mess,
and she couldn't think of what word should follow this negative word. For the first time in her
life, she was at a loss for words.
It's not my student ID, right? Impossible? No way? No way? No way... No - could it really be me?
None of them fit. She was tongue-tied, pausing on the word "no", so much so that her hesitation
became emphasis.
The transmission speed of the human nervous system is about 100 meters per second, and the
reaction speed of ordinary people is generally around 300 milliseconds. This is scientific
knowledge that Si Jiang learned later, but the reaction speed of professional athletes can reach
150 milliseconds. Therefore, when she recalled that night, she understood why Jingsheng could
react before she had chosen the following words.
"It's okay." Jingsheng's voice was hurried, without any sense of frustration or embarrassment. He
turned around immediately after saying that. There was a river not far away, and the river water
was flowing quietly. He looked at the river, fumbled in his trouser pocket for several times before
he took out a cigarette, but he couldn't light it. There was a hissing sound, and then another, but
not even a flame came out, as if mocking his self-conceit and wishful thinking, but the cigarette
was already wrinkled and trembling between his fingers.
Si Jiang raised her head in panic, not knowing whether she should ask him if the "No. 11" was
what she thought it was, or if she should explain that the "no" she hadn't thought about in time
didn't really mean "no". But it certainly wasn't "yes". He was the elder brother and she was the
younger sister. She didn't know how they could be friends, or if they could be friends. She
couldn't get around this, as if there was a thick fog ahead, and she instinctively wanted to stay
where she was. At least every time she dreamed of Jingsheng, she felt deeply ashamed. She felt
that she was wrong, extremely wrong.
Jingsheng failed to light the cigarette in his hand after all. He crumpled the cigarette back into his
trouser pocket and turned around. Seeing Si Jiang looking at him with subtle shame and
embarrassment, and a little apologetic, he couldn't help but sneer.
"Go in." Jingsheng and Si Jiang passed by each other, and he even smiled at her.
Si Jiang couldn't call out "Brother" or "Gu Jingsheng". She stared at him disappearing into the
glass house. Inside was another world. The dance music that urged men and women to be close
to each other had ended long ago, and it turned into a lively group carnival. Si Jiang held her
breath and leaned on the railing. The railing behind her was warm. Maybe it was the reluctance
left by the scorching sun, or maybe it was the warmth of Jingsheng's grip just now. She was in a
state of confusion. At this time, a group of deer rushed in and beat their hearts in a disorderly
manner.
number 11.
Si Jiang had never found her high school student number so nice. She didn't like this number very
much. Shanghai people call walking on foot "bus No. 11". When writing it, two bare vertical bars
have no shape and it is difficult to write it beautifully. Her thoughts were wandering, and she
remembered every word about "the girl he liked" in the past, as well as her own conjectures and
persuasions. She turned around suddenly, grabbed the railing, and took a deep breath facing
Liangma River.
"Si Jiang?" Shan Rang patted her gently.
"Aunt?!"
"Eh? Why are you crying?" Shan Rang was startled. He hugged Si Jiang and patted her back
gently. "You were scared just now, weren't you? I'm sorry, I didn't arrange it well."
"No, no, it's not because of that." Si Jiang sobbed and wiped his tears.
Shanrang waited quietly for her to speak.
Si Jiang said nothing.
——
Si Jiang, who had finally fallen asleep after a sleepless night, did not dream again. When she
opened the door, she did not see Jingsheng. Shanrang smiled and said that Jingsheng had
become friends with those guys from Tsinghua University last night after drinking, and went to
Tsinghua University early in the morning, which gave the girls free time to go shopping in
Wangfujing.
Si Jiang was in a daze and uneasy the whole day. On the way back to Changchun Garden in the
evening, he imagined many scenarios of how to greet Jingsheng when he saw him. However,
Beiwu said that Jingsheng had already informed him in advance that he would stay in Tsinghua
for the next two days. They had scheduled two ball games, and the band had a performance and
he had to take him with them. Food, drinks and entertainment were provided, which saved
Beiwu from having to continue sleeping on the sofa.
Bei Wu smiled and shook his head: "This kid is quite good at mixing things up."
Shan Rang looked at Si Jiang who was distracted, sighed softly, and said nothing. Jing Sheng was
the most considerate child. In his heart, he was more sensitive and delicate than Si Jiang. The
braver the person, the more vulnerable he might be. There were many things that adults could
not intervene in. Whether it was sweet or bitter, they had to taste it themselves.
On the last night in Beijing, Jingsheng came back with a lot of bags, followed by three Tsinghua
brothers. Sijiang helped Shanrang greet the guests. Once Beijingers start talking, no one else can
do anything, just listen. At the end, the Tsinghua brothers praised Sijiang: "You don't look like a
Shanghainese at all, and neither does Jingsheng." Sijiang listened to the indescribable praise and
pulled the corners of his mouth. If it were Sinan, he would definitely reply immediately, "I am
from Xinjiang."
Finally, a neighbor knocked on the door and asked them to speak softly. Beiwu and Shanrang
drove them away without mercy. Jingsheng smiled and sent them out of the community. He
smoked two cigarettes on the roadside downstairs, and when he turned around, he didn't know
how long Si Jiang had been standing under the street light.
The two looked at each other silently for a moment across a street lamp.
"How can that be?" Jingsheng asked softly, but he unconsciously took out another cigarette and
lit it, "I'll smoke another cigarette and then go up."
Si Jiang's eyes fell on his fingers and he lowered his head. "Don't you want to see me?"
The cigarette butt burned Jingsheng.
"How could that be? I've been a bit busy these past two days."
Si Jiang kept silent.
The cigarette was soon finished, Jingsheng put it out, turned around and threw the cigarette butt
into the trash can beside him. The trash can was already full, and the top half of the watermelon
had been eaten up. The small half of the watermelon rind was glowing a faint bluish-white color
under the street light.
Turning back, seeing that Si Jiang remained silent and not leaving, Jingsheng had no choice but to
take out another cigarette.
"Don't smoke anymore." Si Jiang raised his head and added a sentence without waiting for
Jingsheng to respond, "I'm a little scared."
Jingsheng stuffed the cigarette back: "Are you scared? (What are you afraid of?)"
Suddenly, the sound of erhu came from somewhere, humming and humming, and I couldn't tell
whether it was a play or a song.
Si Jiang leaned against the lamp post and looked in the direction of the erhu music. He lowered
his head again and said, "I'm afraid you won't pay attention to me."
"No." Jingsheng sneered, "From childhood to adulthood, you are the only one who ignored me.
When did I ever ignore you? (You are the only one who ignored me. When did I ever ignore
you?)"
Si Jiang scratched the non-existent itch on his temples uncomfortably and asked in a low voice:
"Ge Mo Wai Ye (Why then?)"
It was a nonsensical question, but Jingsheng understood it immediately.
"No why."
Why did he like her? Jingsheng himself didn't know, he had never thought about it and he had no
choice.
"When did it start? (When did it start?)"
"I don't know." Jingsheng felt something vaguely in his heart. His feet worked better than his
brain. He took two steps closer to Si Jiang and saw the strands of hair on the top of her head. It
was very strange, both clear and hazy.
Seeing Jingsheng's shadow getting closer and closer, Si Jiang leaned back, her face burning with
pain: "I don't know if it's okay or not." Her voice was so soft that she was not sure whether
Jingsheng could hear it or not.
Jingsheng said nothing, but his figure covered Sijiang.
A shadow fell, and Si Jiang was panicking. She lifted her eyelids and saw Jingsheng's Adam's apple
and the blue stubble on his chin. She immediately lowered her eyelids, her heart almost jumping
out of her chest. She swallowed, closed her eyes and made up her mind: "How can this be called
talking to a friend? (What does it mean to be talking to a friend?)"
Jingsheng calmed down and made sure that he was not wrong.
"That's called talking about friends."
He took Si Jiang's hand and held it gently in his palm.
"We hold hands normally." Si Jiang's words are faster than his brain when things get critical.
Her hand was clenched and raised, and placed in a warm place. Through her shirt, she could see
a violently beating heart under her palm. It was obviously beating much faster than hers, and it
was very powerful. In an instant, Si Jiang remembered that Jingsheng, a national second-level
athlete, usually had a heart rate of 55, and the one she felt was probably doubled.
"Do you feel the same?" Jingsheng asked, trying not to laugh. There was a resonance in his chest,
which made Sijiang even more flustered. He tried to pull his hand out with fake eyes, but it didn't
come out. Instead, it was as if he had rubbed oil on Jingsheng's chest.
Jingsheng pressed her hand and moved it slowly upwards.
"What are you doing?" The higher Si Jiang's hand went, the lower her head drooped. She was too
embarrassed to even look at him. Her palm was getting farther and farther away from the
epicenter and touched Jingsheng's collarbone. Her fingers had no control over her and she
automatically pinched the depression above the collarbone.
Jingsheng's hand paused, and then he led her palm across the side of his neck. Si Jiang's thumb
slid across his Adam's apple, and she felt it rolling up and down, angular. She screamed in fright,
and then her fingers were pricked by the stubble, causing her to feel pain and itchiness.
Si Jiang raised her head and saw that her palm was holding Jingsheng's cheek. He slightly bent his
waist and tilted his head, and placed himself in her palm, with a smile on his face, looking like he
was acting like a spoiled child. It reminded me of the big orange cat on campus, who would also
put his face up to ask for a touch as long as he was given something to eat.
Si Jiang blushed, moved her fingers slightly, and lowered her eyes. She suddenly felt as if this
scene and this action had happened in a dream.
Jingsheng looked at her without blinking, feeling overjoyed but having to suppress it deep in his
heart. It was too difficult.
He gently brought her hand to his lips and kissed her palm softly.
"This is called dating, is it the same as usual? (This is called dating, is it the same as usual?)"
Half of Si Jiang's body felt numb, and Jingsheng's joking questions came from above his head.
Well, not at all.
——
Behind the curtains upstairs, Shanrang turned around excitedly and whispered, "Hey, hey, hey,
come and see, they're kissing, they're kissing!"
Bei Wu immediately dropped his book and rushed over, his brows twisted into knots: "Xx, don't
be so fast."
He looked down and said, "You call this a kiss?"
Shanrang gave him an elbow: "You don't understand! This is more romantic than kissing!"
Beiwu sighed, and now he was a little unhappy again.

Chapter 277
Half of Si Jiang's arm was numb. He didn't know if it was because of the electric shock from Jing
Sheng's light kiss or because the blood flowed backwards because he had held it up for too long.
His heart felt numb and swollen. He wanted to cry, but also wanted to laugh.
When dating, of course they would kiss each other, but as for the deep kiss in the movies that
made people embarrassed to look at it for a second, Si Jiang always felt that exchanging saliva
was a bit unhygienic. She had dreamed about it, but she had never thought that the first kiss she
received would be on the palm of her hand. What was so good about kissing the palm of the
hand? Si Jiang couldn't figure it out, but just thinking about it would make her imagine kissing
each other's faces and even lips and tongues. The blazing fire did not illuminate her, but burned
her, making her breathless and every pore trembling.
"Hey, that's it, all right..." Si Jiang moved his stiff fingers, and the five words turned into five
tones, up and down, and up again, sticky, and the ending tone floated up lightly, like a thread
picked up with a long bamboo stick after heating malt sugar, swaying and endless.
Jingsheng chuckled twice: "Not well yet." He kissed like a dragonfly touching the water, once,
twice, three, four times... Each kiss was like the last one, yet not the last one. The intervals in
between were also irregular, one, two, three, four seconds. The kisses made Si Jiang's heart beat
wildly without any thought, and he was so hot that he was out of breath. His palms were burned
twice by the breath from his nose and felt itchy.
"It's so annoying." Si Jiang pursed his lips and glared at Jingsheng, with a hint of sadness in his
eyes.
The little girl's Shanghainese gossip sounded coquettish, with a little hook at the end of the tone,
making it extremely coquettish.
Jingsheng squeezed her hand tightly, then smiled and gave her a stamp: "Dian Ning (person)."
After saying that, he lowered his head and gently bit her fingertips, then lowered his hand and
stroked it for her.
"Are you feeling better now?"
"Well, why are you biting me?" Si Jiang blushed and twisted his middle finger with his thumb,
feeling wet and extremely embarrassed.
Jingsheng looked at her seriously and asked, "Does it hurt?"
"Don't hurt," Si Jiang lowered his head and broke free from his hand. He crossed his hands and
rubbed them over and over uncomfortably. He was afraid that he would misunderstand that he
disliked being bitten by him, so he simply crossed his fingers and placed them in front of him with
his palms touching. Now, the palm and fingers of his other hand were also indirectly kissed by
him. Although he was embarrassed, he smiled sweetly, "Why did you kiss me? You can only
blame me."
"Because I haven't brushed my teeth yet," Jingsheng put his hand under her nose, "There's a
smell of cigarette smoke, and also in my mouth."
Si Jiang sniffed it subconsciously: "It's okay, not bad."
Jingsheng's hand stopped in mid-air for a few seconds before he retracted it. He lowered his head
and looked at her with a sullen smile: "It's not good to kiss other places without brushing your
teeth. I'm afraid you will think it's unhygienic. (It's not good to kiss other places without brushing
your teeth. I'm afraid you will think it's unhygienic.)"
Si Jiang then realized the meaning of not brushing teeth belatedly. His face flushed and he gently
kicked Jing Sheng: "You hooligan."
Shanrang, who was peeping at the little girl's affair upstairs, turned around and shouted, "Hey,
hey, hey, Si Jiang kicked Jingsheng."
Beiwu, who had just picked up the book and read less than two lines, ran to the window again:
"Did you have a big fight? Jingsheng, please don't come and bother me." There was a hint of
gloating in his words.
Shan Rang chuckled and rolled his eyes at him: "Beating is love, scolding is care, if love is not
enough, kick it. You are out of date again."
Beiwu opened his mouth and bit her shoulder: "What is this?"
Shan Rang pinched him in pain and said, "Beast!"
"See what's so good about them." Bei Wu pulled her over and acted like a gentleman and a villain
at the same time.
——
The study door was closed and the room was quiet.
Si Jiang stood in front of the sink squeezing toothpaste. He glanced at Jing Sheng who was leaning
against the door and asked softly, "What are you doing?"
"Look at you brushing your teeth."
The toothpaste gurgled, and a long strip came out and fell into the basin with a plop.
Jingsheng burst out laughing and asked back, "What are you doing?"
Si Jiang blushed as she glanced at Jingsheng in the mirror: "You're so annoying." She turned on
the faucet and reached out to wipe the toothpaste off. There was some green paste left on the
edge, and she couldn't scrape it off after several attempts, which made her upset.
"Go away, don't look at it, there's nothing good about brushing teeth."
"Why did you keep staring at me while I was brushing my teeth when I was so little?" Jingsheng
asked with a curious look in his eyes.
"Who is staring at you? Shame on you." Si Jiang splashed a few drops of water on Jingsheng's
face, and put his wet hands on his arms to push him out: "Don't look at me, get out, get out,
don't let your uncle and aunt see you and gossip about you."
Jingsheng went out, but his words remained in the bathroom.
"If you go out, you'll spend less time together for a few minutes."
Si Jiang's mouth was full of white foam, and he brushed his teeth vigorously, as if this would cool
down the heat on his face. Jingsheng was a man of few words but sharp tongue, and he often
made her jump up and down since she was a child. She ignored him probably because he made
her lose face by saying something. I didn't expect that he could be so sharp when it comes to love
words, like a poisonous mosquito, one word made a hole, and soon a circle of graves appeared,
itchy but couldn't be scratched, the more he scratched, the more itchy it became.
When someone is not in front of you, you can only think about him. This must be Huan Xi Yi. Si
Jiang rubbed her face in front of the mirror, trying to suppress the corners of her mouth so as not
to look so happy. She didn't look in the mirror when she washed her face in the morning, but she
couldn't help looking in the mirror again and again at night. The girl in the mirror was
undoubtedly beautiful, with a red face and bright eyes, but when you look closely, she doesn't
look like her. Si Jiang was not sure whether she was a little silly downstairs just now. She couldn't
help but think of Jing Sheng's words. Where would she kiss after brushing her teeth and washing
her face? Anyway, she would not kiss his chin. It was prickly even though there was no visible
beard.
As soon as the bathroom door opened, Jingsheng, who was leaning against the wall, raised his
head. His face was red, his eyes were bright, and he couldn't suppress a smile.
"It's your turn." Si Jiang quickly turned his eyes away and ran into the room without looking
around.
At around 2 a.m., Si Jiang curled up in distress and slapped his head. It was over. He couldn't
sleep the past two days because he was unhappy. He kept thinking about his worries. Today, he
couldn't sleep even though he was happy. He kept thinking about his worries. Which is harder,
dating or not? Jingsheng, who was tossing and turning on his small bed in the study, had the
same worry.
——
If possible, Si Jiang hopes to stay in Beijing.
On the morning of departure, from the teasing smiles in his uncle and aunt's eyes and a few
sudden words of love motto, Si Jiang knew that they agreed, approved and even encouraged him.
Should I get the consent of others besides myself if I like someone? In the past, Si Jiang would
have thought it was ridiculous. But when I really started to like someone, the anxiety in my heart
far outweighed the love.
"Let's not let other people know about Alag's affairs for now, okay?" On the plane back to
Shanghai, Si Jiang discussed with Jingsheng in a panic.
Jingsheng raised his eyebrows: "Why?"
"No reason," Si Jiang glanced at Jingsheng and bit his nails several times, "It's just that it's not
good to do it. People will gossip about it. My mom—— (I just think it's not good. People will
gossip about it. My mom——)"
As soon as the words came out, Si Jiang felt that what he said was not very sensible, as if
Jingsheng was not worthy of being seen.
"You are my brother." She sighed.
"Yeah." Jingsheng looked at his knees and agreed.
"Don't be angry." Si Jiang came closer and begged for mercy.
Jingsheng opened his palms and looked up at her.
Si Jiang's face turned red, he looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to them,
so he put his hand in his palm.
"I'll go to your school to find you," Jingsheng asked, "Is that okay?"
"Okay," Si Jiang pursed his lips and smiled, "I will also go to your school to find you."
"Okay," Jingsheng's mouth curled up, "Don't be my brother."
"Yeah." Si Jiang smiled and looked out the window. The white clouds in the sky were like cotton
candy, soft and sweet.
"It's a male friend." Jingsheng's fingers gently drew a line in Si Jiang's palm, a dot, a line, and
another line.
"Yeah." Si Jiang pinched his fingers and laughed so hard that his shoulders shook several times.
After a long while, Si Jiang finally smiled and couldn't help patting Jing Sheng's hand away: "Hey,
please stop drawing Morse code. It's annoying."
Long, short, short, short, corresponding to the letter B.
Short, short, long, short, corresponding to the letter F.
——
Gu Beiwu never thought that the Morse code he taught the children before could have such a
wonderful use. The younger generation is formidable.

Chapter 278
Returning to Shanghai and Wanchun Street, there is no big difference, but if you say it is the same
as before, everything is different.
Si Jiang thought it was strange. She and Jingsheng were obviously very familiar with each other,
but after he turned from a brother to a boyfriend, he seemed to become a stranger. Whenever
she secretly glanced at him in the same space, he would notice and look back immediately. Was it
like this before? Si Jiang thought it was not the case.
On the first night after returning, Si Jiang lay in the attic, unable to sleep because of the heat. He
looked at the spider plants outside the dormer window and let his mind wander. When he
remembered that the bed he slept in was the one Jingsheng had slept in before, he couldn't sleep
even more. He was so sweaty that the mat was wet.
She got up and went downstairs quietly. Her uncle didn't come back to sleep, Jingsheng spread a
mat in the living room and slept peacefully. Si Jiang took off her slippers, walked past Jingsheng
quietly, and walked back quietly. She squatted down and looked at Jingsheng carefully, as if he
had changed after not seeing him for a few hours, and she had to review him from time to time.
Jingsheng is the most handsome man Sijiang has ever seen, but he doesn't like others to say so. If
anyone says he is handsome, he will immediately show a displeasure to them, as if it damages his
masculinity. The dim living room has a very close light and dark due to the street lights outside
the window. The difference is very subtle, making his facial features clean and smooth like the
undulating mountains and as if covered by a layer of mist. Sijiang's fingers gently traced
Jingsheng's eyebrows half a centimeter apart. The floor fan shook its head and made a slight
click. Her hand trembled, and her fingertips fell on the tip of Jingsheng's eyebrows. She quickly
retracted them. Fortunately, Jingsheng did not wake up.
Si Jiang was afraid that Jingsheng would wake up and see her being crazy, but he didn't wake up,
and she was worried. How could he sleep so soundly? He hadn't even told her how much he
loved her, but she had thought countless times about what time, what place, and what
atmosphere to tell him that she loved him.
Huanxiyi. Lao Huanxige. (I like him, I like him very much)
When did he start to be different? Si Jiang didn't know. He was different from others even when
he first came to Shanghai. He also made her cry several times. Thinking of this, Si Jiang felt that
she was at a disadvantage. What if Jingsheng started to like her in high school or even in his
second or third year of high school? Does it mean that she had been different from him a long
time ago?
Si Jiang tucked her hair aside which was messed up by the fan and planned to get close to
Jingsheng's ear to wake him up and ask him clearly. Thinking that Jingsheng would probably be
frightened by the "female ghost", she couldn't help but smile.
Halfway down, Jingsheng opened his eyes, which frightened Sijiang so much that he almost fell
on him. Sijiang put one hand on Jingsheng's arm and complained: "What are you doing? It's
scary."
Jingsheng's chest shook twice and his Adam's apple moved twice.
"You're still laughing! You almost tripped me." Si Jiang twisted Jingsheng and was about to stand
up when Jingsheng pulled his waist and he fell to his knees.
Si Jiang raised his head from Jingsheng's shoulder, but he hooked his neck with a cautious force,
and Si Jiang's face felt hot.
"Your hair fell on my face." Jingsheng didn't tell Sijiang that he woke up as soon as she came
downstairs. "Why did you come to see me in the middle of the night?"
"Who's here to look for you? I'll get a towel and wipe the mat in the morning." Si Jiang said with a
hard mouth, his ears were numb, and he was too weak to hold on. His other hand fell directly on
Jingsheng's chest, and the end of his hair swept across his jaw, neck, and collarbone.
"Can I give you a hug?" Jingsheng asked in a low voice.
Before Si Jiang could figure out where to put her hands, feet, head and face in this hug, her face
was already pressed against Jingsheng's face, and her face was actually cooler.
Jingsheng didn't use much force as he was afraid of scaring Si Jiang, but he really couldn't help it.
From the moment Si Jiang walked over and back, he wanted to hug her.
Si Jiang tried to hold himself up but failed.
"Hello."
Five parts of embarrassment, three parts of shame and anger, and two parts of coquettishness,
the "Hey" with her breath rushed into Jingsheng's ears, numbing him, and unconsciously
increased the strength of his hands, and Si Jiang fell on him. Face to face, heart to heart, legs to
legs.
The two of them were frozen for a moment, as if they had just taken the first step in this
important matter of dating and immediately jumped to the ninth step, panicking.
"Don't move, just take a break, just hold me for a few seconds." Jingsheng was more nervous
than Sijiang.
When Si Jiang gets nervous, his hands, brain and eyes become uncoordinated. In the past, this
was reflected on the court, and now it is reflected in Jingsheng.
"Gu Jingsheng?"
"Um."
"Brother?"
"Um."
Si Jiang cleared his throat soundlessly and said in a sullen voice, "You haven't told me yet that you
like me." However, this sentence came all the way down from the mountain peak. The last three
words were only the sound of his breath, which went directly into Jingsheng's ears through bone
conduction without being conducted through air.
"Happy," Jingsheng let go of Sijiang and held her face, "Chen Sijiang, I love you. Do you want to
use Mandarin to be more formal? Chen Sijiang——"
"Stop!" Help! I feel stupid just thinking about it.
Si Jiang continued to ask: "How happy are you?"
"I'm so happy, so happy." Jingsheng's chest and abdomen began to shake with laughter again.
"You're still laughing!" Si Jiang was so angry that he jumped up. When he stood up, he inevitably
saw an indescribable object.
"You hooligan! You pervert!" Si Jiang covered her face and fled back to the attic. The mat had
already gone cold, and she felt her whole body burning hot.
There was the sound of a door opening downstairs, the sound of stairs, and the sound of water
splashing in the shower room. Si Jiang thought of what he saw last time and what he just saw,
and covered his face.
——
Even though it was so awkward, every glance we exchanged the next day was still sweet, and this
sweetness was added with a lot of aftertaste because it came from the secret that we thought
only each other knew. Even if we deliberately avoided looking at each other, there was a smile
hidden in our eyes. Meeting up and down the stairs, going in and out of the living room, and even
brushing our teeth together by the sink in the morning became ambiguous and expected.
In the hot summer, the company in the kitchen became meaningful. They made small gestures
like thieves, holding hands and smiling, touching arms and smiling. Jingsheng showed the smile
that he hid in front of others to the pots and pans. Si Jiang was sweating all over his face. He
wiped his sweat with a small towel and then wiped Jingsheng's sweat. Ah, the sweat of the two
mixed together, which was embarrassing and sweet. The two recalled the past in the kitchen,
whether it was talking, cooking and eating, or quarreling, it was all sweet.
"Hey, last time I took a bath, you saw me, didn't you?" Jingsheng asked Si Jiang casually while
cutting potato shreds, pretending to be indifferent.
The half-peeled potato in Si Jiang's hand slipped onto the table and then rolled onto the floor.
She quickly squatted down to pick it up: "Didn't you see it? Make way. The potato has rolled to
your feet."
Jingsheng thought it didn't matter, he would be exposed sooner or later.
"I'm coming."
"I'm coming, I'm coming."
The two of them huddled under the table, each holding half of a potato and not letting go, their
foreheads touching.
"Your face is red."
"You're so hot," Si Jiang tried to keep a straight face, "You're mocking me again. I should have
known not to accompany you. (You're mocking me again. I should have known not to accompany
you.)"
Jingsheng gently bumped her forehead: "Do you dare?"
"Just dare." Si Jiang pushed back unconvinced, and their noses touched each other's.
The two scorching faces were so close to him that the potatoes in his hands were sticky. Si Jiang
lowered his eyes, his heart beating fast.
"Hey!" Chen Sinan shouted from the kitchen door: "What are you two doing?!"
Si Jiang was so frightened that he stood up suddenly, but he remembered that there was a
wooden table above his head. As a result, he didn't have time to cry out in pain and bumped into
Jingsheng's palm.
Jingsheng smiled muffledly and pushed her head down.
"Pick potatoes." Si Jiang walked out to pick the potatoes as if nothing had happened. As soon as
he went out the door, he saw Zhao Youning and Tang Huan still standing outside, and he was
stunned.
"Hello, sister," Tang Huan nodded to her and looked into the kitchen. "Sorry to bother you."
Zhao Youning touched his nose and said, "Don't see each other for a long time. Hello, Si
Jiangnong."
Si Jiang thought of what his uncle and aunt said and felt inexplicably guilty. He forced a smile and
greeted them, then turned on the faucet and stole a glance at Jingsheng inside.
Zhao Youning and Tang Huan followed Sinan to the kitchen to observe Jingsheng's knife skills. The
two boys were talking and laughing, and everything seemed normal.
In the midst of his busy schedule, Jingsheng glanced out the window and exchanged a glance
with Si Jiang.
"Is it done?" one asked.
"Okay." One answered.
As if nothing really happened.
Si Nan pulled Tang Huan upstairs first. Zhao Youning thought about it and held back and didn't
say anything.
Si Jiang took out the plate, walked carefully to the door, looked at the stairs, turned around and
breathed a sigh of relief.
"Did they see it?"
"It's okay to see it," Jing Sheng put the hot and sour potato shreds on a plate, lifted the towel on
his shoulder and wiped his sweat, "I didn't have time to do anything."
"What do you want to do!" Si Jiang was embarrassed and annoyed.
"I want to do everything." Jing Sheng's expression didn't change. Playing hooligans is a secret skill
inherited from the Gu family. There is no need to learn it. Besides, seeking truth from facts is the
only criterion for testing truth.
Si Jiang picked up the plate and ran away in a hurry.

Chapter 279
This is Tang Huan's first visit to the Gu family. Because Yugu Village was in trouble with people
from the old Tang family in Rudong, she was from the Tang family, and she felt a little short of
breath and guilty when she stayed in Yugu Village. Si Nan called her to invite her to watch a
movie, so she quickly escaped.
"Teacher Fang is really evil." Si Nan sighed, and then he started to tell all about Fang Shu's family.
Tang Huan couldn't stop him, and he had no choice but to sit on the sofa with a red face, feeling
ashamed. Seeing Jing Sheng's surprised look, he felt so embarrassed.
The reason was that Tang Sicheng and Fang Shuren were both in their thirties and had no
children. After discussing with their parents and brothers in their hometown of Rudong, they
decided to adopt the four-year-old son of the second son to the third son. Country people
thought simply and acted directly. The second son's family gave up a son, and the third son Tang
Sicheng had to be responsible for getting his eldest son into the army.
This is the matter of the Old Tang family. The people of the Old Tang family have arranged it
clearly behind closed doors. The daughter-in-law is an outsider and is not qualified to participate
in high-level internal meetings. Mr. Tang told Tang Sicheng on the phone, and Tang Sicheng said a
few perfunctory words. It would not be difficult to arrange for his nephew to join the army. He
agreed to the matter. He thought about the adoption. Anyway, the family has been nagging for
several years and has not agreed. However, there was no need to tell Fang Shuren that Bai had
made her unhappy. Who would have thought that Mr. Tang regarded two things as one thing? As
soon as he heard that his son agreed, he had the best of both worlds. It was so beautiful that he
immediately asked the second son and his wife to bring their two sons to Yugu Village. He
brought all his clothes, shoes and daily necessities, and happily asked Fang Shuren to arrange
kindergarten for him.
However, Tang Sicheng was still at work, and Fang Shuren was completely confused. She asked
Tang Huan, who was also confused.
After hearing everything clearly, Fang Shuren's face changed drastically. Even Mrs. Mei, who was
always smiling and good-tempered, was so angry that her face turned red. Due to her upbringing
and decency, she still took out drinks, snacks and cold drinks to entertain the four people.
Tang Huan was extremely embarrassed. He talked to his second brother and his wife in a gentle
manner and asked them to take his two nephews back first.
The second brother Tang was also straightforward: "How can that be? The third brother told us to
send the child here quickly, otherwise it will be too late." "Too late to join the army" must mean
that the younger one will not have time to go to kindergarten.
Mrs. Tang was both happy and sad. She hugged her youngest son with tears in her eyes and said,
"From now on, you will be the son of your Third Uncle and Third Aunt. Do you know that? You
will become a Shanghainese—"
The younger son howled even more sadly: "I don't want it, I don't want it, I want to go home, I
didn't bring my dog with me--"
Fang Shuren couldn't bear it anymore and got up to call Tang Sicheng.
Brother Tang slapped his youngest son on the back of the head.
"Why are you howling? Others are crying and shouting that they want to become Shanghainese.
Those who are popular and drink spicy food will be happy to death!"
Mrs. Mei sighed, took out a stick of cream ice cream and gave it to the child. The room became
quiet.
After Tang Sicheng came back, there was naturally another fuss. At night, Fang Shuren went up to
the second floor and squeezed into a small bed with Tang Huan. Tang Huan spoke kindly to his
third brother for a long time, but Fang Shuren remained silent. The next day, Mr. Tang and his
wife returned to Rudong with their younger son carrying large and small bags. Tang Sicheng took
his nephew to the army. Only two people, Tang Huan and Fang Shuren, were left in Yugu Village.
Tang Huan escaped with the help of Chen Sinan.
"Every family has its own difficulty in reciting sutras, and it's not easy for your sister-in-law
either." Zhao Youning sighed.
Chen Sinan was always unforgiving with his words: "Let's get divorced. We have to get divorced.
This is intolerable. How can we bear this? We are not Ninja Turtles."
Tang Huan's eyes also turned red: "I'd better go back to Rudong to study. It's too embarrassing.
My dad and my brother are really-"
Chen Sinan immediately changed his tone, "I see your sister-in-law likes children. She likes my
sister so much, why don't you just give birth to one yourself? Why is your father so feudal? He
even wants to adopt a child. He's the only one who can do that."
Tang Huan sighed, "They are so unreasonable. I will definitely stand with my sister-in-law. But my
third brother is wronged. He is too honest and can't speak at all. It was obviously my father who
made a mistake. He never agreed to the adoption, but he couldn't explain it clearly. The more he
talked, the more wrong he was."
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng did not interrupt. Jing Sheng was not interested in the affairs of the Fang
family. Si Jiang had a lot to say, but it was difficult to say anything in front of Tang Huan. She did
give Si Nan several feathers, but Si Nan refused to accept them, and soon her anger spread from
the men of the Tang family to "all the men in the world."
Granny Gu sighed and lamented: "Mrs. Fang must be feeling bad. Miss Fang suffered so much in
the past. She finally went to college, became a teacher, and got married. Ah, but I don't
understand why they don't want to have children. Children are so fun to play with, but they don't
have time to take care of them. We old people have time. Otherwise, what's the point of living
day by day? It's just eating and waiting to die. There's no point in living to the age of 80, 90, or
100."
"I don't want to have children. I don't want to be too happy living day by day," Sinan jumped up
and retorted, "I spend all the money I earn by myself. I can go wherever I want and do whatever I
want. It's very suitable."
"You know nothing," Granny Gu slapped Sinan on the butt with a fan, "You just know how to yell
and talk nonsense."
"The dishes are ready, let's eat first." Jingsheng smiled and invited everyone to come over and
eat.
Chen Sihao, who was concentrating on watching TV, jumped up immediately: "Here it comes
——!"
——
After dinner, Tang Huan and Zhao Youning volunteered to wash the dishes. Jingsheng didn't
bother to be polite with them. He gave them a few instructions and asked them to get busy. Then
he turned around and cut half a Nanhui watermelon and put it in the refrigerator.
Chen Sihao is struggling with herself. She regrets every time she goes out with her sister and
brother, but she is unwilling to not go out because she will definitely miss out on all kinds of
delicious food.
The little fat boy grabbed a handful of melon seeds and squatted beside the sofa to count them.
"Go, no go, go, no go..."
Sinan looked disgusted and said, "You are not allowed to go. We are all adults and the movie we
are going to watch is not suitable for children."
"What are you looking at?"
"The Price of Madness," Sinan stuffed the Popular Cinema copy on the sofa under a pile of
evening papers and Shanghai TV, "There's murder involved."
Si Hao started to eat melon seeds: "Then I'll wait for you guys at Lao Dachang, okay?"
"Let's not go to Cathay Pacific, let's go to Daguangming," Sinan thought for a moment, "I'll bring
you some butterfly cakes from the International Hotel after watching the movie, but you can only
eat one piece a day."
"good."
Grandma Gu took Si Hao inside to take a nap.
Si Jiang flipped through the "Popular Movies" and his heart ached when he read the synopsis.
The younger sister Lanlan was raped, and the older sister Qingqing avenged her sister and
eventually killed the criminal before being arrested. There was a five-minute nude scene in the
movie. What does a five-minute nude scene mean? In foreign dubbed films, even a kissing scene
of five or six seconds can make people feel like an eternity.
"You and Tang Huan are still young, this movie is not suitable for you. You should watch another
one. 'The Troublemakers' is also very good. My uncle and aunt both said it was very good." Si
Jiang sat down next to Si Nan and said in a kind voice.
"We're going to see this," Sinan lowered his head but raised his eyebrows, "What's the point of
handing the bad guys over to the police? They'll be released in a few years and will still hurt
people. I like the sister in the movie. If I were him, I would kick the bad guy off the tower and kill
the bastard!"
Si Jiang thought of Zhou Zhiyuan and was speechless for a moment. He lowered his head silently.
After a while, he asked, "Then my brother and I will go with you to see it, okay?"
Si Nan turned her head to look at Si Jiang, and suddenly leaned over to her, hugged her arm, and
shouted proudly to Jing Sheng: "Cousin, you said this morning that you would never go to the
movies with me. Now that my sister has gone with me, you should stay at home and keep Si Hao
company."
Jingsheng answered slowly: "I went to the movies with your sister, what does it have to do with
you?"
"Sister! Tell me, who are you with? Tell me now!"
Si Jiang: ???……
——
Five people came out of Daguangming and walked towards the International Hotel. The sun at
four o'clock in the afternoon was shining brightly on their heads, but they still felt cold all over
and were still frightened.
The nude scene that Si Jiang was worried about was very beautiful, and the audience in the
theater was also very civilized and quiet. In Si Jiang's eyes, Wu Yujuan and Gong Li are a bit
similar, both have the temperament of the earth mother, and their plump breasts are full of
strength, and they are suitable for playing a woman who will not give in or kneel down after
experiencing any hardship. She couldn't help but turn her head to look at Jingsheng, but
Jingsheng was looking at the screen. When she turned her head back, he gently pulled her hand
over and held it lightly, without any unnecessary movements, no embarrassment, no
embarrassment, just quietly accompanying each other.
Lanlan's unfortunate experience made many girls scream. Sijiang had one hand tightly held by
Sinan on the left, and the other hand held by Jingsheng on the right. She was the comforter and
the comforted. At this moment, she was glad that she was by Sinan's side.
In the International Hotel, the aroma of butterfly cakes could not dispel the film's depressing,
dark and crazy tone. Si Nan came in with great vigor and left in a depressed mood. After thinking
for a long time, he asked Si Jiang: "Will Qing Qing in the movie go to jail?"
Si Jiang responded helplessly with "hmm".
Si Nan cursed indignantly. Tang Huan leaned over to her ear and whispered something. Si Nan
showed a look of surprise and immediately said that they were going to Fuzhou Road to buy
stationery without waiting for Hudiesu. Then the two girls left them and ran away hand in hand.
Zhao Youning, who was ruthlessly abandoned by Si Nan, looked at her back, then looked at Si
Jiang and Jing Sheng, and smiled bitterly. He wanted to leave and stay at the same time, but he
couldn't do either.
"Let's go back together?" Si Jiang invited considerately, "Are you going back to Kangjiaqiao
today?"
"Yes," Zhao Youning cleared his throat, "Congratulations."
Jingsheng and Sijiang were stunned.
"What? Oh, thank you. I've decided to go to H Normal University and not repeat my studies," Si
Jiang came back to his senses. "Did Nan Nan tell you about my application?"
Jingsheng said nothing and took a large bag of butterfly cookies from the waiter.
Zhao Youning scratched his hair and said, "I heard from Nannan about volunteering. If I want to
go abroad, it won't have much impact. The English department is very popular now."
"Well, all roads lead to Rome," Si Jiang took a bag of butterfly cakes from Jingsheng's hand, "You
always bring a bunch of gifts every time you come to my house. Don't be so polite next time.
Here, I'll take this back with you."
Zhao Youning took the butterfly cake and said, "You and Jingsheng are now dating, which is great.
I want to congratulate you guys on this..."
Si Jiang's face flushed red instantly, and he immediately denied it: "No! Saning, Saning Gangge?
There is no such thing! (Who said that? It's not true.)"
Jingsheng lowered his eyes and tied the vest bag in his hand into a knot.
Zhao Youning stuttered in embarrassment: "Ah? I'm sorry, I'm sorry——"
Si Jiang ran away in a panic with a red face. Jingsheng and Youning followed her a few steps
behind in silence, walking towards Nanjing West Road.
"I'm sorry, Jingsheng." Zhao Youning noticed Jingsheng's low mood and felt very embarrassed. He
saw that scene outside the Gu family's kitchen, and a stone in his heart fell to the ground with a
bang. He was completely disappointed. During the whole meal, their little eyes, little expressions
and little movements all proved that Si Nan's words were right. It was so obvious that it couldn't
be more obvious. So he thought of using a word of congratulations to show that he only had
friendship for Si Jiang, but unexpectedly it seemed to backfire.
"It doesn't matter," Jingsheng was silent for a moment, "We just started talking, she was afraid of
gossip, it would spread around the alley and make a mess, you know."
Zhao Youning came back to his senses: "Oh, thank you, I'm sorry, don't worry, I won't tell anyone
else. My dad is the only one in Kangjiaqiao now, and I can't tell him this. I will return to Beijing
the day after tomorrow, and go to the United States next year--" The more he explained, the
more awkward it became. Zhao Youning laughed and didn't even know what he was explaining.
"Thank you." Jingsheng smiled and bumped his shoulder.
"It's okay." Youning breathed a sigh of relief, feeling relieved.
Jingsheng also breathed a sigh of relief silently. He did not go back on his word. Sinan must have
known about it, Beiwu and Shanrang also knew about it. Zhao Youning was not considered
"someone else" but one of his own. It was not a big deal if he knew about it, but it was also very
important.
Chapter 280
Tang Huan said she had a secret to tell Si Nan.
The two girls did not go to Fuzhou Road, but walked along Nanjing East Road to the Bund. They
were so hot that they felt dizzy and swollen. They stood on the Waibaidu Bridge and felt much
better when the river breeze with the smell of mud blew on them. They leaned against the bridge
railing and looked east. To the east was the Huangpu River, with the hum of cargo ships. To the
west was the Suzhou River, which was black and smelly. There were bridges across the river, and
people and cars were coming and going on the bridges.
"My grandpa drowned in Suzhou River," Sinan said with a bit of melancholy, "to protect a few
public watermelons. Isn't that funny?"
Tang Huan was startled.
Sinan pulled his rough curly hair and sighed: "My grandmother is so pitiful. Oh, by the way, what
secret do you want to tell me?"
Tang Huan walked for half an hour. The impulse he felt from the movie had dissipated a lot. He
stammered a few words but didn't say anything in the end.
"I have a secret too. When I was a kid, I almost became Lanlan in the movie," Sinan kicked the
railing. "Then the disgusting villain went to jail, but he will be released soon."
"If I meet him again, I will kick him to death like Qingqing in the movie."
"That's why my sister didn't let me watch this movie. Didn't you notice? She and my older cousin
acted weird after watching the movie. She was probably afraid that I would think too much. It
was nothing. I just wanted to vent my anger. But Qingqing killed the bad guy and had to go to jail.
It was too bad. I was so depressed and didn't feel relieved at all. If it were me, I would have to
find a way to kill him quietly, at least I wouldn't be caught."
Si Nan turned his head and glanced at Tang Huan's weird expression, then quickly laughed: "I'm
just saying it, don't be afraid."
Tang Huan's eyes sparkled, and his voice trembled a little: "No! I will definitely be in the same
group with you! I will help you, and we will find a solution together - I am the same as you, and I
have thought about it many, many times -"
Sinan was startled.
Tang Huan held on to the railing tightly: "When I was a child, I almost became Lanlan. I was sold
for 7,000 yuan by a relative. That bad guy took me to Yangzhou. It was my third brother who
found me and brought me back."
She lowered her head and sighed: "So I know my sister-in-law is very aggrieved and very upset,
but I will still speak up for my brother. My third brother is really a very good and honest man. He
is actually very good to my sister-in-law."
Sinan was a little bit unbelievable: "Oh, what a coincidence, we are both so unlucky."
"She's not the most unlucky one," Tang Huan said quietly while looking at the river. "Lan Lan in
the movie was the one who was really miserable. Later, my aunt took me to Nantong. I heard that
a middle school girl had the same experience as Lan Lan, but she didn't have a sister like Qing
Qing. Her family accepted 2,000 yuan and that was it. She went to work in Guangdong before
finishing middle school."
The two were silent for a while.
Tang Huan asked: "How do you know that the bad guy you mentioned is about to be released
from prison?"
"He is my aunt's nephew."
"The relative who sold me was actually my uncle," Tang Huan laughed bitterly. "In the end, my
third brother beat him up. My parents, my eldest brother and my second brother all said that I
was fine, but they didn't allow me to tell anyone else. They said that if people knew about it, no
one would want me and my family would be laughed at."
"Bullshit!" Si Nan was filled with righteous indignation. Compared to Tang Huan, her sister,
brother, uncle and aunt were much better off. It was still the case that Tang Huan was more
unlucky than her.
"My uncle gave my mother 300 yuan as a sobering money, and he used the rest to build a big
house with seven beams in Jiangyin, and bought dozens of piglets. Now he is a local pig farmer
and has been rated as an advanced farmer. Haha," Tang Fang said lightly, "Every year during the
Spring Festival, he visits relatives and sees me as if nothing happened, and my family also treats
me as if nothing happened."
"Don't go back. Your home is not good enough." Si Nan hugged Tang Huan's arm and shook it.
"No," Tang Huan sighed, "I don't want to go back in this life."
"You can come live with me at my house in the future."
"Really?"
"Really, you are my best friend, of course. You can come anytime," Sinan said seriously, "Now we
still share the same hatred and enemy, we are comrades in the same trench."
"We share the same suffering?"
"Bah, that word is too depressing, it's not good, it's better to be united against the common
enemy."
"Um."
"If you kill someone, I will help you clean up the scene, bury the body, and testify for you." Sinan
is very righteous.
Tang Huan smiled and said, "Thank you, Nan Nan. I feel much better now."
"Me too." Sinan stretched, touched his sunburned face and shouted, "Alaliangga, you old fool,
you are dying of sunburn, hurry up and leave."
"How about I treat you to Huashan Restaurant to eat bamboo shoots and pork steamed
dumplings and shrimp wontons? After the meal, we can go to Jing'an Park to ride the tram." Tang
Huan's eyes sparkled.
"Then should I call Zhao Youning out? He's going back to Beijing the day after tomorrow. We had
agreed to have dinner together today."
"Will he go back to your grandmother's house with your sister?"
Sinan shook his head: "Of course not. Brother Ningning is very sensible and won't be a light bulb
for them."
Tang Huan was stunned, feeling lost.
——
Zhao Youning was indeed very sensible, and even took the bus in the other direction across the
street under the pretext of going to the foreign language bookstore on Fuzhou Road. He rode one
stop, got off at Xizang Road, and then took bus No. 71 to Yan'an Road to return to Jing'an Temple.
When he returned to Kangjia Bridge, he ran into his father entangled with Jia Qingqing.
Jia Qingqing came to please Zhao Yan. Now she has almost nothing. Most of the money in her
hand was squeezed by her brother and sister-in-law. After she got hepatitis A, she was driven out
of her husband's house by her family. Fortunately, there were many hepatitis A patients in the
unit, and a dormitory building was directly turned into an isolation point. After she was cured of
hepatitis A, she moved into a four-person dormitory. Because of her bad reputation, she was
inevitably excluded by the other three people. In addition, she had lived a comfortable life with
Zhao Yan for several years, and she could not save money on food and daily expenses. From time
to time, she had to swell her face in front of others. After two or three months, she only had
about 300 yuan left. She could not hold on to her face and face. After begging Zhao Yan to
withdraw the lawsuit, Jia Qingqing suddenly had an idea that Zhao Yan was still a little soft on her,
and there might be room for maneuver, so she went to the women's products store and invested
a lot of money, and rushed to Kangjiaqiao to seek reconciliation.
Zhao Yan, however, hated and despised her. He used to be moved by her watery eyes, but now he
felt that she was scheming. She used to be a lady with a soft and slender waist, but now she
looked frivolous. Jia Qingqing, however, was determined to make peace with her husband and
wife after sleeping together. She squeezed into the door, crying about the past and regretting it,
while looking forward to the future with affection, which gave Zhao Yan goose bumps. Zhao Yan
asked her to get out, but Jia Qingqing believed that he was just hard-mouthed and soft-hearted.
She cried and rolled on Zhao Yan, reaching out to untie his belt. Zhao Yan was both embarrassed
and annoyed. He had to hide from the woman's lips and tongue on top, the protruding white
flesh in the middle, and protect his important parts below. He had been a scholar for decades, so
how could he withstand Jia Qingqing's deliberate moves? Hitting a woman was something he
could never do, and soon she pinned him down on the sofa, making him panic.
When Zhao Youning opened the door, he saw such a vivid battle in the living room. Zhao Yan's
pants were pulled to his knees, Jia Qingqing's dress straps were loose, most of her chest was
pressed on his thighs, and her permed hair was shaking back and forth between Zhao Yan's chest
and abdomen like a lion dog.
"Ningning, come and help quickly, this woman is crazy!" Zhao Yan blushed, tugging at the waist of
his pants, and called his son to help in a panic.
Jia Qingqing was startled and hugged Zhao Yan tightly, refusing to let go: "Tell him to get out!"
The phone rang.
Zhao Youning ignored the person on the sofa, walked straight into the living room and picked up
the telephone receiver next to the sofa.
"Is Zhao Youning here?"
"Nannan? It's me." Youning's eyes fell on Jia Qingqing's face.
Jia Qingqing got up from the ground in a panic, covering her chest with her hands. She cleared
her throat and straightened her four thin suspenders: "Teacher Zhao, you are too impatient.
Didn't you say Ningning wouldn't be back at night?"
Zhao Yan quickly pulled up his pants and pointed at the door with his eyes wide open: "I have
never seen a woman as shameless as you. Get out. I will definitely divorce you. I will definitely
not give you any money. Get out now."
Sinan on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment, then asked gloatingly, "Is your
stepmother back making a fuss?"
"Yeah. What's the matter?" Youning turned around, picked up the phone and walked two steps
towards the window.
"Come out and eat. Tang Huan is treating us. Are we coming to Huashan Restaurant?"
"right away."
"Don't be unhappy because of them, it's boring and not worth it, come quickly, I'll treat you to a
ride on the tram in Jing'an Park." Sinan tried to use the tone of coaxing a child, but she was not a
coquettish sister. Those few words that should have been very coquettish expressed the
momentum of Lord Guan killing Hua Xiong with warm wine.
Zhao Youning couldn't help but smile: "Okay."
Youning washed his face and looked up to see Jia Qingqing being pushed out of the door by her
father.
Jia Qingqing turned her chin left and right and coughed twice: "Ningning, Auntie Gemo is leaving
first. Next time you come back, I'll go buy some side dishes and cook a good meal for you. (I'll go
buy some vegetables and cook a good meal for you)"
Zhao Youning lowered his head and wrung the towel, ignoring her.
Zhao Yan leaned his head out of the upstairs window and called out, "Ningning—come up", but
Youning ignored him.
——
During the summer vacation, the electric horse race in Jing'an Park would not end until eight
o'clock, and there would be a long line of children lining up.
Sinan, Youning and Tang Huan were sitting on a bench eating mung bean popsicles.
Zhao Youning didn't know why, watching the electric horse turning up and down in circles and
listening to the unchanging music, he suddenly felt very sad. He was reluctant to go back to
Kangjiaqiao. That "home" had many happy memories. His life was so different after his father
remarried that the pain of being pricked by needles when practicing piano as a child was covered
with a layer of tenderness. Of course, it could also be his unilateral beautification. His mother,
who already had a new family, apologized to him for her past neurosis and madness. Now his
father also wants to rebuild the father-son relationship on the other side of the ocean. But what
happened can never disappear. He is the only one left in this "home".
Sinan slapped Zhao Youning on the back: "Hey, don't even think about it!"
The popsicle in Youning's hand broke into two pieces, and the upper half fell on his pants. Before
he could react, the other half was in Sinan's hand again.
Chen Sinan smiled awkwardly: "I didn't expect that my power has suddenly increased. I can hit
the bull from a distance so well - hahaha, do you still want to eat? I washed my hands!"
Tang Huan laughed and bent over.
Zhao Youning smiled and lowered his head, swallowing half of the popsicle in one gulp. Wow, it
was so cold, but the sadness just now was indeed gone.
Sinan rubbed his right hand on Zhao Youning's pants, leaving a wet mark and the slap mark was
quite obvious.
"I'm trying to mend the fence after the sheep have been stolen. Otherwise, your puddle would
look like you had peed your pants, and it was peed in a crooked direction." Sinan explained with a
blink.
Zhao Youning looked down and thought, okay, what she said makes sense.
Si Nan stretched out her left arm and placed it on Zhao Youning's shoulder: "Hey, did you notice?
The three of us are all miserable. Our grandparents are useless. We are down and out. We are
unlucky too--" She felt a surge of heroic spirit in her chest and told him about Zhou Zhiyuan in a
few words.
"Look, am I much worse off than you? But I am doing well now, right? People have to look
forward. Who doesn't have a bad relative? And Tang Huan, do you think she is doing well too?
Don't mention it. Her uncle is a human trafficker who sold her, his own niece, for 7,000 yuan.
Look, both of us are worse off than you, right? This is called birds of a feather flock together. But
think about how smart you are. You have been a genius since you were a child! A child prodigy!
Always number one! You can also play the piano! I dream of learning the piano. Also, my sister
worked so hard to get a half scholarship. What about you? Peking University invites you to join
the university. If you go, H University will offer you a full scholarship and beg you to go. Zhao
Youning, you must put aside your father and stepmother's troubles and don't be influenced by
them. You are here to save the world, understand?" Sinan said nonsense in a serious tone, "You
will be China's Einstein, China's Hawking - a healthy Hawking who can talk without a wheelchair.
Also, you will marry the most gentle and kind wife in the world, the most powerful and fierce
wife to others, give birth to a bunch of smart and beautiful children, and you will be very rich! My
grandmother said that when God closes a door, he will open ten windows for you."
Zhao Youning smiled widely: "Okay, I appreciate your good words."
Tang Huan leaned over and said, "But scientists don't seem to have much money, and now there
is family planning. It seems that people who are not ethnic minorities can only have one child.
And God, it seems that he will only open one window for you, right?"
Si Nan slapped Tang Huan on the face and pushed him away: "Do you know how to coax people?"
"Let's go. There are not many people in line. Let's see if we can catch the last lap." Zhao Youning
bit the stick of his popsicle and pulled Si Nan to run towards the electric horse.
——
More than ten years later, Faye Wong sang "Spinning Wood", which was actually a sad love song.
Zhao Youning took the girl who was the most gentle and kind to him but the most fierce and
powerful to others to ride the carousel.
The song goes:
No matter how long I can accompany you, at least I can let you imagine flying with me. The
running wooden horse makes you forget the pain, in this paradise of laughter, watching their
envious eyes.

Chapter 281
As September begins, the air in Shanghai is filled with the fragrance of osmanthus, fresh meat
mooncakes, and sugar-roasted chestnuts.
After Si Jiang entered university, Grandma Gu felt very lost, as if the experience of decades ago
had come back again. The children grew up one by one, left one by one, and they didn't even
know whether they would come back or not. Jingsheng lived in the school dormitory, Si Jiang
lived in the school dormitory, Si Nan came back very late every day, and when he came back, he
stayed in the attic and no one knew what he was busy with. Only Si Hao was left, and she and
Chen A Niang, the two old ladies, fought over him.
Si Hao was quite happy with it, as his mother always gave him whatever he wanted, and his
grandmother did take care of him, but as long as his two sisters were not at home, she would
turn a blind eye. After he gained three pounds in a week, Jingsheng and Si Jiang, who came back
for the Sunday, saw that something was wrong at a glance. Not only did Chen Si Hao get scolded,
but Si Nan was also reprimanded, and he rarely said anything back.
Chen Sinan was a little confused after entering high school. It was not because the new
environment was too complicated, but because it was too simple. Her thorns were useless. When
talking about her Taohua Jianglong Gang, her classmates looked at her as if she were a monster.
After politely declining the invitation from Gang Leader Chen, she smiled and went to the side to
discuss New Concept English and TOEFL. In physical education class, she showed her
extraordinary reaction ability and physical strength. The girls laughed in horror and still treated
her as a monster, but they were still very polite. After praising her, "You are really a stick", they
went to the side to discuss what the physics teacher said in the previous class. After discovering
that she did not take notes in class, the class monitor, the study committee member, and the
class representative all came to talk to her individually, and very tactfully and politely reminded
her that the study methods of ordinary junior high schools are not suitable for key high schools,
and enthusiastically invited her to join various study groups. Sinan failed to achieve the "model"
image she wanted to create. Jianghu masters are too lonely in peacetime.
Compared to her feeling helpless, Tang Huan felt like a fish in water.
On the first day of school, Tang Huan called her glasses "glasses" in Shanghainese in the
classroom. Her deskmate Xu Xinmao immediately asked her if she was from northern Jiangsu.
She hummed nervously, and Chen Sinan in the front row also turned his head.
Xu Xinmao smiled and said that the way she called her "Mirror" was very cute. Her grandmother
was from Taizhou and she also called her that. She also added "er" to her name and called it
"Mao'er", which sounded like "Mao'er". She protested countless times but no one paid any
attention. Many girls laughed and called her "Mao'er". They also asked if Tang Huan's nickname
was Huan'er. Then everyone talked about their ancestral places and found that most of them
were from Zhejiang and Jiangsu. Those whose ancestral places were written as Shanghai became
"Giant Panda".
With a good start, the subsequent friendship and intimacy came naturally and effortlessly. The
girls liked to drag Tang Huan to go to the toilet and the cafeteria together, and Tang Huan liked to
drag Si Nan along. Si Nan grumbled that he was a tiger in a low position and was relying on the
power of a fox.
It was the first time in Tang Huan's life that a female classmate praised her for her good looks.
She looked at herself again and again in the mirror in the female restroom, but couldn't see
where she was good-looking. She asked Si Nan, who thought the new classmates were very
polite. She was also praised several times for looking like a doll. Bullshit, who looks like a doll!
Gang leader Chen felt that his dignity had been severely hit. As for the status of the underworld
boss, he had lost the underworld, so how could he have a status?
Not only the girls thought Tang Huan was pretty, the boys also thought Tang Huan was good-
looking. On the third day, someone stuffed a love letter into Tang Huan's drawer. The five words "I
like you very much" written in black and white in broad daylight were shocking. Of course, the
main point was that the letter hoped to be good friends with her and study and make progress
together.
Sinan found the boy according to the seating chart and shook his head to indicate that he was not
suitable: "He is a bit ugly."
Compared to Gu Jingsheng, no boy is good-looking, Tang Huan thought.
"Are you okay? You look quite tall. It seemed like you were always demonstrating military posture
in the front during military training?" Tang Huan chuckled with a red face.
"You're not?" Sinan glanced at her.
Tang Huan sighed, "He is the first boy who said he likes me. I have never met such a boy in my
life. Do you understand? The book says that you should cherish every boy who treats you well."
Si Nan, who had never been confessed to by a boy, was a little short of courage, so of course he
couldn't lose in words: "Am I not good to you? Aren't Hu Yadong and Yang Wenyi also very good
to you?"
"You're a girl, okay?" Tang Huan laughed. "The kind of friendship they have is just brotherly, and it
has nothing to do with liking or not. Sinan, you've never liked a boy, right? So you don't
understand. Hey, can you stop reading martial arts novels?"
She took out three books from the drawer, one was "The Story of the Rose" by Yi Shu, one was
"The Story of the Sahara" by Sanmao, and the other was "Seven Miles of Fragrance" by Xi
Murong.
"Look at these, look at what love looks like." Tang Huan stuffed the books into Sinan's schoolbag
and gave her a loving look full of encouragement.
"Cena..." Sinan blurted out, and there was a sudden silence within a three-meter radius. She
looked around and found that the girls around her focused their attention on her in an instant.
"Ahem," Tang Huan hurriedly asked Xu Xinmao, "Mao'er, has the algebra homework been handed
out?"
Xu Xinmao asked in a daze: "Chen Sinan, um, um, who did she scold just now?"
There was a burst of laughter from the boys at the back of the classroom.
"Chen Sinan, Nong Mozi!"
"Hot-handed, stick-bound."
"One more sentence!"
The girls all pursed their lips and giggled. After confirmation, Si Nan was sure that it was a smile
that said "I'd better stay away from Chen Si Nan." It didn't matter. She never cared about these
things. Except for Tang Huan, her main battlefield has always been on the boys' side.
However, the boys only called her "little sister" and asked her to watch them play basketball and
football. When Sinan wanted to try her hands and feet on the court, she was not allowed to do
so.
"The women's basketball team is on that court. Go play there."
"You are a girl. If you get kicked by the ball, you will be in trouble. Come on, sit here and watch,
little sister."
Sinan was even more depressed. She was mistaken for a Shanghainese in Xinjiang and a Xinjiang
native in Shanghai. That was fine, but she was a little angry when girls mistook her for a boy and
boys mistook her for a girl.
The consequence of Chen Sinan's anger is that no one can stop him when he becomes stubborn.
In written language, it is called "adolescent rebellion."
He still didn't take notes in class. When he got home, he didn't have to pretend in front of
Jingsheng and Sijiang. He worked hard in the sea of Zhao Youning's questions. In the November
midterm exam, Sinan ranked tenth in the third grade of the class and got full marks in both
algebra and geometry.
Sinan's tail was just lifted up in the sky, and after lunch, he was called to the office by Algebra
teacher Wang.
There was another blank test paper on the desk. Teacher Wang said with a smile, "Chen Sinan,
you have made great progress in algebra and geometry this time. The school is planning to accept
you into the Mathematical Olympiad competition class. Come on, do your best on this test paper
and don't worry about the score."
Sinan's eyes lit up, and she began to answer the questions with great energy. The more she did,
the more she felt something was wrong. When she saw the last two big questions, she gave up
and threw her pen on the table, "Teacher Wang!"
"This is definitely not a competition question. Do you think I cheated to get full marks on this
test? If you have doubts, just say it. Why are you beating around the bush and sneaking around
like that? What's the point of playing tricks on me?"
Teacher Wang was suddenly scolded by the student. Seeing that other teachers in the office were
looking at him, he frowned and took the test paper away: "No one said that. If you don't want to
do it, don't do it. Go back to the classroom."
Sinan's chest rose and fell violently, and he folded his arms and snorted, "Then you can mark the
papers now. If all the questions I answered are correct, you must apologize to me."
Teacher Wang had never met such a difficult person. He had already taken care of the dignity of
the student and used the excuse of the competition class to give her a chance to prove her
ability. But this child was so ignorant and said so many irrelevant things. He wanted the teacher
to apologize to her? What did he have to apologize for?
"I won't mark it now. Go back to the classroom." Teacher Wang suppressed his anger and folded
the papers without even looking at Sinan.
Sinan stretched out his arm, spread the test paper in front of him, and stuffed a red pen directly
into Teacher Wang's hand: "You must mark it, you must mark it now. If I am right, you apologize,
and if I am wrong, I will correct it."
A teacher in the office burst out laughing, saying that this female student was really showing off.
The head of the high school mathematics group came over to smooth things over: "Okay, class
will start in ten minutes, students, go back to the classroom first, and Teacher Wang will give you
an explanation after he finishes grading your papers."
"You promise?" Sinan moved his aggressive eyes to his face.
"Huh?" The head of the mathematics group almost laughed out loud.
"Teacher Wang, so many people have testified, please don't play tricks. I'm going back to the
classroom first, and I'll come to see you after school." After saying this, Si Nan walked out of the
office in a heroic and high-spirited manner.
"What's this girl's name?"
"Which school did you get promoted from?"
"Chen Sinan? Why does the name sound so familiar?"
"She is the younger sister of this year's graduate Chen Sijiang, right? It seemed that Gu Jingsheng
and Chen Sijiang sent her here together on the day of military training."
"Hey, Lao Wang, there's a thorn in your class. Chen Sijiang once got Lao Gao fired. Be careful. I
think this Chen Sinan is better than his teacher."
"Is Tang Zenian dating Chen Sijiang now? Be careful if Yila's mom calls or Teacher Wang will end
the get out of class immediately, hahahaha."
"Forget it, the child has a strong sense of self-esteem. Old Wang, you should have a few words
with her. A child with such pride will definitely not cheat."
"You can ask her to come to the Mathematical Olympiad class and give it a try."
Teacher Wang was full of anger. He picked up the lesson plan and went to class. After the two
classes in the afternoon, he organized a study session. After the study session, he returned to the
office and did not see Chen Sinan. Teacher Wang breathed a sigh of relief.
As a result, early the next morning, when people were coming and going in the office and the
corridor, Chen Sinan blocked Teacher Wang at the office door.
"Teacher Wang, have you finished grading my paper?"
Teacher Wang's eyelids twitched, and he walked around her and went into the office: "It's done."
"Did I do anything wrong?"
Teacher Wang opened the drawer and took out the half-finished test paper: "All the answers are
correct, but your basics are still -"
"Apologize."
The other teachers in the office and the math representatives from each class were suddenly
silent.
Chen Sinan's eyes sparkled, and he raised his eyebrows and repeated, "Apologize to me."
Teacher Wang took a deep breath and said, "Chen Sinan, do you know who you are talking to?"
"Apologize!" Chen Sinan raised his chin: "If you did something wrong, you have to apologize to
me."
"Look at this question. It can be solved directly. Why do you want to take a detour?" Teacher
Wang was so angry that he said something without thinking.
"It's enough that my answer is correct. Why do you care how I beat around the bush? You want
to save face and refuse to apologize, but why didn't you think about whether I should save face
or not? Is it easy for me to get full marks? I was only happy for ten minutes, and you already
determined that I cheated? You're still lying. What a crappy competition class! What kind of
teacher are you? You just want to prove that I cheated. There are only three people in the class
who got full marks, and two of them sat far behind me. How could I get full marks by copying
from whose answers?" Chen Sinan exploded.
Teacher Wang refused to apologize, accusing Chen Sinan of having a bad attitude and not
respecting teachers. Chen Sinan was carried back to the classroom by three math class
representatives, and everyone was yelling at him along the way.
For the next three days, Chen Sinan blocked the office door every morning and evening to
demand an apology from Teacher Wang.
Finally, the vice principal had a heart-to-heart talk with Teacher Wang, who expressed to Chen
Sinan that she was very sorry for causing misunderstandings and hurting her self-esteem due to
her carelessness. However, Chen Sinan insisted on hearing the three words "I'm sorry". In the
end, Teacher Wang couldn't persuade her and stammered out an apology. Chen Sinan returned
to the court victoriously.
However, the fruits of victory were not sweet. When Sinan returned to the class, no one cheered
for her. The boys laughed and gave her a thumbs-up, but no one called her to play football
anymore. The girls kept their distance and told Tang Huan privately that Chen Sinan was too
extreme and there was no need to embarrass Teacher Wang.
Tang Huan asked Sinan why he made such a big fuss.
Si Nan replied coldly, "Old Wang can say that I'm not good enough, but he can't say that Zhao
Youning's level is not good enough. Zhao Youning helped me cram for this exam for three nights,
and each time he paid for the long-distance calls that lasted for an hour. I can't embarrass him."
Tang Huan's nose felt sore and he almost cried for Zhao Youning.

Chapter 282
After the midterm exam, there was a parent-teacher conference. In the past, Gu Dongwen would
go. Unfortunately, this time, Si Nan and Si Hao's parent-teacher conferences were on the same
day. Si Nan waved her hand and said that it didn't matter if she didn't go. If she went, she would
just listen to the praise. It didn't mean anything. Si Jiang saw that she had already taken a leave of
absence the day after the parent-teacher conference to go to the US Consulate for a visa
interview, so she decided to go to Si Nan's parent-teacher conference.
After Si Jiang finished speaking, he glanced at Jingsheng. Seeing that Jingsheng was lowering his
head to dismantle the crab and didn't react, he felt a little uneasy.
Gu Dongwen brought a large bowl of chicken noodle soup and said, "Here, Jingsheng's longevity
noodles, one bowl for each person."
Grandma Gu happily served noodles to the four children: "Celebrate the ninth instead of the
tenth. Jingsheng's nineteenth birthday this year is a big birthday. Oh, how come the Xiazi
(children) have grown up so big in the blink of an eye? What a day——"
Jingsheng thanked them, smiled and put the shredded crab meat into Gu Dongwen and Si Jiang's
bowls, then stood up and went downstairs to wash his hands. Si Nan and Si Hao quickly stretched
out their chopsticks to grab the crab meat.
"I can eat it, but you can't. You'll get fat." Sinan used his chopsticks to slam the crab meat that
Sihao had picked up halfway into the vinegar dish.
Si Hao was so angry that he screamed and retorted while rescuing the crab meat: "My uncle told
me a long time ago that eating fresh seafood will not make you fat. You are ignorant!"
"You will gain weight if you drink water, that's common sense." Sinan stuffed his mouth with crab
meat, "Sister? Eh? Where's Chen Sijiang?"
Gu Dongwen pouted towards the door and blinked with a grin: "He's going to catch (your)
brother."
Sinan and Sihao said in unison: "Oh————"
Granny Gu was stunned: "Boss? Girl?"
"Hush." Gu Dongwen added half a cup of warm rice wine to his mother's glass. "Two little friends,
do whatever you want. Come, I'll accompany mom to drink a glass of old wine. Now is a good
time to eat hairy crabs. Today's male crabs are good. Each one weighs 4.5 taels. The meat is very
good. The crab paste goes in one bite and makes your tongue and mouth sticky. (...Let them do
whatever they want. Come, I'll accompany mom to drink a glass of old wine. Now is a good time
to eat hairy crabs. Today's male crabs...)"
"I hate eating crab roe the most. It's mushy, tsk tsk tsk." Sinan wrinkled his nose with a look of
disgust.
Si Hao also shook his head: "The crab roe is also unpalatable, tut tut tut. Why do crabs have such
unpalatable things like crab roe and crab paste? It would be much better if the crab had a belly
full of meat. You can just break it open and take a big bite."
Granny Gu smiled with her eyes curved: "Silly Xiao Ning, without crab roe or crab paste, where
did you get the little crabs from?"
"Why?" Si Hao was very surprised.
Faced with a nephew who had neither knowledge nor common sense, and a niece whose eyes
were clearly curious but whose face said "You don't even understand this", Gu Dongwen was
extremely happy and gave them both a science lesson with a smile.
——
The kitchen was bright and bright. Jingsheng's hands were immersed in the basin, with a layer of
tea residue floating on the surface of the water.
Are you happy to be friends? Jingsheng is always happy when he sees Sijiang and thinks of
Sijiang. He is also unhappy because of his greed. In the two months since the start of school, the
two have only met alone twice.
Once, their department went to visit the Shanghai Shipyard. It ended at 4 pm. He went to H
Normal University without thinking. After several buses, he arrived at dark. Si Jiang and his two
roommates went to the snack street at the back door. The snack street was smoky and crowded.
He looked for him twice but couldn't find him. He was afraid of missing Si Jiang, so he went back
to the dormitory to wait. It was after 8 pm when he saw Si Jiang coming back. He was chatting
and laughing with two female classmates, and there were two tall and straight male classmates
behind him. When Si Jiang saw him, he was surprised and happy, and blurted out "Brother".
Jingsheng saw all the subtle changes in the two boys' expressions. They came up to greet him
enthusiastically. He thought Si Jiang would at least explain that they had made an appointment in
college and that he was not her brother but her boyfriend. However, Si Jiang only asked him with
a red face why he suddenly came, when he arrived, and whether he had eaten dinner.
Later, Si Jiang took him to Zaoyang Road to eat fried noodles. The small square table was set up
on the roadside. Several classmates passed by and greeted Si Jiang with a smile. Many of them
smiled mischievously and winked at him, but none of them came to confirm who Jingsheng was
to her. After eating the fried noodles, Jingsheng wanted to rush back to Minhang, and Si Jiang
sent him to take the bus.
The two walked along Zaoyang Road to Jinshajiang Road. The oil and stagnant water on the road
reflected the greasy light under the street lights. The stalls selling small commodities began to
close, but the stalls selling midnight snacks were still busy. The air was filled with the strong smell
of pots and pans, and the noise of people was really not romantic at all. But the feeling of being
shoulder to shoulder in the crowd made people's heart beat faster. When their fingertips
occasionally touched, Jingsheng took the opportunity to hold Sijiang's hand. Sijiang blushed and
lowered his head, and his fingers gently stroked his palm. At that moment, Jingsheng hoped that
this road would never end, and strangely, he knew that Sijiang thought so in his heart. This was
probably the only sweetness Jingsheng felt that night.
That night they didn't really talk until they arrived at the bus stop. They didn't say anything sweet.
There were people waiting for the bus around them, and their ears were filled with other
people's voices. Jingsheng missed a bus and there were fewer people. Just when he wanted to
say something private, new passengers filled the gap. There were also a few young men and
women leaning against the railings of the green belt in the shade, hugging and kissing as if no one
was around, like potstickers stuck together. Aunts and uncles passed by and watched for several
minutes like watching a play, shaking their heads and sighing at the decline of morals. Jingsheng
asked himself if he could do such a thing. Of course, even if he wanted to do it, Si Jiang would
never agree.
Having missed four buses, Jingsheng had to leave. Before getting on the bus, he wanted to hug
Sijiang. But Sijiang stretched his neck, held his hand and ran back: "The back door is quite empty,
hurry up, go to the back door and get on the bus."
The other meeting was a coincidence. As a candidate for the party, Jingsheng participated in the
school's activities to visit the "First Congress Site" on Xingye Road. At the door of the conference
room, they came out and happened to see students from H Normal University going in. The two
passed by each other and only had time to hook their fingers. After the visit, Jingsheng and his
friends had 30 minutes of free time. He went back inside and walked around. He exchanged
glances with Si Jiang, stretched out his fingers and made a 1. Then the two met outside the
bathroom. As soon as they met, Si Jiang kept grinning. No one knew what she was laughing at.
When asked, she couldn't tell, so Jingsheng also smiled.
Apart from these two times, on Saturday afternoons, when they returned to Wanchun Street
from school, it was usually around seven or eight in the evening, which was when Si Nan and Si
Hao were the noisiest. After dealing with his sister and brother, Si Jiang went to visit his mother,
and as usual, he had to wash her hair, bathe her, and cut her nails. Jing Sheng sent Si Jiang over,
helped boil water, move the tub, and pour water. He couldn't say much in front of his mother.
After his mother went to bed, Si Jiang sent Jing Sheng downstairs. At the corner of the stairs, they
held hands secretly, and seeing the smile in each other's eyes was a different feeling. Once, he
was almost bumped by Aunt Kang, which scared Si Jiang so much that his heart was beating fast.
One night, A Niang Jiu Yue forgot to turn off the electric fan. When she woke up in the morning,
the left half of her face was numb. She could still blink, but she couldn't speak clearly. She walked
to Gu's house tremblingly, tears streaming all the way. Gu's grandmother was also shocked, and
she quickly called Chen Dongfang and Chen Donghai for her. Unfortunately, Chen Donghai went
on a business trip to Nanhui to grab the order for 8424 watermelons next year. Chen Dongfang
took a leave of absence from school and first sent A Niang to Jing Central Hospital. He queued up
to see the doctor and got the medicine. He was busy for four hours. After staying with her all
night, he went back to work. The next day, Chen Donghai came back and saw that he was
prescribed a few packets of vitamins and a packet of hormone drugs. He immediately jumped up
and cursed Shanmen, scolding Lao Er for being heartless. A Niang didn't have medical insurance,
but he was willing to prescribe some vitamins to get rid of her. Hormone drugs are so random?
Ha Lai (bullshit)! Then he took A-niang to see a Chinese doctor at Shimen Road Chinese Medicine
Hospital. The visit lasted three or four hours. Acupuncture was performed once. A-niang said it
was useful, but acupuncture should be performed for at least seven consecutive days. Chen
Donghai could not ask for leave, and he and Chen Dongfang quarreled on the phone for a long
time. Chen A-niang complained that it would be better if Donglai and Ximei were at home. Chen
Donghai was so angry that he called Zepu and asked Chen Donglai to come back quickly to fulfill
his filial piety. Chen Donglai had no choice but to send money back, so he tried to persuade her
kindly on the phone.
In the end, it was Si Jiang who volunteered to accompany A Niang for acupuncture. A Niang cried
and scolded her sons, and when she scolded her good sons, she thought of her daughters and
insisted that Si Jiang send a telegram to the three aunts. Soon, Chen Dongmei sent back a
hundred yuan, saying that the autumn harvest was about to start and she couldn't leave the
contracted fields, and thanked her two younger brothers for their hard work. Chen Donglan
didn't reply. Cao Jinzhu's parents sent a thousand yuan and made a special phone call to explain
for a long time, saying that a good brother of Cao Jinzhu and Jia Xiuquan were close friends, and
they organized a group of people to take their families to Dalian to watch the national football
team's Olympic games, and to do some small business by the way. They would not be back until
mid-October at the earliest.
Si Jiang was afraid that A Niang would think too much and that she would get into trouble if she
got up at night, so he slept at A Niang's house on Saturday and took her to acupuncture on
Sunday morning. Jingsheng wanted to go with her, but A Niang was too concerned about her
reputation and refused to let an outsider named Gu accompany her, so Si Jiang had no choice.
With so many things happening one after another, there has been no peace in the past two
months. Si Jiang and Jingsheng have very little time to talk about their friendship. Si Jiang herself
knows this very well. After entering the kitchen, she walked around the table twice, looking
around without saying a word.
Jingsheng raised his eyes and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Wash your hands." Si Jiang put his hand under his nose and smelled it.
Jingsheng said nothing and made half of his seat available.
Si Jiang glanced out the window to see if there was anyone around, then moved closer to him,
put her hands through a pair of tea leaves and dipped them under the water, then grabbed
Jingsheng's hand. Her movements were so fierce that her fingernails poked Jingsheng's hand,
which scared herself.
"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" Si Jiang asked, but he didn't loosen his hand. He found it funny and his
shoulders shrugged with laughter.
Jingsheng was also startled by her, thinking that this little fool had two different faces in front of
others. When he was pretending to be serious in front of others, when he was not serious in
front of others, he was more serious than him.
"fine."
The dark coffee and black tea leaves stirred up silently, and the two hands gently kneaded each
other in the water, and the two faces slowly turned red and hot.
"Brother, are you angry?" Si Jiang touched Jingsheng's arm.
"fine."
"My grandma just stopped acupuncture last week. It wouldn't be good if it was just the two of us
who went out to celebrate her birthday. (It wouldn't be good if it was just the two of us who went
out to celebrate her birthday.)" Si Jiang puffed up his cheeks. , glanced at Jingsheng, and held on
to one of his hands, saying, "When grandma Yila is sleepy, why don't you come back to the
kitchen and wait for me? (When grandma and the others are all asleep, you?" Come back and
wait for me in the kitchen, okay?)”
Jingsheng's heart skipped a beat, and he pretended to be calm and asked, "Waiting for you to do
it?"
"Secret." Si Jiang chuckled.
"Will you be able to make it in time if you go back to school tomorrow morning?" Jingsheng
thought, no wonder Si Jiang made an appointment with him to go back to school tomorrow
morning. Thinking of this, the corners of his mouth curled up.
"It's still in time, what about you?"
"no problem."
Suddenly, Chen Sinan's roar came from upstairs: "Gu Jingsheng, Chen Sijiang, are you okay? The
longevity noodles are all mushy!"

Chapter 283
It is a very strange law that heaven does not grant one's wishes.
Because they had to go to school on Monday, Chen Sihao usually went to bed at nine o'clock on
Sunday nights, and Chen Sinan went to bed at ten o'clock. As a result, it was Jingsheng's birthday
that day, and both of them ate too much. At half past nine, Chen Sihao suddenly cried out that
his stomach hurt, and the whole family became nervous again. Gu Dongwen went to Nurse Lu
after dinner with four hairy crabs and a bottle of rice wine. Grandma Gu and Sijiang Sinan asked
Jingsheng what to do.
Jingsheng asked Sihao to lie down on the sofa. He pressed her belly and found it was hard. When
he asked her, he found out that she hadn't had a bowel movement for three days.
Si Nan angrily threw the sofa cushion at Si Hao's belly and pressed it hard twice: "You deserve it!
How much of the half a pound of lamb meat that Uncle Wang Qiang sent yesterday did you eat?"
"I left several pieces for you." Si Hao grimaced, held his stomach, and called for help from his
elder sister.
"There were only three pieces left! Grandma, uncle and I only had one piece each!" Sinan went
up to the attic with a thump. "Ignore him! He deserves the pain."
Jingsheng carried Chen Sihao to the toilet behind the big bed and made him sit on it for ten
minutes. His face turned red, his calves were cramping, and he couldn't defecate at all.
Jingsheng concluded seriously: "Well, you don't get along with shit. You must be careful about
what you import in the future, otherwise you will suffer when you export."
Si Jiang laughed so hard that he fell down.
Jingsheng took his wallet and went out. He rode his bicycle to the drugstore outside the alley and
knocked on the door. He bought two suppositories, pried open Chen Sihao's fat butt, and stuffed
a whole suppository in. Fortunately, he was next to the toilet. Within ten seconds, Grandma Gu
and Si Jiang in the living room heard the toilet crackling for a full three minutes as if it had
exploded. Si Nan in the attic was asking whose family was setting off firecrackers.
Chen Sihao came out crying. The feeling of having a bruised butt was really unpleasant. He ate
half a pound of lamb, two hairy crabs, half a braised pig's trotter, two fried pork chops, and four
braised chicken wings... The key point was that the amount he ate in three days was too much.
The toilet almost overflowed, and he almost fainted from the fumes of his own feces.
"It's so stinky!" Sinan was raging in the attic, "Go empty the toilet yourself!"
Grandma Gu covered her nose and went in to pick up the toilet. Si Jiang quickly stopped her and
said, "I'll do it, I'll do it."
Jingsheng stopped Sijiang again: "I'll do it."
——
At around ten o'clock, Chen Sihao drank a small bowl of rice soup and lay down, sobbing and
promising to Grandma Gu that he would never steal lamb meat again. Si Jiang put two plates of
mosquito coils next to the footboard of the bed, and felt that the stench would linger for at least
three days. Looking at Si Hao again, he was really angry and funny, and then thinking about the
scene of Jingsheng inserting suppositories into him... It was too much, and Si Jiang dared not
think about it anymore.
She returned to the attic, but Sinan didn't seem to want to sleep at all.
"Why aren't you asleep yet?"
"You go to sleep first. I'll finish reading this book before I go to sleep." Sinan lay on the bed,
swinging his thin legs. "Sanmao is a bit of a scoundrel."
"Can you read Sanmao's books?" Si Jiang was very surprised.
"Tang Huan forced me to watch it. I'm so annoyed," Sinan complained, but there was a hint of
pride in his tone, "She also thought I didn't understand the likes and dislikes between boys and
girls, tsk——"
"How do you understand?" Si Jiang laughed and pushed her into the bed.
Sinan climbed out again: "Is there nothing I don't understand? Hey, hey, hey, I want to sleep
outside. I have something to do at night."
"Eh?" Si Jiang was panicked, "What else do you want?"
Sinan looked at the small alarm clock on the desk: "Brother Ningning won't be out of the lab until
half past eleven. He said he would call me. I got several full marks in the exam this time, so he
wants to praise me."
"Half past eleven? The school's public phone was closed long ago."
"He didn't live in school this semester, didn't you know?" Sinan said proudly, "He told me as soon
as he moved."
Si Jiang smiled and said, "He will definitely tell you first that you two are best friends."
"Not as close as you and your eldest cousin." Sinan glanced at her sourly.
Si Jiang smiled and slapped her: "Is your cousin not nice to you? He treats you the best."
"Humph," Sinan rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I will definitely wait for Brother Ningning's call. Do
whatever you want and leave me alone."
Si Jiang's face flushed, he turned over and muttered to the wall: "I'm fine, I'm going to sleep
first."
"Are you really going to sleep?" Sinan leaned over to look at her face.
Si Jiang pushed her away and pulled up the quilt: "I'm so annoyed, stop making noise."
Having said that, Si Jiang kept his ears perked up. He would secretly glance at the luminous watch
under his pillow from time to time. There were still forty minutes left. He wondered if Jingsheng
would be waiting in the kitchen. He was anxious.
At 11:20, the phone in the living room rang. Sinan jumped up and ran to the attic entrance. He
slid down backwards and soon heard low voices and laughter from below.
Si Jiang watched the hands on the watch tick by tick, and guessed that Jingsheng must have
heard the phone ringing, so he felt a little relieved. But Si Nan kept calling, and he could vaguely
hear her talking about Si Hao's embarrassing moments tonight, laughing heartlessly. Si Jiang
listened, and his eyelids drooped. When he woke up again, the attic was dark and quiet, and Si
Nan was breathing evenly beside him.
broken! Si Jiang almost jumped up. He looked at his watch, it read a quarter past two. It’s over!
She hurriedly walked down to the attic, almost crying in annoyance, pinched her thigh with a
cruel hand, and walked down the six stairs in the dark. The crack in the door of the pavilion was
pitch dark, and she lay down I listened at the door and found out that my uncle had promised not
to come back. Jingsheng must have been so disappointed that he had gone to bed long ago.
With a "click" sound, the light in the stairwell turned on. Si Jiang was so frightened that he almost
screamed. When he turned his head, he saw Jing Sheng leaning against the wall with his arms
folded, his face speechless.
"Are you sleepy? (Are you asleep?)"
Si Jiang pulled up his plaid pajamas, smoothed his hair around his temples, and smiled
awkwardly: "I'm sorry."
In an instant, she became happy again, smiling from ear to ear: "Have you been waiting for me?
(Have you been waiting for me?)"
"Yeah." Jingsheng raised his eyebrows, and a smile appeared in his eyes, "Little fool."
"My brain is blowing up!" Si Jiang was overjoyed to see that he was not angry, and lowered her
voice and said, "Please wait a moment—" She turned around and tiptoed upstairs and entered
the house, and quickly brought down a small plastic bag.
"Okay, let's go to the kitchen." Si Jiang hid the plastic bag behind him mysteriously and went
downstairs first.
Jingsheng stretched out his hand, grabbed a handful of air, sighed helplessly, and followed her
into the kitchen.
Si Jiang asked him to close his eyes, took out a small chestnut cake and put a candle on it.
"Please open your eyes, okay? Where's the lighter?" Si Jiang looked everywhere.
"I have it in my pocket." Jingsheng closed his eyes obediently, but the corners of his mouth were
raised. He laughed at her for making it so mysterious by saying some secret. He knew with just a
little thought that she was going to treat him to cake.
"I'll do it, I'll do it." Si Jiang blocked his hand and reached into his trouser pocket. "I'm the one
who invited you to cut the cake, so I have to do it."
She touched it twice, going deeper and deeper.
"Hey, is it this trouser pocket?"
Jingsheng became uneasy and coughed twice. His voice became inexplicably lower and hoarse:
"Hey, don't touch it randomly. If something happens, will you be responsible?"
Si Jiang's hand paused on his thigh, then shrank back as if burned by fire. The word "hooligan"
kept rolling around in his mouth, but he was too embarrassed to say it out loud.
Jingsheng turned sideways uncomfortably, took out a lighter from his other trouser pocket, threw
it on the table, half bent over and pretended to smell it: "What is the smell?"
He covered it up quickly, but Si Jiang had already glanced over and almost threw the lighter in his
face before turning around and running away, taking several deep breaths. If he couldn't see it, I
would pretend he didn't see it. He didn't see it, but I did. Anyway, I've seen it before, so it's
nothing special.
Si Jiang lit the candles and turned off the lights.
"Okay. Sorry, it's already the 8th. It's all my fault." Si Jiang switched to Mandarin and gave a
serious blessing: "Happy Student's Day to my boyfriend Gu Jingsheng."
The last two words were swallowed up by her own laughter.
Jingsheng opened his eyes, but didn't look at the cake or the candles. He just stared at Si Jiang
beside him.
Si Jiang's face was still red, and it got even redder as he was stared at like that. The courage he
had prepared for a long time was like a balloon hitting the tip of a needle, and it all disappeared
with a puff. All that was left was panic and a pounding heart.
"Hey, look at me, what are you looking at? Look at the cake." Si Jiang lowered his head and
smiled.
"You look better than the cake." Jingsheng said the truth with a smile.
After seeing the cursive word "love" on the cake, Jingsheng said another true thing: "The cake is
sweeter than your mouth."
Si Jiang urged him to make a wish with a smile.
Jingsheng made a wish in three seconds and blew out the candle.
The smell of burnt cotton mixed with paraffin filled the air.
Si Jiang grabbed Jingsheng's arm at lightning speed, stood on tiptoes and kissed him on the face.
Jingsheng was stunned for a moment, and then the light came on again.
Si Jiang walked to the other side of the table, handed him a fruit knife, and promised with a
twinkling smile in his eyes: "From now on, we will secretly share a piece of cake every year, and
we won't tell anyone."
Jingsheng thought of the little piece of cake that Tang Zenian had taken away from him when he
was studying agriculture, and snorted in sourness.
Si Jiang blinked: "Brother - stop being petty and holding a grudge, okay?"
Jingsheng ate half of the cake in a few bites: "Let's see how you perform."
Si Jiang pouted and thought, I already took the initiative to kiss you, what else do you want to
show?
Jingsheng poured Sijiang a cup of warm water and coughed: "It's strange, it's November, and
there are still mosquitoes."
Si Jiang was stunned: "Oh, mosquito coils? It's not because of the mosquitoes, it's because the
room is too smelly." Thinking of Si Hao's embarrassment at night, Si Jiang couldn't help giggling.
Jingsheng touched his cheek and said, "Just now a mosquito bit me here."
Si Jiang's face immediately turned red: "Brother! You look so pale!"
"How about I bite him back?" Jingsheng leaned over to Si Jiang with a half-smile, "Then we'll be
even?"
Si Jiang leaned back, still speaking faster than his brain: "Male mosquitoes don't bite!"
Jingsheng closed his eyes and lowered his head weakly. Very good. His girlfriend, Chen Sijiang,
could never catch up with the feathers he had passed on in love. She was a real atmosphere killer.
Before he could even think of this, he felt another bite on the forehead, which was slightly wet.
Si Jiang blushed and chuckled softly, "Look, only female mosquitoes bite. 2:0."
Jingsheng saw his reflection in her eyes, and he seemed to be smiling even more foolishly than
her. He pushed himself forward with his arms and half of his body leaned over the stage.
"It's 2:1." Jingsheng put his lips against Sijiang's nose and smiled slightly.
This time, Si Jiang did not avoid his gaze. She couldn't avoid it. There were two fires in Jingsheng's
eyes, which scared her to death and made her unable to move.
Jingsheng leaned slightly to the side and gently kissed her lips.
Separate at the first touch.
Si Jiang's lowered eyelids trembled, and he raised his eyes in panic: "So it's even, 2:2, in fact, I am
definitely sweeter than the cake..."
Jingsheng lowered his eyes and looked at her chattering without making any sense, feeling both
angry and amused.
——
Dating is a process of accumulation from 0 to infinity, the interweaving of eyes, from 0 to 1, from
1 to 100, to infinity. The same is true for holding hands. The first time is always particularly
difficult. After so many psychological struggles, you reach out your hand, not knowing whether
you will be accepted or rejected. After that, it will be natural to hold hands again and again. Who
still remembers the 20th time? Kissing is of course the same. The first and the second are always
unforgettable, but after it becomes a part of daily life, who cares about one less or one more?
However, the change from infinity back to 0 often catches people off guard, and just thinking
about it makes me feel extremely distressed.
Si Jiang touched her lips on the bed, and after making the above summary, she breathed a sigh of
relief. She and Jingsheng were going to run to countless infinities and never return to 0. What
was the score between her and Jingsheng now? Si Jiang covered her face, not wanting to think
about it any more.

Chapter 284
Jingsheng squinted for more than an hour. He got up and cooked breakfast at five o'clock in the
morning. Then he entered the kitchen stove. His mood was completely different. It was sweet.
And the sweetness after enduring the critical attack from Chen Sihao's huge smell was so sweet
that it was so sweet.
Because of this sweetness, the original soaked rice was upgraded to fried rice. Remove a large
piece of white meat from the chicken breast and cut it into dices. Cut half a carrot, half a zucchini,
and half an onion into dices. Stir-fry in hot oil until the aroma is released and set aside. , use a
shovel to flatten and disperse the hard overnight rice, add egg yolks while frying, stir-fry until the
rice is yellow and clear, then add the stir-fried four fresh vegetables from which the soup has
been drained, stir-fry to adjust the taste, and finally add the egg whites , the pot was so shaken
that every grain of rice turned somersaults in the air, and it had to be placed in a slow-motion
movie. Every grain of rice is a story.
The chicken soup on the briquette stove was making a sound. Sijiang held the basin in his hand
and came down to brush his teeth and wash his face.
Jingsheng turned around in his busy schedule and teased her with a smile: "Little fool, you got up
so early?"
Si Jiang thrust the thermos in his hand forward: "Saning is stupid! You are stupid. (Who is stupid?
You are stupid.)"
Because of Si Jiang's jumping around when it comes to dating, Ling Zi was given a special
nickname "戆戆" by Jing Sheng in the early morning. It also barely has the same pronunciation as
the "Jiang Jiang" in "Si Jiang", so they are both gang.
Jingsheng took the chicken soup pot down and asked nonchalantly, "What was the final ratio of
male and female mosquitoes?"
"rogue!"
Si Jiang ran out with a red face, turned on the faucet, the tap water was gurgling, Jingsheng
smiled at her through the window, she just pretended not to see. Fortunately, with a mouth full
of toothpaste foam, no one could see that she was smiling. What score? From football score to
volleyball score to basketball score, who can still count, what male mosquitoes and female
mosquitoes, chicks pecking each other, it's almost the same. What would happen if there was no
long table between the two of them? Probably it would end with a real kiss at the door of the
pavilion. Dating is too difficult, even kissing is so difficult. Si Jiang was distracted, wondering how
many couples in the world would kiss each other as soon as they opened their mouths like them.
"Are your teeth still hurting?" Jingsheng stood slowly beside Si Jiang and brushed his teeth.
Si Jiang stepped on his foot fiercely: "It's all your fault!"
The two of them were in love with each other, eating fried rice and drinking chicken soup in the
kitchen, and then secretly pecked each other a few times before picking up their bags and going
to school.
At 6:30, Si Nan and Si Hao went downstairs to have breakfast. Chen Si Hao picked up half a candle
and a cake mat from the trash can and complained: "You took advantage of me being sick and ate
the cake in the middle of the night! This is too much, you are so cruel."
Sinan snatched it away, crumpled it and threw it back into the trash can. He then dumped all the
chicken bones on the table into the trash can, picked up the plastic bag, tied it into a knot and
threw it out of the doorway.
"You only care about eating. You'll be in trouble when your uncle holds the parent-teacher
meeting." Si Nan kicked Si Hao lightly on the butt.
Si Hao went upstairs to get his schoolbag in a daze. He remembered that he only got 42 points in
Chinese. He was really worried. What was he thinking about during the exam? How could he
forget that there were questions on the back of the paper... Mom must be so angry. The eldest
sister and the second sister are so good at studying, why does he feel sleepy when he studies?
The third child is so pitiful.
At 6:30 on Tuesday evening, Si Jiang went back to his alma mater to attend Si Nan's parents'
meeting. At 7 o'clock, Mr. Wang, the algebra teacher, was talking about the difficulties and
learning skills of high school algebra. Jing Sheng quietly came in from the back door and sat next
to Si Jiang, which scared Si Jiang.
"Would you like to do it?" Si Jiang asked him in a low voice.
"I'll keep you company." Jingsheng also took out a blank notebook and a pen, looking like a
parent who was attending a parent-teacher meeting seriously.
Si Jiang pressed his lips together, lowered his head and pushed the contents of English and
Physics that he had memorized to the side: "Thank you, don't waste the new notebook."
Jingsheng held her right hand tightly with his left hand under the desk and took notes seriously.
They both laughed so hard that their shoulders shook slightly.
Sinan's head teacher Guo Zhixing is a newly assigned young teacher, 28 years old, a master's
degree holder in Chinese from H Normal University, very young and elegant, wearing a pair of
gold-rimmed glasses, a white shirt with a small stand-up collar, neatly folded sleeves, indigo jeans
and white sneakers, looking fresh and fashionable. When he held the parent-teacher conference,
he spoke half Shanghainese and half Mandarin, and was amiable, mainly encouraging and
supplemented by prompting, without criticism or dissatisfaction, which made the parents
nervous and rushed to raise their hands during the question-and-answer session.
"Will Teacher Guo lead this class until the third year of high school?"
"Probably not. The Chinese teacher for the second year of high school will be replaced. I don't
know who it will be. The school will make unified arrangements." Teacher Guo replied with a
smile.
Many parents breathed a sigh of relief.
"Where did our class rank in the entire grade in this midterm exam?"
Teacher Guo smiled and replied, "There are four classes in one grade. The second-best class is
next to the second-to-last class. The ranking is actually not very meaningful. The average scores
of each subject are only two or three points apart. Parents, please don't be too nervous. The
students in our class are all good students. They are very conscientious in doing homework and
organizing notes after class. They are very hardworking. I hope parents will let them relax
appropriately when they go home. After all, there are still physical education tests. The female
students still have to take the 800-meter test, right?"
Teacher Guo patiently answered the questions one by one, and announced the end of the parent-
teacher meeting at nine o'clock. He called out the names of several students, including Chen
Sinan, and asked their parents to stay.
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng were not surprised. After all, it was a big deal that Chen Si Nan did not
cause trouble. The two of them were whispering slowly in the last row of the classroom. There
was no end to the whispers, what they had eaten, what classes they had taken, what happened
in the dormitory, what activities were there in the school...
Teacher Guo sent the other parents away, walked to Si Jiangjingsheng, and sat casually in front of
them. He talked about Si Nan's fight with Teacher Wang, and expressed his attitude sincerely: "I
have talked to Teacher Wang. It is indeed not good for him to do this. He did not consider Chen Si
Nan's self-esteem. He will never do this again in the future. He will never do this to any student
again. But as Chen Si Nan's brothers and sisters, you should also have a good talk with her when
you go back. Her way of handling it is a bit inappropriate and it is easy to intensify the conflict. In
the future, when she goes to college and society, she will still encounter similar situations. If she
is not handled properly, both sides will suffer, or even hurt the enemy 800 and herself 1,000. You
are all college students?"
Si Jiang nodded.
"I talked to Chen Sinan once. She is quite stubborn and it is hard for her to change her mind. Of
course, she is very smart, quite smart," Teacher Guo said with a smile. "I learned that she never
takes notes in all her classes, including my Chinese class. She even slept in algebra class in recent
days. Teacher Wang is very dissatisfied with her, but I suspect she did it on purpose. But you are
all old classmates who graduated from Shixi, and you are all studying in key universities now. You
should know that it is difficult to get into an ideal good university just by being smart."
Si Jiang took these words to heart. In her opinion, although Teacher Guo was not as open-minded
as He Hongwei, he was also a rare good teacher.
"For more than two months, including her performance during military training, I have observed
her," Teacher Guo frowned and paused, "She has big problems in interpersonal communication
and refuses to integrate into the group, especially with female classmates. The students in our
class are all very good students. Some are directly promoted from our school, and some are
admitted from other schools, but no one forms small groups. They have a strong sense of
collective consciousness and collective honor. For example, everyone actively signed up for the
sports meeting last month, and the class committee called on each student to sign up for at least
two competitions, but Chen Sinan——"
"She refuses to participate in any event," Teacher Guo said, a little embarrassed. "She is very
good at running, high jump and long jump. She is not just ordinary good. Our physical education
teacher Zhu said that if Chen Sinan is willing to train hard, she will have no problem getting the
title of national second-level athlete. With this, she can get extra points in the college entrance
examination, but Chen Sinan——"
This is already Mr. Guo’s second “but Chen Sinan”.
Teacher Guo smiled bitterly: "Chen Sinan said she is busy and refused to join the school track and
field team."
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng looked at each other.
"She has only one friend in the class, Tang Huan. If this continues, her future life will be difficult.
When we go to college, we have to deal with teachers and classmates. When we work, we have
to deal with bosses, superiors and colleagues. No one can live in isolation all their lives, right? It
doesn't mean that she has to be sociable, but she has to learn to cooperate." Teacher Guo said
sincerely.
After leaving the school, Si Jiang felt heavy in her heart, and reflected on whether she cared too
little about Si Nan's thoughts. She had never worried that Si Nan would have such a problem. Si
Nan was the best at pleasing people since she was a child. Everyone liked her. She was the leader
of the children wherever she went. In Wanchun Street, Shajingzi, Urumqi, Xiangqun Middle
School, Si Jiang had seen those boys rushing past her, the leader. How could Si Nan isolate herself
or be isolated? Si Jiang couldn't figure it out at all. Moreover, she and Tang Huan were so close
that they often went to my house and I went to yours to eat and sleep together on weekends. Si
Jiang envied them both. At least she didn't have a girlfriend who was so close.
Jingsheng disagreed: "Don't worry, I think she just doesn't like her classmates."
"Why?!" Si Jiang was even more confused.
"She's a little dull, isn't she?" Jingsheng smiled. "Students from key high schools are all a little dull
and wooden. They're different from her. Sinan has high standards. You can tell she won't have any
interpersonal relationship problems by looking at how she treats Zhao Youning and Tang Huan.
And her martial arts world is definitely not useful at all in key schools. High school boys are busy
taking exams, playing football, and chasing girls. Who wants to fight and be the boss?"
Si Jiang felt inexplicably comforted and sighed softly.
The two chatted all the way from Yuyuan Road back to Wanchun Street.
Si Nan was not surprised to see the two of them coming back together. He just asked, "Did Lao
Guo file a complaint?"
"Your teacher Guo is very young, what's Old Guo? Teacher Guo praised you and said you are
smart." Si Jiang carefully observed Si Nan's expression.
Sinan laughed and said, "Just listen to it and don't take it seriously. How can I say I'm smart?"
She climbed up from the sofa and yawned: "I'm going to bed."
Si Hao ran out with slippers on, grabbed Jingsheng's clothes and asked, "Brother, on your
birthday, did you secretly eat cake behind my back?"
Si Jiang's heart almost jumped out of his chest.
Jing Sheng picked up his collar and walked into the room as if nothing had happened: "No. Please
hurry up and go to sleep. (You hurry up and go to bed)"
Si Hao still refused to give up: "I didn't get the cake, it's not fair!"
"My sister will buy it for you next week." Si Jiang hurried over and explained in a low voice, "You
had a bad stomach that day. If you eat cake again, you will have to poop in the toilet."
Si Hao then let go of Jing Sheng and moved onto the bed.
Jingsheng and Sijiang looked at each other and walked out. Chen Sihao sighed quietly behind
them: "Even if you guys ate secretly, you should throw away the garbage. It's right in front of my
door. It makes me so depressed."
Jingsheng and Sijiang: ...
——
Jingsheng and Sijiang were rarely at home, so they were in the pavilion that night helping to
organize winter clothes. Sijiang asked about his aunt because he hadn't heard from her for a long
time. Gu Dongwen couldn't get away with a few perfunctory words, so he just told the truth.
Last year, during the Hong Kong stock market crash, Gu Nanhong and Zhao Yanhong only got back
10% of the money they invested in the stock market. The family got their Hong Kong ID cards, but
their dream of buying a house was shattered. The whole of Hong Kong was losing a lot of money,
and people were jumping off buildings every day. Gu Nanhong could see through it, because at
least she had a skill to rely on, and Huating Road was making money every month, so she had no
complaints. But Zhao Yanhong couldn't get over this hurdle.
Mr. Fang also suffered heavy losses in the stock market, so he picked up the old business of the
Fang family that was not allowed to be seen in the light. Zhao Yanhong volunteered to go out on
more than a dozen speedboat trips, making a lot of money quickly, and asked Nanhong to pay
back the tens of thousands of dollars invested by Dongwen with interest. When Nanhong asked,
she knew that he was making money under the gun, and she was so angry that she threw the
money in his face and threatened that if he dared to do it again, she would divorce him
immediately. But it is easier to get into dirty work than to get out, which is why the people in the
open and secret parts of the Fang family never intersect. Zhao Yanhong agreed, and secretly ran a
few trips for goods. After the Spring Festival, he was chased too closely by the customs, and was
shot and limped in one leg. Mr. Fang sent someone to send him back to Hong Kong and gave him
a resettlement fee of 100,000 Hong Kong dollars.
Nanhong didn't say anything and took care of Zhao Yanhong for several months. In July, when
Zhao Yanhong could walk with a cane, she immediately filed for divorce. Zhao Yanhong didn't say
anything either and quickly completed the divorce procedures. The three sons all belonged to
Nanhong, and he wanted to give the resettlement fee to Nanhong, but Nanhong refused to take a
penny. The couple had lived together on the sea and on the shore for more than ten years
without separation, and they had not separated even after being displaced to Hong Kong. In the
end, they separated so lightly that even Gu Dongwen couldn't bear it and said a few words for
Zhao Yanhong. Nanhong immediately exploded on the phone, cursing and crying, crying and
cursing.
"So where is my uncle now?" Si Jiang felt extremely upset and couldn't help but ask.
"He still lives with your aunt and her family," Gu Dongwen scratched his nose awkwardly, "Boss
Fang asked him to work as a security guard in the factory and paid him 2,000 yuan a month."
Divorced but still living together, Si Jiang didn't know what to say, it seemed that this ending that
wasn't really an ending wasn't very good, but it also seemed that there couldn't be a better one.
Hong Kong was very expensive, and my uncle was lame, so it was inconvenient for him to go
anywhere, and Da, Er, and San must be very sad. Thinking about it, Si Jiang felt even sadder, and
with red eyes, he lowered his head and muttered a few words.
Gu Dongwen sighed, picked up the teapot and went downstairs to refill the water.
Jingsheng held Sijiang's hand and said softly, "Auntie will be fine, don't worry. Ada, Er, and San
are all grown up, they will be fine."
Si Jiang nodded silently and leaned on Jingsheng's arm.
"It's just very sad," Si Jiang thought of his taciturn uncle, his eyes still sore, "My uncle actually
likes my aunt's personality."
"Yeah." Jingsheng lowered his head and kissed the top of her head. But does Gu Nanhong like
Zhao Yanhong? At least not like Zhou Shanrang likes Gu Beiwu.
"If you really like someone, would you like him/her to the point of having no principles and no
bottom line?" Si Jiang was a little confused.
"Yes," Jingsheng pinched her fingers and rubbed them back and forth for a few times, "I can do
it."
Si Jiang looked up at Jingsheng, feeling surprised and moved, yet also a little ashamed. She
definitely couldn't do it, so although she sympathized with her uncle, she completely understood
her aunt's choice.
"It doesn't matter if you have one," Jingsheng smiled, "I like that you have principles and bottom
line."
Si Jiang defended himself in a low voice: "I like you very much, too."
"What?"
"Didn't you hear?"
"did not hear clearly."
"I said, I like you very much, too." Si Jiang raised his head and repeated it openly.
"I still don't hear it clearly."
There was a thudding sound on the stairs, Si Jiang quickly sat down, glared at Jing Sheng, and said
quickly in a low voice: "If you hadn't been so naughty, I would have wanted to kiss you, you
deserve it."
Jingsheng turned his head and bit her on the mouth.
The door opened.
Gu Dongwen looked at the two little enemies who were pretending to be serious and blushing,
and slapped his head: "Oh, look at my memory, I clearly went downstairs to add water, but I
forgot to take the teapot after cutting a cigarette."
Jingsheng raised his head and felt that the old man was quite sensible.
"Son, help your grandfather go downstairs for a trip, go quickly." Gu Dongwen sat down in the
nylon chair with his legs crossed and instructed with a smile.
Very good, Jingsheng immediately took back what he had just said and also put away the smile
that had just appeared on his face.

Chapter 285
The first time is new, the second time is familiar.
After walking out of the US Consulate and looking at the thick stack of application documents and
the thin visa rejection notice in his hand, Si Jiang found that he was not as sad as he had
imagined. There was even a hint of relief in his bitterness.
This time she was more prepared and paid attention to everything. The visa officer asked a lot of
details, such as who would pay for the expenses other than the half scholarship, whether she
would continue to study in the United States, what major she would choose, whether she had
relatives living in the United States, and so on. The conversation lasted nearly ten minutes longer
than last time. After the conversation, he asked her to wait for a while and went in to answer a
phone call. When he came out, he just said sorry. The nervous waiting and the secret joy
disappeared in an instant. Si Jiang didn't even hesitate. He quickly collected all his documents,
didn't even bother to say thank you, and turned around and left.
The leaves of the sycamore trees on Huaihai West Road have rusted into pale golden spots, and
the towering ginkgo trees that occasionally appear in the roadside communities are already
bright yellow, heralding the last splendor of late autumn.
"I'm so angry!" Si Jiang and Jingsheng walked towards the Shanghai Library.
"If he wants to refuse, just refuse. Why is he talking so much nonsense to me, asking questions
and laughing?" Si Jiang stamped his feet in anger. "Do you think he is sick? He wasted a lot of my
expressions. I was prepared to be rejected again, but he kept asking me questions. I thought it
would work this time. What a waste! (He is just playing with me)"
"Are you still applying? It should be possible to apply again before the spring semester next year."
Jingsheng rubbed his fingers nervously in his trouser pockets.
"No!" Si Jiang took a big step, raised his head and chest, and shook his head angrily, "Humph, I
originally thought that if I got the visa this time, I would think again whether to go or not. Now
it's good. I don't want to apply again in the next few years. I'll think about it when I take the
postgraduate entrance examination. Maybe by then we will have caught up with the UK and the
US."
After saying this, Si Jiang suddenly grabbed Jingsheng's arm and said, "I have to study hard in the
next few years - and have a good conversation and friendship with my boyfriend."
Jingsheng almost stumbled because of her, but the corners of his mouth curled up.
Si Jiang's boldness lasted only three seconds. When he was about to pull his arm away, Jingsheng
grabbed it and held it tighter.
"Here." Jingsheng's eyes curved.
Si Jiang was startled: "To what?"
"Who did you just say I am to you?"
Si Jiang's ears felt hot, and his voice became softer: "Boyfriend."
"arrive."
Si Jiang couldn't help but lowered his head and laughed.
Jingsheng asked her: "You only took half a day off today?"
"Huh? Yes."
"I've asked for a day off," Jingsheng held her hand, "How about skipping half a day of class?"
"Ah?" Si Jiang hesitated, "Then what are we going to do?"
"fall in love."
——
What exactly is the procedure for dating? Jingsheng and Sijiang are not sure. They have talked
about being happy, held hands, kissed each other, and their teeth have bumped. Sijiang has also
seen things he shouldn't see. But does it count as a formal relationship? Jingsheng thinks that as
an "underground party member", it doesn't count. But Sijiang thinks it's long overdue.
The first time in Si Jiang's life that he skipped class was because he wanted to fall in love.
Revisiting the old place, there were few tourists in Zhongshan Park in the afternoon. The former
children's playground has become an amusement park, and there are a few boats floating in the
lake. Si Jiang has a deep impression of the spring outing in junior high school, and Jingsheng also
has a fresh memory.
"It was here that you and Tang Zenian sang to each other. The couple returned home together."
Jingsheng chuckled twice.
"He didn't sing that line," Si Jiang narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Tang Zenian is not a good
singer. He sang three lines and then left. Hey, how do you know he sang Huangmei Opera? I
didn't see you. Where was your class at that time? I remember meeting you in the children's
playground."
"I was the one who came to find you," Jingsheng corrected her, "Don't have too much fun with
me, Nong Bai."
Si Jiang blinked and became inexplicably nervous: "Hey, Gu Jingsheng, did you already like me at
that time?!"
Jingsheng clasped her fingers tightly and said something else: "You are so stupid, holding on to
the elephant's trunk and grinning. (You are so stupid, holding on to the elephant's trunk and
grinning.)"
"Wang Lu taught me a lesson, and you still spoke up for me." Si Jiang felt a little ashamed, a little
guilty, and indescribably happy.
"I taught you a lesson, too. Why don't you remember?"
"You? What did you teach me?"
"You're flirting and acting coquettishly." Jingsheng turned his head and smiled at her.
"Did I flirt with you? Did I act coquettishly to you? Impossible," Si Jiang denied it. "I was only in
the second grade at that time. I didn't know anything."
"Brother, don't be angry, I am still a treasure--" Before Jingsheng could finish learning, Si Jiang
covered his mouth.
"Don't learn it! I'm getting goosebumps." Si Jiang remembered it and felt so embarrassed that he
wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
The two of them fell silent when they thought of the day they met Wu Xiaoli and Li Qiang at the
skating rink.
Without the densely packed bird cages, the small pavilion in the fir forest is very quiet. The
afternoon sunlight shines through the gaps between the leaves, leaving mottled light and
shadows on the narrow stone road.
Si Jiang patted the railing that the beauty was leaning on and changed the topic: "I've been
rejected twice. I'm so unlucky." When he brought it up again a few hours later, his anger was long
gone, leaving only a feeling of powerlessness and frustration.
Jingsheng: "Maybe God thinks you haven't worked hard enough, so he must have put a full
scholarship waiting for you."
Si Jiang smiled bitterly: "Thank you."
"There are many people who have been denied visas five or six times," Jingsheng lowered his
eyes. "One of our classmates was denied for the third time last month. He is now preparing to
apply for the fourth time. If you really want to go abroad, you can always get a visa."
"I haven't really thought it through yet—" Si Jiang paused and asked in a low voice, "What about
you? Do you want me to go out or not? Tell me the truth and tell me whether you want to go out
or not."
Jingsheng raised his head and answered simply, "I don't want to."
His love was very selfish and petty, he was not as great as Shan Rang. He didn't want to fall in love
with Si Jiang across the Pacific Ocean and the time difference. He didn't want to be separated
from Si Jiang for a minute, a second, a day, a night.
So I just don't want to, it's the truth, the truth, the truth from my heart. For him, all questions
about Si Jiang are multiple choice questions, no need to hesitate.
Si Jiang was a little surprised. After looking at Jingsheng for a few seconds, she realized that his
answer made her happier than she had imagined, "I don't want to, but I don't want to."
"Then I won't go out." Si Jiang blinked.
Jingsheng shook his head: "I don't want to, but whether you want to or not is another matter."
Si Jiang glanced at him and said, "Are you afraid of taking responsibility? Are you afraid that I will
rely on you if you don't go out?"
"You are Chen Sijiang first, and then you are my girlfriend. My wishes come after yours."
Jingsheng looked at her seriously and said.
"Here." Si Jiang suddenly responded softly.
Jingsheng rested his arm on the beauty's backrest, and his palm gently covered Sijiang's shoulder,
like a cat dozing in the sunlight not far away.
Si Jiang's heart was pounding.
"Girlfriend?" Jingsheng's voice was filled with laughter.
"Here." Si Jiang smiled and lowered her head. A few rays of light wandered on the back of her
hand. When the wind blew, the light and shadow swayed. When the wind stopped, the light and
shadow flickered.
She raised her eyes, and the light and shadow flickered in Jingsheng's eyes. The self in his eyes
was getting closer and closer, and his breath fluttered on her eyelashes, like fluttering on her
heart, itching.
Si Jiang closed her eyes gently. She didn't know that the light and shadow also fell on her
eyelashes, like a fascinating dance.
Jingsheng lowered his head and kissed her lips. Unlike before, they didn't separate immediately
after the first touch. After tossing and turning, they resolutely conquered each other until they
were out of breath and reluctantly separated. The sun was slightly tilted, and the flowing light fell
on Sijiang's slightly swollen lips, shining with water. Jingsheng took a deep breath and pressed the
flustered girl against him again.
It’s nice that no one disturbs me.
The sleepy cat opened its eyes lazily and walked away slowly, its long furry tail swaying gently in
the air.
——
As December approached, there was a festive atmosphere in the university, and cross-school
friendship dormitories began to interact frequently.
Fraternity dormitories are a common sight in Shanghai universities and have been popular for
several years. There have even been cases of scammers pretending to be students from
prestigious universities to defraud money and sex. Therefore, in the past two years, the Student
Union External Relations Department has officially organized the event.
The school's dormitories are relatively simple, and everyone will meet in the lecture hall, library,
and cafeteria in advance. H Normal University has more than 75% female students, so male
students are in great demand. After twelve years of hard study, most of the freshmen, both male
and female, regard "having a romantic relationship" as a must-have rite of passage in college.
When they find their ideal partner, they are brave enough to confess their love, and there are
many who have been hanging out by the Liwa River in two months. Si Jiang received no less than
twenty love letters after the National Day. She politely wrote back to decline the first and second
letters, stating that she already had a boyfriend. Later, she received a huge number of love letters
and had a lot of things to do at home, so she really couldn't take care of them.
Cross-school friendship dormitories are more attractive to freshmen. When they first enter
school, a long list of colleges and dormitories waiting for friendship will be posted on the bulletin
boards of the library, various canteens, and auditoriums. Of course, the names of the students
will not appear, only the hobbies of the students in the dormitory will be written after the
dormitory number. For example, the hobbies reported by Si Jiang and her roommates are English,
reading, and watching movies, which are similar to other girls' dormitories, so it depends on
which college, which department, and which dormitory they will be matched with. For example,
H Normal University usually has friendships with the Xuhui campus of Jiaotong University and H
Politics and Law, because Fudan University, Shanghai International Studies University, Finance
University, and Tongji University in Yangpu are often close to the water and digested internally.
Medical universities generally do not leak out, and even if they take the trouble to have a
relationship across schools, medical students will be digested by the hospital in minutes after
internship.
However, the reputation of H Normal University girls for both talent and beauty is not overstated,
especially the average beauty, which ranks only after the drama academy and dance academy,
and is particularly popular at dances. Therefore, many Tongji and Fudan boys will hang out on the
H Normal University campus every Sunday in the name of high school reunions.
Si Jiang never encountered this kind of trouble, because she went back to Wanchun Street as
soon as school was over on Saturday afternoons. There were eight girls in Room 203, Dormitory
8, and four of them were from Shanghai. Si Jiang's family was in Jing'an, Hu Die was from
Huangpu, Zhu Yanming was from Jiading, and Guan Youyi was from Fengxian. Needless to say,
they would go home on Sundays to do laundry, buy snacks and fruits, and have a reunion with old
classmates. Cheng Dai from Suzhou and Li Jun from Wuxi also often took the train home on
Saturday night and returned to school on Monday morning. This was also the norm for freshmen
in the first half of the year, and their main social circle was still high school classmates and fellow
townspeople.
The other two people in Room 203 are Yin Han from Changchun. She is petite and slim, with a
cheerful and straightforward personality. As soon as she arrived, she insisted on learning
Shanghainese and how to speak like a Shanghai girl. She quickly became familiar with Si Jiang and
the others. Yin Han's boyfriend is in the Second Medical University. In addition, there are
Northeastern hometown associations and Changchun alumni associations, so she is very busy on
Sundays. The other is Liu Chunlan from Chaozhou. She is more introverted and speaks softly.
Usually, she creates a small world when the curtain is drawn. Her family is one of the first to get
rich since the reform and opening up. Her parents flew her to Shanghai to study and gave her a
mobile phone.
Suzhou and Wuxi both belong to the Wu dialect area. Two soft-spoken girls from the south of the
Yangtze River, Cheng Dai and Li Jun, quickly gave up using Mandarin to express their daily needs
and started speaking Suzhou and Wuxi dialects instead. With Yin Han, seven of the eight people
in the room spoke Shanghai dialect with different accents, which was very lively. Si Jiang
unknowingly started talking about "Na ham?" and often added a Fengxian modal particle "ga" at
the end of her words, which made everyone laugh. Without a doubt, Si Jiang's accent was the
easiest to be distorted.
In early December, Si Jiang and her roommates and the Fudan fraternity dormitory agreed to
attend the H Normal University New Year's party together. The two roommates had already
talked on the phone. There were eight boys and eight girls, but only four of them had danced in
middle school. The others didn't know how to dance. So when Si Jiang saw Tang Zenian at the
warm-up dance on Saturday, she realized that the fraternity dormitory of her roommate was
actually Tang Zenian's dormitory.

Chapter 286
On behalf of their dormitory, Tang Zenian gave gifts to the girls in Room 203. Each of them
received a rose and a piece of Caesar's chestnut cake. The gifts were packed in a brown paper bag
with the room numbers of the two dormitories written in cursive on the bag. It had a bit of the
flavor of the Qin and Jin friendship and looked very exquisite.
The girls were dumbfounded because they had not prepared anything.
Si Jiang was familiar with this kind of behavior and had a strong immunity to it, so he stepped
forward and greeted Tang Zenian openly: "How come it's such a coincidence?"
Tang Zenian didn't wait for his brothers to betray him, so he confessed honestly: "It's not a
coincidence, it's been planned for a long time. I got your dormitory number from Zeng Xin, and I
have dealt with your External Relations Department a lot."
The roommates were quiet for a moment, then all exclaimed, followed by “Oh—”, “So—”, “You
guys?” and “Hahahaha”.
Tang Zenian smiled slightly. He went to Wanchun Street in August, but Si Jiang went to Beijing.
Chen Sinan, who was more wary of him than thieves, probably wouldn't tell Si Jiang that he had
looked for her. During the National Day high school reunion, Si Jiang said she wanted to
accompany her mother for acupuncture and didn't attend. Everyone sighed and lamented for her.
She got such a high score in Xinjiang and could have entered the Journalism Department of
Fudan University, but she went to Normal University. Some people speculated that Si Jiang didn't
attend the reunion because she had no face. Because of this, Tang Zenian and that person fell
out. He couldn't accompany her when she was most sad, but it didn't matter. There were plenty
of opportunities in college. Even if they were not in the same school or the same major, they
could create opportunities without opportunities.
Director Yan Su said with a smile: "No wonder, the gifts were all prepared by Old Tang, just thank
him."
Yin Han said quickly: "I never thought that the first rose I received in my life would come from
this. Thank you, Tang, you are very experienced. But I'm sorry to make it public. Our beautiful girl
Chen Sijiang has a boyfriend. I also have a boyfriend. Next time, let our boyfriend go to Fudan to
learn from you."
Recently, every Saturday, Si Jiang would wait in the dormitory for Jingsheng to pick her up from
Minhang, and the two would go home together from H Normal University. Jingsheng would
attract the attention and discussion of the girls even if he only stood downstairs of the girls'
dormitory for three or five minutes. In addition, Si Jiang was the most beautiful girl in the
department when she entered the school, so the two of them were extremely eye-catching on
campus. Graduates from other departments who had the same school took the initiative to
refute the rumor after meeting them, saying that the outrageously good-looking Gu Jingsheng
was actually Chen Sijiang's cousin, not her boyfriend. This "rumor refutation" prompted some
boys to continue to pursue Si Jiang courageously. The roommates were confused, and finally Yin
Han couldn't help asking, and Si Jiang clarified in the dormitory: he was not her cousin, but her
boyfriend.
Tang Zenian's heart sank, he could hardly believe it, he looked at Si Jiang, Si Jiang smiled and
nodded, his eyes and brows showing unconcealable joy.
Yan Su quickly started joking: "When you're in love, how can there be no one digging for you? It's
okay, just loosen the soil. More choices mean more paths."
Hu Die, the head of Room 203, smiled and spat at him: "I can tell from the phone that you are the
most dishonest person. It is worrying for the country if people like you are engaged in
journalism."
The two room heads took it upon themselves to introduce the roommates one by one, where
they came from, which school they graduated from, and what their hobbies and interests were.
No matter how far apart they were, it didn't prevent them from making more friends and having
more paths. The boys spoke enthusiastically, and the girls spoke generously, and soon they built a
small boat of friendship together.
As the music started, the boys in the auditorium quickly walked to the front of the girls, bent
down and stretched out their hands.
The seats in this row quickly emptied, leaving only Tang Zenian and Si Jiang sitting quietly a few
seats away.
Tang Zenian took a deep breath, stood up and asked Si Jiang to dance.
Si Jiang hesitated for a moment: "Do you want to go out for a walk?"
"good."
The two took two steps outside.
"You forgot to take your gift." Tang Zenian turned around and picked up the paper bag on Si
Jiang's chair, feeling confused.
Si Jiang took the paper bag: "Thank you."
"A bit stupid, isn't it?" Tang Zenian smiled bitterly.
"No, you are so thoughtful. Male classmates are generally not so thoughtful," Si Jiang smiled, "I'm
sorry, we girls didn't think of giving you any gifts."
"I actually only want to give it to you, but I'm afraid you won't accept it—" Tang Zenian said self-
deprecatingly, "But it doesn't matter, I've been doing this stupid thing for several years anyway."
"I'm sorry." Si Jiang said softly.
The two walked slowly along the riverbank. It is said that this river belongs to a fashionable resort
built by foreigners. It has appeared in the novels of literary masters. Since it became the mother
river of Normal University, it has become the cultural context of Normal University. Countless
men and women have recited poems and essays here, and have been sad about the passing of
spring and autumn, brewing countless tragicomedies of love. The small river at night is dyed with
the atmosphere of the Jiangnan water town by the looming lights. The night wind in early winter
is not biting, but it can't stop the passionate young lovers. They are either holding hands or
hugging shoulders, or kissing passionately under the shade of trees. In Tang Zenian's eyes, the
yearning and imagination he once had become particularly dazzling and sad.
Si Jiang usually liked to read or memorize words alone by the river. When she put down the book,
she would look at the red brick school building opposite and the blue sky and white clouds
reflected in the river. It was peaceful and comfortable, but she seldom came to the river for a
walk at night. After seeing couples, she realized that she had brought them to the wrong place. It
was not appropriate for her and Tang Zenian to come to this place at this time.
"I already have a boyfriend," Si Jiang cut the Gordian knot, "I'm sorry, Tang Zenian, and I hope you
meet the right girl."
Polite words always sound hypocritical, but Si Jiang couldn't think of any other suitable words.
"When was it available?" Tang Zenian really couldn't figure out where he lost.
"August."
Tang Zenian was silent for a moment.
"From your school?"
"no."
"Which school are you from?"
Si Jiang hesitated for a moment: "Jiaotong University."
"How did you two know each other?" Tang Zenian lowered his head, "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't
ask so many questions, it's just..." He pressed the corner of his eyes, trying to cover up his gaffe.
He was unwilling to give up and refused to give up. He knew very well that Chen Sijiang was not a
girl who was easily impressed. She knew that she was beautiful and knew where her strengths
were. It was extremely difficult to please her because she had almost no desires. And it was
never just her appearance that attracted him. When he saw her trying to dribble clumsily in the
sunset, walking around but refusing to give up, she was so cute that it instantly struck him. For
the first time, he knew that his heart would really miss a beat. He wanted to get close to her, but
was afraid of scaring her. After so many roundabout efforts, he was once so close to her. They had
so many common words about literature, life, and society. They had fought against authority and
questioned the power system together. He gave up going abroad and wanted to meet her at
Fudan, confirm their relationship, and then go abroad together. He didn't even tell her that he
had also filled out the application for Fudan's Journalism Department. After knowing that she had
ended up at the Normal University, he couldn't sleep for several nights. He wanted to comfort her
and encourage her, and he deliberately got together with her roommates to give her a surprise...
It's only been three months, and she said she already has a boyfriend.
"We've known each other for a long time." Si Jiang's lips curled up.
Tang Zenian was stunned: "Do I know him?"
"Yeah." Si Jiang smiled and nodded.
"Chen Sijiang——!" Someone ran over from a distance.
"Gu Jingsheng? Long time no see." Tang Zenian was stunned for a moment, then nodded to
Jingsheng: "Are you here to take Si Jiang home?"
Jingsheng took a deep look at Si Jiang, glanced at the two couples next to him, and twitched his
mouth: "Yes, I came to take her home, why are you here?"
Si Jiang blinked, feeling inexplicably guilty.
"Oh, our dormitory and Si Jiang's dormitory are social dormitories. Let's practice ballroom
dancing today. We will soon attend the Normal University's New Year's dance and New Year's Eve
activities together." Tang Zenian suspected that Si Jiang's boyfriend was introduced by Gu
Jingsheng. He could feel that Gu Jingsheng had never liked him very much.
"I have something to do at home, so we'll leave first." Jingsheng turned around.
"Oh, then I'll go back to the dormitory to get my bag," Si Jiang handed the bag in his hand to Jing
Sheng, "You just wait here for me, don't go away. Oh, by the way, help me get this."
"Si Jiang--" Tang Zenian called out as he watched Si Jiang hurried away, but saw her turn around
and waved, probably saying goodbye to him.
Jingsheng looked at the red rose sticking out of the bag, opened the bag, and saw the familiar
chestnut cake inside, and frowned.
"You gave it to me?"
"Um."
Tang Zenian hesitated for a moment and couldn't help asking, "Did you know that Si Jiang has a
boyfriend?"
Jingsheng was startled, and his eyes curved: "I know."
"who is it?"
"it's me."
They both spoke at the same time.
Tang Zenian thought he had heard wrongly and asked again: "Who?"
"Me." Jingsheng looked at Tang Zenian frankly.
Tang Zenian's scalp went numb. After a few seconds of stunned silence, he suddenly threw a
punch and shouted angrily, "Gu Jingsheng, what did you do to her?! This is fucking incest!"
Jingsheng exploded immediately.
Tang Zenian was punched in the face, and then again. He staggered back two steps, his nose was
covered in blood, his lips and mouth corners were numb, and then he was kicked in the stomach.
He bent over and raised his head, and saw Gu Jingsheng's sneer and disdain in his eyes. He was
so angry that he trembled all over. He never thought that Gu Jingsheng would be such a
despicable villain. He had coveted Si Jiang for a long time, and he succeeded! Si Jiang treated him
as his own brother, but he did this. In a flash, many details of his middle school days that had
been ignored all emerged. Tang Zenian's blood boiled, his head was buzzing, and he didn't care
about anything else. He gritted his teeth and rushed forward.
——
Si Jiang came out of the dormitory building carrying his bag. He had only taken a few steps when
he saw the riverside crowded with people, and all kinds of shouts echoed throughout the
campus.
"Someone fell into the river! Someone fell into the river!"
"Pull it up, quick, pull it up--"
"stop fighting!"
It was common for boys to fall into the river after fighting over girls. Si Jiang always thought that
such people were crazy. She never liked being in the crowd, so she wanted to get out of the
crowd, but she stepped on a brown paper bag. When she looked down, she saw that the roses
had already been crushed to pieces, and there were several footprints on the two dormitory
numbers on the bag.
"Brother!" Si Jiang pushed through the crowd.
Jingsheng and Tang Zenian had already reached the shore one after another. Jingsheng was
soaked from the waist down, and Tang Zenian was dripping from head to toe.
The two boys came ashore, and the crowd around them were used to it and automatically made
way for them.
Jingsheng turned his head and saw Si Jiang, and walked towards her.
Tang Zenian rushed up from behind him, grabbed him angrily, and shouted in a hoarse voice: "Are
you Ning? She is your sister! (Are you a human? She is your sister)"
Jingsheng twisted his palm and turned it over, grabbed his wrist, lowered his legs and waist, and
threw him over his shoulder. Tang Zenian fell between Jingsheng and Si Jiang with a "bang". His
lumbar spine was in great pain. He struggled to get up and continue fighting. He had to beat
down this hypocrite with a beastly heart!
The onlookers shouted "Wow".
"Stop fighting!" Si Jiang grabbed Jingsheng's hand.
She squatted down and helped Tang Zenian up: "What are you doing! Are you crazy? Are you
sick? Why are you fighting with my brother? (What are you doing! Are you crazy? Are you sick?
Why are you fighting with my brother?)"
After being harshly criticized by Si Jiang, Tang Zenian was stunned for a long time.
Some people were already whispering nearby.
"It's Chen Sijiang from the English Department."
"No wonder. Which department are the two men from?"
"I don't know them. They don't seem to be from our school."
"It seems like one is a brother and the other is a boyfriend?"
Jingsheng didn't want to hear Si Jiang being talked about, so he took Si Jiang's hand and quickly
walked out of the crowd.
Tang Zenian quickly chased after him: "Chen Sijiang, wake up! You can talk to anyone for Saning,
but you can't talk to Gu Jingsheng—— (You can talk to anyone, but you can't talk to Gu Jingsheng
——)"
Si Jiang turned around and asked coldly, "Why? What's it got to do with you?"
Tang Zenian pursed his lips, shivering with cold when the wind blew. He wiped the water off his
face and said, "He is your elder brother! He must have been watching you for a long time."
Groups of three or four followed them.
Si Jiang was so angry that his voice trembled: "He likes me, I like him, it's none of your business!
(He likes me, I like him, it's none of your business.)"
Jingsheng frowned and pulled Si Jiang away.
Tang Zenian had a lot to say but before he could finish, he was stopped by two roommates who
had just arrived at the scene.
"Old Tang, why are you so miserable!"
Tang Zenian stared blankly at the backs of Jingsheng and Sijiang as they hurried away holding
hands, and nodded blankly. Yes, it was very miserable, a real miserable world.

Chapter 287
Back at Wanchun Street, Jingsheng took his clothes and went downstairs to take a shower. Sijiang
was peeling ginger in the kitchen, the coal stove was lit, and water was boiling in Gangzong's
wok.
"I'll make some brown sugar ginger tea." Si Jiang raised his head and said something nice, but the
corners of his mouth drooped and he looked unhappy.
Jingsheng paused, hummed, and entered the shower room, where the faucet started running.
"Don't take cold showers anymore. There's hot water in the four thermos bottles." Si Jiang
shouted.
"I'm used to it. It's okay." Jingsheng replied from inside.
Si Jiang angrily threw the whole piece of ginger into the wok, scooped out three tablespoons of
brown sugar, and pinched two pieces of scallion and threw them in with all her might, throwing it
like a shot put. The scallion floated limply on the dark red water. She looked back at the shower
door.
"I feel calmer now! (I am so angry!)"
What was he angry about? Qi Jingsheng hit her. Why couldn't they just talk it out? He was so
stupid and stupid. She had clearly explained everything to Tang Zenian, but he still beat her so
badly that she threw her into the river. What if something happened to Tang Zenian? The more Si
Jiang thought about it, the more scared she became. In the taxi, she repeatedly asked him why he
hit her, and he said he just couldn't stand it. What couldn't he stand? Did he not stand Tang
Zenian chasing her? Or did he not stand that she and Tang Zenian were close in middle school?
She asked him if he was killing a chicken to scare the monkey, and he actually said yes. Although
she, the "monkey", asked not to make it public in front of people she knew, she took the initiative
to tell Tang Zenian. If he hadn't come at that time, she would have told Tang Zenian who her
boyfriend was.
Jingsheng took a quick bath, and when he came out, the ginger tea was still boiling hot, but Si
Jiang was not there. He took the bowl upstairs, and as soon as he entered the room, he saw Si
Jiang sitting upright on the sofa, dialing a number from the address book.
After being looked at by him twice, Si Jiang dialed the wrong number twice in a row, feeling a
little upset. Even though he didn't drink the ginger tea, a thin layer of sweat appeared on the tip
of his nose.
"Hello, is Tang Zenian at home?"
"Oh, ok, thank you."
“I was his high school classmate.”
"Yes, it's me. Nothing much - well, I have something to ask him. Do you have his dormitory phone
number?"
"Thank you. Please wait a moment. I'll write it down."
"What?" Si Jiang was stunned. "No, my parents are still in Xinjiang."
"No, there's no need to help. They're all doing well at work. They don't plan to return to
Shanghai!" Si Jiang was a little embarrassed. "Thank you, Tang Zenian's mother. I'll hang up first.
Bye."
After hanging up the phone, Si Jiang raised his head and looked into Jingsheng's dark and calm
eyes.
"Why did you come here? I was just worried that something might happen to him, so I called to
ask," Si Jiang explained sheepishly, "He fell pretty hard, if he had any broken bones or something,
his family would definitely—"
"I went into the river too." Jingsheng sat on a corner of the coffee table and snorted coldly.
"I won't make ginger tea for you," Si Jiang snapped the address book shut, walked to the dining
table, picked up the empty bowl and pointed it at him: "You insisted on taking a cold shower, you
deserve to catch a cold, I won't care about you."
"I won't catch a cold." Jingsheng just stood up and sneezed three times in a row.
"Still talking? You deserve it!" Si Jiang shook his head, took the bowl and went downstairs to eat.
Jingsheng sniffed.
"Oh, are they quarreling?" Sinan poked his head out of the attic and gloated.
Jingsheng turned around and was startled by the long hair hanging down from her head. "You are
fine, why are you acting like a ghost?"
Sinan shook his curly hair playfully: "You had a fight? You had a fight with Tang Zenian? And you
won?"
"Nonsense," Jingsheng pulled Sinan's hair and said, "Come down and talk properly."
"No, I promised you I wouldn't be a light bulb. Where's the reward?" Sinan stretched out his hand
to him: "The price will go up starting next year. Four dollars a day, sixteen dollars for four
Sundays."
Jingsheng searched his trouser pockets, but they were empty. He slapped Sinan's hand and said,
"Are you robbing me? Two dollars has increased to four dollars!"
"Hehe, I need to bring a burden with me, otherwise, how about trying the effect with two 60-
watt light bulbs?" Sinan sat on the Diaoyutai and threatened Jingsheng happily.
"I'll give it to you tomorrow. The wallet is in the pavilion." Jingsheng really had no way to deal
with Sinan. He had a soft spot.
"Okay, I'm going to Xu's house tomorrow to report for a karate class. When I finish learning, we
can have a few sparring moves." Sinan smiled mysteriously and announced.
"Why did you sign up for this kind of class? Who did you fight with? In school or outside?"
Jingsheng frowned.
Sinan held it in for a while, then turned over and lay down at the entrance of the attic, brushing
his messy hair back randomly, and said a little embarrassedly: "A few girls in our class met those
hooligans who like to show their penises. They said they wanted to learn karate for self-defense,
but the tuition was too expensive. I accidentally boasted that I was very good and they wanted to
take me as their teacher."
"Didn't you force them to do that?" Jingsheng narrowed his eyes and asked suspiciously.
"Of course not!" Sinan shouted, "Am I that kind of person?"
"Who are you."
Si Nan choked for a long while, then laughed dryly twice: "I am also a chivalrous man. They are
not interested in martial arts or gangs. After all, karate has some connection with our Peach
Blossom Gang, right? Hahaha, actually I don't have any feelings for gang leaders or guardians
now, hehe, I just help them blindly, I'm bored to death in school anyway."
"You won't be bored if you join the track and field team."
"Ah, why do you speak in the same tone as Mr. Nan Guo? It's so annoying," Si Nan frowned and
looked disdainful at Jing Sheng. "We have to train three times a week. I'm so busy. How can I have
time to train?"
"Didn't you say school was boring? How many times a week does the karate class have?"
"Twice. But one of them was on Sunday, so it only counts as one."
"How long will it take? How much is the tuition?"
"Two months, one hundred and twenty." Sinan coughed twice and said, "An average class is
seven dollars and a half, not expensive."
"You only have five dollars a month for pocket money, where do you get so much money?"
"My uncle gave me 100, and my grandmother gave me 50." Si Nan shrank back immediately
when he heard Si Jiang coming upstairs. "Don't mind my business. Go and comfort my sister. Next
time you fight, call me!"
——
Si Jiang came up and called Tang Zenian's dormitory building again. After reporting the dormitory
number, someone answered the phone soon, but it was not Tang Zenian.
When Yan Su heard it was Chen Sijiang, his tone was a little strange: "Old Tang didn't go back to
school, he went straight home. Do you have his home phone number?"
Si Jiang was stunned: "I just called his home."
"Oh, maybe he's still on the way?" Yan Su wondered. They had already arrived back from H
Normal University to Fudan University. It was impossible that Tang Zenian had returned to Jing'an
Temple for so long and still hadn't arrived.
Si Jiang became anxious: "He said he went home?"
"Yes, I did."
Si Jiang hung up the phone, feeling worried. Jing Sheng was half soaked and caught a cold when
he came back. Tang Zenian was so soaked that he neither went back to school nor went home.
She stood up suddenly: "I'll go to the entrance of the alley to take a look."
"He's such a grown-up, he won't get lost." Jing Sheng said strangely, but his legs automatically
followed Si Jiang downstairs.
When he reached the entrance of the cultural center, Si Jiang saw Tang Zenian walking around in
circles with his head down in the open space.
"Tang Zenian!" Si Jiang trotted over.
Jingsheng walked over slowly with his hands in his pockets.
Tang Zenian was shivering from the cold. He was struggling with his conscience. Suddenly, he saw
Si Jiang and felt ashamed. His voice trembled: "Si Jiang, I'm sorry. I was wrong today. I shouldn't
have said that and shouldn't have started it first."
Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, but then became nervous again: "Why don't you change into dry
clothes? You'll get sick. Come to my house, take a bath, drink a bowl of ginger tea, and change
clothes, okay?"
"No," Tang Zenian bowed deeply to Si Jiang and Jing Sheng, "What I said was really bad. It might
cause trouble for Si Jiang. I'm sorry." Thinking of the expressions of his roommates when they
heard his careless words, Tang Zenian wanted to slap himself a few times.
Seeing his usually calm and mature rival with red eyes and choked voice looking so miserable,
Jingsheng felt embarrassed to kick the man when he was down, so he hummed lightly, turned
sideways and walked away two steps.
Tang Zenian looked at Si Jiang and said sadly: "Actually, saying sorry is useless. You don't have to
consider me a friend in the future." Without waiting for Si Jiang to answer, he lowered his head
and said self-deprecatingly: "I didn't expect that I would get such a bad response in private. (I
didn't expect that I would be so bad)"
"You should go back soon. If you catch a cold, remember to take medicine." Si Jiang paused,
"Goodbye."
Tang Zenian's last hope was shattered. He looked up and saw Chen Sijiang in front of him, who
seemed to be a Chen Sijiang he had never seen before. He was distant and calm. He did not easily
forgive him because he came to apologize, nor did he say goodbye and still be friends. But he was
not qualified to ask for these two points. A single thought could make many things irreversible.
Si Jiang watched Tang Zenian leave dejectedly, sighed softly, turned around and saw that
Jingsheng had already walked away.
"Brother! Wait for me!"
Jingsheng took bigger and faster steps.
When they reached the door of the pavilion, Si Jiang grabbed Jingsheng's hand. He just gasped
and said "I'm sorry" when he was startled.
"Why are you so hot?" She reached out and touched Jingsheng's forehead, and it was indeed
burning hot.
——
Jingsheng fell asleep quickly after taking the antipyretic medicine.
Si Jiang returned to the living room and called Nurse Lu. Her colleagues said she was not on duty
today. She hung up the phone and thought about it. Otherwise, her uncle would definitely be at
home. Thinking about it again, it seemed that her uncle had been visiting Nurse Lu very
frequently in the past few months.
After returning to the pavilion and closing the door, Si Jiang stood at the head of the bed and
watched Jingsheng quietly for a while. The anger he had felt before had long since dissipated, but
when he thought about it again, he felt a little sweet.
He must be jealous, probably for years, and was provoked by a rose and took revenge. The
monkey he mentioned before, killing a chicken to scare the monkey, must not be her, but other
boys who wanted to pursue her.
Si Jiang touched the towel on Jingsheng's forehead. The cold towel had turned into a warm
towel. She took it off and threw it into the basin, wrung it out gently, and put it back on
Jingsheng's forehead. She knelt on the floor, looked at Jingsheng's face carefully for a while,
stretched out her fingers and gently stroked his eyebrows. Her heart felt soft as if it was soaked in
hot water.
There seems to be a clear line of demarcation between lovers' physical contact. If it progresses to
holding hands, then they will think about holding hands anytime and anywhere. If it progresses
to kissing, then they will want to kiss anytime and anywhere. The intensity is high and it is hard to
reduce it. It is a bit like it is difficult to go from extravagant to frugal. This is probably the origin of
"once you taste the marrow, you will know the taste". Si Jiang was embarrassed by his own
strange idea. Although he was embarrassed, he honestly leaned forward. When their cheeks
touched, Si Jiang breathed out softly like a thief. His heart, which had just been soaked in hot
water, was finally relieved.
Jingsheng opened his eyes and his eyelashes brushed against Sijiang's face.
Si Jiang jumped up suddenly, suspecting that Jingsheng was just pretending to sleep and waiting
for this little fool.
Jingsheng put his arms around her and pressed her back to his chest.
"Don't kiss on the mouth, or you might catch a cold." Jingsheng reminded in a gentle voice.
"Who wants to kiss you? I just want to see if your face is still hot..."
Jingsheng laughed twice, and his hot breath filled Sijiang's ears: "Are you still angry with me?"
Si Jiang struggled to stand up: "Of course I'm not angry, what did he say to you?"
Jingsheng stared at her and shook his head. Those two words were his taboos. Rumors can
penetrate bones, and he didn't want to dirty her ears. He didn't care what she said, but he
couldn't bear to hear a single word of dirty water thrown on Si Jiang.
Si Jiang held his hand tightly and smiled: "It's nothing, actually. I've always called you brother. I've
also told my roommates that according to the household registration book, you are my cousin—"
"I didn't want to make it public in front of Wanchun Street and my old classmates because I didn't
want others to gossip about you behind your back."
"If he says that to you, he's no longer my friend."
"I told him—"
Si Jiang couldn't finish his words as he was pulled down and pressed against Jingsheng's hot face.
The pressure was so tight that his cheekbones ached slightly, a pain filled with a sense of security.
"Kissing your hair shouldn't be contagious, right?" Jingsheng's voice was clearly teasing her, but it
was a little choked up.
Si Jiang raised his head, his eyes curved like bows: "You have medicine, I don't have to be afraid."
An arrow pierced the heart.
——
The winter night in the small pavilion is isolated from the world.
The desk lamp was off, and they stared at each other for a long time in the dark night,
occasionally smiling knowingly, pecking lightly, kissing deeply, and hugging tightly. In the face of
love, rumors and diseases are insignificant.
From outside the window came the same bedtime song from the tape recorder of the neighbor's
house.
"You asked me how much I love you, how much I love you. Think about it, look at it, the moon
represents my heart."
At four o'clock in the morning, Si Jiang, with a stuffy nose and sore throat, quietly climbed up to
the attic. Every nerve ending seemed to be flattened after being ironed. After the short journey
from the pavilion to the attic, there was still some warmth, like a warm and chaotic bubble
surrounding her, making her feel like she was in the clouds, not grounded.
Si Jiang smiled silently at the top of the tent with her eyes open, her body exhausted and her
mind excited. The sudden appearance of the term "first night", although not in line with the
name, also made her shudder slightly, the blood flow in her veins suddenly accelerated, her toes
unconsciously crossed and tightened, holding on to that critical point to prevent her thoughts
from going further out of control. But as soon as she closed her eyes, the touch and temperature
of those kisses and hugs destroyed the calm she tried so hard to maintain effortlessly like a
tornado passing through.
Si Nan beside him mumbled a few unclear syllables and put one leg with the quilt on Si Jiang.
With the extra pressure, Si Jiang slowly calmed down.
——
The next evening, Gu Dongwen took Nurse Lu back to Wanchun Street and saw two patients. It
was quite funny to send a doctor to their home. Fortunately, Jingsheng and Sijiang were not
seriously ill. According to Nurse Lu, they would be fine in three or four days if they drank more
boiled water and didn't take any medicine.
At night, Gu Dongwen looked at Jingsheng lying on the bed with a smile on his face, and shook
his head in disappointment.
Tsk tsk tsk, you little bastard, please don’t bother me (you little guy is still not good enough), each
generation is worse than the previous one.

Chapter 288
The last few months of 1988 were not very good. In early October, a Shanxi Airlines plane
crashed, killing 44 people. In late October, the Seoul Olympics was full of scandals. Koreans
shamelessly stole boxing gold medals and beat up referees, shocking the world. The Chinese
Olympic team only won five gold medals, far less than the 15 they won at the Los Angeles
Olympics four years ago. When Shanghainese met Korean tour groups on the Bund, they would
spit at them: Korean bastards! Disrespect them!
Of course, there are also good things, such as the 16-year-old Shanghai girl Zhuang Yong who
won the 100-meter freestyle final in Seoul. This Korean can't steal or rob. Gu Dongwen pointed at
the TV and sighed to Jingsheng: "Look, you also had the opportunity to win glory for the country."
Jingsheng chuckled: "Yeah, that's right. My fastest 100-meter swim in a 25-meter pool was 1
minute and 3 seconds, which is only less than 6 seconds slower than Zhuang Yong."
Most of them are neither good nor bad. The city has started to sell old public housing to
residents, including old lane houses and new public housing built in the past few years. The
average price is 170 yuan per square meter, and the most expensive is no more than 260 yuan.
The pilot program will start in Huangpu District. Gu Beiwu called Dongwen from Beijing and asked
him to take a look. If there are suitable ones, he can buy one or two, and it would be best if he
can buy one for him as well. After Gu Dongwen calculated, he was so happy that he couldn't stop
smiling. It was great. After all, Jingsheng's future wedding house must be a new public housing.
He closed his stall for half a day after the National Day to inquire, but he was blatantly
discriminated against by a bunch of uncles and aunts in front of the Huangpu District Housing
Authority.
"Is it your turn? Please help me, the house is gone a long time ago."
"There are only 990 square meters of space available, and they were all sold out before it was
even posted on the notice board. What district are you from? (Which district are you from)"
"Nong Jing'an District is keeping an eye on Jing'an District, and then comes to Alahuangpu to do
it?"
"What rumor did I make? Alathia came to line up early in the morning on the 27th, why did you
buy it? Oh, why did you fart if you didn't buy it?"
"Yes, I come here every day to keep an eye on you. If you don't sleep in the middle of the night,
you will be the first on the list. I want to see what happened to the house. (I will come here every
day to keep an eye on you. If you don't sleep in the middle of the night, you will be the first on
the list. I want to see.) Look at who the house was sold to)"
"It's useless to have a note. There are many cadres in the housing management bureau. Why
don't they think there are too many houses in their home? (Who thinks there are too many
houses)? Ala's family has nine Ning Jale fifteen square meters. I have no choice but to queue up
every day (my family of nine is squeezed into fifteen square meters...)"
"My family has never thought about buying a new public housing. We already have several old
houses in the lanes of more than 30 square meters. We thought no one wanted them, haha. We
have no money. We have squeezed blood out of our buttocks to squeeze out 5,000 yuan, okay?"
Gu Dongwen went to the Jing'an District Housing Authority with two stacks of brand new
banknotes, but was answered with a bunch of "don't know, don't understand, don't know"
responses. He returned to Wanchun Street in disappointment and told Beiwu about it. Beiwu just
sighed and said that he had thought too simply.
In mid-November, the opening of a shop by Fuxing Middle School through the wall became a big
news in the city. There was constant debate in major newspapers about whether the education
industry could make money, whether it should make money, and how to make money. Although
it has a century-old business foundation, this incident still caused a great sensation and shock in
Shanghai. No matter how many people opposed it, it could not stop more and more schools from
breaking the wall to open shops. After all, teachers' salaries were too low, and prices soared and
salaries could not keep up. Engineers of the soul also had to support their families, otherwise
they would die of poverty before they had time to serve as engineers for the soul.
When Nanhong Fashion Shop on Huating Road reached its peak sales in a year, Gu Dongwen
hired two small workers to help out. He was so busy that he went to the factory in Zhejiang twice,
made many phone calls to Nanhong, and lost a lot of weight. Grandma Gu felt sorry for him, and
every week she cooked soup with old hens, black carp, trotters, intestines and lungs. Gu
Dongwen laughed and said that she raised her son like a new mother. In the end, Gu Dongwen
didn't gain weight, but Chen Sihao gained weight again, and Sinan became much whiter and
more beautiful.
——
The last month of every year goes by quickly, the calendar pages are torn off one by one, and
after Christmas comes the New Year.
New Year's Eve activities are the preserve of young people. Students from primary school, middle
school, high school, and college have long been vying for people to attend, and walking to the
Bund after the campus dance is still the preferred activity.
Because of Tang Zenian's incident, Si Jiang withdrew from the fraternity's dance party early,
accepted Zhang Leyi and Zeng Xin's invitation, and still walked from Jing'an Temple to the Bund.
She and Jingsheng met at the intersection of Xizang Road, and the two planned to walk the road
in the heavy rain in August again. Si Jiang secretly felt that there was a taste of sweetness in the
memory of the bitter past.
The coldness of Shanghai in winter is not the kind of freezing cold in the north, but the chill that
goes deep into the bones, not refreshing at all. The breeze blows continuously, piercing the
bones, one needle after another, each needle does not reach the limit, and each needle has no
end.
Si Jiang stamped her feet at the entrance of Jing'an Park, tightened her navy blue wool scarf,
quietly lowered her head and buried half of her face in the scarf, took a deep breath, and the
soapy scent and light tobacco smell of Jingsheng wrapped around her, cold and charming, and
she couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth. Jingsheng's scarf was given to him by his
mother. He had worn it for several years and it was a little shrunk. It was not as soft as before, but
when he wrapped it around her neck in front of the whole family, it was like hugging her for a few
seconds. Just thinking about it, Si Jiang's heart was beating wildly. Fortunately, my grandmother,
uncle Si Nan and Si Hao were all busy at the time, and no one saw it. But even if they saw it, it
would be normal. Si Nan often took Jingsheng's old coat to wear.
"Fairy——! I miss you so much! I miss you so much——" Zhang Leyi came trotting over, smiling
like a flower, and the two rabbit ears on her woolen hat jumped along with it.
The two hugged each other and talked and laughed. Soon Zeng Xin also arrived, and more than a
dozen old classmates from Senior 3 (2) class arrived one after another, including Zhou Jiaming
and Yu Ping. Si Jiang was criticized for not attending the National Day party, and was busy
catching up on everyone's contacts and various news.
Looking at the fluorescent inflatable hammer in his hand, Si Jiang couldn't help laughing: "Is this
very popular now?"
Zhou Jiaming smiled and said, "Yes, it has been popular for a long time. It makes a sound when it
hits someone, and it sells very well."
Yu Ping sneered beside him: "Stupid."
Zhang Leyi hit him on the head with a hammer: "We have been classmates for six years, and Yu
Ping is the most annoying one!"
The big hammer made a short scream of "Bi", the sound was so strange that more than a dozen
people, including Si Jiang, laughed so hard that they fell forward and backward, and started to
chase each other and hit each other.
After passing Shaanxi Road, the flow of people increases significantly.
Zeng Xin and Zhang Leyi each held one side of Si Jiang's arm and questioned her about her
college life, the main point of course being whether she had a boyfriend.
Si Jiang hesitated for a moment, coughed twice, and nodded with a red face.
Zeng Xin and Zhang Leyi immediately let out groundhog screams.
"who?"
"I'm going to kill him!"
"Why don't you bring it to us?"
"Is she pretty?"
During a series of questions, Zhou Jiaming and Yu Ping unconsciously approached the three of
them.
Si Jiang smiled and touched the scarf around his neck. "I will go with him when we get to Tibet
Road. If you have anything else to say, tell me quickly. If you have any secrets, tell me honestly."
The two friends immediately started howling again. Zhang Leyi almost hung on Si Jiang's arm,
jumping up and down in anger, scolding her for forgetting her loyalty for the sake of beauty.
Si Jiang narrowed his eyes and thought that considering Jingsheng's color, it was really not her
fault that the word "righteousness" was put next to her. She really couldn't stand it.
Zhou Jiaming and Yu Ping each had their own thoughts and followed silently all the way.
The Tibet Road intersection was crowded with people, and there were big balloons and hammers
everywhere.
Si Jiang was suddenly dumbfounded and almost cried because of her own stupidity. There were
four intersections, east, south, west and north, but she and Jingsheng actually forgot which
intersection they had agreed to meet at.
"Where are the people?"
"Which one is your boyfriend? The one with glasses and a bouquet of flowers? He's a bit ugly and
not worthy of a fairy!"
Zhang Leyi and Zeng Xin were even more anxious than her, looking around.
"Hey! Your brother! Gu Jingsheng, it's Gu Jingsheng!" Zeng Xin grabbed Si Jiang and tilted the big
hammer to cover Si Jiang's face.
Zhang Leyi immediately gloated: "He's coming over! Chen Sijiang, you're done. Where's your
boyfriend? Don't let him bump into you at this time, or you'll definitely get beaten!"
Zeng Xin doubled over with laughter: "Absolutely, absolutely! Every time your brother looked at
Tang Zenian, he seemed to be saying: Stay away from my Si Jiang, I will beat you right now,
hahahaha."
Jingsheng got closer and closer. The neon lights of Nanjing East Road flickered brightly and
automatically blurred into a flowing river of lights. Only he was walking in the opposite direction.
Si Jiang didn't know how he found himself among so many people. Perhaps it was fate. The river
of destiny pushed him from faraway Jinghong to Wanchun Street. From then on, his every day
and night with her were intertwined, outlining one spring and autumn after another.
Even if there are tens of thousands of people, I will still go.
Si Jiang stuffed the big hammer into Zhang Leyi's hand, quickly walked through the crowd and
walked towards Jingsheng.
Jingsheng was stunned. This was very different from what they had agreed on privately.
Si Jiang took his hand without saying anything, walked back through the crowd again, and
returned to his old classmates and friends.
"My boyfriend, Gu Jingsheng. You all know him."
Si Jiang heard his own voice, a little trembling, but very firm.
Jingsheng's ears buzzed, and he could hear his own rapid heartbeat and the sound of his blood
boiling. The entire Nanjing Road seemed to be silent in an instant, and a group of familiar people
opposite him had strange expressions on their faces.
"Let's go, we'll contact you later."
After Si Jiang finished speaking, he held Jingsheng's hand tightly and turned to go upstream
towards the river of lights.
The screams of Zhang Leyi and Zeng Xin were heard behind me.
She was held in Jingsheng's arms. She had just used up all her courage and her legs were weak. It
was nice to have someone she could rely on and feel at ease.
——
When the Customs House struck twelve, the Westminster Hour chimes echoed across the
Huangpu River.
Shouts of "Happy New Year——!" echoed in the air.
Si Jiang lay on Jingsheng's back and turned his head to look at the fireworks rising into the sky
over the river.
"Why?" Jingsheng turned his head and asked softly against her nose.
Si Jiang was startled, then he laughed: "If you are not afraid, then I am not afraid either."
Jingsheng felt like the fireworks in her eyes, exploding in the night sky with a "bang".
As the last bell rang, they exchanged their first kiss of the new year amidst the huge crowds of
people on the banks of the Huangpu River. It was a light kiss, without any romance involved.

Chapter 289
On the last night of 1988, Chen Sinan was learning to play mahjong.
Hu Yadong and Yang Wenyi, the elders and guardians of the former Peach Blossom Dragon
Subduing Gang, went to Wanchun Street to look for Sinan during the National Day. Gang Leader
Chen followed Gu Dongwen to Huating Road to sell clothes, and did not see him. At the end of
the year, they called four or five times and finally persuaded the gang leader to condescend to
Yang Wenyi's home to celebrate New Year's Eve. The key words that moved Gang Leader Chen
were: I will teach you how to play mahjong, the luck of a novice is very good, you have to win less
money.
Yang Wenyi's home is not far from Wanchun Street, in the alley at the intersection of Xinzha Road
and Wanhangdu Road. It is an old-style house. He lives on the first floor, with the front door and
patio for his own use, which is much more affordable than a Shikumen house. The black front
door is usually not opened, and everyone goes through the back door. The public back door leads
to the kitchen shared by three or four families, and next to the narrow hall is the Yang family's
small but complete toilet.
Sinan leaned over to take a look, a little envious: "Oh, Old Yang's family has a flush toilet! I'm
going to go to the bathroom a few more times today, hehe." He turned around and started to
show off again, "Although my family lives in a shantytown and doesn't have a flush toilet, my
uncle built a shower room in the kitchen. Isn't that cool? But there's no hot water. Hahaha."
Sinan and Hu Yadong looked at Tang Huan with envy. Among their group of people, only Tang
Huan lived in an old villa with a spacious independent bathroom, with a golden bronze faucet and
a shower head over the bathtub. When the faucet was turned on, hot water rushed out. It was so
efficient.
Tang Huan took Si Nan's arm and said, "Then why don't you sleep with me tonight..."
"Tang Huan, why do you sound like a female gangster? Brothers, be careful, this guy has turned
bad!" Si Nan shrugged and shuddered.
The three of them knocked on Yang Wenyi's door with a laugh. Yang Wenyi rolled his eyes at Hu
Yadong and said, "You've been making a fuss in front of the toilet door for so long. Are you
stupid?"
Hu Yadong was stunned: "Huh? I didn't say a word! (I didn't say a word) -" In front of a bunch of
adults, he had to swallow the remaining word "that".
Sinan called out sweetly, "Hello, Grandpa and Grandma Yang Wenyi, Hello, Mom and Dad Yang
Wenyi, sorry to bother you, may you have a happy new year, good health and all the best."
Tang Huan and the others also greeted them politely and enthusiastically.
Yang Wenyi's grandparents covered their mahjong tiles and stood up to greet the guests. They
were polite and repeatedly emphasized that they didn't need to change into slippers. Hu Yadong
carried Si Nan and Tang Huan's shoes and walked directly across the room, opened the French
door and put them in the patio. The people in the Yang family were used to it and didn't care. It
can be seen that Hu Yadong is used to it.
The adults put the tea table full of snacks, fruits and drinks, and sat back at the eight-immortal
table to continue playing mahjong. Si Nan was very happy when he saw it, and poked Yang
Wenyi: "Your family is too nice, right? They don't care about you."
Yang Wenyi blushed: "Well, because I am more self-conscious." He had confidence in what he
said. After all, he seemed to have been admitted to the July 1st Middle School without much
effort, which was considered the top spot in the district's key school. The key point was that he
didn't spend a penny on tutoring. His parents were surprised and happy for several months, and
they are still feeling the warmth now.
"Haha! Ha!" Hu Yadong gave him a blank look, "Uncle, we are going to the front."
"Go away, have fun during the day. We'll have dumplings, wontons, and eight-treasure rice
pudding for dinner. Just let me know if you're hungry." Yang Wenyi's father waved his hand.
The Yang family's house is connected from north to south, with a dining room and living room
integrated. The old Soviet leather sofa is covered with a white crocheted sofa cover and a thin
floral cushion. Two large wardrobes serve as partitions. There are two large beds on the south
side, one for grandpa and grandma to sleep on, and one for grandpa and mom to sleep on, by the
window. The floor-to-ceiling glass door leads to the Yang family's exclusive patio.
The patio is divided into two parts. On the west side, there is a row of green plants and two
bicycles. On the east side, there is a small room built against the wall. In order to prevent thieves
from climbing upstairs to commit crimes using this temporary room, the roof and walls are filled
with dense broken glass, which glows faintly under the moonlight.
Sinan laughed: "It will be more effective if you sprinkle some anesthetic or poison on it."
The four of them put on their shoes and slippers and finally calmed down. It was her first time in
a 16-year-old boy's room. Sinan curiously explored it for two minutes. It was quite fresh. On the
poster of the Dutch Three Musketeers on the wall next to the small bed, she only recognized Van
Basten. Maradona next to him was like an angry little wild horse, kicking the Dutchman in the air.
The books on the desk were neatly arranged. There was a TDK box in the tape recorder next to
the desk lamp. Sinan pressed the play button and heard the affectionate singing of Leslie Cheung.
"Your gentle laughter brings me warmth, and you inject a strong charge of happiness into me..."
Sinan got goosebumps all over his body: "A Better Tomorrow!"
Yang Wenyi's eyes lit up, and he nodded with a smile. He and Hu Yadong set up a folding square
table in front of the bed, spread a blanket on it, poured out a deck of mahjong tiles, and moved
out a stack of plastic square stools. However, the stools were stacked too tightly, and the two of
them couldn't pull them apart after pulling for a long time, so they started arguing again.
Sinan unbuttoned his old navy blue coat, walked among them, tugged at the front of his coat, and
imitated a scalper in a vulgar way: "Little brother, do you want a cassette? Do you want a video
tape? Do you have US dollars?"
"Oh, sorry, it was a big mistake." Sinan put a pair of sunglasses on Yang Wenyi's bookshelf on his
nose, threw his coat into the air in a cool manner, and imitated Chow Yun-fat's gun-wielding and
firing randomly.
"Pah pah pah pah..." Throwing away the non-existent gun, Sinan stepped one leg onto the half-
pulled plastic stool, "I must get back what I lost!"
Tang Huan just fell down laughing.
Yang Wenyi and Hu Yadong silently looked at the stack of square stools that had been stepped on
even more firmly by the suddenly insane Thirteen Points Gang Leader, and had to smile to save
face: "Haha, haha, haha."
The fake smile turned into a real smile that could not be suppressed, and the roof of the small
house was about to collapse. Is there any girl in the world more ridiculous than their leader
Chen? No, absolutely not!
——
"You stomp six times each time, and three times will make eighteen times, and that's it. Just push
it like this."
Yang Wenyi patiently helped Sinan wash the pie and build the Great Wall, then pushed it
diagonally in front of her.
Si Nan poked his slender white fingers and said, "Old Yang, your hands are so beautiful. They are
comparable to Zhao Youning's."
Hearing the name of the legendary genius "Zhao Youning", Yang Wenyi and Hu Yadong both
recalled their previous dark and gloomy career as test-takers, and this New Year's Eve became a
bit difficult.
"How do you know how to play mahjong?" Sinan asked Tang Huan curiously as he saw the skilled
player.
Tang Huan curled his eyes and said, "I grew up around the mahjong table. I learned to say 'hu'
before I could even call my mom. Country people play cards and mahjong when they have
nothing to do, but I don't know how to play Shanghai mahjong, nor do I know how to count
points."
"It's very simple." Hu Yadong sat above Tang Huan with a relaxed look on his face.
Yang Wenyi sat in front of Sinan and patiently explained the rules of Qinghunpeng and Lazi, then
rolled the dice to start the game.
After playing a few rounds, Sinan became excited. She squatted on the edge of the bed, bouncing
up and down, eating melon seeds with her left hand and touching the cards with her right hand.
She imitated Yang Wenyi in using her thumb to touch the suits. Except for a bamboo stick, she
never guessed it right. But she never got tired of it, not knowing that every time she did this, the
two families above and below her could see the cards she touched clearly.
Yang Wenyi wanted to feed her with cards, but Gang Leader Chen was too ambitious to care
about rubbish. He would only win with spicy cards and went straight for the same set of mixed
cards and the same set of clear cards. After one round, he had four pieces of paper stuck on his
face.
"The second round of gambling begins." Hu Yadong smiled frivolously.
"Just play as you like. Chili is one dime, and each round is one cent. I'll keep the accounts and
we'll settle the bill after the game." Yang Wenyi quickly helped Sinan sort out the cards and
leaned over to get a pen and paper.
Sinan waved her little hand and said, "It's too small. Let's play something bigger."
The Kaihu trio looked at the gang leader Chen silently: "Are you serious?"
Si Nan rubbed his hands together and said, "It couldn't be more true. How about this, the chili
peppers are one dollar each and ten cents each. Do you have money with you?"
Tang Huan suppressed his laughter and nodded: "I only brought twenty yuan."
Hu Yadong: "I have ten dollars. If I lose it all, I'll just take off my pants."
"Bah! Who wants to see you take off your pants!" Si Nan almost slapped Hu Yadong's face on the
poker table with a move of Kang Long You Hui.
Yang Wenyi scratched the tip of his nose: "I also have twenty dollars. I also have - my parents'
wallet."
Amid everyone's laughter, Sinan took out a banknote from his trouser pocket and slapped it on
the card table with great confidence.
A five-dollar bill is very eye-catching.
"Come on, come on, look at my Xiaowu, luring all your big bills over here." Sinan hooked his
finger at them confidently and threw a wink.
Tang Huan from the opposite door pushed five yuan back to her hand: "You are so pitiful. Just
touch me a few more times. We will say goodbye soon."
Hu Yadong and Yang Wenyi burst into laughter.
The dice fell, and Hu Yadong glanced at Tang Huan: "Tang Huan, you seem to have changed a lot
after entering high school——"
Tang Huan put down the three flowers in his hand: "Well, people will always change."
The amount of money will also change, either increasing or decreasing.
An hour later, Hu Yadong, who was the first to lose all his money, stared at the money in Si Nan's
hand and sighed: "Chen Si Nan, is there anything you are not good at?"
Sinan smiled and said modestly: "That's too many. I can't sing or dance, nor can I cook, make
clothes or shoes, and I know nothing about playing musical instruments. Oh, I just don't want to
learn those things. The main thing is that once I start learning, there will be nothing I can't do,
and once I start learning, there will be nothing I won't be good at. After all, it's annoying to know
too many things——"
"Old Yang, let's go out for some fresh air." Hu Yadong bent down and took out a pack of cigarettes
from the small paper box under Yang Wenyi's bed.
Yang Wenyi looked at Sinan and asked, "Would you like to try the cigarettes?"
"No, it's too hard to cut," Sinan shook his head and stretched, "You guys go, I want to count the
money."
"Give me one to try." Tang Huan stretched out his hand.
Hu Yadong was stunned for a moment, handed one to Tang Huan, and the three of them put on
their shoes and went out.
Sinan happily began to count the money: "Well, it's just simple math and reasoning, just a little
trick of counting cards. Hahahaha."
Yang Wenyi and the other two opened the front door and heard the gang leader's proud laughter,
and they couldn't help but sigh.
Hu Yadong shook his head: "Well, Chen Sinan likes to play the pig and eat the tiger."
——
Three high school students were smoking secretly in the corner.
Tang Huan choked a little at the first puff, but soon got used to it and blew out smoke rings after
finishing half of the cigarette.
Before I finished my cigarette, the front door of the house next door suddenly opened and a man
rushed out in a hurry.
Yang Wenyi hurriedly knocked the three people's cigarettes to the ground and stomped out the
butts with his feet.
Tang Huan raised his head and was stunned: "Teacher Guo?"
Guo Zhixing didn't expect to bump into his class representative when he was in such a mess. He
was stunned and felt a little embarrassed: "Tang Huan?"
Tang Huan then noticed that he was not wearing a coat. There were several finger marks on his
face. A woman's sharp scolding came from the door next door. He was extremely embarrassed
and regretted his hasty words.
Guo Zhixing was even more embarrassed than her. He barely pulled the corner of his mouth,
which was already scratched, and said, "Happy New Year. Are you visiting a classmate's house?"
Hu Yadong and Yang Wenyi regarded themselves as invisible people and kept their heads down
and kept silent.
"Well - my junior high school classmate lives here. Happy New Year, Teacher Guo." Tang Huan
noticed that there were several bloody scratches from his jaw to his neck.
Guo Zhixing nodded, turned and walked out of the alley.
Hu Yadong and Yang Wenyi breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh my god, the crazy husband next door turns out to be your teacher." Yang Wenyi sighed
sympathetically.
"It's our class teacher."
"It's so pitiful. His wife is going crazy every day."
"Is there really something wrong with your brain?" Tang Huan asked hesitantly.
"Really. She was put in No. 600 Wanping Road two years ago. Last year, her parents took her
back. She was sick every other day and rushed out with a kitchen knife. It was scary. The
neighborhood committee came several times, but her family refused to send her back."
"Let's go in," Hu Yadong suggested.
"You go in first, I'll go take a look." For some unknown reason, Tang Huan acted impulsively and
quickly chased after Guo Xingzhi's back.
——
There was a temporary shortage of one person in the small room, so Si Nan's plan to win money
was shelved. He grabbed Hu Yadong and Yang Wenyi and went out to chase Tang Huan.
The three of them ran out and chased after him along the alley to Wanhangdu Road, but they
didn't see him. Sinan scolded the two boys. When they got back to Yang's house, Yang Wenyi's
parents called them in for a midnight snack. After a bowl of tangyuan, Tang Huan came back with
red eyes.
Si Nan asked a few questions, but when she didn't answer, he stopped asking. She didn't have any
bad feelings towards Teacher Guo, but she didn't like him either. Tang Huan didn't understand.
She had never met such a good teacher, not to mention that he was so young, handsome and
elegant. Si Nan thought that Tang Huan was biased because of her status as a class
representative.
Why did she not like him? Si Nan also thought about it seriously. It was probably because Mr. Guo
looked a bit like Zhou Zhiyuan. She was always suspicious of this type of adult men and did not
hesitate to speculate them with the worst malice. Tang Huan advised her not to think of herself
as a boy. Si Nan and she argued about this. Who stipulated that girls must be gentle, cute, gentle,
and unable to run fast or jump high? Then why did the Olympics have women's events?
Si Nan doesn't feel like a boy. She gets along with boys more than girls just because she is more
interested in their topics, but she doesn't feel like she "is" a girl either. The first time she openly
said that she didn't run a hundred meters because she was menstruating, the boys' jaws almost
dropped to the ground. Only Zhao Youning and his eldest cousin didn't find it strange what she
said or did, and they didn't make any comments about girls or boys. Si Nan concluded: Being with
smart people is comfortable.
After twelve o'clock, Hu Yadong sent Tang Huan back to Yugu Village, but Yang Wenyi insisted on
sending Si Nan back to Wanchun Street. Si Nan had thirty-eight yuan in his pocket, which he had
won by killing three people, and in his stomach were the Yang family's glutinous rice dumplings,
wontons, melon seeds, and apples to eat. He was too kind to refuse, so he reluctantly nodded.
The two of them talked about the current situation of their junior high school classmates, and
soon they arrived at the entrance of the alley. Yang Wenyi insisted on delivering it to Gu's door, so
Si Nan had no choice but to let him go.
When they reached the entrance of the cultural center, a few sparse fireworks appeared in the
sky not far away. Yang Wenyi coughed twice: "Chen Sinan——"
Sinan pointed to the sky and said, "Look, someone is setting off fireworks."
Yang Wenyi raised his head and saw only a faint glimmer of the tail falling and disappearing.
"Huh? It's gone." Sinan recalled the time when he followed his eldest cousin Zhao Youning and a
group of people to chase fireworks when he was a child. He wanted the New Year to come soon.
"Chen Sinan?"
"ah?"
"You, do you have a boyfriend now?" Yang Wenyi mustered up the courage to speak.
Sinan was stunned: "How is it possible!"
"So, what do you think of me?"
Sinan took a long time to come back to her senses: "You, you are fine——" But her heart beat
uncontrollably: No way, no way, he is a brother in my gang...
Suddenly, an idea struck him, and Sinan slapped his thigh: "Do you like Tang Huan too? No
problem, I'll help you forward the love letter and what you want to say, but I don't know whether
she agrees or not--"
Seeing her eyes glowing and her voice becoming more and more exciting, Yang Wenyi couldn't
help but interrupt her: "I like you, Chen Sinan! Not Tang Huan——"
Sinan's face suddenly became hot, his eyes moved around Yang Wenyi's up and down, left and
right, and fell on his face. He shook his head quickly: "No, no ...
Yang Wenyi's young heart was dampened by the cold, and his face was filled with frustration and
sadness. "Why?"
Si Nan scratched her head. It seemed a bit unreasonable to eat his food and win his battles but
still make him sad. The key point was that she was really soft-hearted. It seemed that what Tang
Huan said made sense. The first boy who liked her should be treated well.
"I'm sorry, I, I actually have a boy I like, and he's very, very nice to me. But we're not in a
relationship yet, because I'm still young," Sinan said with his eyes closed. "It's that Zhao Youning,
he's very strict with me, he won't date me unless I get into a prestigious university. Now I have a
pile of papers at home, so thick. He still calls me every day, long distance calls, from Beijing to
Shanghai, asking me to report my solution ideas, the phone bill costs dozens of yuan a month, no,
hundreds of yuan, but he doesn't feel bad, he's just the best to me—"
She opened her arms and gestured: "Really, it's so thick. A strict teacher produces a good
student. There's nothing I can do about it. Alas, I'm too happy (miserable). Think about it, if I
didn't like him, I would have beaten him to death if he asked me to do the test paper, right?"
Yang Wenyi was silent for a moment and lowered his head. What people fear most is not
comparing themselves with others, but that there is nothing to compare with.
"He, he is very nice to you. He, he is very nice..."
Yang Wenyi still sent Si Nan to the door of Gu's house. Si Nan was so embarrassed that he almost
broke all the pebbles on the road into pieces and almost ran away.
"Goodbye, goodbye."
Sinan rushed upstairs in a few steps, hid behind the curtains and looked down, seeing the tall and
handsome boy walking out dejectedly, silently repeating "I'm sorry" many times. I'm sorry to Yang
Wenyi, I'm sorry to Zhao Youning.
Watching Yang Wenyi's back disappearing around the corner, Si Nan let out a long sigh: Oh my
god, I'm finally lucky enough to escape. Love is a disease, once you get involved you become deaf,
blind and biased. She is not stupid, what could be more satisfying than getting full marks on a test
and seeing everyone's expressions of "Damn, Chen Si Nan is so awesome!"
Si Nan then made a long distance call to Zhao Youning, and hung up after three rings. This was
the secret of the call they agreed on, three rings meant "everything is fine", it didn't cost a penny,
and it worked like a charm.
Before he went up to the attic, the phone rang again. Si Nan paused as the phone rang five times
without stopping, and quickly ran over to answer it. It was indeed Zhao Youning.
"Nannan, you are too stingy, aren't you?" Youning teased her with a smile, "It's New Year's Day,
how much money can your family spend on phone bills to say Happy New Year?"
After all, he had just used Zhao Youning's banner to fool Yang Wenyi, so Si Nan rarely said
anything back and said obediently, "Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year. I wish you academic progress and good health," Zhao Youning said with a
smile, "I went to the movies tonight, A Better Tomorrow, and it reminded me of you pretending
to be Chow Yun-fat and opening your coat to act like a scalper. I laughed out loud and was kicked
out by my classmates, hahaha."
Sinan became excited: "What a coincidence! I just performed a show at a classmate's house
tonight, and it looked exactly like me. I was wearing my cousin's navy blue coat, which was very
similar to the long coat your mom bought for you from abroad - yes, yes, that's the one. I lifted it
up like this..."
"I must get back what I lost!" As soon as Sinan finished describing the grand performance, the
two of them said this classic line in unison and laughed so hard.
"Nannan, wait for me a moment. The heater is too strong. I'm so hot. I'll go get some ice cream."
Si Nan was stunned for a moment, and soon heard the rustling sound of tearing wrapping paper
and Zhao Youning's comfortable sigh.
"Ce Na - you're going too far!" Chen Sinan jumped up and squatted on the sofa, yelling.
"I also took a frozen pear. Listen, this is the sound when you bite it—"
"Ah - it's so delicious. Nan Nan, have you ever eaten frozen pears? Oh, sorry, there are no frozen
pears to eat in Shanghai, hahaha."
Sinan was furious and grabbed the microphone to report all the delicious dishes and soups he
had eaten this week. But this New Year was still not happy at all!
"Second sister, I'm hungry."
Chen Sihao leaned against the wardrobe and shivered with cold. He blinked his eyes and drooled
as he asked, "Are all the things you just mentioned in the refrigerator?"

Chapter 290
The moon is shining on the nine provinces, some are happy and some are sad. Urumqi has
snowed several times, and the red lanterns on the gate of the unit reminded Gu Ximei, who was
in a trance, that the new year has arrived.
Ximei is already over 40, but she is still confused. She can't understand why her life is getting
better and better, but it suddenly went wrong. In the Municipal Education Bureau, everyone
knows that one of her two daughters is a top student at H Normal University, and the other is a
good seedling at a key middle school in Shanghai. Both daughters have their hukous in Shanghai.
Whether it is raising children or grasping the hukou policy, it shows that she has a broad vision
and a long-term vision. Ximei has heard such praise all the time, but this year she felt very sad.
Outsiders know how good she is and how rare she is, but no one in her family is grateful to her.
Since Sijiang entered school, there has been no phone call or letter. Sinan answered the phone,
but ran away after listening to a few words. Sihao, on the other end of the phone, was distracted
while talking, either watching TV or watching TV. It is not easy for her to make a long-distance call
now. In the past, when she was in No. 2 Middle School, the principal and the dean of teaching
turned a blind eye, because the school paid for it anyway. Now she has to rush to the post office
to spend money to make a call before closing time, and she is not happy about the money she
spends.
She returned to Urumqi in August. Teacher Li helped to call a few school workers, and they
moved into the new dormitory the next day. To express her gratitude, Ximei opened a fire in the
new house and treated them to two consecutive meals. Seven or eight old colleagues from No. 2
Middle School came to play mahjong, poker and piano lessons. They were busy for most of the
day, leaving a pile of fruit and vegetable peels and pots and pans to be cleaned up. Ximei was
busy for an hour before she sat down and wrote down the gifts from her colleagues in the book
of personal relationships. At first glance, Teacher Li was the most thoughtful and gave her a wool
blanket, which made Ximei very moved.
Just after I finished packing, Chen Donglai came to the door. He didn't know the address of the
new dormitory of Ximei, and waited for four or five hours in the second room before he saw
Teacher Li and his friends. After much persuasion, he got the new address and rushed over on
foot.
"What are you doing here?" Ximei blocked the door and refused to let him in.
Chen Donglai's face was covered with sweat. His face, which had been hit hard by the double
disappointment in his marriage and career, was gleaming in the dim corridor lights: "Divorce, I'm
here to divorce you. I want a divorce."
Although she had heard this sentence from Gu Dongwen, when it came from Chen Donglai, it
was far more destructive than Ximei had imagined. She even forgot that she was the one who
first proposed to divorce Chen Donglai. Even though she was persuaded to leave her job, she still
resolutely changed jobs in order to end her youth and her past. Once the subject of the verb
"divorce" was changed, it was like a big stick that hit her hard and made her see stars.
Ximei opened the door.
"Change your slippers and come in to talk."
"Thank you, no thanks, I'm wearing socks, bare feet will be fine."
A couple who have been married for more than ten years tried their best to retain the last bit of
dignity for each other and themselves.
Chen Donglai sat down, took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He looked
around the room. It was very large, spacious and neat. The furniture was familiar to him,
including the bookcase, chest of drawers, sofa, table, chair, curtain, electric fan, and the photo
frame on the wall. But it was also very unfamiliar. The photo of Si Jiang on Children's Day when
she was three and a half years old was a little crooked. The blue plaid dress she wore was made
by Ximei herself. He remembered that the hem of the dress was not done well the first time, so
she took it apart and made it again. Si Jiang had a flowery hairstyle and smiled like a flower. The
photo was hand-painted in color, with a kind of misty soft light effect.
Gu Ximei watched Chen Donglai stand up coldly, reached out to straighten Si Jiang's photo, and
his index finger gently brushed Si Jiang's cheek in the photo.
"Oh," Ximei sneered, "I am the one who wants to leave, so what right do you have, Chen
Donglai? Do you think it's fun to pretend to be a kind father?"
Chen Donglai's back stiffened, but he suddenly gained some courage when he saw Risjiang's gaze
and smile in the photo.
"We can't live together anymore," Chen Donglai turned around and looked at his wife who was
equally familiar and yet strange. "I can't live with you, and neither can Si Jiang. Don't you
understand? Even if you don't want to divorce, I will divorce you. Si Jiang, Si Nan and Si Hao all
followed me, please, don't torment them anymore."
Ximei's hands on her legs began to tremble. She was so angry that her lips moved, but she
couldn't form the most powerful words for a moment.
Before she could speak, Chen Donglai finished speaking in one go, "It's true that you gave birth to
the three of them, but they are not like this, a photo frame, a curtain, and a certificate. You
changed Sijiang's choice. No matter whether the choice you chose is good or not, did you discuss
it with me? Did you say it? Did you discuss it with her? Did you say it? You didn't, right, you must
say that you are right, and your choice must be good. If it is good, why don't you even say it?
Ximei, you really never treated us as human beings. You only manipulated us according to your
own ideas. You are always right, even if you are wrong. That's right. I was in Karamay, and you
said that the oil field was too hard and there was no future, so you forced me to transfer to
Urumqi to work in the office. Later, you complained that the promotion in the office was slow
and the salary was low, so you asked me to go back to Karamay to work in technology. When the
bureau distributed houses, you complained that it was too far and too small, and then you
blamed me for not fighting for a house. You have the final say on good and bad, and you have a
lot of reasons. I have never been able to convince you. For you, for this family, except for living a
good life, I have never argued with you about anything. You have the final say. Now, can you also
say that you have the final say on the matter of divorce? Didn't you say you wanted a divorce?
Then divorce. I have already opened a certificate from the unit."
"And Si Jiang, she has only been slapped twice by you in her entire life. You beat her in front of
the neighbors on Wanchun Street," Chen Donglai said with a wry smile, "Just because she told
you the truth, you couldn't stand it. What about us? We have been listening to you for more than
ten years. Have you ever thought about how we endured it?"
"What's wrong with me? What did I do wrong?! What have you been enduring?!" Ximei's voice
suddenly became sharp, almost a roar, which scared Chen Donglai.
"Chen Donglai, what the hell are you talking about? It's obviously you who let me down and this
family down, but you keep talking nonsense?" Ximei was so angry that she was shaking all over. "I
am a bad person? I hurt you? Did I force you with a knife to have an affair? Why did you file an
application report when you were unwilling to transfer jobs? Ten or eight years later, you regret it
now? I really can't see that you are so good at turning the tables. Good, Chen Donglai, you are
really amazing——"
Chen Donglai twitched the corners of his mouth, with an expression that said, "Look, you're here
again. I knew you would say that."
Ximei took a deep breath and suppressed the blood flowing back from her body: "I didn't do
anything wrong, why do you want to divorce me? Chen Donglai, I tell you, I won't divorce you! If
anyone wants to divorce, I'm the only one who wants to divorce!"
Chen Donglai was stunned: "Then just assume that you want to divorce. Wasn't it you who
wanted to divorce?"
"no the same!"
"What's the difference!"
"Get out! Get out right now! If you don't, I'll call for help." Ximei opened the door with a bang
and kicked Chen Donglai's sandals out. "Get out!"
Chen Donglai was almost pushed out by Ximei. He stood in the corridor for a long time without
coming to his senses, unable to understand why this happened.
——
Three days after entering the new unit, Deputy Director Xiao found an opportunity to talk to
Ximei. To avoid gossip, he left the office door wide open.
When she walked out of the office, Ximei's legs went weak. She leaned on the railing of the
corridor and stood in the sun for a long time, feeling ashamed, annoyed and embarrassed. Since
she went to the frontier, she worked diligently in Aksu no matter how difficult the conditions
were. She reclaimed wasteland, picked cotton, planted apple trees, dug holes in the ground, built
houses and taught children. For more than 20 years, no matter what position she was in, her
leaders and colleagues always evaluated her higher than her self-evaluation. Although she always
showed a humble attitude, she was proud in her heart. She loved her job and was dedicated to it.
She never relied on her family or Chen Donglai. Even if she transferred to the Education Bureau, it
was also the leaders' wise eyes. Before, when the bureau asked the school leaders for someone,
she took the initiative to refuse. How come it was not long after that that she was actually forced
to get in through the back door.
Deputy Director Xiao said politely and implicitly. Of course, the bureau had to give face to the
superiors. The superiors felt that Comrade Gu Ximei was suitable to be an archivist, so the
position of archivist could only belong to Gu Ximei. For her, many relatives, including Deputy
Director Xiao's own cousin, had to stand aside. She had to accept this favor. This was a cadre
position in the government, not comparable to the career establishment of a middle school
teacher. So for the sake of the superiors, the divorce report that Ximei had inquired about before
must be put to rest, otherwise gossip would spread, the superiors' prestige would be damaged,
and even the superiors' career would be hindered. This was a big deal. However, the superiors
should be thanked. The superiors would come to inspect in a few days, and Ximei had to actively
participate in the reception work.
Ximei walked back to the office dizzy and confused, and realized belatedly that the politeness of
her colleagues and superiors was just a courtesy. This was the first time Ximei felt out of control,
except for giving birth, and she had no idea what would happen in the future.
After the National Day, the leaders came to inspect the work. There were two discussions and
one report. Ximei felt like a thorn in her back all day. She felt that everyone was talking about her
behind her back, but she didn't dare to look directly at Sun Xiao who was speaking on the stage.
Her mind was in a mess. She really couldn't figure out how she attracted the attention of such a
big shot. She thought that maybe Deputy Director Xiao was flattering and misunderstanding her,
but Sun Xiao glanced at her inadvertently. As for what that meaning was, Ximei didn't dare to
think deeply.
Xi Mei knew that she was good-looking. When she first arrived in Aksu, she was often chased by
male educated youths, including Cao Jingzhi's husband Shen Yong and Meng Qin's husband Zhu
Guangmao. They both explicitly hinted at this, but she used Chen Dong to fend them off. ‌Go, I'm
afraid Cao Jingzhi and Meng Qin don't know about these trivial things, and naturally she will
never mention them. After marrying Chen Donglai, Xi Mei was afraid of getting into trouble. She
always dressed in the direction of mature revolutionary masses. She was simple and frugal, with
an upright and inviolable look. She had never met anyone in the Corps Kindergarten and the
town central primary school, including the No. 2 Middle School. I have experienced the troubles
between men and women. In the past two years, her family's conditions have improved, and she
has to teach piano at a student's home, so she just bought a few dresses. But compared to
female college students in their twenties, Nishimi can't imagine herself being married and having
children. There is nothing that can attract men, not to mention that Sun Xiao is already sitting in
that position. He is an official and she is a citizen. The only intersection is the few performances
she took the No. 2 middle school students to participate in. When she won the award, he was
responsible Awards.
Ximei spent the day in fear, but nothing happened. Deputy Director Xiao also sat upright with his
eyes straight ahead, as if the conversation that afternoon had never happened.
In December, the Education Bureau held a teaching and research study, and Ximei was also
present. When the meeting was about to end in the afternoon, a group of people came in from
outside the conference room, led by Sun Xiao. Ximei huddled in the corner, looking down at her
study materials, applauding with the crowd to welcome the leader, her mind buzzing. Soon the
crowd gradually dispersed, and she stayed where she was, watching the sun gradually set outside
the window, her heart was in turmoil, and suddenly someone knocked on the door, startling her.
The person who came was a colleague from the Personnel Department, who smiled and urged
her to go to the cafeteria to join the dinner.
There were five large round tables in the cafeteria, and the atmosphere was lively. No one
seemed to notice her late arrival. Ximei was placed between several cadres from the Vocational
Education and Adult Education Department and the Finance Department. She glanced at Sun
Xiao several times secretly, but saw nothing unusual, so she slowly calmed down.
The dinner ended at 10 o'clock in the evening. Ximei drank a few glasses of Maotai and mixed it
with a lot of red wine. She pedaled her bicycle like she was stepping on cotton, one foot deep and
one foot shallow. She would stop at the intersection from time to time and missed the traffic
lights several times. The tension of "being a fish at the mercy of others" passed. The alcohol was
blown by the wind, and Ximei's mind was covered with a thick layer of paste. She thought of the
leader in the crowd. He looked more like a soldier than a cadre. His facial features were not
handsome. He had a bit of the capable look of northerners, with sharp edges and corners, and he
didn't talk much. It was not easy to get close to him. It was obvious that the leaders were a little
afraid of him. Somehow, Ximei thought of Chen Donglai again. The husband she chose was
decent, but unfortunately he did something extremely disgraceful and mean in the end.
No matter what, she would not be like Chen Donglai who could not resist the slightest
temptation, and she would not become that kind of cheap bastard, Ximei secretly swore in her
heart. Then she could not help but compare Sun Xiao and Xiao He. She was favored by Sun Xiao
and hooked up with Chen Donglai and Xiao He. No matter how you look at it, she is far better
than Chen Donglai.
With this sense of superiority, Ximei rode more and more courageously. When she arrived at the
dormitory building, she found a black car following her.
The man got out of the car, his usually serious face was cracked with a smile, and the lines on his
face seemed to soften.
"Gu Ximei."
"Don't you recognize me?"
"In the 11th Company of the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Agricultural Division of the Xinjiang
Production and Construction Corps, in 1967, the company was having New Year's Eve dinner on
the playground. I put a pot of meat under your feet, but your boyfriend only took a piece of meat
and ran away."
"Old comrade, long time no see."
Gu Ximei vaguely saw herself at the age of eighteen. She wanted to laugh and cry, but she
couldn't.
"Who are you?"
"You were the first to cry on the first night you arrived in Aksu, and later you were quite sincere in
your self-criticism. You shed blood and sweat but no tears! Put an end to your arrogance—"
"Captain Sun!"
Ximei finally managed to pull this person out of her mind. It turned out that he was the Captain
Sun who everyone was afraid of back then.
Things just happened so naturally. At the end of 1988, Ximei became the despicable person she
despised. She and Sun Xiao finally confirmed the relationship that Deputy Director Xiao had
mentioned. She was too embarrassed to call Wanchun Street and acted more cautiously in her
daily life.
As for the stupid things that happened that night, Ximei blamed herself for being drunk and
having no choice. What else could she do? The leader sent her home and wanted to go upstairs
to sit down, and she couldn't refuse. She had never met a man like Sun Xiao in her life. Just as
Chen Donglai was moved by her, she was also moved by Sun Xiao. Who can care about a person
for more than 20 years? The whole world, including her mother, brother, sister, husband, and
daughter, regarded her as a villain. No one liked her, but the company commander who scolded
her to tears back then always thought about her and felt sorry for her. Facing such a man, Ximei
couldn't say no. She cried breathlessly, crying for herself and for Sun Xiao.
On the last night of 1988, Ximei sat on the sofa, watching the hands of the wall clock step into the
new year. Where the future would go was unknown and unpredictable.
——
After New Year's Day, Si Jiang returned to school and learned that Tang Zenian was ill.
Yan Su told Hu Die the news. Tang Zenian had a high fever when he returned to school on the
night of the fight. After two days, it turned into pneumonia. After two days of intravenous drip, it
turned into myocarditis. He was admitted to the inpatient department of East China Hospital and
spent the New Year in the ward. He was said to have to stay in the hospital until after the Spring
Festival.
"I heard from Yan Su that Tang Zenian's mother seems to be a very powerful leader. She went to
the school twice for this matter and talked to them all." Hu Die was worried about Si Jiang. "Yan
Su said that they didn't tell anyone, and Tang Zenian didn't let them say anything. But will she
want to hold that person responsible?"
Si Jiang remained silent, but Liu Chunlan, who was sleeping in the lower bunk, suddenly spoke
up: "If I was beaten up and ended up like this, my parents would have wanted to kill that person,
so it's normal for them to hold someone responsible."
Dormitory 203 suddenly became quiet.
Yin Han leaned down from the upper bunk opposite and said, "Liu Chunlan, if you don't
understand the situation, don't make random comments, okay?" The last two words were spoken
in Shanghainese with a northeastern accent, carrying a strong warning tone.
Liu Chunlan lifted her eyelids and said softly, "What don't I know? Everyone in the school knows
that Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu are cousins. It's no big deal to bring them to school. And they are so
barbaric. They pushed people into the river in the middle of winter. They are murderers. It's too
scary. I don't know what the people in the school think. No one called the police."
She put on her coat and shoes while speaking: "Anyway, I've already applied to change dorms, it's
up to you guys."
The dormitory door slammed shut with a bang. Hu Die snorted, "Don't pay any attention to him,
he's a bitch."
Yin Han jumped down and patted Si Jiang: "There is no hatred without reason in this world. Look
at her character! Oh, that old Ruan from the junior year of the Fine Arts Department, remember?
The one you rejected at the cafeteria door at the beginning of the semester, the idiot with long
hair and hiking boots who thought he was so handsome, is now her boyfriend. You spent money
to buy an idiot who lives on you, huh."
Si Jiang's heart, which had been tense because of the word "murderer", calmed down a little. She
took a breath and shook her head: "I'm fine."
Hu Die laughed and said, "She was afraid that you would get mad, so she quickly put on her
clothes and ran away in the middle of her conversation. Now she must be going to look for her
boyfriend to cry. What a fool."
As soon as the get out of class was over on Saturday, Si Jiang rushed to East China Hospital.

Chapter 291
Seeing Si Jiang coming to visit, Tang Zenian was a little happy and a little embarrassed. He had
always had a good physique and had never had any minor illnesses such as colds and fevers since
he was a child. He didn't expect that he would get a serious illness as soon as he fell down.
"Why are you here? Who told you? Are you okay? Gu Jingsheng - how is he?" Tang Zenian asked a
bunch of questions in a row, fearing that his mother would cause trouble for Si Jiang and
Jingsheng. His relationship with his mother has been strained since the hepatitis A epidemic.
After knowing what he had done, his grandfather was so angry that he broke two feather dusters.
Before the college entrance examination, the school wanted to recommend him to Tsinghua
University, but he refused to go. In the end, he applied for the Journalism Department of Fudan
University. When the notification letter was sent to his home, his parents didn't talk to him for a
week. He originally thought that he could just hold on and get through this illness, but he
collapsed at school. His parents were the most anxious and busy.
"We're fine, how about you?" Si Jiang pulled over a small stool and sat next to the bed.
The uncles and brothers in the big ward began to tease Tang Zenian with a smile on their faces.
"I'm much better." Tang Zenian glared at his fellow patients several times, but with little effect.
Now he regretted not following his mother's arrangement to stay in a single room.
"I'm so sorry." Si Jiang apologized sincerely. At least nothing worse happened.
"It has nothing to do with you!" Tang Zenian lowered his voice, "It's my own carelessness. My
mother will be here soon. You should go back first."
Si Jiang was silent for a moment: "It was me who caused the incident, so it's right for her to
blame or hold me accountable."
Tang Zenian was startled. Before he could say anything, his mother Su Mingzhen arrived. Speak of
the devil, here he comes.
When Su Mingzhen saw Si Jiang, he frowned slightly and then relaxed.
"Hello, Tang Zenian's mother." Si Jiang stood up and greeted.
"Mom——" Tang Zenian hesitated to speak.
"Student Chen Sijiang, right? Please sit down." Su Mingzhen put down his briefcase and shook
the thermos. "Niannian, why didn't your dad fill your thermos when he left?"
"Let me go." Si Jiang took the thermos and consciously gave space to the mother and son.
After getting the hot water, Si Jiang deliberately stayed in the corridor for a few more minutes
before entering the ward.
Su Mingzhen was really listening to other patients' complaints about the difficulty in seeing a
doctor. In fact, most of the patients who can be admitted to East China Hospital are government
officials. The difficulty they face in seeing a doctor is completely different from that of ordinary
people. Su Mingzhen listened with one ear and let it out with the other. With a smile, he re-
explained the government's policy on home beds and collaborative beds, and explained that the
change of local hospitals and township health centers to collective ownership does not mean that
they are worse than before. Public hospitals now also have the director responsibility system and
job responsibility system. Doctors must implement excess labor distribution, otherwise doctors
are also human beings, who can maintain long-term work enthusiasm? It is also necessary for
epidemic prevention units to implement paid services...
Tang Zenian had heard these words countless times and didn't take them to heart. But for Si
Jiang, they were something new and she couldn't help but listen attentively.
"It's all official documents, just for show," Tang Zenian leaned close to her and whispered, "She
actually hates answering these questions endlessly, and she complained a lot at home, haha."
Si Jiang stared at him for a moment and whispered, "At least she is still willing to pretend."
Tang Zenian looked carefully at Si Jiang's expression and saw no sarcasm in it, so he leaned back
on the hospital bed and picked up a book to read.
After answering the questions, Su Mingzhen returned to her son's bedside with a gentle smile:
"What did you eat in the hospital tonight? Your grandparents are coming to see you tomorrow.
What do you want to eat?"
"We had pork chops, green vegetables, poached eggs, and duck blood soup at the hospital," Tang
Zenian frowned. "Tell grandpa and grandma not to run away. It's not safe for the elderly to go out
in such a cold day. I don't want to eat anything either."
"They have their own intentions. If we don't let them come, they will be unhappy," Su Mingzhen
smiled softly and turned to Si Jiang and said, "The doctor said that we should have a good rest
every year. How about we go together?"
Si Jiang tactfully picked up his bag and said goodbye.
Tang Zenian immediately threw back the quilt and got out of bed. The infusion tube in his hand
was pulled straight, and Si Jiang quickly pushed the crooked infusion rod to him.
"What are you doing?" Su Mingzhen's nasolabial folds deepened.
"Go to the bathroom," Tang Zenian held onto the IV pole without giving in, "Si Jiang, I'll take you
to the elevator first. Mom, don't go. I still have something to tell you."
Si Jiang entered the elevator alone, looked at the tense situation between the mother and son
outside, sighed silently, and pressed the first floor button.
She waited on the first floor for more than ten minutes, and as expected, Su Mingzhen came
down with a look of surprise on his face.
Su Mingzhen was a little surprised to see Si Jiang, and his expression softened a little.
"Are you waiting for me?"
"Yes."
The course of events was very simple, but since Jingsheng never mentioned what unpleasant
words Tang Zenian had said, one could only guess, and Si Jiang couldn't help feeling a little
breathless when he stated the facts.
"So it wasn't beating, but mutual fighting? Or was it Tang Zenian who started it first?" Su
Mingzhen asked calmly.
Si Jiang was silent for a few seconds.
"So Tang Zenian deserves it, right?"
Si Jiang was stunned. At this moment, she realized that the person she was facing was not the
leader she often saw on TV and in newspapers, but an ordinary mother.
"That's not what I meant!" Si Jiang quickly explained, "This was an accident. No one wants this to
happen. I came here today specifically to apologize to Tang Zenian. I'm sorry."
Su Ming really couldn't tell whether she was completely disappointed in her son, or angry at the
overly calm statement of the girl in front of her. A surge of blood rushed to her head, and she
almost said something extremely unpleasant. However, considering that this was a public place
with people coming and going, and some people were staring at her, she finally suppressed her
surging emotions.
"Will an apology be useful? Did you know that the doctor has issued two critical illness notices to
us?" Su Mingzhen turned away and walked straight past Si Jiang. "Three weeks have passed and
the perpetrator has not even shown up. Are you here to apologize, or are you afraid that we will
hold him accountable and affect your boyfriend's studies? If I were not Tang Zenian's mother, if I
were not a cadre, would you come?"
"You are too realistic and utilitarian," Su Mingzhen sneered, "What kind of young man is Tang Ze?
I see that you all know him very well. He is naive, childish, idealistic, and altruistic. You are sure
that he is a good person——"
"Tang Zenian's mother," Si Jiang interrupted her, "You misunderstood. My boyfriend still doesn't
know that Tang Zenian is sick. Besides, I did come here because I knew you were going to
investigate this matter. You are right. If you were not the leader, I would not come here."
Su Mingzhen was startled and retracted his hand that was waving to the driver who was waiting
not far away.
"I am very realistic, but not utilitarian. I know you have great power, so much so that you can
decide a person's future without any fair and open procedures, such as my former head teacher,
Mr. Gao. What you consider to be fair is not necessarily justice," Si Jiang heard his voice trembling
in the cold wind. "I know Tang Zenian very well, but there are a few points that are different from
what you described. He is indeed a bit idealistic and altruistic, but he is still a passionate, just
person who yearns for democracy and advocates freedom. He is upright and responsible. He
does not want you to abuse public resources for personal gain. This is his starting point for
protecting us, which is different from what you imagine."
"I am honored to be appreciated by such a Tang Ze Nian. If you, as his mother, rather than a
leader, evaluate and appreciate him objectively, I think he will be willing to tell you more of his
true thoughts."
"If you insist on subjectively holding Gu Jingsheng and I responsible instead of objectively
exploring the truth of this matter, then you are derelict in your duty."
The driver stood by the door, unsure whether to open it or wait. The horns of passing buses and
bicycle bells rang continuously, accompanied by the loud curses of the cyclists.
"Is it a good place to park?"
"You think you're such a big shot as an official? You're blocking the road by parking your car
randomly, don't you know?"
"The bus can't get into the station! Please leave quickly——"
Looking at Si Jiang's receding back, Su Mingzhen frowned and pursed his lips: "Let's go."
After visiting the China Welfare Fund, Si Jiang's pounding heart gradually calmed down. She had
said harsh words, but she didn't know what the consequences would be.
Fortunately, until the holiday, Jingsheng was doing fine in school. Si Jiang turned a deaf ear to the
rumors and focused on his professional studies, so the semester ended quickly and smoothly.
——
Before the winter break, students from the Department of Economics sent a large number of
postcards and letters to Shanrang's office.
"Our teacher Zhou is so charming. She receives so many greetings from all over the world every
year."
The warm winter sun shines through the west window onto Shanrang's desk. The calendar has
already turned to February, and the day of school opening is circled in red. In the seven-inch
photo frame next to it, Gu Nian is held across Gu Beiwu's shoulders, and the family of three
laughs, overflowing with sweetness. The blue-and-white tea cup with a lid is filled with salty milk
tea given by Inner Mongolian students. Shanrang adds six sugar cubes, and it tastes strangely
sweet and salty.
This is a suitable afternoon for accepting love from afar. There is no need to rush, no one will
disturb you, and there is a sense of ritual.
Shanrang divided the postcards and letters into two piles. The boys' postcards were mostly brief
and concise, while the girls' were sincere and heartfelt, mostly reminiscing about the past, and
there were still many stamps worth collecting. Shanrang smiled and used a rubber band to tie the
stamps to be opened into a pile, took it home for Gu Nian to participate, and put the stamps that
did not need to be opened in the drawer, and then picked up the paper cutter to open the letter.
When she opened the third letter, she suddenly found a letter from Gu Beiwu with beautiful
handwriting. Shan Rang took a closer look and found that it was addressed to Gu Beiwu,
Economics Department, Peking University, Class of 1977. It was obvious that they had lost
contact for a long time. She couldn't help but ponder for a moment and put the letter aside.
After opening a few more letters, Shan Rang picked up the teacup nervously, staring at the letter
again and again, his heart beating faster.
Chapter 292
Holding the envelope high up to the sun, there would be a little perspective effect, and it was
vaguely visible that the handwriting on the letter was very neat, probably as thick as two sheets
of paper. Shan Rang put the letter down again, rubbed her temples, and laughed at herself. With
the intuition of a woman and a wife, she could guess who the letter was from. Although she
rarely mentioned it, Miss Fang always occupied a corner in Gu Beiwu's heart that she could not
enter.
Shan Rang remembered that the last time she went back to Wanchun Street for the New Year,
she found a brand new piano music box in Beiwu's old box. She asked casually, and he was a little
embarrassed and took it and stuffed it into the deepest part of the box. There was also a stack of
letters, with dates marked on the corners of the envelopes, which were very well received. Beiwu
did not hide which letters came from whom, but he never mentioned that past.
If he didn't tell her, she wouldn't ask. That was his past, a secret that belonged to him alone, or
perhaps it was a comfort. She would be satisfied as long as she had his present and future.
However, what if the past is to be inserted into the present and even affect the future? Shan Rang
put the letter in the bottom drawer of the desk. It must be a big deal to receive a letter from
someone who has not been in touch for many years. In a flash, Shan Rang took out the letter that
was stuffed under the pile of student letters, ashamed of herself for being so stingy and having no
confidence in Beiwu and herself. She had never lost her temper like this after being separated for
many years across the Pacific Ocean.
Shan Rang returned to Changchun Garden. Gu Beiwu had rarely gotten off work early and was
already packing his luggage for Shanghai. He was competing with little Gu Nian for it.
"Okay, you have already brought three small cars. This one is a bit big and can't fit in the bag.
Let's not take it, okay?" Beiwu sat on the ground and took out a plastic fire truck.
"No! I must take it!" Gu Hutou showed the power of a little tiger and fiercely pressed the fire
truck and Beiwu's hand back into the bag.
Old Mrs. Zhou was beside her, trying to mediate: "Come on, Hutou, put the car in grandma's bag,
please."
Gu Nian immediately took out the fire truck and handed it to her grandmother. She closed her
hands and smiled: "Thank you!"
Then he answered for the old lady, "It's okay."
Shanrang stroked his forehead and laughed.
"Mom, mom, mom is back. Thank you for your hard work." Gu Nian quickly ran over to win over
the group, dragged Shan Rang and pressed her down to sit on her little chair, then began to
massage Shan Rang's back seriously.
Amid the praise, Gu Nian patted her back ten times and took her small cup of water: "Mom, have
some tea."
Shanrang's eyes warmed up, and she quickly took the small cup and drank two sips. She was so
busy at the end of the semester that she almost didn't notice that her son had become so
sensible.
Gu Nian stared at her seriously: "Mom, really drink it, drink it."
Gu Beiwu stuffed a set of picture books into Gu Nian's small luggage bag, looked up and said with
a smile: "Gu Nian, Mom has her own cup. Each of us should drink water from our own cups to be
hygienic."
Gu Nian raised her buttocks and leaned on Shan Rang's arm, looking up and declaring pitifully:
"The baby is hygienic, the baby is clean, and the baby smells good."
Shanrang's heart melted into a pool of sugar water, and he quickly lowered his head and took two
big gulps: "Mom really drank it, thank you Hutou."
"No thanks, it's okay." Gu Nian was satisfied, and turned around to compete with Bei Wu for
space.
At night, Shanrang checked the luggage, personal belongings and train tickets of the four people
one last time, and opened the door of the study.
"I don't know who sent you a letter, but a student sent it to my office."
Bei Wu was startled. He took the letter, frowned after looking at the handwriting, and opened the
letter in front of Shan Rang. The more he read, the worse his expression became. Finally, he
sighed.
Shan Rang turned to the bookshelf, pulled out a book, and flipped through a few pages: "What's
wrong? Nothing happened, right?"
Bei Wu hesitated for a moment and said, "It's okay. Something unpleasant happened at the home
of an old friend. I'll contact her later."
Fang Shuren's letter was written in a state of excitement, full of grievances, anger, annoyance,
doubts and accusations, and even revealed a feeling of abandoning everything and being tired of
the world. Maybe she really had nowhere to talk to, so she wrote it on paper, or maybe she really
had no one to talk to, so she sent it to Beijing thousands of miles away. She probably didn't think
that he would receive this letter after leaving the university for so long. If she really wanted him
to receive the letter, she only needed to ask Si Jiang. Because of this reason, Bei Wu felt that he
could not disclose the contents of the letter without permission.
"Every family has its own problems," Shan Rang said with his eyes lowered. "I saw the postmark
and it was sent in early September. You should contact your friend right away."
"Okay." Beiwu picked up the envelope and looked at the postmark. Then he looked up and found
that Shanrang had already gone out.
——
Beiwu's family returned to Wanchun Street on New Year's Eve.
Si Jiang was shocked to hear that his uncle was ready to resign from his job after the New Year.
Even though there are many people doing business now, the cadre establishment of state units
and public institutions is still a golden rice bowl that ordinary people can't reach.
"Is your uncle going to Hong Kong too?" Si Jiang was surprised and happy, "Then you can meet
your aunt."
"Your uncle's new unit is actually a state-owned unit." Shan Rang saw that Grandma Gu looked
unhappy, so he quickly explained, "The unit is very good. An old classmate of ours introduced it
to us. It belongs to Xinhua News Agency. It's just a bit hard work, as we have to travel back and
forth between two places, but the treatment is very good, and we can also get in touch with
many new things."
Granny Gu asked, "What about you and Hu Tou?"
"We'll stay in Beijing. My mom is coming back to her hometown to visit us. She's also going with
me to help take care of Hutou," Shanrang looked at the wall clock. "Why is my second brother
failing again? He said he'd come at five o'clock, but it's already half past six and he's still not
here."
Granny Gu slammed the bowl of soup in front of Bei Wu: "What does it matter whether it's
money or not? Gu Lao Si, what's wrong with you? You flew to the United States for several years,
leaving Shan Rang alone, and now you're running to Hong Kong again, leaving them and their son
behind. Who are you?"
Bei Wu and Dong Wen were talking when the old lady scolded them. Just as they put on a smile
and were about to coax the old lady, Granny Gu's eyes started to turn red.
"How can you ever earn all the money? There are ways to spend more and ways to spend less.
Although you may not listen to what I say, it will be hard for me not to say it. Gu Lao Si, listen to
me. Now that you are married and have children, at least put Shan Rang and Hu Tou first and
spend more time with them. Otherwise, how can we call it a family?"
Granny Gu turned aside and wiped away her tears: "I won't talk about your three older brothers
and sisters, they are all out and about. After your father passed away, if you hadn't been at home
all the time, I don't know how many times I would have wanted to follow him. A family is a family.
What kind of family are you if you don't live together?"
Seeing that everyone in the room had serious expressions and was ready to comfort her,
Grandma Gu turned around and spat at her two sons: "One of you has let Xiao Lu down, and the
other has let Shanrang and Hutou down. None of you are good people. What sin did I commit to
give birth to you two ancestors?"
Without waiting for her sons to speak, Grandma Gu lifted the curtain and entered the room.
Shan Rang winked at the little Gu Nian who was blinking her big eyes, and said in a low voice:
"Grandma is sad, go and comfort her."
"Okay, baby is awesome." Gu Nian chased after him with his two short legs full of energy.
Mrs. Zhou had lived in Beijing for nearly three years and was very familiar with the situation of
Beiwu and Shanrang. She knew that Beiwu's decision to go to Hong Kong was a desperate move
and a last resort. However, her mother-in-law's words touched her heart. She had worried that
her mother-in-law was an old lady with bound feet from the old society and would not get along
with Shanrang. Now she really wanted to be kind to her mother-in-law. She wanted to say a few
good words for her son-in-law, so she patted Shanrang's arm and volunteered to follow him in.
Beiwu touched his nose and smiled at Shanrang: "I feel like I'm not my mother's son, but her son-
in-law. You are her biological daughter."
Si Jiang finally breathed a sigh of relief and approached Shan Rang and asked seriously, "Aunt, do
you really want your uncle to run around?"
Shan Rang lowered his voice and said, "I can earn 7,000 Hong Kong dollars a month, and there is
also a food allowance for business trips. I want to go."
Si Nan almost choked on the melon seeds in his mouth, and stared at Gu Beiwu with blazing eyes:
"Seven, seven thousand a month?!"
Jingsheng slapped her on the back of the head and said, "Hey, don't look like you're obsessed
with money. It's not appropriate. After all, you've counted 20,000 or 30,000 yuan, right?"
Si Nan's bottom was burning with anxiety, so he couldn't sit still. He bent his legs, squatted on the
chair, and rolled his eyes at Jing Sheng: "That's not pure profit. I have to pay rent, wages, and
payment for goods. And my uncle works so hard. It's cool to get paid. You don't understand."
"Work is also hard," said Si Jiang.
"That's not as hard as doing business. Go, go quickly, little uncle," Sinan smiled flatteringly, patted
the melon seed shells on his hands and rubbed them, "Uncle, can I get an advance on next year's
New Year's money? Hehe, hehe, hehehe."
When Zhou Shanli came in, Sinan was trying to please Beiwu and Shanrang in all directions. She
had never expected that the first New Year's money she received this year would be from Zhou
Shanli. She squeezed her hands in joy and rushed to the attic to count the money.
Hearing the loud laughter coming from the attic, Si Jiang and Jing Sheng looked at each other
helplessly and shook their heads.
Grandma Gu was coaxed out by Old Lady Zhou and her grandson, smiling from ear to ear, and
invited Shanli to have dinner with her. After dinner, Shanli chatted with Bei Wudongwen for a
while, picked up his mother and went back to the Armed Police Corps, and agreed to send the old
lady back on the tenth day of the first lunar month. Old Lady Zhou also distributed New Year's
money, and Sinan got the largest share, smiling from ear to ear.
That night, Lisijiang asked Sinan how much New Year's money he got that made him laugh like
that.
"Tell me how much you took first?" Sinan asked with a smile while warming his feet.
"They each gave fifty yuan, which is too much. Brother, Si Hao, and I, all three of us got the
same," Si Jiang had thought about it a long time ago. "I told grandma that she should add fifty
yuan each to the New Year's money she gave to Hu Tou."
Sinan was startled, and the smile on his face disappeared immediately. He rubbed his feet briefly
in the hot water, then lifted his legs and wiped his feet dry.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you unhappy? It looks like your two red envelopes are
definitely more than ours." Si Jiang took the dry cloth in the corner and wiped the water stains on
the ground.
"Well, I gave each of them a hundred yuan," Sinan picked up the foot basin and suddenly put it
heavily on the ground. He turned around and spread the twenty brand new big unity sheets
under the pillow all over the bed. "How can I not be happy?"
She picked up the basin and went downstairs with a thump, sprinkling foot-washing water all the
way.
"What are you doing, Chen Sinan?" Jingsheng shouted from below.
"None of your business!"
Si Jiang held the cloth in his hand and stared at the large bed of slumps for a long time, feeling
upset. Such compensation would not make Si Nan feel any better, but if there was no
compensation at all, it would be even worse.

Chapter 293
Before Si Jiang could open his mouth to comfort him, Si Nan comforted himself.
"It's better to have something than nothing," Sinan said self-deprecatingly, spreading out the
twenty big unity notes in his palm like a deck of cards, and swiping the fan-shaped notes, "More
is better than less, Grandma Zhou and Uncle Zhou are both good people."
Si Jiang felt bitter and bitter in his heart, and he slapped Si Nan in a natural way: "Can you please
stop acting like a seasoned veteran?"
Sinan glared at her and said, "You and your eldest cousin are so annoying. You gave Hutou some
New Year's money and ruined the market."
Having said that, he pointed out five great unity cards in his hand.
"Give it to grandma for me and give me a share. I can't give out as much as I take, otherwise it
will be a big loss for me."
Si Jiang pushed it back: "You are only a high school student, how can you give it? My brother and
I received subsidies from the government for college. I get more than 70 yuan a month, and my
brother gets more than 30 yuan. We are like people with salaries. What can you compare with
us? Don't pretend to be rich. By the way, are you still attending your karate class? Do you want
me to support you with 50 yuan?"
Sinan quickly took back the five bills and held out his hand again: "If you don't want it, it's a
waste. If you take it, it's worth it."
Si Jiang took out a brand new light green fifty-yuan bill from his mooncake box cheerfully: "Here's
a new big bill for you."
Sinan laughed at the workers, farmers and intellectuals on the banknotes, let out a long sigh, and
happily went downstairs to call Tang Huan.
The person who answered the phone was Fang Shuren.
"Hey, isn't Tang Huan at your house?" Fang Shuren was surprised.
"Huh?" Sinan was stunned and subconsciously lied, "She hasn't come home yet? She left twenty
minutes ago."
After hanging up the phone, Si Nan muttered to himself: "How could Tang Huan even lie to me?
At least he should have said something before he used me as a scapegoat."
Shan Rang watched Gu Nian present treasures to Si Hao from the other end of the sofa and asked
casually, "What's wrong?"
Si Nan kept talking, saying that Tang Huan might be having a teacher-student relationship behind
his back, which was stupid and would cause trouble. He also revealed all the affairs of Fang
Shuren and the Tang family in a few words.
Gu Beiwu, who was looking at the account book and doing the accounts with Dong Wen at the
dining table, frowned and turned around, tapping his fingers on the table a few times: "Sinan,
this is someone else's privacy and someone else's pain. You can't use it to make fun of it."
Sinan stuck out his tongue: "Oh——"
——
At night, Beiwu, Shanrang and Gu Nian slept on two single beds in the pavilion.
Fashion stalls are no different from other businesses. The more festivals there are, the better the
business. This year, Gu Dongwen plans to follow the trend and buy spring clothes on the fifth day
of the first lunar month to welcome the God of Wealth. Therefore, the pavilion is still full of
goods and smells of fabrics. Shan Rang opened the window, and the cold air blew in with the
wind. Gu Nian sneezed and squeezed in front of Shan Rang's legs, shouting for her to hold him up
and look outside.
What was there to see outside the pavilion? The lattice road stretched out long and thin, and the
spider-web-like wires drew irregular grids of different sizes in the night sky. On the clothes drying
pole of a family across the street, a pair of cotton trousers was forgotten to be put away. They
were frozen stiff and swayed stiffly in the night wind. The light was still on in the kitchen
downstairs, and the laughter of Jingsheng and Sijiang could be heard from time to time.
"Grandma's house is small," Gu Nian sighed while hugging Shan Rang's neck, "The room is small,
the room is old, and the room is broken."
Shan Rang held his little mouth and said, "Don't say that in front of grandma, uncle, brothers and
sisters! Remember?"
"Why?" Gu Nian pouted in grievance, "Baby is not lying, baby is telling the truth."
“It’s impolite.”
"I want to go home," Gu Nian leaned on her shoulders, arched her hips and twisted them
continuously, "Back to my baby's home, back to my own home, back to Beijing."
"I'll go back after a good New Year. Be good, stop being naughty. You still have to play with your
brothers and sisters tomorrow. They will take you to set off firecrackers and fireworks. Do you like
setting off firecrackers?"
"I like it," Gu Nian rubbed Shanrang's shoulder, "Then let's go home the day after tomorrow."
"You won't be back the day after tomorrow. You won't be back until after the Lantern Festival. We
have to wait for grandma to come back with us. Grandma has gone to the countryside. Do you
want to go back to Beijing with her?"
"Yes. Grandma, baby, dad, mom, we'll go home together."
Shan Rang read four picture books, sang five nursery rhymes, and told three stories, and finally
coaxed Gu Nian to sleep.
Beiwu pushed the door open and came in, put the spittoon at the end of the bed, and carefully
moved another steel bed over. The two 90-centimeter small beds were combined into a 1.8-
meter large bed.
"You are so clever."
"Otherwise, you and Hutou won't be able to sleep." Beiwu smiled and put a thin quilt between
the two beds and flattened it.
Shanrang, who had been sleeping on his side, lay down and let out a long sigh.
There was a knock on the door. Jingsheng brought up a thermos and two hot water bottles, and
Si Jiang tiptoed over to bring a small square stool, on which was a thermos, a small blanket, and
Si Hao's childhood shorts and cotton trousers.
"Grandma said that children are prone to wetting the bed when changing beds, so it's best to
keep these in case they are not needed." Si Jiang pursed his lips and smiled mischievously.
"If you need anything, just call me. I'll sleep on the sofa in the living room." When Jingsheng saw
Gu Nian's little face sticking out from under the quilt, his tone unconsciously softened and the
corners of his mouth curled up.
Shanrang felt warm in his heart and responded with a smile.
Gradually, upstairs and downstairs, the sound of firecrackers could be heard outside occasionally.
Shanrang felt a little dazed. She had lived in Wanchun Street for very few days, but she was very
happy every time. This was probably what Grandma Gu meant, that home is where the family is.
One has been poor and rich before.
Bei Wu turned over with a rustling sound, dug Shan Rang out of her quilt, hugged her in his arms,
sighed, and kissed her forehead.
"What's wrong?" Shanrang hugged him obediently, raised his head and kissed Beiwu's chin.
"I'm sorry, that's what my mother said." Bei Wu smiled bitterly.
"When I was 20 or 30, I thought there was nothing in the world I couldn't do, and I could get
through any difficult hurdle with a gritted teeth. I didn't expect that even at 40, I still couldn't let
you and Hutou live a good life."
"Nonsense, why are our lives not good? Do you think they are not good?"
"Not enough, I want to give you a better life."
"It's good to have you. I think it's good enough. Nothing goes wrong. Don't put too much
pressure on yourself. Let's not compare ourselves with others, but only with the past. We didn't
feel miserable when we lived in the school dormitory before."
Bei Wu tightened his arms: "Five years, give me five years, at least to achieve the goal I want."
Shan Rang smiled and said, "Okay, don't set your goals too high. Just set small goals."
"good."
After a moment of silence, Bei Wu sighed softly: "The letter before was written to me by Mr. Fang
that Si Nan mentioned."
Shan let his body tense for a moment.
Beiwu's men felt her muscles tense and were startled: "Do you care about that letter?"
Shan Rang stroked his chin for a while: "It would be a lie to say you don't care. After all, she is
your first love——"
Bei Wu's chest rose and fell a few times because of his muffled laughter: "What first love? It's my
unrequited love, okay? Miss Fang doesn't like me, an unemployed young hooligan."
Shanrang felt relieved, but his eyes were sore: "Don't say that about yourself. It takes a lot of
courage to like someone. You shouldn't be so humble."
"You're praising yourself again, Secretary Zhou."
Shanrang laughed and punched Beiwu twice.
"If you care about it, why don't you ask me?" Bei Wu pinched Shan Rang's nose, "If I don't tell
you, how long are you going to keep it to yourself?"
"Even if we are husband and wife, we can't stretch our hands too far. I have a bottom line, okay?"
Shan Rang shook his head and broke away from his hand, twisting his waist, "But are you willing
to tell me? Me, I’m very happy.”
"Well, her letter wasn't actually written to me. She just couldn't think about it at the moment and
found a place to send her anger and resentment." Beiwu sighed a little, "In this world Not one in
a million, at least not one in a million, is as good as the two of us. Sometimes I even worry about
whether we will lose other things because we are so good. "
"You are about to lose your golden job in the ministry." Shan Rang joked. Thinking of Fang
Shuren's situation, he felt a little ashamed and guilty. It seemed that she had robbed Miss Fang of
her happiness. No matter who she married, Beiwu will definitely be very happy.
"How is she doing now? Do you want to contact her?" Shan Rang asked.
"She said in the letter that she wanted to leave Shanghai and everyone who knew her—" Bei Wu
sighed, "Miss Fang is a very rational person. If she wasn't extremely unhappy, she wouldn't say
such a thing."
Shan Rang raised his head: "Didn't Nanhong say that the Chaoshan children's school run by her
boss is in great need of good teachers? Or you can ask?" Nanhong called to ask her to introduce a
graduate from Beijing Normal University. Seeing that Hong Kong will be returned in a few years,
Hong Kong people are immigrating to Canada without time, and it is difficult to hire teachers.
Boss Fang and several other Chaoshan bosses have run this school for children, firstly to stabilize
the morale of middle and senior management personnel, and secondly to let the next generation
learn to speak Mandarin, history and mathematics must be synchronized with the domestic, and
science must be at least a long way ahead of Hong Kong. In Nanhong's words, the treatment is
absolutely good, with food and accommodation provided, and the salary starting at 10,000 Hong
Kong dollars, and there is a bonus at the end of the year. The Chaoshan Chamber of Commerce
strongly supports it, and the national departments have also given a lot of support.
Bei Wu was stunned: "If I introduce her to be a teacher in Hong Kong, can you rest assured?"
Shan Rang: "I was a little worried at first, but now I feel relieved. If you can help, then help. And
she may not necessarily go, but at least we have tried our best as friends, right? Just give me
peace of mind. After all, she is the only person you have ever had a crush on—"
"You used the word 'we' very correctly." Beiwu laughed so hard that the two of them shook in the
bed.
The two hugged each other quietly for a while. It was not known who took the initiative first, but
the atmosphere suddenly became heated.
Shanrang was kissed until his whole body went limp. He suddenly woke up and grabbed Beiwu's
hair and whispered, "No, no, no, no, come up quickly. I haven't taken a shower today--"
The bulge in the quilt had no effect at all, it was like the undulating mountains or the rippling
waves.
Shan Rang closed his eyes and bit his lower lip hard. His bare arms glowed white against the
indigo checkered quilt, which was twisted into a ball.
There was a light laugh from under the covers.
Shan Rang covered his face and gently kicked the person below his head.
Bei Wu leaned forward, got out of the quilt and took a deep breath of fresh air. The corners of his
eyes were flushed and his face was full of water. He leaned forward and grabbed the best cotton
trousers on the small square stool to wipe his face, then pulled the small blanket into the quilt
and spread it under the two of them.
"I have to thank my son." Beiwu smiled and bit Shanrang's ear.
Shan Rang was so ashamed and angry that she wanted to die, but her love was swelling to the
point of bursting her chest. She hooked her arms around Bei Wu's neck tightly, bit his ear and
whispered, "I want you, come in quickly."
The two of them had only moved a few times when the unruly steel bed began to creak.
Gu Nian burst into tears.
“No, no! Mom—there is a monster—save me!”
Beiwu and Shanrang stopped talking abruptly, looked at each other for two seconds, couldn't
stop laughing, and hurriedly fished out clothes and pants from under the quilt.
Shan Rang picked up Gu Nian, his palms were wet, and he was stunned for a moment: "She really
wet the bed——!"
Beiwu picked up the used cotton trousers and shook them twice. Alas, these days, if you borrow
a pair of cotton trousers, you will be punished immediately. Is it possible to live like this?
——
Early in the morning on New Year's Eve, two sheets and a small blanket were hung on the
clothesline at Gu's house.
Chen Sihao and Gu Nian started arguing over the TV channel. As the older brother, Chen Sihao
immediately pointed out the window and shouted confidently: "Hutou, you peed on a world map
and wet two sheets of my bed. Don't you feel ashamed? So listen to me and watch The Smurfs!"
"No! I didn't! Not me! I want to see Donald Duck!"
The two guilty adults looked at each other and pretended they heard nothing.
Chapter 294
Bid farewell to the New Year’s Eve of the Year of the Dragon and welcome the Spring Festival of
the Year of the Snake.
From New Year's Eve to the fifth day of the first lunar month, the Gu family had a banquet.
Grandma Gu and Jingsheng were used to getting up early, and they started preparing breakfast
for the whole family at six o'clock. Under the eyes of so many people, there were few
opportunities for Jingsheng to be alone, so Si Jiang also set an alarm for herself at six o'clock.
After all, she was an excellent student who had studied cooking for a year, and she had a lot of
experience in starching and flavoring. The lion's head and stir-fried shrimps she cooked for the
New Year's Eve dinner were well received, so she stood in the kitchen with grandma and
Jingsheng in front of the public and became known as the "three cobblers", making breakfast
every day in a variety of ways.
Gu Nian followed the Zhou family and went to bed early and got up early. He woke up naturally at
7 o'clock. He first crawled into his parents' bed and tossed around a few times, trying to squeeze
in between them. Sometimes he hugged the heads of the two adults on his shoulders and
enjoyed hugging them from left to right, kissing them from left to right, and sometimes he used a
series of sweeping kicks to try to kick Bei Wu off the bed. He liked the groove between the two
beds the most. After pushing left and right to make room, he twisted and rubbed on the groove
like an earthworm, and he was very happy. Bei Wu was kind and couldn't get the quilt, so he
simply threw a quilt to him to toss around. The two of them wrapped in another quilt and
stacked sideways against the wall, letting his son toss around as he pleased. Gu Nian was tired of
playing, and the heat in the quilt was all gone. No matter how he called, he couldn't wake up his
parents, so he had to put on his clothes and go to bed in a huff.
By eight o'clock, unable to wait any longer, Grandma Gu picked up Gu Nian and called Jing
Shengsijiang to eat together first.
When Gu Nian was in Beijing, his parents ate breakfast in the company cafeteria. His
grandmother was not very good at cooking, and the old lady could not stand the smell of bean
juice that Beijingers loved, so his breakfast was usually steamed buns with milk and eggs. He
would cook rice with leftovers from the previous night and add an egg to make a big meal. If
there were cakes from Daoxiangcun, it would be like a festival. For the first time in his life, he
discovered that he could have vegetables for breakfast, such as shredded potatoes with green
peppers, stir-fried edamame with dried tofu, stir-fried pork with snow vegetables, stir-fried chili
sauce, stir-fried three-diced vegetables, and boiled dried shredded vegetables... He never had the
same egg twice, including boiled eggs, tea eggs, poached eggs, egg custard, egg palm eggs,
poached eggs, and sausages could be added to scrambled eggs. The staple food was even more
varied. We had wontons with vegetables and meat on New Year's Eve, and red date tea with
Yangzhou four-color steamed buns on New Year's Day. The three-stuffed buns made by grandma
were so delicious that Gu Nian ate them with tears in her eyes. Holding the buns in her hands,
she asked grandma, "Grandma, can you come back to my house with me? My house is big, new,
and good. You make me buns and I'll let you play with my car."
Grandma Gu's heart melted. If it weren't for Si Hao Si Nan, she would have agreed without
hesitation.
At half past nine, Grandma Gu and Jingsheng started preparing lunch. Beiwu and Shanrang stayed
alone for an hour or so before getting up to eat breakfast contentedly. Gu Dongwen also came
back on time, and the three of them sat at the same table, reheating the leftover dishes and
eating until after ten o'clock. Chen Si got better, and this third round of breakfast was his alone,
and he quickly devoured all the leftovers.
At eleven o'clock, Si Nan got up and ran directly to the kitchen. During the Chinese New Year, the
long table in the kitchen is always stacked with plates and bowls, filled with all kinds of cold cuts,
including pork belly, pig heart, pig ears, beef in soy sauce, lamb from Suzhou Collection, crystal
meat from Zhenjiang, and Harbin food. There are everything from large red sausages to duck
gizzards and chicken feet produced in the factory. On the two briquette stoves, one pot is filled
with golden old hen soup, the other pot is filled with snow-white intestine and lung soup, and the
five-layer steamer is placed from top to bottom with heavy oil vegetable dumplings from Luyang
Village and Xinya. Big fresh meat buns, rich pan-fried steamed buns, glutinous rice dumplings
from Shaanxi North Road and Yangzhou buns made by Grandma Gu. Knowing that Si Nan only
likes to eat stuffed with shredded radish and meat dregs, they were dotted with red dots. , to
save her from breaking them off one by one like a bear with a stick. While Si Nan was eating here
and there, putting some on the table, Jing Sheng and Si Jiang came in and started to stir-fry. After
a while, lunch started again at twelve o'clock.
After lunch, Grandma Gu took a nap, Beiwu Shanrang and Jingsheng Sijiang played 80 points in
the living room, Gu Dongwen took Sinan, Sihao and Gu Nian to Xigong to have fun, and they
came back around 3 o'clock with big and small bags in their hands, including melon seeds,
popcorn, baked sweet potato candies, and fragrant hot egg cakes just out of the oven. So those
who were playing cards at the table put down their cards, those who were praying in the house
put down their crosses, and the whole family started to eat snacks in the living room again.
Beiwu likes to drink green tea, and doesn't care about the type of tea. Dongwen changed to black
tea because of his bad stomach two years ago. The Yunnan black tea sent to him by his old
educated youth comrades was packed in sacks. He could only tell the good from the bad without
asking about the type. Shanrang likes to drink milk tea. Jingsheng brought a coal stove up,
opened the window, boiled milk in a small steel wok, and then threw in a handful of wild Yunnan
black tea leaves. Shanrang sat on a small stool and worked side by side with Sijiang to use a
wooden spoon to mash the color of the tea leaves, put in sugar and stir well before serving. Chen
Sihao could drink two small bowls at a time. After drinking it all, he looked at Gu Nian holding his
small cup and sipping it in small sips. He was greedy, really greedy, very greedy.
Sinan doesn't like these. She likes to eat ice bricks in the sun. Sihao was greedy for ice bricks, but
Grandma Gu didn't care whether he slept in, did his winter vacation homework, or watched TV.
She just wouldn't let him eat cold drinks in the winter. He did try hard to get it: "If my second
sister can eat it, I can eat it too!" Grandma Gu glared at him: "Your second sister grew up in
Xinjiang. She is as strong as a bull. She hangs on the door frame and casually puts dozens of
things up and down. If you have the ability to learn from her, you can eat as much as you want.
Grandma won't care if you eat ten or eight! And your stomach, if you eat oily food, eat more, or
eat cold food, you will get that. Do you remember the last time? Oh, my, my room was stinky for
a whole week! That mahogany toilet has been with me for seventy years, from Yangzhou to
Shanghai, and I have never suffered that kind of hardship..."
He was not afraid of anything except Grandma Gu settling old scores. Chen Sihao immediately
became frustrated. It was not like he had never learned this before. He could not even hold the
door frame without a stool. It was so annoying. He could only put his hope on the dinner at
Grandma's house.
During the Chinese New Year, Si Jiang took Si Nan and Si Hao to the Chen family for dinner every
day. Since Chen A Niang had facial paralysis, Chen Dongfang and Chen Donghai came back more
often. After work on New Year's Eve, they would bring their wives and children back to cook for A
Niang. Chen A Niang no longer had the enthusiasm of the past few decades, but the New Year
still had to be celebrated. The New Year's Eve dinner was prepared by her, Chen Donghai and Li
Xuejing. It was still Ningbo cuisine, and it was stir-fried crabs, stir-fried shrimps and large yellow
croakers. There was a large table with Si Jiang and the other two, a total of ten people. They first
kowtowed and toasted to Chen A Ye on the altar, and then returned to their seats to eat the
reunion dinner. In the past few years, there has been no routine lectures from Grandpa Chen, no
Qian Guihua's showing off and jealousy. Seeing that except for Si Hao, the other grandchildren
have grown up and can hardly say a few words to each other, this New Year's Eve dinner seems to
be a reunion, but in fact it is a mess and it is not lively at all. She feels really sad and miserable.
On the afternoon of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Gu Dongwen personally invited Chen A-
niang to his home. Grandma Gu took out two certificates and said, "Mother-in-law, Dongwen got
my family's new land certificate and property certificate before the Lunar New Year."
A trace of worry flashed across Chen A'niang's face, and she thought to herself, what does it have
to do with my Chen family if your Gu family gets the house certificate?
Granny Gu handed her a certificate and said, "Dongwen has a co-ownership certificate for this
house. The names of Sijiang, Sinan, and Sihao are all on it. That's why I specially asked you to take
a look so that you can have an idea. If someone has bad intentions in the future and says that
their surname is Chen instead of Gu, you can also be a witness that I am the one who makes the
decision. Grandsons and granddaughters are all the same to me."
Since the two old ladies with bound feet were illiterate, Grandma Gu pointed to the densely
packed words under the list of co-owners and asked Gu Beiwu to read them.
Two sons, two daughters, a daughter-in-law, and three siblings, Gu Jingsheng, Gu Nian, and Si
Jiang, were all there.
Chen A'niang's face was burning. The Chen family also had a private house, but it was just one
room, and the kitchen was shared. Two years ago, Chen Dongfang and Chen Donghai also went to
get the real estate certificate and land certificate, and only Chen A'niang and the three brothers'
names were on them.
Grandma Gu sighed, "Don't worry, mother-in-law. You are so good to Si Jiang. Dongwen did this
because Ximei and Donglai couldn't get along anymore. No matter who Si Jiang and the other
three children follow, they are the apple of our eyes, right? If they follow Donglai and go back to
your Chen family, I, Xu Xunfang, will have no objection. This little house is just a thought, to let
them know that grandma has them in her heart. It doesn't matter what their surname is. My
father built such a small shabby house and recruited old Gu as his son-in-law. The four children
still have the surname Gu instead of Xu. How can they have the face to have the surname Xu? The
Xu family in Yangzhou has lost all the houses, shops and land in his hands. So although Si Jiang
and the others don't have the surname Gu, in my eyes they are the same as Jingsheng Hutou.
They can't lack what others have. Whether they will look down on it in the future is another
matter."
Chen A Niang couldn't respond to this, but she knew that although Wanchun Street was a
shantytown and worthless, from the Republic of China to the present, land and houses were
always the most valuable. It was inappropriate for her grandchildren to occupy the Gu family's
house. If the neighbors in the alley knew about it, she would not be able to hold her head up.
——
After welcoming the God of Wealth on the fifth day of the Chinese New Year, Si Jiang took a
tutoring job, which was introduced by a teacher in the department. He was a Chinese teacher for
the mother of a ninth-grade student in an American school. The requirement was that the
student could quickly understand and speak daily expressions. The tutoring location was far away,
in Gubei New District, close to Hongqiao Airport, and it took at least an hour and a half by bus.
But when he heard the remuneration of 75 yuan per hour, Si Jiang thought he had misheard, and
confirmed with the teacher. It was correct, one class was two hours, 150 yuan, two to three
classes per week, and the tutoring fee was paid in cash after each class. Beiwu and Shanrang
were both amazed.
The best part was that Jingsheng insisted on seeing her off and waiting for her to come back, so
the two of them had a few hours of alone time, which was so precious during the New Year
holidays.

Chapter 295
For Si Jiang and Jing Sheng, this Spring Festival is like being immersed in a honey pot. Although
the honey pot is still hidden in the cupboard, it is only separated from the outside by a screen
door. Bei Wu and Shan Rang's eyes and smiles that "everything is said without words" are like
hands that open the screen door from time to time, letting the honey pot swing. But they don't
say anything or ask much, but Si Jiang always has an impulse to secretly find Shan Rang to confess
his happiness. This is probably the disgusting "sour smell of love".
The days and nights of Wanchun Street are not as romantic and fashionable as those in romance
novels and movies, but there are always touching moments. At dawn, Jingsheng blocked Sijiang
behind him while walking down the stairs, and turned around to rub her hot ears that had just
come out of the quilt, fearing that she would get frostbite. Sijiang would sneak a glance to see if
there was no one around, and would lower her head to peck Jingsheng's forehead, nose, and
chin three times in a row, deliberately missing the places he was looking for, and the hands
rubbing her ears would fix her jaw and force a kiss. The toothbrushes, one red and one blue,
leaning side by side on the cement platform, quietly waited in front of the thick white plastic
paper wrapped around the water pipe, like a still oil painting. Soon the washbasin was inserted
into the background, and the thermos tilted down, steam rising, like a soft light mirror in the
movie. Sijiang stretched her neck to enjoy a few seconds of "steam massage", and Jingsheng liked
to blow a breath on her face lightly, and the hot air flew away. Si Jiang was startled and puffed up
his cheeks to blow back a few breaths of cold air.
Three people were busy in the kitchen, while Grandma Gu was talking about the grand New Year
celebrations of the Xu family in Yangzhou when she was a child, like a flowing musical backdrop.
Si Jiang had heard it countless times since he was a child, and he knew the next sentence after
hearing the previous one. There were five chefs in the big kitchen alone, and each of them had
their own division of labor for the white and red cases. The maids in the kitchen were divided
into three shifts. The whole family never lacked hot water in the twelve hours. There were more
than twenty sisters-in-law and old women helping out, checking the weight, picking and washing
vegetables, changing knives, kneading dough, delivering food boxes, and checking accounts, each
with their own duties. Grandma Gu had been following Mrs. Xu since she was seven years old and
listening to her management of affairs. What was she managing? She was robbing Peter to pay
Paul, and she only spent money and didn't make any money 365 days a year. Today she sold her
land, tomorrow she sold her shop, and the day after tomorrow she sold her porcelain and
calligraphy. In addition to food, clothing, and daily necessities, the only things that came into the
house were opium.
"He's lucky. If he hadn't lost it all long ago, he would have been caught and shot during the land
reform." Granny Gu shook her head and laughed cheerfully.
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng were flirting right under her nose.
"When my mother gave birth to us sisters, she prepared a set of mahogany furniture for each of
us as dowries. Later, she sold my eldest sister's dowry first, then my second sister's. When it was
time to sell my dowry, the Japanese called and I didn't have time to sell it. I only had time to grab
a toilet and run away," laughed Granny Gu, sitting on a low stool and looking at the coal stove.
"My mind was full of confusion at the time. I was just thinking about how I would go to the toilet
without a toilet during the escape. As a result, the toilet was filled with steamed buns along the
way, hahahaha."
Jingsheng asked, "Sijiang, do you want a mahogany toilet as your dowry? I'll make one for you."
"Come on! Grandma, can you please stop talking about toilet and other things when you are
cooking breakfast?" Si Jiang said to his grandma in a coquettish way.
Granny Gu turned around and looked at the two of them and smiled: "I was talking about
steamed buns, what's the big deal. Besides, how can you, Jingsheng, pay for Sijiang's dowry? If
you have to pay, it should be the betrothal gift to the girl's family, silly Xiaoning."
"What do you mean by dowry? It's the right time now. I don't want any," Si Jiang said, kneading
the dough. "Grandma, I finally have a clean face and clean hands. Come and teach me how to
make dumplings. I can never get the folds right."
Granny Gu trembled and squeezed between her and Jingsheng. Her hands moved quickly, and in
a blink of an eye, a fat white bun fell to the ground, with eighteen neat folds. Si Jiang tried to
pinch it for a long time, but the stuffing either squeezed out or fell to one side like a dumpling.
Jingsheng walked around behind her, opened the bun skin, removed one-third of the stuffing,
took up the bun skin with her left hand, and guided her right hand with his right hand to start
pulling the bun in circles. In a blink of an eye, a beautiful and neat bun fell into the steamer. His
breath made Si Jiang blush, and he also got into the steamer. After checking the heat of the
intestine and lung soup, Granny Gu turned around: "Tsk tsk tsk tsk, this won't work. Old Gu
couldn't teach well, but Little Gu got it right in one step, and the girl has become a master."
In the afternoon, they played 80 points. It was obviously Jingsheng and Sijiang who were on the
same team, but in the end it always became three against one. Beiwu often asked Shanrang: "Are
you an undercover agent? Why do you always give away points to the opponent?"
Shanrang felt wronged, and he glared at Jingsheng and Sijiang, "You two are not allowed to cheat
anymore. Why are you always looking at each other? Why are you hinting at me now? Otherwise,
how would Jingsheng know that the red heart in his hand can be discarded?"
Si Jiang and Jingsheng just looked at each other happily. What could they do? They could tell
whether the other had any cards in his hand with just a glance. They were so telepathic that they
understood each other without any words being said.
At night, Si Jiang had dinner at Chen's house. When eight o'clock came, Jingsheng's voice was
more punctual than the wall clock.
"Si Jiang, are you going back?"
Grandma Li and Aunt Kang downstairs were laughing so hard: "Brother Diege, you are really
great. You can walk a few steps without worrying about it. It's exactly the same as the way Gu
Dongwen looked at Nanhong a long time ago."
"You have to take a look. Si Jiang is so beautiful. The boys in the alley come to her every day. If it
weren't for the prince, what would she do? The girl is shy, don't refuse."
The four of them walked from Chen's house to Gu's house. When they saw the fireworks in the
sky, their hearts were different. Si Jiang remembered that when Jing Sheng was a child, he
couldn't help but tease him because of his burnt scalp.
Si Hao responded faster than Jing Sheng: "A hero saves a beautiful girl. Do you have a fever?
Hahahaha."
"To be a hero, you have to pay a price." Sinan pulled Sihao to chase the fireworks.
Jingsheng and Sijiang stood side by side quietly on Dange Road, looking up at the fireworks in the
distance, waiting for the bright light to be emitted. The slightly hooked fingers under the sleeves
of their coats proved that they were a pair of lovers.
——
On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Si Jiang became a tutor for the first time in his life.
People will encounter countless opportunities in their lives. In the words of Grandma Gu, "noble
people are everywhere." The slang passed down from generation to generation and the
teachings of God have achieved a magical fusion and balance in the illiterate women of the old
society, automatically forming a set of theories with a sense of magic.
Mrs. Brown is considered to be Sijiang's benefactor. She is an American woman of Irish descent
who grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta. Sijiang automatically linked her to the novel "Gone with
the Wind". When talking about Scarlett and the movie "Gone with the Wind", Mrs. Brown
laughed and fell backwards: "Dear Sijiang, thank you, I take your words as a compliment. Who
doesn't want to have a face like Vivien Leigh?"
The Gubei New Area was still under construction that year, with construction sites and fields
everywhere. The Gubei area that the teacher mentioned on the phone was a very general
concept. Fortunately, bus No. 57 from Jing'an Temple went directly to Hongqiao Gubei. Jingsheng
and Sijiang sat in the last row of the bus and talked for an hour. When they got off at the zoo,
they still felt that the journey was too short.
The Brown family rented a villa owned by the Textile Bureau, which was very close to the Lone
Cypress Hotel. It was also one of the villas built in this area by British Jews following Sassoon in
the 1930s. It had a construction area of more than 500 square meters, with eight rooms and four
bathrooms of varying sizes. However, for the Browns, their four children, and two live-in nannies,
this villa still seemed not spacious enough.
Sijiang came to teach on this day. Mr. Brown was at home. He was a tall and burly white man with
a Philadelphia accent. He expressed just the right amount of surprise at Sijiang's fluent English
without a Chinese accent. After a few pleasantries, he gave them the living room. Mrs. Brown
was very satisfied with the teaching content that Sijiang prepared carefully. On this day, they
learned the pronunciation of vowels, repeated simple greetings, and learned the numbers from
one to ten, hundreds and thousands. With the last twenty minutes left, there was a commotion
at the gate. A little boy made a sharp scream and cry, and another big boy spoke very quickly and
satirized his brother's incompetence and cowardice.
The door was slammed open and four children rushed in. A boy of four or five years old threw
himself into Mrs. Brown's arms and burst into tears. A girl of six or seven years old angrily began
to narrate how her brother bullied her and her younger brother on the school bus. Another girl
about twelve years old rolled her eyes, threw her schoolbag heavily on the sofa, took off the
earphones from her ears and yelled, "You are so annoying!" The older boy of fifteen or sixteen
years old shrugged at his mother, glanced at Si Jiang, and ran upstairs quickly.
Si Jiang said he could finish the class early. Mrs. Brown patted her son's back and shook her head
at Si Jiang. She shouted upstairs: "Danny, I need another 20 minutes--"
Mr. Brown quickly went downstairs and took his youngest son and daughter out the door. The
sound of bicycle bells gradually faded away. The living room became quiet again. Mrs. Brown
refilled Si Jiang's cup of tea and said "I'm sorry" which she had just learned, indicating that she
could continue the lesson.
After the class, Mrs. Brown handed Si Jiang a red envelope and a beautiful tin box.
"Here are some cookies I made myself, I hope you like them."
Mrs. Brown sent Si Jiang out the door, and outside they met Mr. Brown and his two children. The
children had forgotten their unhappiness and were riding their bicycles very fast with helmets on.
Mr. Brown ran behind them and waved to Si Jiang.
As soon as Si Jiang turned onto Hongqiao Road, Jingsheng, who was waiting on the curb, came up
to him.
"Are you freezing to death?" Si Jiang was so distressed that she touched Jingsheng's hand, but it
was much warmer than hers.
"It's not cold. I walked around for a few times and found a road nearby called Keke Road."
Jingsheng took the tin box from her hand with a smile.
"Hey, is the Coca-Cola Company on this road?"
"Definitely not," Jingsheng put her hand into his coat pocket, "Did the class go well? Is that family
difficult to deal with?"
"Mrs. Brown is a very nice person," Si Jiang told what he had just seen, a little envious, "Mr.
Brown is also a good man."
Jingsheng squinted at her and asked with a smile, "Can you tell the good from the bad in just two
hours?"
"Well, Mrs. Brown is the housewife and Mr. Brown supports the family, but they are very equal.
When Mrs. Brown asks him to help take care of the children, he comes to help immediately. It
can be seen that he has been taking care of the children and never gives his wife a cold look,
which is quite rare." Si Jiang thought carefully about the situation of so many families in Wanchun
Street. "There are men in the alley who cook and pick up little girls, but there are very few fathers
who accompany little girls. Even my uncle and aunt, I think it is my aunt who plays with Hutou."
"I have to go back and help my uncle improve further." Si Jiang smiled and opened the tin box in
Jingsheng's hand. The cookies inside were of different shapes, including stars, moons, and small
animals. A buttery aroma wafted to his face.
Jingsheng picked a star cookie and stuffed it into Sijiang's mouth: "Oh, then I have to write it
down and pay attention to it next time."
Si Jiang almost choked on a mouthful of biscuits, and with a red face, he gently kicked Jingsheng:
"What does it have to do with you?"
"You don't really want to finish your PhD and work for one, two, three, four, five, or six years
before getting married, do you?" Jingsheng bit the moon biscuit with a crunchy sound and smiled
with his eyes curved. "My dad wanted to buy us a wedding house last year--"
This time Si Jiang really choked and started coughing.
Jingsheng patted her on the back: "Too surprised?"
"Shocked!" Si Jiang glared at him and suppressed his pounding heart. "We've just started dating,
you're thinking too far ahead about things like a wedding house and children."
"I have to think about it," Jingsheng raised the corner of his mouth leisurely, "I need love and I
also need bread."
Si Jiang blushed and looked at the bus that slowed down not far away: "The bus is coming!"
"It's a pity that with the family planning policy now, we can only have one child." Jingsheng felt a
little regretful. As Si Jiang said, four children in the Brown family were too many. It would be best
if there were two.
"What the hell! You're so angry!" Si Jianghu stomped on him hard with a fierce look on his face
and followed the tail of the team.

Chapter 296
Holding the first salary in his hand, Si Jiang's mouth curled up. In Jingsheng's words, he smiled so
hard that his teeth were exposed.
Si Jiang immediately started planning how to spend the 150 yuan while on the bus.
"First, buy a pair of cotton children's shoes for A Niang. She said that the new pair of suede shoes
you bought for Si Hao last time looked warm, and the soles were non-slip. Thirty-eight yuan is not
expensive. Let's go to Huating Road to buy them tomorrow. Do you remember which stall they
are from?" Si Jiang felt sorry for A Niang. The two uncles came to help, and the gift boxes they
gave were impractical and looked like "circulating goods" that had been traded several times.
Jingsheng nodded sourly: "Remember, I'll take you there."
"Before the Chinese New Year, I saw a down vest at a foreign trade store on Shaanxi Road. I'll buy
it on the way tomorrow," Si Jiang calculated in his heart. "The vest is fifty-eight yuan, so after
deducting ninety-six yuan, there will be fifty-four yuan left."
"Oh, look at all those banknotes. They are not durable at all." Si Jiang remembered that he had
complained about his mother talking about money all the time. Now he felt a little sad.
"Are you planning to use them all?" Jingsheng smiled mischievously, "Why don't you get a
mahogany toilet? There are some in the City God Temple."
"Bah!" Si Jiang bent his knees and pushed him, "I told you I don't want any dowry."
"Can I treat you to a movie during the Lantern Festival?" Si Jiang's eyes sparkled. "Two cups of ice
cream coffee."
"You treat me to a movie, and I treat you to ice cream and coffee."
Si Jiang replied sarcastically: "Tsk tsk tsk, first time is strange, second time is familiar, before
people invited you to watch a movie, you treated them to ice cream--"
"Someone celebrated my birthday and gave half of my birthday cake to others." Jingsheng
lowered his eyes and glanced at Si Jiang.
Si Jiang blinked and half of his body fell on Jingsheng's arm and rubbed it: "Brother? Are you still
holding a grudge?"
"Ahem," Jingsheng stretched out his hand and pulled her into his arms, "Don't flirt with me on
the bus. If you want to flirt, do it at home."
Si Jiang: “???”
From above, Jingsheng could be heard murmuring with a suppressed smile: "A cute person is
carrying a cute bag. There is a cute watch in the cute bag. A cute person is wearing a cute watch.
How cute!"
——
New cotton shoes were delivered to A Niang, along with two pairs of cashmere half-finger gloves.
Si Jiang thought that he should be fair, as A Niang would be embarrassed if she knew that her
grandmother's vest was twenty yuan more expensive than her shoes. A Niang's eyes turned red
when she put on the new cotton shoes and gloves.
On the second day of the Chinese New Year, Chen Dongmei brought her eldest son back to
Wanchun Street to visit her mother. She carried a sack of new rice, a bag of sweet potatoes,
buckwheat flour, corn flour, 20 kilograms of grass carp, homemade tofu, a large bag of dried
goods such as mushrooms, black fungus and golden needles, and her eldest grandson also
carried two lively old ducks. After staying overnight, Chen Donghai said that since the eldest sister
had obtained the homestead and contracted land in the countryside, she should also take care of
her mother in her old age, either with people or money. The eldest grandson turned hostile on
the spot and scolded the two uncles in Ningbo country dialect, which made them choke. He left
with Dongmei without eating lunch.
Donglan has never called since her mother's facial paralysis. Chen Dongzhu sent a package before
the New Year, which contained a smooth mink and a thousand yuan. This girl gave both the
things and the money, but she said something heartbreaking, implying that although I took your
gold bars, you see, I have returned them all to you in the past few years, which is a bit like
Nezha's cutting bones to return flesh. This made her sad when she saw the mink, and the older
she got, the more she regretted being too harsh on the three girls. Dongzhu was thinking about
her two nieces, Sijiang and Sinan, and sent each of them a mink scarf. Sijiang was not willing to
accept it, so he put it in her mother's closet, "borrowed" one for Li Xuejing to wear, and took one
out by Chen Donghai and put it around Chen Siqi's neck. Sinan didn't know about this at all.
Chen A Niang touched Si Jiang's hand and said, "My dear, when will you come back to stay with
me?"
"I will move back to be with my mother after I graduate from university." Si Jiang solemnly
promised.
"Okay, okay," A Niang lowered her voice, "A Niang has saved your dowry for you, don't worry, it's
yours alone, no one can compare to it. My daughter is so filial to me, I know it well."
Si Jiang is having a headache. She can't get over the word "dowry" this Spring Festival.
"Mother, I don't want it. Really, I don't need it."
"Nonsense, of course it is useful." A'niang smiled and hugged Si Jiang tightly in her arms and
rubbed him twice. The little heart that was stimulated by Grandma Gu's real estate certificate
finally calmed down a lot.
Aunt Kang's voice came from outside: "Siqi, please stay outside the Sadengle Gate and don't go
in."
Chen A'niang was startled, not knowing how much Siqi had overheard. She raised her head and
saw the mink wrapped around Chen Siqi's neck. She became angry again and muttered, "My little
lady's plaid scarf was clearly a gift for Sijiang, but you managed to take it away. What a joke—"
Si Qi was already very upset from listening in the corner, and her mother's words were like two
slaps in the face. Her eyes immediately turned red, and tears fell down. She trembled with her
hands and pulled the mink off several times, throwing it into Si Jiang's arms: "Only my sister is my
biological child, I was picked up from the trash can. My mother and mother are gone, and my
mother is biased. Why did she give birth to me?"
She turned away and sobbed. Si Jiang vaguely saw Qian Guihua's shadow from her back and felt a
little pity.
A-niang muttered awkwardly: "The New Year hasn't even started yet, why are you crying? Am I
partial? There is a reason for being partial. Who of you has ever taken care of me? Going to the
hospital for acupuncture, getting medicine, follow-up visits, and always having Sijiang accompany
me—"
"I was going to come too. I called you and told you that Hong Kong was too far away so I couldn't
come. Now you blame me for not coming to accompany you—" Siqi cried and complained
aggrievedly.
This was not wrong. A'niang stopped talking, looked at Si Jiang's expression, took the mink and
wrapped it around her neck: "Stop arguing, I won't give the scarf to anyone, okay?"
Siqi looked back and cried even harder.
Chen Donghai bought some cooked food and came back. After listening to his daughter's crying,
he scolded her and blamed her for being ignorant.
"How old are you, and you already know what a dowry is? You are talking nonsense. Mother is Si
Jiang's mother, and she is also your mother. Even if there is a dowry, you will not be left out. Cry,
cry, cry, just know how to cry. Be sweeter and do more things. Learn from your sister, do you
understand? Silly Xiaoning!"
A'niang felt a tightness in her chest and simply stopped talking. She sat on the recliner, basking in
the sun with her eyes closed, and combed her smooth mink hair with her fingers, again and
again.
——
When Fang Shuren received Gu Beiwu's call, he was stunned for a long time before he came to
his senses.
"Hello, Happy New Year - are you back in Shanghai?"
Knowing that Gu Beiwu had actually received the letter, Fang Shuren immediately turned his
back, his face bloodshot: "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry--"
"Oh, it's convenient. OK, it's okay. See you later."
She hung up the phone and hurriedly put on her coat and scarf.
"Hey, Shu Ren, where are you going?" Tang Sicheng had just returned from get off work and
bumped into her.
"Something happened at school. I'll be back soon."
"Come back early for dinner. I bought some baked soybeans from the cafeteria."
"good."
Fang Shuren bent over to put on her boots, but by the evening her feet were a little swollen and
she couldn't get the boots on. Tang Sicheng smiled and squatted down, put her feet and boots on
his knees, and pushed them up.
"Okay, when you come back to take off your clothes, call me and I'll help you. Your waist is not in
good condition, so don't force it. It's not worth it if you sprain it."
Fang Shuren's eyes fell on the half shoe print on his knee. He was silent for a moment and
replied, "Yeah."
Tang Sicheng looked through the octagonal window at his wife's hurriedly retreating back, and
suddenly noticed that the row of white camellias in the yard were in full bloom. The daffodils at
home had not yet withered, and the fragrance was still lingering. The pot of Epiphyllum on the
coffee table had nine flower buds, which, in the words of his mother-in-law, was a once-in-a-
century good thing. He took out the borrowed camera from his bag, positioned it, and made sure
that all nine flower buds were in the camera before he breathed a sigh of relief.
Mrs. Fang pushed the door open and came in. She put the tray in her hand on the cabinet in the
entrance hall and changed her slippers. "Hey? Where's the tree man?"
"She has something to do at school, and will be back for dinner later." Tang Sicheng picked up the
unhung microphone on the coffee table and listened. There was only a beeping sound on the
other end. He took a breath, hung up the phone, picked it up again and listened. This time the
beeping sound was normal.
"Alas, what's so good about being a research group leader? Even during the New Year, they don't
let me relax. Come, drink the Tremella soup while it's hot. Where's Tang Huan? Did he go to Chen
Sinan's house to review his lessons again?"
"It seems that he said he went to the district library," Tang Sicheng unfolded and then put away
the Xinmin Evening News, "Mom, Shu Ren - did he tell you about that later?"
Mrs. Fang was startled, and a little embarrassedly picked up her portion of Tremella soup, and
took a sip slowly. It was indeed boiling hot, burning her mouth all the way into her heart.
"Something."
Tang Sicheng held the bowl and lowered his head.
"Xiao Tang, I'm going to tell you something from the bottom of my heart. Don't be sad." Mrs.
Fang put down the spoon and raised her head. "I chose you as my son-in-law because you were
alone in Shanghai and didn't have a big family. It's not that a big family is bad, it's that Shuren is
not suitable. And Shuren told you before we got married, right? She didn't want to have
children."
"I did." Tang Sicheng had been in the wrong for nearly half a year, and the more he thought about
it, the more he felt guilty.
"After you got married, you asked if there were many things going on in your hometown. Tell me
yourself."
"Most of the time, it's unfair to the tree people." Tang Sicheng's face got hot. Looking back now,
he was too naive. What he said at the time sounded better than what he sang.
"Has my tree man ever passed by? Has he ever looked down upon your family? Has he ever
promised to do what you asked for?" Mrs. Fang sighed.
"No, Shu Ren is a good wife, she couldn't be better." Tang Sicheng put down the bowl, covered his
face and pressed it, his palms burning, "It's my fault."
Mrs. Fang stopped talking and said that her son-in-law was a good person, but in this world, good
people are often bullied, both at home and outside. She couldn't bear to see her daughter suffer
for the rest of her life.
——
Opposite the Jing'an Temple, at the intersection of Yuyuan Road, the former Paramount Hotel has
long been turned into the Hongdu Cinema. The red and white striped awning creaks in the cold
wind, and posters are pasted on the wall. The glass window of the ticket window is covered with
a thick layer of white mist, and the people inside are too lazy to wipe off the moisture. The
person buying the ticket puts in the banknotes, bends over and leans out to shout a few tickets.
After a while, the hands wearing half-gloved hands push out the movie tickets and change.
Turning around the Paramount is the Xinhua Bookstore and the newly opened Marco Polo
Western Bakery. In the evening, the smell of bread is particularly tempting. Fang Shuren sniffed,
but it seemed that there was no smell at all.
She stood at the traffic light for half a minute before she remembered that she had taken the
wrong road. To go to the Red House Cake Shop, she should have walked from Yuyuan Road to
Urumqi Road, then turned a small corner, crossed Yan'an Road, passed Jing'an Hotel and reached
Huashan Road. Now she was thinking about her worries and actually walked to Jing'an Temple,
but she had walked a long way. She turned around and saw a half-torn poster on the pale yellow
wall tiles. The new poster covering it was probably not posted firmly and was blown away by the
wind. The two big words "elopement" on it were shocking. Fang Shuren shuddered with fear,
tightly grasped the bag of her purse, and followed the crowd to Yan'an Road. She walked faster
and faster, and her toes were squeezed by the tip of her boots and hurt a little, but she didn't
care.

Chapter 297
Fang Shuren turned a small corner onto Huashan Road. When she passed Jing'an Bakery, she was
sure that what she smelled next to the Paramount was the aroma of bread, but the aroma here
was several times stronger. She felt a little hungry and swallowed involuntarily.
Citizens who were buying baguettes and white toast lined up outside the store, making it very
busy. Fang Shuren stood outside the glass window for a moment. The small table in the window
was covered with a red checkered tablecloth, a bunch of fake flowers were placed in a ceramic
vase, and two baguettes in a rattan basket cut the other woman in the glass horizontally. The
woman reflected in the window did not look like her, very unstable, even a little frivolous, as if
she was looking forward to meeting Gu Beiwu.
Fang Shuren felt very ashamed of this discovery. The word "morality" was like a guillotine hanging
over her head, crushing all her pink fantasies. Her hands and feet were cold and trembling. Only
then did she feel the excruciating pain in the soles of her feet that were squeezed by her boots.
Her legs went weak and she staggered and fell.
A young woman in the queue quickly rushed out and supported her as she was staggering.
"Comrade, are you okay?"
Fang Shuren raised his head, came to his senses, and tried to stand up straight, feeling ashamed
and embarrassed: "It's okay, thank you, I'm fine."
A chocolate bar was handed over and the woman smiled like the sun.
"It would be better to add some calories."
Fang Shuren took it subconsciously: "Thank you."
Zhou Shanrang turned around and walked towards the line. The empty seat she had vacated had
been quietly filled. She couldn't remember where she was originally in the line, so she simply
walked to the end of the line and lined up again. When she looked up, she saw the haggard but
beautiful woman looking at her apologetically, so she smiled and waved at her.
Fang Shuren took a deep breath, pinched the chocolate bar, and slowly walked to the Urumqi
North intersection to wait for the green light to cross the road.
Pushing open the glass door, a wave of hot air accompanied by the aroma of hot cocoa hit me in
the face. The Red House Cake Shop is very small, with only four small square tables covered with
red checkered tablecloths, and now it is full of people. Fang Shuren saw Gu Beiwu at the window
at a glance. After not seeing him for many years, he still stood out from the crowd even when he
was sitting, making everyone else look gray. Only around him did the light become brighter and
the colors become more vivid. When he was young, Fang Shuren didn't understand how difficult
it was to meet such a person, because his mother was also such a person, and she was a wicked
and beautiful person wherever she went. Later, he understood it but it was too late.
"Tree man, this way."
Gu Beiwu stood up, pulled out the white armchair opposite him, and also pulled out the chair on
the side to hold her coat.
"I bought you a cup of hot cocoa and a small cube of fresh milk, come on?"
Fang Shuren was so nervous that he didn't take off his scarf for a long time. He felt a little dazed,
as if time had gone back to seventeen or eighteen years ago.
"OK."
The two sat down and looked at each other.
Bei Wu smiled and said, "You haven't changed at all. If I bump into you on the street, I should be
able to recognize you."
"You haven't changed much." Fang Shuren held the hot cocoa awkwardly, lowering his eyes to
look at the steam rising from the dark brown liquid.
"It's like this. Nanhong has been in Hong Kong for several years. Her boss is from Shantou. The
Chaoshan Chamber of Commerce has now set up a school for children of the Chamber of
Commerce and would like to hire a group of excellent teachers. If you don't want to stay in
Shanghai, you can consider it. Here is the school's information. Take a look." Gu Beiwu went
straight to the point and handed Fang Shuren the information that Nanhong had sent him.
"The school is very close to where Nanhong lives. I will also go to work at Xinhua News Agency in
Hong Kong in April. We have known each other for decades and can take care of each other. The
treatment is good."
Fang Shuren was caught off guard, his head buzzing. The word "elopement" on the half-poster at
the entrance of Hongdu Cinema fell down like a mountain.
"No, no, no, no thanks," she clutched the cup in a panic, "I'm much better now, it's in the letter, in
the letter - just a casual remark, thank you."
Bei Wu was not surprised by her reaction, so he smiled and said, "It's okay, just take a look."
Fang Shuren flipped through the booklet and immediately pushed it back: "I've read it."
"Is Mrs. Fang okay? I haven't seen you for a long time. Si Jiangsinan mentioned your family during
the New Year."
"Very good. Where is your son? How old is your son?"
"Three years old." Beiwu laughed and turned to look out of the glass window. Shan Rang
diagonally across the road had almost arrived at the gate. She was reading a book with her head
down. She didn't seem to care at all about her husband and another woman. meeting.
Fang Shuren lowered his head and suddenly looked at his watch: "Thank you for today. I have
something to do at home, so I have to leave first. How much does the cake and hot cocoa cost?
Let's each pay for it."
Beiwu was startled, smiled and rolled his eyes, but he said calmly: "Four dollars."
Fang Shuren was relieved, took out the money from his bag and put it on the tablecloth: "Say
hello to your mother and brother for me, and ask Si Jiangsinan to come to Yugu Village and see
you later."
——
Beiwu walked to the door of the Jing'an noodle private room carrying a small cube of cream, and
Shanrang walked out holding two baguettes and a bag of white toast.
The couple met with smiles on their faces and walked side by side along Huashan Road towards
Jing'an Temple.
"Huh? Why are you so fast?" Shanrang glanced at Beiwu.
"Hmm," Beiwu touched his nose, "Do I still look like a gangster?"
Shan Rang laughed: "How could that be? You look like a serious gentleman - a scumbag."
Beiwu bumped his shoulder lightly against Baguette, who kissed Shanrang on the forehead.
Shanrang laughed.
"I'm quite wary of me," Beiwu laughed self-deprecatingly, "I feel like a human trafficker of
women."
"Ah?" Shan Rang was surprised, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.
"But it's normal. No one wants to be seen in their most miserable state. It hurts their self-
esteem." Bei Wu was smart but he never thought that Fang Shuren really regarded him as a
"human trafficker". He mistakenly thought that he was trafficking human hearts.
Shan Rang sighed for a moment, secretly glancing at Bei Wu's expression, which was still as frank
as before she came, and the last trace of uneasiness in her heart disappeared. No matter what,
she still helped Miss Fang, although she didn't know it was her at that time. Now thinking about
it, she inexplicably felt a mysterious sense of fate.
——
After the Lantern Festival, the Spring Festival officially ended. School started a few days earlier,
and the campus was full of red lanterns celebrating the Lantern Festival. Si Jiang went to Mrs.
Brown's house to teach on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights, from seven to nine. At the
end of February, a rumor started from nowhere that there was a hammer killer in Putuo District.
He went out at night and picked single girls. He knocked them unconscious with a hammer and
raped them before killing them. His methods were so cruel that it was outrageous. Some people
also said that the hammer killer was not in Putuo but in Yangpu. Si Jiang vaguely felt that there
had been similar legends a long time ago, and since there was no official announcement in
newspapers or on TV, he didn't take it seriously.
Jingsheng called the dormitory and said that he would come to the Normal University to pick her
up and take her to Hongqiao as long as he had no training or competition, and then send her
back to the dormitory. Si Jiang realized that the rumor had spread to Minhang, and couldn't help
laughing: "How could it be true? If it was true, it would have been published in the newspaper a
long time ago. You are so concerned that you are confused. Don't run around. It's too tiring."
Although he said so, he felt very happy in his heart.
The girls' dormitory was also in a state of panic. Liu Chunlan, who had not been able to change
her dormitory, now went in and out without saying hello to others. She came home late every
day since the beginning of the semester. Out of kindness, the dormitory head Hu Die reminded
her, but it annoyed her.
"What do you mean? Do I look like someone who is not serious enough to attract those
hooligans?" Liu Chunlan was so angry that her voice was shaking.
Her logic shocked everyone in the dormitory.
Yin Han laughed angrily: "Okay, okay, don't be a good person, what the hell is that? A dog bites Lu
Dongbin and doesn't know the kindness of a good person!"
"Why are you swearing at me?" Liu Chunlan looked at them while holding back her tears. "You
usually gang up on me and I don't bother with you, but you insult me like this. This is too much!"
Si Jiang also got angry: "What did you just say? In your opinion, the girls who suffer misfortune in
this world are because they are not serious? Bullshit!"
Zhu Yanming and Guan Youyi cursed in a low voice in Shanghai dialect: "Psychosis."
Liu Chunlan aroused public anger. She pursed her lips, packed her belongings while crying, picked
up her cell phone and hurried out.
Hu Die was worried and followed her out. She was relieved when she saw Liu Chunlan's
boyfriend waiting for her downstairs. Unexpectedly, after Liu Chunlan cried for a few words, the
old Ruan suddenly rushed over and pushed Hu Die.
"Seven of you in the dormitory are bullying my girlfriend. Do you have any shame?"
Hu Die was startled: "Who bullied her?"
"You, the bunch of girls in your dormitory, you think I don't know, right?"
Hu Die was pushed hard again and fell to the ground. When she raised her hand, her palm was
scratched.
Si Jiang was about to go to Mrs. Brown's house. Seeing this, he quickly helped Hu Die up and said
sternly, "Do you have any shame? You made a blind conclusion without asking the truth and even
hit a girl! Are you still a man?"
The students around looked over.
Old Ruan was furious: "You seven all spoke Shanghainese in the dormitory, bullying her because
she couldn't understand you, and saying bad things about her behind her back. What? Are you
jealous of my girlfriend's family because they are rich? Not only do you steal and take advantage
of her, but you even said that the Hammer Killer likes to pick on people like her. Is that something
a human can say? You are despicable and shameless, and you are a low-class person! If I really
want to do something, I will smash your dormitory right away, believe it or not?"
There was a commotion in the crowd.
Hu Die and Si Jiang were stunned for several seconds by this unexpected disaster, their faces
flushed: "Who stole something in our dormitory, who took advantage of her? Liu Chunlan, if you
have something to say, please speak up in person!"
Liu Chunlan pulled her boyfriend's clothes and cried aggrievedly, "Forget it, I don't want to bother
with them, let's go."
Yin Han rushed down from the second floor with a basin of water, soaking Lao Ruan like a
drowned chicken. The enamel basin, along with the remaining water, smashed down at the feet
of Lao Ruan and Liu Chunlan with a "bang".
"Get lost, Liu Chunlan, did you grow up in a cesspool? There's a rumor out there about a hammer
killer, and the head of the dormitory kindly reminded you to come back early, but you think we're
bullying you by saying you're not serious and provoked hooligans?"
Among the crowd of onlookers, some girls who lived in the dormitory on the same floor burst out
laughing.
"You called me a dog, and they called me a psycho!" Liu Chunlan sobbed and retorted.
"I scolded you for being so ungrateful. Am I wrong? You turned around and started a fight, letting
your boyfriend attack the dormitory leader. If you are not a psychopath, who else could you be?"
Lao Ruan's glasses were misty, and his carefully styled long hair was obviously a mess. He became
so angry that he suddenly rushed up and slapped Yin Han.
Amidst the screams around him, Si Jiang protected Yin Han in time, but the right side of his head
and ear hurt terribly.

Chapter 298
Chapter 298
When the rumors of the "hammer killer" spread to the Minhang campus, the haunts had
changed to Yangpu, Putuo, Xuhui and Minhang. Although there were not many girls in the school,
it also caused a commotion.
Jingsheng was restless after hearing the news. Even if it was just a rumor, every word of it pierced
his old wounds. He had nightmares for several nights in a row. One time, he dreamed of the dark
night in Jinghong when it was raining heavily. Mum was knocked unconscious by a stick, dragged
away, and tortured to death. He was floating in the air and could see everything clearly, but he
could do nothing. He couldn't pounce on her or catch her. It was like an invisible net hanging him
in the air. Even the sound he shouted with all his might was muted, but he could feel all the pain
she was going through. His eyes were bleeding, his heart was broken, and his blood vessels were
exploding, but he was still powerless. It was his roommates who woke him up. They were
terrified. He didn't talk in his sleep, but just howled like a dying beast. It was so tragic that it was
chilling. He kicked two wooden strips off the bed and the wall was shattered. When Jingsheng
went to the bathroom to wash his face, he found that the back of his hand was broken and his
mouth was full of blood. He raised his head and saw the burning pupils of the man in the mirror
were immersed in blood red. The doctor in the infirmary said that it was congestion caused by
the rupture of capillaries under his eyes, and prescribed him two bottles of eye drops.
There were two other times when he dreamed that Si Jiang was in trouble. She came out of Mrs.
Brown's house and walked towards the bus stop on Hongqiao Road. A dark figure rode a bicycle
and quickly caught up with her, swinging a hammer. His eyes were bloodshot, and there was only
a ball of fire in his mind, but he couldn't catch up no matter how hard he tried, and no sound
came out no matter how he shouted. He watched Si Jiang being dragged into the bushes. The
dark figure raised his head and looked at him with a weird smile, as if laughing at him for being
unable to do anything again. He was imprisoned in the same place and watched the murderer's
every move, like a torture that would never end. No matter how much Si Jiang and he suffered,
they could not escape the extremely cruel ravages of fate.
Jingsheng couldn't bear any imagination about this matter, not even a little bit. He told Si Jiang
that he would definitely pick her up and drop her off. Only when he saw her return to the
dormitory with his own eyes could he feel at ease. As for the rest, it was insignificant. However,
he didn't expect that he was still a step too late, and watched Si Jiang get slapped.
Just like the hammer she was hit with in the dream, she didn't even have time to react to the
pain.
For a moment, Jingsheng couldn't tell whether what he saw was a dream or reality. He only knew
that the net that bound him was gone. He could hear the screams of the people around him, the
sound of his own blood vessels bursting, and the sound of his fists hitting that person's back.
Lao Ruan felt as if his spine was broken by a hammer. The pain was unbearable. His breath was
cut off in his chest. Then he was thrown to the ground by the collar. His glasses were thrown far
away. He was hit by a series of punches like a storm, and a hot stream flowed out of his nose.
Jingsheng pursed his lips tightly, pressed his knee against Lao Ruan's abdomen murderously,
punching him hard in the flesh, with no intention of stopping.
Si Jiang rushed forward and hugged Jingsheng tightly, pulling him back: "Stop fighting! Stop
fighting! Something bad is going to happen!"
Jingsheng was trembling all over, and his fist stopped two or three centimeters away from Lao
Ruan's face.
Hu Die and Yin Han came to help pull Jingsheng away. After seeing his face clearly, they both
shuddered. It was the first time they witnessed what it meant to be blinded by murderous intent.
Lao Ruan twitched twice on the ground, then suddenly his head tilted and he became
motionless.
Liu Chunlan reached out and shook Lao Ruan, and suddenly let out an earth-shattering scream:
"Murder - murder - someone was beaten to death -"
"Call an ambulance?"
"The dorm keeper is here. Auntie, here, someone seems to have been beaten to death."
"Should we call the police?"
"The student union is here, hurry up, something's wrong!"
"Teacher Zhang - Teacher Zhang, why did you come just now? Something big happened, hurry
up!"
"The one who beat him is over there, together with Chen Sijiang and the others."
"It was horrible. He pounced on me like crazy and hit me so hard. Really, if I didn't die, I would
definitely be disabled."
"That guy deserved it. He was the first to hit the girl."
"If you kill someone, you must pay with your life."
Jingsheng held Sijiang's hand with his backhand: "It's okay, he won't die."
Yin Han poked Si Jiang: "Is it too late to tell your boyfriend to run away now?"
Hu Die: "It can be considered as self-defense. He was the first to hit me, and I was also injured. I
can testify to that."
Counselor Zhang squeezed out of the crowd.
"You hit that person?"
"I hit him, I take full responsibility," Jingsheng looked at Si Jiang and said, "It's okay, go call Mrs.
Brown and ask for leave first."
Si Jiang shook his head with red eyes, resolutely protected Jingsheng behind him, and said loudly:
"Teacher Zhang! That classmate Ruan hit our dormitory leader first, and then slapped me. I can't
hear anything in my right ear now. My boyfriend fought back to protect me."
Jingsheng grabbed Sijiang and asked nervously, "How are your ears?"
Si Jiang quickly squeezed his hand to indicate that he was fine.
Liu Chunlan squeezed forward crying: "Chen Sijiang, even if you are deaf in one ear, does your
boyfriend have to beat someone to death? Last time, he beat classmate Tang so hard that he was
hospitalized. No one cared, and he really became a murderer! I knew your boyfriend was not a
good person -"
"Ahem - let me clarify something, classmate Ruan is not dead, he is still alive -" Teacher Zhang
stretched out his hand to stop Liu Chunlan.
"He has breathing and a pulse. He just fainted, not dead. Don't spread rumors. Don't believe in
rumors or spread them. Seek truth from facts. You guys over there, don't surround classmate
Ruan, give him some fresh air." Teacher Zhang was very angry. There were at least eight or ten
fights between boys on a university campus every day. People in the same dormitory could fight
over a bottle of boiled water, and people from different dormitories could fight over the faucet in
the water room. They could even fight over bumps in the cafeteria or on the football field. How
could they shout murder and death at every turn? Nothing happened, and small things became
big things.
Si Jiang, Yin Han and the others breathed a sigh of relief. Jing Sheng, however, remained calm. No
matter how angry he was, he would not send himself to jail. He was hit in the softest parts of his
body, which was painful enough to kill him. The most the medical examination showed was soft
tissue contusion, not a fracture. If he went for a medical examination, it would not even be
considered a minor injury.
When they heard that Lao Ruan had just fainted, everyone around them booed.
Amid the boos, maybe because there were too many people watching and there was no fresh air,
Old Ruan woke up slowly. Everything in front of him was blurry and full of people. He was so
scared that he raised his hands to cover his face and begged for mercy, "Stop, stop!"
"Wake up, wake up, Teacher Zhang, the person is not dead and seems to be fine!"
"Were you frightened and fainted just now?"
"The wet spot under his butt doesn't look like it was splashed from the basin, hahahaha."
"Well done!" Some girl, overwhelmed with a sense of justice, shouted loudly, triggering a
prolonged applause.
"You're really fierce when you hit girls, but you piss and faint when you meet boys?" Yin Han
picked up the basin and smashed it hard at Lao Ruan's feet, frightening him. "You're really a
disaster. If I had a stupid boyfriend like you, I would have jumped into the Liwa River out of
shame. I tell you, there's no point in pretending to be dead, I must get back that slap! A pair of
bastards, two stinking idiots, bah!"
The students watching burst into laughter.
——
The ambulance came, the police car came, and the reporters came. The school responded
quickly. In order to avoid damaging the school's reputation, it would not be made public for the
time being. The cadres of the Youth League Committee and the Student Union went to each
dormitory to persuade everyone not to accept interviews from reporters privately, and to wait for
the school's notification.
Under the coordination of the school, the relevant people did not go to the police station, but
stayed in the school. The medical staff in the ambulance examined Si Jiang and Lao Ruan and
returned to the hospital empty. Under the mediation of the police and school leaders, neither Si
Jiang nor Lao Ruan entered the injury examination procedure, and it was handled as an ordinary
dispute.
Liu Chunlan was so emotional that the school specially arranged two female teachers to do
ideological work on her. Some students from the Northeast of China from the Department of
Physical Education had gathered downstairs in the office, clamoring to beat up the coward from
the Department of Art who beat up the girl. There were also students from Guangdong who
shouted that the attacker from another school should be severely punished. The two sides
quickly started arguing. If it weren't for the presence of the student union cadres and several
teachers, it could have escalated into a group fight in a blink of an eye.
Teacher Zhang went out to calm the students down, then returned to the two offices and gave
both parties a lash of the cane.
"No matter what your reason is, it is definitely wrong for you to come to our school and beat
someone up. You must bear Ruan's medical expenses. We will inform your school about this
matter, and we will not interfere with how your school handles it."
Jingsheng said he had no objection, but Sijiang did. Communication between schools often leads
to a big mistake. If Jingsheng was punished for this, it would have an extra record in his file, and
his assigned unit and even his future job title would be affected.
"If the school doesn't explain the whole story, then our dormitory will directly present a banner
to classmate Gu for being brave and righteous," Yin Han was petite but had a loud voice. "Chen
Sijiang suffered so much just to protect me, and he might even become disabled! Classmate Gu
had to do it to protect Chen Sijiang. Besides, hundreds of people saw it clearly. That coward was
scared and peed himself after being hit by two fists, fainted and pretended to be dead. If
classmate Gu is punished for this, is there still justice in the world? For example, if we are unlucky
enough to encounter the Hammer Killer, and a good young man passing by is brave enough to
beat up the Hammer Killer and save us, the school will punish him and ask him to pay for the
murderer's medical expenses. Teacher Zhang, do you think God has eyes? If it were your
daughter or your wife who encountered this, would you be able to just watch and not do
anything?"
Teacher Zhang looked embarrassed: "I'm not married yet, and I don't have a daughter."
"Then it's your mom! Your mom got beaten up, and you just stood by and watched?"
Teacher Zhang is just boring.
This incident caused quite a stir in the school, and directly led to an unexpected result. The legal
publicity programs on the radio, TV stations, and newspapers quickly dispelled the rumor about
the "hammer killer". The public security department acted quickly and soon found out that the
rumor came from a few bored elementary school students. There was no other way except
education.
Jingsheng still received a warning for fighting in his school. Due to the detailed explanation from
the Normal University and Yin Han's genuine banner, the punishment will be revoked after six
months of probation.
Si Jiang's ears recovered naturally in early March. After the incident, Liu Chunlan moved to
another dormitory building, and lived off campus again in less than a month. It was rumored that
she and Lao Ruan's feelings for each other greatly sublimated after going through hardships
together, and they soon lived together outside. Yin Han said disdainfully that if she dared to stir
up trouble again, she would report her personal style problems. Si Jiang smiled and said that they
should deal with the matter separately, not the person, whether the two people lived together,
got married, or even got pregnant and had children, it had nothing to do with them, and there
was no need to become a villain for the sake of a villain, it was not worth it. Yin Han smiled
cunningly: "Bah, I just like to deal with people and not the matter!"
At the beginning of April, the wound on Lao Ruan's face was just about to heal. I don't know who
he offended again. On the way back from school to his residence, he was hit with a sack from
behind. His right arm was broken, three ribs were broken, and his vitals were kicked twice. This
incident directly became a public security case. The police came to the school to investigate
several times. Si Jiang, Yin Han and Hu Die were questioned again and again. Jing Sheng was also
interrogated several times. Fortunately, he participated in a game of the school football team that
night, and everyone in the audience could testify. This unsolved case was not revealed until seven
or eight years later at a college reunion. This Lao Ruan originally had a girlfriend, a senior sister in
the senior year. Taking advantage of the internship of the senior sister, he hooked up with Liu
Chunlan and ate gigolo rice from both sides. The senior sister accidentally got pregnant during
the Spring Festival. Lao Ruan refused to admit it and said a lot of unpleasant words. In a rage, the
senior student took pills to induce abortion, but failed to do so. She was sent to the hospital by
her roommate to save her life. This senior student from Hunan was ruthless and didn’t talk much.
She paid 3,000 yuan and hired three unemployed fellow villagers to beat up Lao Ruan. They came
and left the same night without leaving any trace. The police also investigated her, but found
nothing.
Another consequence was something that neither Jingsheng nor Sijiang had expected. It was the
first time the two had a quarrel since they confirmed their relationship in August last year.

Chapter 299
Si Jiang has a natural aversion and resistance to quarrels. She will never forget the terrifying
experience of witnessing her parents quarreling for the first time. Yes, if she had to use an
adjective to describe her feelings at that time, only "terrifying" would be appropriate.
When she grew up, she knew that it was nothing serious. It was just one of the thousands of
disputes among adults. It was not the first time, nor the last time, nor the most fierce one. But
she seemed to be pulled out of a vacuum box. The box was originally very beautiful and
harmonious. The father in the box was tall, majestic and amiable. The mother in the box was
gentle, beautiful and full of love. Even she herself was so cute and well-behaved. She was thrown
hard into the mud. She watched them tit for tat and sarcasm, and watched them look hideous
and dislike each other. Si Jiang always remembered her anxiety and discomfort at the time. She
even thought that their quarrel was caused by her. If she was not there, would they continue to
be so beautiful in the box? At least she thought so for a while.
Later, Si Jiang noticed that there was no shortage of quarrels in the alley every day, between
fathers and sons, husbands and wives, mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, and neighbors, from
small quarrels to big fights like Chen Donghai and Qian Guihua. As long as they quarreled, they
would not end well. In the end, they became numb to these disputes and injuries, like the aloe
vera, asparagus fern, and spider plants that can be seen everywhere in the corners of the alley.
They are collected when they are remembered, and grow wildly when they are not remembered.
The difference is that green plants can at least absorb carbon dioxide and output oxygen, while
those who have quarreled and scolded each other, and those who have fought each other, will
probably only produce the "unhappy cells" mentioned by Nurse Lu, which may turn into cancer
cells over time.
Si Jiang had never imagined a scene in which Jingsheng and herself would argue, so afterwards
she thought that they had only had a small disagreement. After all, once it was classified as a
quarrel, love would be covered in dust, which was not what she wanted.
After beating Lao Ruan that night, Si Jiang first called Mrs. Brown to ask for leave, and then took
Jingsheng to eat behind the school. He ran into a group of Northeastern buddies from the
Physical Education Department who were also having supper with Yin Han and Hu Die, so they
sat at the same table.
Northeastern people are warm and hospitable. No matter if you drink or not, you will drink three
cups at once. Jingsheng never refuses anyone. The whole table quickly finishes a box of beer and
they become close friends.
"Good fight, Lao Gu," Li Rui, the biggest one, patted Jingsheng on the shoulder, saying that they
had met too late, "That old Ruan, he thinks he's so old, bullshit, I've wanted to beat him up for a
long time, he's just a dog."
"Is this the bastard who said that many girls in room 203 have a crush on him?" a boy asked Yin
Han, scratching his head.
Yin Han almost flipped the table: "Bullshit, who did he tell?!"
The boy couldn't help laughing: "Everyone in the Art Department knows about it. It seems that
first they said that Chen Sijiang met him at the entrance of the cafeteria and took the initiative to
smile at him, and then they said that you ran up to him in the playground and greeted him——"
Si Jiang was also dumbfounded. They had met Lao Ruan a few times on campus. Because of Liu
Chunlan, they just nodded and smiled politely. How could it be that they had a crush on him?
Could it be that everyone in Dormitory 203 was blind?
"This bastard is still stubborn even after getting beaten. Just now when I went downstairs, I heard
him telling his fellow villagers in Cantonese that the fight started because of jealousy among you
girls." Another boy turned around and spat on the ground.
Jingsheng smashed the bottle of Reebo beer he had just finished in his hand onto the road,
startling everyone. Si Jiang quickly checked his hand to see if it was okay.
The owner of the snack bar came out with a broom and dustpan, grumbling and sweeping the
street, and resentfully asked them to give him some face and not smash his stall.
A group of people kept making noise until almost ten o'clock. Afraid that the dormitory door
would be locked, they chased each other and ran towards the back door.
Jingsheng, however, pulled Sijiang in the opposite direction: "Go home."
Si Jiang hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay."
Jingsheng stopped a taxi on Jinshajiang Road. As soon as the door was closed, the taxi driver
looked back several times.
"Are you drunk?"
"I'm not drunk." Si Jiang reported Wanchun Street.
"Don't vomit on my car." The master was worried and looked at Jingsheng twice.
"No problem, open it quickly, thank you." Jingsheng urged impatiently.
"You guys get in another car. I have to hand over my shift. Please don't go in the wrong direction."
The master took out a cigarette and motioned Jingsheng and Sijiang to get out of the car.
Si Jiang was stunned: "Master, aren't you turning on the idle lights? We are really not drunk,
don't worry——"
"Are you going to drive it or not?" Jingsheng leaned forward and got closer to the driver's seat.
The toad master puffed out a long puff of cigarette and said, "Don't be so happy to be a drunkard.
How can you? Ha, I drank so much wine that my eyes turned bloodshot--"
Before he could finish his sentence, Jingsheng punched the protective iron railing behind the
driver's seat, causing the car to vibrate several times.
"Hey, you little bastard, what are you looking for?" The car driver slammed open the car door.
Si Jiang dragged Jingsheng out of the car, and after much persuasion, they did not start another
fight. The taxi rumbled away amid a series of curses from the driver.
"What are you doing?" Si Jiang felt distressed and angry. "Is it fun to lose your temper over a
psychopath?"
Jingsheng pursed his lips and said nothing, turning his head to wait for the next empty car.
"Hello?"
Si Jiang called out twice, and then his voice rang out: "Can losing your temper and fighting solve
the problem? Why do you guys always want to fight? Have you thought about the consequences?
What if something goes wrong?"
"Is Tang Zenian in the hospital?" Jingsheng turned around and stared at Si Jiang and asked.
Si Jiang panicked and turned his face away.
"Have you visited her?"
"Yeah." Si Jiang caught a glimpse of an empty car approaching from a distance and waved quickly.
The car passed them, made a harsh braking sound, and stopped diagonally in the middle of the
road.
"Get in the car first." Si Jiang reached out to pull Jingsheng, but Jingsheng didn't move.
"What happened? Why didn't you tell me?"
"Get in the car first and then go to the port, okay?" Si Jiang softened his tone.
The driver not far away leaned his head out, swore viciously, and drove away with a whoosh.
Si Jiang sighed and simply stepped back onto the curb.
"He fell into the water that day and ran to Wanchun Street to apologize. After returning to school,
he had a high fever, which lasted for a few days and turned into pneumonia. He was hospitalized
for acute myocarditis and received two critical illness notices. His mother was very angry."
Si Jiang lowered his head, his eyes and nose felt sore: "The more I think about it, the more scared
I am. If something really happens to him, what will you do?"
Jingsheng was silent.
"I don't like you fighting with others," Si Jiang twisted the bag strap in his hand, "Today is the
same. What if that old Ruan is really dead? What if he has a heart disease, a cerebral hemorrhage
or something? Even if he was not beaten to death by you, will you be fine? Even if I am really
deaf, I can't help you avoid jail. Have you thought about your uncle?"
Thinking of Jingsheng's out-of-control appearance at that time, Si Jiang shuddered and could no
longer hold back the words that had been lingering in his mind for a long time.
"I know you are angry, but we are all adults, not children anymore. Quarreling and fighting can't
solve any problems. Like Liu Chunlan and her boyfriend, if you hit him, he won't change. Is it
worth it if you lose yourself? Can you not be so impulsive in the future? Any violence is wrong."
"He hit you!" Jingsheng said in a low voice. Even with just this one sentence, he felt the blood
rushing back and the hairs on his body standing on end.
Si Jiang heard the gritted teeth in his tone and turned to look at Jingsheng. Under the street light,
the protruding blue veins on his forehead twitched, and Si Jiang's heart also beat fast.
"Then you, you just need to stop him from doing it again—" Si Jiang hesitated for a moment, then
reached out and held Jingsheng's fist, "Can you promise me that you won't do it to anyone again?
Brother? I'm scared."
Jingsheng lowered his eyes and looked at the earnestness in Si Jiang's eyes, trying his best to
suppress the anger in his heart.
"Did Tang Zenian's mother give you a hard time?"
Si Jiang shook his head: "No."
Jingsheng held Sijiang's hand in his palm and said, "I'm sorry."
Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief.
"Are you afraid that something will happen to me, or are you afraid of me?" Jingsheng squeezed
Si Jiang's hand.
Si Jiang hesitated for a moment and felt that everything deep in her heart should be revealed to
Jingsheng. Even if it was just a fleeting thought, that was her true feeling and she didn't want to
hide it.
"Both," Si Jiang looked at Jing Sheng and said sincerely, "I was afraid that you would hurt yourself
because of a momentary impulse. The saddest people would be my uncle and me. I was also
afraid that you couldn't control yourself. When you beat him earlier - it really wasn't like you, not
like the you I knew. I really thought you wanted to beat him to death. It was scary -"
A string in Jingsheng's brain suddenly broke, which was very strange. It was like a firecracker was
set off. With a crisp sound, he slowly let go of Si Jiang's hand.
"Because I am the son of a murderer."
It is not a question, a rhetorical question, or an exclamatory sentence, but a very plain declarative
sentence.
Si Jiang came back to his senses after a while, his throat was blocked by something: "Brother,
what nonsense are you talking about?"
"Brother! That's not what I meant!"
"I wanted to kill him," Jingsheng's voice was very steady. "You are not mistaken. I wanted to kill
him at that time."
"you have not!"
"I did," Jingsheng looked into Sijiang's eyes and said word by word, "When I saw you being
beaten, I wanted to kill him. I had this thought."
Si Jiang stared at Jingsheng in a daze, and his eyes quickly blurred.
"I didn't beat him to death because I couldn't afford to sacrifice myself," Jingsheng looked at the
car lights whizzing in the distance, as calmly as if he was talking about someone else's business,
"If no one saw it, I would beat him to death, and I wouldn't regret it even if I killed him. I would
find a way to deal with the body--"
He smiled bitterly and said, "You are right to be afraid. I am very scary. Maybe I have that kind of
evil in my bones."
"I'm not afraid of you!" Si Jiang hugged Jingsheng tightly, his whole body cold, "I don't allow you
to say that, I don't allow you to think like that! Don't even think about it! You are so angry
because of me, you are not! You are not! You are like your aunt and uncle! I am not afraid of you,
I like you no matter what you look like, don't say that-"
Si Jiang burst into tears. Every word Jingsheng said just now was like a knife. She couldn't bear it.
Did he always have this fear? She didn't even know that he had this fear and stabbed the
sharpest knife into his heart.
Jingsheng waved his hand, and a taxi stopped steadily in front of them.
When they returned to Wanchun Street that night, Jingsheng entered the pavilion and never
came out again. The next morning, Sijiang was awakened by the alarm clock at six o'clock and
found that Jingsheng was gone.
——
Later, Si Jiang asked Si Nan.
"If someone you like, someone you really like, really like, and he kills someone, would you be
afraid? What would you do?"
The question was really naive, but Si Jiang desperately needed an audience.
Sinan tilted his head and said, "Help him bury the body. I'm good at digging holes."
"He killed someone!"
"So what? It's enough that he treats me well." Sinan added, "If he doesn't treat me well, I will
report him and put him in jail, hehe."
Si Jiang was speechless.
If, if there was an if, and she had answered like Sinan at that time, would Jingsheng feel much
better?
There are no ifs in the world.

Chapter 300
The first Sunday in March is the Waking of Insects. There was a friendly football match between
the Xuhui campus and the Minhang campus at 2 pm. Jingsheng had originally asked for leave and
did not attend, but suddenly changed his mind on Saturday afternoon. Unexpectedly, after
hanging up the phone, time suddenly seemed to slow down, and every hour became very
difficult to endure. He kept wavering between going back and not going back. In the evening, he
stayed in the study room until 9 o'clock, and then ran 20 laps on the playground before returning
to the dormitory. His roommate said that his family had called three times. Jingsheng thanked
him and took the basin to the bathroom to take a shower.
It was still cold in early spring, and the cold water splashed on his body, causing goose bumps all
over his body. Who would call three times? It must be Si Jiang. Jingsheng tilted his head back and
closed his eyes, letting the water from the shower head rush down and hit his face. He was
actually afraid, too. He was afraid that Si Jiang was afraid of him. When Si Jiang rushed over and
grabbed him that night, there was fear in his eyes, a fear with a sense of distance. That kind of
fear can easily turn into rejection and disgust.
Jingsheng lowered his head and rubbed his arms vigorously, which were covered with red marks.
With a suppressed roar, he hit the wall with his fists, splashing water, once, twice, three times.
Finally, his ten fingers stretched out, weakly supporting his slightly trembling body. The back of
his hand with an old injury began to bleed again. Under the pale fluorescent light, the bright red
bloodstains flowed along the water on the white tiles, quickly faded, and disappeared without a
trace.
Jingsheng stared at the wound on the back of his hand, remembering that when he was a child,
he was never afraid of bleeding when fighting, and even had a kind of hidden malicious
expectation. When the dirty blood in his body was drained, would he be completely clean? Later,
he gradually forgot the original sin carried by his blood. He thought that he was a normal person
like everyone else in Shanghai, Wanchun Street, and school. He had been trying hard to be a
normal person. But he was not. Starting from the fight with Tang Zenian last year, he realized that
he could not control the violence. Reason shouted hoarsely, "Enough, stop, talk it over," but the
boiling blood guided him to react instinctively. When he heard people around him say, "Another
boy fought in the Liwa River for a girl," he breathed a sigh of relief. He was not abnormal. He was
just one of these people. Even Tang Zenian was the same as him. After falling into the water, he
still punched him angrily.
But Si Jiang's fear exposed all his self-consolation. She was right, he could be less violent, just
restrain Lao Ruan. He was clearly sober and calm, and calculated the landing point and strength
of each punch very accurately, but he couldn't stop. Not only was he extremely angry, but he was
also extremely afraid. Only violence could make him less afraid and prove that he could protect Si
Jiang and prevent anyone from hurting her.
Before he told Si Jiang about it, he hesitated for a long time. He thought about just accompanying
her as a "brother", but he couldn't control himself. He was jealous of Tang Zenian, and any scene
of Si Jiang and him together was unbearable for him. He had opened Grandma's Bible countless
times and read silently: Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous, love is not boastful, is not
arrogant, does not do shameful things, does not seek its own benefit, is not easily angered, does
not count the evil of others, does not like unrighteousness, but only likes the truth; tolerates
everything, believes everything, hopes everything, endures everything; love never ends. But who
can do it? The more times Jingsheng read it, the clearer it is that he can't do it. He is jealous, he
counts people's evil, including his own evil. He can only do the last sentence. He longs to stand by
her side, he wants to be liked by her, he wants to hold her hand, he wants her to be well.
Jingsheng also comforted himself that many people around him seemed normal like him, but in
fact they were not normal. Si Nan was heartless and too wild, Zhao Youning was cold and cold-
hearted and had a high IQ, Gu Ximei was too paranoid, Gu Nanhong cared too much about eating
and selling, Gu Dongwen never came out of it, and Gu Beiwu took the initiative to castrate the
wildness in the bones of the Gu family. The most normal person is Si Jiang. She was well-behaved
and flattering when she was a child, sad after being slapped by her mother, close and distant
between female classmates, Tang Zenian's unremitting pursuit, the blow of the college entrance
examination volunteers being tampered with, frustration and achievement, joy, anger, sorrow
and joy are all within the tolerable range, and she is properly drawn with rings of growth rings,
and will not deviate from the track. She can always walk in the wide door with her head held
high. She is always bright, brilliant, rational and sober, which makes him happy when he sees her,
happy to the extreme, and gives birth to greed to possess her.
During the seven months of dating Si Jiang, he felt like he was walking on clouds, feeling elated
and uneasy. He carefully suppressed his greed, and he didn't even dare to take the initiative to
cross the line. Every time the two of them made a key progress, it was Si Jiang who pushed them
forward. She might not feel it, and she didn't know how much shock her courage brought to him
every time. He felt ashamed of his uncontrollable desire, which would remind him of the scum
who was related to him in a biological sense. He was afraid that it came from a genetic
inheritance that he hated. But close contact with Si Jiang was like a black hole, with irresistible
gravity. His longing, desire, suspicion, fear and dread were constantly fighting, and one was
growing while the other was declining. He could only wait, wait until he graduated from high
school, wait until he graduated from college, wait until he and she were recognized by their
families and received that certificate, then all his reactions would be legally qualified, and it
would be normal.
What hurts him most is that his pain is unspeakable.
——
The roommates in the dormitory went to bed one after another. The sophomore boys chatted
about rumors among their classmates and fellow townsmen, and from time to time, they laughed
knowingly.
"My fellow countryman is from T University. He dated a girl from C University at a dance. He
came to Minhang to spend the night last week. I saw him at the door of the soy milk shop this
morning. I thought I had recognized the wrong person. Oh, this guy is too stingy. There are so
many small hotels and guesthouses in Wujiaochang. He traveled so far just to make a difference
of five or ten yuan. What a shame."
"Ten bucks a night is forty bucks a month, which can buy a lot of things. This guy is pretty smart."
"Hahaha, why buy condoms? My fellow villagers all go to the street family planning office to get
them. They don't even look at the marriage certificate, and they don't even ask questions. They
just give me two big boxes, free of charge."
"Do you think that thing can be used? How to use it? Put it on? When to put it on? Brothers, has
anyone used it? Tell me about it."
Everyone laughed.
"You'd have to ask Lao Gu. He's the only one in our dormitory who has a girlfriend."
Tan Yong, who was in the lower bunk of Jingsheng, kicked the newly replaced bed board. "Hey,
Lao Gu? Where are you guys at? Have you gotten in yet?"
"Get lost." Jingsheng frowned and replied in a muffled voice.
Others did not dare to tease him and turned around to continue the discussion with great
interest. However, what they had learned and knew was really limited, and they could only sigh in
despair at this unknown ocean of knowledge.
Outside the window, some boys from some dormitory started singing at the top of their lungs.
"Sister, go forward bravely, don't look back. The road to heaven is nine thousand nine hundred
and nine hundred and nine hundred and ninety-nine."
The dormitory fell silent for a moment, and suddenly Tan Yong sighed quietly: "Let me tell you, it
is absolutely impossible to do that in Gaoliangdi. Zhang Yimou himself has definitely never done
it."
"how do you know?"
"Sorghum leaves are damn sharp. It's useless to use clothes as a cushion. They will definitely
leave slashes on your knees and buttocks."
"Hahahaha. Old Tan, so this is how you got the scar on your butt?"
Jingsheng couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.
"It's not me, it's really not me! It's just a buddy of mine. How could I have the chance? I heard
what he said when I went back to my hometown during the Chinese New Year this year."
"Hahaha, okay, okay, it's your buddy, not you."
"Alas, it's a pity that one of the only two girls in our class was seduced away by a bastard from
the Information and Communication Engineering Department, and the other was deceived by a
graduate student from the Computer Science Department. All the benefits went to outsiders."
"I understand. Old Gu must not have succeeded yet." Tan Yong suddenly said.
"You also know?"
Tan Yong smiled proudly and said, "Old Gu is still taking a cold shower in such a cold weather. Do
you understand? Why should I collect it when I can put it away? You are a bunch of idiots."
Jingsheng's bed board was kicked and shook repeatedly amidst the laughter.
"Go away." Jingsheng replied with one word, but with a hint of smile.
——
The football match lasted until four o'clock, and the Minhang campus won by a large margin. A
group of boys from the school team asked to go out for a drink in the evening, and Jingsheng
agreed. At six o'clock, someone called Gu Jingsheng over the loudspeaker in the dormitory
building. Jingsheng put on a jacket over his shirt and went downstairs.
But it was Si Jiang who came.
It was the peak time for getting hot water and finishing meals, and the boys coming in and out all
had their eyes glued to Si Jiang. Jingsheng saw someone approaching her with a red face at the
corner of the stairs to ask which department she was from. Si Jiang smiled and shook his head.
"How could you run here?" Jingsheng touched his nose. He had no place to put his hands, so he
put them in his trouser pockets. "Let's go out and talk."
When Si Jiang saw Jingsheng, he stopped smiling and stuffed the two net bags in his hands into
his arms: "My uncle asked me to bring some food. I've delivered it and I'm leaving now."
She turned around and left, her ponytail hitting Jingsheng's chin, pricking and itching him.
Jingsheng hurriedly chased after him.
"Sijiang-Sijiang-"
Si Jiang walked faster and faster. On the way here, he was full of expectations and good words,
but when he met the person, he became full of grievances. This person is not busy at all. He told
Si Hao that he had something to do at school and couldn't go back. At first glance, he looked like
he had just taken a shower. What could he be busy doing in the broad daylight? He must be busy
playing football! It's a pity that she called him three times last night, but he didn't return a single
call all day and night. It's obvious that he is still avoiding her because of that sentence. She was so
stupid that she was trying to please him. She was worse than a ball. She was definitely stupid.
Jingsheng ran up to Si Jiang with his long legs and grabbed her. The moment he held her hand, all
the mess in his mind disappeared.
"I'll invite you to the cafeteria for dinner." Jingsheng said softly.
"Please." Si Jiang turned his face away, not wanting him to see the tears in his eyes.
Jingsheng turned to face her, and Si Jiang suddenly turned his back again, his arm almost twisted
into a Tianjin twist in his hand.
"I have something to talk to you about." Jingsheng came closer in a low voice.
"Hong Kong."
"Angry?"
"without."
"Cried?"
"Don't cry!" Si Jiang blurted out angrily with tears in his eyes, "If you want me to tell the truth, I
will tell the truth. After I told the truth, you ignored me and deliberately hid in school and didn't
go home. I called you three times, why didn't you reply to one? There is no point in being in a
relationship like this. I don't want to be in a relationship anymore!"

Chapter 301
With the sentence "you're crying your ass off" at the beginning, the sentence "let's not talk about
it" has less power, and it is almost the same as "it's embarrassing". Jingsheng felt relieved when
he heard it. He pulled Si Jiang's arm over and took her hand, and saw two thin red marks on her
palm.
"What are you not going to talk about?"
Si Jiang pulled his hand away but couldn't. He turned his face away, raised his chin and said firmly,
"No more love." He thought to himself that there was something even crueler waiting for him - I
wouldn't date you even if I wanted to!
"Oh." Jingsheng just responded with one word calmly.
Si Jiang's face suddenly turned back and glared at Jingsheng, his anger turning pale.
Jingsheng pulled her closer to him, and raised the corner of his mouth: "Ge Mo Ala, let's talk
about marriage?"
"You wish!" Si Jiang's mind suddenly changed. He raised his leg and stepped down hard.
"It's my fault, sorry, please step on me again, harder." Jingsheng smiled even more, and
regardless of the people passing by, he hugged her in his arms, put his chin on Sijiang's shoulder,
and let out a sigh of relief. The restlessness of the past few days could not be relieved even by
running and playing football without any effort, but after being stepped on by Sijiang, it was
suddenly ironed out.
She came to find him, she was fierce to him, she was not afraid of him.
Si Jiang was angry that he had shown weakness before he could even say the harsh words, so he
stepped on him twice, each step lighter than the last.
"Just step on it! Just step on it! Who told you not to call back!" When she heard this, she wanted
to cry again.
"I dare not go back."
"Why?"
Jingsheng was silent for a moment, then let go of Sijiang: "Tell me slowly, do you want to go to
the cafeteria or eat outside?"
"Let's go to the cafeteria." Si Jiang blushed. Eating in the cafeteria meant announcing their
relationship to the world. She kept saying she would come, but she never came. It was Jingsheng
who went to the Normal University to find her. Thinking of this, she felt even softer.
"Are you going back to school or Wanchun Street tonight?"
"go home."
"Let's go back together."
"You're so annoying! Don't come back on Saturday, come back on Sunday, what's the point..." Si
Jiang said to him angrily, then he realized that his hands were empty, "Hey, where are the two net
bags?"
"It's on the window of the reception room."
“Will it be taken away by someone?”
"Won't."
——
There is a saying in Shanghai: Live in Jiaotong University, eat in Tongji University, play in Fudan
University, and love in South China Normal University.
The cafeteria at the Minhang campus of Jiaotong University is actually not bad. Si Jiang had a
bowl of duck blood vermicelli soup, Jing Sheng finished 4 taels of rice with two meat dishes and
two vegetable dishes, and bought a bowl of double-sided dishes. Si Jiang got a steamed bean
curd sheet.
The two were about to finish eating when a group of boys from the team came to the cafeteria
looking for Jingsheng. They rushed over shouting and yelling, and immediately became elegant
and refined when they saw Si Jiang.
"Ahem, Mr. Gu, your sister is here?" Some boys in the same department still remembered that Si
Jiang was the pretty cousin who accompanied Gu Jingsheng to register at school.
"It's not my sister, it's my girlfriend," Jingsheng raised his head and smiled, "You guys go to the
dinner party, I'm not going."
The boys, who had just become polite, lost their composure in an instant. They were filled with
envy and jealousy, and took turns slapping Jingsheng on the back, making loud bangs.
"There are too few girls in your school." Si Jiang was being watched all the way and felt a little
uncomfortable. There were too many beautiful and talented girls in Normal University, and she
participated in very few campus activities, so she was not one of the most watched ones.
"There are very few boys in your school," Jingsheng said with a smile, "That's good."
The car returning to the city at night was very empty. The two of them sat in the last row, holding
hands, shoulders side by side, knees touching.
"Houses are being built everywhere. When you entered school, that area seemed to be a field,"
Si Jiang sighed as he looked out the window. "There are street lights and many more bus routes."
Jingsheng was looking at the reflections of two people in the car window.
"Nannan."
"Huh?" Si Jiang was startled, turned his head and bumped into Jingsheng's eyes, blushed and
turned his eyes away, muttered in a low voice, "What are you yelling at me for?"
"Nannan."
"Don't shout," Si Jiang lowered his head and pinched him, "It's Lai Xige's fault. Only my mother
and grandmother would shout like that."
"Baby?"
"What's your nickname?" Si Jiang tried to hold back a smile, his shoulders twitching.
Jingsheng couldn't help laughing.
"Gu Jingsheng." Si Jiang pursed his lips and replied.
"arrive."
"I haven't made it clear what I said before. Why don't you dare to reply? Why don't you dare to
return the phone? Why don't you dare to go home?"
Jingsheng rubbed her fingers and looked at himself and Si Jiang through the glass window. It
seemed as if the two were in a movie. It was a little unreal, so unreal that he could narrate the
thoughts and feelings of that "Gu Jingsheng" from a third-party perspective. It was so unreal that
he had a false sense of security.
"I used to always have dreams that I was looking at my mother..." Jingsheng whispered.
Sometimes it was difficult to say a single word, and sometimes long sentences came smoothly.
"Later, I dreamed that the Hammer Killer was plotting against you..."
If you are willing to tell me the truth, I will tell you the truth too. I am afraid there is no end to it,
and guessing is futile, so I will break it apart and crush it so that you can see it clearly.
"After all, I have that - half of her blood. I can't deny it even if I don't want to. I'm probably,
possibly, probably not a normal person. Sometimes I can't control myself and I can be very
violent."
"I'm afraid you'll be scared."
"I'm afraid you're afraid of me."
Jingsheng withdrew his gaze from the tall and protruding back of the ticket seller in front of him
and fell on Si Jiang's face.
Si Jiang was in tears. As the conductor shouted, "We're coming to the station, we're coming to
the station, make way," he hugged Jingsheng's waist tightly, wishing he could squeeze himself
into his body.
The first time she heard Liu Chunlan say "Isn't this a murderer? It's so scary", her heart was
squeezed into a ball and hurt badly. She felt pain, how about Jingsheng? Si Jiang didn't dare to
think about how uncomfortable he felt when she said she was afraid of him. She didn't seriously
think about what he was carrying, let alone share it with him, but stabbed him in the heart. Her
so-called love was too shallow, too arrogant and too ignorant.
"You're not allowed to think that."
"You are the cleanest and nicest person in the world."
"I'm not afraid of you, not at all. If you fight with others again, I will help you fight."
Si Jiang couldn't say a word of these words, they were pale, powerless and hypocritical. She
wanted only one way to let him know clearly that she was not afraid of him.
——
Jingsheng opened the window of the pavilion and saw that the wintersweets of some family were
still in bloom. There was a faint fragrance floating in the air.
Because the weather forecast said that the temperature would rise next week, Jingsheng found a
few short-sleeved shirts and sweatshirts, folded them on the single bed, and stuffed them into his
bag. Noticing that his pillow was tilted, he habitually picked it up and patted it.
A box of condoms fell out of the pillowcase.
At this moment, Si Jiang knocked on the door: "Uncle——?"
Jingsheng hurriedly took a pillow to press down the box.
"Oh—she shouldn't come back."
Si Jiang closed the door and grabbed the other end of the pillow: "What's going on? You're
sneaking around."
"Nothing." Jingsheng quickly pressed down the pillow.
"Let me see." Si Jiang squatted down and stretched out a hand.
Jingsheng then reached out and grabbed her hand, and their hands were entwined around the
edge of the box.
Si Jiang suddenly lifted the pillow, and four eyes fell on the box.
The clock upstairs began to chime the hours, and the voice of Teresa Teng, sung by the old man
next door for twenty years, drifted in from the window along with the scent of wintersweet.
"I'm drunk because I'm lonely. I'm lonely. Who can comfort me..."
The stagnant air became sticky and surged ambiguously.
Jingsheng put the pillow in his hand back and explained awkwardly: "It's not me——"
Si Jiang turned his head to look at him, licked his lips and asked softly: "What do you want?"
All the blood in Jingsheng's body flowed backwards and rushed to his chest, turning into a ball of
fire. It burned him so hard that his whole body trembled and his scalp numbed. The corner of the
pillow in his hand wrinkled into a ball.
"I think so."
Si Jiang raised his head and bit Jingsheng on the chin.
"Wait for me to come find you at night."
Although his voice was so soft that it was close to a whisper and even a little trembling, it was
passionate like a knight from Yan and Zhao.
The lights in the alley went out one by one. Jingsheng was hanging clothes on the balcony outside
the pavilion wearing a long-sleeved sweatshirt and blue-and-white-striped sweatpants from high
school. The sweatpants were a little short, and the night wind leaked in through the railings and
wrapped around his ankles, making him feel a little itchy. He leaned over and gently scratched
twice, and suddenly heard a slight sound on the stairs. His whole body and all the hair on his
body immediately stood up at the same time, and the shirt on his left hand was wet and tangled
around his wrist.
He went back into the room and listened carefully, but there was no sound outside again.
After hanging up the clothes, Jingsheng tossed and turned in bed, as if he was sleeping in a frying
pan.
Do you want to? He wanted to, but he didn't dare to think about it, for fear of triggering some
fatal switch. On the night of the fever, the two of them squeezed into a small bed, and he forced
her outside the quilt. Every kiss was cautious, not daring to cross the line.
Si Jiang said that she wanted to, not that she could.
Jingsheng pressed his arms against his face and laughed silently.
——
The wall clock struck the hour again, and then it disappeared with a ding.
Jingsheng turned over and took out his watch in the dark night to check. It was one o'clock. He
stared at the ceiling for a while and suddenly laughed out loud, guessing that Si Jiang must have
fallen asleep again. His tense body and nerves finally relaxed. Jingsheng closed his eyes. To his
surprise, there was no disappointment in his heart, only peace and sweetness.
Naughty girl, stupid girl, good girl.
With a slight sound, the door opened. Si Jiang squeezed in barefoot, and before Jingsheng could
get up, he jumped onto the small bed, lifted the quilt and crawled in, trembling all over.
"It's cold!"
It's cold, not scary.
Jingsheng wrapped her tightly in a blanket, but he sat up and retreated to the wall. He felt a chill
on his back, and he endured the soreness in his chest and said in a low voice, "You really came
——"
Si Jiang half showed his face from under the quilt and said a little embarrassedly: "Of course, it
was the puppy who lied."
Stars fell into her eyes, twinkling.
Jingsheng moved his crossed legs back and said, "Are you afraid?"
Si Jiang shook his head, then nodded, quickly pulled the quilt over him, and after a few seconds
pulled it down again, muttering softly, "A little scared—"
Fearing that Jingsheng might misunderstand, she added: "Afraid of pain - will it hurt?"
"It will be painful."
"How could you know?"
"It's in the book."
"Don't scare me." Si Jiang shrank back, bit his lower lip and laughed, his legs rustled under the
quilt and he tapped Jingsheng's legs, "Are you scared?"
"Yeah." Jingsheng's hands tightly grasped the exposed half of his calf.
"What are you afraid of?" Si Jiang chuckled, "Are you afraid of pain (too)?"
"Men should not be hurt."
The two of them were in tense silence for a while. Seeing that Jingsheng still didn't move, Si Jiang
sat up wrapped in the quilt and moved to Jingsheng's side. Jingsheng had nowhere to retreat,
and the back of her head gently hit the wall. She lowered her eyes to look at the silkworm pupa
in her arms, and watched the stars in her eyes gradually dim.
"Don't you want to do it?" Si Jiang's voice trembled a little.
"It's not nice to you." Jingsheng sighed softly.
"Why?"
"You are a little girl, you will suffer."
Si Jiang was startled: "Have you done it with other girls?"
"Of course not! How is that possible!" Jingsheng's forehead was covered with sweat, and he
spoke in Mandarin in a hurry to show his seriousness.
"Then what loss will I suffer?" Si Jiang was surprised.
Jingsheng was at a loss for words, and after a long while he finally came up with a euphemism:
"When I did it with you, I didn't change much. When you did it with me, you - turned from a little
girl into a woman."
"You mean virgin or not?"
Jingsheng stroked his forehead.
"You are so feudal..." Si Jiang looked at Jingsheng with a little disappointment, "If I am not a
virgin, would you think I am dirty?"
"Of course not!" Jingsheng was anxious. Even if all men in the world would think so, he would
never think so.
Si Jiang saw that the veins on his forehead were bulging, and then he realized that his question
was inappropriate, and added in a low voice: "That's not what I meant--"
She lowered her head a little dejectedly: "I just didn't expect that no one would want it even if I
delivered it to them."
Jingsheng's heart was twisted fiercely, and he hugged her tightly and pressed her hard: "What
nonsense are you talking about?"
"Do you really want it, Gemon?" Si Jiang asked in a muffled voice, "If you don't want it, just let me
know, and I won't be stupid again next time--"
All her courage and beautiful imagination disappeared in this assumption, and tears burst out
violently.
"want."
Jingsheng suddenly threw Si Jiang to the ground, propped his arms on both sides of her, and
asked hoarsely: "Have you made up your mind? Will you regret it?"
Si Jiang reached out and hooked him down, then pressed himself against Jingsheng, covering his
face with tears.
——
The clock upstairs struck three times: ding, ding, ding.
Jingsheng, who was sweating all over, hugged Sijiang, who looked confused, and said, "Wait a
minute, I'll take you upstairs. Does it still hurt?"
"Don't worry," Si Jiang hugged his back, "Does it still hurt?"
"It's a little better now." Jingsheng laughed muffledly.
"Are you still laughing?"
"I'm sorry."
"How about - let's try again?" Si Jiang reached out to touch the box beside the pillow.
"Please, try again next time. Be good, girl. Be good, girl." Jingsheng took her hand back and held
it against his chest.
This failed first experience of love taught Gu Jingsheng and Chen Sijiang a new term: vaginal
spasm.
There is also a new knowledge: men also feel pain, a lot of pain, the kind that almost breaks their
penis.

Chapter 302
Failure is the mother of success. As two smart and good students, Jingsheng and Sijiang were
puzzled and frightened by the torment and pain they had experienced that night.
Si Jiang's knowledge of physiology and hygiene is really not very good. All she got from Shanrang
were self-protection techniques and the feminist view that "you have the right to decide your
own body". She had no idea what to do if she went too far in self-protection, and she was even
more clueless about what to do if she couldn't decide her own body.
She even suspected that she was not normal, but she could not ask a teacher for advice and was
too embarrassed to ask a doctor. Even with such a close relationship with Nurse Lu, she could not
ask. She could only attribute the problem to the size mismatch, and of course it was because
Jingsheng cared too much about her feelings. Just the three words "Does it hurt?" Jingsheng
asked about 60 or 70 times in two hours, and he kept going back and forth, but he could not get
through without a channel. Fortunately, he did not fail.
But failure has its advantages. The process of exploring each other was forced to be prolonged.
From not daring to open their eyes to seriously facing each other's bodies and reactions, ordinary
couples may need a long time and multiple practices to achieve it. Yu Jingsheng and Si Jiang
compressed it into two hours. This is probably a loss and a gain. Because of repeated failures,
they have developed a comradeship and aroused love. The boy and girl comforted each other
with kisses, hugs and caresses in the dark night, fearing that the other party would be hit and
hurt. Not being able to devote oneself and not being able to possess the other have very
different meanings.
In March, spring is in full bloom. Magnolias are graceful, crabapples are blooming, spring cherry
blossoms are in bud, lilacs are blooming, and wild cats in the alleys begin to cry all night. The
dead branches of the sycamore trees are sprouting tiny, dense buds.
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng wrote to each other almost every day throughout March except Saturdays
and Sundays.
When Si Jiang received Jingsheng's first letter at the end of February, she was shocked. She
unfolded it and saw the letterhead of Jiaotong University and the smooth cursive script. She
couldn't stop smiling before she read it carefully. Love letters are one of the important rituals of
love. She had always longed for the love letters written by her uncle to her aunt. Now it was her
turn. It was so sweet that she couldn't bear to finish it and couldn't calm down to read it. She was
swaying like a little dumpling in the wine. Si Jiang thought about it and ran to the Liwa River to
find a deserted place to sit and read the letter.
"Nannan, even though we talked on the phone for five minutes the night before yesterday, I still
feel uneasy. There are many things that are not convenient to say on the phone. I think it is more
appropriate to write you a letter."
Si Jiang felt the same way. There were only two public telephones in the dormitory building, and
there were long queues of people making and receiving calls every night. It was really
inconvenient with so many people keeping their ears perked up even if their eyes were not
staring at you.
"Are you still in pain? Have you used the medicine I bought from the pharmacy that morning? I
also bought two tubes of ointment in Minhang. You can try it again on Saturday. Don't worry, I
don't feel any pain at all anymore."
Si Jiang looked around with a guilty conscience, took a deep breath, and continued to read with a
red face, thinking how could this person be so annoying. It was hard not to recall the
embarrassment of that night when such a thing was written on paper. Who cares if he is in pain
or not? It's really...
"Looking back on that night, it was pretty thrilling. It seems that talking big on paper doesn't
work. I never thought that my penis could be broken in bed before. Now when I go to the toilet, I
feel a bit scared. If it breaks, I won't be able to use it anymore. It's such a pity. I didn't dare to
form a human wall when I played football these past two days. I just jumped when I saw the ball
coming. I was probably too scared."
Ai???!!!
Si Jiang almost crumpled up the letter and hid it. What on earth was beating so fast? Her heart
was beating so fast. What a scoundrel! How could this person write such a thing? Si Jiang
suspected that she had some misunderstanding about the term "love letter". Shouldn't love
letters be romantic and poetic? Why was the love letter sent by Gu Jingsheng full of color?
"I flipped through the Popular Medicine in recent years and saw two symptoms that seem to be
somewhat similar to your condition that night. One is called 'corpus luteum rupture' and the
other is called 'vaginal spasm'. To be on the safe side, I will accompany you to the hospital for a
check-up on Sunday. Don't get me wrong, you are perfectly normal. It must be my problem. I am
afraid that I was too rude and scared you. You said on the phone the day before yesterday that
your stomach didn't hurt, so what about these two days? If you do, be sure to call me
immediately and I will pick you up to the hospital. I tore off the descriptions of the two symptoms
and attached them to the letter. Take a look."
Si Jiang shook open the envelope and saw two pieces of dried tofu stuck to the inner wall of the
envelope. She reached out and took them out, took a careful look, and opened the door to a new
world. She also breathed a sigh of relief. The disease that could be published in a medical journal
was certainly not an isolated case. Knowing that there were other people in the world who had
the same problem as her, Si Jiang breathed a sigh of relief for no reason.
"The environment should also have something to do with it, and this is also my fault. In any case,
I should find a good hotel to do this big thing. The more I think about it these days, the more
upset I feel, and the more I feel sorry for you. How about Jing'an Hotel? Or the newly opened
Hilton Hotel, I called and asked, you can stay there without a letter of introduction, there is hot
water 24 hours a day, there is a bathtub, you can take a bath at any time. Last time I took a bath,
you rushed in and looked at me naked. You just came back when I went to the hotel. Nannan, if
you are embarrassed, you can cover your face in the bathtub. (Just kidding, don't be angry) -
Although the hotel room is a little more expensive, it is still cost-effective on average for a
lifetime. Don't say you haven't thought about how much it costs to stay in Hilton for one night.
Don't worry, my wife will definitely be able to afford it. The next time we have a formal first time,
we will work hard together. When we are old, we will definitely be happy when we look back. If it
still doesn't work, it doesn't matter, there will be a chance to stay in a hotel again."
Si Jiang bit her lip and held back her laughter, feeling angry and amused, sad and sweet. She
would not stay at the Hilton, it was too expensive, more than a thousand dollars a night, and she
could buy a small house if she stayed for thirty or fifty days. What was wrong with the attic? It
smelled like him, and the pile of stuff at the end of the bed made people feel at ease, like
sleeping in money, which others could not get even if they begged for it. Staying in a hotel was
also very scary, if the police checked the room, it would be the end. Of course, Si Jiang was not
sure whether the police would check the rooms of foreign-related hotels.
"Having written this far, it may not seem very romantic. You may be disappointed. This is my first
time writing a letter. I am not very good at it. I just write whatever comes to my mind. It is a bit
messy and not very serious. It seems that I have nothing to say. It doesn't matter whether you
reply or not. I find that writing letters is quite good. I left in a hurry that morning and didn't send
you to school. Remember to step on me again on Saturday. I am a bit of an unruly boyfriend, but
there is one thing that is in line with the status of a boyfriend. Don't be embarrassed or angry
when you read it. I am just telling you the truth. You said that no matter what happens to me or
what I think in my heart, I can't hide it from you. Right? Actually, since that night, I have dreamed
of you every night when I sleep. You are the one that I think of over and over again. It is very
uncomfortable. I didn’t notice it before, but it hurts if I stay hard for too long. Also, I can’t urinate
in the morning, and it’s useless to be anxious. It’s a bit vulgar to say these things, but dreams are
even more vulgar. If you want to know, I will tell you next time we meet. I hope these funny
"knowledge points" can help you understand me better. I want you to understand me thoroughly
from top to bottom, inside and out. In addition, I have also learned some other ways to
understand you better. I want to try them. I really want to. "
It was so exciting. The first thought that came to Si Jiang's mind when she saw this was that she
should "burn it after reading" immediately like the underground party intelligence officers, but
she couldn't help but finish reading it quickly so that she could read it again. This letter almost
made her know a completely new Gu Jingsheng. He said such shameful words so openly,
completely out of the category of gangsters. Si Jiang was actually deeply touched. Rough and
sincere, she felt very at ease.
"I have to confess one thing. I miss you not only at night, but also during the day. I get distracted
in class. I can't stop thinking about you. It's too strenuous to stop thinking about you. It's like my
brain is not my own. This has never happened before. For example, right now, I miss you so much
that I want to run to your school right away, call you out, hug you and kiss you, and I'll be satisfied
(I may not be able to satisfy you, I'll try next time, practice makes perfect)."
"The bunch of annoying people in the dormitory came back early, so I'll stop here first. Nannan, I
really want to know how you feel after reading this letter. If it's convenient for you, please give
me a call, or leave a time for me to call you."
"I love you, Chen Sijiang."
"Best regards, Gu Jingsheng."
Si Jiang looked at the time. Jingsheng should be in football training. She read the letter twice
from beginning to end and confirmed that it was a genuine "love letter" that could not be more
loving.
Before the postman opened the box for the last time at five o'clock in the afternoon, Si Jiang put
the reply into the mailbox so that Jingsheng would receive the reply on Friday. She then went to
the dormitory management office to leave a message for Jingsheng and made an appointment to
talk on the phone at nine thirty in the evening.
When he went to Mrs. Brown's house for class that day, maybe it was because of the obsession
that there would be a response, or maybe it was because Jingsheng's sincerity in using up all his
savings to stay at the Hilton Hotel was so touching, but Si Jiang received a gift from Mrs. Brown.
"I actually forgot about this hospitality voucher. It expires on Saturday. It would be a shame to
waste it. I hope you don't mind, dear Si Jiang. I don't have any other intentions. Maybe you will
be interested. You may want to take a look. If you are not interested, you can give it to someone
in need or do whatever you want. It doesn't matter."
"We are going to Sheshan this weekend to attend the wedding of an old friend of Danny's. Yes,
the whole family is going. He is marrying a girl from Shanghai, 22 years younger than him. Ha, this
is his third marriage, and Danny said it should be his last."
This man, who married a young woman, was from the same American International Group as Mr.
Brown and was currently working for the Sino-American Insurance Company. Mr. Brown and he
were responsible for preparing a large financial services conference next year to help Shanghai
city leaders introduce Shanghai's investment opportunities to the international financial
community. Mr. Brown had mentioned to Si Jiang that a lot of accompanying translators would be
needed at that time, and if she was interested, he could arrange it.
——
At night, Jingsheng thought he had heard wrongly on the phone.
"Mrs. Brown gave me an invitation to the Jing'an Hilton Hotel, which allows me to stay for one
night for free... It expires on Saturday."
Si Jiang covered the microphone and lowered his voice to ask: "Are you going?"
"go."

Chapter 303
With a fixed time and place for the appointment, every second was extended. Si Jiang felt the
feeling of living a year, and her anticipation for Saturday was like a pot of water burning on a coal
stove. She could clearly feel it getting hotter and hotter, but she didn't know when the crab
bubbles would bubble up. She was a little afraid to expect too much, for fear of causing the
excessive tension that the doctor said.
The reply to Jingsheng was written almost instantly and fluently. Si Jiang was eager to tell him
everything he was thinking and feeling.
"I don't feel particularly nervous. I am a little nervous, maybe a little more than a little," Si Jiang
explained in his reply, "but this nervousness is not because of losing something, such as your
worry about virginity and the so-called 'disadvantage' after becoming a woman. You see, men
and women are too unequal, men have the initiative of virginity, while women are just the
attachment of virginity. Two people do the same thing, the man gets the woman, but the woman
loses herself? This is really ridiculous, at least I don't think so."
"I don't want you to think I'm brave, because that means I'm giving myself away, and I'm
expecting you to be touched and return my love. This becomes an exchange of interests. If you're
not touched and don't cherish me, does that mean I'm 'at a disadvantage'? This is not love, it's
self-touching, self-beautifying fake love. 'I walk towards you in the dark midnight' because I want
to walk towards you, as a woman, towards a man."
"I admit that nervousness exists objectively. You may laugh at me for not being sincere, but I have
to admit it because I am not more familiar with my body than you are. It seems that the growth
of my spirit and body is not synchronized, and I didn't realize this before. It's so strange. I am
actually very happy. What you said to me (I am a little curious if you will not be able to pee if you
think too much...) is very funny and interesting, but I still wonder if men can talk about their
organs and women more casually? I envy your advantage as a man in this regard. You probably
can't imagine that it was not until the physiological hygiene class in the first year of high school
that I realized that the place where menstruation comes and the place where pee is not the same
place (don't laugh!). And I am not alone. We are all ashamed to discuss these things."
"Isn't it weird? I decided to use my body, but I actually know nothing about it, so she protested
(this is a joke). On the other hand, it's a bit sad. Although I declared the sovereignty of my body, I
do care about how the man I like (you) sees my body. It's not a physical "see", but I care about
how you will evaluate it. This is probably part of the tension. Sometimes I think I'm too thin, but I
don't mind when I wear clothes. Thin people look better in clothes. You see, I have this ridiculous
vanity (you can laugh here, did you laugh? Remember to tell me when we meet), but I think my
breasts are too small, so I don't want to show them to you. I saw that you put away "Popular
Movies" and I think you prefer plump types like Gong Li and Wu Yujuan. Alas, this is very
contradictory. I'm not sure if there is a reason for wanting to please you. I hope not."
"Shame is really a terrible thing, it follows me everywhere, and I hope I can overcome this
obstacle. When Fritney was naked in court, as Beauvoir wrote in The Second Sex, her beauty put
clothes on her. And a lover is more terrible than watching, because he is a judge. Few women can
be proud of their bodies. I am not implying that I need your praise. Of course, it would be better
if I have praise. I laugh at myself when I write this. I am such an awkward and hypocritical little
girl in front of you, but I want to be such a little girl forever. Of course, if your praise is not
sincere, the effect will be counterproductive. I hope you can understand after saying so much in
the clouds. I think you can understand."
"The ointment you bought is OK. It doesn't hurt today. It really hurt a lot on Monday. I wanted to
die when I went to the toilet. I was really angry with you. I secretly looked at it with a small
mirror. The skin was broken. It was so miserable and unfair. Didn't you feel pain too? Why didn't
your skin break? Why didn't you use ointment? I got a lot of comfort after receiving your letter.
Now I'm not angry with you. I also thought that the condom might have a problem. It dried up
very quickly and seemed to have powdered. Did it powder? Did you notice it? It really hurts, like
the oil paper wrapped around the oil dumpling has dried and become brittle. I don't mean that
yours is an oil dumpling. You see, the shame is coming back. I think doctors and nurses are pretty
good. They shouldn't call each other's genitals "little brother, little sister" in bed... I really want to
see the handwritten copy of "Girl's Heart". Have you read it?"
It must be said that writing to Jingsheng was a wonderful journey. Some words Sijiang had been
brewing for a long time, but when she put pen to paper, she felt that they were too hypocritical.
Some words she absolutely could not say in person, but they flowed out of the pen naturally. She
was pleasantly surprised to discover a Chen Sijiang that she was not familiar with.
At the end of the first love letter to Jingsheng, Si Jiang borrowed Tsvetaeva's poem.
"Two trees, covered in sunset dust, in rain, and in snow, forever, one is more active. That is the
law: one is more active. The only law: one is more active."
"I love you, Gu Jingsheng."
"Sincerely, let's encourage each other. Chen Sijiang (your daughter)"
On Thursday afternoon, Si Jiang received Jingsheng's second letter. She guessed that Jingsheng
should have received her first reply, so she called Jingsheng's dormitory building without opening
the letter.
"Why are you writing again?"
"I had something to tell you yesterday, but I was afraid I forgot. Have you read it?" Jingsheng
looked at the envelope in his hand and told her with a smile, "I just received the letter you sent
yesterday. Why didn't you tell me on the phone that you wrote back to me?"
"Oh - because of that thing, I forgot to tell you. Have you read the letter? In fact, I regretted it
after I sent it out. It was written in a mess and I don't know what it was talking about -" Si Jiang
twisted the telephone line around his fingers and lowered his voice to make up for it.
"It would be fine if you could just write one word, but I haven't had time to read it yet."
"I haven't watched it either, so how about we watch it together after we hang up the phone?"
"Okay. I'll call you after I finish reading it and talk to you a little more."
"Still playing? It's time for dinner. You didn't have training today?"
"There's a game at 7:30 tonight."
"Do you dare to form a human wall?" Si Jiang asked while suppressing his laughter.
Jingsheng put his fist to his lips and coughed twice: "Are you looking for trouble?" Do you want to
eat bamboo shoots and roasted meat? After close contact, four-character words, especially those
with verbs, have extra erotic meanings. Jingsheng turned sideways, but he was too embarrassed
to say it out loud.
The second letter was indeed not long, it was almost a diary.
"I had boiled eggs for breakfast. When I was peeling the eggshells, I thought of the time when
you peeled quail eggs. Do you remember? Because I withheld Zhou Jiaming's letter, you were so
angry that you didn't let me help you even though your face and hands were burned by oil. I
went to Jing'an Temple to pick you up on the night of National Day. I wanted to tell you the truth.
I withheld the letter not entirely because of what your mother told me to do, but also because I
was petty and jealous. I didn't want you to be targeted by those boys. I was afraid that you were
too soft-hearted and would be moved without knowing it. Of course, I didn't tell you later
because I was afraid it would affect your studies. I can now be sure that falling in love will
definitely affect your studies. Fortunately, I kept it to myself at that time."
Si Jiang found it very novel and funny. She still remembered peeling quail eggs because it was too
difficult. She never wanted to see quail eggs again in her life. But she got so angry because of
Zhou Jiaming's letter. It was embarrassing to think about it now. But if Jingsheng's letter was
withheld by someone, she would explode at the thought. It can be seen that there is still a gap.
When the two of them talked on the phone again, they both felt a little embarrassed.
Jingsheng was shocked by Si Jiang's frankness, enthusiasm and boldness in his letter: "I didn't
laugh at the places you didn't allow me to laugh at, and I didn't laugh at the places you said I
could laugh at."
Si Jiang blushed and lowered his voice: "Don't talk about this on the phone."
"Let's talk about it in detail when we meet. My definition of bravery is different from yours."
Jingsheng also lowered his voice.
"Why are you suddenly bringing up old matters? I had long forgotten about the quail eggs and
the letter."
"Well, the past is too long. Let's review it and learn new things. Study hard and make progress
every day."
Si Jiang chuckled: "Hey, are you scared by my letter?"
"I'm a little surprised, but not scared. I'm very happy. Please write to me more when you have
time. By the way, remind me when you get home. I have something to show you."
Si Jiang blurted out: "Is there anything else you have that I haven't seen yet?"
There was silence in both microphones for a few seconds.
Si Jiang looked back guiltily. Fortunately, it was dinner time and there was no one behind him. He
stammered in response twice and hung up the phone in a hurry.
At 9:30 in the evening, the dormitory building was brightly lit. When Si Jiang returned to the
dormitory from the bathroom, he saw Yin Han and Hu Die standing at the window like two door
gods, and he didn't know what they were talking about with the people downstairs.
"What are you doing?"
"Old Gu is downstairs, why haven't you come back for so long?" Yin Han turned around and
shouted downstairs happily, "She's fine, come down right away!"
Si Jiang was startled and pushed the two people apart to look down. Jingsheng raised his head
under the street light and smiled when he saw her.
This scene seemed familiar. Si Jiang's scalp tingled. Without saying anything, he turned around
and ran downstairs.
"Why did you come here suddenly? Aren't you here to play football?" Si Jiang's eyes widened.
"Today is Thursday!" We were supposed to meet on Saturday. In the past two days, he wrote two
letters and made three phone calls...
Jingsheng smiled and hugged her tightly, making Desijiang almost unable to breathe and hit him
several times.
"I played half the game. I came to see you because I missed you."
Si Jiang's chest felt sore and he unzipped his jacket. There was really only a jersey inside.
"Are you cold?"
"It's not cold, I ran here," Jingsheng laughed so hard that his chest kept shaking, "I took the
school bus to Huashan Road and then ran here."
"Because I was so happy, I wanted to run for a bit."
"Thirteen o'clock!"
"Are you cold? Why did you come down here without socks? Come back up quickly."
"I'm not cold." Although he said he was not cold, Si Jiang sneezed when his bare toes were blown
by the night wind in early March.
"I came here just to tell you in person that your letters are so well written. No matter what, you
must write a few more for me. It doesn't matter what you write." Jingsheng smiled and raised his
hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Before Si Jiang could react, Jingsheng looked at his watch and said, "I have classes early tomorrow
morning, so I'll go back to school first. Nothing else. You should hurry up too, don't catch a cold."
Si Jiang hugged his waist tightly, raised his face and ordered him: "Lower your head."
Jingsheng lowered his head as he was told.
Si Jiang kissed him hard.
——
There are many things that if you don't do them when you are young, you will never do them
again in your life.
During the half-time break of his football game, when Jingsheng was sitting on the grass wiping
his sweat, he suddenly missed Si Jiang terribly. She had analyzed herself to him without
reservation in the letter, and every word was precious. He had many feelings to tell her.
Before he could make a final decision, he had already kicked off his spikes, put on his trousers,
picked up his jacket, changed his sneakers, and started running out.
As Jingsheng watched the street lights speeding away from him on the school bus, there was only
a fire burning in his chest, which burned more and more fiercely. He did not care to wait for the
bus anymore, and started running along Huashan Road towards Jiangsu Road. The more he ran,
the more the fire burned, and the easier and happier he felt. Love has changed its appearance
and is not far away.
After seeing Si Jiang, the fire turned into water, soft and gentle. All the words he wanted to say
became unnecessary after seeing her.
He didn't tell Si Jiang that after running onto Zhongshan West Road, he shouted her name loudly
amid the roar of cars and trucks.
"Chen Sijiang——!"
“Nannan——!”
Every word was echoed by the vibration of the road, the vibration of his chest and the boiling of
his blood. It was so happy and refreshing.

Chapter 304
On Saturday afternoon, Si Jiang returned to the dormitory after class and saw Jingsheng waiting
at the old place from a distance. The campus was bright and beautiful in March, and he was
brighter than the spring. The girls passing by even slowed down their steps, and countless eyes
lingered on him.
As if aware of Si Jiang's gaze, Jingsheng turned his head and looked over, immediately put away
the magazine in his hand and waved at her with a smile.
Thinking of what the two daring people were about to do, Si Jiang blushed. Listening to his
deafening heartbeat, he barely maintained a reserved and brisk pace as he walked over.
Yin Han and the others yelled a few times, pushed Si Jiang onto Jingsheng, and swarmed into the
building laughing.
Si Jiang finally stood firm and raised his hand to smooth his scattered hair: "Why are you here so
early? Don't you have classes in the afternoon?"
"I took a class off," Jingsheng noticed that Sijiang was wearing a dark blue denim skirt with
suspenders under a white hooded ox-horn button wool cardigan today, and the corners of his
mouth curved, "I said this skirt would look good on you." This is the autumn model designed by
Nanhong last year, which sold very well in Hong Kong. The skirt has an extra piece, and when it is
unfolded, it looks like a piece of curtain cloth. There are two thin straps on the waist, which need
to be passed through and then buckled back to tie and fix, similar to the hem of an ancient skirt.
Gu Dongwen dragged Jingsheng and Sijiang at home for a long time before they fixed the two
straps. The folded layer in the front formed an asymmetrical angle, which looked particularly
good on the body.
"It's just a little hard to take off." Jingsheng said while trying not to laugh, his eyes falling on the
bow on Si Jiang's waist.
The book in Si Jiang's hand hit him hard.
"You hooligan!" She glanced at him with a red face and ran away.
"Nannan, put on that red beret--" Jingsheng shouted with a smile from behind.
——
On the side of the wardrobe in the girls' dormitory was a dressing mirror that the seven of them
had pooled their money to buy. Si Jiang put on his hat in front of the mirror, but he was not
satisfied after trying it left and right.
"Hu Die, come and help me see which angle is best."
Hu Die sighed: "If you are good-looking, you will look good in any outfit, right? Please stop pulling
it, you have turned the beret into a peaked cap."
All the girls in the room who were packing their luggage started laughing.
Yin Han clicked his tongue twice: "Si Jiang, do you want to put on some lipstick?"
Si Jiang pushed a strand of bangs back under the brim of his hat and hesitated for a moment: "Do
you want it?"
"It looks great! I just bought a trendy color-changing lipstick, would you like to try it?"
Si Jiang looked at the green lipstick in Yin Han's hand and shook his head like a rattle.
"Coward, it's green when you first apply it, and it will turn red soon, just watch." Yin Han
squeezed in front of the mirror and pouted his lips. He applied it a few times, then turned around
and pretended to kiss Si Jiang and Hu Die on the face.
The girls laughed together and hid around the table in the small snail shells.
"It has changed, it has really changed!"
Si Jiang and the others watched as Yin Han's lips turned into a bright rose red, and their jaws
almost dropped to the ground. What kind of lipstick is this? Is it a magic trick?
"Forget it. This rose red doesn't match the bright red of the hat. I'd better not put on any
makeup. I'm leaving first. See you on Monday—" Si Jiang bit his upper and lower lips in front of
the mirror, picked up his bag and ran downstairs.
——
Jingsheng and Sijiang got off the bus at Jing'an Temple and walked south along Huashan Road.
Since the Hilton opened last year, the entire Huashan Road has become more upscale, with
several boutiques and flower shops opening across the street. Jingsheng watched Sijiang walk
into the silver-white high-rise building across the street alone from the boutique. Her red beret
paused at the door and then disappeared from his sight.
"Sir, would you like to pick out a gift for your girlfriend?" The owner of the boutique, a well-
dressed old man, asked Jingsheng with a smile.
Jingsheng turned around and was attracted by a crystal ball in the glass cabinet.
"You have good taste. There is only one Dieger crystal ball in Shanghai. It is imported and very
cute. Look, this castle is called Neuschwanstein Castle, a very famous castle in Bavaria, Germany.
The prince and princess live in it, very happy. Look, it's spring now——"
The uncle turned his wrist and shook it, and the crystal ball was filled with snowflakes.
"Is it good? There's music too. Just turn it on and listen to Romance of Love. Isn't it romantic?"
"How much?" Jingsheng turned the crystal ball over and over in his hands, from spring to winter
and from winter to spring.
"Sixty-eight dollars."
"Cheaper."
"At least 60 yuan. There's nothing I can do about it. It's imported and the purchase price is
expensive. I can't even buy a cheap one from a street stall as a gift to my girlfriend, right?"
The wind chimes on the door of the boutique rang, and Jingsheng walked out holding a gift box
carefully wrapped in lavender paper. The uncle smiled and took out another brand new crystal
ball from the shelf behind him, tore off the 18-dollar price tag on the box, turned on the tape
recorder behind him, and sang the Carpenters' "Yesterday Once More" while shaking his head.
Jingsheng went to the flower shop next door. Hilton was indeed extraordinary. The white roses
that were sold for thirty cents a flower in the vegetable market became three yuan here. He
raised his eyebrows unconsciously.
The flower seller was a fashionable auntie with permed hair and flipped bangs, eyeliner and rose-
red lipstick. She greeted Jingsheng warmly.
"America?"
Jingsheng was stunned for a moment, then realized that she was talking about America, and
couldn't help but laugh: "Shanghaining."
"Ohhh, come to the Hilton for dinner?"
Jingsheng hummed casually.
"Should we eat at Tianfulou on the 39th floor, or at Leonardo da Vinci's Western restaurant?
Auntie, go to Nonggang, and the buffet at Liantian Pavilion is Wulingge."
Jingsheng stood in awe: "Thank you."
"Why are you being polite? I haven't eaten it before. My son told me." The aunt smiled proudly
and said, "My son is a formal contract worker at Hilton, so he is very fresh."
"Would you mind giving me a white rose?"
"Come and show off, do you want to wrap it up?"
Jingsheng said no, he paid the money, borrowed a pair of scissors, cut the white roses and stuck
them on the box.
"Oh, young man, old Lingge, send your daughter to your friend Ge?"
Jingsheng smiled and nodded.
Auntie smiled meaningfully: "Oh - specially come to Hilton to spend the night, Shedege."
Looking at the thumbs up from the aunt, Jingsheng thanked her awkwardly and prepared to
leave.
"Hey, hey, hey, Auntie, tell me, when you go out and turn left into the alley, there is a small door
with colorful glass panes, specializing in selling imported goods. Go and knock on the window, it's
Auntie Hao who will introduce the price, and there are discounts."
Jingsheng stopped.
"Absolutely great! Go ahead and take a look." The aunt smiled very kindly.
Jingsheng waited on the curb for another five minutes, but Si Jiang still didn't come. He turned
his head to look at the small alley next to him and walked in involuntarily.
The colorful glass window was very eye-catching and unique. Jingsheng knocked on the window,
and the small door with mottled red paint opened. A yawning young man with yellow curly hair
leaned out to look.
"Aunt Hao from the flower shop introduced it to me." Jingsheng raised the white rose in his hand
a little embarrassedly.
The man stepped aside halfway and straightened his baseball shirt: "Come in."
Jingsheng felt like he was meeting with an underground party member.
The curtains in the pavilion were tightly closed, blocking out all light. The bulb in the desk lamp
was only about 30 watts, casting a faint golden glow over the room.
The man opened a few drawers of the chest of drawers, took out a pack of Mont Blanc, smoked a
cigarette and lit it: "Would you like a cigarette?"
"Don't cut it, thank you."
"Privately, the first drawer has Japanese brand covers, and the ones below are American brands,
divided into different sizes. Take a look and see if you like them. No refunds if you buy them. The
ones below are white. I just received a set of ropes and two pairs of handcuffs yesterday. Feel
free to take a look."
When Jingsheng walked out of the alley, he felt a little dizzy, as if he had fallen into a magical
urban legend for no reason. He couldn't help but think of that window, that door, that person,
that room. Was everything just now real? Was the new world that he and Sijiang were about to
open the same world as the world that opened in that row of drawers? He seemed to have
opened a Pandora's box. Feeling goose bumps on his arms and back, Jingsheng turned around
and looked at Aunt Hao who was greeting customers in the flower shop. He couldn't figure out
what he had done to make her mistakenly think that he was an abnormal and indecent person.
And whether he was normal or not, Jingsheng was not sure.
A red beret suddenly appeared across the street, and Si Jiang's smiling face slowly got closer and
closer to him.
Jingsheng heard his own heartbeat, which was extremely irregular, like a drum hitting his
eardrum, with occasional missed beats. The whole world seemed to be still, and blood rushed up
and down in two directions at a very fast speed. He clenched the inky black plastic bag in his
hand and realized what Si Jiang said in the letter -
"Shame is a terrible thing that follows you everywhere."
"Are you impatient?" Si Jiang's cheeks were abnormally red. She waved her hand and fanned
them. "The formalities were quite convenient. Mrs. Brown's voucher was for a large suite. The
waiter took me everywhere to see the restaurant, the swimming pool, and the bar on the
rooftop. I was embarrassed to say no, so it took me quite a while."
Si Jiang lowered his head and asked: "Are we going in together or separately?"
"Let's go together." Jingsheng took Si Jiang's hand and strode across the street.
——
The bowing doorman, the smiling concierge, the foreigners coming and going in the hotel,
everyone in sight made Jingsheng and Sijiang feel nervous. The huge glass roof above the lobby
casts beautiful sunlight, which is too bright to be real. The long spiral staircase next to the sofa in
the cafe winds up, as if leading to heaven.
The two of them stopped in the sunlight and looked up at the sky above. Even though they had
been to Jinling Hotel and Kunlun Hotel in Beijing, they were still shocked at this moment. This
world and this city showed them a brand new side, which was completely different from
Wanchun Street. They were unfamiliar but not cold, because they believed that this place and
countless places like it would eventually become part of their lives in the future, just like Nanjing
Road, Huaihai Road and the Bund, and would even be replaced by something newer and better.
And this one day and one night that broke through the time track was just a gift from God.
In the elevator, Jingsheng was a little confused: "We don't need a letter of introduction to stay
here?"
Si Jiang actually asked the teacher to help him get a letter of introduction from the school in the
name of Mrs. Brown, but it was of no use.
"I didn't use it, so I used my student ID card," Si Jiang sighed as he watched the numbers change
steadily. "He didn't ask any questions. He was very enthusiastic, but not too enthusiastic at all."
"What's that in your hand?"
"A small gift for you," Jingsheng hid the plastic bag behind him, "I also bought some daily
necessities. I'll tell you later."
Si Jiang silently leaned towards him, but couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.
The luxurious suite was warm as spring. On the coffee table in the living room, there was an
exquisite fruit plate, a bottle of red wine was placed diagonally in a stainless steel bucket, and
outside the glass window was an unobstructed view of the city. The brick-red roof tiles were
shaded by greenery, the high-rise buildings that were built and unfinished were uneven, and the
yellow of Jing'an Temple was particularly eye-catching. The snow-white sheets in the bedroom
were ironed to perfection, and four pillows were stacked at the head of the bed, as if waiting for
guests to ravage and toss.
Si Jiang stood awkwardly in front of the glass window and looked down, sweating all over his
hands. He saw Jingsheng beside him starting to take off his jacket, and suddenly raised his head:
"Start now? It's still daylight!"
Jingsheng was startled, and suddenly relaxed a lot. He raised his hand and gently rubbed the tip
of Sijiang's nose, holding back a smile and asked, "Are you hot? The air conditioner is turned up
too high."
Si Jiang looked at the beads of sweat on his fingertips, grabbed the horn buttons on his coat with
both hands, breathed a sigh of relief, and then turned away at a loss: "Oh, it's a little hot."
No matter how bold the letter was, no matter how bold it was in the dark midnight, looking at
half the city under the sun, Si Jiang had the heart to steal but not the courage to steal. He
lowered his head and stared at the back of his hand, saying softly: "Gemme Wu also take off the
clothes--"
The light in front of her suddenly dimmed.
"I'll help you take it off." Jingsheng's slender and powerful fingers covered her hand: "I'll do it."
"Hey, just take off your sweater--" Si Jiang emphasized while biting his lip.
Jingsheng's fingers moved down to the second horn buckle and stopped: "What else do you think
I should take off?"
Si Jiang turned his face away and muttered two words in a low voice: "Rogue."
Jingsheng unbuttoned his shirt, took her hands and put them under his body, unbuttoned them
as if nothing had happened, and continued to unbutton his shirt: "Female hooligan."
Si Jiang retracted his hand as if burned by fire: "The curtains haven't been drawn yet!"
The woolen jacket was half taken off and tied up her arms, but she was pulled into his arms and
they were pressed tightly together.
"Gemnon, do you want to close the curtains before taking off your clothes, or do you want to
touch her again?"
Jingsheng's breath fanned over Sijiang's hot cheek, getting closer and closer.

Chapter 305
Si Jiang looked over Jingsheng's shoulder. On the roof of the old house on Yan'an Road, there
were pigeons circling, like a string of irregular ellipsis jumping on the blue curtain. She closed her
eyes and felt as if the whole city was watching her and Jingsheng's affair. She and he were so
insignificant, yet so important.
That night on Wanchun Street, there were only her and him in the world, but at this moment, she
and he owned the whole world.
Jingsheng's eyelashes fluttered gently on her cheeks. Because her eyes were closed, her senses
were magnified. The taste of herbal toothpaste and tobacco spread between her lips and tongue,
as well as the fresh scent of pine forest after the rain. Si Jiang had always been curious whether
people who grew up in the rainforest would be soaked in that smell, but Jingsheng herself
couldn't smell it.
Si Jiang was a little annoyed that she didn't brush her teeth before coming out. What did she eat
in the cafeteria at noon? She was distracted at the time, and now she couldn't remember
anything except stir-fried bean curd sheets with green vegetables.
"What do you want?" Jingsheng suddenly let go of her and asked resentfully.
Si Jiang opened her eyes and saw a face as beautiful as a peach, which was only three or five
centimeters away from her. She was startled and her lips were gently bitten.
"I think I didn't brush my teeth!" Si Jiang struggled, and she thought it was too funny. She blew a
breath at Jingsheng, "What do you mean?" Because she felt a slight stinging pain on her lip where
it was bitten, she licked her lower lip and glared at him, "Don't bite me anymore, it hurts."
One word was hooked after another, and the last ending sound was like the hook of a scorpion's
tail, hooking into Jingsheng's ears, making his heart numb.
"Don't be so nagging," Jingsheng narrowed his eyes and frowned, "It's rice, I wasn't paying
attention just now, let me try it again--"
Si Jiang's lowered eyelids fluttered like butterfly wings twice, and then stopped obediently under
her eyelids. She tilted her face slightly, and the blue veins under her snow-white skin were clearly
visible, as if inviting him to bite her.
The kiss came so fast and roughly that Si Jiang couldn't even stand steadily. He was forced to take
two steps back. His knees hit the chaise longue in front of the window and he fell down.
A scream was drowned out by Jingsheng's lips and tongue.
Si Jiang punched him twice in a daze, and what followed was a violent storm of licking, sucking,
rubbing and scraping.
I'm going to be eaten by her - Si Jiang thought of this when he was extremely short of oxygen.
After a long time, the two separated breathlessly. Jingsheng half-raised himself, the blush in the
corners of his eyes deepening, his lips wet.
"Don't worry, let's do it now?" Jingsheng turned his head and looked at the city outside the glass
window. "Draw the curtains?"
Si Jiang regained consciousness from his daze, freed his arms from his coat, and let out a long
sigh: "Ah - you almost crushed Sewu!"
Jingsheng smiled, bent down and kissed the tip of her nose, then jumped up to draw the curtains.
Si Jiang hid his face, listened to the rustling of the curtains, and his heart was beating wildly. The
room gradually darkened. The floor lamp "clicked" on.
"I want to take a shower first." Si Jiang propped himself up and sat up.
"Together." Jingsheng strode towards her, unbuttoning his shirt as he walked.
Si Jiang was so embarrassed that he kicked him: "You rascal, who wants to take a shower with
you!"
Jingsheng grabbed her feet, put them under his body and pressed them, then knelt in front of the
chaise longue and pulled her into his arms. His eyes were so scorching that Si Jiang felt as if a hole
had been burned through him.
"I want to see you, and I want you to see me," Jingsheng said without any shame. "It was pitch
dark last time, so I couldn't see clearly."
"Look at yourself, you look good."
"But the scar on my leg is a bit ugly and a bit scary to touch."
Si Jiang sat on his waist, and when he heard this, he raised his head and bit his chin: "Nonsense,
it's not ugly, I'm not afraid, I see it every day in the summer."
The two looked at each other for a moment, and Jingsheng helped her stand up and walked
straight to the bathroom.
——
As dusk falls and twilight gradually gathers, the lovers have no idea of the passage of time.
"Romance of Love" was played on an endless loop. The crystal ball slid down from the bedside,
and was heated by the hot body. Amid the suppressed laughter, it was fished out by a big hand,
and pushed to the side of the bed. It swayed with the waves for a few times and rolled back into
the depression. It was pushed away again and fell on the carpet and rolled a few times.
"It fell down—"
"Don't mind her."
Snowflakes fluttered and fell in the sphere. The crystal ball quietly stared at the tireless young
man on the bed. Compared with the crushed white roses, it was still lucky.
How wonderful it is to be young, from shy to fully open, from bud to bloom, from unfamiliar to
familiar, only sweat can bear witness to it.
Everything went unexpectedly smoothly, perhaps thanks to the struggle for every inch of land in
the bathroom, or perhaps thanks to the secret weapon in the black plastic bag. Jingsheng had no
time to sum up his experience. He used his body to pay tribute to his most beloved warrior. He
expanded the territory and kissed every inch and every point he saw. He conquered and was
conquered, worshipped and was worshipped, possessed and was possessed. The journey was too
magical. No matter how hard he struggled, it seemed like a fish entering the sea with no end.
The music from the crystal ball suddenly became out of tune.
Si Jiang opened his eyes dazedly: "What's wrong?"
Jingsheng leaned forward and fished out the crystal ball: "It seems to be out of power."
"what time is it?"
Jingsheng turned off the music, shook the crystal ball and placed it on the bedside table, then
took his watch and took a look at it.
"Nine o'clock."
Si Jiang pulled up the quilt and sighed: "The crystal ball is out of power, but Nong Wei Sa still has
power——"
Jingsheng smiled and dug her out from under the quilt: "Come out, go take a shower."
Si Jiang lazily slapped his hand away and muttered, "Will this be another wasted trip?"
"I don't know." Jingsheng threw back the quilt, jumped out of bed and stretched his body.
Turning his head, he saw that Si Jiang had indeed hidden himself in the quilt again. "Don't you like
taking a bath in the bathtub? I'll go fill the water first."
Si Jiang groaned. Why was he the one who moved, but she was the one who was exhausted? She
didn't feel this tired even after running 800 meters. She curled herself up into a ball, closed her
eyes, and filled a bathtub with water. It would take at least ten minutes. She would just close her
eyes for a while. She still wanted to soak in the bathtub. Today was the first time in her life that
she had soaked in a bathtub. The feeling of half floating in the hot water was so comfortable...
When he opened his eyes again, for a moment Si Jiang thought he was on the bed in the attic of
his home. Only when he found himself naked did he remember where he was.
"Awake?" Jingsheng stood up from the single sofa.
"Did I fall asleep just now?" Si Jiang shyly retracted his outstretched arm.
"You are often like this." Jingsheng squatted beside the bed, staring at her intently, his eyes full of
smiles and love.
Si Jiang couldn't help but cover his eyes: "Don't look, I'm going to get up and put on my clothes."
Jingsheng pulled her hand off, put it to his lips and bit it gently, then laughed out loud: "It's
possible that this trip is in vain——"
Si Jiang put the quilt in his hand over his head: "Don't move or look!"
"What do you have that I haven't seen?" The quilt rustled, but it was not opened at all. Jingsheng
reached out from under the quilt and pretended to scoop up two handfuls, then squatted
obediently by the bed and waited.
Si Jiang hurriedly put on the denim skirt. It was actually not difficult to take off, but it was really
difficult to put on.
"Are you dressed?"
"Not yet, don't peek!"
"I will help you——"
"No."
Jingsheng wrapped himself in a blanket and fell on the bed, laughing. Si Jiang kicked him: "Still
laughing? Well, I'm starving, let's go out and eat something."
Jingsheng poked his head out from under the quilt and asked lazily, "Where can I go to eat at one
in the middle of the night in Shanghai?"
"One o'clock?!" Si Jiang was dumbfounded, "Why didn't you call me?"
"I can't bear to let you go," Jingsheng looked at her and smiled, "You sleep like a pig. This
opportunity is so rare. Tsk tsk tsk, I can do whatever I want with you—"
A pillow hit him on the head with a bang.
"Aren't you hungry? Are you stupid? Really!" Si Jiang was angry and amused.
Jingsheng hugged the pillow: "Of course I'm not stupid, I've already eaten."
Another pillow hit him with a "bang". The laughter was gone, and only anger remained. Si Jiang
was so angry that his nose was sore. He knelt on Jingsheng's back and punched him seven or
eight times in a row, feeling very aggrieved: "You actually only care about your own food! I work
so hard, I'm exhausted, and I'm starving to death-"
Jingsheng laughed so hard that he bent over, and he carried her on his back: "You can continue to
eat me."
"You hooligan, get out of my face!" Si Jiang pulled his hair a few times, still not satisfied, and bit
Jingsheng's ear.
Jingsheng carried her out of the room. The three white plates on the coffee table were covered
with stainless steel plate covers, but the fragrance could not be covered.
"Alannan, you have worked so hard. Come, let me treat you to a big meal." Jingsheng put Si Jiang
down.
Si Jiang was stunned for a moment: "Did you order food from the hotel?"
"Well, I was planning to go out and buy it, but then I thought what if you woke up and couldn't
find me, so I called for room service. It was quite convenient. The waiter even heated it up at
twelve o'clock. The taste is probably a little worse than before. You can try the rice. I saw on the
menu that it's Italian food," Jingsheng opened the lid of the stainless steel plate with great
interest. "This is the beef shank with risotto recommended by the waiter. He said it's a signature
dish. And this is pasta. There's not much pasta, but the shrimps are quite big. And this one is
called tira - tira sou, this one can't be heated up. Which one do you want to eat first?"
"Gu Jingsheng - the food in the hotel is very expensive, very expensive, have you seen the price
list?"
"Look, compared to the price of this room for a night, it's just a fraction of the price," Jingsheng
took the knife and fork out of the napkin and stuffed it into Si Jiang's hand: "Eat quickly, you've
already ordered it, and it's impossible to refund, so enjoy your meal."
"Fool!"
"Silly girl."
"Have you eaten yet?"
"Bread, free, no need to pay, rice is good, I wanted to eat one first, but I accidentally ate all of
them——" Jingsheng poured out two glasses of wine and sat on the floor with his long legs
spread out, "I thought that bread can't be that expensive, so I wanted to buy two more for you,
but I didn't expect the waiter to bring another basket. If it's not enough, you can ask for more."
He lifted the tablecloth from a wicker basket, revealing a basket full of bread. Si Jiang took a look
and was amazed to see that there were four or five different varieties.
Jingsheng touched the tip of his nose, a little embarrassed: "This is the third basket sent--"
Si Jiang couldn't help laughing: "So you are full after eating other people's free bread?"
Jingsheng leaned closer and whispered, "I ate you anyway."
A round bun was stuffed into Jingsheng's mouth. Si Jiang blushed and raised the stainless steel
fork in his left hand: "Warning!"
Jingsheng bit off half a piece of bread and chewed it with relish: "Keep him in bed for
observation?"
"Gu Jingsheng!"
"arrive!"
"If you behave like a hooligan again, you won't be allowed to do that again."
Jingsheng's eyes lit up: "Eat quickly, seize the time, make more times, spread the cost."
Si Jiang put a fork on his knee: "It's gone! Don't even think about it!"
Jingsheng hissed twice and rolled up his trouser legs to show Si Jiang: "Adding injury to injury,
look at it."
Si Jiang almost choked on the spaghetti. He looked closely at it several times and was very
confused: "Did I fork it out?"
Jingsheng frowned and shook his head.
"What's going on? Everything was fine here in the afternoon..." Si Jiang couldn't figure it out.
"Forget it. I'll tell you that you're not going to accuse me of being a hooligan again." Jingsheng
raised his eyelids and sighed softly.
"Hurry up and tell me," Si Jiang stuffed a mouthful of beef into his mouth, "If you tell me, you can
come again."
Jingsheng blinked and stretched out his little finger while chewing the beef.
Si Jiang suppressed his laughter and made a pinky promise with him: "Pink and hang yourself, and
we will not change for a hundred years."
Jing Sheng took a sip of wine slowly, rolled up his trouser legs a little more, turned around and
pointed at the big bed in the room: "The sheets are too new and worn out."
Si Jiang was stunned for a few seconds before he came back to his senses. With a red face, he
pressed the two plates on Jingsheng's knees. The word "hooligan" is definitely not enough!

Chapter 306
Si Jiang used a bathtub for the first time in his life.
The moment you step into the bathtub, it's like stepping into another world. In addition to the
expectation, Si Jiang was also a little scared and suspicious. She had seen a bathtub twice, once
when she was a child in the small western-style building in the garrison headquarters. Shan Rang
led her to the bathroom upstairs. A white bathtub lay quietly on the mosaic floor tiles, and the
glass window was covered with tiles. The black iron bars were divided into four identical
rectangles, and the frosted glass was melted into pale gold by the setting sun. She noticed that
there was a faint faded yellow on the edge of the inside of the bathtub, like the crab shell yellow
sold at the entrance of the elementary school, the color was closer to the edge. The lighter it
becomes, but it will never turn white. Another time was at a party in Yugu Village. The Fang
family’s bathtub was as white as snow, with residual water drops hanging on the faucet. Fragrant
soap and shampoo and conditioner were neatly placed on the other end against the black and
white tiles. There were also other things outside the bathtub. A fluffy small carpet was laid out.
The hair on the carpet obviously went along the way. Si Jiang deliberately avoided the carpet
when he went in and out.
The bathtub in the hotel suite was completely different from the other two. It reminded Si Jiang
of a giant shell in the deep sea. The water in the white bathtub was a little green, like a shallow
sea. Si Jiang scooped up some water, and the water in his hand was clearly colorless, which was
really strange. She was a little nervous. When she sat down, as soon as she stretched her legs, the
buoyancy pushed her forward, and half of her body floated out of the water, and she almost
choked on the water.
Her hair floated in front of her chest like seaweed. Si Jiang picked up the ends of her hair, twisted
it twice, and threw it behind her. Her chest was immersed in the water, and it seemed to have
grown a lot. Si Jiang straightened her back unnaturally, revealing some spots of red marks. Her
face felt hot, and she quickly bent down again, shaking out circles of ripples. She drew up her
knees, closed her eyes, immersed her face in the water, blew a few bubbles in the water, and
suddenly felt as if water was flowing in. She was so scared that she stood up suddenly holding the
edge of the bathtub.
When Jingsheng pushed the door open and came in, he saw Si Jiang standing in the bathtub with
his head down, doing horse stance up and down, no one knew what he was doing.
Si Jiang raised his head and sat back in the water in panic, making so much noise that a lot of
water splashed.
"What are you doing?" Jing Chang took a step forward and stepped into the bathtub.
Si Jiang tucked his legs in to cover his chest and tried to keep his eyes fixed on Jingsheng's face:
"No."
Jingsheng's mouth curled up and he stretched out his hand to her: "Come over here."
Si Jiang grabbed his feet and said, "Stop."
Jingsheng smiled and leaned over, picked up the curled-up girl, turned her around and placed her
in front of him, then breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's great. Let's get a bathtub for you and take a bath together every day." Jingsheng retracted
his arms and pulled Si Jiang, who was leaning forward shyly, into his arms. She immediately
floated up and hugged Jingsheng's arms tightly in fear, her long legs kicking around in the water.
Jingsheng couldn't help laughing. He hugged her and made her sit still: "Why are you hiding?"
Si Jiang pulled Jingsheng's fingers and said, "Let go. It hurts a little."
Jingsheng exclaimed, took a closer look, and felt very guilty: "I did bite off a piece--" Then he
lowered his head and licked it lightly. Si Jiang felt like he had also turned into water, hummed
twice, completely gave up resistance, closed his eyes, and fell softly into his arms.
The hands that did the evil deeds were gently gathering, rubbing, and then lifting up under the
water, causing the spring water to be wrinkled even without wind, and ripples to appear
continuously.
Si Jiang trembled a few times like a fish out of water, uttered a cry, and fell weakly back into the
water, landing in Jingsheng's arms. She was quickly carried out of the bathtub and wrapped in a
soft bath towel.
——
Si Jiang wrapped in a bathrobe and pulled open the curtains a little. The sky was pitch black. After
taking a bath, her body felt extremely tired as if she had traveled thousands of miles, but her
spirit was extremely excited. She opened the black plastic bag on the coffee table and said
nothing. There were about seven or eight boxes of condoms in it, some in boxes of three, some in
boxes of ten. She didn't know when they would be used. There was also a bottle of lubricant that
had been very useful before. Si Jiang took it out and shook it. She didn't know whether it was
water or oil, but the quality was quite reliable. After she applied the ointment, she only felt a
little swelling, which was a far cry from the burning pain last time.
Under the black plastic bag, there were a few thin pieces of paper. Si Jiang pulled them out and
found that it was indeed "Girl's Heart".
Jingsheng started to fill the bathtub with hot water again, thinking that the hotel would cost a lot
of money for water and electricity for a day and a night, so it was understandable that they
charged such an expensive room rate. While carefully checking if there were any items in the
bathroom that he could take away tomorrow, he casually looked at himself in the mirror. The skin
that was soaked in hot water was a little red, and there seemed to be two rice-sized teeth marks
on his Adam's apple. Jingsheng took a closer look and couldn't imagine when Si Jiang had bitten
him like this. She was very shy when she was shy, but very bold when she was bold. She bit his
chest on purpose to even things out.
He walked out of the bathroom carrying a hair dryer and a dry towel, and saw Si Jiang lying on
the bed reading a manuscript. He plugged in the plug and turned Si Jiang over: "Come here, blow
dry your hair."
Si Jiangyang lay on his knees and laughed: "How can this be yellow?"
Jingsheng combed her long hair out and spread it all over himself: "Well, I heard that someone
was sentenced for watching this a long time ago."
"Hey, do you remember the year when the eldest aunt had the accident?"
"83."
"That year, I heard that a couple in Yangpu District were caught and sentenced for watching
pornographic videos at home," Si Jiang glanced at the tent bulging out of Jingsheng's waist and
gently tapped the papers in his hand, "Do you want to lie again?"
"I miss you," Jingsheng said bluntly, "Once you come, you are new; twice you come, you are
familiar; three or four times, you are the same quilt."
Si Jiang's eyes widened: "I have never heard the last sentence!"
Jingsheng laughed and gently rubbed her scalp with his fingers: "How come you are a bystander
three or four times?"
Si Jiang threw away the pornographic novel that was just for show and rubbed his legs
comfortably: "Friends can also."
"A quilt would be fine too."
As the two talked, they finally rolled into one quilt.
Young people seem to have endless physical strength. After getting used to it, they become more
and more reckless. Jingsheng was annoyed that he had only used one posture before. He tossed
Sijiang over and over like a pancake, and he didn't forget to discuss it. Is it comfortable? Which
one can be more comfortable? Light or heavy? Shallow or deep... In order to build a database, he
polished his lips and was hit by Sijiang with a pillow many times, but he didn't give up. After three
or four times, he became good friends. He summarized the most effective set of methods based
on user survey data, and finally got into the groove, breaking through the double-digit time, and
became like a fish in water.
Jingsheng leaned over and held her tightly in his arms, cautiously, almost tenderly begging her to
stay. The burning desire and impulse did not subside, but a trembling emotion surged in his
heart. He was completely in her body, they became one, as if the world had truly connected with
him through her at this moment, and he was no longer alone.
"Nannan, Nannan, it's so nice--" Jingsheng kept kissing Si Jiang's forehead, nose, lips, chin, neck,
collarbone and earlobes. He was a little anxious that even kissing could not express his feelings.
He could only persist in squeezing himself into her body, wanting to nail her to himself in an
almost childish and ridiculous way.
His mindless and frantic enthusiasm and flattery infected Si Jiang, and the pain turned into a
secret sense of happiness, as if only the pain could prove her love for him. Si Jiang kissed Jing
Sheng back tenderly, her lips brushing the slightly wet corners of his eyes, which tasted salty. She
couldn't help crying too.
"Gu Jingsheng, Gu Jingsheng, Jingsheng——" She called his name over and over again without
getting tired of it. She closed her eyes, and the subtle pleasure derived from the pain wandered
vaguely, intermittently, without any warning, unpredictable, like a spark of fire scattered and
irregular, without any rules. She felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff but didn't know
when she would fall. She was so lost and had no place to rely on. She could only concentrate all
her senses to catch the spark. The more she waited, the more anxious she became. She vaguely
knew what would happen next, but she didn't dare to try. This passive waiting was too
tormenting, attached with unspeakable grievances. She wanted to squeeze into his body and
become a part of active control.
As the movements became more and more rapid and violent, the tiny sparks finally appeared
more and more frequently, washing over her sensitive parts. She had to hold her breath and wait
for the verdict in both anticipation and fear.
"It's coming." Jingsheng's murmur was accompanied by a trembling sound of gnashing teeth. The
sound passed from her eardrums through her skull and into every blood vessel in her body. It was
unbearable.
The sparks spread like wildfire. Si Jiang could clearly feel that she was being pushed up into the
void by the vortex that swept her whole body, higher and higher. All her consciousness was
reduced to one thought: she must jump over the end of the darkness. She even lost the
perception of her own and Jingsheng's bodies. A "she" who was not her was climbing that peak
alone in the universe without any weight. When she finally crossed over, Si Jiang's mind was
blank. The end of the void was still void. Her soul gradually returned to her body. Si Jiang had no
idea how long it had been since then. Maybe it was three to five seconds, maybe it was more
than ten seconds. She hugged Jingsheng tightly, and the majestic afterglow filled her. It couldn't
be more beautiful.
Jingsheng propped himself up and looked at the tearful little girl with great enthusiasm. This
extremely perfect ending couldn't be better.
——
The sky gradually brightens and a new day arrives.

Chapter 307
Human memory is very strange. Some things will be forgotten for no reason, while others will be
engraved in our minds. Different people may remember the same thing in completely different
ways.
Many years later, Si Jiang returned to Hilton and booked this suite. It can be seen that the hotel
has been carefully maintained. The fresh fruits, flowers and greeting cards on the coffee table are
still thoughtful and meticulous, but the damaged table legs in the dark, the half-worn carpet and
the dark waterproof glue in the bathroom all show the marks of time. Outside the huge glass
window, the dark orange-red Shikumen roofs are still continuous, the Yan'an Road elevated road
is like a swimming dragon, and blue and red neon strips are lit at night. The magnificent Jing'an
Temple makes people feel that it is not a Buddhist holy place but a luxurious palace. The Jiuguang
Department Store, which is most loved by Shanghai people, has long replaced the Ninth People's
Department Store and stands opposite Jing'an Park. Si Jiang sat in front of the window with her
knees hugged for a night, thinking back to her and Jingsheng many years ago. If she had known
that they would part later or even that they might never see each other again in this life, what
would she do? Probably she would never waste time on sleeping.
Jingsheng did not sleep that night. At dawn, he was so sleepy that he took a nap. When he woke
up, he thought he had slept for less than a minute. In fact, he did not sleep for more than a
minute. The electronic clock on the bedside changed from six-eighteen to six-nineteen. He
couldn't bear to sleep. To him, time seemed to have only started counting last night, and every
minute and second was so precious. Si Jiang was sleeping soundly with her back to him. Her
sleeping posture was very obedient, with her knees bent, one hand resting on her waist, and the
other holding her cheek. Her cheeks were slightly bulging, and her lips were pressed. He formed
an inconspicuous oval and snored gently.
Jingsheng buried his face in her hair, took a deep breath, and reached out to hold her closer, but
no matter how close he got, no matter how much he kissed, it was never enough. He seemed to
be suffering from thirst. He remembered a novel that Sijiang had read to him with a smile. The
heroine wore a green glass raincoat and was compared to a medicine bottle by the hero, who
said she was the medicine to cure him. At that time, he thought the man was a little too
ridiculous and crazy, but now he felt that the metaphor couldn't be more appropriate.
Si Jiang quoted Neruda's poems in a recent letter. She loves poetry, novels and dramas, and has
copied those words in thick notebooks since she was a child. She often says that her vocabulary is
too scarce, but she doesn't know that she is the most moving poem and song.
“We even lost the color of dusk.
No one saw us holding hands as the blue night fell on the world.
From my window I have seen the sunset festival on the distant mountain tops.
Sometimes a piece of sun burns like a coin between my palms.
In my sorrow, which you know so well, I remember you, and my soul is silent."
Jingsheng was deeply impressed by this poem. I recalled you, and my soul was solemn.
——
Happy times always pass quickly. Si Jiang checked out of the hotel and went to Huashan
Restaurant for lunch with Jingsheng. They had shrimp wontons and bamboo shoots and pork
steamed dumplings as usual. Spring bamboo shoots were a fresh commodity. They had also done
two intense exercises in the morning and missed the legendary rich buffet. They were so hungry
that they ordered four baskets of steamed dumplings and still felt unsatisfied.
When we got back to Wanchun Street, the house was quiet. There was food covered in a sarong
on the table, Grandma Gu was taking a nap, and Si Hao and Si Nanye went to the newly opened
electronic game city at the entrance of Xigong to play video games. Jingsheng washed the clothes
he had taken off, Si Jiang peeled two apples, and imitated Shanren's way of making a pot of milk
tea.
When Granny Gu got up, she saw the two little Nings hanging clothes and chatting and laughing.
Jingsheng held the long clothesline high and stretched it out. Si Jiang held up the long and heavy
denim skirt and let it out of the window. Half of his body was leaning out, and Jingsheng grabbed
his arm. Si Jiang turned around and smiled at him. Granny Gu felt that there seemed to be
something different between the two enemies, but after looking at it again, it seemed that there
was nothing. She coughed twice, and Si Jiang smiled and stood up on the windowsill: "Grandma,
my brother and I bought five baskets of bamboo shoots and pork steamed dumplings."
"That's great. Xiao Lu is coming to eat tonight. Your uncle will go to her place today and ask them
to bring two baskets over for breakfast tomorrow morning," Grandma Gu smiled as she chatted
with Jingsheng about the price of spring bamboo shoots at the small vegetable market.
From that day on, every weekend, Jingsheng and Sijiang became thieves, specializing in stealing.
The young men who had tasted the forbidden fruit for the first time, enjoyed the taste, and when
they found an opportunity, they couldn't help but squeeze into each other's bodies and become a
part of each other, because the sneaking added a lot of excitement. It was probably related to the
arrival of spring. The road was full of light fluff, wild cats were screaming at night, and it seemed
that aphrodisiacs were floating in the air, making people's blood boil and their hearts panic.
During the six days when they could not see each other, they wrote letters to express their
longing for each other. Sijiang's letters were particularly straightforward and bold. She was almost
eager to share a brand new Chen Sijiang with Jingsheng. She disagreed with Byron's statement
that love was just a pastime in a man's life, but it was the life of a woman. However, she agreed
with Nietzsche's statement that love was a belief of a woman. She was happy to see Jingsheng
get her love. She was not worried about gains and losses, and she was not worried about
whether Jingsheng would meet someone who could attract him on campus. She could feel his
wholehearted love and dedication.
"I don't think I need to dream through your eyes, because love doesn't make my self nihilistic. It's
really a strange process. I have also imagined losing myself, clinging to you, becoming a part of
you like when we make love, maybe the rib you lost, but every time I separate from you, I feel
that the "self" is more complete and stronger, and even the world seems to be more beautiful
than before. I even begin to understand my parents. If a couple can't love each other as
completely as we do, on what principles will they deal with so many practical problems in
marriage? They gave themselves and lost themselves, but they didn't get each other at all. They
are always lonely. If I have to experience this cruel loneliness, I would rather experience it alone.
At least in my heart, you are with me. All of this is for only one reason, you have been giving me."
Jingsheng could fully understand what Sijiang was saying, but he always felt that he could not
express his inner thoughts on paper. For him, many words were too weak and corny, and he was
unwilling to show his weakness in front of Sijiang. Did he lose himself? He didn't think so. Like
Sijiang, he had a grateful attitude towards the outside world. He would imagine that the tired and
irritable bus conductor, the cyclists who quarreled and cursed because of the collision, and the
waiters who rolled their eyes in the state-owned restaurant might have encountered bad things
in their boring lives. Such a flash of sympathy became the norm, accompanied by the
unspeakable survivor's feeling of "they must not have had such a perfect love as me and
Nannan", which made his whole temperament very different from the past. His roommate from
Yunnan commented: "Gu Jingsheng, you look like you have eaten poisonous mushrooms every
day, with a face of ecstasy." Jingsheng laughed. He had eaten poisonous mushrooms and was
indeed a little ecstatic. At that time, he felt that he had become a big colorful mushroom, very
soft, and the whole world was colorful. Yes, now his world is colorful and soft, and his daughter is
his poisonous mushroom.
——
This year's spring seemed to pass very slowly, yet also very quickly. The plum rain season had
arrived in Shanghai.
This spring only remains in people's memories, and because everyone's memories are different,
after gradually fading, it is infinitely close to non-existence.
In 2011, Si Jiang and Jing Sheng went to the Beijing Bird's Nest to watch the Rolling Stones' 30th
anniversary concert, where the finale was "Descendants of the Dragon." Si Jiang suddenly
remembered that he had met □□ with Tang Zenian, but of course he would not have any
impression of her.
"Do you still remember him?" Si Jiang asked Jingsheng with emotion after the concert.
"I have some impression of the name, but I don't remember it very well."
"Well, it was so chaotic at that time. I didn't expect that he would be able to come back and
perform on stage." Si Jiang sighed.
"Times have changed..." Jingsheng pondered for a moment, "Didn't Tang Zenian and Li Nan come
back?"
Si Jiang was stunned. These two names had been far away from her life for a long time. She didn't
go to the high school reunion last year. Zhang Leyi called her and angrily scolded them.
"Well, if she hadn't desperately asked you to persuade Tang Zenian to come back, you wouldn't
have gone to Beijing. If you hadn't gone to Beijing, Gu Jingsheng wouldn't have looked for you,
and he definitely wouldn't have been expelled. Tang Zenian's mother must have done something
to get revenge! So many people went, all of us in the dormitory went, it would be a waste not to
take the free train, and when he comes back, he just needs to write a self-examination and
everything will be fine, right? Why is he the only one who got into trouble? Who hasn't missed a
month or two of classes?"
"Something happened to the people who went to persuade him to come back, but the two of
them just ran off to France to live a happy life. How shameless! They even had the nerve to come
to the class reunion and ask about Nongge's news. I really want to pour a glass of wine on their
faces!" Zhang Leyi was always so excited that tears welled up in her eyes, even more excited than
Bi Sijiang.
Did Si Jiang blame Li Nan? She did, but the final decision was made by herself, and she should
blame herself the most. She thought that Jingsheng and she owed Tang Zenian for the
myocarditis. She should do something at the most critical moment of his life. This was just one of
the reasons. Wasn't she also passionate about wanting to be a part of changing history? But did
she do anything? She didn't. She hesitated, she was silent, she didn't know what was right and
what was wrong. Because of this, she had no position to vent her anger on them. She could only
blame herself. Because if it weren't for her impulsiveness and self-righteousness, Jingsheng
would not have been expelled from school. But her uncles and Jingsheng didn't allow her to feel
guilty, so she blamed herself more and more. Did the heavy guilt and self-blame like a mountain
make her lose herself, so that she didn't know anything when Jingsheng needed her the most?
Every time she thought of this, Si Jiang couldn't help but burst into tears.
Youth is beautiful, but it can also be extremely cruel. You never know what consequences your
words and actions will lead to, whose fate will be changed, and what price you will pay.
After many years, everything gradually faded away. Although he asked many times, Si Jiang
couldn't help but hold Jingsheng's hand tightly: "How did you find me at that time? So many
people - my uncle and aunt couldn't find me."
Jingsheng took her hand and bit it gently: "Because you want me to find you."
——
In Chen Sinan's memory, that spring was chaotic, chaotic and irritable. They saw the passionate
Tang Zenian on TV, and the elder sister's eyes sparkled. The eldest cousin looked at the elder
sister with worry. The younger uncle called home every day to remind them not to go anywhere
except school and home. Mom called several times from Urumqi, but it was not enough. She sent
a telegram: "If you dare to participate, I will break your legs!!!" She even added three
exclamation marks, and Sinan was really surprised. Only Sihao didn't think anything. He was just
curious that the original dog-skin plaster on the telephone pole was covered by red, green,
yellow, blue and other things that he couldn't understand.
Every day, the school gate was crowded with students from different schools, shouting for them
to get out. The students watched the fun with laughter and discussed whether to have pork chop
noodles or beef noodles for lunch.
Sinan remembered that he was curious and squeezed at the window to watch the fun: "Is H
Normal University here? I wonder if my sister will come, hahahaha. What's the point of walking
to the Bund? It's so tiring, and I don't get paid."
Suddenly one day, students from an unknown class rushed downstairs.
"Ah, my sister-in-law! She is pregnant!" Tang Huan screamed in horror and pushed through the
crowd to run out.
Sinan saw Teacher Fang and several other teachers holding hands and blocking the big iron gate,
shouting at the top of their lungs, but no one could hear what they were saying. She quickly ran
after them.
Tang Huan couldn't squeeze in at all. The road outside was already blocked, and buses and cars
were honking their horns in vain. Si Nan finally squeezed in, and saw Teacher Fang suddenly
kneeling down in front of the students.
The shouting inside and outside the iron gate gradually became lighter.
Tang Huan cried and shouted: "Have you had enough? Teacher Fang is pregnant!"
Sinan doesn't quite remember the details of what happened afterwards. Although Teacher Fang
said with a wry smile that she had softened because she really had no strength left, there is no
doubt that she did a great thing and saved all the school leaders. Except for a very few students
who missed classes for many days and never returned to school, all other students entered the
final examination stage safely, especially that class of senior students, who did not even need to
write a single examination and all took the college entrance examination smoothly.
Sinan still remembers that first, her elder sister suddenly left a letter and disappeared, and then
her eldest cousin also left a letter and disappeared. When they came back together, the rainy
season had already started for several days. Her elder sister was writing self-examinations every
day, but her eldest cousin received a notice of expulsion from school, and her elder sister spoke
less and less every day.

Chapter 308
The rainy season ended in late July, and the weather got hotter day by day. During the summer
vacation, Jingsheng rushed to take over the stall on Huating Road, leaving early and returning late
every day. After the new campus of the American School in Shanghai was built, thanks to Mrs.
Brown's introduction, Si Jiang easily took three Chinese tutoring jobs, all of which started in July.
She was learning French as her second foreign language, and she was going to make up for the
two months of missed classes. By the way, she also signed up for a Japanese class at the Qianjin
Night School, so she was very busy.
Gu Dongwen took a break at home and took over the cooking again. Sinan and Sihao fought with
each other every day. Although Sihao was defeated repeatedly, he relied on his superiors to fight
again and again. That evening, in order to grab the TV remote control, Chen Sihao spilled a bowl
of iced green bean soup on the newspapers and letters on the dining table. Chen Sinan kicked her
butt several times, and ran out with tears in her face to seek comfort from her mother.
Si Nan saw that several letters were soaked through, so she simply opened them all. One was
from her aunt-in-law to her elder sister. It was a three-page long letter. She was in a cold war with
Si Jiang, so she curled her lips and threw it aside. There was another letter also written to Si Jiang.
It looked like it was from her high school classmate. Si Nan quickly scanned a few lines and
thought it was a love letter, so she threw it aside. She thought that she should inform her eldest
cousin later to be careful of being poached. The last letter was from Jiaotong University, but it
was the school notifying Gu Jingsheng, who had dropped out, to return to school to collect part
of his tuition and miscellaneous fees.
Sinan was struck by a bolt of lightning. She read the page over and over again to make sure that
she had not read the word "drop out" wrongly, then ran to the pavilion in her slippers.
Gu Dongwen read the letter, his brows twisted into a frown, and he crushed a pack of cigarettes
into powder in his hands, with the tobacco shreds all over the floor.
At night, after dinner, Grandma Gu went outside to enjoy the cool breeze. Gu Dongwen spread
out the letter and asked Jingsheng what was going on.
Jingsheng was silent for a moment and then admitted: "Yes, I dropped out of school."
Si Jiang snatched the letter in disbelief and read it again and again. He felt as if a stone had
punched a hole through him. He felt cold all over and a fire was burning in his heart: "Is it
because of that thing? Isn't it okay to write an apology? I'm going to go find your school!"
Jingsheng held down Sijiang's hand: "It has nothing to do with that matter, and it has nothing to
do with you either, so don't worry about it."
"It has nothing to do with me! You came to find me! You didn't do anything! Is it illegal to find
someone?!" Si Jiang was so excited that his eyes were blurred with tears and his whole body was
shaking.
"You'll be expelled if you skip classes." Jingsheng stood up and wrung out a cold towel to cover Si
Jiang's face.
"I don't want to go on anymore. It's none of your business. Don't cry."
Si Nan ran down from the attic, grabbed Si Jiang and walked out: "Come out, I have something to
tell you!"
"Nannan, wait a minute, my brother and uncle have something important to discuss—"
"What are you waiting for! Waiting for you to go crazy again and harm your cousin again?!" Si
Nan angrily shook off Si Jiang's hand and roared.
Si Jiang's hand slammed against the edge of the table and he winced in pain.
"Chen Sinan! What's wrong with you?" Jingsheng stood up suddenly, slapped Sinan's arm away,
glared at her, and pulled Sijiang's hand to check, "Does it hurt?"
Si Jiang endured the pain and shook his head, saying it was okay.
Si Nan looked at the red fingerprints on his arm and became furious. He rushed over and
punched Jingsheng's arm several times: "Gu Jingsheng, you hit me? Are you sick? It was Chen
Sijiang who caused you to be expelled from school. Do you have a brain? You are a student at
Jiaotong University! You want to be an engineer in the future!"
"I told you it's none of your sister's business! Do you have ears to listen to what others say?"
Jingsheng shouted harshly, grabbing Sinan's fist and pressing it down.
"Chen Sijiang——! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" Si Nan stamped his feet and burst into
tears. "You are crazy! What does Tang Zenian have to do with you? Should you go find him? Have
you ever thought about your eldest cousin?! Who do you think of him? Do you have a
conscience? Your eldest cousin is so good to you, and you hurt him like this. You take advantage
of his love for you and do whatever you want. I hate you to death. I want to take my eldest cousin
back! What I regret most is giving him to you!"
Si Jiang stared at Si Nan in a daze.
Jing was so angry that he laughed: "I am a thing? You can give it to me if you want? You can take
it back if you want? Chen Sinan, I warn you——"
"Don't warn me, don't warn me. I won't say it anymore! I won't say it anymore - I won't say it
anymore, okay?" Sinan pushed Jingsheng away with tears in his eyes and lay on the dining table
sobbing.
Si Jiang took a few deep breaths and tried to explain to Si Nan: "Nan Nan, Tang Zenian has
myocarditis. If he doesn't eat or sleep for several days, something bad will happen-"
"Let him die. He asked for death. What does it have to do with you? Why do you care? Just go
when he tells you to. Who are you to him?" Si Nan raised his head and yelled, then glanced at
Jingsheng's face and lay down crying again.
Si Jiang smiled bitterly, "He had a quarrel with his family, but it's not just his fault. There are some
things I must do. Even if he doesn't invite me and others don't remind me, I will go. You may not
understand, a great man who changed the fate of a billion people in the whole country, he should
be respected, should be evaluated fairly, history should pay tribute to him, he deserves our
farewell, not - forget it, you are right to blame me. I can't influence others, and I haven't
accomplished anything. It's my fault."
History has never been something she thought she could participate in, promote, or change.
"It's your fault! What's the point of knowing you're wrong now? Can you let your cousin go back
to school?"
"Okay." Gu Dongwen said in a deep voice.
All three children were silent.
"I'll go to school tomorrow," Gu Dongwen put out the half-smoked cigarette in his hand, "It's not
a big deal. I've sat in, gone on hunger strike, made noises, even scolded the vice chairman, and
I'm still fine, right? Since you all wrote self-criticisms, it means there's room for improvement.
The school won't destroy a student like this - I don't believe it."
"Uncle, I'll go with you. I can tell them what happened in detail. My brother really had nothing to
do with anything!" Si Jiang said.
"I'm going too! If they don't let my brother go back to school, I'll stay here." Sinan cheered up.
The three people looked at Jingsheng.
Jingsheng lowered his head: "No need, the school just asked me to write a self-criticism, but I
wanted to drop out. There is really no point in going to college. After graduation, I will join a unit
and earn 300 to 400 yuan a month. When I retire at the age of 60, I can see what it will be like.
It's boring."
"Brother!" Si Jiang was anxious.
"Really," Jingsheng stared at Si Jiang, "It has nothing to do with you. I just don't want to study
anymore. I just want to make money, a lot of money. I've thought about it——"
The purple clay teapot in Gu Dongwen's hand fell in front of Jingsheng with a "bang".
Jingsheng pursed his lips and lowered his head. Sijiang and Sinan were shocked.
"Hey! Who allowed you to drop out of school? I, your father, won't allow it! Did I starve you or
freeze you? Does this family need you to earn money? What do you want to earn money for? I
said I would even buy you a good wedding house, so there's no need for you to earn a penny!
Come with me to the school tomorrow and talk to the leaders clearly! You don't have to worry
about Huating Road in the future! Money, money, money, I see that you are obsessed with
money. What's the matter? Do you think this shantytown is shameful?" After yelling for a while,
Gu Dongwen suddenly became quiet. He supported his hands on the edge of the table and took a
few deep breaths. His brows were twisted together, as if he was trying his best to endure
something.
Si Jiang and Si Nan had never seen their uncle so angry before, and they looked at him with tears
in their eyes.
Jingsheng immediately turned around and rushed out.
"Brother!"
"Cousin!"
"Come back! No one is allowed to chase him! The little bastard is making a scene - what a jerk, he
dares to talk to himself as long as I don't show my power -"
There were two knocks on the stairs, and Jingsheng appeared at the door again, holding a box of
medicine in his hand.
"Is this the medicine?" Jingsheng poured a cup of warm water with a serious look and handed it
to Gu Dongwen.
Si Jiang and Si Nan had no idea what was going on.
Gu Dongwen frowned and looked up at Jingsheng for a moment, then took the medicine and
picked out a few tablets to eat.
"When did you know?"
"last month."
"Uncle, are you okay? You are okay, right?" Si Jiang had an inexplicable sense of foreboding, and
he felt the skin of his lips was numb when he asked.
Gu Dongwen pulled out a cigarette and Jingsheng took out a lighter. The silhouettes of the father
and son, their heads touching, overlapped in Si Jiang's eyes like two mountains.
"It's none of your business. Just focus on your studies, okay?" Gu Dongwen glanced at Jingsheng.
Jingsheng didn't plan to hide it from Sijiang Sinan anymore. He glanced at them and said casually,
"I don't need to buy a wedding house. Even if I need one, I will earn it with my own ability. I don't
need you to give it to me. What are you doing with that little money? Take the medicine you
need and treat it as you need. Do you understand?"
"Uncle???" Sinan called out timidly.
Jingsheng looked at Si Jiang: "He has liver cancer. He has been receiving morphine injections from
Nurse Lu for the past year to relieve the pain. He refused to be treated and insisted on waiting to
die—"
"When he dies, I deserve to suffer for the rest of my life," Jingsheng's voice was hoarse, but his
tone was still indifferent. He even laughed at himself and looked at Gu Dongwen, "Look, I, your
son, don't even deserve to know that I'm sick, just because I'm not your biological child, right?"
"Bullshit! That's it!" Gu Dongwen kicked Jingsheng on the thigh and laughed angrily, "I can do
whatever I want with my life. You little bastard, you know nothing. If you want me to lie in the
hospital and wait to die, I would rather jump into the Suzhou River and drown."
He stretched out his big hand to stroke Sijiang's head, and then touched Sinan's curly hair. Seeing
that the two sisters were crying, he smiled and said, "Look, I told you, you just know how to cry.
Uncle can't die, bad people live for a thousand years."
Sinan raised his head and said, "Uncle, I have money. I'll give you all my money. Go to the hospital
to get treatment. Please, my cousin can't live without you!"
Jingsheng turned his face away. The blades of the electric fan blew towards his face, making his
eyes hurt and sore.
Si Jiang hugged Gu Dongwen's arm: "Uncle, let's go to the hospital now! I can earn a lot of money
now. I can earn more than 2,000 this month!"
Gu Dongwen pinched Si Jiang's face and said, "My dear, your daughter will be a millionaire in just
half a year."
"Let's go, let's go. Aunt Lu must want you to go to the hospital!" Si Jiang dragged Gu Dongwen
out regardless.
Gu Dongwen pulled Si Jiang back with force: "Silly Xiaoning, this disease cannot be cured, no
matter how much money you spend."
Jingsheng stood up suddenly and said sternly, "Bullshit! If Shanghai can't cure it, go to Beijing. If
Beijing can't cure it, go to Hong Kong. If Hong Kong can't cure it, go to the United States. Surgery,
tumor ablation, everything that can be tried must be tried!"
After being yelled at by him, Gu Dongwen uttered a "huh" and laughed: "You really care about
your father?"
Jingsheng swung his fist into the air, but lost his strength and leaned weakly on the edge of the
table. His chest rose and fell violently several times, and he lowered his head.
"Gu Dongwen, my mother is gone, you promised her to take care of me--"
The wails were suppressed in his throat, so muffled that the sadness could hardly be heard.
"Alright, I'm not dead yet, what are you three doing? Alright, alright, go, go to the hospital, okay?
But Gu Jingsheng, I'm warning you, you must finish college! If you don't go back to study, I'll beat
you to death with a belt right now!"
"You can beat me to death but I won't study anymore!" Jing Sheng raised his head abruptly, his
voice louder than Gu Dongwen's roar.
One of Jingsheng's belts broke, but he refused to give in and promised to go back to the school to
find a way to re-enroll. His white shirt was torn in several places and his back was covered with
blood. Sijiang and Sinan could neither stop him nor persuade him, and he cried like two tearful
people. When Granny Gu came back and saw what was happening, she was so frightened that
she picked up a feather duster and beat Gu Dongwen hard a few times.
"How could you have the heart to do that! Your father only beat you like that when you attacked
someone with a knife. What did Jingsheng do that made you want to kill him like that? Are you
worthy of Su Su? She entrusted her son to you, and this is how you take care of him? When you
go downstairs and see her later, will you have the heart to ask her for help?"
Gu Dongwen threw the half belt in his hand to the ground dejectedly, stared at Jingsheng with
red eyes and shouted: "Your mother always said that she would send you to college!"
Granny Gu was confused for a while before she asked Si Jiang, "Nannan, what's going on?"
——
Si Jiang applied medicine to Jingsheng with red eyes.
Jingsheng sat on the stool with his back hunched, not saying a word. No matter how lightly he
applied the ointment, the muscles on his back trembled slightly with pain.
After applying the medicine, Jingsheng put on a sweat vest, turned around and took the ointment
from Si Jiang's hand, picked up her hand that had bumped against the table, looked at it carefully,
and applied two coats on her without saying a word.
"Brother, please--" Si Jiang could no longer care about anything else and hugged Jingsheng
tightly. It was the first time she realized that a person's heart could hurt so much. It was like being
thrown into boiling oil and fried back and forth, burning with fire.
Jingsheng patted her on the back and took a breath: "Nannan, if I were not a college student,
would you look down on me?"
Si Jiang cried and shook his head: "No, of course not!"
"Will you despise me if I don't have a company and am not an engineer in the future?"
"No! What nonsense are you talking about——"
Jingsheng lifted up his clothes and wiped Sijiang's tears and snot: "That's good. I don't regret it,
and you don't dislike it. That's enough."
"No, no, it shouldn't be like this," Si Jiang twisted his clothes, "It's not fair, why? Why? Why is it
my uncle! Why is it you!"
You and your uncle have suffered so much, why do you still encounter such a thing? What kind of
arrangement is this by God? She is not convinced, and no one can be convinced. Why does God
only bully good people? Where is God? Grandma has been praying for God to bless her for so
many years, why doesn't God bless my uncle and Jingsheng!
Jingsheng hugged Si Jiang tightly, lowered his head and buried it in her shoulder, and suddenly his
whole body began to tremble silently.
Si Jiang closed his eyes and felt his shoulders instantly wet.
From the pavilion downstairs came the suppressed crying of Grandma Gu. Jingsheng leaned
against Si Jiang for a moment, calmed down, and slowly raised his head.
"Okay, I'm fine."
Jingsheng's eyes were red, and his sight fell on the desk calendar on the chest of drawers. It was a
desk calendar with Feng Zikai's works, which was brought back by Beiwu and Shanrang. It was a
painting of July, in which an old woman was holding a child in red and kissing his little mouth. The
words below read: "When I was a child, the person I loved the most left first." Jingsheng gritted
his teeth and tore off the page. It was only a few days before August.
Under August's painting, it was written: "When I was a kid, I thought breaking a bowl was a big
deal."
He later realized that losing his mother was the biggest problem. Now, he was going to lose Gu
Dongwen too. He could handle the separation of life and death. There was nothing in this world
that he couldn't overcome.
"It's my turn to take care of dad." Jingsheng exhaled and straightened his back. He had looked up
a lot of information. Some patients who took medicine on time and rested well after surgery
were still alive and well for ten or eight years.
Si Jiang sobbed, held his face in his hands, and kissed him randomly.
Jingsheng hugged her tightly, a little tighter, but it was not enough, a little tighter, but still not
enough...
——
Sinan sat blankly on the stairs outside the pavilion, feeling empty inside as if the sky had fallen. In
fact, she had noticed a long time ago that something was not right with her father, and after
finding out he had an affair, she felt as if the boot had dropped on her father's head, and began
to lose her temper with him with a good reason. She didn't really care whether her parents
wanted to divorce or not. She grew up and returned to Wanchun Street, to her eldest cousin and
elder sister. It didn't take her long to find that she didn't need to please her grandmother and
uncle. They were not partial to her and treated her equally well as her elder sister and brother,
indulging her unconditionally and never asking, "Where have you been this time?" If she did well
in the exam, they would say with a smile that Nan Nan was really a stickler. If she didn't do well in
the exam, they would also say with a smile that it didn't matter and that they would fill up their
gas tank next time. She had never known that having a "home" could be so good. She didn't have
to guess, use tricks, make a scene, or pretend, and she didn't even need money.
Si Nan felt lost for a while in a family supported by a man who was very capable and capable of
doing anything. It was a bit like the year when Jing Sheng took care of him meticulously when he
was a child, but it was also very different. His uncle was always smiling, even when he scolded
people, but as long as he was around, Si Nan felt at ease and was not afraid of anything. His uncle
was like a mountain, and his grandmother was like water. These two years were the two most
peaceful and happy years in Si Nan's life.
She had never really faced loss. When Grandpa passed away, she couldn't even cry. Everyone has
to die, and she almost died several times. Sinan was never afraid of death. But when this word
was associated with her uncle, she felt like she was hit by a club. She didn't want to cry, but she
couldn't stop crying. Crying is useless. This is obviously her catchphrase to mock Sihao.
Si Nan suddenly remembered Zhao Youning's mother-in-law. She didn't hate her anymore. The
whole family died overnight, and she was the only one left. Si Nan shivered and tightened her
grip. Hugged the knees. She really wants to destroy the heaven and the earth right now. She
wants to poke and poke at all the bullshit God, God, Bodhisattva and Buddha.
In September, when Si Nan went back to school, he noticed that cancer seemed to be a pervasive
disease. Shen Jia, who studied karate with her as her teacher in the women's restroom, counted
on her fingers: "Yi Haomu's mother lost her breast cancer last year, and Wang Zhen's father lost
his lung cancer when he was in elementary school... There are ten people in our class." Every
classmate has only one father or one mother, and they all seem to be admitted to medical
school.”
"But let me tell you, those who lost their mother will soon have a stepmother. Those who lost
their father, like Wang Zhen, his mother never married again, and Chen Zhanping, his mother
never married again. If you get married again, you will lose your father and your stepfather
anyway." Shen Jia sighed, lowered her voice, and her eyes were red, "I'll tell you quietly, don't tell
anyone else, Chen Zhanping My mother also has liver cancer, and she said she will die soon,
which is too bad.”
"Ah, no wonder I haven't seen him since school started -" Si Nan felt blocked.
After the National Day, Chen Zhanping's mother passed away. Si Nan later learned that he also
lived on Wanchun Street and had a younger sister in junior high school. The school called for
donations, and Si Nan donated 100 yuan. When Chen Zhanping returned to school, Si Nan found
that he couldn't seem to see anything different about him. He still played football with the boys,
ate meat buns, and sat down during class breaks. Go to the last row and play Big Monster or Four
Kingdoms with your classmates. Si Nan rejoined the boys group. Soon, Chen Zhanping made a
copy of his mother's medical records and prescriptions and gave them to Si ᭙ꪶ nan, and also
handwritten seven or eight pages of thick medical experience. For the first time in his life, Si
Nan's face was burning. He repeatedly stated that he did not want to "buy" these contents, and
he was so nervous that he even stuttered.
Nine people from Sinan's class of 1991 were admitted to medical schools, including three from
the First Medical University, five from the Second Medical University, and one from the University
of Traditional Chinese Medicine. After graduation, they were assigned to major hospitals such as
Ruijin Hospital, Huashan Hospital, Xinhua Hospital, and Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital.
Their departments ranged from gastroenterology, blood testing, orthopedics, ENT, to pediatrics.
Their highest degree was a doctorate from Harvard Medical School. After the WeChat group was
established, the most common comments in the class group were "Doctor Yi, my son had a fever
of 38.8 degrees last night and had a cough..." "Doctor Wang, please help me take a look at my
grandfather's films..."
Chen Sinan, who was not afraid of anything and vomited all over the place during the biology
class where he dissected small animals, failed to get into the medical school as he wished, and
this was a lifelong regret.

Chapter 309
Grandma Gu prayed alone for three hours.
The past ten years have been too peaceful, and the memories of life and death have faded away.
She has almost forgotten how to send off her relatives decently. She has sent off too many
people, most of whom did not even have a ceremony. Her parents, sisters, brothers, nephews
and nieces all died of different causes. In the war years, people died every day due to natural
disasters and man-made disasters. She has seen too many deaths and has become numb. Later,
she settled in Wanchun Street. She had hope for a better life. She invited Lao Gu to live with her,
got married and had children, and supported herself. The children grew up day by day.
Old Gu passed away so suddenly that she thought she would follow him, but she had
unknowingly outlived him by more than twenty years. But how could it be Dongwen? He was a
dragon and a tiger. He was the healthiest person in the family. He had never had a fever or a
headache since he was a child. She had always been worried about Ximei. Ximei had been spoiled
since she was a child, and she went to such a hard place as Xinjiang. She just didn't expect
Dongwen to be a romantic, a man who would attract bees and butterflies at the age of fourteen
or fifteen. The girls around him kept changing, including factory workers, waiters, and ticket
sellers, each one was more beautiful than the other, but he never took them seriously. In the
end, he fell for Shusu and spent half his life there. Without that girl, he actually said that he
would not regret dying any day.
If she believed in the Lord, her whole family would be saved, right? With tears in her eyes,
Grandma Gu prayed devoutly for a miracle.
"Lord, may you be with Dongwen. He toiled every night in Jinghong to tap rubber and hurt his
joints. The smoke from the rubber damaged his throat. He walked all over the mountains and
plains without sleeping for more than ten days looking for his wife. He treated Jingsheng as his
own son. He helped many people out of righteousness. My son Gu Dongwen is a righteous man.
Please, merciful Lord, let him see miracles and let his spirit be filled..."
Gu Dongwen was admitted to the Tumor Hospital on Dong'an Road in early August, and the
doctor said that surgery was meaningless. Beiwu and Shanrang rushed back from Beijing, copied
Dongwen's medical records, and took Jingsheng to the school to explain the situation, and re-
applied for the procedure of taking a one-year leave of absence to retain his student status.
When Beiwu came back, Si Jiang burst into tears again.
The two brothers sat opposite each other in the ward. Dongwen did not look like a patient. He
continued to drink tea and smoke. Jingsheng no longer allowed him to drink alcohol, but he felt a
little uncomfortable during meals.
"Mom won't be here later in the day. A dozen church members are going to the house to pray for
you." Beiwu had an unlit cigarette between his lips. It looked like he hadn't shaved his hair for
three months. His bangs and temples were sticking to his hair with sweat, and he looked like a
gangster from 20 years ago.
Dongwen smiled and asked, "Has your mother-in-law also converted to Christianity?"
"That's not the case. I knew that guy during the Long March. He was the only one who didn't say
anything when Peng was criticized. My father-in-law has always been grateful to him. Later, when
my mother-in-law came to Beijing, she and General Li met his wife several times. It was too
difficult for the older generation."
Dong Wen sighed, "Since ancient times, everyone has to die. Let's leave our loyalty to shine in
history. No one can make a final judgment on merits and demerits in a hundred years. Just
proposing to abolish the lifetime tenure system for leading cadres is a remarkable model."
Looking at Dongwen's thumbs up, Beiwu smiled bitterly and nodded.
"It's good to be young, at least you're not a living dead," Dong Wen flicked off the half-smoked
ash from his cigarette, "Si Jiang really looks like you. I didn't catch up with the Prime Minister
when he was sent off at Yuhuatai." He smiled, "By the way, are you still going to Hong Kong?"
"It's not decided yet, let's wait and see." Beiwu didn't care much about this. The most important
thing at the moment was Dongwen's illness.
"How long will Shan Rang be suspended? Has a conclusion been reached? I think she is not in a
good mood this time."
Bei Wu frowned and said, "Our old principal resigned a few days ago. Shan Rang has always
respected Mr. Ding and was close to the students. She is still having trouble getting over it.
Suspending him is a good thing. She can sort it out slowly."
"It's good that he's okay." Dong Wen sighed: "Don't try to persuade me about my illness. I won't
go to Beijing, let alone Hong Kong. My bones should have been buried in the Lancang River with
Su Su more than ten years ago. I'm living on a spurious basis."
"This disease is quite good. It hurts, it really hurts. It hurts so much," Dongwen said, with two
deep dimples on his face. "Now I can be considered to have suffered with Jingsheng's mother. We
share the pain."
Beiwu felt as if his chest was hit hard by a whip and he couldn't breathe.
"I'll leave my mother in charge from now on. I'm not worried about Jingsheng. He doesn't like
studying, actually," Gu Dongwen laughed. "It's up to me. I have no choice but to study hard. If he
really loves studying, he wouldn't have to be a sports student. Hahaha, he can do business, too.
His mother blamed me in her dream, blaming me for beating him with a belt. Alas, I have it both
ways. Forget it, children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. I used to advise mother
like this, but now I have to advise you privately."
Bei Wu poured him a glass of warm water. "It's always good to take a leave of absence first,
leaving a way out. A diploma may not be useful, but it won't hurt to have one. He hasn't made up
his mind yet. At least he needs to think clearly about what he likes to do and what he wants to
do. Shan Rang and I will talk to him more."
Jingsheng is different from Sijiang Zhao Youning. He is very smart and studying is not a big deal
for him, which Beiwu can see. But he is studying for Dongwen and his mother, or for the extra
family members around him. He is a child without ideals, more like a bystander, with no
enthusiasm for schoolwork and future work at this age. He is more enthusiastic about kicking a
ball, talking about weapons, and even picking up a spatula than about books.
Passion is so important. Bei Wu understands this very well, and he hopes that Si Jiang will not
lose his passion.
——
Nanhong was extremely anxious and remitted 100,000 Hong Kong dollars in one go, but she
really couldn't come back. A customs chief who stood on the wrong side was dismissed, and the
Fang family was dragged into it. In early July, all the brothers of the Fang family were taken away,
and no one knew where they were. The Fang family was in a mess. Mrs. Fang and several other
wives of Fang were women who only knew how to manage the household and take care of the
children. The men never let them get involved, and they didn't even know how many safes there
were in the bank vault and how many passwords they had. So the bank urged them to repay the
loan, and their subordinates took the cash and ran away, and there were a lot of troubles every
day.
In the two factories in Hong Kong, more than a thousand workers had to eat every day. The
factory managers were all in a mess. Some were looking for new employers, some were asking
for leave, and rumors were spreading in the factory. Nanhong gritted her teeth and accompanied
the wine for seven days. She took Mr. Fang's private seal and the blank board resolutions in the
safe that had never been used and had been stamped for emergency use. She mortgaged the
factory land and borrowed 12 million Hong Kong dollars from HSBC. She rushed out the three
series of more than 60 professional women's clothing originally scheduled for next year. The
black, white and gray series, three-dimensional tailoring, all fabrics were imported from Wujiang,
Suzhou, and the price was only one-third of similar styles on the market. She also spent a lot of
money to invite a TVB female star who specializes in Central Office Girls to be the spokesperson.
Now she is trying every means to distribute the products. Zhao Yanhong was grateful to Mr. Fang
for helping his family settle down in Hong Kong, so he went back to Shantou without saying a
word to help the Fang family settle down. Although he had a lame leg, he had followed Mr. Fang
for many years. The Fang family's shameful affairs were now being handled by the young people
who had just come up to the throne. Just when they were like headless flies and didn't know
what to do, an older brother came to the rescue and they were able to settle down without any
evidence.
Nan Hong said hoarsely to Bei Wu on the phone: "I have contacted the Hong Kong Sanatorium
and Hospital for my eldest brother. Come and have a look no matter what. Don't be afraid of the
trouble. I have sent out all the documents for visiting relatives. Go and do it, hurry up!"
——
Ximei was planning to stop her piano lessons and rush back to Shanghai, but Sun Xiao wouldn't
let her. Sun Xiao had just gotten a divorce, and his ex-wife's family had settled in the United
States. Both families were meritorious families, and they had different interests and positions at
the moment, so they parted peacefully and politely. He urged Ximei to hurry up and go through
the divorce procedures with Chen Donglai, because he was going to Beijing at the end of the year,
and it would be a good thing to marry Ximei in Urumqi, both publicly and privately. For an official
of his level, being single was an unstable factor, and getting promoted with a woman who was
not his wife was like handing a knife to others. Ximei didn't come back to her senses for many
days. She never dared or wanted to inquire about Sun Xiao's marriage. She only knew that he and
his wife were not together for many years, and the couple had two daughters living with his wife.
After having sex with her, Sun Xiao was not enthusiastic. Ximei once suspected that he was just
playing with her body or feelings, but she could only swallow her anger. She was already an
unclean woman, and she had become her most disgusting lover. What qualifications did she have
to ask Sun Xiao?
Sun Xiao was busy with official duties and would go to her dormitory about once a month. He
would come in the middle of the night and leave in the early morning every time. However, the
man who was almost fifty years old was always making endless troubles. Ximei only felt that he
really liked her when they were in bed. But Sun Xiao suddenly said that he wanted to marry her.
This was not just a pie in the sky, but a millstone. The leaders in the unit suddenly became more
enthusiastic, and the various gifts piled up in the office reminded Ximei that as long as she
divorced Chen Donglai, she would become the wife of a leader, and this leader had a bright
future. She was always confused and dared not believe it, and crying with joy became the norm.
On the day they received their divorce certificate, Ximei and Chen Donglai had a farewell dinner
in a snack bar.
"From now on, I'll send money to your mother every month," Ximei stirred the cold noodles in
the big bowl with her chopsticks, "I'll still take care of anything that happens to Xiao Ning Yila."
"Yeah." Chen Donglai concentrated on eating mutton dumplings.
"I am sorry to Jiang Sinan and Si Hao..." Ximei's eyes were filled with tears. She put down her
chopsticks, took out a handkerchief and pressed her eyes. She couldn't say the words "I will
always be their mother".
"Nothing to apologize for," Chen Donglai added a large spoonful of chili to the bowl, "When you
have time, call them and check on them. And your eldest brother, why don't you go back to
Shanghai to see him?"
Ximei avoided Chen Donglai's sight and stammered, "Old Sun still has a lot of things to do. I guess
I have to go to Beijing to see if I can come back during the Spring Festival. Old Sun asked someone
to get the ward at the Cancer Hospital. I didn't know that the beds are so tight now. There are too
many people with cancer. Without the city leaders' permission..."
"I sent your mother a thousand yuan," Chen Donglai interrupted her, "your mother has discussed
with my mother. Si Jiang, Si Nan and Si Hao are still living with their grandmother. Your brother is
sick, and she can't bear it if the three Xiao Nings are gone. You can just send the living expenses
directly to your mother. The rest will be decided after the two old ladies discuss it after the Spring
Festival."
"Ah?" Ximei knew nothing about this and was stunned for a long while before she came to her
senses.
"Congratulations." Chen Donglai stood up and strode out.
The cold noodles were piled up in the bowl in a mushy manner. Ximei picked them up with
chopsticks, and a lump fell back down, splashing a few drops of red oil. She quickly took a
handkerchief dipped in water to wipe it off.
"Teacher Gu, my boss asked me to come and ask if you are okay." Sun Xiao's driver, Lao Tan, came
in and greeted him with a smile.
Ximei stood up hurriedly and went to pick up her purse. The bag hooked the water cup, and half
of the water spilled all over the floor. Lao Tan quickly picked up the cup and asked, "Did it burn
you?"
"No, no, it's cold water." Ximei blushed and pinched the bag.
The waiter rolled his eyes and threw the rag on the table.
Ximei followed Lao Tan out quickly, and a black car was waiting on the roadside. Lao Tan trotted
and opened the door, with an especially sincere smile on his face.
Ximei took a deep breath, bent down and got into the car. The divorce certificate in her bag was
like a living thing, beating wildly in her heart. Is this what she calls a happy ending after suffering?
Ximei opened her eyes wide and looked forward. An inexplicable thought came to her mind. In
the future, she and Sun Xiao will share happiness. Who could have imagined the ups and downs
of life? Among the four brothers and sisters in the Gu family, she was the one who suffered the
most and went the furthest. Her nose and eyes were sore. It must be because the sun was too
strong.

Chapter 310
Si Jiang was relieved that Xi Mei would not return to Shanghai. She had no time to care about her
stepfather who suddenly appeared, nor did she plan to care about him. However, Si Nan tossed
and turned for several nights.
"When did Mom and that official get together?" Sinan was certain, "It definitely didn't happen
before I returned to Shanghai."
Si Jiang put down the latest issue of "Chinese Clinical Oncology" magazine: "It doesn't matter, as
long as she feels good - I hope she lives a better life than before." She sighed softly, feeling
indescribably melancholy. My uncle is like this now, my aunt is divorced, my mother divorced and
remarried, and now the only happy couples around me are my uncle and aunt. But my uncle
hasn't worked for several months, and my aunt has also been suspended. Every family has its
own problems.
"Why?" Sinan kicked the tent. "She doesn't want us anymore! I just hope she doesn't have a good
life, gets bullied, cries, then she'll know that we are the best!"
After saying these angry words, Sinan buried himself in the towel blanket and kicked his legs
violently for more than ten times.
Si Jiang looked sideways at her gently twitching back, and his eyes became wet. Nan Nan must be
very sad, she has lived with her mother since she was a child, she took care of her mother much
more than her mother took care of her, her mother has always been closest to her, but her
mother did not want her, although even if she wanted Si Nan to live with her in the new "home"
in Beijing, Si Nan would not agree, but not agreeing is completely different from being
abandoned.
"Nannan, your sister is here, Sihao is here too, as well as your cousin, grandma, and uncle—" Si
Jiang gently patted Sinan's back and whispered to comfort her.
Sinan shrank even tighter: "She is so heartless, so heartless, she didn't even call me and tell me if
she didn't want me, it's ok, haha, at least tell me sorry? And she let dad come to tell us that I was
so good to her in vain, I shouldn't have been good to her——"
Si Jiang hugged her gently.
"Alright, alright!" Sinan struggled to break free from her, climbed up, lifted his sweat shirt and
wiped his tears and snot from his face, "Alright, she doesn't want me, and I don't want her either,
it's settled, what's so strange about it, without her, Allah is better off, humph, anyway, just send
the money back."
"It's not that she doesn't want us," Si Jiang considered his words, "After all, she is still Alam's
mother. Now she probably needs to transfer her job and move from Urumqi to Beijing. She must
be very busy."
"My uncle is in the hospital, and she doesn't even come back to visit him?! She has no
conscience. When she gets old, I won't pay any attention to her."
"Supporting parents is the obligation of every citizen of our country," Si Jiang said with a smile.
"Why?"
Seeing that Si Nan was about to jump up again, Si Jiang quickly changed the subject.
——
In September, the autumn heat is raging and making people feel uneasy.
Jingsheng sets up his stall at 10 o'clock every day, and goes straight to the hospital after closing it
at 6 o'clock. Granny Gu and Si Nan go to the hospital to deliver dinner. Beiwu and Shan Rang do
their work in the morning, accompany Dongwen in the afternoon, and return to Wanchun Street
to look after Si Hao at 5 o'clock. Si Jiang usually rushes to the hospital from school at 7:30, Granny
Gu and Si Nan go back at 8 o'clock, and Jingsheng and Si Jiang accompany him until 9:30, and
they are chased by Gu Dongwen several times before leaving. At night, Nurse Lu sleeps in the
ward to accompany him. Si Hao comes to the hospital to accompany him for half a day every
Sunday. Gu Dongwen is fed up with their round-the-clock war, and he yells several times that he
will leave if you come again, but he feels uneasy about whoever doesn't come to accompany him,
so he can only let it go.
Gu Nian was arranged by Zhou Shanli to go to the Song Qingling Kindergarten. The boarding
system saved Beiwu and Shanrang a lot of trouble. Shanli came to the ward to play chess with
Dongwen whenever he had time. Neither of them was good at it and they both liked to regret
their moves. When they quarreled, it was earth-shattering. The head nurse had no choice but to
mediate. Occasionally, she would take sides and help Gu Dongwen to kill Shanli in a few moves.
One laughed so hard that his liver hurt, and the other was so angry that his lungs exploded. If
Beiwu Shanrang was there, the four of them would play the big monster route or 80 points.
Shanli and Dongwen would still quarrel as a team. The doctors and nurses on the whole floor
smiled and sighed. With Gu Dongwen's spirit, who could tell that he was actually a patient with
advanced liver cancer?
The Gu family has been very busy lately. It is easy to get a family visit permit, but it is also difficult
to get one. Beiwu found a few old friends and got the family visit permit during the National Day
holiday. All they needed was Gu Dongwen's nod to leave for Hong Kong.
Ximei cried again after knowing this. She never asked Sun Xiao for help. After all, their social
status was very different. She would be a step down every time she asked. It was the most
refreshing to ask for help by paying money. If the couple was as familiar with each other as she
and Chen Donglai, they would certainly ask for it. This time, for Dongwen's illness, she finally
asked for help. Sun Xiao was also straightforward. After making a few phone calls, she found that
she couldn't do it. She directly asked the old man at home and asked someone else to get a single
ward for retired cadres. Favors are a matter of twists and turns. It's like adding squares up. It's not
as simple as 1+1=2. But such a difficult thing was done. Now she has been staying here for two
months. If she doesn't want it, she can't do it. When she returns to Shanghai from Hong Kong,
who can guarantee that she will keep the ward for her? How can she ask Sun Xiao for it when she
wants it again?
Even though she was admitted to the ward, Ximei did not dare to take credit for it with her
family. She would be both morally and emotionally guilty if she did not go back to visit the
patient. Besides, all three children were with Chen Donglai, and she had not figured out how to
face Sijiang, Sinan and Sihao. Sijiang and Sihao were fine, but Ximei had dreamed of Sinan's big
eyes, distinct black and white, many times at night. He just looked at her coldly, turned around
and left without saying a word. She called Nannan, Nannan in a low voice from behind, but Sinan
ran faster and faster, and all of a sudden his shadow disappeared. When she woke up, she felt
panicked and empty.
But she didn't know what to do. She had two unmarried stepdaughters in Beijing. She was a
divorced woman who had climbed up the social ladder. It wouldn't matter if she suffered a little
in the future from her husband's family, Sun Xiao, and her stepdaughters, but she couldn't let
Sijiang, Sinan, and Sihao suffer. It was not easy to be a stepmother. Ximei had her own account in
her mind. Three years, wait for two or three years, wait for her to stand firm in Sun Xiao's family,
and work steadily, she would always take Sinan and Sihao to Beijing, and they would no longer
have to squeeze in the attic of the shantytown, use wooden toilets, and go to public bathrooms.
They could live in a big house with her, have their own rooms, their own bathrooms, flush toilets
and bathtubs, and drivers to pick them up. If they wanted to learn piano, they could learn piano,
and if they wanted to learn painting, they could learn painting. Of course, this blueprint of
happiness was only something she had secretly drawn. She could not earn this much for her
children with her own hands, but she was already in her forties, and it was an indisputable fact
that she relied on Sun Xiao, so she just regarded it as knowing her destiny and not being
confused.
After the National Day, on the day Ximei and Sun Xiao received their marriage certificate, they
went to the hospital to get their IUD and had a detailed physical examination. The obstetrician
and gynecologist said tactfully and joyfully: There are still cases of people getting pregnant and
giving birth at the age of 60. You are in good physical condition and have a chance. Sun Xiao was
very happy. He still hoped that Ximei could give him a child. Of course, having a son is a timely
help, and having a daughter is icing on the cake. Ximei was also happy. She thought that if she
had a child with Sun Xiao, the relationship between Si Jiangsnan and Si Haohe, the stepfather,
would certainly be closer in the future. With a brother or sister named Sun to help, the Gu family
would definitely prosper.
That night, after the couple had their first formal sexual intercourse, Sun Xiao hugged Xi Mei and
sighed, "If I can have a child in my old age, I will have no regrets in my life."
Ximei took a casual attitude towards whether she could get pregnant again, but she couldn't say
that.
"If I could get pregnant, I would have to go to a better hospital to give birth," Ximei talked about
her experience of giving birth to Sinan. "Giving birth to a child is really a life-and-death struggle. I
am scared when I think about it now."
Sun Xiao tightened his arms lovingly, "Don't worry, if you are pregnant, you will definitely give
birth in the Union Hospital. Isn't your sister-in-law Zhou Shanrang teaching at Peking University?
Let her accompany you more, and you will feel at ease. After the Spring Festival, relatives can visit
each other. Speaking of which, my father also knows General Zhou and his wife. There are only a
few of the old revolutionaries who crossed the grassland together. The old people are very
nostalgic and easy to get along with. You will know when you return to Beijing. It's my mother,
She suffered in the old society, and her feet were not bound properly after liberation, so she has
a bad temper. But she has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Just let it go in one ear and out the
other. Don't take it to heart. My ex-wife took everything to heart. She lived in Beijing for two
years and then had to live separately. I was in Xinjiang, and the rear area was noisy every day. It
was too hard. I feel at ease with you here. Well, this time my mother has nothing to say. My Ximei
is the good daughter-in-law she has always talked about: beautiful, gentle and considerate, and
from an artistic background. "
Ximei smiled and pinched him, and said a few humble words, but in her heart, she was thinking
which mother-in-law would be happy for her son to marry a woman who had been married for
the second time and had three children. She had never heard of it. So she felt a little depressed
before she even went to Beijing. The family background of Sun Xiao's ex-wife had been
complained to her by those who wanted to be a mouthpiece and report to the gods. They were
sour in both open and covert ways. Why is it that Gu Ximei is so lucky? As for the fact that Sun
Xiao fell in love with her at first sight in Shajingzi, Aksu, naturally no one knew and could not be
known. That was not a romantic history, but a romantic death. Even a delicate young lady from
an ambassador's family abroad made Sun Xiao's mother dissatisfied. Gu Ximei was very self-
aware and did not expect to win the favor of the old lady.
——
Jingsheng and Sijiang were silent for a month before they cheered up. Treatment costs money.
Although no surgery is required, a box of medicine costs 200 yuan a week, which is equivalent to
a month's salary of an ordinary worker, which is 800 yuan a month. The ward is excellent, but Gu
Dongwen has no medical insurance, and he is not a retired cadre. The hospital charges 3,500
yuan a month for the ward, which is a huge honor for the superiors.
Shan Rang told Si Jiang that hospitals and universities are different from ordinary units. District
leaders are not a big deal, and city leaders may not have face. For example, the school leaders of
Peking University have a ministerial level administrative level, which means that when he goes to
other units to do business, he must at least be received by a ministerial leader. It is not possible
for any clerk, section chief, or director to deal with him. This is the dignity of the country, the
organization, and the leader. So it is not easy to get this ward. She said this in the hope that the
three siblings of Si Jiang would not blame Xi Mei too much. Based on her understanding of Xi
Mei, Xi Mei might be embarrassed and dare not reply.
Because of this, the children expressed their feelings privately.
"That guy surnamed Sun seems to be quite a stick."
"No wonder we three are not needed as a burden. Haha."
Jingsheng actually listened to Shanrang's words, and since Ximei wrote back several letters
expressing her own vision with great confidence, he actually said a lot of good things about
Ximei.

Chapter 311
Gu Dongwen decided to leave for Hong Kong after Jingsheng's birthday in November. In mid-
October, a dozen educated youth from Yunnan came to the ward.
Former comrades led by Lao Ding opened the black vest bag, revealing brand new stacks of
hundred-dollar bills, which scared Gu Dongwen.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"Don't be polite to us!" Old Ding narrowed his eyes and slapped Gu Dongwen's hand away.
"There's no way to return it. There's a donation box in each district. Everyone can donate
anonymously. One dollar is fine, ten dollars or a hundred dollars is also fine. Here are the wishes
of 18,647 educated youth from Yunnan and Shanghai, a total of 187,560 yuan. The bank has all
prepared new banknotes. Now I'm handing it over to you in front of everyone. Pay it well and
cure your illness! Keep it!"
Gu Dongwen took a deep breath and looked at the faces around the bed. Some looked familiar,
some looked unfamiliar. They were no longer young, but they were all smiling at him. His hands
resting outside the quilt could not help but tremble slightly.
"You're crazy! I don't need it. There are some money in the house." Dong Wen sniffed and waved
his hand. "People who come back from Banna and Jinghong usually get hurt from rubber tapping.
Six or seven out of ten have tracheitis and rheumatism. Take it to them for treatment."
"It's all fine. Anyway, we donated them to you, Gu Dongwen. We don't care how you use them or
on whom you use them." Old Ding said with a smile.
"Brother Dongdong, I'm Xiaofu from Dongfeng Farm. I broke my leg in the mountains. You helped
me fix a branch and carried me on your back for 16 miles to the clinic. Look, I don't have any
sequelae. I opened a Dongsheng Canteen in Pudong. I called you in 1984 and you said that the
canteen name could be used at will. Do you remember?"
Dongwen smiled and nodded: "I remember, your son was admitted to the Tourism Technical
School and he invited me to dinner."
Xiao Fu was overjoyed and said proudly, "Brother, my shop only had four tables back then, but
now it has three floors. When you recover, come and eat every day! Give us some pointers,
Master Chef."
Old Ding also laughed: "Now it's called Dongsheng Hotel, and Xiao Fu has become Boss Fu."
"Xiao Fu! In front of Brother Dongdong, I will always be Xiao Fu!"
Another female comrade came up and said, "Brother, I'm Xiao Qin from Ganlanba. You saved me
when I was molested by the deputy commander of the regiment a long time ago. Good people
will be rewarded. Just focus on your treatment and you will definitely get better slowly."
"Brother, I'm Xiao Hu. Sorry, it was me who was beaten black and blue by you when I was secretly
doing evil things outside the women's bathroom. If you hadn't beaten me, I might have been sent
to Tilanqiao labor camp a long time ago, hahahaha."
"Brother Dongdong, do you still remember me? We walked from Jinghong to Kunming together
and lay on the railway tracks. We were forced to stop the train for three days and three nights.
Well, when the educated youth from Sichuan mentioned us, there were only two words: I give in!
You didn't even die from lying on the railway tracks, so what's the big deal about getting sick? Get
well soon. Didn't we agree a long time ago to go to Chengdu and Chongqing to eat hotpot and
play mahjong to defeat Lao Cao and the Sichuan gang?"
"Come here, little bastard, say hello to your uncle. If your uncle hadn't risked his life back then,
your father would never have been able to return to Shanghai, and you, a little bastard, would
never have been able to return to Shanghai either. Hurry up and call for help. This is Brother
Jingsheng. Call him Brother, and speak louder!"
Greetings and laughter could be heard one after another in the ward. When recalling the good
and bad times, the bitterness was nothing. Except for the dead, everything could be brought out
to make people laugh.
"Old Gu, the Shanghai educated youth in Yunnan still remember you and thank you. You must be
good friends!" Before leaving, Lao Ding took off his glasses, wiped his tears, turned to Jingsheng
and said, "Little Gu, take good care of your father."
The money was finally left. Gu Dongwen hadn't figured out how to make the most of it yet, so he
asked Jingsheng to save it first. Jingsheng saved the money and sat for more than an hour on the
green belt opposite the Shanghai TV Station on Nanjing West Road. The passbook in his shirt
pocket was like another heart, beating and making his blood boil. The autumn in Shanghai is
completely different from that in Jinghong. The wind is cool. The ginkgo leaves on the roadside
have not yet completely turned golden yellow, half rusty, and the fallen leaves of the sycamore
have just begun to fly in the wind.
Gu Beiwu said that this man named Gu Dongwen, the father who raised him, would never be
ashamed of himself in his life. In the past, Jing Sheng always wanted to be a man like Gu Beiwu,
to get into a good university, have a good job, get married and have children, to make his father
and mother feel at ease, but he always felt uncomfortable, as if he was hanging on the handle
after squeezing onto the bus, but his feet could not touch the ground. Every time Si Jiang Youning
and the others talked about their ideals, he envied the light in their eyes. He knew very well that
the future he expected could not be called an ideal. That road was a wide gate and a smooth
road, but there was no scenery he wanted to see.
Now he wants to be someone like Gu Dongwen, not for someone to remember him and thank
him for donating to him, but to have a hot heart, not just to be good to his family. At this
moment, he felt that he finally understood Si Jiang completely. As a man, he has always focused
on his own little piece of land, and Jingsheng felt deeply ashamed. Because of his mother's
experience, he used to think that except for the Gu family, everyone else was stupid, bad or
indifferent. Except for the small world he wanted to protect, the big world outside was dirty,
filthy and corrupt. It turned out not to be. Through Si Jiang, he had a connection with the outside
world, but now, he has finally reconciled with the whole world. He forgave this world and the
people in this world, although they did not need his forgiveness.
Now that he has someone he likes, he wants her to see his existence.
Now that there is someone who likes him, he wants her to see him become better.
But now that he has someone he admires, he wants to embrace the world.
——
The beginning of winter that year, Tuesday, was Jingsheng’s 20th birthday.
On Sunday, the whole family ate Jingsheng's birthday cake in the cancer hospital ward in
advance. Si Jiang and Si Nan bought balloons and ribbons and decorated the ward very festively.
When singing the birthday song, the doctors and nurses thought it was Gu Dongwen's birthday.
An unexpected guest came at night. Captain Ling from Banna came to Shanghai to attend the
anti-drug exhibition in Zhongshan Park. He came to make a report on behalf of the Anti-Drug
Brigade and made a special trip to visit Gu Dongwen.
"These are all things your old comrades asked me to bring. Take them," Captain Ling came over
with two large snakeskin bags containing various dried mushrooms. "They say mushrooms can
fight cancer. Why don't you try some? Old Gu, can you still eat?"
Gu Dongwen laughed loudly: "Bullshit, if you take me back to Banna now, I can easily knock down
a row of drug dealers, do you believe it?"
"Believe it! Well, it's good. Look at you, you're full of energy. Oh, Gu Jingsheng has grown so tall.
Come sit down. If you stand, I have to look up at you." The dark, short and thin Captain Ling
smiled, revealing a mouthful of snow-white teeth.
The last time Jingsheng went back to Jinghong, Captain Ling and Gu Dongwen had to look for him
everywhere. Jingsheng felt a little embarrassed, so he asked about his work with a smile.
"Same old, busy," Captain Ling took the teacup and said with a smile, "Fighting the bad guys is
endless."
"You are about 45 or 46 years old, so you should quit if you can," Gu Dongwen shook his head,
"Why are you still working so hard? Your wife and children must be resentful of you."
"Quit, what the hell? If I quit, what will happen to the kids below me? You know what, in our line
of work, living to 40 is a reward. I've been making money for six years."
"Come on, I know you, Ling, are a hero, and you are all warriors who have dedicated yourself to
your country."
"Go, go, go, speak human language."
"Have the salary, benefits, bonuses and subsidies increased? Have they exceeded 200 yuan a
month?"
Captain Ling's eyes widened: "How is that possible! The average salary of public institutions in
Kunming is only around 130 yuan. The guys under us only make a little over 100 yuan including
subsidies."
Gu Dongwen was silent for a moment and sighed: "Alas, it's not even worth a box of medicine for
me."
Captain Ling slapped his head and took out an oil-paper bag from his black briefcase: "I almost
forgot, Xiao Chen's mother made some flower cakes and insisted that I bring them to you. I have
no choice, I don't know if they are still edible."
Gu Dongwen took it and smelled it.
Jingsheng broke one open, looked at it, smelled it, lowered his head and took a bite: "It's edible,
very fragrant."
"Mrs. Chen is illiterate and can't write letters, so she asked me to thank you and ask you not to
remit her any more money. She has saved all of Jianjun's pension. The interest rate is much
higher this year, and it can earn 18% interest in eight years, which is a good deal. Just keep the
money for buying medicine, do you understand?" Captain Ling also picked up a flower cake, ate
half of it in one bite, and spoke incoherently while chewing.
Gu Dongwen leaned over and took a glass of water for him. "Jianjun was only 25 years old when
he died. He was only a squad soldier in your anti-drug team. The pension for 18 months' salary is
only 1,500 yuan. He has two younger brothers and a younger sister. I watched them grow up in
Jinghong. 40 yuan a month is nothing. Any help is appreciated. When Susu gave birth to
Jingsheng, his mother killed an old hen and fed Jingsheng for half a year. I have never repaid her
for this."
Captain Ling gulped down half a glass of water and wiped his mouth: "You've been sent home for
three years, don't send it anymore. Sister Chen used the money you gave her to open a rice
noodle shop, and the business is pretty good. Second brother Jianjun joined our team, and the
two younger ones will graduate soon. You just need to take care of yourself."
——
At night, Jingsheng and Sijiang came out of the hospital carrying snakeskin bags. The late-night
snack stalls at the entrance were busy, sewage flowed from the upper street to the road, and the
smell of fried noodles hit them in the face. The inside and outside of the hospital were like two
different worlds separated by a gate. It seemed that the family members could only breathe a
sigh of relief when they came out. Once they entered that door, everyone had no choice.
"Are you hungry?" Jingsheng looked a little funny carrying a snakeskin bag.
"I'm not hungry," Si Jiang said, holding the remaining flower cakes with his schoolbag on his back.
"My uncle has done so many great things, but my family doesn't know anything about it."
"He didn't think it was anything special," Jingsheng thought for a while, "but, Nannan, I now think
it's not bad to be a good person."
This sentence was a bit incoherent, but Si Jiang understood it and took his arm: "Brother is also a
very good person. He beat up old hooligans, helped young girls, and saved classmates."
Jingsheng smiled and said, "I'm doing this for myself, I can't compare myself to my father."
"Nannan said a long time ago that my uncle doesn't look like a gangster, but a knight-errant. It
seems that she has a good eye." Si Jiang sighed.
Thinking of the dirty talk that Gu Dongwen had said to him, Jingsheng sneered: "He is just an
authentic old gangster, a good gangster among gangsters."
Si Jiang didn't like what he heard and pinched Jingsheng a few times.
"Be careful, it will get hard if you pinch it again." Jingsheng glanced at her, took her hand and put
it in his trouser pocket.
Si Jiang stroked it openly and said, "Don't lie, little rascal. It's obviously soft. If you have the guts,
try to make it hard."
"I'm sorry, I don't dare. I don't have the ability."
The two of them were laughing foolishly at the bus stop, their hands in their trouser pockets
entangled and inseparable.
Si Jiang thought about it carefully. This was the first time Jingsheng had made such a joke in a few
months. She couldn't help but ask, "Are you feeling better?"
Jingsheng let out a long sigh: "Yeah, much better."
Life must go on and he can still laugh.

Chapter 312
On the day Beiwu and Dongwen went to Hong Kong, Si Jiang saw Nurse Lu cry for the first time.
Hongqiao Airport was crowded. The tall and thin brothers smiled, turned around and waved at
the security entrance, and were gradually lost in the crowd. Si Jiang was squeezed away by
passengers who were in a hurry to catch the plane and almost fell. Jingsheng protected her and
stepped aside. Nurse Lu stubbornly pursed her lips and stayed where she was. She was constantly
pushed around and scolded several times. Si Jiang knew that the position could see the farthest.
After this wave of dense crowds passed, the surroundings suddenly became empty, and there
were almost only a few of them in front of the Hong Kong and Macau International Entrance.
Nurse Lu turned around and saw Jingsheng and Sijiang's concerned eyes, and smiled: "You
haven't left yet?"
"I'll wait for you." Jingsheng took out a handkerchief from his trouser pocket, strode over,
squatted down, and wiped the messy shoe prints on Nurse Lu's leather shoes.
Nurse Lu was startled and her legs shook so much that she almost kicked Jingsheng.
"Okay, let's go, she will be back soon." Jingsheng stood up.
"Give it to me, give it to me," Nurse Lu snatched the handkerchief, and said a little helplessly, "I'm
going to the bathroom to wash it--" She almost ran out at a trot. After running a dozen steps, she
stopped and looked at the sign carefully, then turned around and ran back to the side, waved at
Jingsheng awkwardly, motioning him to wait for her.
Si Jiang followed.
There were not many people in the bathroom. Nurse Lu was rubbing her handkerchief with her
head down, and Si Jiang was waiting quietly by the side.
The faucet is very advanced and is sensor-based. You have to lift your hand after a while for water
to continue to flow.
Nurse Lu rubbed very hard, her shoulders and back were moving, but the rhythm was getting
slower and slower, and the sound of water gradually stopped.
She hunched her back, with her hands resting on the wash basin. Her shoulders were shaking
slightly, and gradually her whole body was shaking like a skeleton hanging by a string.
Si Jiang hesitated for a moment and did not go forward. The woman in the mirror lowered her
head, with a long, transparent snot hanging down her nose, shaking with the amplitude of her
body, like a nonsensical scene in a Hong Kong comedy. But the sadness was too overwhelming,
and Si Jiang could not help but burst into tears.
The handkerchief that had been used to wipe the shoes was wrinkled and covered the woman's
face. It was rubbed continuously under the faucet, and it could not bear it all. After a long time,
the handkerchief was wrung so hard that no more water could drip from it. It was stretched
horizontally and vertically and folded into a square piece of dried tofu.
"Let's go." Nurse Lu returned to the ordinary woman who was taciturn, gentle and inconspicuous.
In the last row of the airport bus, the three people who were seeing the plane off were silent. A
plane took off with a roar and rushed into the blue sky. The three people turned their heads to
look over at the same time, their eyes reddened.
Gu Dongwen said that he wanted to die by the Lancang River and let Jingsheng scatter his ashes
into the river so that he could be buried with Susu. It couldn't be considered a joint burial, but
after his death he wanted to follow her through every dangerous shoal she passed, every reef she
sank into, and every grain of sand she blended into.
Si Jiang never knew that his uncle had such good literary talent.
Gu Dongwen laughed and said that he just said what he thought in his heart, and it was not a
shitty literary talent.
But he didn't know that behind him, there was also someone who had been following him.
Maybe he knew, but he couldn't give more.
This has always been difficult to achieve.
——
This autumn in Shanghai is no different from the previous ones. The aroma of sugar-roasted
chestnuts wafts through the streets. Some people have already put on down jackets, some are
still wearing spring and autumn shirts, some are wearing sweaters, and some are still wearing
shirts. They know the cold and warmth by themselves. Outside the alley of Wanchun Street, the
vendors selling baked sweet potatoes and fried dough sticks each occupy one side, helping each
other. The shouts of people sharpening scissors and kitchen knives drift from the entrance to the
end of the alley. On the edge of Tange Road, a barber uncle shaves a grandfather's head in the
sun. The razor flies up and down along the razor cloth soaked in lard, making a crisp "pa pa"
sound. When he sees Jingsheng and Sijiang, the razor cloth is thrown on the cement platform
with a crackling sound: "Hey, are you back from sending the plane? Did Dongwen and Beiwu go
to Hong Kong?"
"Hello uncle, hello grandpa, um, this is a Zhonglangge plane." Si Jiang greeted with a smile.
"Little Gu, do you want to get a haircut? Forget the money," the uncle said unhappily, "Gu
Dongwen is just a bastard, but you really want to get a haircut. Don't count your gossip, it makes
me want to get a haircut."
Jingsheng touched his head and then his chin: "Uncle, I want to shave."
"Come here and sit down."
Grandpa touched his newly shaved head, stood up, gave the old rattan chair to Jingsheng, and
smiled as he paid five cents. Si Jiang brought a small square stool over and leaned against
Jingsheng's legs to read the newspaper.
The warm towel was rubbed against Jingsheng's chin several times, and soon the brush was
rubbed with some soap. Si Jiang felt strange, and looked closely with his chin in his hand. The
white bubbles under the sun were fine and dense. Jingsheng half-closed his eyes, and the
shadow of his thick eyelashes was like a curled cat, lying quietly under his eyelids. The hot towel
was covered, and Jingsheng's crossed fingers on his abdomen moved slightly.
"Is it hot?" Si Jiang asked with a smile.
“Somewhat.”
A fat orange cat from an unknown house jumped down from the window with its tail erect. It
landed silently, turned its head to look at Jingsheng and Sijiang with an unhappy look on its face,
swayed twice, and then jumped onto Jingsheng's knees.
The barber uncle exclaimed, "Ah!" "Ce Na, Nong Ke Ning! Go down, go down." As he spoke, he
reached out to pick it up.
Jingsheng blocked his uncle's hand and stroked the cat's fur: "It's okay, let it go."
The fat cat meowed and changed its posture to bask in the sun.
Si Jiang carefully stretched out his hand: "Mimi, let me touch it, okay?"
Jingsheng: "Okay, touch whatever you want."
Si Jiang stepped on his foot and reached out to touch the cat's back. It was well-fed and looked
like it must have good food.
The cat felt comfortable being touched and suddenly turned over with its belly facing up. It
glanced at Si Jiang and motioned her to continue.
All three of them burst into laughter.
Si Jiang held the cat to himself and smoothed its fur, while Jingsheng raised his face to receive the
baptism of the razor.
——
At one o'clock in the middle of the night, Si Jiang climbed down the attic barefoot again, and the
cat entered the pavilion.
She and he had missed the entire summer since April. Before winter was about to come, she
longed to feel Jingsheng's warmth and also longed to warm him.
Jingsheng has been waiting for her.
The two of them said nothing, just stared at each other quietly, hugged quietly, and kissed
quietly. In the darkness, Si Jiang felt Jingsheng's old scar, which was long, like a centipede's leg,
with a concave line. She even knew where the nail was nailed.
"I want to be one of the four nails." Si Jiang whispered his true feelings into Jingsheng's ear.
Never leave him for a second, pin him down with yourself forever and accompany him.
She was responded with a kiss that suddenly became passionate, like a storm.
How long had it been since they kissed? Under the shadow of the disease, any joy seemed to
carry original sin, and the feelings that had been pent up for more than half a year rose up like a
tornado, out of control.
Si Jiang felt like a small boat in the vast ocean, rising and sinking in the huge waves, sometimes
soaring into the air and sometimes submerged.
Finally, the two of them squeezed on the single bed and lay sideways in the same direction, like
two obedient porcelain spoons. The small kisses and rubbings, sometimes shallow, sometimes
deep, gentle and firm, seemed endless. Si Jiang hid himself under the pillow several times to
catch his breath, but Jingsheng pulled him out by the chin and twisted him to kiss him. The dark
and narrow pavilion was filled with ambiguous smells and sounds, doubling all the senses.
The first pigeon whistle broke the silence before dawn. Between the brick-red or dark gray roofs
and the vast sky, small black dots lined up and circled. Roads, trees, tram lines, and electric wires
crisscrossed and connected shanty towns, alleys, courtyards, gardens, villas, and high-rise
buildings, with and without frames, blending into a blurry forest. The moon was a thin, light,
transparent piece, embedded in the duck egg blue sky, with a strange softness.
Si Jiang quietly returned to the attic barefoot. There was a faint bright color outside the dormer
window. Si Nan was lying on the bed with his legs spread out.
She raised her arms and smelled herself. She could still vaguely smell the fresh scent of the forest
after the rain on Jingsheng. She had shed too many tears at night, and the skin on her face felt a
little tight.
There were a few noises coming from the kitchen downstairs. Si Jiang listened carefully and
changed out of his pajamas. When he was changing clothes, he realized that he was in pain all
over. His back was sprained, his waist was sore, his legs were shaking, and his thigh muscles
seemed to be strained and extremely sore. It seemed that his neck was also sprained.
After finally changing her clothes, Si Jiang inexplicably thought of a proverb: Don't take on a job
that requires no skills. She hugged her pajamas that were stained with Jingsheng's scent and
laughed foolishly. He was not knocked down, he was still alive and hot, how good.
——
There is still more than a month until 1990. Kowloon and Hong Kong Island are already full of red,
green and gold, and the Christmas atmosphere is very strong. The song of Golden Dog Belle is
everywhere. The Star Ferry departs from Tsim Sha Tsui and sails through Victoria Harbour to
Hong Kong Island. In the South Hong Kong Special Zone, Dongwen and Beiwu take a double-
decker bus from Central to Causeway Bay. As soon as we get off the bus, we see dense and
layered colorful signs replacing the skyline. When the green light comes on, the crowd is like a
school of fish caught in a fishing net, surging forward and rushing. Beiwu is fine, but Dongwen is
not used to it.
In a fairly busy alley next to the Sogo Department Store, Dongwen and Beiwu saw the result of
Nanhong's hard work. The shop was not big, only about ten square meters, with three colors:
black, white and gray, and the sign only had English words: Quartet.
Dongwen asked: "What do you mean?"
Kitau: "Quartet."
Dongwen is now considered an old wizard in the clothing industry. After taking a look around, he
was amazed.
“How many stores are open now?”
"Three. One in Tsim Sha Tsui, here in Causeway Bay, and one in an office building in Central," Nan
Hong casually mentioned while looking at the sales daily. "There's an Allah ads on TV at night. We
bought it for a year."
“It’s a big deal.”
"Hong Kong people really like this." Nanhong smiled and asked Beiwu to help look at the financial
statements for this month and last month. At six o'clock in the evening, it was afternoon tea time
for major companies in Hong Kong. Many fashionable girls came in, and their eyes would
unconsciously stay on Nanhong for a moment. Dongwen was quite proud. Nanhong was wearing
a series designed by himself. Over a smoky gray ruffled silk shirt, she wore a dark gray and black
fine plaid suit, without high shoulder pads and not too loose. She wore black skinny trousers
underneath, revealing her delicate ankles, and a pair of black suede boat shoes.
The new series, which was forced to be sold out, was a big hit. Floor managers of several large
department stores have included Quartet in the list of new women's clothing brands to be
investigated next year. At the end of October, Mr. Fang came out safely and pulled all subsequent
production back to the Dongguan factory for production. The Fang family has to pay 30 million in
taxes this year. They can't make false accounts. They need orders and cash flow to fill in the
money. The high-end series is still made in two factories in Hong Kong and exported to the UK.
The factory's orders for next year are full, and they will also receive inspections from Japanese
and Taiwanese customers before Christmas. Now Mr. Fang doesn't trust anyone except Gu
Nanhong. "Miss Gu" is no longer the same as Miss Gu who was responsible for design and did
private work openly. Naturally, there were rumors in the factory. Some said Nanhong was from
Mr. Fang's second wife, some from his third wife, and some from his fourth wife. After Nanhong
confronted a senior human resources manager in person, the manager, who was Mrs. Fang's
cousin, was directly put on a speedboat and sent back to Shantou by Mr. Fang. From then on, no
one dared to make a fuss in the factory.
After watching the store, Nanhong looked at her watch and said, "Brother, how can you handle
this? Can you handle it?"
"It's okay, we can walk back to Kowloon." Gu Dongwen replied with a smile.
"Boss Fang wants to treat you to a meal, let's go." Nanhong took out a mobile phone from her
bag and called the driver.
The black Crown sedan soon stopped in front of the store. Nanhong smiled and said goodbye to
the store manager and the staff, then took Dongwen and Beiwu into the car.
Hong Kong's roads are narrow, but the buses are huge, and the density of vehicles is staggering.
But the speed is not slow, and there are few honking sounds.
The driver drove very aggressively, sometimes pushing back, because Mr. Fang was not there or
because he was in a hurry. Dongwen praised him several times, and the driver smiled and said a
few humble words in Mandarin with a Chaoshan accent. Nanhong and Beiwu chatted in
Shanghainese all the way, but they talked about the big situation, the environment and the
economy. Regarding Ximei's remarriage, Nanhong only said: As long as she is happy. This
coincided with Sinan's opinion.
When Mr. Fang first arrived in Hong Kong, he followed the example of Mr. Li, a famous Chaoshan
person, and tried every means to buy a mansion on Deep Water Bay Road for the sake of Feng
Shui. However, his family was still in Shantou, and although the mansion was large, it was not
very popular, with only seven or eight servants and gardeners guarding it. In order to welcome
Dong Wen Bei Wu, Mr. Fang moved back here from the factory two days earlier, and asked the
servants to carefully clean the guest rooms, trim the flowers and trees, and clean the swimming
pool, which was quite like Liu Bei.

Chapter 313
When the three Nanhong siblings saw Fang Zhenghao cooking in the bright and spacious kitchen
with his sleeves rolled up and an apron on, they were all stunned for a while. This dinner party
was completely different from what they had imagined. It was a sincere and serious "dinner
party."
"Why is the boss so busy?" Nanhong asked with a smile.
"Of course, of course. We haven't had any good friends here this year. We can just steam another
fish and have dinner. Mrs. Sun, serve tea to the guests and make Miss Gu a cup of Blue Mountain
coffee." Fang Zhenghao took off his apron and washed his hands with a smile, then strode over to
shake hands with Dongwen and Beiwu, then looked at his watch and asked the chef to start
steaming the fish in a quarter of an hour.
Fang Zhenghao was in his prime, not tall, with a long face, and a very amiable smile. His rolled-up
sleeves revealed lean and strong arms. He wore an ordinary gold Rolex watch, a pair of suit
trousers, and a pair of flip-flops. When he walked, the soles of his shoes tapped on the shiny
marble floor and the reflection of the crystal chandelier, which created a quite contrast.
There were already six bowls and eight plates on the table. Nan Hong and the other two praised
the food. Fang Zhenghao smiled and said, "The stewed and roasted food were prepared by Da Qi,
and the hot dishes were cooked by me, so don't be disgusted."
The tea was made with great skill, Fang Zhenghao poured it freely over the sea of tea, holding the
teacup that had been scalded by boiling water without feeling the heat at all. After Gu Dongwen
exchanged some cooking tips with him, he formally thanked him for his help to Nanhong.
Fang Zhenghao said politely that he dared not, and that they each took what they needed. If it
weren't for Nanhong and his wife, who knows what would happen to the family this time. It can
be seen that everything has its reasons. He highly respected and admired Nanhong, and asked
Beiwu about his previous work and future plans. The four of them talked and laughed and got
along very well.
After three brews of tea, the guest of honor moved to the dining room.
"Brother Gu, come and try this watercress in soup. It's very light."
"I can eat this winter vegetable and pork ribs pot every day. How about you try it?"
"This is called fish rice, hahaha. There's no rice. I want to dip it in this sauce. Want to try it?"
"This hot barbecued pork made by Da Qi is really delicious. Come, come, come, it's the best in
Hong Kong. The barbecued pork in my restaurant is made with his recipe."
For this meal, Gu Dongwen ate a whole bowl of rice for the first time in a long time.
"Your Chaoshan cuisine is so delicious and tasty. You should open a restaurant in Shanghai,
really."
Fang Zhenghao nodded with a smile, and asked Da Qi to cook another bowl of beef noodle soup
for Nan Hong. Nan Hong didn't like rice, but liked rice noodles and the like, so she smiled and said
thank you.
Bei Wu felt that Fang Zhenghao treated Nan Hong differently the moment he entered the room,
but now seeing Nan Hong's graceful and generous demeanor, he understood the reason.
After dinner, Mr. Fang invited the three siblings of the Gu family to the study on the second floor,
and then he stopped being polite and formally invited Beiwu. The Fang family has been
transforming for several years, but except for the clothing and catering business, the other
businesses are all losses. With such a large family and a large business, they have never been able
to completely cut off the shameful part. Of course, the brothers have different ideas. Family
business is a double-edged sword. When the whole family works together, they can get twice the
result with half the effort. But the disadvantage is the complicated relationship between
relatives. Whether it works or not, whether it makes money or loses money, it is not the business
of one person. Mr. Fang has had enough of this kind of shared honor and disgrace. After the false
alarm in the summer, the differences are even greater.
"To be honest, I have no idea which way to go," Fang Zhenghao said modestly. "Many of my
friends have immigrated to the United States and Canada. I don't know what I can do after I go
there. I can't really make a living by running a restaurant. Teacher Gu, you majored in economics
and have been in Beijing all the time. Please feel free to give me your advice. If you are willing to
give in, I won't thank you. I will definitely give you more. We can discuss shares and dividends."
Most ordinary people have this illusion: those who graduate from the Chinese department are all
writers, those who graduate from the economics department are all good at making money, and
those who graduate from the political science department are all high-ranking officials.
Bei Wu couldn't help but laugh and said, "I dare not. Mr. Fang, what you lack is professional
business management talents, which is quite different from my economics department. If you
don't mind, I will just say a few words of my own experience for your reference."
"Please go ahead."
"It seems that a lot of foreign capital is withdrawing now, and the political situation affects the
economic environment. This is normal, but I think this is only temporary. The real large-scale
investment has not actually started, the financial industry has not been opened to the outside
world, the planned economy has not completely ended, and we don't even have a stock market. I
think the 1990s are the real big opportunity. Instead of developing in the United States and
Canada, it is better to follow the leaders among the wealthy in Hong Kong," seeing Fang
Zhenghao's thoughtful expression, Bei Wu smiled and continued, "In fact, many things do not
have to be seen in Beijing. The Dong family, the Bao family, the Li family, the Guo family, and the
Zheng family, which one is not actively developing relations with the mainland? Hong Kong is only
1,100 square kilometers , with a population of 5.6 million, and a GDP of 59.707 billion U.S. dollars
last year, accounting for 0.31% of the world's total. However, the entire mainland has an area of
9.6 million square kilometers, a population of 1.1 billion, and a GDP of only more than 310 billion
U.S. dollars, accounting for only 1.6% of the world's total. Looking further ahead, in ten years, the
proportion of the mainland's GDP in the world will definitely be among the top ten, and in twenty
years, we will definitely be among the top five in the world. One reason is that we have
accumulated a lot of experience, and another reason is that we are walking the path that
developed countries have taken, so we will never miss the scenery that we should have. As long
as the policy of reform and opening up remains unchanged, as long as we do not close our doors
to the outside world, China will definitely become the most active economic region in the world.
As long as Boss Fang is willing to make this money, he will definitely make it."
"Listening to your words is worth ten years of study!" Fang Zhenghao couldn't hide his
excitement and slapped his thighs repeatedly. "I told them that it would be better to go to Beijing
or Shanghai than to Canada, but they just wouldn't listen. Ugh!"
Beiwu smiled but said nothing.
"I heard that the Dong family is going to develop real estate in Beijing?" Fang Zhenghao hesitated
for a moment and asked, "I just heard a few words--"
"Land will always belong to the country, but commercial and residential real estate will definitely
develop. No force can stop it, because every country will go through this," Bei Wu said calmly,
"and the process is no exception. The combination of money and power will inevitably bring the
greatest benefits. If Boss Fang is not greedy, does not fight for the first bite of the soup, does not
make the last penny, and casts a net in the middle and lower reaches, although he may not catch
wild knife fish, he will definitely not return empty-handed. Stability is the most important thing,
right?"
Fang Zhenghao is a person who can understand things quickly. These are things his family has
been good at for many years. Now that he has a direction, there is no need to say more. He
turned to Gu Dongwen and said, "I have also inquired about your illness, Brother Gu. Liver
transplant surgery is now available in the UK and the US, but not in Hong Kong. I only heard that
Professor Fan Shangda of the Department of Surgery of the University of Hong Kong is preparing
for the first liver transplant surgery. Nanhong contacted the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital
through the relationship with HSBC. The doctors are not bad. You should go for a comprehensive
examination the day after tomorrow and see what the doctor says. If you need to go to the US or
the UK, feel free to find me. Don't be polite to me."
——
Back at the hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, Gu Dongwen asked Nan Hong: "Is Boss Fang interested in you?"
Nan Hong was startled and smiled: "No?"
"It's okay if you say so." Dongwen also smiled.
Nanhong snorted, took the bottle of mineral water that Beiwu had unscrewed, and gulped down
a big mouthful. "I'm not stupid. What good would it be for me to follow him? Free food and drink
without salary? Being told to my face that I got promoted by sleeping with my boss? You know
the character of these private bosses, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Chaoshan, and they are all the same.
They wish the company was full of their own women, who don't have to pay a penny, earn
money for him during the day, and warm his bed at night. He's interested in me? He deserves to
be interested."
Dongwen and Beiwu both laughed so hard. Gu Nanhong was Gu Nanhong. She was still Gu
Nanhong after leaving Wanchun Street. She was still Gu Nanhong after going to Chongming
Island. She was still Gu Nanhong after leaving Shanghai and going to Hong Kong Island.
"Don't be fooled by his attentive and honest appearance. He's just pretending to trick Beiwu into
joining him," Nanhong rolled her eyes. "I've already lost my husband. Am I going to sell my
brother to the Fang family? Bah, you don't know the mess in his family. If I follow him, I won't
even be able to marry the fourth wife. Haha, he's even more ruthless than the Macau gambling
king. The first wife became the second wife, the second wife became the first wife, the first wife
got a divorce certificate while pregnant, and the son she gave birth to has now become a
concubine. The third wife is kept in the factory here to manage the accounts. When she sees me,
I look like a black-eyed chicken and she wants to peck my flesh off. Last time, I finally borrowed
some money from HSBC, and she almost ruined it. It was all over the place, and it collapsed."
Nanhong was very proud of the battle against HSBC. She was truly a master of both external
defense and internal peace, dodged countless traps, and braved hundreds of obstacles. She was
very proud of the battle and took out a small silver business card box from her bag to show her
achievements.
"In two or three years at most, when I leave the Fang family, I will definitely bring my sons back to
Shanghai to be in the limelight. Look, this is Miss Zhang, the cousin of the shipping tycoon Dong's
family. The HSBC boss introduced us to each other. She admires me very much and wants me to
work for the Dong family, but she wants to take me to Beijing. I won't come to bother her. That
autumn and winter, I had nosebleeds so much that I could die. No matter how much money I
make, it's not worth it to waste my good leather." Nanhong was a little regretful, but very proud.
"Besides, I still like to deal in clothes. There is also this business card. Look at it. It's from Cheung
Kong Group, in his forties, divorced for two years, and is considered good-looking among
Cantonese people, but he is a little short, less than 1.7 meters tall. He has been pursuing me for
three months. I will sleep with him if I want, and I can also find a way to buy a house at an
internal price."
Bei Wu's eyes curved with laughter. Gu Nanhong's ambitions ended here. If it were anyone else,
no matter if they were men or women, they would be able to climb up very quickly without a
ladder. However, for the sake of looking good and for the things she liked, she had to put money
and status aside.

Chapter 314
When Nanhong left the hotel, she saw Zhao Yanhong leaning against the corner smoking.
"How is your elder brother?" Zhao Yanhong put out his cigarette and stood up straight.
Nan Hong looked him up and down and raised her chin: "You look pretty energetic, and you can
eat and walk. Why don't you come up? Will my brothers eat you?"
Zhao Yanhong smiled and said, "I'm too embarrassed to see them."
If they were still in Shanghai, Nanhong would have said something sarcastic to him, "You seem to
have been so proud for a long time." But now she couldn't say it out loud, and just moved her
bag to another shoulder: "Where are the people in Chang'an?"
"I just got out of English cram school. I had a bowl of noodles outside and am studying at home."
The two of them walked silently along Nathan Road towards the subway entrance. Nanhong
deliberately slowed down her pace. Zhao Yanhong followed behind her with his crippled leg,
telling her intermittently what nonsense Zhao Changan had said and done today.
"Alice in his class, the girl from Shanghai, asked him to go to the movies, and he invited three
male classmates to go with him. The girl was so angry that she came back and said that the other
boy was stingy." Zhao Yanhong smiled and sighed, "The little redhead has not yet come to his
senses. He doesn't look like your son at all."
"Asantou is just a silly little girl." Nanhong's expression relaxed a little when she talked about her
son.
"Hey, we agreed not to call him Ah San anymore--" Zhao Yanhong laughed. There are too many
Indian Ah Sans in Hong Kong. Zhao Changan has been clamoring to protest against his family
members calling him Ah San since he came here two years ago.
Nan Hong raised her eyebrows and said, "You are the one who spoiled him. He is the third child.
What's wrong with that? He is fat and white. How can he look like an Indian third child? Really!"
Passing by a roast meat shop that was about to close, Nan Hong stopped and bought the last
roast pork on the hook, two salted eggs and a portion of boiled vegetables. Zhao Yanhong rushed
to pay and took the plastic bag.
The two men exited Prince Edward MTR station and entered a convenience store next to the
Mong Kok Police Station.
Zhao Yanhong bought four bottles of San Miguel beer, a large bottle of milk, two packs of white
toast, and a bag of bacon: "Do you have any eggs at home? I can't remember."
"Buy it. It won't go bad if you buy it." Nanhong took a few packs of sanitary napkins as spares and
bought Zhao Yanhong a new toothbrush: "I've been saying for decades that toothpaste should be
squeezed from the bottom to the top. After use, wipe the toothpaste off the mouth. The lid can't
be closed tightly. I get angry when I see it!"
Zhao Yanhong: "I'm sorry. I'll remember it next time."
Nanhong rushed to pay before him and rolled her eyes at him: "Next time, next time, I've already
taken hundreds of trips!"
Going north from the Mong Kok Police Station is Sai Yeung Choi Street North. The surroundings
suddenly became quiet, like two different worlds from the brightly lit and bustling Sai Yeung Choi
Street South not far away. The windows of the closed real estate agency shops were covered with
dense house sale information. Nan Hong stopped to take a closer look as usual, and took out a
pen and paper and a computer from her bag to record. After all these years, she was still not
used to calculating by feet or square meters, and had to convert it into square meters to feel at
ease and clear.
Zhao Yanhong put down the plastic bags in his hand, took two steps back, squatted on the curb,
took out a cigarette, and stared at Nanhong's back.
"Oh, the price has gone up again. The price of houses below 40 square meters dropped by 1,000
yuan in September, but it has gone back to 18,000 yuan this month." Nan Hong stomped her feet
in anger.
Zhao Yanhong laughed: "You can't buy such a small house, what does it have to do with you?"
"Do you understand the trend? Everything goes up when it goes up. Take a look at this, a luxury
house among luxury houses, 78 square meters, which costs just under 15,000 per square meter,
with a total price of 1.17 million. HSBC gives me an annual interest rate of 4.5%, which is 1%
lower than the market price. How do you think it is?"
"Go and see the house when you have time." Zhao Yanhong responded.
Nan Hong sighed: "I wish I could go and see it when I have time."
In the past two years, the housing prices in Hong Kong have been soaring. In 1986, the average
price of a 40 to 70 square meter apartment in Kowloon was less than 7,000 yuan. In 1987, there
was the worst stock market crash in history. In the past three years, the housing prices have
doubled. Even though Nanhong earns a lot now, a house price of one million Hong Kong dollars
still seems out of reach. After Zhao Yanhong divorced, he rented a 7-square-meter room nearby
to take care of Zhao Changan who was still studying. He returned the rent before going to
Shantou in the summer. After returning, Nanhong let him squeeze in two bunk beds with his
three sons at home, saving a monthly rent of 1,000 Hong Kong dollars.
The three sons have grown up. Zhao Jing'an worked hard and made good on the 30,000 yuan
tuition fees Nanhong spent over the years. He was admitted to the Hong Kong Polytechnic School
of Civil Engineering and will have no worries about his future. The year before last, Gu Dongwen
and Gu Beiwu each sent him a bonus of 1,000 yuan. Zhao Changning, who just turned 18,
couldn't continue his studies. Last year, he went to work as an apprentice in a small car
dealership in Mong Kok. He had long hair and often followed his master and senior brothers to
help fight with wrenches, which made Nanhong so angry that she beat him up several times.
Nanhong watched Zhao Changning the most closely, forbidding him to get tattoos, visit
prostitutes, take drugs, fight, join gangs, lend money to fellow apprentices, or gamble. She made
him write two full pages of guarantee and posted them on the wall. Now Zhao Yanhong was free,
so Nanhong asked him to go to the car dealership three times a day, under the pretext of
delivering food and sweets, but in fact it was surveillance. Zhao Changning was so angry that he
turned around and followed his senior brother to get a tattoo. His senior brother got a majestic
green dragon, but the apprentice at the tattoo shop got him a green lizard, which made him cry
on the spot. The tattoo artist felt embarrassed and confiscated his money, but promised that
tattoo removal would be free in the future. He carried the lizard on his back and didn't take a
shower for two days. When Nanhong stripped him of his sweat shirt, he thought he was going to
be beaten with a belt again, but Nanhong laughed so hard that she fell forward and backward,
and even called the neighbors to come and see the joke. Zhao Changning was so embarrassed
that he slept in the car dealership for three days and refused to come back.
The third brother, Zhao Changan, saw that his second brother's way of living was not good
enough, so he decided to study hard. So he suddenly realized his mistake and took the initiative
to ask for extra lessons. He still had one year to cram. As for whether he could get into university,
Nanhong didn't have any hope. As long as he had a pair of hands, people in Hong Kong would not
starve to death anyway.
——
When they got home, Er and San were cooking instant noodles and watching TV respectively.
When they saw the barbecued pork, salted egg, bacon and beer, they cheered and asked how
their uncles were.
"Ask yourself when you have morning tea tomorrow," Nan Hong packed up her things unhappily,
"Zhao Changning, come over here and clean up the instant noodle crumbs, they're everywhere,
you're the same as your dad!"
"Dad, can you help me?" Zhao Changning looked at his grandfather pitifully with half a piece of
barbecued pork in his mouth.
Zhao Yanhong took a broom and mop and went into the kitchen. The kitchen was too small, and
one more person couldn't turn around. Nanhong squeezed out with a stern face and went to take
a shower. This 38-square-meter two-bedroom, one-living room house was rented by her later.
She liked it at first sight because it had an independent kitchen and bathroom. The rent has risen
to 7,000 Hong Kong dollars this year. She originally wanted to buy a 60-square-meter pre-sale
house in the spring, but first the Fang family got into trouble, and then Dongwen got sick. She
remitted the 10% down payment back home, and the purchase of the house was put on hold
again. Today, she met with Dongwen and Beiwu. Dongwen returned her 90,000 Hong Kong
dollars and repeatedly emphasized that the 10,000 yuan she received was enough for her
kindness, and she would never pay another penny. Gu Dongwen always kept his word, so
Nanhong didn't force him anymore. Beiwu advised her to buy a house as soon as possible. Hong
Kong's housing prices will only get higher and higher like New York and Tokyo. Of course, it is
better to use the 7,000 yuan rent a month to pay off the loan.
Nanhong was doing the accounting while taking a bath. Besides the rent, which was the biggest
expense, the eldest son's tuition was more than 10,000 yuan a year, but he would work at
McDonald's during the winter and summer vacations, and could earn 3,000 yuan a month and
hand in 2,000 yuan. The second son would no longer be considered an apprentice next year, and
could earn 3,000 to 4,000 yuan a month, leaving the third son with more than 3,000 yuan a
month for tutoring. The family's daily expenses, including water, electricity, transportation and
miscellaneous fees, were not much, and the maximum for five people was 6,000 yuan. Zhao
Yanhong went back to Shantou to help this time, and Boss Fang gave him a red envelope of
100,000 yuan, and he had to hand it in no matter what. In addition, she had tens of thousands of
yuan in savings, so it would be no problem to pay the down payment for the house. The pre-sale
house could usually be occupied in one and a half to two years, and there was still time to save
money for decoration and furniture and appliances. After she had a clear mind, Nanhong took a
bath happily.
At night, the brothers Er and San fell asleep. Zhao Yanhong quietly got out of bed and closed the
door.
Nan Hong was counting banknotes at the dining table. She raised her eyes and glanced at him,
then continued to count down the numbers. Zhao Yanhong moved over and bent down to pick
up the empty plastic bag that fell to the floor, and poured her a glass of warm water.
"Do you have sex? Don't you feel sleepy?" Nan Hong drank half a glass of water and started
counting the pile of bills from the beginning again.
"Brother, do you still need money for medical treatment?"
"What for? Do you still have money?"
"Another point."
"How much is one point?"
"Twenty thousand yuan."
"You keep it. He even returned the money I remitted back to me, so how can he use your
money?" Nan Hong sighed. This was the first time she had heard of liver transplantation. She only
knew about the survival rate. Extremely low, but it’s better to try than not to try. Beiwu said that
doctors in Shanghai have been talking about it for up to half a year. For example, it is better to try
your luck, just in case...
"What did Boss Fang say?"
"Just like that, he wants Beiwu to help him with his business, how can that be possible!" Nan
Hong shook her head. Seeing Zhao Yanhong heaved a sigh of relief, she frowned again, "I've made
it clear to Boss Fang. I'll help him for another three years, and then we'll go back to Shanghai."
"Really going back?"
"Well," Nan Hong put away the large mess on the table, "I'm here to visit my relatives. Of course I
can only tell him that I want to leave Hong Kong, otherwise how can I leave?"
Zhao Yanhong was silent for a moment, then got up to put away the glasses.
Nanhong washed her hands, folded her arms and leaned at the kitchen door, looking at the man's
back. He was lame, maybe because he had been running on the sea for many years, but Zhao
Yanhong didn't slouch, his shoulders were straight, his back was straight, his waist was straight,
and his butt was still as perky.
Zhao Yanhong hung up the rag, turned around, saw Nanhong's meaningful look, and reached out
to hug her in his arms.
"Carry me into the room." Nanhong looked at him seductively and bit his Adam's apple.
Zhao Yanhong carried her into the room quietly and easily, and Nanhong kicked the door shut on
tiptoe.
——
"Shall we remarry?" At the critical moment, Zhao Yanhong suddenly braked and asked Nanhong
in a low voice.
Nanhong opened her eyes and frowned.
Zhao Yanhong suddenly arched his back and rushed forward.
Nanhong turned her head and saw the shadows of her legs on the wardrobe dangling in the air.
There was a yellow moon in Hong Kong tonight, like the skin of a fresh meat mooncake,
completely opaque and shiny, and even her shadow seemed to be coated with a layer of
tenderness.
Afterwards, Nanhong leaned against the head of the bed, smoking, and answered the question
just now.
"That's it, it's good."

Chapter 315
The next day, Nanhong took Changning and Changan to the hotel to pick up Dongwen and Beiwu,
and then went to Fengcheng Restaurant on Prince Edward Nathan Road for morning tea.
Fengcheng is another name for Shunde in Guangdong. Fengcheng Restaurant is famous for
Shunde cuisine. Nanhong loves their barbecued pork cakes the most. Zhao Yanhong came early in
the morning to wait for a table and had already ordered a table of dim sum. When he saw his
brother-in-law, he immediately stood up and greeted him.
Dong Wen looked him up and down, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Thank you."
Zhao Yanhong was startled: "No, nothing——" What to thank him for? He couldn't figure it out
for a moment, and when he turned around and saw Bei Wuqing's eyes falling on him, he became
nervous again.
Zhao Changning was tall and strong with long hair, his denim shirt was open, and his grey tight
sweatshirt showed off his two thriving pectoral muscles. He looked like a Gatling gun, ready to
shoot at anyone at any time. As soon as he entered the door, he was received with extra
enthusiasm because of his image of a gangster. The young man was so excited that his face
turned slightly red. When he called him uncle, his voice trembled, trembling, not shaking.
Seeing the five servings of barbecued pork puffs on the table, Zhao Changning's eyes lit up and he
smiled happily.
Dongwen and Beiwu smiled and said that Er and San hadn't changed much in these years. The
children who were still childish must have a good life, and their parents at least did their best.
There were tables one after another in the restaurant hall, with almost no aisles. The backs of the
chairs were lined up closely together, and the conversations of the people at one table could be
heard from all directions. The morning newspaper in the old man's hand was unfolded, and
everyone in the three tables in a row could see clearly. The hall was very popular, and the
temperature was 7 or 8 degrees higher than outside. It was very hot. The old men next to
Nanhong's table were very rich and festive, and they were wearing a lot of clothes. The sweat
smelled like meat burps, mixed with the smell of snacks, tea and cigarettes. Nanhong couldn't
help but frown, but the restaurant was full and it was not easy to change tables. Zhao Yanhong
sniffed and raised the napkin to fan her.
"Uncle, are Brother Jingsheng and Si Jiangsnan okay?" The Zhao Changning brothers also knew
that Gu Ximei had married another high-ranking official. Although they were all children from
divorced families, they never felt that their parents were really separated. After all, Zhao Yanhong
had never left them, so the two brothers were full of sympathy and pity for Si Jiangsnan.
"All are good," Dong Wen smiled, leaning forward to pinch Zhao Changning's biceps, "Oh, what a
model, better than old man Nong Ye."
Bei Wu also laughed: "Changning is quite strong, like you when you were young, big brother."
Zhao Changning glanced at his mother and shrank back: "No, no, no, I can't chop people, or my
mother will beat me to death."
The old lady serving dishes banged the steamer on the table, gave Zhao Changning a sidelong
look, and said in a standard Shanghainese way: "If you get involved in society, you'll get killed.
How can you understand that little tycoons (children) are safe?!"
Everyone at the table was stunned for a moment, and then burst into laughter.
After morning tea, Dongwen and Beiwu went to Nanhong's house to sit for a while. The house
was too small for six adults to move around, so Dongwen said he would just accompany Nanhong
to look at houses. Nanhong was afraid of tiring Dongwen, so she resolutely refused. After a few
arguments, she couldn't persuade him, so she took out her mobile phone and went to the
bedroom to make a call.
Through a door, Bei Wu heard Nan Hong speaking fluent Cantonese. Her voice was like a roller
coaster, breaking out of the framework of yinping, yangping, shangsheng and qusheng tones.
When it was gentle, it was like a bird flying around the forest; when it was crisp, it was like
electric firecrackers. Every ending word had a lingering sound, but the coquettish flavor of
Shanghai dialect was still there. I don't know what she was talking about, but she suddenly
laughed, and after she stopped laughing, the sound became softer and softer, and gradually
became inaudible.
In the living room, Chang Ning was laughing at Chang An for messing up his first date. The two
spoke in Shanghainese, Cantonese, and sometimes a few English words. Gu Dongwen sat at the
dining table and flipped through the newspaper. Zhao Yanhong was boiling water in the kitchen.
His broad shoulders seemed to be sitting in the half-open sliding door. He probably could hear
and understand what Nan Hong was saying, but he didn't move at all.
After a while, Nanhong changed her clothes, reapplied her lipstick, and came out with her bag:
"Let's go. A friend's company has a new building, and he will take us to see it."
As soon as Zhao Changning heard that he was going to look at a house, he wanted to escape. He
made the excuse that he had only taken half a day off and was in a hurry to return to the car
dealership.
Zhao Yanhong smiled and said, "You and your elder brother Beiwu go and watch it. Changan has
to take math classes in the afternoon. I'm going to buy some vegetables--"
"No need. Boss Fang wants to treat us to Shanghai Lao Zhengxing. You guys can eat at home. If
Jing'an comes back, ask him to come to the hotel at night," Nanhong patted her bag, "Call me if
you need anything."
——
Zhong Shengming drove his black Mercedes-Benz W201 from Hung Hom to Prince Edward
Station. He saw the three Gu brothers and sisters standing out from the crowd from afar. Because
the two men were obviously dressed like mainlanders, he turned on the lights and slowly moved
to the side of the road. As he got closer, he was surprised that Gu Nanhong was not the most
outstanding person in the Gu family. The two Gu brothers stood in the downtown area without
any sense of embarrassment, talking and laughing freely, very chic. Gu Nanhong was amused to
laugh so hard that she bent over, her long curly hair swaying down, and she gathered it to her
shoulders with one hand, and the whole person was shining in the sun. Zhong Shengming
couldn't help but be infected and raised the corners of his mouth.
"Is he your friend?" Bei Wu pointed out with a smile.
Nan Hong turned her head and said, "It's him."
Dongwen saw a man who looked less than 40 years old getting off the car. He was wearing a
three-piece light blue linen suit and a pair of black thin-framed glasses. He was indeed good-
looking, but definitely not 1.7 meters tall, maybe 1.68 meters at most.
"This is Vice President Zhong," Nan Hong smiled and shook hands with Zhong Shengming,
introducing them, "This is my eldest brother Gu Dongwen and my younger brother Gu Beiwu."
"Hello, just call me Lawrence," Zhong Shengming said with a smile, "Your brothers and sisters
have really unique names." He couldn't speak Mandarin, so he could only speak as slowly as
possible.
The car slowly merged into the traffic flow and continued driving towards Hung Hom.
"I'm sorry, I don't speak Mandarin very well—" Zhong Shengming gestured to Nanhong to open
the bottle of mineral water in the car, "I'm sorry."
"Vice President Zhong took us to see one of their buildings, it's very high-end," Nan Hong turned
around from the passenger seat and handed the water to Bei Wu, and asked Zhong Shengming in
Cantonese, "Which phase has been built so far?"
"The eleventh phase," Zhong Shengming smiled, "a total of twelve phases will be developed, and
it is estimated that all phases will be completed in two years."
Nanhong gathered her hair and turned to tell Dongwen and Beiwu, "It's next to the sea. It used to
be the Kowloon Dockyard. Some time ago, an ancient cannon was unearthed at the construction
site and was shown on TV. But the houses that can see the sea are all big houses, which I can't
afford."
Dongwen and Beiwu both laughed. It was rare to hear Nanhong being so humble.
Zhong Shengming parked the car in the basement of the Phase 8 Food Court and took them to
the Phase 11 construction site. It was obvious that he came here often. As soon as he
approached the construction site, someone came up to greet them, said a few words and gave
them four safety helmets. Zijing Garden has entered the stage of clearing, and the pre-sale units
have long been sold out. Due to the stock market crash, it is also common for houses to change
hands several times.
Climbing up to have a look, it is indeed worthy of being one of the top ten housing prices in Hong
Kong. The sea is boundless, seagulls are circling, and planes are taking off and landing not far
away.
"That's Kai Tak Airport, so the building height is restricted. It can only be built to the 16th floor.
The elevator room is on the 16th floor, so people on the top floor can only take the elevator to
the 15th floor and then walk up." Zhong Shengming was born as an architect. Although
Whampoa Garden was developed by Hutchison Whampoa, he knows all about it. "Bauhinia
Garden has a total of 13 buildings and 1,552 units, but there is a smallest unit except for the
second phase, which is 505 square feet-"
"About 51 square meters." Nanhong smiled and quickly typed on the computer.
"To be honest, this house was designed in a diamond shape because of Feng Shui considerations,
so it's not very cost-effective to renovate it. If you're not in a hurry, you can wait a little longer.
The Ka Wu Shan Villa in Tin Shui Wai will be pre-sold soon, and you can move in as early as 2004,"
Zhong Shengming suggested sincerely.
Nan Hong shook her head: "If I could wait, I wouldn't be in such a hurry to ask you for help. It's a
waste of time to kill a chicken with a butcher knife."
Being praised as a "big knife", Zhong Shengming was very touched and smiled: "The largest unit
in this phase is only 750 square feet. If you like it, you might as well buy Block 9. Block 9 starts
from the 3rd floor, one floor less than the other blocks, and has the least number of residents,
only 112 households, but the unit price is also a bit cheaper."
"As long as you can give me a discount, even 2 or 3 points, I will be happy." Nanhong smiled,
wanting to get a bargain in a fair and aboveboard manner.
The group moved to Building 9, looked at the different room types above the ninth floor, and
went downstairs to the food court for a light meal.
After finishing the light meal, Zhong Shengming went to buy coffee, leaving space for the three
siblings of the Gu family to discuss.
Nanhong took out a notebook and a computer.
"How about the last apartment we just looked at? The unit price is 18,000, the area is 75 square
meters, and the total price is 1.35 million. If the mortgage is for ten years, the monthly payment
is 12,000."
Bei Wu smiled and said, "Okay, the first millionaire of the Gu family is born."
"A million in debt!" Nan Hong sighed, "He's heading for the tiger mountain, and he's going to
force his way in."
Gu Dongwen took some painkillers, rested for a while, and then smiled: "Okay, let's buy the
biggest one, so that Jingsheng Sijiang and the others will have a place to stay when they come to
visit. It's just a little far from the sea."
"This is the price because it's far from the sea. The price of houses with sea view is over 20,000. I
can't walk to see it. I just want to eat and sleep when I get home after spending that much
money." Nanhong casually tied her long hair into a bun and put a ballpoint pen in it. "Beiwu, you
think the housing prices in Hong Kong will only go up and not down, right?"
"Even if it drops, it won't drop that much. If you live here by yourself, you don't have to worry
about all these things. The mortgage period can be longer. Currency depreciation is the general
trend. Money will only become less and less valuable," Beiwu smiled and took the computer.
"Why are you in a hurry to pay back the bank? Borrow for 30 years, and you only need to pay
6,000 a month, which is 1,000 less than your current rent."
"That would be such a loss for me! I would have to pay more than one million yuan in interest!"
Nanhong had already calculated the cost and always thought that the sooner she paid it back, the
better.
Bei Wu laughed, "You pay back 6,000 less every month, which is real cash. If you sell it on Huating
Road, you can sell it for 18,000, and make a net profit of 10,000. The circulation time is at most
three months. If you pay the money back to the bank, it's gone. If you make 10,000 more a
month, it will be 120,000 a year, and 1.2 million in ten years. Which one is more cost-effective?
Besides, do you know how much 6,000 Hong Kong dollars will be worth ten years from now?"
"How about I buy that small house? It will be more cost-effective?" Nanhong started to think
again.
Beiwu motioned Nanhong to pay attention to the diners around: "There are many Japanese and
Koreans eating here, which means the house is easy to rent. You have money on hand, so you can
continue to invest in real estate, move to a bigger house, and rent this one out. Japan and South
Korea don't have family planning. Look, these mothers all bring two or three children to eat here.
If you buy a small house, it will be difficult to rent it out."
"I haven't thought about these things. If I make more money, I will definitely go back to Shanghai
to buy a house," Nanhong narrowed her eyes, "an old house with a garden. I can listen to music,
dance and plant flowers when I have nothing to do. I can see crabapples in spring and golden
osmanthus in autumn. The weather won't be too good. Here, there is no spring or winter all year
round. It's boring."
Dongwen and Beiwu both laughed. They all understood that fallen leaves return to their roots.

Chapter 316
When a warm host invites guests to dinner, in addition to local dishes, he always imposes
"homesickness" on the guests. For example, Fang Zhenghao felt that it was necessary to treat the
three brothers and sisters of the Gu family to an authentic Shanghainese meal at Lao Zhengxing.
Of course, he had some ideas about the financial market and wanted to hear Gu Beiwu's opinion.
He considered himself a businessman with vision and humanity, and was very interested in
recruiting talents like Gu Beiwu.
But Gu Nanhong didn't give him this opportunity. After ordering the food, she took out a stack of
real estate advertisements and asked him to help her choose one. Fang Zhenghao didn't know
that Nanhong had already finalized the purchase of the house with Zhong Shengming, but he
gave a lot of practical suggestions without reservation, and couldn't help showing off his half-
baked knowledge of Feng Shui, and promised to bring a master of Ziwei Doushu to Nanhong for
an on-site survey.
Until the banquet was over and everyone left, Fang Zhenghao did not have time to ask Gu Beiwu
for advice.
When the three siblings were enjoying the breeze at the Victoria Harbour Pier, they talked about
Fang Zhenghao's confused face when he said goodbye, and they laughed so hard that they fell
down. Somehow, they talked about the time when the three of them made Uncle Xu suffer when
they were young. That uncle was not their real uncle. He also had the surname Xu. He fled from
Taizhou to Shanghai. On the way, he recognized Xu Xunfang as his nephew. At first, he coveted Xu
Xunfang's good looks and the money from the Xu family's rotten boat and three pounds of nails,
and intended to marry into the family. Xu Xunfang looked down on him, so Old Master Xu refused
on the grounds that people with the same surname could not marry. After the situation stabilized
a little, the sons of the Xu family took the risk to return to Yangzhou to clean up their ancestral
land. He visited Xu every few days and accompanied Old Master Xu to smoke opium, which made
him very happy. He worshipped him as his godfather and called him his sister. After Gu Adie
married into the Xu family, he visited more frequently and regarded himself as the eldest brother-
in-law. After the liberation, Mr. Xu passed away, and Gu Adie took over the family. This cheap
brother-in-law said that half of his bungalow collapsed due to thunder, so he came with his wife
and two children and occupied the small room under the stairs of Gu Dongwen and Gu Beiwu in
the kitchen. That small room led to the back door of the building, and it became his family's only
room. He occupied it for more than half a year. Gu Adie was a good man and didn't mean to drive
him away. Gu Adie believed in Bodhisattva and just thought it was a good deed. It dragged on like
this day after day for another half a year, and even Aunt Feng who lived in the pavilion couldn't
stand it anymore.
Later, Nanhong came up with a bad idea. Uncle Xu liked to go into the kitchen to search for Gu's
family's leftovers around nine o'clock at night, which was just the time when Aunt Feng in the
attic was cleaning herself. Gu Beiwu saw Uncle Xu entering the kitchen and gestured to Nanhong
upstairs. Nanhong quietly went downstairs and hid outside the door of the attic, deliberately
pulling the door. Then Gu Dongwen rushed downstairs and shouted loudly: "Uncle, what are you
doing?" Uncle Xu would naturally reply with a guilty conscience: "Nothing." Aunt Feng rushed out
and saw Uncle Xu's back "guilty of being a thief" escaping into the room on the first floor. After
doing this several times, Aunt Feng could no longer tolerate it. She poured a basin of foot
washing water on Uncle Xu's face and jumped from the alley to the door of the cultural center to
scold him.
Father Gu came forward and asked his brother-in-law and his family to leave. The room they had
lived in for a year was a mess. It happened that Ximei said she wanted to learn piano from Miss
Fang, so Grandma Gu simply sold the room, built a wall to seal the door, and turned a blind eye
to it. Nanhong and the other two were proud of this for a long time. Later, Ximei found out and
complained to her parents that they had falsely accused her uncle, and ran to tell Aunt Feng in
the pavilion. Aunt Feng was embarrassed and could only laugh and pretend that nothing had
happened. Nanhong was scolded, and Dongwen and Beiwu were beaten with a belt by Father Gu
dozens of times. Although Grandma Gu felt distressed, she also taught the two brothers a lesson
with a stern face not to have the intention to harm others in the future.
"Alas, Gu Ximei has never been on the same page with us since she was a child," Nanhong shook
her head and sighed. She drank half a catty of Shaoxing rice wine for dinner and ate three
Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs. The sea breeze blew away the alcohol, and she raised her hands to
the Victoria Harbor and laughed loudly, "Ximei Ximei is stupid - Ximei Ximei is crying -"
Passersby looked at her sideways, pointed at her, and thought she was a crazy woman.
"I asked you to come to Hong Kong, why didn't you come? What's the point of being a man? Is
having a brother more important? You have no conscience!" Nan Hong yelled at the departing
Star Ferry, "Gu Ximei, you have had no conscience since childhood! Get out of here, you bastard!
Don't bring me here to waste my time!"
The voice disappeared in the sound of the whistle. It was unclear whether it was drowned out or
muted.
Nanhong held on to the railing tightly and shook it hard, wishing she could move the mountains
and seas, but the railing didn't move at all.
A warm big hand gently straightened her messy long hair.
Beiwu leaned against the railing with red eyes, blocking the wind, lit a cigarette, and then lit
another one and handed it to Nanhong.
Nanhong sniffed, took the cigarette, took two deep puffs, turned her head and saw her elder
brother who was emaciated but smiling slightly, she covered her face with her hand, one hand
was wet.
Gu Dongwen took a step forward, held her in his arms and patted her gently.
The burning cigarette fell to the ground, and no one cared whether it burned someone or not.
The whistle gradually stopped, and Gu Dongwen was still humming softly:
"Rock and rock, rock and rock, rock to Grandma's Bridge, Nanhong Ximei is a good baby, a
steamed bun and a cake..."
——
Beiwu and Dongwen flew back to Shanghai from Hong Kong five days later. Dongwen did not
consider liver transplantation. He wanted to go to Jinghong and Ganlanba. He had a lot of things
to do, so he only bought two new boxes of imported medicine. Hong Kong Sanatorium and
Hospital does not prescribe more cancer drugs. It can only prescribe a month or a month and a
half at a time. Patients are required to go for a follow-up examination before they can continue to
be prescribed drugs. The diagnosis was still in the late stage, but the doctor also said that the
patient's mentality is very important. Keep a good mood and rest well, maybe there will be a
miracle. The so-called miracle is also extended from half a year to a year, or a year and a half.
On the night when the test results came out, Zhao Yanhong accompanied Nanhong at the
Victoria Harbour Pier and listened to her curse God for half an hour. Finally, the two of them sat
on the curb at the end of Sai Yeung Choi Street South, smoking silently in front of the closed
electrical store and drinking six bottles of beer. Nanhong staggered home with the empty bottle
in her hand: "From now on, Jingsheng is my biological son, do you understand?"
Zhao Yanhong followed her silently and responded with a "hmm".
"Rock and rock, rock and rock, rock to Grandma's Bridge, Dongwen and Beiwu are good babies, a
steamed bun and a cake..."
This was the first time Zhao Yanhong heard Gu Nanhong sing.
——
Before leaving, Beiwu's old classmate Xiao He came to the hotel to visit Beiwu. The two hadn't
seen each other for nearly half a year, and it seemed like a lifetime ago.
"When will you return to Beijing?" Xiao He asked.
"I haven't decided yet. I'll go to Yunnan with my elder brother first," Bei Wu lit a cigarette. "What
about you? Are you going back to celebrate New Year's Day?"
"I can't go back on New Year's Day, so I'll go back on Spring Festival."
"How is Old Wu?" Bei Wu narrowed his eyes. He hadn't been in touch with his old friends in
Beijing for the past six months, as if there was an invisible barrier separating them from each
other.
"Still in QC Prison," Xiao He frowned and paused, "Are you disappointed with Shan Ran?"
Beiwu considered his words and shook his head: "Disappointment is not quite accurate. It's
powerlessness." He looked out the glass window of the hotel lobby, where an aunt in a white
Chinese gown was cleaning the window very seriously.
"At 40, one should be free from doubts, but I am confused. For the past six months, I have been
thinking about where I should go," Beiwu smiled. "Our class entered in January 1979, and I was
considered a 'super-old student'. At that time, I thought very simply: go to school, graduate,
work, and use all I have learned. Later, I felt that I had learned too little, so I wanted to go abroad.
After going abroad, I saw a lot and hesitated whether to stay in the United States or return to
China—"
"Old Gu, you are passionate and you are not such a mercenary person," Xiao He sat up straight,
"You have been in the Qingshui government office for so many years, and you are the one who
earns the least in our class. Whether it is fame or profit, you can definitely climb up and earn the
amount you deserve, but you didn't do so. When we mention you, we are all convinced."
"It's a pity that I still haven't accomplished anything..." Beiwu lit another cigarette and said with a
wry smile.
"Come to Hong Kong, it's a great opportunity, you can definitely show your talents. There are too
many things worth studying in East Asia and Southeast Asia, the economic development model of
the four Asian tigers, the competition between Hong Kong and Singapore, finance, logistics, high
technology, too many things worth investing time in studying. You have always been sensitive and
predictive of the overall situation, come on. By the way, Lao Zhou from the TZ department also
asked me to ask you if you are willing to work for him. He also needs talents like you. They lack
someone who can deal with the top wealthy people in Hong Kong, who must have an
international perspective, be familiar with the domestic situation, have professional knowledge in
economics, and be able to see into people's hearts. You know, now we have to unite all the forces
that can be united. There can't be any more large-scale withdrawal of investment——"
"Stability is above all else," Beiwu concluded calmly.
Xiao He sighed, then turned to talk about his work in the past few months. When it came to
economic research, Bei Wu listened very seriously, and the two talked until sunset.
——
December is the peak season for Huating Road. The current Huating Road is no longer the
Huating Road of five years ago. In April, a major renovation was carried out. Nearly 300 stalls
were all transformed into full plastic steel scaffoldings, equipped with unified fitting rooms and
sunshades. The annual turnover is expected to break the 10 million mark. This 10 million is only
deduced from the tax amount by the relevant departments. All stalls accept cash. Four out of ten
customers are foreigners. There are very few customers who want to pay a fixed amount. All
customers pay a fixed amount of tax. The tax assessors come to check from time to time.
According to the rough estimate of business, in order to prosper the market, they will only
estimate it lower, and the annual increase is limited. For example, Nanhong Fashion can now
make more than 100,000 in autumn and winter, and pay a fixed amount of 20,000. It is already
the group that pays the most in Huating Road, and the monthly tax is 600 yuan. It sounds a bit
scary that it is equivalent to three months' salary of ordinary people, but it is just a drizzle for
Jingsheng.
Jingsheng started to run a stall on Huating Road in July. He became famous within half a month.
Female college students, office workers, and female workers flocked to his stall. Every day, there
were piles of small slips with names and pager numbers. He was fed up with it, so he simply grew
a beard, put on a sun hat, and spent three yuan to buy a pair of black-framed plain glasses at the
Jiaozhou Road small commodity market. But obviously, business declined. Si Jiang watched the
turnover for a week and forced him to shave his beard, take off his glasses and hat. Strangely
enough, more than a week later, business picked up again.
Chen Sinan sighed: How come customers nowadays are so smart in just looking at faces, they are
almost catching up with me.

Chapter 317
Most of the neighbors in Wanchun Street knew that Jingsheng dropped out of school to earn
money to pay for Gu Dongwen's cancer treatment. They all felt that Gu Dongwen was lucky in
this misfortune. Firstly, this son was not his biological son but was like his own, and he was a filial
son; secondly, Gu Nanhong was really a tough guy and could make it in Hong Kong. She could
take her brother to see a doctor. Hong Kong is so advanced, so there might be hope.
The "old hooligans" who grew up with Dongwen would send food and daily necessities to Gu's
house every two or three days. Wang Qiang would come twice a day, morning and evening, on
the pretext of "it was on the way". The kitchen of Gu's family was piled with gift boxes on the
winter solstice. Jingsheng went to thank them one by one and returned the gifts. Sinan told him
not to run, but he said that if his father was at home, he would definitely do the same, which
made Grandma Gu cry for a long time behind the children's back.
Before the National Day, Chen A Niang went to the Jade Buddha Temple to ask for a statue of
Guanyin, the savior of suffering, and wrapped 800 yuan in red paper to visit Gu A Po. The two sat
in the living room for several hours, talking about the Republic of China, the present, escaping,
separation, from father Gu to grandfather Chen to Gu Dongwen, and then to the separation of
Donglai and Ximei, and to the good of Sijiang, Sinan and Si. There were endless words and
endless tears. The two bound-footed old ladies who were no longer relatives resumed their daily
routine of going hand in hand to buy vegetables. Gu A Po found a safe place for Guanyin to avoid
the cross, and offered fresh fruits every day so that Jingsheng would remember to worship them
morning and evening. Chen A Niang returned to the group of old ladies including Gu A Po, and
came to Gu's house to pray for Gu Dongwen when she was free.
Sinan muttered privately: "Once my uncle got sick, everyone in the world became a good
person."
Si Jiang introduced Hu Die, Yin Han, and others to the endless tutoring work in the foreign circle.
After class, he went straight to Huating Road to help Jingsheng close the stall. After finishing his
homework at night, he went to the pavilion to help Jingsheng stock the accounts. I also worship
Guanyin every day and pray seriously to the cross. Si Nan hardly wanders around anymore, and
has much less contact with Tang Huan. However, Zhao Youning has made many overseas phone
calls from the United States. Fang Shuren gave birth to a daughter in November, named Tang
Fang, and Tang Huan helped as her aunt. When Grandma Gu found out, she went to get a golden
peanut, made a small red string bracelet, and asked Sijiang to take Sinan Sihao to Yugu Village to
give gifts, which also restored the friendship between the two families who have known each
other for decades. . The three siblings went there all afternoon and came back with a basket of
wedding eggs and Soviet pastries.
Grandma Gu asked: "Who does Xiao Maotou look like?"
Si Jiang thought for a moment and said, "I can't tell much. She has big eyes and very curly
eyelashes. She is white and plump and very cute, like a doll. She even smiles when she's asleep.
Her nickname is Tangtang."
Si Hao came over while chewing on an osmanthus cake: "Sister Tangtang looks like her father."
"Well, daughters look like their fathers, and sons look like their mothers," Grandma Gu sighed,
"That's a good thing, he looks more like his grandfather."
Sinan curled his lips and said, "The little brat's grandparents didn't even come to Shanghai to see
her. Humph, they favor boys over girls."
"It's very tiring for Jiangbei to go to Shanghai," Granny Gu glared at Sinan, "You wouldn't say such
nonsense in front of them, would you? Even if they really favor boys over girls, you shouldn't tell
them the truth, understand?"
Si Nan snorted, "I'm not stupid anymore - Chen Si, you said that, didn't you?"
Si Hao held the third piece of osmanthus cake and stared at the TV screen intently, pretending
not to hear.
Granny Gu sighed: "Forget it, the baby is still young. Well, don't say such things in front of others
in the future, understand?"
Si Hao responded guiltily.
Si Nan laughed: "He is already ten years old and still young? Don't you also favor boys over girls? I
could cook rice and noodles with a kerosene stove when I was three years old, okay? He just sits
there with his mouth wide open for food and clothes and does nothing but talk nonsense and
grow fat! Whatever, you can't expect Chen Si Hao to have any future anyway."
Chen Si, good baby: ...
The next morning, it was still dark when Jingsheng was awakened by a muffled "dong". He looked
at his watch and saw that it was only half past five. He quickly put on a sweater and sweatpants
and got out of bed. The stairs were empty. He went down to the kitchen and saw Chen Sihao
standing by the coal stove with two coal briquettes in his hands, staring at the coal briquettes.
"What are you doing?"
Chen Sihao stammered, "Cooking rice porridge—I obviously know how to do it."
Jingsheng picked up the coal briquettes, put the coal briquettes in his hand back to the side and
folded them up: "Go wash your hands, brother will teach you how to use the gas stove."
At six o'clock, Jingsheng went back to the pavilion to take a nap. When he got up at half past
seven, Granny Gu was the only one left at home.
"Si Jiang said that the school has a Youth League Committee activity today, so we have to wait
until six o'clock to get to Huating Road," said Grandma Gu, taking out the breakfast left in the
steamer, smiling, "Today's rice porridge was cooked by Bao Bao, and the buns were also steamed
by him. He has peeled the eggs. Oh my, he has really grown up."
"Xunfang - Xunfang - she went to buy some snacks -" Chen A'niang's voice came from downstairs.
Grandma Gu hurriedly put on her woolen hat and scarf and said, "Jingsheng, grandma is going to
buy some snacks. Remember to turn off the electric heater when you leave. There are two curry
buns left by Sinan for you in the oil paper bag. Take them to the stall and eat them. Don't lock the
door. Shanrang said she will come over at nine o'clock. She is going to the airport to pick up your
father and your uncle."
Jingsheng looked at the calendar on the wall. There were only a few days left in this year.
Thinking about his achievements in the past six months, he felt a little proud.
——
Jingsheng used to just help Gu Dongwen out, but only after he took over completely did he
realize how hard it was to run a clothing business in such a small stall.
Compared with other companies that go to wholesale markets to get goods and then replenish
them according to sales, Nanhong Fashion is a one-stop design, processing and sales company.
The profit is at least twice as high as other companies, but the hard work is more than five times
more. Nanhong usually produces design drawings and samples three quarters in advance. The
fabrics of Hong Kong garment factories come from Dongguan, and the fabrics of Huating Road
come from Wujiang, Suzhou. There are not many winter clothes sold in Hong Kong, but autumn
and winter clothes on Huating Road are the majority. There are many types of fabrics, including
coats, sweaters, knitted sweaters, cotton sweaters, and pants. It is impossible to purchase from
one fabric factory, nor is it possible to complete them in one processing factory. Each one needs
Gu Dongwen to check it out. The pattern making and fabric processing of the processing factory
in Zhejiang and the production line must be followed regularly. The first bus goes and the last bus
returns. There must be no problems with the fabrics, processing procedures and construction
period. This is already a job that several departments in the clothing company are busy with.
When Jingsheng placed orders with three processing factories in September, in order to reduce
the workload in autumn and maximize profits, he discussed with Sijiang for a few days and only
selected three coats with different styles, one short, one medium and one long. The short one
was an H-shaped straight tweed double-breasted style, the medium one was a knee-length thin
tweed silhouette coat, and the long one was a wool suit collar coat with a belt of the same color.
There are similar brand-name styles in "ELLE", the world's fashion garden. He cut out the pages
of the magazine, added photos of Nanhong wearing the sample clothes, and framed them into
three frames for old customers to refer to. Due to the soaring prices in the past two years, the
prices of the three coats were set at 280, 380 and 680 respectively. Each style is available in three
colors: black, navy blue and camel. The short one is made in small and medium sizes, 200 pieces
each, the medium one is only made in one size, 500 pieces, and the long one is only made in
medium and large sizes, 100 pieces each. He was afraid that Dongwen would not agree, so he
specially took out the shipment list of coats from the previous two years for comparison.
Unexpectedly, Dongwen just smiled and waved his hand and said: "You are the boss and you
make the final decision. I don't care. If you make a profit, it will be your wife's capital. If you lose
money, it will be my coffin's capital." Jingsheng was so angry that he confiscated a pack of
cigarettes from him.
In fact, by mid-October, judging from the shipment volume of windbreakers and sweaters,
Jingsheng had already felt that the order quantity for coats was too conservative, but the fabrics
were already ordered in the spring, and there was really no margin to add, so he had to give up.
Many old customers also asked Jingsheng to keep the coats for them by paying a deposit or even
the full amount, but Jingsheng declined them all for fear of confusion or forgery of receipts. As a
result, in the first two weeks after the coats were launched at the end of November, a quarter of
the three styles were sold, and the proceeds were nearly 150,000. The two aunts at the stall
received a bonus of 100 yuan for every 10,000 yuan of goods sold, and they were like chicken
blood. Every day, their eyes were shining and their faces were full of joy. They walked like floating
on water, took on the work of cutting thread ends and ironing clothes, and arrived at Huating
Road two hours early every day to work. They refused to rest even on weekends, for fear of
missing out on big business.
In mid-December, Aunt Mao from Nanhong Fashion hit the jackpot and made a big deal. A female
customer with a Zhejiang accent bought 30 coats in one breath without blinking. The 20,000
yuan was so hot that Aunt Mao's voice trembled. She broke several paper bags containing coats.
After helping the customer deliver the goods to the car parked on Changle Road, Aunt Mao still
felt a little light and light as if she was dreaming. Oh my god, she made 200 yuan from this
business alone, which is equivalent to her husband's monthly salary. If the dead man dares to
spend money outside again, she will dump him immediately! Back at the stall, Jingsheng didn't
seem to be particularly happy. Aunt Zhu, who didn't catch the big deal when she went to eat
spicy meat noodles, was so angry that she scolded the noodle shop owner for half an hour. She
lost too much just to wait for a poached egg.
Later, a customer told Jingsheng that he saw a coat in his boutique on Jiujiang Road. It was
exactly the same as the one she bought, but the trademark was a famous brand in a magazine.
One of her younger sisters bought a camel-colored long coat. After discount, it cost 3,200 yuan,
and the invoice was 5,000 yuan. Aunt Zhu and Aunt Mao almost shed their eyes and muttered,
"Who would spend a year and a half of salary to buy a coat? Maybe they want to save face and
brag." The customer smiled and said, "What's that? Her younger sister's mother spent 20,000
yuan to buy a mink coat at the First Department Store yesterday. As long as they have the invoice,
they can buy anything for 100,000 or 80,000 yuan." The two ignorant aunts were disappointed.
Jingsheng went to Jiujiang Road for a walk and was amazed. People were buying 1,000-yuan
Goldlion ties, 3,000-yuan Pierre Cardin jackets, 8,000-yuan leather coats, and 20,000-30,000-yuan
minks. Here, you could only buy a shirt or a pair of cufflinks for a few hundred yuan. He
wandered around for a long time and saw his coat being transformed and worn by a model.
There was also a gold-rimmed photo frame next to it, which contained the same magazine page.
Because of this incident, Jingsheng gained confidence and felt that this business could be bigger
and make more money.
From November to the time when Gu Dongwen and Gu Beiwu returned to Shanghai, Nanhong
Fashion had made 420,000 yuan in less than two months. And the busiest month before the
Spring Festival had just begun.
Gu Dongwen came back and saw the account book and passbook. After a few seconds of silence,
he slapped his thigh and said, "Oh, you've got five wives!"
Jingsheng shook out everything in his bag: "You are not allowed to eat cigarettes anymore."
Beiwu pointed at Jingsheng and smiled at Shanrang: "My golden prophecy is here. The second
millionaire in our family is about to be born."

Chapter 318
On Christmas Eve of that year, the entire Gu family, as well as Nurse Lu and Chen A-niang, went to
the International Chapel at No. 53 Hengshan Road.
Si Jiang has accompanied her grandmother here many times. She likes the Gothic architecture
here. In summer, the red brick walls are covered with ivy, which gives her a cool feeling. People
coming and going all have kind and friendly smiles, which makes her wait outside not seem long
at all.
This night was the first time she directly felt the power of faith. The dark wooden structure
outlined the magnificent pointed arch, the large rectangular windows and slender beams had a
natural sense of rise, the devout congregants, the echo of the band's performance, and the pure
and almost spotless singing of the choir, together created a solemn and holy atmosphere.
When they heard the three words "Gu Dongwen" coming from the stage, Si Jiang and Jing Sheng
were stunned. Si Nan leaned over and looked at his uncles with wide eyes, but was slapped back
by Grandma Gu.
Led by the pastor, the people in the entire chapel began to pray for Gu Dongwen. This person was
a complete stranger to them and was not even a Christian. Si Jiang crossed his fingers and
pressed them against his chest, closing his eyes. His grandmother's arm was shaking slightly. The
air was hot and gradually swirled into vortices. Si Jiang's eyes were burning and her mind seemed
to be burning. She didn't know whether the sound of prayer in the chapel resonated with her
heartbeat, or whether she was simply moved to the point of no return, and tears rolled down.
It was a windless winter night, and the leaves of the plane trees wove a large, sparse web in the
air. The long, green stone road during the day was rendered light gold, and the spire of the chapel
stood solemnly and quietly in the night sky. Grandma Gu and her family thanked the church
members who were leaving one after another at the gate.
A little girl sobbed on her father's shoulder.
"What's wrong with Linlin?" Grandma Gu asked with concern.
"The candy fell to the ground," the girl's mother said with a smile, "I'm not happy anymore."
The little girl started crying.
Gu Nian stretched out her hand: "Sister, have some candy, you're welcome."
The adults all laughed.
Three old ladies came together and smiled to ask Grandma Gu to go to the Majestic Theatre to
watch Shanghai opera on New Year's Day.
"Would you like to go together?" Grandma Gu asked Chen Niang with a smile.
"Okay, okay. I like watching plays." Chen A'niang held Si Hao's hand and nodded hurriedly.
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng looked at each other and smiled.
——
The family walked along Hengshan Road and turned onto Urumqi Road. Gu Nian rode on Beiwu's
shoulders, occasionally stretching out her hands to reach for branches, while Shanrang put his
hands in Beiwu's coat pockets and shouted, "Come on, Hutou, try again."
Gu Nian tilted his neck and kicked his calves. He tried and failed again and again, but he kept
trying and encouraging himself: "Come on, baby! Baby can do it!" After failing to catch the fish,
he got discouraged for a second and shook his head, saying: "Oh, baby can't do it." In the next
moment, he stretched out his little hand with high morale: "Come on, baby! Mommy, look at me,
I can do it!" Everyone laughed so hard.
The mother held Si's hand and laughed so hard that she fell down: "How can Dieg Xiaoning be so
shameless!"
Si Hao broke free from grandma's hand and jumped up to reach the low branch, but it was still far
from reaching the branch. Therefore, Si Nan, who was supporting grandma Gu, scolded him
again. The two siblings started a new round of unilateral humiliation and oppression.
Jingsheng took two steps forward, rubbed Sinan's curly hair, grabbed Sihao's armpits, and lifted
him up with all his strength.
“Go up!”
Chen Sihao was so frightened that he howled and ducked to avoid the branch, but his woolen hat
got caught on it. He landed on the ground, calmed down, and then began to jump and shout,
"My hat—!"
Si Nan laughed so hard that she stamped her feet. She quickly climbed up the tree, leaned over
to hook her hat, climbed down a few steps, and then jumped down impatiently. Gu Nian's eyes
sparkled as she yelled, "Come on, sister! You can do it, sister, you're awesome, sister is
awesome!"
Chen Sihao, whose eyes were red from being mocked, took the hat and muttered half laughing
and half crying: "Thank you, second sister."
Gu Nian immediately seized the opportunity to practice polite language: "You're welcome!"
The traffic light at the intersection was only flashing yellow, and a group of people stepped onto
the zebra crossing one after another.
Jingsheng and Sijiang fell behind, watching Gu Dongwen in front of them suddenly pick up Nurse
Lu's hand and put it in his coat pocket. Somehow, Sijiang curled up the corners of his mouth,
wanting to laugh and cry at the same time.
Jingsheng took Si Jiang's hand and put it in his coat pocket. Si Jiang was startled and struggled. He
turned his head and saw that he had a smile on his face, as if nothing had happened. He smiled
and pinched his fingers.
"It's good to have a belief," Si Jiang sighed softly, "I was really moved just now."
"What do you want to believe? Or do you believe everything like your mother?"
Si Jiang shook his head: "I haven't thought about it. If my uncle can get better, I will believe in
God."
"No deity would accept an insincere fake believer like you." Jingsheng smiled.
"What about you? You were also moved just now." Si Jiang pinched his palm.
Jingsheng held her fingers in his palm tightly and looked at her deeply.
My faith is you, Chen Sijiang.
——
On New Year's Eve, Ximei called back. Jingsheng answered the phone, exchanged a few words
and then transferred the call to Gu Dongwen who was playing mahjong.
"Brother!——" Ximei started crying before she could say anything.
"Ximei, Happy New Year, wait a minute," Dongwen tilted the microphone and shouted at the
table, "Zhou Shanli, don't touch my cards! Your hands are too smelly--"
Shanli had just drawn a red card for him, and he was so excited that his face turned red and his
neck became thick: "I drew a hidden kong for you! What are you showing off for! Look, I'll help
you draw it yourself!" He plopped down the kong cards, and because he was too excited, the
cards that were already in front of him fell down with a crash. He hurriedly picked up the cards in
a panic, and shouted at Beiwu Shanrang and Xiao Lu not to peek.
Being interrupted by this, Xi Mei lost a few tears and hung on her cheeks. She stammered,
"Brother?"
"Oh, yes," Dongwen lay down sideways, turned sideways and let Jingsheng put two pillows under
him, then took the hot water bottle handed to him by Sijiang and covered his stomach, "Okay, it's
fine now, tell me."
"Are you okay?" Ximei asked timidly, "Why didn't you tell me that you were returning to
Shanghai? Aren't you going back to the cancer hospital to be hospitalized?"
"No, there's no point in wasting that money. Take medicine now. Si Jiang's mother helped me find
an old Chinese doctor from the Qunli Herbal Medicine Store. Yes, the one on Jinling Road."
Si Jiang sat on the single sofa and listened attentively. Jingsheng filled a small hot water bottle
and stuffed it into her hand.
"Yes, I have been taking Chinese medicine for about ten days, and I am also taking Western
medicine prescribed by Hong Kong. The effect is pretty good, and the AFP has been released."
"It was originally over a thousand, but yesterday's reexamination report only showed over two
hundred."
"Hahaha, yes, Mom said it was God who blessed me."
"My liver function has always been normal. It's strange. When I had hepatitis A, Xiao Lu was
worried and asked us all to go for tests. The whole family is fine," Gu Dongwen touched the top
of his head. "Last month, Si Hao and Si Nan all went to check their liver functions. They were all
fine. Si Jiang had a check-up when he was a freshman and it was also fine. Don't worry - I know
you don't mean that. Okay, okay, why are you crying? Can't I still play mahjong?"
"Are you coming back for the Spring Festival? Before or after the New Year? On the sixth day of
the New Year? Okay, your brother should be able to live to see that day. Okay, okay, I was just
kidding you, why are you crying again?" Gu Dongwen laughed so hard that his chest shook.
"I received the remittance slip, but I haven't gotten it from the post office yet. Hey, why did you
send so much money back? Don't send it anymore," Gu Dongwen glanced at Jingsheng and
Sijiang who were whispering beside him, and smiled deeply with his dimples, "You don't know
yet, but my son is a gangster. He made two hundred thousand last month. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. I'm
counting on him to buy me a Santana so I can drive from Shanghai to Yunnan."
"What's wrong with me being a patient? Why can't I go to Yunnan? I can eat, sleep, and run—"
Gu Dongwen moved the microphone away a little, "Forget it, forget it, I won't talk to you about
this. Let's talk about it when you come back."
After hanging up the phone, Gu Dongwen sighed: "Well, now one by one, who dares to control
me?"
Si Jiang took the phone and put it back: "Grandma definitely doesn't want you to go to Yunnan. I
don't want to go either. The question is, uncle, do you listen to us?"
Gu Dongwen smiled and scratched Si Jiang's nose: "I asked you to talk to your mother on the
phone but you refused. Are you still holding a grudge?"
Si Jiang lowered his eyes: "There is nothing to hold a grudge against, and nothing to say."
What are you talking about? She got divorced, she remarried, she was going to Beijing, she left
them behind, but she didn't say a word...
Just as Gu Dongwen was about to return to the card table to show off his skills, he heard Shan
Rang laughing so hard that he fell on the table: "Second brother! You just played a dark red and
you were so busy holding the cards and telling us not to look that you forgot to add the flowers.
You have always been my husband!"
Gu Dongwen slapped Shanli on the back: "Ce Na!"
Gu Nian, who was playing the game of chasing a train with Chen Si in a jeep in front of the TV,
quickly turned around and followed suit: "That's it——"
Everyone in the room burst into laughter.
"Brother! Look, Hu Tou has learned bad things from you--" Shan Rang threw down the cards, said
angrily, and quickly ran to correct Gu Nian.
Bei Wu smiled and grabbed Shanli, calling Jingsheng over to pay: "The son pays the father's debt.
Jingsheng, if you are not satisfied, go and settle the score with your Uncle Zhou."
Jingsheng opened the drawer of the chest of drawers and threw out a stack of brand new big
unity banknotes: "I'm sorry, there's nothing in my house except banknotes."
The whole room was filled with laughter.
——
The Huangpu River was still surging, the Suzhou Creek was still stinking, the Waibaidu Bridge still
stood at the junction of the rivers, quietly gazing at the green spire of the Peace Hotel, the Bund
was crowded with people, and as the big clock in the Customs House struck the last twelve of the
year, countless balloons flew into the night sky dotted with fireworks amid overwhelming cheers.
The 1990s arrived with the music of "Westminster".
The big wall clock in the living room of the Gu family on Wanchun Street also struck twelve.
Jingsheng turned off the light in the kitchen and was hugged tightly by Si Jiang who was waiting
at the stairs.
"Happy New Year." Jingsheng lowered his head and pecked Sijiang's lips.
"Happy New Year," Si Jiang smiled and looked up, "Did you notice that we have been through the
1970s and 1980s together, and now we are entering the 1990s together, and will step into the
new century together in the future. It's great."
Jingsheng pulled her closer to him and said, "Well, when you are eighty years old, we will have
been together for seventy years."
"If we live to be a hundred, we will be together for ninety years. Ah, but nine-tenths is only one
forty-third more than seven-eighths, but it takes twenty years. It's really not worth it." Si Jiang
was amused by his own words.
Jingsheng laughed so hard that the stairs began to shake slightly.

Chapter 319
Gu Dongwen's AFP index dropped sharply and suddenly, which gave a shot in the arm to the
whole family.
At the end of December, Sinan received a bunch of information about liver cancer treatment
from Zhao Youning in the United States, which he translated into Chinese, including information
about the world's first living liver transplant completed by the University of Medical Sciences of
Sao Paulo, Brazil last year. Beiwu and Shanrang spent several days reading carefully, and were not
so optimistic about Gu Dongwen's sharply dropped AFP index, but they couldn't tell anyone, so
the Gu family spent this New Year very happily and full of hope.
Grandma Gu was especially grateful to Chen A-niang. On the winter solstice, she folded two large
baskets of gold and silver ingots to send to Chen A-niang on the pretext of sweeping the grave of
Grandpa Chen. On New Year's Day, she asked Beiwu and Shanrang to bring seven or eight gift
boxes to the door. They were like in-laws. Chen A-niang blamed her for being too polite and asked
Chen Donghai to bring a lot of winter bamboo shoots, pears, yellow croaker and hairtail to the
Chen family. Although Donglai and Ximei were divorced, the three grandchildren of the Chen
family were still raised by the Gu family, so the Chen uncles should also show some appreciation.
On New Year's Day, Si Jiang took Si Nan and Si Hao to the Bund Dongfeng Hotel to hang out and
queue up for KFC. The TV was showing advertisements for American Home Chicken every day.
Half a month after opening, several children in Si Hao's class had already eaten there. There were
small gifts for the set meals. Si Hao had been envious for a long time. Si Jiang still had a good
impression of KFC, and Si Hao had hardly left the house for the past six months, so he softened
his heart and agreed.
Si Nan had originally made an appointment with Tang Huan to go to several foreign trade shops
on Yan'an West Road to buy socks, but Tang Huan said that she had something urgent to do at
home and couldn't leave, so she changed the date to winter vacation. She simply followed Si
Jiang and got along well, of course there were benefits. Jing Sheng wanted to give Si Jiang money,
but Si Jiang refused to take it, so Si Nan took it without hesitation and hid the two hundred yuan
in three places, namely in her shirt pocket, trouser pocket and the invisible pocket of her
underwear.
The three siblings took bus No. 37 from Jing'an Temple to Baidu Bridge and squeezed into the
crowds on the Bund.
The Dongfeng Hotel didn't have a big front. A row of flower baskets were still standing guard at
the door. Above the four big characters "Dongfeng Hotel" was a red-bottomed white sign of the
American Kentucky Fried Chicken. A red congratulatory banner hung upstairs, just like the one in
Beijing. The queue had already stretched out of the store. Si Jiang and the other two walked to
the end of the queue near Yan'an East Road.
Si Nan hated queuing the most. He rolled his eyes and said, "Chen Si, why don't we go to Henan
Road to eat Shaoxing white-sliced chicken? It's definitely better than fried chicken. There's also
chicken porridge and chicken feet. Didn't you always say that Shaoxing in Xinzha Road is the
best?"
"No, I just want to eat KFC chicken!" Chen Sihao refused.
Si Jiang smiled and took out his little notebook where he memorized Japanese words: "Nannan,
go take a look and come back to us in half an hour."
"Second sister, take me with you!" Chen Sihao actually wanted to go with this person. The money
was with the second sister, and who knew if she would secretly buy something delicious. It would
be better to follow the wrong person than to let her go.
Sinan rolled his eyes, but still took the fat boy, the burden, along. The two of them first went to
the other side of the street to look at the Huangpu River and the river boats, and then wandered
north along the "Lover's Wall", bending down from time to time to avoid people taking pictures.
"Second sister?" Chen Sihao squeezed through a wall of people and found that Sinan was
missing. He panicked and kept shouting. He squeezed back in, but saw Second Sister Zhen with
her arms folded across her chest and frowning as she looked at a couple who were taking a photo
next to the "Wall of Lovers".
The guy who helped take the photo shouted with a smile: "One, two, three! Laugh——"
Tang Huan was halfway laughing when she saw Chen Sinan with a stern look on his face. Her
smile froze on her face and her face turned red in an instant, and she became at a loss.
Guo Zhixing took the camera and nodded to Sinan pretending to be at ease: "Come out to show
off on New Year's Day? This is your brother?"
"Tang Huan, come here!" Si Nan raised his chin and glanced at him, snorted, and shouted.
The people around looked over. Tang Huan took a deep breath and walked in front of Si Nan: "I'm
sorry--"
"Is that because something happened to you at home? You stood me up just because of Lao Guo
and didn't go with me to buy socks?" Si Nan laughed. When Chen Sihao heard her sneer, he
automatically retreated to the railing and squatted down to pretend to be a quail, blinking his
eyes and took out a piece of gold coin chocolate.
Tang Huan lowered her head with red eyes. Si Nan hated Guo Zhixing so much that she didn't
even want to be the class representative. If she told her, she didn't know how she would curse.
"Tang Huan and I have something else to do, so we'll leave first." Guo Zhixing frowned.
Si Nan pulled Tang Huan behind him and said, "Teacher Guo! Are you kidding me? You have a
wife, and you are our teacher, how could you do such a thing? I warn you, if you keep pestering
Tang Huan, I will report to the principal and ask the police if they can deal with people like you!
It's disgusting!"
"Nannan, what are you doing?" Tang Huan grabbed Sinan's arm and pulled him back. "I was the
one who dragged Teacher Guo out. Don't mind our business!"
Many people nearby have already started pointing and talking.
Guo Zhixing blushed with embarrassment, stammered a few times, and then quickly squeezed
into the crowd without saying a word.
"Teacher Guo! Teacher Guo, wait for me--" Tang Huan was anxious to catch up.
Si Nan grabbed her and refused to let go: "Are you crazy, Tang Huan? Why do you like such a
shameless person?"
Tang Huan turned his head.
Seeing her face full of tears, Sinan was stunned for a moment, then slowly let go of her hand.
Tang Huan wiped away her tears with her backhand and looked at the crowded crowd again.
There was no sign of Guo Zhixing. Even the people who had come to watch the excitement had
almost all dispersed.
There was a muddy smell of river water in the air, and the river water splashed against the river
bank, making a rumbling sound.
"Chen Sinan, I'm seventeen years old. I know what I'm doing. There are many things you really
don't know. I like Teacher Guo. I like him and only him. When I graduate from high school, he will
find a way to divorce me," Tang Huan held the railing tightly and softened his tone. "Please don't
tell the school, okay? For the sake of us being best friends, please don't tell anyone, okay? It
won't affect my studies. You see, I made progress in the midterm exam, right?"
"You know shit!" Sinan got excited. "He's an adult, he has a wife, and he seduced you. He's a
bastard! Did he - did he have that you?!"
"He's not! He's a very good person. He was framed. He didn't even know his wife was mentally ill
when they got married!" Tang Huan took a breath. "His wife had an attack when she was in
middle school, but he deliberately concealed it from her. After they got married, she became ill
and even killed Teacher Guo's mother. Teacher Guo had a very hard life, but her family refused to
let them divorce and insisted that Teacher Guo take care of her for the rest of her life! The
neighborhood committee and the police station can only mediate and let them get along well."
Sinan was stunned: "What do you mean by killing Teacher Guo's mother?"
Tang Huan smiled bitterly and shook his head: "When his wife was ill, she used a kitchen knife to
chop people. Teacher Guo's mother fell down the stairs to avoid her. She died of cerebral
hemorrhage after being sent to the hospital."
"Nannan, you really don't know how hard it is for Teacher Guo. He shouldn't be treated like this.
He's such a good person," Tang Huan said with tears in his eyes. "You know he's very good to
everyone in our class, right? He cares about students and is not snobbish at all. He often gives
free tutoring to students with poor grades. When Chen Zhanping's mother passed away, he
donated a month's salary. He's very good, really."
Sinan said nothing, looking at the rolling river, and kicked the railing angrily, causing his toes to
hurt.
"Teacher Guo is also good to me. He is the best person in the world to me," Tang Huan said softly,
"No one has ever been so good to me. I want to be good to him too."
"Am I not good to you?" Sinan turned his face away and snorted.
Tang Huan took Si Nan's arm and said, "You are my best friend, and you are different from him."
"Does he have that thing with you?" Sinan was still worried.
"How could that be!" Tang Huan pinched her, "He is not that kind of person."
Sinan stared at her face: "Truth?"
"The truth!" Tang Huan opened his eyes wide.
"I haven't forgiven you yet." Sinan shook her hand off.
"I was wrong, I'm sorry, please forgive me, let's go buy some socks now, okay?" Tang Huan
followed Si Nan humbly.
Si Nan took Si Hao's hand and turned back to give Tang Huan a blank look: "Don't worry, we are
going to eat KFC."
The three of them walked towards Yan'an Road.
——
Chen Sihao finished his meal at KFC contentedly, got the small toy, and after returning to
Wanchun Street, he couldn't help but tell his elder sister all the news.
Ye Lishijiang reminded Sinan to be careful about the degree of making friends. No matter what, it
is easy to break the friendship by revealing other people's private affairs in front of so many
people.
"I'm doing this for her own good!" Sinan muttered unconvincedly, "If she chooses Lao Guo over
me, then we should stop being friends."
Si Jiang smiled and shook his head: "If you say so, Mom changed my choice of major for my own
good. How can I be angry?"
"How is that the same? Tang Huan's parents are not around. If I don't care about her, what if she
gets cheated?"
"You can tell her in private instead of making a scene in public."
"I can not hold it in."
"Remember to hold back next time."
"There's no need to tolerate Tang Huan and I. We are best friends."
Si Jiang couldn't help but be distracted for a moment. How long could best friends of sixteen or
seventeen years old last? She used to think that they would be good friends for life.
"You're just too cautious, that's why you don't have any best friends." Si Nan stretched his legs
out from his own quilt and stretched them into Si Jiang's quilt and kicked her.
Si Jiang smiled: "Hey, why don't I have any best friends?"
"Do you have any? You keep everything you think in your heart and don't tell anyone except your
eldest cousin - hehe, ah - I'm so sleepy, so tired, I'm going to sleep."
Si Jiang looked at her still trembling eyelashes and asked, "Nannan, have you returned the
remaining money to Brother?"
Sinan immediately began to snore evenly.
"Pretending? Let me touch it--" Si Jiang reached out to touch her invisible little bag.
Si Nan laughed so hard that he squirmed in his bed. "My eldest cousin didn't even ask me for it,
so why do you care about me? It's not your money! What a stingy woman!"
Si Jiang, with a red face, pressed her down and scratched her hard.
——
This year the Spring Festival is early, and January 26th is New Year’s Eve.
Winter vacation started after the exams in early January. After lunch, Sinan took the money she
had embezzled from Jingsheng and went out to make an international long-distance call to Zhao
Youning. The call center was very busy before the New Year. Sinan waited in line for 40 minutes,
and it was already 1:30 when it was her turn. She was not sure if Zhao Youning was asleep, but
she could not wait in line for nothing without calling.
“Beep, beep, beep.”
Sinan turned sideways and stared at the clock on the wall of the business hall, thinking that he
would only speak for two minutes at most. Hello, Brother Ningning, Happy New Year and Spring
Festival. Thank you for sending me the information. You have worked hard. When will you return
home? I will treat you to a movie and a meal.
The phone rang again for a while, and just as Sinan was about to smile, thinking that he had
saved money, the call was picked up.
A woman said with a sleepy nasal voice: "Hello?"
Sinan was so scared that he hung up the phone immediately, thinking he had dialed the wrong
number.
"Twenty dollars."
"spread?"
"Any time less than a minute will be counted as a full minute." The operator wrote out the
invoice expressionlessly.
"You dialed the wrong number!" Sinan handed over the phone book, "Please call again."
"It's impossible that you dialed the wrong number." Despite saying that, the operator still dialed
again.
Sinan tensed up, listening to the "beep" sound on the other end of the phone.
This time it only rang twice before someone answered.
"Hello?"
Sinan instantly breathed a sigh of relief: "Brother Ningning?"
"Hey! Chen Sinan? Wait, the sun is rising from the west?" Zhao Youning laughed out loud, "You're
willing to call me internationally?"
"Don't mention it! I just dialed the wrong number and lost twenty dollars. A woman answered
the phone and I was scared to death—"
A woman's voice came from the other end of the phone. Zhao Youning covered the receiver and
replied with a few words, then turned around to explain: "My girlfriend answered the phone just
now. Sorry."
Sinan walked out of the telephone office with one foot deep and one foot shallow, looked at the
sun above his head, and touched the banknotes in his pocket. In three minutes, sixty yuan was
gone. Sixty yuan was enough to buy six KFC meals and still have six dimes left.
The tram was moving slowly westward, the sun casting a colorful halo on the window. The shop
windows on Nanjing West Road were decorated in red and green, it was New Year's Day, and the
bare tree branches were also hung with red lanterns.
Chen Sinan pressed his forehead against the car window in disappointment, remembering what
Tang Huan said: She is the only one in the world who is particularly lonely. No one needs her and
doesn't like her, and the people she likes and needs can't see her. she.

Chapter 320
Zhao Youning hung up the phone, feeling that Chen Sinan on the other side of the ocean was a
little weird, but unfortunately the call was too short to ask.
He made a cup of black coffee and walked to the balcony. The bitter coffee and the temperature
of minus five degrees immediately made him feel sleepy. The remaining snow that has not
completely melted makes the two sides of the Charles River glow with a faint crystal light. In such
weather, there are still people running at night at this time. Cambridge Town has never been
short of weird people. Time passed so fast. Not long after he moved in, cherry blossoms were
blooming and magnolias were curling up. It was completely different from the America in his
impression. Now, he could hardly remember what the other side of the country looked like in his
original imagination.
Lin Shufen, who was lying on the sofa, sat up, looked at the figure on the balcony, pulled the
blanket tightly around her body and sneezed loudly.
Zhao Youning turned around and went into the house, saying sorry.
Lin Shufen curled up one leg and lay on the sofa, one hand on the back of her neck, her long
chestnut hair gathered on her chest. This S-shaped posture should look particularly charming and
sexy. She pursued Zhao Youning as a roommate for three months, and became his girlfriend for
two and a half months. It was time to take a step further. She immigrated to the United States
with her family in junior high school and had several boyfriends. Zhao Youning was the first
mainland boy she met and the first man she felt suitable for marriage at first sight. From
appearance to inner qualities, from material to spiritual, he was almost perfect. He did not have
the rusticity and stupidity of most mainland male students. He could even play "Petrushka", but
she didn't even know the name of this piano piece. She could only play the pipa, and was forced
by her father.
Lin Shufen had heard that mainland boys all wanted their girlfriends to be virgins. She was not
sure about Zhao Youning's attitude towards sex. Would he think she was frivolous if he did it too
quickly? Would he lose patience if he did it too slowly? She was even more unsure about how
much Zhao Youning liked her or whether he liked her at all. There was no doubt that Zhao
Youning had little experience in love and getting along with women, otherwise he would not have
turned around and left immediately after seeing her changing clothes. He even apologized later.
It may be for this reason that he considered it for a few days after she confessed her love and
agreed to be her boyfriend. After all, apart from getting married and having children, men are
happy to be forced to bear such a moral responsibility.
But the more they get along, the more uncertain she feels. Zhao Youning is polite and distant to
everyone. Even when his classmates come to visit, he seems to always stay away from the crowd,
including her. When her passion burns in front of him, there is always an invisible barrier
separating them. He doesn't like physical contact and has no interest in kissing. He doesn't seem
to desire her body at all, but she desires his, very much. It's hard to imagine that she hasn't had
sex for two months. Maybe after they have sex, everything will be different.
The slender toes were stretched straight and slowly slid upwards along Zhao Youning's calves.
"Ning——"
Lin Shufen's nasal voice was a little hoarse and full of suggestion.
"I'll read for a while. You go back to your room and sleep first. Don't catch a cold. I'll make
breakfast tomorrow. Do you have classes tomorrow morning? I'll try to finish by 8:30 in the
evening, so I can order takeout from Yanjing Hotel." Zhao Youning sat on the carpet, and after
saying the routine "boyfriend care", he opened Dr. Antonio Aldrete's book on the coffee table. It
contained his valuable experience in post-anesthesia resuscitation scoring for liver
transplantation, which seemed to be a key part that was overlooked. Under the book, there was
some information about the International Liver Transplant Perioperative Nursing Society to be
established this year.
Lin Shufen was stunned and kicked Zhao Youning on the thigh: "Hey, are you kidding me? I've
been waiting for you for four hours, and you treat me like this. What do you want, Zhao Youning?
Are you still my boyfriend?"
The words were very harsh, but her tone was the coquettishness that is inherent in Taiwanese
women, and was similar to the coquettishness of Shanghai girls.
Zhao Youning raised his head and smiled: "Didn't I tell you to go to bed first? I have something to
do in the lab today and can't leave."
"Experiments, experiments, just experiments. Data, just data. Hey - I don't care, you must
accompany me now." Lin Shufen hooked her arms around Zhao Youning's neck and rubbed
against him.
Zhao Youning's ears felt hot. He grabbed her hand and gently pressed his lips against her
forehead. "Sorry, I really can't help it. I've been very busy lately. Have you finished your thesis? I
see you've been very free this semester. Is it so easy for you at M University?"
"You finally have time to care about your girlfriend?" Lin Shufen let go of him and turned her face
away, asking sourly, "Who was the girl who called earlier? Your ex-girlfriend?"
Zhao Youning laughed: "No, it's - a good friend."
"What good friend called me in the middle of the night to say Happy New Year? I don't believe it.
Does she like you?" Lin Shufen covered the book in Zhao Youning's hand with a smile. "You have
squeezed out all the time in the past six months to translate these things. Isn't it all because of
her?"
"No. It's afternoon in Shanghai now—" Zhao Youning frowned, "I've said it many times. Uncle
Gu's family is the only 'family' I'm close to in Shanghai. Unfortunately, he got sick. Medical care in
the United States is more advanced. I just tried my best to provide him with some information for
reference."
Lin Shufen turned around and took the wallet he had placed beside her, pulled out the photos
inside, pointed at Si Jiang in the photo of the four of them and said, "How dare you say you don't
like her? If you don't like her, why don't you put my photo or our photo instead of this one?"
Zhao Youning was startled, and reached out to take back the wallet and photos, and said
seriously: "Fanny, I have said it many times, I don't like others touching my personal belongings."
"So I am someone else?" Lin Shufen's face changed, and she reached out to grab the photo again,
"Hey, Zhao Youning, I really put up with you for a long time. Yes, I was the one who pursued you,
but you didn't treat me as your girlfriend at all, so it's better to break up!"
Zhao Youning held the other end of the photo and raised his eyebrows: "Are you sure?"
"Sure, let's break up! I'm moving out tomorrow! Anyway, when Alex sublet the house to me, you
seemed very unhappy. I was the one who kept chasing you. I confessed first, I held your hand
first, I hugged you first, I kissed you first, and you? You didn't take the initiative at all! I don't feel
that you love me at all. What's the point of going on like this? Let's break up."
Zhao Youning's heart skipped a beat when he suddenly heard the word "love". He stared at Lin
Shufen for a moment and nodded, "Okay."
Lin Shufen was stunned. She exerted force with her hand and tore off a quarter of the photo with
a "swish" sound.
Zhao Youning lowered his eyes. In the photo, Jingsheng, Sijiang, and he were all fine, only Sinan
had lost most of his head. This was a photo he took with Jingsheng and the others by the artificial
lake in Xigong before coming to the United States. It was a spur-of-the-moment photo, but the
four of them all smiled particularly well.
Lin Shufen knew she was in the wrong, so she returned Sinan's head and most of his body to
Zhao Youning, crying and asking, "Why did you do this to me? I was so good to you, but you just
broke up without trying to keep me—"
She lay on the coffee table and cried so hard that her shoulders trembled.
Zhao Youning stood up silently, found the transparent tape, aligned the back of the photo and
pasted it on, and pressed his fingers down along the tape to flatten his messy thoughts.
"In fact, we were not very suitable for each other—"
"Do you think I'm older than you?" Lin Shufen raised her head suddenly.
"no."
"So do you think the girl in the photo is much prettier than me?"
"Not really. I've said it before. Chen Sijiang was my elementary school classmate and also my
good friend. I did like her—"
"Look, you admit it now! You also said you don't like her. Do you like the voice on the phone just
now?" Lin Shufen cried and accused, "You have never been so gentle to me. You also asked her if
her ears had frostbite, asked her how she did in the physics test, and asked her if she bought
fireworks! Do you think I don't understand Shanghainese? My mother is from Shanghai! This New
Year's Eve fireworks were set off on the Charles River, and I waited for you for three hours, but
you didn't come! And you still say you don't like her?"
Zhao Youning stroked his forehead and said, "I told you a week in advance that I couldn't attend
New Year's Eve - and you got the wrong person. The person who called was Chen Sijiang's sister,
Chen Sinan, who is only in her second year of high school."
Youning was stunned when he looked at Sinan in the photo. Was he particularly gentle when
speaking to Sinan? He himself didn't think so, but it was true that Sinan had become particularly
quiet since he said the word "girlfriend" today. Did she feel that it was inconvenient to say many
things? Was there something important that she was embarrassed to say? He even had a feeling
that she would never tell him everything like before.
Thinking of this, Zhao Youning became a little restless, with a thin layer of sweat on his back. He
wanted to make a phone call to Wanchun Street immediately to find out.
Lin Shufen came back to her senses and suddenly burst into laughter: "Am I jealous of the wrong
thing?"
Zhao Youning lowered his head and said nothing, putting the photo back into his wallet.
"Okay, I'm just unhappy and jealous." Lin Shufen walked to Zhao Youning's side, stretched out her
hand to hold Zhao Youning's arm, but he dodged.
"I'm sorry, Fanny, let's break up," Zhao Youning took a step back and said seriously, "It's my fault. I
don't have time for a relationship and shouldn't waste your precious time. I'm not a qualified
boyfriend and haven't been with you much. You can find a house and move out after the Spring
Festival."
Seeing that he started to read again, Lin Shufen felt anxious and quickly sat cross-legged next to
Zhao Youning and poked his waist with her hand: "Hey——"
Zhao Youning stopped writing and turned to look at her.
Lin Shufen's eyes were red and she bit her lip: "I don't really want to break up with you. You really
don't understand us girls at all."
Zhao Youning rubbed his brows: "So what do you want?"
Lin Shufen laughed with tears in her eyes, and she hugged his arm and shook it: "Hey, what you
just said sounded like Taiwanese people speaking Mandarin. What do you want? Say it again."
Zhao Youning said helplessly: "Fanny, I am serious, we are really not suitable, and it was a wrong
decision for me to agree to talk to you."
"No, I like you very much, what's wrong with that!" Lin Shufen pulled down her collar and
confessed shyly, "I was a little excited just now because I was planning to be closer to you tonight,
but I waited for you for a long time, and then you talked to someone else on the phone-"
Zhao Youning pulled the blanket over her and wrapped her up: "Because I didn't think it through
before, but now I know very well that I will not stay in the United States. I will go back to
Shanghai."
"Why? You can continue to study for a doctorate, and then become an assistant professor,
associate professor, professor, or even a tenured professor. You can also become an American
citizen, get married and have children. Why do you want to go back to the mainland?" Lin Shufen
asked him in disbelief.
Zhao Youning was silent for a moment, as if he had confirmed something: "I'm sorry, I originally
thought there was nothing worth returning to in Shanghai."
Also, he now understands that if you accidentally see a girl changing clothes in the United States,
it is enough to say sorry.
——
Before the Spring Festival, Zhao Youning brought a new roommate to see the house. Lin Shufen
had never expected that this young Shanghai boy would be so ruthless. The new roommate was
an American who was a PhD student in marketing at MS Business School. Seeing her crying, he
sympathetically asked her which class she was from and who her mentor was. To Youning's
surprise, Lin Shufen moved out in a hurry before the Spring Festival.
On New Year's Eve, fellow Shanghainese from H University and M University gathered at two
tables at the Yanjing Hotel for a New Year's Eve dinner. When they were full of food and wine, a
graduate student from M University suddenly mentioned Fanny.
"Did you know? Mr. Xie, a Hong Kong graduate student in marketing at Alaska Business School,
got back together with his ex-girlfriend, the Taiwanese girl named Fanny who spoke in a very
coquettish way."
"Fanny Lin, right? She's a model! She dated Lao Xie for eight months, left a post-it note saying
they were breaking up, and then they broke up. After two months, she came back and recovered
in two minutes. She moved back to Lao Xie's place yesterday at the speed of light."
"Ah? Didn't he find a rich guy in Cambridge? Why did he condescend to live in Allston? No
wonder I met Lao Xie buying groceries at 88 Supermarket yesterday. Hey, don't you think Lao Xie
looks more like Shanghainese than Hong Kong people? Buying sirloin——"
A Shanghai girl who is an undergraduate student at H University fanned her mouth and tongue
with a napkin, which was so spicy, and couldn't help but join in the gossip: "I heard that she is
dating a rich and handsome guy from the Physics Department. All the food, clothes and other
things are provided by that handsome guy. You men only know how to look at faces. Please help
me, how can she look like a graduate student from M University? It's exposed after a few
questions. I heard that her family lives in Fall River. She didn't get into college at all. She
specifically looks for graduate students and doctoral students from both sides to "date". In fact,
she is just looking for meal tickets, haha. I don't know what Ning is so stupid! Hey, is there anyone
from the Physics Department at your table? Come on, who knows that guy?"
The few boys who had seen Lin Shufen at Zhao Youning's apartment all looked away awkwardly.
Zhao Youning raised his beer glass with grace and said, "I am the one who punched me - I wish
you all good luck and happiness in the Year of the Horse."
The little girl was quite quick-witted. She blushed and raised her glass: "Haha, life is far more
absurd than drama - I wish you all the best in the Year of the Horse..."

Chapter 321
The international students watched Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao's "The Protagonist and the
Supporting Actor" at the Yanjing Hotel before the New Year's Eve dinner party. Before paying the
bill, the proprietress thoughtfully gave a small plate of fortune cookies. Everyone opened them
with laughter and shouted: "Fortune! Good luck, good luck, congratulations on your prosperity!"
After all, it's the New Year, and there is no such thing as too many auspicious words, and even
more so, too much money.
Zhao Youning crushed the biscuits and wrote a clear message in black and white on the signature
paper: "Out with the old, in with the new."
The classmate sitting to his right took a look and was in awe of the cookie in his hand: "Oh wow,
it's pretty accurate!" He opened it and saw only one word "Husband" on it. Everyone at the table
burst into laughter, and some even urged him to find a husband or a wife. Zhao Youning also
laughed.
After leaving the restaurant, they said goodbye to each other. People who usually visit each other
frequently want to go to someone's house to continue playing cards, mahjong and drinking wine.
The acquaintance invited Zhao Youning to go with him, but Youning declined politely. Tomorrow
is another new day. The school and the laboratory will not be closed for the Chinese New Year.
For one-fifth of the world's population, excluding Zhao Youning, this night is very special, but for
the other four-fifths of the people and Zhao Youning, it is just one of countless ordinary days.
There were still a few pedestrians on H Square. Wucha Road, which was very busy during the day,
looked a bit desolate under the street lights. The bookstore, post office, and movie theater had
closed long ago, and the souvenir newsstand was also closed. The Au Bon Pain coffee shop in the
southeast corner of the square was still lit. The coffee shop chain tasted average, but it occupied
the best location. The domestic and foreign tourists who came to visit H University every day
were enough to make a lot of money. After all, the probability of meeting a Nobel Prize winner or
a famous professor in a coffee shop is said to be quite high.
Zhao Youning pushed the door open and saw that they were checking the bills. He said sorry and
was about to leave, but was stopped by a familiar-looking waitress.
“Hi, Ning, Happy Chinese New Year!”
Zhao Youning smiled and turned around and replied in Chinese: "Happy New Year, and may you
make fortune."
The waitress smiled and raised a cup of coffee: "Can I buy you a coffee?"
Everyone in the store laughed and a boy whistled.
Zhao Youning took the coffee with a smile, put down five dollars, and told her that according to
Chinese tradition, the last money spent on New Year's Eve will come back tenfold the next day, so
he couldn't miss this opportunity to make a fortune.
Watching him walk out of the coffee shop, the Americans in the shop were full of curiosity about
this mysterious legend of the Chinese Spring Festival.
The girl gave him black coffee. Zhao Youning took a sip and burned his upper palate. He licked it
gently with his tongue. The oily skin seemed to be easy to lick off, but it persisted. He stood under
the big camphor tree at the entrance of the coffee shop and fought with the oily skin for five
seconds, then gave up. A homeless man saw him standing there and walked over from the
opposite side. The tattered blanket he was wearing was like a Superman cape, which filled him
with momentum.
"Play chess?"
Zhao Youning was stunned, then smiled and shook his head. The homeless man with a Russian
accent looked at the cement "chess table" with a chessboard carved on it, sniffed his nose
regretfully, and walked away with the chess pieces in his hand. He seemed to be one of the
people who set up a chess stall here to make money. Youning had heard that it was one US dollar
per game, so it was not really a gamble.
"Hi——" Youning shouted.
The tramp quickly ran back.
After losing three dollars, Zhao Youning walked along the Charles River for a long time. Looking
back from afar, the three arched bridge holes of the Anderson Memorial Bridge had warm yellow
light, which spread a layer of gold on the river surface, which was quite oriental.
Zhao Youning came to his senses now and felt that he was not such a fool. Miss Lin did not say
such bad things behind his back except pretending to be a student of M University. It was just
that after missing that second, it seemed that there was no need to defend her, just like there
was no need to specifically declare that he was not a pushover. Admitting was the best ending.
He agreed to try dating in early November, and then offered to pay for her rent because he
thought it was hard for her to work part-time in a restaurant after class to pay off her college
loan, which was not good for her studies. But she would often buy him coffee and take the
initiative to clean the apartment. He gave her a set of marketing books as a gift for Christmas, and
she gave him a belt. He didn't pay attention to the brand, and she took it away when she moved
out.
He never doubted her education. On the one hand, it was inevitable to feel close to someone
who spoke Chinese in a foreign country. On the other hand, her request for rent made him feel a
sense of sympathy. Even looking back now, Youning could not find many contradictions. Ms. Lin
said that she was a new immigrant from Taiwan. After her father failed in opening a Chinese
restaurant, he became an alcoholic and continued to abuse her mother, her and her two sisters.
He cursed her most for not being able to give birth to a son, which caused him to have no
descendants. He also visited prostitutes and spent all the tuition fees of his three daughters on
prostitutes. She relied on loans to go to college. The reason why she had to find accommodation
in Cambridge Town was that her father could always find her and take away all the money she
had. The apartment where he lived had a strict security guard downstairs, and non-residents
could not enter at all. The small room in this apartment was actually a storage room, less than six
square meters, and could only accommodate a single bed and a small desk, but the monthly rent
of two hundred US dollars was almost as cheap as it could be in Cambridge Town. The original
tenant Alex was going to New York to make a living, and Youning didn't want to sublet the house
anymore, but Lin Shufen's smile with tears in her eyes touched him, reminding him of the
expression of his mother touching the piano when she left Kangjiaqiao Lane, as if she was not
sure whether the only way out was the real way out. If that was also acting, Zhao Youning
thought she should go to Hollywood to be an actress.
The small room was not rented out again, and the doctor from the business school was just
invited by him to do the show. As for whether Lin Shufen really liked him, Zhao Youning felt that
at least she played the role of a person who really liked him very well. Her confession was sincere
and sincere, a little inferior, contradictory and harmoniously self-respecting and proud. Her
admiration, appreciation, enthusiasm, consideration, anxiety, blame, and even temper in the
process of getting along were all very natural, which was very suitable for such a role and also in
line with Zhao Youning's limited imagination of this role.
Zhao Youning objectively felt that Fanny Lin was a very motivated and independent woman,
except that she was occasionally a little clingy and possessive during her relationship. She had an
ID card from M University, which was placed in a simple card holder. In the photo frame were
photos of her and her family, with her father cut out, as well as photos of her wearing a
bachelor's gown and photos with friends on the M University campus. She liked movies and art,
and when she moved in, she brought a box of books for business school students, and in her bag
were Peter M. Senge's lecture notes. She said that the lecturer was going to publish an amazing
book this year called "The Fifth Discipline". She also said, "Zhao Youning, you are my fifth
discipline", but he did not ask what her first four disciplines were. For the famous brand
advertisements that appeared on TV, she could always analyze the reasons for their success in a
clear and logical way. The Shanghai girl with a sharp tongue didn't know that Miss Lin performed
very well in front of him and his classmates. She had a wide range of knowledge in finance,
politics, sports, and art. She was very good at conversation but not too showy. Her English was
completely free of the wimpy flavor of Taiwanese Mandarin. These were probably the reasons
why Zhao Youning never doubted her.
Looking back with hindsight, Ms. Lin certainly wasn't without flaws. For example, she never
invited classmates or friends to visit, nor did she bring Zhao Youning into her social circle. She
invited him three or four times, but they were all dates that Zhao Youning had said in advance
that he couldn't accompany her. She often took Zhao Youning to school and the laboratory, but
she never asked him to take her to school.
After sorting out all this, Zhao Youning let out a long sigh and felt a little sympathy for his father
and Jia Qingqing's marriage. In Zhao Yan's eyes, he may have seen Jia Qingqing's flaws, but a
person would not have enough curiosity and desire to explore people who are "not important
enough". To put it more bluntly and cruelly, he doesn't care about her. Zhao Yan got a young
woman, a new family, and became a "husband" again. Maybe what he wants is his own integrity
in society. Will a divorced man feel that he is missing something in his heart?
Zhao Youning has no resentment towards his first girlfriend, Miss Lin Shufen, who fell from the
sky. He even feels a little ashamed of his selfishness. If he goes to Craig Venter's laboratory for
gene sequencing, it may prove that he has inherited his father's coldness and self-righteousness
in his bones. Miss Lin may have changed clothes many times in the living room before he
"bumped into" her, but she has also been trying to be a good girlfriend. She has baked apple pies,
sent him to the laboratory, asked about his well-being, and took the initiative to iron his shirts. In
the past two months, he has eaten three or four meals cooked by Miss Lin every week. In
addition to three cups of chicken, ginger and old duck soup, he even had a meal of handmade
vegetable and meat wontons. On Christmas Eve, as the hostess, she entertained four or five of his
classmates and fellow townsmen with all her heart and soul, roasted a whole turkey, and showed
the qualities of a "good wife and good mother" who could both be a housewife and a good
mother. Miss Lin paid with her time, energy, money, and "sincerity" that could not be confirmed
to be true or false, and he also got more than just vanity and comfort. She was the closest
woman in his life after coming to the United States, and the first person he seriously considered
whether to be together in the future. In fact, he did not pay much sincerity, he just thought she
was good, and this state was good.
If it wasn't for Sinan's call, if it wasn't for the torn photo, Youning felt that he and Miss Lin would
have a good chance of continuing to get along like this, and would have a good chance of
developing a further relationship, and even getting married and having children. If it came to
that, and Miss Lin cried and confessed that her little deception was out of a desire to save face or
even the fear of losing him, what would he do?
The coffee cup became cold, and even his fingers became cold. Zhao Youning shuddered.
——
The call was connected after three tries, but the voice that came through was Chen Sihao's.
"Happy New Year, may you be prosperous. Are you Saning? Looking for Saning?"
"Oh, it's Brother Ningning. Happy New Year, Brother. I wish you good health, everything goes
well, and you will be successful!" Si Hao said in a row, "My elder sister went to the movies with
my elder brother, my uncle, and my aunt, and my second sister went to meet some friends."
Zhao Youning was stunned: "What? Did Chen Sinan go to do it?"
"Hahaha, there's a boy in my class who also lives on Wanchun Street and is also surnamed Chen.
Is that a coincidence?" Chen Sihao was getting excited while eating melon seeds and lowered his
voice. "That boy's mother died of liver cancer, and he doesn't have a father either. Old Segu, my
second sister donated a hundred yuan to him! A hundred yuan! A hundred yuan! Do you believe
it? Brother Ningning?"
"That boy often comes to see my second sister," Si Hao said with a sigh. "The two of them ride
bicycles to school together, play football together, and even skip classes to play mahjong
together. Haha, don't ask me how I know this, my deskmate Abao lives upstairs from him!"
"Second sister is so nice to him. She always rushes to pay the bills when they go out. Tsk tsk tsk,
he is not Chen Sinan anymore when he is with his boyfriend," Si Hao concluded in a very old way.
"Brother Ningning, are you gossiping? I'll tell him for you?"
Zhao Youning sighed silently: "Oh, no. Please wish your family a happy New Year for me--"
"Okay, see you later."
Before Zhao Youning could say goodbye, the phone was hung up.
At a little after five o'clock, Sinan and Chen Zhanping returned to Wanchun Street, carrying a
bunch of fireworks, firecrackers, small stationery and the like bought from the Chenghuang
Temple Wholesale Market in their hands and on their shoulders, and enthusiastically set up their
stall in front of the entrance of the cultural center.
"Business is definitely good! It's no problem to make 100 yuan a day!" Sinan patted his chest and
guaranteed, "If we make money, we'll split it in half, and if we lose money, it's all mine. I'll set off
the fireworks myself, and sell the stationery at the back door of the school when school starts. It's
absolutely no problem."
Chen Zhanping smiled and shook his head: "We do business together, and we share the profits
and losses. You are not so sensible."
"I'm teaching you. I'm your master, so of course I'm responsible," Sinan slapped him firmly on the
arm. "Don't buy jeans from that stall anymore. If you do, remember to bargain, at least half
price!"
"Okay, okay." Chen Zhanping, who was caught red-handed by Chen Sinan at the stall on Huating
Road a few years ago, smiled with his eyes curved and nodded repeatedly.
Sinan squatted down with a lollipop in his mouth, spread the oil paper, and hummed the popular
song "When I Wake Up from a Dream".
"By the way, you know? Chen Shuhua's last name is also Chen. Look, those of us with the last
name of Chen will definitely come to us to help with whatever we do." Sinan raised his head with
a smile.
Chen Zhanping burst into laughter.
At the dinner on the first day of the new year, Chen Sinan ate a few mouthfuls of rice. Before
Sihao could remember to tell Zhao Youning what she had said, she ran to the entrance of the
cultural center to hand over her shift to Chen Zhanping. When they closed the stall at ten o'clock
in the evening, Chen Sinan and Chen Zhanping happily calculated that they had already made
back the money they had spent on the goods, and if they could sell all the remaining goods, they
would make a net profit. There were still two weeks until the fifteenth day of the first lunar
month.
Zhao Youning's second call was answered by Sinan.
"International long-distance calls are too expensive. I'm fine now. Do you have anything else to
say? Tell me quickly." After saying a few auspicious words, Sinan thought of the sixty yuan and
couldn't help but urge him.
"The call charges from the US to Shanghai and from Shanghai to the US are different. It's not
expensive here. Can you talk a little more? The last call was too short. What did you want to tell
me?"
"Huh? Why? It's not fair!" Sinan pretended to howl twice and coughed twice, "Well, it's nothing,
just thank you. Okay, I wish you - and your girlfriend a happy New Year. I have something else to
do, let's talk next time."
"My girlfriend is gone."
"ah?"
"Because you called me in the middle of the night, she broke up with me," Zhao Youning said,
trying not to laugh, "Chen Sinan, you have to be responsible."
"What? What does it have to do with me!" Chen Sinan really cried out, but the corners of his
mouth curled up unconsciously, "Besides, you went to the United States to study hard, why are
you in love? It's not good. You should spend all your time and energy on the great cause of
physics, understand? The Nobel Prize is waiting for you, science needs you, and the motherland
needs you!"
"I was still in the lab on New Year's Day. The Sichuan food we had for New Year's Eve dinner
yesterday was so spicy that I had diarrhea." Zhao Youning sighed.
"Haha, your butt must be hurting!" Sinan said with great experience, "When Chen Sihao was a
child, he insisted on eating his uncle's Yunnan chili sauce. It was so spicy that his butt hurt for two
days!"
"You shouldn't be so happy about other people's misfortunes. Are you still friends?"
"Only the best of friends can talk about good things, right?" Sinan leaned on the armrest of the
sofa with a smile and talked about his and Chen Zhanping's money-making plan.
"What do you guys think? His family is in such a difficult situation, and his uncle's family hasn't
been bad to him and his sister, but they haven't been very good to him either. He bought a pair of
jeans for 120 yuan without blinking an eye and didn't even bargain! Fortunately, he met me and
saved 60 yuan! What do you think of my idea of helping him make money?"
"That's great. You've been doing business since you were young. You sold Jingsheng, your sister,
and me. Now you're finally on the right track," Zhao Youning asked jokingly, "Is the power of love
so great?"
Sinan was stunned for a moment, then screamed, "What nonsense are you talking about? This is
great friendship! International humanitarian spirit! Aww, I have goose bumps all over my body.
What love? Do you think everyone is like you, thinking only of dating?"
"Hey, wait, why did you suddenly say something so weird? Does it mean that if a girl talks to you
guys for a few more words and does something serious together, she likes you guys?" Sinan
thought of the woman who answered the phone and snorted, "Superficial man!"
Zhao Youning apologized sincerely and Chen Sinan accepted it generously.
"Okay, okay, I got it. Don't worry, I, Chen Sinan, don't want to fall in love in this life!" Chen Sinan
sang Xu Xiaofeng's "Carmen" loudly, "Love is just an ordinary thing, it's not rare at all. Men are
just a kind of entertainment, what's the big deal! Do you hear me? This is what I want to say!"
Zhao Youning: "Okay..."

Chapter 322
Chen Sinan and Chen Zhanping's stall was squeezed next to the comic book stall. On the second
day of the Chinese New Year, an aunt from the neighborhood committee came to interfere.
"Please don't set up stalls here. Look, the posters we just painted have been smeared by you. A
leader is coming to inspect this afternoon, so hurry up and study hard, kids. You are so arrogant,
what are you doing?"
Beijing will host the 11th Asian Games in September this year. Before the Lunar New Year, giant
pandas taller than humans could be seen everywhere in the city, smiling and holding gold medals
and giving thumbs-up signs, against a pink-green background with big red words "Warmly
celebrate the 11th Asian Games being held in Beijing." Even Sinan, who has no artistic talent,
looked at them and shook his head, "Red and green go together, it's ugly."
The two stall owners turned around and saw that the lower half of the pink-green color had
indeed been rubbed off a lot, making it look like the wall paint in the ward of the 85th Hospital.
"Oh my, you've become bald! Please get out of the way quickly. Everyone should rest during the
New Year. There's no way to make up for it!" The neighborhood committee auntie was anxious.
Si Nan's eyes turned black, and she asked Chen Zhanping to turn the oil paper over, and then
squeezed it towards the bookshelf of the comic book stall, barely revealing the whole painting.
She opened a bag of watercolor pens, selected a green one and went up to try to get close to
him.
"Grandma, I have a solution. After we fix it, we need to be careful so that it won't bump into you
again. When the leader comes later in the day, we will close the stall and read comic books. We
can set up the stall again after the leader leaves, okay?" Sinan said sincerely, "This is our winter
vacation homework. We have to work and study to experience life, and we also have to write
essays. Please help."
The neighborhood committee aunt watched her use a green watercolor pen to paint over the
scratched white stripes bit by bit, then stepped back and looked at it. It was pretty good, and
there wasn't much difference.
The neighborhood committee auntie recognized these two Chens. The Gu family was difficult to
deal with. Gu Dongwen had cancer again, and the other one was even more miserable. Both his
parents were gone, and he had a younger sister who was still in school.
"Then you should be careful. Close the stalls at two o'clock and set up again after the leaders
leave. Next time, remember to come to the neighborhood committee to apply in advance,
otherwise everyone will set up stalls at will and the alley will be a mess, right?" The aunt was
strict but kind. Before leaving, she reminded them: "Remember at two o'clock, I will be there at
1:35. Also, make sure to keep the sanitation work done after closing the stalls, understand?"
Chen Sinan nodded with a smile and agreed. When she saw the aunt walking away, she dragged
the oil paper back to the original place and called the children who came out to bask in the sun to
come and see the stationery and toys. Chen Zhanping gave her a thumbs up. Sinan raised her
chin proudly. Thinking of what Zhao Youning said on the phone yesterday, she thought for a while
and flattened the Transformers poster with a raised corner at hand: "Well - Old Chen - let me tell
you something."
"Speak."
Sinan scratched his head, thinking it was really hard to say "Please don't like me". He coughed
twice and let out a long breath: "I asked you to set up a stall together because we are neighbors,
classmates and friends. We share the hard times and the happiness. I don't have any other
intentions. If someone says something bad about me behind my back, you must tell me."
Chen Zhanping was a little embarrassed and glanced at her: "There are too many people saying
bad things about you, which one do you want to listen to?"
"Ah? Who? What did you say about me?" Chen Sinan's eyes widened, and a few curly hairs
exploded in the air due to static electricity, which was very funny.
Chen Zhanping suppressed his laughter and said, "You speak too harshly. You have made Guo
Zhixing, who is so good-tempered, lose face several times."
"That's because - there are some unspeakable reasons," Sinan snorted, "and what else?"
"You were too serious when you went to the countryside to learn about agriculture, which made
us look too lazy and lack team spirit," Chen Zhanping handed a Transformer and a bag of
diamond candy to the children who were looking at them eagerly, and threw two yuan into the
mooncake box. "And Lao Ma fell into the canal after drinking a glass of old wine at a farmer's
house, and you didn't save him, but called people from other classes to watch him laugh. That's
too much."
"Who told him to gossip about Tang Huan after he failed to catch up with her? He deserves it." Si
Nan got angry when she thought about this. She stood up for Tang Huan, but Tang Huan said she
was irritable. How could she be irritable? She didn't even hit the drowned dog with a brick. Don't
be too peaceful.
"Forget it, forget it. Don't say anything. I won't ask anymore. I'm not popular in the class anyway."
Sinan waved her hand disapprovingly. In fact, her relationship with boys and girls last semester
was much better than that in the first year of high school. She was even invited to a classmate
day party, but she felt that buying gifts was a waste of money and time, so she refused.
With this interruption, Sinan forgot what he originally wanted to clarify with Chen Zhanping.
"After closing the stall today, shall we go to Xigong to play arcade games together?" Chen
Zhanping asked with a smile, "The first place you got last time with 1942 was long ago surpassed
by someone else."
"Ah? What rank have I fallen to now?"
"I think you're ranked seventh. Your name is Nan, right?"
"Damn it!" Sinan rubbed his hands, "I'll go after I close the stall!"
Chen Sihao, who was reading a comic book nearby, raised her head and said, "Sister, I want to go
too!"
"What qualifications do you have to go? You can't even beat the first level, what a waste of game
coins!" Sinan waved his hand in disdain.
"Oh, then if Brother Ningning calls again, I'll have no choice but to tell him—"
"Go away, go away. I'm so annoyed with you. You are only allowed to use five coins!" Sinan felt
inexplicably guilty. Well, it seemed that she had not made it clear just now that she did not want
to talk to Chen Zhanping about other friends.
"I have lucky money, so I bought it myself, haha." Si Hao lowered his head and continued to read
the "Doraemon" comic book in his hand.
Unexpectedly, Gu Nian, who was beside him, looked up from the Children's Story Pictorial and
said, "Brother, I want to go too."
Si Hao shook his head: "No, Tiger Head, you are too young——"
Gu Nian: "Then I'll tell mom and dad that you and your second sister are going together—"
"Dai Dai Dai, I'll take you, but you can't tell anyone, okay?"
"Okay, let's make a pinky promise. This is our secret!" Gu Nian announced in a serious tone.
Si Nan sneered and told Shan Rang directly at lunch that Chen Si Hao was going to take Gu Nian
to Xigong to play video games. Finally, Bei Wu and Shan Rang took Chen Si Hao and Gu Nian to
Jing'an Park after lunch. Chen Si Hao rode ten electric scooters with Gu Nian with a sad face, and
felt like he had turned into an electric scooter, with springs shaking up and down when he
walked.
——
Huating Road was closed from the first to the fifth day of the new year. Jingsheng finally got to
date Si Jiang for a few days, and they even arranged to watch a movie and walk around the street.
On the afternoon of the first day of the Chinese New Year, they went to Cathay Pacific with Beiwu
Shanrang to watch the movie "Father and Son Classic Car". Chen Peisi has been so popular in the
past two years that his skits are played on all radio and television. Although Shanghai people
grew up listening to comedy, crosstalk and skits are so attractive. Beiwu and Shanrang especially
like the sharp irony hidden in Chen Peisi's humor.
After watching the movie, the four of us went to Lao Da Chang for a cup of coffee as usual. The
Garden Hotel across the street has been built. It is said that the Mitsukoshi shopping mall and
coffee shop on the first floor have already opened, and the hotel will not open until March. The
development has been too fast in the past two years. The Shanghai Mall on Nanjing West Road is
about to open. It seems that high-rise buildings are rising from the ground on both sides of the
Huangpu River every minute, and it changes every day.
"Aunt, will you go back to school after the Chinese New Year?" Si Jiang asked Shan Rang while
touching the ice cream on his coffee.
Shan Rang smiled and said, "Well, I have been notified that I can go back to work, but I haven't
decided whether to go back or not. It depends on what your uncle is going to do next. We don't
plan to separate again."
"Living apart does not mean separation." Beiwu corrected her with a smile.
Shanrang made a face. Jingsheng and Sijiang both laughed.
"It's better not to separate," Si Jiang agreed. "As long as two people are together, anything is
fine."
Shan Rang blinked at Jingsheng: "Did you hear that?"
Jingsheng smiled and nodded.
Si Jiang turned his face away embarrassedly.
"So what are your plans for the New Year?" Jingsheng asked. "Dad is much better now. Captain
Ling found him a small house in Ganlanba. He still wants to go to Yunnan."
"I'll take care of your dad's affairs. You must go back to finish college in September," Beiwu
frowned. "A college degree is indeed not the most important thing, but if you give up halfway,
you'll have wasted the past ten years. After the new year, when the clothing company is open and
a suitable manager is hired, you can get away from it."
"Your family is going to open a clothing company?" Si Jiang was very surprised.
Jingsheng nodded with a smile: "I discussed this with the eldest lady before the New Year. It's not
possible to do this now. The money is tied up in the goods and it's too hard for people. Since the
eldest lady is determined to have her own brand, it's better to have a formal clothing company."
"From November to the eve of the Chinese New Year, we made a total of 680,000 yuan, with a
net profit of just over 220,000 yuan. Last year, we made a total of 1.27 million yuan, with a gross
profit of almost 40%. Last month, I borrowed a small warehouse on Changle Road, hired a tally
clerk and warehouse manager, paid the fabric fee for the spring and the deposit for the
processing factory, and distributed wages and bonuses. At the end of the year, I took out 200,000
yuan for dividends, transferred 100,000 yuan to my eldest aunt's account in Shantou, and my
father transferred 20,000 yuan to Captain Ling to buy a house. I still have 300,000 yuan in the
account. There is not much inventory in the warehouse, and there are nearly 20,000 yuan of
goods at cost, which can continue to be sold in spring and autumn-"
Shan Rang whispered to Si Jiang: "Your uncle and I also received 20,000 yuan in dividends, which
is equivalent to my six years' salary! I am now a millionaire too."
Jingsheng laughed when he heard this: "A clothing company should be run with the money
earned from the stall. You and your uncle invested 3,000 yuan in shares a long time ago,
accounting for 10%. When the clothing company is opened, it will still be 10%."
Bei Wu tapped his fingers on the table. "Opening a company and setting up a stall are two
completely different things. You are almost familiar with the early production process. In the later
stage, how to spread the sales in addition to Huating Road, whether to go wholesale or retail, and
whether to focus on the Shanghai market or the national market, all these need to be thought
out first. The goal determines the result."
Jingsheng nodded. He had been thinking about this for two months and had talked to Nanhong
on the phone no less than ten times. He had almost sorted out his thoughts.
Si Jiang also became excited.
"Start-up costs must be set aside in advance, and the office must look good after the new year so
that we can recruit people. I don't know much about the clothing industry, but you are already
familiar with the production scene. The company's operating costs must also have a plan and
budget. Office rent, employee salaries, water and electricity, industrial and commercial taxes are
all monthly expenses. Also, should you consider buying a van? You can make a rough estimate of
the approximate fixed expenses for the whole year, and use the sales accounts of Huating Road in
recent years as a reference," Beiwu said with a smile, "Anyway, don't be too optimistic. Don't
spread your business too wide. Hire one person for processing and production, and one person
for sales. Get things started first, and then slowly recruit more people."
"Okay." Jingsheng nodded repeatedly. "By the way, I'm going to invite the manager to dinner on
the eighth day of the first lunar month. Uncle, please come along."
Mr. Jing mentioned this matter once last year. Nanhong fashion was selling too well and was too
eye-catching, so the tax authorities had already said that the quota would have to be re-
determined. An old merchant who had a good relationship with Gu Dongwen also reminded him
that the sister-in-law of a certain leader had taken a fancy to Nanhong fashion, and something
might happen.
Jingsheng used to not be afraid of other people causing trouble, but now he understands why it is
best to make big things small and small things nothing in business.
——
After leaving Lao Da Chang, Bei Wu took Shan Rang to Maoming Road to see Mitsukoshi
Department Store. "We are an old couple and need some time alone. You can go home or
somewhere else to hang out. It's up to you. Don't follow us."
Jingsheng and Sijiang watched them walk away side by side and smiled at each other.
"Shall we go to the Hilton Hotel?" Jingsheng looked at his watch. "It's still two hours before
dinner time."
Si Jiang blushed and gave him an elbow: "You rascal, you always think about that kind of thing! I
didn't even bring my ID!"
Jingsheng was stunned: "Ah? I wanted to invite you to have coffee. Didn't you mention that
brushed cake last time?"
Si Jiang was startled, pretending to be calm and shaking him off, walking forward: "No, it's too
expensive. It's crazy to spend 18 yuan on a piece of cake. What's the matter with stringy or not?
Stringy is a toad, right? That's called tiramisu!"
Jingsheng caught up with her, grabbed her hand and put it in his pocket: "I brought my student
ID, it's an old one, can it be used? After booking a room, go back to Wanchun Street for dinner,
and then secretly return to the hotel at night to do some exercise and take a bath. Don't be too
coquettish."
Si Jiang pinched his palm hard and said, "No, no, no, no!"
The two of them turned onto Changshu Road and could see the white Hilton building towering
into the sky from afar. Their fingertips were linked together, and a thin layer of sweat seeped out
between their crossed palms.
Jingsheng suddenly whistled.
"Yuanyang Tea, Yuanyang Tea, you love me and I love you."
Si Jiang couldn't help but laugh: "Who on earth managed to escape from the jaws of death?
Really!"

Chapter 323
At the intersection of Changshu Road and Huaihai Road, white barriers have been erected with
promotional advertisements for Shanghai Metro Line 1 posted on them. Thinking of the subway
he had taken in Beijing, Si Jiang could not help but stop and take a closer look. There were
densely printed names of units on them: Shanghai Metro Engineering Construction
Headquarters; Huaihai Road Subway and Road Overhaul Engineering Construction Headquarters;
Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Design Institute; Shanghai Underground Building Design Institute;
Shanghai Railway Bureau Survey and Design Institute; Tongji University; Beijing Urban
Construction Engineering Design Institute, etc.
"Shanghai is finally going to have a subway," Si Jiang said with emotion. "I heard that Line 1 was
designed by Germans? There shouldn't be any problems during the construction. It has long been
said that the underground in Shanghai is wet and soft, and it's all water after digging a few
meters. Building a subway is like drilling a hole in tofu brain. There is only failure and no success."
"Of course not! Line 1 was designed by us Chinese. The newspapers said that preparations began
in 1983, but in fact, the older generation has been working on it for more than 30 years,"
Jingsheng knew more about this because of his profession, and his tone was a bit hurried, "As
long as we Chinese want to do something, there is nothing we can't do. In the Line 1 project, the
earth pressure balance shield and subway vehicles were purchased from Germany. Because the
project cost more than 5 billion yuan and Shanghai had no money, the Germans loaned us money
and sold the equipment in a bundle. The engineering consulting was done by Americans. The
subway engineering headquarters comes to Jiaotong University to recruit people every year, and
several chief engineers have also come to give lectures--"
"Gu Jingsheng!" Si Jiang turned his head and looked at him, his eyes shining.
"Ah?" Jingsheng was stunned.
"I find that you are actually quite patriotic and have a strong sense of national pride." Si Jiang
narrowed his eyes.
Jingsheng stretched out his arm, hooked it around her neck and pulled her closer, and gently
nudged her forehead with his chin: "Why? Our family only allows you to be a passionate patriotic
youth?"
Si Jiang held his waist and sighed, "My blood is no longer hot. Now I just hope that my family can
live well. By the way, I heard from my uncle that a house in Ganlanba costs less than 10,000 yuan,
so why did he transfer 20,000 yuan? Is there anything else he needs to do? Can we help?"
"Well, Captain Ling and his gang are drug enforcement police officers, and their lives are
extremely difficult. Many have sacrificed their lives, and many are disabled. Their families' lives
are actually very difficult. Dad wanted to donate the 180,000 yuan that his old comrades-in-arms
raised for him last time to Captain Ling, but Captain Ling refused to accept it. He said that the
10,000 yuan could only be considered wages, and that he would organize disabled retired police
officers to help tread the vegetable fields and repair the houses, and distribute the money
according to work. The rest must be returned to us." Jingsheng was a little helpless. He actually
wanted to go to Jinghong to help Gu Dongwen get all these things done, but he really couldn't
leave.
Si Jiang thought for a moment: "I understand Captain Ling's idea. No reward without merit. His
comrades-in-arms died for the country and were injured for the country. If the family has to rely
on the help of his uncle or other individuals to live a good life, he must feel very uncomfortable.
Can we try to discuss with Captain Ling and lend this money to the family members who want to
do some small business but lack capital, like the flower cakes sent by the Yunnan aunt last time,
to open a small shop or something, or transport Yunnan's local specialties to Shanghai to sell. My
uncle used to resell dried mushroom ham, and it was quite expensive. After all, it is better to
teach someone how to fish than to give him fish. This can last for a long time, and people will not
feel that they are being given alms. It's just that doing business will have risks, and the money
lent may not be recovered, but my uncle wanted to give money, so it shouldn't matter much.
What do you think-"
Before she could finish her words, Jingsheng had already picked her up.
"Nannan, how can you be so smart!" Jingsheng smiled and kissed her chin. "Your idea must be
good. Thank you!"
Si Jiang patted his shoulder, finally landed on the ground, and explained while panting: "Then you
should thank Mrs. Brown."
"Why?" Jingsheng was stunned.
"Mrs. Brown was persuaded by her college alumni to participate in a rural development project
of Chittagong University in Bangladesh. The project mainly provides small loans of tens of dollars
to rural women so that they can earn money through their skills. It has been done for more than
ten years and it is said that the effect is very good and has helped many poor people. Mrs. Brown
and Mr. Brown discussed whether this model could be implemented in rural China. She asked me
a lot of questions, but unfortunately I didn't know much about rural areas and couldn't help her
much." Si Jiang remembered that he sighed at the time that although Mrs. Brown did not work,
she was always enthusiastic about participating in things that were beneficial to society. She was
a great woman.
Jingsheng smiled and held Sijiang's hand tightly: "I don't care, I only recognize you and thank you,
let's go, let's go to Hilton."
In the end, I couldn't bear to eat tiramisu, but I still sang Yuanyang Tea. However, there was a wall
between them. The west side of the wall was the women's bathroom, and the east side was the
men's bathroom.
The military bathhouses were open as usual during the New Year, but the opening hours were
shortened from 3 to 7. The ticket price did not increase, and it was still 50 cents per bath ticket.
According to Grandma Gu and Aunt Chen, you can't take a bath on the first day of the New Year,
and you shouldn't take a bath on the second day of the New Year. It's best not to take a bath on
the third and fourth days of the New Year, and you can't take a bath on the fifth day to welcome
the God of Wealth. Young people don't care about these things. After being out and sweating,
they just want to take a hot bath and lie in bed refreshed and warm.
Gu Dongwen, Gu Beiwu, Jingsheng and Chen Sihao and Gu Nian took a bath in the big bathtub,
almost renting it out. The bath attendants were on holiday for the New Year, so Jingsheng rubbed
Gu Dongwen's back. Seeing his thin spine, he didn't dare to use too much force, but Gu Dongwen
despised him. Gu Nian ran over and rubbed him like a tiger descending from the mountain, and
Gu Dongwen laughed so hard that he lay on the long bench and shook.
"Oh, it's comfortable, it's still Alahutoujiu!"
Gu Nian rubbed it harder and skipped the steps to answer: "You're welcome!"
There was laughter in the bathroom.
Chen Si had a lot of flesh, so it was tiring for him to take a shower. After a quarter of an hour, he
put on his clothes and went out. But when he stepped out of the door and felt the cold wind, he
shrank back.
"Hello Chen Si, have your sisters finished washing?" Jingsheng glanced at the fat figure outside
the thick plastic door curtain and asked loudly.
"No, I didn't see anyone. There was someone singing in the women's bathroom. It seemed to be
my second sister."
"What are you singing?" Gu Dongwen turned his head away and asked with a smile.
"Yuanyang Tea, Yuanyang Tea, I love you, you love me," Si Hao also laughed, "Big sister has
already marked it on the TV newspaper. We will watch "The Great Escape" at ten o'clock tonight."
Jingsheng couldn't help but laugh. He took a shower, put on his clothes, and walked out the door
while drying his hair. There seemed to be fewer people in the women's bathroom, and the
singing was quite loud, repeating the two secret codes over and over again. After waiting for a
while, the curtain of the women's bathroom was lifted, and Shanrang, Sijiang and Sinan came out
in a line, carrying baskets and plastic bags. The faces of the three people were all red from the
smoke, and a wave of hot air and steam hit them in the face. It was indeed Sinan who was
humming the little song, which surprised Jingsheng. Sijiang, who came out last, was actually
whistling the two lines.
"Cousin, it's convenient for you guys to take a shower," Sinan pulled at his messy hair that was
blown by the hair dryer, "I'll go get a short haircut in a couple of days."
Si Hao, who ran out after hearing their voices, quickly expressed his objection: "You can only get
your hair cut on the second day of the second month, when the dragon raises its head. It's not
good for the uncles to get a haircut in the first month of the year."
"Oh, then I won't cut it, not for the rest of my life." Sinan changed his words without thinking,
took out his woolen hat and put it on.
Jingsheng touched the end of Sijiang's hair, which was still a little damp: "Why didn't you blow
dry it?"
"It's okay, I brought a hat and a scarf." Si Jiang smiled and put his hair up.
"Big sister, please rub some of your fragrant scent on me." Chen Sihao squeezed in between them
and patted her chubby face.
Si Nan raised his knee and gave Si Hao a slap on the butt: "Tsk! You're a man, and you think my
Pechoin is not good enough? What do you want youthful skin for, you sissy!"
Shan Rang couldn't help laughing: "Nan Nan, what you said is not right. Why can't boys love
beauty and choose the perfume they like? Our boy Hu Tou applies perfume on his face every day
after washing it, and he does it very seriously. Everyone loves beauty."
Si Jiang took out Olay from the plastic bag, scooped a little and applied it on Si Hao's face, then
asked Jingsheng if he wanted it.
Jingsheng shook his head repeatedly: "No."
Si Nan pinched Chen Si Hao's face and said, "Did you see that? My cousin never uses these. His
skin is too good. You should learn from him. Your face is so fat. It costs a lot to wipe it. You should
save money. A child without a mother is a grass. Can you be more aware of yourself as a grass?"
Si Hao covered his face and cried out in pain: "Big sister said this is free, it's given by the school,
what does it have to do with you? You wipe so much but it's still not as white as mine, you're the
one who's wasting money, you should be frugal!"
Si Nan frowned, and Si Jiang quickly pulled his sister and brother apart: "Okay, no quarreling on
New Year's Day, make peace, make peace quickly. Nan Nan, stop talking nonsense, what
motherless child? Mom will be back to Shanghai in two days."
Si Hao was stunned for a moment, then inexplicably became nervous. She grabbed the corner of
Si Jiang's clothes and whispered, "Big sister, I don't want to go to Beijing with Mom. I want to be
with you and my grandma."
Si Jiang and Si Nan looked at each other.
"Who said Mom is going to take you to Beijing?" Sinan snorted, "You wish. The three of us are a
burden, she doesn't want any of us."
Si Hao let out a sigh of relief, but a look of melancholy completely inconsistent with his age
appeared on his chubby face.
Si Jiang's nose suddenly felt sore for some reason.
Jingsheng covered Sinan's mouth with a slap: "You are the only one who talks too much, just
continue to sing Yuanyang Tea."
Si Nan said nothing, broke free from Jingsheng's hand, opened the door and walked out: "I'm
going back first, my classmates are waiting for me to close the stall and settle accounts together."
"Second sister, Po asked if you can sell him that Optimus Prime for a cheaper price. How about six
dollars?" Si Hao hurriedly chased after her.
"No, it has to be at least seven!" Sinan replied firmly.
"Then I have no face to come. I told him it's okay——"
"Just put one on. You look so proud because you got lucky money."
Jingsheng comforted Sijiang: "It's okay, children's temper comes and goes quickly."
Si Jiang pursed his lips and nodded.
"Baby has finished taking a bath. Baby has rubbed uncle's back. Baby is great!" As soon as Gu
Nian went out, he hugged his mother's thighs and asked for praise.
"Hutou is awesome!" Si Jiang and Jingsheng laughed in unison.

Chapter 324
There are three days of holiday for the Spring Festival, and all units will resume normal work on
the fourth day of the New Year.
On the second day of the Chinese New Year, Jingsheng and Sijiang took Sihao and Gu Nian to the
Great World to have fun. Sihao carefully looked at her tall and thin appearance in the funhouse
mirror. It was not good-looking, and she did not want to lose weight. Gu Nian laughed so hard
that she held her stomach and cried out in pain. She took pictures and laughed again and again.
The four of them finally squeezed out of the Great World and went to Yunnan Road Food Street
to eat Shaoxing. Chen Sihao finished half a white-cut chicken by himself, drank the hot chicken
porridge and concluded: "It tastes better than KFC and is more affordable."
Jingsheng and Sijiang were not bored at all with the two little ones. Gu Nian's catchphrase at this
stage was "Why". "Why is it called Yunnan Road?" "Why is it called Little Shaoxing?" "Why is
there no chicken in the chicken porridge?" "Why does the little brother eat more than the big
brother?" As a result, the other three people started to mobilize their brain cells when they saw
him open his mouth, waiting to be tested.
But four-year-old Gu Nian has a very lovable strength: children speak without restraint. When he
takes Jingsheng and Sijiang to look in the mirror, he will happily announce: "Look, now the three
of us are a family. The big brother is the father, the big sister is the mother, and I am the baby.
Hello father, hello mother, hello baby, hahaha, we are so happy——"
Chen Sihao wanted to squeeze in, but was ruthlessly pushed out by Gu Nian. Jingsheng was
delighted to hear this and lifted Gu Nian up and put her on his shoulders.
When Gu Nian saw couples hugging each other while riding on Jingsheng's neck, she would point
them out to Si Jiang and say, "Look, they will get married and be the bride and groom in the
future. Big sister, if you become the bride, you must let big brother be the groom - that way the
children you give birth to will be as cute as me."
Jingsheng winked at Sijiang: "No problem, leave it to me."
"Come on, big brother, you can do it!"
Si Jiang's face turned red with laughter, and he pinched Jing Sheng several times. The two were in
a good mood, and they would do whatever Gu Nian asked for. Want popcorn? Buy it! Want a
medium ice cube? Buy it! Want a big balloon? Buy it! This made Chen Sihao very depressed, and
he felt that his status in the underworld was about to be lost.
"Sister, brother, I think you shouldn't treat Hutou like this. It's called spoiling him, and spoiling is
wrong." Si Hao quoted his mother's words with a righteous look on his face.
Jingsheng glanced at him and said, "If you can talk as well as Hutou, I will dote on you too, don't
you?"
"Brother, when my mother comes back, the mother-in-law will definitely be happier and happier
she is to see her son-in-law." Chen Si fawningly held Jingsheng's arm, glanced at Si Jiang who was
queuing to buy egg cakes, and lowered his voice to express his credit, "Brother, two older sisters'
high school male classmates came to visit me on New Year's Eve, and I didn't tell the older sisters
- hey! Gu Hutou, why did you kick me?"
Gu Nian stepped on Chen Sihao's hand with her small cotton shoes: "Don't hold big brother, go
away, big brother is mine!"
"What? Who do you think you are? The prince is mine! Next time, the prince will not only be my
prince, but also my brother-in-law. I am the closest to the prince. Get down!" Si Hao shook his
arm that was hurt by the kick to emphasize his advantage.
In Gu Nian's dictionary, there is no concept of "brother-in-law". He was stunned and grabbed
Jingsheng's hair tightly: "No! Big brother and big sister are all mine, little brother is a bad guy, go
away!"
The primary school student and the kindergarten kid quarreled, and both were hurt. One of them
was holding an egg cake and eating it on Jingsheng's shoulder, sobbing, while the other was
holding the two-color ice cream that he had finally obtained, licking it and gritting his teeth.
Jingsheng and Sijiang continued to watch the show with laughter.
On the bus back home, Chen Sihao and Gu Nian, who had been fooling around all day, put aside
their past grudges and fell asleep on the same seat. Jingsheng took off their hats, turned his head
and whispered to Si Jiang: "It would be nice if I could have two children in the future, so they
would compete for my favor every day - forget it, I guess they would compete with me, so it's
better to have one, a daughter."
Si Jiang hid a smile in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows. He looked out the window and
replied calmly, "No problem. I'll leave it to you."
Jingsheng pulled her in front of him, resting his chin on her shoulder and smiling: "I can do it, I
will try my best."
——
On the second night of the New Year, Gu Dongwen mentioned this to Jingsheng in private.
"Do you want to tell her mother about you and Si Jiang?"
Jingsheng hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No, Si Jiang is still studying,
let's wait until she graduates from college. My young lady just got married, moved house,
changed jobs, etc., there are already a lot of things to do--"
"good."
Gu Dongwen gave Jingsheng a deposit certificate of 20,000 yuan and asked him to go to the Real
Estate Bureau of Changjingxu after the New Year to see if there are any old houses that the
government has disposed of, and buy a suitable one for Nurse Lu. Jingsheng agreed, thinking
about how to convince Nurse Lu. Last summer, Grandma Gu said that she wanted to add her
name to the real estate certificate of Wanchun Street, but Nurse Lu refused. Before the New Year,
Gu Dongwen wanted to give half of his dividend to Nurse Lu. She got angry with him for the first
time and didn't even come to the New Year's Eve dinner. But for the Gu family, for Gu Dongwen
and Jingsheng, this is the only way they can express their feelings.
Gu Beiwu has been busy since the second day of the Chinese New Year. He has many choices for
work. His former boss has always been concerned about his whereabouts. After learning about
Gu Dongwen's condition, he sent his secretary to Shanghai to express his condolences. Of course,
he also told Beiwu that many units are interested in introducing talents like him, such as the State
Import and Export Administration Commission and the State Foreign Investment Administration
Commission. Several leaders asked Beiwu to return to Beijing to talk to them. Xiao He's several
olive branches in Hong Kong are promising. His American mentor, who has been in contact with
him, still persuades him to develop in the United States. His classmates who went to the United
States during his undergraduate studies and his classmates who studied for a master's degree
also have sincere invitations.
There is no shortage of opportunities in Shanghai. When Beiwu was in the Ministry of Foreign
Trade and Economic Cooperation, he had a lot of dealings with the Shanghai Commerce
Commission, Financial Bureau, and Foreign Exchange Administration Bureau. Since October,
many old acquaintances have taken the initiative to find Beiwu. Seeing that Dongwen's condition
has improved, Beiwu took the opportunity of visiting each unit to get a general understanding of
the situation.
On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Mrs. Brown and her family came to visit Gu's home in
Wanchun Street at the invitation of Si Jiang. Mrs. Brown had always wanted to bring her children
to experience the life of ordinary Chinese people, and the rural micro-credit program proposed
by Si Jiang was exactly the project she wanted to promote, so she readily brought her family to
the appointment.
The four children of the Brown family have been to the Bund and the City God Temple. It was
their first time in the shantytown, and everything they saw was new to them. They wanted to see
how toilets were flushed, how coal stoves were lit, and even browsed through the comic book
stalls. Mr. Brown even tried out the free haircut offered by the neighborhood committee as part
of its New Year's charity event.
The two little Browns became good friends with Gu Nian and Chen Sihao in less than ten minutes.
They joined the alley kids in playing hopscotch, rolling hoops, looking for firecrackers and hiding
at the entrance of the cultural center. Half an hour later, the two siblings had taken off all their
clothes except for a thin round-neck sweatshirt. The old lady who was basking in the sun in the
alley was so anxious that she called Si Jiang to quickly put more clothes on the little foreigner. But
Mrs. Brown smiled and said in Chinese, "Let them do whatever they want." Grandma Gu was
secretly shocked.
In order to prevent the two older children of the Brown family from being bored, Si Jiang
borrowed the millstone from A Niang's house in advance. Big Brown grinded the glutinous rice
flour reluctantly out of courtesy. He was sweating profusely. When he turned around and saw
Jingsheng showing off his skills in the kitchen, he was stunned and insisted on completing the big
project of making glutinous rice balls independently. Big Brown is a rare English football fan
among American teenagers. He and Jingsheng are passionate fans of two football-weak
countries, and they are in the same boat. However, the United States has qualified for the 14th
World Cup in Italy this year, so he has an inexplicable sense of pride. He is a loyal fan of the Italian
team, and Jingsheng prefers South American football. The two use the limited language of the
other country to communicate and argue endlessly.
Miss Mandy, who was in adolescence, was amazed by Shanrang's fluent English. She made milk
tea with Shanrang at the window and began to discuss Hollywood movies and American pop
songs with great interest.
Mr. Brown and Bei Wu hit it off right away. They spoke English and Chinese at times, and
surprisingly reached a consensus on the development of the world economy and China's
development direction. Bei Wu was very proud of Si Jiang when he learned that Mr. Brown
invited Si Jiang, one of the few students on campus, to participate in the financial promotion
conference hosted by their company.
Si Jiang carefully learned from Mrs. Brown and took detailed notes on how to understand
lenders, how to assess credit, how to specifically help lenders succeed, and how to set interest
and repayment terms. Mrs. Brown was deeply moved by the reports on drug enforcement police
that Si Jiang had copied from the library in the past few days, and took the initiative to propose to
invest 10,000 US dollars as the start-up capital for this project. Si Jiang was surprised and happy.
Bei Wu bluntly said that once there was foreign capital, this matter would be difficult to handle
and could not be done. After listening to his detailed explanation, Si Jiang was a little
disappointed, but Mrs. Brown was not surprised. She claimed to understand and repeatedly told
Si Jiang that he could ask her if he had any confusion during the implementation process.
The Brown family's visit was a complete success. That night, Grandma Gu exclaimed: "I didn't
expect that the foreigners didn't despise our shantytown. Those four children can actually use
chopsticks! Wow."
Si Jiang thought about the past and said with a smile: "It's the same. Didn't my uncle say that in
the minds of many Americans, Chinese people still only know how to wear blue and black
clothes. When he went abroad to study, foreigners didn't believe that Beijing also had a subway."
Everyone in the room laughed so hard, but the happiest person was Chen Sinan, who had earned
her first US dollar in her life from the two little Browns.
"A Bumblebee Autobot, a flower fairy Xiao Bei, two rabbit lamps, and two sets of zodiac paper-
cuts. I sold them for twenty dollars. Hahahaha."
Si Jiang was stunned: "Why is it so expensive? You can't be a dishonest businessman and cheat
your friends."
Sinan was anxious: "I'm not a sand pit, how could I cheat people? My uncle once said that one US
dollar is equal to two dollars. All these things I sold together cost forty dollars, and I even gave
Little Brown a fairy wand as a gift after deducting three dollars in change!"
Bei Wu turned around and said, "Nan Nan, the exchange rate is always changing. This year, one
U.S. dollar is equivalent to 4.7 yuan."
Granny Gu slapped her thigh and said, "No wonder Mrs. Brown refused at first. Little Brown cried
so hard that he was helpless!"
Si Nan was stunned for a moment, realizing that she had indeed been a profiteer. She asked with
a bitter face: "How can I do this! I have already given 10 US dollars to Chen Zhanping."
Chen Si was eating the imported chocolates sent by Mrs. Brown and answered leisurely, "You can
make it yourself. Don't you have New Year's money anyway?"

Chapter 325
The sixth day of the first lunar month in the Gengwu Year of the Horse is a good day for traveling
but not for getting married.
Gu Ximei had another nosebleed in the middle of the night and couldn't stop it. Sun Xiao woke up
and woke up and saw that she was still covering her nose, so he quickly called the secretariat.
The driver on duty came downstairs, and Ximei's nosebleed stopped. The couple went back to
sleep, and Ximei's legs were itchy again. Rubbing with her feet didn't help. She had to scratch it
with her fingernails to feel relieved. She pressed and scratched in the quilt for a few minutes, and
finally got up and turned on the desk lamp.
Sun Xiao snorted: "What's wrong again?"
"Itchy skin, it's okay, you go to sleep, I'll apply some oil."
Sun Xiao was very tired from working non-stop all day, so he responded in a daze.
Ximei sat on the bedside, took out the Pechoin from the bedside table and applied it over and
over again. The small rashes that appeared were cool and comfortable, but they were still itchy in
an instant. No matter how much oil was applied to the cracked soles of her feet, it was useless. It
was only seven days. Ximei held her feet in a daze for a while, her throat was dry and sore, and
she didn't know why she remembered her mother's catchphrase "It's all fate". She didn't know
whether this was her fate or she didn't have such a fate.
The man behind her began to snore. Ximei looked back, took a breath, stood up and walked out
of the room. She took a few steps in the dark and bumped into the corner of the coffee table. The
pain was so severe that she couldn't recover for a long time. Then she remembered that this was
her and Sun Xiao's new home, and everything in the room was unfamiliar. She retreated to the
sofa and fumbled to turn on the table lamp. For a moment, she couldn't remember what she was
going to do.
This two-story house is located on the south side of the Shen District of Baiwanzhuang. It was
built nearly 40 years ago. It can be seen that special care was taken when it was built. The doors
and windows are made of Northeast redwood, the door handles and faucets are made of fine
brass from the Soviet Union, the base of the stair handrails is engraved with exquisite Huizi
patterns, and the government-provided furniture is all solid wood. When we arrived on the eve
of the Chinese New Year, the logistics staff had already cleaned the windows and tables. If you
want to say how special it is, there is a security booth at the west gate of the Shen District, which
is closed and managed 24 hours a day. Sun Xiao mentioned that the lowest-level cadres living
here are also deputy ministerial-level cadres, and he didn't say as for the highest-level cadres.
On the afternoon of New Year's Eve, Sun Xiao took her back to Sun's house for New Year's Eve
dinner. Ximei was fully prepared to face the new mother-in-law's nitpicking, but she didn't show
her face. She just said that her heart ached and asked her granddaughter to call Sun Xiao upstairs.
A quarter of an hour later, Sun Xiao came down and explained a few words to Ximei awkwardly.
Then Secretary Zhou came up and politely sent Ximei back to Baiwanzhuang. Soon, he brought
her a lot of food, helped her set up a copper pot for shabu-shabu mutton, and several boxes of
dumplings with various fillings.
Ximei welcomed the Year of the Horse by watching the Spring Festival Gala on TV alone. The
program was very rich. She laughed when she should laugh and cried when she should cry, but
she just couldn't eat anything.
Sun Xiao came back at two in the middle of the night, reeking of alcohol. Ximei had already lain
down. He touched Ximei's hair, the back of his hand touching the wet pillowcase, and after a
moment of silence, he said, "I'll go to Shanghai with you on the sixth day of the New Year to
apologize to my mother-in-law and my elder and younger brothers-in-law. Don't cry."
"Then what about your work?" Ximei asked in a low voice.
"There is always a way. I'll just stay for one night. Do you want to stay at home or in a hotel?" Sun
Xiao asked softly.
"There's no room for us at home. My brother, Si Jiang and the other two, as well as my brother's
family of three are also here..." Ximei hesitated and whispered.
"Then live in the western suburbs. When the time comes, bring your family over to play and have
a good meal," Sun Xiao rubbed her earlobe. "You can stay for as many days as you want. I'll ask
Xiao Zhou to say hello to your workplace later."
Ximei responded in a low voice, listening to Sun Xiao go to the bathroom to take a shower, and
got up to change the wet pillowcase.
Sun Xiao was still in high spirits after taking a shower, and he pressed Ximei to have sex. Although
Ximei didn't want to, she didn't refuse because he decided to accompany her back to Shanghai. I
don't know if it was because he drank or because he felt sorry for her being wronged, but the
man was particularly brave and said a lot of dirty words. In the end, he shouted, "Come on, I'll
give you a son." When Ximei cleaned herself up, he was already asleep.
From the first to the third day of the first lunar month, Ximei still didn't see her mother-in-law,
but she stayed at the Sun family for dinner on the first day of the new year, and officially
recognized her father-in-law, two stepdaughters, and brother-in-law's family. The two
stepdaughters look almost exactly like Sun Xiao. Sun Linlin is about to graduate from Renmin
University this year, and Sun Langlang is still a sophomore in the fourth middle school. The gifts
were Xinjiang specialties and cashmere sweaters prepared by Sun Xiao in the morning. Everyone
finished the meal politely, and Secretary Zhou sent Gu Ximei back in advance. Sun Xiao still
returned in the middle of the night.
On the fourth day of the Chinese New Year, Sun Xiao went to work, and Ximei also reported to
the new unit. Her work relationship was transferred to a department-level institution under the
Municipal Education Commission. Since everything was arranged by Sun Xiao, she did not ask
much. After working for a day, she found that the activity center for veteran cadres in the
education system was really idle. She was even more idle than when she was a library archivist.
The colleagues in the office seemed to have known who she was from and where she came from.
They were very polite to her. This politeness of course came with a barrier. Except for Ximei, the
other six people in the office were authentic Beijingers, speaking authentic Beijing dialect, which
was very beautiful and fast. When they laughed, the floor resonated. Ximei tried to listen for a
day and gave up the idea of chatting. The office was also hot and dry. She drank two thermos of
water and suddenly had a nosebleed before leaving get off work. Colleagues laughed and sighed,
"Well, you southerners are like this. It's okay. You will get used to it after bleeding more."
When she returned home at night, the refrigerator was already full of food. She was too lazy to
cook by herself, so she beat two eggs with yesterday's leftovers and made a plate of fried rice.
Just as she started eating, Sun Xiao came back with his mother.
Old Mrs. Sun was completely different from Grandma Gu and Aunt Chen. She had short hair cut
in a □□ style, a silver-plate face, a round face and a masculine appearance. Her double eyelids
had very deep folds, which had fallen down as she got older, turning them into triangular eyes
with half an eyebrow shape. Her eyes were very sharp, and she had a blessed lion nose with deep
nasolabial folds on both sides. She wore a military coat during the New Year holidays and a pair
of men's leather shoes on her feet.
Ximei stood up quickly in panic, and the chopsticks rolled to the ground, making a tinkling sound.
"Mom, this is Ximei. Ximei, come and meet mom," Sun Xiao helped the old lady sit on the stool at
the door, squatted down to untie her shoelaces, "Don't wear leather shoes at home, you're tired,
come, I'll help you take them off."
"Mom," Ximei blurted out, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming back, Old Sun? I thought—"
Before he could finish his words, he was hit back by a sidelong glance from Old Lady Sun.
"It's my fault," Sun Xiao laughed and took off the pair of men's leather shoes.
Ximei was startled to see that the old lady was actually wearing a pair of bound cotton shoes. She
quickly looked away, squatted down with a smile and put the pair of leather shoes aside: "Mom,
please come in. I thought Old Sun would be home late again and didn't cook. I'll go cook it now."
Sun Xiao took off the military coat for the old lady. She was still wearing a military uniform
underneath. Ximei was so green that she felt a little dizzy. She stood at the door, unable to move.
The old lady pushed Ximei aside and entered the room, "Big Boss, do you want to eat buns or
dumplings today?"
"Let me see what's in the refrigerator." Ximei quickly followed into the kitchen.
Sun Xiao squeezed Ximei's hand, blinked and grinned. No matter how old a man is, he still has to
act like a child in front of his mother to please her. Ximei fell silent.
The old lady was extremely skillful. Ximei could not help at all, and watched her knead the dough,
chop the meat, wash the vegetables, mix the stuffing, and roll the dough. An hour later, the table
was covered with dumplings, just like a military parade, horizontally and vertically with equal
distances, and no matter which angle you looked at it from, you could not find any irregularities.
While the mother and son were busy, they talked about work, thoughts, current affairs, and the
important event of Sun Linlin's engagement and marriage. Ximei could not get a word in, and
could only scald the bowls and chopsticks, pour vinegar and scoop chili sauce.
Until the old lady left, she didn't say a word to Ximei. When Ximei was busy washing dishes, Sun
Xiao was smoking and laughing beside her: "It's good. My mother's mouth can make Linlin's
mother cry with just a few words. It's always good not to be scolded."
"I'd rather my mother scold me a few times."
"Blame me. Xiao Zhou called your office late," Sun Xiao teased her with a smile. "Feeling
wronged? Blame me. It's all my fault today."
Ximei said nothing.
On the fifth day of the New Year, Ximei was mentally prepared. She came back home as soon as
she got off work and cooked four dishes and a soup according to the cookbook. As a result,
Secretary Zhou called and said that Sun Xiao had gone to an old leader's house with his
grandfather and grandmother to pay New Year's greetings.
During these short seven days in Beijing, Ximei was in a state of panic. She realized that the
difficulties she could imagine were not difficult at all. The most difficult and painful things were
simply unspeakable. Even she herself suspected that she was thinking too much. Was her job not
good? Many people were trying their best to squeeze in. She didn't have to worry about housing,
food, and daily necessities. Secretary Zhou would take care of everything. Did the Sun family
embarrass her? Except for Old Lady Sun, everyone else was polite. Do you have the nerve to
complain to anyone about the bad life now? Ximei felt ashamed when she thought about it.
The cotton ball in her nose was probably dry, and it was hard and a little hard to breathe. Ximei
pinched a strand of it and slowly pulled it out. She felt that all the strands were stuck in her
nostrils and would bring out a puff of blood at any time. She felt a little happy for no reason, but
was disappointed in the end. There was only a dark red spot inside, as if the blood that just
poured down was just an illusion. She opened the refrigerator. The sixty dumplings left by Mrs.
Sun were frozen into a white mass in the freezer. She reached out and pinched them in vain,
picked up a small bottle of milk and drank it all in one breath, wiped her mouth, and closed the
refrigerator door. The refrigerator immediately started working with a rumble, and the empty
milk bottle was thrown into the trash can.
At noon on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, the plane was about to land at Hongqiao Airport.
The sky was blue and the clouds were white, and below was a large area of dry and yellow land. If
it were spring, it would be a piece of refreshing green. Ximei leaned her forehead against the
window glass, and this thought inadvertently crossed her mind. She thought of her mother-in-law
who suddenly appeared in the kitchen of her "home" at six o'clock in the morning to wash the
milk bottles. She closed her eyes and a layer of goose bumps appeared on her arms.
Although Sun Xiao said in advance that he was coming to Shanghai for personal reasons, there
were always people who came to show their courtesy. As soon as the plane landed, someone
came to pick him up, and a red flag car was sent to the western suburbs, and the welcoming
banquet started directly. Ximei was the only family member at the banquet. People called her
sister-in-law, sister-in-law, Madam Sun, and Teacher Gu, and they didn't care about her when
talking. Although Ximei didn't understand officialdom, she roughly understood that these people
and Sun Xiao were on the same line, and there were inextricable connections between them.
The meal lasted until 3pm. Someone who knew how to appreciate the scenery arranged a car
driver to take Sun Xiao and Ximei to Wanchun Street. The driver was also very clear-headed and
smiled as he gave Ximei a pager number: "If Teacher Gu needs a car, just call me directly. I'll just
be driving around here."
Ximei politely declined a few words, and Sun Xiao smiled and waved his hand to let the driver
stand by.
When I went upstairs, I found that only Gu Dongwen and Grandma Gu were at home.
"Hey! Didn't I say I would be back today? Where are Si Jiang and the others?" Ximei was a little
unhappy and asked her mother in a low voice while making tea for Sun Xiao.
Granny Gu said calmly, "You said you'd arrive at noon, but the whole family has been waiting
from ten to three o'clock, and it's not like you're going to pick me up."
Ximei choked, her throat became clogged again and again, and she lowered her head without
saying anything.
Granny Gu turned around and looked at Sun Xiao, who was chatting with Gu Dongwen on the
sofa, and softened her tone: "Do his family treat you well?" Without waiting for Ximei to respond,
she added: "It's your choice whether it's good or not."
Putting down the thermos, Granny Gu saw Ximei's red eyes, sighed softly, and muttered: "If you
are really unhappy, it doesn't matter if you leave again. The first time is strange, the second time
is familiar, and the third time is not afraid of boiling water."
Ximei smiled back her tears: "What the hell are you talking about? Old Sun flew all the way to see
you, really - he still has something to discuss with Beiwu and Shanrang."
"What? People won't just fly away. Everyone has to come back for dinner. What's the problem
with an hour or two late?" Granny Gu lifted the lid of the cup and looked at the color of the tea.
"Okay, take it to your husband. Sinan went out early in the morning and won't be back for
dinner."
Sun Xiao took the tea with a smile, stood up and asked Grandma Gu to take a seat, and bowed
firmly: "I'll wish our mother a happy new year first. I've always heard Ximei talking about you. It's
all my fault that you only came today."
Granny Gu turned aside and half-saluted, then said with a smile, "Thank you, Xiao Sun, for taking
care of my Ximei. She has a stubborn temper, so please be more patient with her."
Sun Xiao glanced at Ximei and his smile became more pronounced.
"Mom, come and live in Beijing for a while so that Ximei can show her filial piety."
Granny Gu smiled with her eyes curved: "Okay, I'm going to go and see how good my daughter's
life is."
Ximei breathed a sigh of relief and sat next to Dongwen to ask about his condition.
——
Chen Sinan came out of the cultural center and returned to the stall.
"Hidden for so long? Your mother should have been home a long time ago, and she should have
finished her tea." Chen Zhanping looked up from "The Twins" and mocked her.
Sinan scratched the itchy side of his neck: "They are so old and still holding hands, tsk!"
Chen Zhanping laughed out loud: "Your stepfather seems to be a nice person."
"hehe."
"Aren't you going back to see him?"
"No return."
Chen Zhanping didn't say anything else, but he didn't turn the page of the book in his hand. He
saw Chen Sinan holding her chin in a daze, and he didn't know what she was thinking. She was
like a child, holding a grudge.
After a while, Sinan sneered and turned to ask him: "Just now, there were sixty steps, right?"
"Eh? What?"
"If not sixty steps away, then fifty steps is enough for my boss to see her. She didn't recognize me
even when she was so close. Humph."
Chen Zhanping turned his head and looked into the distance: "It shouldn't be more than fifty
steps, at most twenty or thirty steps?"
"So Hong Kong, that's it!" Sinan raised his chin, "Anyway, I don't care, it's fine with or without
her."
"Yeah." Chen Zhanping had no doubt about this. He had never seen a more capable girl than
Sinan.
After a long while, Sinan poked at the watercolor pen in his hand and said to himself, "I look a lot
like him now."
Chen Zhanping didn't understand and didn't ask.

Chapter 326
On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Gu's family prepared breakfast with Sinan and Sihao.
They cooked Xinjiang jujube sweet soup on the coal stove and put the small casserole with sea
cucumber and millet porridge on it. Chen Donglai asked Chen Donghai to get this box of Dalian
ginseng before the Lunar New Year. He said that retired cadres eat this, which is neither cold nor
hot, and is especially good for cancer patients.
There were still quite a few dumplings left from the one that Big Brown helped make yesterday.
They were frozen hard without being put in the refrigerator. Three woks each of black crispy
dumplings, meat dumplings, and shepherd's purse and shrimp dumplings were cooked on the
stove. Chen Sihao couldn't resist eating two meat dumplings, and was inevitably ridiculed by
Sinan again.
The glutinous rice balls were cooked, and the steamer was put on the stove, with buns, steamed
buns and dumplings in one layer each. Two duck eggs and eight chicken eggs were cooked in the
bottom of the steamer for Gu Dongwen. Grandma Gu was unsure when Ximei and his wife would
arrive, and if they arrived early, she had to serve some snacks, so after steaming the noodles, she
cooked a large bowl of hot dried bean curd and fried a dish of eight-treasure chili sauce.
Si Jiang got up at seven o'clock. Si Nan and Si Hao had already refilled their hot water bottles and
went back to bed for a nap. Gu Granny and Chen A Niang went to the small market early. The Gu
family had eaten steamed buns and steamed buns for many days in a row since the 26th day of
the twelfth lunar month. Si Jiang drooled at the eight-treasure chili sauce. Jing Sheng laughed at
her greed and quickly made two bowls of plain noodles.
The two of them finished their breakfast in the kitchen, Jingsheng got on the yellow fish cart, and
Sijiang sat in the back truck, fully armed with a hat, scarf and gloves. The yellow fish cart bumped
and jolted out of the alley.
The small warehouse on Changle Road was in a small alley, and the yellow fish truck couldn't get
in. A few old ladies who were basking in the sun at the door called Jingsheng with a smile: "Boss
Gu is here? There's no need to lock the car. I'll help you keep it safe."
"Thank you, grandma. Happy New Year and a prosperous Year of the Horse." Jingsheng greeted
them with a smile and took down two bags of fruit he had prepared and gave them to the old
ladies.
The old ladies said a few polite words, then took the fruit and distributed it in no time at all,
familiar with the process.
"My girlfriend is extremely pretty, and we are a perfect match. (My girlfriend is extremely pretty,
and we are a perfect match.)"
"Don't worry, I'll help you keep an eye on it every day. There are no thieves. There were two little
brats setting off firecrackers, but I chased them out of the alley. If there's a fire, it'll be a disaster,
right?"
Jingsheng smiled brightly: "Yes, thank you grandma."
Si Jiang looked at Jingsheng with stars in her eyes. Oh my, her boyfriend is so smart and so
stubborn. She wants to kiss him.
Jingsheng squeezed her hand, took out a pack of hard Zhonghua cigarettes from his trouser
pocket and gave it to the old man at the doorman next to him, thanking him repeatedly.
The old man came out with a cigarette between his lips and a bunch of keys in his hand: "The Cao
family will go back to Wuxi on the second day of the Chinese New Year. I'm afraid that some
bastards will break into the house, so I've added another lock for you. You can rest assured, little
Gu."
The "warehouse" that Jingsheng borrowed was actually a small iron shed in the yard. The simple
iron door facing outward was locked with a large lock, a ring lock, and an iron chain lock. Si Jiang
suppressed his laughter and asked Jingsheng: "Are you afraid that people don't know there are
valuables inside?"
Jingsheng couldn't help but laugh.
The old man at the door unlocked the chain that he had kindly added and raised his eyebrows: "A
thief wants to steal. It doesn't matter whether you look like you have money or not. It's a waste
of time to add a few more locks. He will be caught by us."
Si Jiang smiled and nodded, saying, "Uncle Bonong is right. Thank you very much."
The small warehouse is actually not small, about 10 square meters, and it is very clean. Only one
of the four shelves is piled with goods, and in the corner, flattened cartons are stacked up to a
height of one person. There is a small desk next to the door, with a thin layer of dust on the
tabletop. Next to it is a half-person-high filing cabinet with several blue hard-bottomed account
books. On the cabinet are a thermos, a tape recorder, an iron, and a dustpan. The dustpan
contains scissors, needles, and thread. The ironing board is folded up next to the filing cabinet,
and three lake blue plastic square stools are stacked together, with brooms, dustpans, mops,
buckets, washbasins, rags, and the like next to them.
This was Si Jiang's first time here. After walking around in this snail shell for a couple of times, he
felt very excited, as if he had upgraded his equipment to a new one. Compared to the previous
time when he had to squeeze in a booth to sort goods, this warehouse felt very much like the real
thing.
"What do you mean by real? It's real." Jingsheng smiled as he pulled down the seven or eight
windbreakers left over from last fall from the shelf and asked Sijiang to register the item number
and size on the delivery order. He neatly set up the ironing board, plugged in the electric iron,
and prepared to iron the sample clothes to be produced.
The two worked in the warehouse until 9:30, when the warehouse manager, a woman in her 40s,
arrived with a thermos cup and a hot water bottle. Jingsheng gave a few instructions, signed the
delivery order, and the three of them moved the sorted goods out.
At half past ten, most of the stalls on Huating Road began to prepare to welcome customers. The
bosses and their wives were all dressed in festive attire and wished each other a happy new year.
Jingsheng and Sijiang helped the models match their clothes, gave the two aunts red envelopes,
and then went to the Industry and Commerce Bureau to consult about starting a company,
thinking that they would be able to rush back to Wanchun Street to wait for Gu Ximei and the
others after the consultation.
You don't know until you ask. Once you ask, you'll be shocked. It turns out that the procedures
for registering a company are completely different from those for self-employed individuals.
Companies are divided into domestic and foreign capital, limited liability, unlimited liability,
natural person companies, etc., and the policies and regulations are different. The registered
capital, investment amount, bank account opening, capital verification, accounting, office space,
shareholder agreement, company charter, etc. are all extremely complicated. If you want to get a
business license, it will take at least three to five months. There are also a lot of things to deal
with, such as the tax bureau, labor bureau, price bureau, quality inspection department, etc.
There is no most troublesome, only more troublesome.
Fortunately, the two of them were good-looking and sweet-talkers. A young man from Jing'an
Industrial and Commercial Bureau took a pack of soft Zhonghua cigarettes from Jingsheng and
pointed out several ways: if you want to start a company, and there are shareholders with Hong
Kong ID cards, you must start a joint venture company. You must first go to the district investment
bureau to apply for approval of the project. Only with the official document from the investment
bureau can you apply to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. No matter whether the
investment amount from Hong Kong is in US dollars or Hong Kong dollars, you must first have a
document from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange before you can open a foreign
exchange account at the bank, and then you can apply for a company account. The early
preparation work is quite troublesome, but of course there are benefits. Now, when funds from
Hong Kong or Taiwan invest in the mainland, there are special preferential one-stop services in
terms of industry and commerce and taxation.
Jingsheng and Sijiang looked at each other in bewilderment, truly realizing that different fields
pose great challenges.
The young man also said that as for the registration location, it would be best to find a street
office where he has acquaintances and directly rent the tertiary industry under their jurisdiction.
This would be considered a successful investment attraction by the street, and not only would he
be exempt from tax and rent for a limited period of time, but the introducer would also receive a
certain percentage of bonus. In the future, when the company is running, the street officials
would naturally try their best to lend a hand. In addition, the company has to pay too many fees,
and there are many ways to avoid them, and some can be paid less or not. The street office will
generally introduce a reliable old accountant to help with the accounting. A book of accounts
costs fifty yuan, and he would go to the company once or twice a month, and all aspects such as
the tax bureau and the labor bureau can be settled. The directions and preferential policies for
attracting investment in various districts and development zones are also different. For example,
Hongqiao Economic and Technological Development Zone gives priority to foreign trade
companies and star-rated hotels, while Caohejing Development Zone focuses on high-tech
industries. Districts like Changjing and Xuzhou all focus on large-scale commercial and service
industries. Just by counting them, there will be nearly ten large Hong Kong and Taiwan
department stores that will open in the next five years. It is basically impossible for self-employed
clothing businesses to open small companies.
Young people rarely have the opportunity to show their talents. Seeing Si Jiang's surprise and
admiration, they wanted to teach him everything they knew. Finally, they concluded that your
company, which is so small that it can't be any smaller, is not as flexible and practical as an
individual business. You can hire a few more people and make money. It's better to consider
starting a company when you make 10 million yuan a year or more.
This last blow from him stunned both Jingsheng and Si Jiang.
The two came out of the Industrial and Commercial Bureau, carrying a bunch of information and
walking along Jiaozhou Road towards Huating Road. After a moment of silence, Si Jiang became
excited: "Brother, didn't you say that the subway took more than 30 years to prepare for the test?
Everything is difficult at the beginning, it's normal, right?"
Jingsheng smiled and said, "I just think what Xiao Hu said makes sense. If our individual business
license can be used, there is no need to change it to a company license."
"But it's hard for self-employed people to recruit capable people—" Si Jiang sighed, "It's so
difficult."
"It's okay, let's go back and discuss it. Don't go to Huating Road. Your mother will be here at noon,
so go back first."
Si Jiang lowered his eyes and said, "I'll go with you to Huating Road to help, and then we'll go
back together at night. We'll meet eventually."
——
In fact, Beiwu and Shanrang came out of Wanchun Street at 1:30 in the afternoon.
The first stock trading counter in Shanghai was opened in the ICBC Trust Company at No. 1806
Nanjing West Road. It has been open for more than three years. Perhaps because of the Chinese
New Year, there are not many customers. People bargain in groups of three or four to buy and sell
stocks, and the number of shares is always five or ten. Beiwu Heshan let him in and listened to
the corner for half an hour. It was very interesting. A female colleague of someone in the No. 2
Shirt Factory was the one who bought Yanzhong stocks in 1985 and won the first prize of a house.
Because of the relocation, she exchanged the house for cash, and got more than 100,000 foreign
money for nothing. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Last year, Yanzhong's stock fell too much. Someone and someone
went to Yanzhong Street to make a fuss and demanded to withdraw their shares. Fortunately, the
leaders of Yanzhong Company were responsible and took the lead in buying up as many shares as
possible. These red guys are too greedy. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
A middle-aged man with a black briefcase came in, and many people greeted him with a smile.
He walked straight to the counter and said he wanted to sell 50 shares of Xiao Fei Le and 50
shares of Yan Zhong Industrial. After a while, the salesperson at the counter shouted, "50 shares
of Xiao Fei Le, 70 yuan per share, 50 shares of Yan Zhong, 45 yuan per share, do you want it?"
"Oh my, it's too big, it's hard to eat."
"Old Zhang, are you selling five shares of Xiao Fei Le? Can you give me a discount, old friend?"
Beiwu and Shanrang walked over, feeling a bit like a blind date. The two said they were interested
in buying, and the salesperson spread a stack of light green Feile stocks and an orange-red
Yanzhong stock on the counter for them to see.
The counter clerk introduced enthusiastically: "Mr. Zhang's Xiao Fei Le is an old version. There is
no issuance date, total amount of capital and approval document from the People's Bank of
China on the ticket. One ticket is one share. There are fifty here in total. I have counted them. Yes,
the par value of each share is fifty yuan. Now he wants to sell it for seventy yuan, so fifty shares
are three thousand five hundred yuan. As for Yanzhong stock, this ticket is fifty shares, and the
par value is ten yuan. He plans to sell it for forty-five yuan per share, a total of two thousand two
hundred and fifty yuan. The total of the two stocks is five thousand seven hundred yuan. Do you
think it can be sold?"
Beiwu and Shanrang stood aside to discuss with Mr. Zhang.
"I will put a maximum of 40 yuan into Yanzhong," Beiwu said with a smile, "Since Mr. Zhang is
one of the first to buy stocks, he should know that Yanzhong is a bit risky."
Mr. Zhang was stunned, and suddenly there were several more listeners around him.
Bei Wu continued calmly, "Yanzhong issued stocks in 1986 to raise money. A total of 500,000
shares were issued, each priced at 10 yuan. The original plan was to keep 150,000 collective
shares, but too many people bought the stocks. In the end, Yanzhong only kept 150,000 shares
for itself, and the other 90% went to private hands, such as knowledgeable people like Mr.
Zhang."
The onlookers all laughed.
"Of the 50,000 shares of Yanzhong itself, Yanzhong Industrial only has 30,000 shares, Jiangnan
Shipyard has 10,000 shares, and here at our station, ICBC Trust Investment Jing'an Branch has
10,000 shares. So in fact, Yanzhong Industrial itself only has 30,000 shares."
It was the first time for many people to hear the news. They could not help but exclaim in
amazement and praise Beiwu as an old wizard.
"So Yanzhong's stock will be very unstable. It is a "three-no" stock," Beiwu explained when he
saw everyone's doubts. "That is, there are no state-owned shares, no legal person shares, and no
foreign capital shares. So for example, if Yanzhong Industrial's competitors want to swallow up
Yanzhong today, they only need to buy more than 50,000 shares of capital stock."
"Ah, no wonder Yanzhong's stock price plummeted last year! I wonder if it will go back up?"
In the end, Xiao Feile was sold for 68 yuan, Yanzhong was sold for 40 yuan, and Beiwu saved 350
yuan by talking for five minutes.
The salesperson at the counter helped the buyer and seller to get the transfer certificate, and
Beiwu and Shanrang left with 100 shares of stock. The atmosphere of the New Year was still
strong on Nanjing Road, with red lanterns swaying in the wind on the trees and a busy T-junction
of Jiangning Road across the street.
"Let's go to Xiangyang Children's Store to buy some things for Hutou and Sihao," Shanrang took
Beiwu's arm and walked west, "Thanks to my husband's ability, a few words saved us three
hundred and fifty. In the future, these 100 shares will be left for Hutou to marry a wife."
Bei Wu laughed: "It's just a small experiment, what's the point of keeping it? You might as well
learn from Chen's mother and exchange it for gold bars."
"That's so tacky. It's better to change to a more affordable house, at least we can live in it," Shan
Rang said with longing. "If we don't go back to Beijing, we can buy a new public housing with a
kitchen and bathroom near Wanchun Street, closer to my eldest brother and mother, okay?"
"Didn't Shanli say that there are two old-style apartments for sale in Renminfang, Huaihai Road?
If you have time, go take a look. It's good to be close to Shanli's workplace. Besides, Huaihai Road
is not far from Wanchun Street."
"Isn't it too old? Didn't my second brother say that the apartment was built almost sixty years
ago?"
"Don't you like old apartments in the downtown area? There are actually quite a few on
Hengshan Road. Be patient and you'll definitely find one like the West Lake Apartments with
elevators and private bathrooms. They're quiet in a bustling area and more comfortable than
those in Dongjiaominxiang," Beiwu patted Shanrang's hand. "Don't worry about the money. I'll
definitely earn enough money to buy a house this year, so I won't have to borrow from your mom
and Shanli."
Shan Rang smiled and nodded: "Yes, my elder brother also reminded me that if you want to
transfer your household registration back, you have to pay attention to Hu Tou's admission to
primary school when buying a house."
“By the way, remember to check for Jingsheng and the others as well. It’s best if you buy them
together with us.” Beiwu mentioned casually.
Shan Rang became excited: "When Ximei comes back today, should we tell her?"
"Why tell her?" Bei Wu shook his head, and the two of them entered the Xiangyang Children's
Products Store without bringing up the topic again.

Chapter 327
When Beiwu and Shanrang returned to Wanchun Street, the postman riding a 28-inch permanent
postal car, Dinglingling, followed them into the alley.
"The night report—the night report is here—"
The little tricksters with white faces in the open space at the entrance of the cultural station sang
loudly: "Xinmin Night News, have a full dinner. Read the night paper, and go to sleep early."
Although they sang like this, no one went home, and it was still daylight.
Beiwu reported the house number and received the night newspaper from the postman.
"Still setting up a stall?" Shan Rang teased Sinan with a smile, "What did Hutou buy today?"
Si Nan laughed: "Hutou bought a small spinning top and a butterfly kite, Si Hao bought two yo-
yos. After they had lunch, they went to the West Palace with my classmates to play. Don't worry,
little aunt, I promise not to play. game."
Shan Rang raised the bag in his hand and said, "Boss Chen, please close your stall early today. I
bought you a pair of shoes. If they don't fit you, I'll exchange them tomorrow."
Sinan saw the name Xiangyang Children's Products Store on the plastic bag and frowned, "Aunt!
Xiangyang's products are so expensive. You should return them. I can just buy a pair on Huating
Road for 30 or 40 yuan."
Beiwu reached out and gave her a chestnut: "Can't you just say thank you simply?"
Sinan covered his forehead and smiled: "Thank you, uncle, thank you, aunt. Aunt, you can just
return the money and give me fifty yuan. We can get the money in one hand and the goods in the
other. It's the best of both worlds!"
"Have you seen your mother? Why don't you talk to her at home?" Bei Wu pressed down the few
strands of messy hair on her head that were sticking up due to static electricity.
"Haha, I can see her but she can't see me. She didn't even recognize me when she walked past
here. What's there to say? Let's talk about it after we go back to have dinner." Sinan lowered his
head to sort out the few remaining goods, picked up the small account book and began to count
the money.
Beiwu and Shanrang were stunned for a moment, then they laughed.
"With your devilish brain, you must have hidden yourself. There's no way your mother wouldn't
recognize you." Beiwu smiled and rolled up the evening paper and tapped Sinan on the head.
The two of them walked into the alley and walked about ten steps. They saw Gu Ximei sitting
outside the doorway picking vegetables. Her arms and waist were bent together, creating a
unique rhythm. Beiwu suddenly felt sad for some reason. Ximei was not smart and would not
listen to others. When she was a child, she picked vegetables like this. She would not put the
basin on the stool to avoid bending over. When Nanhong said this to her, she got angry and
insisted that it would help her exercise.
Seeing Beiwu and Shanrang, Ximei stood up and said with a smile: "You are finally back. Old Sun
has been talking to Big Brother about you guys."
Granny Gu came out of the kitchen wearing an apron and said, "I'll do it, you guys go up first."
"Old Sun originally wanted the whole family to go to Xijiao Hotel for dinner to save Mom the hard
work, but she refused and there was nothing I could do." Ximei smiled bitterly and washed her
hands, then took the dry towel handed to her by Shanrang and wiped her hands.
Beiwu looked at her carefully. She didn't look much different. She was still dressed simply like in
previous years. She had dark circles under her eyes. He wondered if it was because she didn't
sleep well because she was rushing to catch the plane.
"Are you used to it in Beijing? The heating is so hot that I always had nosebleeds when I first went
there." Shanrang walked upstairs with a smile.
"Oh, it's so hot in the room. I had nosebleeds several times. But it's better than using the iron
stove in Urumqi. Sinan used to wake up from the cold in the middle of the night several times."
Ximei sighed.
"Shanghai doesn't seem to be that cold this year." Bei Wu added, and it seemed that other than
talking about the weather, nothing else to say was appropriate.
——
Gu Dongwen entertained Sun Xiao for an hour or so and was relieved to see Bei Wu coming back.
"You guys chat, I'll go downstairs and take a nap."
Beiwu took over Dongwen's shift and shook hands with Sun Xiao and started chatting. Shanrang
made a few more cups of tea and sat down with Ximei to talk.
"When will you return to Beijing?" Sun Xiao asked.
"We probably won't go back to Beijing," Beiwu glanced at Ximei, "We plan to stay in Shanghai."
Sun Xiao and Xi Mei looked at each other.
Ximei asked anxiously, "Such an important matter, why haven't I heard you mention it? Where is
Shanrang? You have such a good job at Peking University, and you just quit it? Then where are
you going to work? Is there any unit that is better than your previous one?"
She saw Beiwu's lips curled up, and he paused and slowed down his breathing: "No matter how
good Shanghai is, can it compare with the capital? Right? Don't you think about yourself, but also
about Hutou. Don't you want a Beijing hukou anymore?"
Glancing at Shanrang again, Ximei curled her lips and said, "I speak directly, without beating
around the bush. Don't be angry."
Shan Rang smiled and said, "It's okay. We have been thinking about it for a long time. We even
considered Hong Kong before."
Ximei's mouth twitched, she said "oh" and lowered her eyes.
Bei Wu said calmly, "In the past two years, nothing has been more important than my eldest
brother. We can't live without someone at home. Besides, a Shanghai hukou is not much different
from a Beijing hukou."
Sun Xiao smiled and handed Bei Wu a special cigarette: "When something happens at home, you
must focus on your family first. I understand. I definitely understand this. It's really unfortunate. I
was thinking that Ximei would come to Beijing from Xinjiang so that I could reunite with you——"
Shan Rang smiled and said, "Now that we have the phone, it's very convenient to get in touch."
"So what are your plans next?"
Bei Wu smiled and said, "I will send my eldest brother to Jinghong first to help him implement a
rural micro-loan project, and then we will see in the second half of the year."
Xi Mei was shocked: "Beiwu, you are not going to work?"
Sun Xiao took over the conversation: "It's okay. If you have any ideas for the second half of the
year and need my help, feel free to call me or your sister. We are a family. If you want to go back
to Beijing, just say a word."
Ximei turned her head to look at Shanrang, who smiled at her gently.
"Shanrang, what about you? Why don't you find a good job? You just keep doing this..." Ximei
looked incredulous.
"Bei Wu and I have an agreement that I will go wherever he goes. He won't let our family go
hungry or cold." Shan Rang narrowed his eyes.
Sun Xiao smiled and changed the subject to ask about Zhou Shanli and Old Lady Zhou. Shanrang
had never thought that the two elders of the Sun family knew his parents, and his words were
even more cordial.
"Yesterday, my mother and I went to the hospital to visit General Li. General Li even mentioned
your mother." Sun Xiao sighed.
Shanrang also expressed his feelings.
As they were talking, it was getting dark and the children's voices could be heard from
downstairs. Ximei stood up and asked, "Are they back?"
There was a sound of knocking on the stairs, and Gu Nian's voice came up.
"Dad, Dad, I went boating today!"
Si Hao and Gu Nian rushed over, not noticing who was in the house, and rushed to Bei Wu
Shanrang and started describing the situation one by one.
"Hu Tou is so strong! He rowed for an hour! I was exhausted in ten minutes, but he kept saying he
wasn't tired and refused to get off the boat!" Si Hao shouted exaggeratedly. Of course, he didn't
need to mention that Gu Nian almost froze them to death because the little boy rowed for half a
day without moving the boat.
"Dad, am I awesome?"
Shanrang turned on the light, and the living room became bright.
"Hutou is awesome. Come here and call me aunt and uncle." Beiwu smiled and shook Gu Nian,
who had climbed onto his knees, and put her back on the ground.
"Hello, uncle!" "Hello, uncle!"
"Hello, ma'am!" "Ma'am?——"
Chen Sihao followed Gu Nian and shouted in unison. After he finished shouting, he blinked and
turned his head: "Mom?!"
Ximei stretched out her hands and hugged Sihao: "You are so stupid! Why don't you call me uncle
Sa?"
"Hello, Uncle Sun!" Si Hao changed his tone readily.
Ximei was startled, and she didn't feel comfortable asking Sihao to change his way of addressing
her and call her dad. She tried to guess Sun Xiao's expression, and couldn't see anything strange
or unhappy, so she just let it go.
Sun Xiao smiled and stuffed a big red envelope into Si Hao's hand. He asked a few questions
about his studies. Si Hao said a lot of auspicious words according to the situation and looked very
harmonious.
"Why are you sweating in such a cold weather?!" Ximei reached into Sihao's neck and felt a hand
full of sweat. She pulled him to the door to get a dry towel to wipe his sweat.
"It's okay. We just ran back. Second sister was chasing us for money. We ran around a lot and
were exhausted." Si Hao uncomfortably broke free from her hand and unzipped his ski jacket.
"You can't take it off. You've just been sweating. You'll get cold if you take it off," Ximei said
anxiously. As soon as she finished speaking, she realized something was wrong. "Where's Chen
Sinan? Wasn't he with you guys just now?"
"He's still setting up a stall in front of the cultural center, and he won't be back until dinner time."
Si Hao said casually, threw down the towel, and called Gu Nian to turn on the TV to watch
cartoons, and picked up a box of snacks from the dining table.
Ximei stood there in a daze. She wanted to go downstairs to see Sinan, but she didn't want to
leave Sun Xiao here alone.
There were voices coming from downstairs again, and Jingsheng Sijiang came back with Sinan.
Ximei was delighted and hurried out to greet him.
Si Jiang was holding Si Nan's arm and whispering to her, "No matter how angry you are, you have
to pretend, otherwise you will be in trouble. After dinner, go up to the attic."
"Don't think about seeing me, don't think about pretending, don't eat too much - oh, I can still
eat." Sinan complained awkwardly.
Jingsheng and Sijiang burst out laughing.
Ximei's feet stopped halfway between two flights of stairs, and her heart was also hanging in the
air, neither going up nor down. A fire was burning in her heart, rushing into her head, burning her
eyes and nose, making her feel hot and sour.
At the corner, Si Jiangsnan's two lively and beautiful faces appeared, with all kinds of emotions
showing on their faces: laughter, anger, and anger.
When the four of them met each other, they were all silent for a moment.
"Auntie," Jingsheng spoke first, "Happy New Year."
Ximei retracted her foot and smiled: "Happy New Year. Is business good today? Thank you for
your hard work."
"Well enough."
Sinan raised his neck and rushed past Ximei like a gust of wind, brushing against her shoulder.
Ximei suddenly realized that Sinan seemed to be a little taller than her.
"Nannan? Nannan!——" Ximei turned around and chased in, her tone filled with hesitation and
flattery that she herself was not aware of.
Si Jiang stood quietly on the stairs, watching his mother's back disappear at the door. With a light
"click", the new voice-activated light went out, and the stairs fell into darkness.
A pair of strong and firm arms quietly embraced her from behind, and Jingsheng's warm lips
gently touched her ear.
"It's alright, ulehi. (I'm here)"
With a "click", the light came on again.
Si Jiang took a deep breath, lowered his head, took Jingsheng's hand and gave him a kiss.

Chapter 328
The living room was noisy, so Si Jiang opened the window and brought in the clothesline.
Gu Ximei came down from the attic and hurried to lend a hand. The mother and daughter silently
took down the clothes that were stiffened by the cold wind one by one.
"I bought you a cashmere sweater from Yimeng Cashmere Sweater Factory, an authentic brand
from Wangfujing Department Store. It's light and warm, and it's just right for you now," Ximei
glanced at Si Jiang, who was only a short distance away from her. She felt that she and she
seemed to be indescribably strange and distant. "When the summer vacation comes this year,
you can bring Nannan and Baobao to Beijing to have fun. I can accompany you every day."
Si Jiang pursed his lips, gave her a smile, picked up a pile of clothes in his hands and went into the
room.
Ximei sent the clothes drying pole out again and closed the half window, but saw Beiwu and
Jingsheng rolling a crimson round table into the alley. The round table looked very familiar, and it
belonged to the Chen family. Ximei was a little confused. It was obvious that no matter from her
mother, Dongwen or Beiwu, the Chen family and the Gu family were more closely connected
than before, and she and Sun Xiao seemed to be extra people. She couldn't explain why she felt
guilty when she saw Sijiang. Obviously, the changed major was better for her. Think about how
many students in the Journalism Department of Fudan University got into trouble last year, and
some of them would never get ahead in their lives. Even if it was just an accident, if it was
someone else, at least they would understand her painstaking efforts as a mother. But Sijiang
seemed to no longer regard her as his mother. She said that kind of words in front of so many
people, and she held a grudge for so long after slapping her? She also said that kind of words to
Sinan. What does it mean to pretend? Sinan is still young, but she is not young anymore. She is a
20-year-old adult. I don’t know where she learned this double-faced behavior of saying one thing
in front of others and another behind their backs...
Thinking of this, Ximei couldn't help but feel a little resentful of her responsibility as a mother,
and she picked up the remaining clothes and went into the room.
There was an electric heater on the footrest of the big bed. Three or four hangers were inserted
diagonally into the gaps at both ends of the red heating wire, with Gu Nian's cotton-wool
sweaters and trousers hanging on them. Si Jiang was carefully hanging Si Hao and Gu Nian's socks
on the empty hangers. When she saw Xi Mei coming in, she raised her eyes and said, "Put them
on the bed first, I'll take care of them."
"Chen Sijiang?"
"Um?"
"Let me ask you, have you ever called me Mom in such a long time since I came back?" Ximei
stood next to the electric heater and asked in a low voice from above.
The heating wire reflected Si Jiang's face like a rosy glow.
"Mom."
Si Jiang used a wooden clip to hold Gu Nian's socks and raised his head. "Okay, what's the
matter?"
Ximei was stunned, and she hugged the clothes in her arms into a ball: "Are you still holding a
grudge against me for changing your major?"
Si Jiang's eyes were calm and he looked at her with clarity and openness: "I don't bear any
grudges anymore."
"So you, you guys are resentful of the fact that your dad and I separated? Are you angry that I
didn't take you with me?" Ximei turned her eyes away and looked at the heating wire. It was so
bright and red that even her eyelids could feel the heat.
Si Jiang suddenly laughed, shook her head, and leaned over to take the clothes that were leaning
against the electric heater in Ximei's arms.
"It's going to rain, and my mother is going to get married, why should we be angry?"
"Nannan is very angry," Si Jiang added, folding Jingsheng's cotton trousers carefully. The leg of
the trousers was next to the electric heater, which had softened them and felt very comfortable.
She gently stroked them from head to toe and then back again. Thinking of Jingsheng, her tone
became much gentler. "You must have your difficulties, but you should at least tell Nannan in
person, right? She has never been separated from you since she was a child. She was very angry
about this and cried several times."
Ximei pursed her lips, sighed silently, and tears fell. She had been in the attic for a long time, and
she didn't even look at the woolen coat and red leather shoes that she carefully selected for
Sinan. She implied that her motherless child was nothing but grass and didn't need those
expensive things.
Si Jiang continued to fold clothes and said casually: "Si Hao and I have been with our mother and
grandmother since we were young. We are used to it and it doesn't matter to us."
Ximei opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but she felt powerless. Would the bright future she
had imagined really exist? Thinking of her new mother-in-law in Beijing, she herself was unsure.
"Your Uncle Sun cares a lot about you three, and your dad can't take care of you in Xinjiang.
When you graduate, just come to Beijing to work," Ximei softened her tone and smiled, "Nannan,
you will be 20 years old after your birthday next month, so it's time to think about a boyfriend. If
someone pursues you, remember to tell Mom first. Don't do things that you shouldn't do, okay?
If you come to Beijing to work, there are a lot of good men, in your Uncle Sun's unit, in the
community where we live--"
Si Jiang stood up suddenly, his chest rising and falling violently, and sneered, "Mom, you also
know that I am 20 years old. I am an adult in the legal sense. I decide my work and love life by
myself. I don't need to explain it to you, let alone others. Besides, you and Dad are divorced, so
we will live with Dad."
Ximei was startled: "What's your attitude? I care about you and do this for your own good—"
"No, please, please stop doing this for my own good, okay?" Si Jiang frowned and turned around,
sitting on the edge of the bed and continuing to fold clothes. "You changed your job, your
husband, and your city. Didn't you have the final say? Did you tell us? If we told you that it was
for your own good and asked you not to go to Beijing and not be an official's wife, would you
agree?"
Ximei's face flushed red, and she was furious but couldn't show it.
"It's time for dinner—" Si Hao opened the curtain and poked his head in, "Big sister, second sister
wants you to go upstairs to have some gossip. Mom, Uncle Sun asked where to go to the toilet."
Ximei responded muffledly with "Oh" and turned to leave the room.
Si Hao winked at Si Jiang and said, "My brother asked me to come and save you, hehe. But my
second sister refused to come down to eat."
Si Jiang couldn't help but smile: "Thank you, baby. I'll go call her."
Si Hao frowned with a look of disgust, just like another Chen Si Nan: "Hey! I'm eleven years old,
okay? Don't call me baby anymore."
——
The round table was set, six bowls and eight plates were served, plus two sweet and salty soups,
the Gu family entertained the new son-in-law with full sincerity.
The eleven people sat down in a circle. Sun Xiao stood up first and filled a small cup of Moutai
wine he brought with him to Grandma Gu. Grandma Gu smiled and drank it all. Bei Wu then
stood up and filled Sun Xiao's cup and toasted him. Dong Wen didn't drink alcohol, so he drank a
glass of warm water as wine, and he and Sun Xiao also drank a cup. Xi Mei picked up a few dishes
for Sun Xiao, and also picked up a few dishes for Si Hao and Gu Nian. She looked at Si Nan and Si
Jiang, but Shan Rang and Jing Sheng were too far away between them, so she had to give up in
disappointment.
Sun Xiao tasted a few bites of the dishes and praised his mother-in-law's cooking skills. Grandma
Gu asked what dishes her mother-in-law usually cooked, and naturally talked about Ximei's
cooking skills: "My Ximei went to Xinjiang to work in the construction at the age of 18. She never
learned how to cook properly and she can't do anything. She ate in the canteen for half her life
and devoted herself to her work. Xiao Sun, please be more considerate of her. Women in New
China hold up half the sky, but they don't say they have to hold up the kitchen, right?"
"Yes, yes, yes," Sun Xiao nodded with a smile, "Mom, you are right. I usually eat in the cafeteria
and rarely go home to eat. I heard that Shanghai men are particularly family-oriented and will
cook and take care of their wives and children. I am not good at this, so don't take it to heart."
Grandma Gu was very satisfied with Sun Xiao's attitude. This new son-in-law was naturally much
better than Chen Donglai. He was much better than her in terms of speaking skills alone.
Everyone has his own blessings, and it was really God's arrangement.
"It's useless for me to take it to heart. As long as Ximei and you can live a good life, that's all,"
said Granny Gu, her eyes red with emotion. "She suffered a lot, but it can be said that she
suffered first and then enjoyed happiness. When my eldest son is fine, we should go to Beijing to
meet my parents-in-law and thank them for taking care of Ximei."
Ximei's smile froze on her face. Beiwu glanced at her and toasted Sun Xiao again: "My third sister
is a down-to-earth person. She is not suitable to be the family member of a leader. Now that you
are married, I call you brother-in-law, but I have something to say in advance."
"Gu Beiwu, what are you doing?" Ximei glared at Beiwu and shouted unhappily.
Sun Xiao drank a glass of wine with a smile: "You can talk, just say it, don't worry about your
sister, we are a family now, family members don't have different opinions, come on, talk!"
Si Jiang and Si Nan raised their eyelids to look at their stepfather, then looked at each other. Si
Jiang picked up two large shrimps for Si Nan, and Jing Sheng put the two peeled shrimps into Si
Jiang's bowl.
"My sister gave birth to three children, Jiang, Nan and Si, and each of them was a thrilling birth.
Now she is in her forties. It is your business whether to have children after marriage. But for my
sister's sake, I can only ask my brother-in-law to be more lenient and not let her risk her life for
her son." Bei Wu said these words indifferently, filled another glass and raised it to his eyebrows.
Sun Xiao and Gu Ximei were both a little embarrassed, and they were silent for a while during the
meal.
Gu Nian's childish voice suddenly rang out: "Ah? Auntie, can you still give birth to a baby?"
A childish word saved the couple who were extremely embarrassed.
Sun Xiao laughed and said, "That's right, it's really not possible to have a child just because you
want to. Hahaha, come on, don't worry, I will definitely put your sister's health first."
Ximei frowned and complained: "Gu Beiwu, you are good enough, there are so many children at
the table, you have to count. It is not your turn to take care of my affairs."
Beiwu narrowed his eyes: "We are doing this for your own good, aren't we?"
Xi Meiyu knotted her lips and glanced at Si Jiang, suspecting that she had told on him behind his
back, but without any evidence, she could only pour herself a cup of Moutai unhappily: "Let's
drink. Come on, Shanrang, let's have a drink together. Tomorrow you have to accompany me to
the First Department Store, and I'll buy some new clothes for Si Jiang and the others."
"I don't want it!" Sinan raised his head from the rice bowl and said while chewing the rice, "Just
give me the money and I'll buy it myself. I don't like what you bought."
Ximei was so angry that she couldn't speak for a long time. Fortunately, Sun Xiao and Beiwu
Dongwen had already started talking about the political situation. She lowered her voice and
scolded Sinan: "Eat well before you talk. You don't even have the rules! I know you've gone wild
now. No one has set rules for you. You eat in such an ugly way that people will laugh at you in the
future!"
Sinan stiffened his neck and sneered, "How can that be possible? How can it be possible that you
are the most beautiful when eating?"
"Chen Sinan!"
"What?"
"Alright, alright, let's eat," Shanrang said with a smile, trying to smooth things over. "Sinan is
setting up a stall every day to experience the life of a self-employed boss. She's addicted to it.
Today she even asked me to return the new shoes I bought for her and give her the money. She
has a point. I think she's just thinking about your New Year's money."
Sinan: "Haha. I've said it before, just give me the money, don't talk about the deep love between
mother and daughter, who has me in their heart and who doesn't, I'm not a three-year-old child, I
know everything in my heart!"
She pushed the chair away with a bang: "I'm done, you guys take your time. There's one
advantage to people like us who don't eat in a proper manner: we eat fast and get full."
Sinan went up to the attic with a thump.
The living room was quiet for a moment, and Gu Nian carefully concluded: "Second sister is
angry, Auntie, you made her angry."
Ximei's eyes were red. Sun Xiao patted her hands and said softly, "Children are like this,
sometimes angry and sometimes angry. You are an adult, why bother with her? Remember to
give her the New Year's money later."
Turning around, he smiled and said to Bei Wu, "You know what, I really like this kid, Nan Nan.
He's straightforward, bold, and outspoken. He's quite like me when I was young. I had the same
temper when I first joined the army. Once, I cursed the food in the army cafeteria and smashed
my rice bowl. I was punished to run from Shajingzi to Aksu and back again, hahahaha."
For the first time, Si Jiang felt strange. Why could such a stepfather like his mother? Was it love?
Everyone heard Sun Xiao's soft voice: "It was a July day. I was actually dehydrated when I ran to
Aksu. It happened that Ximei was on holiday that day. She picked up a package from the Aksu
Post Office and gave me her water bottle. She also asked me to go back to Shajingzi with the
supply and marketing cooperative's tractor. On the tractor, she sang a Shanghai opera called
"Yanyan Matchmaking" -"
"I got off the tractor two miles away from Shajingzi and followed it back to the camp. At that
time, I thought that if I were to marry a wife, I would marry a girl like Gu Ximei. Mom, Dongwen,
Beiwu, don't worry, I will definitely take good care of Ximei."
Ximei looked up blankly. This was the first time she heard about this, but she had no impression
of it at all.

Chapter 329
Grandma Gu was busy for three hours, and the whole table of people only took an hour to finish
their dinner. Jingsheng and Sijiang slowly cleaned the table while listening to Sun Xiao and Beiwu
discussing the current situation on the sofa.
"It's good for you to stay in Shanghai. After all, General Secretary Jiang is from Shanghai," Sun
Xiao lit a cigarette and said drunkenly, "Now your Mayor Zhu will have to move to Beijing sooner
or later. Everyone knows this. At least in the next eight years, Shanghai officials will have an
advantage."
Beiwu smiled and said, "I don't understand politics, but looking at the economy, Shanghai's
development is definitely ranked first in the country, and there are always more opportunities
than other cities."
Sun Xiao sighed: "Politics is still the most important, Beiwu, you must understand this."
Beiwu was silent.
Sun Xiao looked around the Gu family and said, "Xi Mei mentioned to me that this old house is
indeed too old. It is not convenient to take a shower or go to the toilet in winter. You all should
come to Xijiao for lunch tomorrow at noon. I will ask a leader from the Housing Authority to
come and meet you, and then we will see how to proceed."
Jingsheng and Sijiang looked at each other and then looked at Beiwu at the same time.
Bei Wu smiled and shook his head: "I appreciate your kindness, but it's better not to mention this
matter."
"Are you treating me as an outsider?" Sun Xiao was a little unhappy.
"You have just been transferred back to Beijing, and there are many eyes watching you from
behind. There is no need to give them a handle. Besides, our family name is Gu, and my elder
brother and I have the ability to improve our family conditions." Bei Wu raised his eyes and asked
with a smile, "Does the big leader look down on us ordinary people?"
Sun Xiao laughed loudly, patted Bei Wu on the shoulder and said, "Okay, I'll do as you say."
Granny Gu came over with her bound feet, "Dongwen wanted to buy a house a long time ago,
but I didn't let him. I'm old now, and if I move, I'll lose my roots. Where will the old man find me?
I won't live long. Besides, even though our Wanchun Street is shabby, the old men and women in
the alley have lived together for decades. They are all old acquaintances, and they live here with
peace of mind. Old Four, listen to me, I won't move. If you want to move, you move. If you move
away, I'll live alone in a building, and I'll die of happiness."
Let's just leave this topic for now.
Ximei and Shanrang watched Sihao and Gunian playing in front of the TV and talked about family
matters. Shanrang knew Baiwanzhuang. When Mrs. Zhou and Hutou first arrived in Beijing, the
old leaders they went to visit lived in the Shen district. They came back and talked about how this
community was very particular about Feng Shui. The socialist Feng Shui theory of a proletarian
revolutionary made Beiwu and Shanrang laugh.
Shanrang carefully considered Sijiang's cashmere sweater and praised its feel.
"The good cashmere from Inner Mongolia feels really different, so soft and warm! How much is
it?" Shanrang asked with a smile, "If it's not expensive, I'll buy one for Hutou too."
Ximei glanced at Sijiang and said, "Eight hundred and sixty, it's a bit expensive. Tiger Head really
doesn't need to buy this kind of shoes. Children grow up quickly and can only wear them for two
years at most. It's not cost-effective."
Si Jiang paused while wiping the table, turned his head and glanced at Ximei.
"Actually, I don't know much about this either. It was Lao Sun's secretary who took me to choose.
I said I wanted the best, so the salesperson brought me this one. It's a little expensive, but when I
think of how Alasjiang looks when she wears it, I think it's worth it," Ximei said with a bit of
melancholy, thinking of the time when she clumsily made a dress for Sijiang in Shajingzi when
Sijiang was a child. A nostalgic smile appeared on the corners of her lips. "I learned how to cut
and sew because I wanted to make a dress for Sijiang a long time ago. There was only one sewing
machine in our camp at the time, and we had to queue up. I made a plaid dress twice before I
finished it. I also wanted to make a shirt for myself, but I wasted the material, which is a pity."
Shanrang listened to her stories with a smile, and when he saw Sijiang walk downstairs with
Jingsheng indifferently, he couldn't help but sigh. Ximei was like an actor on the stage who always
stepped on the wrong spot and couldn't keep up with the pace, but she didn't know it. She didn't
know when the love she could think of for her children could only be expressed with money.
"You all should come early tomorrow. The room at Xijiao Hotel is very comfortable and has a big
bathtub. You can take Hutou with you to take a hot bath so you don't have to go to the
bathroom." Ximei invited warmly.
Shan Rang nodded in response and pointed upstairs: "Do you want to go upstairs and talk to Nan
Nan?"
Ximei shook her head sadly: "Forget it, she is angry, it will not be good if she does not stay
overnight. I will talk to her when we get to the hotel tomorrow. Lao Sun drank too much, I have
to take him back to rest early. He got up at six o'clock today and entertained a table at noon. I
think he is a little tired."
——
The driver picked up Ximei and Sun Xiao, and sent Dongwen to Nurse Lu on the way. The Gu
family then returned to their usual rhythm.
The coal stove went out, and the gray coal was taken out and placed outside the door, stacked
into a dejected pile. Under the dim street lights, there was no grandeur like a candle burning out.
Eight thermos bottles were filled with boiling water. Gu Nian and Si Hao's four feet were fighting
in the red plastic basin. Hu Tou shouted that it was scalded, and Si Hao asked for more hot water.
Grandma Gu sat on a small stool, her hair bun fell down to her feet. She combed her hair and
reached out to test the water temperature.
"It's not hot. The water is so warm. You need to add hot water."
Hutou cried out for help from his parents.
Sinan was lying on the bed in the attic, with her legs raised in the air, pedaling a bicycle. Under
her pink cotton trousers, she was barefoot wearing the pair of red leather shoes that Ximei had
bought. The red leather shoes were really cute, with shiny patent leather, the style of ballet
shoes, and the buckles didn't need to be put through buttonholes, the invisible buckles could be
put on casually.
"Three hundred yuan to buy a pair of leather shoes - when you have time." Sinan said this with a
smile on his face.
"Not angry anymore?"
"It's a pity that I can't refund the money," Sinan kicked hard twice, "Your cashmere sweater is the
same style as your cousin's. She still has some conscience. If she forgets about her cousin, I will
definitely not go to dinner tomorrow. Humph."
Si Jiang exhaled and put on the cashmere sweater: "Isn't the pink color a bit weird?"
"It looks great," Sinan jumped up and ran to the attic and shouted, "Cousin, come up here and
show you something nice."
"Who is the good guy? Really." Si Jiang laughed angrily.
Sinan laughed: "So you are a bad guy?"
Jingsheng went up to the attic and the three of them laughed. He also wore the cashmere
sweater given by Ximei and a navy blue cardigan, the same style as Sijiang's pink cardigan.
"Tsk tsk tsk, oh my," Sinan laughed, "I should ask my uncle to take a picture of you."
Si Jiang roughly estimated that the clothes and shoes for the five of them alone cost nearly 5,000
yuan, which was really a huge sum of money. She could understand her mother's desire to make
amends. It was harder for adults to admit their mistakes than to kill them. She would feel at ease
if she spent more money. Of course, this was also a generous gift from her stepfather. He also
gave generous New Year's money, 500 yuan each for the five juniors including Jingsheng and Gu
Nian. It couldn't be said that he was not generous and gave face to her mother.
"Officials are so rich, it should rain money from the sky for them, tsk——" Si Nan sighed as she
lay on her back on the bed. She and Chen Zhanping worked hard to set up a stall every day, but
they had only earned a little over 100 yuan so far.
Jingsheng grabbed her feet and took off her red leather shoes: "You are not allowed to wear
shoes on the bed. If your mother knew that she gave you so much money and gifts, and you
actually said this, I don't know what she would think."
"I don't care what she thinks, haha." Sinan crossed his hands behind his head, "You may not
know, but my sister's college entrance examination choice was suggested by this guy named
Sun."
Jingsheng and Sijiang were stunned.
"She told me this because she wanted me to tell you something like, thanks to Uncle Sun's
acquaintance with the leaders of the Shanghai Education Bureau, she knew that this major at H
Normal University was very good, so the leaders of the Urumqi Education Bureau took the
initiative to tell her blah blah," Sinan sneered, "That means she hooked up with the guy
surnamed Sun before she divorced Dad, otherwise how could she have been transferred to the
higher-level unit? I heard it all, and everyone in Urumqi must know it, and Dad must know it
too!"
"Shame!" Si Nan angrily pulled up the quilt to cover himself.
After hearing the whole story again, Si Jianglue suddenly figured it out. She indeed no longer
resents her mother for changing her choice. School, teachers, majors, roommates, life has been
moving forward, and there is no way to compare, but the regret will never disappear, and
forgiveness can never be expressed.
Jingsheng and Si Jiang went downstairs. Grandma Gu had already helped Jingsheng lay the
bedding on the sofa. Gu Nian and Si Hao were wearing cotton slippers with bare feet and were
packing toys in front of the TV. Shan Rang was supervising the work.
"Leave it for me to put it away. Hurry up and let Xia Zi go to sleep. Your feet have just been hot
and are about to get cold again."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry for the car, I'm sorry for the book, I'm sorry for my mother." Hu Tou
apologized seriously for forgetting them today as he picked them up.
Shan Rang suppressed his laughter and criticized: "Gu Nian, your apology is worthless now. Say
less words and show your apology with actions."
Chen Sihao quickly threw all the remaining things into the cardboard box, then pinched Gu Nian's
waist and picked him up: "It's done! Let's go to bed."
The two brothers walked into the room laughing and saw Si Jiang standing on a chair, stretching
his neck to look for something at the top of the wardrobe, and Jingsheng holding a pile of
summer clothes in his hands.
"Big sister, what are you doing?"
"Found it!" Si Jiang smiled and put a plaid dress on her shoulders.
She was just about to ask Jingsheng to put the clothes in his hand back to her, but Jingsheng put
his arm around her knees and carried her down.
Chen Sihao quietly turned around and reached into the bed to retrieve the hot water bottle.
Gu Nian shouted excitedly: "I want a hug too! Big brother, hug me!"
Jingsheng stepped onto the chair, put the clothes in his hands back, jumped down with a smile,
picked up Gu Nian and stuffed her directly into a compartment of the wardrobe.
Gu Nian screamed.
Shan Rang and Grandma Gu came in and saw a round-headed baby sitting in the space where
Jingsheng's bedding was originally placed. They couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Gu Nian raised her head and leaned against the wooden board, pouting: "Baby, be brave, baby,
don't cry! Mommy is playing hide-and-seek, you come find me." After saying that, she turned her
little body around, covered her face and began to count: "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven,
eight, nine, ten——"
This act of hide-and-seek, in which one tries to cover one's ears while stealing the bell, made
everyone in the room burst out laughing.
Shan Rang cooperated and screamed: "Hey, where is the baby? Why can't I find the baby? Tiger
head? Tiger head?"
"The baby is here! The baby wins!" Gu Nian was so happy that he hit his head on the wooden
board again. This time he really started crying loudly. It could be said that joy turned into sorrow.
Jingsheng smiled, stretched out his hand to pull him out, and pretended to put him back: "Are
you still hiding?"
"Don't hide, don't hide—"
——
The Spring Festival Gala was being replayed on TV, and warm applause broke out from the
audience from time to time.
Jingsheng was lying on the sofa reading the evening paper. Now he also likes to read the news,
especially the economic news. After Beiwu's words and deeds, he found that interpreting the
meaning behind the news is particularly interesting. Even the order of the leaders' names is very
important. Sometimes, a few short messages reveal information that is worth pondering. Looking
back at last year's news, many big and small things can be verified. Every piece of news has been
reviewed layer by layer. Whether it can be reported, whether it must be reported, to what level,
which key information is absolutely indispensable, and which key information must not appear,
are not decided by a reporter or an editor. From international relations to the leadership team,
from economic policies to the price of people's livelihood, there is nothing that is not closely
related to the lives of ordinary people, and it depends on whether there is the ability to extract
useful information.
Si Jiang sat on the sofa and looked carefully at the plaid dress she loved very much when she was
a child under the lamp. She found that the stitches on the hem of the dress were indeed crooked,
and the two wide straps were also a bit uneven. The photo of her wearing this dress at Meilan
Photo Studio was still under the glass table of the chest of drawers. It was painted by her uncle
himself. Now it looks like an oil painting. Mom must have loved her, but that maternal love was
frozen in the old photo. No one painted it, and it gradually faded to light yellow. As time passed,
white spots and lines gradually appeared, and finally the face was blurred.

Chapter 330
Early in the morning of the seventh day, Gu Ximei called back to Wanchun Street. Old Mrs. Sun
was admitted to the hospital, and she and Sun Xiao had to catch the earliest flight back to Beijing,
and all activities were cancelled.
Bei Wu was silent for a moment: "You are Sun Xiao's lover, the daughter-in-law of the Sun family.
You can love the whole family and the whole family. It depends on how old you are. There is no
need to be humble and give in."
Gu Ximei covered the microphone, glanced at Sun Xiao who was hurriedly packing his luggage,
and whispered in Shanghai dialect: "What are you talking about?" Although she said this, her
eyes were sore.
"Thank you." She whispered and quickly hung up the phone.
"I originally wanted to go to Chenghuang Temple to buy some local specialties - wouldn't it be
bad to make such a trip and not bring anything back?" Ximei picked up Sun Xiao's coat and put it
on him. Thinking of Beiwu's words just now, she added: "Alas, but Mom is in the hospital, no one
in the family cares about these things."
"Actually, I can go back alone. You haven't been home for several years. It's okay for you to stay
here for a few more days." Sun Xiao knew what was going on and felt a little guilty. His second
brother called him and said that a heavyweight old leader's bridge game at three o'clock this
afternoon had called him, but it was not convenient to say that playing bridge was
overwhelmingly advantageous compared to visiting his wife's family. The old lady had no scruples
about calling him back on the pretext of illness. It was nothing more than staying in the
sanatorium for two days. She was already familiar with the process.
"How can that be? I'll be stabbed in the back and I won't be able to get over it," Ximei said
angrily. "It's okay. I'll ask Sijiang to bring Sinans to Beijing for fun during the summer vacation. Is
that okay?"
Ximei asked this question a little carefully and blinked twice, which turned into a look of
grievance in Sun Xiao's eyes. His heart softened as water and he hugged her in his arms.
"Of course, your children should call me daddy. They are only willing to call me uncle now, so this
is a chance for me to show my ability. The nanny will report on the 16th day of the first lunar
month, and you can ask her to clean up the guest room."
Ximei was a little confused, not knowing why he suddenly became so tender and considerate. She
responded without saying a word, and the two of them walked out the door.
——
Everyone in the Gu family on Wanchun Street breathed a sigh of relief. I don't know if it was
because they didn't have to go to the western suburbs to meet the leader, or because Gu Ximei
went back to Beijing so suddenly. It was like a thermos full of water, feeling like it had been
sucked in. They tried to pull the cork out carefully, but it came up easily. Instead, they felt a little
empty in their hearts.
Chen Sihao quickly climbed back into bed and took a nap. Chen Sinan went to see Chen Zhanping
to go to Chenghuang Temple to wholesale some lanterns for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Jingsheng
and Sijiang rushed to the street to consult about starting a company. Shanrang sent Gu Nian to
Zhou Shanli. There was a wedding banquet at Jinjiang Hotel. Hutou could go with old lady Zhou
to eat and drink for free. After sending Gu Nian off, she went to Xiangyang Children's Products
Store to return her shoes and then went to Ping'an Theater to watch a movie. Beiwu called a
friend from the Planning Institute and was going to take a ferry to Pudong at noon. Grandma Gu
hurried to the small vegetable market, muttering that she wanted to catch the last two pieces of
braised old tofu.
"Aunt! If you like the movie, please go to Northwest Road and bring back six glutinous rice balls."
Jingsheng asked Shanrang with a smile before leaving.
"Got it, Si Jiang likes to eat it, right?" Shan Rang picked up the shopping bag and took Gu Nian's
hand, "Okay Si, do you want me to bring you a small Shaoxing white-cut chicken at Xinzha Road?"
"Yes, yes, yes--" Chen Sihao shouted on the bed.
The whole family went out one after another.
When Gu Dongwen returned to Wanchun Street, Chen Sihao was the only one at home playing
Contra in front of the TV. His fat body moved flexibly up and down, left and right with the game
controller, as if the movement could play a boosting role, which was very funny.
"Hey, aren't we all going to the Xijiao Hotel for dinner? Where are the people?"
"My mother and Uncle Sun had to go back to Beijing for an urgent matter. My younger uncle
called Aunt Lu's department this morning, but Aunt Lu wasn't at work yet," Chen Sihao turned
around and smiled, "Uncle, do you want some water?"
"What? Can you stop the game and pour me some water?" Gu Dongwen glanced at him.
Chen Sihao narrowed his eyes and smiled sweetly: "Uncle, if you want to drink water, pour me a
glass of Guozhen, hehe, thank you - Ouch, Ouch, I'm dead! I only have the last life left - —”
Gu Dongwen smiled and shook his head, and made a cup of Guozhen for Chen Sihao.
At night, Grandma Gu was in charge, and Chen Sihao was helping. Except for the new dish of
braised tofu with green vegetables, the rest were leftovers. Because Zhou Shanli hadn't sent Gu
Nian back yet, the whole family of eight happened to be sitting at the Eight Immortals table. You
started talking to me one sentence at a time. What I saw today.
Jingsheng and Sijiang gained especially much.
Wanhangdu Road Subdistrict has a garment processing factory in Caojiadu that is on the verge of
bankruptcy. It was opened in the early days of reform and opening up to solve the employment
problem. It is not large in scale, but it has a cutting room, production workshop, and back-end. It
is equipped with sewing machines, flat cars, overlock machines, cloth cutting machines, overlock
machines, flat sewing machines, ironing tables, cutting tables, and a small steam boiler. The
original workshop director did a good job, but he felt that the fixed salary was boring, so he
started a new business with some skilled workers and took away the few customers to begin
with. The remaining old factory director is powerless and cannot receive processing orders. The
working capital has long been exhausted. Only a few of the fifteen workers have retired. Aunts
and mothers go to the workshop to knit sweaters every now and then, and the other people in
their thirties and forties who have some experience have taken unpaid leave to earn money. The
street wanted to close the processing plant and rent out the factory. Upon hearing Jingsheng's
plan, a deputy director of the office asked casually, "Since you want to start a clothing company,
have you ever thought about processing by yourself? Have you ever considered contracting our
tertiary industry?"
The street cadres took them to see the processing factory. The old factory manager and several
aunts and mothers had a lot of feelings for the processing factory and strongly persuaded them
to take the contract, guaranteeing that as long as there was work, they would definitely make
money. They had skilled workers for cutting, sewing, and ironing, and they could rotate the
buttonholes and button sewing.
Hearing that the monthly salary of fifteen workers including the old factory manager was only
3,000 yuan, Jingsheng was very puzzled and asked the old factory manager privately: "Are your
workers paid by the hour or by the piece?"
Factory Director Zeng looked bewildered: "What do you mean by time-based and piece-based?
We are a tertiary industry in a government agency. We get paid according to the government's
salary rules. We don't care about these nonsense."
Seeing that Jingsheng looked thoughtful and hesitant, he enthusiastically invited the two young
men to his office for tea. In less than an hour, Jingsheng had finished reading the account books
of the "Spring Garment Factory".
"I think we can invest in this garment factory directly instead of opening a clothing company,"
Jingsheng told Dongwen and Beiwu with a smile, "Now this processing factory, the total
investment was 100,000 yuan, the street office held 80% of the shares, and the employees held
20%. Now there is only more than 4,000 yuan in the bank account, and the fixed assets have
been depreciated to only 10,800 yuan. All the equipment can still be used normally."
Beiwu and Shanrang smiled at each other: "You can understand financial statements?"
Jingsheng's face flushed. "I just looked at the key points. The processing plant has no accounts
payable, no arrears in wages, benefits, and taxes, no long-term debt, and there is also an account
receivable of more than 20,000 yuan from 1986, which was borrowed by the street to distribute
Spring Festival benefits."
"Have you discussed the method of acquiring shares?"
"No, I said I would think about it carefully again." Jingsheng said with a smile.
"Don't be stupid, brother," Si Jiang added with a smile, "The main reason is that the factory is not
in a good place. It's in the alley, so you can't borrow money at a good price."
"Have you thought about it? Don't just take over the contract but buy shares directly?"
"Yes, and we want to have a controlling stake," Jingsheng's eyes sparkled. "I think this is a great
opportunity."
——
Opportunities are actually very illusory, they can come at any time and can be seen everywhere.
Most people pass by them indifferently and ignorantly, and only after seeing others' somewhat
familiar success paths will they suddenly realize: Oh, I have had this opportunity before.
In mid-February, Jingsheng acquired shares in a clothing processing factory.
He first used the photocopied financial statements, accompanied by Director Zeng, to persuade
the employees who had originally purchased shares in the processing plant, and bought back
20% of the employee shares at the original price of 20,000 yuan. In the years when the factory's
business was good, the employees' annual dividends had already paid back their investment
several times. In recent years, everyone was unhappy because they did not get any money. If the
processing plant closed down and was rented out, the rent would have nothing to do with them,
so one share could still be sold for 200 yuan, and everyone was very satisfied.
Then Jingsheng proposed to the street as a shareholder to contract the processing plant, and
bear the profits and losses by himself. According to the amount of losses in the previous years,
the contract fee paid will increase year by year, 50,000 in the first year, 55,000 in the second year,
and increase by 10% every year. He planned to sign a five-year contract first. The 50,000 was a
good offer, just a little above the annual rent that the land could be rented out, and it could also
afford the retirement wages of the 15 employees of the factory, but the rent could not increase
by 10% every year. The factory in this alley could only increase by 5% at most.
There were no fools in the street. They accepted Jingsheng's contract and said they would study
and discuss it. They soon found out that he was the son of Gu Dongwen, the boss of Nanhong
Fashion Shop on Huating Road. The street leader was overjoyed and went to Wanchun Street to
talk to Gu Dongwen.
"Old Gu, we grew up together, so I will definitely not let your son suffer, right? Contracting is
definitely not cost-effective. Your family already has 20% of the shares, so why not buy a little
more shares and don't do any contracting. I will be in charge of the work, and you can appoint
Little Gu as the general manager and give him full responsibility. How about that? It would be
great if we could all stick together through thick and thin."
"Is it our turn to deal with such good things?" Gu Dongwen laughed while lying on the bamboo
lounge chair.
"Contracting is too risky, and you have never opened a factory. What if, oh, what if you really lose
money and can't pay the contract fee? We can't go there for the sake of face, and we can be
criticized, but we can't come to your house to collect the debt. Isn't it easy to lose both fame and
fortune?" The old cadre said frankly, "I treat you as brothers, do you understand?"
"Oh, thank you, old Hu Nong," Gu Dongwen narrowed his eyes, "My son is grown up now, I will
talk to him, but he may not listen to me."
"Okay, okay, you need to change your mindset and have a sense of ownership."

Chapter 331
Looking back several years later, even Gu Beiwu sighed that Gu Jingsheng was born to be a
businessman.
When he went to the subdistrict office again, Jingsheng sincerely said that 20% of the shares
were good, with security, backed by a big tree for shade, priority for renewal under the same
conditions, even if he couldn't do it well, he could subcontract it to other capable people, and it
was not bad to be a hands-off boss, and he would get his money back one day. He was still too
young, and contracted the processing factory just to solve a little processing business for his own
Nanhong Fashion, so he didn't dare to invest a lot and take big risks. As for the general manager,
he didn't dare to be.
"In the clothing business, all the money is tied up in the goods," Jingsheng said with a wry smile.
"The 20,000 yuan I invested in these shares has really drained my family's savings. If I exchange
them for goods, you all know that I can at least make 20,000 yuan back. Now the annual contract
fee is spread out to more than 4,000 yuan per month, and I still have to pay wages. Although I
don't have to pay rent, I can't escape the water, electricity and tax bills, right? It's really difficult
to buy more shares. The risk is too great."
Director Wang, an old cadre, expressed his full understanding and said frankly, "Xiao Gu, listen to
your uncle. The predecessor of this processing factory was a small tailoring workshop opened by
the Jinsitudian Street Residents Committee. The reason for opening it was to organize women's
labor to establish production businesses in the lanes and let women comrades hold up half the
sky. In 1958, your grandmother worked there for a year. See, isn't it a good fit for you?"
Jingsheng really didn't know there was such a connection, and couldn't help but reveal a look of
surprise.
After moving people with emotion, Director Wang continued to convince them with reason:
"Later, in 1979, it was upgraded to a processing plant, creating more than a dozen jobs. Most of
the employees in the factory were only in their teens or twenties when they joined the factory,
and several skilled workers in their thirties were hired from Wuhe Weaving Factory No. 2 and
National Cotton Factory No. 20 to support the scene. It was not easy. The economic benefits were
very good in the first few years, but later the benefits were not so good, and a group of people
left. The street has been paying the wages of the remaining six employees, and it is difficult to
arrange them in other places. The age is here, right? One carrot, one job, so the street plans to
close the processing plant this year-"
After taking a sip of hot tea, Director Wang said with emotion: "Actually, these old employees are
paid 180 yuan a month. Is that too much? It's really not much. It's 30 yuan less than the average
salary of all Shanghai employees last year. Can the street afford to support them? Yes, they can.
Last year, Alawanhang Street also had an output value of more than 10 million yuan and a profit
of nearly 800,000 yuan. But there is no way. The current policy requires breaking the big pot. This
tertiary industry is not a state-owned enterprise after all. It is impossible to support it all the
time. You can only support yourself. To be honest, like Lao Zeng, who is a member of the street
establishment, there is no problem with financial support, but contract workers like Wu Chunfang
and Lu Yilan will retire in a few years. What's the point of losing their jobs now? People who don't
have money in their hands will definitely feel uncomfortable. If they don't do well, they will have
conflicts with their families. So no matter what, our street still hopes that the processing plant
can be re-established and operated. It is not only to create benefits for the street, but also for
social benefits, right?"
Seeing Jingsheng nod thoughtfully, Director Wang continued: "Now the street can give up 40% of
the shares and sell them to you at 120,000 yuan. 120,000 yuan is really fair. It's just the contract
fee for a little over two years. In this way, you get the majority and I get the minority. Your
enthusiasm will definitely be different, right? You don't have to pay the contract fee, and you
have more working capital. Try to make your business bigger and stronger. You don't have to
worry about the situation five years later. Let's work together to make this factory a good one.
How about it?"
Jingsheng laughed: "Director Wang is joking with me. I can't come up with 120,000 yuan even if I
sell everything I have. If I had 120,000 yuan, I would open my own factory. Now five people can
run a small factory, and the equipment costs no more than 20,000 yuan. I contracted Chuntian
mainly because it is close to home, so I don't have to go out of town to follow up orders, so I can
take better care of my father and grandmother. You all know the situation at home." He sighed
and put the cold glass in his hand back on the desk.
Director Wang quickly explained, "We must consider you first. You can pay the 120,000 yuan in
two years, 60,000 yuan a year. You see, isn't this almost the same as your original contract? You
used to hand in 50,000 yuan and get 10,000 yuan in dividends based on your shares. Now you
can get 60% of all the profits. Which one is more cost-effective? You can tell with a simple
calculation, right?"
Jingsheng was stunned: "Can it be operated this way?"
"Of course, why not?" Director Wang saw the light at last and stood up to add hot water to his
cup. "There is always a workaround, right? It's only good for everyone, don't you think this is the
best of both worlds?"
"But if that happens, I will have to bear 60 percent of the wages paid by the street, and I also
have to pay the rent, which is not a small amount."
"The advance payment can be settled slowly. It has been on the books for three years, so one
more year is not a big deal. The rent is just symbolic. It has not increased in 11 years. It is just a
drop in the bucket."
"Can the 20,000 yuan receivable from the street office be used to offset these?"
"Well, we need to study and discuss this further. I'll tell you when we come to a conclusion in a
few days."
Jingsheng thought about it carefully and shook his head: "Thank you, Director Wang - but forget
it, you are familiar with my dad, so I will call you uncle. Uncle, to be honest, my family's annual
processing fee is almost hundreds of thousands. In a small processing plant, the profit is only
30,000 to 40,000 at most. After I take over the contract, I plan to hire only eight people, and I can
only barely break even on the contract fee. I also take into account the 20% I can get back from
the 50,000 yuan contract fee. If there is any mistake, I will definitely lose money. So spending
money to buy shares is really not that much."
Director Wang was prepared and asked with a smile: "How much do you think is appropriate?"
Jingsheng smiled and said, "I bought the employee shares at the original price, 100 yuan per
share. The street's collective shares I can offer at most 200 yuan per share, a total of 80,000
yuan."
——
In early March, the Spring Garment Factory changed its business license and shareholders and
changed its name to Quartet Garment Co., Ltd. Wanhang Street holds 40% of the shares, Gu
Jingsheng holds 10%, Gu Dongwen and Gu Nanhong hold 40%, and Gu Beiwu holds 10%. In the
share transfer contract between Wanhang Street and the three men of the Gu family, the Gu
family invested 80,000 yuan to buy 40% of the collective shares. The 20,000 yuan receivables
from Wanhang Street were transferred back to the company's bank account. The wages paid by
the street for three years were less than 100,000 yuan, which was a debt. The new company
agreed to repay it in five years. The rent is 2,000 yuan a year, free of rent for three years, and will
be paid on time in January every year thereafter. In addition, the company also received a one-
year tax exemption policy treatment, and the tax bureau will assess and collect it after one year.
By the end of March, the factory was up and running, fabrics were flowing in, twelve skilled
workers were on duty, the boilers were roaring, and they began processing the first batch of
summer clothes for the Hong Kong Quartet brand, initially only shirts, dresses, skirts, and
culottes.
Although Director Zeng is not good at taking on jobs, he is experienced in production. There are
four people in the front line, four in the middle line, two in the back line, and two assistants. The
assistants are responsible for small ironing, pulling cloth, and cutting. The front line makes collars,
opens bags, and makes sleeves, while the middle line installs collars and sleeves. The back line
completes the finished product. At three o'clock in the afternoon, all the front and middle lines
go to help with the back line. Every day, they start packing together ten minutes before get off
work ends. To Jingsheng's surprise, because Nanhong has very high quality requirements, a
sewing worker could only produce more than 20 shirts a day in the past. Under the arrangement
of Director Zeng and the tacit cooperation of skilled workers, the average output per person is 40
pieces, and 400 pieces a day is easy.
The advantage of having your own factory make your own brand of goods is that the processing
fee is definitely lower than the market price. After calculating the approximate cost, Jingsheng
and Director Zeng set the processing fee for shirts at one yuan and for dresses at fifty cents. If
400 shirts are completed in a day, there will be a revenue of 400 yuan. After deducting employee
wages, rent, utilities, and food expenses, there will still be a gross profit of about 260 yuan. For
example, although the processing fee for dresses is low, each person can produce more than 80
pieces a day, and the gross profit is still over 200 yuan a day. The key is to have production to
support it. Without orders, everything is empty.
This is not a problem for Jingsheng. Last year, Quartet's advertisements in Hong Kong were very
effective. After the holidays, it opened counters in two mid-range department stores in Kowloon
and Mong Kok. The variety of styles is not very rich, but the style is close to Princess Diana's daily
wear, not rigidly imitating top brands. The black, white and gray colors are very outstanding. They
can be worn in the office or on the street. The tailoring is unique. It is not that the clothes are
chosen, but that the clothes complement the person. They are more generous and chic than
Japanese products, and more approachable than European products. In addition, with the
endorsement of well-known female stars, many urban beauties come from Central to buy goods.
It can be regarded as a new well-known local brand, with gratifying sales and full orders for
export to Southeast Asia.
Several wholesalers that Nanhong used to deal with in Guangzhou Thirteen Hongs have upgraded
their business in recent years. They have been doing wholesale business and integrating the
supply of goods. They have jointly opened a luxury boutique on Beijing Road, and their business
is booming. They went to Hong Kong at the invitation of Nanhong and met Mr. Fang. After
returning, they started to do both wholesale and retail. In February, they ordered 12,000 pieces
of four summer shirts from Jingsheng. When he saw the faxed copy of the order contract,
Director Zeng thought he had added an extra zero. Two more styles were selected for Huating
Road, and only 200 pieces of each style were ordered. After calculating the output of more than
10,000 pieces, Director Zeng began to worry that the factory was too small to handle it. It takes a
month to make shirts alone, and it is afraid that other goods will be too late.
Jingsheng, however, was confident. He held a staff meeting in the workshop and asked if anyone
was willing to work an extra four hours at 7 o'clock in the evening and get piece-rate wages, four
dimes for a shirt and two cents for a dress. The factory also provided a free midnight snack, and
those who did not eat the midnight snack could receive a meal allowance of one dollar.
The aunts and mothers counted the money very quickly. They could make 20 shirts in half a day
and earn 8 yuan. They only earned 6 yuan for a normal day's work. They had to wash dishes,
clean the house and serve the elderly and children at home. It would be better to earn this
money and save for midnight snacks. Hey, you can earn more than 200 yuan a month, and 2,000
to 3,000 yuan a year. Everyone was eager to work overtime. Director Zeng admired the young
General Manager Gu from the bottom of his heart. He was really smart.
Seeing the output of the first month on the production schedule, Director Zeng breathed a sigh of
relief, and Director Wang couldn't stop smiling in the office. He knew that Gu Jingsheng, this little
rascal, must have a trick up his sleeve. Just based on the output on this schedule, 13,000 shirts
and more than 15,000 dresses were made in a month, and the processing fee was just over
20,000 yuan. All the real money has been credited to the account. The key is that no matter how
you calculate it, there is a 50% gross profit. Such a small, broken factory used to make 30,000 or
40,000 yuan a year when it was profitable. Now it has tripled directly. The key is that it also adds
hundreds of thousands of operating income to the street every year and creates more than a
dozen jobs. It's really good for everyone, and it's well done!
Beiwu and Sijiang spent the whole night discussing the matter, jokingly calling Jingsheng a
scoundrel. It just so happened that he had a good reputation in Wanchun Street. These days,
there were always aunties who were free at home coming to ask if Grandma Gu's garment
factory was still hiring. They also asked doubtfully, "Can Wu Chunfang and Lu Yilan really get more
than 400 yuan a month?"
Granny Gu had no idea, so she evaded the question vaguely. She turned around and asked
Jingsheng, then thought for a moment, "Why don't you just give the lunch in your factory to me
and Sijiang Auntie? How much do a dozen people need to spend 60 yuan a day on side dishes?
How much do you give the cook now? 150 yuan? Then you can give 150 yuan to me and Auntie
too. The side dishes cost 50 yuan a day, and I guarantee you'll have enough to eat."
The whole family burst into laughter. Grandma Gu asked in confusion, "What are you laughing at?
Really! If the factory saves ten yuan a day, wouldn't six of them belong to my family? Are you still
laughing? I think you are all fools."
Chen Sihao blinked twice and looked at Gu Nian sadly: "Hutou, now we are the only two eating
white rice at home."
Gu Nian puffed out her chest proudly: "I am Gu Liangwan! I eat two bowls of rice!"

Chapter 332
This spring, everyone in the Gu family is very busy.
Gu Dongwen's AFP index began to rebound after the Spring Festival, but the rebound was not
strong and remained in three digits. It rose by more than 100 in a month. He felt that he could
not delay any longer. In mid-April, he only said that he had to pack up the house and land in
Jinghong and decided to leave after Labor Day.
"I'm nothing, so don't worry about me, just pretend you never raised me," Gu Dongwen said with
a smile as he pulled up Grandma Gu's hand, rubbed it twice, and stuffed a gold bracelet into her
hand. "When I was a teenager, I boasted that I would buy you a pair of gold earrings and a gold
ring. Now you can't afford such a small thing. This bracelet is made of pure gold. Try biting it——"
Granny Gu slapped him on the hand, and touched the back of his hand for fear of hurting him.
She held back her tears, took the bracelet, and really took a bite of it, then shook it in her palm.
"It should weigh about one or two ounces, right? I'll go weigh it."
Granny Gu stood up and went to the cupboard to get a small electronic scale. Her hands were
shaking so badly that she couldn't open the drawer. Two of her nails cracked. Her tears fell on her
clothes, leaving black circles on the blue cotton cloth.
Gu Dongwen smiled and silently looked at his mother's back.
"It's really nearly one or two taels, how much did it cost?" Granny Gu put the bracelet on her
wrist, walked back with a smile, and wiped her tears. "If it wasn't over a thousand, I wouldn't
have agreed. Your father owed me a bracelet back then, and the son has to pay off his father's
debt—"
Before she could finish her words, she suddenly grabbed Gu Dongwen's hands tightly and sobbed
silently.
Gu Dongwen's hands were filled with hot tears. He lowered his eyes, his throat tight and painful.
"Well, gold has been falling this year. Jingsheng saw it was only 52 yuan a gram last week, and it
was 65 before the Spring Festival, so he quickly bought one. It's the son who pays his father's
debts, and he has the money."
Granny Gu sniffed and let go of her son's hand: "It's a sin, it's a sin anyway, you're just a bastard
who came to collect debts!"
"Yes, I am nothing." Gu Dongwen said this in Yangzhou dialect.
Granny Gu also cried in Yangzhou dialect: "You bastard! What if I were to do this? (Pooh, what
should I do?) You have no conscience! It was clearly the flesh and blood that fell from my belly,
but you didn't even let me see it for the last time? What sin did I commit? I didn't even see your
father back then—"
Gu Dongwen smiled. He was suffering from cancer. When he smiled, he could feel his chest
beating in his back and it was a bit difficult to breathe.
The time to go to Jinghong was set, and Shanrang looked at houses for a week in a vigorous
manner. He chose two that he thought were suitable and took the whole family to see them.
Maggie's Apartment is located at Fuxing West Road and Urumqi Middle Road. It is an old
apartment with an elevator. It was built in 1937. The most amazing thing is that there is only one
family living on the fourth floor. It has an area of 217 square meters and two bathrooms. The
kitchen is only slightly smaller than the second bedroom.
"Jingsheng said that he wanted to live together as a family no matter what. I think this set is quite
suitable," Shanrang said with a smile. "When Jingsheng gets married, if he finds it inconvenient,
we can also add a door to separate the restaurant. He and his wife can live in the two-bedroom
apartment with a balcony over here, and we can live in the two-bedroom and one-bathroom
apartment inside. The kitchen and bathroom outside are for them to use. Anyway, we only plan
to eat here for free."
Jingsheng looked at Sijiang with a smile: "Is it lunch?"
Si Jiang blushed and looked at the balcony: "If you want to be angry, you should ask me what I
should do."
Jingsheng followed her calmly and opened the window: "It's convenient for me after all."
Si Jiang looked back at him, his forehead just brushing against Jing Sheng's chin. She raised her
head, he lowered his head, they looked at each other with a smile, and leaned on the windowsill
to look out at the scenery.
"With an elevator, Mom will have a lot of convenience in the future," Beiwu thought. "Climbing
stairs is always risky, and old men and women can't afford to fall."
"The current owner is a businessman. He has not been doing well in the past two years. He thinks
the number four on the fourth floor is unlucky, so he wants to sell it, but the house is too big and
expensive," said a staff member of the Xuhui District Housing Authority with a smile. "Major
General Zhou's family is extremely prosperous, and they will definitely be well-off."
Zhou Shanli caught up with the good opportunity of restoring the military rank system after the
million-man military reduction in 1988, and was promoted from colonel to major general. He
could be regarded as a son inheriting his father's career, which was worthy of General Zhou's
spirit in heaven. The local government definitely gave him enough face and respect.
Granny Gu shook her head repeatedly in strong opposition: "No, I don't like Four either!"
"It's cheap, Auntie. Two hundred and seventeen square meters for only one hundred and ninety-
five thousand! If the house wasn't so big, it would have been snapped up long ago."
"No, no, I can't stand the word death." Grandma Gu walked out the door directly.
It's embarrassing to greet others.
Jingsheng stuffed a pack of cigarettes in her hand and said, "Sorry, my grandfather is ill, so
grandma—"
"I understand! I am not good at talking too much. Sigh."
The group then went to No. 258 Wuyuan Road to see two apartments in the Freedom
Apartment. This apartment is also very famous. It has only nine floors, and there are two three-
bedroom apartments on the first floor. The Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera masters Yu Zhenfei
and Yan Huizhu once lived there. Unlike Maggie Apartment, which is located at a corner of the
road, Freedom Apartment is not facing the street. When you enter the gate, you can see endless
green, all of which are towering trees that are fifty or sixty years old, which makes people happy.
"These two units are not on the same floor," the staff member introduced earnestly, "The three-
bedroom unit on the sixth floor is also a private house, and someone lives there. Because there is
a boiler room and apartment management room on the north side of the first floor, there are two
one-bedroom units facing south. This one is vacant now and can be bought directly through Ala,
but it's a little smaller, only 31 square meters."
"Thirty-one square meters is still small?" Grandma Gu was shocked.
"The apartment is not the same as our shantytown," Gu Beiwu explained with a smile, "It's a little
too small. It's fine for Jingsheng to live alone, but it won't work if he gets married and has
children. However, the location and the house are good. You can buy it first as a transition, and
then replace it before you have children. A small house will definitely be easy to sell, and if you
don't sell it, it can be rented out, right?"
The clerk gave a thumbs up and said, "Comrade Gu is knowledgeable. But Teacher Zhou, I
mentioned last time that there is an internal motor room in Lane 285 next to us that is about the
same size as this one,——"
"What is an internal mobile room?" Si Jiang asked curiously. She liked Wuyuan Road and this
apartment in particular. She loved the name alone: Freedom Apartment, what a great name.
"Haha," the clerk scratched his head, "there are always some important people with connections,
such as those who have made contributions to the country, their children or so-and-so, who want
to settle in Shanghai. How can they do that without a house? They find the city leaders, and then
the leaders send a bunch of notes asking a certain district to accept them. At least they have a
small and better house in their hands to flexibly transfer, right? Hahaha."
Jingsheng and Sijiang suddenly understood. Shanrang and Beiwu already knew this process and
were not surprised. After asking Jingsheng what he meant, Shanrang started asking about the
price.
"Teacher Zhou, in fact, you can ask Major General Zhou to talk to the city government. With your
academic qualifications, you can just get a house directly," said the clerk, who was a sincere man.
"Anyway, if it's not given to you, it will be given to someone else. There are seven or eight people
waiting in line in Arakori who haven't even graduated yet. Although it's not a private house like
this one, the public house card is clear. You can live in the house without any worries. It can be
used by three generations."
Shan Rang smiled and shook his head: "That won't work. My brother's party spirit won't allow
this to happen, and we're not in such a difficult situation. It's better to buy it and feel at ease."
The final transaction price of this small house was 46,500 yuan, and the name on the property
certificate was Gu Jingsheng.
The family on the sixth floor only had the mother-in-law to receive them. This three-bedroom
apartment is just over 150 square meters in size, and the price is 40,000 yuan more expensive
than the 217 square meters apartment in Maggie's Apartment, with a total price of more than
230,000 yuan. Shan Rang fell in love with it almost at first sight. The old-fashioned brass
doorknobs and window handles, the rectangular bright kitchen with three double-leaf windows,
the old teak floor that has hardly been damaged, and the light is so bright that you can see
through it. The south-facing living room has a whole row of double-leaf windows, and next to it is
a French door leading to the balcony. The morning sun shines all the way to the middle of the
living room, and it is so bright. Imagine Gu Nian and Si Hao playing with toys and reading in such
light, it is beautiful. The only drawback is that this apartment has only one large bathroom.
Seeing the bathtub, Jingsheng blinked and said, "You should buy this one, it's quite good. We can
come up here and borrow the bathtub to take a bath in the winter."
Everybody laughed.
"It's too expensive!" Granny Gu asked Bei Wu in a low voice, "Do you have that much money? It
won't work if we ask Shan Rang's family to pay for it."
"Don't worry," Bei Wu took her and followed the owner's mother-in-law into the second
bedroom, "If we buy this place, Hu Tou and Si Hao can sleep in a bunk bed, just like my brother
and I did when we were little."
Grandma Gu said nothing and asked the old lady why she wanted to sell the house.
"Oh, you are going to Hong Kong. My eldest daughter is also in Hong Kong!" The two old ladies
immediately became close.
It turned out that the house was returned to the old lady by the country after the revolution. Her
mother was 93 years old and lived in Hong Kong with her two brothers. Her mother had been in
poor health in the past two years and urged her to go there to reunite with the family. The son-
in-law knew that his wife's two uncles were millionaires, so he tried his best to encourage his wife
to settle in Hong Kong with his mother-in-law. The procedures took a year and a half to complete,
and now they decided to sell the house and settle in Hong Kong.
"Is it my business to have money?" the old lady sighed. "My daughter and her family have moved
here. It's embarrassing to stay at my uncle's house. It's always more reassuring to have some
money in hand."
Because of this relationship, the final price was NT$220,000. The two families also arranged a
meal and exchanged addresses and phone numbers. After the meal, Beiwu was kind and sighed
that the old lady and daughter of this family were good people, but the son-in-law's eyes were
very shrewd. He asked around and kept talking, "I have a friend——" "I heard there is a policy
——" "Did your sister buy a house in Hong Kong? Do you have any connections?" It was really
annoying. But even if they had seen countless people and had sharp eyes, they could only pass by
this stranger who met by chance.
Shanrang didn't ask Beiwu where the money came from, but Granny Gu did, fearing that he
would go back to doing the same speculative activities he had done before.
"You really got it right." Bei Wu answered with a smile while washing her feet.
Granny Gu almost kicked him in the face with her feet: "You little bastard, how dare you!"
Beiwu dodged swiftly, but the foot washing water splashed all over his face.
"Don't worry, it's not against the law. The country needs me to do this. It's just that the money
comes too easily. I'm not interested. Okay, Mom, don't worry. I already have Shanrang and Hutou.
How can I take risks?"
Bei Wu explained everything to Shan Rang in detail at night. He knew Shan Rang's temper and
she would definitely not ask about things that you don't tell her.
"I had dinner with the leaders of the TZ department in Hong Kong before and received several
business cards of Hong Kong bosses. The real estate market in Hong Kong has been booming in
the past two years, and the demand for cement is huge. It just so happens that I used to have a
friend named Xiao Tao who works in the Planning Institute. His wife's family in Guigang, Guangxi,
makes bulk cement, but the sales are not very good. They finally sold some to a factory in
Pudong. I went to learn about it. I don't know much about professional things, such as annual
grinding capacity, slag powder, and clinker production, but the price difference with Hong Kong is
huge, and bulk cement saves coal. One hundred tons of cement can save one ton of standard
coal. Her cement only sells for 20 yuan a ton," Beiwu sighed, "Bulk cement in Hong Kong is 60
Hong Kong dollars a ton and it is still in short supply."
"Guigang has abundant limestone and mixed material resources, and it is blessed by nature.
Guigang Port is the first inland port in the southwest, and the Xijiang waterway leads directly to
the sea. There are many bulk cement plants like Xiaotao's wife's. The key is to ensure the output
quality and joint shipping," Beiwu said with a smile, "I just acted as a matchmaker between the
two. Xiaotao's wife is very capable and got 600,000 tons of goods in a month. I asked the Ministry
of Finance to issue a letter of introduction and made an industrial plan for the leaders of Guigang.
They responded very positively. After the holiday, a bulk cement office was established, and more
than 20 bulk cement plants were organized to obey the dispatch. In mid-February, a group of
people from a Hong Kong real estate company were received. Last month, one million tons of
bulk cement was loaded on the ship. Unfortunately, Guigang has not received policy support yet,
and the throughput is limited. It cannot be exported directly to Hong Kong. It must go to
Guangdong first. But once this thing starts, it can be done for ten or a hundred years. The whole
Guangxi can develop this cement industry."
Shan Rang's eyes sparkled, and he hugged Bei Wu and kissed him hard several times, then he
remembered: "That's not right, then the buyer and seller are connected, what does it have to do
with you?"
Bei Wu smiled and said, "The director of the bulk cement office in Guigang came to Shanghai to
sign a contract with me. If this deal can be done, I will be rewarded with a bonus of 5,000 yuan
for every 100,000 tons. They don't know how to sell it."
"That's only 50,000 yuan—" Shan Rang was puzzled.
"Isn't Nanhong very familiar with Miss Zhang, the cousin of Hong Kong shipping magnate Dong?
Miss Zhang and her partner Miss Zhou opened a trading company and are very interested in the
mainland. I asked Xiao He to prepare a ship purchase intention for them, and Miss Zhou went to
Guigang to inspect it for a week," Beiwu smiled like an old fox, "They sold the transport ship and
made almost one million US dollars. Fortunately, the country and the government are very
supportive, and the bank provides loans. After they sell the ship, they will be responsible for
helping Guigang transport this batch of cement to the buyers in Hong Kong."
"Years ago, I asked Xiao He and Nan Hong to jointly register a trading company, with Nan Hong
holding 51% and Xiao He 49%." Bei Wu tried hard to keep his eyelids open. "The buyers in Hong
Kong only believe the industry reports and quality inspection reports I gave them, and only
believe the Guigang enterprises I introduced in the name of the Ministry of Finance. They are also
willing to buy cement through Ala's trading company, which does not make much money, only
two yuan per ton. Xiao He is responsible for the matters of Miss Zhang, Miss Zhou and the buyers
in Hong Kong, and I am responsible for the Guigang side. Hey, both sides are ports, hahaha, isn't
it a coincidence? When this batch of goods arrives, our trading company can be responsible for
shipping next time, and cooperate with Jiang Shunhua, the Guangzhou alumnus of the 1978
class. He is now very successful in shipping, and the profits from imports and exports will be 40%
and 60% in the future--"
It sounds easy, but Shanrang knows how much time and energy it takes to integrate all kinds of
people and things. No wonder Beiwu didn't sleep for seven or eight nights in February, buried in
piles of information all night. The family phone was specially opened for Hong Kong, Taiwan and
international long-distance calls. The phone bills were astronomical, and a fax machine was
added. The exchange of documents in Chinese, English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified
Chinese never stopped.
Beiwu lay on his back on the bed and relaxed for a while: "Ah - it finally started. You know? What
makes me happiest is not that I made this one million after working hard for half a year, but that I
sold the bulk cement in Guigang, which was not easy to sell at 20 yuan, to 32 yuan a ton. More
than 20 small enterprises in Guigang can make 10 million, or more than 2 million US dollars in
profit from this batch of goods. Look how good it is. Miss Zhang and Miss Zhou made money
from selling ships, and the cement factory also made money from selling cement. The
government used loans to buy ships to develop new industries and ports, which is also a good
thing. Hong Kong real estate developers saved tens of millions of cement costs. This is what we
should do as economics students, right? Be kind and make concessions. You wait and see. There
will be more Hong Kong real estate developers buying Guigang cement through us. In the future,
Taiwanese people will have to come to China to buy our cement. Their geology does not allow
it..."
Shanrang turned his head and saw that Beiwu had fallen asleep.
She kissed him gently on the face again and again, and she knew that in Beiwu's heart, what he
had always wanted to do was not to make money for himself, but to use his knowledge and
abilities to help more Chinese people create wealth.
My husband, you are amazing, give me a few more kisses.

Chapter 333
After Labor Day, Gu Dongwen set off for Jinghong.
Beiwu and Shanrang insisted on taking Gu Nian along for the trip. Before leaving, Beiwu went to
the Qunli Herbal Medicine Store on Jinling Road and bought a sack of Chinese medicine.
Jingsheng and Sijiang took the whole family and sent them onto the train.
"Eat less salted eggs, and remember to finish the sea cucumber porridge tonight, don't leave it
until tomorrow morning," Jingsheng put the two insulated rice buckets on the small platform
between the berths, "Uncle, supervise my grandfather, and eat less cigarettes."
Granny Gu silently placed the buckwheat pillow in Sinan's hand over to Gu Dongwen, and Sihao
quickly covered it with a big red pillowcase. Although she believed in God, Granny Gu also
believed that red could ward off evil spirits.
Gu Nian climbed up and down, and from her upper bunk she showed off to Chen Sihao, "Brother,
I'm going to take a train. Woohoo—Baby is so happy. Trains are awesome."
Chen Sihao, who had never traveled far before, told him expressionlessly: "The toilets on the
train tomorrow morning will be smelly and dirty, even dirtier than the public toilets at the
entrance of the alleys, the kind where feces will ooze out."
Gu Nian thought about it seriously and showed a horrified expression.
"Those who are picking up people, please get off the train. Please get off the train." The
conductor swung the notebook in his hand and began to check tickets.
Si Jiang looked at Gu Dongwen with tears in his eyes: "Uncle, you must be good friends. I will
come to see you during the summer vacation."
"Okay, uncle will wait for you." Gu Dongwen waved his hand with a smile, "Get off the car, go
back."
He held Grandma Gu's hand and walked out.
It was Dongwen and Beiwu who had to see their family members off the car again. It was always
sad to see them doing this and that.
Some people on the platform shouted goodbye loudly, while others leaned out of the window
and waved desperately.
"Okay, hurry up and get on the train," Grandma Gu said with a twitch of her lips. "Old Four, call
me if you need anything, okay? I've never taken a train in my life, so it's nice to be able to take
one for once."
"Okay," Beiwu touched Sihao's head, "You and Jingsheng are the only two men in the family. You
should help grandma more, okay?"
Si Hao nodded repeatedly. Gu Nian puffed out his chest unconvinced: "Dad, I am a man too! The
three of us are men!"
"Yes Yes Yes--"
Everybody started laughing.
So Jingsheng carried Gu Dongwen onto the train again and then jumped off. The door slowly
closed, and a long and mournful "Woo--" sound came from the other side of the track.
Granny Gu broke away from Si Jiang and reached out to touch the carriage.
The staff wearing red armbands waved small flags to separate her: "Back off, back off, the train is
about to move, it's dangerous."
Si Jiang and Si Nan quickly supported her: "Grandma——"
"Goodbye! Byebye! Goodbye——" Gu Nian's little face smiled like a sunflower.
Granny Gu's eyes were glued to her son, tears rolling down her cheeks, but she still smiled and
murmured, "Your eldest uncle ran off to Yunnan secretly back then, and I didn't manage to send
him off - but I finally managed to send him off this time."
The wheels rumbled forward, and Gu Nian's little hand had shrunk to a white dot.
The platform suddenly became quiet, which was a bit strange for people's ears.
Grandma Gu stood there for a long time.
Jingsheng turned his head and asked: "Auntie is here?"
Nurse Lu stared at the railway tracks in the distance and smiled: "Well, something happened at
work and I was late. I didn't make it in time."
Granny Gu took a breath, turned around, took her arm and walked towards the tunnel: "Boss was
just asking about you, come home for dinner tonight."
"Okay," Nurse Lu nodded with a smile, "I bought a train ticket to Kunming for the day after
tomorrow."
Jingsheng and Sijiang looked at each other.
Sinan ran over excitedly and took her other arm: "Aunt Lu, you are going to look for my uncle,
right?"
"Yes. Today is my last day working in the hospital."
After a while, Granny Gu sighed, "We are enemies, we are all enemies. Xiao Lu, why are you
doing this?"
"So you're not going to work?" Sinan asked.
"We'll talk about the future later. The conditions of the hospital in Jinghong are definitely not as
good as those in Shanghai. I'll give Lao Gu some injections so he doesn't have to run around. He'll
feel better." Nurse Lu glanced at Jingsheng, "I'm sorry, Jingsheng, I didn't tell your father--"
"It's okay, thank you." Jingsheng thanked him earnestly, lowered his eyes and added in a low
voice: "I'm sorry."
"Thank you!" Si Jiang's eyes were red.
Si Jiang felt very uncomfortable. She didn't know whether it was the small house that Jingsheng
gave to Nurse Lu that made her bear this responsibility, or whether she would inevitably bear this
responsibility. Jingsheng's words might be too rude and direct to be rejected. Either accept the
house or accept his son.
Even if he just imagined that Jingsheng was sick and was going to leave, even if he just thought
about it for a second, Si Jiang felt his heart broken and he couldn't breathe at all.
No one loves less than anyone else. This is the most beautiful and painful thing in the world.
——
Jingsheng's work schedule is packed. In August, he plans to go to Jinghong with the three siblings
of Si Jiang and their grandmother to visit Gu Dongwen, so he has put all the work into these three
months.
The workshop began to produce autumn clothes. The windbreakers designed by Nan Hong were
complicated to cut, with collars, sleeves, pockets and belts. Only ten pieces were produced per
person per day, and the output was just over a hundred pieces a day. However, the processing fee
for windbreakers was also high, six yuan per piece. The workers worked half a day overtime for a
whole month, and they were actually very tired. The defective rate inevitably increased.
Jingsheng calculated the output and found that the production cycle of autumn clothes was
nearly three months, so he asked Director Zeng not to arrange overtime for the time being. As a
result, after three days of no overtime, the two team leaders Wu Chunfang and Lu Yilan came on
behalf of everyone to actively request overtime.
Jingsheng asked everyone to be patient. First, don't trade your health for money. Last month, due
to tight production, overtime was a last resort. Second, the factory plans to switch to piecework
wages next month and cancel the basic salary. According to last month's production, it is
estimated that everyone will not make less than 300 yuan a month without overtime. The
company is willing to make a small profit on processing fees and let employees make the big
profit. Third, by July at the latest, there will be an explosive growth in production orders. We
need to increase equipment and manpower. Now everyone can start to pay attention. There will
be bonuses for introducing experienced people to the company.
The second and third clauses were like bombs, which made the employees excited. However,
some people were also worried that if the company changed to piecework system, they would be
left with nothing if there was no work like before. After all, no boss would let the employees
make the most money. Besides, General Manager Gu was too young and had no experience in
talking and was not reliable in doing things.
Soon, the director of the street, Wang, came to talk to Jingsheng. He met Jingsheng only once
after three visits. What he meant was: Although you, Xiao Gu, are the general manager, such
major matters must be discussed with the street, and cannot be decided on your own. Especially
the salary. Why? There are many tertiary industry enterprises in the street, more than a dozen,
and everyone has a fixed salary, with benefits and bonuses at most. It is distributed according to
work, and it is fine if the bonuses are different. If you make such a big change, it will be like a
private company, not very formal. What if the output is low? The employees will starve?
Jingsheng smiled and said, "Uncle, wait for me for two months. If someone is still worried about
this after two months, then I will never speak on my own again. There is nothing I can do now. I
am too young and I said it when I was hot-headed. Once I say something, it is like spilled water. It
is not good to change my mind every day. Otherwise, how can I manage the employees, right?"
"That's true." Director Wang nodded repeatedly with deep understanding.
"So even though I was not careful this time, I still need your support," Jingsheng stood up and
refilled Director Wang's tea. "For those of us who do things, the more we do, the more mistakes
we make, and the less we do, the fewer mistakes we make, but we can't not do anything right,
right?"
"Oh, oh, oh, that's the truth. It's difficult. It's too difficult to do anything."
"Don't worry, uncle. Come and take a look at this month's production plan and next month's
order contract. I have something else to trouble you with."
After saying this, Director Wang smiled and led Jingsheng, who was carrying a large sack, out of
the company gate and headed to Wuhe Weaving Factory No. 2, not far away. Wanhang Street
originally had many light textile industries, but now most of them are facing operational
problems. Wuhe Weaving Factory No. 2 specializes in knitted products and has a storefront on
Xinzha Road. It sells knitted sweaters for export at 19, 29, and 39 yuan per piece, and a set of
bedding at 39 yuan. Although the styles are a bit old-fashioned, the reputation of quality and
affordability is still irreplaceable in the hearts of aunts and mothers in Jing'an District, and it can
make 30,000 to 40,000 yuan a month.
Because of the completely unexpected overtime mobilization, Jingsheng's name had been heard
by managers of various enterprises in Wanhang Street. The director of the Second Weaving
Factory warmly received Director Wang and Jingsheng. Jingsheng gave the sweater design
drawings in the Quartet Autumn Clothing, more than 20 sample clothes and fabric samples in the
sack to Director Ma, and asked for both labor and materials.
After Director Ma looked at the drawings and samples and looked at them over and over again,
he excitedly called the persons in charge of design, production and sales in the factory.
"Why can't our designers design this kind of clothes?" Factory Director Ma sighed, "Look at these
four styles. The fabrics are acrylic, and the colors are black, white and gray, which you usually say
will never sell. Do they look good? Are they fashionable? You decide!"
"It seems that they don't make any of the lengths we usually use. They're either too short or too
long. In fact, this smoky gray long cardigan..." The head of the design department adjusted his
glasses, "Director Ma, I'm not being hindsight, but Xiao Yuan also drew a similar style last year. It
seems to be what Zhou Haimei wore in The Unforgiven. You said it's absolutely not okay... and -"
The office fell silent.
Director Ma thought for a moment and said, "No, that's not right. The one Xiao Yuan painted is
bright red, and it looks rustic."
"We don't have these three fabrics: acetate, four-strand 400-tex thick yarn, and wool," the
process engineer from the production department said regretfully, picking up the process sheet.
"In fact, these styles are of medium difficulty to operate on the flat knitting machine. Our hand
workers can make them. There is no special process. The sewing process of the weave and the
loop is a bit more demanding and time-consuming."
Jingsheng asked with a smile: "The German company Stoll held a seminar on computerized flat
knitting machines at the No. 1 Woolen Sweater Factory last April. I wonder if any of you, Director
Ma, attended the seminar?"
"Of course!" The technician and the head of the equipment department said excitedly in unison,
"The hand-cranked ones can produce six pieces a day, while the computer-operated ones can
produce thirty or even forty pieces a day. And one technician can operate two to four machines.
We have seen the demonstration, and the fastest one that day produced a plain knit sweater in
twelve minutes. And no matter how difficult the pattern is, it is easy to make it with the
computer. Wow, the German white-phase machines are really smart."
"But the price is too high!" Factory Director Ma shook his head repeatedly. "More than 100,000
yuan per unit, and we need to train technicians. It's really unnecessary. How much does an Ala
sweater sell for now? The factory can't afford it."
Jingsheng smiled and took out a stack of information from his bag. "My sister has been dealing
with this company in Hong Kong for two years. They have always wanted to bring their machines
to China. The prototype they demonstrated at the wool sweater factory last year is still in
Shanghai. They can give me a free trial for three months, and a technician will come to provide
free training. I wonder if your factory is interested in cooperating?"
The office was quiet for a moment, then immediately became lively.
Director Wang's neck twisted suddenly. How could such a good thing happen in the world?!
Based on his understanding of this little Gu, this matter must be very complicated...

Chapter 334
The factory leaders in the office looked through the information, their faces changing, and
countless thoughts were churning in their hearts.
After the Germans held a seminar at the wool sweater factory, they did sell a lot of computerized
flat knitting machines, so technicians stayed in Shanghai to serve the factory and provide training.
But they didn't expect that state-owned factories would not allow them to buy prototypes. Even
if they had only been used for one day, they were old. They couldn't buy them at a 10% discount.
Fixed assets began to depreciate before they were even recorded. Who could tell whether the
Germans gave you kickbacks? It would definitely not look good on the accounts.
So the Germans paid two hundred and fifty dollars a month for the prototype, which lay dormant
in the warehouse for a year.
Jingsheng smiled sincerely: "In fact, the scale of production orders of our clothing company is not
small. After all, we sell in two big cities, Guangzhou and Shanghai. If the equipment, personnel
and output can keep up, we can even take over the orders from the Hong Kong Quartet.
Exporting is very popular now. You know, the processing fee for this style of sweater in Hong Kong
is 20 Hong Kong dollars-"
"What???!!!" Everyone in the office was shocked. In China, the processing fee for a cardigan like
this is only two or three yuan at most, so state-owned factories would not accept processing
orders at all. If they did, they would only provide labor and materials.
"Factory buildings in Hong Kong are expensive, and so are labor. Our workers in Shanghai earn
more than 200 yuan a month, while skilled workers in Hong Kong garment factories now earn
8,000 Hong Kong dollars a month. The Hong Kong dollar is now more valuable than the RMB,
which is equivalent to about 12,000 foreign dollars, which is 400 yuan a day. Just think about it,
without computerized flat knitting machines to produce high output, the processing fee is not
high, and the factory will lose money?"
Although Director Ma and others knew that the wage level in Hong Kong was high, no one
expected it to reach this level in just a few years. They were all indignant and self-pitying, and
inevitably very discouraged.
"I have thought of two ways of cooperation," Jingsheng took out two cooperation plans with five
copies each and gave them to Director Ma. "The first one is that our quartet pays for the
equipment, and your factory provides the location and technicians, and produces our orders at
the price of all materials and labor in the form. However, because you don't bear the
depreciation of the equipment, it is not easy to produce other companies' products or your own
products on this machine. Director Wang also disagrees. Isn't it difficult to calculate the
depreciation of this asset?"
Director Wang nodded: "Of course."
Jingsheng took a sip of tea and said, "The second option is that your factory will rent this
computerized flat knitting machine from our company in three months. According to a research
report by Hong Kong's Stoll Company, the output of computerized flat knitting machines is six to
eight times that of hand-cranked flat knitting machines, and the profit can reach 100 to 150 yuan
a day, and the gross profit is 3,000 to 4,500 yuan a month, which is 36,000 yuan or more a year.
Director Ma, please take a look at the table at the back of this plan. Yes, this one has three
versions, in traditional Chinese, German, and English, and is stamped and signed by the German
company."
Director Ma looked at it carefully, dizzy, the numbers and words fighting each other, he shook his
head subconsciously: "That's because the processing fee in Hong Kong is high, in Shanghai it has
to be divided by seven."
"Look at the next page. The 36,000 or more I mentioned is the profit that has been converted
into domestic processing fees," Jingsheng turned to the next page for Director Ma and pointed it
out to him. "This column lists the corresponding styles of several factories that used to produce
sweaters for my aunt's company. They are plain-knit acrylic buttonless long-sleeved cardigans
with size and craftsmanship requirements. The processing fee in Hong Kong is 20 Hong Kong
dollars. The figure on the back is Shanghai, 3 yuan, right?"
Heads crowded around Director Ma's desk, and then everyone returned to their seats to discuss
the matter. The head of the production department stroked his Mediterranean while thinking.
Jingsheng smiled and continued, "The second to last page is the equipment rental fee we set,
2,000 RMB per month. Just with the equipment itself, your factory can make an extra 10,000
RMB in gross profit per year. If you produce your own products and export products, the output
will increase and the cost will decrease. I believe everyone can do the math."
Director Ma took a deep breath. The head of the production department was already winking at
him.
"Of course, with this kind of cooperation, our company should also enjoy lower processing fees,
right? So the last page is the production cost budget for this kind of cooperation. In return, if
Director Ma and your factory are interested, you can use our Quartet's designs and craftsmanship
for free in different seasons. For example, if we are producing autumn and winter styles this time,
then starting from November, the second factory can also produce these styles for sale as spring
clothes next year. Knitted sweaters are not like coats, windbreakers, and jackets, which become
popular every year. A popular style will not be out of style for four or five years. I believe the
second factory has much more experience in this than I do."
——
Jingsheng, Director Wang, Director Ma, and several other leaders had a meal in the cafeteria and
visited half of the vacant workshops before leaving.
In mid-May, the cooperation contract between Quartet and Weaving Factory No. 2 was sealed
and took effect. Factory No. 2 rented the CMS computerized flat knitting machine purchased by
Quartet, and technicians from Germany's Stoll came to install and train on the same day. At the
end of May, Quartet's five kinds of fabrics, 15 cardigans, and six pullovers, of which 12 were one-
size-fits-all and nine were in three sizes: large, medium, and small, with a total output of 18,000
pieces, began to be produced by hand-cranked flat knitting machines and computerized flat
knitting machines, all of which were contracted by Weaving Factory No. 2.
Director Wang was cautious and went to Gu's house on Wanchun Street to ask Jingsheng
whether only the equipment rental fee belonged to the company and the processing fees had
nothing to do with the company.
Jingsheng smiled and scratched his hair: "Don't worry, Director Wang, public matters are public
matters, private matters are private matters. The orders signed on a contract are definitely all our
factory's money, not just ours."
Director Wang felt embarrassed and patted Jingsheng on the shoulder, unable to speak.
At the end of May, Jingsheng signed a formal purchase contract with the German company Stoll.
After Director Wang and Director Zeng studied for a long time, they looked at each other in
confusion.
Director Wang slapped his thigh, his face flushed with excitement: "That day in Lao Ma's office, I
knew he was going to make a fortune. I never thought--"
The matter is very simple. Computerized flat knitting machines are still new in China, and
everyone is unsure about the depreciation period and the residual rate. Hong Kong has been
using computerized flat knitting machines since the late 1970s. Although Stoll's products are of
good quality, according to the regulations of the mainland's financial and tax authorities, the
depreciation period for equipment and furniture related to production and operation is five
years, while electronic equipment is only three years. When Jingsheng discussed cooperation
earlier, he made it clear that this machine was an electronic device. According to Hong Kong's
experience, the residual rate was 5%, so it lost 33% of its price after sleeping in the Shanghai
warehouse for a year. The selling price could only be calculated at 90,000 at most, and the final
deal was made.
The Quartet is a tertiary industry in the street, with no debt, state background and good
reputation. Jingsheng took the cooperation contract and production plan with the second
weaving factory and easily borrowed 120,000 yuan from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of
China to purchase equipment, with an annual interest rate of 10%. He used 90,000 yuan of the
120,000 yuan to buy a computerized flat knitting machine, and 30,000 yuan to purchase a full set
of flat sewing equipment, just in time to expand the second production line of the Quartet. The
interest was 12,000 yuan a year, and the rental fee of the second factory was 24,000 yuan a year,
so he still made 12,000 yuan.
"This machine can actually be used for at least eight years." Jingsheng told Director Wang and
Director Zeng with a smile, "I believe the Germans, they won't lie. Eight years is definitely an
understatement. Ten years should be no problem."
"But in half a year, Director Ma will talk to me about changing from leasing to buying. Twenty-
four thousand a year is pure profit, so it's better to buy it for long-term use," Jingsheng blinked.
"The technicians from Stoll also told Director Ma that this equipment can be used for at least
eight years."
——
As Jingsheng said before, the production line was added, workers were recruited, and the
production of autumn clothes doubled. Director Wang and Jingsheng had been busy for several
months, and they could not help but take the quartet seriously, and began to worry about
overcapacity. As a result, before he had time to worry about it, the cousin of the girl in the street
office was the niece of a leader of the Municipal Taxation Bureau, and she brought bad news.
Nanhong Fashion's lease contract on Huating Road expired in September, and the higher
authorities would not renew the contract with Gu Dongwen.
Well, Director Wang has seen more salt than the little girl has walked. He knows that there are
many things going on. He treats Jingsheng as his own. Although the quantity of Nanhong Fashion
in Huating Road is only a fraction of that in Guangzhou, it is a retail stall and the basis for the Gu
family to make a lot of money. Director Wang went to the district for two days. When he returned
to the street, he saw that Jingsheng was still busy every day. He asked Director Zeng if Xiao Gu
was unhappy or worried. Director Zeng thought for a while and said, "There is something
annoying."
Director Wang: "Ah? Do you know what's going on?"
Director Zeng flipped through the calendar on his desk, looking worried: "Boss Gu said that we
will start the third production line in August, but our place is too small, so now everyone has to
eat lunch in two batches——"
"Why do we need to start production line?!" Director Wang stamped his feet. "Something bad
happened to the Gu family's business on Huating Road. There is a worthless deputy director of
the X Bureau. His mistress has taken a fancy to Nanhong Fashion. Before the holiday, she said she
wanted to form a partnership with his family. After the New Year, Xiao Gu even treated us to two
meals. I guess the negotiations didn't go well. Now the higher-ups simply don't want to renew
the lease for their family. The National Day is so busy. How can they handle the large quantity of
autumn orders?"
As the two were talking, Jingsheng came back hurriedly from outside, followed by three tall and
fashionable young girls.
"Director Wang is here too? It just so happens that our Quartet Fashion Model Performance
Team is still short of five or six female models. Would it be convenient for you to help find some
in the factories on the street?"
"Why?" Director Wang was confused.
Jingsheng invited the five guests to sit down and smiled at Director Wang, "We are very pressed
for time. On June 28th, we will hold a fashion show for the Hong Kong Quartet brand in the
auditorium of the Jing'an Hilton Hotel! These are the professional young models from the model
team that my aunt used to lead—"
"I'm already 26 or 27 years old, I'm not young anymore," Zhang Mengmeng, tall, slim and
fashionable, raised her eyebrows and smiled, "We only had 45 yuan a month in salary back then,
and a subsidy of 1.5 yuan per performance. My mother even grabbed me before I went on stage,
and it was Sister Nanhong who forcibly put a veil on me and then pushed me onto the stage."
"I said back then that one day I would wear the fashion designed by Nan Hong and walk on the
catwalk. Now I finally have the chance." Liu Bing also laughed. "Luckily I got in touch with Nan
Hong two years ago. I walked on the catwalk in Guangdong for three years. It was so hard and
boring. Finally I can go back to Shanghai to walk on the catwalk."
"But little brother, I'm warning you, if you talk about appearance fees again, I won't go on stage at
all." Mao Xiaonan's eyes widened, "I was brought up by Sister Nanhong, and she was wrongly
accused and taken to the police station, and none of the certificates I wrote were accepted--"
The three girls were all sentimental people, and their eyes became red as they talked.

Chapter 335
There really isn't enough time.
Jingsheng wished he could copy one second into four seconds, and even more wish he could copy
himself into four, but his blood was too hot. Every day he felt like he was on a roll. Occasionally,
when he lay down before midnight, his mind was still racing. Whenever he thought of an idea, a
detail, or a problem, he couldn't help but get up and write it down in a notebook.
The pager he bought last month rang from eight in the morning to eight at night. The Hilton
Hotel, the night newspaper reporter, the TV director, the second weaving factory, the fabric
factory in Wujiang, the processing factory in Zhejiang, the orderer in Guangzhou, the merchants
in Shenzhen, Beijing and southern Jiangsu who were interested in attending the press
conference, the models Zhang Mengmeng and the stage staff and makeup artists they
introduced. Countless people were connected like threads, and finally woven into a network
here.
After the New Year, Jingsheng and Beiwu treated each other to two meals. After discussing with
Gu Dongwen and Gu Nanhong for more than half a month, they finally decided to give up the
retail stall on Huating Road. They dared to give up because the Quartet brand was just starting to
take off. With the volume support from Hong Kong and Guangzhou, it can be roughly assumed
that it would sell well in places like Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen. They wanted to give up
because Jingsheng did not want to be coerced. In the past two years, they saw that the business
on Huating Road was booming, and there were many vendors who cooperated with them. They
said they cooperated, but in fact they just took a share of the profits. They did not contribute
money, effort or manpower. The only advantage of taking about 20% of your shares was that no
one would bother you.
There are also stubborn people who are unwilling to give away their hard-earned money. Then
the little hooligans and gangsters will come to you first to make trouble. They will come to you
the next day to quarrel and return the goods after buying them. Then people from the price
department, quality inspection department, and consumer association will come to lock up your
goods, check, verify, and mediate. Anyway, if there are complaints and reports, they must be
dealt with. The things sold on Huating Road are foreign trade goods in a nice way, and counterfeit
brand-name products that may not be fake or inferior in a bad way, especially jackets, jeans,
shoes, and bags. Those without "brands" cannot be sold at a high price or in large quantities on
Huating Road. Shanghai young people and foreigners are attracted by these brands. Everyone
knows that the higher-ups turn a blind eye. As long as the authentic brands do not complain or
report, they will just pretend that nothing has been seen. For the "Apple" brand jeans, which are
so real, only his company has been investigated for so many years. But once you have been
"warned" by the higher-ups, it will only take a minute for you to stop doing business. The key is
that there are too many people who are waiting to take over your stall and are willing to give
shares to the big shots.
Another key reason was the shock Jingsheng had received from the Jiujiang Road boutique and
the information in World Fashion Garden a few years ago. He only knew that his own profit had
always been around 60%, and never thought that it could be tripled, tripled, or even ten times. A
men's shirt, with the exception of 300-count high-end fabrics, would cost no more than 20 yuan,
but could be sold for 1,000 yuan. For the first time, he thoroughly understood Gu Nanhong's
ambition and ambition. Now that everything was ready, what were we waiting for? Just do it.
Dongfeng was a videotape of a Hong Kong quartet and a promotional brochure for opening a
counter in a department store. These were ready-made. Several bosses in Guangzhou were using
them in their boutiques on Beijing Road and had also made large posters. Jingsheng used them
directly. He selected the most representative pages from the brochure, added interviews from
Hong Kong newspapers and magazines sent by Nanhong, and reprinted them into a leaflet the
size of an evening paper. He first sent a batch of them to some boutiques on Jiujiang Road,
Changle Road, and Maoming South Road, and then took the videotape to visit the head of
women's clothing in department stores such as 100 and 600. Interestingly, he went there twice
alone, but the people there ignored him. They took the information and said indifferently that
they knew and would study and discuss it, and asked him to leave his business card and go back
to wait for news. Later, when Si Jiang was accompanying Mrs. Brown to go shopping, he suddenly
had the idea of going to the office. As a result, Mrs. Brown was warmly received because of her
American identity. Soon someone took the initiative to contact Jingsheng and said that they
would consider the Quartet brand and asked if they had any fashion shows and investment
promotion meetings.
It was already March, and Jingsheng gritted his teeth and decided to hold a grand press
conference and investment promotion conference. It was Si Jiang who negotiated the location of
the press conference. She accidentally got the help of Mrs. Brown, and was very sad that
everyone was too preferential to foreigners. Mrs. Brown disagreed. She said it was normal and
she was happy to accompany Si Jiang to receive similar warm welcomes again. Jingsheng's first
choice, Jing'an Hilton, had a close cooperation with Mr. Brown's company, so Mrs. Brown stepped
in and booked the banquet hall at a very reasonable price. She even negotiated a low price for
the buffet at the cocktail party that surprised Si Jiang.
All potential clients in Beijing were contacted by Shan Rang. She took an unconventional
approach and looked for acquaintances from the Film Academy, Drama Academy, and Dance
Academy. These were friendships established through Shan Rang's on-site translation of original
films. Some of them stayed in school to become teachers, some went to TV stations, some joined
CCTV, and some became actors and hosts. Soon, she found seven or eight powerful people in the
women's clothing industry who were interested and capable.
Throughout April, Jingsheng sent out four large boxes of printed promotional posters. He did not
spare any department stores or women's clothing boutiques in the Yellow Pages in more than a
dozen major cities. He caught more than 30 potential customers. The most were from Shenzhen,
with eight, followed by Hangzhou, with five. Even from the north, there were people coming
from Dalian, Qingdao, and Harbin. There were even Hong Kong people who were developing in
Harbin. When they called Jingsheng for consultation, they spoke Cantonese in a friendly and
warm manner.
In mid-May, more than 120 people have confirmed that they will come to Shanghai to attend the
press conference. Just imagining the scene on that day, Jingsheng's heartbeat would speed up. In
the past few months, every decision he made was actually risky. He was not confident. He had
planned all the plans B and C if Plan A didn't work. In Beiwu's words, the same thing might not be
done by another person, but because it was Gu Jingsheng, it was done. In Chen Sinan's words: It
still depends on the face.
But everything was progressing in an orderly manner, even beyond his expectations. The help
that Shanrang's friends, Beiwu's friends, Sijiang and Mrs. Brown, and Nanhong had extended
before all fed back to him who needed help the most at this particular time and in a particular
environment.
Under such conditions, how could the blood not burn?
Jingsheng had told Director Wang in advance that if he could get a million-dollar order for this
press conference, he would like to buy the existing factory, or it would be best if there was a
suitable larger venue in the street. Although it was only 0.81 square kilometers, there were many
places like Wanhang Street to choose from.
Director Wang flipped through the first quarter financial statements and second quarter
production plan on his desk. After a moment of silence, he asked Jingsheng, "The business on
Huating Road is yours. Why do you want to merge all the income into the factory? Do you know
that 40% of your family's money will be divided by the street?"
"Quartet is a clothing company, not a processing factory," Jingsheng said with a smile, "To make
the leaders happy, we want to rely on the government to expand and strengthen our wholesale
business. To be honest, the tax bureau has been checking the accounts and adding taxes. If the
sales of Huating Road are merged with Quartet, it will be tax-free. Besides, it is not certain
whether it will make money this year. We have to buy factories and equipment, and the fashion
show expenses are also high. If there is a loss, the street will also bear 40% of it."
Jingsheng smiled with his eyes curved like a fox.
Director Wang shook his head: "I knew you wanted to take advantage of the street."
"Uncle, are you going to collapse for me?"
"Nonsense! It's not my advantage, collapse!"
Director Wang also smiled with his eyes curved. In the first quarter, the turnover of Quartet
Clothing Company exceeded one million RMB, accounting for one-tenth of the annual economic
income of the tertiary industry of the street. Tax exemption or not was none of his business.
Performing his duties was a remarkable achievement, which would drive employment, create
benefits, and stimulate industries. It was no problem for him to write five or six thousand words.
"Wait a minute, I'll call Lao Zhu and ask him to get the key. We'll go to Wuding West Road and
Kangding Road to check out the factory first." Director Wang was also excited and said happily.
——
Si Jiang was also very busy in the first half of the year. In January last year, the country added the
CET-6 exam, which is essential for people in the English department. In addition, she has obtained
the Japanese Level 2 certificate, and she scored more than 620 points in the French TEF exam.
The French teacher asked her to try to take the exam again next year and strive to get 700 points
at the advanced level, so that she can have multiple ways to enter French companies in the
future.
Chen Sijiang is well-known in the department for her love of learning and her hard work. She
rarely lives in the dormitory in the new semester, never attends dances, and even turned down
the precious opportunity to join the crew of "The Season of Sixteen" to film a TV series. She reads
while eating in the cafeteria, listens to music with headphones while walking, and her library card
is so worn out that she has to change it twice.
In order to attend the global financial promotion conference held by Mr. Brown's company in
Shanghai, Si Jiang has been focusing on business English, especially financial English, for the past
six months. Fortunately, Beiwu has a large number of original professional books, and she is busy
all night long, looking up dictionaries, searching for information, and taking notes.
Throughout the spring, Si Jiang and Jing Sheng were busy in the living room until midnight every
day.
Jingsheng would tell her about his ideas and plans and ask for her opinion. She would write down
any professional difficulties she encountered in her notebook and wait for Beiwu and Shanrang to
answer them the next day.
Sometimes when his eyes were tired, Si Jiang would rest his chin on his hand and look at Jing
Sheng who was busy opposite him with a smile. This was the best way to relax. Jing Sheng would
often notice it at the first moment, and the two would lock eyes and smile affectionately.
"Are you tired, Agon?"
"fine?"
"Are you hungry, girl?"
"A little."
"Noodles or porridge? There are some wontons in the refrigerator."
"noodle."
"Poached eggs or poached eggs?"
"Just beat the eggs directly into the dough."
Jingsheng got up, stretched, and went downstairs to cook noodles. When he came back up, Si
Jiang had already replaced the tea for him and cleared the table.
Si Jiang likes such nights, peaceful and beautiful, busy and fulfilling, as if she and he have been
together for a long, long time, and will continue like this, she will never be tired, never bored. As
long as she looks up and sees Jingsheng working across from her, she can't help but smile. There
are many people and things to do at home, and they don't even have many opportunities to kiss
and hug each other, but they don't feel strange at all. That desire is like a rubber band, getting
tighter and longer, so that occasionally hugging each other secretly at the corner of the stairs is a
kind of ecstasy.
When the uncles went to Yunnan, Jingsheng slept back in the pavilion, and the two of them
moved their workplace from the living room to the pavilion, catching up with the end of spring.

Chapter 336
It was very hot in May this year, with the temperature reaching 25 degrees Celsius at the first
sight.
The goods in the attic were cleared out, and two filing cabinets were placed in the vacated space.
Gu Dongwen's single bed was still there, and every week Grandma Gu would change his sheets,
pillowcases and pillowcases as usual. This week, she just replaced it with a straw mat, which was
wiped clean with an old towel scalded with boiling water, without any burrs.
Between the two single beds was an old long dining table that was discarded by the company. Si
Jiang dug out an old red and white checkered cloth and laid it on top. Jing Sheng cut a piece of
glass from Kangding Road and put it on top. It looked quite righteous. Si Nan laughed and said it
looked like the Red House Cake Shop. Chen Si Hao washed the Coke glass bottle he had finished
drinking and stole a gardenia from the door of Uncle Wu next door and put it on top. At night,
Jing Sheng and Si Jiang went home and saw that it looked like the real thing, with a much
stronger accent.
The big wall clock in the upstairs living room struck the first stroke of twelve. The Teresa Teng
song on Uncle Wu's tape recorder finally stopped.
Si Jiang yawned, looked up and was stunned for half a second before she remembered that she
was in the pavilion. She looked at the gardenia in the Coke bottle beside her. The edges of the
snow-white petals had turned slightly yellow, and there were two small insects crawling around
the center of the flower.
She stretched out her fingers to pick up the bug, and said to Jingsheng with a smile, "I didn't
realize Sihao is quite romantic."
"Smell it, it's fragrant, the fragrance is soothing. Look, there are two small squinty bugs."
"The last time I gave you flowers was at the Hilton—" Jingsheng raised his eyes, leaned in to smell
it, and picked up another bug.
The two people's fingers touched on the petals, and the gardenia sank slightly, and two petals fell
off under the heavy burden.
The two faces smiled at each other quietly through a flower, and they forgot to notice whether
the flower smelled good or not. The passion and yearning accumulated throughout the spring
ignited spontaneously without the need for sparks.
Si Jiang was sweating. She raised her face and tried to breathe in some fresh air. The gardenia in
front of her was trembling. The bottom of the Coke bottle and the glass tabletop were colliding
rapidly, as if they were dancing a quick dance, syncing with her rhythm, but getting closer and
closer to the edge of the table. The table moved forward again and again, and finally hit the
empty single bed, shaking rapidly. Si Jiang reached out and held the bottle. The bottle was cold,
and the edge of the leaves scraped against her palm, slightly itchy. She smelled the sweet air, the
fragrance of the gardenia. She breathed in the fragrance, and the fragrance became peaceful.
She closed her eyes, the Coke bottle in her hand was like a lifeline, so that she wouldn't feel like
she was the only one floating in the ocean. A layer of sweat accumulated on the glass table,
which was cool and slippery. It was the only place that made her feel cool. A hand separated her
from the edge of the table, and she bumped into his palm and became a part of that hand.
The sweat on Jingsheng's body was scalding hot, and it fell on her back, burning a hole. She felt
like a bottomless pit, with the wind whistling and swirling past, making a silent roar. She turned
her head, and before she expressed any desire or eagerness, Jingsheng seemed to have fully
understood, biting her lips and sucking. The Coke bottle in her hand was roughly moved aside,
and the gardenia petals fell down, two of which fell between her crossed and clenched fingers,
and then stuck to the glass table wet with sweat.
——
Jingsheng took a two-minute cold shower in the shower room, poured a basin of warm water and
went upstairs.
Si Jiang was so tired that she fell asleep. The straw mat beneath her was soaked with sweat and
had irregular dark colors, which looked particularly ambiguous under the dim desk lamp. Her
body was stretched out, like a gardenia blooming in the middle of the night in late spring or early
summer, delicate and uninhibited, affectionate and lingering.
Jingsheng wrung out the towel and wiped it gently for her. The warm towel made her eyelashes
tremble. Si Jiang tried her best to open her eyes, hummed, smiled, closed her eyes again,
stretched out her hand and hugged him on the arm.
"Come on -" she murmured, as if talking in her sleep.
"Don't leave." Jing Sheng bent down and pecked her lips gently, letting her hold his left hand.
The towel fell into the basin and slowly sank.
Jingsheng lay on his side in a small space on the edge of the bed, not sleepy at all. The heat in the
pavilion slowly calmed down. He pulled the towel and quilt and put it on the two people. Si Jiang
tightened his arm, the smile still on his lips.
It all feels a bit unreal. Jing Sheng suddenly became frightened, and he hugged Si Jiang tightly into
his arms.
Si Jiang woke up.
"Ah - am I sleepy?"
"Well," Jingsheng kissed her forehead, "I'm sorry, I woke you up."
"What time is it?"
"A quarter after two."
Si Jiang raised his head and bit his chin: "I'll go up at four o'clock."
"More?"
"Want to pee?" Si Jiang was startled, then bit his lip and smiled, then bent his knee and nudged
him.
Jingsheng smiled while Xuexue cried out in pain.
"Are you tired?"
"The more I do, the better I feel. I haven't exercised for too long. Exercise is the best rest, don't
you understand?"
Si Jiang smiled with a blushing face: "So, are you athletes always exercising or resting? I'll make it
clear."
After chatting with Si Jiang for a while, Jingsheng finally felt at ease.
"I was a little scared just now."
"Afraid of Sa?"
"It's been so smooth lately that I feel like I'm dreaming. I'm afraid I'll wake up the moment I open
my eyes," Jingsheng smiled. "I had this feeling a lot when I came back from Beijing two years ago.
Hey, my daughter likes me too? Is that a coincidence? Is it true?"
Si Jiang touched the mark of the straw mat on his knee and pinched it with his fingernails: "Does
it hurt?"
“Somewhat.”
"Are you awake?"
"Awake." Jingsheng laughed muffledly and hugged her tighter.
"Gu Jingsheng, I am happy with you. Did you hear me?"
"One more time."
"Gu Jingsheng, I am very happy with you. I am extremely happy."
"One more time."
Jingsheng put his ear close to Sijiang's lips. Her breathing was particularly clear, the exhalation
was hot and the inhalation was cool.
"Gu Jingsheng——"
Si Jiang did not escape the disaster in the end. The athletes did manage to combine work and
rest. She was so tired that she didn't wake up after the alarm rang for a long time in the morning.
It was Si Nan who woke her up.
——
Gu Dongwen and his team chartered a van from Kunming and headed towards southern Yunnan.
They stayed in Pu'er for a week. Beiwu met Peter Li, the head of the Nestle Coffee Pu'er
Purchasing Station introduced by Mr. Brown. Peter Li has been in Pu'er for almost two years.
Although it is called a purchasing station, there is actually no coffee to be purchased, but he
brought an American technical team to guide coffee farmers in growing coffee.
Yunnan coffee has a bit of history. In the early 1950s, the Soviets were unable to eat coffee due to
the international blockade, so they asked the Chinese government to find a place to grow coffee.
Yunnan was chosen, and coffee planting bases were opened in Baoshan, Dehong, Wenshan, and
Banna, covering a total of 4,000 hectares, opening up a new coffee industry. Later, China and the
Soviet Union fell out, and no one harvested coffee, so naturally nine out of ten coffee trees were
left to die. Only after the reform and opening up in the 1980s did people start to pay attention to
the wild coffee trees growing in farmers' yards and on the edge of fields.
Last year, the Cold War ended, the Berlin Wall fell, the World Coffee Agreement broke down, and
Brazil withdrew. The coffee reserves are huge, and the coffee trading price has been falling all the
way, down to less than 60 cents a pound, which is a world of difference compared to the price of
more than 300 cents a pound in 1977. But compared to the 2 or 3 cents a kilogram in the 1950s,
it is still a sky-high price. Nestle Coffee entered Pu'er in 1988, and the first batch of local coffee
will be harvested in another year.
The coffee in Pu'er now includes Arabica beans brought to Yunnan by French missionaries a
hundred years ago, as well as Typica and Bourbon varieties brought by Soviet experts. However,
there are many problems, such as insect pests, uneven hanging of green and red fruits, and red
fruits that are red but do not reach the 20% sugar content of the harvest standard. Even if the
sugar content meets the standard, the special grade, first grade and second grade beans are close
to 0, a small part can be considered third grade beans, and most of them are inferior beans.
Although no one is willing to cut down the coffee trees planted in the 1950s, no one is willing to
plant coffee in large quantities anymore. There is too little money, and it is better to plant tea.
Even planting mango trees makes more money than planting coffee.
Peter Li was also very happy to meet Gu Beiwu. Although Nestlé had a translator stationed there,
it had been two years since he had met a Chinese who spoke English so fluently and was
interested in the coffee industry. When Beiwu was studying for a master's degree in the United
States, coffee trading was also one of the courses. He also studied the coffee price hearing held in
the United States in 1977. At that time, the Cold War had not yet ended, and coffee as a
consumer product was closely linked to the international relations between the United States,
the Soviet Union, and South America, which was also the reason why Beiwu was interested.
Beiwu is concerned about whether coffee can become a new industry in Yunnan, how much
profit it can bring to farmers under the promotion of international companies such as Nestlé, and
how to maximize the interests of farmers. He did not hide his considerations from Peter Li, and
frankly admitted that this is a natural way of thinking that has been formed as a Chinese after
decades of international and domestic struggles.
Peter Li agrees with this, because this is the hardest thing to convince coffee farmers. Is it stable
or not? Is it sustainable or not? Will the US have a good relationship with us and come to help us
plant coffee trees? If the relationship becomes bad, will you just leave like the Soviet Union?
What should we do? The fields at home are so small, who will bear the loss if you cut down trees
and plant rice? After all, the US imposed comprehensive sanctions on China last year, which was
reported in the news.
Beiwu talked with Peter Li about the coffee market and Nestle's layout in China in the morning,
and visited coffee farmers who had already planted coffee trees in the afternoon. Shanrang and
Gu Nian accompanied them all the time. Gu Nian felt that the coffee trees were ordinary when
she saw them for the first time, but she was very interested in Beiwu's coffee stories. They
watched the clouds floating over the farmland on the mountain, and the coffee farmers picked
wild fruits to amuse Gu Nian, which was also very pleasant. The next day, they saw a group of
wild elephants in the mountains from a distance.
Gu Dongwen rested at the driver's relative's house, and he was in good condition. Being away
from Shanghai seemed to be away from the hospital, and being away from the hospital seemed
to be away from cancer. The climate in Yunnan was the same as always. It was already over 30
degrees in May, but because he was in the mountains, he didn't feel hot. He sat under the coffee
tree by the field and watched the clouds for hours without getting tired. The passage of time also
slowed down. He ate, slept, walked, and rested. When he looked at it, it was still afternoon.
These days seemed to be earned for nothing, several times more.
"Uncle, we saw elephants! Live, real ones, exactly like the ones in the zoo, and they don't stink—"
Gu Nian, wearing a wreath on her head, ran barefoot from the ridge of the field to him, laughing
and jumping, "We are far away from them, and we can't smell the stink."
Gu Dongwen took the mango from his little hand, peeled it and ate it: "Why don't you catch up
with the elephant and smell it?"
"I chased them, but couldn't catch them." Gu Nian sighed, "There are still two baby elephants."
He stood on tiptoe and looked at the distant mountains with a longing look on his face.
"Uncle, I don't want to go to Shanghai or Beijing anymore. I like the mountains."
"Well, my Hutou is really smart. He's on the top of the Ten Thousand Mountains in Yunnan. Then
you don't have to go back."
"not going back."
Gu Nian's eyes lit up: "Uncle, do you know? Uncle Peter told me that elephants are also very
smart."
"Yeah?"
"When one elephant died, the other elephants refused to leave. They wailed and cried, unwilling
to say goodbye to it."
"Uncle——" Gu Nian hugged Gu Dongwen's neck and suddenly burst into tears, "Uncle, please
don't die. I can't bear to say goodbye to you. Baby is crying."

Chapter 337
Gu Dongwen never imagined what the moment of his life would be like, not out of fear, but
because he was fearless. The torture of illness was nothing to him, except the passage of time
and the weakness of the body. He felt guilty towards the people around him because of his
illness. He could not continue to watch Jingsheng grow up instead of Shu Su, and he held Beiwu
back and made his elderly mother sad. Looking back on most of his life, he brought them very
little, whether it was money or company. He was not a responsible eldest son and elder brother.
The further away from Shanghai, the closer to Shu Su, and the further away from Lu Jia.
On the night when the train left for Kunming, Gu Dongwen was always worried about Lu Jia who
didn't come to see him off. He also thought it was better if she didn't come. Lu Jia looked gentle
and peaceful, but in fact, her temper was like cattail grass and tough as silk. She was beaten all
over her body and sat on a square stool in the police station. No matter how the police, Women's
Federation and neighborhood committee cadres mediated, she kept trembling and repeating one
sentence: I want to leave, I want to leave even if I'm beaten to death, I want to escape even if I'm
beaten to death. She rarely got angry with people, and no matter how difficult the patient was,
she would just smile and sigh. When colleagues needed to take turns to take a day off, she was
always the first one they thought of. She was even better to him, and that kind of goodness was
not just because he pulled her out of the muddy life on the side of the road.
Gu Dongwen's eyes turned red when he heard Hu Tou's childish words. He was such a selfish and
self-centered man. Lu Jia said that she could at least shed a few tears for him. What right did he
have to say no?
Beiwu and Shanrang came back with the cucumbers and eggplants given by the farmers. They
were stunned to see Hutou crying on Dongwen's shoulder.
"What's wrong with you?" Shanrang squatted down and asked his son softly.
"I don't want my uncle to die." Hu Tou sobbed, his face wrinkled from crying.
Gu Dongwen smiled and patted his back: "It's okay, uncle is dead, you should also look at the
elephant and cry for a while before leaving, okay?"
Gu Nian nodded while crying.
Bei Wu stroked his son's soft, slightly curly hair and said, "How many times have you cried today?
Are you embarrassed?"
Shan Rang counted on his fingers: "I'll tell uncle how many times Hu Tou cried today, okay?"
"No!" Gu Nian objected loudly.
Gu Dongwen couldn't help laughing: "Your parents don't need to tell me, uncle knows it all. Hu
Tou cried five times today."
"No!"
"So you can't climb the mountain anymore, do you want dad to carry you?"
"Yes." Gu Nian's voice was as quiet as a mosquito.
"Did you cry because your mom and dad refused to hold you?"
"Hmm..." Gu Nian sniffed, "The baby cried for a while. I'm sorry, Mom."
"It's okay, baby." Shanrang pinched his little face and smiled like a flower.
"When Hu Tou wanted to pee but couldn't find a toilet, did he cry?"
"Yes," Gu Nian looked at Gu Dongwen in surprise, "Uncle, you are so smart!"
"That's right." Gu Dongwen laughed.
"It's too hot, the sun is too strong, did Tiger Head cry?"
"Crying, mom, give me a hat and I will defeat the sun!" Gu Nian pointed at the straw hat on Shan
Rang's head.
Gu Beiwu patted his son's little butt and said, "Great, Gu Hutou, you've become a little poet."
"I'm not wet! When the wind blows, I'm dry and my tears dry up." Gu Nian retorted seriously.
The three adults were laughing so hard under the coffee tree.
"If we can't catch up with the elephant, my tiger head must be crying again. Is he crying out of
anxiety?"
"Yeah… sorry elephant – baby don't cry."
"You don't have to feel sorry for the elephant, silly baby." Shanrang scratched his nose.
"Baby is not stupid, I'm sorry mom."
"Don't feel sorry, Mom."
"Sorry baby."
“Hahahahahaha.”
——
At night in Pu'er, the sky is dark blue, there is no electricity, and the dogs are barking constantly.
Gu Nian was chasing chickens in the yard, clucking louder than the chickens. After stepping on
chicken shit, he took two steps before lifting his foot and started crying. He cried, his parents
laughed, and Gu Dongwen sat in a rattan chair holding a cup of Pu'er tea and shouted, "A ton of
gold!" The driver of the van and his relatives also laughed so hard. His seven or eight-year-old boy
ran to Gu Nian with a rag, wiped the chicken shit off his feet, and then quickly caught up with the
big rooster, plucking two beautiful chicken feathers and giving them to Gu Nian.
"Here, make a shuttlecock."
Gu Nian held two chicken feathers in her hands, tears welling in her eyes: "I'm sorry, big rooster."
Shan Rang laughed and fell into Bei Wu's arms. Ah, Hu Tou is also a particularly cute baby today.
The boy seemed to have never met a child like Gu Nian before, and he yelled awkwardly: "Hey,
you are a boy, you can't cry. Only girls cry."
When Gu Si Nian heard such words for the first time, he was stunned.
"Why?"
"No reason. We boys don't cry. If we cry, we're not good and it's embarrassing, just like girls.
Adults don't like us."
Gu Nian's view of baby life was severely overturned. He dropped the beautiful chicken feathers
and dived into Shan Rang's arms: "Mom - even if the baby cries, mom still likes the baby! Mom
loves the baby the most."
Shan Rang picked him up and said, "Yes, baby can cry. Baby cries when he is sad, laughs when he
is happy, eats when he is hungry, and sleeps when he is tired. It doesn't matter what happens.
Mom will always love baby."
Gu Nian turned around and glanced at the boy.
"Baby loves mom too, and will always love mom."
The boy looked at them, scratched his head, picked up the chicken feathers on the ground, and
went back to the house in confusion.
Peter Li and two other American technicians brought coffee, which was packed in Nestlé glass
bottles, but it was not Nestlé instant coffee.
"Why do you suggest that new coffee bean varieties should be introduced to Yunnan?" Peter Li
gave the host twenty yuan. The driver's cousin yelled at his wife to boil water quickly. "You know,
Arabica beans, Typica, and Bourbon are all very good varieties."
“The pest problem is too serious.” Beiwu has been here for a few days and has talked a lot with
local coffee farmers, and he is particularly impressed by this.
"Although Catim is resistant to pests, produces a large amount of fruit, and is relatively easy to
grow, it has Robusta bloodlines..." Peter Li shook his head and asked with a smile, "Do you know
the Robusta coffee produced in Vietnam?"
"I know a little bit about it. Robusta is relatively low-grade, but with the help of East Germany,
Vietnam has made coffee an important pillar industry for their exports last year. For coffee
farmers, the variety of raw beans is not important. What is important is that the coffee trees can
bear fruit. The three to four years of planting period is very long, and waiting is a painful
process," Kitatake described the cruelty of the fields in poetic English. "Like us humans, we must
first survive, and then we can consider how to live better. Right? There are not many farmers
willing to grow coffee now. If you want to localize the supply chain, the current number is far
from enough. I heard that your company is going to build a factory in Dongguan. Pu'er is the
production area you have high hopes for, isn't it?"
Peter Li took out a set of hand-brewed coffee equipment from the big bag he brought with him:
"You are right, Gu, we can try to introduce Catim - try the coffee I brew? I am actually a loyal fan
of Melita. I have Gesha from Panama, Blue Mountain from Jamaica, and Molokai from Maui,
Hawaii. Does your wife like coffee?"
His colleagues were eager to try, saying that it was a rare opportunity to get a hold of Peter Li's
collection.
Beiwu and Shanrang took a night-long coffee class, which made me dizzy and confused. From
planting to screening, sun drying or water washing, anaerobic deoxygenation, roasting degree,
barrel fermentation... I felt like I was in a fog.
"Yes, in France, coffee represents the famous writers, painters and poets who came from the
banks of the Seine, but does that mean that the French understand coffee? Oh, and there are
also proud Italians. Coffee is part of their blood and their attitude towards life. They say that our
Americano doesn't deserve to be called coffee!" Peter Li was indignant. "The Italians can only
espresso, espresso and espresso, but they can't produce a single coffee bean themselves - they
can only import coffee from Brazil, Colombia and Guatemala, ha!"
Shanrang couldn't help but remind him: "There is no coffee producing area in the United States."
"Hawaii! Kona coffee is good too, it's grown in Hawaii, and there's this top-notch Molokai—"
Peter Li pouted a little unhappily, "Zhou, you just said you like Molokai the best."
Shanjang laughed: "Sorry, yes, I like the cinnamon aroma of this coffee."
"We should let everyone in the world drink coffee," Peter Li said seriously. "Coffee should not
belong only to educated people or those who are arrogant. Housewives, workers, farmers,
students, and even homeless people should have the right and ability to have a cup of mellow
coffee. Some people taste bitterness, some taste sweetness, some taste the fragrance of flowers,
and some like the fragrance of fruits. No matter what, coffee, like tea, is a gift from God."
“I can’t imagine my life without coffee.”
Looking at Peter Li's shining eyes and sincere face, Beiwu nodded with a smile and raised the
enamel mug in his hand: "Thank you for your top-quality coffee. I hope you and your team can
bring the best coffee to Pu'er, Yunnan and China, so that we Chinese can also like coffee."
Although the polite words sounded like diplomatic rhetoric, Peter Li was very happy. He stretched
out his hand and shook Bei Wu tightly: "Yes, we are here for this, please believe us!"
"Then may I ask how much money your company invests each year to promote coffee
cultivation? If new varieties are introduced, how much more money are you willing to add to help
coffee farmers grow them?" Beiwu asked with a smile.
Peter Li and his colleagues looked at each other.

Chapter 338
The coffee was so strong that Beiwu and Shanzhang couldn't sleep in the middle of the night and
talked about many things.
When Shan Rang decided to take Gu Nian with him to the south, he hesitated for a long time. The
conditions of the Song Qingling Kindergarten were so good, and if he couldn't go, he wouldn't go.
Shan Li waved his hand and said it was okay, and he could go when he came back. Shan Rang
didn't even have the chance to say sorry. She was worried that the frequent changes in the
growth environment would be bad for Hu Tou. He got familiar with the neighbors in Dongjiaomin
Lane, and soon moved to Changchun Garden. He studied in the kindergarten of Peking University
for a while, and then transferred to Shanghai. Now he is in Yunnan again, and he doesn't know if
there is a kindergarten in Ganlanba.
The children are so pitiful, they don't even have the right to say no. But every time they change
their environment, Hutou would cry and say he doesn't want to leave, he likes a certain teacher
and a certain child, and asks her why she wants to leave. Shanrang feels bad, so she can only hug
him and say sorry. Hutou is such a cute baby, and immediately hugs her and says, "Mom, it's
okay."
The joy and sadness of children are so pure. When he thinks of the children in Beijing now, he still
feels sad. But he is so happy when he sees wild elephants and rice fields.
Shan Rang sighed: "In the morning, when Xiao Lai's son went to school, Hu Tou saw a group of
children walking away together, and suddenly said, 'I don't have any friends', which made me and
my brother laugh--"
As he was laughing, Shanrang started to cry.
Bei Wu smiled and hugged her tightly in his arms: "I think he's a good guy. He visits people
everywhere on the train and is very sweet. He calls his brothers and sisters all the time, and if
they ignore him, he will just wait by the side and keep greeting them. My son is broad-minded,
enthusiastic, proactive, and not afraid of setbacks. He has a lot of good qualities."
Shan Rang couldn't help but laugh: "He is, he has never been shy since he was a child. He would
babbled to everyone he saw in Dongjiaominxiang. Today on the mountain, he was the same. As
long as he saw someone, he would run over and say hello no matter how far away they were. He
is so silly."
Beiwu also laughed: "I actually don't like him going to a boarding kindergarten. I think Hutou
himself doesn't like it either."
"Really? Then why didn't you tell me?"
"Hu Tou probably doesn't want to disappoint us. As for me, I just want him to exercise. Boys are
too emotional after all..." Bei Wu turned sideways and looked at Shan Rang and smiled, "Don't be
angry when I tell you. I used to think that you and mom raised him too pampered. He cries at
every turn. He cries when he wears clothes he doesn't like, cries when his toys are broken, and
cries when his fish dies. Now I realize that this is actually a very precious thing. He just lets go of
his tears and doesn't keep them in his heart. His emotions are vented and he has a keen sense of
things. It's really great. Thank you, Shan Rang. Thank you for bringing up your son so well."
Shan Rang also turned sideways and pinched Bei Wu's arm: "Okay, you actually had the audacity
to have a problem with me before? And you kept it to yourself? What if this accumulates over
time and explodes one day?"
"Am I the kind of person who doesn't know what's good for me?" Bei Wu smiled, held her hand
and kissed it. "I only come back to accompany my son for an hour or two every day. What have I
given? I only get happiness and relaxation from my son. What qualifications do I have to blame
you and mom? It's you who are working hard, and you are the ones who know him best. What I
see are one-sided details, and I understand them with my emotions. Either I try my best to guide
Hu Tou in the direction I want, or I completely respect and trust your methods. How can people
who don't do things point fingers at people who do things and glare at them? Isn't this what I
hate the most, unprofessional leaders blindly directing professional matters? Bureaucratic,
ignorant, and self-willed. I have seen a lot of such people in the unit-"
Shanrang kissed him, and the couple lingered quietly for a while, then let out a long sigh.
"That won't work either. You have to say what you think. I'm not the kind of person who gets
angry and turns against you when I hear your opinion, right? Educating children is a big deal, and
we must discuss it together. I think male and female thinking have different influences on
children, and neither is indispensable. I'm not as good as you in the overall view, and I admit
that," Shanrang said seriously. "Our son is our son. We are both first-time parents, and Hutou is
not as easy to raise as Jingsheng Sijiang. But we are in the same direction in educating him, right?
Have you changed?"
"It hasn't changed and it will never change in my life." Bei Wu sighed with a smile.
Not long after Hutou was born, he and Shanrang discussed what kind of person they hoped
Hutou would become in the future. Their goals have always been the same. They hope that
Hutou will become a healthy, upright, kind, and independent person. He is neither inferior nor
arrogant, neither worships foreign things nor is he xenophobic, neither is he vulgar nor too aloof.
He can live uprightly, never bow to power, has a backbone that would rather break than bend,
and can empathize with the suffering of the weak. He does not need to go to a good university,
does not need to make a lot of money, does not need to have many books, and does not need to
be famous, but he must have the ability to support himself, and the ability to love and be loved.
Beiwu still remembers that they laughed at themselves as they talked about it. There were
probably no other parents in the world like them who put forward so many specific expectations
for their child as soon as he was born.
When leaving Pu'er, Gu Nian held the new shuttlecock and waved to the children outside the car
window while crying.
"Goodbye, goodbye - I don't want to say goodbye to you, I want to play with you every day -"
The yellow earth was flying everywhere, and the children on the roadside dispersed with
laughter. No one noticed the melancholy and loss of the little boy in the car.
Gu Dongwen held Gu Nian on his lap and said, "Uncle will play with you every day, okay? And
your dad and mom, they play with you every day too."
Gu Nian struggled to get down: "Baby, sit by yourself, uncle won't be tired."
Driver Lai exclaimed in admiration, saying that he had never seen a more sensible child than
Hutou.
Gu Nian: "Thank you, uncle. The baby is great."
Everyone in the car laughed, and the melancholy just now was blown away by the wind.
——
Olive Dam has not changed much since a decade ago. Some children are catching fish on the
shallows of the Lancang River. Some of the Dai bamboo houses in the banana forest have been
replaced with new colored steel roofs, mixed with bamboo and wooden roofs. The street market
is no longer held once a month, but every day. The concrete road paved in the 1980s has many
cracks, and there is a little dust when motorcycles, tricycles and electric vehicles whiz by. The fruit
stalls on the roadside are bustling with people, and women in Dai skirts and women in dresses
complement each other in the street market.
The brick-red temple was newly built, and monks in orange-yellow robes walked barefoot on the
road. The Water Splashing Festival had just passed half a month ago, and the flower stand in
front of the temple was still there. Gu Nian curiously stuck her head out to take a look, and the
Dai girl selling flowers immediately ran over after the van.
Bei Wu asked Xiao Lai to stop the car, bought a bunch of golden wreaths for two dollars and hung
them around Gu Nian's neck.
The gate of Ganlanba Farm was rebuilt, but the signboard had faded. Gu Dongwen asked Xiao Lai
to park at the farm gate, and Bei Wu helped him get out of the car. The two watched silently for a
while.
"Go south from here, across the river, and you'll find the fourth, sixth, and seventh divisions. Go
northeast, and you'll find the farm hospital and the seventh team of the first division. Go
northeast again, and you'll find the rubber factory of the second division and the fifth division,"
Gu Dongwen pointed to the northwest. "The third division is over there."
"Let's go. Menghan Police Station is just a little past here. Lao Ling is waiting for us there." Gu
Dongwen got into the car with steady steps and high spirits.
As soon as he entered the Menghan Police Station, Gu Dongwen saw Lu Jia and was stunned for
several seconds before he reacted.
"Hey, what's wrong with you? Nurse Lu has been here for several days, but couldn't find you.
What are you doing? "Captain Ling came over in a hurry and pulled Gu Dongwen and his group
over.
Beiwu and Shanrang looked at each other, then smiled and greeted Lu Jia. Gu Nian was sweet-
mouthed and was happiest to see acquaintances. She kept asking how the big brother was doing,
how the little brother was doing, and whether he missed the baby, and how the big sister and the
second sister were doing, and whether they missed the baby.
Lu Jia answered each question patiently and gently, then smiled and said sorry to Gu Dongwen
for disturbing him.
Gu Dongwen touched his head: "Ask for leave?"
"I quit," Lu Jia said softly, "I'm old, and working the night shift is too tiring. I've never been out of
Shanghai, so I just wanted to go out and take a look."
Gu Dongwen hung his head and said nothing for a long time.
Beiwu's eyes were sore: "Thank you."
Gu Nian repeated loudly: "Thank you!"
The boys and girls in the police station came up to tease Gu Nian, giving him candy and bananas,
and some even brought him a small windmill. Gu Nian was very happy, and his brothers and
sisters kept shouting, and he was sweating with excitement.
Lu Jia arrived at Ganlanba three days earlier than them and stayed at the farm guesthouse, which
cost eight yuan a night. She first went to the farm hospital to find out what medicines were
available and what was not, and then went to the State People's Hospital in Banna. Ganlanba was
only about thirty kilometers away from Banna, which was very convenient. She did not call
Wanchun Street to ask why Gu Dongwen and his team had not arrived yet. She waited patiently
for three days, and came to the police station every evening to inquire when Captain Ling would
arrive.
After exchanging greetings, the group drank a few sips of water and got into Xiao Lai's car.
Captain Ling pointed and drove towards the river.
The house that Captain Ling bought for Gu Dongwen is located in the southwest of the farm,
between County Road 179 and Township Road 022, facing Township Road 021 and the Lancang
River, and close to the police station, farm hospital, and Menghan Town Central Primary School.
The house is quite large, half of it is a bamboo-wood Dai bamboo building, and the other half is a
newly built brick and tile bungalow, with seven beams, north-south transparent, and paved with
cement. Various vegetables are also planted on the ground at the door, with tomatoes hanging
green fruits, eggplants, loofahs, pumpkins, and cucumbers. The leeks have obviously just been
cut, and the water spinach is also growing well. The vegetable field and the house are surrounded
by a half-person-high bamboo fence, and bougainvillea and gesang flowers are planted under the
fence. The flowers are obviously not as good as the vegetables. There is no planning, and they are
scattered here and there, but there are no weeds.
A one-armed young man and a middle-aged woman stood up from the vegetable field, and two
dogs rushed to the fence and barked at Gu Dongwen and his group. Gu Nian was so scared that
she hugged Beiwu's legs and begged in a low voice: "Daddy, can you hold the baby for a while?"
Beiwu picked him up.
"What are you yelling about? It's only been a short while since we last met, and you don't
recognize me?" Captain Ling yelled, pushing open the fence door, "Xiao Jian, what's wrong with
you? Huh?"
Gu Dongwen slapped Captain Ling on the back: "What are you doing? Be nicer, the guy is helping
me clean up the vegetables——"
The young man smiled shyly and explained: "I'm not Xiao Jian, I'm Xiao Wang."
Captain Ling pulled down the dog that was clinging to his legs and said, "I should have asked the
butcher to castrate you last month. You rub against everyone you see. Do you want to have some
shame?"
The local dog "Xiao Jian" barked twice, rushed to Lu Jia's legs and climbed up.
Lu Jia laughed in horror and stood there motionless. Gu Dongwen quickly pulled the dog down,
took off his cloth shoes and hit it on the buttocks twice, shouting, "Don't move! Sit still!"
The old comrade Gu, who once dominated the Lancang River, still had some influence left.
Xiaojian and Xiaokang immediately sat down obediently on the ground, stuck out their tongues
and began to wag their tails at him.
Gu Dongwen walked around inside and outside, feeling really happy. He took out a hundred yuan
and gave it to Captain Ling: "Go, buy some meat and fish, I'll cook you a delicious meal. Xiao Lai,
don't leave either, stay for one night and go back to Kunming tomorrow."

Chapter 339
"Captain Ling and I will go together." Lu Jia picked up the vegetable basket outside the house.
Bei Wu smiled and said, "I'll take Hu Tou with me to see if there are any spare ribs that he likes to
eat, and buy some fruits. It's a good time to pack up your luggage from the guesthouse and move
it over."
Lu Jia hesitated.
Gu Dongwen turned his head and said, "Ask Lao Ling to say hello. Don't pay for today's room.
Their room is a rip-off. Five dollars a night is the most. Go ahead."
“Well, Old Gu, you don’t know. The guesthouse was renovated a few years ago, and the rent has
been raised a long time ago. The price is clearly marked as twelve yuan a day. How could Nurse
Lu only pay eight yuan? I can’t understand it.” Captain Ling put a cigarette between his mouth
and behind his ear several times without lighting it. He muttered to himself as he led Beiwu and
Lu Jia out of the yard, and the two local dogs quickly followed.
Driver Lai helped Shan Rang move the luggage in.
The two people in the vegetable garden hurried out and stretched out their hands to help, but
because one hand was covered with mud, they immediately pulled it back and felt a little uneasy.
Gu Dongwen walked over and said, "Xiao Wang, don't leave either. Stay for dinner. Big sister is -
eh? You are Jianjun's mother, right?"
"Yes! I'm Chen Jianjun's mother. I haven't seen you for more than ten years. Comrade Gu, you're
still the same as before, not much has changed," Li Xiulan said with tears in her eyes. Thinking it
was unlucky to cry at this time, she turned sideways and wiped her eyes with her sleeve, saying
with a bit of shame, "You kept sending money to my family without even leaving an address, so I
couldn't return it to you. Later, I opened a bakery in Banna. Thanks to you, I was able to raise
Jianguo, Jianhua, and Jianhong smoothly."
"Why are you being so polite? Jingsheng stole Jianguo's milk for half a year. He should call you
godmother," Gu Dongwen sighed with a smile, "Wait until he comes in August, and you can see
what your godson has grown up into."
"Of course it's good! Jingsheng has been good-looking since he was a child, just like him--" Li
Xiulan really wanted to slap herself, but she was tongue-tied and couldn't steer her conversation
in a roundabout way, so she stopped there.
"Looks like his mother, very much, right?" Gu Dongwen said with a smile.
Xiao Wang brought a washbasin over with one hand and motioned for Li Xiulan to wash her
hands.
The two of them squatted down to wash their hands. Seeing Gu Dongwen going to the vegetable
field, Li Xiulan raised her hand and slapped herself silently, which scared Xiao Wang.
"Aunt Li?"
"It's okay." Li Xiulan sighed, wiped her face with her sleeve, stood up and poured the dirty water
into the vegetable field, picked up a basket and caught up with Gu Dongwen.
"What vegetables do you want to pick? Tell me, I'll do it—"
Xiao Wang was puzzled and turned to see if driver Lai needed any help.
——
Gu Dongwen cooked sweet and sour spare ribs for Gu Nian in the evening, and steamed soy
sauce stewed eggs. As soon as the lid of the pot was closed, Li Xiulan and Xiao Wang pushed him
out of the kitchen. Lu Jia wanted to help, but he couldn't do anything. Although Xiao Wang lost
an arm, he was very skillful in fetching water, pouring water and carrying plates, and he refused
to let Lu Jia do anything. Li Xiulan was even more skillful, and seven or eight dishes were on the
table in less than half an hour.
The dining table was set outside. It was a little after seven in the evening, and the sky in Ganlanba
was still bright. Two small square tables were put together to form a long strip, and four benches,
several chairs and square stools were set out. Many more people came one after another,
including the families of martyrs, former anti-drug police officers who had retired after being
injured, young and old, and everyone brought a lot of things. Everyone was very familiar with
Captain Ling.
Captain Ling introduced them to everyone one by one.
"This is Lao Daotou, Xiao Dao's grandfather. Xiao Dao died five years ago and there is no one else
in the family. He is the one who does all the mud and water work here. Come, Uncle Dao, sit next
to me."
Lao Daotou was a lean Dai old man who could understand Chinese. He smiled and handed a big
goose in his hand to Gu Dongwen, then took out his water pipe and looked around.
"You can smoke as you like." Gu Dongwen put the goose on the ground. "Is there a dragon in the
yard? It's a good thing that there is a dragon. There are no rats. Hey - Tiger Head, be careful of
being pecked by geese - hey! You really deserve to be named Gu!"
When everyone looked back, they saw the big white goose, a "folk evil creature" that the two
dogs had to avoid with their tails between their legs. The goose was being held obediently in Gu
Nian's arms, with their necks pressed together, being very affectionate.
The wrinkles on Lao Daotou's face were so wide that they could kill a fly: "When my son Xiaodao
was little, he was also close to geese. When others were chased by geese, he would hug the
geese and play with them."
While stroking the big white goose's feathers, Gu Nian muttered, "We are good friends now.
Hello, I'm Bao Bao. What's your name?"
"You are so big and white, are you called Dabai?"
"Hello, Dabai. Have you had dinner? Are you hungry? What do you like to eat?"
Xiao Wang passed by the kid and the goose with a large bowl of sour bamboo shoots and fish
soup in one hand and replied with a smile: "Don't give it to it, otherwise it will be troublesome to
take out its intestines when we kill it tomorrow--"
Gu Nian burst into tears with a "wow" sound, and the big white goose in his arms stretched its
neck and quacked at Xiao Wang.
The adults at the table laughed. Xiao Wang didn't know what he had said wrong, so he put down
the fish soup and asked Captain Ling for help nervously.
Shan Rang explained a few words with a smile, and promised his son that he would never eat the
goose, and made a pinky promise with him that they would never change for a hundred years.
Only then did Gu Nian burst into laughter, and took his Dabai to find Xiao Jian and Xiao Kang to
play. As a result, the goose chased the dog, and he chased the goose, and the yard was full of
quacking and howling, and it was very lively.
With food, food, cigarettes, alcohol, and laughter, the yard came alive. The ten or so people at
the table were all familiar with Gu Dongwen's "home" and had worked there to some extent.
Team Leader Ling was busy traveling between Banna, Kunming, and the border. He took time to
visit Ganlanba for a day. After paying the money, he handed the house to Xiao Wang and Lao
Daotou to clean up. Later, thinking that it was inconvenient to climb up and down the bamboo
house, he came again to build another bungalow. Lao Dao and some martyrs' families who were
in particularly difficult situations were called by Team Leader Ling to register their information
and received 50 yuan per person for living expenses. When they heard Team Leader Ling and Xiao
Wang discussing the bungalow, everyone took the initiative to offer to help. Working for nothing
was absolutely not an option. Finally, Lao Dao said, and Xiao Wang wrote, and listed a work point
table similar to the previous farm. In this way, they worked together to build the house, prepare
the land, and plant vegetables, trees, and flowers.
Beiwu and Shanrang were deeply shocked when they first came into contact with people and
things on the front line of drug enforcement. Lao Dao had to walk two hours on the mountain
road from the village to Ganlanba every time. Xiao Wang was a Hani. After receiving a sixth-level
disability certificate, he stayed in the resettlement unit for a year and ran back to Banna to do
jade business. He specialized in dealing with Thais and Burmese people. The purpose was to pay
attention to whether there were any unusual drug movements in the border area, so he had
been in close contact with Captain Ling. He was scolded by Captain Ling for several years and was
not allowed to inquire about the news everywhere because it was too dangerous. Many retired
drug enforcement police had suffered cruel revenge. In order to protect his comrades, Yu Sao's
husband directly blocked the drug dealer's submachine gun with his body, but there were too
many drug addicts in their village. Beating wives and children for drug use was nothing, and there
were many who directly sold wives and children. There were fewer and fewer people left in the
village. She left the village with her daughter and moved to Banna to work in Li Xiulan's flower
cake shop. Xiao Ai, who silently lowered his head and ate his meal with big mouthfuls, is not
considered a martyr's family member. His father died of self-immolation due to excessive
pressure in the anti-drug team. His mother was too sad and mentally confused to go to work. The
family relies on his grandmother selling pickled bamboo shoots and pickled vegetables for a
living...
Almost every member of the team who retired with injuries was the protagonist of a heroic
movie. Lao Qin was injured by a grenade explosion and now has two shrapnel in his stomach.
Xiao Mao was only 26 years old. He rolled down the mountain holding the drug dealer and his
left thigh was amputated to save his life. Ke Jun fell into a cave in the rainforest while on a
mission. He survived for seven days by relying on moss and scorpions. When he was rescued,
there was not a single piece of good skin on his body.
None of them complained or lamented. They ate the pandan leaf grilled fish with big mouthfuls,
saying that the sweet and sour spare ribs tasted a bit like the pork braised with plums. The men
smiled and teased Xiao Wang about his affair with the female owner of the Red Star Barber Shop
in Menghan Town. Xiao Mao's neighbor was going to build a new house, so he asked Lao Daotou
if he wanted to do the masonry work, which would pay him 15 yuan a day and include a meal.
Lao Qin's son was going to take the college entrance examination this year, and his wife was hired
as a contract worker by the newly built Dai Garden tourist attraction, earning more than 80 yuan
a month. Xiao Ai's grandmother revealed to Li Xiulan and Lao Qin that she wanted to find another
man for her daughter-in-law so that someone could take care of Xiao Ai and her son in the future.
They said whatever they thought of, and would also curiously inquire about the difference
between the current Shanghai and the Shanghai described by the educated youth more than ten
years ago. When they heard that Shanrang was a teacher at Peking University, everyone showed
a look of admiration. They were not shy about mentioning Gu Dongwen's illness, but they only
said good things. Someone from a few fields had cancer a few years ago, but he recovered after
eating mushrooms, and someone else recovered after practicing qigong. Gu Dongwen smiled and
said yes, he would try it too.
People gradually dispersed at night, and Captain Ling asked Gu Dongwen to settle the bill the
next morning. Driver Lai took the initiative to pick up a big broom and swept the open space at
the door clean. Lu Jia kindly learned how to make a clay stove from Li Xiulan, and boiled two large
pots of water to refill the thermos. Beiwu brought in half a bucket of well water to heat the
water, and Gu Nian followed Beiwu with difficulty, holding the goose by its neck.
"Dad, I want to take a bath with Dabai."
"No, Dabai will be cooked if he goes into hot water."
"Then I'll take a cold shower. My older brother takes a cold shower every day. Cold water is good.
It's high and big."
"What if Big White poops in the water? Didn't you just say it's disgusting when it poops?"
"It just pulled it, and it won't pull it again."
"You are not it, how do you know?"
"The baby knows, but Daddy doesn't. Please, Daddy."
Finally, Gu Nian was picked up by Bei Wu and thrown into a large wooden barrel filled with warm
water. With both hands still holding the goose's neck, she was not pecked by the big white goose.
——
Lu Jia took Gu Dongwen's temperature, blood pressure and weight, and recorded them by date in
his notebook.
"Did you have a fever during the days on the road?"
"without."
"Have you vomited?"
"also not."
"How's your appetite?"
"Very good. My mother's salted eggs are especially good. I should have brought more." Gu
Dongwen sighed while lying on the bed.
"When I came, your mother gave me a net bag with about twenty pieces in it. I'm going to cut a
few tomorrow morning and see how they turn out. I'm afraid they won't keep well in such a hot
day." Lu Jia smiled.
"As long as it's not broken, it will be fine." Gu Dongwen turned sideways and put his arm under
his head. "How about you? Did you have a smooth journey?"
"Well, that's fine," Lu Jia stopped writing, "I'm sorry, I came here without telling you and
disturbed you."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Gu Dongwen waved at her, "Come here."
Lu Jia obediently came over and sat beside the bed, staring at him carefully.
"Xiao Lu——"
"Um?"
"Thanks."
"What nonsense are you talking about——" Lu Jia bit her lip. She wanted to laugh, but a tear fell
instead. She turned her face away and stood up, but Gu Dongwen held her hand.
"Thank you," Gu Dongwen sighed, "I am a madman, and you are a fool, you are stupid enough."
"Um."
The laughter of Hutou and Beiwu came from outside, and the two dogs started barking under the
window. The goose quacked loudly, and the barking of the dogs stopped immediately.
Lu Jia was stunned: "It turns out that dogs are really afraid of geese."
"The geese in Jinghong dare to chase and peck even elephants." Gu Dongwen said with a smile.
The two of them listened to the noise outside for a while, and Lu Jia's heart calmed down
completely. When she turned her head again, she saw that Gu Dongwen had fallen asleep.
Although he didn't lose weight, he had lost a lot of weight compared to when she first met him.
His hair had turned gray at some point, and there was no flesh on his face. When he wasn't
smiling, there were two faint lines of dimples, but he didn't look decadent. His face was still so
clean and refreshed. He shaved every day, and the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned
even when he was asleep. Gu Dongwen's baby face was naturally likable.
Lu Jia's fingers gently smoothed Gu Dongwen's temples, covered him with a towel blanket, and
gently stroked his evenly rising and falling chest, his beating heart, and let out a long breath.

Chapter 340
The next morning, Captain Ling brought a large bag of rice noodles and steamed buns. Lu Jia cut
four salted eggs that Grandma Gu had pickled, each one golden and juicy.
Halfway through the meal, Xiao Wang came to the door carrying a half-man-high banana tree
pole, which was covered with three or four layers of green banana bunches, each with more than
ten or twenty bananas. He drank too much last night and sang Beyond for half a day. Now he was
shy again, blushing and greeting Gu Dongwen and others, leaning the banana pole against the
wall, picking up a knife and cutting the banana bunches neatly, and moving them into the kitchen
and stacking them. Gu Nian followed behind him with the big white goose to observe and poke
the green bananas.
"Hard."
“After a few days and it turns yellow, you can eat it.” Xiao Wang laughed.
“Do I have a banana tree at home?”
"Yes, I'll take you to see it."
There are two small banana trees planted behind the toilet, against the fence.
"Next year, next year it will bear fruit."
“Can bananas still bloom?”
"Well, it's purple, like a big corn, and you can eat it. You can stir-fry meat or eggs with it. It's
delicious."
Gu Nian returned to the yard and quickly put his knowledge into practice, showing off his
knowledge of banana flowers.
Except for Gu Dongwen, Gu Beiwu and the others didn't know that bananas with banana flowers
can be eaten. The tiger-headed teacher was very proud and became more and more interested in
Uncle Xiao Wang. He became his little tail, but after a while, he ran back and threw himself into
Beiwu's arms in shock, stammering to tell everyone: "Uncle Xiao Wang is playing with poop!"
Xiao Wang carried half a bucket of fermented "artificial fertilizer" and went straight into the
vegetable field to start fertilizing.
Gu Nian began to doubt the baby's birth: "Dad, I ate vegetables yesterday - there was feces on
the vegetables???"
Everyone at the table was laughing so hard.
Gu Beiwu held his son and began to explain the scientific knowledge of fertilizers.
Little Gu Nian no longer carelessly takes Dabai, Xiaojian and Xiaokang to inspect the vegetable
fields. He even carefully checked the soles of the sandals he wore yesterday, and only breathed a
sigh of relief after making sure that he had not stepped on any feces.
After the meal, the men started to check the accounts. Xiao Wang sorted out the "work points
table", the receipts for receiving money, and the receipts for purchasing materials from the
plastic bag. They were clearly arranged and each stack was clamped with a wooden clip. The
accounts were checked in two hours. Gu Dongwen collected more than 5,000 yuan and gave it to
Beiwu. Beiwu took out the notebook and began to explain the detailed plan for the micro-loan.
The more Captain Ling and Xiao Wang listened, the brighter their eyes became.
"Can people who are not relatives of martyrs or retired members of our anti-drug team also
apply for this loan?"
"Yes," Beiwu said, pulling out the application form. "We have set up an evaluation model. This is
very important. We need to make sure that the money is used where it counts and that he has
the ability to do the work. Each loan should be issued in batches. We have to follow up on their
work and help them find problems. It will be difficult and tedious at the beginning, but if it goes
well, it will snowball and become smoother and faster."
"We will also contract a piece of land in Banna to try to plant new varieties of coffee trees," Bei
Wu said with a smile. "Nestle will also be involved. They will provide money, technicians, and
seeds, and we will provide land and people to grow coffee. Tomorrow I will go to Banna to talk to
the state government."
Captain Ling scratched his head and said, "It sounds like a great thing. Do you want me to say
hello to the leader and introduce you to someone I know in the agency?"
"No need, Shanrang has already made the contacts. Several of her students from Yunnan
returned to Yunnan after graduation. Two or three of them work in the provincial government,
and one is in the Banna Autonomous Prefecture. Our teacher Zhou has many students all over
the world, and he is very impressive." Beiwu smiled with his eyes curved.
In order to promote this micro-loan program and the new industry in Jinghong, Shanrang and
Sijiang did a lot of research and also borrowed a lot of light from Mr. and Mrs. Brown. The coffee
industry was accidentally mentioned by Mr. Brown. Now we are on the road to making the plan
come true step by step, which is really exciting. Gu Dongwen ate two bowls of rice noodles in a
row, which made everyone very happy.
——
Busy days always pass by so quickly, and in the blink of an eye it is already June.
Summer vacation was just around the corner, and Gu Ximei called back and said she wanted to
buy plane tickets for the three Si Jiang siblings to go to Beijing.
"We are going to Jinghong to visit our uncle, not Beijing," Si Jiang was a little surprised, "and
grandma will go with us."
Si Jiang hesitated for a second, then reluctantly invited, "Mom, do you want to go?"
Gu Ximei held the microphone for a while before asking, "When did you decide on it?"
"In April, after my uncle decides on a date to go to Jinghong, we'll discuss it."
"Then why didn't anyone tell me?" Ximei heard her voice trembling a little.
Si Jiang was silent for a moment: "Did you ask?"
"You didn't tell me unless I asked? Your uncle and aunt are not at home, and you are the eldest
child, so why didn't you tell your mother? Didn't you clearly promise to come to Beijing for the
summer vacation during the Chinese New Year? I have already cleaned up the room--" Ximei's
breathing became rapid.
"Have you told me? Did you tell Nan Nan? Or did you tell Si Hao? Why can't I remember?" Si Jiang
asked puzzledly.
Ximei stared at the crocheted phone cover on the coffee table in shock. She had clearly said it
several times. Did she say it all to Sun Xiao?
Si Jiang said calmly: "Anything else? If not, I'll hang up now."
There was a beeping sound from the microphone. Ximei looked at the phone for a while, then
hung up quietly, covered the phone with the cloth, and saw that her hands were shaking.
Sun Xiao put down the newspaper in his hand and asked, "What's wrong?"
Ximei forced a smile and said, "Nothing. Si Jiang and the others said they were going to Jinghong
to visit my brother, so they won't come to Beijing this summer vacation. It's okay. It's okay if they
don't come. There's a chess competition for veteran cadres in our unit in July, so we have to go to
Xishan for several days. I was going to ask for leave, but now I don't have to."
Sun Xiao looked at her slightly red eyes, stood up and moved to her side, holding her hand:
"Okay, if you don't want to come, then don't come. After all, he is your biological child and can't
run away. Don't be sad about such a small thing. Didn't the doctor say that you need to be
emotionally stable?"
"Hmm," Ximei lowered her head and looked at her belly which had not yet bulged, feeling a little
dazed. She had never thought that she could really get pregnant. Last month, she had bleeding
for two days and then stopped. She thought it was irregular menstruation. It happened that the
company organized a physical examination, and she wanted to take some medicine. But the test
showed that she was pregnant, with a little threatened miscarriage, which made Sun Xiao very
happy and worried.
Old Lady Sun came to Baiwanzhuang that night, and for the first time ever, she showed concern
and kindness to Ximei, and brought a lot of nutritional supplements. Ximei's impression of the
old revolutionary was overturned, but she could understand that Sun Xiao had reached this
position, and the Sun family needed a grandson to take over.
"You'd better not go to the Xishan event. It's better to rest at home for a few days," Sun Xiao
flipped through the desk calendar. "I'll ask mom to come over and accompany you. It's a good
opportunity for you two to get closer."
"No, no! It was already more than four months pregnant, the most stable time. This was my
fourth child, it wasn't that precious. My colleagues would talk about me behind my back for this
leave, which is not good." Ximei would rather go to Xishan than get along with Old Lady Sun.
"Then be careful and protect our son." Sun Xiao bent over Ximei's abdomen and listened
carefully, "Is it moving?"
Ximei smiled bitterly: "How can it be so early——"
"Son, come here and call me daddy." Sun Xiao was very excited to have a son in his old age.
"It could be a daughter," Ximei lowered her voice nervously, "By then, will your mother and you
still want this child?"
Sun Xiao raised his head: "Of course! My daughter is also my own. Am I such a son-centric
person? Linlin and Langlang soon became close to my parents. They would rather stay in Beijing
than become Americans."
Ximei breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
——
In mid-June, the models came to the factory to try on clothes and follow the process. Zhang
Mengmeng and Liu Bing invited Mr. Huang from the China Textile University to be the general
director. Jingsheng and Si Jiang were relieved when they saw the densely packed details in Mr.
Huang's notebook.
Teacher Huang was more interested in the quartet's costumes.
"Which college did your designer graduate from? Is he from abroad?" Huang Yanli said firmly,
"Draping has only been a teaching course for four or five years. Graduates from domestic colleges
and universities certainly can't produce such mature works."
"It was designed by my aunt. She never went to college. She worked in a garment factory in Hong
Kong. She is self-taught." Jingsheng explained with a smile.
Huang Yanli was a little bit incredulous, so she went to the workshop in person and said to
Jingsheng, "If your sister comes back to Shanghai, you must let me see her."
"She definitely used the three-dimensional cutting method for this pattern, otherwise it would be
impossible to grasp the wearing shape and looseness of the finished garment so accurately,"
Huang Yanli said, pointing to the long coat on Liu Bing. "She knows the structure, craftsmanship
and materials of clothing like the back of her hand. Her aesthetics are very advanced and
amazing."
"She is very smart. She didn't use complicated designs. If it were complicated, your factory's flat
cutting would not be able to achieve it at all, and it would be a waste of effort. Look at the drape
and natural wrinkles. If you use a different fabric, or if the waistline is a little lower or higher, you
can't achieve this kind of beauty." Huang Yanli sighed with regret, "Our graduates should all come
to your company to observe and learn. They are still pursuing novel and unique "designs" and
have not yet fully understood the relationship between structural technology and materials. Of
course, our aesthetics is also a problem. We have read too little and do not pay enough attention
to the history of art and clothing art. It will take at least 20 years for our country to produce an
outstanding fashion design master."
The day went smoothly. After everything was over at 11:30 pm, Jingsheng asked the newly hired
driver to drive everyone home in the newly bought van. Si Jiang and Jingsheng stayed to finish
the work. They were amazed at Mr. Huang's professional ability and were full of confidence in the
fashion show at the end of the month.
"It turns out that organizing a fashion show is so troublesome and stressful," Si Jiang put the
clothes with number tags and model name tags into a big bag. "Teacher Huang is so fierce. He
scolded me while watching a stopwatch. If it were me, I would definitely cry."
"What if someone falls on the stage? I saw they were wearing very high heels." Si Jiang became
worried again.
Jingsheng smiled and thought for a while: "Zhang Mengmeng almost fell when she was walking
the third set of clothes today. Teacher Huang said that if you fall, you should get up quickly and
continue walking to the end, so as not to delay the next person. You went to buy a drink at that
time."
"It's not easy for Mengmeng either. She said that she would gain weight even if she drank water.
She hasn't had a full meal in several years in order to make money by walking the runway." Si
Jiang put the size charts of each model into a folder: "It's not easy to be successful in any
industry."
Jingsheng was staring at the clothes hanger welded with a water pipe.
"Look, he's gone, he's going back." Si Jiang walked over and bumped into him.
Jingsheng reached out and took off a black deep V-neck long skirt: "Take this back."
"???"
"I want to see what you look like wearing it." Jingsheng's voice was a little hoarse, and he turned
his head to stare at Si Jiang.
His gaze was so scorching that Si Jiang felt as if he was pierced through by a lightsaber in Star
Wars.

Chapter 341
As the plum rain season just arrived, the air was as sticky as paste and so thick that even
breathing seemed to be frozen.
The bicycle quickly crossed the road. The leaves of the sycamore trees were particularly green
and gentle under the street lights. Urumqi Road was as quiet as an oil painting. Si Jiang hugged
Jingsheng's waist tightly. It felt like she had entered a movie. The sound of the wheels was like a
romantic soundtrack. It seemed that she and Jingsheng were the only two people left in
Shanghai.
"Gu Jingsheng?" Si Jiang put his face against Jingsheng's back and called out softly with a smile.
"Hmm?" Jingsheng looked back at her, only to see her slender neck shining like jade in the night.
"It's okay, I just called you." Si Jiang raised his head with a smile, and his fingers lightly bounced
up from his waist.
"Don't be naughty." Jingsheng smiled and squeezed her hand, and the car slowed down suddenly.
Si Jiang's hand tightly covered his heart, and he pressed his face back against his back: "Just
whistle a song, I want to hear it."
"The Romance of Love" floats slowly and leisurely on the street late at night.
"I believe all this on the naked high plateau..." Si Jiang softly recited Haizi's "For You" (a collection
of poems).
"I believe someone is falling in love with me slowly and hard. No one else will, unless it's you. We
fell in love at first sight. On that high plateau, on that naked plateau. I believe it all. I believe we
fell in love at first sight."
"I love you. The horse ran a long way and slept on the grass. The moon shone on his nose..."
"The winter man comes like a god because I fell in love with you in winter"
The bicycle turned onto Wuyuan Road. After the poem was finished, the music was still flowing
out of Jingsheng's mouth.
The Freedom Apartment stands tall in the night, connected to the thin clouds in the sky. There,
there is their freedom and their expectations for the future, so warm and so beautiful.
The security uncle on duty was already very familiar with Jingsheng. After opening the big iron
gate, he nodded to the two young men and smiled meaningfully.
"You have to check the house at night, otherwise how can you know whether the lights and
circuits are in good condition, right?"
"Be careful when you go in, the floor is slippery. The marble is damp and messy. It's useless to
mop it three times a day."
Si Jiang hugged the black skirt, blushed and smiled as she thanked him.
The keys to the house on the sixth floor were just handed over last week. The son-in-law was
very troublesome. He was reluctant to sell the unwanted furniture to the exchange store, and he
was hoping that Jingsheng would pay more money to buy it. He even charged ten yuan for a set
of ordinary glass cups. He was really a money-grubber. Jingsheng didn't have time to bother with
him, so he hired seven or eight workers on yellow fish carts from Huating Road. They loaded all
the furniture onto the carts and the boxes of daily necessities, and asked him where to send it.
There was really no place to send it, and the workers had a lot of empty small warehouses to
store it. It was only two hundred yuan a month, and it was paid once a year. In the end, he paid
twenty yuan a car for the moving fee, and all of it was sent to the son-in-law's parents' home. It
was so crowded that there was no place to step, and it was none of Jingsheng's business.
Two days ago, Jingsheng asked the warehouse aunt to bring two old sisters to help with cleaning.
Each person was paid 30 yuan a day, and an additional 100 yuan was given to buy cleaning
supplies and food and water. A big reward will always attract brave women. The three aunts
worked for six hours. The teak floor was shiny, the window glass was spotless, the blinds in the
bathroom were snow-white, and the bathtub, basin, and sink were all disinfected with 84
disinfectant to remove the smell of the hospital. Fearing that the smell was too pungent, the
aunts went to Wubei Vegetable Market and bought a lot of white jasmine flowers to get rid of the
smell.
Si Jiang smelled the fragrance of flowers as soon as he entered the house. The house was empty
without furniture, and the brass chandelier and ceiling fan in the living room were reflected on
the floor, gleaming faintly.
Jingsheng pointed and smiled: "His son-in-law was most upset that he didn't have time to take
down this lamp. He complained for half a day."
"Solid wood flooring is better, unlike marble which absorbs moisture badly."
Jingsheng said this and turned on the electric fan.
The stagnant and sticky air finally began to circulate normally. The golden light was broken by the
leaves, shaking all over the room, making Si Jiang confused.
The two took off their shoes and walked barefoot on the floor. When they turned around, the
water-colored trail of footprints disappeared in just a few seconds.
Si Jiang looked around and saw that the old curtains had been taken away by the aunties to be
washed. It was pitch dark outside, with only a few dim lights faintly visible.
Jingsheng pushed open the glass window and took a deep breath: "It's stuffy. I still need to buy
an air conditioner."
"Electric fans are good too. Are there still mosquitoes and flies on the sixth floor? They should be
gone. If the screens are not installed, the wind will be very strong when the doors and windows
are open." Si Jiang also stuck his head out, but the air outside was not as comfortable as that in
the room, so he shrank back. "Actually, it's okay in the summer. It's a bit stuffy during the plum
rains, but it's not hot when there are typhoons after the plum rains. But I don't know whether I
should stick up the glass windows. Will they fall down when the wind blows?"
Jingsheng knocked on the glass window: "It must be sealed with packing tape."
Si Jiang smiled and turned around: "Hey, the sealing tape is good, I want to make a sealing tape
too."
Jingsheng was startled, put his hand on the window handle and asked with a smile: "Why?"
Si Jiang was held in his arms, looking up: "Stick it tight, seal it up, don't let others see it."
Jingsheng lowered his head.
"Is it the Ge Neng Tie? Or is it the Yi Neng Tie?"
The two of them laughed as they served as each other's packing tape, which was easy to stick on
but difficult to tear off.
After a while, Si Jiang pushed Jing Sheng away and gasped: "Hey, can we see Alava on the road?"
"It doesn't matter if you see it."
Jingsheng took Si Jiang into the bathroom and shook off the black skirt.
"Come on, give it a try, it will definitely look good."
The skirt is deep V to the chest, with a delicate cross hollow knot at the bottom, which is not
complicated at all. The design on the back is more unique, with a U-shaped arc swinging down to
the waistline, revealing the entire back. A thin gold chain hangs from the neck to the waist and
hips, and the pendant is a gold anchor, swaying and full of temptation. The waist and hips fully
reflect the beauty of the human body structure, and the simplified fishtail is only ankle-length.
Si Jiang had studied this skirt. There was no design or process description. No one knew what this
skirt meant. Later, it was found out that it was a birthday gift that Nan Hong received. It was
somehow mixed in with the sample clothes and sent to her. Nan Hong said that it didn't need to
be sent back to Hong Kong and could be given to Si Jiang to wear. Si Jiang didn't even try it on.
The skirt was empty in front and back. It was impossible to wear it out except for wearing it after
taking a shower.
"Please don't laugh at me..." Si Jiang held up her skirt and compared it to the mirror, her face
getting even redder.
"Don't laugh." Jingsheng sat on the edge of the bathtub and nodded seriously.
"Nong go out first."
"Can I just close my eyes?" Jingsheng pursed his lips tightly, trying not to curl them up, but his
eyes curved.
"You're already laughing!" Si Jiang glanced at Jing Sheng in the mirror and immediately shouted.
Jingsheng closed his eyes.
"Don't peek." Si Jiang's warning actually sounded more like a coquettish tone.
Jingsheng smiled and thought, whether he saw it or not, he remembered every inch of it in his
mind, which was more accurate than the three-dimensional cutting explained by Teacher Huang.
Thinking about it, he raised his legs, turned around and put them in the bathtub. As a result,
when he moved, Si Jiang screamed: "Nong Lai Ji Pi——"
Jingsheng was startled by her shouting, and he held onto the bathtub with a smile: "Okay, I'll turn
around and face you with my back, okay?"
Si Jiang took off her clothes and folded them neatly. She wiped the marble countertop with her
fingers, and there was no dust on it. She carefully began to put on her skirt.
"The skirt looked long, but it's actually okay." Si Jiang murmured as he lifted his leg to take a
closer look at the length.
"Am I turning around?" Jingsheng moved his head.
"It's not okay, it's not okay!" Si Jiang covered her chest and looked at herself in the mirror,
hesitating whether to put the bra back on. She picked it up and compared it.
Today, her underwear is evilly beautiful and sexy. It is black lace and has no bra pads. It is just
right for summer wear. It is the style that the aunt asked the uncles to send back from Hong Kong
last year. At that time, she and Si Nan were shocked. The uncle was very calm and said that he
didn't have time to ask them about the size of their underwear. The aunt bought three or four
sizes according to their height and weight. But who would buy thirty or forty sets of underwear at
a time? It's too extravagant. The most outrageous thing is that the aunt also wrote a letter to
teach them how to wear underwear correctly. There is also a size chart of underwear brands in it,
which opened Sijiang Sinan's eyes. Even Shanrang was curious and figured it out for a long time.
It turns out that underwear is not only divided into fat and thin sizes, but also depends on the
shape of the chest. Is there a difference between a hemisphere and a disc? Si Nan quickly
scanned it and said with certainty: "It turns out that grandma has papaya-shaped breasts."
Shanrang laughed: "If gravity acts long enough, everyone will become papaya-shaped."
Si Jiang hesitated for a moment and put the underwear in her hand back. She untied her casually
tied up bun. Her long hair had been tied up for a day and was a little fluffy and slightly curly. She
reached out and combed it twice, thinking that fluffy hair looked good in its own way. She
glanced at Jingsheng.
"Ahem..." Si Jiang cleared his throat, looked at himself in the mirror, turned around and leaned
on the sink, "Are you dressed? Can you help me check."
After Si Jiang spoke, he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. In movies and TV shows, the
heroine changed into a beautiful dress and walked down the tall spiral staircase to the shocked
hero. Life was too different from drama. After she, the Cinderella, transformed, there was not
even a pumpkin carriage next to her, only a toilet, a basin, and a bathtub.
Thinking of this, Si Jiang couldn't help but laugh.
Jingsheng opened his eyes and looked at the girl in front of him quietly. He could no longer call
his daughter a girl. Everyone with eyes knew that Chen Sijiang was good-looking, but only he
knew how beautiful she was. She was like a kaleidoscope, with many contradictory characteristics
colliding in her, fragility and strength, self-confidence and self-doubt, enthusiasm and alienation,
confusion and sobriety, never existing alone. She had never been a blank sheet of paper or a song
since she was a child. She was like Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past" and Anton Webern's
symphony. He slowly and hard fell in love with her. No one else would, except him, except her.
Si Jiang walked up to him and slowly turned around. His thick black hair was like a waterfall with
the slow motion button pressed, emitting fine and fragmented light under the warm yellow light.
The gold anchor faintly exposed at his waist drew a barely visible golden line.
Jingsheng stretched out his hand and held her waist lightly: "Don't move."

Chapter 342
"Hmm?" Si Jiang still leaned sideways, turned his head and looked down at Jingsheng, with a
smile on his lips. Jingsheng's hair was wet and looked particularly black, sticking to his skin,
making people want to stroke his hair from the ends to the roots.
"Don't move." Jingsheng said again, his voice much lower. He looked into Si Jiang's eyes, as if he
knew what she was thinking. He leaned forward and rubbed his forehead against Si Jiang's arm.
"It's sweat."
The sweat was wet and the skin was cold, but when they touched each other, it made both of
them feel hot. The sound of each other's heartbeats and the sound of blood rushing were
amplified hundreds of times in the silent little space.
Jingsheng leaned on Sijiang's arm. He lowered his eyes and saw a charming S-curve in front of
him, outlined with golden edges by the light from above. He scooped up a handful of her long
hair and gently rubbed her exposed skin with the back of his fingers. He saw the fine goose
bumps on her skin, and he felt a strange feeling, as if these bumps were also surging out from his
bones and turned into molten lava, and each bubble was accompanied by sparks.
Si Jiang trembled slightly under his hand, reached out and touched the back of Jingsheng's neck,
stroked his hair, and sighed almost silently, like a traveler who was extremely thirsty in the desert
and finally rushed to a spring.
Jingsheng moved closer by a few centimeters, bit the gold anchor pendant and pulled it back. The
anchor tip and his breath slid through the deepest part of the curve together. The former was like
ice and the latter was like fire.
Si Jiang closed her eyes, unable to tell whether this was temptation or torture. At this moment
she wished Jingsheng would get to the point quickly, and at the next moment she hoped that this
kind of lingering affection would never stop.
Jingsheng bit the golden anchor and stopped at her waist. Whether to go up or down was also a
difficult question. It was unscientific in the history of evolution for humans not to have eight
hands.
The fabric of the skirt is smooth and has a good drape. It can be lifted up, rubbed and then put
down without any wrinkles. It fits the body very well and the hands can be moved underneath
without feeling tight or uncomfortable. The palms of the hands are as soft and warm as jade,
while the backs of the hands are as cool as jade.
There was no electric fan in the bathroom, and the window was not open. Both of them were
sweating, and the taste of the sweat was both salty and sweet.
"Be gentle..." Si Jiang traced the edge of the bathtub with his toes, and whispered softly while
holding Jingsheng's head. His tone of voice, which seemed to want to cry but didn't, had the
opposite effect.
She leaned back suddenly, almost falling down, with her long hair falling to the ground. Si Jiang
opened his eyes and saw that the mirror on the sink behind him had a layer of mist on it.
Jingsheng's face was swaying in the mist and it was unclear. Was all this a dream or reality? Si
Jiang was a little confused for a moment.
Fortunately, the basic dance skills she had practiced for seven or eight years were still there. She
twisted her waist and turned back, hugged Jingsheng tightly, kissed the top of his head randomly,
and her hands wandered around randomly. Fortunately, under her palms were his hot and tight
muscles, and sweat, so it was not a dream.
Jingsheng groaned, picked her up and walked a few steps to the sink, fumbled to turn on the
faucet, the tap water gurgled and the water pipes made a rumbling sound.
Si Jiang turned off the faucet and asked, "What are you doing?"
Jingsheng grabbed her hand, bent down and kissed her: "I can't hear you anymore——"
"Can't hear you?"
She could hear the sound of rapid breathing and panting in her ears. The difference between
bone transmission and air transmission is that the latter is only ambiguous, while the former is
extremely dangerous.
Si Jiang turned her face away until there was nowhere to escape, almost leaning against the
mirror. The mist on the mirror had turned into water vapor, wetting the ends of her hair.
The bathtub in Hilton has the charm of a bathtub, and the sink in this bathroom also has the
charm of a sink. For enthusiastic young people, there is no place that is inappropriate.
The black skirt had to be taken off in the end. The wet skin stuck to the fabric. Si Jiang took it off
from the top to the bottom, but it got stuck at the waist and couldn't go down. After Jingsheng
disturbed her for several minutes, she realized that the invisible zipper on the side was only
halfway down. When she pulled it again, two more hairs were caught. Si Jiang cried out in pain
and bent over to adjust her hair. In the mirror, she looked like the Renaissance-style "Birth of
Venus" by Bouguereau.
Sometimes, a momentary picture will freeze into an image in a person's brain and be stored
forever. Every time Jingsheng washed his hands and looked in the mirror, he would
subconsciously think of this picture. His daughter, his love. Yes, there was no one else, except her.
She didn't know if it was the effect of the skirt or the house, but Si Jiang felt that this pleasure
was exceptionally long, so long that she felt a little short of oxygen, or it might be because she
sweated too much and lost too much water.
The faucet in the washbasin was always on, like a voice-over, and also like a barrier, bouncing
back all the sound waves emitted by him and her. Every inch of skin became an air particle,
generating vibrations, pushing the air molecules in this small air space, increasing the air
pressure, forming a high-pressure area, and every nerve ending was vibrating. The propagation
speed of the vibration increased with depth, but it was not uniform, and it was impossible to
predict at which depth a sudden change would occur. Si Jiang didn't know at which second he
became a discontinuous surface in the mathematical sense, but the viscosity and heat transfer
were continuous and extremely rapid. Infinite compression waves superimposed and pushed,
never ending. The sound wave changed from a linear wave to a shock wave, and even produced
dispersion.
What is the end of the rainbow?
If someone asked, Si Jiang, who had jumped off the end, still couldn't answer.
——
The hot water tap was turned on and the bathroom was soon filled with mist.
After showering, Si Jiang wiped himself with Jingsheng's sweat vest, put on his own white shirt
and khaki shorts, and folded his black skirt again.
After opening the door, the bathroom light cut an irregular quadrilateral on the wooden floor.
The lights in the living room were all off, leaving only the electric fan still running. Jingsheng was
lying on his back under the fan, with a white short-sleeved shirt casually draped over his body. He
covered his forehead with one hand, silently. Si Jiang thought he was asleep.
Jingsheng put down his arms and looked at her with a smile: "Okay?"
"Well, do you have a broom? I'll sweep the bathroom floor."
"Come," Jingsheng turned over and patted the floor in front of him, "Lie down for a while, it's
comfortable."
Si Jiang sat down as he was told, hugged his knees and hesitated for a moment: "Just lie on the
floor?"
Jingsheng put his shirt on the floor and stretched out his arms: "Lie on my hands."
Si Jiang lay down, and the blades of the ceiling fan turned at the slowest speed, round and round.
The bones felt sore and numb, as if they had been broken and put back together.
Si Jiang let out a long sigh and completely relaxed. He didn't want to move and just wanted to
sleep until dawn.
"We also need to adjust the toilet lid." Jingsheng said suddenly.
"Huh?" Si Jiang woke up with a yawn.
"It's too loose. There's a crack on the roof." Jingsheng recalled the details when he took over the
house, but couldn't remember whether there was that faint crack. He suspected that it had
cracked tonight.
"It must be you who did something bad," Si Jiang directly put the blame on him, turned sideways
to face Jingsheng, looked at him and smiled, "Bad Ning."
"What's the bad Ning?" Jingsheng felt that he couldn't bear this false reputation, so he squeezed
his hand between the two buttons of his shirt.
Si Jiang's hand rubbed up and down Jingsheng's waistline: "Nong, bad Ning, your top is broken."
Jing Sheng laughed: "Is it bad to push someone hard, or is it bad if you don't push them?"
"Rogue," Si Jiang gave him a gentle nudge with his knee, "You'll know after you try it."
"Gah, come on, try it." Jingsheng retracted his arms, turned Sijiang in his arms, put his chest
against her back, and sighed, "Li Leha, sit down, it's better to be sleepy." Come down. (Standing,
sitting, it’s better to lie down.)”
Si Jiang was pushed twice by him and laughed angrily, slapping his thighs so hard: "Ning Ning is
getting up, the bathroom needs to be swept -"
Jingsheng teased her for a few minutes, then lifted her onto his body and said, "Don't move, let
me hold you for a while."
Si Jiang let him hold her and held her as well.
"Hey, are you happy?"
"Yeah, happy."
"How much joy?"
Si Jiang responded generously: "It's ok to do it every day, but it will take a long time and be hard
—"
Jingsheng laughed so hard that both of them started to shake: "Oh - I was asking if you like the
house..."
Si Jiang: ...
After two seconds of feeling ashamed, Si Jiang snorted angrily and tried to roll off Jingsheng, but
he was held tightly by him.
Jingsheng laughed louder and louder, and finally stopped slowly under Si Jiang's fist.
"Nannan——"
"Don't pay attention to me." Si Jiang turned his face away.
"I'm happy too. Your idea is great. I agree with it wholeheartedly," Jingsheng bit her ear and
asked, "It's public grain. We have to pay for it once a day. Otherwise, the warehouse will be full
and it will be a waste, right, girl?"
"Bah!" Si Jiang thought for a moment, raised his head unwillingly, and said very firmly, "I come
here twice a day, who's afraid of who?"
Jingsheng was stunned and laughed so hard that he let go of his hands.
Si Jiang took the opportunity to get up and went to the balcony to find a broom and dustpan.
Jingsheng took the broom and swept the bathroom, putting all the garbage into a plastic bag.
"When is a good time to move in?"
"Uncle let Ala make the decision," Si Jiang washed his hands, "Either we celebrate the New Year.
If uncle is willing to come back, we will celebrate the New Year here. Si Hao said that he should
learn to ride a bicycle. I won't be too lazy to go to school next time. Si Nan said It doesn’t matter,
the distance is about the same.”
"Is it ready to move and cut during the National Day?"
"That's good, Nong's birthday is coming up in November." Si Jiang smiled and dumped Jingsheng
in the face.
But Jing Sheng said seriously: "It's cold, so it's not easy to cook in the pavilion."
"..." Si Jiang was convinced.

Chapter 343
There is no need for any warning when the rain comes in Huangmeitian, because it looks like it is
going to rain every minute for twenty-four hours.
Chen Sinan never carried an umbrella, but she had never lacked an umbrella and had never been
caught in the rain. She actually liked being caught in the rain, and running in the rain with
splashes everywhere was very admirable, with the momentum of Li Bai's "The saddled horses
were moving in all directions, suddenly like a meteor passing by". However, she thought it was
too troublesome to go back to Wanchun Street to boil water and take a bath. So she was the only
one in the school who walked into the teacher's office, the lost and found office, and the Youth
League Committee office so carelessly, and kept asking to "borrow" an umbrella. The next
morning, she inserted the umbrella diagonally into the strap of her schoolbag behind her like a
long sword, and ran into the school in a hurry to return the umbrella.
Before school was over that day, the sky suddenly split open and the rain poured down like a
waterfall. Umbrellas were useless. All the fluorescent lights in the classroom were on. No one
went home. There was still a week before the final exam. Some people looked at their mistakes,
some read books, and some boys gathered at the back door and started a four-nation war.
Si Nan held his cheek and looked at the rain for a while. It was dark at three o'clock. The cars on
Yuyuan Road turned on their headlights. There were many bicycles parked along the street.
People wearing ponchos and holding parasols were sitting next to snacks. She took shelter from
the rain under the store's ten-centimeter-wide sign. Thinking that she and Tang Huan were on
duty today, Si Nan yawned and thought about cleaning the blackboard and sweeping the floor
first, but when she turned around, she found that Tang Huan was not there.
She looked around, then poked Shen Jia at the table in front of her: "Have you seen Tang Huan?"
Shen Jia lowered her voice and said mysteriously: "Teacher Guo called Yi out."
Shen Jia's deskmate turned around and asked in a low voice: "Hey, Xiaofa? Many people in other
classes said that she and Teacher Guo were in a teacher-student relationship——"
Shen Jia gave her an elbow.
Si Nan rolled his eyes: "Lian Zhi Shi - Tang Huan is preparing to participate in the city's essay
competition, and Guo Xingzhi is the instructor."
"I heard that because she went to Teacher Guo for guidance, Old Dong was so angry that he gave
our class's composition competition spot to Zhang Jun? All other classes' Chinese class
representatives participated."
"It's okay. Anyone can sign up for that competition, whether it's quota or not," Si Nan raised his
eyebrows, "My sister had four people in her class. She and Another boy won a prize.”
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, your sister is different, alright, the eternal goddess of Ala Academy," Shen Jia
showed a yearning look, "Master, when will you take us to your house to review the karate
method? How about Sunday?"
The two apprentices at the back table also hurriedly came up: "Master, senior brother, we also
want to review, review and consolidate."
Sinan glanced at them with disdain. "My sister is going to work as a part-time translator for
Americans on Sunday, and my eldest cousin is busy with Hilton's fashion show. Do you want to
study the Bible with my grandmother, or watch cartoons with my brother?"
The three disciples heaved a sigh of relief.
"It's easy to review karate. Just go down to the first floor and do frog jumps, jump up to the third
floor and go down again. Do this back and forth twenty times, and then punch a hundred times -
hey, hey, hey, why do you need to organize your schoolbag? There's no need to carry any weight."
Sinan smiled kindly.
"Master, I will learn from you another day. The rain has stopped. I will go home and finish my
meal first."
"Master, let's make room for you to sweep the floor. See you later!"
The girls swarmed out laughing.
Si Nan shouted loudly: "You guys are lazy, you will all be kicked out of the master's door,
immediately, immediately, call me master again."
Shen Jia and others turned around and made faces: "Master - Ala Ainong!"
"roll!"
Si Nan packed up his schoolbag, looked at Tang Huan's desk, and unpacked her schoolbag as well,
got up and started wiping the blackboard and sweeping the floor.
Last semester, we went to the countryside to learn about agriculture. The door of the dormitory
was broken. The girls cried collectively the first night without exception. They missed home and
could not adapt to the conditions in the countryside. The long squat toilet in the girls' bathroom
alone was chilling. Sinan put her bed across the door and spoke like a real gang leader. She talked
about how she was born on a train, how she almost fell into a cesspool when she was a child,
how she was locked in the dormitory and ate her own poop. She talked about everything, no
matter how mischievous, adventurous, funny, how good her famously pretty sister was to her,
how good her famously pretty cousin was to her, and the physics genius who is now studying for
a doctorate... She talked for a full hour and a half. The girls laughed, cried, marveled, and were
worried.
After returning to the city two weeks later, Chen Sinan was no longer the eccentric and solitary
Xinjiang educated youth in everyone's eyes. She became a legend, even more stubborn than the
legendary Chen Sijiang. She could chase a mouse to death with a shoe sole after 50 meters, and
kill cockroaches, spiders and mosquitoes whenever she saw them. When the girls were afraid and
screamed, she would gently tell jokes to cheer them up. When she returned to the camp from
the farmer's house at night, she always sang "Iron Blood and Loyalty" loudly at the end. By
playing mahjong, she won the two kilograms of Lifeng beef jerky, Kangyuan scallion pancakes and
peanuts and melon seeds from the farmer's house. She was good at mahjong, poker and gobang,
and she was good at killing chickens, birds and wild dogs. At the bonfire party, boys played the
piano and girls sang. Chen Sinan performed karate, splitting a three-centimeter-thick wooden
board with one hand, flipping in the air and kicking a bench directly into two pieces. Although the
bench had several cracks, it still shocked the audience. As a result, her homeroom teacher, Mr.
Dong, asked her to pay 15 yuan as compensation for damaging public property. Fortunately, due
to her hard work in the performance, the whole grade donated one yuan or fifty cents each, and
in the end she still earned 32.5 yuan. She only sold her art and not her body, and was still a good
child of the world.
Chen Sinan became famous overnight and became the protagonist of the story "I have a
classmate". Others were in the blooming season of sixteen, while she was in the four seasons of
sixteen. The experiences of all the girls in the class combined were not as colorful and ups and
downs as hers. "A bit weird" and "not easy to get along with" were gone. When talking about her,
boys nodded or shook their heads: "She is a stick, a model, a boss, don't mess with her". Girls
shook their heads or nodded: "Don't blame me, she is easy to get along with, Harling, and looks
so good."
The new head teacher, Lao Dong, left a comment in the student handbook last semester that
stunned even Chen Sinan himself: "You are simple and kind, united and friendly, have a strong
sense of class collective honor, are well-rounded in moral education and sports, and have
cohesion. You must have confidence in yourself and be brave enough to take on greater
responsibilities. You can try to run for class cadres, the Youth League Committee, and the Student
Union cadres. I believe that your classmates will help you hand in a brilliant answer to your
youth. Innocence is a rare quality that is not polluted by the world. The teacher hopes that you
will always have this precious childlike heart."
Chen Sinan: Teacher Dong, did you read the name wrong?
After returning home and reading the handbook, Sijiang and Jingsheng's expressions were like:
Chen Sinan, what on earth did you do? How could the teacher and classmates be deceived like
this? Sinan snatched the handbook back and said, "Hey, I am so simple, kind, innocent and cute.
Humph."
——
The rain had indeed slowed down, and the sky had gradually brightened. In addition to the sound
of wind and rain outside the teaching building, there were also many sounds of students laughing
and talking after school. The students left one after another, saying goodbye to Sinan one after
another.
"Chen Sinan, do you want an umbrella?" Many classmates asked with a smile.
"No, thank you." Sinan picked up the chair with one hand and placed it upside down on the desk,
while with the other hand he swept out the garbage with the broom.
The boys at the back door were still fighting, engineers were digging mines, bombs were blowing
up commanders, and the killing was fierce. Chen Zhanping, the referee, threw a pair of division
commanders into the flag box: "Go together." The boys were in a turmoil, and they kept talking.
Chen Zhanping pulled a classmate to continue to be the referee, and jumped off the desk to help
Sinan set up a chair.
"Where's Tang Huan?"
Sinan shook his head listlessly: "I don't know."
"Waiting for Xie Ala to run together? (Waiting for us to walk together?)"
"Did you bring your umbrella with you?"
"without."
"Rush back in the rain?"
"good."
Si Nan nodded with satisfaction and got a little more energetic. After all, they were accomplices
who had set up stalls and made money together, and only like-minded people could achieve the
same goal.
Loud noises came from the back door, and the winner of the battle between the four countries
was decided. The boys consciously arranged the messy desks and chairs, put up the chair racks,
and picked up trash.
The sound of rapid running came from the corridor outside. Chasing and running are prohibited
in the corridors of the teaching building, and I don’t know what happened.
It was Shen Jia who rushed in.
"Chen Sinan - Tang Huan was, was beaten."
Si Nan's hair stood on end, and the broom in his hand tightened: "Where is the stranglehold?"
"The gate! Yuyuan Road——"
Si Nan picked up her and Tang Huan's schoolbags and threw them to Chen Zhanping: "Hold it for
Ala." She turned around and rushed out with the broom.
The boys looked at each other for a second and then immediately ran outside.
However, Shen Jia firmly blocked the door and refused to let them out. She mumbled for several
seconds before whispering: "She is Teacher Guo's wife, as well as Yi's mother-in-law and father-
in-law."
"Teacher Guo's wife threw sulfuric acid at Tang Huan, and then threw it on Teacher Guo's back..."
Chen Zhanping threw the three schoolbags in his hands on the floor, pushed past Shen Jia and
chased after them.
"Chen Sinan—Chen Sinan—"
Chen Sinan had already disappeared.
——
The upper curb of Yuyuan Road is not wide, and there is a row of bicycles next to the road, which
fell over at this time.
Before Sinan squeezed into the crowd, he heard the discussions one after another.
"Psychopath threw sulfuric acid at female students——"
"It was so scary, luckily the teacher blocked it."
"If a little girl's face is splashed, her life will be over."
"It's bad luck. A mentally ill person who kills someone doesn't have to go to jail."
"Did you hear what she said? The student and the teacher are having an affair, and she's here to
deal with the vixen. It's really embarrassing."
Sinan's blood rushed to his head, his ears buzzed, he stepped on the man's foot and quickly
squeezed in.

Chapter 344
There was a large empty space in the inner circle of the crowd. Guo Xingzhi grabbed a woman's
hands and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Put her down! Put her down! Don't move!"
The woman had a hideous look on her face and was struggling to repeat a sentence quickly in
Shanghai dialect: "Nong Se Nong! Qu Xi Qu Xi Nong Qu Xi! (I'll kill you, die, die, die!)" She also
had a glass bottle in her hand with a little colorless liquid in it.
The woman's father stretched out his arms to stop the fight: "Let go, I'll take her back, and you
can go to the hospital quickly!"
The onlookers exclaimed and dodged from time to time, but were reluctant to join in the fun. As
the three of them moved forward and backward, dodging left and right, it was like a human wave
performance at a sports event, very magical.
Si Nan saw Tang Huan at first sight. She seemed stupid, staring blankly at Guo Xingzhi's back,
letting her mother-in-law hit her on the head with an upturned umbrella. There were two
bloodstains on her face, which were diluted by tears and rain.
"You little vixen, you're out to seduce men when you're a teenager, you're a country girl who was
born by a grandfather but not raised by a mother - hey!"
The old woman screamed and was kicked to the ground by Sinan, screaming. There were also
screams from the surroundings. It turned out that there was a lot of sulfuric acid spilled on the
ground. Although it was diluted a lot after being washed by water for a few minutes, it was still
very painful to hold it with your hands.
Before the three people on Guo Xingzhi's side could react, Si Nan straightened the umbrella,
folded it and hit the woman's hand directly. The woman screamed, and the glass bottle fell
straight down. There was another scream all around.
"Nannan, be careful!" Tang Huan finally reacted.
Sinan opened the umbrella with a "bang", and the umbrella drew a smooth arc, catching the
bottle about ten centimeters above the ground and placing it steadily on the ground. The bottle
tilted and lay horizontally in the umbrella, and holes were corroded on the umbrella surface in
just a few seconds.
Everyone stepped back.
Si Nan looked at Guo Xingzhi's family who were still entangled with each other with disdain,
grabbed Tang Huan and stepped aside: "Don't be afraid, wait for the police to come, she is
committing murder! Murder!"
The woman struggled with Guo Xingzhi for a few times, then suddenly her body went limp and
she slid to the ground, her eyes twitching.
Guo Xingzhi squatted down, stuffed his fingers into her mouth, raised his head and shouted, "Call
an ambulance!"
"Ahua! Ahua!"
The old woman didn't care about her own hands, she crawled over crying and held up her
daughter's head.
Si Nan then saw the miserable condition on Guo Xingzhi's back. After being soaked by the rain,
his clothes were already shredded, and the exposed skin on his back was sticky and sticky, which
made people shudder. Si Nan looked at the umbrella belatedly and shuddered.
"Chen Sinan! Tang Huan!" Chen Zhanping pushed his way through the crowd.
The boys in the class and Shen Jia also came over. After a brief exclamation, they quickly pulled Si
Nan and Tang Huan aside and surrounded them.
"Are you all right?"
Tang Huan looked at Si Nan and the classmates, and murmured, "Teacher Guo, Teacher Guo has
something wrong. She was splashed with sulfuric acid--" She couldn't say any more, lowered her
head and began to tremble.
After police cars and ambulances arrived one after another, the crowd gradually dispersed.
——
Si Nan still feels scared when she thinks back to this day. No one can predict how the turning
point of fate is arranged. If the bottle of sulfuric acid was poured on Tang Huan's face, Si Nan dare
not think about it. Although she hates Guo Xingzhi, because he protected Tang Huan at the
critical moment, Si Nan did not speak ill of him again.
Teacher Guo stayed in the hospital for quite a while, and Sinan went to visit him once with Tang
Huan. He had second-degree burns covering 3% of his body, and the doctor said that it was
fortunate that it rained that day, and he still had a shirt and a sweat vest, so he didn't need skin
grafting.
Guo Zhixing lay on the hospital bed and smiled bitterly: "Even if I have third-degree burns, I won't
get skin grafts. Compared to that kind of pain, this little bit of physical pain is more refreshing. At
least it reminds me all the time what price I paid for my stupidity."
Tang Huan was speechless, and looked at him with tears in her eyes. The world of the two people
seemed to be covered by a glass cover, and the glass was foggy frosted glass, with only three big
words "art film" missing.
Chen Sinan, who was outside the cover, didn't like what he heard, and mocked him privately with
Chen Zhanping: "Guo Zhixing deserved this punishment in the first place, because he provoked
the students. Besides, if he doesn't suffer this punishment, why should Tang Huan suffer it? He
made himself look like the suffering Jesus, and he just wanted Tang Huan to be grateful to him.
What a scheming Yue Buqun!"
Chen Zhanping misunderstood the point: "Sunflower Manual?"
"Bah," Si Nan sighed, "What can we do? Tang Huan is even more devoted to him. Now his wife
has moved into No. 600 Wanping South Road——"
"His wife is pitiful too."
"People of the same family are alike. What's so pitiful about this? A madman is deceiving a fool. I
think these four are not good people."
Chen Zhanping hesitated for a moment and said, "Old Guo's wife wasn't crazy before. Teacher
Dong said so."
"Ai?"
"I heard that she had epilepsy when she was a child, but she didn't have many attacks. But when
she married Teacher Guo, she didn't say she had any problems. Later, they raised a daughter.
When the daughter was two months old, she suffocated to death while sleeping on the bed. She
tried to commit suicide once, but failed. Later, her brain really went wrong. She said every day
that her mother-in-law suffocated her granddaughter to death, and she picked up a kitchen knife
to seek revenge. Teacher Guo's mother fell down the stairs and died - oh, Mr. Guo is also pitiful.
Anyway, she is pitiful."
——
Sinan went to ask Tang Huan whether she knew about this past event and whether Guo Zhixing
was telling the truth.
Tang Huan jumped up like a cat whose tail was stepped on: "Teacher Guo told me all these
things! He is the most innocent person, why do you doubt that he is not telling the truth? Why
did you go to inquire about this matter?"
Sinan was startled: "I didn't ask--"
"Nannan, it's my business that I like Teacher Guo. You said so many nasty things about him.
Because you are my best friend, I will not and cannot be angry with you, but can you not have
such a big prejudice against him? He was willing to give up his life for me. You saw it right? He
didn't do anything even when that woman was so crazy. Didn't you notice? He was deceived by
that family to marry, and the daughter he gave birth to disappeared inexplicably. His mother was
also killed, but he didn't even hit that lunatic——"
Tang Huan burst into tears: "I can't stand it if anyone says anything bad about Teacher Guo. I
really can't stand it, Nan Nan, please."
Si Nan was choked and took several deep breaths. After a long while, he reluctantly said, "Tang
Huan, everyone has their own version of events in their family. I didn't see it with my own eyes,
and neither did you. You can't just believe whoever says it, right?"
"Don't you think you believe that crazy woman?"
"I..." Sinan sighed, his voice much softer, "Because in the countryside there are grandmothers
who dislike their daughters-in-law for giving birth to daughters, so they throw away or even
drown their granddaughters so that their daughters-in-law can continue to give birth to sons.
Didn't you say that before..."
"Sinan!"
Sinan gritted his teeth and said, "No normal person would like their students anyway!"
"Hu Shi and Xu Fang, Lu Xun and Xu Guangping, Shen Congwen and Zhang Zhaohe, Xu Beihong
and Sun Duoci, are these masters abnormal people?" Tang Huan choked with sobs and moved
Ras Nan's hand, "I You know, we have all encountered bad things. It is normal to hate men all
over the world, but not all men are bad people. I met such a good person like Teacher Guo, can
you? ‌Don’t stay angry‌keep scolding him?”
Si Nan was stunned for a moment, and his tone became stiffer unconsciously: "I don't hate all the
men in the world——"
"Then why do you hate Teacher Guo? There is no conflict between me liking him and me liking
you."
"I didn't -" Si Nan took a deep breath, "Forget it, it's up to you. Anyway, I don't think it's right. He
is a teacher and you are a student. If you think anything he says is good for anything, aren't you
the same? A stereotype?”
"Because I have had a lot of contact with him, I know what kind of person he is. This is not called
prejudice. It is called prejudice when you are unwilling to contact him at all and criticize him like
this," Tang Huan cried again. "Sinan, I am going to transfer to another school next semester, but I
really don't want to lose you as a good friend."
Si Nan knew about Tang Huan's transfer to another school, and she was very angry about it, but
being angry was useless.
"We are still good friends. We can write letters and call each other." Si Nan sighed. "I can't help it
if you don't like what I say, but I still have to finish. My eldest cousin used to work on Yuyuan
Road, right next to where you had the accident. He pushed a girl from his class away and was hit
by a bus and broke his thigh. The steel nail is still in his leg. The girl kept saying, 'Gu Jingsheng
saved my life, and he gave up his own life to save me.' Anyway, that's what she meant. She went
to see my eldest cousin every day and liked him to death. But in reality? My eldest cousin doesn't
like her at all. It's just an instinctive reaction as a human being. Like the last time I climbed the
water pipe to fish out the trapped wild cat, I didn't think so much. If I accidentally fell down at
that time, would you think I would give up my own life for that cat?"
"You can't listen because you like him, you trust him, and you think you know him best, but no
one can know others best. People can't even fully understand themselves, let alone others?
Teacher And students - anyway, I don't like Shen Congwen. He used his status as a teacher to
pursue Zhang Zhaohe crazily, and after getting married, he fell in love with another woman,
right?" An idea flashed in Si Nan's mind, "Teacher is a student? There is a natural advantage in
your heart, that is, you will believe what he says, and you will not look at him objectively. Your
status is unequal! Tang Huan, think about it, otherwise why do you think what Lao Guo said? Is it
true? It was you who believed him first, and then you felt that you knew him best——"
"Snan, I am neither a kindergarten student nor a primary school student. I really know what I am
doing and what I want." Tang Huan lowered his head and said nothing.
——
Si Nan didn't understand why a smart and strong-willed girl like Tang Huan would lose her mind
after meeting a man, and even ten oxen couldn't pull her back. She was a little annoyed inside
that she didn't refute the words "hate all men in the world" on the spot. She had liked her cousin
for so many years, and she also liked Zhao Youning, and now she got along well with Chen
Zhanping. She really didn't hate all men in the world, but even her cousin, who was so good to
her in Shajingzi, suddenly fell in love with her elder sister, and Zhao Youning, who was also so
good to her, suddenly had a girlfriend who lived with him.
Seventeen-year-old Chen Sinan told himself: No matter what, I will not shed tears for any man,
except my elder uncle and younger uncle Gu Jingsheng - if Zhao Youning gets sick or something
happens, I can cry for him - anyway, I can't cry because of love between men and women, I can
cry for friendship and family affection.
Zhao Youning, who was on the other side of the ocean, sneezed three times in a row,
remembering that a classmate in Shanghai was about to take his final exam, so he could add
some difficult questions to the test.

Chapter 345
On June 1, 1990, Gorbachev and Bush held a summit in Washington, and the Cold War ended.
For ordinary people in the world, this day was no different from any other day. This event was too
far away, and the so-called ups and downs of the world pattern radiated to individuals on the
other side of the ocean, and the impact almost disappeared. The microscopic world within a few
kilometers continued to operate without noticing it.
Compared with the game between superpowers, Shanghai people are more concerned about the
World Cup held in Italy. The huge trauma brought to the fans by the three black minutes has not
yet recovered. On university campuses and in alleys, people who love football turn day and night
upside down, cheering or sighing for distant strangers. At this time, the microscopic world of a
few meters has risen to the grand globalization.
As a football fan, Jingsheng only had time to watch the Argentina vs. Brazil match on the 24th. He
watched Maradona's pass of the century, and Argentina finally defeated Brazil 1:0. This extremely
wonderful pass made people's blood boil, but Jingsheng thought of Gu Dongwen. He wondered if
he stayed up late to watch the game in Ganlanba. If the World Cup could be held in China one day
- Jingsheng shook his head and laughed, and got up to open a bottle of Reebok beer in the
refrigerator.
The phone rang.
"Hey there! Are you ready to watch the game?" Gu Dongwen's voice was a little hoarse but full of
energy.
"Maradona! That's it! Maradona is Maradona, have you seen him dribble past people? He just
stifled Brazil!"
Jingsheng's eyes suddenly turned red, and he rubbed his eyes: "I saw it. Great."
Gu Dongwen was as excited and inexplicable as a football commentator describing Marado's 20
seconds of intoxication, but Jing Sheng remembered that he had always said that he wanted to
watch his own football, and he had to teach him how to use dirt to overcome dirt on the court. ,
but Gu Dongwen is too busy and only takes a few days off for the New Year throughout the year.
He has never seen him play or run on the same court with him.
"Let's open a bottle of beer. Alas, Gu Beiwusa is good, but it's a pity that he is not a fan." Gu
Dongwen sighed regretfully.
Jingsheng heard Lu Jia's voice urging him to sleep, and his throat was slightly choked: "Go to
Kungao early. In August, Ala will come to see Nong, and we can play football together."
"good."
After hanging up the phone, Jingsheng looked up and saw Si Jiang coming down from the attic at
some point. The two people looked at each other quietly.
"Did you wake me up?"
"Uncle, do you like fighting?"
The two asked at the same time, and couldn't help but laugh.
"I had another nightmare and woke up in fright." Si Jiang told Jingsheng.
Si Jiang began to dream about press conferences in mid-June. For example, the music started, but
there was no one in the audience; another example was that the audience was full of people, but
no models had arrived yet; I also dreamed that at the order reception after the press conference,
no orders were made. At the most tense moment, I couldn't shout or cry, and I was so anxious
that my heart was on fire, and I felt like I could spit fire without hitting my nose like Red Boy, but I
could only worry. Often at this time, I woke up from the dream, and it was difficult to fall asleep
after waking up.
She asked Jingsheng: "Are you nervous? Are you having a nightmare?"
Jingsheng pointed to the dark circles under his eyes and said, "I'm extremely nervous, but there's
nothing I can do about it."
After he said that, Si Jiang actually relaxed a little and told Jingsheng about the power outage he
dreamt about that night. Jingsheng quickly wrote it down in his notebook.
Si Jiang laughed in horror: "What are you doing? It's just a dream."
Jingsheng: "It's always better to be more careful."
How much more detailed could he be? He sent another fax with the map of Hilton's location and
traffic information to the attendees; he went to the Textile University to watch Professor Huang's
students make fixed and movable background boards, checked the lighting circuits and the tracks
on the background boards, and carefully confirmed the acrylic three-dimensional characters.
Jingsheng asked about the hotel's entry and exit times, circuit configuration, lighting
configuration, cocktail menu, number of waiters, etc., no matter how big or small, every page of
his notebook was filled with things, and he crossed out each item with a red pen after completing
it.
Teacher Huang volunteered to help design the stage for the press conference. It was a fixed
background board with tracks embedded above and below. The Chinese and English 3D
characters of the quartet were installed in the center. Lights were installed on the four sides of
the background board and under the 3D characters. The two movable background boards were a
circle smaller and just fit into the upper and lower tracks of the fixed background board. The
front and back of the two movable background boards were filled with green lisianthus, red
roses, sunflowers and white lilies, symbolizing the seasonal quartet of spring, summer, autumn
and winter. An oval was hollowed out in the middle for the 3D characters. The movable
background boards only needed to be replaced between the hosts on stage, which was very
convenient.
Si Nan had volunteered to take on the job of buying plastic flowers, thinking that she could at
least make some money from running errands. She negotiated with Jingsheng for a total budget
of 3,000 yuan, including flowers, hot melt guns, hot melt glue, sealing tape, thin wire and other
tools. Whatever she could save was hers. Chen Si Nan was extremely enthusiastic about making
money. At the end of May, she dragged her "business partner" Chen Zhanping to several
wholesale markets to compare prices. In early June, she ordered the goods smoothly, but she was
very disappointed after buying all the goods. In the end, she only made 118.5 yuan from this "big
business". This was the savings she made when she and Chen Zhanping took the bus to go and
ate all pan-fried pot stickers and pork chops. If she was lazy and stopped a few buses to have a
good meal, she might even have to pay for it.
Chen Zhanping was very generous. He took half of the money and invited Si Nan to Lao Da Chang
for a western meal. Chen Si Nan turned her grief and anger into appetite. She ate all of Chen
Zhanping's dividends, but she was still short of three yuan. She was really embarrassed to let
others pay for her. It was rare for a stingy person to pluck a feather. After leaving Lao Da Chang,
she felt more and more sad. When she compared Jingsheng's strong performance in business and
her sister's continuous income after she started to work as a tutor, she felt even more depressed.
When they walked to the opposite side of the Hilton Hotel on Huashan Road, Si Nan was
overwhelmed with grief and suddenly burst into tears, which scared Chen Zhanping. Si Nan was
very embarrassed. She cried for two seconds and quickly wiped her tears, and began to analyze.
"The biggest problem this time is that I should have gone to the wholesale market to inquire
about the price first. My brother is even stingier than me," Sinan said angrily. "He must have
calculated the price of three thousand yuan first. No wonder he agreed so readily as soon as I
asked him, and smiled so meaningfully."
"A pit! A sand pit!" The more Si Nan thought about it, the more he felt that there was something
wrong with Jingsheng's smile at that time. "Brother is just a beach."
Chen Zhanping scratched his head. "You can't say that. You also have to pay for one more
person's transportation and meals. You've been running around for two Sundays, and you've
spent at least several dozen yuan. You could have earned more than 200 yuan. More than 200
yuan out of 3,000 yuan is nearly 10%. It's already quite a lot, right? My uncle and aunt only make
200 yuan a month at work."
Sinan shook his head: "No, I just fell for his trick. It doesn't matter, first time is first time, second
time is second time. I won't be too clear about the prices in the wholesale market now. He did a
good job this time, and he will definitely do it again next time. I will investigate the price before
negotiating with him. I have to make at least 20% profit, otherwise my hard work will be in vain."
Chen Sinan was very unwilling to be at the bottom of the contempt chain of family members'
ability to make money, and he vowed to avenge his previous shame.
After what happened with Tang Huan, Sinan became more determined to achieve his great
ambition of attending a good university and making a lot of money.
Zhao Youning called Wanchun Street. Si Nan made a big fuss: "The little girl is so smart and
pretty! Why would she hang herself on a crooked rotten tree? Besides, men are nothing! I, Chen
Si Nan, now declare that I will never date, get married, or have children in the future!"
"You don't have to have a boyfriend, but you still have to have a friend, right?" Zhao Youning
laughed. "Besides, Nannan, you're not the kind of person who values love over friendship, right?
Hey, when I return to China, will you no longer recognize me as your good friend?"
"Of course, you will always be my best friend—" Sinan paused, then suddenly sneered, "Forget it,
you are actually a guy who values women over friends, I need to think about it again. You guys
are reliable, and sows can also climb trees."
"I have a few physics questions for your final exam. I'll fax them to your home and I'll call you
tomorrow night?" Zhao Youning changed the subject.
"Are you still my friend?"
"He is both a teacher and a friend. Just think about it. How difficult it would be to get a perfect
score in physics in the final exam—"
"Now I'm used to describing it as 'beast'," Sinan laughed proudly, "I'm now the physics beast in
my grade, hahahaha."
"That's not enough. You have to be the best beast among all beasts." Zhao Youning answered,
trying hard to hold back his laughter.
"Okay, I'll hang up first. You hurry up and fax it. I'll ask Chen Zhanping to work with me," Sinan
raised his eyebrows. "This boy in our class is pretty good. He has a very good personality. We set
up a stall together during the New Year and he can endure the hardship. We're doing business
together again this time, but..."
Before I knew it, Sinan had been talking for five minutes before he hung up the phone.
Four pages of physics questions were delivered, and Sinan began to feel that it was not so bad
not to be a beast.
——
The day before the press conference, all the materials were transported to the Hilton. It was
originally agreed that they would be there at 10 pm. Unexpectedly, something went wrong at the
wedding banquet in the auditorium at night. One of the best men drank too much and vomited
the carpet in the banquet hall. The carpet in the hotel banquet hall was custom-made. The partial
cleaning fee was several thousand. The bride and groom's families were dumbfounded. They
wanted to pay, but they were unwilling. If they didn't pay, they couldn't leave. The hotel was
considerate of customers and said frankly that as long as you can make the carpet clean and not
bald or faded after drying, it would be fine. The two families worked together and the venue was
still not vacated until after 12 o'clock in the night. Several managers from the banquet
department, catering department and public relations department also did not leave. They
repeatedly said hello to Jing Shengsijiang and others and said sorry.
It was not until 1:30 in the morning that all the quartet's props, costume boxes, hangers,
promotional posters, etc. were brought in. Teacher Huang and a group of models were supposed
to walk on the nude stage twice, but Jingsheng saw something was wrong and asked the driver to
send them away at 11:30, and they agreed to rehearse at 8 o'clock the next morning.
It was already 3:30 when all the background boards were installed and connected to the power
supply. Jingsheng was anxious, but his face showed no sign of anxiety. Fortunately, he had come
here several times to check the situation. After obtaining the hotel's consent, he adjusted the
lights and sound by himself. Si Jiang looked at Mr. Huang's process details table, Director Zeng
was responsible for timing, and Director Wang, after being trained twice by Jingsheng, was forced
to try to control the light switches. The sound in the auditorium flowed out Vivaldi's violin
concerto "The Four Seasons", from spring to summer, from autumn to winter, and the lights went
from bright to dark, and from dark to bright again. It was not until 5:30 that he finished it all, and
Jingsheng wrote down a lot of problems in his notebook.
The four of them walked out of the hotel. The driver, Ah Jin, was sleeping soundly in the van.
After being woken up, he got out of the car to calm down. He ate a cigarette and drank half a cup
of the overnight strong tea before returning to the van. Look, good guys, the boss, boss, wife,
director Wang, and factory director Zeng are all asleep. It doesn’t matter that the boss and boss
wife are leaning on their heads. Director Wang and factory director Zeng are also sleeping face to
face, smiling like ordinary people.
When Jingsheng was woken up, it took several seconds to realize that they were still in the car.
"Mr. Gu, I see that you are all asleep, so I just drove over here so that you can rest for a while."
Ah Jin explained nervously, it's a good thing to do things, don't ask for nothing but nothing. It is
easy to seek no fault and talk to yourself without any merit or hard work.
Si Jiang opened his eyes in a daze, saw the signboard of Fengyu Shengjian outside the window,
and smiled when he saw the car parked on Shaanxi Road.
"Oh, thank you, Jin. That's great. When I was a kid, my uncle often brought me here to eat
wontons and steamed buns. I haven't been here for a while."
Jingsheng looked at his watch and it was seven o'clock. He smiled when he heard what Sijiang
said: "You made a very good arrangement."
Director Wang and Director Zeng had not yet recovered from their love-making tea, and followed
Jingsheng and Sijiang out of the car. The two had good appetites, eating 4 taels of pan-fried buns,
a bowl of curry beef vermicelli soup, and a bowl of wontons in a clay pot.
Si Jiang counted the wontons. Without the waitress who admired his uncle, there was not one
more or one less.
Jingsheng also bought four liang of shengjian and a bowl of vermicelli soup for Ah Jin. The five of
them finished their breakfast and returned to the Hilton, which was not yet 7:30.
Teacher Huang, along with the models, makeup artist, photographer and videographer were
already waiting in the hotel lobby.
——
There were less than eight hours left before the press conference, and everyone rushed into the
auditorium in a hurry. Teacher Huang walked around and gave Jingsheng and Si Jiang a thumbs
up. When she asked, she heard that they were busy until five o'clock, and shook her head and
sighed that young people have good physical strength. The hotel staff also arrived in advance,
and they rehearsed without makeup twice at 9:30. With some details of the connection that
Jingsheng had considered last night, Teacher Huang saved a lot of effort in her throat, and then
she started to put on makeup. Si Jiang led the six aunts in the factory to carefully check all the
clothes that the models were going to show, and hung them up in order, and ironed those that
needed ironing.
Unfortunately, things took time to happen. The host, who was supposed to arrive at 11 o'clock,
was in a taxi that competed with a bus for lane and got into an accident. The host broke his arm
and was sent directly to the hospital.
"How can I do this? Where can I find someone who is familiar with the process and script? He
needs to look good and speak well. Can't you, a little kid, ask the driver to drive slower?!"
Teacher Huang was furious when he received the phone call. After he finished shouting, he
seemed to be thinking about something and looked at Jingsheng while holding the microphone.
Jingsheng and Teacher Huang looked at each other, nodded, and at the same time looked at Si
Jiang who was busy hanging clothes.

Chapter 346
Whenever Si Jiang thinks back to this day, she feels it is wonderful. She thus met a real girlfriend.
They are not similar, with completely different growth experiences and education processes. They
have common cognitions in some aspects, but they often have disputes in more aspects,
especially in ideology. No one can convince anyone, or no one has ever thought about convincing
anyone. They each expound and argue, and then self-deny and break down to re-establish new
views. They lived together for a short time, and more often relied on letters, phone calls, and
later ICQ, MSN, and emails to communicate. They witnessed each other's most dazzling moments
and accompanied each other silently in the most difficult years. In the end, they were separated,
but they have always been each other's strongest backing.
Si Jiang was given a critical moment that day, but she was not panicked. She recited the host's
speech while putting on makeup. Fortunately, the script was originally written by her, and
Nanhong and Teacher Huang added some professional content on fashion, so it was not difficult.
She could recite it fluently after three or four times.
"Lighter, lighter, please make it lighter." She looked at herself in the mirror and repeatedly told
the makeup artist. Si Jiang could not forget the makeup she wore when she performed on TV as a
child. The thought of it gave her goose bumps. As a result, she is only willing to put on a little
lipstick now and is very resistant to putting on makeup.
"Okay, don't be nervous, don't frown, and relax your mouth. You have to know that when you are
on the stage and the lights are on, if your makeup is too light, it will look a bit unlucky," the
makeup artist smiled and comforted her, "Besides, you have such good conditions, you will be
super beautiful with just a little makeup, believe me."
The makeup artist's voice was soft and pleasant. Si Jiang couldn't help but look at the mirror, only
then did he notice that this makeup artist looked very special, with high eyebrows and deep eyes
on her baby face, slightly high cheekbones, and delicate and fashionable makeup. She had a high
ponytail and reddish hair, and was wearing a bright yellow men's shirt. The shirt was very thin,
and the dark purple lace underwear inside was very eye-catching. Half of the shirt hem was
tucked into black straight pants made of shiny fabric, and on her feet were a pair of square-toed
patent leather boat shoes, which she slipped on, without socks.
Zhang Mengmeng, who had already changed into her first outfit, was drinking honey water
through a straw and told Si Jiang with a smile: "Evone is Taiwanese. She learned makeup in Paris
and uses imported cosmetics. She has been invited to many famous fashion shows in Taiwan and
Hong Kong, and many celebrities also like to invite her for their performances."
Si Jiang nodded in admiration. It was the first time she had seen such a professional makeup case
that could be opened to both sides layer by layer. The cosmetics inside seemed to be all of the
same brand, neatly arranged and clean. The large and small makeup brushes were inserted in a
row in the leather bag. When she spread out her outfit, she was full of praise. Just spreading out
her outfit was enough to convince people of her professional talent. The makeup artists on TV
stations before did not have such style.
"No way?" Li Yifang glared at Zhang Mengmeng, "I only went to help a few times, okay? You're
talking nonsense again."
Zhang Mengmeng immediately pretended to fall to the ground: "It's so soft, so soft, Si Jiang, did
you notice? People say that Shanghai girls are coquettish, but compared to Taiwanese women,
wow, wow, they are ten Huangpu Rivers away."
Si Jiang completely agreed with this. It was the first time she heard a girl speak so gently and
coquettishly, yet without any affectation.
Li Yifang asked for Si Jiang's opinion with a smile: "Your eyelashes are so long and thick, why don't
you just not wear false eyelashes? Because it will be a little uncomfortable to wear false
eyelashes for the first time, and it will be easy to tear up when the lights are on."
"I'll listen to you. You make the decision." Si Jiang trusts his employees.
"Come on, look down. Don't be afraid. It won't hurt if you use the eyelash curler on your
eyelashes."
Si Jiang looked down and couldn't help but ask curiously: "Ms. Li, where are you from in Taiwan?"
"My ancestral home is in Sichuan. My grandfather was an air force officer. After he went to
Taiwan, he was settled in a military dependents' village in Gangshan, Kaohsiung. So I grew up in a
military dependents' village in Kaohsiung. But my mother is an aboriginal Paiwan, so I am actually
'mixed blood'. Few people in mainland China know about Gangshan. Have you heard of
Kaohsiung?"
"I know. Kaohsiung belongs to Tainan. I also know about the military dependents' villages. Teresa
Teng, Brigitte Lin, Zhu Tianxin, and Lung Yingtai are all from military dependents' villages."
"Wow, you're amazing. You know all this." Li Yifang looked carefully at the bewitchingly beautiful
young girl in the mirror, and secretly sighed that it was a waste of talent that such a face was not
an actress.
Si Jiang was slightly embarrassed and couldn't help blinking. Fortunately, the eyelash curler
loosened immediately and she didn't get hurt. She smiled and explained: "Because my uncle likes
Teresa Teng very much, and I also read some books by Taiwanese writers."
Li Yifang also laughed: "It seems that the mainland girls I have met only know Qiong Yao and
Sanmao, and few know Zhu Tianxin and Long Yingtai. OK, now look down again, let's curl our
eyelashes again, relax, don't blink, it will be fine in a few seconds."
"Yeah, okay." Si Jiang's tone unconsciously became much gentler.
"Come, look in the mirror. Hmm, very good. OK, look down again. Let's put on some mascara."
Si Jiang lowered his eyes as he was told, but his curiosity remained unabated: "Then how did you
come up with the idea of developing in the mainland?"
Li Yifang's voice was always filled with a smile. "A friend introduced me to a film crew to help a
female actress as a makeup artist. I was quite happy with the job, so I took on some jobs one
after another. After coming to Shanghai last year, I decided to stay in Shanghai."
Si Jiang remained motionless: "Well, there are quite a lot of Taiwanese and Hong Kong people in
Shanghai. Many of them live in the Hongqiao area."
"I live there too, the rent is so expensive!" Li Yifang smiled as she continued to apply mascara,
"You are so gentle——"
Si Jiang was stunned. The word "gentle" was more appropriate to describe her.
Li Yifang lowered her voice and laughed: "Actually, I know that you Shanghainese people call us
Taiwanese people "Taiwanese bastards", and Hong Kong people "Hong Kong bastards."
She blinked at the mirror, a little slyly, but without a trace of displeasure.
Si Jiang was stunned, not knowing how to respond.
Zhang Mengmeng, who was standing next to him, almost coughed several times because of the
honey water. She turned around and asked, "Evone, do you understand Shanghainese?"
Li Yifang smiled and re-tightened the dovetail clip on Si Jiang's temples: "I only understand these
two sentences."
Teacher Huang, who was patrolling back and forth, raised his eyebrows decisively: "This has
nothing to do with you girls from Hong Kong and Taiwan. When Taiwanese and Hong Kong men
come to Shanghai, nine out of ten will do sex as the first thing after getting off the plane. In the
singing club above the YH Hotel, the girls they pick up are all from Hong Kong and Taiwan, and
they are old enough to be their fathers or even grandfathers. Tsk!"
"If I were a Taiwanese woman, I would definitely not look for a Taiwanese man, nor a Hong Kong
man. They say that in economically developed regions, the thinking is still very feudal. There are a
lot of prostitutes, and many men keep mistresses outside. No one in society objects to marrying
several wives and concubines. Isn't this like a bastard? They treat women as property, which is
low class!" Teacher Huang started to scold, and the dressing room became silent.
Si Jiang blinked, feeling happy but also a little embarrassed. Anyway, she didn't feel happy when
people said she didn't look like a Shanghainese in Beijing, and she always had the urge to loudly
refute when people said Shanghai men were stingy, shrewd, and afraid of their wives.
But Li Yifang laughed: "Professor Huang, you said it very well! Really, Taiwan's social atmosphere
is really distorted, the Kuomintang is really no good, it will be finished sooner or later, and Lee
Teng-hui is even more of a mess."
You could hear a pin drop in the house.
Si Jiang was a little dumbfounded: "Isn't Lee Teng-hui your president?"
"Yes, that's why you have to scold him even more. It's okay. We Taiwanese scold him every day.
The legislators would curse and even fight during meetings. It's okay. I can scold him even more
freely in Shanghai," Li Yifang said not so gently for once. "Taiwan is in chaos now. Many young
boys only know how to pick up girls, make money, drive fast cars and drink. In fact, we girls can't
stand it. Those who can go abroad will go abroad - ah, sorry, sorry, those who can leave Taiwan
will leave Taiwan, sorry, I'm used to saying this since I was a child -"
Si Jiang came back to his senses and smiled more gently: "Thank you, Evone. Taiwan has been an
inalienable part of China since ancient times. This is an international consensus."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." Li Yifang poked the tip of her nose with the end of the lip
brush a little embarrassedly.
Everyone smiled and said it was okay.
Si Jiang thought about it, but then said: "I'm sorry too, Evone, thank you for correcting yourself
like that."
Li Yifang turned the swivel chair to the side in front of her, lifted her chin and observed her
makeup, a little surprised: "I said something that would disgust you, why are you still thanking
me?"
"Because the environment you were born and raised in is completely different from ours. You use
traditional Chinese characters and follow the years of the Republic of China. Your passports are
also different from ours. You have your own president, army, laws and government. Your history
books are also completely different from ours." Si Jiang said sincerely, "Your timely correction is a
kind of friendship, which is very valuable."
Li Yifang was stunned. "This is the first time I've heard someone from the mainland say this. In
the past, if I occasionally said something wrong on the set, I would be scolded for a long time.
Some people even said they would ask the police to send me back to Taiwan. So I didn't dare to
say anything wrong because I didn't want to go back to Taiwan. Every time I go back to
Kaohsiung, my parents will arrange a lot of blind dates for me. They will say that the other person
is already a mother at the age of 23, blah blah blah, it's so annoying!"
The room was quiet again. Even Si Jiang could not imagine that a Taiwanese girl who was so
fashionable and avant-garde would be forced to get married by her parents. In an instant, many
models felt the same way and came over to give Li Yifang advice.
Si Jiang smiled so hard that his eyes curved.
Li Yifang winked at her and continued to torment Si Jiang's face.
Professor Huang was a little embarrassed and muttered: "Evone, a good girl like you can consider
us Shanghai men. Look at Xiao Gu, how good she is to us Si Jiang."
"Wow, is that Mr. Gu really your boyfriend?" Li Yifang was a little surprised.
"You two are a perfect match. I have never seen a couple as well matched as you two."
"Thank you." Si Jiang thanked generously.
Li Yifang didn't draw lip liner for Si Jiang, but directly applied lipstick on her twice, looked at the
mirror and nodded with satisfaction, then stood up, removed the swallowtail clip and prepared to
do her hair.
"Can we take a few photos together after you change into your dress?" Li Yifang asked with a
smile.
Si Jiang readily agreed.
Li Yifang took out a small mobile phone from her bag and opened the cover: "Do you have
anyone's phone number? Let's exchange numbers."
"I don't have one, and I don't have a pager either. I only have a landline number. Do you want
one?"
"Yes," Li Yifang entered the number while showing Si Jiang her new Motorola MicroTac. "You and
your boyfriend can buy this. It's very convenient. You can contact each other anytime and
anywhere. It's not as ugly as a mobile phone."
"How much does this cost?" Si Jiang asked curiously.
"I bought it in Hong Kong for more than 18,000 Hong Kong dollars."
Si Jiang couldn't help but be amazed and was very tempted, but he had the desire but not the
money. Fortunately, he had a goal.
Suddenly someone knocked on the door.
"Saning?" Teacher Huang asked loudly.
"Teacher Huang, the host introduced several reporters from TV stations. Is it convenient for them
to come in and shoot?" Jingsheng asked outside. The host's fee had been paid half as a deposit
when the company was discussing the process a few days ago. The host had a car accident on the
way here, which was considered a "work injury". Jingsheng would not ask for a refund. The other
party was also very good at dealing with people and immediately contacted his brothers to come
and show his support.
Teacher Huang raised her hands repeatedly, quickly closed the curtain of the dressing room,
checked the models' clothes, makeup, and hairstyles, and opened the door: "Come in."
Jingsheng brought three people in, one of them was carrying a camera with two stickers of the TV
station, a female reporter was holding a microphone, and a trainee reporter followed.
The trainee reporter laughed and shouted, "Chen Sijiang—ha! When I saw Gu Jingsheng, I
thought you might be there!"
"Yeah, you know each other?"
"We were classmates in junior high school," Cheng Ying smiled, and wanted to hug Si Jiang, but
she retracted her hand when she saw that she was wearing makeup. "Chen Si Jiang has always
been the most beautiful girl in our class and school. Brother, come and take more pictures of us,
the fairy."
The camera was pointed at Si Jiang.
Fortunately, there was foundation, powder and blush on her face, so the heat on Si Jiang's face
was not noticeable.
The interview went smoothly. Teacher Huang did not accept the interview. The focus was on the
interviews with two models, Si Jiang and Li Yifang.
During the breaks in the interview, Si Jiang noticed that Cheng Ying was completely different from
before. She was very diligent, but not so eager to learn. She patiently held up a piece of white
paper to measure the light at various angles. Her smile was a bit masked. She wrote the host's
lines in three minutes, one sentence per piece of paper. She held it up at the same level as the
camera lens to ensure that the host's eyes were facing the camera when he read the lines.
"Dear audience, today we will see a high-level fashion show that is in line with international
standards. All the clothes on display are designed by Shanghai designers and produced by
Shanghai clothing companies. They are authentic 'Shanghai brands'. Many of the models
participating in the show are members of our first professional model team in Shanghai. What's
more gratifying is that this show has also attracted Miss Li, a famous makeup artist from Taiwan.
This is the charm of our Shanghai, a city that is open to all and full of infinite possibilities. Well,
now let's take a look at the wonderful performances on the spot."
After three seconds of freezing, the host put down the microphone and found Jingsheng with a
smile: "Mr. Gu, we took some time out to come here temporarily. We have other tasks to do later,
so we won't follow you. Please ask your cameraman to burn a copy of the videotape and send it
to Cheng Ying. We will edit it together and I will contact you before it is broadcast."
Jingsheng withdrew his gaze from Si Jiang in the mirror, nodded politely, and led them out.
"Mr. Gu, have you kept my business card? If I call your pager, will you not call back?" The host
said with a smile, "Do you have a cell phone? Leave me your number——"
The sound gradually faded away.
Zhang Mengmeng patted Si Jiang on the shoulder and said, "Take good care of Xiao Gu,
understand?"
Cheng Ying packed her suitcase and hurriedly put down her business card: "I'm really busy today.
Let's get together with the second class when summer vacation starts in July."
Si Jiang took the business card and stood up to see her out without asking about her and Lin
Zhuoyu. After seeing Cheng Ying off, Si Jiang noticed that the job title on her business card was
intern editor.
——
The lights suddenly dimmed. The crowd around the T-shaped stage stopped chatting and talking,
and the scene fell silent. The melodious violin music sounded softly, and a spotlight fell on the
Chinese and English three-dimensional brand words of the quartet from the opposite side of the
stage, and applause broke out.
As the music played, the lights suddenly turned to a corner of the auditorium under the stage.
The audience looked sideways in confusion.
"Even though beauty is shared by all, most people see and feel it differently," Si Jiang said,
holding the microphone in one hand and gently lifting the hem of her gray-purple tulle skirt with
the other, as she slowly approached the stage like an elf in the jungle. "After answering beauty
with beauty, there is silence at this moment. Beauty, motionless, stands at the still point of this
ever-changing world."
Suddenly, there was a burst of flash lights, followed by thunderous applause.
Si Jiang was startled, but fortunately she calmed down immediately. She took the hand that
Jingsheng extended and stepped onto the stage steadily.
“Thank you all for taking the time to come. I hope that this afternoon we can travel through the
four seasons together and experience the Quartet’s latest interpretation of beauty. Please enjoy
the chapter of spring below.”
Si Jiang smiled brightly, and all the lights in the venue went out. Then the music gradually became
louder, and the lights of the three-dimensional words on the background board suddenly lit up.
The opening model Zhang Mengmeng walked steadily onto the stage.
Many people in the venue will never forget Chen Sijiang who came with her poems. She is more
beautiful than the poems.

Chapter 347
The fashion show was a success, and Quartet's black, white, and gray series were refreshing.
After each chapter, Si Jiang would integrate the design concept into the poem and tell the story.
Finally, the staff came on stage together to take a bow, and the applause was thunderous.
The applause lasted for about two minutes, and the flashbulbs kept flashing. After the lights were
turned on, the connecting door leading to the next door banquet hall was slowly opened by the
hotel staff. Four female violinists, wearing the white series of summer clothes of the season,
stood on the two steps of a semicircular white stage and continued to play Vivaldi's "Four
Seasons". The stage background was the first movable background board replaced by the press
conference. The green lisianthus flower wall was very elegant. More than a dozen dead branches
painted white stretched out from the flower wall. They were uneven and of various shapes, but
not messy. White wooden hangers were hung from the branches with transparent fishing lines,
and the main models of the white series were displayed on the hangers. The heights were
different and they were not on the same plane. There was no feeling of crowding at all, and the
visual effect was very shocking.
Such a small display stand attracted many people to take pictures from all angles. Business
people are very smart, and those who do women's clothing brand business are not only smart
but also have a good aesthetic sense. When everyone sees it, they think, this is just a ready-made
window display, high-end, fashionable, elegant, and creative, so they quickly copy it.
The buffet tables on both sides were fully prepared with various drinks, wines and desserts, as
well as a chocolate waterfall table standing tall with various marshmallows on the side, which
attracted many people to study and discuss carefully. The handsome waiter picked up a lollipop,
placed it under the waterfall, turned it around, and politely presented it to the drooling little boy
Chen Si.
Si Hao took it and handed it to his grandmother. Granny Gu took a bite from his hand and
frowned: "It's so sweet." Although she said so, she took the marshmallow honestly.
Chen Sihao was stunned for two seconds, then quickly made another one for himself. He ate it
while staring at the chocolate waterfall, with his grandmother's muttering in his ears.
"Sugar is not a good thing, baby, you should eat less. When I was a child in Yangzhou, the sugar
jars at home were never locked. There were big jars of white sugar, brown sugar, rock sugar, rice
dumpling sugar, and malt sugar piled up in the kitchen. Whoever wanted to eat it could take it,
and no one cared. Well, my second brother was greedy and ate it - you are exactly like him now.
He was so greedy when he saw sugar. Later, boom! When he was seven years old, all his teeth
were rotten, pitch black, and permanent teeth could not grow out. In the end, he had to get eight
gold teeth. Tsk tsk tsk, when he was fleeing, he was afraid that someone would steal his teeth
and kill him, so he didn't dare to eat a bite of steamed buns. What a sin. Hey, baby, help grandma
get another one, a small one will do, yes, take the pink one -"
Chen Sihao and Gu Granny were picked up by Sinan after school. Sijiang prepared a white shirt
and coffee plaid bib shorts for him in advance. After changing his clothes and putting on a coffee-
colored corduroy cap, he looked decent, although he was very round. Not to mention, the
chocolate wrapped in marshmallows really matched him, as if they grew out of his body, because
he ate one after another without stopping. Every time Sinan glanced at him, the marshmallows
looked like extensions of his fingers. Gu Granny couldn't stop him, thinking that it was such a
festive day, so forget it, let him do whatever he wanted.
Chen Zhanping also came. He was very surprised to see that the artificial flowers they bought
wholesale had become so high-end. He even stretched out his hands to rub the petals and
couldn't help but admire sincerely: "Chen Sinan is so stubborn and has a good eye."
It was very difficult to find two stores that had these fake eustoma flowers. One store was a bit
rougher, but the unit price was two cents cheaper, and the total price differed by several
hundred. The sample photos that Sinan brought were of real flowers, and it was hard to compare
them with the fake flowers. She ran back and forth between the two stores, and finally made up
her mind that good products are not cheap and cheap products are not good, so she ordered the
more expensive one. She didn't expect the effect after covering a whole wall would be so good.
Chen Sinan didn't care about him and just waved her hand carelessly: "I don't care about you,
just eat as much as you want, it's free anyway." She then rubbed her hands and showed a sinister
smile: "God bless, Amitabha, more people will come to me to buy flowers."
Chen Zhanping was stunned: "What? You want to sell flowers here?"
Sinan gave him a determined look like Xiao Ma Ge: "I must get back what I lost myself! Humph!"
Chen Zhanping: ???
Chen Sinan spent 20 yuan to print two boxes of business cards next to the school. The title was
"Exclusive Supplier of Stage Decorations for the Quartet", and the phone and fax numbers were
from home. He also thoughtfully noted the call time: 4pm to 9pm. On the back of the business
card were quotes for four types of artificial flowers, and free tutorials on how to make
background boards.
"Did your company design and produce this stage?" An older woman asked Sinan curiously after
taking the business card.
Chen Sinan, who had secretly put on Si Jiang's white shirt and black pants and tried his best to
dress like a college student, nodded with a smile: "I'm responsible for it. If you need it, you can
contact me. It will definitely save you a lot of time, money and energy. The price is also
reasonable because it is also an after-sales service we provide. Welcome to contact me. We can
also make it according to the size you need and send it to your door."
"Will you sell this sample today? Girl, I'm not trying to show off, but our store is located
diagonally opposite the Madiel on Harbin Central Street. It's very grand, with a very large
window, but it's always been done wrong. We spent a lot of money and it still doesn't look good
or high-end. If you want to sell it, I can take the goods back with you." The eldest sister's face
flushed and her eyes sparkled, and she waved the order catalog in her hand to indicate that she
was a big customer.
Sinan's eyes lit up, his mind raced, but hesitantly said, "Sister, you have good taste, but this is
quite expensive—"
Several people immediately came around her and asked how much it cost. A wealthy lady from
Harbin immediately said, "First come, first served, understand?"
——
Si Jiang and the models did not remove their makeup and walked into the cocktail party directly
in their last outfits, which caused a second wave of sensation. They were almost surrounded by
people, especially Si Jiang, who had many business cards stuffed into her hands. Fortunately,
Zhang Mengmeng on her left and Li Yifang on her right, like the two generals, kept her more than
ten centimeters away from the surging crowd.
"Can you please stop pushing? Thank you. Hey, sir, you stepped on me. Ok, it's okay. Please step
back. Can you please not be so enthusiastic just because you see a beautiful woman?" Li Yifang's
voice was still gentle and pleasant, but her hands were merciless. They cut a bloody path through
the crowd and brought Si Jiang to Jingsheng.
"Okay, Mr. Gu, I leave it to you. Please protect our host." Li Yifang smiled and fended off another
wave of people.
Jingsheng held Sijiang's hand tightly, went up to the small stage, unplugged the microphone and
tested the sound.
"Hello everyone--"
The microphone performed well and did not make any noise.
Si Jiang took another microphone: "Hello, everyone."
The banquet hall soon became quiet and applause broke out.
"Thank you very much for coming to the Quartet's fashion show. We feel your unparalleled
enthusiasm. More than a dozen friends came from all over the world. Thank you for coming all
the way to Shanghai."
"Five thousand miles!" the elder sister from Harbin shouted.
There was laughter in the venue.
"Thank you, lady with such a keen eye. Would you like to come up to the stage and say a few
words to us?" Si Jiang suddenly threw aside the predetermined lines and arrangements and
invited with a smile.
"Of course I do. You two are both so good-looking. I just want to get closer to take a closer look."
The eldest sister was very cheerful. She walked onto the stage with a smile and looked at
Jingsheng and Sijiang from head to toe and from toe to head in front of everyone.
"He's good-looking, and his clothes are nice too. This must be Mr. Gu, right? You've called me
many times." Yan Aili took the microphone from Si Jiang's hand with a smile and said to the
audience, "If I had known that Mr. Gu was so handsome, I would never have been willing to hang
up the phone so quickly."
There was laughter from the audience.
Jingsheng specially ordered a black suit for this investment reception, and spent 15 yuan to buy a
pair of plain gold-rimmed glasses at the Jiaozhou Road small commodity market. He used
hairspray for the first time in his life and combed his hair into a Chow Yun-fat-style slicked back
hair, which made him look much more mature and elegant. He smiled and nodded slightly to Yan
Aili to express his gratitude.
"Then I won't be polite, Xiao Gu. Thank you, our beautiful host. I like you so much. Don't worry, I
only say good things." Yan Aili waved her hand: "Hello everyone, please rest assured, I am not a
shill, I really am not--"
The audience on and off the stage burst into laughter, and Si Jiang couldn't help but exchange a
look with Jingsheng.
"My name is Yan Aili, I'm from Harbin. Several of the people below are my acquaintances. We've
known each other for seven or eight years, right? Boss Wang from Dalian, Boss Han from
Qingdao, Boss Min from Changchun, we've all bought a lot of the same brands, right? We've had
meals and drinks together at factories and exhibitions, and two years ago at the Canton Fair, Xiao
Min and I were robbed together, and a total of 30,000 yuan was stolen from us, right? There's
nothing we can do, because we look like rich people—"
She smiled and waved her hand to suppress the laughter from the audience: "I'm sorry, I went off
topic. Actually, I just want to say without being modest that we are definitely the most discerning
women's clothing store owners in Northeast China, right?"
"Yes!" The response was like thunder.
"What are you here to see today? Sorry, I don't know your English words. The people who are
here to see this press conference are definitely the most discerning bosses in China, don't you
think?"
"yes--!"
Amidst the laughter, Yan Aili turned sideways and nodded to Jingsheng and Si Jiang: "I'm sorry,
you organized such an elegant event, but I ruined it all. I won't say anything else, just one
sentence, I want all the clothes that the models wore today, as long as they were produced by
your company!"
"Okay!" There was a constant stream of responses from the audience.
Jingsheng looked at Si Jiang, a little confused. Is this lady really not an agent?

Chapter 348
The vast majority of guests at the scene were women's clothing retailers who had started from
scratch like Yan Aili. They were bold, started early, and were willing to take risks. They had
achieved top three or even the top deal in the local market very early on.
Their business models are usually divided into two types: one is that they have their own
resources and relatives and friends who are engaged in clothing processing business. They
directly buy some goods and sell them. Gradually, they get to know many manufacturers and
have more and more sources of goods. After a few years, they accumulate a group of fixed
customers and manufacturers, and take the route of boutiques, and gradually improve the
quality and price. The other type is that they are fashionable and look down on the street sales.
After buying a store, they go to the wholesale market to pick goods. This is called a buyer's store
10 or 20 years later, and it was still called a miscellaneous brand store in the 1980s. They buy
whatever they like in bulk. The quantity of each style is not large, only a few or even one or two
pieces. They dare to make an offer, and the knives are sharp. They can quickly save up the first
pot of gold and accumulate a group of loyal customers. These customers not only believe in the
boss's taste, but also have a lot of money and are willing to spend money on clothes. Gradually,
they become more and more high-end, and they dare to take more and more. They accept
imported goods and imitation famous brands. In addition to wholesale purchases in provincial
capitals, they are also willing to go to Shanghai and Guangzhou to purchase goods and participate
in exhibitions to widen the gap with imitators and competitors.
But few people have attended such a high-profile conference as the Quartet. The clothing
wholesale market is always noisy and crowded, with stalls closely packed together, leaving a two-
to three-meter passage in the middle. The bosses squatted between the hills of goods to trade,
and the forks of the forks of the sample clothes rose and fell between the mountains. The people
who shipped and bought goods were sweating and shouting at the top of their lungs. When they
finally walked out carrying and dragging large sacks, they couldn't help but sigh: the day of
working like a cow and a horse is finally over, and I can finally sit down to have a drink and a bowl
of noodles. The clothing trade fair has a performance stage with a unified background. The host
announces the brand names in order. After a day of looking at them, I feel dizzy and my hands are
full of promotional posters. I still have to go to each store on foot, select one by one, and then
negotiate the price and transportation, and repeatedly tell them not to miss anything or make
mistakes. Most of the goods for long distances are transported by train. There is bound to be fear
and anxiety during the four or five days on the road. The consignee's name and address are
written on each bulging snakeskin bag with a black marker. Throughout the year there are always
wrong shipments or lost goods. The railway system does not compensate, and the shipping place
is always arguing. These are all risks.
The quartet's press conference and order fair were simply overwhelming. The reason was that
the Hilton Hotel in Shanghai was too famous, as famous as the China Hotel in Guangzhou.
However, the bosses usually had no chance to enter and were reluctant to go. A cup of coffee
cost dozens of yuan, and a night's stay cost thousands of yuan. How many pieces of clothing
would they have to sell to make back the money? The venue alone was very attractive. Of the
100 people who received the fax, 99 asked Jingsheng, "How much is a ticket?" Jingsheng said that
there were no tickets and free admission, so more than half of the people thought they had met
a liar. How could it be so good? Fortunately, there was a red seal of Wanhang Street on the
formal invitation letter, which put many people at ease. After thinking about and studying the
product brochures and the advertisements of Hong Kong female stars, many people felt that it
was a good opportunity, so they put aside their store business and came to Shanghai. It was just
in time to go to Huating Road, the vane of national clothing trends, to see what colors and styles
would be popular next, and which brand's imitations would sell best.
The bosses who were shocked by the press conference actually had some ups and downs. Which
retail woman has never thought of owning her own brand? Every time when picking up goods,
there are often regrets. This ruffle is redundant, this skirt should be shorter, this one is better
with a tighter waist, this is children's clothing? Is there anything that adults can wear? I even
couldn't help asking what the maximum bust size is? Those who can survive in this business for
three years without going bankrupt basically have a pair of sharp eyes and can tell at a glance
whether it is clothes wearing people or people wearing clothes. Obviously, even for such a
beautiful host, Miss Chen, it is still the clothes that add points to people, not her beauty that
adds points to clothes. This is too rare. So as soon as the press conference ended, many people
rushed to place orders quickly, and with Yan Aili adding fuel to the fire, the atmosphere became
even more enthusiastic.
Jingsheng prepared a half-page concise and thoughtful speech but didn't use it. He made a brief
thank you speech and asked everyone to enjoy the food and drinks at the reception first. He
would show the ordering process half an hour later. Everyone in the venue took time to eat and
drink while staring at the various people in the quartet. Some asked Jingsheng for advice, some
asked Sijiang for contact information, some asked Sinan to order flowers, and some asked Zhang
Mengmeng how much it would cost to hold a similar fashion show. Everyone was busy.
Of course, it is inevitable that people get to know each other, exchange business cards, and
inquire about new business directions and trends. Generous people like Yan Aili, because there is
no competition with bosses in other cities, generously share some excellent sources of goods
from Guangzhou Thirteen Lines. Some people even remembered that they had bought some
autumn and winter coats from Quartet in Guangzhou last year, which were particularly popular.
Unfortunately, they could not get the goods later. After asking several times, they were told that
the goods of this brand were sold out as soon as they arrived at the stall.
"I'm not a shill, really!" Boss Wu from Nanjing explained with a smile, "I really liked their coats at
the time, but I thought the purchase price was a bit high, so I only bought about 50 coats of four
styles, and I could sell 60 to 70 coats a day. In the end, I marked the last 10 coats at double the
price and sold them in the second store, but they were all sold out before Laba Festival, and I
couldn't get any more stock, so I lost a lot of money. I regret it so much."
For a moment, everyone started discussing which coats in the previous winter chapter would be
particularly popular.
After a while, Jingsheng led everyone back to the press conference. The ordering process was
also refreshing. There were no salesmen, and no goods piled up like a mountain. The stage had
disappeared, leaving only a fixed background. The central area was surrounded by four desks
forming a square, with two computers, a copier, a printer and a fax machine, all neatly arranged.
Si Jiang's roommates stood behind the desks wearing Quartet's black series and nodded and
smiled at everyone.
Two rows of black folding chairs were placed around the center area. The venue was surrounded
by a circle of clothes hangers made of white water pipes, with four signs hanging above them,
marking the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. All the samples were available in
all sizes and colors, and each hanger had a transparent plastic tag hanging on it. The product
information sheet inside clearly stated the item number, color, size, inventory quantity, purchase
price, and suggested retail price. Merchants who needed to place an order only needed to take
the samples to the desk to log in the item number, color, size, and quantity, and confirm the
amount. Hu Die and her colleagues would register the order information into two computers on
Lianhao.com. Each customer had already created a customer page, and the recipient's
information had been entered in advance based on the previous conference confirmation fax.
The ordering interface had complete information, and no matter how many styles were ordered,
the table would be automatically updated without duplication. The inventory quantity of the
corresponding style in the computer would also automatically decrease. Jingsheng paid 2,000
yuan to ask alumni of the Computer Science Department of Jiaotong University to create this
application. He started working on it after the National Day last year and revised it for half a year
before it was finally put to good use.
After all the customers have placed their orders, Yin Han will print out the order contract and go
to the factory with the customer to confirm the style, color and size according to the order form.
Both parties will sign the contract, stamp and pay the deposit. Then they will go to Zhu Yanming
to confirm the transportation method and consignee information. If an invoice is required,
Director Zeng will be responsible for issuing it.
"Not tiring, comfortable, great." After paying the deposit, Yan Aili gave a thumbs up to Si Nan
who accompanied her throughout the trip, "When are you coming to Harbin to play? Sister Quan
will come. You like grilled lamb skewers, right? I'll take you to eat. We can grill anything."
"Can the steamed bread slices be toasted?" Sinan asked excitedly.
Yan Aili was so happy that she almost knocked Sinan to the ground with a slap: "You silly girl!
How can you be so easy to feed? Why do you eat steamed bread slices and meat? What's wrong?
Are you afraid that I can't afford you?"
Sinan scratched his head: "My aunt is in the Northeast, and she told me that toasted steamed
bread slices are especially delicious."
"Well, she must have married a poor man."
"You were quite poor 20 years ago, but later you became rich and wore a mink coat." Sinan
blinked, trying to save face for Chen Dongzhu.
"Well, even beggars in Harbin have minks. Come to my shop and pick one. I'll give you one." Yan
Aili liked Si Nan so much that she held her hand and asked, "Do you have a boyfriend?"
"Huh? Of course not, I'm still young." Sinan was shocked.
"Then I'll book you in too. Come, take a look at my son. He's a few years younger than you. He'll
be in his third year of high school next year. He's 1.85 meters tall and very handsome, but his
personality is like his father's. He's very honest. No, he needs to find a smart girl," Yan Aili showed
Si Nan the family photo in her wallet. "Look, do you like it?"
Sinan's scalp tingled: "This, this is confusing the order of generations, isn't it? Sister, your son
should call me aunt. I can't bear to see an old cow eating young grass."
Yan Aili was stunned, and several bosses who were queuing up to pay the deposit next to her
started laughing.
Si Nan quickly held Yan Aili's hand and nodded earnestly, "Don't worry, sister. I will send the
background board to you in Harbin in a few days. My godfather is very familiar with the railway
system and will definitely not lose you."
Boss Min from Changchun laughed so hard that he fell backwards: "Ah, Ellie, you have taught this
child to speak with a Northeastern accent."
Yan Aili tasted it and found it was indeed that flavor. She uttered a "hmm" and then burst into
laughter.
"Sister, how much did you order?"
"Not much, just over 400,000 yuan. I still have to go to Haining to look at leather clothes and
mink."
"Then we can still meet them. Last year, some styles released in Haining were more fashionable
than those in our place, and young girls liked them."
"That's right."
——
The order fair officially ended at nine o'clock in the evening and began to clear.
Yin Han, Factory Director Zeng and Director Wang were looking at the two metal boxes for
collecting deposits and were extremely nervous.
"Oh my god, I've never had so much money in my life. Why do all these people carry so much
money——" Yin Han held Si Jiang tightly, "Look, really, I'm weak, I have to go to the toilet."
Jingsheng had already seen the total order amount on the computer: more than 11.2 million,
almost double what he had expected. The deposit alone was more than 500,000 in cash. The
highest single order amount was from Yan Aili, 480,000.
"Chen Sinan, you should become a sales manager in the future." Jingsheng said with a smile.
Sinan calculated the number of flowers sold in his notebook and answered without looking up:
"Then Boss Gu should give me some commission."
"Well, I'll give you a commission of 2,400 yuan for this order from Harbin."
"What???!!!"
Sinan raised his head suddenly: "You are too stingy. I have worked so hard for a long time, my
throat is hoarse, and I have nothing to eat. It is worth at least 4,800 yuan. You should behave like
a human being! Gu Baopi!"

Chapter 349
Boss Gu was indeed very stingy. He sold goods worth an astronomical amount, but he didn't treat
everyone to a hotel stay or a nice meal. But Boss Gu was very practical, he didn't do anything
fancy, he just gave money directly.
Today, everyone who came to help from the company received 100 yuan in "overtime pay",
including Director Wang, the four strong laborers from the street office who were responsible for
changing the background, and Director Zeng. Si Jiang was in charge of paying the models in the
dressing room. The models received 500 yuan per performance, and they were paid in cash after
the show. Zhang Mengmeng and Liu Bing were the team leader and deputy team leader, and
Jingsheng gave them 1,000 and 800 yuan respectively. The two of them refused to take it, and
almost had a falling out at the end. It was only when Teacher Huang stepped in and said, "Public
is public, private is private, business is business, and friends are friends" that they signed and
received the money. They looked uncomfortable and embarrassed, not like they were collecting
wages, but rather like they owed Jingsheng a debt.
The wages of the four makeup artists were different. The three Shanghai makeup artists were
paid 300 yuan each, and Li Yifang was paid 800 yuan by Teacher Huang. The original host was a
man, and after Si Jiang replaced him, Li Yifang put on a female makeup. Teacher Huang privately
said hello to Jingsheng and asked Jingsheng to add 200 yuan. Jingsheng directly increased it to
1,200 yuan. You don’t know without comparison. The twelve models plus Si Jiang, Li Yifang was
responsible for the opening Zhang Mengmeng, the finale Liu Bing, and the main model, plus Si
Jiang, were indeed the most outstanding, but it was not the outstanding makeup or the models
looking particularly beautiful, but the feeling of the model and the clothes being integrated, so
that people would not even notice the model’s facial features and hairstyle. It was indescribably
comfortable. This was also the first time that Jingsheng intuitively felt what high-end meant.
Li Yifang received the money very naturally, and after signing, she put a red envelope directly into
the small bag. Si Jiang asked her to count it, and she smiled and leaned close to Si Jiang's ear and
whispered: "No, it's ugly to count money in front of him. I will go back and hide in the quilt to
count it secretly. It would be better if it's less."
"Ah?" Si Jiang was surprised.
"If there's any shortage, I'll come find you," Li Yifang blinked her right eye, "You won't deny it, will
you?"
Si Jiang smiled: "Of course I don't recognize it."
Li Yifang patted her bag and said, "Then I'm going to rely on you. Be careful."
"That's exactly what I want," Si Jiang said with a smile, "The quartet is going to shoot a set of
advertising photos, and we just happen to be in need of a makeup artist—"
Li Yifang raised her hand: "Please treat me, please treat me, I'll give you a cheaper price, the
friendship price is good."
Si Jiang, however, said in a serious Taiwanese accent, "You came to me yourself, so I'll just give
you food and drink without any salary."
Although everyone didn't know what had happened before, they all burst into laughter after
hearing these words.
Sinan was whispering with the other three makeup artists, writing something down in the small
black notebook from time to time, nodding and shaking his head, looking very busy.
After the driver sent Grandma Gu and Chen Sihao back to the hotel, two trucks carrying goods
also arrived. Everyone worked together to quickly remove all the goods and props. Jingsheng
accompanied the hotel staff to complete the inspection, and both parties signed that they were
correct.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the cars slowly drive out of the hotel.
Suddenly, whistles and screams rang out one after another, and no one knew who started it.
Si Jiang thought it was Li Yifang, but Li Yifang giggled and denied it. The hotel security came over
after hearing the noise. Fortunately, it was the hotel's unloading entrance and exit, so it didn't
affect the guests. Jingsheng greeted the security and led everyone to Huashan Road.
Li Yifang stood on the street and stretched: "Wow, I'm really excited today. I really want to go to
Qiangui to sing karaoke."
Sinan's eyes lit up when he heard the word money: "Cashbox? Does he have a lot of money?"
Li Yifang laughed: "The name of the company is Qiangui, but they really make a lot of money in
Taiwan. In fact, they should open a karaoke restaurant in Shanghai. Do you know karaoke?"
"Yes, there is one at the entrance of Jing'an Park. It costs five cents to sing a song. The
microphone keeps screaming. It's always old men singing Teresa Teng." Sinan rolled his eyes and
stared at Li Yifang. "Sister Yifang, can I really get through to the phone number you gave me?"
"Of course you can. You can try it when you get home. Um, you need to wait about an hour and a
half, okay? I need to wash my hair, take a shower, and blow-dry it like this—"
"Yeah, okay," Sinan said with a very well-behaved look, "As for the makeup training class that
Mengmeng and the others just told you about, remember to think about it carefully when you go
back."
Jingsheng and Sijiang had just sent Teacher Huang and Zhang Mengmeng back to the street.
Upon hearing this, they looked at Sinan and asked in unison: "What are you doing now?"
Sinan blinked: "It's not me, it's——"
"It must be your idea," Jingsheng said with a smile, "As soon as you stick your butt out we'll know
what you're going to fart, okay? Stop hesitating. Why are you afraid that we'll ruin your plan?"
Li Yifang was very surprised: "Ah, so what Mengmeng and the others just said was your idea?"
Sinan scratched his head in embarrassment: "Not really, they want to learn but are too
embarrassed to ask, so I just encourage them by beating the gong."
"You must have learned your Northeastern accent somewhere," Si Jiang laughed. "You should tell
the truth and treat others with sincerity to accomplish great things. Don't always rely on clever
tricks."
Si Nan curled his lips and said, "Everyone says that Sister Yifang is a makeup god. Sister Yan said
that when her son and his wife hold their wedding banquet, she would like to invite Sister Yifang
to Harbin to do makeup for her and her wife. Then the makeup artists also want to learn from her
but are too embarrassed to ask. Sister Mengmeng and the others also want to learn but are too
embarrassed to ask. I thought about opening a class for training. Sister, didn't you study English
well in Qianjin before?"
Li Yifang smiled and said, "Thank you, you are really smart. I will seriously consider it, don't
worry."
After sending Li Yifang away, Jingsheng slapped Sinan on the head.
"What?" Sinan jumped up.
Jingsheng laughed and said, "You are really determined to get the gold mountain. You are
determined to find any way."
"I'm poor..." Sinan took two quick steps. "You've all been given money since you were little, so
you don't know how miserable I am. You can't move forward without money, understand?
Humph. When I get rich one day, I'll eat delicious food and drink spicy drinks every day, wear gold
and silver, no, wear mink! You'll be so envious."
——
The press conference was a success, and it was a new beginning. There were more and more
complicated things to do later. Fortunately, Fu Yuanliang, the manager introduced by Mr. Huang,
finally took office.
Fu Yuanliang can be said to be from a clothing family, with three generations of his family
engaged in this business. His grandfather was a famous tailor in Wuxi. He fled to Shanghai and
settled in Nanshi District to open a cheongsam shop to support his wife and son. His father was
one of the first workers recruited when the Shanghai First Shirt Sewing Production Cooperative
was established in 1950. Later, the cooperative merged with the clothing company and the shoe
and hat company to become the Shanghai Clothing and Shoe Company. Xiao Fu, who had been
working for eight years, became a pattern-making technician. The cheongsam is naturally three-
dimensionally cut and fits the body. One more piece is too heavy and one less piece is too hard to
wear. So after Xiao Fu had Xiao Xiao Fu, he quickly upgraded to an old Fu and a Fu Gong with his
family's skills and the training of the clothing company. He can be regarded as a senior and
capable backbone of the clothing company.
It was the turn of the little Fu Yuanliang. He was in elementary school when the Cultural
Revolution broke out. Old Fu was reported to have made cheongsams for the wives of traitors
before liberation. He was arrested and criticized for a day and a night, and died inexplicably. Old
Fu was also singled out for privately criticizing Jiang Qing's dresses for wasting fabric and not
looking good. He was also dismissed from his post and expelled from the party, and criticized for
a while. By the end of the 1970s, when everything was in ruins, Old Fu became one of the first
cadres to be rehabilitated because of his strong skills. The first thing he did when he returned to
the clothing company was to force his son to take the college entrance examination. Fu Yuanliang
wasted ten years and missed the college entrance examination in 1977. He took the exam in 1978
but failed. He took the exam again in 1979 and was admitted to the Textile University, which was
still called Shanghai Textile Institute at the time. Teacher Huang happened to be his class teacher.
After graduating in 1983, Fu Yuanliang went straight to a clothing company, but he resigned
quietly after two years, leaving a letter saying he was going to Wuhan to meet his girlfriend from
college. The couple started a clothing wholesale business in Hanzheng Street, which made Fu
very angry. Teacher Huang also called and scolded him several times, but it was useless.
Business in Hanzheng Street is both easy and difficult. Fu Yuanliang has both connections and
brains, and he quickly builds up a empire and becomes one of the first people to get rich.
Unfortunately, after just one year, he finds out that his girlfriend already has someone she likes.
The stall is hers, and the bank account is also hers. In the end, Fu Yuanliang returns to Shanghai
with nothing.
After returning, Fu Yuanliang was too embarrassed to see Old Fu. It was Teacher Huang who
arranged a bed for him in the school and quickly introduced him to work at the Beijing Wacoal
Clothing Company, which had just invested in the mainland. Fu Yuanliang went to Beijing in the
winter of 1986. After working for three years, he could not develop feelings for women's
underwear. In addition, Old Fu was not in good health after retirement, and his mother was
worried about his personal problems, so he hesitated to return to Shanghai. So when Teacher
Huang was entrusted by Jingsheng to help find someone to manage the quartet, the first person
he thought of was Fu Yuanliang.
Fu Yuanliang and Jingsheng hit it off right away, both of them were quiet and practical. On his first
day in office, Fu Yuanliang drew a floor plan and proposed to move the pattern making and
cutting areas to the back-end area near the gate, the lathe area to the innermost part, the ironing
area to the lathe area, and the quality inspection to be separated from the back-end and moved
to the opposite side of the cutting area, next to the ironing area, facing the gate, and separated
from the back-end area by only one passage.
"It reduces the distance materials have to be transported," Jingsheng understood immediately
and became excited, "It is indeed more reasonable than before."
Director Zeng looked at the picture and praised it.
"It's not something I came up with," Fu Yuanliang said calmly, "Garment processing workshops
are usually arranged like this."
So, from that day on, the quartet had a manager named Fu, not a deputy manager, but the head
manager with the surname Fu.

Chapter 350
In mid-July, the plum blossom season ends.
After the various production areas in the factory were re-arranged, the efficiency of the
production line was further improved. Jingsheng usually had little time to manage the workshop,
which was always managed by Director Zeng and the production team leader. After Fu Yuanliang
took office, Director Zeng was both impressed and disappointed.
Fu Yuanliang stayed in the workshop from morning till night for the first week. He did not walk
around with his hands behind his back to inspect, but mastered all the processes. After only two
or three days, no one was dissatisfied. Even the senior people like Wu Chunfang and Lu Yilan
smiled and called him Manager Fu when they saw him. From the front to the back, there was no
job he could not do. He was also a very good technician. He added four brake wheels to the fabric
table in the cutting area and raised it by five centimeters to turn it into a cart. It can not only
transport fabrics in and out of the door, but also move fabrics directly to the cutting table, saving
a lot of time and effort. Occasionally, there was a problem with the hemming cart and the cutting
and repairing cart. He fixed it in ten minutes. He also sorted all the commonly used tools in one
place. People who went up to operate found that it was very convenient to put the tools in this
position. He also likes to keep clean. He can't stand to see any garbage anywhere. He picks up
broken fabrics and threads whenever he sees them. The whole workshop is always clean. Even
the quality inspection area is spotless. The processed goods are of course cleaner than before.
A week later, Fu Yuanliang launched the 5S management system invented by the Japanese at
Quartet. Everyone, including Director Zeng, had to participate in retraining. It sounds simple, just
five words: clean, clean, straighten, organize, and cultivate. Jingsheng and Si Jiang also
participated.
Director Zeng privately gave Jingsheng some advice: "Sweeping, cleaning, tidying, and organizing
all sound the same. How can a workshop be clean and tidy every minute, right? We have to make
a living. Besides, sweeping over and over is meaningless. Can it produce more goods or improve
the quality? The Japanese have their own methods. We in Shanghai don't need to learn from
them. Formalism is not acceptable."
Jingsheng thought for a while and said, "I think Manager Fu is a capable person. Since we have
hired him, we should at least give him some time to try it out. As for the current autumn and
winter styles, knitted sweaters and woolen sweaters are all made in Wuhe, and the production
pressure for the remaining styles is not too great."
Director Zeng also said that the workers were not in a good mood. Each step in garment
processing was closely monitored and they were extremely nervous at the end of the day. They
also had to receive training and change their original operating habits, so they were not able to
adapt.
Jingsheng smiled: "It's normal to be emotional, but I see some people are very positive. Didn't
they all say that the operation became much smoother after the tools were fixed in place? The
speed was even faster. I bought two books on 5S management and read a little bit. I found them
very interesting. How about you take a look too?"
Director Zeng had no choice but to mutter a few words and let it go.
The next day, Director Zeng came to see Jingsheng again and said, "Boss Gu, the workers said that
they are not allowed to put water cups and lunch boxes in the workshop. It is really
inconvenient."
Fu Yuanliang was arranging a new three-day production plan with Jingsheng. Hearing this, he
raised his head and said, "The small door over there on the flatbed car leads to the tea room. The
rest time for each post is fixed. Water cups and lunch boxes must be placed in a unified manner."
Director Zeng said awkwardly: "It's not good for this tea room to be close to the toilet, right?"
Fu Yuanliang smiled and said, "This way I won't have time to mess around. Right now, there are
often situations where some people don't have the goods or some people don't have the goods
between the various processes. There is room for improvement."
With the advancement of 5S, Director Zeng came to Jingsheng every day to discuss several issues.
Sometimes, some auxiliary materials left in the warehouse a few years ago were sold by Fu
Yuanliang. What if they can be used next year or the year after? What if the price of raw
materials increases when we go to purchase them? It’s not good to take up such a small space.
It’s a waste and short-sighted. Sometimes, there is a bag of cut pieces and semi-finished products
in the workshop after the Spring Festival, but he threw them away as garbage.
"How can Xiao Fu talk to himself like this? We discussed it at the time, right? Of course he should
stay."
But Jingsheng stood by Fu Yuanliang unconditionally, smiling and saying that he was more
advanced and professional, and that everyone had to obey his orders and follow his instructions.
Director Wang came twice, but before he could say anything, Jingsheng pulled him out to see the
new factory. Then, he blocked Director Wang with just one sentence outside.
"In the two weeks since he came, production capacity has increased by 15% year-on-year, waste
has decreased by 10%, and the defective rate in quality inspection has decreased by 1%. Trust
people when you employ them, and don't employ them if you don't trust them. Mr. Huang was
right to recommend him."
Director Wang, in turn, went to do Director Zeng's work. Chatting with other cadres was another
way.
"Xiao Fu is a contract worker, and you are a regular cadre. Why are you competing with him?"
Director Wang invited Director Zeng to eat Shaoxing white-cut chicken.
"I was anxious. It would not work if the workers complained. Wu Chunfang and Lu Yilan were
dissatisfied with Wugang. Ira wanted to do it again. It was hard work. Cleaning every day and
endless harvesting." Director Zeng specially ordered a portion of chicken butt. "Hey, Xiao
Shaoxing's phoenix tail meat rice is still the best."
Director Wang hated chicken butts the most and shrank back. "You are the leader, you must be
on the same line with the leader. Whether it is right or wrong, you must support Xiao Gu. You are
not the chairman of the union. What does the workers' complaints have to do with you? They
have nothing to do every day. They like to see the top leader and the second-in-command
fighting each other. If there is gossip, it's good to make sugar porridge. Ignore them. There are
more than a dozen tertiary industries in the street, and the quartet has the best performance.
Don't have too many people wanting to come in. Every day people come to my office to ask for
favors to come in. Those who don't want to work can just leave."
Director Zeng was stunned by Director Wang's ruthless change of attitude. He secretly felt that
Director Wang had been corrupted by the cold-blooded capitalists and shook his head
repeatedly: "Old Wang, this is definitely not okay - you can't just send someone here casually."
"Nonsense, why would I send people in? I'm telling you to take a stand and not be used as a gun
by them." Director Wang finished a bowl of chicken porridge in a few gulps.
Director Zeng blushed, "I am also doing this for the good of the company and Xiao Gu. You know
me, what can I think? He can be his manager and I can be my director. In two years, I will retire. I
will drink wine and read newspapers every day to collect my retirement salary. Don't be too
happy."
"That's it. What is Xiao Fu doing?" Director Wang looked at Lao Zeng meaningfully. "He is
reforming. Whose reform is he reforming? Your reform is being reformed. You say it doesn't
matter, but aren't you unhappy in your heart? You have been doing this for decades, relying on
experience. You have a revolutionary relationship with the workers. Your set of ideas works when
there is work, but what about when there is no work? Who gave you face? Aren't all those who
can leave already left?"
Director Zeng was speechless for a moment and let out a long sigh.
"The people below you see things more clearly than you do. Reform will certainly be painful. The
street office is using computers, you know? The new finance officer, assigned by the University of
Finance and Economics, uses computers to do accounting. Go ask Lao Wei if he has any ideas. It
would be strange if he doesn't have any ideas," Director Wang clinked the glass in his hand with
that of Director Zeng. "Lao Zeng, the Yangtze River's waves behind push the waves ahead, and
the waves ahead will definitely die on the beach. They can't hold on. We are leaders, we must
look further ahead and unswervingly support young people's reform. Didn't Mao say that? This
world belongs to young people after all. At least don't be a stumbling block. Think about it again,
since Xiao Gu took over the factory, which thing has he really discussed with us before deciding
to do? Isn't it that he always told us to do this or that halfway through the process?"
Director Zeng thought about it seriously and sighed again.
"If he told us, would we agree? Would we dare to agree?" Director Wang said with a smile, "So
just let them do it. If they do it right, you have made a contribution. If they do it wrong, what
responsibility do you have? You will just get less bonus, but you won't even be criticized in the
notice, right?"
——
During the summer vacation, Chen Sinan was even busier. She had pulled all-nighters before the
final exam, and her grades in all subjects dropped a bit, except for physics, where she scored 120
points. The additional questions were worth 20 points, which she could choose to do or not.
When she saw the questions, she laughed out loud, thinking that all her practice on the four
pages of questions was not in vain. After the test papers were handed out, Physics teacher Gao
called her to his office.
"I didn't cheat." Sinan was very alert, and for some reason he felt like the crime was happening
again.
Teacher Gao laughed and said, "Nonsense, your problem-solving method is the best in the whole
grade. Do you want to participate in the physics competition next semester? If you win the prize,
you can go directly to university without having to take the college entrance examination."
Si Nan was itching to try, but she knew her limitations. Physics competitions were completely
different from exams, and she couldn't take advantage of Zhao Youning's help. Thinking back to
the wonderful scene of the 1.83-meter-tall physics class representative, Old Wang, looking at her
with big watery eyes, Si Nan shook her head fiercely: "Wang Jian is more suitable for this spot, he
is the physics class representative."
Teacher Gao was surprised: "You don't even want to participate in the competition?"
Chen Sinan confessed honestly: "I just happened to have done the additional questions this time.
I would definitely not be able to do well if it was a question I hadn't done. To be honest, I got the
full marks in the previous questions by memorizing the books."
Teacher Gao: "What? Reciting physics textbooks?"
Sinan nodded. "It was the genius from the Physics Department of H University who gave me the
extra questions. He said that with my brain, it would be more reliable to memorize the book and
get the marks, instead of trying to understand or explore the high-level stuff."
Teacher Gao has taught physics for more than ten years, and this is the first time he has heard
that one can get full marks by memorizing the physics textbook. But Chen Sinan looked sincere,
so he must not be talking nonsense. Suddenly, he had a little self-doubt.
"Teacher Gao, I really haven't understood what you taught in class for two years." Chen Sinan
blinked, "You seem to never talk about the content in the book."
"Well, only two people in your class understood what I said."
"Who is it?"
"Wang Jian and Wang Zhen. Two Wangs." Teacher Gao touched his hairline, which had been
moved back a lot because of the subject of physics, and shook his head and smiled.
Wang Jian is the representative of the physics class, and Wang Zhen is the top student in the
grade.
Sinan rolled his eyes, thinking that it was really smart of him to design a business card and come
up with a money-making plan in physics class.
Speak of Cao Cao and he will appear.
That day, Chen Sinan and Chen Zhanping returned to Wanchun Street happily. A guest came to
Gu's house. It was Zhao Youning, who flew across the Pacific Ocean and returned to Shanghai to
catch the tail end of the plum rain season.

Chapter 351
Zhao Youning returned to Shanghai yesterday.
The only China-US route available at Hongqiao Airport is the direct flight from Seattle to
Shanghai, which was launched in August last year. The aircraft model is Boeing 757. In May, Zhao
Youning saw a notice on the bulletin board that two girls planned to drive from Boston to Seattle.
They wanted to find two gentlemen with driver's licenses to share the gas expenses. The itinerary
was very detailed and all the major attractions were taken into consideration, including Niagara
Falls, Ann Arbor, Chicago, St. Louis Arch, Badlands National Park, Yellowstone Park, and finally to
Seattle via the Rocky Mountains. He contacted the other party without thinking too much and
finalized the deal as soon as he met.
Zhao Youning didn't have time to say that he had never driven on the road after getting his
driver's license, so he borrowed a classmate's car a few days in advance to practice for a few
days. As a result, when he got on the highway, horns kept honking behind him. Fortunately, his
three travel companions were very nice. No one blamed him. They also encouraged him not to be
conservative and not to be afraid of being fined by the police for speeding. Just step on the
accelerator hard. Of course, they might also be afraid that saying it would cause terrible adverse
consequences. Fortunately, Zhao Youning got into the state after driving for a quarter of an hour,
and drove smoothly for three hours before changing drivers.
The four of them traveled together and had more and more topics to talk about. When they
stopped in Chicago, another boy spent the night with one of the girls. The other girl invited Zhao
Youning to have a drink together, but Youning smiled and declined, saying that he went to Seattle
just to take a direct flight back to China to visit his girlfriend. The girl shrugged and expressed
regret, but fortunately it did not affect the rest of the trip. Finally, the four of them broke up in
Seattle and agreed to drive on Highway 1 together next time.
Youning wrote many postcards along the way and sent them to teachers and classmates at Peking
University and the Second Affiliated High School of East China Normal University, and of course to
his mother, as well as Jingsheng Sijiang and Sinan on Wanchun Street. He also took many photos.
When taking photos in front of the waterfall, he thought that if it were Sinan, she would
definitely jump high in front of the camera or make some martial arts moves. In the national
park, he also thought that according to Sinan's personality, she would be very happy. She would
be eager to see bears and wolves so that she could show off in the future.
It was a pity that in front of the magnificent scenery, he was the only one smiling. Youning
himself felt a little lonely. The closer he got to Seattle, the faster he drove, and finally he got a
speeding ticket.
Jumping directly from Seattle to Shanghai during the plum rain season, people getting off the
plane complained about being bored, but Zhao Youning thought it was great. Maybe hometown
has this kind of peculiar charm. You may complain a lot when you are there, but you will miss it
after you leave.
The airport bus drove slowly along Yan'an Road towards the city center. There were tall buildings
in Gubei area, and two star-rated hotel buildings not far away were very impressive. The middle-
aged couple sitting next to Zhao Youning had loud voices.
"Come to Gubei in a few days to look at the houses. They must be high-end ones, and all the
houses for export are in this area." The woman said, staring out the car window.
"It's not cost-effective to buy houses for export. One square meter costs two thousand US dollars.
If you buy houses for domestic sale, you will pay more than one thousand RMB per square meter.
It's a huge difference." The man obviously did his homework.
"Will it be like Japan? I heard that no one buys houses in Japan anymore." The woman asked
worriedly.
"It's so funny. Shanghai, isn't Shanghai so big? The whole country looks up to Shanghai. How can
little Japan help Arabia? Mr. Huang bought a house in Hong Kong two years ago and then went to
the United States. The housing prices have gone up a lot." The man's voice suddenly rang out, full
of pride.
"Shanghai is not as good as Hong Kong." The woman hesitated for a moment. "I'm not saying bad
things behind people's backs. Mr. Huang's words are not reliable. He likes to brag. Judy told me
privately that he actually swam from Shenzhen to Hong Kong, pretending to be a Hong Kong
native. He also called Judy a northern girl. He has a bad character."
"Why do you care about his character?" the man said impatiently. "You women just like to gossip
about these things. I won't say anything more."
For this unrelated Mr. Huang, the couple started to argue endlessly.
Zhao Youning looked at the road sign that flashed by. Yes, he was back in Shanghai. He got off the
bus at Jiangsu Road and walked back to Hongye Garden. The dusty mailbox was filled with letters
and newspapers, and there was also a lot of stuff piled on top. Later, probably because there was
no place to put them, some neighbor hooked a vest bag on the mailbox lock, and it was also
filled.
Entering the house, everything was exactly the same as when he left last time. Youning thought
about getting the spare key back from Kangjiaqiao this time. At that time, Zhao Yan said that he
would hire an aunt to go to Hongye Garden every month to clean and collect letters, etc., but it
seemed that he was just talking. He cleaned up a little. The bedding in the closet was clean, but
the smell of mothballs was very pungent. Fortunately, although there was no sun or rain outside,
Zhao Youning opened the doors and windows and hung the sheets, quilts and pillowcases outside
to let the smell spread. Not far away, there were pigeons circling back and forth. The sky was so
low that it seemed like a pot cover covering his head. It was very noisy. He sweated when he
hung the clothes on the clothesline. Fortunately, the water, electricity and gas were not turned
off. He took a shower, put on a sweat shirt and old man's pants, found a pair of slippers, put away
the US dollars in his wallet, and put away the three hundred yuan left in the bedside table.
As soon as Zhao Youning walked out the door, he ran into his neighbor on the first floor.
"Oh, it's Ningning?" Aunt Wu greeted Zhao Youning with a smile, "I was surprised to see you
hanging the sheets just now. Are you back from America?"
"Well, I just arrived. I brought some American ginseng for Auntie Nong. I'm going out to eat
something now and I'll bring it down later." Zhao Youning opened the mailbox door and nodded
at her with a smile.
"Why are you being so polite?" Aunt Wu was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. She swiftly
took all the newspapers from Youning's hands and asked, "Do you want more newspapers?"
"Forget it."
"Then I'll give it to Grandma Gong at No. 12. Luckily I can make some money from it."
"Okay, thank you."
As Aunt Wu and Zhao Youning walked out, they kept talking about how pitiful this Grandma Gong
was. The old man had done something bad a few years ago, beating and scolding her and trying
to drive her away. Now she has a stroke and is paralyzed at home. Her lover took the money and
ran away. Her son and daughter-in-law scolded her for being useless and not being able to
provide any manpower or money. They didn't care about her at all. Grandma Gong lived on the
old man's 150 yuan pension. She was miserable and only had two meals a day. Youning heard this
and took out 200 yuan from his wallet to give to Aunt Wu. Aunt Wu was shocked, but she still
accepted it and told Youning to wait for her to get the receipt. Youning smiled and nodded. He
only knew that Aunt Wu's family was a good person. During the movement, his grandparents,
uncle and mother committed suicide, and she and her husband carried the bodies out of the
alley. Later, his mother rarely returned to Hongye Garden. When she knew that he had returned
to Hongye Garden, she specifically told him to be more affectionate to Aunt Wu's family.
Zhao Youning went to Fuchun Xiaolong on Yuyuan Road and ate three steamed meat dumplings,
a piece of fried pork chop and a bowl of wontons. It was strange that he couldn't help thinking of
Chen Sinan, who always ripped him off while eating. He couldn't help laughing and felt very
happy. He delivered the American ginseng, collected the sheets and quilts, and began to adjust to
the time difference. As a result, he woke up in the middle of the night with full energy. After
waking up, he stared at the phone and thought for a long time, but he still resisted the urge to
call Wanchun Street.
——
Si Nan was very happy to see Zhao Youning. He boasted about being selected to participate in the
physics competition and said he would treat him to a meal.
"What to eat?" Zhao Youning looked at the watch. It was only 3:30 in the afternoon.
"Wonton dumplings, fried pork chops," Si Nan looked at Chen Zhanping, "Let's go, let's go to the
West Palace gate, okay?"
Chen Zhanping was also very curious about this legendary genius and nodded in agreement.
So the three of them turned and walked towards the West Palace.
Chen Sinan was the one talking along the way, Chen Zhanping occasionally agreed with him, and
Zhao Youning listened with a smile.
Of course, the thing he was most proud of was selling flowers at the fashion show and getting a
commission. Sinan patted Chen Zhanping on the shoulder and said, "Brother, it's up to the two of
us to be the background board. We'll make money together and suffer together."
Chen Zhanping touched his nose and said, "I can only help you for three days at most after my
vacation. I have to take my sister back to my hometown in Yuyao to visit my parents' graves."
Zhao Youning raised his hand: "I'm short of money, Boss Chen, please give me a job."
Si Nan was overjoyed and grabbed Zhao Youning's arm: "How about giving you ten dollars a day?"
Chen Zhanping's jaw almost dropped to the ground. This Chen Bapi was much more evil-hearted
than the Gu Bapi she complained about.
Zhao Youning smiled and said, "Ten dollars is too little. It should be at least twelve dollars. I work
four hours a day, so I still have to pay three dollars an hour. In the United States, wages are
calculated by the hour."
Chen Zhanping turned his head silently. This elder brother must not be stupid. Since he is not
stupid, he seems to understand something.
Si Nan threw Zhao Youning's arm off with a "snap" sound and shouted, "Zhao Youning, why don't
you go and rob! You are so embarrassed to use American regulations to cheat Chinese people out
of their money, where is your conscience? Three dollars an hour? Eight hours is twenty-four, and
a month is thirty days. You want to earn seven hundred and twenty dollars? Go ask around
Shanghai, which factory can pay this much! Humph, forget it, I'll just call my Chen Si, he only
makes five dollars a day! My grandmother can also help with the piercing, free of charge!
Although she's a little slow, I'm not in a hurry anyway, haha."
"Then - ten dollars is ten dollars," Zhao Youning touched his nose, "Does it include meals, boss?"
Sinan was still not happy: "Now I'm only willing to pay eight dollars a day. If you want to do it,
then do it. If you don't want to do it, then forget it."
"You bastard..." Zhao Youning really didn't expect that he would be a farmhand as soon as he
returned to Shanghai, and would be exploited so badly.
"Seven!"
"Eight dollars, eight dollars. I also brought you something good." Zhao Youning held up the bag in
his hand. "There's a gift."
"Eight dollars is a deal," Sinan nodded with a smile, "Old Chen, you can be a witness. I didn't force
him to do that."
Chen Zhanping looked at Zhao Youning sympathetically and said, “Brother, the road ahead is long
and arduous. Just take your time and search for the money bit by bit.”

Chapter 352
Sinan's small handicraft workshop is opened in the cafeteria of the quartet. In addition to Chen
Baopi, there are also child laborer Chen Sihao, able-bodied men Zhao Youning and Chen
Zhanping, and volunteers Gu Apo and Chen A Niang.
Fu Yuanliang was worried about this special forces team, so he would come in every hour to take
a look and clean up the garbage. Si Nan felt at ease ordering him around.
"Uncle Fu, please help me get a pair of good scissors. Thank you!"
"Uncle Fu, please help me change the blade of that utility knife. Thank you."
"Uncle Fu, wait a minute. Please help me clean up this garbage."
The first few times she ordered Fu Yuanliang around like this, Grandma Gu and Chen A Niang's
little feet kicked Chen Sinan's legs at the same time.
"You are just doing this on your own! How could you trouble Manager Fu? I'm sorry, Manager
Fu." Aunt Chen glared at Si Nan.
"That's right, how many seconds can it take you to move your hands? You just want to order
others around. Ningning, you didn't let her go either, Nannan, you are really shameless."
Grandma Gu scolded her with a stern face.
Zhao Youning quickly raised his head and smiled: "I have nothing to do anyway, it's good to come
and learn some new knowledge."
Fu Yuanliang also smiled, "It's okay, it's easy."
He couldn't help but ask Sinan: "Who arranged this work process? Did you arrange it?"
Si Nan was stunned, then smiled: "Process? It wasn't me, it was arranged by Zhao Youning."
This job is not difficult to say, but it is time-consuming and laborious. At the beginning, the scene
was chaotic. First, several large plastic bags were opened by curious Chen Sihao and Chen
Anniang to look at them. As a result, several kinds of flowers rolled on the ground and mixed
together. After the flowers were sorted, the tools were scattered all over the place, and you had
to shout and look for anything you wanted. Then Sinan talked for half an hour, drawing grids on
the board, punching holes, inserting two kinds of flowers on the front and back, bending the
flower branches and hiding them under the petals to fix them with a nail gun, and fixing the
upper, lower, left and right petals with hot melt glue. The flower branches were of different
thicknesses and lengths, so they had to be trimmed with pliers to make them similar before they
could be inserted. The extra leaves had to be cut off. After listening to the old and the young,
they were like headless flies, doing whatever they saw in front of them, but in fact they did
nothing.
Zhao Youning soon worked out an assembly line. He and Chen Zhanping were responsible for
measuring the size, drawing the grids and punching the holes. Si Nan led the old and the young to
form two groups. Si Nan and Grandma Gu were responsible for arranging the branches of the
green lisianthus, and Si Hao and A Niang were responsible for cutting off all the flowers and
leaves and stacking them separately.
"Why do we have to cut them all off?" Sinan was quite confused.
"It's convenient to operate the nail gun and the hot melt gun, and it's faster to add a little more
leaves at the end," Zhao Youning demonstrated to her softly, "If you don't cut them all, every
time you arrange the flowers, use the nail gun, and stick the petals, you have to push the leaves
aside, which means you have three more useless tasks. A thousand flowers will be-"
"Wow!" Sinan's eyes sparkled. "A genius is a genius. You can see it at a glance. Damn it. What's
wrong with your brain?"
The customers were all looking for window displays, so Sinan referred to many boutique
windows. Each background board was 90 cm wide and 180 cm long, and could be seamlessly
spliced. Yan Aili's storefront was wide enough, so she ordered four background boards for the
green lisianthus and red roses model alone, which together were a full 3.6 meters long, which
was spectacular.
When the small assembly line began to perform its duties, even Chen Sihao felt proud when he
saw the plastic leaves gradually piled up into a small mountain in the basket at his feet. Zhao
Youning stood on the ground with the holes punched in the background board horizontally,
clamped it with two tables on the left and right, and inserted a row of empty rows and columns
from top to bottom. After inserting one side, he and Chen Zhanping stood on both sides of the
background board, one used a nail gun to fix the flower branches, and the other used hot melt
glue to fix the petals. After both sides were fixed, select a few leaves and nail them in the gaps
with a nail gun, which looks very natural. Finally, cover it with plastic film and seal it, and it's
done.
Jingsheng and Sijiang came back from outside and were amazed at the work in this "mini
workshop". Chen Zhanping was about to go home, so Jingsheng took the nail gun from him and
started to work. Everyone saw that it was still a nail gun, but Jingsheng was much faster. Sijiang
saw that Sihao's fingers were rubbed red by the scissors, so he took his scissors and gave him 20
yuan to buy some mung bean popsicles for everyone outside the alley.
"Nannan, you can't ship the goods like this, they will definitely get crushed or broken," Jingsheng
thought for a while, "I want to make a wooden shelf for you. Calculate how many stores you want
to ship to, and I'll estimate the size and how many wooden strips you need to buy. I'll ask Ajin to
buy them tomorrow."
Sinan felt pained when he heard this: "Ah? Must we make a wooden frame? It will cost a lot of
money, right?"
Jingsheng and Zhao Youning smiled at each other and said, "Stingy guy, I'll give it to you, okay?
Consider it as support for your small business."
"Okay, thank you cousin! You are so generous!" Sinan smiled and looked at Zhao Youning.
Under such a clear look, Zhao Youning began to wonder what else he could support.
Sinan came over cheerfully and poked him with his elbow: "Don't be nervous, I won't ask you to
pay for it. Tsk, I'm a rich man now, even if I only have a little money, I still have some. The
Shamushak family from Shajingzi used to come to Shanghai to sell mutton skewers. Wait, I'll take
you to eat the best grilled mutton skewers in Aksu. It's the best in Shanghai now, right on
Jiaozhou Road. I won't charge you. Eat as much as you want."
Jingsheng said with a smile: "Youning, don't be polite to her. She has a bigger face than anyone
else. We have eaten for free several times."
"I'm his family's benefactor, understand?" Si Nan said proudly. "One day, a dozen of us classmates
went to Jing'an Temple to eat vegetarian noodles. After eating the vegetarian noodles, we
wandered around the Jiaozhou Road small commodity market. When we came out to Yuyuan
Road, I saw that the Lanzhou ramen shop had closed a long time ago. That shop must have
closed. The ramen chef was so ugly. He blew his nose while making noodles. Tsk tsk tsk, it was so
ugly. The beef was so little and thin, even thinner than this leaf. His knife skills were pretty good."
As she spoke, she imitated the scene of ramen and snot flying together, making everyone laugh.
"I called our old principal and told him to hurry up and ask Shamusak's family if they want to
enter Shanghai. Their lamb skewers and rice are so delicious, they should hurry up and make a lot
of money! Oh, isn't it a coincidence?" Sinan slapped his thigh, "Shamusak's eldest brother came
to Shanghai with his fellow villagers a few years ago, and we couldn't contact him for half a year.
His father and grandfather brought Shamusak to Shanghai to look for him."
"Anyway, after a series of twists and turns," Sinan smiled, "the person was found and the store
was opened. Brother Shamusak is quite romantic. He is dating a very beautiful girl from
Shanghai."
Chen's mother was shocked: "Stop talking nonsense. Who would allow their Shanghai girl to date
a Xinjiang boy named Xiaowei? How can a Xinjiang person get a hukou? What unit does he work
in? What about his house? Will he live in his mother-in-law's house?"
Si Nan was anxious: "Sister Beibei's parents are both in Changshu. Like me, she is also registered
at grandma's house. She is not that vulgar. What household registration, unit and house are
boring."
"Oh, don't blame me," Chen A-niang nodded, "I'm just Hong Kong. My parents went to the
countryside, so it's no wonder. My grandparents are not good either. They don't care about the
little girl at all. Really, oh, don't come, you know, that——"
Si Jiang quickly interrupted A Niang and asked with a smile if she had any empty baskets to put
the leaves in. Chen Sihao just came back with a bag of popsicles, so Si Jiang invited everyone to
take a break and eat popsicles together, and asked Zhao Youning if he wanted to go to Wanchun
Street for dinner.
Zhao Youning said that he would rather obey than be respectful, and gently poked Sinan who
looked unhappy: "Where is the bathroom?"
Si Nan bit into a popsicle and took Zhao Youning to the workshop. He pointed to the newly
erected Chinese and English sign: "There, there is toilet paper, free of charge!"
Zhao Youning went in, trying not to laugh.
"What are you laughing at? Even toilet paper costs two cents when you use the toilet in the
public restroom outside—" Sinan squatted on the ground and said angrily, "How can we give
people free use of it? If it's two cents per person, we can collect dozens of dollars a month. You're
not generous where you should be, and you're not stingy where you should be, tut tut tut."
——
The area around Yuyuan Road and Jiaozhou Road is very busy at night. The students have finished
their final exams and are about to start summer vacation. The small commodity market is full of
people. The row of snack shops on Yuyuan Road is also bustling with smoke and business is
booming. The stalls selling midnight snacks have already started to line up in the direction of
Changde Road, selling everything from clay pot wontons, fried noodles, malatang, tofu pudding,
and barbecue.
Shamusak's mutton kebab shop is on the corner, very eye-catching, and unique Xinjiang music
can be heard from afar.
Zhao Youning listened from a distance and asked, "What kind of music is this? It's really nice."
Sinan gave him a thumbs up and said, "This is Aksu's Twelve Muqams. Isn't it nice? Isn't it
unique? The Shamusak family also holds concerts, one every Sunday night, hehe. Ningning Agnon
is the best. My eldest cousin and my sister have never asked about this!"
Jingsheng, who was walking in front, turned around and looked at Sinan when he heard this.
Sinan raised his eyebrows: "You haven't asked before."
Jingsheng: "Haha, I also lived in Aksu for a year, right? It's not like I haven't heard or seen it
before."
Si Jiang felt a little guilty. Her attention was all on Jingsheng and she really didn't pay attention to
the tune.
Fu Yuanliang, who was traveling with him, also nodded: "It sounds good."
A puff of smoke was blown by a fan at the store entrance, and the deep features of the Uyghur
youth looked even more handsome in the smoke. A little girl wearing a tight sweatshirt and
denim shorts was collecting money next to him, and her two straight long legs were dazzlingly
white under the street lights. Shamusak came out of the store trotting with a stainless steel plate
of mutton skewers: "Thank you, please make way, please make way." He spoke standard
Mandarin with almost no accent.
"Nannan!" When Shamusak saw Chen Sinan, he smiled with his white teeth showing. He put
down the plate and danced over to the music, as if inviting Sinan to dance with him.
The people who were waiting in line for the lamb skewers suddenly laughed and started to make
a noise.
Si Nan danced with great confidence and whirled around. Jing Sheng and Si Jiang had seen it
twice before, so they were not surprised. Zhao Youning's jaw almost dropped. He had never
known that Chen Si Nan could dance Xinjiang dance, and dance it so well.
Youning couldn't help but ask Sijiang softly: "I remember Sinan complained that he could never
learn to dance like you when he was a kid?"
Si Jiang smiled and shook his head: "It should be that she doesn't like the one-two-three-four-
five-six-seven-eight dance. Xinjiang dance is unrestrained, passionate and unrestrained, which
suits her heart. You know her, if she likes it, she likes it very much, and if she doesn't like it, it's
useless to force it."
Under the street light, Sinan raised her arms high, swaying like a willow tree. She spun around
passionately and unrestrainedly, and froze to the beat. There was flickering light and shadow
between her deep brows, and her eyes were full of pride and happiness. Her long curly hair
fluttered freely, complementing the Uyghur boy beside her.
Zhao Youning's heart skipped a beat, then another, and then began to beat loudly. The rhythm
coming from the blood rushing out was so intense that his eardrums hurt slightly.

Chapter 353
Speaking of mutton, it is said that people from Ningxia, Gansu and Inner Mongolia often quarrel,
and each family claims that their mutton is the best. People in southern Xinjiang curl their lips
and say: "If they work harder, they can compare with northern Xinjiang."
Therefore, people in southern Xinjiang, especially Yuli County, have always stood at the top of the
mutton contempt chain. Shamusak's grandfather followed Shamusak's grandmother from Yuli
County to Aksu, and supported his family with his mutton cooking skills. His brothers and sisters
still live in Yuli. After the reform and opening up, several families contracted cotton fields
together, raised Lop sheep, and brought Shamusak's family with them. Lop sheep are too easy to
raise, and you don't have to take care of anything. They roam in the poplar forests and desert
grasslands between the Tarim River and the Peacock River all year round. In addition to the
owner's own consumption, they are also special meat for the autonomous region. If Yuli goes out
with ten Lop sheep, the autonomous region leaders can keep two, and the other eight will be
sent to various ministerial units.
Shamusak's eldest brother is called Aiserihan, which means honey in Chinese. He inherited his
grandfather's skill in roasting lamb. The Luobu sheep raised by his family do not need to be
marinated at all. The lamb hind legs are cut into pieces, strung on red willow branches, and put
on the barbecue trough. A handful of chili, a handful of salt, and finally a handful of cumin are
added. Nothing else needs to be added and will never be added. Grandpa said it well: only meat
that does not taste good needs to be marinated. This statement can make people from Jinhua
and Yunnan angry to death. The Spanish will definitely disagree if they hear it.
Shamsak and Sinan danced around the barbecue trough for a few minutes to the music, which
drew rounds of applause.
Intoxicated by the aroma of grilled lamb skewers, Chen Sinan didn't even wait for the drum to
sound before he started to eat. He tossed his hair and said, "Fifty skewers first!"
"Little girl, please don't cut in line!"
"Line up, first come, first served!"
The onlookers were not happy.
Shamusak ran into the store happily, carrying a barbecue trough out, and said to everyone with a
smile: "Don't worry, she will eat what I grill."
A quarter of an hour later, the people lined up in a long line, drooling and looking at Chen Sinan
with eager eyes as he devoured the meal.
"Little brother, can you keep the stove on? We don't have to wait in a long line."
Shamusak shook his head like a rattle and fanned away the smoke: "I'm not a master yet, and
grandpa doesn't allow me to grill meat."
Sinan, who had finished three kebabs in a flash, ran into the store triumphantly, greeted
Shamusak's parents, grandparents, and took out a few bottles of beer from the refrigerator and
held them in his arms.
"Is that enough? Give me some more. Do you want naan? Grandma just made it today. We also
have mutton pilaf and mutton soup." Shamsak's grandfather chased out.
"Yeah, yeah. I want them all! I want them all!" Chen Sinan puffed his cheeks and nodded
vigorously.
Si Jiang looked at the glass in front of Si Nan and said, "Drink less beer. If you get drunk and start
beating people up, no one can handle you."
Si Nan turned his head and smiled at Zhao Youning beside him: "Are you afraid? Do you want to
stay away from me?"
Zhao Youning smiled and shook his head: "Don't be afraid, do you want to toast?"
"What's a toast? I can drink a whole bottle!"
"Just brag." Jingsheng hit her on the head with the red willow branch in his hand, "Boast."
"Don't try to provoke me, or I'll get provoked." Sinan leaned against Youning's body and dodged
the second blow.
Si Jiang looked at the little girl next to Eserihan, and the little girl immediately ran over: "Sister Si
Jiang, what do you want?"
Si Jiang smiled and shook his head: "No, I just want to see you. You look really nice today."
Zou Bei smiled and swung her legs, glanced at Aiserihan, bent down and lowered her voice and
said, "He didn't let me wear it at first, and I said we would break up if he didn't let me wear it,
hehe." After that, she hurried back to settle the bill and collect the money.
Si Jiang was startled and looked at Aisilihan. Aisilihan probably guessed that his girlfriend was
complaining, his handsome face blushed, he lowered his head and stared at the mutton skewers
in his hand, the mutton fat dripped down, and the flames jumped up. Zou Bei passed behind him
and slapped him on the back. He smiled and slapped her leg lightly with his backhand.
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng couldn't help but smile at each other. For people in love, watching others
fall in love always brings up many beautiful imaginations, as if there is finally someone in the
world who feels the beauty of love like them. This is a subtle feeling of finding an ally. When Si
Jiang looked back again, he was startled. Si Nan was really holding up a bottle of wine and
blowing against You Ning. She quickly stood up, but was pulled back by Jing Sheng.
"It's up to her. Let her be as bold as a bastard all day long. Only after she gets drunk will she
realize that there are always people better than you." Jingsheng laughed with glee.
Zhao Youning knew how much he could drink. Jingsheng and Youning drank once by the lake in
Xigong. They drank a box of wine. The more Zhao Youning drank, the brighter his eyes became
and his face was red, but he never got drunk. He didn't know when he would get drunk. Now that
he had more experience with foreign wine, he would definitely be better than before.
When Li Yifang rushed over from Hongqiao to eat lamb skewers, Chen Sinan was already drunk.
She performed a set of punches beside the barbecue trough with a serious face, and her knife
almost knocked over the plate of mutton skewers, scaring away at least seven or eight customers.
Si Jiang and Zhao Youning finally got back five or six. She spun in circles to the music, counting as
she spun, and stopped after 108 spun. She smiled and said to Zhao Youning, "Is it amazing? I'm
not dizzy! Not at all--" After saying that, she took a step and turned directly onto Yuyuan Road.
Zhao Youning half-carried and half-dragged her back to her seat, and she drank a small bowl of
reheated mutton soup sprinkled with a handful of fresh coriander. Sweat was pouring down her
head and face. Si Jiang took out a handkerchief and wiped her face with a smile, saying that if she
had known, she would have brought a camera to take pictures, and he would sell her the film for
100 yuan later.
Youning was very happy: "Good idea!"
Si Jiang winked at Jing Sheng and made a face. Jing Sheng smiled and blew away half a bottle of
beer. He felt that Si Jiang was really led astray by Si Nan, or as Gu Beiwu said, it was actually Si
Nan who was like Si Jiang, but Si Nan grew up wildly and brought one side of Si Jiang's character
to the limit. It was a pity that he didn't know Si Jiang in her cradle, Si Jiang who was learning to
speak, Si Jiang who waved a toilet brush and chased the child who called her "Xiao Xinjiang", Si
Jiang who knew many words, recited many poems and sang many songs at the age of more than
three, and Si Jiang who dared to roll a rolling pin against evil people. He couldn't help but be
greedy. What would he do if he saw Si Jiang who was molded into a "little star" by the rules of
the choir, dance troupe, and team committee? He would probably encourage her to skip classes
and performances, take her to the river to fish, catch tadpoles and frogs, climb trees and catch
cicadas, and loudly tell Chen Donglai and Gu Ximei: I want my parents to come back! But maybe
in this way, Chen Sijiang and Chen Sinan will be very similar, and he may only treat her as a sister.
Fate is so wonderful, fate is so unpredictable.
Jingsheng raised the bottle and clinked it with Fu Yuanliang: "Drink it?"
Fu Yuanliang's face was red from drinking. He looked at the other end of Jiaozhou Road with a
slightly unfocused vision: "Cheers!"
On the other side of the small table, Li Yifang and Si Jiang were talking about a makeup training
class. After Si Nan proposed the idea, Li Yifang thought it was feasible, and she carefully drew up
a proposal and brought it to Si Jiang to see first.
"The job of makeup artist actually has an age limit," Li Yifang said in a soft voice. "Now if I work all
day, my waist and arms will hurt, and my eyes will be strained. I hope to retire at the age of 30.
It's really scary to work so hard at the age of 30. Ah, Si Jiang, what about you? What kind of job
do you plan to do after graduation?"
Si Jiang smiled and shook his head: "I don't know yet, maybe I can be a translator? Many of our
senior sisters have joined foreign companies, most of them are secretaries or translators, but
now I think sales and management are very interesting, and I want to learn a lot of things."
"Secretary and translator, of course the translator," Li Yifang raised her glass and clinked it with Si
Jiang's. "Wow, this mutton is so delicious! I have never eaten such delicious mutton in my life!
Really——"
Sinan's big head suddenly popped up: "What do you think? Am I right? I said this is the best
mutton in China, it is the best!"
Li Yifang smiled and pinched her face: "That's right! You are right, I can testify that this is
definitely the most delicious mutton in the entire earth and the entire universe! What kind of
punch did you do just now? I didn't even see it, I really want to see it——"
Before he finished speaking, Chen Sinan did a cartwheel, but failed to turn properly and fell to
the ground with a thud. The scene was in chaos, Zhao Youning and Si Jiang grabbed the cloth and
pulled it. The Shamusak brothers also rushed over.
The tenacious and unyielding Chen Sinan struggled to pose for a sweeping kick on the ground,
smoothed his curly hair, raised his head and announced: "This is a set of movements. Do you see
it clearly?"
Four pairs of hands stopped in mid-air.
Gu Jingsheng stood still and raised his bottle with a smile: "This is the third time I've seen this.
Let's continue eating meat and drinking. Don't worry about her. Let her continue to enjoy her
glory."
Li Yifang laughed so hard that her stomach hurt. She pointed at Jingsheng and complained to Si
Jiang: "Hey, he's really, really mean. Won't he be beaten by your sister?"
Zhao Youning rubbed his sore arm: "She only hits me, not Gu Jingsheng, because even if she is
drunk, she knows that she can't beat her cousin."
Li Yifang just remembered the topic she had just brought up, and pulled Si Jiang to continue: "But
if you want to do something, sales and management are the best directions. I think so. Do you
think I am being long-winded?"
"No, no, you've been to many countries and are well-informed. I also want to hear your opinion,"
Si Jiang smiled and glanced at Jingsheng, "and he's running a company and doing business, and I
also want to be able to help in the future."
Li Yifang smiled as if she knew it, and nodded: "Because Taiwan developed a little earlier than the
mainland, so many places are actually a bit similar. For example, when I was in elementary
school, the foreign language department was very popular. My dad told me that when I grow up,
I must take the English department exam at National Taiwan University. Please, there was no way
I could get in! As a result, when I went to Paris to study makeup, it was already difficult for
foreign language graduates in Taiwan to find suitable jobs."
"Ah? Why?" Everyone present asked the same question as Si Jiang.
"Because Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea are the four Asian tigers, English is the
international common language, so international trade and international finance are very
developed, so everyone will learn English and other foreign languages. But after more than ten
years of study, even students who are not English majors will be very good at English. They take
many cram schools and take many exams. If you are the boss of a company, would you rather hire
a college student with a sales major and a score of 60 or 70 in English, or a college student with a
score of 10 in English but no knowledge of sales? Anyway, the position that recruits the most
people will always be sales."
Si Jiang's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but look at Jing Sheng. Jing Sheng's English was not
bad, but not very good either. He could communicate with the Browns on a daily basis, but when
it came to professional knowledge in finance, of course only Gu Beiwu, Zhou Shanrang and Si
Jiang could keep up the conversation. Thinking about the big things that his uncle had done in the
past six months, which one played a bigger role, English or economics? The answer was obvious.
Li Yifang smiled and nodded: "Whether it's English or French, I think it's just a tool for
communication. Of course, if you do translation, it's still good. You can do translation for a
lifetime, even if you are a hundred years old, but you may not make money and you will be very
poor. I asked a French major college student to help me translate a letter before. He said it only
cost ten yuan for a thousand words. My God, you mainlanders are really weird. How can it be so
cheap? It's so unfair!"
Si Jiang was silent again.

Chapter 354
Li Yifang's words triggered a heated discussion among Jingsheng, Sijiang and Youning about the
various stages of study, including undergraduate, graduate and doctoral studies. In the United
States, subject discrimination also exists. When Youning entered Peking University, he faced a
dispute between the Department of Physics and the Department of Mathematics. Although it
was a joke, it also reflected certain facts. In the United States, theoretical physics is above all else,
but people like Zhao Youning who study astrophysics are still respected, but experimental physics
is not so good. It just so happens that experimental physics is easier to publish, and people often
hold back to ridicule theoretical physics, which is difficult to achieve success. And mechanical
engineering departments like Jingsheng are equivalent to blue-collar workers in the eyes of
theoretical physics students.
Jingsheng laughed: "We are workers and engineers, blue-collar workers. White-collar workers
should refer to the management talents mentioned by Evone, or the people who graduated from
Sijiang's department and sit in the office."
Li Yifang nodded: "Yes, yes, yes, I also work hard."
Zhao Youning asked Sinan: "Have you decided which university and major to study? Do you want
to be a worker or work in an office?"
Chen Sinan stood up suddenly, raised his arms and said, "We workers have power! Hey! We
workers have power! We are busy working every day, hey! We are busy working every day--"
Before she finished singing, she slapped Jingsheng back.
Her neck stiffened: "What! This is what my father taught me to sing - Hey, sister, are you coming
back to see me?" She turned her head and looked around for a while, then shouted at the top of
her voice: "Dad - Dad! Dad - wait for me, I will go down the well with you -"
Si Jiang rubbed his eyes fiercely, and reached out to touch Si Nan's face. It was burning hot, and
he couldn't help but stroke the curls on her head. He smiled softly and said, "Dad writes letters
every week, and you laugh at him while reading them."
Chen Donglai is expected to be transferred back to Urumqi at the end of the year because of his
outstanding performance. He said that he would go back to Shanghai to visit his relatives during
the Spring Festival. Si Nan sneered and said that it would be more practical to send money. Of
course, Si Jiang would not mention this in the reply letter or phone call. She did not expect that in
addition to her mother, Si Nan actually had feelings for her father. Compared with Si Nan, Si Jiang
felt that he and Si Hao were really heartless.
——
Jingsheng and Sijiang watched helplessly as Chen Sinan quickly climbed up the wall, rode on the
iron branches, shook his lion head triumphantly at them, and jumped down to land in the school.
Zhao Youning stood at the foot of the wall and silently looked at the shoe print on his shoulder.
He turned around and asked Jingsheng, "Climbing?" He was so nervous that goose bumps
appeared on his arms and he felt inexplicably excited.
Li Yifang whistled softly, exclaimed "Wow", and quickly took off her 9cm high heels, eager to try.
Fu Yuanliang noticed that the girl next to him suddenly became shorter, and couldn't help but
glance at her. Li Yifang raised her eyebrows: "What? Haven't you seen a dwarf before?
Congratulations, now you have seen one."
"I'm sorry." Fu Yuanliang, who was half drunk, apologized quickly in a low voice.
Jingsheng and Sijiang looked at each other and nodded. Sijiang stepped on the hands of
Jingsheng and Youning and was lifted up. She easily stepped on the top of the red brick wall,
grabbed the guardrail and stepped over the horizontal bar. Climbing the wall was not as difficult
as she had imagined. Sinan was riding a bicycle in the shed and waving at her.
"Don't jump down, wait for me to come up." Jingsheng took a few steps back, then suddenly
accelerated and jumped up, grabbing the edge of the brick wall with both hands, pushing hard,
and the whole person climbed up the wall. He grabbed the iron bar and reached down: "Youning,
Lao Fu, send Evone up first."
Li Yifang bit the two shoelaces of her high-heeled sandals, rubbing her hands in anticipation and
nodding vigorously at Fu Yuanliang and Zhao Youning: "Yeah, yeah, yeah!"
Si Jiang and Jing Sheng almost fell down laughing.
Fu Yuanliang lifted Li Yifang's feet and pushed them up. He felt that this Taiwanese girl was as
light as a feather. In just three to five seconds, her delicate little feet left his palms. The bright red
toenail polish burned his old face like a branding iron. Fortunately, the street lights were dim and
he was drunk, so no one noticed this abnormality except him.
The giggling sounds of Si Jiang and Li Yifang could be heard from above.
"Your feet are so small! Are you a size 34?"
"I can wear 33cm, I'm short," Li Yifang's voice was like honey in the night, one word after another,
stretched to a gossamer-like thinness, swinging but not breaking, "I haven't grown to 160cm, I'm
so angry, hey, you didn't hear or see anything - tomorrow I will still be 169cm!"
With Jingsheng's help, Zhao Youning and Fu Yuanliang also climbed up the wall easily. The five of
them stood closely together. Jingsheng stepped over and jumped down first, like a leopard,
silently.
"Come down, I'll catch you." Jingsheng stretched out his hand towards Si Jiang.
Si Jiang bent his knees without hesitation and fell into Jingsheng's arms. The two smiled at each
other.
Zhao Youning and Fu Yuanliang stepped over the iron bar, held Li Yifang's hands and slowly
lowered her down, and Si Jiang caught her legs under the wall.
Li Yifang raised her head and pursed her red lips while biting the straps of her high heels.
Zhao Youning smiled and said, "Then should we let him go?"
"Let it go." Jingsheng prepared for protection.
As soon as he let go, Fu Yuanliang's temples began to throb.
——
The five people had just quietly climbed onto the rooftop of the teaching building when the
weather turned bad and a drizzle began to fall.
Sinan looked up and said, "Alas, there is not a single star."
Zhao Youning smiled and said, "The stars are there, but we can't see them for the time being."
"There are endless stars in Shajingzi," Sinan said drunkenly, hugging his knees as he sat on the
ground. "There are often shooting stars. If it's not raining in Shanghai, you can't see many stars."
"Because the lights in the city at night are too bright--" Youning sat next to her and suddenly
realized that Sinan didn't need his explanation, so he stopped talking.
"The stars in the sky don't talk, only the fools on earth miss their mothers. The eyes in the sky
blink, and mother's heart--" Sinan sang "Lu Bing Hua" in a messy way, and he couldn't continue,
so he stopped and said, "Brother Ningning, have you heard this song?"
"without."
"It's a song from a movie, but never mind, it's just a lie anyway," Sinan buried his head in his
knees, and after a while he turned his head and asked, "Were you sad when your mother got
married again?"
Youning shook his head, then nodded: "It's still a little sad to think about the time when our
family was together as a child."
"Are you angry?"
Youning shook his head.
Sinan thought for a moment and said, "Forget it. You don't understand me anyway."
She turned her head to look to the other side. Jingsheng and Sijiang were whispering on the
other side of the rooftop, probably reminiscing about the six years they spent together in school.
No one was willing to disturb them.
"No one understands what I'm thinking." Sinan exhaled depressedly.
"Thinking of your grandparents?"
"Hmm - I don't miss them at all. There's nothing to miss about them." Sinan pulled his messy
bangs.
"When you want to think about them, think about them seriously. When you want to be sad, cry.
When you want to be angry, curse." You Ning looked at her and smiled. "Don't force yourself not
to think about them. You grew up with them. Your relationship with your parents must be
different from Si Jiangshao's. You must be the saddest person when they break up."
"Bullshit! I'm not sad—" Sinan turned his face away.
"Well, you are still a child, immature, and it is difficult for you to handle this kind of relationship
calmly."
"Who is the child? How come I can't handle it? I won't pay any attention to them. No matter how
they try to please me, I won't pay any attention to them. Just give me money. Humph. I don't
want to be too mature. And I often scold them. I'm not like Chen Sijiang, who gives them face. He
has no substance at all. What face do he need!"
Zhao Youning smiled but said nothing.
Chen Sinan groaned: "Forget it, I won't talk to you anymore, I need to go to the toilet."
"I go with you."
Li Yifang put on her high heels, leaned against the railing and kicked her legs, let out a breath, and
called out "Hey" to Fu Yuanliang who was standing far away from her.
Fu Yuanliang hesitated for a moment and walked over.
"Excuse me, do you have any cigarettes?" Li Yifang asked in a friendly and polite manner.
Fu Yuanliang took out a bag of peonies and asked, "Or?"
"Well - give it a try."
One firework bloomed next to another, brightening up and then dimming.
Fu Yuanliang leaned against the railing, looked at the young men silently, and suddenly smiled.
Li Yifang glanced at him. She had no idea what this strange old man was laughing at, but when he
laughed he didn't look so lifeless.
——
The corridor of the teaching building was dark and long. The faint light shone through the glass
window of the back door of the classroom, casting a rectangle with blurred edges on the wooden
floor.
Sinan held onto the wall and walked slowly.
"What do you think of me? Am I a good person?" Sinan asked suddenly.
Zhao Youning's heart suddenly jumped up and down, a wave of heat rose to his face, and he
almost stuttered: "Of course, of course, very good."
"Where is good?"
"He's good in every way," You Ning sorted out his thoughts, "He has a very good personality, he's
chivalrous and brave, he's kind and gentle, and he's very sincere to his friends."
"That's true." Sinan walked downstairs slowly, holding the handrail of the stairs.
"You're smart and brave. When you were little, you could conquer half of the railway line by
yourself," Youning laughed. "You can get full marks even though you don't like physics. There's
nothing you can't do, only things you don't want to do. And you're so cute."
"Cute? Me?" Sinan turned around doubtfully and looked at Zhao Youning, then couldn't help
laughing.
"A girl may not be cute because she is pretty, but she will definitely be beautiful because she is
cute." Youning remembered the words on the cover of a book in the Seattle Airport Bookstore.
Sinan stopped and widened his eyes: "I'm not beautiful???"
Youning choked up: "Pretty, pretty. Pretty and cute."
Sinan burped, raised his eyebrows, and seemed too lazy to refute him. He turned around and
continued walking.
"Which floor is this? What is this?"
“Second floor.”
"Forget it, let's go to the first floor," Si Nan turned around and glanced at Zhao Youning sinisterly,
"I heard there's a female ghost in the women's restroom on the second floor."
Zhao Youning laughed: "Your middle school girls' restroom has ghost stories? I thought that only
happened in medical schools."
"Why? We have it too! We have it!" Sinan muttered unconvinced.
"you're drunk."
"I do not."
Before entering the bathroom, Sinan fumbled for a long time before finding the door handle.
"Do you need to go to the bathroom?"
"This is the women's room."
"Oh, yes, you are a man and I am a woman."
Sinan turned around and said, "Hey, tell me, do you like me?"
Zhao Youning didn't pause for a second: "I like it."
These two words are like two arrows and also like two mountains. After you say them, you will
feel like you are floating.
Sinan looked at him sadly for three seconds: "You all like me, why don't they want me? Mom
doesn't want me, Dad doesn't want me, my cousin is with my elder sister, my elder sister has my
cousin, my grandmother, my uncle and my aunt, Sihao has my mother and grandmother, and I - I
have nothing."
The door of the women's restroom slowly returned to its original position, and the sound of ping-
pong came from inside.
Zhao Youning rubbed his eyebrows for a long time, his eyes feeling sore.
——
When they climbed over the wall from the school, Si Nan was carried over the wall by Jingsheng
and Youning like a dead fish. Jingsheng carried Si Nan on his back and followed Youning back to
Hongye Garden with Si Jiang.
Si Nan hugged the toilet in Zhao Youning's house and vomited until she was dizzy, then hugged
the faucet on the bathtub and laughed uncontrollably, saying that she wanted to sleep in the
bathtub. She really got what she wanted.
The drizzle outside the bathroom blinds rustled like silkworms eating mulberry leaves, or like the
blank noise at the end of a tape. Sinan opened his eyes and found himself sleeping in a bathtub,
with a large towel covering him and a pillow under his head.
There was the sound of ding-dong music coming from outside; someone was playing the piano.
Sinan lowered his head and smelled the sour odor on his body. He had a severe headache, which
was not only painful but also swollen. He had not showered, washed his hair, or changed his
clothes. If his mother was here, she would go crazy. Sinan held onto the edge of the bathtub,
stood up shakily, climbed out of the bathtub and opened the door.
The sound of rain and the sound of the piano both grew louder; neither could overwhelm the
other, and a strange harmonic effect was produced.
The door to the balcony was open. In front of the piano in the living room, Zhao Youning's
slender fingers were flying across the black and white keys, with a faint smile on his lips.
As if he sensed something, he turned his head. The piano music stopped, but the sound of rain
continued.
"woke up?"
Zhao Youning smiled, his eyes curved, his fingers caressed the piano keys, and changed a song.
Sinan knew this song, it was the famous "To Alice".
Si Nan stood stupidly at the bathroom door, scratched her messy curly hair, and tugged at her
wrinkled and smelly sweatshirt with a red face: "Um-um..." She was embarrassed to make any
more sound, for fear of disturbing Zhao Youning.
Looking down, Sinan saw his big toe scratching on the floor, even following the rhythm of "Für
Alice".

Chapter 355
Jing Shengsijiang and Zhao Youning chatted the whole night. Young people have good physical
strength and they didn't feel sleepy at all even after staying up all night.
In the morning, the Fuchun Xiaolongbao restaurant was packed with people. The queue
stretched out to the store entrance. Citizens put away their umbrellas and hid under the eaves of
the shops that had not yet opened, stretching towards Zhenning Road. Si Jiang held a blue
checkered umbrella from the Zhao family, and Jing Sheng held a steel wok. The umbrella was
particularly large, and there was a distance between the front and the back, making them look
like a flower suddenly emerging from a branch.
"Zhao Youning went to Yunnan with us. My aunt must be very happy to see him," Si Jiang said
with emotion. "He is doing well in the United States. It feels like we are back to when we were
little, calling Ala Kaobang to catch crayfish. Do you remember? He was very lively in elementary
school, and he had many younger brothers following him. Later in middle school, he talked less.
Maybe he was affected by family matters."
"He is a man of great wisdom." Jingsheng has always been generous in praising Zhao Youning.
"Huh? You speak so highly of him! I think you are the wise one—" Si Jiang coughed twice at
Jingsheng's teasing smile, and then he laughed, "Hey, why are you looking at me like that? I am
speaking the truth, okay?"
"I'm just a little clever." Jingsheng smiled.
"No, you've run the company so well that my uncle almost broke the phone when he called me.
He said he'll live at least five more years and he's waiting to see how well you'll make the
company." Si Jiang couldn't help feeling both happy and sad when he thought of his uncle.
"Fifty years is about right." Jingsheng expressed what Si Jiang was thinking.
The two of them returned to Hongye Garden with wonton dumplings. The rain gradually stopped,
with only a few strands of rain remaining intermittently. The sound of a smooth piano could be
heard from a distance.
"It's great that a physicist who studies the universe plays the piano on a rainy day. It's extremely
romantic in itself," Si Jiang smiled as he put away his umbrella. "It's a pity that there's only one of
us in his bathtub, drinking a lot of wine. It's like playing the piano to a cow."
Jingsheng's fingertips followed the rhythm of the piano music and tapped on the hot wok: "I can
only play a supporting role - my dear, how can you be romantic? Oh, I can't make any sound."
Si Jiang laughed so hard that he fell down. He pinched his fingers, bent down and blew on them:
"I take back what I said about you being very wise. Are you stupid? You are so hot."
Zhao Youning's feeling at this moment was not romantic but ridiculous. He had played "To Alice"
for the twelfth time. Chen Sinan sat cross-legged on the floor at the door of the bathroom, far
away from him, with his hands on his cheeks, as if he was looking at his fingers and piano keys, as
if he was looking at him, and more like looking through him at something outside the balcony
door. There was a little melancholy and a little joy on his little face, empty and full. Youning
wanted to stop and walk closer to take a closer look, but when the song was over, Sinan asked
him to play it again.
"Do you want to listen to Liszt's "Dream of Love"? Badazevska's "Maiden's Prayer" is also very
nice..." Youning also tried hard.
"No, I just want the song just now." Sinan refused.
When Jingsheng and Sijiang came in, Youning had just started playing "To Alice" for the thirteenth
time.
"It's time for breakfast." Jingsheng kicked Sinan, "You stink, go wash your hair and take a shower."
Sinan got up reluctantly: "You are so annoying, I am listening to the song specially made for me."
Youning stopped what he was doing and stood up to clear the table.
Si Jiang smiled and told You Ning: "This semester, Nan Nan's class got a new young English
teacher who is very fashionable. She asked each of them to come up with an English name. Si
Nan chose the name Alice because she likes Alice in Wonderland. It just so happens that you
played Furious Alice."
"Yi'e is thicker-skinned than the corner of a city wall," Jingsheng also laughed out loud, "I heard
you playing this song from the entrance of the alley. You've played it several times, right?"
"Fortunately, I finished playing it twelve times. It almost became thirteen." The corners of Zhao
Youning's mouth curled up unconsciously.
——
Before the typhoon came, Chen Sinan had finally delivered all the goods for the window display,
and was waiting for the customers to pay the remaining 30% after receiving the goods. Although
she had made a profit from the 70% pre-collected, Boss Chen still had a nightmare, dreaming that
all the customers were reluctant to pay the balance. She was so angry that she rushed to Harbin
alone, but unfortunately, two fists could not beat four hands. While being beaten, she screamed
"I will never date your son!" As a result, there was a rumble of thunder and lightning, and a man
fell from the sky to save her. In the blink of an eye, she teleported to Hongye Garden, and the
notes of 323237216 flowed, and the whole world was at peace.
Zhao Youning sat on the piano stool, playing the piano while looking at Si Nan and smiling:
"Would you like to be friends with me?" As he said this, one of his hands somehow rested on Si
Nan's calf.
Si Nan was suddenly startled awake, her heart pounding, and she felt a sweat on her forehead. It
turned out that the tent was blown flat by the electric fan, and it rubbed against her calves
regularly. She sat up and touched her legs. From top to bottom, her hair stood up, and from
bottom to top, her hair stood upside down. Si Jiang was not there, but there was a mosquito full
of blood, with its big belly sticking out, and Si Nan slapped it, and a hand was covered with blood.
The black body of the mosquito extended to a gradually gray-black residue. She grabbed Si Jiang's
"magic cloth" and wiped it. The gray-black turned into light gray, and the dark red turned into
light red, and it was imprinted in the lines of the palm. She threw the cloth away in annoyance,
fell on her back, covered her eyes with her arms and pressed hard, turned over, and kicked the
tent away with one foot, but the tent turned into an open sack with air, trapping her feet. When
she closed her eyes, Zhao Youning's smiling face appeared again, never annoying. Sinan rolled
over and rubbed her face on the pillow: "Go away! Go away! I'm tired of you. Don't play the
piano anymore. I won't call you Alice anymore!" There was a tiny burr somewhere on the
bamboo pillow, which scratched her left cheek, causing a burning pain.
Chen Sinan simply hated Zhao Youning.
A few days later, at the KFC celebration banquet at the Dongfeng Hotel, Sinan said to Zhao
Youning with a cold look on his face: "Don't be free at night in the future, understand?"
You Ning was confused as he opened the lid of the mashed potato box for Chen Sihao sitting
opposite him: "What did I do last night?"
"Why did you come into my dream at night for no reason?!" Sinan took a big bite of the original
chicken, as if he had bitten off a piece of meat from Zhao Youning.
Zhao Youning laughed: "No wonder I felt so exhausted when I woke up, it turned out that you
called me."
"Who called you? You fell from the sky by yourself." Sinan rubbed some oil on Zhao Youning's
hand, thinking that this would help him learn to play "To Alice" more easily.
"Then what did I do? Tell me," Zhao Youning asked seriously, "Why don't I have any recollection
of it at all?"
Sinan didn't hide anything from him and told him everything, but he didn't say the last sentence.
Instead, he said: "You forced me to learn to play "Für Alice" in three days. Is that possible?"
Chen Sihao raised his head at the right time, with a circle of mashed potato mustache around his
mouth: "Second sister, you can do it, you can definitely do it! Come on!" This is Gu Nian's
catchphrase.
Zhao Youning seemed to be thinking: "I am so cruel? This is not like me——"
Sinan slapped his hand several times guiltily: "It's you, it's you, it's you!"
Zhao Youning smiled and wiped the oil off his hands. But Chen Sihao said again: "Second sister,
it's wrong to lie to people. When you lie to people, your eyes turn black and your ears turn red."
Chen Sinan was so angry that he slapped Si Hao in the face: "I have frostbite!"
Zhao Youning and Chen Sihao looked at each other and nodded silently. Getting frostbite in July, it
really is worthy of Chen Sinan, who has a strange skeleton.
Sinan dropped the chicken bone and held his head high: "I'm going to the toilet."
"One dish." Zhao Youning quickly cleaned up the plates and snatched the chicken bone that Si
Hao was still chewing reluctantly.
"The waiter will come to collect it," Sinan was very surprised, "Why do you want to collect it?"
Youning smiled and handed the plate to the waiter: "I'm used to it in the United States."
——
The setting sun was golden, and the green spire of the Peace Hotel sparkled.
Si Nan helped Si Hao onto the railing: "Don't come down. You're a boy, how can you be as timid
as a mouse? Don't worry, I'll hold you and won't let you fall into the river! Hahahahaha."
The railings of the newly built "Lover's Wall" have actually changed from the thin round railings of
the 1970s to a 30-centimeter-wide cement platform, which is very safe, but Chen Sihao was still
afraid and forced a fearful smile at the camera raised by Zhao Youning. Then he was sandwiched
between Zhao Youning and Chen Sinan, and was forced to smile several times at the enthusiastic
strangers before being brought back to the ground.
"Hey, Sister Tang Huan." Si Hao, who had just come back to his senses after standing still for a
long while, pointed at a figure walking in the opposite direction of the tourist group and shouted.
Sinan turned his head to take a look, then chased after him, thinking that this guy and Lao Guo
really have a special liking for the Bund. Shanghai is so big, yet they have to come here.
Zhao Youning took Si Hao's hand and hurried to catch up.
Si Nan ran and shouted, but Tang Huan turned a deaf ear to him. He crossed the Waibaidu Bridge
and turned left onto Bei Suzhou Road. The Suzhou River was dark and smelly, and there were
almost no pedestrians on Bei Suzhou Road. Two small boats collecting garbage were lazily parked
on the shore. Si Nan could see clearly that there was only Tang Huan, and no sign of Guo Zhixing.
After shouting twice more, Tang Huan turned around as if waking up from a dream and stopped.
Zhao Youning took Chen Sihao five or six steps away from the two of them. Sihao pinched her
nose and muttered that the river was too smelly. The wind blew the voices of the two girls over,
sometimes clear and loud, sometimes vague and low, obviously quarreling. Youning looked at
Sinan, her nose was twitching, her eyebrows were twisted into a "川" shape, and her curly bangs
were stuck to her forehead because of sweat. The girl opposite her had a very recognizable
beautiful face, with wide eyes and thick lips. She had a dull and innocent look, which exaggerated
a lot of literary and artistic sorrow. Youning remembered this girl and knew that she was involved
in a teacher-student relationship that could be called a Qiong Yao novel.
"Last time, a crazy woman threw sulfuric acid at Sister Tang Huan." Si Hao pinched his nose and
reported the social news in a low voice.
Youning was surprised: "Is your sister okay?"
Si Hao raised his head and blinked his big eyes after a while: "I didn't splash it on my sister."
Youning unconsciously took two steps closer to Sinan and Tang Huan.

Chapter 356
Tang Huan had called Sinan twice before. No one answered once, but Grandma Gu answered
once and said Sinan had gone to Dongfeng Hotel to eat KFC. She walked all the way from Yuyuan
Road to the Bund, as if she had thought of many things to say to Sinan, but it seemed that there
was no need to say them. She walked to the intersection of Nanjing East Road and remembered
the last time she and Teacher Guo bumped into Sinan here. She stood at the Lover's Wall for a
while. People were coming and going, noisy and chaotic, the muddy smell of the river water hit
her face, and the river water hit the stone wall, making a snapping sound. The river and the
outside of the river are two different worlds, and she and others are also two different worlds.
Si Nan is in the south, and Bei Suzhou Road is in the north. Tang Huan finally chose to go north.
She felt guilty towards Si Nan because she couldn't accompany Si Nan to the foreign trade store
on Yan'an West Road to buy socks. She was the only one in the class who knew that Chen Si Nan
liked white socks with snow-white lace edges, all cotton or nylon, short and thin, with fine stripes
or fine mesh fabrics, which were very delicate. Si Nan would cut off the pink bows on both sides
of the lace edges, but she never wore skirts, so no one could see that she was wearing such
beautiful socks under her loose sweatpants. She laughed at Si Nan for wearing gorgeous clothes
at night. Si Nan smiled and said that this was her most secret tenderness.
Chen Sinan was a very gentle girl. Tang Huan had always known that. As long as you were good to
her a little, she would return your kindness with 10 or even 120%. But when did she start to be
afraid of talking to Sinan? Tang Huan couldn't remember.
Not long ago, Guo Zhixing's mother-in-law brought several men to Yugu Village. Tang Huan was
not afraid, and even expected them to take action. It was against the law to hit someone, so it
would be best if they only injured her. She went to the police. The woman was mentally ill, and
even though she was sent to the hospital after throwing acid, the people who came to make
trouble were not sick. Tang Huan didn't believe that the police didn't care. As a result, she saw
Aunt Fang turning a broom for the first time, and the third sister-in-law directly smashed the
diaper that Tang Fang had just finished peeing on each other. They are usually the most gentle
and face-conscious women, because she was so generous. Get out. The third brother didn't say
anything when he came back, but it was written on his face, shameful.
The next day, Guo Zhixing called Tang Huan in Yugu Village. After talking to Fang Shuren for a
while, Fang Shuren asked Tang Huan to answer the phone. She was worried and hugged her
daughter Tang Fang on the sofa. Pretending to watch TV.
The two of them didn't speak for a long time.
"Tang Huan, you are still young. If you want to - we should not contact each other again in the
future."
"What about you? Teacher Guo, what are you going to do?"
Guo Zhixing was silent for a moment.
Tang Huan could hear the noisy shouting from the public telephone booth on his side. Soon Guo
Zhixing laughed twice: "I am no longer a teacher. It is not good for me to go to the school
anymore. What else can I do?"
After the sulfuric acid incident, his wife's family took the initiative and went to the Education
Bureau with a mat and threw a tantrum for two nights and one day, saying that he was a beast in
appearance, had an affair with a female student, and beat his wife at home and wanted a
divorce. An investigation must be conducted, and research and discussion are also necessary. Guo
Zhixing never had peace in the hospital. He received a notice not long after he was discharged
from the hospital. Then his father-in-law and mother-in-law played the good cop and the bad
cop, asking Guo Zhixing to take care of his wife every day, and said that being a teacher is
meaningless, and that math, physics, chemistry or English teachers can make extra money, and
his current salary of 200 yuan a month is of no use.
After hanging up the phone, Fang Shuren told Tang Huan calmly that this was the best ending and
the next semester would be a new beginning.
Sinan also felt that this was the best ending.
Tang Huan laughed and said, "You don't understand."
The two argued for a few more words, and seeing Zhao Youning and Chen Sihao waiting there
bored, Tang Huan said goodbye first.
——
The two sides parted ways, and Tang Huan continued to walk west along the North Suzhou River.
Si Nan looked for a while, sighed, turned around and walked east, walked a dozen steps and
looked back, and walked slower and slower.
Zhao Youning suggested: "Why don't we just follow her quietly? We are all heading towards
Jing'an Temple anyway."
Si Nan hesitated for a moment and nodded. The two dragged the reluctant Chen Si Hao and
followed Tang Huan from a distance.
When Tang Huan turned onto the Zhapu Road Bridge, Si Hao grabbed Si Nan's clothes and asked
if he could stop a taxi to go home after reaching Nanjing East Road, as he really couldn't walk
anymore.
"You can stop me if you pay me." Sinan pushed him away angrily, "Eh? Zhao Youning, what are
you doing? Damn it! Tang Huan, Tang Huan! Get down from here."
Si Hao looked carefully and saw that Zhao Youning had already run more than ten meters away.
Sister also chased after him. A person climbed up the railing of Zhapu Road Bridge in front. The
setting sun shone a golden edge on her back, and the bicycles and motorcycles on the bridge
seemed to have been slowed down. Si Hao couldn't help but run. After a few steps, he felt a
bloody and rusty taste in his throat. His heart was hanging in his throat. He didn't dare to blink,
but the figure on the bridge jumped down without any hesitation. A circle of people immediately
surrounded the railing. Someone was probably shouting something, but Si Hao couldn't hear it
clearly. Then he watched Zhao Youning squeeze in, and then Sister squeezed in. This time he
heard two muffled thumps. Something blocked his mouth. He opened his mouth but couldn't
hear his own voice, but tears flowed out uncontrollably.
A frog has one mouth, two eyes and four legs. Two frogs have two mouths, four eyes and eight
legs...
Si Hao didn't know why she thought of the nursery rhyme her grandmother used to recite when
she was a child, and finally burst into tears: "Ajie - Ajie -"
——
The Suzhou River is so smelly and dirty.
Sinan floated to the surface and spit out several mouthfuls of water. He turned his head and saw
Zhao Youning, who was pedaling hard with his hands under Tang Huan's armpits and looking
around not far away.
"I'm here!"
Sinan swam over doggy-paddling and saw the half-dead Tang Huan with dirty water all over his
head and face, and a black mass of who-knows-what garbage was on his head. She wanted to
laugh and cry at the same time, and slapped Tang Huan's arms and shoulders with wet hands.
"Nong Xunxi! (You are looking for death) You have no brains, you are sick, your brain is out of
shape?! (Your brain is broken)"
Tang Huan smiled weakly and nodded: "I am here to look for something, sorry——"
Zhao Youning asked helplessly while treading water: "Swim to the shore? Otherwise, she will
stink to death before she drowns. Her legs are cramped, let's each hold one side of her, come
on."
Fortunately, a small boat carrying garbage came over quickly.
Tang Huan was pulled up and down to climb onto the boat, vomiting until he felt dizzy. While
vomiting, he pointed at the river and said with trembling teeth: "There was a rat, a big one, and it
swam past my face."
The sanitation worker said in a loud voice: "There are a lot of rats in the river. Little girl, do you
want to jump into the Suzhou River? The Huangpu River is much cleaner!"
Si Nan raised his hand and smelled it: "Hey, do you want to try jumping in the Huangpu River?"
Tang Huan shook his head, pursed his lips, showed an extremely ugly smile, hugged his knees and
started shaking.
Si Nan wiped the water from his face and silently looked at the sunset, his eyes quickly blurred.
——
The four of them walked back to Wanchun Street. Because it was so smelly, the bus driver
wouldn't let them get on, and the bus driver and conductor wouldn't let them get on either. Chen
Sihao didn't say a word the whole way, holding Si Nan's hand tightly and refusing to let go.
Tang Huan washed her hair and took a shower at Gu's house. She wore a pink pinstriped shirt
dress from Si Jiang. She carefully tied the belt with a bow. She washed her dirty clothes and shoes
and put them in a vest bag to carry back. Went to Yugu Village.
Before Si Nan left for Yunnan, he called the Fang family. Fang Shuren said that Tang Huan had
returned to Rudong. Her household registration was in Rudong, and she was going back to take
the college entrance examination. The Tang family in Rudong did not have a telephone, so they
could only communicate by mail. Si Nan wrote down Tang Huan's mailing address in the address
book, and at night he could not help but call Yang Wenyi at Wanhangdu Road.
"Please help me find out how your neighbor Lao Guo is doing. I'll treat you to boiled chicken."
"Huh? You don't know, Lao Guo's wife was released from the Jingwei Center a long time ago. It
turns out that she has been pregnant for more than two months!"
"Ha, Mr. Guo's father-in-law and mother-in-law went to the Education Bureau again and cried for
several days, saying that they were deceived by Tang - Tang Huan, and they were deceived and
wronged their son-in-law. The son-in-law was innocent... blah blah blah, Tsk tsk tsk, I heard that
Lai stayed at the Education Bureau for three nights and now it seems that Lao Guo has been
transferred to some school in the countryside. I don’t know whether it was Nanhui or Songjiang.
Anyway, his family moved two days ago. "
Later, Yang Wenyi told a lot of fragmentary old news. Si Nan was so confused that he didn't listen
to it. He hung up the phone and called Yugu Village again. Fang Shuren asked Si Nan to have more
time to write letters to Tang Huan.
Si Nan didn't know if her family knew about Tang Huan's dancing in the Suzhou River.
——
Si Nan wrote many letters to Tang Huan but never received a reply. Tang Huan has never attended
a reunion of her junior high school classmates and high school classmates. Some people are like
shooting stars, passing through other people's lives and leaving a mark. Neither of them knows
whether the other still remembers them. Shanghai is so small, Shanghai is so big. Many years
later, Chen Sinan was dragged by Chen Zhanping to attend a class reunion. She walked into Yugu
Village. The big iron gate was rusty and the garden was full of weeds. She knocked on Fang's door.
, but what came out was a strange young man.
"Tang Huan? Are you a relative of the landlord, Mr. Tang?" He bent his peach blossom eyes and
invited Si Nan with a smile, "Would you like to come in for a cup of tea? I am his tenant. My name
is Chen Yisheng. Don't be afraid. I am not a bad guy."
Si Nan laughed, took a step back, and put his leg directly on the door frame next to his ear with a
strong wind, as steady as a rock.
"I'm a bad guy." Sinan raised his chin and glared at him, "Take good care of this house and clean
the door. Also, don't invite strangers into the house for tea without any reason."
"Sister, sister..." Chen Yisheng chased after Si Nan and shouted, "I've never seen a bad guy as
funny as you. Let's get to know each other. Come in and have a drink. Can you break bricks with
your bare hands? Or break a baseball bat with one kick? You must have some special tricks,
right..."

Chapter 357
Under Fu Yuanliang's leadership, the production efficiency of the garment factory has reached a
new level. Jingsheng held a management meeting in late July and asked Director Wang to
supervise. Since Quartet has become the leading enterprise of the tertiary industry in Wanhang
Street, it has developed rapidly and has a promising future. A deputy bureau-level cadre in
charge of economy from the district came to listen to the meeting, which made Director Zeng
sweat nervously. Jingsheng conducted a work summary for the first half of the year as if nothing
had happened, and he and Fu Yuanliang arranged the production plan for the next three months
clearly. Director Zeng and the newly appointed financial director Xiaolin made a financial report
together. The total asset value has doubled, the cash flow is very healthy, and there is no problem
in repaying the loan. Wuhe Weaving Factory No. 2 really proposed to purchase computerized flat
knitting machines, and the two parties signed a separate sales contract. Fu Yuanliang plans to add
a production line with this money, and proposes to start processing other brands at the end of
the year, striving to achieve a 50-50 ratio between self-production and OEM within a year.
"Quartet's own fabrics are widely used, such as knitwear, fillings, and especially winter wear. The
varieties we produce account for only one-third of the proportion. After cleaning up the
warehouse and production workshop, there is still one-half of the space available. The
production capacity of the production line will be doubled. It would be a waste not to accept
processing orders," Fu Yuanliang said concisely. "When we have a new factory in the future, it will
not be too late to consider adding knitwear production lines."
Director Wang smiled from ear to ear. Without Jingsheng in charge of Huating Road, business
slowed down a bit, but fortunately, the turnover was not high in summer, so the difference was
not much. The makeup training class that Sijiang Sinan and Li Yifang had prepared together had
almost been sorted out, and they would start the class after Li Yifang was busy with the National
Day. The unexpected surprise was that Mrs. Zhou was worried about Hutou and wanted to go to
Yunnan together. Zhou Shanli simply adjusted his vacation and got two military-licensed Toyota 8-
seater Xiaobawang. What's more, the driver of one of the cars, Lao Wang, was the Xiao Wang
who drove the military truck to take them to Longhua to catch crayfish. Talking about the past,
the whole car was full of laughter.
The advantage of having a car is that you can stop whenever you want and go whenever you
want. Toyota Subor is the most suitable car for traveling. The second row of seats can be rotated
to face the third row. Jingsheng brought a small table and put it on his legs to play chess, cards
and eat snacks all the way. It was so comfortable. Zhao Youning took out the chess set to teach
Sinan Sihao how to play chess. Sinan was addicted to losing repeatedly to Youning. Whenever he
had time, he would grab Zhao Youning to play a game. He was so frustrated by the loss that he
turned around and sharpened his knife to attack Sihao. Seeing that the situation was not good,
Sihao quickly moved out the Go chessboard to fight. He had participated in the Go class since the
first grade of elementary school, and now he plays well. Sinan had never learned Go, so he could
only stare blankly. Turning his head again, he saw Chen Sihao and Jingsheng playing Gobang, and
Sijiang laughed beside them. Brothers are friendly and respectful, and sisters are affectionate,
which makes people feel uncomfortable.
The two rows of seats in the car can be laid flat to become small beds, freeing up a car for
Grandma Gu and Grandma Zhou to take a nap at any time. Zhou Shanli also planned in advance
and properly arranged the urgency. He drove 3,000 kilometers in Hangzhou, Quzhou, Nanchang,
Xiangtan, Guiyang... in eight days, turning the journey into a sightseeing trip. When he arrived at
Ganlanba in early August, the two old ladies still looked energetic and unsatisfied.
When Granny Gu saw Gu Dongwen, she saw that he had become darker and thinner, but he was
in good spirits, with a hint of spirit in his eyes. Her heart suddenly dropped to the ground, and
she couldn't stop crying. She wiped her tears again and again, drank a bowl of honey water, and
fell asleep. He slept for seven or eight hours, which scared Gu Dongwen. Si Nan laughed so hard
that his stomach hurt when he saw his uncle reaching out to check grandma's breath every two
hours.
After all, Mrs. Zhou was an old revolutionary who had participated in the Long March. She had a
good foundation and still had the energy to let Gu Nian take her for a stroll around Olive Dam.
"Hutou is not going to kindergarten like this? Is that okay?" the old lady asked Shanrang
worriedly.
"My home is the kindergarten!" Gu Nian counted on his fingers excitedly, "Dalong, Xiaohua, Jiajia,
Xiaochong, Monkey, me, and Gege, all seven of us go to kindergarten at my home. Mom, Dad,
Aunt Lu, and Uncle are all our teachers."
"Grandma, I don't like the kindergarten on the farm. Neither do Gege and the others."
Shan Rang smiled and said, "Mom, my brothers have never been to kindergarten, so what's the
problem? Just let them play for the next two years. Don't worry, it won't hinder your grandson's
success."
"I don't think about what our Hutou can become or what great things he can do. He just needs to
be healthy and happy. He should have a good character and good personality—" Old Mrs. Zhou
sighed, "Zhiyuan is out of prison, did you know?"
"The baby is amazing! The baby is amazing!" Gu Nian shouted with his head raised.
Shanrang hummed, lowered his head and touched the top of his son's head: "Yes, you are
amazing. You took your car apart and put it back together today. It's really amazing."
"He had been planning to come to Shanghai to find a job. I discussed it with your second brother
and decided not to let him come. I sent him some money, but that's all I could do." The old lady
said indifferently.
Shan Rang couldn't say where to go and what to do was Zhou Zhiyuan's right, and he felt
uncomfortable, so he sighed and said nothing. Fortunately, Gu Nian chattered all the way and
finally bought some mangoes and bananas to carry back.
——
With eight more people, the new and old houses were full. Fortunately, it was summer, so it was
easy to buy some mats. The first night was full of people. The big pot on the stove kept boiling
hot water. Beiwu Shanli and Jingsheng Youning carried bucket after bucket of hot water to the
new house for everyone to take a bath. Gu Nian covered his little butt and pressed his face
against the big bathtub, screaming and refusing to let the two old ladies help him take a bath. Si
Jiang and Si Nan laughed and pulled the old ladies out of the door, but Gu Nian chased them out
and called Si Hao brother to take a bath together. After being cruelly rejected, he cried in
disbelief. Beiwu went in and threw him into the bathtub. Shanrang sat at the door of the room,
fanning mosquitoes and loudly instilling life philosophy.
"Tiger Head, since you rejected your grandma and grandma, you also have to accept being
rejected by your little brother. You cried when you were rejected, so if your grandma and
grandma were rejected by you, would they also cry?"
"Who does the earth revolve around? Does it revolve around you?"
"Whether the little brother wants to take a bath with you is his freedom. You have no right to
interfere with him. Do you understand? Just like when you don't like to share a banana with Xiao
Chong, does Xiao Chong cry?"
Gu Nian's voice came from inside: "Mom, don't talk! I'm sorry, please forgive me - Mom, please
be patient!
PleasePleasePlease! "
Si Nan sat on the doorstep, eating a watermelon, and asked Zhao Youning enviously, "Do you
think reincarnation depends on luck or ability?"
Zhao Youning squatted beside her, with one hand spread out to spit melon seeds into her mouth:
"Isn't luck the most powerful skill?"
"That makes sense. Alas, my sister always said that it would be great if she was my uncle and
aunt's child. I scolded her before..." Si Nan turned to find Si Jiang and saw Si Jiang spraying floral
water into the tent. Jing Sheng was fanning her and talking to her. Suddenly, they laughed. Si
Jiang grabbed the fan and slapped Jing Sheng. Jing Sheng laughed so hard that he leaned on the
bed. Suddenly, he grabbed something in the air. Si Jiang exclaimed. It seemed that he caught a
mosquito. The two leaned their heads against each other and began to examine the mosquito's
body - they didn't feel bored.
Si Nan turned around silently, lowered his head, and spit a few melon seeds into Zhao Youning's
hand. One of them stuck to her lips. She spat a few times and blew on it, but it wouldn't come off.
Zhao Youning smiled and raised his hand, and the palm of his hand brushed against her lips.
"alright."
Sinan stared at the melon seed on his palm for a few seconds, as if it was a mole there. She
suddenly stood up and ran out with the unfinished watermelon, as if her butt was on fire.
"Hello, Chen Si! My elder sister and cousin haven't eaten the melon yet! Why are you still eating
it?!"
Sinan snatched the watermelon from the tiger's mouth and returned to the house with the basin:
"Eat watermelon, eat watermelon, come quickly."
Zhao Youning stood up and walked out. Si Nan quickly caught up with him and coughed twice:
"Hey, why don't you eat watermelon?"
Youning turned around and raised his hand: "Go wash your hands, they are all covered with your
saliva."
Si Nan blushed, blinked, and muttered, "Who told you to come to my door? Well, okay, I'll go get
you some well water to wash your hands, Master Zhao."
Si Hao chased the melon into the house, looked at the eldest sister and eldest brother who were
hitting mosquitoes, then looked at the second sister and eldest brother Ningning who were
standing by the well outside the house, shook his head, and picked up the fourth piece of melon.
It was past midnight, and Gu Nian was still squeezing in between Jingsheng and Sihao, talking
nonstop. He could climb trees, he could grow vegetables, he caught twelve kinds of insects last
week, he went to the rain forest to look for mushrooms, he didn't find any, but he found wood
ear mushrooms, he met monkeys and green peacocks, he saw elephants again, he also went to
Banna to listen to an old professor talk about plants, he knew coffee flowers and banana
flowers...
Chen Sihao climbed out of the tent to go to the toilet. He had eaten too much watermelon and
his stomach hurt a little. Zhao Youning was still playing chess with Sinan. He was worried about
him, so he took a flashlight and accompanied him to the squat toilet behind the house. Sihao
finished his crackling and banging, secretly thanking that there was no need for a toilet or
spittoon here, but the toilet paper was too coarse and it hurt his butt when he wiped it. He
limped out with his legs apart and went to the well to fetch water to wash his hands. The moon
was reflected in the well water, dazzling him. He dropped the bucket and remembered Tang Huan
jumping into the river last month. His hands softened and the rope slid down.
Zhao Youning grabbed the rope and said, "I'll do it."
"Don't be afraid, your second sister and I are both good swimmers."
"I'm still afraid," Si Hao sat on a small stool looking at the moon in the sky, and suddenly asked,
"Why did Sister Tang Huan jump into the river? The Suzhou River is so smelly. Why did she ask
you if you were willing to sleep with her on the stairs that day? She didn't even know you, it's
weird."
Half a bucket of water splashed back into the well. Zhao Youning grabbed the rope and turned
around to look at Si Hao: "Have you told your sister?"
Si Hao shook his head: "She hates boys who tell tales and will beat me."
"Wash your hands," Zhao Youning squatted down and looked into Si Hao's eyes, "Not everything
happens for a reason. Some people, when provoked, will do things they don't really want to do."
Chen Si seemed to understand but not quite.
Gu Ximei had already understood this truth. She and Sun Xiao hadn't spoken to each other for
ten days.

Chapter 358
Although the leaders and colleagues all smiled and said that Ximei could take a leave, Ximei still
insisted on participating in the activities organized by the company in Xishan. As far as she knew,
except for Gu Nanhong, no one would take a leave every other day when they were four or five
months pregnant. How could it be so precious? If it were not inconvenient to mention the good
things about Sijiang Sinan Si, she would definitely recall the past and think about the sweetness.
The participants were all veteran cadres, all of whom looked kind and gentle, but there were also
three or five who were not well-liked. They had no good words and would pinch or pat a young
girl at any time, as if they could live one more day by touching the young girl's oil. One of the old
men with gold teeth was particularly excessive. He liked to do things in front of everyone and
laughed when he succeeded. The young female colleagues wanted to stay away from them.
Ximei couldn't stand it and took on the job of serving tea, cigarettes and fruits. The two Beijing
girls didn't expect her to be so righteous, so they immediately changed their words to call her
sister and reminded her to be careful.
No one expected that Old Gold Tooth would not let Ximei go. After touching her twice, he got
angry when he saw Ximei's gloomy face: "Old Huang! How did your company recruit this person?
She is my uncle, right? Give me a cold shoulder? Even the Chairman has never given me a cold
shoulder!"
Old Huang came over to smooth things over: "Xiao Gu is General Sun's daughter-in-law. She just
came back from Xinjiang with Minister Sun. She knew that the old leaders were here to
recuperate, and she came to serve them even though she was pregnant. How could she not treat
them well? Don't be angry. Come, I'll pour you some tea."
"Oh, so it's the new daughter-in-law of the old Sun family. Well, there's no wedding banquet! Just
wait and let her come." Old Jin Ya smiled with his eyes narrowed and tapped the teacup with his
smoke-yellow nails.
Ximei went forward with a cold face to pour him tea, but Lao Jinya grabbed her hand and
wouldn't let go.
"Come, let me see what the Sun family likes about this woman. Is she good-looking? Does she
have breasts? They look quite big--" Old Jin Ya leaned his wrinkled face towards Xi's beautiful
breasts.
Ximei's scalp exploded, and without thinking, she poured the cup of hot tea in her hand directly
onto Lao Jinya's face. Lao Jinya was suddenly burned, and pushed Ximei backhandedly, and Ximei
fell hard on her buttocks.
"Sister Gu is bleeding——!"
Ximei was on IV drip for seven days in the hospital and the fetus was saved. Sun Xiao asked the
doctor to check the gender of the baby and it was indeed a son. He then went into the ward and
said to Ximei with a frown, "I asked you to take a leave, but you insisted on going. Look,
something bad almost happened. What if something happened to your son?"
Ximei stared at Sun Xiao blankly, tears streaming down her face.
"I mean you don't know how to cherish yourself and your son—" Sun Xiao laughed instead and
wiped her tears. "Why are you crying? I haven't said anything about you yet. Why are you so
arrogant as to rush to the front and block bullets for others? Who do you think you are? Those
little girls are more cunning than sieves, and they are eager for you to stand out."
Ximei said after a while: "He is just a gangster! An old gangster!"
"Who in Beijing doesn't know him? Can we do anything to him? If we can't, we can only turn a
blind eye. That bastard has always been at odds with my dad, and you brought him to our
doorstep, oh."
Ximei looked at him: "Do you know what disgusting things he said?"
"He only dares to take advantage of you verbally. You are in the wrong if you throw tea on him,
understand? When you are discharged from the hospital, he is still lying in the hospital. There is
already a commotion outside," Sun Xiao rubbed his eyebrows, "Next time I tell you not to go, you
just don't go, understand?"
"Am I in the wrong?" Ximei's voice became louder.
Sun Xiao smiled and said, "That's right. Whoever starts it first is at fault. Okay, my son is fine as
long as you are fine. Dad and I have to go to a leader's house to sort this matter out. Don't be the
first to take action in the future, okay? And don't be so aggressive. I didn't expect you to be so
reckless—"
In the end, he still didn't say the word "reckless".
Old lady Sun pushed the door open and repeated Sun Xiao's words. Ximei just lowered her head
and said nothing, but her heart was chilled.
After she was discharged from the hospital and returned to Baiwanzhuang, Ximei learned that
Sun Xiao had asked for a month's leave. She had not spoken to Sun Xiao for ten days. She only
nodded and shook her head at whatever Sun Xiao said. She lay in bed every day to protect the
fetus and made up for the sleep she had missed in this life. I don't know if it was a dream or a
memory, Ximei thought of Chen Donglai several times. When she was bullied at the entrance of
the vegetable market, Chen Donglai reached out his hand. Later in Aksu, she wrote to Chen
Donglai saying that a cadre had bad intentions towards her and liked to do things to her. Chen
Donglai specially asked for three days of leave and went to Aksu to make their relationship public.
He also went to the Youth Office and the Corps Office to report and asked the Corps to protect
the personal safety of the female educated youth. Ximei did not regret divorcing Chen Donglai
because of these little things. She was just angry with herself. If Chen Donglai said such words
after the incident, she would definitely turn her face and lose her temper, but because it was Sun
Xiao and his parents, she couldn't even say a word of rebuttal. But she would take the blame in a
fit of anger, relying on the fact that she is Sun Xiao's wife.
In early August, Sun Xiao told her at night that the matter had been resolved.
"Half of the old bastard's face was burned, and we paid him 20,000 yuan." Sun Xiao turned over,
"Don't worry, he almost killed our son, and it won't be so easy to let it go. Everything has been
arranged. His two sons will be transferred to other provinces next year. They won't be able to
come back for five or eight years. They are suppressed and will not be promoted."
Ximei stared at the ceiling for a long time and hummed softly. The fetus in her belly kicked
slightly, and Sun Xiao lay on her belly in surprise and shouted: "Son, come on, kick daddy again,
come on, move."
——
People are put to good use, Jingsheng Sijiang and Youning also became teachers in the family
kindergarten. These seven children are full of energy and can't wait to play from dawn to dusk.
They come to Gu's house at around 7 o'clock in the morning and learn to make breakfast from Lu
Jia and Shan Rang. Shan Rang often laughs and says that he has hired a group of child laborers.
But the children never get tired of it.
Beiwu and Dongwen made seven small stools, painted them in different colors, red, orange,
yellow, green, blue, and purple. Each child had one, and they stood on them to wash rice, cook
rice noodles, roll noodles, and make dumplings and wontons. They all did it in a very good way.
Of course, the noodles were different in width, length, thickness, and the dumplings and wontons
were also crooked, but everyone enjoyed eating them. Peter Li of Nestle Coffee came to Banna to
open a new coffee plantation and gave Shanrang an oven and a small box of butter. It was
unknown how much effort he had put in to transport them from Shanghai. Shanrang baked
cookies for Gu Nian twice, and the children immediately became fascinated with this new toy.
Beiwu made several cute animal molds. Now the animal cookies made by the children are not
only self-sufficient, but they also follow Beiwu Shanrang to set up stalls at the market every
Sunday, and can sell more than ten yuan a day. By the way, they have learned to recognize all
banknotes and coins. Several five-year-old children and Gu Nian have learned addition and
subtraction within ten by selling cookies.
After breakfast, the children were responsible for cleaning up, washing dishes, cleaning pots,
sweeping the floor and wiping the table. On the first day Chen Sihao witnessed this scene, he
secretly asked Sinan: "My uncle and aunt are so cruel." Sinan turned around and shouted: "Uncle
and aunt, Chen Sihao said you are so cruel."
"Didn't you agree not to tell tales?" Si Hao almost fainted.
"How can something said in front of you be considered snitching?" Sinan rolled his eyes at him.
After finishing the housework, the children were excited to go out. On Monday, Wednesday and
Friday, Beiwu and Shanrang led the team to the mountain, and on Tuesday, Thursday and
Saturday, Lujia and Shanrang led the team to the store. Going up the mountain to learn about
plants and animals naturally extended to climate and geography knowledge, climbing trees,
raising plants, collecting insects, playing in the mud and wading in the water. When going to the
store, they swept through Ganlanba, and went to the supply and marketing cooperatives, barber
shops, clothing stores, police stations, and health centers in turn. The first few days were chaotic,
but in just two weeks, everything was in order. Children like Xiaochong and Jiajia, who usually
refused to speak, could express long sentences fluently, with no lack of subject, predicate, object,
attributive adverbial modifier, rich adjectives, and precise verbs. When describing the operating
procedures of various industries and various jobs, many of them were not even noticed by Sijiang
Sinan. For example, a hair dryer can not only blow hot air, but also cold air. Blowing cold air can
shape the hair. When Sinan heard the word "anti-warp" from Gu Nian, he laughed so hard that he
fell down. But when they saw the children coming back and earnestly imitating the language and
actions of the barber and the customers, Si Jiang and others felt that this kind of kindergarten
teaching was amazing.
After lunch, there was a handicraft class or imitation class. When Granny Gu saw Gu Nian cutting
paper with the scissors in an unsteady manner, she was very nervous and kept standing by.
"In kindergarten, if you don't sleep, the teacher will lock you in a small dark room," the four-and-
a-half-year-old Gege told Si Jiang eloquently, "It's scary, dark, and very, very hot, so hot!"
Si Jiang recalled that when he was in kindergarten, there was a little boy in his class who could
not eat by himself and refused to take a nap. After a while, when everyone was eating or taking a
nap, the crying and making a fuss boy would be taken away by the teacher. Thinking about it now,
he felt a little scared.
"Tiger Head, have you ever been imprisoned?"
"Hmm..." Gu Nian lowered her head and colored the triangle she had cut out. "I told my mom,
and she was very angry. She went to school to criticize the teacher. The baby is at home, playing
with mom, dad, and good friends every day, and she is happy."
"I told my mom and she beat me," the skinny little bug suddenly raised his head, "The teacher
said I was lying and was a bad kid, but I didn't!"
Si Jiang couldn't help but gently touch his head: "Sister believes you, you didn't lie, Hu Tou and
Gege are witnesses, they can prove that you are telling the truth."
Xiao Chong relaxed, smiled, and lowered his head to continue cutting paper.
After finishing the handicraft, it was time for the children's snacks. Sometimes they baked cookies
and sometimes they ate fruits. Every Saturday afternoon, they could eat candy or popsicles. After
eating candy, they followed Shanrang to the well to brush their teeth. Then they started to collect
the plants or animals brought back in the morning. If it rained and they didn't go up the
mountain, they would change to reading class. There were Chinese reading and English reading in
the reading class. The materials for English reading were made by Beiwu and Shanrang. They
made dozens of books, each with six pages. Shanrang wrote and Beiwu drew. The interesting
stories with seven children as the protagonists, in addition to common sense and basic
knowledge, were more about their daily fun. For example, Dalong broke his front teeth and cried,
so Gu Nian and Xiaochong painted their front teeth black. Another example was Gu Nian visiting
the police station and trying to imitate a police dog. He cried after being forgotten outside the
house by other children. The photocopied booklets were very simple and had to be colored by
the children themselves, but Si Jiangsnan and Si Hao read them with great interest and laughed
out loud from time to time.
"It's not easy to be a teacher," Sinan said to Youning after laughing, "I don't have the patience."
After being entrusted with the important task, Youning designed more than a dozen small
scientific experiments, freeing Shanrang. He used ice cubes and salt to make colored ice crystals,
baking soda detergent, vinegar, paint, and water to make colored active volcanoes erupt, white
flowers became colored flowers, and there were pressure tests and friction tests, etc. He
immediately became the most popular teacher among the children. Even Sinan and Sihao
couldn't help but follow and participate in the audit. As for Sinan, with her and Shanli around,
Beiwu and Shanrang never led the team to go up the mountains and down the rivers again. A
sand pit was soon dug out in the yard, and Boss Chen began to train people to jump into the pit
with great interest. The children's imitation objects also increased to car drivers and armed police
soldiers...
After a busy week, Si Hao couldn't help but ask a soul-searching question: "Sister, brother, are we
here to have fun or to work?"
Si Jiang, who was busy sorting out micro-loan documents kindly, did not even raise his head: "We
are here to learn."
Si Nan and You Ning said the following words to Si Hao in unison: "Study hard and make progress
every day."
Everyone laughed. Granny Gu pinched Si Hao's arm and said, "Don't say that. The baby has really
lost a lot of weight. Let's weigh him and see."
"The baby is not thin! The baby is not fat! The baby is just right!" Gu Nian announced loudly while
waving the car.
"I'm a baby too!" Si Hao was unconvinced.
"Yes, I am the baby, you are the big baby!" Gu Nian's voice became louder.
"I lost five pounds!" Chen Si ran out happily, "Second sister, can I have cream ice cream now?"
"No--!" Everyone in the room retorted sternly.
Gu Nian sympathetically pulled Chen Sihao's hand: "Don't cry, big baby. You have to learn to
accept rejection. The earth revolves around you, don't you understand? The ice cream was
bought by big brother. It is his right to give it to you or not--"
Chen Sihao: ???

Chapter 359
The rain in Jinghong comes and goes as planned. A double rainbow hangs over the Lancang River,
cutting obliquely into the rain forest on the opposite side.
Jingsheng stretched out his hand, and the rainbow seemed to emerge from his palm.
Dong Wen turned sideways to take a look and smiled: "Interesting."
"Your mother is appearing," Dongwen pointed to the big rock on the beach, "I sent her away
there. Remember to send me away from here in the future. I'll find her all the way there. Maybe
I'll end up in the belly of a fish with her, hahahaha."
Jingsheng rolled his eyes at him and said, "Grandma said she would repair a double hole for you
and Mom in Yangzhou."
Gu Dongwen laughed so hard that his shoulders shook: "Cenotaph? You're crazy, don't listen to
me."
"What grandma said makes me want to think about it," Jingsheng paused, squinted at Dongwen
and smiled, "Don't you want a Santana? I'll buy you one every year, and you can take my mom for
a good ride."
Gu Dongwen kicked Jingsheng on the leg and said, "Little bastard, you made so much money, buy
me a car first."
“Do you have a driver’s license?”
"roll."
The father and son chatted and laughed as usual facing the muddy yellow river water.
Jingsheng later recalled that he always suspected that great sadness did not knock people down
in an instant as expressed in images or words, and did not even have that kind of majestic
destructive power. This may be the cunning of fate playing with humans. The river took away his
mother, his father in the true spiritual sense, and almost took him away, but for the Lancang River
and the rain forests on both sides, they were all insignificant gravel. All the words that can
describe emotions sank to the bottom of the water like pebbles and were slowly polished. The
double rainbow may imply something, or maybe not. That evening, the sunset was all over the
sky, and a black flock of birds swooped into the rain forest. Green smoke rose from the
mountains. I don’t know if it was a wildfire or a cooking fire, and it blurred a place like a
mountain mist. A thin layer of sunset light accumulated in Dongwen’s dimples. He smiled a lot,
squeezing out the light little by little, and he actually looked a little radiant.
But no one could stop Granny Gu's real decision. The countryside has promoted cremation for
more than a decade, but burial has not been completely eliminated. Yangzhou started to have a
great opportunity last year and was preparing for great development. Roads were to be built
everywhere, and the ancestral tomb of the old Xu family had to be moved. The descendants of
the Xu family naturally did not want to do so. Feng Shui was not a good thing to talk about, and
feudal superstition was not reasonable. However, moving the coffin and bones was a big deal
after all. If it became a commotion, it would be called public resentment, and the higher-ups
could not ignore it. From last year to this year, the Xu family got a large area in the new cemetery
area and moved the remains of three generations into it. Old Gu was the son-in-law of the Xu
family, and he was on the family tree, so naturally there were two graves for him and Granny Gu.
"Yes, eldest brother, you two should stay next to me and your father," said Granny Gu, chopping
the meat without even raising her head. "It will be easier for you to take care of me when I pass
away. It will also be convenient for Jingsheng Hutou and the others to come and visit my grave."
"Bullshit, you don't want Yuanbao, but I do. Why? You've lived half your life, and you've served
me and your father for a few years? You still want to be happy and carefree after you go down?
You're dreaming."
"You can do whatever you want. Anyway, the empty tomb depends on us two old people. If you
have the ability, stay put and don't die. After I die, you will have the final say in this family!"
The lion head is ready and Gu Dongwen can’t do anything to me.
——
Jingsheng takes Sijiang to visit Grandma Wu in the Miao village, while Sinan and Youning takes
the children into the rainforest to dig mushrooms.
Mushrooms are both good and bad things. Dongwen repeatedly warned Sinan: All the
mushrooms you pick must be brought back to him and shown to him. You must never eat them
secretly outside, as poisoning is a serious matter.
Youning strictly followed the procedures set by Beiwu and Shanrang, and first took the children to
the market. Each of them hung a small drawing board around their necks, with a few pieces of
paper clamped on a clip and a pencil tied to a rope. They drew the mushrooms they saw on sale.
Of course, the drawings were all scribbled, but when asked about names, colors and
characteristics, seven cobblers are better than two Zhuge Liangs, and they actually remembered a
lot. Dalong patted his chest and assured Youning: "Actually, I know them all! Really."
Si Hao nodded faintly: "That's what you said a few days ago..."
Dalong shut his mouth.
As soon as it rained, many small white mushrooms appeared in the corners of the house and on
the ground. That day, the adults were not at home, and the old ladies were taking a nap. Si Hao
took the seven carrot heads to draw in the main room, and naturally asked curiously whether the
mushrooms could be eaten. Gu Nian shook her head and said that she had never eaten it before.
Dalong said with certainty that it was called oyster mushrooms, wild oyster mushrooms, which
can be fried with eggs and stewed with pork ribs. It is very delicious. He looked at Gu Nian with
contempt and shook his head: "You northerners don't understand and can't eat! We have so
many delicious foods here. Last time, my mother taught your mother to stir-fry pork slices with
lemon tree leaves. Is it delicious? Is it delicious to stir-fry pork slices with banana flowers?"
Little Gu Nian nodded repeatedly, and Si drooled after hearing this. He grabbed a handful,
washed it carefully, broke it into pieces, and threw it into the pot of bone soup simmering on the
stove. It smelled really delicious.
Xiao Chong and Jia Jia grumbled that their chickens wouldn't eat this kind of mushroom, and they
didn't know if it was OK to eat it. Da Long started arguing with them, saying that chickens only eat
bugs, and humans only eat mushrooms.
With Gu Nian's expectant look and encouragement, Si Hao scooped up a small bowl of soup, a
mushroom and two pork bones: "I'll eat first, you guys can eat later if you're free."
Gege shook her head: "Mother Hutou said that our snack today is rainbow paste cake. When she
and Aunt Lu come back, they will make it with us. There will be eggs, carrot shreds, cucumber
shreds, and ham shreds in it——"
"It's delicious!" The seven kids drooled and concluded in unison, waiting firmly to eat the Hutaozi.
Beiwu accompanied Dongwen back home from the test at the Xishuangbanna People's Hospital.
Chen Sihao had been having a stomachache for quite some time. He lifted the lid of the pot and
saw that Dongwen was very angry. He asked Beiwu to press him on his knees and dig out a pile of
pork from his throat. There were not many mushrooms, and he made him drink two large bowls
of water.
"Oyster mushroom? You believe it when Dalong says it's oyster mushroom? How old are you and
how old is he? This is called a large green mushroom. I've seen delicious ones, but I've never seen
someone willing to sacrifice his life for them." Gu Dongwen slapped Chen Sihao's butt several
times with his slippers. "Did your family not let you eat enough or didn't let you eat well? You're
so greedy!"
Fortunately, Chen Si didn't eat much, and he was fine after lying there for a long time, watching
the seven little ones eating the rainbow glutinous rice cake happily. Dalong, feeling guilty, even
gave him half of his glutinous rice cake, but Chen Xiaopang was powerless and could only
complain with a resentful look: I trusted you so much, but I didn't expect you to be such a jerk.
Sinan painted several books of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, and it was no problem for her
to paint a dozen kinds of mushrooms. She painted quickly and well, and was very proud of
herself. Youning followed her with seven little grasshoppers on a hemp rope, and praised her at
just the right angle.
"The cap of this kind of mushroom is a bit like chicken feathers. Your termite nest is a good
match. I will definitely not mistake the chicken mushroom. I didn't expect that the chicken
mushroom is always with termites. They should be symbiotic and build an ecosystem by
themselves," Youning turned around and told Gu Nian and the others, "Look, we can draw the
shape of the mushroom like Sister Nannan did, and then draw some growth characteristics. The
tiger head is also great. I guess you drew the boletus, right?"
Gu Nian became excited: "Yes, yes, yes, I drew a cow!"
Sinan turned her head and rolled her eyes. What the hell, are those two considered cow horns?
Haha, she began to doubt how much water there was in Youning's praise for her.
There were many kinds of mushrooms in the market. When they really entered the forest, they
saw a pile of leaves and weeds in the east and a pile of leaves and weeds in the west. They dug
for two hours, but the bottoms of seven small baskets were not full. Sinan was lucky and found
three termite holes and dug up a lot of chicken mushrooms. The children became interested in
termites. They stepped on them, poked them with branches, watered them with kettles, and
almost lit a fire to see if they could see the difference. The plant class turned into an insect class.
Youning and Sinan were caught off guard because they did not agree to let the children take
termites home for "research". Gu Nian reluctantly said goodbye to the termites and cried on the
way. The villagers he met saw that he was so beautiful and cute and cried so sadly. They took out
a handful of red mushrooms and a handful of green onion from their baskets and gave them to
Youning.
"Of course a child can't dig mushrooms, don't scold him, here, this is for you," the old lady glared
at Zhao Youning, "Remember to fry it well, add more oil, otherwise you will see the bad guys if
you eat this."
Sinan encouraged the children to cry more in order to get some mushrooms, but the children
laughed all the way.
"Sister Nannan, you are so funny!" Gu Nian laughed so hard with tears in her eyes that she fell
forward and backward.
Dalong and his friends pointed at the red mushrooms in Sinan's basket and sang: "Red umbrellas
and white stems, eat them and lie down on the floor..."
No one expected that decades later this children's song would become popular all over the
country. Sinan tagged Gu Nian in the family group: "Hutou, come on, come on, sing a song of red
umbrella and white pole for sister?"
Gu Nian: "What's that red umbrella with a white pole?"
Si Hao posted a police propaganda video in the group, and then tagged Zhao Youning: "Brother, I
remember that someone secretly ate a few slices of Jianshouqing in the pot before he could
finish cooking—"
Sinan: "Hello Chen Si, do you want to be torn into salt-baked chicken or ginger chicken?"
Chen Sihao is not afraid of power: "They said you stole mushrooms to meet a villain, but they
didn't say you clung to @赵佑宁 and spit on his face."
Gu Jingsheng: "More than one face, right?"
Chen Sijiang: "My neck and chest were also covered in paste."
Gu Beiwu: "Nannan, your uncle and aunt can't stop you no matter how hard they try. Tsk tsk tsk
tsk."
Zhou Shanrang: "That requires someone to let go, right? We have all been light bulbs in vain."
Lu Jia: "Actually, your uncle and I had some feelings about this at that time."
Chen Sihao: “Hahahahahahahahaha.”
Chen Sinan has left the group.
——
While Si Nan and You Ning were working hard to dig mushrooms in the forest, Si Jiang and Jing
Sheng were sitting comfortably in the bamboo house of Grandma Wu to enjoy a mushroom feast.
There was everything in the mountain behind the bamboo house. Grandma smiled and took Jing
Sheng and Si Jiang to dig matsutake mushrooms. They also found a lot of chicken mushrooms,
tiger mushrooms, boletus mushrooms, morels, bamboo fungus, and chanterelles. Si Jiang had
never seen so many mushrooms in his life and was grinning from ear to ear. Jing Sheng was the
chef, and he fried the pepper, pork slices, and garlic randomly, which was very fragrant
(delicious).
Jingsheng drank the sweet wine brewed by Granny Wu, and smiled as he talked about how the
farm conditions were very poor when he was a child. His parents' combined share of the family
only had four ounces of oil a month, and they could not eat meat more than twice. When the
rainy season came and mushrooms appeared, everyone would go into the woods to dig
mushrooms at dawn after harvesting the rubber, and the rubber knives were very easy to use.
"My dad has very sharp eyes. He can dig up mushrooms that are so hidden that you can't even
see them with your head buried near the roots of trees. He can often catch snakes. He even
tricked me into eating snake gallbladders." Jingsheng asked Si Jiang, "Snakes are delicious. Do you
want to eat them? I'll go catch one."
Si Jiang shook his head: "No! I'm afraid of snakes. I'm afraid of snakes and rats."
In the afternoon, Grandma Wu went down the mountain to sell mushrooms at the market.
Jingsheng and Sijiang stayed to help her fix furniture. After two hours of hammering, the two of
them made the bamboo house tidy and clean. Jingsheng carried two buckets of water to the
bamboo forest downstairs. Seeing that there was no one around, he simply took off all his clothes
and poured a bucket of water from head to toe. Sijiang threw a peach pit from upstairs, covered
half of his peach face and laughed at him: "Hey! How can you be so shameless? (Why are you so
shameless?)"
Jingsheng smiled and picked up the remaining bucket of water, raised his head and answered,
"No faces, but there are snakes. Huh? (Are you scared?)"
"rogue!"
"The gangster likes you, and you like the gangster." Jing Shengdu put on his shirt and trousers
leisurely, and went back upstairs with a smile.

Chapter 360
The high and low stilt houses were half hidden and half exposed in the jungle. Jingsheng held
Sijiang's hand and walked into the depths of the mountain along a path that had not been walked
for a long time. There were no stone steps under their feet, only messy weeds, and moss spread
out from under the huge tree roots, like a green tablecloth soaked in tears. Sijiang looked back
with a bamboo basket full of mushrooms, but he could no longer see Grandma Wu's bamboo
house.
"Don't be afraid, I remember the way and can go back." Jingsheng held her hand tightly.
"Don't be afraid. I'm not afraid of not being able to go back." Si Jiang scratched his palm. "What
bad things are you going to do?"
"I'll take you to see the place where my mom and dad used to dance secretly," Jingsheng said in a
gentle voice, "It should still be there."
It was like suddenly chewing a few peppercorns, the numbness rushed from the roof of the
mouth to the nasal cavity, and Si Jiang's eyes were filled with tears without any preparation.
Neither of them spoke any more, and gradually the vague path disappeared, with bushes, weeds,
and vines tangled together. Jingsheng stopped and looked around.
Si Jiang did not urge him. Somehow, she thought of the time when she was a child and pretended
to take a train to Xinjiang in order to move to her grandmother's house. For two minutes, one
minute, or even only thirty seconds, Si Jiang was not sure. She stood on the platform, and the
conductor went to get something. She looked at the railroad tracks in the distance and realized
that if she really got on the train, she should be able to see her parents. She approached the door
of the green train. The two steps were very high, and under the wire mesh was the railroad track
covered with gravel. She was afraid that she would fall into the gap, but before she could get on
the train, the aunt came back and smiled and told her not to be afraid, and that she would take
her back to Wanchun Street to find her uncle now. Si Jiang was not sure whether this detail was a
scene she imagined in her dream later, or whether it really existed.
Jingsheng broke off a tree trunk as thick as his wrist and picked apart the complicated vines and
branches. A small green snake jumped out and swam towards the depths of the dense forest.
Si Jiang couldn't help but laugh out loud. She used to be very afraid of snakes, but now when she
saw a snake, she didn't scream in fear, but thought of the "snake" that Jingsheng mentioned in a
rude way.
Jingsheng also laughed: "Don't think in the wrong way."
"Hehe, I didn't think wrongly, it was always wrong--" Si Jiang still spoke faster than he thought,
and his face became hot after he finished speaking.
The crackling sound of the tree pole in Jingsheng's hand could not cover up his laughter.
After walking for another ten minutes, we heard the sound of gurgling water not far away.
"We're here." Jingsheng took a breath and quickened his pace.
Si Jiang looked up. The crowns of the towering albizzia trees around her drew winding curves in
the air because of the principle of shyness. The line of sky was like an endless maze. The sunlight
passed through the gaps and cast mottled light and shadows on her palm. She took a deep
breath. The water vapor splashed by the waterfall on the cliff and the smell of plants intertwined
and entered her nose and lungs. A bunch of flaming poinciana flowers stubbornly refused to
wither, and appeared from the edge of the waterfall. Long emerald green bean pods were hung
under the flowers, swaying gently in the wind.
"This small waterfall only appears in the rainy season, but disappears in the dry season,"
Jingsheng pointed to the tree, "My tree house is still there - my father built it for me."
Si Jiang noticed that under the big banyan tree there were several large stones and several
spliced wooden boards that had already rotted, with weeds filling the gaps. In the gray-black mud
there were several puddles of rain water that had not yet evaporated.
"They are hiding here and dancing." Jingsheng smiled softly and took Sijiang's hand, "Dancing?"
Si Jiang kicked off her sandals and stepped on the weeds, which made her feel itchy. Jingsheng
picked her up and let her step on his feet.
"The moon is out, so bright, so bright," Jingsheng sang in a low voice, almost breathlessly into
Sijiang's ears.
"Thinking of my elder sister in the deep mountains..." Si Jiang raised his head and said softly.
The wind blew, and a layer of moisture filled Si Jiang's eyes. She crossed the river of time and
stood beside Xiao Jingsheng who was peeking at the adults dancing. She reached out and held his
hand.
Let's dance too.
Me and you.
Uncle and aunt should hug each other tightly. Come, hug me tightly and I will hug you tightly.
They will kiss, too, come—
Si Jiang raised his head and kissed Jing Sheng. They both kept their eyes open. Jing Sheng saw
himself in Si Jiang's eyes, bright and flickering in the mottled light and shadow. Si Jiang also saw
himself in his eyes, drowning in the depths of the sea, almost unable to breathe.
They climbed up to the tree house, where there was a piece of old linen dyed with butterfly pea
flowers. It was not dyed evenly, so after shaking off the dust, it was spread on the ground. The
varying shades of blue looked like splashed ink, clouds, and petals, with a winding beauty.
Outside the window, the sound of the waterfall splashing against the trees and rocks, Si Jiang bit
her lip, enduring the almost endless waves crashing against the shore. She suspected that this
was just a dream, in which she merged into Jingsheng's bones and blood, and there was no force
that could separate them anymore. It was as if time had folded in a hurry, and she and Jingsheng
were just reenacting the man and woman who loved each other deeply in the past.
Si Jiang wrote in his diary: You fill me up, and I fill your empty time.
——
When Jingsheng and Sijiang returned home, Sinan was poisoned because she had secretly eaten
uncooked green onion. Everyone in the room was anxiously surrounding her and Zhao Youning.
"You're back just in time, hurry up and take her off." Gu Dongwen was so angry that he slapped Si
Hao's thigh until it turned red, "One or two of them are disobedient. If they weren't at home, I
don't think these two siblings would survive more than three days in Jinghong. Greedy old
bastard!"
Chen Sihao pursed his lips and tried not to laugh: "Second sister doesn't even have a
stomachache."
Chen Sinan hung on Zhao Youning's neck like a monkey, squinting and nodding: "Why? Where are
you from? What's so fun about dancing? Come on, let's go jump in the mud pit, don't go, don't go
——"
Gu Dongwen shook his head: "I really saw a villain. Forget it, Jingsheng, you carry her. Shanli,
please drive them to the People's Hospital. Beiwu, you follow."
With a smack, Zhao Youning couldn't avoid it and didn't even think about dodging, and his face
was covered with Sinan's saliva, which was greasy and had the smell of green hands.
"Don't pull her hard, it will hurt." Zhao Youning pressed Si Nan's head on his shoulder and walked
out with her in his arms, "Come on, get in the car, hurry up."
"323237216 - put me down, I want to dance! I can dance!" Sinan grabbed Zhao Youning's collar
and yelled, "Girl from Osaka Castle - if you want to get married, don't marry anyone else, you
must marry me!"
Jingsheng raised his leg and kicked her on the butt: "Wake up! Stop pretending."
Zhao Youning quickly turned around and protected Sinan to the other side: "Why did you kick
her? She's poisoned."
"Marry me, marry me, marry me!" Si Nan roared louder and louder, the veins on his thin neck
bulged out, and his two hands patted Zhao Youning's chest.
"Okay, okay, I'll marry you, I'll marry you, I'll marry you with a dowry, okay?"
Sinan was stunned and shook his head: "Bring your piano! Your fingers! Let me see, come here,
don't move——"
Zhao Youning never expected that the story of the farmer and the snake would happen so
suddenly. Suddenly, there was a deep bite mark on his index finger, dripping with blood.
Kitatake Jingsheng and Youning were nervous all the way. The doctor opened Sinan's eyelids,
checked his heart rate and blood pressure, wrote an order for a routine blood test, and said
lightly: It's okay, just eat less and vomit it out, there's no need for gastric lavage.
Beiwu was worried: "Why not wash it to be safe?"
Jingsheng was quite experienced: "It's okay. As long as you can shout and sing, you won't die."
Si Jiang asked the doctor worriedly: "Are there any sequelae of this poisoning? Will there be
other symptoms? Do I need to be hospitalized?"
"It's hard to say," the doctor raised his head and adjusted his glasses, "Go back and observe first,
and come back if there's any progress."
Chen Sihao couldn't help but ask: "Will I really see a lot of villains if I eat the mushrooms my
sister picked?"
"Not necessarily. Some people have seen zombies, insects, kaleidoscopes—" The doctor paused,
"and some have died directly. Do you want to try?"
Chen Sihao got goosebumps all over his body and shook his head repeatedly: "I have been
poisoned, I have been poisoned." He turned to look at Jingsheng: "Brother, now my second sister
and I are in the same group with you, we are all members of the poisoning special forces."
Jingsheng stroked his head and said, "Just remember not to move when you see mushrooms."
"Don't move, right!" Si Hao looked at Si Nan being induced to vomit by the nurse, and was
inexplicably a little excited. He walked to her side and asked softly, "Second sister, are you okay?
Don't worry, I will remind you about what happened tonight in the future."
After waking up, Chen Sinan remembered exactly what she had seen and done, but she refused
to admit that she remembered, and she also refused to admit that she had eaten deliberately
because she was curious about the psychedelic effect described by Dalong, "seeing little people
and elves dancing". However, losing five pounds in three days was a real horror experience. For a
whole week, everything she ate had no taste, and the strange looks and expressions of people
around her also made her uneasy. Zhao Youning, as the person involved, acted as if nothing had
happened.
"What did I do to you?" Sinan tested him.
"You bit me," Zhao Youning showed her his index finger, "The mark is still there."
"I never thought I could do such a heinous thing! Mushrooms from Yunnan—tsk tsk tsk," Sinan
sighed repeatedly, "Luckily you're okay."
"Something happened." Youning looked at her and smiled.
"Let me invite you to eat rice noodles across from the police station. Do you want some stinky
tofu casserole rice noodles?"
"A small pot of rice noodles, with mixed sauce and a poached egg."
"Would you like some potato pancakes?"
"Eat and have a Coke."
"Okay—" Sinan stared at Youning, "Just let this matter pass and don't remember it in the future,
okay? Let's write it off."
"Okay." Zhao Youning put on a shirt leisurely and followed Sinan to eat rice noodles. Anyway,
even if he pretended not to remember, there would always be many people who would
remember.
——
On the eve of returning to Shanghai, Grandma Gu stopped crying. She took away two shirts and
two pairs of trousers that Gu Dongwen usually wore, and cooked a whole table of Yangzhou
dishes. The whole family ate while chatting and laughing, and everyone packed their luggage.
"Hutou, brother is going back to Shanghai, would you like to come with me?" Si Hao teased Gu
Nian with a smile.
"No," Gu Nian shook her head, "This is the baby's home, the baby plays here."
"you do not miss me?"
"No, I'm not like you," Gu Nian answered seriously, "but brother, you can miss me - I allow you to
miss me."
Chen Si was very angry.
Sinan, who was squatting by the well brushing his teeth, raised his head with a mouthful of foam:
"What? Why should I apply to your school?"
Zhao Youning stirred the toothbrush in the enamel cup vigorously: "You won't lose anything if
you try. If your application is accepted, I can take care of you and treat you to dinner every day."
"What do you mean by just in case? Am I that bad?"
You Ning smiled: "I'm sorry, I was wrong. Then do you want to prove your ability? Didn't one of
your girls get admitted to our school last year?"
Sinan took a breath, drank some water and spit it out: "Forget it, I can't do it."
"It's a waste if you don't try. I'll treat you to dinner every day. Do you think about it?"
"That's even better. You don't have anything delicious to eat there," Sinan shook his head and
rinsed his mouth. "I want to get into Fudan University to fulfill my sister's last wish - bah, bah,
bah, a wish."
"Fudan University requires a year of military training. If you don't do the military training in
Shanghai, there will be no food at the training site."
"It's better than America," Sinan looked at Youning sympathetically, "Are you so smart that you
don't have any friends? Are you lonely? That's why you want me to accompany you?"
"That's not the case." Youning knocked on the enamel cup.
"Why don't you just get a girlfriend? I allow you to have a girlfriend, but don't let your girlfriend
answer my calls. It's weird," Sinan said meaningfully. "Not everyone is as broad-minded as me.
Many girls don't believe in true friendship between men and women. Oh, remember to keep
your eyes open this time, Zhao Youning - come on!"
Zhao Youning had never expected that on the last night in Jinghong, he and Chen Sihao would
actually feel sorry for each other. The two of them lay on the bamboo bench, crossed their legs,
fanned themselves, and watched the twinkling stars in the Milky Way.
Chen Sihao suddenly said sadly: "I didn't expect Gu Hutou to be so heartless. He is such a
heartless and ungrateful little thing."
Zhao Youning: "——You little thing is very heartless and ungrateful."
The two brothers in distress sighed at the same time.

Chapter 361
Old Mrs. Zhou decided to stay in Ganlanba. She couldn't bear to leave Hutou and Shanrang.
Shanrang and Beiwu had both become darker and thinner. The countryside was not like the big
cities. You had to do everything yourself. The place was big. It took at least half an hour to sweep
the floor in front of and behind the house. There was also the vegetable garden to tidy up, not to
mention that both of them had serious jobs outside and a family kindergarten for seven children.
Beiwu was following up on the progress of Guangxi bulk cement in the Hong Kong market, and at
the same time, he and Peter Li were promoting the Banna coffee plantation. Peter Li gave half of
his office in Banna to Beiwu. With the arrangement of Shanrang's students, Beiwu hired two
young people who graduated from Yunnan Agricultural University to be his assistants. Xiao Wu
was assigned to the garden system, and Xiao Jiang worked as a tour guide in a travel agency. They
were both a little frustrated. The leaders of the autonomous prefecture said hello one by one,
and the two of them were thrown to Beiwu as secondments. The establishment remained
unchanged, and the salary was paid by Peter Li, which was three times higher than before. After
Beiwu taught them hand in hand for a month, the two discovered a new world and could not be
driven away even with a whip.
The two young people had never seen a leader like Gu Beiwu. After they joined the company,
they spent most of the year boiling water, making tea, cleaning tables and fetching newspapers
for the leader. They also had to run errands for the leader to buy cigarettes, give gifts and pick up
children. They even had to go to the leader's house to install curtains and repair faucets on
Sundays. They were gradually assigned to do some work. They were not allowed to have their
own ideas, and they were not allowed to raise problems when they found them. Everything had
to be arranged according to the old rules. In less than a year, they had worn out their longing for
work in college. They didn't want to go to work every day and waited to get off work. Except for
the day when they received their salary and bonus, they had no hope. They could still see
themselves retiring at the age of 60. After all, the two were still young, and it was inevitable that
they would reveal some dissatisfaction in their words and deeds. This was thrown out, which
could be said to be a blessing in disguise.
Beiwu was a little surprised at first. These two young people knew almost nothing. They couldn't
use a photocopier, typewriter, or fax machine. They both had CET-4 certificates, but when Peter Li
opened his mouth, they were dumbfounded and kept saying "Sorry, I beg your pardon." They had
never touched ordinary business letters. Xiao Wu, who studied landscape architecture, knew
nothing about coffee trees, and didn't even know that there were coffee trees in Yunnan. Xiao
Jiang, who studied tourism management, only knew that there were Guilin rice noodles and
Guilin garlic chili sauce in Guangxi. The two knew nothing about import and export trade, but
their advantages were also obvious. They wanted to learn, learned quickly, and could endure
hardships. Beiwu arranged for them to wait for Nanhong's fax, and the two waited in the office
until 11 o'clock in the evening without any complaints. They were sent to Puwen Town to
measure the size of a piece of wasteland. It took more than an hour to get there by car. The
mountains were muddy and difficult to walk in the rainy season. The two went back and forth
every day. A week later, they handed Beiwu and Peter Li a detailed drawing that could not be
more detailed. Even the two Banna green plums on the land were marked. Xiao Wu blushed and
said that he had heard from an old professor of the Chinese Academy of Sciences that Banna
green plums were very precious plants. It would be a pity to cut them down to plant coffee.
Beiwu specially followed them to take pictures and consulted the old experts of the Banna
Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It turned out that Banna green plums were rare.
Now many experts are trying to push the State Forestry Administration and the Ministry of
Agriculture to introduce relevant policies and regulations to protect my country's precious tree
species. In the end, the two trees were saved.
It was just such a small matter, but Xiao Wu couldn't help but sigh to Xiao Jiang about Gu Beiwu's
seriousness. In recent years, the economy has been developing everywhere. If you change to
rubber forests, you can tap rubber after eight years, and you can tap for forty years. It's easy to
make money. In Banna alone, large tracts of virgin forests were contracted out as "barren
mountains" in units of hundreds of acres. Those people cut down the forests without mercy.
When they encountered trees over a hundred years old, it was not easy to cut them directly, so
they peeled the bark first and waited for the old trees to die before cutting them down. No one
cared. Those that could be taken away were sold to the timber mills, and those that could not be
taken away were burned and used as fertilizer for rubber trees. From time to time, forest fires
were seen on both sides of Jinghong, and no one could stop them. There are too few people
willing to spend so much time and energy on two trees.
However, in just two months, the two young men had done a great job, their English became
much fluent, and the number of times they had to look up dictionaries when reading relevant
materials when traveling between Pu'er and Banna decreased dramatically, which greatly
reduced Beiwu's administrative workload.
After Jingsheng and his team came, with Zhao Youning and Sinan helping in the kindergarten,
Beiwu sorted out the things on hand and planned to focus on the micro-loan project that had just
started in the autumn and winter. The project was not going smoothly. Only some family
members of the anti-drug team who were in real trouble would ask for information through Team
Ling. Farmers and craftsmen in Jinghong Banna were too embarrassed to ask for money.
Moreover, Beiwu Shan said that they were not locals, so no one dared to believe the money sent
to their doorsteps, fearing that it would become usury, and they were also afraid of being forced
to sell and transport drugs.
This was a problem that Beiwu and his team had not thought of before. Shanrang tried to find a
way through her students, hoping to register the money under the name of the Women's
Foundation, maintain a high degree of autonomy, and pay a certain amount of management fees.
Unfortunately, this approach was blocked. First, the relevant departments investigated the funds.
Fortunately, when Gu Dongwen accepted the donation, there was a joint letter from the
educated youth as evidence, and the bank deposit and withdrawal vouchers were all complete. It
was Mrs. Brown's money that caused trouble. Several groups of people from different
departments in the province came to talk to Shanrang and Beiwu, and even Dongwen was talked
for three or four hours. Later, Mr. Brown asked a municipal leader in Shanghai to guarantee the
money and said that the money was donated by the Brown family to Gu Dongwen for cancer
treatment, and the matter was settled. The source of the money was clear, and two officials from
the Provincial Women's Federation came to Shanrang's house every few days to do ideological
work, with only one purpose: to persuade him to donate. Shanrang naturally refused outright.
They offered an olive branch again. With Shanrang's education, she could work at the Provincial
Women's Federation and be responsible for social fundraising activities. Although the salary was
not high, she would receive activity fees according to a certain percentage of the fundraising
income. Shanrang became even more depressed. In the end, Dongwen gave her a suggestion.
When they saw them coming, she gave the children art classes, such as painting, singing, and
dancing. Anyway, she would not give them the opportunity to do ideological work on Shanrang.
After two hours, Dongwen suddenly felt unbearable pain again. Shanrang and Lu Jia quickly hid in
Dongwen's room. This protracted war of the enemy advancing and I retreating, the enemy
retreating and I advancing lasted for more than a month before it finally stopped. But they were
afraid of getting into trouble, so they could not promote the loan project in a big way. So far, they
have only lent out more than 20,000 yuan in their personal name.
Undoubtedly, this is a difficult process. Si Jiang and Jing Sheng both realize that only when the
first batch of seven projects are successful and the borrowers can make money and repay their
debts, can more people come to borrow money through word of mouth. But the Gu family is full
of confidence in these seven projects.
The projects were all small businesses. A policeman who retired due to illness borrowed the
most. He initially applied for a loan of 6,000 yuan to prepare for artificial cultivation of porcini
mushrooms. He had a suitable site and was familiar with the market price. He ambitiously stated
that he would definitely be able to pay back the money in one year. Shan Rang asked his old
colleague from Peking University to find an old professor from China Agricultural University. Bei
Wu also learned about it through experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Finally, he took
a thick stack of documents and told him that porcini mushrooms were difficult to cultivate
artificially. The symbiotic relationship with trees was particularly strong. It was difficult to survive
by just sporangium liquid spraying the ground and sowing and then transplanting the soil. There
were almost no successful cases in major laboratories. It was better to plant bamboo fungus
instead. In 1987, Zhejiang and Fujian had relatively mature artificial cultivation technology for
bamboo fungus. There were many related papers in magazines such as "Today's Seed Industry",
"Specialty Research", and "Wenzhou Agricultural Science and Technology". After transplanting
bamboo fungus once, it can reproduce naturally in the bamboo forest. It does not need to be
planted every year, and it does not affect the growth of bamboo shoots. Moreover, the purchase
price at home and abroad is also very high. Naturally, Nan Hong's trading company quickly
provided a list of bamboo fungus purchase prices from major restaurants in Hong Kong and
Kowloon. Even Gu Dongwen was tempted and decided to plant a batch by the courtyard wall.
Except for this one, all the other six projects were applied for by middle-aged women, including
those who opened tailor shops and small shops, those who wanted to contract fields to plant
mango trees, and those who wanted to sell snacks near the scenic area. Shan Rang would
personally take time to inspect each project. She bought cloth and gave it to the applicant, asking
her to make blouses for seven children. As a result, she found that the blouse made by this elder
sister did not have a belt at the back, the round neck was a little bigger, and there was a V-shaped
opening at the back of the collar. The children learned to put on and take off the new blouses by
themselves the next day. The three thousand yuan loan quickly completed the process. Shan
Rang asked her students to help her buy a second-hand sewing machine that was 80% new from
Kunming, which was half the price. She also asked Si Jiang to select more than a dozen old
magazines from Nanhong at home and send them to her, circled the styles that were most easily
accepted and liked by the public, and put them in the store to recommend to customers. Bei Wu
personally took charge and brought a carpenter to help the elder sister make the storefront and
store sign. By August, Yunxiang Tailor Shop had become the most popular tailor shop in Jinghong.
Even the old lady's roasted banana and sweet potato stall at the edge of the scenic area, Beiwu
also customized a mobile snack stall with four wheels that can be pushed around, and the oven is
fixed on the right side, making the front of the stall look very clean and tidy to customers. Two
flat bamboo baskets are used to hold the roasted bananas and sweet potatoes on the loose
wooden table on the first layer of the front, with gauze covers to prevent flies and mosquitoes,
and small bamboo sticks are inserted in the enamel pot. There is a bamboo basket on the right
side of the narrow shelf on the lower layer, with paper and pictures attached, and customers can
throw the banana leaves that wrap the roasted bananas and sweet potatoes into it after use. A
transparent spray bottle allows customers to wash their hands, and two blue checkered rags are
also clean. On the left is a Nestle coffee billboard, with kettles, coffee and coffee companions. On
the wide shelf at the bottom, there are more than a dozen small enamel cups for making coffee,
which are also covered with snow-white gauze, and there is also space next to them to put large
bamboo baskets and buckets.
As soon as this stall appeared, it caused a sensation in the scenic area. Vendors came to ask
where the car was sold and how much it cost. When they heard that it cost more than 200 yuan,
they shook their heads. A roasted banana was only 20 cents. How many bananas did she have to
sell to earn 200 yuan? But no one expected that tourists would flock to the stall. Just selling
coffee, the old lady made 60 yuan a day. Some quick hands also put Nestle coffee on their stalls,
which was 10 cents cheaper than the old lady. But I don’t know what the tourists think, they still
go straight to the old lady to buy. Every tourist who buys banana sweet potato coffee has to take
a photo with the old lady in traditional Miao costumes in front of the stall.
At the end of the month, the old lady sent a basket of sweet potatoes to Beiwu to thank him for
setting up such a stall for her for free. Beiwu accepted the sweet potatoes and gave her an
envelope, asking her to go to Nestle to collect the advertising fee. It was not much, only 100 yuan
a month, 1,200 yuan a year. After deducting the cost of setting up the stall, the old lady still had
some money left after paying the scenic spot's stall management fee.
In Si Jiang's words: In an industry that anyone can do, with my uncle and aunt's intelligence,
knowledge, experience, connections and hands-on ability, they can do whatever they want and it
would be difficult for them to fail.
These gave Jingsheng different inspirations. After returning to Shanghai and completing the
formalities at school, he immediately discussed new actions for autumn and winter with Fu
Yuanliang, striving to participate in the Canton Fair next spring.

Chapter 362
On the return trip, without Old Mrs. Zhou, Grandma Gu seemed a little listless. Si was afraid that
Si Nan would catch him to play chess again, so he simply stuck to his grandmother during the day,
massaging her legs and back and peeling eggs for her from time to time. He played his role as a
filial grandson very conscientiously.
After passing Quzhou, everyone suddenly felt like going home, wishing they could fly back to
Wanchun Street. Zhou Shanli and Lao Wang drove from 8 am to 8 pm, and then stepped on the
accelerator to return to Shanghai. Unexpectedly, the door of Gu's house was wide open, the
lights were on, and several plainclothes policemen and neighborhood committee cadres were
there, as well as Director Wang and Factory Director Zeng Fu Yuanliang.
"Are you the householder Xu Xunfang?"
Grandma Gu had been sitting in the car for a whole day, and her bones were all shaken. Naturally,
she didn't care about anything at this time. She supported Si Hao and trembled forward: "It's me,
what happened?" The old lady was so scared that her liver was trembling. Could it be some kind
of movement again? There was really gold in the house, small yellow croakers, gold jewelry, and
so many English books in Beiwu and letters from American classmates and friends. I don't know if
it will be considered as treason. It's terrible.
"Oh, don't be afraid, Grandma Gu. Jingsheng, your house was broken into. And Xiao Weimin, a
bastard, has been hanging around in the alley every day since he came back. Oh, Old Zhong, your
neighborhood committee should send someone to keep an eye on this bad guy!" Director Wang
confessed the whole story before the police comrades.
Granny Gu heaved a sigh of relief and sat down on the dining table. "It's okay. Money is just a
thing outside of our body. He is so familiar with the place that we can't prevent him. Thank you,
police comrades. You have worked hard. Jingsheng, go and boil some water first..."
"Grandma, no need. It's like this. Xiao Weimin came here twice. He succeeded the first time and
stole a lot of cash and valuables. After a while, he used them all up, so he came again and
happened to run into your relative, Aunt Chen—"
Granny Gu was so frightened that she stood up again: "Oh, is mother okay?"
Old Zhong, a neighborhood cadre, waved his hands and said, "Aniang was pushed by Xiao
Weimin and broke her leg. She has been discharged from the Central Hospital and is lying at
home. But Xiao Weimin was guilty and tried his best to escape. He was hit by a bus on Kangding
Road and he is gone."
After the police left, Grandma Gu and Jing Shengsijiang visited Chen A Niang, but returned home
still in a daze.
Si Nan was still angrily scolding Xiao Weimin for being an ungrateful person, saying that he
deserved to be killed because he was a dog that could not change its nature. Si Hao held the
cookie box that contained her New Year's money and cried, "Brother, sister, is it true that I can't
get my money back?"
"Well, he is a drug addict. He must have switched to drugs as soon as he got the money.
Otherwise, why would he come a second time?" Jingsheng said in a muffled voice. In his
impression, Xiao Weimin was still the smiling young man. When he got the bonus for the first
time, he couldn't close his mouth and bought a toy car for Si Hao. Later, he became as thin as a
chopstick, and his face was full of tears when he cried. A person destroyed himself so easily.
Thousands of miles away in Jinghong, Yunnan, there are so many ordinary people who explore in
the mountains day after day. Even if they have broken hands, limped legs, and are disabled, they
still want to find out the movements of drug dealers. And those who died, their deaths are not
heavier than Mount Tai. The only people who remember them are their families and comrades-
in-arms. What they left for their families is only 2,000 yuan in pensions and tombstones.
The private money hidden by the three siblings was gone, luckily they had all been deposited in
the bank, plus the money for shopping in the chest of drawers, a total of more than 300 yuan was
stolen. The two black and white hairs sandwiched between the passbooks and deposit slips at
the back of the wardrobe were gone, it was obvious that they had been touched, but he probably
thought it was useless to take them, so he put them back where they were.
Grandma Gu asked Jingsheng to move the footstool in front of the bed, and there was a flat small
camphor wood box underneath.
"That's great—" Si Nan and Si Hao clapped their hands twice, and immediately started cursing
Xiao Weimin in unison.
Granny Gu sighed: "One time I asked Dongwen to come move something, and he probably heard
it."
The two small yellow croakers saved for Sijiangsinan as a dowry and the gold jewelry given by
Dongwen Beiwu over the years were all gone, but there was a piece of paper left.
"Brother Dongdong, I'm sorry. I will definitely find a way to pay you back."
There was a signature on the note: For the People.
Granny Gu smiled bitterly and said, "It's not worth it. Why bother? Really."
The obituary was published in the newspaper for seven consecutive days, but no one came to
claim Xiao Weimin's body. His runaway mother seemed to have never remembered that she had
such a son in this world. In the end, the police station and the neighborhood committee handled
the cremation procedures. No one claimed the ashes. After discussing with Dongwen, Jingsheng
paid a sum of money to ask the neighborhood committee to help store them in the cemetery.
Grandma Gu led the church members to pray for him several times, hoping that he would be
spared when he was tried and not go to hell.
After such a turmoil, Zhao Youning's return to the United States became a trivial matter. A person
he knew died in an unexpected way, and no one was in the mood for dinner. Sinan's "To Alice"
was still at the first bar, and he still memorized it by rote from the simple score.
Before leaving, Sinan asked sadly: "What if your girlfriend doesn't let you answer my calls in the
future?"
"impossible."
"How is that impossible?" Sinan shook his head, "My eldest cousin has never received a love
letter from my sister."
"I won't have a girlfriend in America."
"Haha." Sinan shook his head again: "If a man is reliable, even sows can climb trees."
"Actually, pigs can climb trees, and wild boars can climb quite fast. Haven't we seen them in
Jinghong?" You Ning asked with a smile.
Si Nan took the key from Zhao Youning and put it on her key ring. "What if I lose your key?"
Zhao Youning took out a new set of keys and said, "Put this at home in Wanchun Street, and you
won't lose it."
"I won't help you sweep or mop the floor. Let me make it clear. I will go to play your piano when
I'm free. But don't worry, I will be careful and won't bring anyone else." The key ring was too tight
and Sinan accidentally broke his nail.
Zhao Youning put the key aside and took out a set of nail clippers from his bag.
"You really are..." Si Nan shrank back, unable to pull back his fingers, his hair standing on end as
he watched Zhao Youning finish cutting his nails and start to smooth them, "Hey, you're too sissy!
I don't need to smooth them."
Zhao Youning raised his eyes with a smile: "It's safer to grind."
Si Nan was about to retort, but when he saw Zhao Youning unzipping his shirt collar, he
immediately shut up after seeing two scratch marks on his collarbone left behind only a string of
red dots.
"Ahem, didn't you say you had forgotten about that?"
"Well, I really don't remember what good things you did," Zhao Youning said with a half-smile, "I
can't help it even if you still remember the wound."
"Tsk! You scoundrel!" Sinan turned his face away and fanned his face with his other hand. It's true
that good news never goes out, but bad news spreads for a thousand years.
——
Si Jiang and Si Hao followed Grandma Gu and Chen's family back and forth. Chen Dongfang and
Chen Donghai also took turns to go back to Wanchun Street to take care of A Niang's daily life. Si
Jiang privately murmured to Jingsheng, suspecting that the two uncles were more worried about
A Niang's small yellow croaker than A Niang's health. Sure enough, at the end of August, Chen
Dongfang and Chen Donghai went to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China on Shanxi
South Road and Huaihai Road to open a safe. No one knew how much was deposited in it, and
the two brothers were happy for a long time.
At night, A Niang held Si Jiang and Si Hao's hands and said, "Don't worry, the things grandpa and
mom left for you were not given to uncle and others." Si Jiang shook his head, not knowing
whether to laugh or cry, and said he didn't want them.
"Silly girl, how can you be so careless? Without any dowry, your parents-in-law won't even look at
you!" The mother was so angry that she kept nagging for half an hour.
Jingsheng was busy with his studies and the company. If it were any other young person, he
would be complacent after achieving such success in his early twenties. However, because Beiwu
was so kind and generous, Jingsheng did not dare to slack off. He had to get his bachelor's degree
and continue to make money. He told Fu Yuanliang some of the things Beiwu had talked about
with him. Fu Yuanliang was so excited that he could not sleep for several nights, and his notebook
was filled with his thoughts.
"We just happened to encounter a golden age and catch the road of rapid national development.
But this development is temporary. If we cannot achieve world-class technology, this express
train will only get slower and slower. Compared with people in other countries, we can attract
investment by low costs. Low labor costs, low land costs, and low operating costs. In exchange for
advanced industrial technology, the government gives investors free land, tax exemptions, and
even plays various tricks to attract factories that cannot be opened or will be very costly in other
countries. But one day, land will become more and more valuable, workers' wages will become
higher and higher, and taxes will not be reduced all the time, so the manufacturing industry will
inevitably decline. Businessmen pursue profits, and the more developed the businessmen are,
the more they will pursue profit maximization."
"Compared to domestic competitors, we are lucky enough to have some advantages: we have
faster and more information than others, and we have more resources than others. But this
advantage is also temporary. Foreign information and upper-level information will only become
more and more transparent. When everyone's channels for obtaining information are almost the
same, what will we rely on to compete? Quartet, do you want to run the company for three
years, five years, or ten years? A century-old store? Don't have big ambitions first, this is a taboo
for small businesses. If you move too fast, you will not become a warrior in this industry, but a
martyr. It is enough to consider three years of development, but every quarter, every month,
every ten days, and every week in these three years must be implemented strictly according to
the plan."
"We can accept processing, but how should we accept it and which countries should we accept it
from? How can a small factory in Shanghai compete with the processing factories in Guangdong,
Zhejiang and Jiangsu that have been in business for ten years? Should we compete on quality or
cost? Have you calculated the profit of accepting processing? Compared with increasing the sales
volume of the quartet with only the brand left, which way is more reasonable? Can you bear the
loss of not getting the final payment for the processing order?"
"You can also do export business. Where is your target market? Europe, America, Japan, or
Southeast Asia? Have you done market research? Where do you get sales channels? You can also
participate in the Canton Fair. Last year, there were an average of 38,000 buyers participating in
the Canton Fair in spring and autumn, with a total transaction volume of 10 billion US dollars.
What proportion did the clothing industry account for? What are the top ten companies in terms
of transaction volume? What are their specialties?"
"It is better to be specialized than to be big. This is certain. It is the same as being a person. If a
person works at a job that he is good at for 30 years, he can become an expert among experts if
he wants to. There is no other way, just practice makes perfect."
Fu Yuanliang admitted to Jingsheng that he didn't see far enough. The two hit it off immediately.
The production line needed to be expanded, workers needed to be recruited, and factories
needed to be purchased, but they returned to the original goal: to focus on the Quartet clothing
brand, both inside and outside.
Jingsheng wrote two big words on the whiteboard and drew circles one after another.
"money".
"people".
There is still a lack of money and people.

Chapter 363
The year is feared by people as much as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Once the Mid-Autumn Festival
is over, it is soon the end of the year and several major events have happened in Shanghai.
On December 19, with the bang of a hammer in Pujiang Hotel, the Shanghai Stock Exchange was
established. Eight stocks, including Yanzhong Industrial, Feilo Shares, and Yuyuan Shopping Mall,
were traded together, known as the "Old Eight Stocks of Shanghai Stock Exchange". The market
opened at nine o'clock, and there were crowds of people in front of the counter, and the chairs in
the hall were full of people.
Grandma Gu, who had lost her yellow croaker and gold jewelry, took the bus with Chen A Niang
to come here early in the morning to help out. The two old ladies with bound feet became a
unique landscape and were chased by TV and newspaper reporters for interviews. Grandma Gu
was quick-witted and said to the camera: "In the beginning was the Tao, and the Tao was with
God..."
"Remember to cut it off when you get back." The reporter immediately turned the microphone
away and told the cameraman, "Stop filming the old lady. Go to the counter."
Chen A Niang looked at the camera and her hand, which had just been raised to tuck her
temples, fell back and poked Gu A Niang: "A Fang, you are so annoying. What God is this place
talking about?"
"I just want to ask God to bless my Hu Tou's wife to not have fewer children. Bei Wufei said there
was nothing to see, hum," Granny Gu stood on tiptoe and squinted her eyes, "Fortunately the
stocks were not stolen, there are more than 5,000 yuan."
Chen A-niang sat on a chair and tapped her calf: "Oh, he has it in his hand, right? I fought hard to
get it, otherwise how would my leg be broken? But the wormwood bag that Nannan applied to
me on Sunday was quite useful, the pain in my bones is gone."
"I know, I know," Granny Gu glanced at her, "Remember to come over for dinner at night. Si Jiang
and Jing Sheng will also come back. We'll make a big bone, black fungus, and bean curd soup. Eat
whatever you want to nourish your body."
There were constant shouts and yells in the crowd, and chaos broke out in front of the counter.
The prices of eight stocks were announced.
Grandma Gu quickly took out a piece of red paper from her trouser pocket, on which Jingsheng
had written the stock purchase price: 68,40. The one with three characters was Xiao Feile, and
the one with four characters was Yanzhong Industry.
"Sir, could you please help me check how much money Xiaofei Letong Yanzhong Industrial has
now? Thank you, thank you." Grandma Gu took two steps and chose a young man to ask.
The young man's face flushed with excitement and he kept shaking his legs. He glanced at her
casually and shouted, "Grandma, you are such a loser!"
Grandma Gu’s heart sank.
"Xiao Fei Le is now 55.6, and Yanzhong Industrial is 54. But you still made 14 yuan a share from
Yanzhong Industrial, so you can sell it. What if it falls tomorrow? Your Xiao Fei Le lost 12.4 yuan a
share. Let me tell you, I was at the counter at that time. I just didn't like Xiao Fei Le. Listen, Fei Le
is Fei Le, adding a small, it doesn't work. What I bought is - oh, my Yuyuan has a price -"
The young man quickly squeezed into the crowd.
"How is that possible? Is it a profit or a loss?" Chen A Niang didn't understand the whole thing.
The two old ladies finally squeezed out of the Pujiang Hotel. The winter sun was not very warm,
and the wind seemed to carry the muddy smell of the Wusong River. Grandma Gu sighed and put
on her woolen hat: "Let's go, we have to go back. We still have to deliver meals to the factory."
"Alas, before liberation, our old man also bought stocks. He would make a lot of money and
never mention it when he lost money. Now at least you know whether your fourth child is making
a profit or a loss. As for money, you can't make it all, right? Jingsheng has made a lot of money.
Now that you have bought two houses, you can just sit back and enjoy your life. Why worry so
much? Oh, it's so tiring to rush to Pudong at six o'clock." Chen A'niang was trying to persuade
Grandma Gu in a soft voice on the bus.
Granny Gu sighed, "Why should we worry about them? It seems like they are obedient. They
have been doing too well in the past few years. I am afraid."
"Don't be afraid. Didn't Ximei insure every family's home?" Chen A'niang couldn't help feeling a
little unhappy when she talked about her former daughter-in-law.
"Well, she is the one most likely to get into trouble." Grandma Gu looked at the rolling river and
sighed again.
The news was broadcast on TV at night, and Si Jiang and Jing Sheng watched for a long time but
couldn't find the two old ladies.
"Xiao Fei Le is good. All 700 shares were sold out in two hours. Yan Zhong is also good. 840 out of
1,000 shares were sold," Jingsheng said with a smile. "If Uncle sells the stocks today, he can make
700 from 50 shares of Yan Zhong and lose 620 from Xiao Fei Le. He can make 80 yuan if he sells
all the shares."
"How can we sell the ones that have lost money?" Chen A Niang carefully picked out the marrow
from the big bones with chopsticks and put it in a spoon and handed it to Si Hao. "Bei Wu must
have a good eye. Xiao Fei Le, the value of the money will soar to the sky in the future. Just think
about it, five thousand dollars in the bank will only earn more than five hundred yuan in interest
a year, which is not as much as Yanzhong earns."
Si Jiang smiled and served A Niang a bowl of hot soup: "Well, I also asked Mrs. Brown, she said
we only have eight stocks now, no matter what the country and the market will not let the stock
market fall too much, otherwise who would dare to put money in the stock market?"
Jingsheng discussed it with Fu Yuanliang at night, and the two loyal followers of Gu Beiwu pooled
together some money. Fu Yuanliang bought a total of 1,000 shares of Xiao Feile before the New
Year, costing 58 yuan. On May 25, 1992, Xiao Feile really took off, with an intraday price of
3,550.5 yuan. Jingsheng and Fu Yuanliang sold 950 shares after asking Beiwu. Although they did
not sell them at the highest point, they made a profit of 3 million yuan in one fell swoop,
becoming one of the countless millionaires who became millionaires in those years. But Gu
Beiwu never expected that the 50 shares that Jingsheng and others left as a souvenir would
become a share price of 2 yuan more than 20 years later.
——
Li Yifang now lives in the small house of the Gu family downstairs of the Wuyuan Road Free
Apartment, and the rent is 200 yuan a month. Jingsheng and Sijiang refused to charge her at first,
but Li Yifang said she would not live there if they didn't pay, and would rather hail a taxi from
Hongqiao to the city every day. The makeup training class she and Sijiang and Sinan cooperated
with was very popular. Four classes were opened, two of which had graduated, and the four
classes after the new year were also full.
The idea was proposed by Si Nan. Si Jiang and Li Yifang carefully deepened and organized it and
wrote a detailed plan. Because it involved classes, they took the plan to the Textile University to
consult Teacher Huang. As a result, Teacher Huang was very interested and started the training
class directly at the Textile University after half a month. The total training class hours were 20
classes, three classes per week, and each class was one and a half hours. The first three classes
were to learn the basic knowledge of sketching and anatomy. This course arrangement alone was
amazing.
Si Jiang and Si Nan couldn't figure it out before, but they listened to Li Yifang.
Li Yifang's tone was still very gentle and coquettish: "No, this really must be learned, otherwise
they will have problems when they really go up to do makeup for people. In fact, makeup is just
painting, but it is three-dimensional painting."
"The tuition is already very cheap. Didn't you say that, Nan Nan? You must buy the same makeup
case as mine and use the makeup in it."
Chen Sinan looked up at the sky in silence: "Then we will die before we succeed this time."
Si Jiang was more tactful: "Will anyone really want to study at a tuition of 6,000 yuan for 20
classes?"
"Oh, then let's set it at five thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine? Does that feel better?" Li
Yifang had a sincere smile on her baby face.
The first class of ten students, in addition to the models and makeup artists who participated in
the last Quartet fashion show, also included two young makeup artists from a TV station and two
graduate students from Textile University. They paid the tuition without hesitation. When they
received their own makeup boxes in the first class, no one believed that the boxes and the full set
of cosmetics inside were included in the tuition for this course.
Makeup artist Xiao Feng is very knowledgeable. During the break, he told the others: "This whole
set of MAKE UP FOR EVER cosmetics costs at least 3,000 RMB. I liked this brand when I was doing
makeup for a Singaporean female star last year."
Si Jiang didn't quite understand why everyone's enthusiasm suddenly soared in the second half of
the class, but no one complained about the high tuition. A month later, the second class with a
tuition of 7,999 was full of ten students in just two days.
Li Yifang thinks that the tuition increase is normal: "Because I included the advertising fee for the
first class. Originally, I charged 8,000 yuan per person, but if I put a full-page recruitment
advertisement in the newspaper, it would be 49,800 yuan. If I don't open the school, I can get a
discount to 45,000 yuan. So I charged 2,000 yuan less per person, which means I spent 20,000
yuan on advertising. But the publicity effect is definitely better than advertising in newspapers."
Si Jiang took the business card of a manager of the advertising department of Xinmin Evening
News from Li Yifang, and suddenly felt that he had a lot to learn.
Before Christmas, Jingsheng had packed up the apartment. On the 30th, which was Sunday, he
and his driver, Ajin, went to the flower and bird wholesale market under the full moon to buy a
lot of wintersweets, kumquats, and money trees. They moved them back with great haste, and
also brought a pot of narcissus and a few branches of wintersweets for Li Yifang. Unexpectedly,
when he knocked on the door on the first floor, it was Fu Yuanliang who appeared.
Jingsheng returned to Wanchun Street to have breakfast and couldn't help but secretly tell Si
Jiang about this big news.
Si Jiang was shocked: "Ah? Last week Evone said that Manager Fu was pursuing her. Are they
together so soon?"
Jingsheng raised his eyebrows: "I don't know if they live together, but Fu Yuanliang must have
slept in the Free Apartment last night."
Si Jiang laughed: "Probably not. Evone said she couldn't stand a man living in her house."
Jingsheng scooped out the noodles and put them into the bowl of chicken soup, then suddenly
stopped.
"After the New Year, can we move to Wuyuan Road?" Jingsheng clenched the two pairs of
chopsticks in his hands.
Si Jiang bent down and took out a spoon from the cupboard: "My uncle and aunt will come back
for the New Year next month, so we can move in with grandma. It's too cold, and it's
inconvenient to use the toilet, flush the toilet, or go to the public toilet. At least let Hu Tou and
grandma live comfortably. Otherwise, what's the point of your uncle and you buying this house?
It's just for show."
She muttered for a while before realizing what Jingsheng meant. She couldn't help laughing out
loud: "Gu Jingsheng!"
"Well," Jingsheng lowered his eyes and sprinkled a handful of chopped green onions on the bowl,
"Go up and eat noodles."
Suddenly, Si Jiang hugged her from behind.
Si Jiang leaned out and rubbed his shoulder, smiled and asked in a low voice: "Hey, are you trying
to be a hooligan again?"
Jingsheng bent down and kissed her eyes: "We can sleep together at night to warm up the
popularity of the house. It's a good opportunity to see if there is anything else to add."
Si Jiang grabbed his waist fiercely through his sweater and said, "Last time I came back from
Jinghong, my period was a week late. I was scared to death. Humph, you are not nervous at all."
"I was wrong that time." Jingsheng admitted his mistake readily, "I bought a bunch of condoms
this time, I won't do that again."
"Let's talk about it later. I'm starving. The noodles must be cold." Si Jiang quickly let go and
changed the subject.
She didn't get away and was caught by Jingsheng and kissed on the face, which really made her
feel cold.

Chapter 364
The end of the year on university campuses was very lively, with the Christmas party followed by
the New Year's party. On the last night of 1990, Si Jiang was dragged by Yin Hang and his friends
to Fudan University, under the pretext of experiencing the most upscale campus party in
Shanghai.
It's funny to say that the girls in the Foreign Language Department of H Normal University don't
really compete with the girls in the School of Foreign Languages, and they rarely interact with
each other. Instead, they secretly compete with Fudan. It's because in Shanghai, the primary and
secondary schools affiliated to the Foreign Language School never participate in the ranking of
key schools in the district or city, nor do they participate in the joint entrance examination.
Everyone seems to have tacitly accepted that it is another parallel universe that runs
independently. And science and engineering medical schools such as Jiaotong University and
Tongji University are naturally on good terms with liberal arts schools. In order to realize the life
ideal of "there are beautiful women in books", boys will inevitably secretly compare the girls
from Fudan and Normal University. This is also the origin of "Love in H Normal".
Si Jiang had visited Fudan University when he was in high school, and this was his second visit to
his dream school. When he met Tang Zenian's roommates at the dance, Si Jiang smiled and
greeted them one by one. Although the two dormitories were no longer in name only, they had
kept in touch because the other dorm leader Yan Su had been pursuing Hu Die.
No one mentioned the name Tang Zenian, but Yan Su said something to Si Jiang out of the blue in
the gap between two dance songs.
"On January 11, someone called me—"
The second half of the sentence was interrupted by a slap from Hu Die.
It took Si Jiang a while to remember that it was the day when martial law was announced to be
lifted. Thinking back on the reason, it seemed like many years had passed.
When they were in Ganlanba, my uncle and aunt had a deep talk with them, because she and
Jingsheng wondered why they had to help with every micro-loan project so personally, and what
would they do if there were more projects in the future, or if the lenders left them.
Shan Rang smiled and said that he would help as much as he could and go as far as he could, but
as long as he met someone, he couldn't help but help. He had already taken ninety-nine steps, so
why not take the last step?
Bei Wu said, "Mr. Lu Xun once said that he hoped that all Chinese youth could get rid of their
coldness and move forward, and not listen to the words of those who give up on themselves.
Those who can do something should do it, and those who can speak out should speak out. If you
have a little heat and a little light, you can be like a firefly, and you can also shine a little light in
the darkness, without having to wait for a torch."
This is probably why they left their state-owned units and Peking University and followed their
uncle to Jinghong. They are moving forward, and they will do more if they can. Si Jiang has seen
the light in the eyes of the old lady who sells roasted bananas, and the light in the eyes of the
aunt in Yunxiang's tailor shop. She believes that this little bit of starlight will one day set the
prairie on fire. She used to be like Tang Zenian, wanting to be a torch. They wanted the country
and society to hear their voices, and wanted to change the bad habits of this world from top to
bottom. But my uncle and aunt gave up what they already had that countless people dreamed of,
sank to the bottom, and changed the lives of those in need bit by bit. They never denied her
thoughts and actions.
"It's good for young people to have ambitions and ideals. Don't lose sight of your original
intention, Nannan." The uncle said with a smile, his smile was so gentle.
"We have always been proud of you, Si Jiang, you are very brave." Her aunt gave her a tight hug.
Si Jiang blinked his sore eyes. The auditorium was full of singing and dancing. Young faces were
filled with festive joy, but there was no freshman. This year, Fudan freshmen and Peking
University freshmen were all in Shijiazhuang Army Academy, and they had to undergo military
training for a whole year. Suddenly having such a year in life, no one knew whether it was a gain
or a loss, and no one could change it. Who would have thought that students from Peking
University and Fudan would meet in this way? Si Jiang couldn't help but smile at Hu Die and Yan
Su.
——
Many people came to ask Si Jiang to dance. Si Jiang danced two dances out of courtesy. The
pager that Jingsheng gave her was beeping in her bag. Si Jiang said hello to Hu Die and the others
and walked out.
"Classmate, classmate——"
A boy caught up with me from behind.
"Could you please leave me your pager number? I won't call you randomly."
The boy had snow-white skin and a wickedly handsome appearance. He was Si Jiang's dance
partner just now. He danced very well and was very polite. During the song, they only talked
about the weather and some foreign bands, and didn't even ask Si Jiang's name.
Before Si Jiang could refuse, a layer of crimson mist rose on the other party's face, and he said a
little awkwardly: "My name is Lin Ling, I'm 23 years old, and I work at the Jungong Road Diesel
Engine Factory, but I'm studying at night university - I want to make friends with you."
When Si Jiang first entered university, he often encountered boys who tried to make friends with
him. He was not panicked, but smiled and nodded: "Thank you, but I'm not a student of Fudan
University."
Lin Ling followed her and said, "I can see that."
Si Jiang couldn't help but look sideways.
"Fudan girls are all very proud."
Si Jiang smiled without saying anything, shook his head and quickened his pace.
"You are from H Normal University, right? I've been to your school to dance."
"Are you studying in the dance class at night university?" Si Jiang couldn't help laughing. From
Jungong Road to Zhongshan West Road, crossing most of Shanghai, it really is not about dancing.
Lin Ling was honest: "No, I just want to make friends with college students. But when the college
students knew I was a worker, they looked down on me and were unwilling to dance with me."
He was so frank that Si Jiang didn't know how to respond. In the past, she would definitely have
been unable to resist refuting the other party's impure motives.
"I like English songs very much, especially the Beatles and the Rolling Stones," Lin Ling's eyes
sparkled, "You are my first dance partner who also likes the Beatles. We can really be friends. I
know there is a small shabby shop on Qiujiang Road that sells a lot of tapes of foreign bands, all
from TDK. There are much more than the one in the alley next to Zhongtu Company, and it's two
yuan cheaper. Do you want to go shopping together?"
Si Jiang stopped and looked under the street light. The young man's eyes were sincere and
enthusiastic, yet a little cautious.
"This is my pager number. I will only be available to call you back in the evening from Monday to
Saturday. My name is Chen Sijiang, and I am a junior student in the English Department of H
Normal University."
Lin Ling took the note and stuttered with joy: "Ah? You, you are Chen, Chen Sijiang? I've heard of
you!"
Si Jiang couldn't help but be surprised.
"Yes, I'm sorry, because someone in your school said that you are the real campus beauty of H
Normal University," Lin Ling scratched his head, "So you are Chen Sijiang, ah, wait a minute, this
is my pager number, if you want to buy tapes and records or something, just call me, I work in
three shifts, and I can rest for a day after each night shift, but I can switch shifts with my brothers
at any time - if I call you, will you really answer?"
In fact, Lin Ling once met a female college student who danced happily and chatted happily, but
she left him a fake number. After calling her, the man called back and scolded him. His coworkers
often advised him to pretend to be a college student and chase her, and he would definitely get
her. Lin Ling disdained to lie and he couldn't do such a thing.
Si Jiang nodded: "I will come back. But I have a boyfriend. If I go to Qiujiang Road, I will go with
him."
Lin Ling was stunned: "You have a boyfriend?"
Si Jiang looked at him and smiled: "You can give my number back to me."
"No, no, I really want to be friends with you, but I don't want to do anything bad to you," Lin Ling
blushed, "Believe me, I don't even need to chase girls, girls always chase me."
Si Jiang suppressed his laughter and nodded: "That's good, goodbye."
Watching Si Jiang jump lightly onto the bus, Lin Ling held the small note in his hand and sighed in
the cold wind of the winter night. He rubbed his red nose, took out a pack of cigarettes from his
coat pocket, and turned around to go back into the school gate.
Si Jiang didn't know that she had accidentally lit up a soul.
——
Back at Wanchun Street, Si Jiang called back to the paging station. Sure enough, it was Jingsheng
who left the phone number of Wuyuan Road. The words last night were still in his ears. Sijiang's
face was hot and his thoughts were slow, but his movements were not slow. He quickly packed
the clothes for the night.
Si Nan Si Hao accompanied Grandma Gu, Grandma Chen, back from the International Chapel.
Seeing Si Jiang carrying a bag and leaving, Grandma Chen became happy and asked, "Are you
going back to Gaofa with Grandma Gu?"
Si Jiang panicked: "Mom, I have to go back to school. There is a New Year's event at school
tomorrow morning."
Chen Aniang: "Oh, okay, okay, where is Jingsheng? Let him take you to school? You girl, be careful
when walking at night. There are gangsters with hammers who are looking for single girls
everywhere. Oh, you are a Kazakh person ( Scared to death)——"
"That's a rumor. The TV station and the Public Security Bureau have refuted it a long time ago." Si
Nan looked at the ceiling and shook his head.
"That's not safe either, even if you're bold and like to do whatever you want." Auntie gave Sinan a
sidelong look.
"It's okay, Jingsheng just called me, and we met at the bus stop. He went straight there from the
company and didn't make a detour to come back." Si Jiang's heart was pounding, and he glanced
at his grandmother's expression.
Granny Gu cut the peeled apple into several slices, rinsed them with salt and water, put them in a
lunch box and handed them to Si Jiang: "You and Jingsheng each have an apple. Remember to eat
them all and come back early on Saturday."
Sinan was lying on the sofa eating an apple. "Sister, ask your eldest cousin to come back and talk
to grandma. Let's go to Wuyuan Road to celebrate the New Year. There are toilets and bathtubs
there. Don't be too proud. Mom, you can also come to my uncle's new house to take a bath. You
don't have to go to the bathroom anymore."
Si Hao also agreed: "Yes, yes, the bathroom was so crowded and hot before the New Year."
Ah Niang shook her head: "You are talking nonsense. Your uncle's house is a new one. If there is
no wine in the housewarming room, how can a guest use the host's things? It's rude."
Si Jiang's pager rang several times in a row.
"Go quickly, don't keep Jingsheng waiting." Grandma Gu urged Si Jiang to go quickly.
Si Jiang went downstairs and looked back upstairs. He didn't know what Si Nan said, but the two
old ladies suddenly raised their voices and laughed along with Si Hao. Si Jiang silently said sorry
520 times in his heart.
——
Si Jiang entered the lobby of the apartment and knocked on the door on the first floor first, but
sure enough, no one was there.
The elevator went up a few floors before the strong smell of chicken soup came into his mouth. Si
Jiang searched in his bag for a long time, his palms were sweaty, his fingers didn't seem to be his
own and didn't obey him at all, his heartbeat and blood were out of sync, his five senses and
organs were all in their own way and had no spirit of cooperation. He finally opened the door,
and a wave of hot air hit him in the face.
"Nannan is here?" Jingsheng's voice came from the kitchen.
Si Jiang took a deep breath and hung his hat and scarf on the wall: "Okay, here I come. Hey, are
you going to turn on the air conditioner? The electricity bill is so high. Just turn on the heater."
Jingsheng poked his head out of the kitchen and said with a smile, "Since you've already spent
most of the money, don't be stingy with the change. It would be a waste if you buy an air
conditioner but don't use it."
Si Jiang took out the lunch box from his bag, unbuttoned his coat and put on cotton slippers. "I
went back home and my grandma prepared apples for us. I said there will be a New Year's event
at school tomorrow. What did you tell your family?"
Jingsheng turned around and finished wrapping the last vegetable wonton. He turned on the tap,
washed his hands and teased Sijiang: "Hey, you lied to me just to go on a date, Chen Sijiang, you
are such a bad boy!"
Si Jiang was already feeling a little guilty, and his mood became even lower after hearing what he
said: "I also felt that this was not a good thing when I came out. Forget it, I'll just go back or go
back to the dormitory later."
Before she could finish her words, Jingsheng pulled her nose. She screamed, hit Jingsheng's waist
with her elbow, covered her nose and glared at him: "It hurts!"
"You say one thing and mean another, and your nose is getting longer." Jingsheng rubbed her
nose, "I'll make the wontons."
Si Jiang pouted: "It's all your fault that you insisted on coming here to spend New Year's Eve
alone."
"Well, how was your sleepover with Hilton?"
"That's different. That time was in the hotel—" Si Jiang stopped his hand, "Wait, six wontons are
enough for me."
"So of course we two should spend the night in this wedding room first," Jingsheng covered the
pot, hugged Si Jiang in his arms and kissed him, "You can't eat too much, otherwise you will vomit
if you exercise too vigorously."
"Who wants to exercise with you, you rascal!" Si Jiang couldn't help biting the back of his hand, "I
sleep when I'm full, I don't want to move."
"Then just stay still and let me move."
The sound and breath penetrated into her ears. Si Jiang's mind was fuzzy. She came to her senses
when she heard the sound of the water. It seemed that this man had taken advantage of her
again.

Chapter 365
Jingsheng felt a lot more relaxed after returning to school. Although he had to rush back to the
company after school and work from six or seven in the morning until eleven or twelve at night,
he still managed to gain back seven pounds in three months. In addition, he had to play three
football games on campus every week, so he was more energetic than before and had endless
energy.
It is impossible to remain motionless. When the enemy moves, I do not move. When the enemy
advances, I retreat. When the enemy retreats, I advance. Sijiang has implemented this strategy
very well without any rehearsal. With such constant provocation, we are bound to suffer from the
devastation of a storm.
But Grandma Gu bought four new winter quilts for Wuyuan Road. The old lady didn't believe how
warm the air conditioner could be, so each quilt was made of thick and solid new cotton
weighing eight kilograms. How could two lovers who loved each other so much bear such deep
love? They were sweating after a few minutes. The air conditioner was blowing warm air, but it
was a cold winter in Jiangnan after all. The warm air turned into cold wind after blowing two
meters. It was still cold without a quilt, but it was too hot with a quilt.
Jingsheng tried several different positions while holding Si Jiang, but none of them felt
comfortable. He first stuck his head out, then half of his body straightened up, and the quilt
slipped off. He was afraid that Si Jiang would feel cold, so he pulled the quilt back. He repeated
this several times, and before he had even mastered all the skills, the two of them were already
laughing so hard.
After such a focused battle, Jingsheng couldn't help but sigh: "Hotels are expensive for a reason.
The air conditioners at home are still not as good as theirs. I'll go back tomorrow and get a lighter
quilt for the bed." Then an idea struck him, and he moved the electric heater in the bathroom to
the bedside. He turned it on for a quarter of an hour, and it was perfect. Now he wasn't cold even
without a quilt. The air conditioning wind passed through the heater and blew onto the bed,
which was also warm and comfortable.
"Come on," Jingsheng dug Sijiang out of the quilt, "Now even if you really don't move, you
shouldn't be cold anymore."
Twenty raw wontons were forgotten in the kitchen, staring at the half-warm chicken soup. Near
midnight, Jingsheng and Sijiang snuggled on the sofa to watch a video. On the TV, the superstar
Leslie Cheung said with tears in his eyes: "I am not a greedy person. What I hope is that if a friend
asks you who are the Hong Kong singers in the 1980s, I will be satisfied if you just mention me!"
Si Jiang turned his head and kissed Jingsheng's chin: "If we break up one day in the future, and
someone asks you how many girlfriends you have, you are not allowed to mention me."
"No," Jingsheng said firmly, "We won't separate, and there won't be anyone else."
Si Jiang poked him and said, "It's different now that I'm back in school. I got full marks on all the
questions."
Jingsheng tightened his arms and was about to speak when the doorbell suddenly rang.
Li Yifang drank quite a bit of wine. He leaned against the door frame with one hand raised high,
and smiled at Si Jiang with one hand on his waist and his head tilted. The boots on his legs were
still ten centimeters high, two or three centimeters taller than Si Jiang who was wearing slippers.
"Happy New Year, beautiful lady."
"Happy New Year, Evone."
Jingsheng crossed his arms and looked at Fu Yuanliang behind her with disdain. Fu Yuanliang
looked around silently, and saw that the lights on the sixth floor were on. Li Yifang had to come
up, so there was no way he could stop her.
The neglected wontons finally had a place to go. Li Yifang ate eight of them in one go. She was
surprised that the wontons were made by Jingsheng himself. She flattered him and Jingsheng's
expression looked better.
"You treat me to wontons, and I treat you to fireworks, let's go."
Si Jiang was actually interested. Ignoring Jingsheng's resentful look, he took out the lighter from
his pocket and let Li Yifang take it away.
"Lao Fu, are you her boyfriend?"
"No," Fu Yuanliang handed Jingsheng a cigarette and smiled bitterly, "I do think so."
It was unknown what Li Yifang said, but she and Si Jiang were laughing so hard at the elevator
entrance that they doubled over.
Jingsheng locked the door and gave Fu Yuanliang a look that told him to fend for himself.
——
The area around Wuyuan Road was very quiet. The four of us walked out of the door and headed
west. Not far past the Wuyuan Road Kindergarten was Wukang Road. Turning around, there was
a small street garden.
Fireworks soared into the sky, and Li Yifang performed a children's dance in high-heeled boots:
"We are singing, we are dancing, Happy New Year to you all - come on, Sijiang, dance together,
dance together."
Fu Yuanliang looked around nervously, fearing that the nearby residents might get angry.
Jingsheng smiled and said, "Let them be happy. Two little girls can't quarrel too much."
Si Jiang couldn't persuade Li Yifang, so he turned to look at Jingsheng, who smiled and waved at
her: "Dance if you want."
Li Yifang shouted at them: "Hey, come on, if you really can't dance, can you clap your hands?"
Fu Yuanliang clapped his hands involuntarily and hummed a nursery rhyme.
Si Jiang ran to Jingsheng in small steps, held his chin with both hands, tilted his head, bent his
knees, and sang with a smile: "Happy New Year Happy New Year, I wish my brother a happy new
year——"
Li Yifang blew a loud whistle and screamed repeatedly.
"I'll sing and dance to wish big brother a happy new year." Si Jiang was dancing the holiday dance
that had been praised many times on TV when he was a child. It was very exaggerated, but in
Jingsheng's eyes, it was full of different meanings.
The stars in the sky all merged into the dark night. Li Yifang looked at the sky and sighed, "It's
over already - what a pity." Turning around, she saw Jingsheng holding Si Jiang in his arms under
the street light. Although the view was blocked by the telephone pole, one could tell with one's
toes that they were kissing passionately.
Li Yifang looked at Fu Yuanliang who was not far away and hooked her finger at him.
Fu Yuanliang hesitated for a moment and walked over quickly.
"Happy New Year." Li Yifang looked up at him and said with a smile.
"Happy New Year." Fu Yuanliang stretched out his arms.
Li Yifang turned half a circle on the spot, put her hands behind her back and walked back: "Please
take away the garbage - thank you!"
She always said "le se" when she said garbage. Fu Yuanliang had gotten used to it. He put his
hands down helplessly, picked up the empty vest bag hanging on the iron railing next to him, and
bent down to pick up the garbage carefully.
The two of them had sex three times, and Li Yifang had learned a lot of Shanghainese. Fu
Yuanliang looked up at the petite girl walking away. In such a cold day, she was wearing a thin
black silk cotton single-button long coat, with only a dark purple shirt inside. She deliberately
buttoned the wrong buttons, revealing her collarbone and a faintly visible snow-white waist.
After drinking in Hengshan Road, she had never buttoned her coat. When the wind blew, it
fluttered like a sail, keeping her warm at all.
"Li Yifang, what do you want?" The thirty-something old man gritted his teeth and sighed, chasing
after her with a jerkin bag of garbage. The girl in front was a straw boat riding on the east wind,
and he was an arrow fired by a million soldiers, with no way back.
Behind him, in a corner of the small street garden, Jingsheng rested his hand against Sijiang's
forehead, smiling brighter than the fireworks just now: "Move again."
Si Jiang bit his chin, and his lips and tongue scraped across his newly emerged stubble: "Don't
move, I won't move, how can I!"
Jingsheng poked her face with his stubble: "Don't move, don't move at all. Are you a wooden
man? Just do whatever I want."
Si Jiang hid his face in the crook of his neck and said, "You wish for it. Don't pay attention to me."
"Hey, don't move."
"If you want to move, you have to move."
Jingsheng laughed so hard that his chest shook: "If you move again, I'll shoot you."
Si Jiang finally came to his senses and bit Jingsheng on the mouth: "Gu Jingsheng, you have
become even more rogue since you returned to school! I am so angry."
——
Back at the Freedom Apartment, the door of Li Yifang's room on the first floor was closed, but Fu
Yuanliang was standing outside.
Jingsheng pressed the elevator button and pretended not to see it. Si Jiang couldn't bear it, so he
thought about it and knocked on the door.
"Evone?"
The door opened quickly and a wave of heat rushed out.
Li Yifang had decorated the small house very delicately, making it as bright, charming and
fashionable as she was. The four of them sat on the thick carpet around the small coffee table,
and Li Yifang poured two glasses of plum wine: "Come on, drink."
Si Jiang often came here, but Jing Sheng came in for the first time. He looked around the room
subtly and looked at Fu Yuanliang, as if thinking about something.
Li Yifang, half drunk and half awake, leaned on her elbow and glanced at Fu Yuanliang, then
turned to look at Jingsheng.
Jingsheng stretched out his hand and shook it: "What number is this?"
"This is a hand, okay?" Li Yifang laughed. "Do you men have to be so funny? Do I look like a
drunk? Si Jiang, do you think I look like one?"
"Not really." Si Jiang said seriously, but gently pushed the glass in front of her towards Jingsheng.
"Is the bar on Hengshan Road fun?"
"Well - it would be fun if this guy didn't follow me. Hey, Gu Jingsheng," Li Yifang's eyes widened,
looking more and more like a cat. "Boss Gu, can you please manage your subordinates? I just
slept with him twice, why do I have to be his girlfriend?"
"Three times." Fu Yuanliang corrected softly.
Li Yifang slapped the table with her hand, and blew on herself a few times in pain: "So what if it's
three times? What's the difference?"
Jingsheng and Sijiang drank quietly and didn't say anything.
"Thirds of a time never happens." Fu Yuanliang answered in a serious tone.
Li Yifang was obviously stunned for a moment.
Si Jiang bit his lip, held back his laughter, and lowered his head. The plums in the wine glass
swayed and bubbled.
Jingsheng reached out and gently held her waist, drawing three lines on her waist.
Si Jiang glared at him, thinking that there would not be a third time tonight.
Jingsheng, however, leaned on the sofa behind him like a lazy big cat, smiling charmingly at Si
Jiang.
"It's incomprehensible!" Li Yifang suddenly slapped the coffee table again. "What's the point of
saying three times is the limit? I am the one who can't stand it any more. Fu Yuanliang, please,
who do you think you are? You are not my father, my husband, or my boyfriend, okay? Why do
you care whether I turn on the air conditioner, what clothes I wear, or what man I drink with? I
have made it very clear, okay? I don't want to fall in love—"
"I think."
"What use is there for you?" Li Yifang was almost mad with anger. She stretched out her legs to
kick him and pointed at Jingsheng, calling on them to come and judge the case.

Chapter 366
It is difficult for a judge to judge family affairs. Jingsheng and Sijiang couldn't even figure out how
two people who had nothing to do with each other ended up in the same bed, so of course they
couldn't judge the right and wrong. Moreover, if a man and a woman have reached the point
where they need others to judge the right and wrong, it would be better for them to just part
ways.
Nothing happens more than three times, except sex.
Si Jiang reflected deeply on why he could not stick to the bottom line in this regard, and after
thinking it over, he came to the same conclusion: beauty can mislead people.
On the first morning of 1991, the two of them huddled under a new quilt weighing eight
kilograms and talked in private.
"Will you men get more excited when you say dirty words at that time?" Si Jiang started an
academic discussion with a sincere face, "You have never said that kind of words before. What is
the reason for you to suddenly start? Drinking? Stimulated by Evone and Lao Fu? There must be a
reason, right?"
Jingsheng covered her mouth in embarrassment: "Don't write this in your diary."
Si Jiang blinked: "Why? Embarrassed?"
"Not really," Jingsheng blushed, "Do you feel bad about it?"
"Not really..." Si Jiang couldn't help laughing. "I often hear people quarreling and cursing in the
alleys. It feels very vulgar, but when I hear it from you, it's quite exciting. It's a very complicated
feeling. Hey, why don't you try to say it again?"
Jingsheng jumped up, threw off the quilt and got out of bed: "It's so early in the morning, don't
do the interview. I'll go make breakfast."
Si Jiang pounced on him like a tiger, hugged his waist and refused to let go, looking at his red ears
and laughing: "Come on, say a few more words to see the effect, you haven't answered the
question yet!"
Jingsheng tried to pry her hands open twice but failed, so he laughed angrily, turned around and
pressed her on the pillow, lifted her sweater and bit her. Si Jiang laughed and cried in pain, pulling
his hair back.
"I think you want to be poked in the ass, right?!" Jingsheng gritted his teeth and uttered this. The
two of them looked at each other forehead to forehead and nose to nose for a few seconds,
laughing so hard that the bed began to shake.
——
Beijing had three or four snowfalls in December. It was sunny on New Year's Day, but it was very
cold, with the highest temperature forecast only being minus two degrees Celsius.
Ximei knelt down and worshipped Medicine King Bodhisattva, then stood up, clasped his hands
together, bowed, and turned to look at his colleagues.
Xiaoguan helped her up and said, "It's fine. It's ok. Sister Gu, let's go back first. Don't worry,
Medicine King Bodhisattva will definitely protect us."
Ximei twitched the corners of her mouth. She had not yet finished her confinement, but she
went out early in the morning before dawn. Her feet were indeed weak, so she relied on
Xiaoguan's help to step out of the threshold of the Medicine King Hall. She could not help but
look back again.
"Xiao Guan, did I miss something just now?"
"No, it's very clear, even I remember it. You were born in Wanchun Street, Jing'an District,
Shanghai. You went to Aksu at the age of 18. Now you live in Baiwanzhuang. There is an old lady
in your family in Shanghai. You are the third child. You have older brothers and sisters, and a
younger brother, right? You also reported to your unit, and I also described Pingping's illness very
clearly. The Bodhisattva will definitely handle your matter first. It's convenient and saves the
trouble of looking for someone. Ordinary people don't know much. They just say "believers so-
and-so" and pray for peace and good luck. But there are one billion people in China. How many
people have the same name and surname? The Bodhisattva has to look for them one by one.
Isn't it tiring? Everyone is at work. Don't you think this is the truth?" Xiaoguan spoke in a sharp
and crisp manner. After Xiaoguan's explanation, Ximei felt much more at ease. She didn't forget
Dongwen, and reported Dongwen's address in Ganlanba, so that the Bodhisattva could save
some effort and take care of the uncle and nephew first.
Xiaoguan is actually not young, she is still unmarried at the age of 28. Although she works in a
formal unit, her grandmother was a Taoist nun before liberation and is familiar with the magical
powers of various temples, Taoist temples and nunneries in the city. She has inherited some of
her legacy. Because she was the one who was molested by Lao Jinya in Xishan last time, she has
always been grateful for Ximei's righteousness. After knowing her story, she took the initiative to
bring Ximei to the Lama Temple to worship the Medicine King Hall.
Ximei was born prematurely after the National Day holiday. She suffered a lot. First, the baby
refused to come out and the amniotic fluid dried up. Finally, she had to undergo surgery. After
cutting through seven layers of skin and flesh, the doctor pulled the baby out. Ximei couldn't
remember who spoke first in the operating room, but she didn't understand it at all the first time.
So the female voice spoke again in her ear, and she turned her head to see the red and wet little
face. There was a piece of flesh missing under the nose, as if it had been dug away, or as if it had
fallen into her body and forgotten to grow.
“Cleft lip and palate.”
Ximei thought she would faint on the spot, but she didn't. She couldn't move, and her tears
flowed into her ears. Her opened abdomen was sewn back together, but the empty hole could
never be sewn up again.
"Take a look. It's a son, right? He needs to be put in the incubator right away—"
The nurse pushed the lump of meat in her hand towards Ximei again, and the child let out a slight
cry.
He is alive and is a son.
"41 cm, 2.1 kg, heart rate 130..."
Ximei was not transferred to a single room until the afternoon. Old Mrs. Sun had already passed
away, and Sun Xiao looked distraught, obviously unable to accept the reality.
"How could this happen?" Sun Xiao wiped his face, choking a little.
Ximei has heard this sentence countless times in more than a month. Although she is an
extremely elderly pregnant woman, her physical foundation is very good. She was discharged
from the hospital after three days in the hospital. After another week, the doctor informed her
and Sun Xiao that the child was already 2.5 kilograms, with stable spontaneous breathing and no
infection. He met the discharge criteria and could be discharged. As for cleft lip and palate, it is a
congenital disease. Two years ago, the national statistics showed that the incidence rate was 1.84
per thousand, which means that about 25,000 newborns with cleft lip and palate are born every
year. There are many causes of the disease. It is useless for parents to worry about it. It is easy to
cause family conflicts. It is better to look forward. Sun Ping has bilateral cleft lip and palate, which
is the most difficult to repair. It involves the lips, nose, palate, dentition, jaw, palatopharyngeal
closure function, etc. It is definitely not something that can be completed by one doctor or one
department, so the treatment plan should be discussed as soon as possible. At present, Beijing
and Shanghai have special cleft lip and palate comprehensive sequence treatment teams. Their
hospital also has it. Cleft lip repair can be performed at six months old, cleft palate repair can be
performed at one and a half years old, and pharyngoplasty can be performed at three to five
years old.
After leaving the doctor's office, Ximei only remembered that the doctor said at the end that the
most commonly used reverse double Z-flap surgery in China came from Japan, but the language
effect of patients after the surgery in the early 1980s was very disappointing. Sun Xiao only
remembered some photos of patients after the repair that the doctor showed. Although only the
part below the nose was repaired, it still looked very strange.
——
Sun Ping is Gu Ximei's fourth child. She never thought that she would give birth to a child with a
congenital disease, and she never thought that Sijiangsnansihao was already a child who could
not be better. Sun Ping is considered strong and healthy among premature babies, but he is still
incomparable to normal newborns. He can only be fed with a small spoon, one mouthful at a
time, every two hours. Although there is a nanny to help, Ximei is embarrassed to let the nanny
stay in the room in the middle of the night. She has never slept for two hours a night. She is
panicked, afraid that something will happen to the child as soon as she opens her eyes, and
always has to get up to check if he is still alive. Sun Xiao couldn't sleep well either. After seven or
eight days, Ximei drove him to the guest room to sleep. Ximei was relieved to be alone. She had
plenty of time and space to grieve repeatedly without being disturbed. Every time she picked up
Sun Ping, she felt sorry for him and herself, despised him and herself, angry with him and herself.
Countless details turned over and over in her mind. Sun Xiao's face when he was drunk and
shouted that he wanted to have a son, the Chinese patent medicine she took when she caught a
cold during the Qingming Festival, the drip she got after Xishan was pushed down, the unusually
long time for B-ultrasound in August and September, as if everything had a sign, but there was no
trace.
After a month of repeated suffering, Ximei finally understood. This understanding came very
suddenly. The baby's slender fingers tightly grasped her index finger and stared at her with dark
eyes, as if he knew her. The one and a half month old baby had already shown his outline. He was
not beautiful, but he looked very much like his father. Ximei suddenly burst into tears. She poked
her little finger on her face and decided to love this incomplete child with all her heart. She
seemed to have found back her reluctance to part with Sijiang, her helplessness towards Sinan,
and her earnest expectations for Sihao.
Sun Xiao was not used to the tragic emotion of a heroic mother that suddenly emerged from Gu
Ximei. It seemed like a silent reproach. He could not get close to Sun Ping. When he saw the hole,
he felt indescribable discomfort in his heart. This discomfort made him feel guilty, so he wanted
to make up for it on Ximei. However, Ximei was much more noble than him and did not allow him
any chance to make up for it.
In mid-December, Old Lady Sun came to Baiwanzhuang once, took a look at Sun Ping, and told
Ximei that the family decided to give the child away. Someone in her hometown in the
countryside was willing to adopt the child, and when she recovered, she would have another
one. Sun Xiao was not there at the time. Ximei didn't know whether he knew it or not, and she
didn't have time to think about it, so she turned her face on the spot. As soon as Old Lady Sun
left, Ximei packed up her gifts, left a signed divorce letter, and took Sun Ping to the train station.
Of course, she didn't leave. Sun Xiao brought her driver and secretary to chase her and her son
back. The man was exhausted and blamed Ximei for being impulsive and not understanding his
situation. What was the point of her leaving like this? He was accused of abandoning his wife,
and he would never be able to clear his name in his lifetime. He had waited so hard for so many
years to marry her back, and she left just like that. It was really a waste of his sincerity.
After Ximei gave all her love to her young son, she couldn't help but feel a little sick to hear Sun
Xiao's words, but she also understood that if she really left Sun Xiao, neither Sun Ping nor she
could do it. And today, Gu Ximei would not trouble her family because of Sun Ping's affairs no
matter what.

Chapter 367
When the first red rash appeared on Sun Ping's face, Ximei noticed it and her heart skipped a
beat, remembering the time when Sinan had a rash all over her face as a child. On the one hand,
she hoped that it wouldn't be that serious, but on the other hand, she forced herself to remain
calm and comfort herself that even if she did get a rash, she didn't have to be afraid because she
had experience and knew what to do.
The rash came as expected, covering Sun Ping's head and face, even more ferocious than Chen
Sinan's, covering the back of his neck and chest. This was the last straw that broke the camel's
back for Sun Xiao, and his old age turned into a sin.
"It's okay. He just got it from being too hot. Once it festeres and forms scabs, just rub it with
sesame oil. It won't leave scars." Ximei opened two windows in the bedroom. "Sinan had it when
he was a child."
Sun Xiao was silent. He saw Ximei pick up her son without any disgust and feed him milk with a
small spoon, then wipe his mouthful after each feed.
"Bring the little glove on the bedside table over here. He's itching so badly that he wants to
scratch it." Ximei raised her eyes.
Sun Xiao handed her the gloves.
Ximei raised her head and frowned, "Hey, I'm breastfeeding, give it to me, how can I put it on
him? I'm not a superhuman, please help Pingping put it on."
Sun Xiao was stunned for a moment, then bent down to put gloves on Sun Ping.
"Be good, Pingping, don't move. Daddy will help you put on the condom. Don't scratch. Mommy
knows you're itchy. Don't worry, just bear it for a while. It will be fine after a while." Ximei was
very gentle to Sun Ping in her arms. Her Shanghainese sounded very sweet and full of
attachment. She and her son formed an airtight circle, as if she no longer needed him as her
husband.
Xiaoguan called to express his concern for Sun Ping. Ximei put her son on the big bed and waved
a colorful bell at him: "Fortunately, he didn't cry much at night these few days. I even slept with
him for two hours yesterday."
"What's the use of a boy having a good temper?" Ximei smiled and touched Sun Ping's little hand
with the bell. "I think he knows it very well in his heart. He just can't leave me. When I go to the
toilet, auntie can't help but look at him. He cries and cries loudly."
"No, he's not even 100 days old yet, what's there to see? The company will be very busy before
New Year's Day, you guys go about your business, Pingping and I are both fine—" Ximei choked
up, "Xiaoguan, thank you. Please help me and thank everyone, I appreciate it."
After Ximei hung up the phone, she realized that Sun Ping had fallen asleep. She bent down to
make sure that the wind could not reach Sun Ping, and then touched his forehead and neck with
the back of her hand, and then she felt relieved.
The nanny came up with a bowl of chicken noodle soup. Ximei finished it in a few bites while
sitting in front of the dressing table. She asked her to help look after Sun Ping and went
downstairs with the bowl. At the stairs, she could hear the voice of Mrs. Sun, as sonorous and
powerful as always.
"It's a poison that she brought from her mother's womb. Didn't she say that her second child
would also be infected with it?"
Ximei stopped and swished the remaining two mouthfuls of chicken soup in the bowl.
"She doesn't even go out, what does she know?" Old Mrs. Sun lowered her voice, "Your father
and I are too embarrassed to see anyone. Do you know what those bastards say behind our
backs? What does it mean that the evil deeds of the elders are repaid by the younger ones? Don't
you know why the company asked you to take a physical examination? You were obsessed with
marrying her at the beginning, and now you are satisfied? Just think about how many things have
happened since she came into the house, it's very unlucky..."
Ximei returned to the room with the bowl. The woman in the mirror on the dressing table had
two blushes on her face, caused by the overheating. It was really strange. During her first winter
in Shajingzi, southern Xinjiang was not cold, but after a day of wind, she had two rashes on her
face. It was so itchy that nothing she applied helped. She lowered her head and drank the
remaining two mouthfuls of chicken soup.
——
In mid-January, Beiwu called and said that he wanted to take Gu Nian back to Wanchun Street to
celebrate the New Year. Grandma Gu immediately agreed and moved to Wuyuan Road to
celebrate the New Year.
"You must come back on the third day of the New Year," said Grandma Gu, wiping the portrait of
Grandpa Gu. "Your grandpa will be unhappy here all alone."
"Or we can take Grandpa with us." Jingsheng looked up from the company's financial statements.
Granny Gu couldn't help but laugh: "You little fool, that house will be your wedding room in the
future. It's unlucky to put a portrait in there."
"What's unlucky about this?" Jingsheng turned his head and asked Sijiang Sinans next to him,
"What do you think?"
The question was "you guys", but the smiling eyes were only looking at Si Jiang.
Si Hao: "I just want to be able to watch TV and play games."
Sinan flicked a chestnut on his brother's forehead: "You only know about the TV and game
consoles. If you don't do well in the final exam this time, you have to run five kilometers every
day."
"Then I'll die. Last time I ran around the Bund, my throat was bleeding!"
"Did you vomit blood?"
"That's not the case—" Si Hao's neck stiffened, "The blood got into my mouth, and I was so
scared that I swallowed it back!"
The two of them were just bickering, and Si Jiang answered the question seriously: "How can it
be unlucky? Grandpa has always been blessing us. If we invite Grandpa over, he will definitely be
happy. Maybe he will even come to you in your dream."
Jingsheng smiled and echoed a few more words. Grandma Gu smiled so hard that her eyes
curved. She poked the two big dimples on Grandpa Gu's black and white photo and said, "Look at
how filial your grandchildren are to you. Okay, I'll take you to live in a big building."
After this was decided, Jingsheng and Sijiang went to the Free Apartment more often. They could
be said to be able to work, study and fall in love at the same time. They really decorated it
carefully, with Spring Festival couplets, calendars, pots and pans for ten people, oil, salt, sauce
and vinegar, and rice, flour, oil and sugar. The refrigerator was plugged in. Since the hepatitis A
outbreak in 1988, Mayor Zhu began to promote the vegetable basket project, and the citizens
were guaranteed to buy meat and vegetables. Now, except for grain and oil, no one cares about
the weight on the ticket. Jingsheng simply bought all the pork belly, pig's trotters, spare ribs and
chicken wings in advance. Fortunately, the new large refrigerator has two doors for freezing and
refrigeration, so they can fit everything in. The refrigerator is more abundant, which is cheaper
for Li Yifang on the first floor. As long as Jingsheng and Sijiang come to stay overnight, she can
always get a rich midnight snack. As for whether she is full and warm, only Fu Yuanliang knows.
Anyway, Jingsheng would not waste a good night, and Sijiang's academic research became more
and more diverse.
——
Beiwu and Shanrang were driven back to Shanghai by Dongwen in early February. Gu Hutou cried
several times when he returned to Wanchun Street because he missed his friends in Jinghong.
After moving into the Free Apartment, everything he saw was very new.
On this day, Beiwu and his wife were packing clothes in the room when they suddenly heard their
son crying in the bathroom. They ran in and saw that Gu Nian was using the flush toilet for the
first time and his butt fell into it. Fortunately, he was wearing thick clothes in winter and was
stuck in the middle. One of his little slippers fell off and he was so scared that his eyes turned red.
"Dad, save me! Save me! I don't want to be washed away--"
The couple laughed so hard that Beiwu quickly found the camera.
"Wait, wait, hold on a little longer and take a picture for dad as a souvenir."
Click, click, click.
Gu Nian burst into tears: "You've taken three photos. Daddy doesn't keep his word. Mommy,
mommy! Help me, help me——"
Shanrang laughed so hard that his stomach hurt, and he quickly carried him out.
"Butt! Butt! My butt is wet!"
Shanrang had no choice but to put him back on the toilet: "Hold on to your mother's legs."
"No, I'm a boy. Mom, please go out. I'll wipe it myself. Dad, dad, please stop taking pictures! Why
are you still taking pictures! Wuuuuuuu——"
Gu Nian collapsed and ignored his grandfather for the whole day.
Jingsheng returned to Wanchun Street and brought back a small stool. Gu Nian practiced
carefully several times to make sure that she would not fall again. She blushed and asked
Jingsheng how to pee accurately in the toilet while standing.
"The last bit of pee keeps dripping inside and outside. What should I do?"
The child looked up with a distressed look.
"Stand on the stool to pee, and then push your butt forward and shake your penis," Jingsheng
patiently demonstrated the basic movements and handed him a few pieces of toilet paper. "If it
still drips outside, just wipe it clean. Remember to flush. The tiger head is great, like this. Wait,
wipe this part clean too. You see, pee will splash around the toilet bowl, so wipe the lid and here,
or your second sister will get mad and curse."
Gu Nian shuddered, and quickly practiced the whole set of movements with the straw paper in
her small hands: "Is this okay?"
"Okay, close the toilet lid first, then flush. Remember that."
"Why?"
"Otherwise, bacteria will escape and even dirty water will splash onto your face."
Chen Sinan copied the standard for using flush toilets from the Fang family, and on the first day
he moved in, he scolded Chen Sihao.
After Gu Nian went to the toilet three times a day, he couldn't help but sigh to Chen Sihao in the
afternoon: "The big toilet in Ganlanba is still more convenient."
"The public toilets in Wanchun Street are also convenient. You don't have to clean them yourself.
The sanitation workers come to clean them every day." Chen Sihao sighed, "Did you clean the
toilet?"
"I wiped it three times. My second sister scolded you very, very, very harshly..." Gu Nian looked at
the little prince with sympathy.
But that's how life is. When you think you have solved a big problem, a bigger one comes along.
Chen Sinan found a pink fluffy toilet seat mat from a small commodity market. She said it was
imported from Japan and was very expensive, costing fifteen dollars. She washed the toilet twice
with detergent. After wiping the toilet seat until it was shiny white, she happily put the mat on.
"Chen Sihao, Gu Nian, you must pee on time. If anyone dares to splash a drop of pee on my mat, I
will cut off your little dick!"
The two desperate brothers began their difficult life of going to the public toilet on Wuyuan Road
to pee.
A day later, Gu Nian couldn't help but ask Jing Sheng again: "Big brother, don't you pee on the
mat?"
Jingsheng was very surprised: "Why don't you take off the pad before you pee?"
Chen Sihao, who was stuffing toilet paper into his trouser pocket, was stunned for three seconds,
and he and Gu Nian looked at each other in bewilderment: ??? !!! Is it that simple?
Beiwu, who was sorting old books in front of the bookcase, raised his head and said, "Tiger Head,
you don't know how to install a cushion, and you can pee while sitting down."
"Then I will pee on my face?" Gu Nian shouted.
The two boys who were forced to pee on the toilet by Beiwu Church were unable to come to
their senses for a long time. They always felt that something was strange, as if they had turned
into girls.
——
February 14th is Si Jiang’s birthday, and also New Year’s Eve.
Ximei called back to Wanchun Street in the afternoon, but no one answered. She called again at
night, but no one answered. At around nine o'clock, Beiwu called and she learned that the whole
family had gone to the house on Wuyuan Road to celebrate the New Year.
"Jingsheng sent you a New Year's card. Did you receive it?"
"No..." Ximei changed the subject, "I just called my eldest brother, and he sounded pretty
energetic."
The two siblings chatted about family matters and also talked about Dongwen and Nanhong's
recent situation.
"Is Si Jiang here? It's her birthday today. I want to say a few words to her."
"Chen Donglai is back, and the three siblings will go back to Wanchun Street to have the New
Year's Eve dinner this afternoon," Bei Wu frowned, "Are you okay? Where's Sun Xiao? Are you
spending the New Year together?"
"Um, is Mommy here?"
Granny Gu happily took the phone, but her smile disappeared after she said a few words.
Beiwu and Shanrang watched the old lady from the side.
After Granny Gu hung up the phone, she felt mixed emotions, neither angry nor sad. She didn't
say a word, tears streaming down her face.
"Mom?"
"Ximei gave birth to a son for the Sun family last year," said Grandma Gu, pursing her lips. "The
child has a rabbit mouth."
"What is a rabbit mouth?" Gu Nian, who was eating an orange nearby, raised his head and asked
curiously.

Chapter 368
Sun Ping had been missing for seven days. Ximei was desperate, so she called back to Shanghai.
When she heard Beiwu's voice, she swallowed all the words in her heart. What was he talking
about? It was her fate. Beiwu told her not to think about having another child, but she didn't
listen. Beiwu told her to call him if anything happened, but she didn't. She thought she would
never have to rely on her brothers and mother again in her life, and she could finally be someone
they could rely on, but no, she couldn't.
The 24th day of the twelfth lunar month is the Minor New Year in the south, and it is a good time
to get married, get a marriage license, and travel. After graduating from Renmin University, Sun
Linlin was assigned to the Price Bureau. Her boyfriend's father is the head of the JC department
and is expected to enter the top leadership next October. The Sun and Wei families decided to
hold an engagement party on this day, and Sun Xiao and Xi Mei naturally had to dress up to
attend. Sun Xiao's ex-wife was unable to return to China, so she only called him overseas and sent
him a gift early.
After seeing off the guests, Ximei returned to Baiwanzhuang. The bedroom was empty. Sun Ping
and the nanny were missing. She searched upstairs and downstairs for ten minutes. When she
saw that Sun Ping's clothes, shoes and hats were all gone in the closet, she came to her senses
and asked Sun Xiao where she had sent the child.
Sun Xiao held her down and asked her to calm down, saying that the child had been sent to a
relative's home in the countryside, and that they had given him a large sum of money and
arranged a job for that family's son in a government agency. Their family would never and would
never dare to treat Sun Ping badly, and that the surgery would be done in Shanghai, and it would
not be impossible to bring the child back after the repair was complete.
"Pingping is my child! He is my son! What right do you have? You didn't even tell me." Ximei cried
bitterly.
Sun Xiao choked up and comforted her: "Will you agree if I tell you? This is also for your own
good, for Pingping's good, and for everyone's good. You don't understand now, but you will
understand in the future."
Is it for her own good? Ximei suddenly felt that this sentence was familiar. It turned out to be so
harsh, piercing her heart and stirring it.
Quarrel, cry, go out to look for him, quarrel, cry, go out to look for him aga