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墨書 Inktalez
"Going out to work, part-time jobs, many of my classmates are going to Shenzhen to work." Liu Jiawei rolled his eyes, showing an indifferent expression.
"Work? Part-time job? Shenzhen? With your character and demeanor? Do you think the boss is your father, supporting you?" Qing Shusheng sneered with a contemptuous smile.
"Yes, I'm not good, I have no virtue. Other people's sons are good and virtuous; isn't that what you want to say? Other people's sons are fine, but if he wants to kill you, at least I won't kill you," Liu Jiawei said sarcastically.
"What if he wants to kill me? He knows how to protect his mother at such a young age. He hasn't angered his mother or father, has he?" Qing Shusheng's face turned pale with anger at Liu Jiawei's words, raising his hand to hit Liu Jiawei.
Liu Jiawei tilted his head and dodged Qing Shusheng's slap. "You only know how to hit your own son. If other people's sons are good, then go recognize them as your sons."
Saying this, Liu Jiawei rushed out the door, leaving Qing Shusheng sitting in the living room chair, sighing for a long time in frustration.
It wasn't until Qinglan returned that he picked up a hoe and went to check if there was water in the rice paddies.
"So, where's Mother?" Qinglan asked next.
She had achieved good results in her exams, and only Grandma was there to share her joy with her, which fell far short of what Qinglan had expected.
"Your mother was just here; I don't know which neighbor she went to visit."
Qinglan responded with an "oh" and returned to her room.
Now that she had grown up, Qinglan no longer ran around the village like she did when she was younger, following wherever there was excitement. In the past during winter and summer vacations, when Lin Xi was around, she would drop her dishes and rush over to Lin Xi's house, following closely behind her wherever she went.
Most of the time, Lin Xi would go to Bai Cuifen's house to play with Shaw Min and An Shaojie, and Qinglan would follow her there as well. At that time, although she didn't talk much with An Shaojie, he would take her along with Lin Xi. Sometimes Shaw Min would join them too; they would go up the mountain to gather firewood, pick mushrooms, or go down to the river to catch fish and shrimp. The whole morning or afternoon would easily pass by like that.
This summer, with no homework to do and no friends to play with, it was terrible for Qinglan.
Lying on her bed, feeling the breeze from the fan, she had just been angry at An Shaojie, but now he was on her mind. "His sister is attending extra classes at school and isn't home. How can he manage to stay alone? How does he spend his time? He seems like he has never felt lonely or bored."
Qinglan was curious and really wanted to sneak over to his house to see what he did every day. Since childhood, he rarely visited others in the village; apart from working, he just read books. Isn't that boring?
Thinking this, Qinglan jumped out of bed, put on her shoes, and ran out.
It wasn't until she reached Bai Cuifen's front door that she realized she had acted impulsively.
Should she go in? What if only An Shaojie was there? If Bai Cuifen asked why she came, how would she respond?
Turn back? Sigh! But she was reluctant to do so.
Qinglan twisted her braids in her hands, feeling stuck.
"Qinglan, why are you standing at the door and not coming in?"
Hearing someone call her from behind, Qinglan knew without turning around that it was Bai Cuifen. Even though Shaw Min and An Shaojie were now grown up, her voice remained clear and gentle, still tinged with an accent from another region.
Qinglan often wondered about this; Bai Cuifen was about the same age as her mother. Yet, why did her mother seem to age faster than Bai Cuifen in appearance and even in voice? If hard work could make someone look older, then Bai Cuifen must have worked much harder than her mother. In Liu Xiuzhen's family, everything outside was managed by Qinglan's father, Qing Shusheng, while Grandma helped take care of things inside. But in Bai Cuifen's family, almost everything depended solely on her.
However, despite the wrinkles time had etched on Bai Cuifen's face, it had not made her rough or changed her grace.
"I... I..." When asked by Bai Cuifen, Qinglan, already anxious, became even more flustered and stammered, "I just came back from outside and passed by your house." Qinglan lowered her head, her face flushed red from lying.
"Oh, that's okay! Brother Shaojie is at home, you can go find him to play," Bai Cuifen warmly invited.
"Oh, Brother Shaojie is at home?" Qinglan's eyes lit up with surprise.
"Yes, go play with him. You two will be starting middle school soon," Bai Cuifen smiled and continued to invite Qinglan.
"Oh, no, I have to go back soon. I rarely see Brother Shaojie come out to play. What is he doing at home?"
Qinglan finally asked the purpose of her visit.
"He’s at home reading," Bai Cuifen said proudly.
"Reading? What book? Isn’t there no summer homework?" Qinglan asked curiously.
"Since he’s going into middle school soon, An Shaojie said he wanted to get a head start on the first-year textbooks, so he took out his sister's first-year books and has been reading them at home these past few days. He said he wants to finish all the books during the summer vacation."
"Oh." Qinglan's mouth dropped open in surprise.
On the way home, Qinglan kept hitting her head, "What an idiot I am! How did I not think of that?"
After getting home, Qinglan also took out Liu Jiawei's first-year textbooks.
The long summer vacation is no longer difficult to endure, but instead feels like it has passed in the blink of an eye.
With the summer vacation over, the scorching heat of summer is about to fade away, and early autumn in September is approaching.
Although the heat still lingers, the sunlight outside is no longer glaring; it is much softer than the sunlight in July and August.
At the beginning of September, on a country road, Qing Shusheng is pushing a bicycle with a bag of rice on the back seat. Walking ahead is Qinglan, followed by Liu Xiuzhen at the back.
Today is Qinglan's first day of school. Originally, Qing Shusheng planned to ride the bicycle to take Qinglan to school, but Liu Xiuzhen insisted that she also wanted to accompany Qinglan. "Our Qinglan is so outstanding; I can't let you take all the credit. I want to send her off today too."
Liu Jiawei did not get into high school and had to spend a large sum of money just to barely enroll him in an ordinary high school in the county. This made Liu Xiuzhen lose face in Liu Family Village. Fortunately, Qinglan helped her regain some pride, so this time she naturally wanted to go along.
There was no choice but to let her come along. Since Qing Shusheng's bicycle could not carry two people, he had to push the bike and walk alongside Qinglan.
Far behind them, An Shaojie is carrying a bag of rice on his back while walking ahead, with Bai Cuifen following him. An Shaomin is already attending summer classes as he is in his third year of junior high.
"Here, let Mother carry it for a while," Bai Cuifen said as she stepped forward to take the bag of rice from An Shaojie.
"No need, Mother. I can carry it myself," An Shaojie replied, drenched in sweat.
Bai Cuifen did not insist; after all, An Shaojie has grown up now and is taller than her by a head. Although he still looks thin, his sturdy bones show that he has strength.
Bai Cuifen pulled out a handkerchief from her thin shirt and gently wiped away the sweat from An Shaojie's face and forehead.
"What's there to look at?" Liu Xiuzhen shouted at Qinglan, who was distracted while walking.
Not long after leaving, Qinglan realized that An Shaojie and Bai Cuifen were behind them.
So she kept glancing back, which caused Liu Xiuzhen to yell at her several times.
After crossing a slanted suspension bridge, Qinglan mustered her courage and walked over to Qing Shusheng, whispering, "Father, Brother Shaojie and the others are behind us."
Qing Shusheng responded with a grunt and kept his head down in silence.
"So what if they are behind us? Do you want to go help them carry rice or something?"
No matter how quiet the voice was, as long as the names Bai Cuifen and An Shaojie were mentioned, Liu Xiuzhen would hear it. She took a big step forward and yelled at Qinglan.
"Mother." Qinglan stomped her foot, causing the bridge to shake. Liu Xiuzhen almost lost her balance and grabbed onto the iron chain.
Qinglan and Qing Shusheng turned around simultaneously, looking at her with a mix of anger and sympathy.
"Mother, look at Brother Shaojie; he's so small, the same age as me, carrying such a heavy bag of rice. It's so tiring. Father has a bicycle; it wouldn't hurt to put another bag on it." Qinglan frowned, not understanding why some people could harbor such deep hatred over trivial matters.
Like her mother in front of her and An Shaojie struggling behind with a heavy bag of rice.
Carrying hatred in one's heart is exhausting!
"Forget it, Qinglan," Qing Shusheng suddenly said with a forlorn expression as he looked at Qinglan.
"Father, you..."
Qinglan felt a bit disappointed; she couldn't understand why her father had suddenly become so indifferent. Little did she know that Qing Shusheng didn't want to spoil her first day of school, a day meant to be joyful, because this matter had upset Liu Xiuzhen and dampened everyone's spirits. More importantly, it would bring more trouble to Bai Cuifen and An Shaojie.
Moreover, he had secretly glanced back a few times; An Shaojie wasn't carrying much rice. He and Bai Cuifen were taking turns carrying it, so there shouldn't be too much of a problem.
Furthermore, the distance from Liu Family Village to Town Middle School wasn't far, so after weighing the pros and cons, Qing Shusheng gritted his teeth and made up his mind.
After crossing the bridge, they soon arrived at the school.
Qing Shusheng led Qinglan to register, pay for the rice, collect meal tickets, and arranged for Liu Xiuzhen to rest under a tree.
When handing the meal tickets to Qinglan, Qing Shusheng pulled out a few extra ones. "I'll keep a few for later," he said to Qinglan.
Qinglan nodded. She understood what Qing Shusheng meant.
Yes, he wanted to save a few for An Shaojie. As a boy carrying just a little rice, he certainly wouldn't have as many meal tickets as Qinglan for a week's worth of meals.
Qing Shusheng could have secretly taken out a few meal tickets while measuring the rice when Qinglan wasn't around, but he didn't want to do such things behind his daughter's back.
He believed in being open and honest in front of his daughter regarding matters that were right and just.
He believed that Qinglan understood him.
After returning from school, Qing Shusheng found an opportunity to meet Bai Cuifen on her way to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables and gave her the meal tickets he had received from Qinglan.
"Take some time to go to An Shaojie's school and deliver these meal tickets to him."
Bai Cuifen looked at him, hesitated for a moment, then said nothing and accepted the meal tickets.
Now, Qing Shusheng did not dare to easily go to Bai Cuifen's house to find her. Even if there was something to discuss, he would wait for a chance encounter on the road. Bai Cuifen understood Qing Shusheng's good intentions. To avoid causing more trouble and attracting the villagers' attention and gossip, she felt it was inappropriate to refuse further. After accepting the meal tickets, she quickly brushed past him.
After Qinglan and An Shaojie started middle school, they began boarding at school from Monday to Friday. They returned home after school on Friday afternoon and rested at home on Saturday and Sunday before heading back to school on Monday morning with rice on their backs.
Qinglan had a bicycle, so she rode it home on Friday afternoons and back to school on Monday mornings.
An Shaojie did not have a bicycle and walked home and back to school every week.
Every time, Qinglan's bicycle would whiz past An Shaojie.
After passing by, Qinglan would jump off her bike each time, lean it against the roadside, look around as if something was wrong with it, fiddle with it for a bit, and after An Shaojie had walked a considerable distance ahead, she would hop back on her bike and speedily chase after him.
Sometimes on an uphill stretch, Qinglan would catch up with An Shaojie again, pushing her bike alongside him as they walked on either side of the road.
Or after surpassing An Shaojie for a while, Qinglan would jump off her bike, pretend to be tired, leave her bike by the roadside, and sit down on a stone or in the grass for a short rest. Once An Shaojie had moved ahead again for some distance, Qinglan would get back on her bike and chase after him.
As they chased and caught up with each other, Qinglan on her bicycle and An Shaojie on foot almost always arrived home and returned to school at the same time.
When they returned to Liu Family Village, passing by the stone bridge in front of Qinglan's house, Liu Xiuzhen, who came out to greet Qinglan, would always stare at the back of An Shaojie walking into the village with Qinglan for a long time.
She was puzzled as to why her daughter, who had a bicycle, always arrived home at the same time as An Shaojie, who was walking. If they had reconciled, it didn't seem like it, because she had never seen them speak to each other!
Bai Cuifen, who came out to greet An Shaojie, would also glance toward the village and always see Qinglan just entering. With a faint smile, Bai Cuifen would look at Qinglan's back, filled with gratitude.
What Liu Xiuzhen did not understand, she did!
You kind-hearted one! Bai Cuifen thought to herself.
At school, An Shaojie still did not speak to Qinglan.
However, in the classroom or dormitory, if classmates asked Qinglan about An Shaojie, she would talk about him with the same pride and enthusiasm as when she was a child discussing Brother Shaojie in front of the village kids, as if nothing unpleasant had ever happened between them.
"In elementary school, Brother Shaojie always ranked first in class; no one ever surpassed him. His essays were also excellent and often read aloud by the teacher as examples."
"No wonder he still does so well in class now."
There was a girl in class named Xiang Yuanqiu, who excelled academically and admired An Shaojie. At the same time, she secretly liked him and often asked Qinglan about him since she knew they were from the same village.
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