Chapter 27 On the Road

  "I...I..." was asked by Bai Cuifen, Qing Lan's already nervous heart became even more flustered, and she stuttered when speaking, "I just came back from outside and passed by your house door. The sky...the sky is small." Qing Lan lowered her head, her face flushing red because of the lie.

  "Oh, it's okay, Shaojie is at home, let's go to his house and play." Bai Cuifen warmly invited.

  "Oh, is Shao Jie at home?" Qing Lan's eyes lit up, revealing a surprised and delighted expression.

  "Yes, go and play with him, you two will be in junior high school soon." Bai Cuifen smiled and continued to invite Qinglan.

  "Oh, no more, I'm about to go back soon. It's rare to see Xiao Jie out playing, what is he doing at home?"

  Qing Lan finally asked out her purpose of coming here.

  "He's at home reading books." Bai Cuifen said with a proud expression.

  "Reading books? What books? Don't we have summer homework?" Qing Lan asked curiously.

  "Shaojie is about to enter junior high school, so he said he wants to review the first year's textbooks in advance. He found all his sister's books from her first year and has been reading them at home for the past few days. He says he wants to finish all the books during summer vacation."

  "Oh." Qing Lan's mouth agape.

  On the way home, Qing Lan kept slapping her own head, "I'm such an idiot, how could I not have thought of that?"

  After going home, Qing Lan also found Liu Jia Wei's first year textbook.

  The long summer vacation is no longer hard to get through, but instead has a fleeting feeling.

  The summer vacation has passed, and the hot summer is about to pass. The early autumn of September is approaching.

  Although the heat still lingers, the sunlight outside is no longer dazzlingly bright, much milder than in July and August.

  In early September, on a rural path, Qing Sheng was pushing a bicycle with a bag of rice on the back seat, walking in front, Qing Lan followed behind, and Liu Xiu Zhen walked at the very back.

  Today is Qing Lan's first day of school, originally planned to let Qing Sheng ride a bicycle to send Qing Lan to school, but Liu Xiu Zhen shouted that she also wanted to send Qing Lan to school, "Our family's Qing Lan is so excellent, can't let you show off alone, today I will go and send her too."

  Liu Jiawei did not get into high school, and it took a lot of money to barely get him into an ordinary high school in the county. This made Liu Xiuzhen, who valued face, lose face in Liujiacun. Fortunately, Qinglan had earned back some face for her, so this time she would certainly follow along.

  There was no way out, so she had to follow along. The bicycle that Qing Shu had brought couldn't hold two people, so he could only push the bike and walk alongside Qing Lan as they followed her.

  Far behind the green hills, An Shaojie carried a bag of rice on his back and walked in front, followed by Bai Cuifen. An Shaomin was already in junior high school and had gone to summer school for supplementary lessons.

  "Come on, let me carry it for a while." Bai Cuifen walked forward, wanting to take the rice off An Shaojie's back.

  "No need, Auntie, I can carry it by myself." An Shaojie was covered in sweat.

  Bai Cuifen didn't insist, after all Xiao Jie had grown up now and was a head taller than Bai Cuifen. Although he was still slender, from his hard bones, he still had a strong physique.

  Bai Cuifen pulled out a handkerchief from the collar of her blouse and gently wiped away An Shaojie's sweat from his face and forehead.

  "What are you looking at?" Liu Xiu Zhen scolded Qing Lan who was walking absent-mindedly.

  Not long after they left, Qing Lan knew that An Shaojie and Bai Cuifen were behind them.

  So all the way she kept looking back, which made Liu Xiu Zhen scold her several times. [Summary] Tai Xu Jian Yi

  After crossing a suspension bridge, Qing Lan still mustered up the courage to walk to Qing Sheng's side and whispered: "Father, Shao Jie and the others are behind us."

  The green tree murmured a sound of "hmm", then lowered its head and remained silent.

  "What's going on behind us? Are you still thinking of helping them carry rice?"

  No matter how small the voice was, as long as it mentioned Bai Cuifen and An Shaojie's names, Liu Xiu Zhen would hear it. She took a big step forward and shouted at Qing Lan.

  "Ah Niang." Qing Lan stopped for a moment, and the bridge suddenly shook. Liu Xiu Zhen almost fell down, but she quickly grabbed onto the iron chain.

  Qing Lan and Qing Shu almost simultaneously turned around, looking at her with a gaze that was both hateful and sympathetic.

  "Mother, look at Shaojie, he's so young and the same age as me, carrying such a big bag of rice, how tiring. Father has a bicycle, it wouldn't be a problem to put another bag on it." Qinglan furrowed her brow, she didn't understand why some people harbored such deep hatred over small things.

  For example, Ah Niang in front of me, and An Shaojie behind me, carrying a big bag of rice and walking hard.

  It's so tiring to hold hatred in one's heart!

  "Never mind, Qing Lan." Qing Sheng said suddenly with a melancholy expression as he gazed at Qing Lan.

  "Ah, Father, you..."

  Qing Lan felt a little disappointed, she didn't understand why her father had suddenly become so indifferent. She didn't know that at this time, Qing Shu didn't want to spoil everyone's mood on her first day of school, especially since it would bring more trouble to Bai Cui Fen and An Shao Jie because of Liu Xiu Zhen.

  And in fact, he secretly glanced back a few times, Shao Jie's rice bag wasn't heavy, and they took turns carrying it with Bai Cuifen, so there shouldn't be any big problem.

  Besides, from Liujiacun Village to Town Middle School is not far away, so Qing Sheng weighed the pros and cons and gritted his teeth.

  After crossing the bridge, I soon arrived at school.

  Qing Shu led Qing Lan to register, pay for rice, get meal tickets, and arranged for Liu Xiu Zhen to rest under a tree shade.

  When handing over meal tickets to Qing Lan, Qing Sheng pulled out a few and said, "I'll keep a few."

  Qing Lan nodded slightly. She knew what Qing Shu meant.

  Yes, he wanted to leave a few for Shao Jie. He's a boy, with just a little rice, and a week's worth of meal tickets is definitely not as much as Qing Lan's, how can he eat his fill.

  Qing Shu could have taken out a few meal tickets when he was called to the office, while Qing Lan was not around, but he did not want to do such a thing behind his daughter's back.

  Things should be done openly and honestly in front of his daughter.

  And he believed Qing Lan understood him.

  After returning from school, Qing Sheng found an opportunity to meet her on the way when Bai Cui Fen went to pick vegetables in the vegetable garden and gave her the meal ticket left by Qing Lan.

  "Take some time to go to Shaojie's school again and give him these meal tickets."

  Bai Cuifen looked at him, hesitated for a moment, and then said nothing, taking the meal tickets.

  Now Qing Shu didn't dare to easily go to Bai Cui Fen's house to find her, even if there were things, it was a coincidence that they met on the road. Bai Cui Fen understood Qing Shu's good intentions and didn't want to cause more trouble or attract attention from the villagers, so she didn't make any excuses and quickly took the meal ticket from him before brushing past him. "I... I..." was all Qing Lan could say as he became even more flustered when asked by Bai Cui Fen, his face turning bright red because of his lie.

  "Oh, it's okay, Shaojie is at home, let's go to his house and play with him." Bai Cuifen warmly invited.

  "Oh, is Shao Jie at home?" Qing Lan's eyes lit up, revealing a surprised and delighted expression.

  "Yes, go and play with him, you two will be in junior high school soon." Bai Cuifen smiled and continued to invite Qinglan.

  "Oh, no more, I'm about to go back soon. It's rare to see Xiao Jie out playing, what is he doing at home?"

  Qing Lan finally asked out her purpose for coming here.

  "He's at home reading books." Bai Cuifen said with a proud expression.

  "Reading books? What books? Don't we have summer homework?" Qing Lan asked curiously.

  "Shaojie is about to enter junior high school, so he said he wants to review the first year's textbooks in advance. He found all his sister's books from her first year and has been reading them at home for the past few days. He says he wants to finish all the books during the summer vacation."

  "Oh." Qing Lan's mouth fell open.

  On the way home, Qing Lan kept slapping her own head, "I'm such an idiot, how could I not have thought of that?"

  After going home, Qing Lan also found Liu Jia Wei's first year textbook.

  The long summer vacation is no longer difficult to get through, but instead has a fleeting feeling.

  The summer vacation has passed, and the hot summer is about to pass. The early autumn of September is approaching.

  Although the heat still lingers, the sunlight outside is no longer dazzlingly bright, much gentler than in July and August.

  In early September, on a rural path, Qing Shu pushed a bicycle with a bag of rice on the back seat, walking in front, Qing Lan followed behind, and Liu Xiu Zhen walked at the very back.

  Today is Qing Lan's first day of school, originally planned to let Qing Sheng ride a bicycle to send Qing Lan to school, but Liu Xiu Zhen shouted that she also wanted to send Qing Lan to school, "Our family's Qing Lan is so excellent, can't let you show off alone, today I will go and send her too."

  Liu Jiawei did not get into high school, and it took a lot of money to barely get him into an ordinary high school in the county. This made Liu Xiuzhen, who valued her reputation, lose face in Liujiacun. Fortunately, Qinglan had restored her reputation, so this time she would certainly follow him.

  There was no way out, so she had to let her follow, Qing Shu's bicycle couldn't carry two people, so he could only push the bike and follow Qing Lan together.

  Far behind the green hills, An Shaojie carried a bag of rice on his back and walked in front, followed by Bai Cuifen. An Shaomin was already in junior high school and had gone to summer school for supplementary lessons.

  "Come on, let me carry it for a while." Bai Cuifen walked forward, wanting to take the rice off An Shaojie's back.

  "No need, Auntie, I can carry it by myself." An Shaojie was covered in sweat.

  Bai Cuifen didn't insist, after all Xiao Jie had grown up now and was a head taller than Bai Cuifen. Although he was still slender, from his hard bones, he still had some strength.

  Bai Cuifen pulled out a handkerchief from the collar of her blouse and gently wiped away An Shaojie's sweat from his face and forehead.

  "What are you looking at?" Liu Xiu Zhen scolded Qing Lan who was walking absent-mindedly.

  Not long after they left, Qing Lan knew that An Shaojie and Bai Cuifen were behind them.

  Teach you to raise a holy mother

  So all the way she kept looking back, which made Liu Xiu Zhen scold her several times.

  After crossing a suspension bridge, Qing Lan still plucked up the courage to walk to Qing Sheng's side and whispered: "Father, Shao Jie and the others are behind us."

  Qīng shù shēng "ńg" yī shēng, biàn dī zhe tóu mò bù zuò shēng.

  Translation:

  The green tree made a sound of "Hmm", then lowered its head and remained silent.

  "What's going on behind us? Are you still thinking of helping them carry rice?"

  No matter how small the voice was, as long as it mentioned Bai Cuifen and An Shaojie's names, Liu Xiu Zhen would hear it. She took a big step forward and shouted at Qing Lan.

  "Ah Niang." Qing Lan stopped in her tracks, and the bridge suddenly shook violently. Liu Xiu Zhen lost her footing for a moment and almost fell over, but she quickly grabbed onto the iron chain.

  Qing Lan and Qing Shu almost simultaneously turned around, looking at her with a gaze that was both hateful and sympathetic.

  "Mother, look at Shaojie, he's so young and the same age as me, carrying such a big bag of rice, how tiring. Father has a bicycle, it wouldn't hurt to put another bag on it." Qinglan furrowed her brow, she didn't understand why some people harbored such deep hatred over small things.

  For example, Ah Niang in front of me, and An Shaojie behind me, carrying a big bag of rice and walking hard.

  It's so tiring to hold hatred in one's heart!

  "Never mind, Qing Lan." Qing Sheng said suddenly with a melancholy expression as he gazed at Qing Lan.

  "Ah, Father, you..."

  Qing Lan felt a little disappointed, she didn't understand why her father had suddenly become so indifferent. She didn't know that at this time, Qing Shu didn't want to spoil everyone's mood on her first day of school, especially since it would bring more trouble to Bai Cui Fen and An Shao Jie because of Liu Xiu Zhen.

  In fact, he secretly glanced back a few times, Shao Jie's rice bag wasn't heavy, and they took turns carrying it with Bai Cuifen, so there shouldn't be any big problem.

  Besides, from Liujiacun to Town Middle School is not far away, so after weighing the pros and cons, Qing Sheng gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

  After crossing the bridge, I soon arrived at school.

  Qing Shu led Qing Lan to register, pay for rice, get meal tickets, and arranged for Liu Xiu Zhen to rest under a tree shade.

  When handing over meal tickets to Qing Lan, Qing Sheng pulled out a few and said, "I'll keep a few."

  Qing Lan nodded. She knew what Qing Shu meant.

  Yes, he wanted to leave a few for Shao Jie. He's a boy, with just a little rice, and a week's worth of meal tickets is definitely not as much as Qing Lan's, how can he eat his fill.

  Qing Shu could have taken out a few meal tickets when he was called to the office, while Qing Lan was not around, but he did not want to do such a thing behind his daughter's back.

  Things should be done openly and honestly in front of his daughter.

  And he believed Qing Lan understood him.

  After returning from school, Qing Sheng found an opportunity to meet her on the way when Bai Cui Fen went to pick vegetables in the garden and gave her the meal ticket left by Qing Lan.

  "Take some time to go to Shaojie's school again and give him these meal tickets."

  Bai Cuifen looked at him, hesitated for a moment, and then said nothing, taking over the meal tickets.

  Now Qing Sheng didn't dare to easily go to Bai Cuifen's home to find her, even if there were things, they would meet on the road. Bai Cuifen understood Qing Sheng's good intentions, in order not to provoke more trouble and attract the attention of the villagers, she couldn't make any more excuses, so after taking the meal ticket, she quickly brushed past him.