Chapter 306

It is said that doing similar things with the same daily routine makes time pass especially quickly.

Zheng Tan thought so too.

Eating, sleeping, strolling, occasionally watching the bustle and overhearing gossip, then, when looking at the calendar, he discovered, oh, the days had already passed unnoticed.

Zheng Tan lay on a tall phoenix tree lining the campus main thoroughfare, its dense leaves shading the sunlight above. Not hot, a gentle breeze blew, making him drowsy.

From New Year to the start of school, and now up to the approaching summer vacation, half a year felt like it had passed in the blink of an eye.

Speaking of which, quite a few things happened in this half year. Er Mao and Gong Qin got married due to pregnancy, although they bought another house in Chu Hua Shi, they still often lived in the courtyard. Hei Mi was always taken along; even though many in Er Mao's family opposed it, Gong Qin and Er Mao didn't mind, so wherever the Er Mao couple lived, Hei Mi lived there too. The good thing is that Hei Mi doesn't go out much, so whether staying in the courtyard house or the other house Er Mao bought, he's still accustomed, causing no trouble.

In mid-March, Xiao Youzi participated in the preliminary round of the Hope Cup, then advanced to the April finals and won a first prize; the medal and certificate were placed in a drawer by Xiao Youzi and not shown off. Many children in the courtyard have won similar awards, even if not the Hope Cup, there are other cups and competitions. Jiao Yuan and his peers also won some competition awards earlier, just not in mathematics.

Students from fourth to sixth grade participate in such competitions; fourth graders mainly train a bit as preparation for future exams, while fifth graders aim a little higher. As for sixth graders like Xiao Youzi and his peers, most participate combined with the primary-to-middle-school entrance exam; in admissions to key middle schools, awards from contests like the Hope Cup are weighty stepping stones, and a competition medal undoubtedly gives a big advantage in that entrance exam. That's why many parents enroll their children in various tutoring classes as early as second or third grade, regardless of whether the children like it.

Speaking of Xiao Youzi entering middle school, we must also mention Jiao Yuan entering high school. In the blink of an eye, the two children who were still in elementary school when Zheng Tan arrived have become middle schoolers. Jiao Yuan and his friends, without a doubt, went together to the middle school affiliated with Chu Hua University, though they would have to board there afterward. The affiliated school is a bit far from here, so Zheng Tan won't often hear Jiao Yuan and his friends' voices changing during puberty.

For Xiao Youzi and Jiao Yuan, this summer is a turning point, and Jiao Ba had already made arrangements for this vacation.

One evening Zheng Tan overheard Jiao Ba and Jiao Ma discussing the summer plans: they would take Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi to play in Nanhua Shi and Nan Cheng to the south.

Yuan Zhiyi started flying back and forth between Nanhua Shi and Chu Hua Shi from the second half of last year, and he decided to open a branch in Nanhua Shi. Now he has a foundation, he has confidence, and returning to Nanhua Shi to use the personal connections left by his father, setting up the branch isn't too difficult, but the constant travel is quite taxing. After the year, Yuan Zhiyi came to visit, and Zheng Tan noticed that Yuan Zhiyi had become much thinner and darker, though his spirit was good, full of fighting spirit. After the new year, each time he flies to Nanhua Shi he goes to various universities to hold recruitment talks and gather talent; it is said that this graduation season he has signed many promising prospects.

This time Jiao Ba went to Nanhua Shi not only to check on the branch office and run a few joint projects with Yuan Zhiyi, but also to visit several of his former teachers; over the years he had only contacted them by email or phone, never in person, so this trip also served as a visit to those teachers, who were on good terms with Yuan Zhiyi's father and had taken good care of Jiao Ba and Yuan Zhiyi back then. Of course, there are also some classmates he hasn't seen in years, whom he will catch up with.

When Zheng Tan learned they would be going to Nanhua Shi and Nan Cheng, his heart felt complex; he had thought he would never return to that place, but he hadn't expected to have another chance to go.

Back then going there was completely passive, with constant dangers and wandering around, nearly being chopped up for stew; this time is different—going with the Jiao family is purely for fun, and his mood is much lighter. Thinking about it, Zheng Tan is still looking forward to it.

He jumped down from the tree and ran toward the courtyard, where Zheng Tan saw several children gathered around a middle-aged teacher asking something; among the standing children were Xiao Youzi and her classmates Yue Lisha and Xie Xin, presumably discussing a problem they encountered in the competition.

Zheng Tan knew that teacher, who taught math and liked to give lectures to the courtyard children; sometimes while cooling off in the courtyard he would discuss with middle school students the various solutions to a competition problem, many of which are beyond ordinary thinking, broadening the kids' horizons. However, when many of the courtyard children are asked whether they would choose a math major, they basically say 'no', the reason being that the Nobel Prize has no mathematics award.

Zheng Tan had heard those children give the reason before: the Nobel Prize set up awards for physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, etc., but not for the important discipline of mathematics; there are several explanations in rumor, but the courtyard children tend to favor the first one—that Nobel was sabotaged in love by a mathematician, causing his love life to suffer. Although this explanation is considered low in credibility, it is always brought up first whenever the topic arises. Everyone has a gossipy heart.

Zheng Tan had once heard those children mention the reason: the Nobel Prize established awards in fields such as physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, etc., but there was no award for this important discipline of mathematics; there are several versions of the rumor explaining it, but when those children in the compound talk about it they tend to favor the first version, namely, that Nobel was cuckolded by a mathematician, causing his love affair to suffer a setback. Although this explanation is considered not very credible, it is always brought up first whenever it is mentioned. Everyone has a gossipy heart.

Now many schools are already on vacation, but they haven't yet set off for Nanhua Shi, mainly because of Jiao Ba's side. To be away for a month, Jiao Ba must first arrange things here, as his graduate and doctoral students keep increasing, and his projects and various tasks need to be delegated.

Many graduate students in various departments have no summer break, but Jiao Ba doesn't enforce it strictly. As long as efficiency is high, schedules are reasonable, and tasks are completed on time, those who want vacation can still have it. However, in the midsummer heat, more students prefer to stay in air‑conditioned study rooms, go to the lab for an experiment, then during free time run to their research group's study room to surf the net with the AC on, and toss a watermelon into the ice machine to wait for chilled watermelon—Yi Xin and his friends are like that.

Before leaving with the Jiao family, Zheng Tan also ran into Zhuo Xiao Mao; that little rascal is always taken out to play during holidays. This summer he went north to escape the heat with Fo Ye and others. Fo Ye brought a few students to a northern research institute for project exchanges, while Zhuo Xiao Mao simply went along to play.

In mid‑July, Jiao Ba wrapped up his affairs, then drove the family to Nanhua Shi.

Zheng Tan shifted his neck. He wasn't used to wearing the cat tag all day. But in places like Nanhua Shi he had to stay alert; along the way he had already seen several cat‑and‑dog meat restaurants. Not only Zheng Tan, but other members of the Jiao family had reminded him several times. Previously, wherever they went they told Zheng Tan not to cause trouble; this time they told him not to run around randomly.

Yuan Zhiyi has a duplex in Nanhua Shi, but after going to Chu Hua Shi to develop he rented it out; last year he came back, renovated it thoroughly, and kept it for himself. Since he will be running the branch here frequently, this also gives him a place to stay.

"There are plenty of empty rooms; just live here as you like." Yuan Zhiyi handed a bunch of keys to Jiao Ba; his wife and kids hadn't come along, and living alone he felt rather empty and lonely, but now it's lively with many people.

While Yuan Zhiyi and Jiao Ba went to discuss the branch affairs here, Jiao Ma took Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi to tidy the rooms; Zheng Tan wandered around the house and discovered that where a wealth god statue should have been placed stood a black cat figurine. To add insult to injury, the cat's neck bore a cat tag engraved with the two characters 'Hei Tan'.

Every time Yuan Zhiyi visited the Jiao family and saw Zheng Tan, he would bow; at first Zheng Tan would put on a face, lose his temper, and feel like kicking him twice, but after many times he grew numb and simply ignored Yuan Zhiyi's actions. However, just thinking of Yuan Zhiyi burning incense and bowing before that cat figurine made Zheng Tan feel uncomfortable all over, and he could only mutter, 'What a bunch of clowns.'

After dinner, Yuan Zhiyi and Jiao Ba drove to Nanhua University, where they had an appointment with two former classmates who now teach there.

After sunset, there is a path beside the river near Nanhua University where many people engage in activities in the evening.

Many universities give a sense of being a great hidden retreat within the city—Chu Hua University is like that, and so is Nanhua University. The campus is very quiet, yet stepping out reveals the bustling city nightscape.

Jiao Ba and his fellow former classmates gathered to chat, sharing their feelings about years of teaching, and also let Yuan Zhiyi talk about what it feels like to be a boss.

"Now the pressure on school teachers keeps growing; research funding and teaching work hang over each teacher's head like a Damocles' sword, and the survival pressure makes us ordinary grass‑root teachers constantly scramble for a living. When grabbing classes, competing for projects, writing papers, we also have to guard against others' underhanded tricks behind the scenes—it's mentally and physically exhausting, so it's no wonder people say that as students they could wholeheartedly work on their own experiments, but as teachers they rarely get such a chance." said one of Jiao Ba's classmates.

Zheng Tan and Jiao Ma stood together not far away, blowing in the river wind and watching the surrounding nightscape; he could hear Jiao Ba and his friends talking. It seemed that those two classmates of Jiao Ba were now only associate professors; they had produced quite a few results, but unfortunately several applications for professorship had ended in failure. One even lamented that if Yuan's father were still alive, perhaps they could have been promoted by now.

Nobody has it easy; everyone has unspeakable suffering. By comparison, Jiao Ba and Yuan Zhiyi are doing pretty well—one had been promoted as professor with smooth project progress; the other opened a company and, as boss, earned quite a lot of money.

Just then, Zheng Tan suddenly felt something hit his head—not painful, just a soft ball‑shaped toy. He looked around and his gaze stopped on a five‑ or six‑year‑old boy. The boy held a bag containing several egg‑sized ball‑shaped toys printed with various cartoon characters, similar to the one that had struck Zheng Tan.

The boy kept staring at Zheng Tan, and then, under Zheng Tan's gaze, he took another ball from the bag and threw it at Zheng Tan. (To be continued…)

That child kept staring at Zheng Tan, then, under Zheng Tan's gaze, he again took a ball from the bag and threw it toward Zheng Tan. (To be continued...)