Chapter 352

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Protagonist:

Chai Mi

Relatively speaking, Ganzhu'er Primary School is the best primary school in the town.

Ganzhu'er is the town; the township where Chai Mi is located bears this very name.

(Ganzhu'er is Mongolian; we've explained this throughout the previous text. Ke County is a Mongolian Autonomous County, and the names of the townships mostly come from direct Mongolian translations. Ganzhu'er is special, though — it's from the ancient Liao Dynasty language, which no longer exists today. The meaning should be something like 'harvesting the reins,' actually referring to a horsewhip.)

The teaching staff at Ganzhu'er Primary School should also count as the strongest. At the very least, the diplomas of the primary school teachers here are all already junior high school graduates……

Whereas at the village primary school where Chai Mi is, many are only primary school graduates, and some haven't even graduated from primary school.

Of course, this is also a characteristic of this era.

The overall cultural level is low, and the teachers' cultural standard isn't very high either.

Take Chai You Fu, for example — his cultural level is very poor, so the fact that he earns a salary of two hundred yuan a month has reasons on this front as well.

Upon hearing she'd have to herd cattle, Chai Xiu let out a wail: "Ah?! No, Sister! I'll study! I'll go back and study right now! Guaranteed to pass!"

Herding cattle was out of the question — if the cattle ran off, Chai Xiu couldn't catch them.

Chai Mi knew reverse psychology worked best on her. She'd have to keep a close eye on her review for the next few days. "That's more like it. Remember what you said yourself. And when you get to the new school, you rein in that little temper of yours! Listen properly when teachers speak, get along properly with classmates. If I find out you're causing trouble at school……"

Chai Xiu cut in, mimicking Chai Mi's tone: "I know, I know! 'Break your legs'! Sister, you've said it eight hundred times! I guarantee I'll be good, study hard, make progress every day! Strive to…… strive to become a Teaching Director too, even more imposing than An Baoyu!"

Chai Mi couldn't help laughing. This girl, her mindset shifts fast. Having this competitive streak is a good thing. Going to Ganzhu'er, away from the village's troubles, really is a better start for her. "You? Teaching Director? Learn to write your own name properly first! Let's go, home! Mom must be getting anxious. Go get the new books you bought and start reviewing tonight!"

Chai Xiu stood at attention, answering playfully: "Roger that, Teaching Director Chai!"

After returning home.

Chai Xiu spread the brand-new Tianzige Notebook Notebook notebook on the kang table, her little face scrunched up, poking the notebook with her pencil: "Sister, this 'third grade' arithmetic is way too hard, isn't it? Chickens and rabbits locked in a cage together, counting legs for fun — don't they fight?"

Chai Mi sat opposite, pondering whether to invite Chai Erke and his wife for a meal today, or wait until a few days later when Chai Xiu officially started school.

After all, without Chai Erke, Chai Mi really couldn't strike up a conversation with An Baoyu.

So Chai Mi, without even raising her head, replied perfunctorily: "Even if they fight, you still have to count. I don't know how many chickens and rabbits are in the cage, but I do know that if you can't solve it, you fail the entrance test, and the one locked in the cage will be you, this little stupid chicken, waiting to be returned."

Chai Xiu wailed and slumped onto the table: "Ah——! Sister, I think staying home helping you with chores is just fine, I can even help you count money!"

Chai Mi: "Count money? With your level of counting on your ten fingers? Forget it. Hurry up and do the problems — one mistake, and you get no dinner tonight."

Chai Xiu straightened up instantly, muttering: "Sister, how about stewing a chicken for dinner? Anyway, you're not setting up a stall so they sent it over, and that chicken won't keep long in the fridge…… A chicken has two legs, one for me and one for Sister, Mom and Dad eat the wings……" She started reciting the problem under her breath, gesturing with her fingers on the table.

Su Wan came in carrying a bowl of freshly prepared milk powder: "Xiu'er, quick, drink it while it's hot, nourish your brain! Look at you studying, your little face has gotten all thin and tired." She set the bowl by Chai Xiu's hand.

Chai Xiu acted like she'd been granted amnesty, instantly putting down her pen and picking up the bowl: "Thanks, Mom! I was just thirsty!"

She took small sips, eyes sneaking glances at the arithmetic problem.

Chai Mi: "Mom, you're still giving her milk powder? Look at her right now — she's purely slacking off, it has nothing to do with studying. Chai Mi, I'm warning you, don't you go looking for trouble, don't think about dragging your feet."

After Chai Mi returned home, she also told them about meeting An Baoyu today.

Su Wan looked at Chai Xiu worriedly: "Chai Mi, you say that Director An is so stern, will the Principal be even scarier? What if Xiu'er gets scared and forgets everything she knows? Why don't…… we just go to the village school? Your Second Uncle, for the sake of relatives……"

Chai Mi cut her off, tone resolute: "Mom! Don't bring this up again. Village school — no way. Director An is stern, yes, but she's reasonable. If Xiu'er really knows her stuff, even the Jade Emperor standing next to her couldn't make her forget. If she doesn't know it, it just proves she didn't study properly at home — better not go and embarrass herself."

Chai Xiu set down the empty bowl, face bitter: "Sister, I know it! I'll do it right now! 'Now there are pheasants and rabbits in the same cage, above there are thirty-five heads, below there are ninety-four feet, ask how many pheasants and rabbits respectively?'…… What is this 'zhi'?"

Chai Mi: "Wild chicken! Same as domestic chicken, two legs! No interrupting, use the assumption method I taught you."

Chai Youqing squatted at the doorway repairing a hoe, listening to the noise inside, couldn't help chiming in: "That…… Xiu'er, for arithmetic, do you do multiplication and division first, then addition and subtraction?"

Chai Xiu didn't even raise her head: "Dad, this isn't mixed operations, it's a word problem! You have to set unknowns, use 'zhi' and 'tu'!"

Chai Youqing: "Oh oh, unknowns…… unknowns good, unknowns good……"

Song Qiushui burst in energetically, holding a tender cucumber: "Chai Mi! Latest news! Chai Min's mom, that's your Second Aunt, is crying at the village entrance! Says that scoundrel Sun Guoyou swindled all five thousand yuan of their coffin money! She's crying miserably!"

Chai Mi's hands didn't stop, she sneered: "Hmph, knows to cry now? What was she doing before? Good advice falls on deaf ears. Let her cry, when she's cried enough she'll still have to figure out how to fill Chai You Fu's medical expense hole."

Chai Mi realized something was off after she finished speaking.

Chai Min's family got scammed too?

Da Lao Song, that is Chai You Fu's father-in-law's family, got scammed out of five thousand, and Chai You Fu also got scammed out of five thousand?

Holy shit!!!

Couldn't tell Chai You Fu actually had quite a bit of money......

Had money when getting scammed, but none for anything else.

Hehe.

That's right then......

All got scammed, serves them right.

Chai Xiu immediately looked up, eyes shining: "Really? Second Aunt cried? Serves her right! Who told her not to believe my Sister! Qiushui Sister, was her snot long?"

Song Qiushui crunched a bite of cucumber: "That's for sure! Super long! Snot and tears everywhere, saying she'll go to the county to file a false accusation, but the person's already been arrested, who to accuse? Hey, Chai Xiu, how's your review going? Don't just listen to the excitement, careful you fail the entrance exam and your sister really makes you herd cattle!"

Chai Xiu instantly wilted, slumped back onto the table: "Ugh…… so annoying…… 'Rabbits have four feet, pheasants have two feet'…… assume they're all rabbits……"

Su Wan sighed: "Ai, it's all because of money. Xiu'er's Second Aunt too…… that money saved for Chai Min's schooling would've been so much better. Right, Chai Mi, if Xiu'er gets in, tuition and all that……"

Chai Mi: "Mom, don't you worry about the money. I've got it covered. You help me think — what dishes won't spoil easily in the lunch box for Xiu'er? It's still hot out."

Su Wan: "Ah? Oh! Pickled vegetable lumps are the easiest! Or stir-fry some potato shreds? Add some vinegar and they'll keep half a day longer…… Better not bring meat dishes, they spoil easily in the heat."

Chai Xiu protested: "I don't want to eat pickled vegetables every day! I want meat!"

Chai Mi: "Dream on. Bringing meat occasionally is fine. Mom, just as you said, pickled vegetables as the main, stir-fry a veggie dish every other day. We'll see when the weather cools down."

Chai Youqing suddenly chimed in again: "Right, pickled vegetables good…… goes with rice……"

Chai Xiu angrily recited a classical poem at the top of her voice: "Moonlight before the bed, suspected to be frost on the ground! Raise head to gaze at the bright moon, lower head to tear roast chicken!" She deliberately changed the last line.

Chai Mi picked up a bamboo skewer and made as if to tap her: "Chai Xiu! You dare change it again! Recite 'Quiet Night Thoughts' properly ten times! Get one word wrong, no roast chicken for you, and bamboo shoots stir-fried with meat is out of the question!"

Song Qiushui laughed heartily: "Tearing roast chicken with your head down? Xiu'er, you little glutton! But your version does rhyme! Chai Mi, I say, Xiu'er's quick wit will do fine on the exam!"

Chai Mi glared at Song Qiushui: "Stop praising her! That quick wit isn't used on the proper path, she only thinks about eating. Ten times, not one less, recite!"

Chai Xiu sighed mournfully and obediently began to recite: "Before my bed, bright moonlight, I suspect it is frost upon the ground. I raise my head to gaze at the bright moon, I lower my head to think of my hometown..." Her voice was weak and listless.

Su Wan said with heartache: "Recite slowly, drink some water and then recite..."

Chai Mi: "Mom—!"

Just then, the courtyard gate was shoved open violently, and a sharp female voice with a sobbing tone exploded, tearing through the gloom inside the room:

"Little sister! Su Wan! You have to save Eldest Sister! My sky has fallen! That damn Sun Guoyou and those outsiders, they're in cahoots! My coffin money... my life savings... all gone! I put the house up as collateral... now the police say it's stolen money and they've seized it! How am I supposed to live from now on!"

Maternal Aunt Su Jin wailed and almost rolled and crawled into the room, her hair disheveled, her eyes red and swollen like rotten peaches, tears and snot streaming down her face mixed with dust, a sorry sight. As soon as she entered, she threw herself onto Su Wan, hugging her tightly with frightening strength.

"Third sister! My own sister! You have to save Eldest Sister! Liu San's money is gone too! What archaeological team, what Ming Dynasty treasure, it's all a scheme they cooked up together! The police... the police said Liu San and Sun Guoyou are also principal offenders! My money... the coffin money I saved for a lifetime, and... and the money I borrowed against my house, all... all seized as stolen money! Not a single cent can be recovered! I... I can't go on!"

Su Jin's lament carried a desperate hoarseness, her whole body trembling, as if she might collapse at any moment.

The room fell instantly silent. Chai Xiu was so frightened she forgot to recite her poem, her pencil "pa-da" landed on her notebook, drawing a long scratch. Song Qiushui forgot to chew the cucumber in her mouth, staring dumbfounded. Chai Youqing shrank at the doorway, wishing he could embed himself in the wall crack. Su Wan's face turned deathly pale, looking at her elder sister wailing and beating the ground at her feet, at a loss, wanting to help but not daring to, only able to cry along: "Eldest Sister... Eldest Sister, don't be like this, get up quickly, get up and speak..."

Chai Mi's brow knotted into a lump.

She stood up, her mood somewhat complex: "Aunt, get up first. The ground is cold, crying won't solve the problem."

Su Jin seemed not to hear, crying even more fiercely: "I don't want to live anymore! The house is gone, the money is gone, Liu San is locked up, what's the point of these old bones of mine still living! That damn Sun Guoyou, he won't die a good death! He tricked my daughter Chunyan, tricked our whole family..."

"Aunt!" Chai Mi supported and helped Su Jin up: "Can crying bring the money back? Can crying get Liu San out? If you cry yourself to death here, besides making us miserable, what good will it do?"

Chai Mi and Su Wan together helped her up and supported her to sit on the edge of the kang.

Su Jin went completely limp all over, as if her bones had been pulled out.

"What did the police say? Are Liu San and Sun Guoyou in cahoots? What exactly happened?" Chai Mi asked in a low voice.

Su Jin sobbed, recounting haltingly, mixed with curses and regret: "The police... the police came to our house, holding... holding some evidence... saying Liu San was never tricked by Sun Guoyou, they long ago... long ago colluded! Liu San was responsible for pulling people into the partnership in the village for a commission, Sun Guoyou outside... outside contacted buyers, he took a bigger cut... yes, buyers! That copper lump, it's all fake goods they brought... specially tricking us out of our money... what excavator, it's all a front! The money... the money was all divided by those Southern Barbarians... the Southern Barbarians haven't been caught yet, my money, and Chunyan's money, all... all swallowed by them! Now the police say this is stolen money and will be confiscated... I... I have nothing left... the money I mortgaged the house for, I can't pay it back either, they're going to take the house..."

The truth was far uglier than imagined.

Liu San probably only half understood, or even if he fully knew it was fake, there was a commission!

"What about Chunyan?" Chai Mi asked.

"Chunyan... Chunyan is also stunned... the police also went to question her... she knows nothing... now she's crying at home, the child is frightened enough... I... I didn't dare ask about Chunwen, Chunwen seems to have been tricked by those few for over two thousand..." Su Jin said, then covered her face and wailed, "Why is my life so bitter... saddled with such an inhuman son-in-law..."

Su Wan listened, tears flowing uncontrollably: "What a sin... truly a sin... Eldest Sister, you... what will you do from now on..."

Chai Mi fell silent for a moment, quickly calculating in her mind.

Maternal Aunt's situation was worse than she had expected. The house would be taken, savings were gone, Sun Guoyou was locked up and no one knew how long the sentence would be, Liu San's family was also severely hurt, and might even be dragged into ruin.

Maternal Aunt and her husband, two old people, instantly became homeless elderly.

"Aunt." Chai Mi's voice softened a bit: "The money mortgaged on the house, how much is short?"

Su Jin raised her tearful eyes and looked at her blankly: "... three thousand... principal and interest together, three thousand five... they said if not repaid within three days, then... then they'll take the house..."

Three thousand five! In this era, for a rural family, it was undoubtedly a huge sum. Su Wan gasped, subconsciously looked at Chai Mi, her lips trembling, wanting to say something but not daring to.

She knew her daughter didn't earn money easily, the street stall was just starting to pick up, there were oxen to raise at home, and Xiu'er needed money for school too.