Chapter 368

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Protagonist:

Chai Mi

As evening fell, the light gradually faded, and the Chai Family Small Courtyard was shrouded in a thin layer of dusk.

Outside the courtyard gate, hoofbeats went "clip-clop" from far to near, mixed with a few coarse shouts.

Chai Youqing was squatting in the front yard, head bowed, vigorously sharpening a sickle stroke by stroke. The icy iron blade made a "zing-zing" sound on the whetstone.

Hearing the noise, he hurriedly straightened up, his waist and back still habitually slightly hunched from labor.

"Yo—! Is Chai Laoge home?" A familiar voice came from outside the gate.

Chai Mi poked her head out from the room at the sound, her eyes bright and shining. Song Qiushui followed behind her, holding half a basin of millet, also curiously looking out.

"Dad, judging by the sound, it sounds like Uncle Lao Zhou brought the donkey?" Chai Mi put down the winnowing basket she was using to sift rice and walked toward the courtyard gate in a few quick steps.

Chai Youqing nodded, didn't say much, and reached out to pull open the creaking old wooden door.

As the door opened, Lao Zhou stood outside leading a grayish-blue donkey. An old hemp sack worn white lay across the donkey's back, and its hooves were idly pawing at the clods of dirt in front of the gate.

Seeing them, Lao Zhou grinned, revealing teeth yellowed by smoke: "Chai Laoge! As we agreed, I've brought the donkey to your home! Don't worry, this animal has a gentle temperament; it didn't make a fuss the whole way, very honest!"

He patted the donkey's neck, and the donkey let out a loud snort.

Chai Mi immediately stepped forward and circled the donkey carefully. She bent down, reached out and firmly squeezed the donkey's leg bones, then straightened up and patted its sturdy spine.

"Mm, the frame looks quite solid, and the legs are steady too." She nodded, a satisfied expression on her face, "The coat color is a bit mixed, bluish with some gray-white speckles, but our family works it hard and doesn't pick based on looks."

She raised her head and smiled at Lao Zhou: "Uncle Lao Zhou, you really are true to your word; you said you'd arrive today and you arrived today." Speaking, she nimbly pulled a wad of cash from her pocket, "Here, the remaining eight hundred, you count it, put it away safe."

Lao Zhou took the money, moistened his fingers with saliva, and expertly counted it twice with a "shua-shua" sound. Grinning, he carefully stuffed the money into the deepest pocket of his jacket: "Heh, Chai Mi, you're straightforward! The money's all there, this deal is done!"

He patted the spot on his chest where the money was, then said: "This donkey, three years old, right at the age of peak strength; pulling carts, plowing fields, it can do it all. Easy to keep, just feed it some fodder, very worry-free!"

After explaining, Lao Zhou turned to leave. He'd taken two steps when he seemed to remember something, turned back, and shouted loudly into the courtyard: "Remember, next time your family adds livestock, come find me, Lao Zhou! Guaranteed satisfaction!"

Chai Youqing took the donkey's lead rope from his daughter's hand. The grayish-blue donkey seemed to understand human nature, actually obediently lowering its head and gently rubbing its neck against Chai Youqing's arm, causing his rough palm to subconsciously stroke it twice.

"Mm..." Chai Youqing grunted, counting as a response to the donkey's affection.

Watching the interaction between her father and the donkey, the corner of Chai Mi's mouth curved: "Dad, you lead it to the cowshed first, tie it tight, then feed it some dry hay. The sun just set, let it rest its legs too."

She paused, her tone carrying a trace of hard-to-detect ease: "This money, I think it was worth it. With it helping, for the autumn harvest stripping corn stalks, the two of us, grandpa and grandson, can save a huge amount of effort, and your waist can suffer a bit less."

"It saves effort, sure," Chai Youqing led the donkey inside, but his mouth habitually muttered, "But a solid thousand yuan went out... hope this donkey's appetite isn't too big."

"Oh come on..." Chai Mi followed behind, tone light, "You... it has to eat to work! Figure the total account, it's a bargain!"

Chai Mi was in a good mood; she laughed and pushed her father's back, urging him to go settle this important new labor force quickly.

Song Qiushui put down the millet basin, came up to the donkey, and imitated Chai Mi by touching the donkey's back: "Mm, Chai Mi's right! Uncle, look at this coat, mixed though it is, it's glossy and sleek, full of spirit! That Lao Zhou's calf-thing didn't perfunctorily fool anyone."

The donkey seemed to understand the praise, swished its tail, and let out a soft "hee-haw."

Su Wan came out of the kitchen at this moment, carrying a bulging cloth bag, faintly revealing millet inside.

She glanced at the donkey being led to the back courtyard and said gently to Chai Mi: "Chai Mi, good that the donkey's arrived. I'll hurry over to An Baoyu's to deliver the millet now, while it's not fully dark."

"What's the rush, Xiu'er hasn't finished school yet. An Baoyu isn't home either... you wait a bit, my dad will go pick up Xiu'er, then you go to An Baoyu's house."

"Mm." Su Wan agreed.

From the cowshed came the clinking sound of Chai Youqing fastening the donkey's chain, and his low muttering to the donkey: "... from now on you're our family's labor force, work hard, fodder will be plenty..."

Chai Mi smiled, knowing her father was actually satisfied with this "mixed-hair" helper in his heart.

After a while, Chai Youqing went to pick up Chai Xiu.

Su Wan also came out of the kitchen, carrying a cloth bag holding about thirty catties of new millet. "Chai Mi, I'm going to An Baoyu's to deliver millet now. Must be back before dark, Chai Xin is still sleeping on the kang." Her voice was soft, with a hint of urgency.

"Go, Mom." Chai Mi said: "An Baoyu often looks after Xiu'er, thanks are due. Watch out for ditches and bumps on the road."

Su Wan acknowledged and walked out quickly.

To Nanwa it's not even two li of road, Chai Mi wasn't worried at all.

Song Qiushui came over: "That little donkey of yours, looks pretty good. This time your family's cattle are retired."

"The donkey's good, but don't expect it to do all the work. Twenty-plus mu of land, relying on it alone is scorching." Chai Mi sighed: "This donkey working, it's extraordinarily not durable, works a bit and needs to rest, even harder to serve than my dad..."

Song Qiushui: "If you put it that way... then my dad is a lazy donkey grinding the mill, what work doesn't he do?"

On the other side. Su Wan carrying the millet arrived at Nanwa.

Same village, Su Wan still knew where An Baoyu's home was.

Just as she reached An Baoyu's doorway, she saw An Baoyu coincidentally riding a bicycle home.

"Teacher An!" Su Wan hurried a few steps, jogged over, slightly out of breath.

An Baoyu heard the sound and stopped, balancing on one foot: "Yo, Chai Xiu's mom? Something up?"

Su Wan hurriedly untied the cloth bag and handed it over with both hands: "Teacher An, sending you some newly milled millet from home, to taste fresh."

Afraid he'd decline, her tone was earnest: "Really nothing fancy, just a bit of goodwill, homegrown, not worth money."

"You absolutely must not refuse, refusing makes it distant." She added, bringing up her daughter, "Chai Xiu this child, thanks to you for taking the trouble to teach and guide her."

An Baoyu's face showed surprise, he hurriedly took the bag and weighed it in his hand.

"Aiyo, new millet! Smells so fragrant!" He lowered his head to sniff, with apology, "You're too polite, why do this?"

He changed tone, sincerely praising: "Chai Xiu this child, really doesn't need me to worry, especially sensible."

"Memorizing texts is incredibly fast, top of the class." An Baoyu gave a thumbs up.

"Not only does she learn well herself, she often helps struggling classmates review homework too." His tone was full of approval.

"Yesterday dictation of new characters, the whole class only she got them all right! Not a single mistake!" An Baoyu said laughing heartily.

Su Wan listened, her face blooming with a smile, hands unconsciously rubbing together: "Really? This child, at home she always praises you to me, says you're so good to her, if not for you back then, our Xiu'er going to school would be a hard thing."

Indeed, back then Chai Xiu's schooling matters truly owed a great deal to An Baoyu's help.

Although Chai Xiu was very gifted, in reality An Baoyu also put in tremendous effort.

After all, Chai Xiu was the first person to go directly into fourth grade.

She pointed at the millet bag: "This millet makes steamed rice so soft and glutinous, so fragrant — you definitely have to try it."

An Baoyu nodded repeatedly: "Definitely try, definitely try! New millet steamed rice is most nourishing."

Seeing that what Su Wan sent wasn't anything valuable, and they were fellow villagers, it was really hard to refuse.

Moreover, An Baoyu actually had some kinship with Su Wan's maternal family, more reliable than the neighbor's relative of Chai Mi's second brother Chai Erke.

Su Wan's third aunt by marriage was actually An Baoyu's great-aunt.

And Chai Xiu was indeed extraordinarily bizarre... she had been in school less than half a month and had already basically mastered everything, except her handwriting wasn't very good, Chai Xiu basically didn't need to be taught anything.

Reciting texts, Chai Xiu could memorize them after one look, able to recite word for word without a single mistake.

Mathematics was even more so — she could even understand middle school geometry.

Simply a genius.

And obedient, eager to learn.

He exclaimed: "Not praising Chai Xiu to your face, but Chai Xiu is the smartest child I've ever seen. I can't guarantee everything about this child, but as long as she studies well, she's Tsinghua and Peking University material... Chai Xiu having such prospects is entirely thanks to you and Chai Mi teaching strictly at home, laying a good foundation!"

Su Wan listened, and immediately felt her brain wasn't enough: "Hah, it's all that child Chai Mi who arranged everything, she worries most about the family... what is Tsinghua and Peking University..."

An Baoyu also froze.

He truly didn't know Su Wan didn't know this, but how to explain it?

Such high-end terms as Tsinghua and Peking University...

"Just means as long as Chai Xiu studies well from now on, she'll definitely get into a good university — I dare guarantee that."

Su Wan immediately became overjoyed.

The Chai family didn't have any proper university students.

Although Chai Chunwei claimed to be a university student outside, he was actually just a vocational technical academy, similar to later generations' junior college.

But in this era, people graduating from such vocational technical academies were extremely rare.

Let alone proper university students.

The entire Sanjiacun, to this day, hadn't produced a single proper university student.

You should know, in the township where Su Wan lived, the number of university students added up to only two or three a year.

In this era, getting into university was really too hard, harder than later generations getting into 985 or 211 universities.

Hearing An Baoyu say this, Su Wan felt like she was floating: my daughter can go to university in the future, and might be the village's first university student.

Thinking about it, she felt proud.

"Teacher An, no matter what, I have to thank you." Su Wan's attitude was very sincere.

An Baoyu wasn't an overly sentimental person either; he also especially liked Chai Xiu.

He directly praised Su Wan for educating well at home as a mother.

For a teacher who had taught for decades, the happiest thing was surely students filling the world.

And for an An Baoyu who already had students filling the world, the absolute happiest thing was the fortune of encountering that rare, peerless genius.

Like a sect patriarch about to perish, suddenly discovering his legacy disciple is a genius, and an extraordinarily bizarre genius at that... that feeling, rather like "hearing the Dao in the morning, dying in the evening would suffice."

(Excluding Chai Youfu, and also excluding Che Lianyun.)

"Should, should."

Su Wan and An Baoyu praised Chai Xiu to each other for a while more, then took leave and went home.

"Teacher An, then Chai Xiu will trouble you to look after her. She talks back — you say what needs saying, hit when you need to hit, it's fine."

An Baoyu agreed readily.

Then Su Wan went home.

When she got home, Chai Xiu had already returned too.

Su Wan stroked Chai Xiu's head and told everyone An Baoyu's words: "Sent the millet to Teacher An, he was especially happy, couldn't refuse it, kept praising our Xiu'er! Said Xiu'er recites fast, helps classmates, dictation all correct, and also said..." she looked at Chai Youqing and Chai Mi, voice full of pride, "Teacher An said, our Xiu'er, if she keeps studying well, is Tsinghua and Peking University material!"

Chai Mi smiled in surprise, looking at her younger sister, for the first time not so strict, smiling: "Good Xiu'er! Must study hard, bring honor to Father and Mother!"

Song Qiushui exaggeratedly slapped her thigh and shouted: "My heavens! Tsinghua and Peking University?! Chai Uncle, Chai Mi, your family's ancestral tomb isn't just smoking green — it's caught fire directly!"

Chai Youqing had just come out of the cowshed, patting grass bits off himself; hearing this his steps paused, brows habitually furrowing: "What Tsinghua and Peking University? That'll cost a fortune, right? Our family's donkey just..." he didn't finish before Chai Mi interrupted.

"Hey hey hey... you go do that, right... Dad, tomorrow go sweep the tombs, tell my great-grandfather, say that although my grandfather wasn't much, and you aren't much either, but our family's Xiu might be able to get into university..." Chai Mi said impatiently to Chai Youqing, then turned to her mother: "This is a huge good thing! Money we'll figure out! Xiu'er has this ability, we'd smash pots and sell iron to support her! Mom, did Teacher An really say that?"

Su Wan nodded vigorously, face flushed red: "Of course! Said truly truly! Teacher An's expression was so serious!"

Song Qiushui interjected: "Chai Mi's right! Chai Uncle, this is a golden phoenix! Donkey money counts for what? Xiu'er makes something of herself, she can buy a hundred donkeys!" She excitedly pushed Chai Xiu, "Xiu'er, when you become a big official later, don't forget your Qiu Shui sister!"

Chai Xiu's little face reddened slightly: "Then when I'm an official, I'll at least enfeoff you as a Princess Royal."

"What's a Princess Royal?" Song Qiushui frowned.

"Means the Emperor's sister. Look how capable you've made Xiu'er." Chai Mi was very happy today, didn't mind Chai Xiu speaking without propriety, said: "Xiu'er rest assured, if you can get into university, Sister will support you, Sister has money. Tonight let's eat dumplings, I'll make you some with lamb filling that Xiu'er loves."