Chapter 40 I'm still so young

  "Now, I am the only male heir of the Zhang family and the sole successor. For your kindness, I will repay it someday. The mountain is high and the water is long, we will meet again in the future. Farewell!" With that, he bowed to Yu Song and Lin Xue, turned around and left.

  The man walked away with a twisted gait, and Da Jiang was about to chase after him when Yu Songyuan stopped him. Da Jiang looked at him in confusion, and grumbled softly several times, implying that he couldn't believe they were giving food to a thief, and that their sympathy was misplaced!

  Back in the dormitory, Lin Xue followed Yu Songyuan into his room, "You didn't hurt him just now, did you?"

  Yu Songyuan said: "No, I just scared him. Besides, he has a lot of stagnant blood and internal injuries, so I'm also helping him."

  "You said he stole from you? And also fainted, what's going on?"

  "How did you know? Did you steal my food or not?" Yu Songyuan then told her everything that had happened since he arrived, including how his food was stolen and he had to eat radish and cabbage for a week, which made him faint.

  Lin Xue let out a sigh and scolded, "You hit him and he deserved it. I hope everything he said was true, so he won't do such despicable things again."

  Yu Songyuan said: "There's a kind of person in our village, so lazy that they wish for cakes to fall from the sky at fixed times and don't even bother to pick up an overturned oil bottle. After the team distributes food, they eat and drink lavishly, when it's all gone, they wait for relief, after eating the relief food, they go begging, if they can't get anything by begging, they steal, if they can't steal, they just lie at home waiting to die. But he doesn't seem like that kind of person, his injury is actually not fully healed, if it's true, whether he can walk out or not is a question..."

  "Is Mo's logistics really so terrifying? Killing so many lives, what are the police doing?"

  "I don't entirely believe what he said, but he's definitely not making it up either. A foreign great man once said that capital is filthy, every pore oozing with dirty blood. We're still young and haven't experienced the evil, cruelty, and bloodiness of the world, so we can't even imagine. Anyway, this incident reminds us to be more cautious in facing everything in our future lives!"

  Yu Ge, you just said I'm your... girlfriend!

  "Ah, did I say that earlier?... Aren't we friends? You're still young, but you're a girl. So, can only be called girlfriend!" Yu Songyuan knew he had inadvertently let slip his words earlier and in the midst of panic could only counterattack with a double entendre, "Little one, how old are you, always having wild thoughts."

  Lin Xue lowered her head and spoke in a voice as small as a mosquito, "I'm still so young, you also have the nerve to say... Besides, you're so capable, studying so well, going to university..."

  Yu Songyuan burst out laughing, he rubbed her nose, "Little one, are you embarrassed? You're just a little bit, and you think about these things." Then he said seriously, "Fate brought us together in this desolate place, it's destiny. Big brother will never forget that there is a little sister who loves to cry."

  Yu Ge, you're so annoying.

  At night, Lin Xue couldn't sleep. She turned on the light and stared at the ceiling of her room, thinking about what Yu Songyuan had said unintentionally, "girlfriend", "little sister". Her heart was boiling with excitement, had he already subconsciously regarded me as his girlfriend? But I'm only fifteen years old, still a little short.

  She has been looking forward to getting off work every day since she doesn't know when, just looking forward to returning to the dormitory quickly. Her heart is jumping like a little deer, and she keeps asking herself if she has fallen in love too early. She is nothing, Yu Ge has a great future ahead of him, will he really want me? His parents are so strict, can they look down on me?

  Daydreaming like this until very late at night before falling asleep.

  Finally on winter break! The cram school got out earlier than the other classes, which won't be out for another 4 or 5 days. The school-run factory won't be out until the 28th of the Lunar New Year.

  These days, Lin Xue was so nervous that she could hardly bear it. The supplementary class was on holiday and Yu Songyuan would certainly go home to spend the New Year with her parents. She really didn't dare to walk alone through this deadly road of over a thousand meters twice a day, let alone spend the night alone in the "ghost house" far from school and isolated at the bottom of the river dike.

  On the last day of winter break, Yu Songyuan was the last one to leave the classroom. He was carrying his books back to the dorm when Teacher Zhang, panting and out of breath, caught up with him on the road and handed him 360 yuan, startling Yu Songyuan and making him ask in surprise: "Sister, how is it so much?"

  Teacher Zhang smiled: "Little thing, you're really capable. The raccoon skin isn't worth much money, but this big python skin is a treasure you've dug up. I asked an acquaintance to take it to the provincial city, and nobody even haggled over the price, my brother just blamed his friend for offering too low a price. Later, when I asked someone in the trade, guess what? It's indeed worth 400-500 yuan, what a pity."

  Yu Songyuan left 200 yuan and returned 160 yuan to Teacher Zhang.

  Teacher Zhang was unhappy and said, "What are you doing? You're going to take the college entrance exam, and your family has just suffered a disaster. You should be helping your family out at this time, and this money is coming at just the right moment - it's fate. Besides, we're all working now, so we should be supporting you anyway. Now that you have your own money, you won't be bothering your relatives, isn't that great? If you insist on giving me the money, I and your older brother will definitely not be happy. Do you want to be someone who makes others unhappy?"

  Yu Songyuan no longer declined. Teacher Zhang continued excitedly, "Tonight, your older brother is inviting you to dinner at home - snake meat feast, dumplings, and highland barley wine, are you coming?"

  Yu Song said stutteringly, "I have a classmate inviting me for dinner tonight, or maybe next time."

  Teacher Zhang came over with a smile and said, "It's okay if you don't come. Since Yuqin entrusted me to take care of you, I'll say one more thing, let me play the bad guy for once, don't blame me if I'm wrong. Caring about and helping others, I certainly won't oppose it, on the contrary, I will support you. However..."

  Seeing him lower his head, Teacher Zhang gritted her teeth and said, "But you're a student preparing for the college entrance exams, your future is at stake. Don't let other things distract you from studying. Get into a good university first, then talk about romance. There are plenty of girls with high education, good jobs, good family backgrounds, and good looks."

  Yu Songyan's face turned bright red, but he still tried to explain himself in vain, and firmly stated: "I don't have a sister, you can rest assured that I won't let you and brother down."

  After the restoration of the college entrance examination, many rural children who were admitted to university immediately became like carp that had jumped over the Dragon Gate. Their value increased, and their original rural partners naturally became mismatched, leading to tragic break-ups between men and women under various pressures, which repeatedly occurred in rural areas everywhere.

  There are also some that cannot be parted, even if they reluctantly get married, the outcome is often a tragic marriage and love story, which can hurt both parties and their children even more. Since the reinstatement of college entrance exams, rural children who study well, as long as they focus on taking the university exam, their families generally do not allow them to fall in love.

  He heard from Teacher Zhang's words that Teacher Zhang must have known about his and Lin Xue's neighborly relationship, and was giving him a preventive shot. Of course, he could also hear that Teacher Zhang was substituting for his sister in instructing him, and even, Teacher Zhang had regarded himself as her own younger brother. Otherwise, who would say such heart-to-heart words to you?

  On the way back, a thought kept lingering. If Lin Xue were his girlfriend, would he abandon her after going to college? He didn't even think about it and denied it. Inexplicably, as if a mysterious force had already tightly bound him and Lin Xue together.

  Although they didn't break through the thin layer of window paper between them, Yu Songyuan's heart always felt that for some unknown reason, he seemed to be unable to leave that underage little girl.

  Back in the dorm, Da Jiang pushed open the door and ran out happily to greet Yu Songyuan. As he walked into the room, he was about to sit down and tidy up his books when Da Jiang came over, first rubbing against his legs, then biting his pants and pulling them outward. Yu Songyuan stood up and followed Da Jiang out of the door.

  The general directly pushed open the door of the next room, and Yu Songyuan walked into Lin Xue's dormitory. He saw her sitting quietly with her hands supporting her cheeks, her eyes dazed and lost in thought. Seeing him come in, she was taken aback at first, then forced a smile and said, "Brother Yu, you're back."

  Yu Song let out a long sigh and said, "The tutoring class is on holiday, we don't have to go to school tomorrow, it's great." He then asked her, "Why did you come back so early? Aren't you afraid of walking in alone?"

  "I took a leave of absence and rushed back to see you off," Lin Xue said. "Brother Yu, I want to discuss something with you. After your holiday, can you leave the general with me? Don't worry, I'll take good care of it. Even if I go hungry myself, I won't let it starve. When I go home for the New Year, I'll bring it along and you can rest assured."

  "That's not possible, how can I bear to leave General? Besides, General cannot leave me either."

  "But I...I'm really scared to be alone." Lin Xue's urgent eyes already had tears in them.

  Yu Songyuan sneaked a glance at her tense and anxious expression, and said in a seemingly casual tone, "I won't be able to go back today, I still have some things to take care of here. Besides, I also want to use the holiday to read some more books. You know how it is, during Chinese New Year in the countryside, it's all about drinking and playing 'three strikes one', and it's all high-proof baijiu, you can't not get drunk."

  "Really?!"

  Lin Xue's heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally landed, feeling infinitely warm. She really wanted to rush over and kiss him, but her maidenly reserve made her ask very calmly, "When do you plan on going back?"

  Yu Songyuan said, "It's almost the 20th of the twelfth lunar month. As long as we make it to New Year's Eve and the first day of the new year, that's all that matters." After finishing speaking, he glanced at Lin Xue, seeing her with a happy expression, knowing that her heart was now at ease.

  Lin Xue let out a sigh of relief, stood up and said, "Then let's go eat, see what delicious dishes I've made today." Upon entering the kitchen, she had already wrapped up a large pot of steamed white dumplings, it turned out that she was indeed preparing to send him off.

  Yu Songyuan walked into the kitchen to start a fire, and said to Lin Xue, "When I was young, every New Year's Eve, our family's food supply was tight, but my mother would still make dumplings for us to eat. We had both white and black ones. The white ones were made of wheat flour, which we rarely got to eat throughout the year. The black ones were made of barley flour, oat flour, and millet flour. When we ate, my mother always ate the black dumplings and saved the white ones for my older brother and us kids to eat. My older brother would then give his white dumplings to us to eat."

  Lin Xue held the pot lid, ready to cook dumplings. "My family wasn't like that. Delicious food, my mom and I would always save it for my older brother and two younger brothers to eat. My older brother's health was poor before he got married, he really wanted his first child to be a boy, so he could take over the family business in the future, but unexpectedly, his first child was me. So, my older brother and mom never liked me, I've been doing chores since I was little. Growing up, I've never worn a new set of clothes."

  After the dumplings were served, they were placed on the table. Da Jiang was already sitting quietly in his fixed seat, waiting. Yu Songyuan suddenly asked, "Where did the flour and tofu come from?"

  Lin Xue said, "The flour and tofu are what I bought."

  White rice and tofu are good things that can only be eaten during the New Year's festival, it's too extravagant. Yu Songyuan was puzzled, "Haven't you received your salary yet?"

  Lin Xue gritted her teeth and said, "No matter how poor we are, we have to get through the New Year. I'm going all out."