“Xuan Xuan, I’ll go tell your grandpa later, and we’ll have you attend a year of kindergarten before starting elementary school. The kindergarten in the town has a slide. Didn’t you say last time you wanted to go? Let’s go this time, okay?” Jiang Yue Xiu saw her son’s eyes were red and immediately started comforting him. She was a gentle woman, and in Zhu Yun Xuan’s memory, she rarely got angry. Because his mother had such a good temper, his parents had never had a fight.
However, when he was younger, he liked playing on the slide. The kindergarten in the countryside didn’t have anything, so he would often stand outside the town’s kindergarten and watch the children play on the slide and with various toys, dreaming of becoming part of them. That’s why he wanted to go to kindergarten in the town. But now, he no longer had any desire to go to that kindergarten to learn!
Zhu Yun Xuan was born in 1987, in April. By now, he was already six years old, and according to the normal age, he should be starting elementary school in the second half of the year. However, back then, in order to attend the town’s kindergarten, he had ended up starting elementary school a year later than most, making him a year older than many of his classmates. And since they had six years of elementary school, when he eventually went to university, he was undoubtedly the oldest in his dorm.
As for this life, if possible, starting school a year earlier would be better. As for his former classmates… he had long forgotten about the classmates from kindergarten and elementary school.
“Mom, I want to go to elementary school. I don’t want to be older than my classmates!” Zhu Yun Xuan voiced his opposition.
“Xuan Xuan, you’re not that young. Look at Lu Lei, he’s one year older than you and is only starting kindergarten this fall,” Jiang Yue Xiu quickly responded. In the countryside, education wasn’t highly valued, and many people studied at night.
“Mom, I’m not comparing myself to him!” Zhu Yun Xuan still remembered Lu Lei, who lived just behind his house. But in contrast to his own family’s relatively good conditions in the countryside, Lu Lei’s family was very poor. When it came to schooling, Zhu Yun Xuan’s parents would rather spend extra money to send him to a good school in the town, while Lu Lei had always studied in the countryside. By the time Lu Lei was in junior high, he had already gone to work in a factory.
At that time, in the rural junior high, only a few of the top students could even get into an average high school. In contrast, the schools in the town were very different. Zhu Yun Xuan remembered that when he was in junior high in the town, his grades were always outside the top ten of his class, but he still ended up getting into the second-best high school in the entire city, though this was a county-level city.
“Okay, okay, let Xuan Xuan decide!” Jiang Yue Xiu wanted her son to start school as soon as possible. Sending him to school in the town wasn’t easy either. If it weren’t for Zhu Yun Xuan’s grandfather knowing a retired teacher from that school, they wouldn’t have been able to secure a spot without the boarding fees, which would have been such a waste! And if they waited another year, they’d likely have to pay the boarding fees.
After breakfast, Zhu Yun Xuan spent some time being spoiled by his mother before she went off to work. Jiang Yue Xiu didn’t go to the factory but stayed home making clothes for others. At that time, she worked as a seamstress, a job that was common for women in rural areas. The vest and shorts Zhu Yun Xuan was wearing now were all made by his mother.
In the past, during this time, Zhu Yun Xuan would either climb trees or gather a group of friends to catch grasshoppers. But today, he didn’t want to go out. Instead, he stayed in the room where his mother sewed clothes, watching her use the sewing machine. This sewing machine had been part of Jiang Yue Xiu’s dowry. She started working at the age of 15, and at 22, she married Zhu Yun Xuan’s father. Since she had saved up a fair bit of money over the years, her dowry was quite substantial.
Jiang Yue Xiu originally worked at a sofa factory where they dealt with paint all day. Many of the female workers there had miscarriages, so after getting married, she quit her job and became a seamstress at home. Now, she made more money than when she worked at the factory. She earned two to three hundred a month and still had time to take care of the children and help with farm work. Her life was something others envied.
“Aunt!” Suddenly, a shout broke Zhu Yun Xuan’s train of thought. He looked up and saw a round-faced little girl with short hair, wearing a floral sleeveless shirt and matching shorts. Without a doubt, this outfit was also made by his mother.
But was this his cousin? Was this what his cousin looked like when she was younger? Zhu Yun Xuan stared at her. When he was young, he had been pampered and his parents had earned well. However, his uncle’s family didn’t have much money and relied solely on his aunt. His grandparents favored boys over girls, so his cousin’s childhood must have been tough…
“Qiuyue!” Because Zhu Yun Xuan was only a few days older than his cousin, he later refused to call her “sister.” His cousin, Zhu Qiu Yue, had a weak temperament, and his grandparents spoiled him, their only grandson. As a result, he had called her by her name for decades…
“Xuan Xuan,” Zhu Qiu Yue glanced at Zhu Yun Xuan, then looked at Jiang Yue Xiu. “Aunt, do you have any scraps of fabric? I want to sew a small pouch!”
“Those over there are all scraps. Qiuyue, you can go take them yourself.” Jiang Yue Xiu still liked this niece of hers very much. Zhu Qiu Yue’s mother was often too busy to take care of her, so she would often rely on Jiang Yue Xiu, who was at home making clothes, to look after her. Since Zhu Yun Xuan was more mischievous, Jiang Yue Xiu actually spent more time with her niece during the day than with him.
Zhu Yun Xuan was a boy and didn’t have much in common with Zhu Qiu Yue. Furthermore, now that he was almost thirty years old, it felt even more awkward to talk to a little girl. He could only watch as Zhu Qiu Yue took a small pair of scissors, cut two rectangular pieces of fabric, sewed up three sides, and turned them into a little pouch.
His cousin, Zhu Qiu Yue, had always been quiet and obedient since childhood. She could probably spend an entire day sewing pouches. Zhu Yun Xuan sat on a small stool, watching her sew. After a while, he started to daydream.
Now, it was 1993…
Had he really been reborn? Zhu Yun Xuan had often thought about what he would do if he ever had the chance to be reborn while reading novels online. He had come to the conclusion that if he ever got a second chance, he would take it slow, never cause trouble with his family, and make sure that everyone else in the family was happy before seeking his own happiness.
In the past…
He worked hard, but after childhood, when he used to spend money freely, he became frugal. Every month, he would send a thousand yuan back home and save the rest. Back then, he had saved up enough money to hire a surrogate to have a child. His family, who were all biased towards having sons, would have been happy if he had a child…
But unfortunately, he had barely saved enough before being reborn. Now that he had returned, this lifetime…
Zhu Yun Xuan had always looked down on people who faked marriages, but surrogacy was different. It was a fair exchange of money for a service. As for the child, he had always liked kids. When he was younger, he often begged his mom for a little brother or sister… If he could find a man willing to spend his life with him, and they had two children together…
However, how many good men were there in this world? Zhu Yun Xuan thought about those men he had met in his circle who were always messing around, and couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.
Lu Ming was already a rare clean person, but what happened?
A gay man. Finding happiness was really hard. Maybe, in this lifetime, he would remain single forever.
“Xuan Xuan, this pouch is for you!” While Zhu Yun Xuan was lost in thought, Zhu Qiu Yue placed the small sewn pouch on his lap. She smiled broadly, showing her toothless grin.
Zhu Qiu Yue wasn’t exactly pretty, and as she grew up, her looks remained average. However, this cousin, who had often been bullied by Zhu Yun Xuan in childhood, had grown into the only family member who maintained a connection with him and the only relative he had left. She had even once surprised him with her beauty when she got married.
Indeed, there are only lazy women, not ugly ones, and for someone who never wears makeup, the transformation after applying makeup is huge!
In his previous life, when he was in his first year of university, his cousin, who was the same age as him, got married. By the time he was in his second year, his cousin had already given birth to a son. Back when he had a fallout with his family, his cousin’s son was already laughing…
Although he didn’t dislike his cousin’s husband, he still felt a little regretful that his cousin got married and had a child at such a young age. What was even more regrettable was that, back then, his cousin had only scored slightly lower than him in the college entrance exam, but she still couldn’t get into a second-tier university. Since she came from a rural area and early marriages were the norm, she didn’t continue her studies but instead got married after being introduced to a suitor.
“Thank you.” The old Zhu Yun Xuan probably wouldn’t have wanted a pouch like this, but the current Zhu Yun Xuan happily accepted it, which even surprised Zhu Qiu Yue a bit.
“Xuan Xuan, ancient knights all had these little pouches. You can put money in it!” At this time, martial arts movies were very popular, and Zhu Qiu Yue loved watching them. When she mentioned it, her eyes lit up with excitement.
“I’ll use it to store money. Qiuyue, do you want to buy popsicles? Let’s go get some!” Zhu Yun Xuan knew that he didn’t have a good relationship with his cousin before, but now he wanted to improve things. Back then, it was only this cousin who would occasionally come to check on him. When he was in his third year of university, if his cousin hadn’t lent him five thousand yuan, he probably wouldn’t have been able to scrape together enough money for tuition.
“I don’t have money to buy popsicles, but I can buy two pieces of toffee!” Zhu Qiu Yue took out a pouch that looked exactly the same as the one in Zhu Yun Xuan’s hand, except for the fabric used. She took out twenty cents from it.
In this era, things were much cheaper than twenty years later, but at this time, people could only earn ten yuan or even less for a full day’s work, which was ten times less than the future. On the other hand, due to scarcity of resources, items were relatively expensive.
Take popsicles, for example. At that time, there were popsicles that cost three mao (0.3 yuan), but they were simply frozen sugar water. A creamy popsicle would cost about seven or eight mao. Ten years later, those popsicles would only cost five mao, and in twenty years, they might cost one yuan.
But children twenty years later, let alone one yuan, would have no trouble getting ten or even a hundred yuan. In rural areas at this time, a child having one yuan in their pocket was something to be excited about!
Zhu Yun Xuan had two yuan in his pocket.
His grandparents had two sons and one daughter. Among the grandchildren, he was the only boy, so naturally, they spoiled him. His father worked in the town repairing bicycles and motorcycles, and his mother was a seamstress. Their family was quite well-off, so Zhu Yun Xuan also had some pocket money. At this time, when Zhu Qiu Yue rarely had more than fifty cents in her pocket, Zhu Yun Xuan could take out two yuan!
“Qiuyue, I’ll give you one yuan. You can buy whatever you want!” As soon as they went out, Zhu Yun Xuan gave his cousin one yuan. A child that young didn’t have much pride or hesitation in accepting money, so Zhu Qiu Yue happily took it and went to a nearby shop. However, she didn’t buy anything to eat. Instead, she bought a rubber band that cost one yuan and twenty mao.
They had plenty of rubber bands like this at Zhu Yun Xuan’s house. His mother used them when making pants, so when he was younger, the waistbands always left marks on his waist. However, Zhu Qiu Yue wasn’t buying this rubber band to make pants.
Sure enough, after tying a knot, Zhu Qiu Yue carefully tucked the rubber band into her pocket, likely planning to show it off to her friends later and play with them by jumping around together.
Zhu Yun Xuan, despite being a boy, still had a vivid memory of childhood games that almost every girl had played.