Mr.
Shi watched his old friend leave, then turned his head.
His eyes were fixed on Xu Qiguang, who had already gotten a plate and was even digging out Mr.
Shi’s private stash of snacks to go with his drinks.
A moment later, Mr.
Shi looked at Xu Qiguang, who had arranged the snacks and poured him a small cup of white liquor.
He rolled his eyes before speaking.
“Your teacher is a bit of a bookworm.
Don’t hold it against him.”
Xu Qiguang shook his head and smiled.
“I don’t.
I know he means well.” ‘He even went to great lengths to find an excuse to coax me.
He’s just afraid I’ll disappoint him again.’
“Since you don’t plan on transferring back…” Mr.
Shi’s finger tapped the kang table.
He picked up the small cup, took a sip, and smacked his lips.
“Go find Ding.”
“…”
“What’s the matter?” Mr.
Shi’s eyes widened and he glared, slapping a hand down on his own thigh.
The slap nearly sent his precious treasures on the kang table flying.
Xu Qiguang, quick-eyed and nimble-handed, pressed down on the kang table with both hands.
Seeing Mr.
Shi still staring daggers at him, he gave a wry laugh.
“Brother Ding was the one who helped me out so much back then.”
Mr.
Shi almost cursed out loud.
‘Back then, a top student like you went to his place to dig coal.
Was that supposed to be an insult to him?
Look how well you’ve done all these years!’
“Besides, it’s not necessary,” Xu Qiguang said, picking up the liquor bottle to refill Mr.
Shi’s cup.
“We should be straightforward about it, no need for any tricks.
If I get the promotion, I get it.
If not, it’s not like there won’t be another chance.”
“You can just stop pouring me wine.” ‘This tiny sip isn’t even enough to wet my lips!’ Mr.
Shi shot him a fierce glare.
“Another chance?”
Xu Qiguang let out a soft chuckle and pointedly did not hand over the bottle.
“They knock you down and you think they’ll give you another chance?” Mr.
Shi pointed at him.
“I’m not telling you to play tricks—I look down on those methods myself.
I’m just afraid you’re too much of a naive scholar.”
“I won’t be.”
Mr.
Shi was momentarily choked by his reply.
Hah!
With his fiery temper, if one of his soldiers had dared to tick him off like this back in the day, he would’ve kicked them long ago.
Wiggling his toes, Mr.
Shi looked at the “pale-faced scholar” before him and ultimately took a silent, deep breath to restrain his twitching feet.
Fine!
‘Got some backbone, do you?’
‘I refuse to believe this.
If the mountain won’t move, I will!’ “Alright, we’ll drop the matter.
But you can at least pass a message to Ding for me, right?”
Xu Qiguang wanted to shake his head, but under Mr.
Shi’s tiger-like gaze, he finally nodded.
‘What is a debt of gratitude?
This is a debt of gratitude.
I owe another one.’
“Tell him to find some time to come see me.”
“Brother Ding has been very busy lately…”
“Bullshit!” Mr.
Shi scoffed.
“You think I don’t know if he’s busy or not?
Just tell him.
He’ll figure out his own schedule.”
“…Alright!”
“And don’t you try to fool me.” As he spoke, Mr.
Shi stretched his neck to peek outside.
“Sounds like your teacher is back.
Quick, give me the bottle.”
‘He wouldn’t dare!’ ‘A small drink is a pleasure, but a large one harms the body.’ “Two liang.
If you get greedy, I’ll have to go find Aunt Tian.
I just heard her today talking about your old injuries…”
“Fine, fine, fine!” ‘If that woman gets her eyes on me, will I ever have a moment’s peace?’ Mr.
Shi immediately backtracked.
“Who’s being greedy?
You’re the one spouting nonsense, kid.”
Xu Qiguang couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
Annoyed, Mr.
Shi finally shot one of his legs out in a kick.
“Get out, get out, get out!” The words had barely left his mouth when he saw Xu Qiguang grab the liquor bottle and leave, making him so angry he regretted not kicking harder.
While the old man and the younger man were having fun inside, Xu Changqing, outside, couldn’t bring herself to smile.
Staring at her grand-teacher, who was handing her a cloth bundle and telling her to quickly hide it at the bottom of her basket, she wondered what she was supposed to do.
“Hurry up, aren’t you usually a clever girl?” The old headmaster, looking around nervously, had an expression of exasperation.
“This was your father’s to begin with.”
Xu Changqing didn’t know if her grand-teacher would flip out if she said she wanted to check the contents.
On one hand, she wanted to verify if it was what she had seen in her dream.
On the other…
Thinking of this, of all the things that had appeared in her dream, she remembered the fake gold she’d received.
‘Right now, I really don’t know if my grand-teacher’s wife has already swapped the contents.’
Silently, she stuffed the unopened package under the bolts of cloth at the bottom of her back basket and covered it well.
Xu Changqing told herself, ‘What if…
what if someone already swapped it out long ago?’
‘Then just let it be an expensive lesson for Dad.
These things are nothing but trouble right now anyway, and it’s not like we can use them.
In the future, I’ll definitely earn lots and lots of money to make up for it.’
Seeing the item finally returned to its rightful owner, the old headmaster’s heart settled at once.
He patted Xu Changqing on the head and, in high spirits, went into the inner room of the gatehouse.
“Alright, I’ll be heading back then.”
“So long-winded!”
When Xu Qiguang came out, he saw his Changqing sweeping the courtyard with a broom.
The pile of scrap that had been on the ground was gone; it looked like it had been sorted and put into the warehouse.
He didn’t have to wait long.
Xu Changqing was used to working and had a good sense of timing.
After putting the broom away, she called out to the inner room that she was leaving, and after getting a response, she hoisted the back basket onto her shoulders.
This time, Xu Qiguang didn’t try to take the basket from his daughter.
Although it was currently the wheat harvest season, making it hard to even find the cart drivers from the production team who usually went out to earn some extra cash, there was always a way if you were willing to spend the money.
After all, he had been in this county town for five or six years.
Finding a bicycle to get around wasn’t impossible; he usually just couldn’t be bothered to trouble others.
When Xu Changqing heard her father say he had another stop to make before going home, she first looked at the sky.
Seeing the sun still high in the west, she estimated it wasn’t even four o’clock yet, so she immediately hurried to follow him without a word.
This time, her father didn’t let her continue to follow.
As they were approaching a three-way intersection, Xu Qiguang handed the net bag he was carrying directly to his daughter.
“Wait for me under the tree.”
“Going to find Bai the Fifth?”
‘This kid, always bringing up the sore spot!’ Xu Qiguang couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s really not convenient to show up with things in hand this time.
I’ll be back soon, half an hour at most.”
‘Fine, go on.’ After watching her father leave, the smile Xu Changqing had been holding up immediately collapsed.
She swung the back basket from her back to her front, picked up the net bag from the ground, and walked out from under the shade of the tree.
The moment she stepped out, her feet started moving faster and faster toward the southeast.
Soon she broke into a run, racing forward nonstop as if something was chasing her from behind.
After running for less than five minutes, she reached the county transport team depot.
As soon as she entered, she saw two Jiefang tractor-trailers parked in the courtyard.
Beside one of them, a man was pointing and giving instructions, while another person was lying underneath the truck.
“Uncle Shen, Uncle Shen!” Xu Changqing started calling out while still a good distance away.
Shen Mingquan, forty-eight years old today, had a completely different personality from his old comrade-in-arms, Bai Xinsheng.
If one was said to be reserved, then Shen Mingquan was cheerful and much more straightforward.
Seeing his old comrade’s niece suddenly run over, Shen Mingquan was quite surprised.
Logically, at the very beginning of the wheat harvest, this child should absolutely not be here.
He quickly left a word with his apprentice, who was on the ground fixing the truck, then turned and shouted loudly, “Why are you calling me Uncle Shen again?
Didn’t I tell you to just call me Uncle?
Oh, and you even brought gifts.”