Chapter 30 This year has been quite lively too. "We'll wait until later."

"This can't go on," Jiang Yueming said. Putting aside whether Wang Hao could calm down for a while, they had to think of a way to compromise with him. Jiang Yueming immediately dismissed the idea. He would never compromise with Wang Hao, that bullying scoundrel. Jiang Yueming despised him, and once he compromised, this behavior probably wouldn't stop, but would only become more and more outrageous.

Just as Jiang Yueming was pondering, Li Leshan suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist. After going inside and putting on a thick coat, his hands and feet were no longer so cold.

Jiang Yueming was startled. He looked at Li Leshan and saw that the man's expression had softened. He used sign language, which was quite comforting.

“Don’t think about it.” Li Leshan’s sign language was calm. “It will be fine later. When we go to junior high school, we will be separated, and he won’t be able to see me, so it will be okay.”

“From now on…” Jiang Yueming’s heart skipped a beat. He really wanted to grab Wang Hao by the collar and ask him what he was thinking all day, why he bullied Li Leshan, and why he disliked him so much. But then he thought again, reasoning with someone like Wang Hao was like casting pearls before swine. Wasn’t his pathetic sense of superiority built on bullying the weak? Li Leshan couldn’t speak and always remained silent and patient; in the eyes of Wang Hao and his gang, he was simply a piece of fat meat that said, “Come and bully me!”

Things will get better later.

Jiang Yueming didn't want to be a spoilsport. Would things really get better in the future? He didn't know. He had no idea what the future held; he had absolutely no confidence. "The future" was truly a very vague, empty, and dramatic word. Just like when he was born, he never imagined that there would be no "future" between him and his parents.

“Okay…” Jiang Yueming’s throat tightened, and with a sense of resigned compromise, she said in a low voice, “We’ll wait until later.”

"If Wang Hao comes looking for you again, you absolutely have to tell me, okay?" Jiang Yueming hurriedly said again. Although he couldn't be of much help, and although he wasn't a very useful person, and couldn't do anything about his studies or life, could he really not be helpless here? He could fight, and he was quite resilient. At the very least, he could run away. He thought that he should be able to help in this regard.

Looking into his unwavering and urgent gaze, Li Leshan finally nodded slightly.

At that time, Xu Qing was still anxiously waiting for the results. She only drank one sip of the warm water that Lin Cuiqin poured for her and didn't touch it again. It had already cooled down slightly on the table.

"That kid hasn't come back yet? What did he go out to do?" Lin Cuiqin couldn't help but ask. She was still wearing her pajamas and hadn't tidied up much before coming out to greet the guests. Who knew that Jiang Yueming had run off somewhere again, and it was already dark.

"He... he said he went out for a while and should be back soon," Xu Qing said. She was a very quiet girl in front of adults, only becoming lively and energetic in front of Han Jiang and Jiang Yueming.

Her mother had taught her from a young age that a girl should be a well-bred young lady, so that she would be liked. But Xu Qing didn't understand whose likes she was trying to gain. If it was her parents, she didn't need to try; if it was others, Xu Qing didn't need to try either. She couldn't be bothered! It was just that the girls around her seemed to be taught to be well-bred young ladies, to be quiet and graceful, so she just followed suit.

"Aunt Cuiqin, you can go and rest first. I'll wait for Jiang Yueming to come back." Xu Qing smiled. At this moment, she really hoped that Jiang Yueming could come back soon.

Jiang Yueming also pushed open the door to let Xu Qing have her way. He was still wearing Li Leshan's coat. Li Leshan told him to put it back on first and he would give it back to him tomorrow. He couldn't refuse, so he put it back on.

"You rascal, why are you running off when your friends are here?" Lin Cuiqin said in a perfunctory tone, then turned to Xu Qing and smiled, "Then you two chat. It's getting late. I'll have Yueming take you home later."

"How was it?" Xu Qing asked immediately after Lin Cuiqin left.

Her face showed some worry, and her tone was also very anxious.

"It's nothing," Jiang Yueming said casually. He couldn't tell Xu Qing about it. There was no need to involve Xu Qing in his personal feud with Li Leshan and Wang Hao. "I just fell and bumped my face. It looks painful."

Xu Qing breathed a sigh of relief, without suspicion or overthinking. Heaven knows that before hearing Jiang Yueming say that, several dramatic and terrifying scenarios had played out in her mind.

"Oh, by the way, Li Leshan asked me to thank you," Jiang Yueming said. "Thank you for your concern for him."

Actually, Jiang Yueming should also thank Xu Qing. Luckily, Xu Qing came to find him. He didn't expect that Li Leshan held a high place in Xu Qing's heart. She could make a girl who usually gets tired after walking just a few steps run such a long distance without even taking a break.

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing's face flushed slightly. She had noticed the extra jacket Jiang Yueming was wearing earlier, and guessed it belonged to Li Leshan. "He's a pretty nice guy, the jacket..."

“Yes,” Jiang Yueming glanced at the clock on the wall. The hour hand had already ticked to nine o’clock. It was already completely dark outside. That’s how it is in winter; it gets dark as early as seven. “Are you staying or not? If not, I’ll take you home.”

"Are you kicking me out?" Xu Qing said, somewhat displeased.

“Ancestor,” Jiang Yueming sighed, “you can stay, but you have to sleep in my bed.”

He had barely finished speaking when he realized something was off, so he changed his mind, saying, "You can only sleep in my bed."

This change seems to make things even more wrong.

Honestly, Jiang Yueming hadn't thought much of it, and absolutely had no intention of taking advantage of Xu Qing. What kind of person would he be? Would he even be able to live? Han Jiang alone would have to come all by himself. It's simply that there were no other rooms for Xu Qing; she couldn't very well sleep on the sofa, could she?

"Who wants it...!" Xu Qing roared, but as soon as she finished speaking, she realized that Lin Cuiqin in the nearby room could hear her, so she quickly lowered her voice and whispered, "Sleep in your bed."

Jiang Yueming laughed heartily; he knew it, she was hard to please.

“Then you’ll have to sleep on the floor,” he said.

He didn't favor anyone or show any bias; he treated Han Jiang the same, which was perfectly fair.

"Do I really have to sleep here?" Xu Qing pouted and walked towards the door. She already knew that Li Leshan was alright, and seeing that Jiang Yueming had returned, there was no need for her to stay any longer.

"Hey, hey, hey," Jiang Yueming hurriedly chased after her, wondering why she was walking so fast. "Wait for me, wait for me."

I dare not walk alone! Lin Cuiqin would really beat me if she found out!

With the matter with Wang Hao temporarily put to rest, Jiang Yueming still didn't know what exactly happened that day. In any case, Wang Hao had calmed down for the time being. So, Jiang Yueming and Li Leshan, carrying the faint hope that "things will be better when we go to junior high school," let time flow by slowly like the waters of the Lijiang River.

/

The Spring Festival in Shengping is the most lively time of the year. On New Year's Eve, firecrackers fill the air, and the three alleys are decorated with lanterns and couplets from early morning. Jiang Yueming walks on the snow that fell two days ago, leaving footprints with each step.

"So, are couplets cheaper now?" Jiang Yueming asked helplessly as he brought back a pair of couplets and several "Fu" characters.

"The answer is no." Jiang Yueming answered himself, handing the sticker to Lin Cuiqin and saying, "I feel like that stall owner is trying to rip me off."

They practically have "I'm going to screw you over" written all over their faces.

At a small stall with a plastic sheet set up on the street corner, Jiang Yueming was haggling with the owner, who was wrapped in a military overcoat and smoking a cigarette. The stall owner was taking advantage of the fact that it was close to the Spring Festival to inflate prices, saying something like, "These are the last few pieces. I'm the only one selling them on the whole street. You won't find another shop like this. I'm already being generous by not asking for more!"

They didn't charge less. Jiang Yueming thought to himself, "The usual price is six yuan for two pieces, but now it's gone up to eight yuan."

“These are the last few items, so why don’t you sell them to me cheaply?” Jiang Yueming said to him.

The two pushed and shoved each other two or three times, each giving in, and finally Jiang Yueming took the six yuan with him.

Lin Cuiqin laughed sheepishly. She had been so busy at the end of the year that she had forgotten to put up couplets. Seeing that her neighbors in the third alley had all put them up, she suddenly remembered that she hadn't put them up at home yet! She remembered that she had a few at home, so she rummaged through her drawers and found them. Last year was the Year of the Rooster, and this year was the Year of the Dog. But what she found were either "May the Year of the Rooster bring you good fortune and happiness, and may you have peace and prosperity throughout the four seasons," with the horizontal scroll "Golden Rooster Brings Good News"; or "May your journey be smooth and prosperous every year, and may all your wishes come true step by step," with the horizontal scroll "Happy Year of the Rooster."

They're all chickens from last year!

Jiang Yueming asked from the side, "Then why not just throw away the horizontal scroll?"

"Yes, that's a great idea!" Lin Cuiqin excitedly pulled out the couplet, but then she was dumbfounded. The chick image at the bottom of the couplet was staring straight at her. She had no choice but to ask Jiang Yueming to buy the couplet.

Jiang Yueming has grown quite a bit this year, his height has jumped to 1.7 meters. He's probably already over 1.7 meters tall. Lin Cuiqin is 1.65 meters tall. She remembers that at the beginning of the year, she could look Jiang Yueming at eye level, but by the end of the year, she had to look up at him.

So the task of putting up the Spring Festival couplets was assigned to Jiang Yueming. The door frame was only a little taller than him, so he could put up the horizontal scrolls while standing, which was somewhat useful.

Fireworks were set off in the alley that night, one after another, making it feel like the outside world was filled with the deafening noise of firecrackers. After finishing his New Year's Eve dinner, Jiang Yueming simply watched the scene outside. In addition to Lin Cuiqin's signature dishes, she also made dumplings, with pork and cabbage filling. Lin Cuiqin wrapped a lucky peanut, symbolizing good luck for the coming year, which he carefully calculated and then put into the sweet bowl.

The Spring Festival Gala was playing on TV, and Lin Cuiqin said that Nicholas Tse was really handsome, with eyebrows, eyes, and nose that resembled someone else.

This is also Xu Qing's idol. Her aesthetic is very consistent; she only likes handsome men, and this hasn't changed over the years. Right now, that girl is probably swooning over him in front of the TV.

Visiting relatives during festivals is a proper and important matter, a custom. Jiang Yueming doesn't have many relatives to visit. He has a few distant aunts and uncles, and his second maternal uncle, who is a distant relative, is someone he doesn't know where he is. He's probably off performing with a troupe, probably in a more distant or larger place outside of Shengping.

He listened to the sound of fireworks exploding outside, and felt that the voices on the TV were not very clear. Suddenly, everyone on and off the TV burst into laughter. Lin Cuiqin laughed until tears streamed down her face, and Tian Tian was also giggling. They must have been watching Zhao Benshan's skit.

This year has been quite lively. But Jiang Yueming feels as if something has ripped out of her heart, leaving her feeling empty.

-----------------------

Author's Note: It's already reached 100,000 words...