Chapter 107 Bewitched
Zhou Lao Er had already spent most of the money taking Zhou Chengli to the prefectural city for leg treatment. Fortunately, the result was good. Zhou Chengli was no longer as lifeless as before, and he was able to walk again.
Three days later, after Dr. Wu diagnosed him and prescribed some medicine, the father and son left the city and returned to their village.
Zhou Lao Er used the money to repair his house and buy land, which led to much gossip among the villagers.
What surprised them even more was that Zhou Chengli was able to stand up and looked just like a normal person, which attracted the attention of Old Mrs. Zhou.
"Is Chengli's leg better? Can he still take the imperial examination like before?" Seeing that he could walk steadily in the courtyard, Old Madam Zhou felt hopeful again.
“Grandmother is overthinking it. My academic achievements have been stripped by the county magistrate, and my future career is ruined. I may not be able to take the imperial examination again,” Zhou Chengli said, having seen the true face of the old lady, he no longer felt any affection for her and directly shattered her delusions.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, the smile on Old Mrs. Zhou's face vanished: "What a terrible thing!"
"Don't get too close to the Zhao family in the future. Zhao Yuzhi has come back from who-knows-where and is pregnant with an illegitimate child. Be careful that she doesn't try to pin the blame on you. Our Zhou family can't afford to lose face again," said Old Madam Zhou. Perhaps she also sensed that Zhou Chengli disliked her, so she left quickly.
Zhou Lao Er was also worried that his son was involved with Zhao Yuzhi again, so after his leg fully recovered, he sent him to town to find work.
Although Zhou Chengli had no official rank, he still managed to find a job as an accountant in a small restaurant thanks to his literacy and accounting skills, and he didn't return to the village very often.
When Zhao Yuzhi heard that he had returned to the village, her heart tightened. Fortunately, the two had no further contact. Her belly grew bigger and bigger. One day, she was accidentally discovered by the villagers, and the news of her pregnancy spread. Everyone outside said that she was shameless, but who knew that the child in her belly had an extraordinary background? Since she wanted to keep the child, she prepared herself mentally and waited for the opportunity to turn her life around.
Zhao Yuhe was completely unaware of her thoughts. She had tried to persuade Zhao Yuzhi to have an abortion, but obviously failed. Now the family was living off the valuables that Zhao Yuzhi had brought back.
"Should we go to town to see a doctor tomorrow?" Zhao Yuhe was worried because Zhao Yuzhi's morning sickness was really severe.
"It's okay. I asked last time, and it's a normal reaction. It will get better after this period." Zhao Yuzhi was a little swollen because of her pregnancy. She stayed indoors all day, and her skin was whiter, but her morning sickness was quite severe.
"Sister, if this child is born, will we be able to raise it?" Zhao Yuhe asked worriedly.
“As long as he can be born, I will definitely raise him,” Zhao Yuzhi said firmly.
"Yuhe, you've had a tough time these past few days. I know I've tarnished your reputation, but I won't treat you badly from now on. Just hang in there a little longer, and things will be fine once the baby is born," Zhao Yuzhi comforted Zhao Yuhe, knowing that she hadn't been feeling well lately.
Zhao Yuhe nodded, not thinking about anything else.
...
Do you still have any Rubik's Cubes?
"My son wanted me to buy one yesterday, but I was too late!"
"Don't even mention it, even I found that Rubik's Cube interesting. I was thinking of giving one to each of us, but we didn't have time!"
The new toys sold in the city today are very popular. Not only children love them, but adults can't help but get hooked. Every day, people come to inquire about Grandpa Liu's shop.
"Brother Fang! You actually bought a Rubik's Cube! Let me borrow it and play with it!"
"No way! I haven't had enough fun yet!"
"I'll teach you! I can solve Rubik's Cube really fast now! Let me play with it for a bit, and I'll teach you!"
The classroom was thrown into chaos by the sudden appearance of the Rubik's Cube. Everyone gathered around the student who was solving it, watching him quickly twist the cube until all six sides were aligned. Only then did the students around him exclaim in amazement.
"What are you doing? Fang Hui! Hand over what you have in your hands!" The teacher of the school walked in from outside the door. He did not hear the usual reading voices, but instead heard a commotion. After seeing the chaotic situation in the school, he was immediately furious.
The students who had been surrounding Fang Hui immediately returned to their seats, leaving Fang Hui alone holding the Rubik's Cube in his hand.
"Master! I will never do it again. Please don't take away the Rubik's Cube!" Fang Hui felt like the sky had fallen. He had finally managed to buy the Rubik's Cube, and it was taken away before he had even had enough time to play with it. He really couldn't bear to part with it.
"Hand it over and stand outside to clear your head, lest you become obsessed with this thing again! From now on, if I ever see this again, I will confiscate it!" The teacher gave him no chance at all.
Left with no other choice, Fang Hui had to hand over the Rubik's Cube and voluntarily stand outside as punishment.
Zhou Chengyu looked thoughtfully at the Rubik's Cube in the teacher's hand. He remembered that Song Yushu had given him a 5x5 Rubik's Cube, saying that it was a good way to relax when he was tired. So he would take it out and play with it whenever he had free time. He was quite addicted to it, but he was not as obsessed as Fang Hui and the others.
"Brother Zhou, can we borrow yours to play with? I noticed that yours seems a bit different from the one that Fang Hui had confiscated," Liao Yunfei began pestering Zhou Chengyu as soon as he returned to his residence.
"We've never actually played with that Rubik's Cube before. We only found it interesting after seeing Fang Hui play with it today. You don't usually go out much, so when did you buy the Rubik's Cube? I heard that there's only one shop in the city that sells it now!"
"That's right, Brother Zhou, I didn't expect you to be so naive, you've been playing this game all along!"
"You can borrow it to play with, but you can only play here. You can't take it to the school, lest the teacher get angry."
Zhou Chengyu didn't know how to explain it to them, so he didn't refuse their request and took out the Rubik's Cube for them to figure out on their own.
Liao Yunfei tried twisting the Rubik's Cube a few times, but found that he couldn't twist it back as skillfully as Fang Hui had done earlier. He and two other classmates fiddled with it for a long time, but still couldn't get it right.
"There's a method to solving this Rubik's Cube, but you haven't seen it before, so naturally you can't solve it back to its original state in a short time..."
Zhou Chengyu explained things to them, and they regained their confidence. With Zhou Chengyu's occasional reminders, they finally managed to turn things back to normal.
"It actually worked! I wonder who had such ingenuity to create something like this," Liao Yunfei exclaimed.
“There’s only one shop in the city that sells Rubik’s Cubes, so it must be one of their craftsmen. There are so many skilled craftsmen in our country, it’s not surprising that they could make one!” Another knowledgeable classmate didn’t find it strange at all, but rather thought it was perfectly reasonable.
"Alright, you haven't finished today's homework. Hurry up and finish it, or you'll have to do it by candlelight tonight," Zhou Chengyu said, worried that they would play too much and fall behind on their studies, so he quickly put the Rubik's Cube away.
Liao Yunfei and the others were sensible people and did not think Zhou Chengyu's actions were petty. Thinking that they would have to have their homework checked by the teacher in class the next day, they immediately gave up their playful thoughts.
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