When Shen Shao returned to Peng County, the information that he received first place on the highschool entrance examination had unfold all around the county. Barely two days after he returned to the village, Shen QuanFa, the secretary of the village committee, got here to his door with the village director and accountant.

When you needed to decide which individual on the village committee was the happiest about Shen Shao taking first place, it was undoubtedly Shen QuanFa. He’d labored onerous behind the scenes to provide Shen Shao village subsidies in recent times. For instance, for holidays just like the Mid-Autumn Pageant, New Yr’s Day, and the Spring Pageant, the village would ship an additional allowance for residing bills to households in poverty and aged receiving the 5 ensures. He at all times argued for Shen Shao to be included on the record.

Now Shen Shao had received first place within the county, which lastly shut up the individuals who talked about him behind his again. If the village wasn’t going to assist such a succesful youngster, who had been they going to assist?

“Xiao Shao ah.” Shen QuanFa checked out Shen Shao and considered the tales he’d learn concerning the Qin Dynasty, feeling a bit of like Lü BuWei. At a look, he might inform that Shen Shao was an unusually good child. It made sense to kind a great relationship with him now, in order that when Shen Shao went on to a superb and affluent future, he would possibly keep in mind the kindness a bit of. “When our village heard you received first place within the county, everybody was excited. The village committee got here to congratulate you on behalf of the villagers.”

“Thanks, Uncle Shen. Thanks, everybody.” Shen Shao smiled on the different members of the village committee. He introduced in some tea for them to drink. “Uncles, you didn’t need to do all this for one thing so small. I’m sorry to bother you.”

“We’re all from Shenjia Village, and also you’re a descendant of the village. As elders we’re pleased to see the youthful era striving for fulfillment.” Shen QuanFa expressed it in a complimentary means, describing their actions as an elder’s concern for the youthful era, quite than pitying Shen Shao as a result of he had no father or mom. “By the way in which, which highschool are you going to enroll in?”

“I used to be nearly to inform Uncle Shen about that,” Shen Shao mentioned with a contented expression. “I’m going to highschool in Furong Metropolis in a number of days. I hope you possibly can take care of the home.” He turned his head and appeared round on the considerably empty room. “There’s nothing of worth right here, however nonetheless…”

Earlier than he completed his phrases, the temper of the folks within the room sank. After a second, Shen QuanFa broke the awkward silence. “Furong Metropolis? You’re going so far-off?” In his creativeness, it was already fantastic if Shen Shao might get into Guo Metropolis No. 1 Excessive Faculty. He by no means thought Shen Shao would go to highschool in Furong Metropolis, the provincial capital.

“A number of days in the past, I went to Furong No. 3 Senior Excessive to take the admission check for exterior college students, and I handed.” Shen Shao scratched his head. “I won’t have a lot time to come back again through the subsequent few years, so I hope my uncles will assist maintain my home.”

“You imply one of the best highschool within the province?” Shen QuanFa’s eyes lit up. He checked out Shen Shao like he was seeing a future massive shot. “Our Xiao Shao is on the trail to success. You even bought into Furong No. 3 Excessive Faculty!”

The opposite village committee members had been excited too. If Shen Shao was admitted to Furong No. 3 Excessive Faculty at the moment, sooner or later he would possibly go on to Q College or B College. This was a toddler from their village. Perhaps sometime…

Because the saying goes, don’t bully a poor younger man. Thankfully they’d at all times been well mannered to Shen Shao and hadn’t offended him. In any other case it was unattainable to say how a lot they could remorse it sooner or later. After they considered Shen JianBing, who deserted his spouse and didn’t need his personal son, they inwardly shook their heads. To assume that man didn’t need such a great son. He was out of his thoughts.

Shen Shao’s uncles requested him to watch out exterior. Lastly, Shen QuanFa took out a thick, bulging envelope from his bag. Shen Shao was in a position to see the nook of a ten yuan invoice peeking out from the flap.

“Xiao Shao, it is a small token from everybody within the village who needs you nicely. I do know our circumstances are restricted and we will’t do a lot for you. Please don’t thoughts it. Simply consider it as everybody serving to a bit of with residing bills.” Shen QuanFa put the envelope into Shen Shao’s hand. “Everybody wrote down how a lot they donated. When you don’t need the cash, you possibly can deal with it as a mortgage. If you end learning and grow to be successful sooner or later, you possibly can pay it again.”

Shen Shao appeared on the envelope. When he went out to work in his final life, the villagers didn’t give him cash, however they despatched bacon, sausage, and different issues. It was a pity that he didn’t obtain a lot in his later years. At most, he donated some cash when the village raised funds to enhance the roads. As a lot as he wished to assist in different methods, he didn’t have the power.

On this life, the identical villagers nonetheless handled him nicely. Perhaps they didn’t have a lot tradition or training, and a few had been a bit of grasping or small-minded, however they didn’t have dangerous intentions. They had been keen to assist a fatherless, motherless youngster the place they may.

“Uncle Shen, I can’t take this cash.” Shen Shao returned the envelope to Shen QuanFa. “I do know it’s not simple for everybody to earn cash, they usually have their very own kids and elders to take care of. Every part prices cash. Additionally, I bought a great rating on the admission check, which suggests Furong No. 3 Excessive Faculty waived my tuition and faculty charges. I nonetheless have some financial savings. It’s sufficient.”

“Sufficient for what? What sort of place is Furong Metropolis? There are such a lot of locations to spend cash.” Though Shen QuanFa did have a number of cautious ideas about “investing” in Shen Shao, he additionally had real emotions. “Uncle Shen won’t have seen a lot, however I do know Furong Metropolis is totally different from our village. It’s the capital of the province. There are extra automobiles, extra folks, extra bills. When you take the cash with you, we received’t fear as a lot about you. Or do you assume we didn’t donate sufficient and also you’re trying down on us?”

With a pained smile, Shen Shao accepted the cash, however he felt a bit of responsible. Clearly he had cash, however he couldn’t inform the villagers about it as a result of it wasn’t simple to elucidate. The cash in his hand felt scorching. “Thanks, everybody. I’ll undoubtedly examine onerous.”

“Simply examine and don’t fear an excessive amount of. We hope you may get into a great college and make our village proud.” Shen QuanFa was relieved to see him take the cash. He requested Shen Shao if he wished somebody to accompany him to Furong Metropolis. When Shen Shao refused, he didn’t insist and instructed him to concentrate to security and so forth, after which he left with the opposite folks of the village committee.

After Shen Shao closed the door he opened the thick envelope. It was full of 5 and ten yuan payments, and there have been a number of fifty and 100 payments on the backside. The cash actually didn’t add as much as a lot, however the weight of their good intentions was heavy.

Contained in the envelope was a listing of donations. Many households donated ten or twenty yuan, and several other donated fifty yuan. A number of members of the village committee donated 100 yuan. In all, it totaled greater than a thousand yuan.

Holding the donation record, Shen Shao smiled to himself. He walked out of the door and appeared on the stunning village with heat emotions in his coronary heart.

Simply earlier than Shen Shao was able to journey to Furong Metropolis, his two maternal uncles Shao QingWen and Shao QingWu discovered him and gave him 5 hundred yuan every. They didn’t say a lot. They simply requested him to name them if he wanted one thing and instructed him to not mistaken himself.

One in all his two uncles was a instructor and the opposite was an worker of a textile manufacturing facility. Though they each had “iron rice bowls”, their wage wasn’t excessive. 5 hundred yuan wasn’t a small quantity for them.

“Xiao Shao, your uncle and I are nugatory. We couldn’t assist your mom arise for herself. If Shen JianBing, that son of a bitch, dares to indicate his face in Peng County once more, I’ll kill him!” Shao QingWu had a simple mood. Up to now he beat up Shen JianBing for his sister Shao QingBi, however he didn’t assume his sister would flip round and drink pesticide to kill herself. And that bastard Shen JianBing didn’t even care. He circled and ran away along with his mistress.

Every time the identify Shen JianBing was talked about, he would get indignant. If Shen Shao weren’t in entrance of him, he would have used even harsher language.

“All proper, why are you saying this in entrance of Xiao Shao?” Shao QingWen glared at his youthful brother and pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nostril. “Xiao Shao, don’t hearken to your second uncle’s nonsense. If you get to highschool, be sure to review onerous. When you don’t find the money for, come to us and we’ll determine it out. Don’t be overly frugal. Care for your well being.”

As a instructor, Shao QingWen was keen on his nephew Shen Shao, so he typically gave Shen Shao pocket cash through the years. Nevertheless, his means had been restricted and he couldn’t give as a lot as he wished to.

“It’s OK. I do know Second Uncle cares about me. I’ll take excellent care of myself. You don’t have to fret.” Shen Shao smiled, remembering that when he was first reborn three years in the past, his second aunt, who was obsessive about scratch-off tickets, insisted on giving him two steamed rolls. “Is Second Aunt nonetheless shopping for scratch-off tickets these days?”

“Nah, she isn’t into these scratch-off scams anymore. She likes to knit sweaters now. Who needs to put on one thing like that on this warmth?” As Shao QingWu mentioned this, he took out a plastic bag from his pack, which contained a number of stunning sweaters. “Your second aunt knitted these for you. She mentioned you’re nonetheless rising, so she knitted them a bit of larger on function. It’s best to be capable of put on them this winter.” Though the phrases had been deprecatory, the upturned corners of his mouth confirmed how fond Shao QingWu was of his spouse.

“Thank Second Aunt for me.” Shen Shao wasn’t going to refuse. He reached for the sweaters and felt the yarn. It was good wool, gentle to the contact.

When Shao QingWen and Shao QingWu noticed their nephew like this, they felt distressed and regretful. They nagged and gave him loads of recommendation earlier than they bought up and left, nonetheless nervous about Shen Shao.

In mid-August, Shen Shao took his suitcase and bought on the bus to Furong Metropolis. The bus was full of life with passengers chattering about native gossip. Though lots of the folks didn’t know one another, it didn’t have an effect on their curiosity in gossip.

“Did you hear about that boy who received first place within the county on the highschool entrance examination?” A middle-aged man was speaking concerning the school entrance examination, then turned to the highschool examination, which led to Shen Shao, the highest scorer within the county.

“What about him?” A lady in her forties requested behind him. “I heard he didn’t go to the Metropolis No. 1 Excessive Faculty or the County No. 1 Excessive Faculty. As an alternative he was admitted to Furong No. 3 Excessive Faculty, and he even bought into an experimental class.”

“”

“Furong No. 3 Excessive Faculty?” The center-aged man was a bit of shocked. After some time he mentioned, “What a fantastic scholar. It’s a pity he has such a awful father. What a tough life.”

“What occurred along with his father?” As quickly because the others on the bus heard this tidbit, their ears perked up. They appeared on the middle-aged man, hoping he’d give them some particulars others didn’t know.

“You didn’t hear?” The center-aged man was happy with their response and mentioned in a louder voice, “My second sister’s daughter is in the identical grade as that boy, so we all know one thing about him. I heard his father isn’t lifeless. He truly ran away with a girl exterior….”

The center-aged man instructed the story of a heartless man and a pathetic youngster in vivid language, as if he was an eyewitness. The folks listening on the bus scolded the shameless father for being a beast.

Shen Shao, who was sitting in a nook of the bus and was awarded the title of “pathetic  youngster”: ….

TL Notes:

mutual care – 情谊 – friendship; pleasant emotions; pleasant sentiments

Mid-Autumn Pageant – 中秋 – The fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, also called the Mooncake Pageant, a standard pageant celebrated in mainland China and different nations to look at the top of the autumn harvest (Wikipedia)

New Yr’s Day – 元旦 – The primary day of the 12 months within the Gregorian Calendar

Spring Pageant – 春节 – Seek advice from the notice in Ch 2

aged receiving the 5 ensures – 五保老人 – The aged who’re supported by rural collective financial organizations who implement the 5 ensures of “meals, clothes, housing, medical, care, and burial” (Baidu)

ah – 啊 – modal particle ending sentence, exhibiting affirmation, approval, or consent; interjection of shock (“Ah!” “Oh!”); interjection expressing doubt or requiring reply (“Eh?” “What?” “My!” “What’s up?”); interjection or grunt of settlement or expression of recognition (“Uhm” “Ah, OK” “Oh, it’s you”)

Lü BuWei – 吕不韦 – A first-rate minister of the Qin State within the Warring States Interval. Initially an influential service provider, Lü BuWei met and befriended a minor prince who was serving as a hostage within the Zhao state. By way of bribes and machinations, Lü BuWei helped the younger prince rise to the throne of Qin and acquired many rewards consequently. In line with legend, when Lü BuWei first met the prince, he mentioned, “This can be a uncommon piece of merchandise that needs to be saved for later.” The prince’s son grew to become the primary emperor of the unified China, Qin Shi Huang (Wikipedia)

don’t bully a poor younger man – 莫欺少年穷 – It’s higher to look down on a white-bearded man than a poor younger man, as a result of the younger man may need a limitless future. This can be a proverb from a novel referred to as Unofficial Historical past of the Students (儒林外史), a satire of the imperial examination system written by Wu Jinzi (吴敬梓) in 1750. It’s one of many six classics of Chinese language novels (Wikipedia)

iron rice bowl – 铁饭碗 – A job in a state-owned enterprise the place employment is principally assured for all times

Transliterated names, locations, and titles—new on this chapter:

Uncles (, you didn’t need to…)  – 叔叔伯伯们 – father’s youthful brother + father’s older brothers

maternal uncles – 舅舅 – jiùjiu – mom’s brother,  maternal uncle (casual)

Shao QingWen – 邵庆文

Shao QingWu – 邵庆武

Shao QingBi – 邵青碧 – MC’s mother

second uncle – 二舅 – second maternal uncle

second aunt – 二舅妈 – maternal uncle’s spouse