Because of the excessive promoting worth, Shen Shao nonetheless ended up with round 300 thousand yuan after the buying and selling firm took its fee. When the workers gave him the cash, they had been anxious concerning the baby’s security, so that they bought somebody to take him to the financial institution and had an acquaintance prepare a passbook for him. Shen Shao ended up spending yet one more night time in Furong Metropolis. He purchased a ticket to return to Peng County early the subsequent morning.

When the bus arrived in Peng County, it was round 4 p.m. He was carrying a whole lot in money, his family registry guide, and two financial institution passbooks. He didn’t dare stroll across the avenue, so he went instantly residence.

Shortly after he bought there, his uncle and aunt hurried over. They had been relieved to see him residence and nicely. His uncle smoked a low-quality cigarette—a pack bought for 50 fen—and stated in a heavy tone, “Xiao Shao, your father isn’t a great individual. When you run into hassle sooner or later, simply come discuss to Uncle about it. Uncle doesn’t have a lot skill, however I gained’t allow you to go hungry or endure within the chilly. You’re nonetheless younger proper now. How will you will have a great life whenever you develop up should you don’t examine laborious?”

At first Shen Shao was startled, and it took him a second to comprehend what was occurring. He’d left residence for 2 or three days and not using a phrase. His uncle’s household didn’t know the place he’d gone, so that they thought he went on the lookout for his dad. When Shen Shao figured it out, he felt a bit responsible. He couldn’t inform them about promoting the antiques, so all he might do was bow his head and say, “Sorry, uncle. If I’m going out once more sooner or later I’ll let you know first.”

When Shen Shao stated this, Liu ShuLian pulled her husband’s sleeve to shush him. Then she instructed Shen Shao, “Did you will have lunch? Why don’t you come over to your uncle’s home to eat? Eldest Aunt will make you a bowl of noodles.”

Shen Shao had traveled residence in a rush. He ate breakfast, however nothing since getting on the bus. He actually did really feel a bit hungry, and nodded in embarrassment.

“Then come again to our home,” Liu ShuLian stated with a sigh of aid. She checked out Shen Shao’s face and determined that he in all probability hadn’t gone searching for his irresponsible father. “The outcomes of the admission examination will likely be introduced quickly, proper? Faculty’s about to start out.”

“The outcomes will likely be out tomorrow. If my rating’s excessive sufficient, I can enroll.” Shen Shao adopted his aunt out of the home. After locking the door, he adopted a step behind her. She requested a number of questions on learning, and he answered actually. When he regarded again he noticed his uncle silently following. Shen Shao remembered that his uncle was the identical in his earlier life. He by no means talked a lot, however he took excellent care of Shen Shao throughout his years in junior excessive.

Uncle’s home wasn’t removed from his personal. It took lower than three minutes to stroll. When Shen Shao went inside, his two younger cousins, Shen Yuan and Shen Hong, had been there. They regarded over as he entered, then ignored him and continued watching 《Journey to the West》 on TV.

Shen Shao glanced on the TV. It was black-and-white, neither outdated nor new. There have been a number of dots of snowflake-like static on the display screen. The picture wasn’t very clear, however the sisters stared at it with nice curiosity.

“You may’t watch our TV,” Shen Hong stated immediately. She was a number of months youthful than Shen Shao. When she noticed he was additionally wanting on the TV, she added, “It belongs to my household.” Some individuals had instructed her Shen Shao’s mother and father didn’t care about him and he’d sometime eat, drink, and spend her household’s cash.

Shen Shao wasn’t going to argue with a baby who hadn’t even turned eleven. When she began making hassle, he regarded away. His eldest aunt served the noodles, and he silently lowered his head and ate.

“”

“Mother, why did you give him an egg?!” When Shen Hong noticed there was really a fried egg in Shen Shao’s bowl, she instantly shouted, “Are you going to make him your son? Is that why you gave him an egg as a substitute of me?”

When her daughter began yelling, Eldest Aunt felt extraordinarily embarrassed. She stated with a troubled face, “Why are you making such a fuss?”

“You simply need a son! Everybody says you and Dad aren’t proud of me and my sister as a result of we’re women and also you’re going to undertake Shen Shao as your son. You assume boys are higher than women!” As Shen Hong continued to yell at her mom, her voice bought even louder. “You’re biased!”

Liu ShuLian wasn’t going to slap her personal daughter, however she thought the woman’s phrases had been ugly. Nowadays, as a result of Shen Shao had no father or mom, she and her husband felt sorry for him and tried to take care of him the place they may. Why would outsiders say these issues to her daughter, fueling such jealousy? She didn’t know what individuals had been considering as of late. How would the youthful era get together with one another sooner or later?

“Eldest Aunt, I’m finished consuming,” Shen Shao put down his chopsticks and stood up. “There are some issues I must do at residence. I’ll head again.”

Liu ShuLian seen that Shen Shao didn’t even have time to correctly end his soup. He’d gulped down such a giant bowl of noodles in a rush. She felt sorry and helpless and walked him to the door. “Your sister isn’t wise. I’ll discuss to her. Please don’t take it to coronary heart, and don’t fear about it sooner or later.”

Shen Shao nodded with a smile. “I do know. Thanks, Eldest Aunt.” Then he smiled on the sisters within the room and left his aunt’s home.

Shen JianJun heard Shen Hong’s phrases clearly from the subsequent room. After Shen Shao left, he got here out of the room, regarded on the noodle bowl that also contained some soup, and gazed calmly at his two daughters. He lit a cigarette, put it to his lips, and didn’t communicate.

Liu ShuLian regarded again and noticed this scene. She opened her mouth however couldn’t convey herself to say something. After a protracted silence, she put away the noodle bowl and went again to the kitchen.

All of them beloved Xiao Shao, however they couldn’t assist feeling biased. They valued their very own kids extra.

Shen Shao walked again to his home. He’d eaten too quick simply now and his abdomen was a bit upset. He sat and waited for greater than half an hour earlier than he felt higher.

When he thought of his plan to test the examination outcomes tomorrow, he remembered the issues with the dormitory on the experimental junior excessive. The experimental junior highschool didn’t have many residential college students from rural areas, and the dormitory had really been transformed out of a number of former lecturers’ places of work. Boys lived on the fourth flooring and women on the fifth flooring. The 2 flooring had been separated by an iron grate, and there have been solely three rooms per flooring. Greater than a dozen individuals had been crowded into every room, and there wasn’t a lot area.

As a result of the dormitory was so cramped, the kids who lived on campus would inevitably get into arguments or keep up late chatting. College students who initially had good grades would possibly steadily lose curiosity in learning, which induced a fast decline of their grades.

In Shen Shao’s earlier life, he lived on campus. He didn’t wish to squeeze into that crude dormitory once more.

In his final life, after he turned a prepare dinner, he did self-study when he had free time, and even enrolled in an internet diploma program. It hadn’t been straightforward to earn a college diploma as an grownup. Now that he had the choice of learning in higher situations, why not benefit from it?

Shen Shao determined to lease an house, then washed and went to mattress. There have been quite a lot of issues to do tomorrow. He’d higher get some relaxation.

Early the subsequent morning, August 27, a crowd of oldsters gathered across the bulletin board of the experimental junior excessive. They had been all ready for the admission outcomes. In any case, there have been solely eighty locations. Who didn’t need their baby to get into a great class?

When the outcomes had been posted, some had been joyful, others had been upset. Then somebody started to complain that the maths check was too laborious. The final two issues even required junior excessive school-level information.

“The questions had been so troublesome this time, however there was one scholar who really bought an ideal rating. Whose child is so succesful?”

“Who’s Shen Shao? Math 100, Chinese language 96. He took first place.”

The mother and father requested one another, however nobody got here ahead to say the kid as their very own. After lamenting a bit, they left the bulletin board with emotions of envy and jealousy. Dad and mom with connections went to see if they may nonetheless get their baby into the experimental class, whereas wealthy mother and father ready to donate college building funds to buy a spot.

As for Shen Shao, the scholar all these mother and father had been questioning about, he didn’t go to highschool within the morning. He knew there’d be a crowd of individuals checking the outcomes. As a substitute of compacting in with them, he went to discover a place to stay. Finally, he discovered an house close to the college with two bedrooms and one lavatory. It was owned by a kindly retired couple who had been planning to maneuver in with their son within the metropolis. They had been keen to depart Peng County, and the lease was affordable.

Shen Shao regarded over the house. The doorways and home windows had been in good condition. Anti-theft bars had been put in, there was water and electrical energy, and it got here full with tables and chairs. He shortly signed a three-year rental contract with the homeowners, and each side went away joyful.

After paying a 12 months’s lease prematurely and getting the keys from the owner, Shen Shao went out to the road to purchase some each day requirements and several other units of recent garments applicable for the season.

He normally didn’t pay a lot consideration to his garments, however quite a lot of kids this age judged individuals by their look. If his garments had been shabby, the opposite kids would possibly look down on him and reject him. He didn’t wish to get into hassle due to one thing so trivial, so he made certain to decorate higher.

Most kids of their teenagers are nonetheless naïve, however it was precisely this naïveté that meant they didn’t really perceive once they had been doing hurt, and it was straightforward to inflict wounds. Perhaps they thought they had been simply joking round, however the younger individuals on the receiving finish would possibly find yourself with a lifelong shadow. Rural kids who went to town to check typically discovered themselves mixing with troublemakers on the town, hanging out with these “huge brothers” when the opposite kids regarded down on them. After they did this, the opposite college students could be afraid of them and provides them some respect, however finally the borrowed braveness would destroy their youth, altering the entire trajectory of their lives.

In his earlier life, Shen Shao was one other one in every of these nation bumpkins, ridiculed by his friends. Nevertheless, once they made enjoyable of him, he bought extra severe about learning. His grades had been all the time within the high ten of his class, and he even ranked within the high twenty within the county on the highschool entrance examination. However on the time, he was poor, so poor that he couldn’t afford to go to highschool even when the tutoring was waived. Though he didn’t must pay tuition, he couldn’t afford room and board or dwelling bills. Ultimately, with nice reluctance, he needed to drop out of college.

Even now, when he thought again on that point, Shen Shao remembered vividly these emotions of remorse. It was why he treasured the possibility to come back again and redo his life.

At midday, after consuming a great meal within the rental house, Shen Shao took a nap. Then he went to the experimental junior excessive. The solar was nonetheless ablaze at 3 p.m. On the way in which there he noticed different college students who had been coming to enroll, strolling slowly and carrying umbrellas to shade themselves from the solar. The mother and father who adopted had been additionally carrying a wide range of issues, like books, drinks and so forth.

When he discovered the bulletin board, Shen Shao noticed he’d gained first place within the examination and was assigned to the primary experimental class. He rotated and located the room the place freshmen had been speculated to register.

By this time within the afternoon, there weren’t many mother and father and college students nonetheless attempting to enroll. Shen Shao discovered the registration desk for the primary experimental class. Mr. Li, the instructor who’d proctored the examination on the twenty second, was chargeable for registering Class 1. 

“Good day instructor, I’m right here to enroll.”

Li Lu acknowledged Shen Shao. Seeing that he was a scholar assigned to his personal class, Li Lu requested in a pleasant tone, “What’s your identify? Did you convey a photograph and your family registration guide?”

“I introduced them.” Shen Shao handed the registration guide and photograph to Li Lu. “My identify is Shen Shao.”

First place on the admission check? Li Lu instantly had a greater impression of Shen Shao. After opening the family register, he noticed the purple phrase “deceased” on the pinnacle of family web page. Shocked, he turned to the subsequent web page. When he noticed that solely Shen Shao’s identify was listed there, he requested, “Who in your loved ones helped you join?” His tone turned extra light. Such a younger baby and not using a mom, and who knew how his father handled him. Li Lu thought the family registry guide in his hand immediately felt heavy. 

Shen Shao stated in a flat voice, “My father ran away with one other aunt. Lengthy earlier than he left, he stated he wouldn’t care about me sooner or later, so I signed up on my own.”

TL Notes:

Journey to the West – 西游记 – A Sixteenth-century Chinese language basic and the topic of many TV dramas and films. The novel is an prolonged account of the legendary pilgrimage of the monk Tang Sanzang, who travelled to the “Western Areas” (Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent) to acquire Buddhist sacred texts (sūtras) and returned after many trials (Wikipedia)

fen – 分 – A unit of forex in China. 1 yuan is split into 10 jiao or 100 fen. The precise time period used right here was “钱” (qián) which principally means “cents” or “cash”.

house – 房子 – home / constructing (single- or two-story) / house / room. I translated this phrase as “house” as a result of in Chapter 4 it’s talked about that Shen Shao went to a breakfast café situated downstairs

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

Shen Yuan – 沈媛

Shen Hong – 沈红

sister – 妹妹 – mèimei – A typical approach to handle a youthful lady of the identical era as you. It’s quite common for cousins to handle one another as ‘brother’ or ‘sister’

Shen JianJun – 沈建军