Chapter 34: Green Smoke Rising from the Ancestral Grave

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Xu Ming borrowed a small handcart from the old man who lived downstairs and rode it straight to the corridor beneath his classroom.

The sight made the third-year students passing by with armfuls of books green with envy.

By then, the classroom had been almost completely cleared out. Qian Hong was sitting beside a fertilizer sack stuffed to the brim. The moment he saw Xu Ming, he hurried over and began circling the tricycle, inspecting it from every angle.

“Now that’s a good thing. Hauling books with this will save us a lot of trouble.”

As he spoke, his hand had already reached for the handlebars.

Xu Ming glanced up and cut him off. “Load it first.”

The two of them immediately got to work, carrying the books from the desks in several trips and placing them in the tricycle’s cargo bed.

Then they hoisted up the fertilizer sack as well.

Since Qian Hong’s home was in one of the nearby towns and he had to take a bus back, Xu Ming gave him the fertilizer sack he had been saving.

Once all their belongings had been loaded, Qian Hong volunteered to ride. He climbed onto the seat, pushed hard with both legs, and pedaled toward the school gate, where they would catch their buses.

“I’ll ride.”

Xu Ming naturally had no objection. He climbed onto the back of the tricycle.

His feet dangled off the ground.

There was no way he was going to push the thing.

Whenever all the third-year students in the county were released for vacation at the same time, the bus drivers from the various towns received word well in advance and arrived at the school gate half an hour early to wait for passengers. As a result, the scene was far livelier than on an ordinary weekend.

Even though Qian Hong had spent three years attending the school, it still took him several minutes after leaving the grounds to find the bus heading back to his town.

With the driver’s help, Qian Hong carried the fertilizer sack aboard. Before getting on, he looked back at Xu Ming and grinned smugly.

“Don’t miss me too much.”

Xu Ming rolled his eyes. “I generally don’t have nightmares.”

Under normal circumstances, Xu Ming would simply have ridden home. But just as he was about to cross the road, he caught sight of two familiar figures from the corner of his eye. They were Yang Huijuan and Chen Lu, his classmates.

At their feet lay a bundle tied up in a bedsheet. From its appearance alone, it was obvious that it was quite heavy.

Xu Ming rode over and asked, “What happened?”

Hearing a voice behind her, Chen Lu turned around and saw Xu Ming. She had not yet had time to respond when Yang Huijuan’s loud voice interrupted her.

Her face lit up with delight. “You actually found a cart! That’s wonderful.”

She immediately went on to explain the situation.

“I was worried about how Chen Lu was going to get home. Luckily, I ran into you. I remember you live in the county too. Could you take Chen Lu’s books home for her?”

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Xu Ming knew that, like Qian Hong, Yang Huijuan lived in one of the towns. She certainly could not stay at school for too long; if she missed her bus, she would have to wait until the next morning to leave.

He remembered that he and Chen Lu had taken the same bus home once before, and their routes really did coincide.

“No problem.”

He agreed without hesitation and prepared to carry Chen Lu’s books to the tricycle.

“Won’t I be troubling you?” Chen Lu asked, somewhat embarrassed.

“We live on the same street. What trouble could it be? Besides, there are so many people out today. It won’t be easy to find another ride.”

“Xu Ming’s right,” Yang Huijuan agreed with a nod.

After loading Chen Lu’s things onto the cart, the two of them said goodbye to Yang Huijuan and set off toward the Xinhua Bookstore.

Before long, however, Xu Ming noticed a problem. Chen Lu had not chosen to sit on the cart. Instead, she was walking beside him and kindly helping to push it. Afraid that she would not be able to keep up, he did not dare ride too quickly.

After thinking it over, he turned around and said deliberately, “Why don’t you sit up here?”

“I… I’m too heavy,” Chen Lu murmured after a pause.

Xu Ming’s eyes widened. He looked her over carefully, unable to believe it.

How could she possibly be heavy? She was obviously very thin.

He immediately repeated, “Don’t worry. It won’t make any difference. We can actually go faster this way.”

Only after hearing that did Chen Lu finally sit down lightly on the edge of the cart, as though afraid that her weight might burden it.

As it turned out, once Chen Lu stopped pushing from the side, Xu Ming was able to pick up speed considerably.

Before long, they arrived at the residential complex where Chen Lu lived.

When he learned that her apartment was on the fourth floor and that the building had no elevator, he helped carry everything upstairs and into the apartment.

It was the first time Xu Ming had seen Chen Lu’s home. The living room contained only a few chairs and a wooden table. The walls were bare concrete, without the slightest sign of having been decorated.

It was even more plainly furnished than the place his family rented.

Just as he was wondering about it, Chen Lu hurriedly handed him a glass of water and a towel, then took the initiative to explain.

“My mother rented this place in the county so it would be convenient for me to attend school. Usually, only the two of us live here.”

“Here, wipe away your sweat.”

Xu Ming was rather surprised by what she said. He had not expected that Chen Lu, like him, lived in a rented apartment in the county.

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In his previous life, he and Chen Lu had barely spoken a few words. After graduating from high school, he had never seen her again. He had always assumed that her family lived in East Ping County, but now it seemed that their circumstances were not particularly good.

He reached out and accepted the towel and glass. As he wiped away his sweat, he noticed that Chen Lu’s cheeks were growing redder and redder.

At first, he did not think much of it. He assumed that the weather was simply too hot and that she had flushed from climbing the stairs.

It was only when he caught the familiar scent of shampoo on the towel that he suddenly realized it was the one she used herself.

When he handed them back, he said somewhat awkwardly, “Then I’ll be going.”

“Thank you for today.”

Chen Lu watched as Xu Ming walked down the stairs. Only after his figure had completely vanished from sight did she turn away, pat her burning cheeks, and retreat into the apartment.

…

After leaving Chen Lu’s place, Xu Ming returned home and turned on the fan. Before long, his emotions had settled once more.

He began planning what he needed to do over the next couple of days.

That evening, Xu Jianguo and Wu Xiulan finished the work at their shop early and went home to prepare an especially sumptuous dinner.

They had already received a personal call from the principal of East Ping No. 1 High School when the results of the second mock examination were released. They were told that their son had achieved outstanding marks.

At first, neither of them had dared to believe it. They were deeply skeptical.

After all, the score was simply too astonishing.

It was only when school administrators and teachers came to their home in person that they finally accepted the news, their hearts filled with joy and excitement.

They had been unable to sleep for two or three nights.

People always said that parents hoped their sons would rise to greatness. But when a boy who had originally seemed destined for no more than an ordinary university suddenly reached the threshold of Tsinghua and Peking University, it was impossible not to feel that everything was unreal.

All they could say was that the Xu family’s ancestors must have been smiling down from heaven.

“Have some more fish soup. You stay up so late every night—you need to nourish yourself and make sure you stay healthy.”

Wu Xiulan ladled a bowl of fish soup and placed it in front of Xu Ming. She was delighted by her son’s current results, but she could not stop worrying about him either.

She knew all too well that, during the days he had been at home, he had gotten up even earlier than they did.

Xu Ming drained the bowl of soup in several gulps, pulled off a piece of tissue to wipe his mouth, then looked at his parents seated across from him with a solemn expression.

“Um… tomorrow I’m going to the internet café.”

…