pjbooks Chapter 9 Combing
Chapter 9 Combing
Two?
Tang Huaiyi was pleasantly surprised and reached out to pat the head of one of the crows: "Why did you bring friends along?"
The crows naturally wouldn't answer, but Tang Huaiyi was close to the birds and could accurately distinguish which one was his original bird and which one was a newcomer.
As for why the crow brought another one over, this is not a difficult question for birds to answer, but it is too complicated to express or understand. Perhaps it is an innate habit, or perhaps it was just a coincidence that they came to keep each other company.
Tang Huaiyi naturally wouldn't miss this great opportunity. After touching the original crow, he quietly reached out and touched the new crow to see which kind of contact it preferred.
Touch the bird's beak, claws, wings, tail feathers...
Soon, Tang Huaiyi's fingers, like a sieve, bent slightly and used force to comb the feathers from the back of the new crow's neck to its wings, gently touching the bird's skin.
The new crow shrank back slightly, looking quite content, and happily lowered its head to gently peck at Tang Huaiyi's arm as a sign of affection.
After combing the two crows together, Tang Huaiyi carefully examined what they had brought. What crows value is quite different from what humans value. For example, crows often prefer shiny pieces of glass.
A crow brought back a round, reflective glass ball, which Tang Huaiyi casually put in his pocket.
Glass balls weren't entirely worthless, but a small handful could be bought for a dime, and Tang Huaiyi was long past the age of squatting and crawling around "playing with yo-yos that end up in mud pits."
A child who finds one would be happy for a whole day.
The other crow brought a small, round piece that felt a bit heavy. It was the middle of the night, and Tang Huaiyi couldn't see what it was. He rubbed it in his hand and it felt like a large coin.
Tang Huaiyi thought for a moment, and his eyes gradually brightened.
Could it be a silver dollar?
Yuan Shikai silver dollar?
If that's true, it could really help Tang Huaiyi solve his immediate problem—even if it's only worth a few dollars, it would give Tang Huaiyi a chance to catch his breath.
Once he entered school, the food his family provided was barely enough to keep him from starving. Tang Huaiyi would definitely have to find another way. A few yuan would be enough to improve his life within a month, at least enough to drink some salty soup and eat some bean sprouts and other vegetables.
As for tuition and accommodation fees, although the school requires payment, it is possible to postpone payment. If you really don't have the money, you can even postpone it until the end of the semester.
Under the dim moonlight, Tang Huaiyi examined it carefully and felt that it was indeed a silver coin. He blew on it and held it to his ear, where it seemed to make a buzzing sound.
Let's check again when it's light out. If it is, that would be great.
Tang Huaiyi put the small round piece in his pocket and then reached out to "comb" the two crows for a while.
"Don't come tomorrow. I'm going to high school in the county tomorrow."
Tang Huaiyi gave an explanation to the two crows.
Not knowing if they could understand, Tang Huaiyi repeatedly explained the situation before he felt a little relieved.
You should understand, right? I brought something for myself before, so I guess I understood.
After the crows flew away, Tang Huaiyi went back to his house to rest.
He felt like he had just fallen asleep when his mother called him to get up at the door. He groggily rubbed his face, washed it, stuffed a cornbread into his stomach, drank a bowl of water, and then slung his green satchel with a red star on it, which contained stationery, old books and notebooks, along with a small half-bag of grain weighing about twenty or thirty pounds on his back.
"Shall I bring it to you?"
Tang Zhengjin stood at the door, smoking a cigarette. The cigarette butt glowed and faded, releasing a pungent and thick smoke.
"It's not much, I can bring it myself."
Tang Huaiyi said.
"Listen to your teacher when you get to school, study hard... We don't have anything, so just be diligent and clean in everything you do, and don't let people gossip," Tang Zhengjin instructed.
Tang Huaiyi nodded, and seeing that his mother wasn't there, he whispered, "Dad, I owe you everything yesterday. Luckily, you didn't say I caused trouble at the Li family's house."
"Why are you saying all this?" Tang Zhengjin, a cigarette between his fingers, waved his hand dismissively at Tang Huaiyi. "Let's go, let's go!"
The family had no other choice but to come up with this solution.
This second child is stubborn, and he managed to change the family's mind and insist on going to school.
This is really a difficult situation... Money can't just appear out of thin air. Maybe if we sell the corn in the field and carefully manage our finances, we can get through this.
Tang Huaiyi didn't say anything more. He slung his schoolbag over his shoulder, carried his grain, and left home at around 5 a.m., just as the eastern sky was beginning to lighten.
Leaving Tangmaji Village, walking along the country lanes, the surroundings were quiet, with a soft rustling sound from the cornfields, the sound of a gentle breeze. For a moment, it seemed as if Tang Huaiyi was the only person left in the wilderness on this morning in the 1980s.
Now that we've entered September, the mornings are no longer as sweltering as they were a month ago; the cool, pleasant temperature is perfect for a walk.
Tang Huaiyi walked past a fork in the road. From the side road, he heard shouts and the sound of horse bells. Tang Huaiyi stepped aside to avoid being hit by a horse.
Before long, a middle-aged man arrived driving a mule cart loaded with farm vegetables.
There was also a middle-aged woman sitting in the car.
Upon seeing Tang Huaiyi carrying a bag and a load of grain, the middle-aged man smiled and asked, "Are you a student from the county school?"
"Yes." Tang Huaiyi nodded.
"Why are you only going today? Didn't high school start yesterday?" The middle-aged man reined in the mule and horse, stopping the carriage slightly, and said, "My son went to school yesterday."
"Something happened at home, which delayed my schooling," Tang Huaiyi said.
"Nothing can be delayed except going to school," the middle-aged man muttered. "It's a serious matter. If you don't go to school, what can you do in the future without education? You'll spend your whole life farming and growing vegetables. What kind of future will that be?"
He then tilted his head and gestured to Tang Huaiyi, "Student, get in the car. I'll give you a ride to the county to sell vegetables!"
Tang Huaiyi was a little embarrassed: "No need, thank you, it's not too heavy for me..."
The middle-aged woman smiled and waved, "Come on up, walking is tiring! Students should put all their energy into studying!"
Seeing that the couple were warm and kind, and that it was indeed still more than ten miles to the county high school, Tang Huaiyi got into the carriage and carefully avoided stepping on the vegetables on the carriage.
As soon as I sat down, the middle-aged woman smiled and picked out a fist-sized tomato and handed it to me: "Here, student, have a tomato to quench your thirst..."
"I don't need it, I don't need it..."
"Oh, don't be so polite!" The middle-aged woman stuffed a tomato into Tang Huaiyi's hand. "Which village are you from? What grade are you in this year?"
"I'm from Tangmaji Village, and I'm a senior in high school this year." Tang Huaiyi was very grateful to the enthusiastic couple selling vegetables. "Auntie, which villages are you and Uncle from?"
"We're from Songjiazhuang," the middle-aged woman said. "Our family name is Song, and we have a young child in his final year of high school named Song Siyuan. Do you know him?"
Tang Huaiyi thought for a moment and remembered him; he was Song Siyuan, whose nickname was "Four Yuan".
"He was in the same class as me in the first year of high school, but I don't even know which class he'll be in in the third year."
"Oh, we're classmates now! If we're in the same class this senior year, you all have to study hard, help each other improve, and absolutely no playing around, understand?"
Song Siyuan's parents gave Tang Huaiyi some instructions, and Tang Huaiyi nodded repeatedly.
"Yes, Uncle and Aunt, we will definitely study hard."
Amidst the jingling of horse bells and shouts, the horse-drawn carriage gradually approached the county town.
The market was in the west of the county town, on a different route from the high school. Tang Huaiyi didn't let Song Siyuan's parents continue to see him off, and quickly got off the carriage.
Just as Tang Huaiyi waved goodbye to Song Siyuan's parents, before he could take a step, a hand reached out from behind and pressed down on the grain sack he was carrying.