Chapter 374

"Zhang Hua got into Peking University; Li Ping entered a Secondary Technical School; I was a shop assistant in a department store: we all had bright futures." - Sample sentence from the Xinhua Dictionary.

This sentence, when read now, seems sarcastic, but it was not intended as such initially.

Peking University is highly prestigious, a Secondary Technical School was also quite respectable - those with technical skills were highly sought after by companies. Shop assistants were even more coveted, being iron rice bowls in state-owned enterprises, a position that only those with connections could obtain. Indeed, everyone did seem to have a bright future back then.

But now, there seems to be a vast difference.

Xiao Qi went to university, Zhang Juan became an online influencer selling products, having a wealthy boyfriend who she claims earns over ten thousand yuan a month. Liu Xialong is a water delivery man who didn't finish high school, earning just over four thousand yuan a month through backbreaking labor. Su Weiwei became a tea ceremony instructor, with a base salary of one thousand eight hundred yuan, relying on sales commissions to sometimes earn over five thousand yuan. Zhang Zhiqiang went to work in a factory, with free room and board, able to earn over eight thousand yuan through constant overtime...

They have all embarked on different life paths, not necessarily with bright futures.

In the village, Zhang Zhiqiang, who graduated from a technical school and works in a factory, is considered quite accomplished. Because of him, some parents are even willing to send their children to technical schools.

But he would never complain that his daily grind of endless overtime made life feel meaningless, year after year. He only says that he earns well and has decent savings, though no girlfriend yet, and plans to buy a house in the city.

Liu Xialong, the water delivery man, has little to boast about beyond the physical labor that earns his wages as he lugs water up and down stairs and slopes.

Su Weiwei dresses quite prettily, wearing a cheongsam even in the cold weather under her coat, looking rather chilly.

Zhang Juan wore a smart coat over a blue dress, dressing somewhat maturely.

The young women were all quite beautiful in their own ways.

Zhang Juan had striking features, a high bridged nose, and almost a mixed-race look.

Su Weiwei had a delicate, petite face with small eyes and nose.

Gumula Village has long been known for its beauties in Lvshan City, with the local girls generally being quite attractive.

The boys, however, were more ordinary - Liu Xialong was slim and swarthy, while Zhang Zhiqiang had a squarish, chubby face.

But standing before Xiao Qi at that moment, neither Zhang Juan's glamor nor Su Weiwei's demureness could outshine her natural grace.

Xiao Qi's features were not necessarily superior, as feminine beauty takes many forms.

But Xiao Qi had a far better presence - like a tulip amongst the plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum, each lovely in its own season.

Her demeanor was calm and amiable, her beauty understated yet not lacking.

At that moment, Su Weiwei and Zhang Juan felt a tinge of envy and regret - did going to university really change someone so much? Should they have studied harder back then? Meanwhile, the boys Liu Xialong and Zhang Zhiqiang felt more at ease with Xiao Qi. They used to find the bespectacled Xiao Qi out of place, as she rarely spoke to them, and they thought she looked down on them. Now, seeing her warmly greet them, their misgivings dissipated.

With the four young people joining, the gathering became even livelier.

The youth were the center of attention.

Initially, Zhang Juan drew the most interest, followed by Zhang Zhiqiang. But seeing Su Youfu's daughter stand alongside them, there was a sense that - as expected of a university student - Xiao Qi seemed the most remarkable.

Inwardly, the villagers thought: if you're capable, you should really encourage your children, even daughters, to study hard and go to university. Just look at the lame Su's only daughter - having attended university immediately elevates her standing. It's a different league.

Even the villagers had some emotional intelligence, avoiding crassly vocalizing such views. Instead, they complimented all the young people.

So the circle around the bonfire drinking tea and chatting grew larger.

Xiao Qi brought over a long bench from a neighbor's home for her classmates to sit together.

Though it had been a long time since they last met, there was little awkwardness between them.

Zhang Juan did not flaunt herself as arrogantly as the day before, instead being far more modest.

Xiao Qi now understood Zhang Juan's work as an online influencer selling products, and curiously asked: "What do you do when you're back home without a signal?"

"No problem, I'll just say on my feed that I'm home for the New Year and not selling for now. Plus I'm a regional manager now, so it's mainly my downlines who sell."

Xiao Qi nodded - she had muted Zhang Juan, unable to tolerate the dozen or so posts each day, mostly hawking skincare and makeup products, sometimes including personal vanity photos flaunting her wealth. The repetitive content prompted Xiao Qi to mute her after glimpsing her feed occasionally.

The normally reserved Su Weiwei suddenly spoke up: "I overheard my dad saying some big company might come sponsor our village and set up a cell tower, so we could get a signal. It might happen in the next couple of days."

Su Weiwei's father was the village's accountant, so her words immediately piqued curiosity about which company would install the tower.

While Su Weiwei shook her head, saying she didn't know the details beyond getting a signal - she too was frustrated at being unable to use her phone at home - her father had mentioned it.

The mention of no signal made Xiao Qi wonder what Li Weijin was up to now.

Amidst the lively chatter and laughter around the bonfire, illuminated by its glow, Xiao Qi's own smile seemed tinged with a hint of loneliness.

Everyone chatted late into the night over tea and roasted sweet potatoes.

It was rare for Xiao Qi to spend so many hours without burying her nose in books, simply conversing or listening to others chat.

Her classmates had all changed considerably.

Each had distinct life experiences that were quite interesting to hear about.

But one could sense their paths were diverging ever further apart.

For some reason, the likes of Zhang Juan found themselves candidly revealing all about their situations to Xiao Qi without realizing it, only belatedly recalling moments where they had inadvertently let the truth slip in response to Xiao Qi's casual inquiries - despite their usual glibness at embellishing or fabricating tall tales with ease.

Zhang Juan admitted the car she mentioned was from her boyfriend's company, not her own.

She confessed being a regional manager for her online business was challenging with monthly purchasing quotas, especially as it grew tougher lately. She even wanted to switch product lines, contrary to her boast to the villagers the previous day about it being so lucrative that everyone should do it.

Su Weiwei complained about some customers' poor manners... After being the revered daughter of a village official in Gumula, she now had to serve tea to commoners on the outside.

Xiao Qi simply gave a brief account of her rather mundane life revolving around non-stop studying and exams. A good night's sleep followed, contrary to expectations of tossing and turning - Xiao Qi slept soundly, the comforting familiarity of home allowing her to rest easily.

The next morning, Xiao Qi donned old fatigues from military training and joined her father foraging in the mountains.

This was the season to dig for winter bamboo shoots, prized for their freshness.

Yet winter shoots were tricky to harvest, as they had not yet poked through the surface, requiring discernment of the terrain to detect underground shoots.

Su Youfu had initially been reluctant to let his daughter venture out, but could not dissuade her firm insistence - sensing she had become more sensible since attending university.

Once in the mountains, Xiao Qi felt remarkably at ease, her senses of smell and taste heightened compared to the city, reveling in the refreshing outdoors away from having to consciously suppress her keen senses.

Also because of Xiao Qi's keen sense of smell, with her help, Su Youfu actually dug up quite a lot of winter bamboo shoots. Originally, he thought it would be good to dig up two or three to take home and hold a bamboo shoot feast, as his daughter liked to eat them. But he never expected that he would dig up over thirty pounds.

Winter bamboo shoots were a rare commodity. You could sell them directly at the brigade's hall and someone would buy them for over five dollars a pound.

Over thirty pounds was really too much for them to eat.

Su Youfu felt extremely lucky, finally able to appear useful and capable in front of his daughter, completely unaware that it was actually because of his daughter's prompting that he was able to find the bamboo shoots.

When it was almost noon and time for lunch, Su Youfu started walking back.

He first went to the village hall. Over thirty pounds was really a lot, leaving five pounds at home would be enough for them to eat.

He could take the rest to the hall to sell. Generally, they would pick through them - they wouldn't take any damaged shoots, so the damaged ones left over would be enough for them to eat.

With over thirty pounds, Xiao Qi could have carried them all, but in order to preserve her father's dignity, she didn't take them. Instead, she let her father carry the bamboo shoots while she shouldered the hoe.

She was wearing her military training clothes, and even though she was carrying a hoe, she walked very upright. From a distance, it looked like she was shouldering a long rifle.

When Xiao Qi and her father arrived at the village hall, they noticed that there were still a few cars parked at the entrance. It was quite strange, but when they heard the bamboo shoot buyers say that people had come to install a signal tower, they didn't pay any more attention to it.

After selling the bamboo shoots and earning over a hundred dollars, there were still six or seven pounds of damaged ones left over, which was just right for them to eat at home.

It had really been a long time since he'd had the feeling of earning money through labor.

Both Xiao Qi and her father were quite happy.

She skipped and jumped all the way home, only to find a crowd of people gathered at their gate.

When they went inside, they saw Li Weijin standing at the door...

He was wearing a white tracksuit with a black down jacket over it, looking as flamboyant as ever with his hair grown shaggy.

"What are you doing here?" Xiao Qi was so surprised that she almost forgot about the hoe in her hand and nearly hit her own foot with it.

When Li Weijin saw Xiao Qi, his clavicles suddenly felt scorching hot.

Xiao Qi was wearing her military training uniform, just like the first time he saw her.

"You said your home didn't have a signal, so I had people come install a signal tower here for you, so you'll have signal now. I came to supervise the work," Li Weijin said matter-of-factly.

Xiao Qi: ...