Chapter 51: Chapter 42: Borrow
Unlike usual, Grandma didn’t urge Xiao Man to go to bed early. Instead, she agreed to let her go play with a few of the neighbors’ kids at the grain station. Grandma sat waiting in the courtyard. When Second Granny Qiu heard Grandma was still up, she came down to cool off and chat with her. The two grandmothers told the children they could only play for an hour before coming back to sleep. Everyone cheered and jumped for joy as they ran outside. Mo Xiaoman, the pseudo-child, was reluctant, but they pulled her along, so she had no choice but to follow.
The village had a lot of land with fertile soil and good irrigation, making it a major grain producer. Because of this, the county had set up a grain station there. The station was built on a small hill among the fields at the eastern end of the village. It consisted of a circle of tall, neat, mushroom-shaped buildings painted snow-white. The ground around these buildings was all paved with smooth, clean concrete, which served as the threshing ground for the various production teams. The rice, still on the stalk, was harvested from the fields, carried over, and piled up here. Then, they would set up the threshing machines, which hummed day and night as they separated the grain. It was then dried under the hot sun, weighed, and put directly into storage, saving a great deal of effort.
And the tall haystacks left behind after threshing became the village children’s paradise.
In her past life, Xiao Man had also been to this place. Not to play, but on Liu Fengying’s orders to call a few rowdy kids home for bed. She did, however, take the opportunity to roll around a few times on the fragrant haystacks. It really was a lot of fun.
Xiao Man watched the neighbor’s kids dive into the haystacks and play wildly, and she couldn’t help but laugh out loud. But she had no intention of climbing up herself. For one, it felt a little weird. For another, she found it distasteful. The haystacks smelled fragrant, but they were also damp and muddy, and full of all sorts of bugs—especially stink bugs. If one of those got on you, the smell would linger for ages!
As she stood there giggling foolishly, someone suddenly grabbed her from behind and tossed her into a haystack. Xiao Man cried out and turned to see it was Mo Shuixia and Guan Ailan. The tall Mo Shuixia was the one who had thrown her. Having done their mischief, the two of them clapped their hands and doubled over with laughter. Xiao Man couldn’t help but roll her eyes. They had nearly scared her to death.
After all, they were over ten years old and knew to keep their clothes clean and tidy. And as the eldest daughters in their families, Mo Shuixia and Guan Ailan, just like Xiao Man, found the haystacks distasteful. The two of them were out chaperoning their younger siblings. After watching them dive into the haystacks, the three girls found a clean spot to sit down and talk.
She didn’t have any friends in her last life, but this time around she had already made contact with three companions. So, Xiao Man naturally asked about Mo Linghui, "It’s so lively here tonight. How come she didn’t come play?"
Mo Shuixia said, "I called for her when I passed her house just now. They said she went to the river to bathe with her sisters-in-law and nieces and isn’t back yet!"
Families without wells who had to carry water for daily use would often go to the river to wash their hair and bathe on summer nights. It saved them the hard work of carrying water, and they could wash their clothes at the same time.
Guan Ailan looked at Xiao Man and said, "It’s so much better for you now that you’re living with your Grandpa and Grandma. You actually have free time to come out and play. Before, we’d never see a trace of you at things like this!"
Xiao Man waved her hand dismissively. "Let’s not reopen old wounds. That family, those people... they have nothing to do with me anymore!"
Guan Ailan said, "I asked my parents about it when I got home last night. They said it’s possible you really aren’t Liu Fengying’s biological daughter!"
Xiao Man just smiled. She didn’t want to explain the matter too clearly. She’d just let people watch and guess, treating it as nothing more than a topic of conversation to relieve their boredom.
Mo Shuixia said impatiently, "Alright, alright! If she’s not, she’s not. She has her Grandpa and Grandma to rely on, so what’s it to you? You’re such a gossip, going on and on!"
Guan Ailan tutted. "What’s it to me? This is me showing I care, you don’t know a damn thing!"
"Is that how you show you care? You’re a gossip, just like your mom!"
"Hey, what did you just say? Why are you dragging my mom into this?"
"I’m telling the truth. Am I wrong?"
Xiao Man: "..."
’Are these really good friends? Is this one of the ways good friends interact?’
Seeing her two companions glaring at each other like fighting cocks, Xiao Man picked up a piece of straw and drew a line between them. "Time-out! I have something to say!"
Mo Shuixia and Guan Ailan both burst out laughing at her antics. Mo Shuixia said, "What are you doing? You look just like a basketball referee from a movie!"
"What movie has a basketball team?"
"Huh? *Women’s Basketball No. 5*, of course! It was shown a while ago. You didn’t see it?"
Guan Ailan gave her a shove. "If I say it, you’ll just call me a gossip again—when that movie was showing, Xiao Man was still at Xiao Feng’s house, remember? When Xiao Man was at Xiao Feng’s house, she could never finish her chores. What time did she have to watch movies?"
"You’re the one who knows everything," Mo Shuixia said, rolling her eyes at Guan Ailan before turning to Xiao Man. "You said you had something to say. What is it?"
Xiao Man said, "It’s like this. School is about to start, and my Grandpa and Grandma want me to go. The principal said that I’ve been out of school for a long time and have probably forgotten everything from the two years I did attend. So, he wants me to start over from the first grade! That’s so embarrassing. I’m too old for that."
Mo Shuixia was speechless. Guan Ailan burst out laughing. "Seriously, being that old and going back to first grade is just hilarious!"
Xiao Man continued, "You guys are all going into fifth grade, right? Even though I couldn’t go to school, I used to help Mo Xiaofeng, Mo Xiao Zhi, and Mo Xiaoqiang with their homework. And our neighbor, Mo Xiaosu, likes to do her homework in her yard. Afterward, she reads the texts, new words, and word combinations aloud. Her voice is so loud that after she reads them a few times, I’ve basically memorized it all! Also, the vegetable garden of my... well, of Xiao Feng’s house, is right behind the third, fourth, and fifth-grade classrooms. Every day when I went to the garden to water, loosen the soil, and pick vegetables, I’d always listen carefully to the teachers’ lectures for a while. I think I can understand the curriculum for the third, fourth, and fifth grades. I don’t need to start from first grade!"
Mo Shuixia and Guan Ailan stared blankly at Xiao Man, their mouths agape. Mo Shuixia said, "For real? Xiao Man, you... you’re that smart? I sit in the classroom every day and still can’t figure out what the teacher is saying, but you can understand it all just by casually listening from the vegetable garden behind the school?"
Guan Ailan added, "Xiao Man, you don’t have to act tough. First grade is first grade, it’s not a big deal. I won’t laugh at you. When school starts, I can even tutor you! Really, my third younger sister is starting first grade too. You two could just be deskmates, and I can run over and teach you both whenever I have time!"
Xiao Man smiled. "Thank you, Ai Lan, but I really don’t want to be in the first grade!"
"Then what can you do? If the principal wants you in first grade, you can’t just run off to the fifth-grade class yourself, can you?"
"That’s why I need to talk to you guys about this now. First, tell me the basic situation in the fifth grade."
"What do you mean by ’basic situation’?" Mo Shuixia asked dumbly.
"You know, the fifth-grade homeroom teacher, the math teacher, the students in the class and their grade rankings... Also, if it’s convenient, lend me your textbooks and completed workbooks to look at."
Mo Shuixia slapped her thigh. "What’s there to be convenient or not? Just take them! If you can understand the textbooks, the principal will let you into fifth grade?"
"Probably. But I’ll also have to ask Grandpa to go find the principal and the director of studies and ask them to give me a test. If I pass, I’ll definitely be able to get into fifth grade!"
"Oh, I see! I think that could work!" Guan Ailan said. "Xiao Man, my grades in class are pretty good. Although I’m not as good as Su Xiaosu, I’m still in the top five. Do you want me to help you?"
"Yes!" Xiao Man said quickly. "That would be even better! Tomorrow morning, I’ll go get the textbooks from Shuixia. You see when you’re free and come over to my place to tutor me. If I can get into fifth grade, I’ll be sure to thank you both properly!"
Mo Shuixia giggled foolishly. "How will you thank us?"
Guan Ailan shot her a look. "She’ll pick a leaf off a tree for you, take you to the market fair, and let you get a good sniff of the fresh rice noodles!"
Mo Shuixia: "..."
