Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 967 - 522: Selling Textbooks

Chapter 967: Chapter 522: Selling Textbooks

In a clearly dilapidated courtyard, the few jujube trees and a pear tree had already shed their leaves, and faint patches of unmelted snow still clung to them, adding a touch of white to this monotonous scene.

Only a small path made of broken bricks had been laid in front of the main entrance of the central room of the lower courtyard; elsewhere, the ground was muddy. The especially low earthen wall and small tile-roofed house seemed exceptionally inconspicuous in the village.

But now, in this small courtyard, the sound of argument after argument turned what had once been a quiet yard into a noisy one.

The most elusive thing in the world, after all, is the human heart.

They were relatives, long unseen—though perhaps not particularly close relatives, they were still kin. In reality, not to mention relatives, even village folks, unless they had disputes, wouldn’t usually become red-faced over trivial things.

There’s a saying: distant relatives aren’t as good as close neighbors, after all!

Inside the house, Yan Fei had just been pondering the unpredictability of the human heart when, in the blink of an eye, he ended up getting burned himself. First came an auntie, then an uncle, followed by two young people who kept explaining to his family just how miraculous the "Qigong" they were practicing was.

Miraculous, huh?

So miraculous they can perform seventy-two changes?

If someone else were in this situation, they might need time to think, but Yan Fei didn’t need to think to know it was nonsense.

The reason was simple: if there was someone that powerful, there was no need to swindle these penniless folks for the few dimes scraped together from the backside of a chicken.

Watching his new son-in-law, whom the family was meeting for the first time, being talked into a flushed and embarrassed state while firmly persuading everyone to stop wasting money; and then looking at his own parents surrounded by a few people, both of whom didn’t visit the village often and were unfamiliar with these relatives, finding it hard to speak up, showed embarrassment written all over their faces.

Yan Fei felt extremely helpless, so he simply pushed through the crowd and, taking hold of his grandmother’s hand, said, "Considering the fuss our son-in-law has caused, it looks like you two won’t have a quiet year. Why not just come back with us? Staying at my place is fine, or you could spend a few days at my maternal grandfather’s and uncles’ homes. Don’t you still have to leave anyway?"

The old lady had been persuading the stubborn old man for quite a while, only to end up with her own belly full of fire. Hearing Yan Fei’s suggestion, she patted the head of Yan Chao, who she had been holding, and nodded decisively, "You are good children. You and your parents go ahead! I’ll pack up. If this old man doesn’t want to leave, I’ll go by myself!"

Yan Fei smiled, "OK, hurry up and pack your things then!"

After persuading the old lady, he turned to the individuals who were still explaining things to his parents and said, "Elders, please have some tea first. It’s getting late, and we should be heading back. Next time, when you have a chance, you can continue to explain!"

Then he set his brother down, took hold of his hand, and poured water from the teapot for the son-in-law, who was sweating bullets from his brow despite the cold, "You should drink some water, old man. Take a seat and rest. We are getting ready to head back. The road isn’t easy to travel, so we should leave early."

In the company of his elder brother, little Yan Chao suddenly became very brave, unlike other children who would probably be frightened or even cry when faced with a noisy roomful of people.

But not this kid. With wide eyes, he looked around, curious and unafraid. When he saw his brother start pouring water, he eagerly rushed over to grab the tea cups.

People always talk about respecting the elderly and loving the young, and now with Yan Fei and Yan Chao stepping forward—even though Yan Fei seemed like an adult, everyone who had just shared a meal with them knew that he was only in his first year of high school.

That wasn’t all; the key point was that the little fellow was there too.

During the earlier heated argument, everyone had ignored the two younger ones. Now that they stood up to pour tea, who had the heart to turn away the cup? After all, they were still guests.

Besides, seeing the little guy fumbling with the tea cups, they felt it inappropriate to let such a small child do this kind of work, and they were also somewhat concerned that the kid might break something or hurt himself.

So, they all got up proactively, either passing the tea cups forward or offering a few words of praise for the child’s sensibleness.

Village people are like this. Despite being a bit poor, they still have plenty of rules. A guest’s child is definitely someone to be taken care of—poverty is one thing, but losing face for lack of manners is another, especially when the visiting child is from the city.

Most village kids have gone through this: when a relative’s child visits, they can be very unreasonable, hogging toys and breaking things in the house. The tasty treats and fun toys all have to be conceded to the visiting child, and yet it’s forbidden to voice any objections. Even when everyone knows the visiting child doesn’t behave well, once a conflict arises, the parents at home don’t bother asking why; no sooner do they see the kids in a scuffle than they go straight up and slap their own child twice without a word...

What’s even more infuriating is that sometimes when the visitor’s child causes trouble and gets scared to tears, the family that ended up suffering has to quickly bring out nice treats and toys to soothe the child.

As for what’s detestable, aside from the "neighbor’s child" who does well in exams, listens, is hardworking, and sensible—the perpetual talk of parents and the number one ’nemesis’ of all children—the visiting child is right up there on the list.

The neighbor’s kid is the one parents are always going on about; they might as well be every child’s archenemy.

But with the visitor’s child, there’s just no justifying it—and they are ranked second only because, after all, they are the guests’ kids and don’t come around that often.