Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 968 - 522 Selling Textbooks_2

Chapter 968: Chapter 522 Selling Textbooks_2

If they’re regular guests, then it doesn’t really matter. For instance, nowadays, when children go to stay at their grandparents’ or maternal grandparents’ place during holidays, since they often stay there, most of the open-minded older generation can manage all the kids together, trying their best to treat everyone equally, without bias.

That’s why after so much arguing and fussing all day long, which no one could calm, just two children coming out to pour a glass of water made everyone cease fire temporarily—of course, the argument that had escalated from debate hadn’t reached the point where they’d never associate with each other again.

Taking this opportunity, Yan Fei’s great-aunt came out again and called, "Old man, come in and pack your things."

She pushed and pulled the old man into the back room, and the old lady smiled and called around to her sister-in-law, her brother, and her eldest nephew, "I’m really sorry, this old man is just like this, foul-tempered. When I first came over, your sister-in-law saw it, how I was so angry I hid in your house and wouldn’t come out. Thinking back, I didn’t even know what embarrassment meant back then, I’m embarrassed to even mention it..."

Her words suddenly brought to mind those past events. The one addressed as "sister-in-law" mumbled, "I must be hysterical, I’ve always known he’s stubborn. What do you mean by packing up, big sister?"

The old lady laughed and said, "The children have all come to see me, and I can’t always just stay at home without going out. I’m just here for a visit, I’m going to stay in Shanglin for a few days. The kids’ grandfather has mentioned it several times, and because it wasn’t easy to travel, I never left. Since the children are here today, I thought I’d go stay there for a few days."

Everyone understood what she meant by her words, and some felt embarrassed all at once.

Especially those who were a bit older; their faces reddened. They had all grown up together after all—how could they have just quarreled over this and become so unpleasant?

Hearing this, the woman called "sister-in-law" quickly came over, holding on to Yan Fei’s great-aunt’s hand and persistently urging her to stay, while saying that what happened earlier was just a moment of confusion, and so on.

But the old lady was also very firm, "It’s really been arranged for a while now, just a few days, and I’ll be back after a couple of days. The weather isn’t good, the road is rough, if I don’t go with the children, I’ll have to get someone to take me when I want to leave."

People are strange this way—when they’re heated up in argument, the more they talk, the angrier they get. Now that they’ve stopped, thinking back on the recent quarrel and remembering the old times, they suddenly felt embarrassed, all standing up trying to convince her to not leave.

This was just like an incident that happened in Yan Fei’s elementary school, where two boys ended up fighting for some reason, one with a bloody nose and the other with a big bump on his head.

The two troublemakers fought after school and were ready to head home, but seeing their appearance, they realized something wasn’t right. Both of them were covered in dirt from rolling on the ground, not to mention one of the boys had a bloody nose which stained their clothes.

In this state, it was obvious at a glance that they had been fighting.

You have to know that whether it’s a teacher or a parent, when they discover that children have been fighting, each child is usually punished with ’fifty strokes of the big stick.’ Teachers are better, just criticizing and educating—after all, that doesn’t physically hurt. But parents depend on their mood at the time, and what they are doing—if they see their child coming back from school in such a state, if they are sweeping, they might grab a broom to hit, or if cooking, they might pick up a rolling pin. In any case, a beating is inevitable.

So, these two guys couldn’t afford to face each other with hostility any longer, standing by the water pump in the school’s backyard and suggesting, "Shall we wash up before going home?"

The school’s tap water was often out of order, so they usually relied on an old-fashioned hand pump. This kind of thing was not practical for one child alone; it required cooperation from both parties.

Then the two of them took turns—one pumped water while the other washed, and then switched. As they cleaned, they discussed the reasons for their fight, each helping to check the other’s back for dirt or bloodstains. Before long, the two kids who wanted to kill each other just moments ago were leaving together in high spirits, arms over each other’s shoulders.

This was witnessed by some classmates who remained after class to clean. When lunch was over and classes resumed, the whole school knew that these two had no shame; shortly after fighting, they became ’best buddies’ again.

It wasn’t that they lacked shame. Some so-called ’grudges’ are actually quite funny when you look back on them after the passage of time. The saying ’a smile can dispel a lifetime of hatred’ is just that, except those two kids expedited the process a bit.

Older people are not as straightforward as children. Though everyone in the room was being polite, the awkwardness was so palpable that even Yan Chao could sense that something was amiss.

Soon enough, some people found an excuse to take their leave, and once one person departed, the rest followed suit, all promising to come back later. In the blink of an eye, only three or four close elderly friends remained.

These few stopped discussing the earlier topic and instead began to help out, knowing the couple’s departure was now inevitable. In truth, they couldn’t offer much help—the couple had brought back only some personal clothing, and their household items were either purchased themselves or given by neighbors. When it came time to move in with their children, they would surely come back for one last farewell and deal with these things then.

Once the old couple had noisily finished packing, Yan Fei hoisted a carrying pole onto his shoulder and set off.

A few old men and women followed behind, chatting, "We’re all getting on in years; we’ll inevitably come back. Before we’re laid to rest, we should catch up again. Make sure to visit often when you’re back..."

It was at this moment that Yan Fei understood why everyone said his father-in-law was so stubborn. His neck stiff, the old man retorted, "If you keep making a fuss, I simply won’t come back!"

Talk about touching a nerve; the old lady reacted by slapping and scolding him, leaving him to continue on their way in a huff. The senior group, tired of arguing, simply remained silent, offering wry smiles.

The matter should have ended there, but as they reached the village threshing ground, a group resting there spotted them and once again brought up the topic. Amidst their chatter, they continued to urge the couple, including Yan Fei’s family, to practice Qigong.

The threshing ground, though covered in snow, had been cleared for the convenience of those practicing Qigong—something unusual, as typically the snow wouldn’t be cleared in winter to avoid uneven ground that would require more work to level later with a stone roller.

Yan Fei started to get irritated. You practice if you want, but why must you insist on dragging others into it too?

Yan Fei’s aunt, who was more easy-going, softened her stance upon seeing the cluttered path and relented, "Alright, alright, we believe you, okay? We’re leaving now, so can we talk about this when we return? We have to follow the children and carry things!"

A middle-aged man stood out from the group, "You’re just brushing us off. Our Qigong is truly beneficial. We’re only persuading you for your own good; otherwise, we wouldn’t bother."

The same old rhetoric—it seemed this middle-aged man was the leader of the Qigong practitioners. Seeing that the elderly lady had expressed her position and yet the man was still not letting them go, Yan Fei pushed past his father, Yanfei’s father, and confronted him, "I just want to ask, are you planning on blocking our way and not letting us leave or what?"

The middle-aged man was taken aback, then chuckled, "What are you talking about, kid? Why wouldn’t we let you go? Isn’t it just because you called our master a fraud that I’m trying to explain things to you?"

Yan Fei sneered, "Now my aunt has said he’s not a fraud, what more do you want?"

Without hesitation, the middle-aged man responded, "Words are not proof. How about this, you buy a set of teaching materials to take home, and I’ll believe you’ve truly changed your minds."

"Not believing in your master constitutes a mistake? I need to use the word ’repent’?" Yan Fei challenged.

"Exactly," the middle-aged man said with righteous conviction. "And verbal repentance is worthless unless you buy a set. Actually, you represent two households, so you should buy at least two sets of teaching materials to take home."

"Hmm, then tell me, what exactly is included in a set of teaching materials, and how much does it cost?" Yan Fei asked, softening his tone.