Daily Life in the Countryside After Being Reborn
Chapter 173 - 9: New Home (2)

Chapter 173: Chapter 9: New Home (2)

"Holy Heart? That’s a key middle school in Beijing. Every year tens of thousands of students try to cram into it. Xiao Xian didn’t even take the entrance exam for junior high. It’s hard to say if it’s feasible. Besides, schools have their own admission boundaries." Feng Xing didn’t want to dampen his wife’s enthusiasm; he knew that Zhuo Feng had raised Xiao Xian as her own daughter. But competition for key schools is fierce, and it’s not easy to be accepted. They were just ordinary folks, competing with the children of officials and businessmen didn’t seem realistic.

"The household registration isn’t a problem. I’ve looked into it; Xiao Xian is registered in Chaoyang District, which falls within Holy Heart Primary School’s catchment area. A former colleague of mine from my unit, her daughter missed the junior high entrance exam due to illness and was still admitted later. They said that every summer Holy Heart Primary School recruits a number of students with special talents," Zhuo Feng insisted with determination, as if Xiao Xian’s attendance would guarantee admission.

"Really? Xiao Xian, what special talent do you possess? Singing? Dancing? Poetry recitation? Or is it running? Swimming? Playing the accordion?" Feng Xing had already driven the car to the base of their own apartment building.

"I can’t do any of that; there was no need to learn those in the temple. But I can do basic silver making, and I can also copy Buddhist scriptures for Master Shan Yin, who always praises my handwriting. I can also whistle, Yezi taught me that. If nothing else, I can help take care of kids, Taohua listens to me very well," Xiao Xian earnestly wished to attend middle school; if possible, she would really like to continue her education, as she heard that children her age in Beijing were already in high school or even university.

Feng Xing glanced at his wife and persisted, "Besides those, do you have any other skills?" These "talents" were a bit too unique; reluctantly, the silver making might count as a talent, but you couldn’t possibly swing a hammer in front of the teachers at Sacred Heart Middle School, right?

"There’s no need to ask further; you’ve already done well enough to learn all these, if you were Xiao Xian." Zhuo Feng hugged Xiao Xian’s shoulders, moved. She never knew that Xiao Xian had to do so much back in the village. The child was just too sensible.

"Auntie, don’t hug so tight; I can hardly breathe." Actually, Xiao Xian wanted to say, how come none of these count as talents? What can city kids do?

Xiao Xian found out the next day what city kids could do.

During her first night in Beijing, Xiao Xian lay in the small room Feng Xing had cleaned up in advance, with an incredibly soft cotton pillow beneath her head. Yet she could not fall asleep; the unfamiliar environment reminiscent of her first night in Ge Village.

The only way she could fall asleep, she guessed, would be in her space, just like the first night in Ge Village. Without any other options, she entered her space.

At least in her space, she had the two "people" she knew best. Once inside, Little White Jiao curled up on the ground, looking quite out of strength. This Jiao’s situation was quite a dilemma; when Xiao Xian decided to leave Ge Village, she had asked for its opinion on whether it wanted to go to Beijing with her or stay in White Dragon Pond.

At that time, Little White Jiao was as obsequious as could be, swishing its dragon tail like a dogtail grass, shamelessly saying, "Wherever my little master goes, I follow without any second thoughts." What it really meant—and Xiao Xian understood—was "wherever the space goes, I follow."

Little White Jiao was smart; it would rather endure for decades, even a century, and when Xiao Xian passed away, it hoped to take over the unclaimed space and transform it into its own.

Now away from Ge Village, it pitifully lamented, "A jiao without water is not a jiao."

Xiao Xian retorted without any sympathy, "A dumpling without water can still be steamed, boiled, fried, or sautéed into various types; there’s a plethora of choices. If you really miss water that much, I can fill a basin in the bathroom for you to soak in."

Little White Jiao remorsefully accused Xiao Xian of insulting it.

As for sugarcane seedling, it was much more agreeable and had no objections. Xiao Xian firmly believed that if it were human, it would be the kind that believed "any source of nurture is a mother."

After bickering with the two "treasures" in her space, Xiao Xian felt much more comfortable. She sprawled out, lying down on the vast earth of her space.

Compared to the expanse of the space, the home of the Zhuo Feng couple in Chaoyang District certainly couldn’t be considered spacious.

Zhuo Feng’s home was located in an old-style residential complex built in the early nineties in Chaoyang District, in Unit B on the fourth floor of Building 6.

The entire apartment was just seventy-five square meters. After fitting in a master and a guest bedroom, the remaining space for the kitchen, living room, and bathroom was quite cramped.

Xiao Xian, used to the freedom of the mountains, felt uncomfortable as soon as she entered the door. After chatting about the fun things they encountered on the way back, the aunt and niece went back to their respective rooms to sleep.

"The stars in Beijing are much fewer than in Ge Village," Xiao Xian gazed at the simulated starry sky in her space, sighed, and her eyelids began to droop. Finally, she succumbed to sleep.

On her first day in Beijing, Xiao Xian was treated to an authentic Beijing-style breakfast: crispy sesame-filled biscuits wrapped around youtiao, and a bowl of salty soy milk sprinkled with chopped green onion, dried shrimp, and seaweed—all piping hot Northern breakfast items.

A single breakfast made Xiao Xian realize the differences between the North and South; foremost among them was the portion sizes. If it weren’t for Xiao Xian’s unusually large appetite, she would have been stuffed to the point of discomfort.

The soy milk was brought by Feng Xing early in the morning from a nearby breakfast store, and the youtiao wrapped in the hot sesame biscuit was fragrant. It was clear that her uncle was quite good-hearted, especially his temper; he must have stumbled over Zhuo Feng’s antics a lot at home.

The initial loneliness of arriving in Beijing dissipated somewhat amidst Zhuo Feng’s occasional nitpicking.

"Everything in Beijing is good, except the traffic is a bit rough. I’ll accompany you to buy some clothes at the mall first, and then we’ll go to Sacred Heart Middle School in the afternoon," Feng Xing went to work after breakfast.

"Auntie, I’ll pay for it myself," Xiao Xian knew that after Zhuo Feng resigned, the family relied solely on Feng Xing, who also had a mortgage to pay off, so their financial situation wasn’t great.

"Silly girl, when have you ever seen elders go out and let you pay," Zhuo Feng excitedly took Xiao Xian out the door. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)