Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1242 Da Mao's Wine
Walking into the fog was a coincidence. That day, he went to graze with Daben, his own silly cow. He fell asleep on Daben's back and didn't know how much time had passed. When he woke up, he was in an unfamiliar place.

A straight avenue stretched out, flanked by rice paddies overgrown with weeds and dilapidated houses. Da Ben was grazing on the tender grass growing along the roadside. Standing on the avenue, he could see the outline of a city in the distance.

He could sense the difference between this place and Baishan Town; he felt comfortable breathing and his mind was clear. He was only five years old that year, and the wild boy was full of curiosity, leading Daben on an adventure to explore the villages on both sides of the road.

As darkness fell, he felt a little guilty. Carrying a bunch of fruit, he climbed onto the Mercedes and shouted, "Mercedes, let's go home!"

The Mercedes carried him in one direction. He was conscious at the time and watched as he passed through the fog and emerged into the valley between the West and North Mountains of Baishan. He made it home smoothly.

When he got home, he rushed into the house and excitedly told his grandmother about his day. But before he could finish, his grandmother threw down her cane, ran to the front gate, closed the courtyard gate, and then locked the house door.

He turned back to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and growled sternly at Kournikova, "Kournikova, forget everything that happened today, and don't mention it to anyone."

Kournikova was stunned, completely confused. Why?
Grandma said, "Everyone in the entire Qian Yuan Continent wants to know what's inside the mist and what's on the other side. For thousands of years, millions have died, but no one has known. Now that you know, what will be your fate when everyone knows you can know?"

Kournikova thought for a moment, then suddenly became frightened, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Grandma said firmly, "Forget about it, and don't tell anyone."

Kournikova was genuinely scared, and after that, she stopped going to that canyon and focused on practicing at home.

But things often turn out differently: if you don't go to the mountain, the mountain will come to you.

The current imperial court stipulates that "children should enter school at the age of five and enter martial arts at the age of ten." Kova scoffs at this regulation, believing it to be a clever pretext for the court to rake in money.

Kournikova and her grandmother had no income at all. Kournikova usually chopped firewood and rented out her Mercedes-Benz to earn some money. They couldn't afford to go to school.

At first, the school administration office in Baishan Town really forgot about Kournikova, because Kournikova and her grandmother rarely went out and knew very few people.

Kournikova and her Mercedes-Benz turned right as soon as they left the town of Baishan.

Until one day, a new academic affairs officer was transferred to the school. When Grandma spoke to him in a serious tone about this officer, whose name was Bu Ling, she said that he was from a prominent family in Zhongzhou and had come down to get some experience. She told him to keep his distance.

When Kova heard this, she laughed until her stomach hurt. Who would send someone down to a godforsaken place for a low-ranking official post? This was clearly an exile. When Grandma heard this, she understood too, and she laughed uncontrollably, saying that Bruno was just trying to make himself look good.

But the problem lies with this new administration director, who, like any new broom sweeps clean, immediately targeted Kournikova. He ordered a check of the household registration system, comparing registered students with those registered in the household registration system, to see if there were any violations.

It is said that after three days of comparison, Kournikova was identified, and when she was identified, Bruno and his subordinates were overjoyed.

Kournikova became famous, and people on the streets talked about how "Bringer had sharp eyes and caught Kournikova".

Kournikova is frustrated. If he goes to school, who will go to chop wood? If he goes to school, Mercedes will become a freeloader.

Grandma didn't care, but when Bu Ling came with the yamen runners, Grandma just said one thing: "No money."

Bruno was also upset when he left. He had lost money, and from now on, he would have to pay for all of Kournikova's expenses. Otherwise, Kournikova wouldn't go, or if she did, he wouldn't have the money. So, nine-year-old Kournikova started school.

The school is located in the east of Baishan Town. It is quite large. Kova was initially curious about it; she had heard of it but had never been there before.

When class started, Kova was dumbfounded; he couldn't recognize a single word. He thought about it carefully and realized, "Oh no! Only my grandma has ever seen my handwriting, and she even praised it. Now look what's happened—my grandma can't read!"

The characters I recognize aren't from the current dynasty, so I need to get home and destroy the evidence quickly, or I'll be labeled a rebel!

Oh dear, what a miserable life, I have to learn from scratch!
Even more frustrating things were yet to come. When Bruno went back to drink with his men, he complained about the money he had lost. To curry favor with Bruno, one of his men came up with a work-study program, which meant that Kournikova would work at the school to pay off the debt.

So afterwards, she swept the floor, fetched water, and carried books for the teacher. Kournikova felt like she had become a school helper without any pay, which was a huge loss.

After that, the food at home was the same as that at school, the firewood used for burning was the same as that at school, and even bookshelves, tables and chairs, and the Four Treasures of the Study appeared in their own room.

The school is shutting down because there's a thief. They reported it to the police station, but there are only two officers there, one of whom is on long-term leave due to a work injury. The other one is Bai Nanshan's nephew, Bai Xiaohu, a guy who can eat and sleep but can't do anything.

Bu Ling ran to Bai Nanshan to complain, meaning that you have to talk to your nephew. He didn't even greet me when he saw me. I am the education director of Baishan Town.

Bai Shannan gave him an idea, saying, "Look, the fact that things are going missing from your school without anyone noticing means it must be someone with a storage space. You should investigate in that direction."

Upon hearing this, Bu Ling thought, "That's right, this must have been done by someone with storage space. Since the people here won't help me, I'll ask my family for help." So he wrote a letter and sent his servants to Zhongzhou to ask for assistance.

Not long after, the servant returned with a letter from his father. Upon opening it, he found it filled with profanities and gave the father a severe scolding.

He said that even a pig would be better than him as an academic affairs officer. He questioned him, asking if he had ever seen anyone with a storage space. He said that only people at the fifth level of the Divine Realm had one. There were only two Divine Realm warriors registered in Baishan Town: Bai Nanshan and the old academic affairs officer, Wen, who was squeezed out by Bu Ling.

Who do you think would steal the ingredients, the charcoal stove, or the books? The letter's final key advice to him is: if you can do it, do it; if you can't, get out.

The order was cracked down on, so much so that he only indulged in drinking, gambling, and whoring. The final result... well... he got promoted.

October, the golden autumn, is said to be a time of harvest, but for Kournikova, it's a time of reaping. A batch of ingredients arrived at the school; it seems the imperial court bestowed some good fortune upon them. There wasn't much left by the time it reached the school, and he planned to collect some after work that evening. Yes, he was a laborer, responsible for the final cleaning work after everyone had left.

Just as night was about to fall, he slipped into the storeroom to see what had been bestowed as a reward.

Box after box, I opened one box, rice, and decided to take two and keep eight. Taking two and keeping eight was Kournikova's rule for herself; she couldn't compete with the students for food, so she always took two portions of everything and kept eight.

Kournikova squinted and opened another box. White flour. Okay, take two and keep eight.

Open another box, mung beans, and you get it: take two and keep eight.

I opened another box, and wow, Kournikova jumped up! It was terrifying! Does the imperial court really reward children to the lower classes?
He slowly approached the box and saw a little baby looking at him with big, bright eyes. The moment their eyes met, the baby laughed and made a "giggle" sound.

(End of this chapter)