Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 77: Return of the Son
In the blink of an eye, it was the day of vacation. Before he knew it, Chen Xuan had been attending school with Gao Jingming for twelve days.

Yushan School implements a system of having twelve days of classes and three days off. In this way, there are exactly two classes in a month. If there are more or fewer days in a certain month, the class time will be adjusted as appropriate. In any case, the three-day holiday will not be reduced.

Having classes for twelve consecutive days is a bit too much to study, but that’s the rule. Once you get used to it, you won’t mind it.

Mr. Yushan had mentioned the old boatman that day, and he hadn't brought up similar topics since then. Chen Xuan didn't dare to ask, so he could only wait and see. He believed that Mr. Yushan would definitely handle it...

On the day of the holiday, considering that many students are from other places and need to travel long distances, the school life is ended immediately after class at noon and the holiday is announced.

The teacher usually assigns homework for us to do at home, including practicing calligraphy, memorizing articles, doing math problems, memorizing a chess set, drawing a picture, and becoming familiar with the syllables of the piano strings. He will check and assess the results when he comes back for the next semester.

Compared to the last time Gao Jingming went home, he inevitably had more homework, or it was possible that he had finished part of it ahead of time.

In short, when the bell rang, indicating the end of the holiday, the whole school became restless. There was no longer the tranquility of the past, and everyone was like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins.

At this time, the school gate is open, and the students' elders or servants can enter the school to help pack their luggage after being checked by the teacher. After all, many young students are still unable to take care of themselves.

"It's finally vacation time. I've been almost going crazy in the school. I must sleep in when I get home this time. If the headmaster is not my master, he would want to tear down the school," Gao Jingming complained as usual.

Chen Xuan didn't respond, but instead asked, "Master, do you want to go back with Master Zhou and the others?"

"Of course, we, the Five Tigers of Yang County, are inseparable."

Chen Xuan thought that it would only be these few years. When he grew older, the gap in learning progress would widen, especially after finishing elementary school and starting to take the imperial examination, he would eventually be unable to escape the pain of separation.

Many people promised to be friends forever when they were young, but after a while, how many people still remember it? How many people are still in touch? That was in the era of advanced communication...

When I returned to the dormitory, Xiao Cai, Xiao Ye, Geng Hong and Leng Bing were waiting at the door.

The door was locked, and Chen Xuan hurried to open it. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he noticed that Leng Bing seemed to look at Gao Jingming with a bit of sympathy, but her cold face really made it difficult to guess what she was thinking.

"Brother Xuan, why haven't you gone to the door to bring the young master's clothes to us for cleaning during this period?" Xiao Cai asked immediately after seeing Chen Xuan and the others and greeting them.

Chen Xuan replied: "I have washed all the dirty clothes of the young master. There is one set left, from yesterday, which I didn't have time to wash."

"Axuan has done a good job recently. Sometimes he is even more careful than Xiaocai and the others. There is a reward, but the money is with you, Axuan. You can take it yourself," Gao Jingming praised immediately.

You just said there was a reward, but why don't you tell me the amount? If you take too much, I might come across as greedy. If you take too little, I'd feel like I'm being taken advantage of. Chen Xuan couldn't help but complain in his heart.

Xiao Ye looked at Chen Xuan in silence, then continued, "Actually, there's no need to be like this, Xuan'er. Helping the young master with his laundry and quilts is our responsibility. You just need to accompany the young master to study hard. If you do our work, we won't have anything to do."

"Next time then," Chen Xuan nodded, feeling relieved. Now that he was small and weak, washing clothes was really a hard job.

Xiao Cai had already started rummaging through boxes and drawers to pack Gao Jingming's luggage. Noticing Chen Xuan's gaze, she hesitated and said, "Xuan'er, I plan to take all the young master's clothes back to wash them. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I dislike you for not washing them clean, but the young master's clothes are wrinkled and need to be ironed. Otherwise, he will be laughed at if he wears them out."

Chen Xuan didn't care. As long as they were happy, that was enough. He knew in his heart that the other party was just using the excuse of considering his feelings.

There was a lot of luggage to take home for the holidays. As a book boy, Chen Xuan was busy packing school supplies, and soon the entire book basket was almost full.

"Xuan'er, give it to me. You are still young and the book basket is too heavy. Let's talk about it in two years." Xiao Ye reached out to take the book basket that Chen Xuan was about to carry on his back.

It was always like this before, so Chen Xuan didn't insist. He picked it up with both hands and handed it to her. Xiao Ye put it on her back with some difficulty.

After that, Chen Xuan suddenly realized that the almost full book basket didn't seem too heavy, and it wasn't difficult for him to carry it. Xiao Ye was more than a head taller than him, so it looked a bit strenuous for him to carry it!

Have you become stronger?
Calming and health-preserving exercises!
I've only been practicing for eleven or twelve days, not to mention the first few days of familiarization. Is the change so big?
How could Chen Xuan still not understand at this moment that the Qi-calming and health-preserving exercises that others said were useless actually had magical effects!
If others find it useless but it works for me, then that's not their problem, nor is it a problem with the 'gongfa', but my own problem... 'So I'm just an average student, but I have a good talent in martial arts? Could it be because of the time travel?'

Without a professional to test him, Chen Xuan could only make conservative guesses based on his own situation.

In this situation, he didn't know whether he should ask a professional. After thinking about it, he gave up for the time being. He subconsciously thought that it was enough for him to know about this kind of thing and there was no need to make it public.

At the same time, he was still considering whether he had any talent for martial arts. It seemed that he would have to learn some real martial arts techniques to test it out, but practicing martial arts too early would be harmful to the body...

At this time, Xiao Ye was carrying a book box and his attention was not on him, so Chen Xuan did not ask to take over the work.

Gao Jingming had already changed his clothes and ran to find his friends.

Soon after, they finished packing, locked the door, and left the school. After going down the mountain, they found that the convoys from various families were already waiting there. They got on their vehicles one after another and headed back to Yang County.

Looking at the Gao family villa that was gradually getting farther away, Gao Jingming had never set foot in it. Chen Xuan really couldn't understand the meaning of the Gao family buying a villa here.

Looking at Yushan, where he had lived for more than ten days, Chen Xuan didn't know whether the gang of human traffickers and the old boatman would be dealt with by Mr. Yushan next time he came.

It shouldn't be that fast. After all, beheadings in ancient times mostly happened in autumn...

The carriage moved forward and stopped at Baliji for a rest.

This time it was Chen Xuan who paid the bill, or strictly speaking it was Gao Jingming. Wow, the guards, servants, maids and fodder from various families added up to a total of nine taels of silver!
Chen Xuan guessed that the 'Five Tigers' took turns paying the bills for the trips back and forth, and that was how the money was spent. Originally, Chen Xuan thought that since they brought so much money, they would have most of it left when they returned, but there was not much left. If Gao Jingming had other additional large expenses, thirty taels might not even be enough.

After resting, the group set off again. When they set off, Geng Hong's gaze lingered on Chen Xuan for a moment.

Leng Bing noticed this scene and couldn't help asking, "What is Brother Geng looking at?"

"Nothing," Geng Hong shook his head subconsciously, then asked uncertainly: "Miss Leng, have you noticed that after not seeing you for more than ten days, Xuan Ge'er seems to have grown taller?"

"Really?" Leng Bing asked doubtfully. He glanced at Chen Xuan, thought for a moment, and said, "I really haven't noticed this. But they are still young, so it's normal for them to grow taller."

"That's right," Geng Hong nodded and immediately stopped caring.

As the sun sets, the convoy returns to Yang County smoothly. There are dozens of guards from each family in total. No one would bother them unless they want to die.

Gao Jingming, Zhou Lin and others separated outside Yang County. Some of them did not live in the county town, so there was no farewell scene. They just made an appointment to play together when they were free.

When Gao Jingming got back to the gate of the Gao family mansion, he couldn't wait to get out of the car and rushed to the door, shouting, "Mom, I'm back!"

When a son returns home and his mother calls for him, someone answers. This is happiness...

"Master, go slowly, be careful not to fall. Madam knows you're back and has prepared dinner for you."

Mrs. Gao did not greet her children at the door, but Butler He was waiting there in advance. He chased after Gao Jingming to remind him, and at the same time waved to Chen Xuan and others to signal them to disperse.

Leng Bing glanced at the direction where Gao Jingming left, and a look of "Young Master, you're on your own from now on" flashed in her eyes. Madam must have prepared "meal" to welcome you back from studying!

At the same time, Zhou Lin and Deng Lingfeng were also given a warm welcome by their families after returning home.

(End of this chapter)