My IQ has been increasing year by year.

Chapter 227 Country M

It's 7:30 in the morning.

In Zeyang City, the days are long in winter, and the outside is shrouded in a hazy, cold light.

Chen Jianguo did not eat breakfast at home.

The breakfast stalls at the entrance of the residential area were steaming with white vapor, and the fried dough sticks were sizzling as they were being fried.

Normally, Chen Jianguo would stop to buy something at this time, but today he didn't stop and walked directly along the sidewalk towards the main street.

There's a Xinhua Bookstore on the street corner. It had just opened, and the roller shutter door was halfway up. A clerk was mopping the floor in front of the store.

Chen Jianguo bent down and crawled inside.

"Master, what would you like to buy?"

The shop assistant looked up and asked.

"Do you have a map? A big one?" Chen Jianguo asked.

"Yes, is it a map of China or a world map?"

"Of the world."

The shop assistant pulled a long, rectangular cardboard tube from the top of the shelf and handed it over.

Chen Jianguo took out a twenty-yuan note from his pocket, took the change, tucked the cardboard tube under his arm, and turned to walk back.

Back at the Brocade Garden, the house was warm and cozy.

Liu Xiuying was cooking noodles in the kitchen when she heard the door open. She poked her head out and asked a question.

"Where have you been so early in the morning? The noodles will be ready soon, go wash your hands."

Chen Jianguo did not respond.

He walked to the center of the living room and moved the fruit plate and water glass from the coffee table onto the carpet.

Then unscrew the cap of the cardboard tube and pull out a large map.

He spread out the map on the coffee table.

Because it was rolled up for a long time, the four corners of the map always curled upwards.

Chen Jianguo looked around, then took two ashtrays and placed them on top, then placed the remote control underneath, before finally flattening the map.

He went back inside to get his reading glasses, put them on the bridge of his nose, and squatted down next to the coffee table.

My gaze first fell on the familiar rooster in the middle of the map.

A rough, calloused finger gently touched it.

This is Huizhou.

Then, he moved his finger little by little to the right, following the lines of latitude and longitude on the map.

They moved past the coastline and into the blue area that occupied a large portion of the map.

It has three words printed on it: Pacific Ocean.

Chen Jianguo's fingers moved slowly across the blue patch.

The living room was quiet, with only the faint sound of the range hood running in the kitchen.

His finger crossed the boundless blue expanse and finally stopped on the other side of the map.

North America, country M.

He searched for a while among the dense English and Chinese translations on the east side and found New Jersey.

Chen Jianguo squatted there, staring at the two points where his fingers started and stopped.

It looks like a hand span in the picture.

But he knew what that meant.

"How far is that...?"

'

Chen Jianguo muttered to himself, his voice very low, as if he were asking himself a question.

"The whole area is the sea; there isn't even a flat place to set foot on."

He stared at it for a long time.

Look at that blue sea, look at those unfamiliar place names.

Last night, seeing my son's pride and excitement on TV, all vanished like the receding tide in front of this flat map.

All that remained was an indescribable emptiness.

Too far.

If his son were in Huizhou, even if it was snowing heavily, he could take a green train for several hours to visit him.

But the sea separates them.

Halfway around the world.

"What are you looking at so intently?"

Liu Xiuying carried two steaming bowls of egg noodles out of the kitchen, placed them on the dining table, and wiped her hands on her apron.

She walked over and glanced down at the map on the coffee table.

"Why did you buy this thing?"

"Let's see where Xiaozhuo is going."

Chen Jianguo pointed to the right side of the map.

Upon hearing this, Liu Xiuying also squatted down.

She didn't recognize any lines of latitude and longitude, but she looked in the direction Chen Jianguo was pointing.

"Country M?"

Liu Xiuying asked.

"Um.

"

"What's that blue thing in the middle?"

"Sea, Pacific Ocean."

Liu Xiuying was stunned for a moment.

Her perception of distance was that the furthest it could go was from Zeyang to Huizhou.

"Then...how many days will it take by train?"

"If you can't take the train, you have to take a plane."

Chen Jianguo took off his reading glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Flying in the sky for more than ten hours."

Liu Xiuying fell silent.

She squatted down beside the coffee table, her eyes fixed on the unfamiliar country section.

After looking for a while, she suddenly stood up.

"no."

Liu Xiuying frowned, the confusion she had felt while looking at the map vanished instantly, replaced by a visible anxiety.

"What do those foreigners eat every day? I heard from Old Li in our factory that when they go abroad for inspections, they eat cold bread and raw beef with blood still on it every day."

Liu Xiuying paced back and forth in the living room a couple of times.

"How can Xiao Zhuo's stomach handle this? He gets diarrhea even from eating leftovers."

She suddenly turned her head to look at Chen Jianguo.

"Jianguo, can you buy Chinese rice there? Do they have soy sauce?"

Chen Jianguo was stumped by the question.

He was a factory worker who had spent half his life in a machine shop; how would he know if soy sauce was sold in the US?

"I think... they should be available; they're sold wherever there are Chinese people."

Chen Jianguo gave a vague answer.

"How could this be expected?"

Liu Xiuying drew a conclusion directly.

She slapped her thigh, walked to the balcony, and looked at the sun outside.

"The weather is nice today, I need to hurry to the market and buy dozens of kilograms of pickled mustard greens. If I pickle them now, they can be stored for a long time once they dry."

She turned around and began to count on her fingers.

"I also need to make some braised pork with preserved mustard greens. That stuff goes well with rice, and I should buy a few more bottles of Lao Gan Ma chili sauce."

"Are glass jars easy to break on airplanes? I need to ask Wang Li to see if we can find a machine to vacuum-seal them and put them in plastic bags."

Chen Jianguo watched his wife wandering around the room without saying a word. He simply rolled up the map on the coffee table and put it back into the paper tube.

The bedroom doorknob clicked.

Chen Zhuo, wearing pajamas, walked out of the house while rubbing his hair.

He glanced at the noodles on the dining table, then at Liu Xiuying rummaging through a large basin on the balcony.

"Mom, what are you looking for so early in the morning?"

Chen Zhuo walked to the water dispenser and filled a glass of water for himself.

"Find the bowl for pickling vegetables."

Liu Xiuying didn't even look up.

"I'll go grocery shopping this afternoon. I need to get your pickled vegetables ready quickly. When we get to the US, I can eat two big bowls of rice with pickled vegetables when I don't have an appetite."

Chen Zhuo stopped drinking water.

He moved the water glass away, leaned against the wall, and watched his busy mother.

"mom."

"what?"

Liu Xiuying rummaged through a pile of miscellaneous items and pulled out a large red plastic basin, then patted off the dust.

"I'm leaving next fall, during my senior year."

Chen Zhuo gently reminded her.

"It's only Chinese New Year now, there's still more than half a year to go."

Liu Xiuying took the basin into the bathroom, turned on the tap, and started washing.

The sound of rushing water could be heard.

"What do you know?"

Liu Xiuying's voice was mixed in with the sound of water.

"Good pickled vegetables take time to pickle, six months is just right. I'll pickle a few more jars, and when you get there, share them with that Professor Pi so-and-so. Foreigners haven't tasted good food before."

Chen Zhuo held his water glass and smiled somewhat helplessly.

He didn't try to persuade him any further.

"The noodles are getting soggy, hurry up and eat."

Chen Jianguo walked over, pulled out a chair, sat down, and picked up his chopsticks.

"understood."

Chen Zhuo walked over and sat down.

A family of three was eating noodles at the dining table.

There was only the sound of slurping noodles; no one mentioned that faraway place.

After lunch, Chen Jianguo sat alone on the balcony smoking.

The balcony window was opened a crack, and a cold draft blew in, dispersing the smoke.

There was a knock on the security door.

Liu Xiuying went to open the door, and Zhang Zhicheng walked in wearing a black leather jacket.

.

"Where's Old Chen?"

"They're smoking on the balcony."

Liu Xiuying pointed.

Zhang Zhicheng changed his shoes, went to the balcony, and closed the sliding door tightly behind him, shutting out the noise from the living room.

He pulled over a small stool, sat down, and lit a cigarette.

The two smoked together for a while.

"Old Chen."

Zhang Zhicheng spoke first, flicking the ash from his cigarette with his fingers.

"What's wrong?"

Chen Jianguo looked out the window at the green belt of the residential area.

Zhang Zhicheng abandoned his usual business-like smile and his expression became very serious.

"I was so happy watching TV last night."

Zhang Zhicheng exhaled a puff of smoke.

"I've been thinking about this all morning. Has Xiaozhuo's trip to the US been finalized?"

"It's settled, I'll leave next fall."

Zhang Zhicheng nodded.

"Going to the US is a big deal, and it's also an expensive one."

He turned to the side and looked at Chen Jianguo.

"I deal with people from the outside world all year round, so I know the situation there. Although Xiaozhuo was sent on a government scholarship and the university or higher authorities would definitely provide funding, once we got there, we were unfamiliar with the place and people, and we spent all our money in US dollars."

Zhang Zhicheng lowered his voice.

"The exchange rate is 1 to 8, so if someone spends one dollar, we have to pay eight dollars."

Chen Jianguo didn't speak, but his brows furrowed slightly.

Zhang Zhicheng reached out and patted Chen Jianguo's knees twice.

"Old Chen, we're old buddies, living right across from each other. I watched Xiao Zhuo grow up; he's practically my nephew."

""

Zhang Zhicheng looked at him, his tone revealing an undeniable sense of loyalty.

"You just bought this house and spent a lot on renovations, so you probably don't have much cash on hand."

"Although I, Zhang Zhicheng, am not a big boss, I still have some savings. Before Xiaozhu goes abroad, if you need any money, just say the word and I'll send you the card immediately."

Zhang Zhicheng stubbed out his cigarette in an empty can on the balcony.

"When we're out in the world, we must never let our children suffer over a few dollars, and we must never let those foreigners look down on us."

Chen Jianguo turned his head, and his lips moved slightly.

"Old Zhang, I appreciate the thought, but about the money..."

'

Don't give me that "face" nonsense.

Zhang Zhicheng interrupted him.

"If you consider me a brother, then listen to me. If you have enough money, then it's fine. If you don't, go borrow from outsiders, and I, Zhang Zhicheng, will turn against you."

It's cold in the wind on the balcony.

Chen Jianguo looked at Zhang Zhicheng. He didn't say anything more polite, but just nodded vigorously with the hand holding the cigarette.

"Okay, Lao Zhang, I'll remember that."

Zhang Zhicheng then smiled again, clapped his hands, and stood up.

"That's more like it. Alright, I won't bother you while you smoke. I have to go to the building materials market this afternoon."

Zhang Zhicheng pushed open the balcony door and went outside.

Chen Jianguo sat on a small stool.

He watched the cigarette between his fingers, the embers slowly burning backward until they reached the butt.

late at night.

At Chen Zhuo's home.

The lights in Chen Jianguo and Liu Xiuying's room were off, and the living room was pitch black.

Only a sliver of yellow light shone from under the door of Chen Zhuo's bedroom.

Chen Zhuo sat at his desk.

Instead of the grid draft, there was a thick foreign language textbook in front of him.

He was looking at some fundamental variants of nonlinear partial differential equations.

The doorknob made a very slight click.

The door was pushed open a crack.

A head popped in.

Zhang Qiang was wearing a gray pajama set, his hair was sticking up in the wind, and he was wearing slippers.

He slipped in like a thief, clutching two exam papers rolled up like fried dough sticks in his hand.

He closed the door behind him, trying not to make a sound.

Hearing the noise, Chen Zhuo turned his chair around.

Looking at his childhood friend standing beside his bed.

"Instead of sleeping, did you sleepwalk into my room?"

Chen Zhuo leaned back in his chair, speaking very softly.

Zhang Qiang didn't say anything, walked to the bedside, and plopped down on the floor.

The mattress collapsed under the weight.

He didn't look at Chen Zhuo, but instead looked down at the two test papers in his hand.

That was a review sheet for physics in the third year of junior high school.

The room was quiet, with the light from the table lamp shining on the table.

Zhang Qiang sat on the bed for about three minutes.

Then he looked up.

His usually carefree and cheerful face now showed an inexplicable awkwardness.

"Brother Zhuo..."

'

Zhang Qiang spoke, his voice a little hoarse.

He cleared his throat and looked out the window at the dark night sky.

"Are you really going to hang out with a bunch of foreigners?"

Chen Zhuo looked at him.

"Um.

""

Chen Zhuo responded.

"Princeton?"

"right."

Zhang Qiang pursed his lips and threw the test paper in his hand onto the quilt.

"The name doesn't sound very auspicious; it's not as good as Zeyang."

Zhang Qiang leaned back, put his hands behind his head, and stared at the white ceiling.

"It's too far."

Zhang Qiang said.

"Back when you were at USTC, if I wanted to find you, Uncle Chen would just step on the gas and be there in two or three hours."

"Now that you're going to Earth, I won't be able to find you to hang out with anymore."

Zhang Qiang sniffed.

Chen Zhuo didn't speak, but just looked at him quietly.

Unable to bear the silence, Zhang Qiang suddenly sat up, rubbed his face vigorously, and put on that smug expression again.

"Hey, I'm telling you."

Zhang Qiang leaned closer and stared at Chen Zhuo.

"If you go to the US, can you watch NBA games? How far is Princeton from Los Angeles?"

His eyes were shining.

"Kobe, McGrady, Iverson, can you get your hands on some authentic jerseys?"

Zhang Qiang got more and more excited as he talked, and grabbed Chen Zhuo's arm.

"If you can get me a Kobe Bryant jersey with his autograph, I, Zhang Qiang, will treat you like royalty in Zeyang City! I'll burn incense three times a day, morning and night!"

Chen Zhuo looked at the hand gripping his arm tightly.

His lips slowly curved upwards, revealing a gentle, yet somewhat familiar smile.

Princeton is in New Jersey, on the East Coast.

Chen Zhuo slowly pulled his arm out.

"Los Angeles is on the West Coast, and it takes several hours to fly there, so it's quite far."

The light in Zhang Qiang's eyes dimmed instantly.

"Oh... never mind then."

,,"but."

Chen Zhuo looked at him.

"I'll try my best to find a way. If all else fails, I'll just buy an unsigned original."

Zhang Qiang suddenly came back to life and almost jumped out of bed.

"Really?! Bro, you're such a loyal friend!"

"Don't thank me yet."

Chen Zhuo turned around and opened the drawer of his desk.

Take out a stack of A4 papers that have been stapled together.

He wrote that this afternoon.

He placed the stack of papers on the table and gently pushed them toward Zhang Qiang.

"What is it?"

Zhang Qiang leaned closer, puzzled.

After seeing the words on it, Zhang Qiang's smile froze completely.

At the very top of the first page, several extremely neat characters were written in black ink:

Junior High School Physics: Mechanics and Force Analysis - Intensive Breakthrough

Below, various inclined planes, sliders, springs, and pulley systems are drawn.

Large blank spaces are left next to each graph for calculations.

"The jersey issue is easy to discuss."

Chen Zhuo leaned back in his chair, his hands crossed on his knees, looking at Zhang Qiang, whose face was ashen.

"But before that, do these twenty questions first."

Chen Zhuo's tone was calm, even gentle.

"This was designed specifically for you to address your problem of drawing the direction of anti-friction. It covers all possible variations and pitfalls in the high school entrance exam."

Zhang Qiang looked at the stack of papers, swallowed hard, and unconsciously took a step back.

"I...I'm tired today, can I do it tomorrow?"

"no."

Chen Zhuo interrupted him without any mercy.

"Two dishes every day, and I personally check them."

Chen Zhuo paused for a moment.

"If you take the high school entrance exam this year and reverse the force analysis again, or if you don't get into the top high school in the city..."

'

He looked into Zhang Qiang's eyes.

"Cancel the jersey. I promise, I'll send you a full English physics workbook from a local high school in the US, one book a month. Uncle Zhang will be happy to receive it."

Zhang Qiang gasped.

Looking at Chen Zhuo, who sat under the lamplight with a gentle and refined demeanor, he seemed to see a monster with devil horns on its head.

"Brother Zhuo, you're not human!"

Zhang Qiang grabbed the stack of papers in grief and indignation.

"You're about to go abroad, and you're still tormenting me like this! I shouldn't have come to see you!"

Zhang Qiang stood up cursing, picked up the damn test paper, and turned to walk out.

Chen Zhuo sat in a chair.

Looking at the empty doorway.

After a while, he chuckled softly.