country bumpkin

Chapter 216 Going Back to School in the City

On the morning of the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Yunya stayed in bed until 9 o'clock. Her grandmother called her several times before she slowly got up, dressed, and went to eat breakfast.

After dinner, Mu Shuyun told her to pack her homework, books, and clothes. Her friends had all gone to school; she had already said goodbye yesterday.

At 10 o'clock, Mu Shuyun took her to the village entrance to wait for the bus. At the village entrance, she put her backpack on the ground and waited for the bus.

Yunya's eyes started to well up with tears again, her gaze fixed on her grandmother, filled with reluctance. Mu Shuyun also shed tears. Both grandmother and granddaughter wiped away their tears with the corners of their clothes.

Mu Shuyun then instructed Yunya to listen to her mother in the city, to pay attention to certain things, not to come home too late, not to talk to strangers, and not to eat anything given to her by strangers, etc.

Yunya listened and answered each question. Just then, the bus arrived. The driver happened to be her uncle, Kong Tieshuan.

Mu Shuyun gave a few more instructions, and Kong Tieshuan said with a smile, "Don't worry, Third Aunt! I'll keep a close eye on Yunya on the bus and make sure we arrive safely at the city bus station."

Mu Shuyun said a few more words of thanks, and the car slowly drove away into the distance without taking up more than a few minutes.

Yunya leaned against the car window, waving goodbye to her grandmother. Mu Shuyun also waved her hand, calling out, "Be careful on the road. When you get home, call the village store to let them know you're safe."

The village store has installed a public telephone. Villagers from nearby areas, whose family members work outside the village, or who need to let others know they are safe, will arrange a time to answer the phone.

People also come to public phones to make calls when they need to contact someone outside for urgent or important matters.

The village committee also installed a telephone, but it usually doesn't ring unless there's something to relay from higher authorities.

Mu Shuyun had already told Yunya to memorize the convenience store's phone number. Once they got home, Yunya could call from the store's public phone to let her know she was safe.

On her way back, Mu Shuyun made a detour to the village store to wait. When she arrived, two familiar women were chatting. She sat down beside them and listened to their gossip.

The car drove for an hour before arriving at Yicheng Bus Station. It was already 11:20. Yunya got off, grabbed her backpack, said goodbye to Kong Tieshuan, and headed home.

After walking for half an hour, I finally saw Grandma's stall. Gao Qinglian hadn't packed up her stall yet.

She sold breakfast and lunch until after 2 p.m. When she saw a little girl carrying a bundle walking towards her, she recognized Yunya.

She called out loudly, "Yun Ya, Yun Ya..."

Yunya pretended not to hear, lowered her head, and quickened her pace. She still remembered the last time her grandmother came to their house to cause trouble for her mother and beat her.

When Gao Qinglian saw that her granddaughter was ignoring her, her anger flared up instantly.

She dropped what she was doing and ran over to block Yunya's path. Because Yunya was carrying a bundle on her back and a schoolbag in her hand, she walked a little slower than before and wasn't as agile.

Stopped abruptly, Yunya had no choice but to look up, feigning surprise at seeing her grandmother, and say with a silly grin, "Hehe, Grandma, it's you! Is there something you need?"

Gao Qinglian could tell that the girl was pretending not to see her or hear her calling her, which made her even angrier.

He raised his voice and yelled, "You brat, I called you, why are you running away?"

Yun Ya couldn't keep up the act any longer and said with a dark face, "Who heard you call me? I have to hurry up, otherwise I'll be late for school this afternoon, how am I going to get to school?"

Gao Qinglian still had a stall to watch over and didn't have time to argue with her. She said, "You've only just come back from your winter vacation? Since you've come back to the city to study, you should study properly. You're paying for tuition but you're still taking leave from school. Does your dad have money to burn? Why don't you give me some?"

When Yunya heard that this was another troublemaker, she said, "My schooling is paid for by my dad, what's it to you? You've never given me a single penny, yet you still care so much. If you don't like it, you pay my tuition, and I'll listen to you from now on."

Gao Qinglian raised her hand to hit her, but she dodged to the side. Gao Qinglian missed her target and almost fell, glaring fiercely at Yun Ya.

Sun Youcai, the old man who was working and watching the stall, shouted, "Old woman, where have you been? Come and help me right now!"

Gao Qinglian glared at Yun Ya, then obediently ran back to help wrap the steamed buns, calling out, "Coming, coming."

Yunya looked at her grandmother, who had been frightened away, and thought to herself: Aren't you supposed to be very strong? How come you're such a coward? You're like a mouse seeing a cat when you see Grandpa.

She yelled, "Hmph! Serves you right!" and continued walking home with her bag on her back. As she turned to enter the alley, she saw a shop, went inside, and called out to the owner, "Boss, can I make a phone call?"

The shopkeeper walked over and said, "Local calls are 1 cents a minute, long-distance calls are 2 cents a minute."

Yunya put down her backpack, took out a phone number from it, and dialed the number for the Kongjia Village convenience store.

As Mu Shuyun listened to the gossip, the phone on the counter rang. The owner came over and answered the phone, "Hello, this is the Kongjia Village convenience store. Who are you looking for?"

Yunya said from the other side, "Auntie, it's me, Yunya. I'm looking for my maternal grandmother."

The boss, being a member of the same clan, naturally recognized Yun Ya. She handed the phone to Mu Shuyun and said, "Third Aunt, it's Yun Ya... looking for you."

Mu Shuyun took the phone and excitedly said to her ear, "Hey! Yunya, it's Grandma! You're home?"

Yunya replied from the other end: "Yes, Grandma, I'll be home soon. I'm calling you from the alley entrance now."

Mu Shuyun knew there was a shop at the intersection near their new house, and that it was about 15 meters from the alley after turning the corner.

She said, "Okay, Grandma knows. I'm glad you got home safely. Go home now, don't waste your phone bill. I'm hanging up, haha!"

Yunya wanted to say something more, but the phone was already busy with a "beep beep beep..." sound. She knew the call had been disconnected; her grandmother was worried about the cost.

She could only put the receiver back on the base. Then she took out some money from her pocket and handed it to the shopkeeper.

It only cost 2 cents, which Yunya thought was quite cheap. They didn't exchange more than a few words.

She wondered when she would be able to make the next call.

After paying, I shouldered my bag and turned into the alley. All the houses along the way had their doors open, but there was no one in sight.

This is life for people in the city. Although they don't work in the fields, they are still busy and on the go.

Some people have skills and do small businesses. Some sell food, while others don't know anything and can only find factory work.

There are also people who can't work in factories, who don't have the skills, and who don't know how to sell food. These people can only find odd jobs to do, and they're lucky if they can make a living.

When Yunya returned home, she found only her mother and younger brother there. Her mother was making lunch, and her brother was playing in the sand in the yard with the neighbor's children. Her older sister hadn't returned from school yet.

She walked into the yard and called out, "Mom, I'm home."

When Sun Guoqiang heard that his second sister had returned, he staggered over and grabbed her, saying, "Second sister, second sister... play in the sand with me."