country bumpkin

When Zhang Ruisong's results were announced, Yunya was stunned.

His grades were even worse than hers. Yun Ya couldn't understand it. During the exam, he wrote very quickly and looked very confident. How could he do so poorly?

After class, Yunya asked her deskmate, "Zhang Ruisong, you wrote very quickly during the exam, so I thought you would do very well. How come your score was so low?"

Zhang Ruisong shrugged and explained, "That's easy. I didn't even look at the multiple-choice or true/false questions; I just wrote them down randomly."

Yun Ya's mouth dropped open. "You can do that?"

Zhang Ruisong smiled indifferently and said, "Since you don't know how to do the questions, why bother thinking about them? Just fill in the blanks."

Yunya disagreed with his statement, but said, "Okay, you don't care about grades, maybe it's because your parents love you very much and won't hit you for low scores."

Zhang Ruisong nodded, indicating that Yunya had guessed correctly. Yunya was incredibly envious; having such loving parents was a blessing.

Many of the parents of her classmates are very concerned about academic performance. Many parents only love children with good grades and dislike students with poor grades.

After two more classes, it was soon time for school to end. Sun Fei and Yun Ya discussed their grades and went home together.

Yunya hadn't seen Qin Shou since returning from the countryside. She was a little puzzled; the person who used to play there every day had vanished.

Sun Limei told her that Brother Qin seemed to have gone home. She didn't know where his home was, or if he would ever return.

Many little girls in the alley didn't notice his existence or disappearance. Only the girls he had persecuted breathed a sigh of relief. The blurry demon in their dreams vanished. The nightmares were gone too.

The children regained their lively and cheerful personalities, giggling and chattering as they played games and with their toys.

The good times didn't last long. Before winter arrived, Qin Shou returned. This time he stayed for another month, not leaving until about two weeks before the Lunar New Year. This time, his departure was a complete disappearance; he never returned.

Of course, Yun Ya didn't know any of this, because on the first day of winter vacation, she went back to the village.

This winter has been mostly sunny. Yunya has been waiting for snow to fall so she could build a snowman and have a snowball fight, but it seems like the heavens are against her, and every day is sunny.

The weather was dry and cold; even the slightest breeze made people shiver.

If nothing unexpected happens, many more children will catch a cold, and it will be the kind that's hard to cure.

The elderly in the village couldn't withstand the cold weather, and many fell ill. Everywhere, in the village and in the city, there were knocking and coughing sounds.

Yunya is sick too; she's had a cold for a week. At first, it was just clear snot bubbles, but sometimes when she sneezes, the clear snot can stretch into a meter-long thread.

In the following days, the nasal discharge turned into thick, yellowish mucus. Grandma said this was a symptom of the cold getting better.

This cold took more than ten days to completely get better. Yunya even lost weight from it.

There were still some elderly people living alone in the village who couldn't make it through and ultimately lost their precious lives.

For elderly people who have children taking care of them at home, stoves are lit in their houses, and the warmth of the charcoal fire helped them get through the winter.

This year's Lunar New Year was no exception. Yunya followed her grandmother around like a little shadow, helping out with small tasks and doing odd jobs.

On Chinese New Year's Day, my eldest aunt's family didn't come, but my second uncle's family still came for the reunion.

My uncle also came back, bringing back a lot of wages. My grandparents were all smiles.

Grandma held a thick wad of money in her hand and said, "We talked about building a house last year, but it never got done. We'll definitely start preparing for it after the New Year when it gets warmer."

Kong Xiangyao replied with a grin, "Okay, I'll do whatever you say, Mother."

Zhou Caiyun cracked sunflower seeds, spat out the shells, and joked, "Yes, it's time for Third Brother to find a wife. It's time to build a new house."

Kong Xiangdong, sitting on the other stool, chimed in, "Yes, yes, yes. Look at Wang Erzi next door. He's the same age as Lao San, and he already has kids."

Xiao Qingsheng chewed on the peanut brittle in his mouth, glanced at the adults chatting and laughing over there, and then turned back to watch TV and continue eating his snack.

Kong Tongming picked up a piece of cigarette paper, pinched a small amount of tobacco leaves onto it, rolled it up, stuck out his tongue and licked the end of the rolled cigarette paper, then put it in his mouth.

He picked up a match, lit a cigarette, and wisps of smoke, carrying the unique aroma of tobacco, drifted into the room.

Yun Ya sniffed the tobacco smell in the air and knocked twice, pretending to cough.

Kong Tongming looked up at Yun Ya and said, "What's wrong? Did you cough again because you weren't fully recovered last time?"

Yun Ya covered her mouth and giggled, saying, "Hehe, no, I was just kidding, hahahahaha!"

Kong Tongming said deliberately, "You little rascal, you're even trying to fool your grandpa."

Yun Ya continued to cover her mouth and laugh: "Haha, even Grandpa can be fooled sometimes. I'm still the best."

Mu Shuyun watched the grandmother and granddaughter joking with a smile, while Zhou Caiyun, Kong Xiangdong, and Kong Xiangyao were all amused by Yunya and giggled.

Laughter filled this happy farmhouse courtyard.

The house across the street, belonging to Granny Zhang, was very quiet, with only two elderly people and her bachelor son sitting in front of the television watching TV.

In their front yard, Grandma Niu and her eldest daughter, Kong Chunhua, sat together making dumplings. Old man Kong Fugui smoked his pipe and chatted with his granddaughter, Li Caixia.

The youngest son, Kong Tieshuan, sat quietly to the side, listening to his father and niece chat. He was also unmarried and lived with his parents and older sister.

He usually drives a public bus and doesn't have time to spend with his parents at home, so he rarely talks to them.

Today is Lunar New Year's Eve, and I can finally get some rest and spend time with my family.

This year, the eldest son, Kong Tiezhu, didn't come to the reunion either. While making dumplings, Grandma Niu muttered, "I don't know what the eldest son is thinking. He doesn't even come back for the New Year. It would be so nice if the family were all together."

Kong Chunhua comforted her, "Mother, your eldest brother may have his own difficulties. He will come after the New Year."

Kong Fugui took a puff of his pipe and said slowly, "Let him be. As long as he's doing well, that's all that matters."

Just then, a burst of firecrackers came from outside the door. It turned out that the village children were playing with firecrackers in the alley.

Li Caixia said excitedly, "Grandpa, I want to set off firecrackers too."

Kong Fugui smiled and nodded, "Go ahead, be careful." Li Caixia cheered and ran out.

Hearing the sound of firecrackers, Yunya couldn't sit still any longer. She pulled Xiaoqingsheng and said, "Come on, let's go set off firecrackers too."

Xiao Qingsheng put down the peanut brittle in his hand and wiggled as he ran out after Yun Ya.

The adults in the courtyard smiled as they watched the children run off happily.

Although some families were unable to reunite this year, the warmth of family affection still permeated the entire village. Everyone looked forward to a fresh start in the new year and for life to get better and better.