Chapter 66: The Start of School

  Chu Jiaqiang saw that the vast majority of villagers still held a wait-and-see attitude and were not anxious. Good things take time to grind, this is the reason. He carefully observed everyone's expressions, many people have been struggling in their hearts, which means they have already wavered. As long as next year gives them another good show, these people will thoroughly follow suit.

  The sun in August is very strong, some people say that June is the hottest, but it's not true, the hottest days are actually in August and September. Chu Jiaqiang's days are still so leisurely, every day he just gives Yan Tianzhi a massage, then goes to the backyard vegetable garden and orchard for a walk. The melon seedlings in the vegetable garden have grown tall, Chu Jiaqiang wants to give them a trellis, which means supporting them on a frame.

  "This sun is really fierce today!" Chu Jiaqiang finished his work and came back, immediately picking up the big fan to fan himself, but everyone didn't notice him sweating.

  Yan Tianzhi smiled: "The countryside is much better, the city is not a place for humans to stay. At home with air conditioning is okay, but once outside, wave after wave of heat hits you in the face, that feeling is like being in a furnace."

  Yan Tianyi has been in a good mood these days, and although his legs are not fully recovered yet, he can now walk a short distance with the support of Xu Xiu, which is a very good sign.

  Chu Jiaqiang also suggested that he should walk more when he has time, but don't rush, and not too far at a time to avoid causing foot fatigue. In his case, after another month of treatment, he will be able to walk with difficulty, at least without affecting his life, and the rest is the process of self-recovery.

  "Time flies so fast! In a few more days, school will start again, how annoying!" Chu Jia Yan complained.

  Chu Jiaqiang glanced at the girl, although her grades weren't bad and she was a bit clever, but she wasn't too enthusiastic about studying. After Chu Jiawei's complaints, Chu Jiaqiang only then realized that he had been back for almost two months.

  "Jia Wan can go to school this time, and after school, she can come back to my house with Ru Yu to eat and live. It's better than being crowded in the school with so many people." Xu Xiu said. Since her family had been living at Chu Jiaqiang's place for so long, she felt uneasy about it, so she specially invited Chu Jia Wan to come to her home.

  "Okay! But the head teacher's side might be a bit more troublesome, boarding requires parental consent. When the time comes, Uncle Yan will help out, and when the teacher calls, say a few good words! Hehe! Chu Jiajuan didn't want to board either, especially in this weather, the dormitory is too hot, not easy to fall asleep. Since elementary school fourth grade, she started boarding."

  The primary school curriculum in the village only goes up to third grade, and it's just a small branch campus. From fourth grade onwards, students have to go to Hengzhucun Village several kilometers away to study. Junior high school is in the town, while senior high school is in the county seat, which is also the city district.

  Yan Tianzhi smiled and nodded, he still quite liked this mischievous girl.

  "Brother! Tonight, let's have a big feast. I want to catch more of those crabs and raise them for food." Chu Jia Wen and the other three students discussed and decided to leave early, preparing to set off tomorrow morning.

  "Hehe! Alright! Let's wait till sunset, we'll go catch crabs and bring a whole box over. Later you go back and call your parents to come over my place for dinner, it'll be a treat for the three of you." Chu Jiaqiang agreed readily.

  At dusk, Second Aunt brought over a rooster and an old duck, and began busily cooking with Xu Xiu.

  While the four young men of the Chu family went to catch crabs as planned, they passed by an orchard and found that two large jujube trees were already ripe. Chu Jia Yan didn't hesitate, letting them go back to fetch a bamboo pole, and then wildly beating the jujube tree. The jujubes fell down like hailstones, pattering loudly.

  "These dates are bigger than the ones I usually see in supermarkets, and their color is much better too." Yan Ruyu picked up one from under her feet, wiped it with her hand, and then took a bite.

  She has been to Chu's village for nearly half a month and knows that these fruit trees have never been sprayed with pesticides, so she can eat them with peace of mind. She also learned from Chu's family that the fruits are cleaner when wiped with hands than washed with water in the city.

  "Mmm! Delicious." Yan Ruyu couldn't help but praise.

  Upon hearing this, Chu Jia Yan, who was originally going to stop, hit a few more strokes.

  Chu Jiaqiang was speechless: "You've pounded out so much, it's impossible to finish eating in a short time. Although dates have a longer shelf life, they will also go bad if not fresh."

  Chu Jia Wan saw that the ground was covered with a layer of big dates, and only then did she throw the bamboo pole aside and join Yan Ruyu and others to pick them up: "Isn't there a refrigerator at Uncle Yan's house? What are you afraid of? Besides, there are so many classmates in our class, it's just a small portion, no matter how much more!"

  This girl spoke with a straight face, leaving Chu Jiaqiang speechless. However, these two large jujube trees were indeed well-grown, with big and plump fruits, and few insect bites, because there were more birds here, and those pests were hardly visible.

  Chu Jiaqiang looked at it and thought there should be more than 100 catties of fruit left. Originally, Tang Baozi said he wanted to leave some for him, but Chu Jiaqiang didn't agree, only telling him that if he wanted to eat some himself, he could take some back, but not sell them. This was also nagged by Second Uncle for a long time.

  "Let's catch them in the big ditch! The ones on the riverbank won't crawl onto the sandy beach until evening," said Chu Jiaqiang, picking up a large date.

  There are quite a few things in this big ditch, such as yellow eel, fish, shrimp and crab. At first, Ershu and others were very puzzled, they didn't find much last year, but this year there are so many. But they didn't investigate further, after all, no one has paid attention to this place for a whole year.

  A ditch over a meter wide and one or two hundred meters long, the loaches inside are shocking at night. Even during the day, you can see many loaches with abnormal biological clocks running out.

  Not long after, half a bucket of water was caught.

  "I always feel that this is not quite normal, it's like raising something by feeding it, how can there be so many in a natural state?" Yan Ruyu remained puzzled.

  Chu Jiaqiang was afraid that others would mention this issue, and explained: "Actually, it's not too strange. In an environment where a species suddenly bursts into growth, it will cause a major change in the community. This place was originally very suitable for their habitat, plus more than a year without human disturbance, no natural enemies, and reproduction became terrifying."

  Yan Ruyu furrowed her brow and nodded thoughtfully.

  "By the way, you guys go to school and send a few pounds of dates and crabs to Mr. Gu's house." Chu Jiaqiang immediately changed the subject.

  Back home, Auntie Er and others saw that big bag of dates and couldn't help but smile wryly. These guys really wanted to eat them as a meal.

  "This year's jujubes seem to have ripened much earlier and their color is top-notch." Erniu picked one up, saying as she did.

  "These persimmons are so good, they sell for 6 or 7 yuan outside in the supermarket, especially these early ripening ones." Xu Xiu was also very surprised, it had been a long time since she saw such good persimmons.

  "Is it that expensive? Ah! Girl, why did you pick so much? Just take a little to taste and it's enough." Second Aunt said with a heartache. Looking at this big bag, calculated at 6 yuan per catty, this big bag is worth over 200 yuan.

  Chu Jiaqiang waved his hand: "This thing, we won't sell it anyway. If you can eat it, take it away! It's better than buying outside, which is expensive and not trustworthy. Besides, sharing some with your classmates is also a good idea, to improve the relationship between classmates. There are still many on those two trees, enough for us to eat."

  The Chu family was so strong, they could only smile bitterly.

  The next day, Chu Jia Wan and others finished breakfast, packed their things, and prepared to set off. Second Aunt took out three red envelopes and gave one to Chu Jia Wan and Yan Jia siblings each: "Study hard, and get into a good university later."

  This is a rural custom, where young people going out to study or work will be given a red envelope, symbolizing a smooth journey while also representing the elders' expectations for the younger generation's success.

  Xu Xiuyi took a look and immediately ran back to the room, soon giving each of them one.

  "Brother! Aren't you going to say anything?" Chu Jia Wan stretched out her hand like she was going to hit her older brother, but when she saw her mother's eyes widen in shock, she quickly withdrew it. Everyone else burst out laughing.

  Chu Jiaqiang bitterly smiled: "I'm not even married yet, where would I have red envelopes for you?"