****
Unexpectedly, Fang Qiming came up with a plan to send me away the very next day.
He was on the phone in the living room early in the morning, speaking loudly and shouting.
"Grandpa, I've found you a nanny. What? You don't need her? Of course you do! The house is so big, and Aunt Wang went back to her hometown for the New Year. Who will take care of you? This nanny is a very nice person, and she's reliable! I'll bring her to your place in a little while. Don't wander off; wait for me at home!"
Fang Qiming hung up the phone and ran over to me excitedly, saying, "Su Yuanyuan, pack your bags, I'm taking you to a great place!"
"Your grandfather's house?"
"Hehe, that's right!"
“I’m not going!” I shook my head firmly. “I’m not going anywhere, I’m staying here!”
"Why not go? The conditions there are much better than here! The houses are bigger, are you stupid?"
"I'm willing to go, but if the house is big, cleaning it would probably be very tiring..."
What do you mean?
"It's boring."
"...Twenty yuan a day?"
"It's so much better here!"
"forty?"
"Xie and I get along quite well, and I can't bear to part with this child." In fact, Xie Anxuan and I have exchanged no more than ten sentences in total.
"sixty!"
"Okay, I'm just a soft-hearted person, and I feel sorry for the elderly."
Fang Qiming gritted his teeth and said, "I thought I had picked up a little white rabbit, but it turns out to be a white-eyed wolf in sheep's clothing!"
Let him say whatever he wants. In short, I'm very satisfied with my current wages.
I'm not good at doing anything serious, but I'm very good at messing around. If someone offered me sixty yuan a day to mess around, why wouldn't I do it?
A note from the author: This Sunday is the Winter Solstice, and I'm going back to my hometown to visit my grandmother.
I'm leaving Friday night and returning Sunday night. So, don't expect any updates this weekend; I'll be disappearing from the public eye.
I'll update with one chapter tomorrow, and then the next one will be next week.
Qu Ling will appear in the next chapter, she definitely will!
If I don't show up soon, everyone's going to throw rotten fruit and rotten eggs at me... Hehe...
Happy winter, dear students!
No matter the season, we will always find her beauty.
Winter sunshine, the Yangtze River in winter, and winter plum blossoms.
On the windowsill sat a pot of azaleas, blooming in its most vibrant season, yet clashing with the somewhat chilly air.
I still love winter plum blossoms the most, as they slowly release their subtle fragrance under the moonlight.
A subtle fragrance drifts in the twilight.
What are you doing this evening? Can you smell the fragrance of winter plum blossoms deep in the courtyard?
The quiet winter night is restless.
Fang Qiming's grandfather's house was in a place similar to a retirement home for retired cadres. Dozens of villas with different designs were scattered around an unknown lake. Each villa was separated by a high, beige wall, and the yard was full of exotic flowers and plants that I couldn't name.
When we entered the courtyard, an elderly man with white hair was sitting under an ancient pine tree, holding an old chess manual in his left hand and casually tapping the chessboard with a pine cone in his right.
What a simple, peaceful, and harmonious scene! Just as I was silently marveling at it, the old man looked up at Fang Qiming and me standing by the courtyard gate. Suddenly, the pine cone that had been tapping the chessboard flew towards us like a projectile. Fang Qiming reacted quickly, tilting his head, and the pine cone hit me squarely on the forehead.
"You brat! You still know how to come back to see this old man? What kind of tricks have you been up to out there? You unfilial son!" The old man cursed as he threw the chess manual in his left hand at me.
Fang Qiming reached out and took the chess manual, saying with a grin, "Grandpa, why are you so upset so early in the morning! You say I don't care about you? That's a huge injustice! Look, I was thinking that Aunt Li would be back in her hometown for the New Year and no one would be there to take care of you, so I even found you a temporary caregiver!"
"Pah! You think I'd believe you? Are you up to something again? Let me tell you, your uncle is giving me a real headache, so don't bother me with your problems!"
"Grandpa Fang, you really don't trust your grandson at all!" Fang Qiming dragged me, whose forehead was red, to the old man. "Grandpa, her name is Su Yuanyuan. She'll be taking care of you here for a month starting today. I'll pay her salary. You can order her around as you please! You can even order her around as much as you want! She charges me sixty yuan a day! That's ten yuan more than Aunt Li!"
I stood in front of Grandpa Fang with a pout, rubbing my forehead and reluctantly saying, "Hello, Grandpa Fang, I'm Su Yuanyuan."
Old Fang looked me up and down for a long time, then swung the chessboard and smashed it on Fang Qiming's head. "You brat, where did you pick up this little girl? Her family raises her so beautifully, she must have been spoiled rotten. How could she possibly be your maid?"
Fang Qiming screamed as his violent grandfather pounded on him, "Why am I so unlucky! Grandpa! I really didn't kidnap her, I found her!"
"Found her?" Grandpa Fang continued to swing the chessboard at him. "Why haven't I ever had such good fortune? You can just pick up a beautiful young lady anywhere? You naughty boy, confess now, did you bully her?"
"I! I! I'm truly innocent!" Fang Qiming covered his head with his hands and ran away. "These days, it's impossible to be a good person! Su Yuanyuan, say something!"
I was enjoying watching the show from the sidelines, why did I have to say anything! Fang Qiming's jumping around was so funny, I was happy to watch a little longer.
After being hit all over the head, Fang Qiming finally managed to escape through the gate.
"Grandpa! Why don't you believe your grandson is a good person?!" Fang Qiming shouted as he started the car and leaned out the window. "You've gone too far!"
Grandpa Fang chased after him, chessboard in hand, shouting, "If I'm not a good person, how could I raise a good grandson? Where do you think you're going, kid?"
The chessboard flew out with a sound, landing squarely on the backside of Fang Qiming's already activated Ka Yan. Grandpa Fang must have been a trained fighter in his youth, possessing astonishing arm strength and the sturdiness of Ka Yan; even he was dented on the backside by the chessboard.
Poor Fang Qiming, he's going to have to spend money again. Repairing a kerosene flask isn't cheap!
Amen!
Grandpa Fang picked up the chessboard, turned around, and went back into the yard. When he came to me, he looked at me for a long time, sighed, and said gently, "Is your name Yuanyuan?"
"Yes!" I nodded vigorously.
"Yuanyuan, don't be afraid. If you were tricked into coming here by Qiming, you can go home now. I'll have someone take you back, okay?"