Chickens and dogs fly in chaos and rebirth

Chapter 28

When they arrived at the large open space for the lantern festival, dragon lanterns from nearby villages were already waiting. Almost all the villages had come out, crowding the open space.

The man from Xialin was short and small, and no matter how he jumped, he couldn't see him. He was so anxious that he kept spinning around. Li Changsheng, holding the rope, felt that he was like an ant on a hot pan, jumping here and there.

"Should I take him up to the high slope to take a look?" Shanglin asked.

Not far away, there was a mound of earth on a high slope, where many children had already taken their spots.

Once Shanglin nodded, Xialin shouted with joy and, ignoring Shanglin's instructions, ran towards the earthen slope first.

Shang Lin's rambling stopped abruptly halfway through, unable to find her target, and she shook her head helplessly at him. Lin Tongmao looked at her and shook his head as well.

The little children acted like elders who had lived half their lives, always cautious and self-disciplined, and strict with themselves and their younger brothers. What child doesn't play wildly at this age? Only the Qiu siblings, aside from running a business, get up early every day to practice calligraphy and study, and then read books until very late at night.

"Shanglin, I mentioned it to you last year, are you really not going to consider it?" He cherished talent and felt it was a waste to leave this kid like this.

She stared unblinkingly at the dragon dance that had already begun: "No. I want a normal childhood."

Lin Tongmao suppressed a laugh. "Are you normal? If you were normal, I would be the principal!"

"Go to school? Since you don't want to go to kindergarten, why don't you start primary school early so you can graduate and start working sooner?"

Teacher Lin is truly... persistent!

She smiled wryly: "Teacher Lin, I'm only six years old. The school enrollment age is eight!"

Lin Tongmao disagreed: "With your knowledge, you could easily go straight to the third grade."

He became especially excited when talking about his major, planning ahead: "Look, you'll start school this summer, skip a grade to be in the third year next year, and with your intelligence, you might even skip another grade. You're already younger than everyone else, and if you skip two grades, you'll be nineteen when you finish college! A nineteen-year-old college student!"

He felt his blood boiling, and he was overjoyed at the thought that he would be mentoring a 19-year-old college student!

Shang Lin shook his head, focusing intently on the dragon lantern race, ignoring Lin Tongmao's rambling plans on the side.

He started school at eight years old...

Lost in thought, Li Changsheng glanced at the earthen slope. They hadn't managed to get a good spot. He hoisted Xia Lin onto his shoulders, holding Xia Lin's legs firmly with both hands. He couldn't lift his head; it was hanging halfway down. He ignored the laughter and screams of the people around him, oblivious to the excitement so close at hand.

Changsheng is nine years old... He started school a year later than others, and his maternal grandfather is never home and doesn't care about him at all.

After the New Year, should we try to find some connections to get him into first grade?

The other children have already been studying for half a year, I don't know if he can keep up with the course. Or should I give him some extra lessons?

As she was making plans, a series of noisy screams suddenly came from the direction of the earthen slope, attracting particular attention in the crowd.

When Shanglin looked up, he could no longer see Li Changsheng or Xialin, who was perched on his neck.

Look closely, and you'll see a group of people gathered around, some anxious, some excited, and some shouting encouragement.

Her heart skipped a beat. Oh no, the two of them had gotten into trouble again! Ignoring Lin Tongmao's excited mutterings, she took off running towards the earthen slope.

Lin Tongmao snapped out of his daze, yelling "Hey, hey!" and pushed through the crowd to chase after them.

While Qiu Shanglin was running around in a panic, Qiu Xialin was in the middle of the crowd, nimbly dodging and weaving, and suddenly punched the guy who was locked in a fierce fight with Li Changsheng. Several people hated him so much they wanted to punch him, but Li Changsheng held them firmly in his grasp.

When Shanglin separated the crowd of onlookers, he took a closer look and saw that, well, there were two against five, and they were all big kids of fifteen or sixteen.

Wait a minute, someone looks familiar...

Enraged, he shouted, "Cheng Chong, you little brat, how dare you lay a finger on my brother!"

Cheng Chong grabbed Qiu Xialin by the collar, his fist raised high, ready to give this wicked brat a good punch. Suddenly, a tigress's roar came from the outside. He froze for a moment, his fist still raised, and didn't lower it.

Why does it sound so much like Qiu Shanglin?

Just as he was looking around in confusion, he heard another roar: "Cheng Lao Jiu, if you don't let go of my brother, I'm going to your house and telling your parents all the bad things you've done!"

"Found it! Found it! It's right in front of me!" The eyes widened, the little fists clenched tightly, and a threatening snarl appeared.

He was furious.

Damn it, Qiu Shanglin is everywhere!

I'm "you little brat"? I'm several years older than you. You call me Third Brother, but if you call me "Ninth Brother Cheng"?

You still dare to complain to my parents?

What? Your brother? I know your brother? He's so cunning, like a little monkey!

Wait—brother?

He hesitated, then looked down and carefully examined the little guy who was coughing because he had pulled his collar.

It seems, somewhat like...

At this moment, Qiu Shanglin rushed over, holding a branch he had found somewhere, and started wildly whipping it.

Startled, Lao Jiu released the struggling little boy from his grasp, ducked to the side, and cried out, "I didn't know he was your brother! I didn't know!"

If I'd known I could beat him up, I'd be running away as fast as I could!

When Xia Lin saw his sister come to the rescue, he became energetic again and shouted, "Beat him up! Beat him up! Left side! Right side!"

Shanglin turned around and glared at him fiercely until he was so frightened that he fell silent.

He then raised a branch and charged at Li Changsheng, who was locked in a fierce fight, shouting, "I'll beat you bunch of good-for-nothings to death!"

Immediately, someone turned around to grab her, but Cheng Laojiu, who had hidden to the side, shouted in fright, "No, no, no, don't hit us! We're all on the same side!"

One of us? I'd have to be crazy to call you one of us. I'd have to be crazy to think you're still potential and even try to reform you. I'd have to be crazy to believe Qiu Xialin should leave my sight. I'd have to be crazy to think I can change his personality and his life!

The more he thought about it, the more disheartened and heartbroken he became. Looking at Li Changsheng, who had already stopped, his eyes were as red as a rabbit's, his anger was spitting out, his whole face was ferocious and terrifying, and he was breathing angrily. He didn't look like a nine-year-old child at all.

What a bunch of weird people I've run into!

She was furious and powerless. Tears welled up in her eyes as she felt a pang of sadness. She threw down the branch and turned to leave.

Xia Lin rushed forward and hugged her leg: "Sister, sister, avenge me!"

She didn't say a word and struggled to break free.

Cheng Lao Jiu also rushed over. He couldn't hug their legs, so he could only hug their arms: "Hey buddy, don't be like that! I was just joking with them, really!"

She ran away now, but when she came to my house to complain, my parents gave me a good beating. Who can I complain to?

Li Changsheng seemed to have just recovered from the stimulation and anger of the fight. His eyes were blank as he looked at Xia Lin holding someone, regretting his actions and almost bursting into tears. He thought to himself, "Oh no, I was so focused on fighting that I forgot to take care of him!" Then he looked at the person he was holding, whose face was ashen and eyes were filled with anger. Two lines of tears were streaming down his fair face. Who else could it be but Qiu Shanglin?

Shang Lin wiped away her tears angrily and said fiercely, "I shouldn't have trusted you!"

Old Nine's buddies walked up to him: "Who's this?"

Old Nine smiled wryly: "Don't you all want to see the little girl who can reform Old Three's ways? Well, here she is!"

cold war

Qiu Xia Lin has been having a tough time lately. Although things have never been easy for him, thanks to his mother's protection and his own constant joking around, his sister, while strict, hasn't been overly controlling. But ever since the Lantern Festival…

Since then… tears have been streaming down my face; all I can think of are painful memories…

Qiu Shanglin strode ahead, Li Changsheng followed silently beside her, and Qiu Xialin, with her short legs, called out "Sister!" as she chased after them.

This trip is a disaster; I'm going to get punished when I get home.

As I walked, I realized I was going the wrong way. How did I end up in Xinglong Popsicle Factory? How did I end up in my mother's office?

Zhang Hongwei was discussing new varieties with several technicians when suddenly the door was rudely pushed open. She looked up impatiently and said, "Who is it? Why didn't you knock?"

I was stunned. My daughter was standing at the door with tears still on her face.

Although it was already January, the weather had not yet warmed up, and the wind outside was still biting. Whether it was from anger or cold, Qiu Shanglin's face had an abnormal blush. Changsheng and Xia Lin stood timidly outside, not daring to come in or speak.

"What happened?" She pulled her daughter into the house, handed her a hot towel to wipe her face, and asked her son, who had spontaneously taken to the corner:

What happened to your sister?

Xia Lin hesitated, raised her eyelids to glance at him, and remained silent.

One glance at Shanglin's ashen face, then at Xialin's timid expression, and he immediately understood.

"Qiu Xialin, you've made a mistake again, haven't you!"

He sneered, "He made a mistake? How could he possibly make a mistake? He's completely right, how could he be wrong!"

The sarcastic tone only made Zhang Hongwei more puzzled. What was wrong with the two of them? Why were they arguing?

Xia Lin's discipline and husband were both handed over to her daughter, and she never paid attention to their fights. Anyway, they would fight today and make up tomorrow. One second Qiu Xia Lin would scold her sister, and the next second she would call her sister this and that.

Seeing her son's pitiful state, she softened and decided to act as a peacemaker: "Alright, alright, Qiu Xialin, hurry up and apologize to your sister!"

Her sneer grew louder: "No way, I wouldn't dare. Who is he? He knows a thing or two about Southern and Northern martial arts, and he's an unstoppable force. I wouldn't dare apologize to him. Forget about apologizing, he'd be doing me a disservice by being my younger brother. Oh, Mom, why did you give birth to me first instead of him? It would be so much better if he were my older brother. I wouldn't have to worry about him, and he could take care of me. I'd like to see why a hero would take care of his sister!"

Oh dear, you're really angry today, you're even talking nonsense!