Chapter 1 In May, Langshan is shrouded in mist and fog, and the air is humid. When the mist dissipates, you can see a few people on the mountain carrying bamboo baskets. They have all come up the mountain early in the morning to pick tea leaves. Langshan has beautiful scenery, but because
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Chapter 1
Chapter 1
In May, Langshan is shrouded in mist and fog, and the air is humid. When the mist dissipates, you can see a few people on the mountain carrying bamboo baskets. They have all come up the mountain early in the morning to pick tea leaves.
Langshan has beautiful scenery, but because it is remote and desolate, the wild tea in the mountains is not well-known. The villagers mostly keep the tea they pick for their own consumption, or they roast it and carry it down the mountain to sell to people in the town who are too lazy to pick tea leaves at the market. They earn a few dozen yuan per kilogram, just enough to make a living from their hard work.
Jiang Xiaoman also carried a large basket on his back and went up the mountain with his father to pick tea leaves. He had been doing this job for more than ten years and was very skilled at it. However, this year he made a special trip home during the May Day holiday, not just to help the old man pick tea leaves.
"Baichuan invited us to his house for dinner tonight. The pens and notebooks you brought back this time really helped him a lot!" Jiang Youliang said to his son while picking tea leaves.
Langshan is too remote. There are countless villages of all sizes hidden deep in the mountains and forests. However, not to mention the villages, even the houses are far apart. For example, his family occupies a whole hilltop on their own. The nearest neighbor is a mountain that he has to walk over to reach. Jiang Xiaoman's teachers and classmates used to praise him for his "composure beyond his years." In fact, it wasn't composure, but rather a lack of communication over a long period of time, which made him too lazy to speak.
It is also known as the "hikikomori syndrome" or "hikikomori-suke syndrome".
However, upon hearing from her father that Jiang Baichuan was treating them to dinner that evening, Jiang Xiaoman smiled and said, "Dad, does this count as me picking up trash to exchange for meat?"
Upon hearing his son's words, Jiang Youliang couldn't help but burst into laughter.
He never married in his life. Jiang Xiaoman was a child he picked up at a market. There was no woman in the family, and Jiang Xiaoman ate his father's cooking from a young age. Jiang Youliang was a rough and uncultured man, how could he know how to cook any fancy dishes? His only specialty was stewed potatoes with cured pork. However, cured pork was expensive, and the family usually couldn't afford to eat it. They would usually cook a big pot of corn porridge or pumpkin porridge, and the father and son would eat this porridge three times a day. If they couldn't finish it at night, they would throw it away to feed the pigs.
Jiang Xiaoman was a clever child from a young age. He noticed that his father didn't usually buy him meat. Every time he went to the market, he would run to pick up trash. Sometimes, if he was lucky, he could even find money. He would sell the trash he picked up that same day. The father and son would stay until the very end of the market, when the stall owners were in a hurry to pack up and would usually have a clearance sale.
Jiang Youliang would haggle at the stalls, while Jiang Xiaoman would clutch the money he earned from collecting garbage and exchange it for meat at the butcher's stalls. Usually, the meat was what others had left over, so it was cheap! However, as far as his father's cooking skills were concerned, the quality of the meat didn't actually have much of an impact on the dishes, because his father only ever had two methods for cooking fresh meat—braised or stewed.
It's strange, they're both bachelors. His father's cooking is like boiling pig feed, and he can't even wash clothes. But Uncle Baichuan, who's only a few years younger than his father, can do everything from washing clothes to cooking.
Jiang Baichuan is the principal of their village primary school. According to seniority, he is Jiang Xiaoman's uncle. After graduating from a teacher's college, he could have stayed in the city. However, Jiang Baichuan resolutely returned to his hometown and became a rural teacher. A few years ago, the principal of the village primary school retired, and he became the principal.
However, his position as principal was truly pathetic. In recent years, anyone with a bit of ability had taken their children to school in the city. It was said that even the conditions at migrant workers' children's schools in the city were much better than in the countryside. Year after year, students were leaving, and teachers couldn't be retained either. Last year, only Jiang Baichuan and two other teachers, along with more than thirty students from different grades, remained.
In recent years, the country has been increasing its support for rural education, but there are simply too many teachers and not enough funds. While teachers' salaries are indeed guaranteed at the most basic level, the special education funds allocated to remote towns like theirs are pitifully small.
It was quite a coincidence that Jiang Xiaoman was graduating from her senior year this year. Her counselor asked them to clean up their dorm rooms before graduation so as not to leave a mess for the younger students. Seeing that many students were throwing away unused pens and notebooks directly into the trash can, Jiang Xiaoman's sense of mission to pick up trash deep in her soul was suddenly awakened!
Such a good thing, if we bring it back to my uncle Jiang Baichuan, not to mention the trash in his entire boys' dormitory building, it would be enough for Jiang Baichuan to use for several years!
Jiang Xiaoman immediately borrowed a snakeskin bag from the dormitory supervisor and went door-to-door to collect garbage from each dormitory. He would take any unused notebooks and pens that people didn't want, and then he would even help them take the garbage downstairs to throw it away.
Jiang Xiaoman's classmates all thought he was a very helpful person, and Jiang Xiaoman also felt that his classmates were too kind to him. After sorting through the garbage, he sold the waste paper and beverage bottles he picked out for more than 400 yuan, which was just enough for his round-trip train ticket home for May Day.
The first thing Jiang Xiaoman did when she got home was to send two large woven bags full of notebooks and pens to the school. There was even half a box of unopened chalk in the bags!
“I went to help the teachers in the Youth League Committee clean their office. The teacher said that this half box of chalk was damp and expired, and asked me to take it to throw away. So I brought it back. Although the chalk was damp, I think it can still be used after drying it in the sun. It would be a pity to throw it away.”
Jiang Baichuan truly never forgets his mission to recycle and reuse waste. If it weren't for his intelligence and admission to university, Jiang Baichuan believes that this kid could have become rich by collecting waste sooner or later.
However, collecting scrap is impossible.
It is said that when Jiang Youliang brought this child back, he specially asked the mountain shaman to calculate the fortune. Originally, he wanted to give the child a name that would be easy to raise. Who knew that as soon as the shaman saw the child, he couldn't bear to let go of him. He kept muttering that this child would definitely bring good luck to the mountain people in this area. He was a "child sent from heaven". Jiang Baichuan just found it funny. Feudal superstition is no good!
However, Jiang Youliang firmly believed in the shaman's prophecy. From then on, this lazy bachelor had only one wish in his life: to sell everything he owned to support Jiang Xiaoman's education!
The people in the mountains are simple and honest. The older generation firmly believes that only by studying hard can one leave the mountains. Jiang Youliang is different. He has been telling his son since he was a child that he must return to his hometown after he learns a skill. After all, even the shaman predicted that he would change the fate of the entire Langshan Township!
In response, Jiang Xiaoman could only say that he should first find a job to support himself and his son!
A bachelor's degree is indeed a great achievement in the eyes of people in the mountains, but in a job market where master's degree holders are everywhere and bachelor's degree holders are as common as dogs, Jiang Xiaoman is not even sure if she can find a job.
He came back for two reasons. First, he wanted to send the paper and pens he had collected to the school to ease Jiang Baichuan's financial burden. Second, he took out half of the money he had earned at the school over the years and planned to have his father renovate the old house.
Jiang Youliang accepted the money from his son, but he had no intention of spending it on repairing the old house. He still firmly believed that his son was going to do great things in the future, and how could he do business without capital?
Not only this 30,000 yuan, but he has also secretly saved more than 20,000 yuan over the past few years. He will not touch a single penny of this money, as it is his son's "first pot of gold"!
Because someone invited them to dinner that evening, the father and son didn't have to go home to cook. They even spent an extra two hours picking tea leaves in the mountains. They both knew that Jiang Baichuan would take his children who lived far away home after school every day before returning to the village for dinner, so he usually ate very late.
Unexpectedly, they waited until seven o'clock that night, but Jiang Baichuan still hadn't called them to dinner.
"Something's not right!" Jiang Youliang jumped up and grabbed a flashlight to head to the school.
“Dad, I’ll go with you!” Jiang Xiaoman followed.
When the father and son arrived at the school, it was quiet. It was obvious that Jiang Baichuan had not returned at all.
"This kid! He probably ran into a wolf on the way! Hurry up, go to the village and call for help! Go into the mountains to search!" Jiang Youliang stamped his feet anxiously.
"Wait, Dad, I'll climb over the wall. There's a loudspeaker in the school!" Jiang Xiaoman, after all, graduated from the village primary school and was very familiar with the place. At this time, many families were eating, and it was inconvenient to call people from house to house. Calling people through the loudspeaker was the fastest way.
The village primary school's wall, long neglected and dilapidated, was practically useless. Jiang Xiaoman circled around to the spot where he used to climb over the wall to collect recyclables (?). Sure enough, the two protruding red bricks were still there. Now that he had grown taller, he didn't need to step on the second brick. Using his feet for leverage, he easily climbed over and rushed to the office. Seeing a lock on the door, his eyes lit up, and he jumped up and touched the top of the door, finding a spare key.
The school's loudspeaker worked like a charm; soon enough, villagers who lived nearby rushed over. When the village chief heard that Jiang Baichuan hadn't returned from taking the child home, he was terrified and ran so fast that he lost a shoe.
Speaking of Jiang Baichuan, everyone in Langshan Township admires him. He could have stayed in the big city and enjoyed a life of luxury, but he chose to stay in the mountains, earning a meager salary that barely covered his own needs. Every day, he worked as a teacher and a nanny, and even took the children home after school. Before he was even forty, his hair had turned completely white. Because of poverty, he still hasn't found a wife. When people in the village mention Jiang Baichuan, who doesn't give him a thumbs up?
It's no exaggeration to say that every single villager who heard the loudspeaker came out, even the elderly and children. Some grabbed flashlights, while others brought torches and woodcutting tools, just waiting for the village chief's order to immediately head into the mountains to search for people!
Chapter 2
The forest was especially terrifying after nightfall, as it was the time when nocturnal beasts came out to hunt. Jiang Xiaoman held a torch in one hand and gripped a wood-chopping knife tightly in the other. He walked and shouted as he went, and soon the silent forest was filled with sho
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Chapter 127
Chapter 128
Chapter 129
Chapter 130
Chapter 131
Chapter 132
Chapter 133
Chapter 134
Chapter 135
Chapter 136
Chapter 137
Chapter 138
Chapter 139
Chapter 140
Chapter 141
Chapter 142
Chapter 143
Chapter 144
Chapter 145
Chapter 146
Chapter 147
Chapter 148
Chapter 149
Chapter 150
Chapter 151
Chapter 152
Chapter 153
Chapter 154
Chapter 155
Chapter 156
Chapter 157
Chapter 158
Chapter 159
Chapter 160
Chapter 161
Chapter 162
Chapter 163
Chapter 164
Chapter 165
Chapter 166
Chapter 167
Chapter 168
Chapter 169
Chapter 170
Chapter 171
Chapter 172
Chapter 173
Chapter 174
Chapter 175
Chapter 176
Chapter 177
Chapter 178
Chapter 179
Chapter 180
Chapter 181
Chapter 182
Chapter 183
Chapter 184
Chapter 185
Chapter 186
Chapter 187
Chapter 188
Chapter 189
Chapter 190
Chapter 191
Chapter 192
Chapter 193
Chapter 194
Chapter 195
Chapter 196
Chapter 197
Chapter 198
Chapter 199
Chapter 200
Chapter 201
Chapter 202
Chapter 203
Chapter 204
Chapter 205
Chapter 206
Chapter 207
Chapter 208
Chapter 209
Chapter 210
Chapter 211
Chapter 212
Chapter 213
Chapter 214
Chapter 215
Chapter 216
Chapter 217
Chapter 218
Chapter 219
Chapter 220
Chapter 221
Chapter 222
Chapter 223
Chapter 224
Chapter 225
Chapter 226
Chapter 227
Chapter 228
Chapter 229
Chapter 230
Chapter 231
Chapter 232
Chapter 233
Chapter 234
Chapter 235
Chapter 236
Chapter 237
Chapter 238
Chapter 239
Chapter 240
Chapter 241
Chapter 242
Chapter 243
