Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“Damn it, I can’t believe I met her father for the one time I decided to make her pay for the meal.”

Chen Hansheng could not help but complain when he returned home. Chen Zhaojun and Liang Meijuan had already gone to work. The kitchen was so clean that there was no smell of oil or smoke.

Chen Hansheng planned to take a shower first and then have a full morning’s sleep. In the past, he would be busy the moment he opened his eyes until he had the chance to sleep again. Now that his time travel had given him more leisure time, he should take advantage of it.

He slept until 10:30 in the morning. It was the constant ringing of the house phone that woke Chen Hansheng from his sleep.

In his dream, Chen Hansheng was still in 2019. When he opened his eyes, it was the scorching summer of 2002 again.

“Who is it?”

Chen Hansheng walked to the phone and picked it up.

“Your mother!”

Liang Meijuan unceremoniously said, “We’re planning to go to Grandma’s place for lunch. You should see her before you leave for university since you’ll have fewer chances to do so after that.”

“Got it.”

Chen Hansheng hung up the phone and sat on the edge of the bed in a daze. He was trying to remember what the family situation was like with his maternal grandmother and that side of the family.

As he thought about it, Chen Hansheng laughed to himself. “D*mn, why does this feel like I’m living in a web novel? I can’t believe I have to recall my memories to survive my new life.”

…

Chen Hansheng’s maternal grandmother’s home was in the countryside. His maternal grandfather was once a primary school teacher and his maternal grandmother was a housewife. They owned a few acres of land. Chen Hansheng’s paternal grandparents had passed away early, so he was very close to his maternal grandparents.

After taking the bus for half an hour, Chen Hansheng arrived at his maternal grandparents’ home. This place would become a developed area in the future. But now, it was beautifully decorated by nature. Chen Hansheng looked over the large field of golden wheat rustling in the wind of the hot summer.

“Grandpa, Grandma, can I have some water, please?” As usual, Chen Hansheng pushed the door open and entered the small courtyard of the farmhouse. There were quite a lot of people already in the central room. His first uncle’s family, second uncle’s family, and second aunt’s family were all there, munching on watermelons.

“Look, the university student is here,” said his second aunt with a smile.

Chen Hansheng chuckled. His cousins from his two uncles and second aunt’s families had not been admitted to university yet so it was obvious that they were referring to him. He’d rather they not though.

He picked up a few pieces of watermelons and ate them in big mouthfuls. He did not care if the red fruit juice dripped all over his body. His second aunt looked at him and laughed. “You’re already a university student, yet you still eat like a child.”

Chen Hansheng continued to munch on the watermelons until they were all gone. He wiped his mouth and burped loudly. “Where’s Grandma?”

“She’s drying her grains in the field behind our house,” said Grandpa while smoking his pipe.

It was such a hot day. How stubborn could this old lady be? Chen Hansheng sighed, stood up, and said, “I’ll go take a look.”

“Don’t go.”

His second uncle said, “Even we, her own children, couldn’t persuade her to come back. She won’t come back until she’s satisfied from dealing with those grains.”

“That’s because I didn’t go. Who knows? The grandson might have more influence than her own children,” said Chen Hansheng with a smile.

He picked up a broken straw hat from the ground, ignored the smell of sweat and rice husks, and casually put it over his head before walking towards the grain field despite the heatwave.

The room became a little quiet for a moment. Grandpa took two puffs of his pipe and slowly said, “The son of the third child is open-minded wherever he goes. He is also an undergraduate student. He will have great prospects in the future.”

Liang Meijuan was the third child of her family. Her older sister-in-law curled her lips and said, “He just studies hard and managed to get slightly better grades.”

Her grandfather smiled and tapped his pipe without saying anything.

He used to be a teacher so he knew how to not only judge students by their grades. Chen Hansheng had always been experienced and open-minded since he was young. He also had a wildness that was not miserly. People who simply studied hard were not like this.

The grain field was a big, open space in the village. It was specially reserved for processing rice husks and drying grains. Chen Hansheng’s grandma’s small figure made her easy to spot in the crowd.

“Grandma.” Chen Hansheng called out loudly.

The old lady heard the familiar voice and looked up hesitantly. It was truly her grandson.

“Oh my, why are you here?”

She put down the broom and walked over. She did not let go of Chen Hansheng’s hand and introduced him loudly to the other people at the grain farm. “This is my eldest grandson. He will go to Jianye University this year.”

It was rare to see university students in the countryside. The people around them stood up and sized up Chen Hansheng.

“He’s your third child’s son, right? His nose and eyes are exactly like his mother’s.”

“How long has it been? In a blink of an eye, he’s already going to university.”

“He’s still as handsome as when he was young.”

…

Rural compliments were so direct. Chen Hansheng accepted them all and even chatted with some of them with a smile. “Auntie praised me for my good looks, but why aren’t you introducing Xiaoyu to me?”

Coincidentally, Xiaoyu was also at the grain farm. She jokingly said, “I already have a three-year-old daughter. Meijuan should have come to our house to propose the marriage earlier.”

Chen Hansheng smiled and replied. “Well, it’s not too late. I’ll just wait for sister Xiaoyu’s daughter.”

“Gosh, you’re so shameless!”

Xiaoyu gave Chen Hansheng a good beating, which made the villagers around them laugh. Everyone loved a good banter during such a carefree season.

At this moment, Chen Hansheng turned to his grandmother and said, “Let’s go back. It’s so hot today.”

The old lady shook her head. “That won’t do. I’m not done yet.”

Chen Hansheng had no choice but to take the tools from his grandmother. “Then you go rest over there and watch me. I’ll do it.”

“You wouldn’t know how to do it. Just go home and watch TV.”

His grandmother was worried, and her heart ached for her grandson.

“Alright, alright. Why is the little old lady so stubborn?”

Chen Hansheng muttered and put on his gloves and began to dry the rice. Chen Hansheng was not a student who did not know how to distinguish the grains. Chen Zhaojun used to get his son to help out in the fields when the latter was younger.

The old lady saw that Chen Hansheng was doing well but she still tried to persuade him to leave a few more times. Alas, it was to no avail. So she walked to sit under a tree to cool down. Half an hour later, Chen Hansheng was finally done with his work. He was drenched in sweat from head to toe. Even when he took off his straw hat, he was still steaming.

When Chen Hansheng and his grandma arrived back at the house, Chen Zhaojun and Liang Meijuan had already arrived. When Liang Meijuan saw her son walk in, she felt sorry for him and brought him a basin of water. “Come here and wash your face. Hansheng, don’t cry when you get tanned.”

Zhaojun was not worried. Instead, he smiled. “Being tanned makes one look healthier.”

It was lively when there were more people around. After dinner, Grandma quietly called Chen Hansheng to the kitchen. She took out a handkerchief from her pocket and opened it to reveal ten one-hundred yuan notes.

“Grandma, what are you doing?”

“Shh.”

The old lady looked at the central room. “Don’t let your uncles hear you. Take this money to buy snacks in Jianye.”

“I don’t even want my parents’ money. Why should I take yours?”

Chen Hansheng shook off his arm and was about to leave.

The old lady held him back, so Chen Hansheng had no choice but to take out one of the pieces and put it in his pocket. “A hundred will do. Thanks, Grandma.”

Of course, Chen Hansheng did not take it for nothing. He considered it as compensation for his hard work earlier.

September 1 was the official registration day. At the entrance of the bus station in Port City, Wang Zibo finally saw his good friend. He immediately complained. “I haven’t been able to contact you these few days. Why didn’t you bring me with you whenever you went to fool around?”

However, when he saw Chen Hansheng’snew skin tone, Wang Zibo started laughing. “How did you get tanner than me?”

“What are you laughing at? Watch it.”

Chen Hansheng cursed and immediately got onto the bus that read ‘Port City – Jianye’.