"No can do, you must take it with you," Yezi tried to refuse. A fuzzy red ball poked out from his embrace, if not "Little Pig" then who? Its neck stretched out, the fur on its neck loosened a bit, and with a swift "whoosh," it clamped a big fat worm in its mouth. As it threw back its head, the worm barely had the chance to wriggle before being swallowed.
"Little Pig, spit it out," Yezi cried out in alarm. This dumb "turkey" that never grew no matter how much it ate, that was the gu insect painstakingly cultivated by Red locust—known as the "love poison". There were two such Jade Worms affected by the love poison, one was still tucked in his embrace, meant to ensure that the two people, no matter how far apart, would not change their hearts towards one another.
"Don’t trouble it, I’m leaving. You’d better step it up, Yezi. I’ll be in Beijing attending middle school, you better not lose to me," Xiao Xian teased Yezi as he got ready to leave, his eyes smiling into lovely crescent moons as he hopped onto the van. The boy was smart but a bit wild. If he were to be disciplined, he would undoubtedly bee Dongnan Miao Village’s top talent in the future, no less capable than his father.
The car horn sounded, "Everyone, goodbye." The vehicle carrying Xiao Xian drove away, leaving Yezi feeling an empty void, stupidly gazing at the now-empty brocade box. With the love poison gone, why did he feel as though Xiao Xian was gone as well.
"It’s all your fault," Yezi held "Little Pig" upside down by its wings, letting it flap frantically as it chirped non-stop.
Sitting in the car, Zhuo Feng had also heard Xiao Xian’s words, "Xiao Xian, did you just tell that Miao family kid that you’re going to attend middle school? But you’re only ten years old, kids in Beijing start primary school at eight, by that count, you should be in third grade this year."
Xiao Xian briefed him on the test Master Shanyin had done for her, as well as the teaching method Zhu Shijun had used for the past few years. Having listened, Zhuo Feng thought that attending middle school meant taking the entrance examination for junior high. The time for that exam had already passed. However, his husband Feng Xing had a classmate who worked in the Beijing Education Bureau; perhaps there was still a chance to get Xiao Xian enrolled in a decent middle school.
San Gouzi, the Party Secretary’s new car, was fortable and made quite an effort to leave love behind on the road, taking only a little over ninety minutes to reach the train station. In recent years, the green trains were gradually phased out, making Xiao Xian’s trip this time much more fortable than her first trip to Guiyang.
Arriving at Guiyang Airport around six in the afternoon, Zhuo Feng suddenly remembered that Xiao Xian didn’t have an identity card and had to use the household registration book to board the plane. He hurriedly flipped through the household registration book that Zhu Shijun had given them. Zhu Shijun was sent downwards, but his household registration was still in Beijing. Xiao Xian’s registration was also under his name, a rather convenient arrangement that saved trouble with household moves, proof, and the series of issues with collective fundraising.
The airport was much more spacious and tidy than the train station. Back then, not only kids from Ge Village but even kids from the city rarely got the chance to fly.
The aunt and nephew duo, dragging two small saplings behind them and each carrying a bag, ran around the airport, which seemed somewhat ical.
"Xiao Xian, keep an eye on your bag," Zhuo Feng’s backpack, which he was carrying, was forcefully packed by Sister-in-law Lian with some dried bamboo shoots and mountain delicacies, weighing quite a bit. She instructed Xiao Xian and then went towards the airport counter for proof of documentation.
There were not many people at the information counter, and there was more than an hour left before boarding. Zhuo Feng breathed a sigh of relief—the wait for the certificate wasn’t long, with only two people in line before her.
Xiao Xian kept an eye on the bag, looking around at the airport environment. When she turned back, she noticed someone standing behind Zhuo Feng. A young man, who looked somewhat familiar.
"Why is it so slow," Zhuo Feng glared at the man in front of her with dissatisfaction. It had already been seven or eight minutes of questioning, and she hoped it wouldn’t delay their boarding. She was anxiously waiting, not noticing the sly movements of the two people behind her.
A slim pair of tweezers stealthily reached for Zhuo Feng’s backpack, which had been unzipped to reveal an opening.
Zhuo Feng, standing in the front, had not yet reacted. Shortly, the man in front of her had finished with his documents, and it was Zhuo Feng’s turn. The man behind her bumped into the man in front, "Got it," and both headed out of the airport.
Reaching the toilet beside the airport, seeing no one around, Skinny, who had only recently been released from prison, and his acplice took out the red envelope they had stolen from Zhuo Feng’s backpack, which contained money given by the villagers to Xiao Xian.
"Not bad, eh? That’s gotta be several thousand, right?" Skinny moistened his finger and counted the money.
"Hello, is anyone there?" Hearing the sudden crisp question that entered his ears, Skinny thought, why does that sound so familiar, like I’ve heard it somewhere before.
His acplice said impatiently, "No one’s here. Look, this is the men’s toilet, what’s a girl like you doing running in here?"
"ing in to catch a thief," Xiao Xian swung her heavy hiking bag like a hammer and smacked it right into Skinny’s face, turning his face red like a monkey’s butt. How could she not avenge the grudge that nearly cost her life and made Zhu Shijun fall ill years ago.
"Hey, stinky woman, watch how I’ll deal with you," growled Skinny’s acplice as he pulled out a dagger. Suddenly, a figure ran in front of him, raised a foot, and sent him staggering with a hook.
The acplice was about to retaliate, but the girl in front of him was as slippery as if she had greased her feet. She was just ahead a moment ago, and then behind him in a blink, swinging her long leg in a reverse hook, delivering a solid sweep. The floor of the toilet was quite slippery, and this time, the acplice fell flat on his face like a dog eating shit.
As Skinny and his acplice tried to get up and prepare for an attack, a flash of white light followed, and after two screams, "Ah, what is that thing," the men’s toilet returned to quiet.
A male passenger, in urgent need, hurried into the door and, seeing the smiling Xiao Xian, quickly said "Excuse me" and without lifting his head, turned and went into the women’s toilet.
There came a series of curses from the women’s toilet, and after the male passenger ran out, he took another look at the men’s toilet. The girl from before had disappeared, and the toilet was empty.
"rade, your documentation is done," ground staff at the registration desk handed over Xiao Xian’s pleted registration proof to Zhuo Feng.
"Thank you," Zhuo Feng turned her head, looked around, and couldn’t find Xiao Xian. It was her first time on a plane; she must have wandered off out of curiosity.
"Auntie, I’m right here, the zipper on the backpack wasn’t done up," Xiao Xian, holding her luggage and having e from the other side, zipped up the backpack and stuffed the red envelope back in.
In the space, Little White Jiao burped contentedly: "What two bumpkins, they don’t even recognize a Jiao."
After the registration proof was processed, Xiao Xian boarded the plane without issue.
With the roaring of the airplane’s engines, Xiao Xian’s four years of life in the Southwest Mountain Area officially came to an end. (To be continued. If you like this work, we wele you to Qidian () to cast your remendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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