Chapter 266: Chapter 265: A Debt of Gratitude for a Meal
(Part One) (Xue Shaoheng Version for Prudence)
PS: (Doesn’t involve money)
AAAHH, I mistyped the title, it should be “Proceed with Caution,” but I can’t change it now. < (-fl”)/”
To celebrate a substantial breakthrough in the main mission and the sale of several buff dishes, Jiang Feng decided not to stay behind in the kitchen to practice making Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon tonight. He planned to return home on time and take a look at Xue Shaoheng’s memory to learn a new dish.
When Wu Minqi saw that Jiang Feng wasn’t staying back to practice tonight, she decided to go back with him.
It wasn’t until they reached the downstairs of the building that Wu Minqi remembered Ji Yue mentioning at noon that her mother had sent several pounds of preserved vegetables and asked Wu Minqi to pick some up from her place in the evening.
“Ji Yue’s mom sent over some preserved vegetables, and she asked me to pick some up. I’m going to her place to get them, you go on home,” Wu Minqi said.
“Okay,” Jiang Feng nodded, and they parted ways in the elevator.
By the way, the property management finally fixed the elevator.
Upon returning home, Jiang Feng casually poured himself a glass of water, carried it into his room, closed the door, and sat down in the chair to turn on the attribute panel.
He clicked “Yes” on “[Xue Shaoheng’s Memory Segment].”
The next second, Jiang Feng found himself in a run-down rental room.
The small room was very cramped, containing only a bed and a small cabinet; no other furniture could fit, not even a chair.
The walls were mottled and even moldy in some places. There was only one small window in the room, allowing in just a sliver of light. The bed was tidy, and the cabinet was clean, indicating that the person living there took good care of the space.
Xue Hua and Xue Shaoheng were both in this room, wearing clean but slightly worn clothes. Xue Shaoheng sat quietly on the bed watching Xue Hua comb her hair in front of the mirror.
“Shaoheng, your sister is going to work now. You need to stay here and be good, don’t run around. If you need to use the bathroom, go by yourself. I’ll bring you something tasty when I come back at noon,” the 15-year-old Xue Hua instructed the 8-year-old Xue Shaoheng.
Xue Shaoheng obediently nodded his head. He looked no different from a normal child, except for a slight tilt in his head and a slow response.
Just as Xue Hua was leaving, she ran into the auntie from the room across the hall.
“Xue Hua, you’re also going to work this Sunday? By the way, did you find a school for your brother?” The auntie saw Xue Shaoheng inside the room and asked.
“Working an extra day means extra pay. I haven’t found a school yet; no school is willing to accept Shaoheng. I plan to ask around again next Sunday,” Xue Hua replied.
“Your brother isn’t that young anymore; even with his condition, he should at least go to primary school. There’s a family two streets over, their son also damaged his brain from a fall, but he finished primary school just the same. You should network more, ask around; there’s someone’s sister at that little workshop you work at who is a teacher at the nearby primary school, you should inquire there,” the aunt suggested.
“Thankyou, Aunt Liu, I’ll try to find some connections. And please watch over Shaoheng a bit forme,” Xue Hua said with a wry smile, readying to leave for work.
“Your Shaoheng is very obedient and won’t run around, you head to work now.”
She couldn’t explain to others, nor did she want to tell them the real reason those primary schools refused to take Xue Shaoheng.
Xue Shaoheng couldn’t communicate normally with others; when he wanted to express himself, he could only do so through actions or pointing at things. Sometimes, if not watched closely, he’d run off out of sight, even running out of the classroom during a lesson.
At first, there were schools willing to accept Xue Shaoheng, but after a few weeks, teachers would come to her door, asking her to take Xue Shaoheng back home. After switching two schools, no other school was willing to take him.
But Xue Hua always felt that her brother was different from others whose brains were damaged by a fall. Her brother could understand others when they spoke and could grasp what they meant, but he just seemed unable to speak himself.
Xue Shaoheng listened well to Xue Hua, sitting quietly in the room, lost in thought.
Jiang Feng phased through the wall to check out the surrounding environment. It was crowded and narrow. The different rooms, big and small, housed various people; Xue Shaoheng and Xue Hua lived on the third floor. The whole building shared one kitchen, toilet, and bathing room, and there were children playing outside.
“Xue Shaoheng, Xue Shaoheng, come out and play!” Some children outside called for Xue Shaoheng; they seemed about his age.
Xue Shaoheng opened the door and poked his head out, shaking it at them.
“Your sister’s gone out, what are you afraid of? Come out and play. Just come back before she returns,” a little boy in white clothes said.
“Forget it, Xue Shaoheng always listens to his sister. Let’s stop calling him and go play,” a little girl said loudly, pulling the person next to her to leave.
“But…”
“No buts. My mom took me to the park yesterday, and I saw a really beautiful purple flower there. When my mom takes me to the park tonight, I’ll pick that flower and show it to you,” said the little girl.
“Why doesn’t Xue Shaoheng ever come out and play with us? He doesn’t even go to school,” a boy asked.
“My dad says it’s because he’s an idiot, and the schools don’t want him,” said the boy in white clothes.
“That’s not true. Xue Shaoheng isn’t stupid at all. It’s the adults who are stupid. He can solve math problems in a flash,” the little girl retorted.
“Right, he remembers everything he has ever seen. He could put together the thousand-piece puzzle my dad bought me in no time!”
“He can weave grass into locusts, and they look just like the real thing.”
“Then why does my dad say he’s an idiot?” the boy began to question his life.
“Didn’t I tell you? It’s the adults who are the idiots, they can’t do math as quickly as Xue Shaoheng!”
The group of children walked away.
Xue Shaoheng, the center of their topic, showed no reaction. After shutting the door, he continued to sit on his bed, but with a bit more sparkle in his eyes.
After a while, Xue Shaoheng suddenly stood up and murmured, “Flower, flower.”
Then he opened the door, closed it, descended the stairs, and ran off in one fell swoop.
Jiang Feng followed behind him, all the way to the park. On the way, Jiang Feng could only sigh at how lucky it was that people generally weren’t wealthy then; riding a bicycle was considered extremely cool, and cars were almost nowhere to be seen.
Otherwise, if it were modern times, Xue Shaoheng’s way of dashing across the streets and crossing several roads in succession would have led him either to the hospital or the police station.
Xue Shaoheng lingered in the park, walking slowly, his eyes eagerly scanning every flowerbed.
He was looking for the purple flower the little girl had mentioned.
Xue Shaoheng went all over the park, but he didn’t see the purple flower.
He searched a second time, then a third.
To no avail.
As time passed, the sun climbed higher, and by the time Xue Shaoheng was on his fourth search for the little girl’s purple flower, it was almost lunchtime.
There were barely any people left in the park: whether the old men and women walking or playing chess, or the children playing, everyone had gone home for lunch. Only Xue Shaoheng was still searching for the purple flower he wanted.
It was then that Jiang Feng noticed Zhang Chu, preparing to head home, in his middle age.
Zhang Chu had seen Xue Shaoheng long before.
He had noticed Xue Shaoheng when he passed through the park early in the morning to buy Large Dendrobium, when he came for a walk, and now, after finishing his stroll and ready to go home, he saw Xue Shaoheng again.
Zhang Chu’s intuition told him that this child was probably lost.
Xue Shaoheng was still staring intently at the flowers, unaware that Zhang Chu was approaching him.