Simon discovered that one of his baby teeth was about to fall out.
It was his left incisor, and his gums were a bit swollen and painful, likely because the permanent tooth was about to emerge.
There wasn't much to say; after all, it was a minor annoyance everyone experienced, and Simon only hoped his new teeth would be even.
Today was his second day at his Great-Grandfather's house.
He woke up to find emails from his three little companions: Su Xiangli had already reached her destination, Zhang Yingxuan had rested for a night, and Qiu Qiongzh seemed to have encountered a small problem.
Lu Xuefeng prepared rice soaked in soup for his breakfast, which, along with yesterday's leftovers, was quite satisfying.
After eating, the old man said he had work to do and left leisurely, hands behind his back.
You Tou Guai, Teacher Zheng, visited again at nine in the morning, carrying a drawing board and a hiking backpack, looking very reliable.
As soon as he arrived, he put his things down and went straight to the fridge to grab a bottle of beer, which he chugged.
After drinking, he was back to his usual dashing rogue self, calling Simon over to teach him how to draw.
Starting with sharpening pencils, Teacher Zheng held the pencil in his right hand and the knife in his left, carefully shaving it, a nostalgic look on his face.
"When I was learning to draw, all my classmates were lazy and made me sharpen their pencils.
What does that tell you?"
Simon: "…" How should I know what it tells you.
"Ah, it tells you that I'm the best at sharpening pencils.
Look, it's shiny, pointy, and the tip is so smooth."
Simon: "…" I think it's just average.
Teacher Zheng sharpened one pencil, then handed the utility knife to Simon.
"Here, try it.
In your online classes, those pencils are all prepared by software, but they're not as good as the ones you sharpen yourself.
You'll understand if you try it a few times."
Simon: "…" Is it really okay to give a knife to a child?
You Tou Guai went back to the fridge for more beer, and Simon cursed him to get a beer belly.
Throughout the morning, until Lu Xuefeng returned, Simon sharpened dozens of pencils.
The old man saw his great-grandson playing with a small knife and snatched it away.
"Children shouldn't play with this; it's very dangerous."
"Teacher Zheng told me to sharpen pencils."
"From now on, let him sharpen all your pencils, okay?"
Teacher Zheng raised his hand, but Lu Xuefeng ignored him.
He was wearing a pair of rubber shoes, their high sides splattered with mud, and he walked with heavy steps.
The vegetable basket in his hand, however, was clean and fresh, and the fruits and vegetables inside were lovely.
The old man took out a plump peach and placed it in Simon's hand.
"Go, wash it under the tap before you eat."
You Tou Guai: "I want a peach too."
"Eat farts," Lu Xuefeng retorted, turning his head.
"Children, don't learn bad words from me, okay?"
"Okay!" Simon nodded, holding the peach and swaying into the kitchen.
Then he discovered the sink was too high for him to reach.
Lu Xuefeng scowled and grumbled, scolding You Tou Zheng, throwing all sorts of accusations at him: being lazy, having malicious intentions, being gluttonous and idle, and so on.
It was as if a ball of white cotton would turn into a lump of coal in his presence.
Comrade Xiao Zheng simply went to the fridge again and chugged another beer.
Halfway through his drink, You Tou Guai glanced into the kitchen, and a surge of shock rushed from his tailbone, making him spit out all the beer in his mouth.
Lu Xuefeng said disdainfully, "You're not as capable now, are you, spitting out your beer?"
"You, you, you look at your great-grandson!" You Tou Guai dropped the bottle and rushed into the kitchen.
The old man looked over to see a tiny figure half-squatting on the high sink, his heels dangling in the air.
Xiao Zheng picked Simon down.
"You scared me to death!"
Simon held up the peach in his hand.
"Uncle, eat a peach."
The freshly washed peach was glistening, its fine fuzz rubbed clean, revealing a beauty akin to a lady disrobing.
Comrade Xiao Zheng sniffed it; the fruit's aroma was like an ice cellar in midsummer, penetrating to the bone.
The old man took the peach from Simon's hand and placed it in Xiao Zheng's, then took the child.
Lu Xuefeng's muscles were taut, squeezing Comrade Xiao Lu's back until it ached.
"Tell Great-Grandfather, how did you get up there?"
"I climbed up."
Actually, he jumped up.
Lu Xuefeng raised an eyebrow and put Simon down.
"No more of that, from now on."
"Oh."
He admitted his mistake but never learned from it.
The Great-Grandfather smiled and patted Simon's little head, but unexpectedly, that pat knocked out Simon's incisor.
"Pfft—" Comrade Xiao Zheng spat out his food for the second time today, peach bits shooting into his nasal cavity, almost choking him to death.
"Old man, you're f*cking ruthless!"
Lu Xuefeng looked horrified.
"What the f*ck do you mean I'm ruthless?
Little brat, are you okay?"
Simon picked up his baby tooth, a tiny little thing.
Hmm, why did it fall out now and not earlier or later?
Was it really knocked out by that old man's slap?
"I'm fine, I'm fine."
Simon covered his mouth, his speech a little airy.
Lu Xuefeng smiled.
"Which one fell out?
Upper or lower?"
"Incisor."
"An upper tooth, huh?
Alright, come on, Great-Grandfather will take you to throw away your tooth."
Comrade Xiao Zheng raised his hand.
"Spit it out if you have something to say."
"What era is this that you're still being superstitious?
Isn't it just throwing lower teeth on the roof and upper teeth under the bed?"
"A dog's mouth can't spit out ivory, shut your mouth!"
Simon looked helpless.
His Great-Grandfather's mouth was truly fragrant.
He probably had a low social credit score partly because of this, as rude behavior would incur penalties.
After burying his first old tooth of this life, Simon suddenly felt a strong sense of déjà vu.
He had similar experiences when he changed teeth in his previous life.
At that time, his father told him that everything has a first time, and once it's over, it's over; it won't come back.
It's like a bottle of water, once opened, you have to drink it all; a can, a pack of tissues.
Things happening or not happening are two different states.
Simon thought, if he didn't have memories of his previous life, then today would indeed be his first time changing teeth.
But since he still remembered his past experiences, then this wasn't the first time.
But can the previous life truly be considered the past?
The traces of his existence have already vanished into history.
A person who didn't exist in the past appears in the future.
How can one determine which spacetime he truly belongs to?
The Solar System moves in the universe at over two hundred kilometers per second, so the spatial location where he once lived is already vast deep space…
Does thought determine a person's existence, or does existence determine a person's thought?
As he thought, he began to drift off again.
Lu Xuefeng looked at his dazed great-grandson and secretly wondered: Could this child become a philosopher in the future?
…
Simon discovered Xiao Zheng's big secret.
Half of his right hand was a bionic mechanical structure.
By controlling the bionic neural network of the mechanical arm through a chip implanted in the spine, the prosthetic hand could be as flexible as a real hand.
However, due to the lack of precision in the mechanical transmission structure, some operations were impossible.
Xiao Zheng's right hand, except for his thumb, was a mechanical prosthesis.
Normally, it was covered in artificial skin, making it indistinguishable from a real hand.
But this thing needed lubrication every once in a while.
Simon saw Xiao Zheng, with his back to him, remove his fingers one by one and then adjust them with one hand.
From the cross-section of the prosthesis, many aging metal parts could be seen, stained with a murky, strange liquid, whether it was engine oil or secretions from the body's rejection of the implant.
Xiao Zheng liked to drink.
When he was tipsy, he could forget the pain.
He only drank beer because he had promised someone not to get completely drunk.
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