So everyone has a story. Simon, having nothing to do, wanted to ask Teacher Zheng about his past, but You Tou Guai showed a tight-lipped side. Perhaps, as he said, children shouldn't inquire about such things.
Currently, Simon has two art classes a day, which already fills two slots in his taskbar. Spanish lessons and physical exercise are also daily necessities, leaving only one free slot to try new things.
Today is January 25, 2082, the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, a Sunday. New Year's Eve is approaching.
In the first few days, Simon's parents sent five emails daily, asking after him. After a while, it became two routine emails a day. Until this morning, Simon finally realized a disheartening truth: he had been forgotten by his parents.
Did they really drink 'forget-the-cub' milk?
Conversely, his friends consistently sent him travel pictures every day, full of eating, drinking, playing, and endless joy.
Is it true that at home you rely on your parents, but when you go out, you rely on your friends?
Thank you, my dear friends, for not forgetting to send me perfunctory videos amidst your busy schedules.
Last night, while soaking his feet, Lu Xuefeng said he would take him to catch sparrows.
It snowed again the day before yesterday. Simon actually preferred to stay home and eat hotpot, or, if he wanted to be more poetic, to go boating on a wide aquaculture lake to the southeast, grill some meat and fish on a small charcoal stove, and warm a pot of old wine…
If he had one or two close friends to share the joy and chat about life's trifles, oh, how wonderful such days would be! They would surely be carefree, with the warm winter sun shining on the lake, reflecting like a mirror, the fields vast and flat, a gentle breeze stirring sleeves, and white snow like silver and carved jade. In the whole world, only a tiny boat, with its stove fire like stardust, and we, host and guest, like frost flowers in a mirror. The smoke would curl up four or five li high, and the chirping of sparrows would drift from afar.
This is a pleasure reserved for adults. Don't say that the adult world is only about sorrow. No, sorrow is eternal; finding joy within sorrow is what is real.
Children are indeed only suited for playing small games, like following Great-Grandfather to set traps for sparrows. Simon originally thought it would be a simple operation, like propping up a basket with a stick and scattering some corn kernels underneath. However, he underestimated Great-Grandfather's capabilities.
The old man's idea of 'hunting sparrows' was to use a machine. He had modified an agricultural smart machine himself and then asked an old friend to modify the operating system, creating a highly destructive auto-aiming nail gun. Forget hunting sparrows; it could achieve great things on a battlefield and defend the country!
Simon shivered inwardly. He recalled the tattoo on Lu Xuefeng's back. As a marginal person with social credit level 1, how could he have such extensive knowledge? Or was it that he had committed a crime and was therefore restricted from taking the assessment?
Lu Xuefeng placed the nail gun on the old farm pickup truck and motioned for Simon to get in.
"Great-Grandfather, why haven't you passed the social credit level 2 certification?"
"I swear too much, they wouldn't let me pass. My cultural studies weren't good enough either; I was a bit short on points."
Simon scratched his head. social credit level 2 is actually the common standard. Nowadays, anyone with a bachelor's degree is eligible to get it, as long as there are no records of untrustworthiness in their electronic file. It's very simple, but it's a huge leap from level 1.
To put it bluntly, social credit level 1 is the bottom tier in the new era. They don't even receive a pension, and various social benefits are severely lacking. Living is not a problem; they are fed and clothed without worry, but that's all. After a hundred years, even their personal identity will be canceled. At that time, they will be no different from a handful of yellow earth.
What could prove that they truly lived?
Nothing at all.
Simon didn't want Great-Grandfather to end up in such a situation.
"Great-Grandfather, will you go and get the certificate, okay?"
"We'll see, we'll see."
The pickup started, leaving nothing more to say. Simon sat in the passenger seat, turning his head to stare at Lu Xuefeng.
The loose skin at the corners of the old man's eyes drooped. From the side, he looked very listless. Only those who met his gaze could realize how tough Lu Xuefeng was.
To be honest, Simon still didn't feel that Great-Grandfather genuinely liked him, his great-grandson.
When he served Simon food, it felt like a formality. When he prepared toiletries for Simon, it also felt like a formality. Everything was a formality. For Simon's convenience in getting water, he even installed another faucet in the drying yard, and the hot water kettle was always full.
All his acts of closeness were not very enthusiastic, because no matter what he did, no matter how relaxed his expression, his eyes were always straight like a spear, gleaming with cold light.
Such a person, if he really was a 'jianghu' figure in his youth, must have been a respected big brother, right?
Lu Xuefeng felt a little uncomfortable under the child's gaze, as if a small insect was crawling back and forth on his face. He coughed twice, shifted, and pulled out a few bags of snacks from the storage compartment next to his seat for Simon. "Are you hungry?"
Simon was silent for about half a second. He also realized that his voice carried little weight; which adult would take a little kid's words seriously?
He took the snacks and munched on them, thoughtlessly, without worries.
Watching the nail gun rapidly shoot down sparrows, Simon tried his best to appear happy, but he failed.
They weren't killing sparrows to eat them, so why kill them? To experience the joy of taking life?
For Lu Xuefeng, this was part of his job. The birds were overrunning the fields, and the resulting crop reduction was quite significant.
Current agricultural management of animals is a specialized field. Some schools of thought advocate establishing a complete ecological chain in agricultural areas, while others propose completely eliminating animals as an influencing factor.
The old man didn't think that far ahead. He just noticed a bird infestation in this area when looking at satellite maps and had put off dealing with it until today.
He couldn't accept a reduction in yield. If the output of the agricultural area under his jurisdiction didn't meet standards, he would face disciplinary action.
How did that saying go? Work is work. For him, killing for work was completely normal, and pursuing efficiency was also completely correct.
He set up the machine, then drove Simon back a ways, started the machine, and they sat in the car watching the bird flocks fall like heavy rain from the sky.
There was actually a certain aesthetic to it. One shouldn't deny that violent beauty out of empathy.
Simon felt more disappointment than pity. What he actually wanted to see was that simple method: propping up a basket with a stick, tying a long, thin string to the stick, holding it in his hand while hiding in a corner, and then pulling the string when the sparrows pecked at the rice, making the sparrows struggle inside the basket, causing the basket to shake… just that simple.
"Are you happy?"
"Mhm."
Lu Xuefeng wasn't very satisfied with that answer, so he asked again, "What do you want to eat tonight?"
"Anything is fine."
"Are you unhappy?"
Simon looked up and met Great-Grandfather's eyes. The old man's gaze was still cold, and despite his caring tone, this contrast made Simon feel a chill down his spine.
"I'm not unhappy, just bored."
"Then let's go home. Tomorrow, I'll take you fishing, okay?"
"Mom said she's coming tomorrow."
Silence completely enveloped the pickup.
Lu Xuefeng awkwardly touched the steering wheel, and after a long moment, he managed to say, "Oh."
"Shall we spend New Year's Eve together, okay?"
The old man looked towards the front of the car. Through the dusty windshield, he could see birds still falling, and the sound of the nail gun was like a clapper, ping-pong. He realized at that moment that such a scene was probably not suitable for a child to see.
He had been slow to realize it, after all.
"Okay, let's spend the New Year together. Tell your dad to come too."
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