Reaching the age of thirty, my income randomly doubled

Chen An'an carried a bundle of firewood down the mountain, and Er Piya came back with a dirty face and not even a single hair she managed to dig up.

Talk about unhappy.

After getting home, Chen Pingsheng asked her to collect eggs, as two hens had laid eggs and he was planning to make seaweed egg soup for dinner.

Er Piya obediently went to collect the eggs, not intimidated by the old hens at all.

Could any hen be more formidable than her?

Don't be ridiculous.

But in no time, she was chased around by the "cluck-cluck-clucking" old hens.

This Er Piya really wasn't good at anything.

A champion at running away with her butt in the air.

She could even imagine digging up the Imperial Jade Seal on a mountain.

And grabbing an egg, she could carelessly kick a protective mother hen.

This chaotic rural life was certainly too much for her to handle.

She must cry at least three or four times a day.

When she finally calmed down, even taking a bath could end with her running around, bitten all over her bare butt by mosquitoes.

Chen Pingsheng lay in the front yard of his house, covering his old face with a palm-leaf fan.

Er Piya being chased around bare-butted by mosquitoes was really something else.

It seems this rural life experience was indeed very necessary.

The little girl's life experience was practically zero.

She grew up being waited on and now suddenly has no one to serve her in the countryside, feeling uncomfortable everywhere.

Such habits are not good at all.

...

Dawn breaks, roosters crow and dogs bark.

A ray of sunlight shone through the mountain peak, reflecting onto their small flat-roofed house at the foot of the mountain.

Chen Pingsheng got up early and practiced a set of Tai Chi.

Middle-aged people must take care of their health; otherwise, it's easy to develop health problems.

The spoiled brat Chen An'an also got up, life in the mountains lacked big shopping malls, flashy cars, and grand villas.

All that remained was the quietly passing time.

"Dad, Er Ya is hugging her head and refuses to get up!"

"That's easy, just go and turn off the air conditioning in her room and see if she doesn't get up."

"Yeah, right."

Chen An'an turned and went to turn off Er Piya's air conditioner; the little girl had gotten smart, actually thinking to lock herself in her room and not get up.

With the air conditioning off, she couldn't last an hour in this summer heat.

Sure enough, Er Ya came out very unwillingly, with a pout and hair looking like a bird's nest.

Chen Pingsheng steamed three sweet corn cobs at home and also prepared some white rice porridge.

There was no abalone for teeth brushing or bird's nest for gargling.

Their little home life was simple and low-key.

"Dad, I want to protest."

"What do you want to protest about?"

Er Piya grumbled, "Why does my sister's room have no mosquitoes, but mine has so many."

"Because she lit mosquito coils, and you didn't!" Chen Pingsheng calmly replied.

Hearing this, Er Piya flared up, "This can be done? Dad, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"That's the most basic common sense of life; if you don't know it, who else can you blame?"

"I..." It's only been three days since Er Piya arrived, and she doesn't look like a little princess anymore.

She could almost compare to a little beggar.

After eating breakfast with a smack, she immediately went to her room to light a big mosquito coil and even left the door open.

With her little hand, she guided the mosquitoes toward her sister's room; her sister was meatier, go bite her!

Er Piya's outrageous actions really were a bit too much.

Today, rather than fishing or chopping firewood, Chen Pingsheng took them to plant rice in the fields.

It was almost a required skill in rural areas during their generation; even ten-year-old children could do it.

Er Piya wasn't afraid of getting dirty, but she was afraid of the little creatures in the fields.

Still, Chen Pingsheng prepared her a set of one-piece boots that wouldn't let in water.

With straw hats on their heads, father and daughters bent over to plant rice.

"When hoeing at noon, sweat drips to the soil beneath the hoe. Who knows that every dish on the plate, each and every grain is hard-earned."

"Dad, I know how to recite this one too."

Proudly standing up, Er Ya recited, "Plant one grain in spring, by autumn reap seeds aplenty. No idle fields under heaven, yet the farmer still starves."

"Not bad, you can recite it, but do you understand the meaning?"

Er Piya cocked her head and thought, obviously not quite understanding.

She knew how to recite but didn't understand.

Chen Pingsheng explained the general meaning was about the hard work of farmers and the importance of cherishing food.

As the sun rose high, assistant teacher Jiang Yilan brought them a pot of tea.

Due to concerns about healthy eating, Chen Pingsheng wouldn't let the kids at home drink cold beverages.

The two little ones could only drink tea from an early age.

Jiang Yilan had also offered to help them farm together, but Chen Pingsheng smiled and declined.

How much land he worked didn't matter, what was important was having the spoiled brat and Er Piya remember the process.

"Professor Chen, my grandma wants to invite you to lunch at our place."

"There's no need for that. Your grandma is already busy enough on her own, and we can't make her cook for us too. How about you all come over to my place for lunch instead?"

Jiang Yilan thought about it and quickly agreed.

This little girl was pretty thoughtful indeed.

After she left, the little fat boy who had been playing with Er Piya these past few days showed up again.

He was quite lonely on his own, with just his grandparents left to care for him while his parents were gone.

Like most people from this village, his parents had gone to work in Shenzhen.

Those who remained here were either the old or the young, like him.

The number of left-behind children was increasing more and more.

Er Ya was only here to experience life, but the little fat boy would have to grow up in this environment until he was fifteen or sixteen.

Then he would follow in his parents' footsteps, either going to Shenzhen to work in factories,

Or moving to another city, leading an equally aimless and difficult life.

This is perhaps the present reality for most rural left-behind children.

There's not much joy to be found, nor a direction in life.

For them, living is truly just about staying alive.

Not like Chen Pingsheng, who has clear, phased developmental goals for his children.

Under the age of five, they should play.

Between five and ten, they start to learn and understand the diverse aspects of life.

From ten to fifteen, they're allowed to do some of the things they like.

In high school, just like all ordinary students, they aim for the college entrance exam while also coming to understand the meaning of life and their own ultimate goals.

In college, they'll inherit certain projects or funds from the family.

And truly start the plan for people's cultivation.

That's the life path he's planned for the spoiled brat and Er Piya.

Defined and clear.

For kids like the little fat boy, it's different; their parents are workers, and far-sightedness is out of the question.

Securing an easy future for their own children is downright impossible.

Most left-behind children are influenced by friends or relatives around them as they grow up.

They wind up wherever they end up.

Some start committing crimes before even turning eighteen, while others end up as streetwalkers in alleys.

A child's path in life is greatly influenced by their parents.

Life's helplessness lies in the fact that to give their children a better life, they must leave their homes behind.

Such is the bittersweet reality for many parents, and the helplessness faced by many young parents.

Er Piya doesn't understand any of this; she just knows that the little fat boy, aside from being completely familiar with rural life, has no impression of the city at all.

Maybe in his eyes, this small mountain village is his entire world.

He simply doesn't comprehend that, in the city, there's Ten Li Foreign Market and dreams as splendid as flowers.

Er Piya tries to play with marbles alongside him, not seeing what's so fun about it.

Yet the little fat boy is having the time of his life.

He then taught her how to fish for shrimp and hunt for loaches in the fields.

These are the things at which the little fat boy excels, and which Er Piya has no clue how to do.

She's only participating out of curiosity.

The things she plays with start with millions of followers on her Er Congming account.

A single video posted casually reaps tens of thousands of comments.

The panda toys she buys are made from pure high-grade wool, costing at least tens of thousands each.

Not to mention her birthday presents each year.

It can only be said that the disparity was pulled to insurmountable levels from the moment of birth.

As soon as she leaves this place, she might never be friends with someone like the little fat boy in her lifetime.

The novelty of experiencing rural life has brought them together to play.

But differences in living habits also lead to squabbles.

Er Piya thinks playing marbles is something only ignorant kids would do.

The little fat boy thinks it's the best fun there is.

Nothing else could compare in his eyes.

Chen Pingsheng didn't interfere, letting them giggle and argue incessantly.