Yan Huaye and Professor Liu

The teacher leading the group was explaining the precautions to the students when Liu Chang'an noticed a small merchandise kiosk next to the bus stop and went over to it.

There are very few residential areas and supporting facilities around here, but there are many construction sites and construction workers, so selling cigarettes, alcohol, and betel nuts would be a very good business.

For many construction workers, cigarettes, alcohol, and betel nuts represent their most luxurious lifestyle expenses.

Liu Chang'an bought a bottle of orange juice and started drinking it.

The shop owner was a young woman breastfeeding her baby. She looked somewhat familiar to me, like the woman who used to carry a teapot and breastfeed her baby on the edge of a field.

Liu Chang'an glanced at the business license on the wall and asked, "Who is Xu Shiqiang to you?"

The young woman glanced at Liu Chang'an in surprise. The name on the permit on the wall was her father-in-law's, but the young man in front of her looked unfamiliar. How did he know her father-in-law's name?

"Who are you?" The young woman did not answer, looking at Liu Chang'an with a mixture of wariness and curiosity.

"Lactation consultant." Liu Chang'an reached into his pocket. "Oh, I forgot my business card."

The young woman's cheeks flushed slightly, but she didn't get angry. She just turned away in annoyance, no longer breastfeeding the child in front of Liu Chang'an.

Liu Chang'an smiled and walked away. Xu Shiqiang was a young man from a nearby village back then. He was loud, rude, and vulgar, and often harassed young women and wives in the countryside. The young woman who was nursing the baby must have married into a family in the village.

"Liu Chang'an, it's time to go." Seeing that the other classmates were about to head to the agricultural and forestry base, Liu Chang'an was still leisurely looking around and drinking orange juice when Yan Qingcheng called out to him.

The young woman who was breastfeeding peeked out and saw that she was a student from Xiangtan University. This kind of scene happens every year.

At such a young age, he's quite adept at flirting with respectable women.

Liu Chang'an followed. There were some flowers and plants to visit from the drop-off point to the base gate, which was something that didn't exist during Professor Liu's time, but there wasn't much to see. However, the group of freshmen who had never seen the world were quite interested.

Liu Chang'an walked at the back of the group, with Zhu Juntang keeping a distance of two meters from him, trailing behind like a well-bred young lady, taking small, delicate steps.

In reality, Zhu Juntang usually maintains the elegant demeanor of a wealthy heiress. Image maintenance is an essential part of her life. Back in Taiwan, when a socialite like her appeared in public, she was always followed by tabloid reporters who seemed to appear out of nowhere. Even picking her nose required her to be careful not to be photographed in an unflattering way, as it could be sensationalized by the media as a sign of poor manners.

Of course, fairies wouldn't stick their index fingers up and down their nostrils, really.

"If you don't touch my stockings, I'll come and walk with you," Zhu Juntang said proudly from behind.

"Okay," Liu Chang'an said without turning his head.

"Hehe..." Zhu Juntang ran over, lifting her skirt, and after laughing twice, she poked Liu Chang'an twice with her finger in a somewhat provocative manner.

Liu Chang'an ignored her.

Zhu Juntang suddenly felt that she had regained some kind of advantage, and nudged him twice more.

She felt a little proud! Zhu Juntang stopped stabbing Liu Chang'an. She had just been walking alone at the back and felt a little lonely. After all, in the whole class, Zhu Juntang felt that Liu Chang'an was the only one she could get along with. It was difficult to communicate with the others, and they also had difficulty understanding some of Zhu Juntang's habits and logic.

Liu Chang'an might not fully understand either, but when he didn't understand something, he would simply nod or say "oh." It was quite comfortable to be around him without him forcing him to understand, explain, or relentlessly ask questions to reach a consensus.

"Have you been here before?" Zhu Juntang concluded after observing for a while.

"Um."

When did this happen?

"Go back to more than thirty years ago."

Is it fun?

"It was alright. My two friends, Xu Zhancheng and Ren Changhong, and I got to know each other here. We stole oranges, watermelons, corn, vegetables, whatever we could find. We fished in the water all year round, dug for loaches in the fields, and looked for field mice in the soil. Sometimes we could even go to the thatch in the irrigation canal to watch the young wives bathe." Liu Chang'an had already recalled a lot and recounted it smoothly.

"When you talk about these things, at least show some of the awkwardness and smirk of a teenager," Zhu Juntang said, looking at Liu Chang'an with disbelief. "You actually have the nerve to say something like peeping at someone taking a bath."

"Peeping at young wives bathing requires skill. You have to watch the wind. If it's Dongfeng, the thatch bends low, and you can't hide. Young wives and older women usually come close to dark; coming earlier is useless—they're all middle-aged women with breasts hanging down to their navels. If you're discovered, you have to run for your life. As long as you don't get caught on the spot, you're fine. You know, back then, the crime of hooliganism hadn't been abolished, and the villagers were more open-minded, but if they really took it seriously, it would be troublesome. Speaking of which, whose daughter had the best figure? Oh right, it's Limpy Ma's daughter. Don't let his disability fool you; his wife is a beauty..." Liu Chang'an turned to look at Zhu Juntang, "Probably about your looks."

Before Zhu Juntang could even marvel at this man's extensive experience in peeping at young wives and sisters-in-law bathing, she was already furious and found it hard to accept, "Do you think I'm any different from a country bumpkin?"

"At least what I meant was that you're at least a passable beauty." Liu Chang'an felt that this was the key point.

"You even think a cripple's wife is beautiful! How rare it is for you to call her beautiful!" Zhu Juntang continued angrily, this was the first time she had been compared to the village girls and wives.

"Country girls have their charm, and young ladies have their elegance. Men appreciate different styles of beautiful women, just like with food. You can't just focus on one dish; you have to try all eight major cuisines."

"You dare say those things in front of that streetlight that has no bulb?"

"I was just telling you." Liu Chang'an was a very frank person. "Besides, if a certain dish is so delicious that you never get tired of it, making people lose interest in other dishes and only focus on eating that one dish, that's only natural."

Zhu Juntang couldn't argue with him. That's just how he is; no matter what, he's always right. If he's not right, he'll hit people.

"I'll see if we can catch any field mice later," Liu Chang'an said, looking at Zhu Juntang with an invitation.

Zhu Juntang ran away immediately.

Upon entering the agricultural and forestry base, besides the various scattered buildings, there were experimental fields and experimental forests everywhere. Three guides led the groups to visit along three separate routes. Liu Chang'an's group was basically on one route.

Throughout the visit, I was struck by how agriculture has entered a new stage of development over the years. The level of agricultural mechanization has increased year by year, farmland water conservancy infrastructure has been strengthened, modern agriculture, represented by facility agriculture, has developed rapidly, and biotechnology related to agriculture and forestry has developed rapidly. Looking around at the various experimental fields and gardens monitored and operated by modern production management systems, one can see the progress and modernization of the production process under the socialist system.

Liu Chang'an walked around and looked around, and finally found a field mouse burrow next to a secluded sweet potato field.

After careful observation, Liu Chang'an confirmed that although the hole was a rat hole, no rats were going in or out of it anymore.

I had expected this before I came, after all, it's not like decades ago. These days, rat control is done very well in places like this, but it was still a bit of a disappointment that there were no field mice to catch.

"Liu Chang'an, what are you doing?"

Yan Qingcheng looked at Liu Chang'an squatting in front of a mouse hole and couldn't help but ask, "We're supposed to be having lunch at the agricultural and forestry base canteen, but someone's missing." Yan Qingcheng glanced at him and knew that Liu Chang'an was missing.

It's strange, he's usually not very noticeable, but when he's not with everyone, you can immediately tell he's gone.

"Let me see if there are any field mice we can catch," Liu Chang'an said, poking a mouse hole with a stick.

"Even if you were here, you wouldn't be able to catch them. To catch field mice, you need to use smoke, water, and bring a dog." Yan Qingcheng couldn't help but laugh; this person always surprised her.

"Oh? It seems you know quite a bit." Liu Chang'an nodded. That was just a common method. In reality, all it would take was emitting ultrasonic waves of a certain frequency to make the rats run away in terror. Once they were out of their holes, could the rats outrun Liu Chang'an?

"The field mice are plump and round this season, with plenty of food like sweet potatoes. The kids in my area catch them and sell them in town for two yuan each. When business is good, they can earn a hundred or two yuan a day." Yan Qingcheng hesitated for a moment, then stopped and chatted with Liu Chang'an.

"That's fine too. When I was carrying bricks on the construction site, I only made two hundred yuan a day," Liu Chang'an said somewhat indignantly. "But a shrewd businessman is a shrewd businessman. These rat collectors use them for stir-fries or barbecues, and they sell each one for at least ten yuan."

"You're carrying bricks at a construction site?" Yan Qingcheng laughed. "Don't joke around."

"I'm not kidding, but I've only moved twice, and not for a living."

"The young master experiencing life by laying bricks is just a plot device from a mindless urban romance drama."

"Yes, the young master gets framed, or suffers amnesia—basically, he ends up doing manual labor. He meets the female lead, who treats him like an ordinary person. They have a few episodes of everyday life together, and then, as they develop feelings for each other, the female lead faces a crisis. The young master regains his domineering CEO persona, crushes the underlings, and wins the beauty's heart," Liu Chang'an said admiringly. "It's quite good."

"TV is just TV. In reality, there are no rich young masters working on construction sites carrying bricks," Yan Qingcheng said with a smile.

"So I really am not a young master... I'm just an orphan."

"Ah... I'm sorry..." While Yan Qingcheng couldn't understand why an orphan would be entangled with wealthy heiresses like Qin Yanan and Zhu Juntang, she figured there must be some inside story she didn't know about.

"Fine."

"I've always wanted to ask you, with such a high score on the college entrance exam, why did you apply to Xiangnan University?" Yan Qingcheng had her own reasons for wanting to apply to Xiangnan University, so she was curious to know if others would also apply to this school for some special reason. It was nice to find that someone had the same starting point as her and to feel a sense of resonance.

"Firstly, my girlfriend applied to this school, and secondly, my father was a professor at Xiangnan University, so it's kind of a sentimental connection."

Yan Qingcheng nodded. He was indeed a womanizer. This academically gifted couple getting into the same university... wait, his father is a professor at Xiangnan University, and his surname is Liu, so his father's surname is also Liu, right?

"Then your father... is also surnamed Liu?" Yan Qingcheng asked nervously, tugging at her hair.

"Hmm." This question is a bit strange, but it's quite normal for someone who doesn't take their father's surname to ask it.

"Is your father's name Liu Jianshe?"

Liu Chang'an raised his head and looked at Yan Qingcheng carefully. The name she mentioned was very ordinary. In those days, men named Jianshe were common all over the country. Among the faculty and staff of Xiangnan University, there were two Liu Jianshe.

Yan Qingcheng was not referring to another Lao Liu who had worked in the boiler room for twenty years, but rather Professor Liu, one of the founding members of the School of Biology at Xiangnan University.

"Could your mother's name be Yan Huaye?" It seems she took her mother's surname, Yan. She just happened to know that Professor Liu's name was Liu Jianshe, so Liu Chang'an smoothly came to this guess. It wasn't a coincidence that he guessed it, but it was quite a coincidence that they met.

Yan Qingcheng took two steps back, just as her mention of Professor Liu's name made Liu Chang'an realize something, and the name "Yan Huaye" also confirmed Yan Qingcheng's identity.

-

-

Please give me some monthly votes to encourage me. Tomorrow I'll write about Yan Huaye and Liu Jianshe, a touching story of student and teacher memories. As the saying goes, "His students are all over the world, and one day they will bring glory to Chang'an."