The World of Children Was Pretty Complicated Too

The world of you kids is quite complex too.

Chapter 101 The 101st Day of Being Eavesdropped On

"Yousi, Xiaolin."

Gu Yousi and Lan Lin were walking home when they turned the corner of the alley and ran into Song Jianshe walking towards them.

Song Jianshe was still holding two strings of candied hawthorns in his hand.

"Uncle Song."

Lan Lin instinctively shielded Gu Yousi behind him, watching Song Jianshe.

Song Jianshe cursed inwardly, "Why does this brat always hang out with Gu Jinshui's daughter? He has no ambition at all."

"You're out of school now? What did you buy?"

Gu Yousi looked him up and down. "Uncle Song, are you buying sweet potatoes for something? If so, just say so. We still have homework to do."

Song Jianshe chuckled awkwardly and handed the candied hawthorns to Lan Lin. "Oh dear, Uncle Song bought these candied hawthorns on the way here, thinking of giving them to Da Bao. But then I remembered that Da Bao is teething and can't eat candy, and Xiao Hua doesn't like candy either. It's a waste to throw these candied hawthorns away, so I might as well give them to you."

The look of suspicion on Lan Lin's face became even more pronounced.

Gu Yousi took the candied hawthorn directly from her hand. "Okay, thank you, Uncle. We're leaving now."

She pulled Lan Lin to try and get around Song Jianshe.

Song Jianshe was caught off guard by her reaction.

In his imagination, the children were all greedy and had no sense of caution.

He should have been incredibly grateful to those two children after giving them two candied hawthorns, and then easily tricked them into revealing information.

But who knew that they would take the sweet talk and then retaliate with a barrage of bullets?

"Wait, wait, Yusi."

Song Jianshe reached out to stop the two children, "Uncle has some things he wants to ask you."

"We know nothing!"

Lan Lin reacted quickly, not only refusing immediately but also trying to pull Gu Yousi away as soon as possible.

He was well-trained by the Old Master and was extremely wary. Song Jianshe's scheming was too obvious to fool him at all.

Gu Yousi grabbed Lan Lin and whispered, "Don't go yet."

She turned to Song Jianshe, munching on a candied hawthorn, and said, "Uncle, just ask. You gave me a candied hawthorn, so you must be a good person."

Gu Yousi blinked and then reminded her, "But you'd better hurry, my grandma and mom are waiting for us to get back home."

Although Song Jianshe wasn't a ruthless person, he still had to keep some tricks up his sleeve.

Perhaps people are so jealous of the Gu Family's wealth that they're going crazy and want to kidnap them.

Song Jianshe didn't understand Gu Yousi's implication, but Lan Lin did.

Lan Lin secretly pinched the whistle around his neck, thinking that if Uncle Song dared to do anything reckless, he would quickly whistle. There were many people living nearby, and it was almost time to go home, so someone would definitely come out.

Song Jianshe was overjoyed, rubbing his hands together and saying, "Yousi, you're such a good child. Uncle is asking you, has your father gone out?"

Gu Yousi's eyes darted around, and she nodded obediently, "Yes, he won't be back for a long time."

"Oh dear, how long is 'a long time'? Won't you be unable to come home for the New Year?"

Song Jianshe felt a surge of joy, but also a pang of worry.

He was happy that if Gu Jinshui didn't come back, the Top-Grade Imperial Green Jade would be his, and no one would be competing with him for it; but he was also worried that if Gu Jinshui didn't return, he didn't know which jadeite gambling market would take over.

Antiques and jewelry have been in high demand in Beijing in recent years. Although gambling on rough stones is a shady business, there are still four or five places that operate. But how could we possibly find those places with just the clues given by Song Chaohua?

Song Jianshe's mind raced, and he quickly forced a smile. "Little girl, do you know if your dad has said where he wants to go recently?"

"He went to Shandong," Gu Yousi, munching on a candied hawthorn, feigning ignorance with an air of seriousness.

Lan Lin watched from the side, a smile involuntarily playing on his lips.

Gu Yousi is exquisitely beautiful and always cheerful, seemingly without any guile. But if you treat her like a child, you're definitely not the one who 'Gu Yousi suffer.

Song Jianshe choked, speechless.

He said, "I know your father went to Shandong. I was asking him if he mentioned going anywhere in Beijing, like where there are places to gamble on jade. You know what gambling on jade is, right?"

Song Jianshe, fearing Gu Yousi might not know, explained, "It's the place where they cut stones and buy jade."

Buying jade?

Gu Yousi blinked, remembering something. The book mentioned that Song Jianshe had indeed gambled on jade once, and apparently found Imperial Green, becoming incredibly wealthy.

She's now pretty sure that this grandson is going to try and fleece her family again!

However, it's like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; who will be the sheep is still uncertain.

Gu Yousi frowned, thought for a moment, clapped her hands, and said, "Hey, it seems my dad did say that there are a lot of stones over there, and if you find jade, you'll make a fortune."

"Yes, yes, you have a really good memory, little girl."

Song Jianshe asked excitedly, "Do you know where your father is talking about?"

Little did Gu Yousi know that Gu Jinshui had never mentioned this matter, but that didn't stop her from framing Song Jianshe.

She said, "Uncle Song, I can't remember. How about this, I'll ask my father when he comes back in about ten days, and then I'll tell you, okay?"

"Well!"

Song Jianshe felt that today was truly his lucky day.

Otherwise, how could things have gone so smoothly?

He had barely finished expressing his joy when he quickly added, "But you can't tell your father about this."

"Uncle, don't worry, I definitely won't tell my dad."

Gu Yousi nodded, stretched out her hand, and made a counting motion.

Song Jianshe was taken aback, looked at her hand, and asked, "What do you mean by this?"

"Uncle, really? You're being so unfair! I helped you find out, and you're not even paying me a fee?" Gu Yousi rolled her eyes. "Fifty is fine, a hundred is fine too. You decide what to give. There are two of us here."

The smile on Song Jianshe's face froze completely, just like the persimmons on a tree in December.

With a dark expression, he still managed to pull out fifty yuan and give it to Gu Yousi.

Gu Yousi glanced at the money. "Alright, fifty yuan for now, and you can give me another fifty later. You can rest assured about this; I guarantee I'll handle it perfectly for you."

"Well."

This time, Song Jianshe's two "good" words sounded like they were squeezed out from between his teeth.

Seeing that they had finished talking, Lan Lin took Gu Yousi home.

He Chunlian was still learning etiquette with a few actresses when she saw them return. She quickly said, "Go do your homework. Don't eat your snacks. We'll eat dinner later."

"Okay, sure." Gu Yousi and Lan Lin gave the sweet potatoes to He Chunlian and the others, then ran into the room.

Lan Lin watched her throw the money into the drawer and couldn't help but ask, "Niuniu, that Uncle Song doesn't seem like a good person. Is he trying to find out your father's secret?"

Gu Yousi nodded. "That's just how he is. Okay, let's talk to him when my dad gets back."

"Then this money..." Lan Lin realized what he meant after speaking, "You lied to him!"

Gu Yousi laughed and said, "How can this be called cheating? It's all consensual. Let's split the money in half later and teach Uncle Song a lesson so he won't look down on us kids."

Lan Lin was very lenient with what Gu Yousi did.

He agreed without hesitation, and even planned to use his own pocket money to hire a lawyer to sue Uncle Song if he didn't keep his promise.

The adults in the family had no idea that the two children had done something big without saying a word.

Gu Jinshui sneezed several times in a row.

Professor Bai took a neatly folded handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to him, smiling, "What's wrong? Got a cold?"

"No, it was quite hot in our room last night. I guess it was because my family was nagging me."

Gu Jinshui took the handkerchief, thanked him, and said...

Professor Bai sighed, "It's so good to have family who care about you. What are we working so hard for all year round? Isn't it all for our family?"

Gu Jinshui hadn't inquired about Professor Bai's family affairs, but he could glean from the implication of his words that the professor's family situation must be quite complicated.

Come to think of it, at their age, they've experienced a lot of turmoil, some have been separated from their wives and children, some have become enemies with their fathers. Although they've all been exonerated and their benefits have been restored, the experiences of these past years and the trauma inflicted on their families can't just be forgotten so easily.

He picked up the manuscript and said, "Professor, I'm going on stage later. Could you please take a look and see if there's anything wrong? I need to correct it quickly. With so many colleagues here today, I can't tarnish your school's reputation."

Professor Bai understood and accepted the manuscript with a smile.

He took out his glasses, put them on, glanced at the manuscript, and nodded. "Xiao Gu, I really have nothing to say. Your manuscript is even better than ours. Just go up there confidently later."

Gu Jinshui laughed and said, "You're praising me so much I'm almost dizzy. I'm still nervous, but your words have put my mind at ease a little."

Professor Bai said, "Don't worry, this article of yours is well written. I'll have to get a copy for my students to study. Those of us who are always in the ivory tower should be more down-to-earth and learn some industry skills. Otherwise, we'll all be clueless and easily fooled."

Professor Lin and Sun Zhiping sat next to him.

Hearing Professor Bai's words, Sun Zhiping felt uneasy. He couldn't help but say, "Bai Enzyme, don't exaggerate too much. What kind of article is this? We're all experts here today. Don't bring out some nonsense and make a fool of yourself."

Professor Bai glanced at him indifferently, "Little Sun, there are always people more knowledgeable than you, and there's always something beyond your understanding. In the field of archaeology, there will always be someone more knowledgeable than you. If you're always filled with this kind of jealousy, you won't last long in this profession."

"You!" Sun Zhiping's face flushed red, both ashamed and embarrassed.

"Little Sun, you'll find out whether he's capable or not in a moment."

Gu Jinshui smiled broadly, his expression very amiable. "If my article receives a standing ovation, how about you treat everyone to a Shandong meal?"

The professors who had come with them all breathed a sigh of relief.

Luckily, Xiao Gu knows how to handle people. Otherwise, if the two of them had started arguing, and since they were on a university campus, and Xiao Gu was there as a student or faculty member of Peking University, it would have been embarrassing for the school.

"That's a good idea."

Professor Xu quickly smoothed things over, saying, "We're all scholars; let's have a literary contest, not a physical one. Little Sun, don't you have articles to write? You two can have a contest, and whoever loses treats everyone to dinner."

"Fine, for the sake of the teachers, I'll compete with you!"

Sun Zhiping snorted, a hint of confidence on his face.

He was confident that this article would be second to none, because Professor Lin had helped him write it.

The meeting began shortly afterward.

Everyone drew lots and went on stage to give their presentations in order.

Sun Zhiping was at the front of the line. He talked about ancient coin archaeology, and he had clearly put in a lot of effort in this area. He was able to answer several questions asked by the teachers.

As he stepped off the stage, Sun Zhiping gave Gu Jinshui a smug look.

Professor Xu and others praised, "Xiao Sun's article is well written; it starts with the evolution of characters and is very well researched."

Sun Zhiping bowed slightly, feigning modesty, "Not at all, it's all thanks to our professor's excellent teaching. Xiao Gu, now it's your turn, right? If you go up there now, will anyone listen?"

Gu Jinshui was about to retort with a sarcastic remark when Professor Bai patted him on the shoulder. "Xiao Gu, go ahead. I was worried earlier, but after listening to Xiao Sun's article, I'm completely relieved."

Gu Jinshui was stunned for a moment, and Professor Xu and the others also looked somewhat surprised.

Professor Bai has always been mild-mannered and rarely gets into arguments with people.

Such sharp and barbed words were truly surprising.

Sun Zhiping's expression changed, as if he had just opened a paint shop.

"Please welcome Gu Xian. Gu Jinshui..." The host had already read out Gu Jinshui's topic. Gu Jinshui stood up, raised his hand to the host, and then said to Professor Bai, "Professor Bai, I agree with you."

Their exchange was incredibly arrogant.

Professor Xu and the others were dumbfounded, but Professor Bai paused for a moment and then burst out laughing.

Professor Xu couldn't help but whisper, "Old Bai, you're being too absolute."

Professor Bai shook his head and said, "Professor Xu, listen to this, this Xiao Gu is truly capable."

Professor Xu skeptical.

He