MSRV Ch 25 Part 1 – Variety Show (I)

Wenwen was shoveling dirt with his small shovel. The child was so focused that she didn’t even realize that his chubby white face was stained with some dirt. Encouraged by his mother and Grandpa Guo, Wenwen regained his confidence and decided to continue growing orchids.

He thought that the problem might lay in the environment in which he planted the orchids. He shouldn’t plant them in a flowerpot, but used a flowerbed instead. Maybe the orchids he raised didn’t want to be a canary in the cage and yearned for the free and broad sky outside?

After many huffs and puffs, the little guy finally finished planting the seedling and applied fertilizer and water according to his mother and Grandpa Guo’s guidance. After that, he watched the seedling from morning till night.

The first day, the seedling looked freshly green and very energetic. How happy!

The second day, it looked a bit listless. Um…maybe it hadn’t yet adjusted to the new environment?

The third day, the leaves began to turn yellow. Wenwen was anxious. Was his orchid withering again?

On the fourth day, the orchid died.

…

Wenwen squatted in the corner, sinking into a deep entanglement. His chubby little face was dark with a heavy expression. He contemplated hard. Why hadn’t he realized that he had such a peculiar trait in his previous life? Was it because he was busy trying to survive and never had time to raise flowers, so he had never found it?

But this was so strange. His mother had become a professionally acknowledged and outstanding orchid artist in just two or three years. Even Grandpa Guo was very satisfied with his mother. Grandpa Guo once boasted to him that Mom was the most talented student he had ever seen.

Could it be that he inherited her genetic talent in the opposite way?

Fu Yunruo looked at the child who had been hit hard. Even she felt speechless for a while and couldn’t figure out any comforting words. In order to successfully let Wenwen raised his orchid without dying, she and Uncle Guo watched from the side and carefully guided him. Logically speaking, as long as the child didn’t treat the plant too roughly, it would grow safely.

But the flower actually withered?

Could it be true that some people are just naturally incompatible with plants?

Among the fans who followed her livestream channel, a small group of people seemed to have such a peculiarity. They said that no matter what they did, they had never been able to grow any plant safely. Fu Yunruo thought it was an exaggeration before, but now she began to have a doubt. Maybe, some people were really born with a disposition of plant killer?

Finally, Fu Yunruo said: “Baobao, we are going back to the village this afternoon.”

Hearing this, Wenwen stood up and rushed over to his mother with his short legs: “Going back today? Not tomorrow?”

Fu Yunruo patted his little head, “Let’s go back today. Don’t you also miss your little friends so much?”

“No!” Wenwen shook his head and said solemnly: “Just miss a bit.”

“Go and say goodbye to Grandpa. We won’t see him for two days. Go and spend time with him.”

“Okay!” Wenwen hopped to the flower shed.

Fu Yunruo watched as Wenwen’s lively and cheerful figure departed. Now that his thoughts were distracted, the child instantly forgot about his ill-fated little orchids.

Fu Yunruo fell into contemplation. Wenwen loved to play with other children, and he had friends of various ages. Should she let him go to kindergarten? Before, she felt that three years old was still too young and considered enrolling him next year. Now thinking about it, she could send Wenwen to kindergarten in September this year. She wondered what documents would be needed to enroll a child in kindergarten. Did it require a household register? Her Wenwen hadn’t registered one yet.

After taking a nap, Fu Yunruo and Wenwen went back to the village in the afternoon. When village children saw Wenwen was back, they jumped with excitement. Little Wenwen was obviously very happy too. His eyes were bright, and he happily went to play with the group of children.

Fu Yunruo went to see Uncle Mei and Auntie Mei, and when she saw that Auntie Mei was the only one at home, she asked: “Where is Uncle Mei?”

The time was still early, it was just a bit after 03.00 pm.

“He went to town for a meeting.” Auntie Mei said casually. Uncle Mei was the village head, which could be regarded as a grassroots cadre position. If there was any instruction from above, he and other village heads would be called to a meeting.

Fu Yunruo nodded in understanding.

“Why are you looking for your uncle?”

“I want to ask for Uncle Mei’s advice. Wenwen doesn’t have a household register. If I want to send him to kindergarten, what documents do I need to prepare?”

“Ah, this? I know. You can ask me.” Auntie Mei immediately said. “The rules aren’t strict here. A child can go to kindergarten without a household register.”

Fu Yun was relieved, “That’s good.”

Auntie Mei couldn’t help but said again, “Ruoruo, the child’s household registration issue should be resolved sooner or later. Even if it doesn’t affect him enrolling kindergarten, he will need it to go to the elementary school.”

“I know.” However, Fu Yunruo herself didn’t know what to do. Her household registration was still in the Fu family, so she couldn’t enter her son into her register.

“Are you going to be like this?” Auntie Mei said in concern. “Young people nowadays are yearning for big cities and don’t want to spend their whole life trapped in small towns and villages. You are still young. One day, you will also fly to the outside world.”

“I…”

“I know you are a good girl. You are now a phoenix in distress, and we cannot keep you forever in this small mountain nest.” Auntie Mei looked directly into Fu Yunruo’s eyes. “We all hope that you can face life bravely and don’t get defeated by wind and rain. If you feel tired…this place will always be your last harbor.”

Fu Yunruo almost broke into tears. Although Auntie Mei didn’t ask anything, everything was clear in her eyes.

She was so lucky to meet Auntie Mei family and Uncle Guo.

“Educational resources in big cities are much better than remote villages like ours.” Auntie Mei said earnestly. “So you should make plans early, both for yourself and also for Wenwen’s future.”

Fu Yunruo nodded solemnly and said, “I will think carefully.” She had considered this issue before. She knew that at least for her son’s sake, she would eventually have to leave this place and returned to the big city.

Two years ago, after she passed her death time, Fu Yunruo had contemplated the possibility of leaving. But at that time, her livestream career had just started getting on track. On the one hand, she didn’t want to let go of her career, and on the other hand, she was reluctant to leave this place.

She had a sense of belonging here, and there were people she cherished. Her son was still very young, and she had plenty of time to make a choice, so she postponed the decision indefinitely.

For her, Uncle Guo was undoubtedly the person who gave her a second life. The knowledge he taught her completely changed her life trajectory. He had no children, and thus Fu Yunruo was most worried about him. Even if Uncle Guo still had nephews, nieces, and other relatives here, if possible, Fu Yunruo would like to take care of him. Even if she moved back to the city, she also wanted Uncle Guo to move with them. However, she wasn’t sure whether Uncle Guo would be willing or not.

Fu Yunruo was also reluctant to part with Auntie Mei and her husband. The couple had their own son to take care of them, and Fu Yunruo knew they would never leave their hometown.

<  Previous   |   TOC  |   Next  >