Age: My Small World

"Let's all sit down and eat together."

Several children were swallowing hard but didn't go to the table, so Yang Jun took the initiative to speak.

Upon hearing this, Ayili nodded to the children, "Brothers, you can all eat together."

She was speaking the Jiangcheng dialect, which Yang Jun couldn't understand.

The children then sat down around the table, and for a moment it became very lively.

The old man first gave Yang Jun a piece of fragrant naan bread, and then gave it to the others.

The naan bread was large and had a dry, grainy aroma.

The flour used for making naan was probably just exchanged from someone else's house; he hadn't noticed that Ayili's house had flour for making naan before.

"Ayili, where are your mom and dad?"

Yang Jun looked around for a while, and only elderly people and children appeared in the house, so he couldn't help but ask a question.

Upon hearing this, Ayili's eyes darkened slightly, and then she shook her head and said, "My father and mother are both gone."

"Feel sorry."

Even though I guessed the reason, it was still hard to tell people the truth.

Ayili raised her head and smiled: "It's alright, they all returned to heaven for the sake of Jiangcheng."

Yang Jun didn't dare to eat too much during the meal, otherwise the whole family would go hungry.

Ayili has three younger brothers. Now the family is entirely supported by her and her grandfather. Unfortunately, the old man and the young man don't have much to do, so food shortages are a common occurrence.

It was Ayili's idea to catch foxes to sell this time. She thought that even if she couldn't get that much grain, she could at least bring back some meat to eat. Unexpectedly, she actually met Yang Jun, who was willing to help.

"Brother Yang Jun, thank you for the food. This food is very important to me."

Ayili thanked him rather solemnly.

Yang Jun waved his hand: "It's nothing, I just really like these little foxes."

"Then I'll go into the mountains again in a few days and catch a few more for you, no money required."

Ayili smiled gently, her little face looking at him with a hint of expectation.

"By the way, Brother Yang Jun, where do you work in Jiangcheng? I can bring it to you later."

Yang Jun sighed and said, "No, I don't work in Jiangcheng. I came here to handle some matters and I'm going back to the capital today."

"Beijing..."

Ayili was stunned. She never expected that Yang Jun was not only not from the local area, but also from such a far away place. She had only heard her teachers mention the capital city, but had never seen it, let alone knew what the world outside the border city was like.

Perhaps in her view, the capital city was just a slightly larger city than the border city.

“Aili, I think you are very smart. If you continue your studies, you will likely go to university. You will also have the opportunity to work in Beijing in the future. Moreover, there are subsidies for university students, which can make things much easier for your family. You can try to stick with it.”

After talking, Yang Jun learned a bit about the girl. He knew that she was eighteen years old but had only finished junior high school. She had secretly audited high school classes before.

To Yang Jun's surprise, the girl claimed to have mastered the knowledge of the second year of high school, all of which she had obtained by secretly listening in on classes.

“Even if you don’t go to university, you can still find a job as a factory worker. Your junior high school level has already surpassed that of many people.”

Yes, most people today have only attended primary school for a few years, and many middle-aged and older people are illiterate. It is only through the country's continuous efforts in literacy campaigns that more people have been able to learn to read and write.

Ayili shook her head silently: "Jiangcheng doesn't have that many factories."

There aren't many factories here, only some textile factories, but they're all overcrowded, and it's not easy for Ayili to even become an apprentice.

Moreover, once she went to work in the city, she wouldn't be able to complete her work points for the production team, and she would go hungry even more. It was precisely because there were only four young children and no one in the family with much physical strength that her work points kept falling behind, and she could barely make ends meet. This was only because the production team had to ensure that everyone had food to eat.

Now that we have a few hundred more kilograms of grain at home, plus the work points we earn from our daily chores that we can distribute to the grain, we don't have to worry about the little ones going hungry this year.

Yang Jun was helpless in the face of this situation. Every family has its own problems, and Ayili's current situation is the same as that of most people, who are more or less facing difficult problems.

"In short, if you encounter any problems, you can write to me and I will help you to the best of my ability."

Yang Jun had to admit that he did not want beautiful things to be destroyed.

Aili's beauty might be a deadly poison to her; without the ability to protect herself, this poison could erupt at any time.

Of course, thanks to the arrival of this new era, such a potent poison may never manifest in a lifetime.

"Brother Yang Jun, are you going back so soon?"

Ayili asked another question.

Yang Jun nodded and said, "Yes, we were supposed to leave this morning, but we were delayed. It looks like we can only leave tomorrow morning."

There aren't trains to the capital all the time; there's only one train a day from the capital.

Ayili's eyes lit up, and then she said, "Since you're leaving tomorrow, why don't you rest here tonight? There are beds available at home."

"No, no, I have companions waiting for me."

Yang Jun shook his head and refused. If he didn't go back, Sun and Wei Ye would probably call the police.

Aili finally nodded in disappointment: "Okay."

"Alright, that's settled then. I should head back now."

He then left his address in the capital so that Ayili could send letters, and then took his leave.

At the doorway, the girl stared at his retreating figure for a long time.

“Ayili, he is not the person you are looking for.” (Jiangcheng dialect)

At this moment, the old man spoke.

Although he couldn't understand the Mandarin the two were speaking, the little girl's reaction had already proven something.

Ayili shook her head: "But how can someone who has seen an eagle look at an antelope? Grandpa, I want to go to the capital."

Yang Jun was unaware of what was happening behind him and simply rushed back to the guesthouse.

Before entering the house, they even took out the baked buns they had bought earlier.

Inside the room, Sun Buyong and Wei Ye stared at each other, neither of them seeming to be thinking about anything.

They only acted at the same time when they heard a noise at the door.

"This guy, at least he knew to come back."

Sun was quite resentful.

They were supposed to leave in the morning, but by noon there was still no sign of Yang Jun. What could they do?
"Don't do anything reckless," Wei Ye advised, rubbing his forehead.

However, she did not approve of Yang Jun's behavior.

When Yang Jun opened the door, he saw Sun Bubu's wide-eyed stare.

"Alright, alright, stop glaring. Your eyes are already big enough."

Yang Jun slapped him across the face: "Hey, I brought you some baked buns." (End of Chapter)