Era: Rise from the Wilderness

"Ouch! Mom! That hurts! Be gentle! Be gentle! My ear's going to fall off!"

Caught off guard, Li Yunjing felt a burning pain in her ear, and her body involuntarily swayed in the direction her mother was exerting force, wincing in pain and begging for mercy.

He wondered to himself, "I don't think I've done anything wrong, have I?"

"You little brat!"

"Don't think that just because you cooked a nice meal and pleased your dad and me, you can get away with it and forget about the important matter!"

He Ling's eyebrows furrowed, her grip tightening without a trace. With her other hand on her hip, she adopted a motherly authority, saying, "Your homeroom teacher, Ms. Li, personally came to the convenience store!"

"She was heavily pregnant, and her face turned pale with anger!"

"You've been getting more and more outrageous lately!"

"They're nowhere to be seen for days on end, like a dragon whose head is seen but not its tail!"

"You don't even hand in your homework properly!"

"Are you asking for a beating again, kid?"

"You've only been behaving yourself for a few days, and now you want to go wild again, huh?"

Li Yunjing's heart skipped a beat, and he knew something was wrong.

So that's where Mom's temper was coming from!

I never expected that this pregnant woman, this troublesome woman, would find her way to my own little shop. This has really caused me a lot of trouble!

My mother had a very strong sense of self-respect throughout her life; she was never once cornered in the shop by a teacher and reprimanded.

Looks like I'm in for a bad time!

"Mom! Mom! My dearest Mom!"

"Please let go, have mercy!"

"Let me explain! Give me a chance to explain!"

Li Yunjing quickly begged for forgiveness, "I really do have important business to attend to!"

"This is extremely important, it concerns...it concerns the future development of our family!"

"When I make money this time, I'll buy you a big gold bracelet..."

He glanced at his father, who was sitting quietly sipping tea and clearly had no intention of getting involved in the "mother-son war," and continued to argue, "I assure you!"

"I haven't missed a single minute of my studies!"

"I promise you'll get first place in the class in the monthly exam at the end of the month!"

"No, he's number one in the grade!"

"If it doesn't work, then you can deal with me however you want, I won't complain at all!"

"Even a frown from him isn't enough to prove he's your son!"

Hearing her son's confident assurances, including the bombshell of being "first in the grade," He Ling loosened her grip slightly, but still didn't let go completely.

She didn't actually intend to make a big fuss or do anything to her son.

However, her son's changes over this period have been too great and too fast, as if he has become a different person. This makes her, as a mother, feel both happy and worried. She is happy because her son seems to have really become sensible and capable; but she is worried because she is young and impetuous and may go astray, or neglect his studies for the sake of short-term "small gains," which would be a real loss.

She needs to give him a nudge from time to time, tug on the reins, lest he get too carried away, become unruly, and drift off into the sky, impossible to rein in.

"Hmph! Remember what you said today!"

He Ling finally released her grip, but still gave him a warning glare, her finger lightly tapping her son's nose. "If you fail the monthly exam at the end of the month, or your ranking drops, see how I deal with you!"

"We'll settle both the old and new scores! Don't blame me for being ruthless later!"

Li Yunjing rubbed his red and hot ears, nodding repeatedly with a sincere expression: "I remember! I remember! I promise to complete the mission!"

This minor family dispute has finally subsided.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking and the eastern horizon was beginning to lighten, the dim light in the Li family's small kitchen was already on.

The sound of a neighbor's rooster crowing came from outside the window, clear and melodious.

The family was awakened by their biological clock and the upcoming trip. After a quick wash, they sat around the still somewhat messy dining table.

He Ling reheated the leftover braised fish and spicy stir-fried clams from last night, cooked a small pot of porridge, and steamed a few buns.

The family hastily finished their breakfast with the leftovers, the air filled with the unique aroma of reheated leftovers and a faint sense of melancholy.

After dinner, He Ling busied herself packing her husband's luggage for his upcoming journey.

She opened the travel bag at home and carefully put in the neatly folded change of clothes that she had prepared the night before.

Next came the toiletries: towels, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, and the old-fashioned razor handle and blades her husband used for shaving.

She took out a few tea eggs she had boiled that morning and some extra steamed buns she had bought yesterday from the cupboard, wrapped them in a clean cloth, and tucked them into a corner of her bag. These were her provisions for the journey.

Finally, there were the crucial items: her husband's wallet, the letter of introduction from his workplace, the documents related to this business trip, and a small bottle of Huoxiang Zhengqi Water (a traditional Chinese medicine for treating water and soil acclimatization problems) that she had prepared.

She meticulously checked everything, categorizing and putting it away, all the while whispering instructions: "There are many people and things to do on the train, keep your wallet close to your body... Put the letter of introduction and documents in this compartment, don't get them wet... When you get there, be careful about hygiene when you eat, don't drink unboiled water... Be alert when you sleep at night..."

The train departs from the county railway station at 10:00 AM.

By the time everything was packed and the travel bag was bulging and the zipper was straining, the old-fashioned clock on the wall was pointing to 6:30.

The morning light streamed through the window, gradually dispelling the gloom inside the room.

Li Hongfeng picked up the heavy travel bag, weighed it in his hand, and felt that it contained not only clothes and supplies, but also his wife's meticulous care and silent concern, as well as the work responsibility he was shouldering on this trip and the determination he had secretly made to "prove himself".

"Alright, everyone's here. I'm off now."

He spoke to He Ling, who was wiping the table with a rag, his voice lower than usual, "Li Yunjing is driving me to the station."

"He was driving?"

He Ling was taken aback by his words, her hands stopping what they were doing. Her face was filled with surprise and confusion, her eyebrows raised high, clearly unprepared for this information. "What kind of car?"

"When did he learn to drive?"

"Who taught you?"

A barrage of questions came out of his mouth, his tone filled with unease and surprise.

Looking at his wife's undisguised surprise, Li Hongfeng felt a strange sense of pride. It was as if his son's "extraordinary" skill had somehow earned him, as the father, some face, proving that his son was indeed different.

As he walked towards the door with his son, who had just put on his coat and grabbed his car keys, he said without turning his head, "You heard me right, it's your precious son!"

"Hey, you drive better than me!"

"It's perfectly fine! Don't worry!"

With a "bang," the somewhat old wooden door was closed, shutting out the mother's bewildered gaze.

He Ling was left standing there alone, still holding the half-wet rag in her hand.

Her expression was a mixture of disbelief, a hint of worry, and a growing sense of bewilderment at her son: "Son...when did you learn to drive?"

"Why have I never heard him mention this before?"

"How much more is there about this child that we, as parents, don't know?"

The sky outside the window grew brighter, but the questions she had about her son seemed to be multiplying.