BXBX NOVEL Chapter 395 - 395: Traumatized by Animal Sounds
In Lin Wan’s original world, she had also chosen to stay in the big city for her career. Her job had nothing to do with her field of study.
“Many people who struggle in big cities for several years or even decades eventually choose to return to the countryside. For example, the rural influencer Qiqi and the beautiful rural streamer Huo’er… They promote their hometowns and sell local agricultural products nationwide through the Internet. I really like their way of life.” Lin Wan also wanted to retire to the countryside early.
[Sister Wan, you actually watch them too! Their lives are indeed what many people long for, completely different from our lives in the village.] [I also like those two streamers. Their lives are full of poetic beauty.]
[Yes, they have beautiful courtyards. Our whole village doesn’t have courtyards like that. Our courtyards are all built with brick walls, and we grow vegetables in them, not flowers.]
[If you tear down the brick walls and replace them with fences, will your parents chase you away with a stick?]
[That’s very true. I once pulled out a few vegetables to plant flowers, and my mom almost kicked me out of the house.]
[For aesthetics, the influencers must decorate their courtyards meticulously.]
[Sister Wan, why are you asking these things? You’re not actually planning to make donations, right?]
Lin Wan didn’t give a direct answer. “Many people long for that kind of life. Maybe more people will go back to the countryside. If everyone makes their own improvements, the whole village will become like a garden.” [That’s true. Someday, we will inherit our family’s lands.] [Is that the conclusion you draw from all this?]
[Hahaha, it could be.]
[What does your family have? I’m interested. Isn’t it trendy now to have green agricultural products?]
“It’s great to have land in the countryside. The countryside is full of vegetation and clean air.”
Li Yanchen couldn’t get a word in. He spent his childhood in the countryside, but only until he was ten years old. After that, his parents sold their ancestral home and moved to the city.
“Mr. Li, what do you think?” Lin Wan asked.
“I think it’s good the way it is now. I find it comfortable. However, this is under the premise of having certain material conditions. We can’t all rush back to the countryside. The city still needs everyone to build it, and industries still require human labor…” Li Yanchen’s answer was clearly less idealistic than Lin Wan’s.
[Mr. Li, are you afraid that Chenxin won’t be able to recruit people in the future? You should check out the job-hunting websites. I can help you recruit people.]
[Here comes another little self-promotion. Why are you everywhere?]
[I think Mr. Li is right. Having time to drink tea, bask in the sun, and play with cats is only possible when one doesn’t have to worry about making a living.]
[Growing our own vegetables and using them to barter for other things would be enough.]
[We can at least dream about it. It’s not like we’re all going to quit our jobs and go back to the village right now.]
Lin Wan tugged at Li Yanchen’s sleeves.
“Yes. We can at least dream. That kind of life is indeed wonderful,” Li Yanchen said.
“Dad, can you play with me for a while?” Li Zekai came out of the kitchen, followed closely by Tutu.
“Tutu isn’t here to play with you?”
“We’re missing one person. Dad, come with us!” The little boy pulled Li
Yanchen’s hand.
“Wanwan, I’ll go and take a look.”
Li Zekai pulled Li Yanchen into the study.
There were test papers on the floor, which were obviously Li Zexin’s. These test papers were precious to him, but Li Zekai had dumped them all on the floor.
“Why are the test papers on the floor?” Li Yanchen asked.
“Big brother gave them to me and said I could use them as a base.”
“Dad, look at this. Tutu and I folded this into the shape of the compass. Tutu said it’s what his grandpa used to play with when he was young. Can you play too? Play with us!” Li Zekai picked up a toy from the floor.
He had played with such paper-made toys when he was young, but he had forgotten how to play with them. “I don’t remember,” he said.
“Then let us teach you!”
Li Yanchen hadn’t even agreed, but Li Zekai explained the rules eagerly. He didn’t have the heart to refuse such an enthusiastic child, so he sat down on a chair and listened.
The punishment included imitating animal sounds. That traumatized Li
Yanchen.
“Auntie Lin will be great at this. You can go to the yard and find her. It’s a good opportunity for the viewers in the livestream room to see,” said Li Yanchen.
“Will Auntie Lin be willing?” asked Tutu.
“Let’s go ask her.” Li Zekai went out.
He climbed onto a stool and talked to Lin Wan.
[North, South, East, West? What’s that? I’ve never played it before.]
[I don’t know either. I’ve never played it.]
[Jiejie successfully changed the topic. We were just talking about agriculture, and now it turned into a game.]
“Auntie, do you know how to play North, South, East, West?” Li Zekai asked eagerly. “Yes?”
“That’s great! Can you play with us?” Li Zekai realized that Lin Wan was much smarter than Li Yanchen.
“Sure.” Lin Wan had been talking about agriculture for a long time and was really worried about not finding another topic. Her stepson provided a topic for her.
“You’re so good. Not only does my dad not know how to play, but even when I finally taught him, he still doesn’t want to play with us.”
“Is that so?” Lin Wan looked meaningfully at Li Yanchen as though asking him if he deliberately pretended not to know how to play the game.
“Who knows what’s written on it? I am a little traumatized by imitations at this point.” [I understand.]
[I get it.]
“Let me correct that, it’s called East, South, West, North.” Although the characters are the same, the order of appearance was different, and it didn’t sound right to Lin Wan.
“Tutu said it was called East, West, South, North.”
“I might have remembered it wrong. Whatever Auntie Lin says is correct.”
The game began, with Lin Wan controlling “Dong Nan Xi Bei” and Tutu saying they would play five rounds starting from the east direction.
When the corners unfolded, you could see punishments like tapping the forehead, pinching the nose, imitating a dog, etc. Lin Wan chose to imitate a dog.
Li Yanchen couldn’t help but feel relieved. He knew these two kids wouldn’t come up with any embarrassing punishments.
Tutu effortlessly imitated a dog’s bark. As the next player, Li Zekai took over the “Dong Nan Xi Bei.”
[It’s simple yet fun.]
[Tutu imitated an angry bark, right?]
[How do you fold the paper that way? I’ve never seen it before.]
[Same here. I searched on Baidu, and it really is called “Dong Nan Xi Bei.” The name is quite strange, and the rules are also strange.]
[Saying you know how to play exposes your age.]
[What’s the big deal about exposing your age? Sister Wan is so young and can play it anyway.]
[I remember playing it a lot when I was young. Do kids nowadays not play it?]
[But how do Tutu and Jiejie know about it?]
Lin Wan was also puzzled. “How did you learn to make this?”
“My grandma taught me. Sometimes she plays with me at home. My grandma can even fold paper into jumping frogs. When you press the finger on the frog’s head. it jumos!”
[Grandma?]
[Well, it’s normal for grandmas to know how to make paper toys.]
[I see. I’m only twenty years old, so I wouldn’t know..]