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Song Pearl suddenly sat up, almost bumping into Song Fei's head, which was very close.
"Fei, you’re still not asleep?" Song Pearl looked around. Under the orange-yellow light, Song Fei's backpack and textbooks were spread all over the table. It turned out that the real scene earlier was just a dream; it seemed that the monster really couldn't be seen in the light.
"I rewrote the wrong characters," Song Fei said, shaking his notebook.
"Alright, hurry up and go to sleep. Back then, I was last in my class for several years, but I still got into college. You don’t need to be too nervous!" Song Pearl said while helping her brother pack his backpack.
"That's not true," Song Fei replied, his eyes bright and energetic under the light, showing no signs of sleepiness. "Dad studied until midnight after he ranked last in his class; he went from last to second last, then to third last... and then he got into college!"
"Pfft!" It sounded quite glorious. Song Pearl stifled a laugh, not daring to smile too widely. She believed that what happened earlier was not a dream; that monster must have really come.
It was already past ten o'clock. Song Pearl hurriedly urged Song Fei to go to bed and sharpened his pencils for him before quickly tidying herself up to prepare for rest.
Tomorrow was Song Fei's exam, and she promised to wake up early to ride her bike and take him to school.
"Pearl," Liu Cuiying walked into Song Pearl's room with an unnatural expression on her face. Her voice had changed from its usual loudness to a softer tone.
"Mom," Song Pearl had just taken off her clothes but wrapped herself in a robe and sat up. "What’s going on?" Since Liu Cuiying was speaking softly, she lowered her voice as well.
"Um, Mom remembers you still have two hundred yuan, right?" Liu Cuiying sat down at the edge of Song Pearl's bed.
Song Pearl looked at Liu Cuiying in confusion. Ever since she was little, Liu Cuiying had never calculated her allowance; what was going on?
"Is there no money at home?" Song Pearl asked.
"Well," Liu Cuiying said somewhat awkwardly, lowering her voice further as if afraid of being overheard by Song Shiting. "Your dad has spent all our savings while in the hospital. We still have some peanuts that we haven't sold yet. I heard that peanut prices will rise in spring, so I want to keep them until New Year to sell. I remember you still have two hundred yuan; I’d like to borrow it for now. After New Year when you return to the city and we sell the pig, we’ll have money again, so it won’t delay your needs."
"Okay." Song Pearl reached over to her backpack at the head of the bed, took out the money, and handed it to Liu Cuiying.
"Dad's hospitalization is due to the village demolishing our house, and the expenses should be covered by the village. Tomorrow, I'll take the medical bill to the Team Headquarters for reimbursement," Song Pearl said as she lay down, pulling her head under the blanket.
Although there was a stove in the main room, her room was still very cold. She always liked to tuck her head under the blanket when she slept; it made her feel warm quickly.
"They won't reimburse you; the Team Headquarters has no money," Liu Cuiying poured a bucket of cold water on her hopes.
"But aren't they selling land? Once they sell the land, the Team Headquarters will have money, and our family will have some too," Song Pearl replied in a muffled voice to Liu Cuiying.
"But didn't we decide not to sell our land?" Liu Cuiying became anxious. "Are they going to demolish it after all?"
"No need; we're still living here," Song Pearl lifted her head. "You don't need to worry about it. Just go to sleep; do whatever you want, just like before. Nothing will happen."
"Hey, you little girl, it's as if you're Sun Wukong drawing a circle around our house—if we're inside, nothing will happen," Liu Cuiying laughed.
"Actually," Song Pearl said seriously while looking at Liu Cuiying, nodding her head, "I think that works."
"Alright, alright, time for bed," Liu Cuiying chuckled at Song Pearl's expression, amused by the girl's antics.
She stood up with the two hundred yuan that Song Pearl had given her, casually turning off the light for Song Pearl before leaving her room with a joyful smile. She turned back to close the door tightly.
"What were you doing?" Song Shiting asked Liu Cuiying, who was smiling as she returned to the east room.
"Nothing much, just having a little chat with Pearl," Liu Cuiying took advantage of Song Shiting's distraction to tuck the money under her pillow before getting into bed.
"When did you become so nice to Pearl? Whispering secrets now?" Song Shiting teased. "You're not thinking about Pearl's leftover pocket money, are you?"
"Hey, when have I ever been unkind to Pearl?" Liu Cuiying sat up again just as she was about to lie down, glaring at Song Shiting with an unhappy expression.
"No, no," Song Shiting said weakly, seeing that Liu Cuiying was genuinely a bit angry. He smiled and apologized, "I just wanted to get some pocket money for Pearl. When we're out, we need to have some spare change; you can't always count on the little money the kids have."
"Alright, I understand. Go to sleep."
The room fell silent. After a while, Liu Cuiying suddenly said, "Pearl's father, have you noticed that Pearl seems a bit different since she came back this time?"
"I don't have any money to dress her up; she's still wearing that down jacket she's had for three years. She hasn't grown taller or gained weight, so I haven't noticed anything different."
Song Shiting wasn't asleep either. He often found himself wide awake at night after having slept too much during the day, waiting for dawn with his eyes open.
"That's not what I mean. I feel like she's more confident now and speaks more fluently than before. It's as if she's become a bit smarter," Liu Cuiying said as she lay on her side, yawning with her eyes closed.
"Listen to you; Pearl wasn't stupid before."
Song Shiting was displeased with Liu Cuiying's perspective; he wouldn't allow anyone to say Pearl was not good.
After a long pause without hearing Liu Cuiying respond, he thought she might be angry. It wasn't until he heard her soft snoring that he realized she had fallen asleep.
Song Shiting closed his eyes as well, and in the quiet room, Liu Cuiying's snoring grew louder.
Song Pearl was still staying in the same room as before. She was awakened by Liu Cuiying's snoring and saw the bright moonlight outside the window, realizing it was still the middle of the night. She turned over and fell back asleep.
The next morning was clear and calm, with no wind. The damp and cold air had left a layer of frost on the rooftops and along the roads.
Song Pearl pushed her bicycle, planning to drop Song Fei off at school first before heading to the Team Headquarters to find the accountant.
Today was exam day, and Song Fei was lightly dressed for it. He wore an old pair of gloves and ran out of the house with a light backpack on his back, with remnants of breakfast still smeared on the corner of his mouth.
"If only my sister could take me to school every day!" Song Fei cheerfully climbed onto the back seat.
"That won't do. When I was in school, I always walked by myself. You're still a boy!" Song Pearl pedaled her bicycle while educating Song Fei. "Only by running to school can you strengthen your body."
"That's what our parents say, but I don't see you being very strong," Song Fei giggled. "Sister, maybe you're just too thin from all that walking to school?"
"I'm a girl, so it's better to be a bit thinner," Song Pearl said, raising her hand to cover her mouth with her scarf. The cold wind hit her face like a knife; she had forgotten to apply some cold cream on her cheeks again.
In Song Family Village, there was no school, and it took twenty minutes to ride a bicycle from Song Pearl's home to the school located in several villages away.
After dropping Song Fei off at school, Song Pearl turned back toward the village and headed straight for Team Headquarters, only to find all the offices locked and no village officials around yet.
The accountant at Team Headquarters was Wang Baoguo, so Song Pearl went to Wang Baoguo's house.
Wang Baoguo's wife was cooking, and smoke was slowly rising from the kitchen chimney. Wang Baoguo was helping to stoke the fire at the stove. Their only son, Wang Xingxing, was working in the provincial capital and had not returned yet, so the couple wasn't in a hurry to eat.
"Oh, Pearl is here!" Aunt Wang heard the noise and came out to greet her warmly. "Have you eaten yet?"
"I already ate, Auntie. I'm looking for Uncle Wang to ask him something," Song Pearl initially wanted to smile at Aunt Wang but suddenly recalled the words of that witch, so her smile turned into a tight-lipped expression.
Aunt Wang had always had a good relationship with Liu Cuiying and knew that Song Pearl was shy. Given all the troubles at home lately, she found her behavior quite normal.
Wang Baoguo came out of the kitchen holding a fire poker and asked, "Pearl, your dad is feeling better now, right? Let's go inside."
Aunt Wang shot a glare at Wang Baoguo and snatched the fire poker from his hand. "Give it to me; there's still some embers on it!"
Wang Baoguo rubbed his nose and handed the fire poker over to his wife before accompanying Song Pearl into the house.
Wang Baoguo's house has three rooms, and it is arranged much better than Song Pearl's home. The ceiling is installed, the living room floor is made of fine cement, and the sofa, coffee table, and Eight Immortals table are all tidy and clean. There is also a delicate porcelain tea set on the coffee table, and the room is heated with a stove.
Song Pearl sat down cautiously beside the coffee table, while Wang Baoguo took a seat next to her and poured her a cup of tea.
"There's no need to trouble yourself, Uncle Wang. I'm just here to ask if you could reimburse my dad's medical expenses?" Song Pearl said hurriedly.
"Reimburse medical expenses? That sounds like quite a bit of money," Wang Baoguo replied.
"About five thousand yuan," Song Pearl said as she pulled out a stack of receipts.
"Five thousand? Right now, the village doesn't even have five hundred. We're just hoping to make some income from selling land," Wang Baoguo said, clenching his fists against his chin. "How about this: if you can find a way to get the village chief and the Secretary to sign off on it, as soon as the village has money, I'll reimburse you right away. How does that sound?"
"Okay, thank you, Uncle Wang. I understand. You can get back to your work now; I won't disturb you any longer!" After thanking him, Song Pearl took a sip of the steaming tea and then stood up to take her leave. She needed to find the village chief first and then go see the Secretary.
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