Going north: A winner in life starting from a kid
Chapter 5 - A Usual Summer Day, Ma Siyi Arrives

Chapter 5 A Usual Summer Day, Ma Siyi Arrives

Grandma Ma was the landlord of the courtyard they rented, but she treated them like her own grandsons, always saving the best things for them. So, everyone was very close to Grandma Ma.

“Baizimo, pack up your stuff, Grandma Ma is back!” Dahuazi shouted as he grabbed Baizimo’s fish and ran.

“Dahuazi, can you stop acting crazy?”

Baizimo put away his fishing rod, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and followed.

“Grandma Ma! Grandma Ma!”

It seems that in everyone’s memory—there was always someone else’s kind grandma, and someone else’s good child. And today, someone else’s grandma and someone else’s child arrived together. The old lady on the bridge had a kind smile.

“Look, they’re here to greet you too.”

Standing next to Grandma Ma was a doll-like girl, carrying a violin, shyly looking at the group. She looked around with wonder in her eyes. The group of kids seemed closer to her grandma than she herself was. There were hugs and cheers, as if they were more like her grandma’s children than she was.

“I missed you all too!” Grandma Ma said warmly.

“Grandma Ma, who is she?”

“She’s my granddaughter!”

Dahuazi asked bluntly, “Are you a foreigner?”

“Probably not!”

“Look at her long face!”

“She’s mixed-race,” another chimed in. “My dad’s restaurant used to have customers who looked like her.”

Dahuazi, ever the social butterfly, stepped forward.

“I’m Dahuazi. What’s your name?”

“Ma Siyi!”

Ma Siyi carefully looked around at the unfamiliar environment and unfamiliar faces. Luckily, there was an outgoing kid among them. Dahuazi never let a conversation die.

“I’ll introduce you — this is Baizimo, Xie Wanghe, Zhou Haikuo, and Shao Xingchi.”

…

And so, on this usual summer day, Ma Siyi arrived. She amazed Baizimo and brightened the whole summer.

(Of course, Dahuazi might have been the exception!)

“You know how to play the violin?”

“A little bit.”

“Play something for us then!”

“Don’t touch! That’s my dad’s violin.”

“I’m just touching it, is that illegal? I touched Baizimo’s fishing rod too!”

“But… I only have a violin. I don’t have a dad anymore.”

“Baizimo only has a fishing rod and no dad either.”

Ma Siyi immediately turned serious, as if she was re-examining Baizimo. A misfortunate soul meeting another misfortunate soul—there was always some comfort in shared sadness.

“Baizimo, you really don’t have a dad?”

“One autumn, he went south on a shipping job and never came back.”

“Do you miss him?”

“Maybe. I miss that autumn when I could wait by the river for the boats to return.”

But Baizimo wasn’t as sentimental as she was, nor did he have that shy, burdened look she carried.

Dahuazi blurted out, “You two can be good friends! Both missing dads!”

Xie Wanghe pushed him.

“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t talk!”

“Alright, alright, let’s go back.”

Baizimo didn’t say a word, just picked up Grandma Ma’s luggage. Xie Wanghe pushed along a suitcase, running ahead. Unfortunately, Xie Wanghe was caught halfway by his mother.

“You little rascal! Always causing trouble! You’re going to drive me crazy!”

Most likely, the watermelon theft had been discovered. Baizimo pointed towards the bridge and shouted,

“Auntie Hong, look! It’s Grandma Ma!”

“Grandma Ma is back!”

“Welcome home, Grandma Ma!”

“And this must be Siyi! She’s grown so big!”

Taking advantage of the distraction, Xie Wanghe slipped away.

…

“That was close! Thank goodness Baizimo changed the subject!”

“You should thank me for saving your life. Be prepared though, your mom’s okay, but if your dad comes back…”

Xie Wanghe grimaced.

“Seriously? Why am I the only one getting beat up?”

“I’ve already experienced the taste of a feather duster firsthand,” Baizimo said seriously.

“I can vouch for that!”

“So can I!”

Dahuazi and Zhou Haikuo raised their hands.

Xie Wanghe: “…”

Baizimo getting beaten—Was that something to be proud of?

Why did it feel like they were witnessing a miracle?

Of course, he didn’t hear Baizimo’s quiet words.

“Grandma’s old now, she can’t run fast. I let her hit me because I’m afraid that one day, even if she wants to, she won’t be able to anymore.”

The boys dropped the luggage in Grandma Ma’s living room. Then all sat on the doorstep, waiting for Ma Siyi and Grandma Ma.

“Did you all finish your homework?” Dahuazi asked, propping his chin up with his hands.

“From the way you’re asking, sounds like you haven’t,” someone teased.

“I was… busy playing, okay?”

Listen to that!

Such a righteous excuse!

Baizimo chuckled lightly, “Time’s running out. Be careful or you’ll be standing outside the classroom tomorrow.”

“Help me do it!”

“Why should I?”

“I’ll cover your stall later so you can go fishing.”

“Deal!”

Xie Wanghe quickly added.

“Dahuazi, let me copy yours!”

“No way! I’m not that kind of person!”

“I’ll buy you ice cream later.”

“Alright, alright, neighbors should help each other.”

Meanwhile, Shao Xinghe was staring intently at Zhou Haikuo.

“Xinghe, what’s wrong? If you’re hungry, go home and eat!”

“No, I didn’t do my homework either. Haikuo, I’ll pay you!”

In just a few seconds, the five kids had already completed several complicated yet decisive transactions.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.