Liu Jian thought it was a sure thing, but who knew that after a few days, Liu Fu seemed to have forgotten all about it, busying himself between the two factories all day long. Liu Jian brought it up several times, but Liu Fu always changed the subject.
Sitting in the classroom, Liu Jian was boredly watching "The Four Constables" while thinking about how to convince his parents. The huge profits inherent in real estate were something Liu Jian really couldn't let go of.
Meng Qing watched Liu Jian's comfortable life with great envy. Liu Jian rarely came to class, and even less often participated in class activities. When he occasionally came, he would just play basketball with a few close friends, or read novels or listen to music in class. Although his good grades last time caused a small stir, his detached lifestyle meant that Liu Jian didn't have many good friends in the class, and only a few people were able to talk to him.
After class, Meng Qing asked with some curiosity, "Liu Jian, what are you busy with every day? I heard them say you drive to school every day, is that true?"
This is another reason why Liu Jian is ostracized. He drives to and from school every day, doesn't walk with classmates, and doesn't get to know them very well. Moreover, Liu Jian's school arrival and departure times are completely different from others. A few days ago, he arrived late one day. It happened that a classmate in the class was also late and saw Liu Jian parking his car in front of the small shop at the school gate. That's how everyone found out about Liu Jian driving to school.
Liu Jian smiled helplessly and said, "It's just driving a car, no need to be so surprised, right?"
Meng Qing opened his eyes wide and said, "Wow, it's true! You're awesome, really awesome. I've never heard of anyone driving to and from school, you're really amazing."
Liu Jian dealt with Meng Qing with half-hearted replies. Being with the high school students of today, Liu Jian clearly felt that he was somewhat out of touch. He no longer had the stirrings of adolescence, and even reading novels in class or skipping classes no longer gave him the feeling of anxiety. Sometimes he really felt like he was just wasting time.
Liu Jian came back to his senses and saw Zhang Ying sitting at the desk in front of him. Liu Jian slapped his forehead. Ah, women. Ever since seeing Yu Miao last time, Zhang Ying hadn't been burying her head in her studies like she used to. As long as Liu Jian was at school, she would always come over to chat with him during breaks. Today, she even asked the head teacher to change her seat and sit in front of Liu Jian.
Zhang Ying probably sensed Liu Jian's gaze, turned around and asked, "Liu Jian, let's go out and have fun this weekend."
Liu Jian felt his head ache. It would be a lie to say he didn't want to go, but if he went out alone with Zhang Ying and Yu Miao found out, he was afraid there would be another scene.
Liu Jian thought for a moment and said, "It wouldn't be much fun with just the two of us, why not invite a few classmates to go together."
Zhang Ying wrinkled her small nose and said, "Okay, let's invite a few more. I'll find some girls, you find some boys." With one sentence, she rejected Liu Jian's wish to invite Yu Miao.
Liu Jian nodded and saw Meng Qing looking at him with a hopeful expression, so he smiled and said, "Meng Qing, how about going together?"
Meng Qing nodded quickly and then asked curiously, "Where are we going to play?"
Liu Jian thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to the reservoir, buy some things and have a picnic."
Zhang Ying also nodded, and then began to whisper with her deskmate. Zhang Ying's deskmate was Tang Xiuling, a quiet girl who was good at studying. Liu Jian remembered that she was admitted to a university in Beijing during the college entrance examination, and it is said that she also studied for a postgraduate degree, but there has been no contact since high school.
Liu Jian called Meng Qing, but felt that there were still too few people, so he went to find Sha Wanli and a few others. When these guys heard about it, they were so happy they howled, and they clamored to invite a few more girls.
Liu Jian came back and told Zhang Ying the number of boys who were going. Zhang Ying was a little stunned. Seven boys were going, surely it couldn't just be the two of them girls going? Frowning, she called a few more girls.
During gym class, Liu Jian and Zhang Ying called together everyone who was going on the picnic to discuss the weekend's activities. Liu Jian was responsible for transportation, the other boys were responsible for buying the picnic equipment, and the girls were responsible for buying the food. For more than a dozen people, Liu Jian's vehicle definitely wouldn't be able to hold everything. Liu Jian called Ma Liming and requisitioned the printing factory's minivan.
The money for buying things was raised collectively, with each person contributing fifty yuan. The boys and girls going on the picnic were all from the city and came from decent families, so they could afford the money. Originally, it wouldn't have been a problem for Liu Jian to pay for everything himself, but that would have taken away from the fun of the outing, and everyone wouldn't have been so involved.
On Saturday, Liu Jian drove his Peugeot, followed by a minivan, and they marched impressively towards the "Yellow River Reservoir" in Panshi. This is the largest reservoir in Panshi, nestled between mountains and water, surrounded by sixty-year-old larch trees. They quickly found a flat area on the south side of the reservoir. The surrounding pine trees blocked the sunlight, and a gentle autumn breeze blew. Liu Jian's pent-up feelings from recent times dissipated with the autumn breeze.
Having left the school, Zhang Ying's behavior became even more pronounced, staying close to Liu Jian's side. Other classmates played cards, while some went into the forest to look for animal tracks. Liu Jian brought an air rifle; at this time, the state had not yet mandated the recall of air rifles, so many people still had them.
This one of Liu Jian's was a gift from Chen Xue. He didn't know where she got it. Liu Jian brought it along, also for some fun. Several men and women took the gun into the forest to hunt. Liu Jian estimated that with their marksmanship, they wouldn't have much luck.
Liu Jian took out the fishing rod he had prepared earlier from the trunk and said to Zhang Ying, "Want to go fishing together?"
Zhang Ying happily nodded. Liu Jian handed another fishing rod to Zhang Ying. The two of them found a less crowded spot by the reservoir and leisurely began fishing. Zhang Ying had never fished before and didn't even know how to use the fishing rod. Liu Jian had to help her get everything sorted out. Just as Zhang Ying had settled down, a fish had already taken the bait on Liu Jian's side.
Liu Jian caught a carp weighing over a pound, which thrashed around for a long time. Amid Zhang Ying's screams, Liu Jian finally managed to fling the carp onto the shore. Several classmates who were playing cards saw that a fish had been caught and dropped their cards, rushing over. The girls started a fire, wanting to grill the fish to eat.
And so, Liu Jian diligently fished, while the classmates next to him were enthusiastically having a picnic. At this moment, Sha Wanli and the others ran back screaming, carrying a chicken in their hands. At first glance, Liu Jian thought they had shot a pheasant, but upon closer inspection, he realized it was someone's free-range chicken.
Everyone laughed. It turned out they had been hunting for a long time without finding any prey. On their way back, they discovered someone's free-range chicken. Sha Wanli, not wanting to return empty-handed, fired several shots before killing the chicken. The funny thing was that the chicken's owner heard the gunshots and came to investigate. After some arguing, Sha Wanli paid compensation to send the chicken's owner away. Regardless, everyone felt the joy of hunting.
When they returned and saw Liu Jian and Zhang Ying fishing, these guys gathered around, shouting loudly and arrogantly. Liu Jian smiled wryly, wondering how they could still catch fish like this. Liu Jian gave the fishing rod to Qi Zhenyu, and he and Zhang Ying took a walk along the reservoir.
Zhang Ying asked with concern, "Liu Jian, have you run into some difficulties? You've been looking worried these past few days."
Liu Jian chuckled and said, "It's nothing major, just business matters. I have some disagreements with my parents."
Zhang Ying responded with an "Oh," and said, "I've been wanting to ask you this for a while, how did you end up doing business? You don't even attend classes properly. Don't you want to go to university?"
Going to college, Liu Jian remembered how he spent four years in university in his past life and got nothing except a diploma. When he was working, how many times did he even use the diploma? What he studied wasn't something like math or physics, and finding a job depended on connections and eloquence, neither of which Liu Jian possessed.
Liu Jian smiled wryly and said, "Zhang Ying, do you think my grades are good enough to get into college? Even if I study hard, I won't get into a good university. What can a regular bachelor's degree do after graduation?"
Zhang Ying blinked her big eyes, a little confused.
Liu Jian explained, "Zhang Ying, college students these days are not like they used to be. They used to be assigned jobs after graduation. By the time we go to university, it'll be a market economy, relying entirely on our own abilities and the quality of the university. Which would an employer choose, a top university student or an average one? If I study hard for three years and get into an average university, only to graduate and find an average job, when will I ever make a name for myself? That's when the gap between us will widen."
Zhang Ying shook her head and said, "No, I don't care about any of that."
Liu Jian shook his head and said, "That's because we're still in school and haven't entered society yet. What is reality? Reality is daily necessities, reality is how much you earn, reality is whether you own a house, reality is whether you have a car, reality is whether you have money. These are all things we'll have to face sooner or later. Rather than having nothing and having to start over then, why shouldn't I work hard now? This society has changed. It's not the age of heroes, not the age of workers. The future will be the age of money. Everything else is empty, what kind of education, what kind of diploma, what kind of job, none of it works as well as money."
Zhang Ying asked, confused, "Will it be like that? If it's as you say, then isn't it useless for us to go to college?"
Liu Jian said with a bitter smile, "Zhang Ying, do you know what the situation will be when we graduate? If a stone falls from the sky and kills ten people, seven will be undergraduates, two will be graduate students, and one will be a PhD. You could say that college students are everywhere, more numerous than dogs. Do you think it's useful for me to risk everything to get a bachelor's degree?"
Zhang Ying couldn't quite accept it, but a voice told her that what Liu Jian said was true.
Liu Jian continued, "Zhang Ying, we are different. You've had good grades since you were a child, your foundation is solid, you're hardworking, and you study seriously. It's not difficult for you to get into Tsinghua or Peking University. I'm different. If I could be like that, I would study hard too. The college entrance exam is a watershed. We will be divided into different classes. That's why I made the agreement with you that we would talk about our relationship after we graduate from college. Once you go to university, see bigger scenes, and come into contact with a wider world, you will understand my thinking. At that time, it won't be that I'm unwilling to give you a promise, but that you won't want to stay and wait for me, nor will you be able to stay and wait for me, because our social classes will be different. I'm in a small county town, and you may be in the capital city. The distance between them isn't the thousands of kilometers between the county town and the capital city, but one is on the ground and the other is in the sky. How could we be together?"
Zhang Ying shook her head and said, "No, I won't. I will always wait for you!"
Liu Jian smiled and said, "Maybe, we'll know when the time comes. So I'm telling you that time is the best test. Let's just have fun and enjoy our high school life now. As for the future, we'll talk about it then."
Zhang Ying looked squarely at Liu Jian and said affirmatively, "Liu Jian, I won't, absolutely won't give up on our relationship. I believe I can withstand the test of time, as long as you're willing to wait for me."
Hearing Zhang Ying speak so earnestly, Liu Jian knew she needed a promise and said, "Zhang Ying, I'm eighteen this year, and you're sixteen. Let's give each other ten years and move forward together. When you get tired, just tell me, and let time take care of everything."
Zhang Ying nodded, deeply believing that she could persevere, but unconsciously a shadow loomed over her heart. Would ten years really not change anything?