First, Xu Xiaoyan muttered two ’hmms’, then knocked twice on the dinner table. Once everyone’s attention was on her, she finally spoke, "Zhang Haiyang, I think your idea is wrong. Do you think you can build reservoirs once you’ve learned hydrology? Does building reservoirs not require money? Even if the people in your village build it themselves, they still need to eat first! So this is not a professional issue, ultimately it’s about money."
"As long as you have money, you can build roads if you want, and construct any size of reservoir you desire. Heck, if you wish, even rerouting the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers to your doorstep is possible."
The female students at the small dining tables were all dumbfounded, staring at the Miss Xu Xiaoyan who had just made such a statement, as if they didn’t know her before.
Yan Fei was also dumbstruck.
He swore that he was just trying to persuade the dark-skinned girl among the dormitory girls, and when it didn’t work, he simply said to Miss Xu Xiaoyan: It doesn’t matter what major you study, as long you make money, you can build reservoirs.
But he really did not expect that this lady would take his statement to the extreme -- proposing to reroute the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers to one’s doorstep.
What a grand statement indeed!
After saying that, the lady kept her head down and continued eating from her small bowl. After a few bites, she noted the unusual silence around her. Upon looking up, she saw everyone was looking at her, not just her dorm mates, but even the students dining next to them turned their heads to look at her.
"What’s going on?" Xu Xiaoyan was somewhat startled by everyone’s eerie stares, which made her voice tremble a bit.
At her words, the other girls burst into laughter, laughing inexplicably, like they’ve gone mad.
"Why does what you say sound weird, but when I think about it, it seems to make sense?" After the girls had laughed for a while, one of them addressed Xu Xiaoyan. The cafeteria was quite crowded.
Once this girl started talking, the other girls started nodding in agreement, with some even asserting, "Exactly, it actually makes a lot of sense!"
This made Xu Xiaoyan relieved. She nodded and replied, "Of course! Can my words ever be unreasonable?"
When Xu Xiaoyan came out after putting her lunch box and thermos back in the dormitory, she was about go to the Agricultural University library with Yan Fei. Suddenly they heard someone yelling the name Xu Xing from the corridor behind them, followed by a panting girl running out.
It was the student named Zhang Haiyang.
After reaching them, she said to them, "Sister Xiaoxing, Laoda asked me to inquire, the bead bracelet on your wrist that you just put on, is it real?"
Xu Xiaoyan raised her hand and asked, "Are you talking about this? What do you mean, real or not?"
At this moment, she had a chain of beads on her wrist. Each bead was a spherical black pearl, each as big as a quail egg. Though they all differed slightly in size, this minor flaw did not take away from the stunning, glistening black pearls, giving off a mysterious and magnificent charm.
This was the mysterious gift Yan Fei gave her when they first met, a gift he decided to give her the moment he saw it in the river. Of course, at the time he had only seen one pearl; the rest were gradually found in the waters within dozens of miles around the river’s mouth.
As for the large soft-shelled turtle, it was just a bonus. Before this, he had no idea that there were creatures in the dinosaur world.
Even the smallest ones he found were too big! He just chose the smallest one!
"Yes, that one. Laoda said if this is a real wild pearl, it could be worth a lot of money. He asked you not to wear it on your hand, just in case it attracts attention and leads to danger." Zhang Haiyang glanced at the string of pearls, apparently not able to tell if it was real or fake, it just looked pretty to her. She merely repeated what their dorm leader had said earlier.
"Oh, this is fake. I bought it on the street when I was on my way here, a few bucks a strand. I bought it because it looked quite real." Yan Fei spoke ahead of Xu Xiaoyan.
"You’re lying." Zhang Haiyang turned her head and stared at Yan Fei, seriously saying, "You were also lying when you talked about the pot earlier. I don’t know why you’re lying, but you’re definitely hiding something."
Yan Fei was taken aback, as was Xu Xiaoyan.
Then, seeing the bewildered look on Yan Fei’s face, Xu Xiaoyan laughed and said to Zhang Haiyang, "Okay, I got it. I will ask this guy to take this string of pearls back home later. Thank you!"
"Sister Xiaoyan, are you guys going on a date?" After Xu Xiaoyan spoke and was about to leave with Yan Fei, Zhang Haiyang spoke again!
"..." Now it was the lady’s turn to be speechless. After thinking for moment, she finally said, "Kind of, but not really. We have something important to do. We’re going to the Agricultural University library to look up some materials."
"Can I go with you?" After Xu Xiaoyan finished speaking, Zhang Haiyang immediately revealed her intentions.
"..." This time Yan Fei and Xu Xiaoyan were both rendered speechless!
"What do you want to go with us for? Aren’t you afraid I’ll lie and fool you?" Yan Fei said with dissatisfaction. He figured that this girl was either simple-minded or simply a fool; she couldn’t tell when to speak and had no sense of subtleness at all.
It was clear to see that he and Xu Xiaoyan were holding hands now, what normal person would dare to gatecrash their moment!
"Yan Xiaofei, how could you talk to my classmate that way!" Seeing Yan Fei , Xu Xiaoyan couldn’t help but pinch his palm and chide him.
"That’s okay, Sister Xiaoxing." Zhang Haiyang said to Xu Xiaoyan first, then turned her head, looked at Yan Fei with wide eyes, completely unaffected by his attitude just now, she seriously said, "I’m not afraid. I think your words make sense. Once you make money, then you can build reservoirs. I want to learn from you how to earn money. Even if you trick me, I’ll accept it!"
"I’m still trying to figure out how to make money myself! Plus, the words earlier were not from me but Sister Xiaoxing." Yan Fei was really speechless. This girl was definitely not just being foolish, she must have a problem with her brain!
"You’re lying again. I saw you whispering to Sister Xiaoxing before she spoke. Surely it was you who taught her to say that. Besides, you must have money. Although you are deliberately dressed in shabby clothes, the huge soft-shelled turtle you gave to Sister Xiaoxing is not something ordinary people can afford. "This girl still looked very serious. "At least, we’ve never seen such a big soft-shelled turtle where I come from. And these pearls, Laoda said they are worth a lot of money."
"..."Yan Fei was speechless, he was completely defeated by this persistent, serious girl.
Seeing that he remained silent, the dark-skinned and thin girl, Zhang Haiyang turned to Xu Xiaoyan and pleaded, "Sister Xiaoxing, it’s okay if he doesn’t want to teach me, can I follow you two? I will just watch from the sidelines and see what kind of materials you’re checking. I won’t disturb you."