When they got back to Sancha River, Miss Xu Xiaoyan was utterly exhausted.
Traveling by car at night was already tiring, not to mention having to change vehicles twice. Other than the time for breakfast, all the other time was spent on the road. The discomfort was indescribable. From the city to the county, from the county to the town, coupled with the lack of sleep the night before, she was out of steam as soon as she got off the car.
Seeing Miss Xu in this state, Yan Fei simply left the baggage at the cattle farm, and took her to the shed to sleep on his motor scooter.
He himself stayed in the shed, lying on the wicker chair, not doing anything. He was like a hundred-year-old grandfather, dazed with half-closed eyes all morning.
So much so that when Miss Xu woke up at noon, Yan Fei had not even made lunch yet!
This abnormal situation made Miss Xu forget about the little animals she had been thinking of for a long time, and she surprisingly touched Yan Fei’s head: "Yan Xiaofei, are you sick? I feel that since we watched the movie last night, you’ve seemed out of sorts."
Yan Fei, who was about to cut the vegetables, saw Miss Xu worrying about him and immediately smiled. From a demi-death state, he transformed into a revitalized state. His kitchen knife moved so fast it left an afterimage: "I’m fine, I was thinking about a very important issue, which I’ve figured out now."
"What’s been on your mind for so long?" Miss Xu curiously asked.
"Well ..." Yan Fei pretended to be lost in thought. "I set a super big goal for myself, but it’s still too far from being realized. I’m afraid you’ll laugh at me if I tell you, so I’d rather not mention it for now!"
"Tut, you’re keeping it from me. If you don’t want to say it, then forget about it!" Miss Xu threw him a glance, expressing her disdain. "When have I ever laughed at you?"
"You dare to ’tut’ me?" Yan Fei didn’t answer her question, acting aggrieved.
"Humph!" Miss Xu swung her ponytail and walked toward the kitchen door. "What’s the big deal about me ’tutting’ you? I’m going to see the cute animals... Ah..."
Before she could even step out the kitchen door, she was pulled back. Just as she let out a cry, Yan Fei grabbed her in a bear hug and kissed her several times. "Dare to ’tut’ me? This is your consequence! Humph! We’re in a deserted place, no one’s around. You better be gentle with me, even gentler... or else I won’t be polite to you!"
Miss Xu twisted her body in one swift move and was hanging onto him. She bit his ear without any sign of weakness. Amazingly, she could still speak: "What kind of ’gentle’ are you looking for? Yan Xiaofei, you got braver during these couple of days haven’t you? Say it, how are you going to be ’impolite’ to me?"
She walked into it herself and still threatened him? Yan Fei hugged Miss Xu and laughed goofily, he just liked her silly appearance.
After much fuss, Miss Xu finally broke free from him. She picked up a small bowl of shredded meat and walked out with a pair of chopsticks in her hand. Under the pretense of feeding the little sable and the little golden eagle, Yan Fei was finally able to continue cooking.
While eating, Yan Fei asked Miss Xu: "Are you going home this afternoon?"
Miss Xu had just returned from her holiday, of course she had to go home, she nodded: "What would it look like to not go home for the New Year? I’ll stay at home for a couple of days before coming back. What are you planning to do these days?"
Yan Fei told her about his plan: "I’ve figured it out. From now on, I have to work hard to earn money, lay a solid foundation for my future big plan."
Might as well have said nothing, Miss Xu gave him a look: "Be specific! What exactly are you up to?"
"To be more specific, I’m going to visit my parents this afternoon and bring them some eggs and vegetables. Tomorrow, I plan to slaughter a pig and sell the meat myself as it’s more profitable than selling to the people at the Slaughter Pig Station. Anyway, with the New Year approaching, everyone’s slaughtering pigs themselves, so they aren’t concerned anymore."
The girl almost spat out her food from laughing, "Your grand plan is to slaughter pigs and sell the meat yourself? You’re planning to become a butcher?"
"Exactly!" Yan Fei responded matter-of-factly. "Even the grandest plans have to start small, right? Haven’t you heard the saying, ’a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’? I’m starting small and accumulating more. I will eventually achieve my grand ambitions! Besides, it’s not just pigs. In a few days, I plan to slaughter cattle too!"
"Haha!" Xu Xiaoyan couldn’t stop laughing. "Pulling out classical Chinese terms on me now, huh? Alright then! May you start from slaughtering pigs and cattle, and soon realize your grand ambitions, so that I can understand what great goal you’re keeping so secretive. Hmph! Oh, and aren’t your final exams coming up soon? Aren’t you going to take them?"
"Nah." Yan Fei replied, his next sentence left the girl dumbfounded. "I plan to focus on studying for the High School Entrance Examination instead. So I’m not going to bother with these minor exams for now!"
The girl was speechless. Of all the reasons for not taking an exam, from blaming the deaths of grandparents to having rare diseases... But this was the first time she’d heard someone say they won’t take final exams because they wanted to prepare thoroughly for an entrance exam instead.
It took a while for the girl to come up with a response: "Why don’t you skip the High School Entrance Examination as well and wait to take the college entrance examination instead? Or maybe wait a few more years and directly take the postgraduate and doctoral entrance exams?"
Yan Fei answered her seriously, "Do schools offer such a thing? If they do, I’d start preparing right now because to fulfill my grand plan, I must first become a Docter..."
The girl was utterly confused: "What’s a ’Docter’?"
Finally, Yan Fei had a chance to look down on her: "Aren’t you a college student? Your English is so poor that you can’t even translate ’Docter’? ’Docter’ is Doctor! How did someone like you get into college, especially when your English is even worse than mine, someone who never learns English! I’ve glanced casually at it and managed to remember a few words..."
If Yan Fei had pronounced ’Docter’ in Mandarin, people could have guessed he meant Doctor. But he was using pure Sancha River dialect to say the word, which most people wouldn’t be able to understand.
’Docter’ in their dialect usually describes a protruding part of the road, it’s referred to as ’Docter’. For example, when adults take children for a walk and see a protruding brick or mound on the road, they would warn: "Be careful on front, there’s a ’Docter’..."
Who would have thought that adding a ’Do’ in front would translate to Doctor?
The girl was deeply ashamed, so much that she spat out the food in her mouth, even choking up a little. She figured she had let down the people of Sancha River, and felt sorry for all the teachers who had taught her throughout her schooling career.
In that moment, she felt utterly defeated and helpless: Dear friends, teachers, relatives, I have brought shame upon you...
Yan Fei quickly stood up to pat her back, afraid she might choke. He scolded her while patting, "What are you getting so worked up over during a meal for? Drink some water to soothe your throat!"
The girl wiped her tears, took the cup, and drank a few sips of water before she could respond, "So, your grand plan involves becoming a Doctor first?"
Yan Fei stood up straight, stared upward at the gray sky beyond the thin plastic film shelter, and with a lonely sigh, he said, "That plan of mine... it’s too grand and most people won’t understand. Alas... how would a sparrow understand the ambitions of a swan!"
"Pfft!" The girl, who had just taken another sip of water, spurted it all over him.