TYAM Chapter 67

T/L: today’s updates consist of 3 bonus chapters and 1 scheduled chapter. Enjoy~

The previous night, Ji Linqiu had returned home late. Even though he remembered that Xingwang had something to say, the boy had already finished his homework and gone to bed, so he didn’t want to disturb him.

Since Ji Linqiu always took Xingwang’s thoughts seriously, he left work early the next day to pick him up from school.

“Brother!” Peng Xingwang ran out with his backpack, beaming with joy when he saw Ji Linqiu. “You’re back! What’s for dinner?”

“Your other brother is still in a meeting. Let’s grab some grass jelly as a snack first, and then we’ll have hot pot at 8:30, okay?”

“OK, OK!”

At the shop, Ji Linqiu ordered a coconut milk taro ball grass jelly and chatted with the child while they ate.

“You mentioned before that you had something to tell me. Did something happen?”

Peng Xingwang, who was prone to forgetting things, almost choked when he heard the question.

“Cough, cough, cough,” he hesitated, visibly conflicted. “Maybe I’m just overthinking it. I’ve always been prone to wild thoughts… Like the time my other brother took me to the hospital for a checkup, I thought he was going to sell my organs.”

Ji Linqiu relaxed, thinking it was nothing serious. He handed Xingwang a napkin and said, “I won’t press you. If you ever want to talk, you can do so anytime.”

“Well, it’s just…” The child took a big sip of his grass jelly and stirred it with his spoon. “I needed to fill out a form for an autumn outing, so I went to find my other brother’s ID card.”

“It wasn’t like I was snooping! He gave me permission to look for it!”

Ji Linqiu began to feel a vague sense of unease. “And then?”

Peng Xingwang paused for a moment, lowering his voice as if afraid the other customers might hear.

“My other brother… has two ID cards.”

Ji Linqiu’s pupils contracted as he tightly gripped the small porcelain bowl, unable to speak.

“Both IDs are his,” Xingwang continued slowly. “The name and photo are the same. But… the design is completely different.”

Fearing his Brother Linqiu might not understand, he pulled out his sketchbook from his bag and began drawing from memory.

“The real ID has a national emblem with several circles behind it. But on the fake one, the national emblem has the Great Wall of China behind it. They’re totally different.”

“And one more thing—my other brother even got the year wrong. The fake ID says Jiang Wang, born July 11, 1998.” Peng Xingwang slurped another mouthful of grass jelly. “That would make him the same age as me! But he’s clearly more than 20 years older than me!”

If Jiang Wang were born in 1998, then he would only be 9 years old right now!

Ji Linqiu stayed silent, lowering his head to drink his coconut milk slowly, spooning it up bit by bit. 

He couldn’t immediately process such shocking information.

Peng Xingwang, worried that the adults might think he was lying, racked his brain for more details. “Oh, and the expiration date on the ID—it says 2021. But it’s only 2007 right now!”

“Brother Linqiu, do you think he made such a fake ID because he’s borrowing money from loan sharks?”

The child noticed that Brother Linqiu had gone unusually quiet. He wondered if Linqiu was angry or simply not taking him seriously.

Peng Xingwang didn’t understand much about the adult world, where there were countless complicated rules. 

Some roads were one-way streets, with specific rules for changing lanes and turning.  

Some shops refused to provide plastic bags, so you had to bring your own cloth bags.  

Some places required ID cards, some required household registration documents, and some wouldn’t even allow children near the entrance.

He realized there might still be so much about the world he didn’t understand.

As the thought sank in, he also stopped talking, as if he had already figured out the answer.

When faced with situations like this, many adults would say, “This is grown-up business, children shouldn’t interfere,” or “You don’t understand now, I’ll explain it to you when you’re older.”

But by the time he grew up, he might have forgotten the questions he had as a child.

After a long time, Ji Linqiu finally spoke, very slowly.

“I’m sorry, Brother… doesn’t know either. This is the first time I’ve heard about it from you.”

“If I ever find out why your other brother has two ID cards, I’ll let you know right away, okay?”

Seeing the child’s worried expression, he managed to smile.

“But you can rest assured that your other brother has no debt problems and wouldn’t use a fake ID to do anything illegal.”

“Brother Wang is… a very upright and kind person. We can completely trust him on that, so there’s no need to be afraid.”

Peng Xingwang let out a soft “Oh,” rubbed the back of his head, and nodded in agreement.

“Okay!”

Ji Linqiu, still pondering the connection between the ID card and that mysterious coat, added after some thought, “Let’s not mention this to your other brother for now. I’ll find the right time to talk to him about it. Is that alright?”

“Don’t worry,” the child gave a thumbs-up. “I’m the best at keeping secrets! Even Yang Kai’s secret stash of pocket money is still known only to me!”

---

At the same time, Jiang Wang had just finished his meeting and was working on follow-up documents in his office.

His secretary walked in with a package. “Mr. Jiang, here’s your delivery. It’s another one from Cizhou.”

Du Wenjuan was rather old-fashioned in her ways, having preferred sending letters through the post office in the past. However, influenced by Jiang Wang, she now opted for faster, more reliable courier services.

To avoid wasting postage fees on just a couple of sheets of paper, she often included homemade treats like sausages, photos of Yinyin, or fairy tale books she had specially chosen for Peng Xingwang. As a result, every ten days or so, they would receive a modest yet heavy package filled with warmth.

Jiang Wang had seldom been cared for like this before. Now, even if it was just a trace of the light from his childhood, he would receive a small bundle of letters from his mother, which could make him happy for several days. He would hum tunes at work and again after getting off work.

This time, the package seemed a bit large, but it was surprisingly light when he held it. 

Jiang Wang gestured for his secretary to leave, and carefully used a utility knife to open the package. Inside, he found three sets of scarves, hats, and gloves.

This time, Du Wenjuan had also knitted one for Teacher Ji, using pure wool yarn she had started weaving in the summer. Now, she had finally finished it.

The adult styles were simple and elegant. Jiang Wang’s scarf was dark gray, while Ji Linqiu’s was dark brown, both versatile and easy to match with clothes. The wool was soft and comfortable, not itching the neck.

Additionally, there was a letter.

***

Wangwang, Xingxing:

As autumn deepens and the weather gets colder, please remember to dress warmly, ventilate the room, and take some Isatis root granules to prevent colds.

Yinyin is now lively and healthy, completely unlike how she was when she was just born, weak and sickly. I am so relieved.

I also look forward to when we can reunite and enjoy the beauty of autumn together.

I’ve heard that Xingwang is adjusting well to his new school and can even solve Olympiad math problems. I’m so happy.

But please tell him: Don’t be proud and impatient. He must not let a brief period of progress make him arrogant.

There is also something I would like to discuss with you.

In February, during the New Year, Yinyin will be weaning, and the short separation between mother and child will help her become more independent. It also prevents me from giving in to my emotions, which could be harmful to her growth.

I plan to have Changhua and the nanny take care of her while she returns to the countryside for the New Year. I’ll come to Yuhan and spend New Year’s Eve with you and Xingwang.

But I don’t know if this will inconvenience you. If you think it’s okay, we can discuss it further by phone.

Also, during the autumn and winter seasons, it’s easy to have indigestion and stomach issues. I’ve included a small package of hawthorn cake I made. Please eat it soon and don’t let it spoil.

I’ve been thinking about you all, but words can hardly express it.

I hope everything is well.

Du Wenjuan, October 27, 2007.

***

After reading the letter, Jiang Wang went through the stack of scarves and hats, and sure enough, he found a clean tin biscuit tin inside, with plum-red hawthorn cakes adorned with osmanthus petals on top.

He wiped his hands and took a bite. The tart-sweet taste made him smile uncontrollably.

---

Days passed quickly.

Although Ji Linqiu intended to ask Jiang Wang about the coat and the ID card, with his parents having just moved in, he had to take time to help them familiarize themselves with the area, so there was no rush to clarify things.

During the first week of their move to Yuhan, despite being unfamiliar with the area and still struggling with the local dialect, the parents found that the surprises outweighed the discomforts.

One evening, at 10 PM, Chen Danhong called, unable to conceal her excitement.

“Linqiu! Do you know what? Your new house has hot water for washing dishes!”

Ji Linqiu was taken aback, about to explain that this was normal in the city, as hot water was heated by natural gas.

Before he could speak, Chen Danhong continued, joyfully exclaiming, “I’ve never washed dishes with hot water in my life! At first, we were both dumbfounded.”

“These days, your dad and I have been fighting over who gets to wash the dishes. You know, hot water really makes the dishes clean and smooth, and it feels great to touch them!”

“Son, your house is really great!”

Ji Linqiu had initially chosen the house based on factors like location, transportation, and convenience for medical care and schooling. 

He never imagined that what would make his mother the happiest was simply the fact that the kitchen had hot water, so she no longer had to wash dishes in cold water during the winter.

It was only now that he realized how, for years, his mother had been the one managing the house alone, enduring cold winters with buckets of ice-cold well water for washing dishes.

Sometimes, if his mother didn’t complain, he would never notice these things.

But ironically, Chen Danhong’s complaints had always been about typical life goals like marriage and children, never about her own circumstances.

They chose a sunny autumn day to take Ji Linqiu’s parents on a tour of the Buwang Education. 

Ji Guoshen, a retired teacher, had spent most of his career in a small town and had never encountered the harsh competitive nature of modern education, which felt like a battleground.

He first wandered around the spacious, well-equipped teaching center, admiring the interactive blackboards, the comfortable desks, and the overhead lighting design.

He even looked at the textbooks and test papers, observing the teachers in meetings through the glass windows.

It was as though he had regained some of the vigor of youth, as the sight of his peers working fervently reignited a spark in his eyes.

When he saw some elderly colleagues in the meetings, he looked astonished.

“I thought all the teachers in your classes were young now?”

“Of course not. We’ve invited many experienced senior teachers from Hongcheng,” Ji Linqiu smiled and said. “We need to train everyone in unified teaching methods, keeping up with the times.”

“But your long-standing experience and wisdom are something that us newer teachers can’t catch up to.”

After his retirement, Ji Guoshen had often felt that he was out of touch with the times. Although he still enjoyed chatting with his old friends, there were moments when loneliness was hard to hide.

Now, seeing his peers still working with such passion, his eyes shone with the bright light of the morning sun.