A few days later, Xie Qiang came back and invited me and Fatso to his house for a drink.

Xie Qiang bought a case of beer, prepared a table of fried small fish, and some other side dishes.

I remember the last time we had fried small fish, it coincided with the kappa incident. Time flies so fast.

Xie Qiang raised his glass and said, "I invited you guys to drink today because I want to bid farewell to you."

"Farewell?" Fatso and I looked at each other, surprised, and asked where he was going.

Xie Qiang said he graduated from vocational school, and according to regulations, he needs to be assigned to Guangzhou for an internship. He might not come back for a year or so.

We have had a good relationship with Xie Qiang these past two years, and he has always looked out for us in the village. Now that Xie Qiang suddenly says he's leaving, we feel a bit reluctant.

Seeing us feeling down, Xie Qiang smiled and said, "I'm going to Guangzhou, not fleeing. There's no need to be sad. When I make a fortune over there, I'll invite you guys to come and have seafood, drink flower wine, enjoy the night view of **, and gamble a bit in Macau. Let's experience what life is all about!"

When he said this, Xie Qiang was full of confidence, and his eyes were sparkling with colors.

In fact, everyone has dreams when they're young, and what Xie Qiang just said is his dream.

Fatso and I can only wish him a safe journey and that his dreams come true.

The two-month summer vacation passed in the blink of an eye, and it was time to go back to school.

I looked at myself in the mirror, taller and more mature-looking, with a faint stubble growing on my lips.

My mom helped me pack my things and reminded me to be careful on the way.

Qingqing accompanied me to the door, and we hugged for a long time before reluctantly letting go.

Qingqing said, "There are many beautiful girls in the city. Don't be dazzled."

I smiled and said, "How is that possible? None of the girls outside can compare to you. Remember this, among the three thousand rivers, I only want a sip of water from you!"

Fatso and I both got accepted into the county high school, so we left Hongqi Village together.

On the way, Fatso was very happy and asked me, "Hey, Yang Cheng, do you think we are destined to be together? Look, we were together in primary school, middle school, and now we're going to the same high school. Tut, it seems like God wants to bind us together. It looks like we're destined not to separate in this lifetime!"

After Fatso finished speaking, I couldn't help but cough violently. I clasped my fists and begged for mercy, "Big brother, I beg you, please, do you still want to be with me for the rest of your life? Please, stop being a lingering ghost, okay?"

Fatso bumped me with his elbow, "Hehe, look at what you're saying. You're always saying one thing and meaning another!"

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In the evening, Fatso and I arrived in town and found Xie Lao Ba.

Xie Lao Ba is Xie Qiang's uncle. He has a minivan and runs a rural passenger transportation service.

There are no buses from the county to the town, so if we want to go to the county, we have to take these rural passenger vehicles.

Although they're called passenger vehicles, many of them don't have the proper licenses and are actually private cars picking up passengers. People in the city call these cars "wild boars".

Because they don't have operating licenses, the passengers on these cars have no safety or personal security guarantees. If something happens, they have to bear the consequences themselves. But even so, the business of these "wild boars" is still booming, after all, there are no buses, and people in the mountains find it inconvenient to travel.

Xie Lao Ba happened to be driving the early morning shift tomorrow, from the town to the county. It would take several hours on a winding mountain road.

The early morning shift usually departs at midnight and arrives in the county around dawn, which is convenient for many travelers.

Fatso and I specifically chose the early morning shift because it saves money. After arriving in the county in the morning, we can go straight to the county high school to register.

If we were to leave early and arrive in the county tonight, we would have to spend money to find a place to stay for the night, which wouldn't be cost-effective.

In the spirit of thriftiness, the early morning shift is our best choice.

We found Xie Lao Ba and gave him a cigarette, telling him that we are friends of Xie Qiang and that Xie Qiang introduced us.

Xie Lao Ba said, "Oh, I know you guys. Xie Qiang told me about you! Find a place to hang out yourselves first. The bus won't depart until midnight!"

Xie Lao Ba is not old, he's the youngest uncle of Xie Qiang, only in his twenties.

But he has been driving for quite a long time. He started learning to drive when he was a teenager and later followed his family to operate the "wild boars". Despite his young age, he is already considered one of the "old wild boars" in town.

Fatso and I were bored and thought since we were already in town, we might as well go find Long Shaoye to hang out and maybe get a free dinner at his place.

Long Shaoye is quite famous in town. His family runs a small coal mine and lives in a small villa. It's clear that they are a wealthy family in town.

We arrived at Long Shaoye's house and inquired, only to find out that Long Shaoye went to the city to study the day before, and he is attending the best high school in the city, City High School.

Fatso couldn't believe it and said, "No way! I remember Long Shaoye's score was at least two hundred points lower than mine. It would have been good enough if he could go to vocational school. Why can he go to City High School?"

I thought for a moment and said, "Because his family is rich!"

Fatso rubbed his head and said, "Seems like that's the reason!"

As the saying goes, money makes things easier. Long Shaoye's family is wealthy, so as long as they have money, why would the school refuse him?

In fact, many schools have these so-called "selective enrollment" spots, and 99% of these selective enrollments are rich people who pay a high price to get their children into the school. To put it bluntly, it's about using money to let their children spend their days at the school. The more famous the school, the more of these selective enrollments there are.

Fatso and I had nowhere else to go, and coincidentally, we passed by an internet cafe. After some consideration, we decided to go to the internet cafe to play games and pass the time until midnight.

When we entered the internet cafe, we unexpectedly ran into Hao Feiji.

I asked Hao Feiji why he didn't go to register. Hao Feiji said he dropped out of school and is now working as a network manager here, earning two to three hundred bucks a month, with food and accommodation provided. It's better than most ordinary office jobs. He wants to start a new chapter in his life in this small internet cafe.

Hao Feiji arranged two computers for us, and Fatso and I connected to the internet to play Command & Conquer together. Hao Feiji also treated us to cola and fried rice.

We played until midnight, and when I looked at the time, it was almost time for the bus to depart.

I grabbed Fatso and said goodbye to Hao Feiji. Hao Feiji told us to come find him next time we're back to play. He discovered some good websites and said he would treat us to watching Japanese romance ** next time.

Fatso was excited and asked slyly, "Are there any adult films?"

Hao Feiji said, "I've got them all!"

Fatso then said with a smile, "Next time I'm back, I'll definitely come to your internet cafe for business!"