“Ugh, tell me about it—why’d you have to make the kid come back for school? Being in the military is so great. Our Lang here is 1.8 meters tall, sharp as anything—he’d definitely be able to stay in the army!”
A middle-aged man with a worried face stuffed a suitcase into a tricycle, grumbling as he did.
Two large suitcases filled the entire cargo bed.
The husband and wife behind him shrank their necks, not daring to make a sound.
In contrast, the young man standing beside the couple stood ramrod straight, a smile on his face as he reassured: “Uncle, my mom asked Teacher Zhang online, and Teacher Zhang said this agricultural school is great and strongly recommended we attend.”
The middle-aged man pursed his lips: “It’s not his kid, so of course he doesn’t have to worry. Sigh, you’re already back—no use saying more. Look on the bright side: your school’s close to home, so you can help take care of the family.”
The tricycle couldn’t fit everyone, but fortunately they’d brought two: “Should we go home first, or report to the school first?”
“Let’s go to the school. Since we’ve decided to attend, better to report early and get it over with—no point dragging it out.” The young man felt both nervous and excited.
His academic performance had never been good, and he’d never thought much of it before.
Later, after joining the military, he deeply understood the huge difference between having a degree and not having one.
Those who graduated from proper military academies became officers. A bachelor’s degree meant the rank of second lieutenant, with the treatment of a deputy company commander—starting at ten thousand a month.
He’d wanted to take the military academy exam while in service, but his brain just wouldn’t cooperate—the moment he saw a textbook, he’d get sleepy.
This special recruitment was, to him, undoubtedly a pie falling from the sky.
Yuan Lang was worried that once he got to school, he wouldn’t be able to keep up with his studies and would get expelled.
June in Hei Province still carried a bit of chill in the air.
The golden sunlight shone on everyone, warm and cozy.
The agricultural reclamation area was quite far from the city—from the old train station, the bus ride took over two hours.
The Yuan family had deliberately come on tricycles to pick him up—partly to show how much they valued the kid, and partly to save money.
These days tricycles ran on electricity—how much did a kilowatt-hour cost? Way more economical than taking the bus.
In recent years, as a famous industrial city in Hei Province, Q City’s development had nearly ground to a halt, with serious population outflow.
Yuan Lang looked left and right, then couldn’t help but sigh: “Nothing’s changed around here at all.”
His uncle said loudly: “What do you mean nothing’s changed? Aren’t there fewer and fewer people? All the young people in our village have left.”
Having witnessed their hometown’s glorious days and then watched it decline year after year, not a single local could help but feel heartache.
But what could they do?
The wheels of history roll ever forward, and the nation’s transformation advances steadily.
Hei Province’s role was that of the motherland’s granary—the ballast stone. Various factors had led to the current situation.
Yuan Lang fell silent.
Jeeps and luxury cars with out-of-town license plates whooshed past the tricycle one after another.
Yuan Lang twitched his mouth into a smile: “Our government’s tourism development efforts have really paid off—so many out-of-towners coming to visit. It’ll only get better from here.”
“Hopefully.”
Q City didn’t have much in the way of beautiful natural scenery—just one wetland and a place to watch cranes.
The Yuan family had assumed all those cars were heading to the wetland park, but never expected they all had the same destination.
The entrance of Blue Star Central First Agricultural School was packed with all kinds of vehicles.
Luxury cars and tricycles alike.
This place was bustling like never before. Many nearby villagers had carried large iron pots to the entrance to sell boiled corn or freshly squeezed milk.
For a moment, the entrance actually had the lively, down-to-earth atmosphere of a rural market.
The uncle, being the most experienced man in the family, stepped up without hesitation, pushed through the crowd, and went to submit the registration form.
About ten minutes later, he ran back out drenched in sweat and handed a card to Yuan Lang: “Take this card and your ID to that red tent over there to get a smartwatch.”
A long line had already formed at the red tent, everyone standing with chests out and stomachs in, like they were standing at attention.
Yuan Lang felt like he was back in the barracks: “They’re all soldiers.”
“Not all of them. A small portion got in through special channels.” A young man with a captain’s insignia on his shoulder extended his hand: “Let me introduce myself. I’m Ding Chengxin. We’ll be classmates from now on—please look after me.”
Yuan Lang quickly tried to salute, but Ding Chengxin stopped him: “This is a school. We’re all classmates here—no rank. The only person you need to pay attention to is one person.”
“Who?” Yuan Lang lowered his hand and swallowed.
“Our principal, Lin Xiaohe. Our school is a bit special—you’ll understand once you formally enroll. For now, just remember one thing: there’s only one school rule, and that is—the principal is the biggest school rule.”
Huh????
Not only were the Yuan family stunned, but even the students and parents nearby who’d been eavesdropping stood frozen in place.
Yuan’s father was a straightforward man and blurted out: “Classmate Ding, are you messing with us? Would China really have such a domineering school?!”
Wasn’t that just dictatorship?
No matter which university, if a principal wanted to expel a student, they needed to find a reasonable justification.
Nothing like this…
Ding Chengxin wore a mysterious smile: “Classmate Yuan, I have high hopes for you. Keep it up!”
Yuan Lang shivered. Holy crap, not only is the school weird, but the students are all so strange too.
He lined up with Ding Chengxin.
The line was dead silent, while on both sides there was all sorts of hawking and haggling from the vendors.
A dozen or so young people—men and women—got out of the luxury cars and jeeps, laughing and chatting.
They stood at the back of the line, completely out of place with everyone else.
“Ugh, so annoying. The old man insisted I come here for school. An agricultural school—what can you even learn there! Even if he wanted to gild my resume, he should’ve sent me abroad to study business administration.”
“Fellow sufferer here. My dad told me it was just going through the motions. But then that Lin Xiaohe nodded, and my dad grinned like he’d won the lottery, packed me up overnight, and shipped me over.”
“Shh! Keep it down. Didn’t your families warn you to be respectful to the principal? What nerve, calling her by her name directly!” a refined girl reminded them.
“Hahaha, look at you, all scared. Lin Xiaohe is just a little girl—what’s there to be afraid of? By the way, do you know which family’s daughter she is? Her family really dotes on her, putting in so much effort to pave her way.”
The refined girl rolled her eyes dramatically, cursing inwardly that these idiots were truly fools. A person whose parents happily sent their kids to this school—could she possibly be simple?!
Lin Xiaohe walked out of the school gate to check on the enrollment situation and happened to overhear this group’s conversation—mainly because they were too brazen and hadn’t bothered to lower their voices at all.
“I’m not anyone’s daughter.”
Huh?
Getting caught badmouthing someone by the very person—a bit awkward.
But the guy who’d been the loudest recovered quickly from the embarrassment and asked loudly: “Then who are you?”
Lin Xiaohe clasped her hands behind her back and said breezily: “I am your ancestor—and the most powerful thigh that humanity can cling to.”
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