Chapter 2: Genius of Red Star Village

  Hongxing Village is nestled in the mountains and beside the water, surrounded by a group of mountains, with green bamboo surrounding the village, the scenery is beautiful.

  Beyond the village entrance's big banyan tree is Zhang Junping's home. Pushing open the thick and heavy gate, one suddenly discovers that inside is a spacious courtyard, with an area of over 2,000 square meters. The surrounding wall is made of red bricks, the yard is empty and airy, with a few green bamboo and orchids planted here and there, giving people the first impression of grandeur. This is certainly related to Zhang Junping's extravagant occupation of land. It is said that in Hongxing Village, apart from the banyan tree, the most iconic building is Zhang Junping's home.

  Zhang Junping was warm and hospitable, generous and open-minded, so his home naturally became the base for the five of them. From childhood to adulthood, most of their activities took place here: playing marbles, cards, smoking pipes, shooting slingshots, and more.

  After throwing the empty backpack onto the stone slab by the well, Zhang Junping walked into the bedroom and turned up the volume of the speaker to its maximum. The loud and stirring music suddenly rose up, floated in mid-air, and spread far away, as if telling everyone in the village that the master was back.

  The music is a consistent DJ dance track, Zhang Junping nods his head and says: "Let's go to Xin City KTV tonight, Chaoliang, bring the remaining lime powder from last time!"

  It's not actually lime powder, but the most common K-powder in entertainment venues. The K-powder is white and doesn't look much different from lime powder, but after inhaling it, people can get excited, accompanied by the stimulating dance music, creating a dreamy illusion that makes people feel like they're floating on air, wandering in space.

  K powder is harmful, which is an undisputed fact. As the main target of crackdown in entertainment venues, K powder is very secretive in its circulation in N city, and it's not easy to get hold of unless you know someone. However, it's strange to say that almost all the big and small entertainment venues in N city can be seen with the shadow of "asking for K" by the triad members. On one hand, there is a severe crackdown, on the other hand, K powder is rampant, which can also be considered as a strange phenomenon.

  Zhang Chaoliang's eyes lit up and he hastily nodded his head saying: "Alright! I'll go get it right away!"

  "Wait!" Zhang Junping called out to stop Zhang Chaoliang who was rushing outside, "Is Xuanxuan at home?"

  "Really! He's been at home since the college entrance exam! Dog brother, you don't know, Xuan Xuan has always remembered those discs of yours!"

  Zhang Junping couldn't help but laugh out loud and said with a wave of his hand: "Great! Go call Xuanxuan over too!"

  "Alright!" Zhang Chaoliang had just finished speaking when the person was already running far away like a gust of wind.

  Xuan Xuan's name is Ma Yu Xuan, a legendary figure in Red Star Village. This child is intelligent and knowledgeable, diligent and studious, and has been the top student since primary school to high school, never falling behind. He was crowned with the title of "Red Star Village Genius". The name Ma Yu Xuan not only resonates loudly in Red Star Village but also throughout Blue River Town and even the entire N City, making him a household name. "Not knowing Ma Yu Xuan is like being an unknown scholar" is the best praise for him.

  Just after the end of the college entrance examination, Ma Yuxuan became the champion of N city without any surprise, and broke all the records of N city's college entrance examination, including the highest single subject score, the highest total score, the speed of submitting papers and so on. A small mountain village produced a great champion, Lanhewan Town was suddenly in an uproar, and for a time, the media reported intensively, students paid tribute to him, and the threshold of Ma's house was trampled several times.

  Zhang Chaoliang walked out of the door and after a few dozen steps, he arrived at Ma Yuxuan's doorstep. He stood far away in a corner, with his hands clasped together, his thumbs slightly bent, forming a small hole between them. Then, he blew into the hole with his mouth, making a sound similar to that of a quail, with a rhythmic pattern, sometimes long and sometimes short, as if containing some sort of secret code.

  Originally, Ma Yuxuan's family was very strict, and his father had never allowed him to associate with the three teachings and nine flows of society since he was a child. But this Ma Yuxuan, although he excelled in both moral character and learning, took a different path in making friends. He didn't like to befriend good students at all, but instead got along extremely well with Zhang Junping, that little rascal. In his own words, this was called broadening one's horizons and enriching one's experiences.

  After Zhang Chaoliang finished whistling, he went home to fetch the K powder and turned back to Zhang Junping's house. He knew that Ma Yuxuan would definitely come out, and the whistle just now was a secret signal agreed upon by everyone, with the time and place hidden in the signal. Over the years, Ma Yuxuan had been relying on these signals to participate in a series of activities of the Blue River Five Tigers.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, in less than five minutes, Ma Yuxuan pushed open the door and rushed in, flashing a smile at everyone, shouting: "Doge!"

  Ma Yuxuan is tall and handsome, elegant and refined, giving off a weak and bookish air, with an attitude that's completely carefree, extremely charming, with deep and lively eyes, paired with the hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth, making people feel that this young man will definitely not be ordinary in the future.

  "Xuan Xuan, which university did you get accepted into?" asked Zhang Junping with great interest.

  CUHK.

  "Sun Yat-sen University?"

  "Hmm!"

  Zhang Junping felt somewhat surprised and exchanged glances with the crowd, curiously asking: "Why not go to Tsinghua or Peking University? Not enough points?"

  "That's enough! More than enough!" Ma Yuxuan shook his head and explained, "But I think Tsinghua and Peking University are too far away. Thinking about it, Sun Yat-sen University is better, it's in the provincial capital, so it's convenient to go back and forth. Aren't you guys also working in the provincial capital?"

  Although it's more sensational to get into Tsinghua or Peking University, Sun Yat-sen University is also a top-notch university in G Province. What's most important is that Zhang Junping thinks that a genius like Ma Yu Xuan will definitely stand out no matter which university he attends, so he doesn't feel disappointed at all. He pats Ma Yu Xuan's shoulder lightly and encourages him, saying: "Sun Yat-sen University isn't bad either! Xuan Xuan, you're the first college student from our Red Star Village, you must study hard and make a lot of money in the future, don't end up like us, dropping out after junior high school to struggle in society."

  Simple encouragement made Ma Yu-xuan once again affirm that Zhang Jun-ping and others, although they were triad members, had always treated him as a brother, not the "bad friends" his father had described. What mattered in friendship was mutual understanding; as long as they helped and supported each other, why worry about whether he was a triad member or a good student? He suppressed his inner thoughts and said calmly: "I know! Dog Brother, I definitely won't disappoint you, won't bring shame to Red Star Village!"

  Zhang Junping, as usual, finished his encouraging words and gently pulled out a drawer, took out a big pile of colorful discs, scattered them on the table in a row, and smiled slyly: "Xuan Xuan, take these discs, consider it Dog Brother's reward for you getting into college, haha!"

  The crowd immediately burst into a lewd laughter that only men could understand.

  The discs were all uniformly labeled as "A-level" pornographic DVDs, with the cover featuring a woman exposing her breasts and striking seductive poses that made one's blood boil. It was hard to imagine that someone like Ma Yuxuan, an excellent student in every way, would actually enjoy this kind of thing, and yet he seemed completely absorbed in it, as if he didn't feel at all out of place as a prestigious university student surrounded by such tacky DVDs.

  "Hurry up, stop picking and take them all! I still have a big handful here!" Zhang Junping said with a smile.

  Ma Yuxuan wasn't greedy, he selectively picked a few and then left the rest on the table, playing with the A card in his hand, saying: "Old rules! I'll take the infantry, leave the cavalry!"

  Infantry and cavalry are terms of art, infantry has no horses, cavalry has horses. Obviously, infantry means having no code, cavalry means having a code.

  Zhang Junping couldn't help but hold his belly and laugh loudly: "Xuan Xuan, you're still too young after all! For people like us who have seen it all, naturally we're wolves at heart. Whether they're infantry or cavalry, in our eyes they're all the same!"

  Chen Xiaodong said with a smirk: "Doggie's eyes are so venomous, any girl standing in front of him is like she's not wearing clothes, heh heh!"

  Ma Yuxuan smiled sincerely, he thought this was good, friends could speak directly, without pretending to be elegant, everyone was a mountain man, a country boy, and should be vulgar if necessary. Usually, he wore the halo of "Red Star Village Genius", his words and deeds had to be dignified and elegant, only in front of Lanhe Wuhu, Ma Yuxuan could relax and indulge freely, saying whatever he wanted, doing whatever he wanted, without having to live so tiredly.

  Zhang Junping joked around for a bit, looked at the time and said: "Xuan Xuan, you should head back! Your dad will scold you again. Tonight we're going to New City KTV, if you can make it out, we'll take you along!"

  Ma Yuxuan nodded and quickly hid the disc in his bosom, then ran back home.

  After collecting the discs, Ma Yuxuan left the village and walked along the long river dike, where the river flowed out of the fields, and the growth of the rice was pleasing to the eye. At this time, it was already near dusk, the sun set in the west, and the afterglow of the setting sun spilled over the earth, with a warm glow covering the ground, creating a peaceful and serene scene.

  His father was working hard on the half mountain slope, Ma Yu Xuan stepped onto the ridge, looking from afar at his father's bent back and the increasingly white hair on his temples, his mood gradually becoming heavy. His father worked tirelessly, toiling for half a lifetime, although strict in discipline, but always for his own good. Thinking about how he had resisted his father's strictness every day, Ma Yu Xuan suddenly felt that he really didn't understand things before.

  "Dad!" Ma Yu Xuan choked out a cry.

  His father didn't raise his head, just hummed in response. In all these years, the father and son had little communication, both were silent types, the father worked hard to provide for Ma Yuxuan's education; Ma Yuxuan also studied diligently, silently learning, using his grades to repay his father's kindness, although they were father and son, they rarely talked heart-to-heart.

  "Dad, I just went to Shi Gou's house!" Ma Yu Xuan said tentatively, while observing his father's reaction.

  It is said that no one knows a child better than their father, and of course, the father knew that Ma Yu Xuan liked to play with Lan He Wu Hu. In fact, as Ma Yu Xuan grew older, his judgment and self-control increased day by day, and his father's discipline became more and more relaxed. The father was not a stubborn traditionalist, he understood Ma Yu Xuan's strong personality, and instead of strictly restricting him, which would lead to discord between father and son, it was better to let him be, avoiding major conflicts.

  "Father said lightly: "Oh? Is it? Isn't he driving in the provincial city? What did he come back for?"

  Seeing his father's calm tone, Ma Yuxuan put down his guard and said: "He said that working as a laborer can't make money, and wants to go back home to see if there's any possibility!"

  "It's even more hopeless to go back home!" Father said without hesitation, "Everyone says that our province G is the richest province in the country, but who doesn't know that the development of province G lies in its cities. What about rural areas? They've been stuck in place for decades, no different from thirty years ago. Think back yourself, what's changed between Red Star Village now and when you were born? Nothing! The fields are still the same, the land is still the same, the roads are still the same, and the people are still the same. Although the country has always emphasized building a socialist new countryside, provinces along the southeastern coast have focused 80% of their efforts on urban construction, with minimal support for rural areas. If you want to get rich, you must go to the big cities in the Pearl River Delta, that's where opportunities are, going back to rural areas is hopeless!"

  Ma Yu Xuan knew his father liked to watch the news and pay attention to current events, so he had a deep understanding of social economics. He wasn't some illiterate old farmer. He agreed with some of his father's views and said leisurely: "The construction of new rural areas is progressing very quickly in the north, but there is a certain degree of lag in the south. However, I believe that with the support of national policies, within three to five years, G Province's rural areas will definitely usher in a peak period of development."

  His father smiled and said, "Maybe! Dad worked hard to support your education, hoping you would leave the mountains and venture out into the world. Don't be like those illiterates in the village. The educational atmosphere in Red Star Village is too poor. Parents are unwilling to spend money on their children's education, always urging them to drop out of school after junior high and go to work to reduce the family burden. This approach is short-sighted! Old Eight, do you know how his father educated him? His father said: "Son, reading books is useless, we're just peasant material, as long as you can recognize the words on the pesticide bottle, that's enough!"

  Ma Yuxuan couldn't help but laugh at his father's humor, and said with a smile: "Dad, they are them, I am me, I will let everyone know that reading is useful, knowledge is power!"

  Father calmly said: "You know that's good! You are the hope of the whole family, after entering university, no matter what grades, the most important thing is to be a person who is useful to society!"

  Ma Yuxuan nodded heavily.