Yu Jinyang’s childhood nickname was Miaomiao.
Once, their whole family went to Wutai Mountain to pray for Great-Grandmother.
On the way down the mountain, his dad ran into a fortune-telling blind man.
The man said he was born with the fate of a “Great Han,” and after chatting enthusiastically with him for a bit, his dad finally realized the man meant he was born under a “drought fate”—that Yu Jinyang’s destiny lacked water.
Without water, he’d have trouble growing tall.
His dad, with his stormy, impulsive nature, immediately gave him six basins of water all at once.
He even added the character “Jin” (meaning “ferry” or “water”) to his name.
But the results were only so-so.
Li Yingqiao was still half a head taller than him—he had no idea what she was eating to grow so tall.
To him back then, this girl was both fierce and reckless.
According to Aunt Li Shuli, Li Yingqiao could eat three bowls of rice in one meal.
So, whenever it was mealtime, she’d often ask the neighbors next door if they wanted a child.
If someone actually said yes, she’d retort, “Keep dreaming!”
That’s why his mom often suspected Aunt Li Shuli’s mental state.
In fact, not just his mom—most of the adults in Xiao Hua City thought Aunt Li Shuli’s mental state was a bit “too good,” making the other adults seem stiff by comparison.
So, in private, they’d often gossip about Aunt Li Shuli’s two marriages.
Adults never avoided discussing adult matters in front of kids, just as kids never called adults for help when fighting.
The two worlds spoke the same language, yet between them was a chasm as deep as the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon.
The spicy secrets of adulthood seemed to petrify over the years, forever sunk at the bottom of the gorge, gradually turning brown with the children’s memories.
So, almost every kid in Xiao Hua City knew that Li Shuli had an ex-husband who’d been in prison.
But no one knew whether Li Yingqiao’s father was the one who’d been in prison, which was probably how Li Yingqiao’s fists got so strong.
Everyone in Xiao Hua City called her “Little Tank.”
Just as his father said, there were lots of kids in Xiao Hua City.
New ones popped up all the time, and their names were mostly similar.
So, when they played marbles or hopscotch together, they’d form teams based on the characters in their names.
Those with the character “Xuan” or “Hao” were regulars: Zixuan, Zihao.
Most with “Jia” were girls: Miaojia, Shijia.
He and Li Yingqiao, not fitting into any of those groups, were lumped together as the “Mu” generation.
So the two of them were always put in the same group.
But honestly, he didn’t really like being paired with her—this girl was just too competitive!
If she won, she’d drag him to dance; if she lost, she’d call him a pig.
Sometimes, if she got mad, she’d snatch a round marble and thump him on the back without warning, leaving a bruise.
She’d say, “Tsk, you need some scraping therapy, too much dampness in your body.”
The next day, Tang Xiang Lady actually took him for scraping therapy.
Afterward, she complained about the cost and told him that if he felt unwell next time, just let Li Yingqiao punch him a couple times—it’d save a lot of money.
Yu Jinyang, “…Mom?”
He tried to appeal to his mother’s conscience.
But ever since Tang Xiang Lady decided to bring him to find his father, she’d already given him a lecture about conscience on the slowly moving train:
“A woman with too much conscience usually suffers herself. Not always, but in your mom’s narrow worldview, women with too much conscience either suffer for love or for family. So, do you want Mom to suffer?”
He shook his head hard, “Of course not.”
Tang Xiang nodded in satisfaction, “I’ve checked—your dad isn’t married yet. This time, I’m bringing you back to find him. If he can accept you, I’ll go back to Hainan and work hard for a few more years. After that, you’ll live with your dad. He has good conditions and can support you steadily until you graduate college. Later, when you’re successful, bring your dad’s money to Hainan to find me. Of course, if you hate Mom…”
Back then, still called Yu Yang, he was led step by step by his dear scheming mother, “Of course not! I’ll study hard. After I graduate college, I’ll bring all of Dad’s money to find you!”
“You should earn some yourself first before coming.”
He nodded fiercely, “Okay! I’ll earn money to support you!”
That was what they said, but Tang Xiang still couldn’t bear to part with her son.
Looking at her child sitting obediently on the train, still not even as tall as the luggage shelf, his eyes rimmed red, tears welling up but not falling, like water slowly rising in a little fish pond, glistening in the sun.
His gaze was stubborn and understanding as he stared at her.
No matter how hard Tang Xiang’s heart was, it suddenly softened again.
“Why did you and Dad break up?”
Kids are always curious about their parents’ love story and how they came to be.
But his mother never mentioned his father, and he never dared ask.
“It’s complicated,” Tang Xiang finally decided to tell him.
“Your dad said he wanted ten children—who wouldn’t run away after hearing that?”
“There were other reasons too. It’s just that people in their town are like that, all kinds of old-fashioned ideas in their heads. ‘Incense and lineage,’ you understand?”
He clearly only half-understood.
Tang Xiang had decided to leave, so she told her son many things she usually wouldn’t say.
Back then, Yu Yang didn’t really understand, “Our hometown is a dry, arid land. Remember, don’t listen too much to the adults there, and even if you do, don’t take it to heart. But you must study hard and read more books—it’ll give you a new way to see the world.”
Who would have thought, his mother was finally persuaded by his father’s relentless pursuit and decided to stay with him and let him grow up in Fengtan.
Sometimes, he admired his dad.
Before the wedding, Grandpa hinted that he should get a paternity test.
His dad, who usually seemed a bit slow, was able to say firmly at the critical moment, “No need. That would insult Tang Xiang. I trust her. Ayang is my child.”
So, just like that, he returned from Hainan to the place where he was supposed to grow up.
Here, he met Tank Li Yingqiao, got to know the left-behind child Gao Dian, and heard Miao Jia Grandpa’s timely and thunderous fart—like the assembly horn of Xiao Hua City—as well as all the “Zi” generation kids.
His dad would tell him about the backgrounds of every household, mainly emphasizing who he didn’t get along with, so he’d know whom to avoid.
He could tell immediately, “Uncle Li is so bad, so what kind of person is Aunt Li Shuli?”
Yu Renjie: “Someone whose slaps really hurt.”
For quite a long time, Yu Jinyang thought Li Yingqiao must get beaten pretty badly at home.
She always came to class with a sullen face, and during class, she’d keep making hiss hiss inhaling sounds.
If you asked what was wrong, she wouldn’t say, always hiding something, as if she had some unspeakable secret.
So, one night after returning home, he hesitated but still told his mom, Li Yingqiao might be a victim of domestic violence; she’d been pointing at her face all through class the past couple days.
“Damned old man!” his mom cursed first.
“How could Li Shuli hit her child!”
His mom hated domestic violence.
A few times, when his dad came looking for trouble with Grandpa’s old rattan stick, his mom would grab the feather duster and fly at his dad.
Sometimes it was even a slipper or something, and she’d warn him with full authority, “Yu Renjie, I dare you to touch him!”
His dad could only put away his things with a pitiful look, but his eyes always showed a bit of reluctance.
Honestly, he was always a bit confused by his dad’s behavior.
If he made a mistake and got hit, he accepted it, but sometimes his dad was just looking for a reason.
Until that summer, a certain cartoon swept across the country.
He was at Li Yingqiao’s family’s grocery shop, squatting and watching with great interest, when he saw the Big Bad Wolf’s stubborn look.
Suddenly, a wave of familiarity welled up in his heart.
The only difference was, the Big Bad Wolf had a patch on his butt, but Yu Renjie didn’t.
That night, Tang Xiang Lady went to the grocery shop in Xiao Hua City to gather intel and quickly came back to tell him, “Li Yingqiao was hiding under her blanket at night eating potato chips and broke out in pimples.”
Yu Jinyang felt like the sky was falling.
She never stopped eating snacks in front of the teacher, but at home, she had to hide under the covers to eat potato chips?
She was supposed to be a tank!
Though he didn’t really know what a tank was supposed to do.
It was just that all the kids in Xiao Hua City admired her so much.
“By the way, Miaomiao, did you two get into a fight? I just went to the grocery store and heard from Li Shuli that you had a nosebleed. Why didn’t you tell Mom?” Tang Xiang squatted down, pretending to check his nose.
Yu Jinyang snorted and said, “What’s there to say about losing? Her fists are like iron hammers, Mom, can you believe it? When Li Yingqiao punched me, I thought the teacher turned off the lights.”
Tang Xiang gasped, wishing she could open up his skull to take a look, “No concussion, right? Dizzy? Okay, change your clothes, I’ll take you to the hospital for an X-ray. Tomorrow I have to call your teacher.”
Yu Jinyang hurriedly said, “Don’t call! We’ve already made up and shook hands. We even took a picture—Teacher Xu said he’d hang it on the classroom blackboard for two weeks as punishment.”
The classmates had already laughed for days.
Recently, as soon as the two of them walked into the classroom, the previously silent room would instantly erupt in laughter.
He was so embarrassed he didn’t dare go in late anymore, and would go early to sit alone and read.
Tang Xiang “What’s so funny about that? Son, don’t care what others think.”
Yu Jinyang: “Because they say it’s like a Nokia start-up ad.”
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
He stared at Tang Xiang’s face.
When the “punishment period” was over, he’d go ask the teacher for the photo, tear it to pieces, and make Li Yingqiao eat it!
However, he soon realized that his “Tank” rival was still on a whole other level.
That evening, Xiao Hua City was still quiet.
It was the adults’ rush hour—one after another, the ding-ding of bicycle bells and the thud of car wheels rolling over the cobblestone street echoed in the distance.
The grocery shop’s shutter was half pulled down, no lights inside.
The dim twilight cast faint shadows at the entrance, just enough to see a small figure sitting behind the glass display case.
Li Shuli was still out on a long-distance trip, so for the past few nights, it was the little aunt who stayed with her.
At this hour, the little aunt wasn’t home yet.
After school, Li Yingqiao would half-open the grocery shop’s door, so familiar neighbours could come in themselves if they wanted to buy something, and tourists in the scenic area would leave after asking a couple questions.
Without Li Shuli, Li Yingqiao was too young to open for business herself, afraid she’d get counterfeit money.
At this moment, Teacher Xu was sitting in a nearby wonton shop, happily eating a big bowl of wontons.
His beloved Erba Dagang bicycle, which he rode in and out of school every day, was gleaming outside Li Yingqiao’s grocery shop.
No one else rode that kind of bike these days; in the whole school, only he loved his Erba Dagang.
Li Yingqiao’s hands were itching.
She was about to pull out the valve core from Teacher Xu’s tire—serves him right for hanging that photo on the blackboard and making the classmates laugh at her for days.
She tiptoed out, quietly peeking through the half-rolled shutter.
The back wheel of the Erba Dagang was right there.
Her heart leapt with joy, thump thump.
Teacher Xu, today you’ll be walking home. That’s fair, right?
Yu Jinyang was just about to bring dinner to Great-Grandmother when he stumbled upon this suspicious scene.
Under the grocery shop’s shutter, a suspicious “Ququ Spirit” was curled up.
The shutter was only a third open, and she’d folded herself in half, her braid swinging under the door, grinning as she reached for the valve core of Teacher Xu’s Erba Dagang.
Truly, this was the mindset of a tank—never looking for enemies within, always going after the toughest boss for revenge.
The next second, just as Li Yingqiao was about to finish unscrewing the valve cap, she felt the back of her neck lifted up.
A mysterious force yanked her out from under the shutter, and a familiar voice thundered in her ear like lightning: “You little rascal, how many times this month?
Tell me, how many times have you pulled out my valve core?
Why are your hands so itchy!”
Honestly, Yu Jinyang had never seen this Erba Dagang bike before.
From his first day here, his dad had been the kind of guy who couldn’t leave the house without spending a few minutes fixing his hair in the car mirror.
Li Yingqiao was caught in his grip, pleading, “Uncle, Uncle, Uncle, Uncle!”
Yu Renjie, “Even if you call me Dad now, it’s no use. Walk home, get the air pump, and pump my tire fifty times! Let’s see if your hands still itch next time!”