198: Teacher Li

"No, no," Ye Bai said.

"Let me tell you another story."

Raphael was a little unhappy, but he spoke up good-naturedly, "Go on."

Ye Bai: "Once upon a time, two old farmers were discussing what kind of life the Emperor lived. One farmer said, 'I bet the Emperor eats white steamed buns every day.' The other farmer said, 'I bet the Emperor uses a golden hoe to farm!'

"Hahahahaha!" Jiang Nan burst out laughing. "How could the Emperor possibly need to farm!"

Ye Bai smiled, "Exactly."

Raphael frowned, "Are you saying I'm that farmer now?"

Ye Bai sighed and patted his head affectionately. "I'm saying that people's cognition differs based on the environment they grew up in, but that doesn't mean they are stupid."

"For example, Uncle Duan recognizes all sorts of vegetables and crops, and you don't. Does that mean you are stupid?"

Raphael: "How could that be? I just haven't learned it. If I had learned it, I would recognize them too."

"Right," Ye Bai said as he walked, "just like if Uncle Duan had grown up in a big city, he would know how to use computers and the holographic pod."

Ye Bai looked at Raphael's thoughtful expression, knowing he was starting to understand, and continued speaking gently.

"Raphael, do you know why we came here?"

Raphael shook his head, but the initial resistance in his eyes was gone.

"Because we all live inside our own information cocoons," Ye Bai said, picking up a rock by the roadside.

"Just like this rock: in the city, it might just be an unsightly obstacle, but here, the children might use it for games, and the farmers might use it to weigh down plastic sheeting blown up by the wind."

Raphael interjected, "Like how I thought all apples should be big and red?"

"Yes," Ye Bai nodded. "Every one of us uses our own understanding to interpret the world, and there's nothing wrong with that."

"But the problem is, if we always stay in our comfort zone, we can never understand the full picture of the world."

"Coming to this world is like playing a game. You wouldn't want to stay in the Novice Village forever, would you?"

Raphael looked thoughtful.

Uncle Duan, listening nearby, couldn't help but cheer, "Sure enough, city folk are more educated than us."

"That Sima Zhong you mentioned, why haven't I seen him in the romance of the three kingdoms?"

Ye Bai laughed heartily and offered no explanation.

The group finally arrived at the school.

Although they called it a school, it was really just a two-story building with a small, very dilapidated playground.

Duan Xingye led them inside. It was currently recess for the students.

Seeing so many people, they watched curiously and shyly from hiding.

Raphael looked at the students. They weren't wearing unified school uniforms, but rather clothes that looked dirty and old.

Some of the clothes were even too big.

Their faces had patches of plateau redness, and their complexions weren't fair.

Just then, a young man sitting on a chair behind them, holding a book, saw them and immediately stood up. "Uncle Duan, who are they?"

Duan Xingye heard him and laughed, "Teacher Li, don't you recognize your own friends?"

Li Xinran stared at them, wondering when he had acquired these friends.

It was obvious from their clothes and demeanor that this group was not from the village.

Ye Bai was also looking at him now. Li Xinran's hair was slightly messy, he wore an oversized t-shirt, and his sneakers had several small holes worn into them.

"Hello, I am Ye Bai. I recently received a letter from the child Xie Xiangxiang, so I took the liberty of coming here."

Li Xinran was stunned. "You are... you are Ye Bai?"

As soon as he spoke, many children cried out loudly, "Ye Bai?"

"The Producer of legend of nezha!"

"Xie Xiangxiang, he saw your letter!"

"Why is he so young? He doesn't look like the type."

They chattered away, and some of the more timid ones hid behind Li Xinran.

Li Xinran realized at that moment that the person in front of him really seemed to be Ye Bai.

He had seen Ye Bai's videos and photos online.

He suddenly felt awkward. "Oh, I see. Please, please, come sit down."

He instructed a few older students to bring out stools, while he quickly said, "Please sit for a moment. I'll go make you some tea."

He rushed to his dorm, grabbed plastic cups, tea leaves, and a thermos, and came back out.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't know you were coming, so I didn't prepare anything," he said, quickly and efficiently pouring them tea.

Ye Bai replied, "It's fine. We decided to come spontaneously. Sorry for the intrusion."

"It's nothing," Li Xinran said. "May I ask what brings you here?"

He couldn't understand why a famous Producer like Ye Bai would travel all the way to this mountain region for no reason.

Just to see Xie Xiangxiang?

Ye Bai sat down and accepted the tea. "Well, I was very touched by Xie Xiangxiang's letter, so I brought some gifts to give to the children in the mountains."

"That... that's too kind of you," Li Xinran said, chatting with him.

It was only at this moment that Duan Xingye realized the group he brought was extraordinary.

If this person really was Ye Bai, then was that other person truly King Huiwen of Qin from great qin empire?

Heavens!

A huge star!

He quickly helped serve tea and water. "So you're Ye Bai! I'm truly uncultured; I only just realized it now."

He felt some regret now. If he had known earlier, he would have told Li Xiuchun to kill an extra chicken to treat them this morning.

Ye Bai and Li Xinran were talking, while Raphael was watching the children.

The clothes they wore, their appearance, and the severely worn or hole-ridden shoes on their feet—

All of this made Raphael frown.

He looked at one of the boys and asked, "What is your name?"

The boy subconsciously glanced at Teacher Li first, and seeing that Teacher Li was busy, he could only reply, "My name is Zhou Bowen."

"How old are you?"

"Eleven."

"Have you... always lived here?"

"Yes."

"What do you usually like to play?"

When asked about playing, Zhou Bowen subconsciously glanced at Teacher Li again, but felt too embarrassed to answer.

Seeing this, Raphael took a box of chocolates out of his backpack. "Here."

Zhou Bowen waved his hands repeatedly. "Thank you, Brother, but I can't take it."

"Why not?"

"Teacher Li said we shouldn't casually take food from strangers."

"Haha, we are Teacher Li's friends, so we aren't strangers," Raphael said.

Zhou Bowen thought about it and realized it made sense, but then he said, "I can't accept something so expensive."

"Expensive?"

"I know, it's called chocolate. Teacher Li bought it for us before, and it costs dozens of yuan."

Hearing his words, Raphael suddenly felt a stinging sensation in his nose. He couldn't quite describe the feeling.

His tone unconsciously softened. "It's not expensive, it only costs a few yuan."

He was lying. In reality, this box of chocolates cost two thousand, and he had simply grabbed it casually from the plane.

He was just afraid he might get bored and want a snack in the mountains.