Long Lasting Dreams Chapter 3

For Ethan Jiang, going to the city twice a week was a big deal. Hannah Tan still got up early, found some good clothes for the New Year for him to wear, and picked out a fine cashmere coat for herself, then carefully applied powder and drew eyebrows in front of the dressing mirror.

"Go comb your hair and get some water." Hannah Tan instructed Ethan Jiang while applying lipstick, "Clean up."

Ethan Jiang looked in the mirror and tried to deal with the few strands of hair that had stood up from sleeping. It took him a long time to finally get them down.

Hannah Tan came in to get the scarf: "Wear those new sneakers."

Ethan Jiang said "Oh" and sat on a small stool to tie his shoelaces.

Hannah Tan squatted down. Her cashmere coat was too long, so she had to roll it up to her knees. "Your feet are growing so fast." Her mother sighed, "There are not enough shoes and clothes to buy."

Ethan Jiang thought naively: "Just make it bigger."

Hannah Tan didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Nowadays, there is no one who can modify old clothes. My family is not well off, but we can't afford to lose face."

Ethan Jiang obviously couldn't connect the words "adapting old clothes to wear" and "shameful". He was naive and igNora Miaont enough for his age, and didn't think much, nor was he a bad person.

The pheasants in the yard also woke up. Hannah Tan didn't close the fence, so the chickens came out on their own to take a walk and poop. When they saw Ethan Jiang, they "clucked" twice.

"Tony." Max followed the trend and had to give the chicken a foreign name, so Ethan Jiang obediently called out, "We're going out."

Tony shook his neck. Hannah Tan was already calling him from outside the yard, so Ethan Jiang hurried out.

"Are you stupid?" Hannah Tan laughed, "You're talking to a chicken."

Hannah Tan has taken the bus to the city so many times that she knows all the drivers. Today, she was quite surprised to see her: "Delivering food?"

Hannah Tan: "Go buy some things." She pushed her son and said, "Go sit in the back."

The driver closed the car door and said, "It's too early. Take a nap on the way. I'll call you when we get there."

Hannah Tan happily agreed, sat down next to Ethan Jiang, and let her son lean against her: "Are you sleepy?"

Ethan Jiang was a little excited: "I'm not sleepy, what are we going to do?"

Hannah Tan touched his head and said, "You will start school in September. I will take you to see the new school."

Ethan Jiang: "Are Max and I together?"

"Yes." Hannah Tan took his hand, "But Chen Maoxiu and the others are in the junior high school department, and you and Lily are in the Sam Shue class."

Ethan Jiang was very happy: "Then I can go to and from school with Qing Lingzi."

Hannah Tan tapped his forehead and said, "You have to call people by their names when you are outside, even Gou Mao. It's so unpleasant to call them by their names in school."

Ethan Jiang was very obedient no matter what his mother said. He leaned on Hannah Tan's shoulder quietly for a while, then he couldn't help but look outside through the car window. Hannah Tan took a nap and more than an hour passed. When they arrived at the station, the driver turned around and called them, and the two of them got off the car in a hurry.

Hannah Tan went to the mall first, and when she came out she had two packs of cigarettes in her hand. Her mother packed the cigarette boxes carefully and stuffed them into the shopping bag, and her expression seemed to be relieved.

The school that Ethan Jiang was going to attend was not particularly good in the city, but the elementary school, junior high school and high school were all together, which was very convenient for students who wanted to study consecutively. The Jiang family also saw this point and the tuition was not expensive, so they asked the mayor to help a transfer student.

But even though she helped and the school accepted him, Hannah Tan still felt that she had to go to the school to say hello. She has always been a woman with her own ideas. Although she was sometimes reluctant to spend money, she would not mistreat her family or personal relationships.

"I'm going to the principal's office." Hannah Tan bent down and adjusted Ethan Jiang's coat collar. "You want to play by yourself?"

The campus was relatively safe, and Ethan Jiang was not afraid to walk around, but he was thinking about something else: "Aren't you going to buy candy today?"

Hannah Tan made a "disdainful" expression: "Didn't I eat it yesterday? I told you before that you can only eat it once a week."

Ethan Jiang said "oh" dejectedly.

Hannah Tan was not soft-hearted. She gave a few more instructions before going to the office building with the cigarette.

Although they are all in the Sam Shue campus, they have different names. The primary school is called the Municipal Experimental School, and the junior and senior high schools are called the Municipal No. 6 Middle School. Ethan Jiang didn't have the courage to visit the higher grades, so he just hung around in the lower grades.

There were no classes on the weekends, and the school workers and teachers on duty didn't care about him. Ethan Jiang randomly found a few classrooms and checked them out like a puppy patrolling its territory. He sat down in the front row and lay down in the back row. He felt very happy.

Hannah Tan delivered all the things in a short while and searched for her son for a long time in the huge campus. Finally, she had to use the school's radio loudspeaker to call Ethan Jiang out.

"I can play without anyone in school." Hannah Tan was so angry that she laughed, "Are you so happy?"

Ethan Jiang smiled and said, "I'm happy."

Hannah Tan poured cold water on him: "I'll see you'll be happy if you really go to school."

It was not too late when the mother and son came out of school. Hannah Tan took Ethan Jiang straight to the Cultural Palace. Teacher Emma had already arrived at the dance studio. She took off her down jacket and asked in surprise, "You guys are here?"

Hannah Tan was much more polite to Teacher Emma: "I'm here, Teacher Emma looks really good today."

Teacher Emma smiled, said "You're welcome", and waved her hand for Ethan Jiang to come over.

"Have you bought your dancing shoes?" asked Teacher Emma.

Hannah Tan was a little embarrassed: "It's too late..."

Teacher Emma didn't say anything, and went to the dressing room to get a pair of spare dance shoes: "Here I have a pair for older girls, would you like to try them on?"

Ethan Jiang quickly took off his shoes and prepared to put them on.

Teacher Emma took out a pair of ballet shoes. The size was okay, but Ethan Jiang didn’t know how to tie the straps. He sat on the ground, cross-legged, and tied them for a long time, sweating.

Teacher Emma bent down and said, "Don't worry, I'll tie it for you."

Boys' ankles are much thicker than girls', and the straps are a bit short, so Teacher Emma wrapped them around his ankles a few fewer times. Because it was cold, Ethan Jiang's woolen trousers were still on, and they were rolled up to his calves along with the trouser legs.

When Ethan Jiang stood up, he looked a little funny. To others, he looked like a duck with shaved legs. Hannah Tan watched from the door and couldn't help but lower her head and laugh.

Ethan Jiang didn't notice it. He looked very serious and stood straight in front of the mirror.

Teacher Emma said: "Let's warm up first, bend down, stretch your legs, and don't force yourself. Just do as much as you can."

She bent down in front of the mirror, and Ethan Jiang imitated her movements. Teacher Emma stood up, walked around behind him, and put her hand on his back: "Go down slowly..."

Ethan Jiang put his palms on the floor, and Teacher Emma was very satisfied: "Stand up."

Ethan Jiang straightened his back.

"Do it the other way around a few times." Teacher Emma held his lower back and said, "Take your time."

Ethan Jiang couldn't help but ask: "What is this for?"

Teacher Emma: "This is called bending down."

Ethan Jiang tilted his head up to the sky with his hands supporting his head. He felt his clothes being stretched open, revealing his belly.

"Don't relax." Teacher Emma used some strength, "Push your waist upwards."

Ethan Jiang held his breath and tried hard, but he felt embarrassed and his face turned red.

Teacher Emma saw it and said with a smile: "Don't be shy, you won't be like this next time you change into your dance costumes."

Ethan Jiang was speechless. After he finished bending down, Teacher Emma then taught him how to stretch his muscles and legs. When he was finally doing the splits, Ethan Jiang didn't expect that he could do it so easily.

"Very good." Teacher Emma praised him, "Practice every day when you go back."

Ethan Jiang nodded. He felt a little uncomfortable when he stood up. His pants were too tight. He didn't notice it when he was doing the splits in one go. Only when he stood up did he realize that the previous action was very tight on his crotch.

Hannah Tan watched her son covering his lower body with one hand and awkwardly changing his shoes with the other hand, and finally she couldn't hold back her laughter.

Ethan Jiang: ...

Teacher Emma kindly comforted him: "It's normal for boys. Change to a looser pair of pants next time."

Hannah Tan helped Ethan Jiang take off his shoes. When she was about to return them, Teacher Emma pushed them back: "Give him these shoes. You can change the straps later and wear them for a while."

Hannah Tan knew that she was kind-hearted, so she accepted it and said in a low voice, "Little boys of this age grow too fast. They have to keep changing the shoes they wear..."

Chaori went out and Mu Shen came home. When Hannah Tan woke Ethan Jiang up, the boy was rubbing his eyes sleepily. He was still holding the ballet shoes in his hand when he fell asleep, and now it seems that the soles of the shoes are a little deformed.

Hannah Tan held his hand and asked, "Does your leg hurt?"

Ethan Jiang yawned: "It doesn't hurt."

Hannah Tan: "We're already home, why should we endure it? If it hurts, just tell me."

Ethan Jiang thought about it and said honestly: "There is still a little bit..."

Hannah Tan laughed at her son twice.

When they returned, Lucas Jiang had already cooked the meal. Tony was flying around in the yard with a proud look on his face. When he saw Ethan Jiang and Hannah Tan, he spread his wings and flapped them a few times.

Hannah Tan went into the house to get chicken feed to feed the chickens. Lucas Jiang glanced at the ballet shoes in his son's hand and said nothing.

The family sat together and had dinner. When they were clearing the dishes, Max came to call Ethan Jiang to go bird hunting. Lucas Jiang waved his hand and said, "Go and play."

Ethan Jiang left with Max.

Hannah Tan washed the dishes, took out needle and thread from the house, moved a stool and sat at the gate of the yard. Lucas Jiang brought a charcoal basin and placed it at her feet.

The two chatted for a while, and Lucas Jiang fiddled with the charcoal fire and asked, "Have you paid the tuition?"

"Yes." Hannah Tan scratched her hair with needle and thread. She found some new ribbons, removed the old ones from her ballet shoes, and sewed them on slowly. "How much money do we have left?"

Lucas Jiang watched her sew shoes and said, "Don't worry about the money. I will work hard every day and I will have a good harvest in September this year."

Hannah Tan sighed, lowered her head, and sewed the shoes skillfully, but her tone was not relaxed: "We could have bought a rice transplanter... You will be tired again in April and May this year. Can your waist bear it?"

Lucas Jiang: "What can't a grown man like me bear?"

Hannah Tan glared at him and said, "You, your son is just like you. He never tells me about the hardships, tiredness, and pain he's suffered."

Lucas Jiang smiled but didn't say anything. He asked, "How is our son's dancing?"

Hannah Tan smiled and said, "We haven't started learning yet. Today we've practiced bending back, stretching, splits? Oh, it hurts just looking at it." After a pause, she said, "But Shenzi likes it."

Lucas Jiang's expression became complicated again, and after a while he slowly said: "Tell me, why does our son suddenly like dancing? He is not a little girl..."

Hannah Tan rolled her eyes: "What era is it now? What's wrong with her not being a little girl? Maybe there will be a dancer in our family in the future."

Lucas Jiang smiled as he listened to his own *blocked keywords* talking in his sleep, and reached out to fiddle with the charcoal fire, causing bright red stars to fly up.

It seems to warm up this cold night in early spring.