Chapter 86 Sun Hai

The Sun family and the Gu family live next door to each other, separated by a mud wall.

Now there is a hole in the earthen wall, and the child next door is still sobbing.

Gu Jiayue knew that there were no adults next door either, because Grandma Gu and Aunt Cai were responsible for leading the women in the family to cook for the hundreds of people working.

Considering that there were many people eating and the number of women in the family combined was not enough, Aunt Cai suggested that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law from the neighboring Sun family come to help.

During this period, Aunt Cai lived next door and got along well with the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Sun family. She also understood the difficulties of her family and wanted to help if she could.

Grandma Gu had no objection. They had lived next to the Sun family for decades, and the two families helped each other. However, after the Sun family's husband passed away, the two families moved further apart to avoid suspicion.

But she also often went to talk to Grandma Sun.

Anyway, you have to give money to everyone you ask for help, so you might as well give it to someone you have a good relationship with. Although Grandma Sun's eyesight is not very good, she is still capable of doing things like picking vegetables. Not to mention Sun's daughter-in-law, she is good at both housework and farm work.

So in the morning, Grandma Gu took the Sun family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law away. At this time, the Sun family only had a frail sister and a young brother.

"Xiao Hai, are you okay?"

When Gu Jiayue pushed open the gate of the Sun family's courtyard, she saw Sun Hai slumped on the ground wiping his tears.

She hurried forward and looked Sun Hai up and down. Apart from a bump on his forehead, there were no other obvious bleeding spots.

Gu Jiayue breathed a sigh of relief, but she didn't dare move or help Sun Hai up. Instead, she leaned her body closer to him, holding him in her arms and comforting him softly. "It's okay, it's okay. Xiao Hai, tell me if there's any pain anywhere on your body?"

She patted Sun Hai's back slowly and gently, slowly calming Xiao Hai's emotions.

Although Sun Hai was only five years old, he had lost his father at a young age and had understood many truths early on.

You cannot demand things and kindness that do not belong to you.

He struggled slightly to break free from Gu Jiayue's arms.

It’s not that he doesn’t like Gu Jiayue. On the contrary, he really wants to be close to her, but he is afraid that the dirt on his body will dirty the clothes of the sister next door.

His family is very poor and cannot afford to pay the compensation.

Gu Jiayue was afraid that something was wrong with him, so she didn't dare to use force. She let him go as soon as he struggled.

It was so funny to see Xiaohai's tears and nose mixed together because of crying.

She did not despise him, but took out a handkerchief and first wiped his tears and then wiped his nose.

But Xiao Hai was even more frightened and quickly shook his head. "No, no, I can handle it myself." He wiped his nose with his sleeve, and the snot was on his sleeve.

Then he remembered that this would disgust the sister next door, so he quickly hid his hands behind his back. His thin cheeks flushed, "I...I'm fine, Sister Jiayue, don't worry about me."

Gu Jiayue narrowed her eyes slightly. Although she felt a little uncomfortable about blowing her nose with her sleeve, she did not say anything to blame him.

When I first went to teach, the children in the village were all like this, or even worse. Many of them wore clothes that were patinated and didn't wash them. Their heads were covered with fleas, their faces were black and yellow, and there were old scabies behind their ears and on their necks.

Most children have runny noses all year round, and they have to suck them from time to time. If they can't suck them in anymore, they wipe them with their sleeves.

At first she couldn't accept it and started to vomit physically when she saw such a scene.

But after a while, she found that it was not that these children did not like cleanliness, but that no one taught them this and there were no conditions for it.

They are basically left-behind children whose parents are either divorced or working away from home, and they basically live with their elderly grandparents.

It’s good enough for grandparents to provide them with food to eat and a place to live. How can they have the time to care about these things?

Gu Jiayue saw it all and kept it in mind. She thought that although she didn't have the ability to make the villagers rich, she had the ability to change the living habits of these children.

So she spent a lot of time teaching these children how to wash clothes, making them wash their hair and take a bath on a regular basis, bought a lot of toilet paper and put it in the classroom for them to carry with them, and not to wipe their noses with their sleeves.

Gradually, the children became clean.

Therefore, Gu Jiayue accepted Xiao Hai's behavior well.

"I'm glad you're okay. Then try to stand up."

Seeing that Gu Jiayue didn't criticize his rudeness, Xiao Hai's red face eased a little. His butt still hurt, but he knew the powerful sister next door was concerned about him. Although he was young, he wasn't ungrateful. So, he endured the pain in his butt and slowly climbed to his feet, taking two steps.

Gu Jiayue's heart finally relaxed. "Looks like everything's fine. Don't try to climb the wall like that anymore, okay?"

Although the wall between the Gu and Sun families wasn't very high, it was still nearly two meters high. If a child this young fell from it, they would be crippled if they were unlucky.

Xiao Hai lowered his head and muttered softly, "I'm not being naughty."

But Gu Jiayue had sharp ears and eyes, and even though Xiaohai's voice was very soft, she still heard it. "Huh? Not naughty? Then why did Xiaohai climb the wall? Is there something wrong? Can I help you?"

She never looks down on children.

In the eyes of many adults, whatever children do is for fun.

In fact, it is not true. Especially for children from poor families, they are generally precocious due to special family reasons, and many of them are contributing to their families at a young age.

So when Xiao Hai said he wasn't climbing the wall just to be naughty, she believed him.

Xiao Hai lowered his head, rubbed the hem of his clothes nervously with his hands, but did not speak.

Gu Jiayue didn't rush him. "Okay, it's okay if Xiaohai doesn't want to talk. Just tell me if you need my help in the future, okay?" She rubbed Xiaohai's withered head and stood up to leave.

"Sister Jiayue." Xiao Hai instinctively grabbed Gu Jiayue's hand, then let go.

There was a voice in his heart telling him that he could take this opportunity to say what he wanted to say, otherwise if he missed this opportunity, he would miss it.

But he remembered his mother's words again. "Xiao Hai, don't ask for things that don't belong to you. Our family doesn't deserve them."

Yes, my mother is already very tired as she has to support the family as both a father and a mother. How could he be so selfish as to say that he wants to study?

"Sister Jiayue, take care." His eyes became even duller. It was unexpected that a five-year-old child showed such despair.

He lowered his head, and Gu Jiayue couldn't see the expression in his eyes.

But she is an experienced teacher who has worked with children of all ages. She knew Xiao Hai had something to tell her, but for some reason he didn't say it out loud.

Maybe... it's Xiaohai's little trouble?

"Okay, you can come and play with me when you are free. I am usually at home all the time." Since the child doesn't want to say it, forget it. He will say it when he can't hold it back anymore.

Gu Jiayue took a few steps forward, but Sun Rou, who had been standing silently at the main hall door, quickly called out to her. "Sister Jiayue. Ahem... "

Sun Rou is Sun Hai's older sister, thirteen years old. She's been bedridden for years due to poor health, and her skin is abnormally pale.

"Xiao Rou, why did you come out? Are you worried about your brother? I just checked and he's fine, except for a bump on his forehead. I can boil an egg for him later."

After nearly a month in Taohua Village, Gu Jiayue had only met Sun Rou three times. Each time, she'd come out to bask in the sun when the weather was fine and calm. The two of them hadn't exchanged much, just greeting each other from afar.

Sun Rou stopped coughing and smiled softly at Gu Jiayue. "Thank you, Sister Jiayue. Can I talk to you for a few words?"