Xia Qingqing wasn't stingy; if someone came to borrow her books, she would lend out the old set she had found at the scrap yard.
With so many people borrowing the books, there weren't enough to go around.
Fortunately, most people are very conscientious. After borrowing the book, they copy it overnight and then exchange it with others for another copy.
This news quickly reached the Xia family's old residence.
Xia Hecai's eldest son, Xia Jiashun, is 21 years old this year. He has also graduated from junior high school and is preparing to take the college entrance examination this year as well.
Compared to Xia Qingqing, this eldest grandson is the apple of Xia's parents' eye.
They treated her like a precious gem, afraid of breaking her if they held her in their hands or melting her if they kept her in their mouths.
When they were children, before the family split up, this older cousin often bullied Xia Qingqing.
The child was actually very good at reading people's expressions. He knew that his grandparents didn't like Xia Qingqing, so he bullied her without any restraint.
Zhang Hongyan and her husband were busy working in the fields during the day, so Xia Qingqing didn't dare tell her parents that she had been bullied, and she only said that she had fallen and hurt herself.
Therefore, Zhang Hongyan was unaware that her daughter had been bullied.
On one occasion, after Xia Jiashun pushed Xia Qingqing down, Zhang Hongyan happened to witness it and immediately gave Xia Jiashun a severe beating.
Xia Jiashun's buttocks were so swollen that he couldn't walk.
Zhang Hongyan was severely scolded by Grandma Xia and Uncle Xia for this incident, who said she was shameless and that she was bullying a child despite being an adult.
Seeing her beloved grandson looking so pitiful, Old Mrs. Xia started arguing and demanding that her second son divorce his daughter-in-law.
Fortunately, Xia Heping was filial, but not blindly so.
For Xia Heping, his parents are his family, but his wife and daughter are equally important.
However, this also made Old Mrs. Xia increasingly dislike the second wife's family of three.
Back to Xia Jiashun, he heard that Xia Qingqing had some review materials, but he was too embarrassed to borrow them himself, so he told his family about it.
When Grandma Xia heard that her second son had some study materials that his grandson could use for review, she immediately approached Xia Heping.
"Mom, what brings you here?" Xia Heping and Zhang Hongyan saw Old Mrs. Xia waiting at the door after they finished work.
Grandma Xia looked at Zhang Hongyan with disgust, and Zhang Hongyan, realizing she had made a fool of herself, went home alone.
After seeing the annoying person leave, Old Mrs. Xia snorted heavily at her second son: "I gave birth to a good son. If I don't come to see you, are you not planning to come to see me even after I die?"
These words were a blatant accusation that Xia Heping was unfilial, and Xia Heping quickly denied it: "How could that be? Mother, how could you think of your son like that?"
It wasn't that he didn't want to visit his parents at the old house; it was that he knew his parents didn't like him, so he tried to avoid bothering them. How did it become his fault in his mother's eyes now?
Grandma Xia waved her hand and said with a stern face, "Let's not talk about these useless things. I heard that Qingqing has a set of college entrance exam review materials, right? Send them to the old house later."
Xia Heping was taken aback, only then realizing the purpose of his mother's visit.
But the information belongs to Qingqing, and without Qingqing's permission, how could he directly agree?
When these words reached Old Lady Xia's ears, she realized that he didn't want to give the information to her eldest grandson, and she was immediately furious.
She glared at Xia Heping and cursed, "Xia Heping, you little brat, do you even respect me as your mother? You think my word has no effect whatsoever?"
"Mother, it's not like that. Please wait for me to go home and discuss it with Qingqing," Xia Heping said anxiously, trying to explain clearly.
Grandma Xia spat fiercely: "What's the point of a little girl reading books? She's letting her heart run wild. She should hurry up and find someone to marry."
In her opinion, it was a shameful thing for a girl to be so old and still not married, since her eldest child had already been born when she was that age.
However, Old Mrs. Xia never intended to interfere with Xia Qingqing's marriage, fearing that Zhang Hongyan would go mad and attack her with a knife.
Xia Heping felt unhappy when he heard his mother say such things about his daughter. What was wrong with his daughter? Why couldn't she go to school? His Qingqing always got first place in her exams; none of the boys could beat her.
"Mom, I'll talk to Qingqing about the information when I get home. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."
After saying that, Xia Heping ignored the old lady's scolding behind his back and turned to leave.
Back home, Zhang Hongyan shook her head inwardly at his dejected look. She knew that Xia Heping actually cared a lot about Old Lady Xia, but with older siblings and younger siblings, he was always the one being ignored at home.
A man with this kind of personality, if he meets a woman with a gentle nature, will probably always be treated like a workhorse at home.
Zhang Hongyan coughed lightly, breaking the silence: "What did your mother say to you?"
"She said Jia Shun also wanted to borrow Qing Qing's review materials and asked me to deliver them to her," Xia Heping embellished Xia's words, as borrowing and asking are completely different concepts.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Hongyan decided not to get involved. The information belonged to Qingqing, and whether or not she wanted to lend it was up to Qingqing to decide.
Xia Qingqing was studying in her room when she heard a knock on the door and quickly got up to open it.
Seeing Xia Heping standing outside the door without saying a word, he asked with some confusion, "Dad, is there something you need to talk to me about? Come in and let's talk."
Xia Heping was pulled to sit on the bed by his daughter and said somewhat awkwardly, "Well, your cousin also wants to take the college entrance examination, and he heard that you have some materials here, so he wanted to borrow them."
"Dad, you mean Xia Jiashun?" Xia Qingqing asked with some surprise.
Is this guy going to take the college entrance exam too? He's really confident. With his grades, he'll just be a runner-up.
Xia Heping nodded: "Yes, do you have any extra books here? Can you lend him one or two?"
Before the family divided their property, Xia Heping doted on his eldest nephew, Xia Jiashun. His mother often said that since he had no son, he would have to rely on this eldest nephew. At first, she might not have felt anything, but after hearing it many times, she was touched.
It wasn't for his own sake; he was worried that if Qingqing really was his only daughter, she wouldn't have any brothers to take care of her after she got married. Having a cousin willing to support her would give her some confidence.
Later, when I discovered that Jia Shun was bullying Qing Qing behind people's backs at such a young age, this thought faded.
Xia Qingqing's impression of this cousin was that he was a little tyrant who had been pampered by his grandparents since he was a child. He wasn't good at studying, but he was very good at showing off.
She initially wanted to refuse directly, but considering Xia Heping's feelings, she found a more tactful excuse:
"Dad, the documents have all been loaned out. Let's wait until they're returned before we talk about it."
Hearing this, Xia Heping nodded understandingly: "Okay, then you continue studying. Dad won't bother you anymore."
Xia Heping got up and walked to the door, then suddenly turned back and said, "Qingqing, it's okay if you don't want to lend it to me, don't worry about me."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com