My heart ached even more, but I said, "What's the big deal? He has too many concerns. My classmates won't look down on me just because of this." In fact, it is really like this in schools nowadays. Students compete with each other. Those whose fathers are rich or officials can immediately stand out and be arrogant among classmates; while those whose fathers are ordinary people or whose family conditions are worrying cannot hold their heads up in front of other classmates. This situation is even worse in school, because everyone is young and does not know how to restrain their words and deeds. Everything is naked, which is even crueler than society.
My mother asked me again: "It's winter vacation now, how did you do in the exam?"
I had already thought of how to answer, so I said, "I had diarrhea during the exam, so I didn't take it. The head teacher said that I can just retake the exam after school starts. Don't worry, Mom. With my current level, there is absolutely no problem for me to get into the top three in the class." I wasn't exaggerating when I said this. In that class at Beiqi High School, it was very easy to get into the top three. If I were in City High School, I wouldn't have such confidence.
The mother smiled like a flower: "I knew you had talent. You are gold and will shine no matter which school you go to."
Seeing my mother's happy face, I felt ashamed and quickly changed the subject: "When will Dad be back?"
"It's almost the end of the year." Mother said, "It's winter now, the construction site has stopped working, and he is responsible for looking after the factory."
After we finished sweeping the area my mother was in charge of, it was already dark, and my mother and I carried our tools home. When we got home, my mother didn't even take a break, but started to cook for me. Soon she brought me a bowl of steaming noodle soup with two poached eggs at the bottom of the bowl. On the other hand, my mother ate steamed buns with pickles, and said with a smile: "I'm used to eating this!"
I snatched the bowl from my mother, put the noodle soup in front of her, turned around and started to eat it voraciously. "What are you doing, kid..." My mother wanted to change the bowl back, but I naturally refused. I finished the steamed bun in a few bites, turned around and said, "I'm full, mom, you eat quickly." Then I turned on the TV and started watching. My mother had no choice but to eat the noodle soup.
I looked at the small color TV that was more than a decade old, the slightly yellowed wardrobe due to its age, and the dining table that could only hold four dishes at most... It was very cold at home. It was winter now, and we could only rely on burning coal balls to keep warm. There was a stove in the middle of the living room. I went over and opened the lid to see that a coal ball inside was dying. I calmly picked up the fire tongs and added a coal ball. In fact, I also knew that no matter how strong the stove burned, this home would always be cold, because the walls around were full of wind and the heat could not be gathered at all. Of course, the house I built myself was not as warm as the building.
I opened the damper of the stove to let the coals burn faster. My mother saw it and said, "It will burn faster this way!"
I turned my back to my mother and tried very hard not to cry. I had to hold it in. Without my father, I was the mainstay of the family. "Mom, take out the 50,000 yuan that Dad won last time and buy an apartment to live in."
"No, no." My mother rejected my idea immediately. "That's for your college education."
"It doesn't cost much for me to go to college. Besides, I can work part-time to earn money for my studies. It's very popular in colleges now."
"You still need to get married." Mother said, "Don't be like the kid from Zhang's family. He's over 30 and still hasn't found a wife. Isn't it because he has no money?"
I said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "How old am I? I'm only in the first year of high school, and it will take three years for me to enter college. It will take another four years in college, and then a few years of work. That means almost ten years have passed. You're too anxious. Besides, it's not like we're not making money. Maybe I can make a lot of money in the future!"
"It's called taking precautions." Mother said, "Anyway, the 50,000 yuan cannot be touched. It's our family's savings."
I knew I couldn't win the argument with my mother. Her generation had been poor all their lives, and they didn't dare to have any extravagant dreams. They lived a down-to-earth life step by step. I felt my pocket and found that there was still 8,000 yuan in it. I had to find a way to give it to my mother so that she could reduce some of the burden.
Bad Youth
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