Chapter 144
It's not that the cameraman didn't want to take pictures of her. In fact, both the reporter and the cameraman wanted to show a harmonious family, an open-minded father, a hardworking and kind mother, and eventually raised three smart children, two of whom were admitted to university, and one was admitted to Beijing University in advance.
This kind of plot and picture is what reporter Wu wants to shoot and present to the audience.
But except when they first arrived at Jiang's house, everyone shouted, "Big guy, reporters are here to interview your family!" ', Jiang's father was at the village chief's house, Jiang's mother walked out of Jiang's uncle's house in a daze, and when she saw Jiang Ning standing in the center of the crowd, surrounded by people, she suddenly fell silent. When the reporter came to interview her, she only said a few words in the Shuibu Town dialect that reporter Wu couldn't understand. The people around her translated for her in Shuibu Town Mandarin, and said with a smile: "She said she's happy! Happy!"
Jiang Ma finally reacted and called out to them, "Quick, quick, come in and have some tea."
Afterwards, she made tea for Principal Sun, reporter Wu and others, put snacks such as rice candy, peanuts, melon seeds, and sesame cakes into a plastic fruit plate, brought it over for everyone to eat, and then stood there awkwardly.
The cameramen were indeed hungry, and it was not convenient to film these things, so they put down the camera and ate something to fill their stomachs. During this time, reporter Wu wanted to interview Jiang Ma. Jiang Ma was just like thousands of other rural women at this time. Facing the camera and the reporter's interview, she felt awkward and uneasy. She waved her hands and said, "I, I, I... I can't speak."
Later, I simply hid in the kitchen and soon waited for Jiang's father to come back.
Next was Jiang's dad's personal stage. Facing the camera, Jiang's dad was not at all awkward, but performed even better. Basically, whatever material reporter Wu and his team wanted, Jiang's dad could provide. In the various "stories" about Jiang Ning's childhood told by Jiang's dad, Jiang's mom had no role at all. If you asked her to talk about Jiang Song, she could talk nonstop for a whole day and praise him for three days and three nights without stopping. But if you asked her to praise Jiang Ning, she really had nothing to say.
In her heart, her daughter always belongs to someone else's family and will marry into someone else's family one day. For example, she herself married from Shanjian Township to Shuibu Town, which was separated by more than ten miles of mountain roads. Throughout the year, she could only go back home for one or two days on the second day of the Chinese New Year. Throughout the year, her mother only came to the Jiang family for a week before her death, slept in the same bed with Jiang Ning, and died at night, in Jiang Ning's bed.
Apart from those few days, how many days had she and her two younger sisters taken care of her parents over all those years? Aren’t they taken care of by my brother, sister-in-law, and my younger brother and sister-in-law?
It was only when she came to Jiangjia Village that she realized that many sick elderly people in the village were mostly taken care of by their daughters, who would take care of them, change their toilets, give them massages, bathe them and clean up. She thought that if she gave birth to a daughter, she would have her work done when she was young, and when she grew up and got married, she would get a dowry, and her daughter would also be able to take care of her when she was old.
In her heart, since she had already given birth to a son as the first child, the second child could be either a boy or a girl. If the second child was a boy, her position would be more stable and she would be able to stand taller in the Jiang family. If the second child was a daughter, it would be exactly what she wanted. Similarly, it would be fine if the third child was a boy or a girl. Two sons and one daughter would ensure her retirement, and two daughters and one son would mean two daughters to share the housework with her, and she would be able to have an easier time in the future.
It was also because of this idea that during Jiang Ning's growth process, the affection and energy she invested in Jiang Ning were really limited. Even when reporter Wu interviewed her, she didn't know what to say.
Now there are no pigs or chickens at home, and the children are not at home for the New Year. If she doesn't want to cook at noon, she can go to Uncle Jiang's mother's house for a meal. She wanted to show her hardworking and enduring side, but there was no way to do so. There was really no room for her to perform, so much so that when the TV interview program was broadcast, she became a background board with only a few backs and unclear faces.
In the middle, reporter Wu and Principal Sun invited her to go on stage to take a group photo and present the bonus. She said she would not go up no matter what. The persuasion in the middle was not shown at all. Instead, the scene shown was Principal Sun presenting the bonus to Jiang Ning, and a group photo of several people on the dilapidated high platform with potholes due to erosion by wind and rain, with a low, gray eaves behind them.
Brightness and oldness form a sharp contrast on the platform.
Jiang's mother noticed that she listened carefully twice when Jiang Ning thanked someone, and she was not among the people thanked both times.
She even thanked her father for insisting on sending her to school, thanked Grandpa Jiang for using his salary as a forest ranger to support her studies over the years, and thanked the unknown teachers, but no one mentioned her.
The audience also ignored the character of Jiang Ma in her list of thanks, as if such a person did not exist in her life.
The audience at that time and the netizens of later generations, when an interview came out, they were like everyone trying to find fault, picking at the words bit by bit, picking out the words, and repeatedly pondering, digging deep, and picking at this point.
After watching the show, today's audiences will only sigh: "This family has produced a literary star!"
"This little girl is incredible! Incredible!"
Then many, many families began to think about letting their girls read more.
Since the nine-year compulsory education began in the 1980s, although there were still many problems with high tuition fees for primary and junior high schools in the early days, in recent years, this phenomenon has become less and less common. Sometimes a semester, including the cost of textbooks, is less than ten yuan, and it only takes a year to graduate from junior high school. It costs a little more, but if you can get a scholarship like the little girl on TV, then you’ll be rich!
Look at what that girl earns, she doesn’t have to pay for her studies and she still earns money.
Didn’t you hear the principal of that middle school say that their school has other scholarships, and that little girl gets the scholarship every year?
In fact, Jiang's mother coveted the scholarship in Jiang Ning's hands and wanted to keep it for herself. After all, it was not just a few cents, but a full five thousand yuan.
But right there on the podium where the prizes were awarded, in full view of everyone, with everyone witnessing, Jiang Ning handed over the entire 5,000 yuan in her red envelope to Grandpa Jiang with both hands, thanking him for bringing her up over the years, thanking him for sticking with her all the time, not looking down on her just because she was a girl, and still giving her all his love. It was because of the enough love from her grandfather in her childhood that she had enough strength and energy to carry her on for the rest of her life. She also thanked Grandpa for letting her go to school, paying for her education, and telling her the importance of reading and the principles of being a human being.
Speaking of the latter part, Jiang Ning thought about the days when she was alone in her previous life after her grandfather passed away. She choked up and was unable to speak for several times.
Grandpa Jiang burst into tears after listening to the speech, and the people watching around him also shed tears silently. The audience in front of the TV also shed enough tears.
Everyone praised the girl for being filial and loyal, but only Jiang's mother noticed that, apart from occasionally mentioning Jiang's father, she never mentioned her at all.
After that, each family gave red envelopes with gift money. The gift money they gave this time was much more than the two or three yuan they gave last year when Jiang Bai was admitted to university. The amount ranged from eight yuan to fifteen or twenty yuan. The brigade also gave red envelopes with one hundred yuan.
Uncle Jiang also smiled and gave Jiang Ning a red envelope of 100 yuan. He handed his little granddaughter to Jiang Ning and said with a smile: "Let your aunt hold her. In the future, she will go to college and become a high-ranking official just like your aunt!"
Jiang Ning brought the little glutinous rice dumpling over, kissed her, held her soft little hand and said, "When you grow up, Nannan, you will also be admitted to Beijing. Auntie will take you to climb the Great Wall and watch the flag-raising ceremony in front of the □□."
In the eyes of the villagers, her words now carry power, as if their words come true. Children who have been held and blessed by Wenquxing are extraordinary and will definitely go to college in the future.
Uncle Jiang, who didn't have a grandson yet, felt no reluctance to give Jiang Ning a red envelope of 100 yuan after she finished her blessings. He picked up his granddaughter and kissed the baby's face again and again, hoping that she would grow up and become a college student.
All the red envelopes sent by the villagers were given to Jiang Ning by Jiang's father, which made Jiang's mother, who was already in a bad mood, feel even more aggrieved.
In her opinion, Jiang Ning already had so much money, why was he giving her money? Is it a good thing to leave too much money in the hands of children? Besides, she and Jiang's father would have to repay the gift money in the future, so they should have kept it. But Jiang's father gave it all to Jiang Ning.
Uncle Jiang gave a gift of 100 yuan, so he naturally didn't hide it. He told everyone he met, so Aunt Jiang also knew that Uncle Jiang gave a red envelope of 100 yuan. The brigade gave 100 yuan, and most families in the village gave gift money. People from the same family gave more, ranging from 18 to 20 yuan. People from the other first, second, and fourth rooms also gave 8 or 10 yuan. Pianist Jiang gave a red envelope of 10 yuan.
Just adding up these amounts to about six or seven hundred yuan.
Seeing that Jiang's mother was unhappy, Jiang's father was angry at her for being short-sighted and pulled her into the room to teach her a lesson in private: "We have earned nearly 100,000 yuan this year, and we are not short of money now. Why do you always worry about the little money in your child's hands?"
Jiang's mother had her own reasons: "How could I be thinking of her money? How old is she? How could she have so much money? It's not just one or two dollars, it adds up to more than 6,000 yuan, right?"
This is not a small amount of money in any company.
Jiang's father advised her helplessly: "Her scholarships are her scholarships. Shouldn't she use them to go to college? That's Jingcheng University. 'It's not easy to live in a golden city'. Do you understand?"
Jiang's mother doesn't understand. As soon as Jiang's father shows off his knowledge, Jiang's mother becomes angry.
She herself is illiterate. The reason she chose to marry Jiang Dad was not only because he was good-looking, but also because she thought he was a high school student and an intellectual.
Deep down, Jiang's mother felt a little inferior because she was illiterate and felt that she was not worthy of Jiang's father. She looked up to Jiang's father a little.
During the years when Jiang's father was down and out, Jiang's mother was more at ease. After suffering with him for so many years, she could finally stand up straight in front of Jiang's father. But when it came to "cultured words", Jiang's mother still lacked confidence.
Jiang's mother stammered stubbornly, "They were all taken in by their parents..."
Father Jiang said, "That's a gift for marriage and childbirth, is it the same as ours?" He really thought Mother Jiang was stupid: "Our Ningning has been admitted to Beijing University, so no matter how bad she is in the future, the achievements she will make will be beyond our imagination, do you understand?"
"She is the golden phoenix that flew out of our family. You don't even know how to hold her in high esteem. What other red envelopes do you want?" Jiang's father was really helpless, especially considering that Jiang Ning had no hesitation in slitting her throat to avenge their lives during the summer vacation two years ago. Jiang's father also understood that her mother's beating and scolding of her, his inaction and partiality over the years, had already broken his daughter's heart. Why didn't she think about warming her daughter's heart at this time, but was actually trying to earn a red envelope?
It would be fine if the family was short of money. He earned nearly 100,000 yuan last year. I'm afraid no one in the whole village earns more than him. He is not short of money, so why would he take the little money his daughter has?
Jiang's mother understood the reason, but she was still in a bad mood, and it was not just about the red envelope.
She thought Jiang Ning was an ungrateful person.
It is one thing for her to give birth to a child but not raise it, but it is another thing entirely to actually give birth to a child who doesn't care about her at all.
Afterwards, Grandpa Jiang and Jiang Ning did not stay long and left the Linhe Brigade.
Grandpa Jiang is in a hurry to go back and open a shop to sell clothes. His eldest granddaughter has to pay back a loan of more than 7,000 yuan every month. There are so many loan sharks out there. If she doesn't pay it back, the house will belong to someone else. How can she accept that?
Jiang Ning was going back to the store to write.
Jiang's father tried his best to keep them, saying that he was trying to find a way to get Jiang Ning's name included in the family tree. Jiang's father said that the possibility of Jiang Ning being included in the family tree was very high. If successful, Jiang Ning would probably become the first girl in their village to be included in the family tree. In the future, she would be worshipped by future generations, and future generations would all know her name and know that their Jiang family had such a great female ancestor.
Jiang Ning smiled and refused: "I have international competitions to play in the future, I have to go back and prepare."
She didn't care about being included in any family tree, even if being included in it would provide some role model strength for future female descendants, but deep down, she rejected this kind of family tree.
This is something that a boy can be recorded for when he is born, but a girl has to achieve something huge that makes them feel honored by their family in order to be recorded for it.
Why?
If there really is a family tree, she only wants to start with her.
But in her previous life, even if she didn't want to, they still held a grand ceremony and wrote her name carefully in the family tree. She didn't even need to be present. She came forward and recorded all her deeds, her age and what position she held in the family tree.
Her father has always been thinking about writing a book for her, an autobiography about her.
On the fifth day of the New Year, a very big event happened. A great man passed away and the whole country was in mourning.
Even Grandpa Jiang has been out of energy for several days. Even the once booming business has declined a lot. Although it is the Spring Festival, there are fewer activities celebrating the Spring Festival on the streets, and this event is broadcast on TV every day.
Jiang Ning and his team had originally planned to go to Beijing on the sixth day of the first lunar month for intensive training in preparation for the upcoming IMO, but the plan was put on hold because of this sudden blow.
During this period, Song Peifeng even came to Jiang Ning's shop and told her about this matter.
He is always better informed than Jiang Ning.
After Jiang Ning thanked him, he asked her again, since they were the only two people in Wucheng who were going to participate in the IMO competition, would they like to go to Beijing together? If they were together, they could take care of each other.
Mainly because Jiang Ning was alone, he was not very reassured.
Although there has been a year of severe crackdowns and the crackdown is still ongoing, human traffickers are still rampant in this era. It would be safer if he and Jiang Ning were together.
Jiang Ning was not conceited because he had insisted on practicing boxing and Sanda in his previous life. He readily accepted his invitation. Song Peifeng, who had been a little nervous, suddenly breathed a sigh of relief at this moment.
Jiang Ning seemed to realize something and couldn't help but laugh.
Song Peifeng couldn't help but smile at the other person.
Fortunately, this depressing atmosphere did not last too long. The people in the small town still had to live, and this sad atmosphere quickly dissipated in the small town.
After the interview was broadcast, another obvious change was that business in the store became better.
Ever since Jiang Ning's store was exposed on TV, people in the towns and villages surrounding Wucheng who wanted to buy clothes were willing to go a little further and buy clothes in Jiang Ning's store.
One reason was that the clothes in her shop were of good quality and reasonably priced. The second was that I wanted to get a closer look at this legendary girl who had been admitted to Kyoto University ahead of schedule. The third was that I wanted to get some of her literary and festive spirit.
Especially for families with senior high school and junior high school students, it seems that if they come to her store to buy clothes and wear them, it will bless their children to make progress in their studies and get admitted to Peking University. It just so happens that No. 1 Middle School, Wuzhong Middle School, No. 2 Middle School, No. 4 Middle School, as well as No. 3 Middle School, vocational middle school and junior high school which are farther away are all willing to come to Jiang Ning's store to buy clothes, and the students are also willing to wear them.
Some brought their children with them, and the children would be very happy when Jiang Ning touched or hugged them.
And because she is typing away on the computer in the store every day, many people come to Jiang Ning's store to check in, just like Internet celebrities check in, and quietly point at her and say excitedly: "It's her, it's her, she is Jiang Ning from No. 1 Middle School!"
It’s as happy as seeing my idol.
If Jiang Ning didn't smile and had a rather stern expression, they would have wanted to reach out and touch her. Jiang Ning felt that with their enthusiasm, they could touch her until her skin was bald.
As a result, she has been typing in front of the computer without looking away during this period. When customers come to the store, they automatically lower their volume and dare not disturb her.
After returning, a new round of news about Jiang Ning's computer prowess spread.
He Xiaofang also saw Jiang Ning's interview.
Televisions were not yet common in her village, so she saw the report on someone else’s TV. After seeing it, she excitedly grabbed the arm of the person next to her and shouted, “Second sister, second sister, it’s Ningning, she is Ningning, my good friend! She was admitted to Peking University in advance!”
A group of people gathered around and asked He Xiaofang about Jiang Ning's personal situation. He Xiaofang was so proud that she said loudly in the crowd: "She worked really hard. On the first day she came to the dormitory, she locked herself in the mosquito net to study. She inspired the whole dormitory to study. We didn't dare to speak for a week for fear of disturbing her."
"She is such a nice person. Seeing me eating salted radish every day, she gave me braised pork and a whole rice bowl full of braised pork and rice. It was the first time I ate so full!" She couldn't help licking her lips.
"My math grades were lagging behind, so she taught me every day. She was so attentive and patient!"
"She is nice to everyone, and everyone in our dormitory likes her!"
She also taught her many lessons so that people in the dormitory would no longer isolate her.
Thinking about Jiang Ning going to college early, He Xiaofang's eyes turned red as she spoke.
She also wanted to follow Jiang Ning to apply to a university in Beijing, but with her grades, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to get in.
Xu Xiuli and her family also sat in front of the TV to watch the interview about Jiang Ning. This interview program was not only broadcast by Wucheng TV Station, but also by Wujiang City TV Station. As a result, more people knew that Wucheng’s two key high schools were very powerful, and more people also knew that Wucheng had produced a very powerful girl.
The reason why everyone remembered this little girl, and the equally outstanding Song Peifeng became a background figure, was that, firstly, there were very few parts about him, and secondly, in previous years, when people talked about who got admitted to which university, they always promoted the boys. This was the first time that such an amazing girl appeared on TV. Unlike the ordinary universities in the province that the boys had been admitted to in the past, this was Beijing University.
This girl said she was seventeen years old, but in fact she was only fifteen.
Xu Xiuli was only happy for Jiang Ning that she was admitted to Peking University ahead of schedule. She also wanted to go to Beijing to take the exam, but unfortunately her parents didn't want to. The farthest distance her parents would accept her going was Shanghai.
If there were no good universities in Wucheng and Wujiang cities, they would not even want her to leave the city. It would be best if she could stay in the provincial capital of their province. There are some very good universities in the provincial capital of their province, and they can get there in two and a half hours by car.
They want her to stay by their side and not be too far away, so that they can protect her. Her parents also have clear plans for Xu Xiuli's future marriage, and the main focus is to keep her close!
The Jiang family's foundation has already taken shape, and the foundation pits have been dug. Because of the need for waterproofing, the foundation is dug relatively deep and the building area is also large.
The reason why the Jiang family dug the foundation so quickly was because after Jiang Ning was admitted to Beijing University and was interviewed, it was known that the Jiang family was going to build a building and dig the foundation. All the idle laborers in the village came with shovels to help. An interesting thing happened.
After Jiang's father and mother entrusted the house-building matter to Uncle Jiang and Jiang Hongjun, on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, they once again boarded the train to Shenzhen.
At this time in his previous life, Jiang's father was faced with the blow of his most beloved eldest son failing the college entrance examination, going missing, and having no news. He was also faced with the blow of his second son, who he had placed great hopes on, also failing the college entrance examination. At this time in his previous life, Jiang Ning was only in the first year of high school and was experiencing the darkest moment of his life.
Therefore, even though Jiang's father went to Shenzhen to look for Jiang Song just like in his previous life, he chose to run from one construction site to another and inquire at one construction site after another. He witnessed the two-year crackdown from 1996 to 1997. Because he was worried about Jiang Song, he and Jiang's mother lived in fear every day, fearing that one day they would receive bad news that their son would also be arrested, shot, or executed.
During the years when they had no news about their son, they had actually prepared themselves mentally for the fact that Jiang Song was no longer around, but they just didn't dare to think about it. It was only years later, when they received news about Jiang Song, that the joy of finding him again filled their hearts.
However, at this time, except for Jiang's father and mother who were willing to contact him, all relatives, including Jiang's aunt and Jiang's mother's uncles and aunts, privately warned their children not to associate with Jiang Song, especially not to send him money.
Because at that time it was rumored that Jiang Song was involved in a pyramid scheme, and they were afraid that Jiang Song would drag their children into the pyramid scheme.
In fact, Jiang Ning and Jiang Bai had no idea what he was doing, nor did they care or concern themselves. At that time, Jiang Ning and Jiang Bai were both struggling to survive.
This year, although Jiang's father also felt the disappointment that his eldest son was sent out and would never come back, he first received the good news that his youngest son was admitted to university. When he returned home at the end of the year, he learned that his youngest daughter was admitted to Beijing University in advance. This good news was enough to make the whole Jiangjia Village feel honored. Jiang's father swept away his previous decadence and became energetic and full of fighting spirit.
From the moment he boarded the boat to Shuibu Town, no matter what others said to him, he could always say: "Yes, my youngest son went to Shanghai University of Science and Technology, and my youngest daughter was admitted to Beijing University in advance!"
He particularly targeted 'Advance' and 'Capital University'.
He was sitting on the deck of the ship, and his voice was so loud that it could be heard throughout the cabin.
When we arrived at Shuibu Town and came to Aunt Jiang's home, we told the good news to Aunt Jiang's parents-in-law. We spoke so loudly that the owners and customers of several nearby shops also knew the news.
After getting on the minibus to the neighboring city, he continued to talk on the bus. No matter who he talked to, he would end up talking about children's education. Then he talked about his three children, two of whom were admitted to university, and one of them was admitted to Beijing University in advance.
At this time, many people who had watched the show recognized Jiang's father and cast envious glances at him, asking Jiang's father to tell them how he educated his children and how they were all so successful.
When they found out that Jiang's father was also a high school student and had run a chicken farm when he was young, they couldn't help but respect him: "Hey, it's not that you don't have the ability, it's that you didn't catch up with the good times! If it weren't for the chicken plague, you might be the richest man in Shuibu Town now. Why would people in our town need to go to the neighboring city to buy chickens and ducks? You might have bought them from your house."
"That's right, it's a pity for you."
Everyone agreed and felt sorry for Jiang's father's bad luck.
The chicken farm from the 1980s would have accumulated a considerable fortune if it were now.
Everyone asked Jiang's father about his parenting experience.
Father Jiang said modestly, "That's all on their own. We don't have to worry about them at all since they were little." He then began to praise his youngest daughter, "My little daughter who was admitted to Beijing University was strangely smart since she was little. She could learn anything she was taught! I taught her numbers when she was three years old. I said three years old, but she was born in the winter month, so she was two years old. At that time, she was just over one year old, but she knew all those numbers."
Mother Jiang rolled her eyes in the back and listened quietly to Father Jiang's bragging.
After Jiang Ning was admitted to Peking University, all the bad things about her began to beautify people's memories unconsciously, and everything they said about Jiang Ning was good.
When we got on the train, Jiang's father started talking again, from the neighboring cities to Shenzhen, and he talked for three days and three nights.
After sitting on the train for such a long time, Jiang's father did not feel tired at all. After arriving at the rental house, he cleaned the front and back of the house, greeted everyone he met and gave out wedding candies. He also gave the landlord a lot of dry goods and wedding candies from his old family.
The landlord originally thought that Jiang's father had just married a wife. However, even though he and the landlord did not speak the same language, the landlord still understood that his little daughter had won the gold medal in some national competition and had been admitted to Beijing University in advance.
I had heard before that his son had been admitted to some university, and now his daughter had also been admitted to Beijing University. Even though the landlord looked down on these migrant workers, he couldn't help but be a little polite to Jiang's father and looked at him differently.
Not only the landlord, but also the tenants of this row of bungalows were polite to Jiang's father and mother, and said with a smile: "When the holidays come, ask them to come over and see us. We can also see our nephews and nieces, they are all college students!"
Father Jiang also smiled and said, "Of course, of course, let them come over during the summer vacation, and then let them say hello to their uncle and aunt!"
Father Jiang was looking forward to the arrival of his two children during the summer vacation. He had already made plans in his mind to rent two small rooms next door for Jiang Bai and Jiang Ning to sleep in, and buy a lot of fruits that Jiang Bai and Jiang Ning had never eaten, such as lychees, mangoes, and durian...
He can't wait to show off his two children during the summer vacation.
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