September 1, 1977, was a Thursday. Lin Shugan had only been in school for three days before the weekend. When he returned to school on Monday, he saw his fifth and sixth cousins from his eldest aunt's family in his class.
He left the classroom and looked up curiously at the clock hanging at the end of the corridor. It was 6:45. He and his sister had arrived quite early, but Ma Wuni and Ma Liuni looked like they had been sitting for a long time. What time did they get up?
Seeing Lin Shu rushing in, Wu Ni and Liu Ni greeted him happily, "Shu is here? Hey, is this seat taken? Can I sit here?"
Lin Shugan didn't even have time to ask why the two of them suddenly came to school together. He scratched his head and said, "This seat belongs to Erniu... Why don't you sit with me first? I think we can pull over two more tables when the teacher arrives."
Since it was someone else's seat, Ma Wuni and Ma Liuni stood up obediently and followed Lin Shu to his desk, but they didn't sit down. "You sit down, we'll just stand for a while."
They didn't have much stuff, so they took a cloth bag, which was full of patches. Lin Shu quickly took out a book, then stuffed his big red bag into the desk and pushed the textbook over.
"Cousin, do you want to see it?"
"Is this the textbook? There are actually two little people in it!"
"It's so new and beautiful. Will we have it then?"
"Is it included in the tuition fee? I don't need to pay extra, right?"
…
The two of them became excited the moment they saw the textbook, but they didn't dare to pick it up and flip through it. Ma Liuni even stretched out her hand, but Wu Ni slapped it back. They had just handled charcoal and their hands were very dirty.
Lin Shugan was very patient and answered the questions one by one according to the order in which the two people asked them.
"This is a Chinese textbook, as well as math and science."
"This is included in the textbook fee. It should be paid together with the tuition. How much did you pay? I remember my dad paid a total of 5.88 yuan."
"Why didn't you all come to school together last week?"
Lin Shugan was quite curious and asked this question. Ma Wuni had come to school and she felt more confident and didn't hide anything.
"We borrowed money from my eldest and second sisters to go to school. You only borrowed the money last week, the first day of school, so you're a few days late. Five dollars and eighty-eight, right? We should have paid enough."
Lin Shu blinked. "Did you borrow it from my eldest cousin? What about my eldest aunt and uncle?"
"They have no money," Ma Liuni replied. "Fifth sister asked them for money two years ago, but they didn't give it to her. This time, we were able to borrow money because we paid back the work points of the eldest and second sisters."
Lin Shu's little mind was filled with questions. This had hit a point in his knowledge. He had thought that parents paid for children's schooling, but did they also get money from their older sister? Or was it borrowed?
Hmm... He thought about it and realized that if he asked Lin Shuying to borrow money, his sister would definitely not beat him, but she would definitely tell his parents. He couldn't guarantee whether his parents would beat him up, both men and women.
When he got home from school, he and Lin Shuying immediately told the adults at home that his two older sisters from his aunt's family also went to school. They were first-grade students like him, and there was only one class in the same grade.
Lin Guoqing was quite surprised to hear this, "They went to school? It seems your aunt and uncle have figured it out!" After thinking for a while, he turned to Chen Chunhua and said, "In fact, Si Ni is only 11 years old, so it's still in time for her to go to school..."
Then I heard Lin Shuying say, "Sister Wu Ni said they were asking Sister Da Ni and Sister Er Ni for money."
Chen Chunhua exclaimed "Ah?" and exchanged a glance with Lin Guoqing. After listening to the statements made by Lin Shugan and Lin Shuying, she remained silent for a long time.
"Sanni is right. It's better to rely on our mom than on my eldest sister and brother-in-law..." Lin Guoqing complained speechlessly, "The younger one has to ask the older one for money to go to school. These parents have really reached the end of their ways!"
"This is a step forward. It's better than still doing laundry and cooking at home." Chen Chunhua added silently, "It's just that they are only a few years old, and they're already in debt."
Then he thought of what Lin Shugan had said just now, that the two sisters were writing with charcoal they had burned themselves, and their hands and bodies were all dirty, so he said to the two children,
"Didn't you two get a lot of pencils last time? Can each of you take one out and give it to Wu Ni and Liu Ni? And there are also notebooks, one for each of you. I'll make up for it when Dad goes to the provincial capital again in the middle of the month."
Lin Shuying and Lin Shugan were not reluctant to give up and nodded directly. Mom said she would make up for it, so she would definitely make up for it.
"I want the one with the rubber on the head."
Lin Shuying also placed an order, and Lin Shu quickly raised his hand.
“I want it too!”
"Okay, okay! I'll give you the kind with erasers! Two each!"
Lin Guoqing agreed readily, then urged them to finish today's homework, and then returned to the kitchen to discuss things with his wife.
"Chunhua, can you think of any solution to this problem? Da Ni and Er Ni can now support Wu Ni and Liu Ni to go to school, but there are also Qi Ni, Ba Ni, and Jiu Ni! Can those two children afford to support so many younger sisters?
Dani is already 17, and she might get married in a few years. By then..."
"Will my elder sister and brother-in-law not care about it at that time? Who will this child be born to?" At this moment, it was only her and Lin Guoqing, and Chen Chunhua spoke without any politeness.
"Once you have a child, you have to raise it, right? You used to be chasing a son, but now they say they don't want to have any more children. The older ones have grown up in a daze, so you have to raise the younger one, right? Can you really let Dani and the others support you forever? Do you think you can do that?"
Lin Guoqing curled his lips and said, "As long as the old man and old woman from the Ma family are not dead, they might really be able to do it."
"Don't curse people to death for no reason! How immoral!" Chen Chunhua rolled her eyes, not remembering at all how she had done nothing good by standing in front of Shen Laicai and Qian Laier.
"Isn't it borrowed money? Then it has to be paid back. Is there any way for them to go to school and earn some tuition money at the same time?"
Lin Guoqing recently discovered that his wife might have some knowledge about making money, so when the topic was brought up, he asked Chen Chunhua directly.
Chen Chunhua:...Do you think I am the God of Wealth?
"Just study hard. How can you make money while you're in school? Why bother going to school? Why not just go there and make money?" Chen Chunhua retorted unhappily. "Making money will definitely be something you wait until after school!"
"Hey, hey, hey, that's exactly what I mean! Think about it! It's really unfortunate for those girls to be reborn in my eldest sister's family. If I could make some money, life would be much more comfortable."
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After some research, I realized that if the author wants to leave something to say in the thank you post, he or she can only remain silent, but I am a chatterbox...
From now on, I will chat at the end of the chapter, and then I can leave that space for the ladies and gentlemen who tipped me, hehehe~
Please leave your love message if you beg for mercy every day!
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