Chapter 28
The next morning, Chen Lanjun took half a day off and pedaled her bicycle very fast along the country road. The uneven dirt road was bumpy and she felt so exhausted after one ride that her bones were about to fall apart.
After pushing her bicycle along the last section of the field, Chen Lanjun appeared in front of Ajing's adobe house, looking exhausted.
I met a thin middle-aged man carrying an iron hoe, whose facial features were somewhat similar to Ajing's. I knew at first glance that he was Ajing's father.
"Is Ajing here? I'm her classmate."
"She's getting married. Don't come looking for her anymore. It's useless."
Ajing's father frowned, shouted twice into the house, and then walked away.
Seeing his attitude, Chen Lanjun roughly understood that he probably did not approve of Ajing continuing to study, regardless of whether Ajing's grandmother was sick or not.
When Ah Jing came out, she was still holding medicine in her hand: "Hey, aren't you going to class today?"
"I need your help."
"Come in and sit... Never mind, just sit on the chair at the door. I'll be here after I give grandma her medicine."
As they went in and out, an unpleasant medicinal smell wafted through the wooden door. Perhaps it was because of this that they felt embarrassed to let her in, so the air was fresher when she sat under the eaves.
Ah Jing held the medicine and walked towards her grandmother lying on the wooden bed: "The medicine is ready."
Her milky hair was disheveled. She struggled to get up and complained, "It's useless to drink it. Save money and go to the back hill to pick some herbs and make herbal tea."
“It didn’t cost much.”
"I seemed to hear your father shouting outside just now. What's wrong? What happened?"
"Nothing happened. Maybe he got angry again and yelled a few words. Grandma, take your medicine."
Grandma drank it all in one gulp, smacked her lips, and said, "Why aren't you going to school yet?"
"The school is on vacation," Ah Jing lied, "I'll go back to school in two days."
"You must study hard. Grandma is uneducated. You must be better than her."
“Yes.”
After comforting grandma and watching her lie down again, Ajing hurriedly placed the bowl of medicine on the table and opened the door.
"I'm sorry to ask you to sit outside and wait. I'll go get you some hot water."
"No hurry." Chen Lanjun looked around, "Is the rest of your family not here?"
Ah Jing shook her head: "My mother is long gone, and my father and brother are out working. If you have anything to say, just say it."
Chen Lanjun took out an envelope from the inside pocket of her clothes and handed it to Ajing.
Ah Jing opened the envelope suspiciously, her eyes suddenly widened: "This...this money?"
There are so many banknotes, and the thickness when held in the hand is at least a hundred yuan.
"This money was collected by Teacher Qin and our classmates, as well as the proceeds from selling Jane Eyre hats yesterday. It's all here." Chen Lanjun looked at her and said, "We want to help you, Ajing, do you want to help yourself as well?"
Ah Jing was speechless for a long time, staring blankly at the money. When she spoke again, her throat was choked with sobs: "I..."
"We have found a way to raise the medical expenses." Chen Lanjun held her hand and told her about everyone's planning and practice over the past few days.
"'Jane Eyre Hats' are selling very well. I'm a little worried that we won't be able to keep up with the pace and won't have anything to sell." Chen Lanjun deliberately joked in a light-hearted tone, "If that happens, we'll be heartbroken to see the money flowing out."
"Ajing, let's work together, okay?"
Chen Lanjun was a little nervous. In this kind of matter, the wishes of the parties involved were what she was most unsure of.
Not everyone is willing to break up the so-called "engagement", risk falling out with their family, and embark on another path where they are destined to rely on themselves.
Ah Jing is a good girl who is obedient and sensible. However, because she is obedient and sensible, this kind of girl can often find excuses for all the bad luck that is about to happen to her and brainwash herself, such as -
"It's not easy for my dad and my brother either."
"If I regret the marriage now, my family will lose face."
"My husband's family is also very nice. They are willing to spend such a large sum of money to marry me."
…
Just thinking about it makes my blood pressure soar.
If you can really say something like that, then forget it.
Although she understood that everyone has their own difficulties, Chen Lanjun still found it hard to accept. This feeling was almost like carrying firewood for someone who was freezing, only to be rewarded with a basin of ice water instead.
She had already planned the way forward as best as she could, and had enough evidence to prove that this path was feasible. However, if Ah Jing herself couldn't figure it out and was unwilling to help herself, then Chen Lanjun would immediately terminate all plans.
Only by saving yourself can you truly save yourself. Otherwise, even the gods and immortals cannot save you.
She had to figure out Ajing's attitude at the beginning, otherwise everyone's efforts to collect the money would be wasted, only to get an ending of "touched, but still no change", which would make her feel disappointed, but the damage to everyone's collective goodwill would be difficult to remedy.
After waiting quietly for a while, Ajing finally spoke.
"It's not easy for my dad either..."
After hearing this opening, Chen Lanjun's expression did not change, but her heart sank.
"He raised my brother and me and really gave a lot. In this village, I am the first and only one who can go to high school. He is very good to me. I should repay him well." Ah Jing raised his head and looked at the dark gray clouds.
She sounded sad: "But this is my life, isn't it?"
Chen Lanjun breathed a sigh of relief and shook her hand vigorously. "Yes, in the final analysis, this is your life."
Ah Jing raised the corner of her mouth slightly: "I will remember their kindness and repay them in the future, but it will cost me my life."
The girl, who had always been obedient and sensible, shook her head, her eyes gradually becoming firm: "I can't do it."
She held Chen Lanjun's hand and said, "Don't worry, I will do my best to help myself."
Soon, Chen Lanjun knew what Ajing meant.
Her father came to the school.
“Is my daughter in school?”
Even though Teacher Qin said no, the furious man still didn't believe it, and even insisted on rushing to the dormitory and the classroom to search.
Two or three other men followed and made a big fuss in the school: "She was promised to be married, so why did she suddenly run away?"
Ah Jing's father even rushed to the classroom. After looking around and not seeing his daughter, his red eyes fell on Chen Lanjun: "It was you. That day when you came to look for Ah Jing, she disappeared!"
He was about to rush over with a ferocious look on his face, but was stopped by several tall classmates.
The sports committee member, Ali, stretched out his hand and gently blocked it, pushing Ah Jing's father back: "What are you doing! You still want to bully our classmates in our class?"
"That's right. Your daughter is missing. You are a dishonest father. Why are you asking us?"
Ah Jing's father was stopped and shouted to Chen Lanjun: "I ask you, do you know where my daughter is?"
Chen Lanjun shook her head slowly: "I don't know."
"Did you hear that? She said she didn't know." Liu Li got angry and slammed the table loudly.
During the confrontation, several physical education teachers from the school rushed over, surrounded the uninvited guests, and took control of the situation in an instant.
Teacher Qin stood in front of Ajing's father, blocking Chen Lanjun and other students behind him, frowning and saying, "Why are you so anxious? At least explain the matter clearly."
"She left a note. I can't read, so I asked her brother to recognize her. The girl said she didn't want to get married, and she wanted to go out and raise money for grandma's medical expenses. She would come back when she had raised enough money!"
"That has nothing to do with our school." Teacher Qin said, "If you continue like this, I will call the joint defense team over."
Having gained nothing, Ajing's father and his group had to leave in disappointment.
After these people left, Teacher Qin called Chen Lanjun to the office and asked again: "Do you know where Ah Jing is?"
Afraid that Chen Lanjun would misunderstand her intention, Teacher Qin explained: "What I mean is that she is a little girl and it is not safe for her to be outside alone. As teachers and students, we should help her."
"I really don't know." Chen Lanjun shook her head, "But I think she will contact us after she's settled."
That night, the students went out to set up stalls.
In order to prevent the people in the anti-speculation office from waiting for opportunities, they had selected three or four locations for setting up stalls in advance. The cinema was the first place. As the popularity of "Jane Eyre" spread widely, the locations of the stalls also changed, from the factory gate to the medical school gate, and then to a more prosperous commune. Equipped with bicycles of Chen Lanjun, Liu Li and Cao Hongyao, this team could be called a mechanized team. Basically, they moved to another place after taking action, and few people could catch up with them.
A girl quietly came over. Cao Hongyao was sorting the money in her waist bag. Thinking she was a customer, she opened her mouth without even looking up and started talking: "Do you want a 'Jane Eyre hat'? It's the same as in the movie."
All I heard was a chuckle.
Cao Hongyao sensed something was wrong and looked up. It was Ajing smiling at her.
"Hey, it's exactly what Sister Lan said." Cao Hongyao held her hand and said, "Are you okay? Didn't your family find you?"
Shaking his head: "No."
She looked back at the other two classmates: "Sister Lan is not here?"
"He wasn't supposed to be here."
The voice was filled with laughter. Chen Lanjun walked from the dark corner to the street light. She should have rested today, but she thought that Ah Jing would come to see her, so she came here to help keep an eye on the "beating office".
"Are you okay?" Chen Lanjun asked.
"Not bad," Ah Jing smiled and said, "Look, what I brought."
Ajing did not come empty-handed. She was carrying a large fertilizer bag, which she opened to show Chen Lanjun.
Chen Lanjun took a closer look and found that it was a whole bag of knitted "Jane Eyre hats" and various gloves and scarves! It was full of beautiful colors and styles.
"I asked some women in the village to do it these past two days." Ah Jing said it lightly, but when Chen Lanjun saw the deep dark circles under her eyes, she knew that she had not had a easy time these days.
Chen Lanjun patted her on the shoulder and said nothing.
Ah Jing put the bag away, turned around and bowed deeply to the classmates: "Thank you so much for running around for my sake. I will remember your kindness, thank you."
Ali, the sports committee member, scratched his head and said, "Tsk, no need. It's embarrassing."
"We are all classmates," Cao Hongyao said. "Come to think of it, I should apologize to you. As the class monitor, I should take the initiative to care about whether everyone is in trouble."
"You've done a great job." Ajing said anxiously.
Chen Lanjun chuckled: "No...why do you make it so funny."
It's a bit like we are strangers, you thank me and I thank you.
When she smiled, Ajing and other classmates looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.
It was a happy occasion.
But suddenly I heard a loud shout in the darkness: "It's going to rain, collect the clothes!"
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