Two grown men came to dismantle the bed and cabinet. The kind-hearted aunt, worried that the two young girls, Song Xia and Song Jiao, would feel uncomfortable, stayed and chatted with Song Xia instead.
"I didn't expect you to keep your house so clean and tidy. It must be quite an achievement."
Upon hearing this, Song Jiao instinctively wanted to retort, but Song Xia spoke first: "It wasn't just me who did it; Xiao Jun and Xiao Jiao also shared the housework."
The kind-hearted aunt smiled and didn't refute her, but she didn't take her words seriously. After all these years, couldn't she still not see that Song Jun was a playful person and that Song Jiao had always been very spoiled? Their neighbors all knew that.
Even though her older sister had already explained it clearly, Song Jiao still felt uncomfortable for some reason. She always felt that the way her aunt looked at her made it seem like she was being unreasonable.
So she awkwardly said, "Sis, I'll go upstairs and pack my things first, and then I'll bring the desk and books down later."
"good."
The kind-hearted aunt went to check the kitchen again: "You're cooking for yourself? You're a senior in high school, right? Can you manage all that?"
Song Xia didn't talk about her hardships, she just smiled and said, "I won't attend evening self-study sessions anymore. The school isn't far from home, I can make it back in time."
The kind-hearted aunt felt extremely sorry for her. Every family takes good care of their high school seniors. Song Xia has experienced such a big setback, yet she still has to take care of her younger siblings. How can she keep up with her studies?
So she hurriedly suggested, "If all else fails, you can just eat at school. The school cafeterias are pretty good these days. Oh, Auntie forgot, there are no cafeterias in primary schools. Otherwise, you could find a small after-school care center, which would also help supervise your studies."
“But after-school care is expensive these days. I can’t spend the money my father left behind recklessly. They’re only twelve years old. If we’re going to spend it until they go to college, we have to be careful with our money.” Song Xia forced a smile. “Auntie, don’t worry, it’s okay. If they can’t attend evening self-study at school, I can study at home.
The kind-hearted aunt sighed and thought, "How can this be the same? Not to mention how much time it takes to cook when I get home, the learning atmosphere is completely different. At school, when I study, the teacher sometimes teaches me something, but at home, I really have to rely on my own self-discipline."
"Have you ever thought about asking your second aunt or your uncle? Giving them some money each month for dinner or something?"
"They're all busy, and there are three of us, so it's not good to keep bothering them."
"But even if you can manage, what will you do after the college entrance exam next year?"
"I can only try my best to get into a local university."
The kind-hearted aunt hesitated, saying that although their city was a provincial capital with two good universities, each university had different strong programs. Wouldn't that mean missing out on many opportunities? And how could they possibly get into those two universities if they were to neglect their studies like this?
However, it seems that Song Xia has no other choice. Being a child without parents is tough. She can only hope that the hardship will eventually pass and that her younger siblings can help share the burden in the future.
She's just a neighbor and can't offer much help: "If you need any help in the future, just come to me. I'll help as much as I can."
Song Xia smiled, her eyes crinkling: "Thank you, Auntie."
The demolition work passed by in casual conversation. The room wasn't big, but without the bed and cabinets, it was still quite spacious with three desks. The walls were a bit dark, though. She remembered that her father had brought back some unused paint from the construction site, so she would repaint it later.
It was already noon when Song Jun finally came back, hungry from playing, and lay on the sofa asking what he wanted to eat.
Song Xia was still busy in the room: "There are dumplings in the refrigerator, you can take them out and cook them yourselves."
Song Jun and Song Jiao frowned instantly. Should they do it themselves? But seeing Song Xia painting, they couldn't say anything else, so they felt extremely frustrated.
"I don't want dumplings, I want takeout."
"I just had beef noodles outside this morning. Don't you want to continue studying? Our family can't afford for us to keep eating out. If we don't eat dumplings, we'll just eat steamed buns. We also have frozen steamed buns in the freezer."
The steamed buns were given by the neighbors, and the dumplings were given by my aunt. When my father had just passed away, everyone was worried that they wouldn't have anything to eat, so they made some themselves and gave them to us.
Song Jun sullenly said, "I can't cook."
"You can at least boil the water, right? Once it boils, put the dumplings in. Add cold water once in the middle. Otherwise, you can paint, and I'll cook the dumplings."
Looking at the messy paint, Song Jiao lit the stove first. She didn't want to paint herself and get her clothes dirty.
The room wasn't big, and Song Xia was quick. After it dried, she just needed to brush it again. After brushing it once, the room was much brighter, just in time to eat dumplings.
"This is cooked quite well. You have to try things yourself. Don't expect me to do everything. I don't have three heads and six arms."
Song Jiao was unhappy because once she learned it, she would have to do it, and she didn't want to do it at all!
After the meal, Song Xia made Song Jun wash the dishes again. Song Jiao was secretly pleased, as cooking dumplings was much easier than washing dishes. Luckily, she had cooked dumplings first.
"Why shouldn't you cook?" Song Jun retorted stubbornly.
Song Xia sneered: "Did you paint the room?"
"Nobody asked you to paint. You insisted on doing it yourself. You made this mess of things, so what does it have to do with me?"
“My work?” Song Xia looked at him coldly. “Does that mean we’ll all cook, wash dishes, and do our own laundry from now on? Song Jun, I’ve said it before, no one will pamper you anymore. Household matters aren’t just my responsibility.”
Song Jun's eyes reddened: "Dad's gone, is this how you bully me?"
"You're not the only one who lost your father!" Song Xia roared. "With Dad gone, I'm under even more pressure than you are. Is it such a hardship for you to just wash the dishes?"
Song Jun remained silent, standing there with his fists clenched.
Song Xia pretended not to see and continued, "From now on, each of us will have 50 yuan of pocket money every week. If anyone refuses to do housework, they will not get that 50 yuan. Starting tomorrow, you will clean your own rooms and wash your own shoes. I will buy groceries and cook. As for washing dishes and mopping the floor, you can decide who will do it. But now, Song Jun, you have to wash those dishes. It's just three bowls and a pot. Is it going to kill you?"
"You're going to buy groceries and cook? Who knows if you'll embezzle the money Dad left behind?"
Song Xia felt a chill run down her spine again. It didn't matter; the more indifferent and suspicious they were, the more ruthless she could become.
“From now on, we’ll go grocery shopping once a week, all three of us together. You can keep an eye on me to make sure I don’t embezzle money. If you don’t want to wash the dishes, that’s fine too. I’ll wash the dishes from now on, and who will cook?” This made her feel more at ease, so that the two of them wouldn’t have any reason to say that the grocery money was wrong later.
"Song Jun..." Song Jiao urged him on. She didn't want to cook. The sight of oil in the pan was terrifying. She dared not eat Song Jun's cooking.
Song Jun reluctantly went to wash the dishes with a sullen face, breaking a bowl in the process. Song Xia ignored him and let it go. After all, the bowl was gone, and she wouldn't be the only one paying for the replacement. They would only realize the seriousness of the matter when they ran out of money later.
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