From the initial chaos and confusion, Xu Keke gradually adapted to her current life.
I got up before dawn, made breakfast, and woke Mengjia up. Then the two sisters washed up, ate breakfast, and went to school together.
At lunchtime, Xu Keke would rush back with the Meng family. She would prepare lunch, eat it, and then go to school with Gao Jiale and Gao Lan. Meng Jia would stay at the Gao family's house.
Elementary school students now only attend classes for half a day, and teachers ask students to voluntarily form groups. Usually, it's a group that lives close by. Then, they all go to one of the houses to study together. Because the Gao family's house is large, and Jiaqing and Mengjia both live there, the Gao family's house has become their group's study base.
After school in the evening, Xu Keke would immediately start cooking. She usually made a larger batch to prepare breakfast and lunch for the next day, unless there were special circumstances.
Just now, Qi Chang's mother came over, accompanied by a young woman. The woman was fair-skinned and had two thick braids. When she smiled, she had two small dimples.
"Uncle Qi's wife is quite pretty?" Gao Lan whispered to Xu Keke.
"Is it pretty?" Xu Keke replied indifferently.
"Isn't it pretty?" Gao Lan was somewhat surprised. This person's standards are too high.
They were all eating at the same table, speaking in hushed tones, but even their soft voices were audible to those nearby. Gao Jiale looked at Xu Keke with some surprise; he had never seen her so sullen before. Not even after her mother died. But today, she seemed unhappy from the moment she entered the courtyard. Wasn't it good that she didn't have to cook for herself? Or was it because someone had borrowed a pot from her that she was upset? Just now, Uncle Qi's wife had asked to borrow a pot from her, and judging from her expression, she didn't really want to give it to her. She probably gave it to her out of politeness, but she was still unhappy about it.
Qi Chang, who had just come in from outside, also heard it, but unlike Gao Jiale, he didn't show it on his face. He pretended not to hear and continued to ask Gao Cheng's wife, "Sister-in-law, where's the garlic? I can't find it. The two kids are probably out playing. Jiaqing isn't in the yard."
Aunt Gao stopped talking and said to Qi Chang's mother, "I'll go get it for him. I should have gone earlier. Let Uncle Qi make another errand."
After Aunt Gao left, Qi Chang's mother's gaze fell on Xu Keke. Qi's mother must have been over fifty years old, thin, wearing black-rimmed glasses, with a peaceful smile. "I heard from Qi Chang that you want to go to university. Have you thought about which school you want to attend?"
Xu Keke shook her head, "There's still a year left, I haven't thought about it yet."
"It's a good thing that kids want to go to school. But they can't just think about ideals; they also have to think about reality. Teacher training colleges are pretty good; they provide room and board and don't charge tuition. The government guarantees job placement afterward, but the scores are quite high. I've heard of your school; you'll have to work hard yourself."
Xu Keke's eyes lit up. She'd been busy adjusting to the daily grind and hadn't really thought about it seriously. Entering a teacher's college wouldn't make her a teacher immediately; she'd graduate in four years. It would be a perfect transition.
Xu Keke's reaction pleased Qi Chang's mother. "I'm not in good health right now, so I'm not teaching anymore. If you have time, have your Uncle Qi bring you to our house. I have some review materials; you can take a look and see if there's anything you need. If there is, take it all; it's a waste to leave it with me."
Xu Keke couldn't possibly disagree; she was currently facing problems with her studies. Meng Dong had dropped out of school and started working. Her memories were based on past missions, and the teaching methods back then differed from those now. The teaching styles weren't entirely the same either. She'd been thinking of finding some books to catch up on, otherwise, she'd be in trouble with the final exams in a few days.
In this school, the teachers have an unwritten rule: they only give extra help to high-achieving students. Right now, I'm outside the study group. If my grades aren't good, the teachers will pay even less attention to me.
After Qi's mother finished speaking, Qi Chang thought, "This little girl has finally shown a bit of a smile after all night." Gao Jiale, however, was thinking, "Grandma Qi has called me the wrong person; it shouldn't be Uncle Qi, it should be Brother Qi."
After everyone finished eating and left, the girl with dimpled cheeks washed the dishes in the yard. She was quick and efficient, and did everything in an orderly manner.
“This kid is really good. He's capable and good-looking. He's also good to you. When you changed jobs and went to work in a factory, no one said anything. When he heard I was coming, he quickly took leave to come with me. What more could you want? Just having someone who cares about you and treats you well is enough.”
For some reason, Qi Chang thought of the gloomy-faced young woman from earlier that day. He'd been having the same dream for years, a dream about someone whose face he couldn't see clearly. He could only make out her eyes. He was twenty-eight this year, and all these years he'd refused to get married; he didn't even know what he was waiting for.
Until that morning, when the thin girl stared straight at him, he suddenly knew she had arrived. He realized she was the one he had been waiting for.
He came home from his night shift that day, so tired he didn't even wash his face before collapsing onto the bed. Luckily, he wasn't asleep yet, and he heard her outside saying she was going to buy coal. Without a word, he got up again.
The more time he spent with her, the more certain he became that she was the one.
She was just too young, even though she herself started calling him "brother." He was still a full twelve years older than her.
“Next time you want to come, just come by yourself. Besides, it’s such a long way, and I’m not someone who doesn’t go home all year round. Tell me how often I can go back. If a week isn’t enough, how about ten days? I’ll go back every ten days. You don’t need to make the trip and bother someone to accompany you, it’s such a long way.”
Hearing this, Qi's mother knew that he hadn't taken a liking to the girl again.
Xu Keke had just come to ask when would be a good time to pick up her study materials when she heard Qi Chang's last sentence. Her heart felt like it had fallen into a jar of sauerkraut, unbearably sour. She knew he could be considerate, but she never imagined she would see him being kind to another woman.
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