Xu Keke returned to Ma Yuying's house. Only Xiumei was home. When she saw Xu Keke return, she sneaked up to her and whispered in her ear, "My mother hit my second sister, and she's crying in the house."
Xu Keke ruffled her little blond hair and asked her softly, "Have you eaten yet?"
Xiumei pursed her lips and nodded at her.
Xu Keke glanced at the room where she and Xiuhong lived; the door was tightly closed. She took the little girl's hand; it was indeed cold. "Come to my room!"
Xiao Xiumei grinned and followed her back into the house.
Xu Keke asked her to pull up a chair and sit next to her, then gave her a pen and tore off a piece of stationery. The two sat side by side at the table.
Xu Keke drew a simple floor plan of the dilapidated temple. Then she marked the parts that she thought needed to be modified.
Xiao Xiumei was originally holding a pen, scribbling lines randomly on the paper. Later, she simply picked up the pen and stared at Xu Keke's paper.
Is this a school?
How did you know?
“I went with my mother to find my second sister. This is the table, this is the teacher’s place.” Xiumei pointed to the podium she had drawn.
“My mother said that my second sister went to school but didn’t learn any principles; it was a waste of her time.”
Xu Keke didn't understand, but it was someone else's family matter, so she didn't press the issue. Unexpectedly, the little guy continued to mutter on and on.
"My second sister has her eye on that tall educated youth. She wants to marry him, which is why she quit school and came home."
"A tall educated youth?" Hearing the word "educated youth," Xu Keke's heart skipped a beat, and she stopped writing, asking in return.
“Yes, the tall one.” Xiumei gestured with her hand.
"Gao Zhe?"
"Yes, that's right. My second sister said he was going home and she wanted to go with him. My mother wouldn't allow it, saying he wasn't a good person. My sister wouldn't listen and argued back, so my mother hit her. She hit her really hard, and my sister cried."
Xu Keke never expected that Xiuhong's refusal to continue attending school and her willful return home were all because of Gao Zhe. No wonder Xiuhong's attitude towards her had always been rather unfriendly.
However, Xu Keke couldn't quite understand it. Gao Zhe had always been an arrogant person. How could he possibly be close to a child like Xiu Hong? In Bai Lu's memory, Xiu Hong later married and lived in town, becoming the only child Ma Yuying had stayed by her side as she grew older. However, Xiu Hong rarely came home except for the New Year. And then there was Xiu Mei, who had been working away from home since she was a child, and she came home more often.
Gao Zhe's family has overseas connections. He's only in Chenjia Village. In other places, given his and his sister's background, they would have been severely punished, if not killed, long ago.
In three years, their relatives overseas will contact them through the organization and bring them out of the country.
Xiao Han went to the commune. At least until he leaves, their lives won't be as good as they were in the previous life.
In the evening, Ma Yuying and Xiuzhi returned from the fields. Xu Keke had already helped cook the porridge and picked the vegetables. However, her cooking skills were too poor, and fearing waste, she left the most crucial step to Ma Yuying and her daughter.
After everyone finished their chores, the family sat down inside for dinner. Xiuzhi went to call Xiuhong, but Ma Yuying stopped her.
"Eat it or not, don't bother. Don't talk to her. Meizi, you're sleeping with me tonight."
Ma Yuying's voice was quite loud, and Xiuhong must have heard it inside the house, because then came the sound of a book being thrown to the ground.
After finishing their meal and cleaning up, Xu Keke and Xiuzhi went back to their room. Ma Yuying knocked on their door.
"I won't lie to you, when Xiuhong was in school, she said she wanted to ask one of you educated youths to help her with her studies. It's my fault for not paying much attention back then, thinking what could possibly happen to her, she was such a young child. Who would have thought she would have those useless thoughts and fall for that educated youth, Gao. Gao didn't have any feelings for her. But she was determined. She heard from somewhere that there was a quota for returning to the city in our village, and she insisted that Gao was going home. She even skipped classes and ran back to find him."
Xu Keke didn't understand. "Since Gao Zhe isn't interested in her, just make it clear to her."
Ma Yuying's face tightened even more. "She said she wanted to pursue someone. She went to school for half a day, but I don't know what she learned every day. She just held a book and read it all day, but all that learning went to waste."
Xu Keke now knew where all those books Xiu Mei read, like Anna Karenina and War and Peace, came from. Because of her age and her feeling different from the other girls in the village, coupled with what others said, it was easy for her to overthink things.
"You've come to me, what do you want me to do?"
Hearing Xu Keke's words, Xiuzhi, who was sewing clothes under the lamp, also looked up at her mother.
“I know that the village is building a school this time, and the old village chief is the principal, while you are a teacher. Do you think it's possible for Xiuhong to go to the school with you as a teacher? Don't worry, I don't want her to compete with you. I asked Jianguo, and he said that whether two teachers can be used depends on whether he can go to the commune to inquire. But he said that if you agree, Xiuhong can go with you first, and she will be paid according to the work points of the team. If the commune doesn't approve it, I will go to her uncle to see if she can find some work there.”
"OK!"
Ma Yuying didn't expect Xu Keke to agree so readily. She had argued with Xu Keke about Xiuhong's behavior several times. Fortunately, Xu Keke was usually at school and didn't come back often.
"I'm fine with it, the key..." Xu Keke pointed to the next room, "Is she obedient enough to come out?"
"Yes, of course she can. She's just lucky to be a teacher; otherwise, she'd never have such a good thing happen to her in her life. I'll talk to her. Don't worry, I'll make her listen to me. Thank you, Bai Zhiqing."
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
