"Godmother, my little sister is here."
Zhou Jiao stood up, holding a little girl in one hand, observing Qi Kejiu inconspicuously while laughing, "Why are you still calling her little sister?"
Yi Tangtang smiled and said, "When we compared our ages, I'm exactly one month older than her."
"Xiaojiu, right?"
Qi Kejiu bowed slightly, "Hello, Aunt Zhou."
"Oh, you're so good. Come, let's sit down and talk." Zhou Jiao smiled knowingly and asked Aunt Chen who came in to cook something for the children.
Yes, it means to cook, not to prepare something to eat.
Seeing this skinny girl, she even knows the etiquette when saying hello. I guess she will only order a little cake and snacks. It would be better for her to have a bowl of noodles.
Her family's Wuyi had a point: children without parents were the most pitiful. Especially orphans living under someone else's roof, she would have a lot of concerns.
Liuyi pulled Wuyi aside and said, "Mom, you guys chat, let's go upstairs first."
Wuyi looked at Zhou Jiao hesitantly, then smiled at Xiaojiu comfortingly, "Just stay here peacefully. If you have any grievances, tell my mother. She will take care of it for you."
Xiaojiu looked at him and nodded seriously after a moment.
Zhou Jiao looked at the child's back thoughtfully as she left, and then looked at Xiaojiu who was sitting upright: This girl's manners are not like those of a country girl at all.
Yi Tangtang looked at Xiaojiu and gently pushed Zhou Jiao, "Godmother, look at little sister's hands."
hand?
Of course Zhou Jiao paid attention to her the first time she came in.
Her hands didn't look like a girl's delicate hands at all. They had frostbite scars and thick calluses, but it wasn't certain this was due to the harsh treatment she'd received at the Zheng family.
From Wuyi's brief description just now, if I'm not mistaken, this child had already lost his mother before coming to the Zheng family, so we have to consider how he will live alone in the countryside.
At this moment, she pretended to be ignorant and frowned, "It seems that the Zheng family didn't hire an aunt, right?"
"Yes, godmother, it's my little sister who does the housework."
Zhou Jiao glared at Yi Tangtang with amusement, then sighed inwardly when she saw her stick out her tongue. This little girl, Xiaojiu, was no ordinary girl. It had only taken her a short time to bribe Xiaotanger.
Xiaojiu looked at Zhou Jiao and pursed his lips. "Not really. I'm alone in the countryside. Besides going to school, I have to take care of myself and work."
Zhou Jiao's eyes flashed with admiration. She liked honest children. "Didn't your father arrange for someone to take care of you?"
"Yes, there's an old lady next door, but she has poor eyesight and a large family. I'm afraid my dad will worry, so I usually live in school."
That means most of the suffering was in the Zheng family. Zhou Jiao nodded in understanding, "Do you have any relatives in your hometown?"
The reason why she asked relatives instead of loved ones was probably because those relatives were only blood relatives, but she had to be careful about whether the child would get into trouble after leaving the Zheng family.
Xiaojiu glanced at her in surprise, and she inexplicably understood. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief and smiled gratefully at Zhou Jiao, "There's no one left in my maternal family. After my mom passed away in an accident, my dad came back and cut off all ties with the people back home. My only uncle was born to my step-grandmother."
Zhou Jiao could imagine how many twists and turns there were, so she smiled comfortingly at Xiao Jiu, "This is for the best. Sometimes having a blood relationship is worse than not having one at all."
"Yeah, I think so too. So I don't feel bad about leaving my hometown. My dad originally planned to take me away as soon as I graduated from junior high school."
Zhou Jiao always had more praise for smart and strong children. "What are your plans for the Zheng family?"
"I want to get my stuff back."
"That's as it should be. What happens next?" Zhou Jiao didn't ask if she wouldn't come back after going abroad. While exchange students had to return home, there were countless ways to make the unreasonable seem reasonable. Given this girl's intelligence, if she really didn't come back, could the country still send someone to bring her back?
"I want to rent a small house near the school first. I can take care of myself." Xiaojiu clenched his fists nervously, closed his eyes and then said, "After I leave the Zheng family, I wonder if the school will change the quota? I'm a little worried."
Zhou Jiao burst out laughing.
This is like a child. She doesn't blame the child at all for wanting to use her. Knowing that he might be treated unfairly if he leaves the Zheng family, he still doesn't try to hold on to his backer. That is hopelessly stupid.
Xiaojiu opened his eyes immediately when he heard the laughter, "Auntie, you don't blame me?"
"Oh, what's your fault?" Zhou Jiao looked at her with amusement.
Xiaojiu stood up and bowed to her, "Auntie, I cannot thank you enough for your kindness."
Zhou Jiao pulled her to sit down and sighed, "This is what you deserve. I guess besides your excellent grades, being the orphan of a martyr also gave you extra points. It's yours, so it's useless for others to recruit you. I will make arrangements with everyone, and everything will go according to the normal selection process."
"Godmother, so my little sister is going abroad? That's great."
"You want to go abroad too?"
Yi Tangtang shook his head repeatedly, "I can't leave. I have to stay with you. I have to hang around you every now and then, otherwise you won't love me anymore."
Zhou Jiao pinched her cheek and said, "What a little girl, you dare to say anything."
"I'm 18 years old now, a grown-up girl."
"Yes, our Xiaotang'er is a grown-up girl now." Zhou Jiao smiled and looked at Xiaojiu, "Xiaotangtang will stay here with you tonight. Think about it carefully at night."
Xiaojiu looked at her hesitantly, "Isn't it appropriate?" She bit her lip and said, "Aunt Zhou, I've already caused you trouble. I can stay in the guesthouse."
"The guesthouse can't stop the Zheng family. The Zheng family's affairs with you are not that simple. The issue of mistreating the orphans of martyrs will involve many aspects.
Will you be lenient or strict next? Someone will ask you about your attitude at that time, and you need to consider all these aspects."
Xiaojiu was startled when he heard this, "Is it that serious?"
"Yes, the initiative is in your hands now. Minor cases are family matters, just a few verbal warnings, but serious cases will result in transfer. He has made contributions, but your father is even more of a hero."
In fact, there was one thing Zhou Jiao didn't say. Once Zhang Guoqing intervened, the matter would no longer be a light one, and the people below would only deal with it seriously.
That's why Zhang Guoqing has not come out of his study until now, and has not asked anyone to investigate Zheng Tiejun's situation again and again.
They can have feelings in private matters, but in official matters, one is one and two is two. They don't want to wrongly accuse a soldier who has made military achievements.
Another point is that she wanted to use this incident to judge the girl's attitude towards life.
Whether I am overthinking it or what?
For the sake of her youngest son, she kept the girl under her nose until she left the country. She could allow herself to sympathize with the other party, but she could not allow her son to get hurt.
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