Lin Ziyan, who was writing her aquaculture notes, sneezed.
She rubbed her sore eyes, flipped through a few pages of notes, and gave a slight smile.
Lin Ziyan looked up at the light bulb and sighed.
Modern light bulbs have very low wattage, making them harmful to the eyes when reading or writing at night.
Knock, knock.
“Sister,” Xiaori, the second sister, stood at the door, her fingers intertwined, looking conflicted.
Lin Ziyan beckoned her in.
The third sister, Jiaojiao, who was following behind, ran in and threw herself into her arms.
"My...our Chinese teacher wants to take me to the city to participate in a writing competition," Lin Jiaori said, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
She hesitated for a week because of the travel expenses and didn't dare to tell her sister.
"This is a good thing." Lin Ziyan remembered something and patted her head.
When going to participate in the competition, the teacher is only responsible for taking you there; you have to pay for your own travel and lunch expenses.
No wonder my second sister was so conflicted; she was worried that the family wouldn't have enough money.
Lin Ziyan calculated in her mind that a bus ride to the city would cost 3 yuan.
It costs 6 yuan round trip, plus food, and you have to transfer to a bus in between.
"I'll give you 20 yuan. If you see any suitable books at the bookstore, don't hesitate to buy them."
Lin Ziyan took out some change from her bag: one yuan, two yuan, and five mao.
"No need, just give me the travel expenses..." Lin Xiaori hurriedly retreated.
She knew the current situation at home; her parents were gone, and her older sister had dropped out of school to come back and earn money to support the family.
One night, she woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, while her sister was still busy in the backyard.
"Here you go. I work hard to earn money so that you can be carefree, study when you should, and play when you should."
Lin Ziyan took a small cloth wallet, put the money in it, and then stuffed it into her second sister's hand again.
She's been too busy lately and hasn't had a chance to stop and have a proper chat with her two younger sisters.
The second sister, in particular, is the most sensitive at this age. Now that her parents have suddenly passed away, she doesn't dare to tell her family anything.
"Sister, Jiaojiao can't open her eyes..." the third sister muttered, then closed her eyes and fell asleep.
"Pfft!"
The two of them burst out laughing at the same time.
Lin Xiaori touched his sister's hair, his eyes welling up with tears.
She misses her father and mother.
With a lump in her throat, Lin Xiaori's tears fell like pearls from a broken string.
Lin Ziyan gently put her arm around her shoulder and patted her lightly.
She's only eight years old; if she can't release the emotions she's suppressing, she'll get sick.
On the day of the funeral, the second sister didn't cry out a sound. The villagers said behind her back that she was heartless, not even crying when her parents passed away.
However, people's emotions are actually delayed, especially in the face of major changes such as the sudden death of a loved one.
"Sister, I miss Dad... Mom..." Lin Xiaori sobbed, burying her head in her sister's arms.
She dared not cry loudly, for fear that her grandmother, who was sleeping in the inner room, would hear and be saddened.
Lin Ziyan nodded. "If you want to cry, then cry. You're just a child. You don't need to suddenly become sensible."
"With Mom and Dad gone, your older sister will take care of you from now on, so don't be afraid."
Lin Xiaori wiped away her tears, but her eyes reddened again in a short while.
She felt very uneasy.
Since her parents passed away, she has not played with her classmates at school.
They said that her older sister would get married sooner or later, and that her grandmother was too old to support them, so she would definitely give them away to other families to raise.
Lin Xiaori didn't want to listen to them, so he could only sit alone in his seat and write.
"Don't think about anything, and don't listen to what others say,"
"Xiaoxiao, don't doubt every book you read, every poem you memorize, and every assignment you complete. They will all take you to the distant place of your dreams."
Lin Ziyan gently stroked her hair and spoke slowly.
Lin Xiaori pursed her lips and nodded.
She suddenly felt a longing for what kind of distant place that would be.
…
the next day,
After finishing breakfast, Lin Ziyan stayed in the backyard.
The third sister, Jiaojiao, carried a small stool and sat by the pond to watch the shrimp larvae.
Her round eyes had long, fluttering eyelashes.
"Sister, can I catch it?" Jiaojiao asked innocently, biting her finger.
Lin Ziyan had just checked a small pond of shrimp larvae and fed them some seaweed powder.
"Not yet, they're still babies." Lin Ziyan's eyes curved into a smile as she looked at Jiaojiao.
Jiaojiao seemed to understand, but not quite. She pursed her lips and nodded vigorously, "We must protect the baby."
"Pfft!"
Hearing the laughter, the two of them looked towards the door at the same time.
The chubby girl was leaning against the doorway, smiling as she watched them.
Jiaojiao gave a soft hum, ran off on her short legs, and shouted, "Grandma, let's go play..."
The chubby girl watched her retreating figure, touched the tip of her nose, and realized that Xiao Jiaojiao had disliked her...
Rainwater dripped from the eaves, pattering softly.
This morning, dark clouds loomed overhead, accompanied by a fierce wind and torrential rain, which has now turned into a light drizzle.
"There are no stalls at the port today, and no ice deliveries are needed. Consider it a break."
After Lin Ziyan finished speaking, she handed a notebook to the chubby girl.
Since the two are going to cooperate, their division of labor must be clear.
Therefore, Fatty needs to know about shrimp larvae feeding, data recording, and so on.
"When did you write these?" The chubby girl looked completely bewildered.
It was a thick stack of papers, written in great detail, even including potential problems.
Lin Ziyan said casually, "These are the notes I took these past few days."
“I even dug out my university textbooks and selected a few that you can understand.”
Fat girl, "..."
She started working after graduating from junior high school, partly to have enough to eat and partly to avoid studying.
The dense text gave her a headache.
But now, I still can't escape it...
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