Chapter 17
Early the next morning, Jian Li took the bus back to Taocheng and then met Qian Ping in the county seat.
Qian Ping didn't bring much with her, just a schoolbag and a handbag. Jian Li, on the other hand, looked more like someone who had run away from home.
A sack, a school bag, and both hands were busy. In one hand was a duck that had just been killed that morning, and in the other was a net bag full of river shrimps.
Jian Li made room for Qian Ping with great difficulty: "Sister, you sit here."
After Qian Ping sat down, Jian Li asked her if she was discovered by anyone when she went out in the morning.
Qian Ping: "No one will find out. I even left a note."
Although Jian Li had given the promise, Qian Ping also knew that she would cause a lot of trouble to her aunt if she went there, so she wrote in the note that she did not want to go abroad.
Because I didn't want to go abroad, I decided to leave home and go out to work.
When her mother heard about the job, she probably wouldn't think of her aunt first. She would probably just think that she went to the south.
Qian Ping looked at the scenery outside the window that kept receding, and couldn't help feeling scared.
This was the first time she went against her mother's wishes.
She had been sensible for a long time. She would follow her mother's instructions. When she was young, her grandmother despised her for being a daughter. Her mother worked hard on the construction site like a man to save face. She was only six or seven years old at that time. She would carry her schoolbag to school every day, and then cook for herself after returning home.
After cooking, I eat and wash the dishes, then do my homework and go to bed on time.
…
Day after day, she became more sensible for more than ten years, and finally handed in an unsatisfactory answer sheet in the college entrance examination to her mother.
Qian Ping clenched her fists. She didn't know what was wrong with her. She couldn't answer the questions in the college entrance examination that she could normally do.
Her mother had made bold promises before she took the exam, saying that she would score a good score. Even before her results came out, her mother had already made arrangements with the hotels in town to host a wedding banquet.
Her palms began to sweat when she thought about this.
When she did well in the high school entrance exam, the county was willing to accept her, but her mother would not let her go because the town's high school waived tuition.
During the years she studied in town, although she always ranked first in her classes, her daily scores were only around 530 points.
This score can get you into an undergraduate program, but it may not allow you to study at a key university.
Whenever Qian Ping thought of her mother's excited words that she could go to Peking University, Tsinghua University or Shanghai University, she felt as if a huge weight was pressing down on her pen in the examination room.
Waiting for the results after each exam was even more torturous. In her dreams, the test paper would turn into her mother's face, chattering and scolding her for being shameful.
"Who have I been doing this for all these years? It's all for you!"
"Do you think you deserve this score?"
"I think you've wasted your time studying! If I had known, I wouldn't have let you go to school, so you wouldn't have wasted money and lost face!"
Qian Ping fell asleep in the car in a daze, and was awakened by a nightmare.
Looking out the window, the bus has already wobbled into the city...
Before the car came to a complete stop, Jian Li opened the window and shouted to Jian Feng who was not far away, "Dad! I'm here!"
Jian Feng walked over with a smile and watched Jian Li coming out of the front door carrying a lot of bags.
"What did you take? So many...apples?"
Qian Ping was a little embarrassed: "Hello, uncle."
Jian Feng quickly put down Jian Li who was hanging on him and took the luggage from Qian Ping's hand: "Why didn't you tell me before you came? If I had known, I would have found a car."
Qian Ping didn't know how to answer.
Jian Li quickly interrupted: "My cousin is here to play. Don't ask me, Dad. I'm starving. I can eat a whole cow right now!"
Jian Feng felt distressed: "I said I saw you were thinner, come on, your mother prepared a pot of brined meat this morning, waiting for you to come back and eat."
“Yeah!”
Jian Li pulled Qian Ping's hand and said, "Let's go!"
Because of the extra money and the two people's bags, Jian Feng didn't even think about using a bicycle to take people with him, but directly stopped a tricycle on the road. This kind of human-powered tricycle is now everywhere on the street, and it can carry people with a roof welded on it.
Jian Feng took out a dollar and gave it to the other party, asking him to send it to the cotton spinning factory's compound.
"You two go back first, I'll follow behind."
Qian Ping had also been to the city, but that was a long time ago. After she started high school, she was too busy to come back.
So along the way, Jian Li pointed out various places and introduced them to her.
Qian Ping's depressed mood due to the nightmare in the car improved, and a smile gradually appeared on her face.
Jian Li and Qian Ping arrived home early. Jian Li dropped her luggage and ran to the kitchen happily.
Qian Ping shook his head helplessly and followed behind to put the things in order.
"Sister, come quickly!"
Jian Li first took out two chicken legs from the pot.
The chicken legs had been soaked in brine for a long time, the skin was shiny, and the gravy flowed down every time you took a bite. This brine must have been specially prepared by her mother in the morning, and she might have started brine-ing last night.
A deep stainless steel pot with various ingredients soaked in brown brine.
Lotus root slices, dried tofu, chicken legs, chicken gizzards, large intestines...
Jian Li found two dry cakes from the cupboard, broke the cakes open, put some dishes in them, then ate a bite of the cake and a bite of the chicken leg, consuming them with great relish.
Qian Ping was still a little worried: "Xiao Li, when your aunt comes back soon, you can just push any problems onto me."
Because of my aunt's temper, she was always worried that Jane Li would be beaten for helping her.
Jian Li ate the chicken leg with a vague sound: "Sister, you don't have to think about anything, just stay here."
She swallowed the chicken thigh meat and said, "Don't worry about my parents. I will tell them."
As for how to say it, it's all up to her.
This is what Jian Li told her parents.
"My sister didn't do well in the college entrance examination, and my aunt kept scolding her. Didn't you say you were busy before? I said let my sister help you for a while. My aunt agreed."
Wang Mengmei, who had just returned home after a busy day, heard this without any doubt.
She knew that Qian Ping had failed the college entrance examination again, and naturally she knew in her heart that her sister probably would not let Qian Ping repeat the exam for a third time.
But Qian Ping is only eighteen this year, and it is too early to get married.
It's normal for Wang Menglan to want to find a job for her daughter to do first.
Let Qian Ping come over to help her for a while. This sounds like something her sister can do.
"That's great. Now I don't have to hire anyone."
Wang Mengmei was overjoyed: "My sister still cares about me."
As he said this, he was about to call Wang Menglan.
Jian Li quickly stopped talking: "I called after I came back, and my aunt and uncle are out doing a project, so they haven't been home recently."
Wang Mengmei didn't notice anything wrong, or rather, she didn't expect her daughter to be so brave.
"Okay, I'll go make the bed for your sister, and you two can sleep in the same room tonight. But be careful not to kick your sister."
Jian Li readily agreed: "No problem."
After saying that, Jian Lixianbao took out her gains from this summer vacation.
Not to mention the bag of river shrimps and freshly killed ducks, these were given to me by my aunt before I left.
The remaining bag is all Jian Li’s own “treasures”.
"Mom, this is a scorpion. I picked one that was lively and active. I soaked it this afternoon. Don't you always have back pain in winter? Scorpion wine can cure it."
"This is a cicada, and this is wild honey..."
Jian Li not only picked up some Chinese medicinal herbs, she also had a big bag of fresh peanuts and corn cobs in her pocket.
"Mom, I want grilled corn on the cob with peanut butter tomorrow."
Wang Mengmei used to make her own peanut sauce, which was delicious when mixed with noodles. Jian Li always thought about that taste.
Wang Mengmei originally wanted to say no, but when she saw that Jian Li had indeed lost a lot of weight this summer vacation, she took it unhappily.
"Come on, come on, come on. I don't know how I wronged you in my last life. You're never wronged in this life."
"By the way, where did you get the wine for the scorpion wine?"
Jian Li pointed to the cabinet and said, "It's in that cabinet."
Wang Mengmei: !!!
"You stupid kid, that's the wine someone gave to your dad!"
Zhao Xiaopeng sent it to him a few days ago, saying that a bottle costs almost fifty! Jian Feng was reluctant to drink it after receiving it, and planned to wait until the Spring Festival when Wang Liming came back from the south, and then drink it with a few childhood friends!
Jian Li initially shrank her neck, but when she heard that it was sent by Zhao Xiaopeng, she immediately became alert.
"Why did he give my dad wine?"
Wang Mengmei: "I just said I was changing shifts, nothing else... I want to see how you tell your dad for a while."
Jian Li stuck out her tongue and said, "My dad won't bear to hit me."
She ran out with Qian Ping in a flash, but what she was thinking was how could Zhao Xiaopeng be so willing to do that.
Is she planning something against her dad again?
But her father had not yet retired, and her family had not mentioned buying a car. Zhao Xiaopeng had not even started working as a used car dealer.
Jane Li's heart suddenly felt heavy.
*****
Qian Ping stayed there like this.
On the other side, Wang Menglan didn't realize her daughter had run away until three days later.
She had been busy at the construction site for several days and almost forgot about time.
Then, when I was about to go home to change clothes and take a shower, I met the fellow villager who was said to be able to bring money to the United States at the street corner.
The fellow villager was leaving in three days, and he found Wang Menglan to extort some more money, and then let Qian Ping get ready to follow him.
"The boat tickets we have booked are only a week away, so we have to go there a few days in advance to wait for the boat to arrive."
"The boat ticket is more expensive than expected. Two thousand dollars is not enough. I need another three thousand dollars."
Wang Mengmei felt very painful.
As soon as the fellow villager saw her expression, he knew that it was not easy to accept the money, and immediately wanted to try to negotiate again.
"If you think it's expensive, just think about how much money you can earn there in a month. With this little money for the boat ticket, you can earn that much in less than half a month."
"Of course, if you don't want to go, forget it. I won't cheat you out of your money. There are a lot of people waiting to go anyway. If you don't go, I'll give you your money back."
Wang Menglan was smart in small matters, but she was still confused about this matter.
She said hurriedly, "No, we'll make up for it. Three thousand yuan, right? I'll ask Qian Ping to send it to your house later."
After saying this, Wang Menglan hurried home, planning to get the money as soon as she got home.
Her husband Qian Jinlai frowned and said, "Think about it again. Why are you so anxious?"
He felt from the beginning that this man was unreliable, but his wife was dazzled by the United States and was determined to send their daughter there, so he had no say at all.
Two thousand yuan is a year's income for an ordinary working-class family.
Not to mention the money spent on gifts, if I give another three thousand, it would be almost six thousand yuan.
With this money, it is enough to buy a small house of 30 square meters in the county town.
Wang Menglan shook her hand away fiercely and glared at him with a look of disappointment.
"You know nothing. We are going abroad! Not to mention 5,000 yuan, even if it's 10,000 yuan, what can't we earn there?"
"Don't act like you've never seen the world!"
"Get out of here!"
Wang Menglan looked down on Qian Jinlai's cowardly appearance. Although Qian Jinlai was a small contractor in recent years, Wang Menglan did most of the work.
Wang Menglan only has the level of a third-grade primary school student, but she dares to think and act, and is willing to endure hardships. Many times when he wanted to give up and return to town when money came, it was Wang Menglan who pushed him.
"What a shame! A grown man is still so cowardly."
Over time, Qian Jinlai gradually no longer had any objections to Wang Menglan's instructions.
But the less he spoke, the more Wang Menglan felt that he was frightened and had no courage to fight.
Take Qian Ping's going abroad as an example. Qian Ping was reluctant to spend the money, and secondly, he felt that Wang Menglan didn't think enough.
They only have this one daughter, and their family is not so poor that they want to send their daughter abroad to seek wealth. Why must they send her so far away?
I have no son but money. Although I have made a lot of money in recent years, I always feel bored when I have free time.
He has no descendants, so who should he spend the money on?
It was a worker on the construction site who accidentally said something that inspired him.
"Your only daughter, why don't you just marry her off when the time comes?"
Qian Jinlai didn't take this to heart at first, because he thought Qian Ping had good grades, and if his daughter got into a university, then it would be useless to talk about whether it was a good thing or not.
But now Qian Ping failed the exam, Qian Jinlai has already been thinking about finding a husband for Qian Ping. When the son-in-law comes into the family, his own grandson-in-law will take his own surname, and the family business will be entrusted to someone so that he will not be extinct.
Who knew that Wang Menglan was so stubborn and stubborn that she insisted her daughter bring honor to her.
Qian Jinlai said it twice, and Wang Menglan gave the same answer each time.
"You are such a loser, how dare you criticize me for educating my daughter?"
For Wang Menglan, her whole life is lived with one breath, and that breath is to not let others laugh at her.
But now, Wang Menglan's tone was blocked by the girl.
In the empty living room, there was only a note left by Qian Ping.
After reading it, Wang Menglan smashed the dishes in the house.
"You ungrateful bastard! You don't know what's good for you!"
"I'm her biological mother, how can I harm her?"
Qian Jinlai followed him in and saw a room full of broken pots and pans. He didn't even have the energy to sigh.
When he looked at the note again, he found out that his daughter had run away.
The couple looked at each other in silence.
Wang Menglan wiped the tears from her face fiercely: "You son of a bitch, you are just like me. The ladder is right in front of you but you don't know how to climb it."
Wang Menglan came into the house angrily and threw all the things Qian Ping left behind.
"Run, run if you can, just consider it as I raised this young lady for nothing!"
Wang Menglan felt aggrieved and sad, and felt that Qian Ping could not understand her feelings.
Who is she working so hard for all her life?
Isn't it because of her heartlessness?
But Qian Ping was lucky enough to give her such a big "surprise".
Wang Menglan was crying and cursing at home, but Qian Jinlai was quick-witted and rushed out to call Qian Ping.
I called all the relatives and asked them one by one, but they all said they had never seen Qian Ping.
Until we got to the city.
Jian Feng received the call.
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