Chapter Eight: This is the reward the county gave you.
Secretary Wang stepped forward, reached out, and firmly grasped Zhang Chunxue's hand. "Comrade Zhang Chunxue! You've worked so hard! You've raised such a wonderful daughter for the country and our town!"
Village chief Zhong Fugui quickly added, "Secretary, you might not know this, but Xiaoxiao's father is Zhong Guosheng from our village! He sacrificed his life a few years ago to save the leaders who were on an inspection tour in the mountains..."
Upon hearing this, Secretary Wang gripped Zhang Chunxue's hand even tighter, his expression deepening with emotion. "So you're a martyr's family member! That's even more remarkable! Truly remarkable!"
The surrounding villagers, including Liu Cuie, Huang Xiaolan, and Gao Xiuli, were all dumbfounded.
First in the county? Top three in the city?
Is this...is this real?
Looking at Zhang Chunxue, whose hand was being warmly shaken by Secretary Wang, and then reflecting on the things they had just said, their faces burned with embarrassment.
"Where's Xiaoxiao? Quickly call the child out!" Secretary Wang urged.
"Hey! Hey!" Zhang Chunxue finally realized what was happening and quickly turned around to call into the house, "Xiaoxiao! Xiaoxiao! Come out quickly!"
The curtain was lifted, and Zhong Xiaoxiao peeked out from inside the room.
She was momentarily stunned when she saw the large group of people in the courtyard, including those unfamiliar faces who looked like important figures.
What... happened?
When her gaze fell on her homeroom teacher, Ms. Sun, and she heard what the village chief and secretary had just said, she belatedly realized what was going on.
The little girl's face flushed red instantly, and she lowered her head shyly, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her clothes.
Town Mayor Li Aimin then stepped forward with a smile, his voice loud and clear, carrying a friendly air.
"Comrade Zhang Chunxue, student Xiaoxiao! This time, it's not just verbal praise! The town and county have prepared awards for our outstanding students!"
As he spoke, he gave a wink to Deputy Mayor Ma behind him, who immediately stepped forward, carrying a bulging net bag.
The net bag looked festive, and the contents inside were quite substantial.
"Here you go, Xiaoxiao!" Deputy Mayor Ma said with a smile, handing the net to Xiaoxiao.
Zhong Xiaoxiao looked at Zhang Chunxue, feeling somewhat at a loss.
Zhang Chunxue nodded to her, indicating that she should accept it. Zhong Xiaoxiao then reached out her slightly trembling hand and took the heavy net bag.
Through the mesh, you can clearly see a brand-new white enamel mug with a red "Award" printed on it, as well as a snow-white towel and a soap dish.
What made Zhong Xiaoxiao's eyes light up even more was that inside there was a brand new canvas backpack, several thick stacks of exercise books, a bundle of neatly sharpened pencils, and a Hero brand fountain pen that gleamed with a metallic sheen!
These...are all for her?
Zhong Xiaoxiao's heart was pounding, as if it was about to jump out of her throat.
Before she could recover from this huge surprise, Deputy Secretary Zhou stepped forward, holding a thick kraft paper envelope in his hand.
"Xiaoxiao, this is a 100 yuan bonus awarded to you by the county!" Deputy Secretary Zhou solemnly handed the envelope to Xiaoxiao.
"One hundred yuan!"
"My goodness! This is equivalent to three or four months' wages for a regular worker in the city!"
The villagers watching immediately let out an uncontrollable gasp, even more shocked than when they heard that the county had won first place!
One hundred yuan!
These days, how many hundred-yuan bills can a strong laborer save after a year of hard work?
This little brat, she only took a test and got a hundred yuan?!
Deputy Secretary Zhou looked at Xiaoxiao and added, "Inside the envelope, there is also a letter of recommendation, jointly issued by the town's middle school and the county education bureau, recommending you to study at the best high school in the county!"
The crowd erupted in chaos!
"What? You can go to high school in the county?"
"That's the county high school! I heard that graduates from there all become government officials!"
"Good heavens! Is this girl from the Zhong family about to rise to a high social status?"
"A hundred yuan bonus! And a recommendation letter from the county high school! This... this is truly incredible luck!"
Envy, jealousy, disbelief... a complex mix of emotions clung to the villagers' faces.
Many of those who were just mocking Zhang Chunxue now felt their faces burning with embarrassment and wished they could disappear into the ground.
Liu Cuie's triangular eyes widened as she stared intently at the net bag in Xiaoxiao's hand and the envelope containing one hundred yuan.
Those eyes, so naked and undisguised in their greed, seemed to yearn to pounce on it and snatch it away immediately!
Her breathing became heavy, and her chest heaved violently.
Looking at the heavy reward in her daughter's hand, Zhang Chunxue's heart was also filled with emotion.
I'm excited, excited because I'm proud of my daughter.
The feeling of loss stems from the fact that... this is so different from my previous life!
She clearly remembered that when Xiaoxiao graduated from junior high school in her previous life, although her grades were also good, there was definitely no such grand spectacle!
Not to mention the town leaders coming to visit in person, even the village didn't make such a fuss.
Could it be that...
Zhang Chunxue's gaze suddenly turned cold as she swept over Liu Cuie, Huang Xiaolan, and Gao Xiuli, whose faces were grim not far away.
In my past life, it wasn't that I didn't receive this recognition and reward, but rather... that these heartless and rotten people snatched it away halfway through!
It's even possible that knowing Xiaoxiao did well on the exam made them even more eager to marry her off, fearing that things might change and that she might actually have the opportunity to go to high school!
The more Zhang Chunxue thought about it, the colder her heart became. If... if she had known all this in her past life, even if it was just for this "usefulness," would she have given up on Xiaoxiao so easily, letting them push her into the Wang family's fire pit, and ultimately being beaten to death by that damned Wang Laowu?
Regret and anger intertwined, causing Zhang Chunxue's nails to dig deeply into her palms.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and forced a smile onto her face as she said to Secretary Wang and the others, "Leaders, please...please come inside and sit down! Although the house is simple, there is still water available."
Secretary Wang waved his hand, his smile remaining kind.
"No, no, Comrade Zhang Chunxue, we won't trouble you any further," he said, pointing in the direction of the village committee. "We'll just go to the village committee later to sit down and find out what's going on."
As he spoke, Secretary Wang glanced around at the villagers who had not yet completely dispersed in the courtyard and frowned slightly.
"By the way, when we came over just now, we saw a lot of people gathered in front of your house, making a lot of noise. What's going on?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Cuie, Huang Xiaolan, Gao Xiuli, and the others turned pale instantly.
Many of the villagers who had spoken up earlier lowered their heads guiltily, their eyes darting away.
Seeing this, Zhang Chunxue's lips curled into a cold smile, and she sneered, "Ha! Secretary, Mayor, leaders, you've come at the perfect time! Be the judge! I need to send my daughter to school so she can continue her high school studies!"
She pointed sharply at Liu Cuie, Huang Xiaolan, and Gao Xiuli, whose faces were deathly pale, "But I, as her mother, haven't even said a word yet, and her own grandmother! Her eldest aunt! Her third aunt! Are about to sell her off!"
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