Xiao Jiu looked at her with heartache: "No need, no need, I'm not in a hurry. How much more do you need? I'll help you."
Zhu Hongqi quickly shook his head, "Thank you, Tao'er, but no, your family isn't having an easy time either."
You can help me for a while, but it's not right to keep bothering you.
Moreover, my family's situation is quite complicated and cannot be solved with money and tickets alone.
Besides, my sister is also engaged and will get married in the spring after the new year.
My family needs me to do the work more. If, if you have any more exam papers, could you send me a copy?
Faced with Zhu Hongqi's difficult-to-speak-but-have-to-ask-a-request request, who could refuse?
In fact, this is not just the experience of Zhu Hongqi or Yuan Yuan alone, but rather the general situation.
In the current situation, it's extremely rare to find someone like her and Pang Weiwei who can study and eat without any worries.
They were either forced to marry to exchange for dowry from their brothers' families, or they became the cheapest labor force.
Just as Xiao Jiu was worried about Yuan Yuan's situation, news finally came from Class 3 that Yuan Yuan had gotten into a fight with her grandmother and aunt and ended up in the hospital.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jiu immediately asked her homeroom teacher for leave from evening self-study and went to the hospital where she had her wound bandaged.
I thought it would be either surgery or internal medicine, but who would have thought that Yuan Yuan would also be admitted to the gynecology department?!
When she arrived, there was only that tiny person in the huge ward, with thick bandages wrapped around her head, lying there like a broken doll, staring blankly out the window. When she heard the noise, she turned her head and saw that it was her, her face full of surprise.
"Tao'er, what brings you here?"
Xiao Jiu walked over, lifted her blankets, and sure enough, saw multiple layers of bandages wrapped around her abdomen.
Her face paled. "What's wrong with you...?"
Yuan Yuan glanced outside warily, and only after confirming that Xiao Jiu had closed the door properly did she whisper.
"It's nothing, I was just stabbed in the abdomen. After being sent to the hospital, I held on to my last breath and begged the doctor to tell me that I would have difficulty having children in the future. I was wheeled directly from the operating room. When my grandma and the others found out that I would not be able to have children in the future, they ran away in a panic."
"Then what about you...?" Yuan Yuan shook her head. "The doctor said it's nothing serious, just some bruising. I was lucky to survive being stabbed by my aunt; the knife avoided all the vital organs. However, I lost too much blood and had to have surgery. I won't be able to leave the hospital for at least ten days to two weeks."
"Will the doctor listen to you?" Xiao Jiu asked with some doubt.
Yuan Yuan sighed, "They've seen too many women like me who would rather die than marry, even to the point of self-harm. When they heard that I was willing to ruin my reputation to refuse to marry, they guessed a bit. When I woke up in the observation room after my surgery, they carefully asked me why. After that, they openly protected me and even told me not to let it slip."
"So what exactly happened to you?"
"What else could have happened? Didn't I smash someone's window and run away?"
When I got home, my grandma took a rolling pin and hit me hard.
Then I ran outside, sat in the yard and cried, telling everyone about my grandmother's evil deeds and how that man had touched me inappropriately.
I was so angry that my whole body was trembling. I was tired of hitting myself, and just then my aunt came back, so I asked her to hold me down and hit me.
During the chase, I caught sight of a long knife on the chopping board in my neighbor's house. Taking advantage of the struggle between my aunt and me, she used her hand to stab me in the stomach…”
Xiao Jiu was so shocked that she stood up abruptly. "I told you to pretend to hurt yourself, not that you actually did it. Aren't you afraid you won't survive if you stab yourself?"
"If I'm going to die, I'm going to die. I'd rather not stay in this family than be forced to marry someone else and have my happiness ruined for half my life."
"I might as well take a gamble. If I win, they'll have no recourse but to suffer in silence. I'll have their weakness in my hands, let's see if they dare to mistreat me like this again!"
Then, her pale face forced a weak smile at her.
"See, I won the bet! Now they not only have to obediently pay my medical bills, but they also have to bring me three meals a day."
If they dare not take care of me, I will report them to the cannery and to the police station for murder.
So many neighbors testified for me there; I don't believe they weren't afraid of going to jail and losing their jobs!
Xiao Jiu looked at her with heartache: "I hope that what you're doing will achieve your expectations and be worthy of all the blood you've shed."
“I don’t rely on anyone anymore. Look, they only provide three meals a day, and there’s no one to take care of me otherwise.”
My dad only came when I had surgery, and he hasn't shown his face since.
He even told me not to say anything out of line. Haha, do you think he's still my real father?
Seriously, you can only see clearly whether the people around you are human or ghosts by lying here once.
These close relatives didn't even help me as much as the nurse did.
I won't let them get away with this. I have medical records and so many witnesses; I refuse to believe I can't get them under control!
Xiao Jiu thought for a moment, "Don't worry about your studies. I'll tutor you once you've fully recovered."
Your most important task right now is to take this time to fully recover your health so you can live on campus after the New Year, right?
Yuan Yuan nodded, "Don't worry, I've already planned it out. I'll take this opportunity to extort some money to cover my tuition and living expenses for the next year, as well as my own food every month. I'll keep it myself; I don't want to associate with them. Wouldn't it be better to pay for it at the school?"
In J City, adult women receive 28 jin (14 catties) of grain, while high school students receive 30 jin (15 catties) of grain. Yuan Yuan even receives two jin (1 kg) more grain than the old lady!
"Since you know what you're doing, I'm relieved. But if anything happens, just have the nurse notify me."
He then left Yuanyuan five yuan and five jin of grain coupons.
"Take this and use it, just in case they mistreat you. Get your body in good shape so you'll have the strength to fight them. Remember that?"
Yuan Yuan looked at the money and tickets and her eyes welled up with tears.
"You little girl, we've only just met, and I even bumped into you and got you all messed up. How can you still give me money and tickets?"
Xiao Jiu shook her head. "You know what? Two of my roommates dropped out because of family reasons."
But they are better off than you; they stayed at home voluntarily because their families needed them.
Your current misfortune, as can be seen from the doctor, is not an isolated case, but a tragedy created by this era for women.
From birth, we live at the bottom of society. Everyone in our family is more important than us, and everyone can despise us.
Why should I? So, Yuan Yuan, you have to hold on, get into university, and do everything you can to get away from them.
"Being in charge of your own life in the future will change your destiny..."
For girls who want to change their fate and escape the harm of their families of origin, going to school is probably the best shortcut.
She was truly grateful that she had been sent to the Tao family, where she had loving grandparents, parents, brothers, and sisters. This allowed her to enjoy their love without any guilt, whether she was a lazy bum or a parasite, or even if she simply lay low and did nothing from now on, she would never have to worry about food or drink.
But look at all the girls she's met since she was a child, which one of them has been as lucky as her?
The fourth sister in the family is deaf, the seventh sister is blind, and the eighth sister is lame.
Zhu Hongqi has four sisters. Her parents are in poor health, and her older sister is malnourished. Zhou Shengnan is the eldest daughter in her family, with both an older and a younger brother. She even wonders if she will be forced into marriage by her family this time as well.
And what about those girls in the class who didn't come? Which one of them didn't have something they couldn't say?
The injustices against women in this society are deeply ingrained. If you can't change others, you can only change yourself.
On Saturday morning, Zhu Hongqi finally couldn't hold on any longer and submitted an application for a temporary leave of absence to the school.
"I have already told the teacher that if there are any major exams at school, they will notify me to come back to take them. From today until next year's college entrance exam, I will be studying at home for the time being. If you have any good study materials or test papers, please make a copy for me. Thank you all in advance."
Zhu Hongqi started crying as she spoke. She was very reluctant to leave the school, but the burden of her family was there, and she couldn't abandon them. After all, her family had sacrificed so much to support her education over the years.
When Xiao Jiu wasn't looking, he slipped twenty yuan into her bag.
Twenty yuan isn't much, and it might not be a huge help to her, but it can at least relieve her immediate crisis.
Then she was given eight feet of cloth coupons and three catties of sugar coupons, which moved Zhu Hongqi so much that she wanted to kneel down.
Pang Weiwei also slipped her two yuan and a pound of grain coupons when she wasn't looking.
Peng Juanmingxia's family has limited means, but she has already assured Zhu Hongqi that she will help her copy the exam papers and notes and send them back.
After seeing Zhu Hongqi off, everyone sat in the dormitory in silence for a long time, even the usually lively Pang Weiwei frowned.
Because final exams are approaching, this week will not be a regular weekday. Classes will be held on Sunday as usual, and school will end at 4 pm on Saturday so students can go out and have some fresh air.
Considering that she had spent a lot recently, Xiao Jiu rode her bicycle directly to the vicinity of the former plastic factory's residential compound.
He put the bicycle into his spatial storage, changed into some tattered clothes, made his face look dirty, and rummaged through his hair until it was a mess, before confidently carrying his bamboo basket and heading out to find it.
In the bungalow area, at Liu Da's house, he knocked on the door with perfect aim. When he saw that it was the same old lady who had opened the door last time, her smile immediately lit up.
"Hello Grandma, I've come to see Aunt Caixia. I brought her some cookies earlier, I wonder if she's finished them?"
The old lady's eyes lit up, and she immediately remembered who she was. She quickly and warmly pulled her into the house.
"Oh my, it's been a while since you last came. Your Aunt Caixia hasn't gotten off work yet. It's just me and my two grandchildren at home. What did you bring, little girl?"
Knowing the Liu family's character well, Xiao Jiu didn't hide anything. She put down her basket and took out two candies, handing them to Niu Niu, who was curiously watching her but hiding behind the old lady.
"Come on, Niu Niu, have some candy. Don't let my dirty face fool you, my hands are perfectly clean!"
The old lady glanced at the small bottle of wine and couldn't help but chuckle, then pulled her grandson out.
“Take it if your sister gives it to you. Go and watch your sister. I have something to say to you, her older sister.”
Upon hearing this, Niu Niu politely accepted the gift, said "Thank you, sister," and immediately ran into the inner room.
"Come on, let me see what you brought!"
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