Jian Dan hadn't expected the old lady to be so persistent. She had already left, yet the old lady still chased after her. Looking at the things in her hands with a bit of helplessness, she hadn't intended to have any further involvement after accepting those things. Now, she felt a little embarrassed.
However, since the person had already said it was for the child, she couldn't very well chase after them to return it. She could only do it another time when the opportunity arose.
"Yes, it's for you,"
Both net bags were filled with quite a bit, but it was clear that they were packed in a hurry, as the items were just stuffed in haphazardly. The paper bags that were clearly filled with snacks were sticking out in all directions.
At the very top was a package wrapped in oiled paper, which was square in shape and tied with a thin rope.
The other net bag had a piece of blue-gray cloth underneath, a common color these days, probably for simple needs.
It was stuffed full of a piece of fabric, pink with small floral patterns, definitely something only a child could wear.
Don't be fooled by the small quantity of items; they're all high-quality. The fabric, especially the floral print, is quite expensive.
This is another significant favor, and Jian Dan couldn't help but sigh again.
Jian Xin had just secretly reached out her little hand to touch the oil paper package when she immediately stopped, unwilling to look away, and quickly withdrew her hand.
"Sister, should we return it to that grandma?"
"Hmm?" Jian Dan realized that she hadn't just sighed, she had actually spoken aloud.
"It's nothing, it's nothing. Don't worry so much, you're just a kid. This is an adult matter, it's just reciprocity. Why are you frowning?"
Children are not easily fooled.
"But that grandma said you saved her, but she didn't come to our house?"
Even Old Man Liu standing nearby was amused.
"Child, saving someone doesn't necessarily mean bringing them back,"
"Yeah?"
Jian Dan was suddenly stunned. Where did this child get this idea from?
He gathered his things together and sat down on the side.
"Let me tell you this: you were handed over to me by your father, so you're different from everyone else."
Let me tell you, all this talk about who saved whom is just a euphemism for helping someone.
Think about it, if you have difficulties and I help you solve them, isn't that saving you?
So don't dwell on this.
However, you must remember that it is a good thing to be helpful, but you are still a child. The premise of helping others is to ensure your own safety, understand?
If you knowingly rush into danger, that's not helping others, that's being a fool, you understand?
She only half understood, her little head was a bit confused.
"Oh? But what should we do then?"
Instead of answering directly, Jian asked,
"What do you think? For example, if you're playing at the foot of the mountain and you see a wild boar coming down from the mountain, what would you do?"
The little girl's eyes widened.
"Wild boar?"
"Yes, it's so big it can bite. It's very dangerous for a small child to encounter it. What do you suggest we do?"
The little girl was so anxious that she kept slapping her thigh.
"Run quickly and find an adult, or you'll get bitten by a wild boar!"
Jian Dan hadn't forgotten what Director Cheng had said to Liu Weimin when he praised her last time. They were talking about selflessness and altruism. Although the idea wasn't wrong, she didn't want to raise her child to be such a hothead.
Helping others is fine, saving lives is fine, but you must first distinguish right from wrong and have a proper understanding of your own abilities, right?
To rush out without the ability or sufficient ability is to be irresponsible to oneself.
Such things have happened repeatedly in later generations.
A person who couldn't swim went into the water to save someone, and in the end, two lives were lost.
This behavior is not necessarily wrong, but it certainly cannot be encouraged.
In this era where collective interests are paramount, and in such a chaotic time, teenagers are often hot-blooded and reckless, so it's easy to imagine that such situations are not uncommon.
Nobody wants to encounter something like this, but putting everything else aside, let's just consider it a preventative measure, so that the child has a mental awareness that not everyone can intervene in everything, help with everything, or save everyone.
"What if a stranger asks you for help?"
The little girl paused for a moment, then scratched her head, looking somewhat troubled.
"But I'm so young, how can I help?"
Jian nodded to herself, thinking, "Not bad, she didn't get carried away by the praise."
"Yes, if children are unsure about something or cannot solve it, they should seek help from adults in a timely manner."
"Look at you, you're so small. If you really run into a bad guy, he'll just grab you and take you away."
The most gratifying thing this winter is that Jian Dan has finally grown taller. Although she doesn't have the long legs of her previous life and is 1.7 meters tall, she has still grown to over 1.6 meters. The pants she made before are all too short now.
When others make pronouncements, she can confidently retort.
We got off-topic while talking, and I didn't expect the child to remember everything in one go.
The people who came out in the morning with the truck have gradually returned. First came a few villagers, then Wang Hongmei and her group, and then Li Yan and her group returned as well.
The sun was already setting in the west. I quickly glanced at my watch; it was past 2:30 in the afternoon when I finally saw Liu Weimin's slow figure, followed by three or five other people carrying large and small bags of luggage.
This familiar scene caused the faces of half the educated youth on the bus to change.
"It's only spring, why are there already new people?"
Wang Hongmei and the others looked particularly grim.
They had just overcome their own food shortage, and the newcomers would definitely have to borrow food from the village first, which made her feel even more gloomy. The other people were borrowing food because they were newcomers and didn't have any. What about them? Because they hadn't planned ahead and had eaten everything they wanted, they were now starving.
They were afraid that when they went to borrow grain, they would overhear the villagers gossiping.
"Didn't that educated youth come to borrow grain a few days ago? Why is he here again?"
"Hey, what do you know? These are the new educated youth who came here. Last time, they were the old educated youth. They ran out of food and had no other choice but to come to the village to borrow grain."
"They've run out of food? Well, I remember they received quite a lot of food last year, how come it's all gone in just a few months?"
The thought that these words might be overheard by them, and that they might come back and point fingers at them, looking down on them and being arrogant, made even the thickest-skinned person feel uneasy. They felt that the villagers on the bus were comparing them to the newcomers.
Li Yan and the others were surprised for a moment, but then they were just curious.
They're cooking for themselves now, and frankly, whether the people who come are human or ghosts, it doesn't really matter to them.
If someone is easy to get along with, then visit them more often.
If someone is difficult to get along with, just keep your distance and maintain a polite facade. There are precedents for this.
Looking at the things in the hands of the new educated youth, and then at the oxcart that was already more than half full, Jian Dan felt that the oxcart was going to be a restless ride.
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