At noon, the school specially arranged two classrooms for everyone to have lunch and take a nap.
Class teacher Lin Ming made a big pot of herbal tea for everyone, and asked everyone to drink a bowl after they had eaten.
"It's hot, so everyone should take good care of themselves and avoid getting heat stroke. No matter how close you live, please stay in school for lunch these two days. Also, a reminder for everyone - don't worry about the ones you've passed the exam, and don't check answers with other students from the same school, so as not to affect your mentality for the next exam."
Everyone expressed their gratitude.
There is no fan in the classroom, and it becomes very hot if there are a few more people.
Chen Xingling and Jia Shuanghua sneaked under the big banyan tree to eat, enjoying the rare coolness under the tree.
"Xiao Chen! Xiao Jia!" Lin Ming shouted, "Did you see Ma Dali? Why didn't you see him?"
Chen Xingling thought for a moment and answered, "He ran out in a hurry after the exam."
Lin Ming frowned slightly and reminded: "When he comes, tell him to remember to drink herbal tea."
Among all the students, Ma Dali's financial situation was the most difficult. His clothes were almost tattered, and his lunch often consisted of only one corn or a cold steamed bun.
Perhaps because he was afraid of being laughed at by his classmates, he often found remote places to eat lunch, and sometimes he even had no lunch at all.
She knew that everyone else disliked Ma Dali, only Chen Xingling and Jia Shuanghua were close to him.
I thought they were having dinner together, but unexpectedly Ma Dali was not there today!
"We have an exam this afternoon, so try not to run around, or you'll miss the exam time." Lin Ming was like an old mother with a broken heart, nagging, "Go to the classroom right after you finish eating. When the time is almost up, I'll go in and call you."
Chen Xingling and Jia Shuanghua said yes.
After a while, Ma Dali came back sweating profusely. Seeing them under the shade of the tree, he came over quickly.
Jia Shuanghua asked curiously, "Where have you been? I haven't seen you since the exam, and Teacher Lin just asked about you."
Ma Dali patted the old cloth bag in his arms and said, "I'm going to wait for my sister outside the school... I came too early in the morning, and the sweet potatoes were not steamed yet. She was afraid that I would be too hungry in the afternoon, so she brought them to me specially."
Chen Xingling and Jia Shuanghua looked at each other and frowned secretly.
"I have to take the exam again in the afternoon. How can you just eat two small potatoes?"
The yams in the twelfth month of the lunar calendar are very small and not very tasty. Exams are very stressful, so how can you not have some solid food to fill your stomach?
Ma Dali smiled awkwardly, picked up the sweet potato and tried to leave - Chen Xingling held him back and stuffed a paper bag into his arms.
“Don’t…” Ma Dali hurriedly shook his head: “Keep it for yourselves, I have enough to eat.”
Seeing that he was about to refuse, Chen Xingling simply pulled him to sit down and eat together.
"I brought a few salt-baked chicken legs. The weather is too hot and I can't bring the bag into the classroom. If I don't eat it now, it might go bad in the afternoon."
These were taken from the super space by her. Each one was very fresh, and even had a hint of coolness from the super large freezer. But she had to say this, otherwise Ma Dali would not dare to accept it.
Jia Shuanghua's eyes lit up as she looked at the chicken leg and she swallowed unconsciously.
"Lingling's family always cooks so many hard dishes! How generous! Such a great gift, let's not be polite to her."
Chen Xingling handed one to Jia Shuanghua and another to Ma Dali.
"Let's eat together and then continue the exam in the afternoon."
Ma Dali was very embarrassed and whispered, "Student Chen, this is - I really don't deserve it."
"Don't be embarrassed." Chen Xingling ate his rice with big mouthfuls: "I still want you to do me a big favor!"
Ma Dali nodded repeatedly: "Just tell me what you want! I will definitely help!"
Jia Shuanghua munched on the chicken leg and muttered, "We are all hungry. Let's not talk anymore. Let's eat and talk at the same time. Dali, don't be polite to Lingling. Eat quickly. Her husband is a senior engineer in the shipyard. He earns a lot of money and we have meat to eat every day at home."
Ma Dali stared in surprise, swallowed his saliva as he smelled the aroma of the chicken leg, smiled slightly embarrassedly, and started eating with big mouthfuls.
"Student Chen, your lover is so amazing! Student Jia and I have benefited a lot from him!"
Chen Xingling explained: "When I met him, he was just a mechanical designer who had just come to work at the shipyard. He was very talented in designing machinery, and his professional title was awarded in the past few years. The higher the professional title, the higher the salary."
Ma Dali smiled shyly and said, "It may sound a bit arrogant for me to say this... but it is what I really think. I don't know why, but when I first saw him this morning, I felt like I had seen him before."
"It proves that you two are destined to be together!" Chen Xingling said with a smile, "Don't talk about whether you are marrying up or not. He is just an ordinary worker. We are all friends. You can just treat my lover as a friend."
In the book, Gu Qi and Ma Dali later became close friends. They helped each other at work and talked about everything in private, and they had a deep relationship.
The only difference was that she advanced the time of their acquaintance.
Ma Dali whispered gratefully: "Thank you. You and Xiao Jia never looked down on me for my poor background and treated me as a classmate and friend... I feel deeply honored."
"Don't say that, we are all good friends!" Jia Shuanghua said with a smile.
Chen Xingling nodded in agreement.
Ma Dali smiled and asked, "By the way, what did you ask me to do for you? As long as I can help, I will go through fire and water for you."
Chen Xingling's eyes flickered, and he asked in a low voice: "After the exam, do you have any plans? Our family is building a new house, and we are in a hurry to move in, so we need more workers to help with the work. Why don't you come and help during the summer vacation? The wages are the same as other workers. If you can help keep watch at night, you can get double the salary."
"No, no." Ma Dali shook his head: "No need to pay, I'll go and help, and I'll also keep watch at night."
Chen Xingling also shook his head: "Forget it, you'd better not come."
"What's wrong?" Ma Dali explained while chewing on a taro: "I don't know much about construction work, but I know how to lay bricks and build walls, so I should be able to help."
Without even looking up, Chen Xingling said coldly, "I pay all other workers 50 cents a day more than other places. If you come here and don't pay them, other workers will be dissatisfied. Some things are like this, it's not the lack of money that is worrying, but the inequality. I want you to help, not to make things worse."
Ma Dali felt both amused and helpless and smiled awkwardly.
"We are friends, not salary."
Chen Xingling shook his head and whispered, "I'm in a hurry to find workers, especially night watchmen. My husband has to work during the day and draw at night, so I don't dare to let him watch. My brothers have to go to the sea early in the morning and can't come to watch. You are a friend and an acquaintance, so I want to find you. Anyway, if you don't help me here, you will go somewhere else to earn money for tuition. You can help me out of my urgent need, and I am grateful enough. But if you don't get paid, then I dare not ask you for help."
Ma Dali stammered, "...or I can get paid less than others. After all, I'm not a professional construction worker."
Jia Shuanghua glared at Ma Dali and said, "Lingling's family is in a hurry to find someone to help. If you can help, go ahead! She is hiring you as well as anyone else. You are an acquaintance, so she will definitely treat the work as her own. She is so happy! But if some people get more and some get less, the other workers may have opinions or misunderstandings. You should treat everyone equally, and you can't make it difficult for Lingling."
Chen Xingling nodded repeatedly: "Yes! I came to you because you are a trustworthy friend."
Ma Dali smiled gratefully and said, "I was originally planning to work in the lime factory... If I can work in the city, that would be great. I will definitely do my best! I can also work as a night watchman. Anyway, I haven't got a family yet, so it doesn't matter where I sleep."
"Okay, wait until I finish the exam tomorrow." Chen Xingling said, "I'll take you to the construction site. I'll start buying bricks, sand, and cement these two days. I'm afraid someone will steal them at night. Tomorrow night, can you -"
"Sure!" Ma Dali interrupted her and said straightforwardly, "I won't study at night after the exam. I'm free. I'll go to keep watch tomorrow night!"
"Okay, it's settled then!"
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