Candied Haws

After being scolded, Huo Xuan complained to her brother angrily.

"No wonder everyone says our stepmother is bad and our father doesn't support us anymore. He must have been bewitched by her."

Huo Li stopped writing, his face serious: "Sister, I won't follow you to find the woman who abandoned us."

Huo Xuan's expression changed slightly: "You just think too much, why should I look for her? She doesn't want us anymore..."

Huo Li said nothing more and continued to do his homework.

Huo Xuan had a sullen look on his face, and it was unclear who he was looking at.

Chen Jiao spread the quilt: "Huo Kai, I want to go to school."

Hawke paused as he was writing a report under the lamp.

"Why do you suddenly want to go to school?"

Chen Jiao said calmly: "Xiao Song from my village has returned to school. She is going to take the college entrance examination."

Huo Kai advised earnestly: "Why do you like to compare yourself with others? The most important thing is to live your own life well. There is no need to compare yourself with others."

Chen Jiao grasped the key point: "What do you mean I like to compare myself with others? We have been married for such a long time, when have I ever compared myself with others? I just think that Xiao Song can go back to school, and I should seize the opportunity to study more while I am still young." In her previous life, she dropped out of junior high school and went home to help her parents with farm work. When she was old enough, she married a man from the same village and had children. She has lived in the village for most of her life and has only been to the city a few times.

After her rebirth, she didn't know the lottery information nor how to get rich. She just heard gossip in the village in her previous life and knew that Hawke would become a professor in his 50s and his two children were very promising, so she chose to marry him regardless of everything.

Unfortunately, she made a wrong bet again. A woman cannot pin her future on a man, especially Huo Kai, who was indecisive. Every time, even though he knew it was the child's problem, he would ask her, an adult, to give in. The result was that Huo Xuan yelled at her at will. She was so rude and willful and didn't know manners at such a young age.

She has thought a lot during this time but can't find a way to resolve the dilemma. Although marrying Huo Kai would allow her to leave the countryside and avoid experiencing the experiences of her previous life, she is trapped in school with no education and can only do rough labor. Does this mean she will have to cut and wash vegetables in the kitchen for the rest of her life?

It wasn't until she chatted with Aunt Feng and heard that Song Shixia was going to take the college entrance exam that she suddenly realized why she couldn't go to school. She made up her mind to learn from Song Shixia, and it would definitely not go wrong to follow her as a role model.

Huo Kai was very embarrassed. His ex-wife liked to compare herself with others. He used to think that this was a minor flaw that was harmless, but who knew that Li Mengxuan was so arrogant that she always used him as a stepping stone and never really regarded him as a husband. She even ruthlessly abandoned their children. But he still…

"Huo Xuan's words today were not sensible and hurt you. I apologize on her behalf."

Chen Jiao sneered sarcastically: "You have apologized on her behalf every time, and I can't really hold it against her. You two are a loving father and a filial daughter, but I am not a likable stepmother, and I don't want to discipline her in a thankless task."

Hawke understood that his daughter had inherited all of his ex-wife's personality, and therefore he was partial to and indulgent towards her.

"Don't worry, when she grows up and becomes sensible, she will understand your good intentions. You should not go against her."

Chen Jiao swallowed her anger and said, "What about my schooling?"

Huo Kai quickly agreed: "It's up to you. If you want to learn, then learn. But I don't have the spare time to tutor you."

Chen Jiao never thought of counting on him: "I won't take money from your salary to go to night school, so as not to be criticized again."

Huo Kai was embarrassed: "Don't listen to Huo Xuan's nonsense, spend the money as you like, there's no need to be so clear." His feelings for Chen Jiao were more of gratitude. If it weren't for Chen Jiao keeping the house in order, he really couldn't take care of the two children and work at the same time. With her at home, it feels like a home. As long as it's within the acceptable range, he doesn't mind her spending money.

Chen Jiao was reluctantly satisfied. It turned out that women still had to earn their own money. Since he said so, she would save as much as possible.

"Okay, the night school tuition will be paid from your salary, and I will pay the rest from my own salary."

Huo Kai said hesitantly: "It's good that you have your own ideas. By the way, Xiao Song you mentioned is also in our school, why don't you invite her to our house as a guest."

"I don't have time. I'm so busy all day long, how can I have time?" There are so many trivial things to do at home, how can she have the energy to entertain guests.

Huo Kai disagreed: "Friends also need personal connections, not to mention that you are from the same village. It is fate that you meet in the same school."

"What do you mean? What can Xiao Song do if she comes to our house? She can't influence Professor Ji's thoughts. Besides, you have nothing to do with Professor Ji, so there's no need to please him, right?"

Huo Kai pretended to be indifferent: "I just care about your friendship situation, it's not as complicated as you think." Li Mengxuan told him that Professor Ji's father was a retired leader and asked him to help make connections, but he didn't have the ability to ask Professor Ji.

"You don't have to worry about this. Even if we invite you, we'll have dinner outside. Our house is so small, can they sit down?"

Chen Jiao's words were a bit heart-wrenching, and Huo Kai immediately lost his temper and gave up his idea. No matter how bad Li Mengxuan was, her husband was the son of the factory director and lived in a single-family house with a yard. Why did he worry about living in this sparrow cage?

Chen Jiao never expected that her self-deprecating words would not only hurt her husband's self-esteem, but also extinguish his enthusiasm for his ex-wife.

Song Shixia had been in school for a week and felt like she would have to go through another week before she could find an excuse to slip away. Fortunately, she was used to getting up early, so it wasn't as painful as the first day.

I am lucky that my mother-in-law prepares breakfast for me every morning and my elder sister takes me to lunch at noon. I feel like I have become a candidate who is treated as a national treasure in the family.

Ji Yanran's school requires students to live on campus. It is said that the accommodation environment is extremely poor, but she works very hard to get high scores.

This fighting spirit made Song Shixia feel a little inferior. She would be distracted during the last class of every day and think about what to eat that day.

Ji Weiqing called in advance and said that she would bring the children to stay here today, which would save her the trouble of going home.

Song Shixia told Ji Weiqing to bring her new clothes over the phone, as the temperature had dropped in the next two days and she could wear a coat. The two cubs were very happy over the phone, as they hadn't seen their mother for five days.

The family of three was carrying their luggage, and if you didn’t know better you would think they were moving.

Ji Weiqing had already put on new clothes, and Song Shixia was wearing old clothes that her mother-in-law found from her eldest sister's closet. There was no sign of a drop in temperature that day, and if it weren't for her eldest sister's old clothes, she would have had to go to school wrapped in a blanket.

In fact, the eldest sister's clothes are not ugly, but the color is a bit mature. It is a short coat with green and brown plaid, with two rows of buttons in a neat pattern. The length of the coat is to the thigh, and the neckline is a symmetrical triangle.

My eldest sister thought the dress was too old and threw it in the closet at home. She changed into it when she got home because she was afraid of getting it dirty.

Song Shixia doesn't mind the old-fashioned color combination of the clothes at all. She calls it retro style. It's a pity that no one can understand her aesthetic. Alas.

Song Shixia didn't expect that Ji Weiqing was carrying the woven bag she used when she entered the city, but the only suitcase in the house was taken by her, so the only woven bag could be used.

She squatted down and hugged the little guys one by one, then kissed their little faces.

"Do you miss me?"

Ji Yuan hugged his mother's neck, and his voice was as sweet as if he had eaten honey.

"I miss my mom. I haven't seen her for five days. We've been very good."

Ji Yang tried to suppress his expression but he couldn't hide the joy that was overflowing on his face.

"I took good care of my brother and didn't let him eat the candy."

"You're so good. I saw an old man selling candied haws on the street. Dad and I will go buy a suitcase later and bring you some candied haws when we come back, okay?"

Ji Yuan rubbed his head against his mother and said, "I want to go, too."

Song Shixia's eyes curved into crescents: "Grandma misses you too, and she made sweet cake rolls for you."

Ji Yuan swallowed his saliva. When his mother was not at home, they had nothing to eat, so he went to the cafeteria with his father every day.

He pointed at his finger and said, "Then... let's wait for mom to come back."

Song Shixia picked him up and held Ji Yang with his other hand: "You are so good, you are worthy of being my good baby." The pain of studying can only be alleviated by a sensible child.

My eldest sister called me and I thought it was something important, but it turned out that I was just chatting with her.

"The flower tea you sent me is really good. I have slept much better these past two days, and the dark circles under my eyes have faded a lot."

Song Shixia chuckled: "Dark circles under the eyes are caused by lack of sleep and staying up late. If you get enough sleep, the dark circles will naturally disappear."

The eldest sister had serious dark circles under her eyes, which were not visible when she wore glasses. It was not until she was in school that Song Shixia discovered that the eldest sister was in her 30s but had the skin condition of a 40-year-old.

"You just work too hard and exhaust yourself. Drink the beauty tea regularly and it will gradually work. This is the scented tea I mixed myself, and it has no side effects."

The eldest sister laughed cheerfully, "Can you give your brother-in-law some fat-reducing tea? He's been sitting in the office every day since he got promoted, and he has a big belly."

"Of course you can. Beauty tea can be drunk by both men and women. But you should keep it for yourself, it's good for your health."

"Okay, my two little bastards are back from playing, I'm going to hang up first."

Song Shixia hung up the phone. She didn't expect that her relationship with her eldest sister would improve rapidly after she returned to school. They would call each other every now and then to chat. Fortunately, her mother-in-law had no objection and was even happy to see her have a good relationship with her eldest sister.

Although the elder sister is a generation older than her, they are close friends.

Today is Friday, and every school has a different time to finish school. For example, No. 9 Middle School only has two classes in the afternoon, and many students live far away from home, so they can go home earlier if they finish school early.

Perhaps because it felt unreal that she was going back to high school, Song Shixia always felt like a high school student secretly in love when she and Ji Weiqing walked on the street.

Even though the two of them didn't do anything overly intimate, they were just walking side by side, wearing the same jacket, I couldn't help but feel guilty.

She told Ji Weiqing how she felt.

"Do you think it's similar?"

Ji Weiqing fell into deep thought: "If you were a high school student, I might be morally condemned."

Song Shixia didn't want to pay attention to him: "I was just joking with you, why are you taking it so seriously?"

Ji Weiqing's eyebrows were bent downwards, with a smile in his eyes: "I'm joking with you too."

Song Shixia was distracted by his smile and her heart skipped a beat.

She turned her head and called to him: "I want to eat candied haws, buy some for me."

Ji Weiqing saw an old man selling candied haws at the gate of the health school across the street.

"wait for me."

Song Shixia stood there waiting for him.

At the same time, there was another group of people sitting on the curb in front of the health school across the street.

Zheng Shengli rubbed his eyes.

"Brother Bai, isn't that the transfer student from our class? Am I seeing things right? The bumpkin dresses up so well?"

Bai Qiurui turned around unhappily and said, "How good-looking can a country bumpkin be? You all look like you have never seen the world." After saying that, he looked at Song Shixia, his heart beating rapidly.

Regarding Chen Jiao, I wanted to write a more realistic rebirth. She was a housewife and a rural woman in her previous life. It is impossible for her to become rich and awaken immediately after rebirth. She knows nothing and can only learn and progress from the excellent women around her. Women help women, not females. Now Chen Jiao has learned to seek for herself, and she has grown up step by step.

The characters that appear frequently in the novel will have a growth story. There may not be much plot, but everyone is growing and improving. Those who work hard will become excellent. This is the value I want to convey.

PS: I don’t really like the setting that I had love brain before rebirth, but love brain gets better after rebirth. After all, I was deeply persecuted by my friends with love brain (we have broken off the friendship). I think love brain is an incurable terminal illness. If I had love brain before rebirth, I can’t be cured even if I am reborn.