Lin Jianxue shook her head gently: "Auntie, to be honest, my life in the educated youth dormitory was not much better."
"My room was originally a storage room. It's narrow and small. The bed is placed against the wall. It's hard for people to turn around."
"Plus... those people weren't nice to me either. They were so sarcastic, I couldn't even eat."
She saw the worry and heartache in Dong Yulan's eyes, and did not avoid it, but just smiled.
"Actually, I think it's pretty good here. At least it's spacious, and I can keep you company. There's someone to look after me if anything happens. Otherwise, I'd be all alone in the educated youth dormitory, feeling ostracized. If I had a headache or a fever, there'd be no one to help me."
Dong Yulan was stunned and didn't say anything for a long time.
She never imagined that Lin Jianxue didn't even have a decent room in the educated youth dormitory, and was neglected and bullied?
She subconsciously looked at Fu Qingqing, her eyes full of disbelief: "Qingqing, is what Sister Xiaoxue said... true?"
Fu Qingqing nodded quickly: "Mom, Sister Xiaoxue didn't lie to you!"
"Her room was originally a small warehouse for storing miscellaneous items. When Sister Xiaoxue first moved in, I helped her clean it up for an entire afternoon. I had to move out all the junk piled up in it before it could be barely habitable..."
At this point, the little girl curled her lips, looking unconvinced. "Those female educated youth were really bad. They ganged up on me and bullied Sister Xiaoxue. They took all the good beds and only left a storage room for me."
The more Dong Yulan listened, the more uncomfortable she felt, and her chest felt choked up.
Every time this child came to give me something, he never mentioned how hard his life was, and he always smiled every time we met.
Thinking about it now, she only felt guilt and heartache, as well as unstoppable self-blame.
I should have asked earlier and shown more concern, but every time I was just worried about causing trouble to others!
Dong Yulan hesitated for a moment, and finally gave in:
"Xiaoxue, how about... you stay at our house for a while?"
She looked at Lin Jianxue tentatively.
"If you don't get used to living here in the future, you can move out later. Auntie will accompany you to find a house in the village. It's better than being alone outside now, right?"
Lin Jianxue couldn't help but smile slightly when she heard this.
"Thank you, Aunt Dong."
Dong Yulan waved her hands and sighed in a somewhat annoyed manner: "Silly child, what are you talking about thank you or not——"
"If I had known that your life in the educated youth dormitory was so bad, I would have found a place for you to live sooner!"
"You only report good news and never bad news. You're really good at hiding things! If you hadn't come today, I would still be in the dark!"
Lin Jianxue lowered her head and smiled a little embarrassedly, "Actually, it's my own fault. I have a stubborn temper and am not very good at dealing with interpersonal relationships. I shouldn't have troubled you..."
Before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by Dong Yulan: "There is no such thing as trouble. It's just a small matter, and I can do it. If you have any troubles in the future, remember to tell me, okay?"
Lin Jianxue nodded and said, "I understand. Thank you, Aunt Dong."
Dong Yulan stepped forward, held the girl's cold, thin hand, and patted it hard:
"We're family from now on, why should we be so polite?"
Then he led the two people into the house, muttering as he walked,
"Our family's conditions are poor, so don't despise us. When things get better after the wheat harvest, I'll get you new mattresses and mosquito nets..."
When she entered, she stopped at the door of the largest adobe house on the east side and pushed it open, letting the sunlight into the dim and damp little house.
The air was filled with the smell of soil mixed with old wooden cabinets, but it was cleaned very neatly and there was not much dust or debris.
There was only an old wooden bed against the wall, a large wardrobe with peeling paint, and a washbasin rack in the corner - other than that, there was nothing else. It could be said that the walls were truly "empty."
Dong Yulan pointed at the bed, then looked at the wardrobe, and said a little embarrassedly:
"Xiaoxue, this was originally the big room your Uncle Fu and I used to sleep in. But he only comes a few times a year, so I'm the only one here most of the time. It's a big place, but it's cold and empty..."
"How about this, I'll move my bedding roll over next door and squeeze in with Qingqing, and you can rest here in peace."
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