Chapter 71: Stay ①
After seeing the guests off, Nie Qiu and Nie Aifang silently finished their meal. After washing up, they both returned to their respective rooms to rest. Nie Qiu tidied up the bowls and chopsticks and looked at Nie Aifang’s back. “Mom, if I stay in Class 10, I won’t have to pay for all my studies, right? Why don’t you agree?” She knew that the biggest expense for the family was her tuition fees. She had thought about using Jade Spirit to help the family earn money, but she didn’t know how to tell Nie Aifang.
Nie Aifang’s hand, which was lifting the curtain, paused. She thought for a moment, then turned to Nie Qiu and said, “Qiu Qiu, no matter what, I hope you can study in Class 1.”
Nie Qiu lowered her head. “Teacher Yang said that applying for a class transfer requires a parent’s signature. Mom, can you come to school with me tomorrow?”
Nie Aifang smiled, nodded, lifted the curtain to her room, and walked in.
Nie Qiu took the tidied bowls and chopsticks to the kitchen to wash them, then took some warm water from the honeycomb briquette stove, washed her hair, took a bath, and returned to her room to sleep.
Looking at the necklace in her hand, Nie Qiu sighed. If she studied in Class 1, the expenses would probably be even higher! Test papers… various extracurricular books, it’s hard to have both. If she studied in Class 1, Nie Aifang would also be more tired, right?
“Doudou, what should I do?” She opened her eyes and found herself lying on the lawn in the space.
A snow-white little white rabbit hopped to Nie Qiu’s side and lay in her arms. “Do you see this patch of vegetable land?”
“I know what you’re going to say, but Doudou… you said, how should I tell my mom…” Nie Qiu sighed, her brow furrowed.
“What if… you let your mom sell vegetables?” Doudou said softly.
“No, that’s impossible. If I let her sell vegetables, how can I tell her…”
“Nie Qiu!” Doudou interrupted Nie Qiu, chuckling. “If I’m not mistaken, that vegetable vendor who bought our vegetables last time is still waiting for you to sell them! I think you can discuss it with him first, sell the vegetables to him, and have him rent an extra vegetable stand in the market. Then, you can have your mom sell vegetables there and just pay her a salary.”
“We don’t know each other. Will he help? Besides, if he finds out…”
“…” Doudou also fell silent.
Nie Qiu sighed, rubbed Doudou’s little head, and stood up. “I’m going out now. You should rest well too.”
“Nie Qiu…” Doudou lowered its head and licked its smooth fur. “Can you bring some small animals in? I’m the only one here, and it’s too boring.”
Nie Qiu smiled, squatted down, and rubbed the little white rabbit’s head. “Okay, I’ll remember.”
The next day, the mother and daughter got up early because Nie Qiu said she had to be at school by six. Nie Aifang, for the first time, did not make breakfast at home. Instead, she and Nie Qiu got up at five, washed up, and then went to school, buying steamed buns and soy milk on the way. Nie Aifang was frugal and always cooked at home, which was both clean and hygienic and saved on processing fees, so she rarely let Nie Qiu eat out.
When they arrived at the school, the school gatekeeper, yawning, had just opened the school gate, looking exhausted. Apart from students who lived on campus and went out to buy breakfast, there were no other students who came to school so early.
Nie Qiu led Nie Aifang towards the teaching building. “Mom, Teacher Yang usually doesn’t arrive at school until seven. If you don’t want to go to the classroom with me, you can find a place to sit and rest.” Every morning at six, she would discuss the difficult problems from the homework done in the past few days with her classmates. The subject she discussed varied each day. She didn’t want Nie Aifang to accompany her to the classroom to avoid making Nie Aifang feel awkward.
Also… she didn’t know how to lecture in front of Nie Aifang, and she would be very embarrassed.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s still early, and it’s the same everywhere. Do your classmates usually come this early?” Nie Aifang waved her hand and asked with a smile.
Nie Qiu nodded. “Because everyone doesn’t want to just muddle along! Everyone wants to get into a good school, at least… not to disappoint their parents.”
“That’s how it should be.” Nie Aifang nodded with relief. “It’s good that you’re obedient. If… if you were still the same student as before, I really wouldn’t know how to face it. I heard clearly what the parents who came yesterday said. Because of your daughter, these students have made progress. I don’t think my daughter shouldn’t have done this; I think it’s very good.”
Because of the hospitalization, her daughter had forgotten those unpleasant things. This was good. But… she was still selfish. Even if these children changed and no longer bullied her daughter, she was still worried.
Living in a group, no matter how much people love each other, there will still be friction. It’s like a loving couple; there are too many things in life that can create a rift between two people. She wasn’t saying that Nie Qiu would definitely get along well with the classmates in Class 1 if she transferred there, but at least… it should be much better than in Class 10. At least she felt that the quality of people in Class 1 must be much better than in Class 10.
So she refused those parents, not just for the sake of the children’s future.
Upon arriving at the doorway of Class 10, Nie Qiu was surprised to find that the graffiti on the two security doors was gone, and the graffiti on the windows was also gone. She smiled. Could it be that they had done a thorough cleaning during their evening self-study session yesterday?
Nie Aifang was also a bit surprised. To be honest, she had been to the school more than once or twice, and she remembered the appearance of Class 10 clearly. The graffiti painted with colored paint was still vivid in her memory. She was quite clear about it.
Nie Qiu always arrived earlier than her classmates in the classroom. The study committee member handed her the key to the classroom. She took out the key from her schoolbag, picked out the largest one, and inserted it into the keyhole of the classroom security door.
The sound of the key turning made everyone hiding behind the classroom door hold their breath. Ma Xin whispered excitedly, “They’re here, they’re here! Everyone get ready, snow spray and colored ribbon!”
The sound of the classroom door opening with a “click” was accompanied by the “bang,” “bang,” “bang” sounds of hand-held colored ribbon and snow spray, and more so, the noisy sounds of the classmates inside the classroom.
“Welcome, Nie Qiu!”
“Nie Qiu, good morning! Did you sleep well?”
“Nie Qiu, good morning!”
All the classmates greeted Nie Qiu with smiles. Li Kai walked out from the crowd with a smile and stood in front of everyone. “Nie Qiu, although everyone is very reluctant to part with you, for your future, we sincerely wish you well. My classmates and I have specially prepared a farewell party for you. We hope… to leave you with a beautiful memory during this time.”
