Chapter 13: Are Poor People People?
Nie Qiu couldn’t help but smile, chatting with Nie Aifang as she wrapped dumplings.
Nie Qiu thought about the test paper she had done that morning. After class, she specifically went to the office to ask her homeroom teacher how much money she needed to pay. The family’s situation made it difficult for Nie Qiu to speak up, but without speaking, she wouldn’t have the money to pay for the test papers! She thought for a moment and then said, “Oh, Mom, the school needs money to print test papers. One test paper costs one yuan, and there are nine subjects in total, with three test papers per subject, and last year’s college entrance examination papers from five provinces.”
Nie Aifang was stunned and asked hesitantly, “How much… is it in total?”
“It’s 135 yuan in total,” Nie Qiu said softly, looking at Nie Aifang. She knew that the previous Nie Qiu had never asked for pocket money while studying, and even when teachers asked them to buy materials, the previous Nie Qiu had never asked Nie Aifang to buy them.
As soon as Nie Qiu finished speaking, she saw Nie Aifang’s mouth stiffen. Nie Qiu opened her mouth, wanting to say it was not necessary, but before the words could come out, Nie Aifang put down the dumpling wrapper in her hand, stood up, and said with a forced smile, “Mom will go look and see if there’s that much. If not, I’ll go to the bank to withdraw it.”
Nie Qiu opened her mouth, but in the end, she didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to be in Class 10, not at all! She knew that the subject teachers for Class 10 rarely put much effort into the students of Class 10, so she had to rely on herself. She just wanted to take this opportunity to practice more junior high school exercises, hoping to get better grades in the monthly exam next month, so she would have leverage to apply for a transfer.
In a moment, Nie Aifang took out an old iron box that had contained children’s toys from the room. She opened the box, and it was full of change. Nie Aifang smiled and said, “I didn’t set up my stall last night, but I went to the doorway of the primary school in the north district this morning and sold this much money.”
Was it a lot? Nie Qiu looked at the coins in the iron box: five yuan, one yuan, fifty cents, ten cents. There were only a few scattered ten-yuan bills, three or four at most. It might not be difficult to gather 135 yuan from these, but… it wouldn’t be too easy either.
In Nie Aifang’s dictionary, was this money called a lot? She didn’t say anything, just watched Nie Aifang take out the money from the iron box, smooth it out one by one, and then carefully count it.
Finally, Nie Aifang counted out 135 yuan and gave it to Nie Qiu, smiling, “It’s exactly this much! Take it and go buy the test papers!”
Nie Qiu took it hesitantly, suddenly feeling it was extremely heavy. What remained in the iron box were just coins. One-yuan, fifty-cent, ten-cent coins, while in her hand were heavy seven ten-yuan bills, nine five-yuan bills, and a handful of one-yuan coins. Under Nie Aifang’s expectant gaze, Nie Qiu accepted them.
Nie Aifang smiled, carefully closed the iron box, then picked up the wrapped dumplings in the vegetable basket, and said with a smile, “I’ll go boil the dumplings, and you go do your homework! I’ll call you when the dumplings are cooked.”
Nie Qiu stood up and followed Nie Aifang, “Mom, let me help you!” Do homework? She had attended seven classes today, three of which were taught by the homeroom teacher, and these three classes were either self-study or exams. The other subject teachers only taught for half a class, and for the remaining half, they were either playing on their mobile phones or reading. And none of the teachers who taught today assigned homework.
It wasn’t that these teachers were irresponsible, but in the environment of Class 10, even the best teachers in the world would find it difficult to teach in such a setting, wouldn’t they?
Some read novels, some read comics, some played on their mobile phones, some talked, and some even walked around the classroom. In such an environment, no one listened to the lectures, and the teachers were unwilling to lecture.
While Nie Aifang waited for the water to boil to cook the dumplings, Nie Qiu washed two bowls nearby and then prepared the seasonings.
All the seasonings were placed on a black iron plate on the table. Because their family did barbecue, they had a very complete set of seasonings. However, the black iron plate was greasy, not like something that was often placed there. As she put the seasonings away, she asked, “Mom, what is this iron plate for?”
Nie Aifang poured the dumplings into the pot, stirred them a few times with an iron spoon, and then covered the pot lid. Hearing Nie Qiu’s question, she couldn’t help but smile and say, “That! It’s used for making grilled dishes on an iron plate. Some people like barbecue cooked on an iron plate.”
Nie Qiu’s hand holding the salt paused slightly. This was an iron plate used to cook for others? And it was being used as a base to place things?! Nie Qiu didn’t say anything. This makeshift kitchen, made from the balcony, had walls covered in black oil smoke. Although she couldn’t stand it, there was nothing she could do.
This house was a shell, not yet renovated, meaning the oil smoke attached to the cement couldn’t be washed off. Nie Qiu looked at the pots, bowls, ladles, and basins on the table; they were still there, and the food they ate was very clean.
“Every time I finish my stall, I park the tricycle in the stairwell of the residential area, and then I carry the seasonings and the honeycomb briquette stove back on the iron plate,” Nie Aifang said as she scooped dumplings into the bowl Nie Qiu had prepared, “No one wants that old tricycle downstairs, and it wouldn’t sell for much even as scrap metal. It’s the seasonings and the honeycomb briquettes that people will take.”
Nie Qiu looked at the burning honeycomb briquette stove. The stove itself wasn’t heavy, but what Nie Qiu couldn’t imagine was carrying the honeycomb briquette stove, the iron plate, and various seasonings upstairs every day. From childhood to adulthood, although her parents were not around, all her affairs were handled by a nanny, and she never had to do laundry or cooking herself.
After entering society, when she had money, she gave the house left by her parents to the nanny who had raised her, and then bought a house in the city herself. She could cook and clean for herself, but for thorough cleaning, she would hire a cleaning company.
In her dictionary, the word ‘laborious’ never existed.
She knew that she wasn’t the only person like this in the world; there were still many places and people who couldn’t get enough to eat or wear warm clothes. She also donated money to impoverished mountainous areas every year. However, without seeing or experiencing the lives of those at the bottom, she wouldn’t know how difficult their lives were.
After eating, Nie Aifang went to the night market to set up her stall. Nie Qiu sat on a plastic stool at home and read for a while, but she couldn’t concentrate. She had been reborn into ‘Nie Qiu’s’ body but had deprived her of a laborer. Thinking about Nie Aifang having just heated bathwater for her before going to the night market stall, Nie Qiu felt uncomfortable all over.
Although she enjoyed the affection Nie Aifang gave her, she couldn’t bear to see Nie Aifang work so hard.
