Chapter 40: Space Cultivation ④
Because today was Sunday, the night market was twice as crowded as usual. In the afternoon, the mother and daughter went to the market to buy ingredients. They spent the entire afternoon washing and cutting vegetables, skewering them, and making dumplings. The barbecue sold surprisingly well. Compared to other meats, the vegetables from the space were more popular. Nie Qiu secretly tasted the barbecue made with vegetables from the space. The flavor was similar, but it lacked the greasiness and had more of the unique fragrance of vegetables.
The pan-fried dumplings also sold well. Nie Qiu had also made many dumplings with other vegetable fillings. She sold the vegetarian pan-fried dumplings cheaply, two cents each, five cents less than the pork ones. For one dollar, you could buy five. Some children also really liked to buy them.
They were busy until very late that day. Although their barbecue and pan-fried dumplings sold well, they had prepared a lot, so they were busy until past midnight. People who usually worked in factories also got off work at midnight, and they all came to eat on electric scooters and motorcycles.
It was almost one in the morning when they finally sold all the ingredients they had brought.
They packed everything up. Nie Qiu looked at Nie Aifang’s hands, which were scalded by oil splashes. These were daily injuries. If anything accidentally fell into the oil tank, oil would splash out. Even when putting the ingredients to be grilled in, it was difficult to control the force when busy. She felt heartache but didn’t say anything, only saying, “Mom, let me ride the tricycle tonight! I haven’t ridden it since we bought it!”
Nie Aifang, who was packing up the tables and chairs, paused and smiled, “Okay, you can take me today.” All the barbecue had been sold out. The weight consisted of only a few oil barrels and a box of unsold beverages, the charcoal grill, the oil tank, and a honeycomb briquette stove, plus herself. It wouldn’t be too heavy.
After the two of them tidied up the stall, Nie Aifang sat at the back of the tricycle. Nie Qiu released the handbrake and started pedaling the tricycle forward. It was very strenuous, truly strenuous. But Nie Aifang had gone through this day after day, year after year.
She wondered, who was happier, her or the previous Nie Qiu? Nie Qiu had asked herself this question countless times in her heart, but she never found an answer. It was a question without an answer.
Nie Qiu looked up at the starry sky. How small humans seemed in this vast universe. How powerless all sadness and troubles seemed in this world. What else was she hoping for? Although she had lost the love of her parents, she now had Nie Aifang. What more could she be unsatisfied with?
In this world, weren’t there people more unfortunate than her? She had hands and feet, and she didn’t have any terminal illness. Why not cherish the fleeting existence in the river of time? Why not cherish the hard-won mother’s love? Nie Qiu smiled. She was not the most unfortunate. She should cherish every minute and second of her existence.
The shops on the street had already started to turn off their lights, leaving only rows of winding streetlights. Nie Qiu hummed a song as she rode the tricycle, carrying the warmest existence in her heart.
The next day was Monday. Nie Qiu went to school with her schoolbag. The third class in the morning was physical education. In reality, all physical education classes for third-year junior high students were canceled. However, for Class 10, no matter what class it was, it was always physical education class and always a self-study class.
The classmates gathered on the sports field, some playing basketball, some playing on their mobile phones, and some playing jump rope. Nie Qiu took out an original book she had rented from the bookstore the night before and sat under a ginkgo tree to read.
Teacher Yang walked past the sports field carrying a stack of test papers. He was surprised when he saw Nie Qiu. He smiled and walked over, “Nie Qiu, have you considered what I told you?”
Nie Qiu, who was reading, felt the scattered sunlight around her being blocked. She quickly looked up and saw it was her homeroom teacher. She was startled and, out of politeness, stood up and greeted him, “Hello, Teacher.”
“What I told you, have you considered it?” Teacher Yang knew Nie Qiu hadn’t heard him just now. He looked at the book in Nie Qiu’s hand with some surprise. It was Sophie’s World.
Nie Qiu thought for a moment, “Are you talking about the model essays, Teacher?”
Teacher Yang nodded. “How is it? The monthly exam is not far away. You need to let everyone see your progress.”
“Okay.” Nie Qiu smiled and nodded. “Teacher, can I apply to transfer classes after the monthly exam?”
Teacher Yang was taken aback, then thought it was understandable. “What’s wrong? You don’t like Class 10? You don’t like the teacher?”
“No.” Nie Qiu shook her head. “It’s not like that, Teacher Yang. To be honest, Teacher Yang, you are the most responsible teacher I have ever met. Usually, in slow classes, very few teachers care about the students’ affairs. But you teach us, find us materials, and find us exam papers. But… Teacher Yang, the learning atmosphere in Class 10 is not suitable for me. I want… I want to get into high school.”
Hearing Nie Qiu say she wanted to get into high school, Teacher Yang was a little stunned. Although the school’s enrollment rate was seventy percent, apart from those in the fast classes, most students from the slow classes got into high school by paying, or they were specialty students. Specialty students had either sports or art specialties, but Nie Qiu had neither. Therefore, she could only study harder.
In Class 10, how could one study hard? Although he felt that this girl had changed a lot and improved a lot, in the environment of Class 10, it would also affect her studies, wouldn’t it? He heard that she had to help with housework every day after school and also go to the night market with her mother. She had no time to study after school. In Class 10, without the teacher’s explanations, it was difficult to learn well just by relying on self-understanding.
“Nie Qiu, tell me, did something happen when you were sick?” Teacher Yang looked at Nie Qiu and asked, “You… have changed a lot.”
Nie Qiu was momentarily at a loss, but she quickly smiled. “I think you know my family situation, Teacher. If I don’t get into high school, will I end up selling barbecue at the night market like my mom? Or… go to other big cities to work as a migrant worker?”
These were just excuses for Teacher Yang, but he actually believed them. He smiled and patted Nie Qiu’s head. “Alright, as long as you get into the top 200 in the whole grade in this monthly exam, I will apply to the school for you. Whether it passes or not depends on your own ability.”
Upon hearing this, Nie Qiu happily nodded. “Okay, thank you, Teacher!” She disliked Class 10, not at all. That kind of atmosphere was not suitable for studying. Books, however, had always been her spiritual sustenance. In the past, she didn’t have many friends, nor did she have her parents by her side. She just liked to quietly stay aside and read. The worlds created in books filled her lonely mind, and she was no longer lonely; she had books as her companions.
Therefore, her grades were good, and she loved books. But in Class 10, she couldn’t read or study properly. During class, in Class 10, her surroundings were filled with noisy classmates who were slacking off, wandering around, playing on their phones, passing notes, or playing games. Perhaps because she was a teacher before, in such an environment, how could she possibly calm down? If she were still a teacher, she would have been furious in such a situation.
