After so many years of living, this was the first time Li Wei felt what it meant to be stretched thin.
When she got home, she put down the soy sauce and Liu Chunzhi was taking care of the vegetable plot. Li Wei took the initiative to help remove weeds and did other work without Liu Chunzhi's instructions.
Until she went to bed at night, Liu Chunzhi didn't ask her for the remaining twenty-five cents, so Li Wei saved it with peace of mind. Based on her memory, she dug out a small iron box from under the bed. The maroon box was flat, but Li Wei only stared at the pattern on the box.
But she saw that the moon and white rabbit were painted on it, and the pattern was a bit rough. Although it was not as precious as the boxes she had seen before that were either painted red or inlaid with mother-of-pearl, the rabbit on it was still very vivid.
Dust has fallen on the box, the color is no longer so bright, and the paint on it has gradually peeled off a lot.
Li Wei hesitated for a moment, and finally slowly opened the box.
The moment she opened the box, she was dumbfounded. There are some scattered pieces of money in it, the big ones are one yuan, the small ones are one cent. In addition to the money, there was a neatly folded handkerchief inside. She first sorted out the money and counted it carefully. There were seven dollars, six cents and two cents in total. This was the private money saved by the original owner, and Li Wei also saved 25 cents. It was neatly folded and tied with a monkey rubber band.
She looked at the wrapped handkerchief again, wondering what precious things were wrapped in it. She slowly unfolded the handkerchief, and there was a small paper packet folded squarely inside.
Hidden so well and wrapped so carefully, it must be something very important. Li Wei secretly thought, is it okay to peek into other people's privacy like this? Then curiosity triumphed over reason.
She finally opened the paper package. There is a small card about an inch in size inside. Is there a portrait on the card? Is this a photo? However, she didn't recognize the person in the photo. He was a young boy with short hair and handsome features. Completely different from these two brothers of the Li family, who could it be? Zhou Bin, this name came to her mind.
She stared blankly at the person in the photo, and the dusty memories of the original owner were clearly passed through her mind like a fleeting glance.
It was a winter afternoon, the weather was a bit cold, and everyone stayed in the classroom doing homework or reading. Only Li Wei quietly ran out of the back door. She went to the basketball court and met Zhou Bin. Then she gave Zhou Bin a letter. Zhou Bin opened the letter and read it in front of her. In the end, he got a little annoyed and hit her with a basketball.
Later, Zhou Bin actually handed over the love letter written by Li Wei to his teacher, and Li Wei's bold behavior spread throughout the world. Next, the whole class will be criticized and parents will be invited. Liu Chunzhi thought it was a shame, so she took Li Wei back and gave him a good beating. Li Wei was so ashamed and angry that she jumped into the river.
In the end, the original person actually chose to commit suicide, devaluing himself to this extent for a useless boy. Li Wei cursed in a low voice: "Useless thing."
When she was fished out of the river, her soul was attached to the little girl. The body is still that of a little girl, but the core has changed.
She had never thought of this memory, thinking that she might have wanted to keep it in the dust.
She didn't look at the photo again and put it back as it was.
Seeing that the end of the year was approaching, after the Li family sold their pigs, they also went to the market to buy dozens of kilograms of pork and dried it. The meat is almost dry.
On the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month, just after lunch, Li Jianbo came back. The schoolbag on his back was bulging, and he was carrying a large black bundle in his hand. The thin Li Jianbo had some difficulty lifting it.
Li Wei stepped forward to take the baggage, and was really a little hesitant. He quickly asked him: "What are they carrying?"
"Clothes, quilts, sheets, and a few pairs of shoes." Li Jianbo said nonchalantly.
Li Wei helped him carry these back to the house where Li Jianbo lived. Li Jianbo put down his schoolbag, rummaged around in it for a while, and took out a pencil case. He opened the pencil case, took out a brand new pen from it, and handed it to Li Wei: "This is for you."
It was a black pen, several inches long. These days, Li Wei often writes and draws with the pens at home. She is accustomed to using brushes, and it takes no effort to use hard pens. No one needs to grind the ink, just fill it with ink and it can be used, which is very convenient.
"You gave it to me, don't you use it?" Li Wei asked.
Li Jianbo smiled and said: "I have too many pens. This is a new one. You can take it and use it."
Li Wei thanked him and accepted it.
After Liu Chunzhi came back, she asked Li Wei to help Li Jianbo clean out the things in the bag, washing what should be washed and drying what should be dried.
Li Jianbo looked back and saw his sister flipping through his books. He felt indescribably sad.
"Weiwei, we'll start tutoring at night. You have to work hard and pick up everything you left behind. Otherwise, I'm afraid you won't be able to keep up in the next semester and will have to repeat the grade." This is the opportunity that Li Jianbo finally fought for, and he doesn't want to just leave it like this. All wasted.
Li Wei raised his head and glanced at the boy in front of him. The boy was wearing a blue cotton coat with letters printed on it. The zipper was open, revealing a black sweater underneath, black trousers underneath, and a pair of white-washed sneakers. The young man is a head taller than himself and has handsome features, but he looks a bit rustic due to his dark appearance. But this boy should be the person who cares about him the most in this family. She thought of the brothers in Shangshu's Mansion, and her closest friend was Sixth Brother. Li Jianbo reminded her of Sixth Brother. She called out "Second Brother" for the first time, and then said: "Okay, I will work hard."
But this kind of ease gradually disappeared when she faced the unfamiliar knowledge. The original owner was not a good learner. Now that he has changed his mind from ancient times, Li Wei found it very difficult when he first started learning.
In addition to learning Chinese easily and understanding history at a glance, other math and physics puzzled her, and English was like the song of a bird to her. Fortunately, I have an academic brother next to me. Li Jianbo provides one-on-one tutoring and explains things in an easy-to-understand manner.
Li Jianping came back and saw his younger brother and sister studying. Jianbo looked a bit like a teacher. He couldn't help but smile: "Jianbo, you are suitable to be a teacher in the future."
Unexpectedly, Li Jianbo frowned and said, "I want to be a doctor."
After hearing this, Li Jianping laughed and said: "It's amazing, our old Li family is also going to have talents. Doctors are an important rice bowl. If you become a doctor, it will be more convenient for us to see a doctor."
As a doctor, Li Wei thought Li Jianbo had a greater revenge. After all, the doctor's status in Daqi is not high.
(End of chapter)