After the National Day holiday, Jiang Yubai came to school carrying a gift bag.
Jiang Yubai's toy room has countless car models, airplane models, Transformers, and Lego blocks. However, he has almost no stuffed toys. He regards his father as a role model. He believes that a man of steel like his father would not be obsessed with stuffed toys.
After visiting the industrial park that day, Jiang Yubai found a plush kitten doll in the gift bag, so he decided to give it to Lin Zhixia.
That morning, Lin Zhixia walked into the classroom and walked to her seat as usual. Jiang Yubai immediately took out the gift bag and stuffed it into her desk drawer. This action was smooth and seamless. He explained simply and straightforwardly: "It's a gift for you. You're welcome."
"Is today a special holiday?" Lin Zhixia asked him, "Why did you bring me a gift again?"
Jiang Yubai couldn't answer. His series of actions seemed to be trying to win over his competitors. He couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
Lin Zhixia grabbed the gift bag and said seriously: "Jiang Yubai, you always give me things, and I feel a little embarrassed. Because I can't give you gifts of the same value in return. You give me things, which is equivalent to you losing money."
Jiang Yubai retorted: "No. My father said that money is not the only measure of value."
Lin Zhixia tilted her head: "Your father is right."
Jiang Yubai nodded: "Yes."
Lin Zhixia opened the gift bag and saw a plush kitten toy. She was so excited that she could hardly control herself. Her eyes were bright and shining: "Kitten, a fluffy kitten."
She continued to rummage through the bag and found another greeting card and a box of vacuum-packed milk cakes.
"Thank you, Jiang Yubai!" Lin Zhixia turned and said to him.
This gift was just given to Lin Zhixia by Jiang Yubai, not prepared by him personally. But he didn't tell Lin Zhixia. He felt inexplicably ashamed, and pretended that nothing had happened: "These are not very good things."
Lin Zhixia suddenly tied up the gift bag, took out the "Human Observation Diary", and wrote impatiently: This morning, I once again received a gift from Jiang Yubai. Good friends should reciprocate. When I find something to give back to Jiang Yubai, I will definitely give it back to him.
Jiang Yubai basically has everything he wants. He has everything that can be bought with money.
However, he still has an urgent wish that has not been fulfilled yet.
He wanted to surpass Lin Zhixia by a large margin, and to hear Lin Zhixia say with his own ears: Jiang Yubai, you are so awesome! I lost to you! I lost so completely!
So far, there is little hope.
However, Jiang Yubai will never give up!
One day, Lin Zhixia will become his defeated opponent.
For Lin Zhixia, today's school life was extremely pleasant.
In the afternoon class meeting, the students of Grade 4 (1) received another piece of good news. The school decided to organize an autumn outing in mid-October for this semester. All Grade 4 students will visit the city's ocean aquarium under the guidance of their teachers.
Oceanarium!
These five words made the students look forward to it very much.
Lin Zhixia was even happier. She had never been to an oceanarium before.
She felt that today was her lucky day. She received a kitten doll and could plan a trip to the aquarium. Moreover, she now had a good friend, and she could go with Jiang Yubai to observe various aquatic creatures.
The only problem is that this autumn outing adopts the principle of "voluntary registration" and charges each student 76 yuan.
That night, the first thing Lin Zhixia did after returning home was to find her mother and shyly ask her for money: "Mom, our class is going on an autumn outing to the Ocean Aquarium, and each person has to pay 76 yuan. The teacher said that this is a group purchase discount price, including lunch. Mom, can you give me 76 yuan?"
When Lin Zhixia was talking, her mother was cooking. The iron knife swung and chopped a piece of pork ribs, making a loud "bang" sound. Lin Zhixia was frightened. She hid outside the kitchen door, revealing half of her face, and looked at her mother eagerly.
"Mom, mom," Lin Zhixia said in a sweet and coquettish voice, "I want to go to the ocean aquarium."
After processing the ribs, Mom turned on the faucet and washed her hands quietly.
At the bottom of the kitchen window sill stands an old cast iron water pipe. A water meter hangs on the side of the old water pipe. At the end of each month, the staff of the water plant will come to check the water meter and ask users to pay. Many families have their own unique ways to save money, and Lin Zhixia's mother is one of them. She holds the handle of the faucet and slowly tightens it. The water meter stops rotating, but drops of tap water still slip from the outlet and fall into a ceramic basin.
The water meter has stopped.
The water drops are still dripping, accumulating little by little.
Lin Zhixia walked over and grabbed her mother's apron: "Mom, turn off the faucet. We can't steal water..."
Her mother finally answered her: "Xia Xia, your brother is in junior high school. He will take the high school entrance exam in two years, and then he will have to go to high school and college. You, too, must continue your studies. Mom and Dad have to save money for you. Your grandparents also want to renovate their house in their hometown. Your grandparents' neighbors have all built new houses, all with red bricks and cement roofs..."
"How much money is left at home?" Lin Zhixia suddenly asked, "Can we invest in stocks?"
Mom's cold, wet fingers touched Lin Zhixia's face: "How can stock trading be so easy? Mom and Dad don't have stable jobs, and they rely on this small store to support you two. There is a Jin Runfa supermarket in front of our community, a Century Lianhua on the north street, and a Carrefour is being built at the east gate. When they build Jiale Fujian, we will have even fewer customers here."
Doing business requires both credibility and luck.
Back then, when Lin Zhixia's parents first came to the provincial capital, they managed to buy this store by selling everything they had and scraping together money. The business was the best in the first two years, and they did make a lot of money, and they also paid off all the family debts, leaving only a bank loan. However, since the establishment of authentic chain supermarkets such as Jinrunfa and Century Lianhua near the community, the customer flow of the Lin family store has obviously decreased a lot.
There's nothing we can do about it.
Lin Zhixia's mother turned on the gas tank and poured oil on the stove to heat the pan. While cooking, she said to Lin Zhixia, "If you want to buy books and tutoring materials, I'd give it to you for 760 yuan, not to mention 76 yuan. But what's the point of going to the aquarium? Xia Xia, you didn't go to such an expensive place during the autumn outings from the first to third grade of elementary school. Why did the price suddenly increase to 76 yuan for the fourth grade? Don't other students' parents have any objections?"
"I don't know," Lin Zhixia replied in a baby voice, "Mom, mom, I really want to go..."
"Stop acting like a spoiled brat! You act like a squeamish brat all day long." Mom shouted sternly.
The fumes from the iron pot spread out, emitting a choking smell. Lin Zhixia sneezed, her fingers tightly grasping her mother's apron: "Other students can go, why can't I go?"
Mom held the spatula and stir-fried the braised pork ribs in the iron pan. Her tone became urgent: "Because your family is poor. Your family is poor! Remember? Your parents are not from the provincial capital. They came to the provincial capital with nothing. They have no relatives or friends. Is it easy to make money? Don't always compare yourself with other students at school. Are you going to school to study, or to compare your family background with others? If you want to have everything they have, how can we live? Think more about your parents and brother, and don't be selfish."
Lin Zhixia was full of grievances, trying hard to hold back tears: "Our school is organizing an autumn outing, I just came to ask you, why am I the selfish person? If you don't want to go, then don't go. I didn't say you have to go."
The spatula made a messy clattering sound on the bottom of the pot. With her back to Lin Zhixia, her mother asked, "Do you know how much food you can buy with 76 yuan? You and your brother are growing up and need nutrition. We can't run out of eggs, milk, pork, and fish at home. You spend 76 yuan on a day at the aquarium. Is it worth it?"
Lin Zhixia remained silent. She stood there, waiting for her mother to come and comfort her.
But my mother was in a bad mood today. Lin Zhixia was about to cry, but her mother didn't say a soft word to her.
My mother only said, "Your school is the top-ranked primary school in the city. The leadership team makes decisions without considering the economic conditions of the students' families. It's not that I can't afford 76 yuan, but I just can't bear to let you waste it. You are not the only one in our family. You should think more about others and don't let everyone revolve around you and see how selfish and useless you are! Do you understand?"
Lin Zhixia became more and more sad and began to cry silently.
She wasn't crying because she couldn't go to the aquarium. She didn't know where this sadness came from. Why do people shed tears when they cry? Anyone who saw her crying would know that she was in pain.
Lin Zhixia stood at the kitchen door, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
Half a bowl of red peppers was put into the pot, and light white smoke filled the air. My mother sneezed because of the choking.
There was a small fan installed on the side of the stove. The axis of the fan had long been solidified by the oil, so my mother poked the fan blades with a chopstick, giving the fan an initial driving force to rotate and blow away some of the oil smoke in the kitchen.
Lin Zhixia shouted, "Mom."
Her mother asked her, "Do you still want to go to the aquarium? Did everything I told you go in vain?"
Lin Zhixia said listlessly: "I'm not going. I don't want to eat dinner tonight."
She failed to arouse her mother's sympathy and only made her rage even worse.
The fan's humming sound stopped at that moment. Mom put down the spatula and said calmly, "If you don't want to eat, then don't eat! Who are you trying to scare? Go back to your room now! Come out when you've figured it out."
Since she learned about the autumn outing this afternoon, Lin Zhixia has been very excited. She was looking forward to going home early and sharing the good news with her parents, but she didn't expect this to be the result.
During the spring outing last semester, each student had to pay 34 yuan, and her mother readily gave the money to Lin Zhixia.
And... last month's class fees, library book borrowing fees, subway transportation fees, and provincial library Internet fees, totaling 74.45 yuan, were all paid by my mother.
Why didn’t it work this time? Was it because 76 yuan was too much
Lin Zhixia was very confused. She sat in her room and thought: So my happiness is based on money. Have I really studied transcendentalism and apriorism? Both of these doctrines advocate that a person should abandon material enjoyment.
It was half past six in the evening and it was dark.
The moon outside the window was so round and bright, and the stars had soft halos. Lin Zhixia saw "Bifida" in the Andromeda Galaxy.
The so-called "Biseudra" is the brightest star in the Andromeda Galaxy.
Scientific research in recent years has shown that the distance between the Milky Way and Andromeda is getting closer and closer. In a few billion years, the Milky Way will collide with Andromeda.
Lin Zhixia looked up at the sky and said to herself, "Andromeda, Milky Way, don't be fooled by the gravity of each other. The closer you are, the easier it is to be swallowed up. Do you know why a term in the Lagrangian of quantum chromodynamics destroys CP symmetry? Have you learned about the Peccei-Quinn theory? The mass of a quark cannot be equal to zero. If Peccei-Quinn symmetry exists, I think there is dark matter in the universe. Can you sense the dark matter in the universe?"
Looking up at the sky and expressing her thoughts made Lin Zhixia feel relaxed. The only problem was that her stomach was growling with hunger.
Gurgle, gurgle, it keeps making the sound.
It’s really uncomfortable to be hungry.
Lin Zhixia fell on the bed, hugged a kitten doll tightly, and buried her whole face in the plush fabric.
She heard the sound of dishes in the living room; her father, mother, and brother were all eating.
Tonight's dishes include stir-fried cabbage, stir-fried artemisia with dried tofu, braised spareribs, and tomato and egg soup, all of which are Lin Zhixia's favorites.
She felt so wronged and wanted to eat.
But she said she didn’t want to eat it, and she meant she didn’t want to eat it!
A man of integrity will not drink water from a stolen spring, and a man of integrity will not accept food given out of pity!
Even if Lin Zhixia fainted from hunger today, she would never run to the living room to get a bowl to eat!
Absolutely not eat!
Lin Zhixia is very strong-willed!
In the living room, Lin Zhixia's father whispered, "That's enough, call her out for dinner."
Mom's voice was even quieter: "I left half of the ribs for her. The cabbage and dried tofu are all in a bowl. I'll go heat them up for her later."
"What's wrong?" Lin Zeqiu bit his tongue and suddenly asked, "Why did you scold her and not let her sit at the table to eat? Which rural custom is this? Not allowing girls to sit at the table to eat or what?"
Dad glared at him and said, "Stop talking and stop making your mom angry."
Lin Zeqiu sighed inaudibly: "Mom, why are you angry?"
The mother looked at Lin Zhixia's closed door and answered tiredly, "It's nothing serious. I encountered some trouble when I went to purchase goods early this morning. It's all resolved. I was just feeling irritated. You and your sister are both in school. Your father and I have to support two children. There are some things that are totally unnecessary to buy and unnecessary to spend... Your sister's school organized an autumn outing. Each person had to pay 76 yuan to go to the ocean aquarium. The tickets to the aquarium are so expensive. Your sister wanted to go, but I scolded her and she refused to eat dinner."
"She's spoiled. Let her think for a while." Dad agreed. He picked up his chopsticks and lunch box, ran back to the front door, and continued to take care of business.
Lin Zeqiu took two bites of food and felt very uncomfortable.
He is Lin Zhixia's brother, and grew up with Lin Zhixia. He knows Lin Zhixia's personality very well. Lin Zhixia loves to eat. Her favorite fruit is strawberry, her favorite dish is braised spareribs, and her favorite soup is tomato and egg soup.
Tonight, she was able to give up the braised pork ribs and the tomato and egg soup, which showed that she was extremely sad.
There are three bedrooms in the house, the largest one belongs to Lin Zhixia, and the smallest one belongs to Lin Zeqiu. The family status is clear at a glance.
Lin Zeqiu didn't want to care about Lin Zhixia. He always felt that his parents were too partial and overly cared for this sister with an IQ different from that of ordinary people. But when he thought that Lin Zhixia might be hiding in her room crying, Lin Zeqiu's meal tasted like chewing wax.
The incandescent light in the living room flickered, perhaps he was dazzled.
The cold wind whistled past the window. A cold wave hit tonight, the temperature dropped, and a thin layer of mist formed on the glass windows. How could I not eat in such freezing weather
Lin Zeqiu quickly ate the rice in his bowl without even picking up any vegetables. Then, he returned to his room and hesitated for about two seconds before opening a locked drawer.
In the drawer, there lies a yellowed old photo.
This photo was taken ten years ago, when Lin Zhixia was not yet born. Mom and Dad took a family photo with Lin Zeqiu. Lin Zeqiu sat on his father's lap, and his mother held his hand. He looked like an only child who got all the attention from his parents.
Lin Zeqiu picked up the photo and found a hundred yuan bill underneath the photo.
When she went back to her hometown to celebrate the Spring Festival last year, her grandmother secretly gave Lin Zeqiu a hundred-yuan bill, but she didn't give Lin Zhixia a penny.
Grandma said to Lin Zeqiu: "Grandsons are grandsons, and granddaughters are granddaughters. Granddaughters are the daughters-in-law of other families. You are the root of our Lin family."
Lin Zeqiu had kept this hundred yuan for more than a year and never wanted to spend it. Now, he held the banknote in his hand, and his palms were slightly sweaty. He left his bedroom and pushed open Lin Zhixia's door.
Lin Zhixia closed her eyes, lying flat on the bed, with her hands crossed over her chest, as if blocking out all sounds from the outside world.
Lin Zeqiu was startled by her, and seeing her eyes swollen from crying, he felt a soreness in his throat. He shouted, "Lin Zhixia, get up! It's only a few hours now, and you're already sleeping. Are you a pig?"
"Don't bother me," Lin Zhixia still didn't open her eyes, "I'm cleaning my consciousness."
"What the hell! Get up quickly." Lin Zeqiu pulled her.
She shook his hand off: "You're so annoying."
Lin Zeqiu reached out again and pulled her pillow. She frowned and said, "Why are you a brother and not a sister? Other people's sisters are so gentle, but you are the most annoying brother."
Lin Zeqiu was so angry that he lied, "The hundred dollars my father gave you."
He let go of the banknote and placed it next to Lin Zhixia's bedside table: "What other children can have, you will also have. You don't have to envy others."
After he finished speaking, Lin Zhixia immediately sat up from the bed.
She refused: "Thank you, Dad. Please give the money back to Dad. I don't want to go to the aquarium. It's not necessary."
Lin Zeqiu was at a loss, he stood there rubbing his hands and stamping his feet: "I told you to go, so you go, why are you talking so much nonsense! It's not like our family has no money. Even mom and dad, you know, they only think about saving money, they don't have any foresight..."
The bedroom door was already ajar.
Mom brought a tray of steaming food and soup. She kicked the wall and asked, "Why are you two here?"
The aroma of braised spareribs wafted into the bedroom.
Lin Zhixia was like an old monk in meditation, unmoved.
Lin Zeqiu was quick to act. He stuffed a hundred yuan into Lin Zhixia's schoolbag. He was relaxed and doing arm swinging exercises. Seeing his mother bringing food to coax his sister to eat, he quickly joined in: "Lin Zhixia, your stomach is growling, I heard your stomach growling."
"I'm not hungry." Lin Zhixia said stubbornly.
Mom sat down beside Lin Zhixia's bed. She picked up a porcelain bowl, shaved the pork off the ribs with chopsticks, scooped up a spoonful of rice with a spoon, added some cabbage, dried tofu, and ribs, and handed it to Lin Zhixia: "Xia Xia, have a bite?"
Lin Zhixia shook her head: "No, I don't want to eat!"
"Xia Xia, are you planning to not eat for the rest of your life?" her mother asked her. "You're so angry with me just because I said a few words to you?"
Lin Zhixia opened her mouth and bit the spoon.
Mom murmured to herself: "If you want to go to the aquarium, then go ahead. Mom apologizes to you. Mom is in a bad mood today and got angry with you..."
Lin Zhixia ate and cried: "Mom, why are you so mean to me and call me a waste... Whenever you scold me, I feel that you don't like me. I can't forget every word you said to me. My memory is so strange, but you don't understand. No one understands me. No one understands me. I'm so sad, Mom..."
Mom wiped her tears with a tissue. As she wiped, she almost wanted to cry. She choked up and said, "I've never seen a child like you. I don't know how to raise you. When I was a child, I was working in the fields. Leeches crawled onto my legs and sucked my blood, but I still had to continue working. The words your grandparents scolded me were much more serious than what I said to you."
Lin Zhixia sobbed and continued, "My mother is so pitiful."
Tears fell down her cheeks, and she hugged her doll tightly: "I can imagine that scene..."
"Go to the supermarket," Mom called Lin Zeqiu, "get a bottle of strawberry milk for your sister."
Lin Zeqiu ran very fast: "I'll go right away."
Lin Zeqiu used the fastest speed he could in his life. When the father heard that his daughter was crying loudly, he asked his son to get two bottles of strawberry milk and strawberry-flavored lollipops. The family tried their best and finally coaxed Lin Zhixia.
However, the next morning, when Lin Zhixia got up, there were still red bloodshot eyes.
She adjusted her mood, carried a bottle of strawberry milk on her back, put a strawberry lollipop in her pocket, and went to school happily.
Today, Jiang Yubai arrived earlier than Lin Zhixia.
As per his daily routine, Jiang Yubai tore open a pack of disinfectant wipes and carefully wiped his and Lin Zhixia's desks. He wiped the tabletops clean and shiny.
Tang Leqin, the deputy monitor of Grade 4 (1), passed by here, stopped on the spot, and praised: "Jiang Yubai, you and your deskmate's desk are so tidy."
Tang Leqin is one of the girls who listens to the teacher the most in the class. The teachers often praise her for being sensible, smart, careful, and focused in class. Usually, Tang Leqin is responsible for collecting class fees and tuition fees. Today is no exception. Tang Leqin is carrying a piece of white paper for name registration, a ballpoint pen, and a plastic bag for money, and is collecting the autumn outing fees for this semester.
She stood in front of Jiang Yubai and told him, "76 yuan, for the autumn outing."
Jiang Yubai opened his schoolbag and pulled out a Dunhill wallet. Tang Leqin didn't recognize the brand, but she could tell at a glance that this wallet was definitely not cheap. The leather itself was dark blue, and the zipper was golden. The combination of the two colors unexpectedly created a harmonious aesthetic.
Jiang Yubai put two fingers into the mezzanine. Tang Leqin saw a large stack of 100-yuan bills, and she couldn't count how many there were.
She suddenly remembered the nickname "Jiang Yubai, the richest man in the class".
Her expression froze, and she took a step back automatically: "One hundred is enough, Mr. Jiang."
Mr. Jiang handed her a banknote.
The morning sun was shining brightly. Tang Leqin took the banknote, held it up to the light, and verified the watermark: "Here's your 24 yuan change."
Zhou Bufeng, who was sitting in the row in front of Jiang Yubai, suddenly turned his head and said to Jiang Yubai, "Jiang Yubai, you are so rich! I won't change the 24 yuan for you. Just give it to me directly. You won't mind, right?"
"I'll call the police and report you to the police for robbery. You won't mind, will you?" Lin Zhixia just walked into her seat and said casually. From the moment she entered the classroom to the moment she sat down, many classmates in the class frequently cast their eyes at her.
Because Lin Zhixia tied her hair into two ponytails today.
Her hair is black and thick, with slightly natural curls at the ends. She has pink strawberry hair ties on both sides, making her look very beautiful and cute.
She chose to wear her hair in twin ponytails today because she hoped that her different hairstyle could distract her classmates from the red bloodshot eyes. However, she found that more people were looking at her.
"You're so cute." Tang Leqin praised sincerely.
"It all depends on my hairstyle." Lin Zhixia responded modestly.
Tang Leqin lifted up the plastic bag in her hand and let Lin Zhixia see the money in the bag. Tang Leqin urged: "Autumn outing fee, 76 yuan."
"I'm not going." Lin Zhixia said.
Jiang Yubai sat aside and asked her: "Why don't you go?"
Before Lin Zhixia could answer, Jiang Yubai clenched his left fist and said, "Do you want to read at home? Then I won't go either."