Xia Changzheng had been in the hospital for several days since his injury and amputation. Though he hadn’t developed an infection and his life was saved despite losing one hand, his other hand was broken and immobile. Xia Changzheng had become completely dependent on others, needing help even to eat and drink. If not for Zhang Cui’s assistance, he would have been forced to soil himself. While he no longer needed to wake up early to knead dough, how could he feel happy about that? He was only in his early forties – a man in his prime now disabled. His relationship with his wife hadn’t been great even before the accident, and now that he was disabled, Zhang Cui probably couldn’t wait to leave him.
Though Xia Changzheng could be discharged, he preferred staying in the hospital given the poor conditions of their rented home. Zhang Cui hadn’t objected – they couldn’t run their food stall anyway, so it didn’t matter where they stayed. The couple was waiting for Xia Yuyu to return; with their lives going downhill, she had become their main support. Their son was good, but too young to be of help yet.
Zhang Cui’s family knew about Xia Changzheng’s hospitalization and amputation. Zhang Manfu was the first to visit, and later Zhang Cui’s mother brought Xia Junbao to see him. Zhang Cui had thoroughly taught her food stall techniques to Zhang Manfu and his wife, as Zhang Cui’s mother had agreed to help care for her grandson. The original plan was to bring Xia Junbao to the city once Zhang Cui and Xia Changzheng were established, but with Xia Changzheng’s disability, who knew when that would be possible.
These past few days, Zhang Cui had repeatedly broken down crying to Xia Yuyu, essentially begging her to take care of things going forward.
“If you won’t look after your father, at least consider your brother – he can’t keep studying in the countryside forever, can he?”
Xia Yuyu wanted to argue – hadn’t she studied in the countryside herself? She only made it to Anqing County for high school after testing out of the township middle school. With dedication to studies, it didn’t matter where one studied! Back then, her parents never insisted on earning money to send her to city schools.
Xia Yuyu knew this was unfair, and she despised this aspect most of all. However not everyone could excel despite poor educational conditions. If Xia Junbao didn’t work hard, she would end up bearing the burden herself.
She truly couldn’t ignore Xia Junbao now. Regardless of where he would study, he was about to start middle school, and they needed to decide on a school. Frequent transfers wouldn’t be good for him.
When Xia Yuyu returned from Anqing, Zhang Cui asked about the situation. Xia Yuyu shook her head and said, “She was injured, but not severely – she still took the college entrance exam.”
Moreover, Xia Xiaolan had become much more cautious. She used to explode at the slightest provocation, but now she wasn’t so easily fooled. Xia Yuyu had deliberately carried a recorder, hoping to catch Xia Xiaolan saying something incriminating, but Xia Xiaolan’s words were carefully measured. Was this the same Xia Xiaolan? Xia Yuyu knew Xia Xiaolan had always been somewhat clever, but after just half a year of university in Beijing, she had grown from simply clever to someone Xia Yuyu couldn’t figure out.
Xia Yuyu had nowhere to express her jumbled thoughts. She blamed her parents for being unreliable – they should have told her about this when Xia Xiaolan first started at County First High School, not waiting until New Year’s.
Getting Xia Xiaolan expelled from school hadn’t been the right approach. They should have been ruthless from the start, not wasting time with minor interference. One decisive strike would have been better.
Now, Xia Yuyu didn’t dare to hire someone to kill Xia Xiaolan, and petty tricks were useless. During her visit to Anqing, she learned another piece of news: Zhao Gang, consumed by gambling debt, had attempted burglary and was caught in the act, resulting in a prison sentence and expulsion from County First High School. Xia Yuyu knew something about Zhao Gang’s character – while his gambling debts might have been real, burglary wasn’t something he would do. Not because of high moral standards, but because he was too cowardly!
Zhao Gang’s case reminded Xia Yuyu of Zhang Erlai. Hadn’t Zhang Erlai been arrested last year for “breaking with grand theft”? While Zhang Erlai had always been a petty thief, Xia Yuyu had initially thought he was just unlucky. But now, connecting it with Zhao Gang’s case, this couldn’t be a coincidence! Both men had tried to harm Xia Xiaolan, and both ended up charged with burglary. How could Xia Xiaolan be so capable? Xia Yuyu didn’t believe it – she suspected someone was helping Xia Xiaolan!
Just look at the two men protecting Xia Xiaolan today. Everything changed after Xia Xiaolan left the Xia family. Xia Yuyu could no longer track Xia Xiaolan’s movements or know who she was associating with…
“So… we just let this go?! Your father’s hand…” Zhang Cui was both unwilling to accept this and afraid. She had hoped Xia Yuyu’s return from Anqing would mean dealing with Xia Xiaolan, but the trip had yielded nothing.
She couldn’t understand Xia Yuyu’s reservations, and Xia Yuyu felt Zhang Cui would never understand. Rather impatiently, she said, “What do you want me to do, go break Xia Xiaolan’s hand? I told you and Dad to be more careful… Never mind, talking about this now is useless. In two days, we’ll know Xia Xiaolan’s exam results!”
Zhang Cui was disappointed, and Xia Changzheng, lying in his hospital bed, was even more disappointed. No matter how capable a daughter might be, she couldn’t be relied upon – no wonder rural families all wanted sons.
Not only was Xia Yuyu waiting for Xia Xiaolan’s results, but Zhou Cheng called the evening of estimated scores and college preference submissions.
Hearing that Xia Xiaolan’s estimated score was “584 points,” Zhou Cheng’s smile grew wide.
Having researched the college entrance exam situation because of his wife’s participation, Zhou Cheng knew that with this estimated score, she would have no problem getting into Hua Qing University. Zhou Cheng thought his wife was amazing – how clever must she be to manage both businesses and achieve such high scores?
“Xiaolan, your birthday is coming up in a few days, right? May I give you a birthday present?”
Xia Xiaolan’s birthday was July 24th, though rural areas typically followed the lunar calendar. She was born on the twenty-third day of the sixth lunar month, on “Major Heat.” It had been extremely hot when she was born. Liu Fen hadn’t eaten well during pregnancy and had no milk after giving birth. Liu Yong, feeling sorry for his sister, had somehow obtained a chicken for the Xia family. However, Liu Fen only got to drink one bowl of soup and eat one wing – the rest was eaten by the Xia family, who claimed the weather was too hot and the chicken would spoil anyway.
Zhou Cheng didn’t know these past events, and Liu Fen would never tell them. Li Fengmei had told Xia Xiaolan these stories, which she had learned from Liu Yong after their marriage.
Xia Xiaolan’s thoughts wandered – this birthday would be her first since her “rebirth.”
“Xiaolan, are you still listening?”
“Yes, I’m listening. You mentioned wanting to give me a present. Let me say first – don’t get anything too expensive. I’ll love whatever you choose.”
Zhou Cheng had planned to buy something expensive, but Xia Xiaolan’s words made him hesitate.
This would be Xiaolan’s first birthday since they got together – what should he give her? He had already missed the first eighteen years.
“The exam results will be out in a couple of days. Wonder how many points Xia Xiaolan scored.”
Liang Huan had been thinking about this constantly these past few days, perhaps even more eagerly than Xia Xiaolan herself.
Liu Fang also wanted to know. “Why don’t we ask when the time comes?”
While believing Xia Xiaolan hadn’t done well was one thing, Liu Fang wouldn’t feel settled until she saw the actual scores.