Chapter 30

After school, Sun Zhaodi walked a short distance with her classmates before heading home alone.

Sun Zhaodi’s father was a worker at a food factory.

She was the oldest child in the family, with four younger siblings: her second sister, Pandai; her third brother, Zhiguo; her fourth sister, Caixia; and the newborn Xiao Di, whose name was Hongxing.

They lived in a small cave house, sharing the space with several other families in the same courtyard.

The house was still a mess. Her mother was in confinement after giving birth, and her grandmother was chopping bones for soup while scolding Tian Meixiang for not having enough milk.

The newborn little brother, barely twenty days old, cried with a flushed face from hunger.

When Sun Zhaodi returned, her grandmother glanced at her and asked, “School’s out?”

Sun Zhaodi’s grandmother initially opposed her attending school, arguing that education costs money.

Zhaodi was a girl and could help with chores at home for a few years; after marriage, she would belong to another family anyway.

 Why waste money on her education? Besides, her second sister, Pandai, was already five years old, and if Zhaodi attended school, Pandai would inevitably want to go too.

There was hardly enough spare money for the tuition of two girls.

However, the children from several neighboring families had already started attending school. Zhaodi was determined to go, and eventually, her father relented, allowing her to enroll.

“Finished school?” her grandmother asked.

“Why are you still standing there? Don’t just wait for food to be served; help with the cooking and start the fire!”

Sun Zhaodi glanced at the patches on her clothes. Her mother had sewn small flowers on them as decoration, making the repairs nearly invisible unless someone looked closely.

“Grandma, I’m going in to find my mother. I’ll be right back to help with dinner.”

With that, Sun Zhaodi slung her backpack over her shoulder and stepped inside.

—o—o—o—

Inside, Tian Meixiang held her youngest son. There were faint dark circles under her eyes, indicating a night of poor sleep, and her face looked haggard.

“Mother.”

“You’re back.”

“I went to school today and met a few new classmates. The teacher taught us a lesson and even taught us to recite an ancient poem…”

Tian Meixiang’s expression was indifferent. “Yes, that’s your brother’s diaper in the basin. Remember to wash it after dinner tonight.”

Sun Zhaodi’s unfinished words were interrupted. She paused, “I…”

“Go outside and help your grandmother with the cooking.”

Sun Zhaodi lowered her head and stepped outside.

She scooped two large ladles of cornmeal from the vat into the mixing bowl. She poured half of the cornmeal into hot water, stirring with chopsticks, while the other half went into cold water. Once the dough was cool enough to handle, she began kneading it into a ball.

Next, she took a small bowl, added two spoonfuls of baking soda, mixed it with warm water, and incorporated it into the dough, kneading until evenly blended. She covered the dough with a damp cloth to let it rest for a while.

While the dough was rising, Sun Zhaodi rummaged through the sack and picked out two potatoes. She peeled them, washed them clean, and then cut them into strips on the chopping board.

At home, their meals primarily consisted of cabbage and potatoes; meat was a luxury they rarely had.

Although Sun Zhaodi’s father worked as a laborer, with so many children in the family, his salary was barely enough to support them all.

Children from poor families grew up fast, and at just seven years old, Sun Zhaodi was already able to help with many household chores.

The aroma of the boiled bones filled the air. Sun Zhaodi inhaled the scent of the broth, unable to help but swallow her saliva. The younger children in the house gathered around, eager to see.

When the bone soup was almost ready, Grandma Sun filled a large bowl and set it aside on the stove.

This bowl was reserved for Sun Zhaodi’s father, Sun Jianye.

Grandma Sun felt sorry for her son, and even if it meant they had to eat thin porridge, she still scooped a bowl of thick soup for him from the pot.

Tian Meixiang came out of the house and added a large handful of dark herbal ingredients to the soup.

The expressions on the children’s faces instantly changed to disappointment; they already knew that the bone soup was not for them.

They had corn cakes and steamed potato strips seasoned with salt for dinner, and there wasn’t a drop of oil on the table.

After dinner, Sun Zhaodi washed her brother’s diaper and then helped look after him.

That night, as Sun Zhaodi lay in bed, she suddenly thought of her classmate, Lin Jiang Jiang.

Lin Jiang Jiang’s mother was so kind; she took her daughter to eat shepherd’s purse wontons and prepared generous lunches for her.

Lin Jiang Jiang’s mother was a doctor at the county hospital. How wonderful it would be if she was her mother…

—o—o—o—

The next morning, when Sun Zhaodi arrived at school, she saw other classmates handing in their homework and suddenly remembered that Teacher Tian had assigned homework the previous afternoon before school let out.

Panic set in for Sun Zhaodi.

She glanced at Li Yanhong, who was collecting homework, and hurriedly fished out a pencil and notebook from her backpack, trying to recall what assignment Teacher Tian had given them.

Her uneasiness did not escape her deskmate, Liu Weihong, who widened her eyes and exclaimed in a sharp, exaggerated tone, “Oh my gosh?! You didn’t do your homework yesterday?”

Several classmates immediately gathered around as if they had stumbled upon something significant.

Their commotion caught Li Yanhong’s attention, and their gazes fell upon the top of Sun Zhaodi’s head. She felt her cheeks flush and was overwhelmed with shame.

Sun Zhaodi felt some resentment toward Liu Weihong.

‘Do you really have to say that loudly?’

As class time drew near, Li Yanhong was also busy organizing the homework he had collected.

The more anxious Sun Zhaodi became, the worse she wrote.

They had just learned to write with a pencil, and as she pressed down hard, with a “crack,” her pencil snapped.

Sun Zhaodi felt like she was about to cry from anxiety.

She frantically searched for a pencil sharpener.

Just when it seemed everything was going wrong, she noticed Lin Jiang Jiang from the front row offering her a pencil. “Use mine for now.”

Sun Zhaodi wiped away the tears that had sprung to her eyes, took the pencil, and continued writing.

However, she noticed she had misspelled a word when she looked down. With a swift motion, she erased it, only to tear a large hole in the thin sheet of homework paper.

“Wuwu…”

Sun Zhaodi couldn’t hold back any longer and buried her face in her arms—crying.

The noise attracted more onlookers. A group of six- and seven-year-old students stared at her as if they had discovered something new and exciting, but most were just there to watch her embarrassment.

She reminded herself that she must remember to do her homework on time in the future; being surrounded by so many people like this was truly humiliating.

Lin Jiang Jiang said. “Classmate Sun Zhaodi, don’t cry. I’ll help you write it.”

Her words silenced the crowd.

No one had expected a classmate to step up and offer help at that moment.

A few students even lowered their heads, reflecting on whether their earlier laughter had been too cruel.

Sun Zhaodi looked up and realized it was Lin Jiang Jiang speaking, almost like seeing a savior. She wiped her nose and tears and nodded.

“Okay.”

Jiang Jiang took her notebook, gently erased the mistakes at the top, and continued writing.

In fact, the assignment given by Teacher Tian wasn’t much; Sun Zhaodi had simply been too anxious and emotional, which caused her to make repeated errors.

Plus, she wasn’t accustomed to holding a pencil properly, which wasted time. It took Jiang Jiang about ten minutes to finish the homework for her.

Li Yanhong glanced at his watch. Once Jiang Jiang set down her pencil, he walked over to collect Sun Zhaodi’s homework.

Jiang Jiang looked up at him and said, “Thank you.”

“Teacher Tian just said to turn in the homework to her office before class starts.”

Sun Zhaodi watched as Li Yanhong collected the homework notebook, relieved that she had submitted it just in time.

However, she felt a twinge of worry: would Teacher Tian notice that the work wasn’t done by her?

—o—o—o—

After school that morning, Teacher Tian called the anxious Sun Zhaodi into her office.

The office was located at the far left of a row of cave houses, with several small desks arranged around a larger table.

The setup was quite simple, and the teachers used the space to prepare lessons and grade assignments.

When Sun Zhaodi entered, she found that Teacher Tian was the only one there.

Teacher Tian had a serious expression on her face, and in front of her was the homework that Sun Zhaodi had submitted that morning.

Sun Zhaodi’s heart sank; it seemed that Teacher Tian had realized the assignment was not written by her.

“Sun Zhaodi, did you complete this homework on your own?”

The moment Teacher Tian questioned her, Sun Zhaodi panicked. She bit her lip, unable to hold back her tears, and shook her head vigorously like a rattling drum.

Teacher Tian sighed. “Alright, you can go back for now. In the future, make sure to complete your own assignments. The teacher does not like dishonest children.”

Sun Zhaodi didn’t even know how she walked out of the office.

Tears streamed down her face.

In her heart, she couldn’t help but blame Jiang Jiang.

Why did she have to interfere and help her with the homework? Teacher Tian must now think of her as a dishonest, bad student.

“Sun Zhaodi, are you okay?”

Jiang Jiang saw Sun Zhaodi being called out by the teacher and realized something was wrong. She hadn’t eaten the meal she had brought back from the cafeteria and stood waiting at the door.

When Sun Zhaodi spotted Jiang Jiang, a surge of anger suddenly arose in her heart. She did not answer Jiang Jiang’s question and, as she passed by, elbowed her hard.

Jiang Jiang stumbled slightly from the bump.

She sighed and looked at Sun Zhaodi’s retreating figure, which did not turn back.

Taking the initiative, she went to Teacher Tian’s office.

“Teacher Tian, I’ve come to admit my mistake. The main responsibility for Sun Zhaodi’s situation lies with me; she is innocent. If anyone should be punished, it should be me.”

“Did you write Sun Zhaodi’s homework for her?”

Although Teacher Tian asked this question, she had already realized that Sun Zhaodi’s homework was written by Jiang Jiang.

Jiang Jiang’s handwriting was easily recognizable. When they first started writing, most students produced stiff and clumsy characters. A

Part from Li Yanhong, Jiang Jiang had the best homework in class, with clear, neat, and aesthetically pleasing writing.

However, Teacher Tian did not expect Jiang Jiang to take the initiative to admit her mistake and take all the blame.

After pondering for a dozen seconds, Teacher Tian said, “Then you can stand at the office door for half an hour as punishment.”

After all, everyone needed to bear the consequences of their wrongdoings.

“I understand, Teacher Tian.” Jiang Jiang replied.

She then went to the door to stand in punishment. It was dismissal time, and many students were outside. Some of them noticed someone being punished and came over to see what was happening.

Although Jiang Jiang felt embarrassed about standing there, she found it more uncomfortable to be hungry.

After attending classes all morning, she was already famished and had not eaten before coming.

The feeling of hunger was particularly intense, and she felt that this half-hour would be especially hard to endure.

She lowered her head and silently began to count in her mind to distract herself. Just as she was counting, she heard someone calling her “Jiang Jiang?”

Jiang Jiang looked up and saw Xie Jinyan.