Make a Fortune and Become Well-off [90] - Chapter 18
“It’s hard to live without money” wasn’t a common saying there, but it rang true. Traveling from their place to town without a boat required taking a ferry, which cost quite a few cents—cents she didn’t have. Even a boat trip to town would cost a yuan for a round trip.
No matter what, a trip to town was a necessity.
In the next few days, Jiang Ning stopped cooking crayfish, sending all the crayfish she caught to the mountain hut for cultivation.
Crayfish had strong vitality and could survive for several days on the mountain without perishing. All they needed was some snail meat for sustenance.
Father Jiang hadn’t eaten any crayfish for several days. He attributed it to the pump constantly washing away crayfish from the ditch. Determined to catch some, he headed to the ditch with a basket and began catching the crayfish.
As he did that, he called Jiang Ning over to help him.
The summer heat made Jiang Ning reluctant to cook, so she opted for a simpler meal. She blanched kelp, lettuce slices, potato slices, cucumbers, and fungus in boiling water, then rinsed them in cold water. Next, she seasoned the bowl with chili powder, white sesame seeds, pepper, and ten spices. Heating minced garlic, chives, and millet in hot oil released their aroma, which she poured over the cold dishes. Finally, she added vinegar, soy sauce, and other seasonings, mixing everything well to create a spicy, sour, and appetizing cold dish.
A large enamel basin of the dish was prepared.
After cooking, she filled a large pot with bath water.
“Ning Ning, get a pair of scissors and teach me how to deal with these crayfish heads,” Father Jiang requested upon seeing Jiang Ning emerge. He murmured regretfully, “It’s a pity your eldest and second brothers aren’t here. Just the two of them could easily finish a whole pot.”
“I’ll catch more crayfish when I’m done with work after this period of time. When you go to sign up for school, you can take some to your second brother.”Â
Jiang Ning had been admitted to the best high school in their county, where Jiang Bai also studied.
Father Jiang sighed, expressing regret, “If only your eldest brother wasn’t so far away, I could send some to him.”
Jiang Song worked in the provincial capital city, and there was no phone at home. Father Jiang didn’t know where to find him, especially with school about to start. Even if he asked Jiang Song to return, he likely wouldn’t come back.
“As his younger sister, you should advise your elder brother more. There’s no future in just working; the only way is to go to college,” Father Jiang lamented.
Jiang Ning remained silent.
In truth, her eldest brother wouldn’t heed anyone’s advice. Oddly enough, he only listened to outsiders, as if everyone in the family meant him harm and only outsiders truly cared for him. It was baffling.
Under Jiang Ning’s guidance, Father Jiang quickly learned to handle the crayfish. While working, he also inquired about her studies, “How’s your preview of the high school textbooks going? If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask me. Dad will teach you.”
Father Jiang had graduated from high school and taken the college entrance examination with the educated youths in his third year. During their time, the competition was fierce—thousands of troops and horses crossed the single-plank bridge. In one year, 5.7 million people took the college entrance examination, but only 270,000 were admitted. The following year, over 6 million people took the exam, with only slightly more than 400,000 being admitted.
Not being admitted to college had always been the deepest regret in Father Jiang’s heart, so he wanted his children to go to college, as if he were fulfilling an unmet dream from his youth.
Over the years, he had never given up studying.
However, Jiang Song and Jiang Bai felt increasingly annoyed by Father Jiang’s insistence, viewing it as him imposing his own unfulfilled dream onto them, hoping they could complete it.
Especially Jiang Song, upon whom Father Jiang had pinned high hopes, was particularly rebellious. Father Jiang wished for him to repeat the year, gain admission to a good university, and eventually secure a stable government job. To Father Jiang, success lay in hard work and securing a career in the civil service sector.
But Jiang Song seemed to make it his mission to do the opposite of whatever Father Jiang asked him to do.On the contrary, Jiang Bai and Jiang Ning, who were ignored, never let people worry about them and arranged their own lives clearly.
Maybe that was just how people were— the more time, money, and energy they invested in someone, the deeper their love for them grew.
That was certainly how Father Jiang and Mother Jiang treated Jiang Song.
Perhaps this principle applied not only to children but also to friendships and romantic relationships. The more they invested, the harder it was to let go.
As the saying went, “Where the money is, there is love.”
Facing Father Jiang, Jiang Ning remained silent. She didn’t know what to say to him. She simply responded to his questions without much desire for conversation.
Father Jiang continued with great interest, “Your elder brother is intelligent, but lacks focus on his studies. You and your second brother may not be as naturally gifted, but you make up for it with hard work. Let me tell you, there’s a difference between boys and girls. Boys may struggle academically in their early years, but they often excel once they reach high school. Girls, on the other hand, tend to peak in junior high but may not maintain that level of achievement in high school.”
As Jiang Ning listened, her annoyance grew. “How can you assume that girls can’t excel in high school? Have you ever seen a girl fail in high school? You’ve likely seen very few girls in high school, let alone ones who didn’t graduate elementary school and had to work instead.”
“Boys who struggle in middle school can still pass in high school,” Jiang Ning scoffed. “They have the luxury of focusing solely on their studies at home. Meanwhile, girls like me have household chores—sweeping, cooking, feeding animals, washing dishes, cleaning. What do my brothers do when they come home? Nothing. My family is fortunate; other girls have even more chores. With less time to study after completing household tasks, how can girls not see a drop in their grades?”
She laughed sarcastically once more, “You always praise my brother and put me down whenever you’re provoked. I haven’t even started high school yet, and my grades haven’t dropped. So why are you trying to discourage me?”
Father Jiang was taken aback. He had never seen his daughter speak to him like this.
In his mind, his daughter had always been gentle, introverted, quiet, shy, and obedient.
Shocked, Father Jiang frowned slightly. “Why are you speaking to your dad like this?”
“Am I wrong? How can you assume that girls can’t excel in high school when I haven’t even reached that stage yet? Instead of discouraging me, shouldn’t you be encouraging me?”
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Elder brother doesn’t listen to the family, but outsiders can influence him.
It’s not baffling; he’s known his family the longest, and knows who they are.