Make a Fortune and Become Well-off [90] - Chapter 199

Mother Jiang was inquiring at her family’s home, while Father Jiang was asking around in the village among those who had returned. They couldn’t find anyone who knew someone in Shenzhen. Most local workers went to cities like Nanshi, Hushi, Hangshi, and Sushishi instead of heading north.

After two days of inquiries, when they returned home, they discovered it was cold and quiet, with no one there.

They went next door to ask Aunt Jiang, who was even more surprised than Father Jiang and Mother Jiang. “Did you not know? Ning Ning and Baizi returned to school on the third day of the Lunar New Year!”

It was then that Mother Jiang remembered she hadn’t given the tuition fee to Jiang Ba yet!

Jiang Song had attended high school; she knew that high school seniors had to return to school after the third day of the New Year. She had been busy inquiring about Shenzhen and hadn’t thought to give Jiang Ba his tuition.

She had no intention of withholding Jiang Ba’s tuition. After all, he had been in school for two and a half years, and with only one semester left, if he couldn’t get his high school diploma because the tuition hadn’t been paid, that would be a loss.

She was also frustrated that no one had informed her about their return to school. She took out the money and went to Jiang Hehua’s house, asking, “Is Hehua at home?”

Hehua had been waiting at home for several days, not having seen Jiang Ning. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, she had gone with her mother to visit her grandparents and had just returned, so she hadn’t had a chance to look for Jiang Ning yet when she saw Mother Jiang.

There were many guests at Hehua’s house. Hehua’s mother was puzzled to see Mother Jiang suddenly come over. After hearing that Jiang Ba had returned to school and didn’t have his tuition fee, she wanted to find Hehua to send Jiang Ba’s tuition fee.

This wasn’t a big deal, and Hehua’s mother agreed, saying, “As long as you’re not afraid she’ll lose your money!”

Many people were sitting outside the brigade secretary’s house, including many cadres from the brigade. Mother Jiang counted out eighty yuan in front of Hehua’s mother and handed it to her, not worried that she might pocket the money.

However, as she was leaving, she suddenly remembered what Jiang Ba had mentioned earlier—that Jiang Ning had ranked first in the county on an exam. She didn’t really believe it.

Now, seeing Hehua, she couldn’t help but ask, “Hehua, I heard from my family’s Baizi that Ning Ning ranked first in the county on some exam. Is that true?”

Hehua’s family also had a newly built two-story house, with a big yard in front. Many guests were sitting outside, chatting and eating sunflower seeds. Hearing Jiang Ma’s words, they were surprised and asked, “Ah? Your Ning Ning ranked first in the county?”

“Your Ning Ning is so good at her studies?”

Now everyone who hadn’t heard the news was looking at Mother Jiang, curious about her claim that Jiang Ning ranked first in the county.

“What exam did she rank first in? What grade is your little girl in?”

“I’ve only heard that your Jiang Song does well in school; I didn’t expect your little girl to be so good too!”

“Ranking first in the county, she must be set for university!”

They hadn’t heard of Jiang Ning’s good grades before. In the village, the only students known for their academic excellence were from the brigade secretary’s family.

Mother Jiang had originally asked Hehua quietly, but she didn’t realize that these people had such sharp ears. Now, her face didn’t look so good.

If these people found out that Jiang Ning ranked first in the county, she wouldn’t want to let her daughter study anymore; it would surely lead to gossip.

They all looked at Hehua, asking, “Hehua, did Jiang Ning really rank first in the county?”

Hehua’s face turned dark.

If Hehua’s mother hadn’t known that Mother Jiang was someone who favored sons over daughters, she would have thought Mother Jiang came to show off.

Hehua’s mother had something that bothered her. When they were young, the brigade secretary’s family had sought a matchmaker to propose to Mother Jiang’s family. However, Mother Jiang and Father Jiang were attracted to each other, so she ended up being the one marrying the current brigade secretary.

She only learned of this from her mother-in-law later.

She knew her mother-in-law did this to make her uncomfortable, but she was still irritated, quietly comparing herself to Mother Jiang.

She had never doubted that Mother Jiang and the brigade secretary could have anything, after all, with Father Jiang’s looks as a comparison, who would look at the brigade secretary?

Especially during the years when Father Jiang ran a chicken farm, he was indeed proud and stood out in the village.

It was only after an outbreak of avian flu that the Jiang family’s chicken farm went bankrupt, leaving them with a mountain of debt, which made Father Jiang fall into poverty. Over these years, Mother Jiang had aged quite a bit from hard work, while her life had gotten increasingly comfortable, and her two children were doing well, which made Hehua’s mother feel somewhat better.

However, this comparison that she had been secretly making with Mother Jiang was unknown to Mother Jiang. When she was young, many people came to propose to her; it truly was a case of a family with daughters attracting many suitors, otherwise, she wouldn’t have come to ask Hehua’s mother to help her carry the tuition.

At that moment, she was still waiting for Hehua.

Hehua indeed wanted to ask Mother Jiang whether the Jiang Ning on the county’s ranking list was the same Jiang Ning she knew, and she was somewhat prepared for that possibility. However, she hadn’t expected Mother Jiang to bring it up in front of so many people, especially with everyone watching her.

Jiang Hehua glanced at the people at the entrance of her house, her snow-white complexion appearing even whiter against the backdrop of the snow on the ground that had yet to fully melt.

She frowned slightly and said, “I’m not from the same school as Jiang Ning, so how would I know how she’s doing?” She added, “I’m from Wuzhong, and she’s from No. 1 High School.”

This statement was a subtle reminder to everyone that she was from Wuzhong, a school with better academic standards, while Jiang Ning was from No. 1 High School.

Though these were just village officials, some were quite emotionally intelligent. They smiled and complimented the village chief, saying, “Your daughter Hehua is really impressive. If my son had grades as good as hers, I’d be at ease!”