Make a Fortune and Become Well-off [90] - Chapter 37
Mother Jiang was heartbroken when she heard, yet she remained adamant, “Wherever she goes, if she dares to run, I will break her legs.”
Father Jiang attempted to reason with her, pointing out, “She is already fifteen. How many more years can she stay at home? You can’t tolerate her even in these few years. She is also your child. Why do you treat her like an enemy?”
His words only fueled Mother Jiang’s anger, redirecting it towards Father Jiang, “How do I treat her as an enemy? Which kid makes money but does not give it to their parents? She is so bold that she dares to hide the money herself even if her wings are not strong. Shouldn’t she be beaten?”Â
Feeling unjust, Mother Jiang lamented, “Which girl has a better life than hers? They have been going to the mountains to cut firewood and go to the rivers to fish since they were young. Anyone who has not done this is the exception.”Â
Mother Jiang sighed, concluding with a cry, “I think we were just too good to her, which is why she turned against us.”
Father Jiang couldn’t comprehend Mother Jiang’s stance towards their daughter, nor the reasons behind his daughter’s rebellion.
Nevertheless, given their shared upbringing and experiences, Father Jiang ultimately sided with Mother Jiang, attributing their daughter’s rebellion to her refusal to allow her to study.
He sighed, “She also fears that you won’t permit her to study. If she desires education so much, let her pursue it.”
Angrily, Mother Jiang retorted, “You advocate for her education with mere words. But where will the money come from?”
Father Jiang sighed in response, “I will catch some crayfish to sell in the coming days, and I’ll gather loaches and eels in the evening. If necessary, I’ll even go to Tanshan to dig coal.”
Across the river lay Tanshan, where people from all over the country ventured to dig coal during their spare time to support their families. Mother Jiang’s father used to be a captain in Tanshan.
Mining coal was an incredibly strenuous and perilous occupation. Despite the hardships, Father Jiang, proud of his high school education, would opt for other work even in the toughest times, avoiding coal mining in Tanshan Mountain.
With a sullen expression, Mother Jiang fetched her clothes and retreated to the bedroom, where she sat on the bed, pondering the household’s challenges, her daughter’s defiance, and the looming expenses for her two sons’ college education. The weight of tuition fees, dowries, and various expenses overwhelmed Mother Jiang, prompting her to break into tears as she lamented, “Why must I endure such hardship?”
Hearing Mother Jiang’s cries, Father Jiang felt a pang of discomfort settle within him.
He stepped outside and walked over to the stone beneath the locust tree, where Jiang Ning was seated. With a gentle tone, he said, “Ning Ning, please consider giving in to your mother. She’s not having an easy time either.”
“But why am I the one who bears her anger and bad temper?” Jiang Ning asked Father Jiang with confusion. “Is it because of me?”
“Because I’m weak, because I’m young, because I’m the easiest to bully, do I have to endure all her anger, all her dissatisfaction, all her beatings and scoldings?”
Jiang Ning sincerely asked Father Jiang, “When she hits me on the left cheek, should I stretch out the right cheek for her to hit, just so she feels comfortable and vents enough? Then it’s easy.”
“There are so many hard-working people in the world. Do I have to stick my face out and let all of them slap me?”
“It’s not easy for me to understand your difficulties, but who will understand mine?”
Jiang Ning’s voice carried through the summer night wind to Father Jiang’s ears. “I really understand you. Growing up, I never caused any trouble for you, no matter whether I was bullied or scolded by others. I almost never asked you for support or complained because it would only lead to more scolding from you. You would only ask me to do better and be better. I’ve already turned myself into dust. How can I be fine?”
“I wasn’t raised by you. You didn’t even put any effort into me. I was raised by my grandpa in the village for five years in primary school. I spent only twenty cents a day for three years in junior high school. Not to mention my grandpa’s salary as a forest ranger over the years, even the money my grandfather and I collected from collecting rags was enough to support me, right? All the clothes I wore since I was a child were old clothes my cousin didn’t want. The only new clothes I got were bought by my aunt. How could I make it difficult for her, make it difficult for you, and let you vent your anger on me all the time?
“I know that high school tuition costs a lot of money. I have already said that I will earn my own money to go to school. I don’t want your money. If that doesn’t work, then calculate the money you have spent on me since I was a child. Give me some time, and I’ll give it all back to you, okay?
“If you were pregnant for nine months and breastfeeding for two months, can there be a price? Can you please set a price for me, and I will return it to you? I won’t have to cut off the flesh to return to the father and cut off the bones to return to the mother. I’ll need to use my body, cut off the flesh and blood piece by piece and return them to you.”
Jiang Ning’s heart-wrenching words made Father Jiang fall into a long silence.
He didn’t know what was wrong. He had seen since he was a child that all families were like that. He didn’t treat Jiang Ning badly at all. Was he wrong?
He took care of his parents and children, loved his wife, and worked hard without stopping for a day.
Was it his wife’s fault? She shouldn’t spank their children. But weren’t they all brought up like that? In rural areas, which child was not beaten by their parents?
Not to mention beatings, punishment, and kneeling were commonplace when children were brought up by their mothers.
Was that his daughter’s fault? But as his daughter said, she had been well-behaved and sensible since she was a child. She listened to the words of her parents and elders. When his two sons were naughty, she never caused trouble to her parents and was friendly to her two brothers. So what exactly was wrong? Father Jiang couldn’t figure it out.
He knew Mother Jiang shouldn’t beat her children, but it didn’t seem to be a particularly big deal. In his eyes, it was only natural for a wife to educate her children.
Jiang Ning didn’t go back at night, and she wasn’t in a hurry. After Mother Jiang fell asleep, she quietly slipped back to the yard.
Father Jiang left the door open for her, and she went in to get a flashlight and a bamboo basket, and went to fish for crayfish in the ditch.
While fishing for crayfish, she noticed many loaches and eels wriggling in the field’s soil. It reminded her of the local children who used to go out with their fathers’ mining lamps at night to catch these creatures. They’d affix rows of sewing needles to discarded toothbrushes, creating makeshift spears. With a toothbrush adorned with needles tied to a thin bamboo pole, they’d quietly approach the loaches and eels resting in the paddy fields. When thrust, the needles would pin the prey to the toothbrush, rendering them immobile.
Without the need to wade into the water, they could stand on the ridge, illuminating the loaches and eels with the miner’s lamp. With this method, they could harvest kilograms of the catch in a single night.
Loaches were prized for their nourishing properties, akin to the benefits of ginseng.
Without hesitation, she brought home half a bamboo basket brimming with crayfish. Gathering a candle, an old toothbrush, a packet of sewing needles, and pliers, she set to work. Trimming off the toothbrush’s bristles, she used the pliers to affix the sewing needles to the head of the toothbrush. Lighting each needle with the candle’s flame, she secured them onto the toothbrush. Then, finding a thin bamboo pole, she fastened it on, attaching a tightly woven bamboo basket around her waist. With that, she continued fishing for crayfish, as well as loaches and eels.
By around ten o’clock at night, she had amassed half a basket of loaches, estimated to weigh over three kilograms, along with half a basket of crayfish. Instead of heading home, she went to the mountain.
The mountain path at night was eerie, not only with the possibility of encountering wolves but also lined with tombs on both sides. Jiang Ning recalled her daily solo walks to and from school during junior high, navigating a gentle mountain trail to take a shortcut. Beside this path lay numerous cemeteries, sparking a lot of terrifying tales. Despite her fear, she’d train her gaze ahead, silently reciting prayers to resist the creeping dread.
In the silence of the night, the mountain road stretched endlessly.
Yet Jiang Ning harbored no fear of ghosts; it was the prospect of encountering wolves that scared her. Finally reaching the ranger’s cabin on the mountainside, Jiang Ning knocked on the door.Â
Her grandfather, startled from his slumber, called out, “Who’s there?”
“It’s me, Grandpa,” she replied.
Thinking he misheard, Grandpa Jiang sought confirmation, “Who?”
“It’s me, Ning Ning. I have nowhere else to go, so I’ve come here,” she explained.
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