At this point, the Zhang family could no longer maintain their dignity. They did not even get a drink of water, let alone a meal. How embarrassing.
“Eh? Is Qiao Mei’s family very rich?” Old Madam Zhang asked.
Li Gui’s mother, Old Madam Li, used to go to the city often to complain about being poor and to ask for money. She said that Qiao Mei ate too much and Qiao Qiang’s salary was not even enough to feed Qiao Mei, and that she even needed to subsidize them.
It seemed that these people did not know anything about Qiao Mei’s family. Qiao Yu smiled and said, “You mean you guys don’t know! When Qiao Mei got married some time back, the man gave her a betrothal gift of 2,000 dollars and ‘three turns and one sound’! And they were all brand new!”
She thought that these people did not seem to be nice people. Even if she had no way to make Qiao Mei suffer a loss, she wanted to do something to create trouble for Qiao Mei. After saying that, she left the surprised Zhang family members behind.
Zhang Qian instantly wanted to go back and snatch Qiao Mei’s ‘three turns and one sound’. This way, Zhang Cong would still have a lot of money left and he would be able to get married!
Before he could go back, Zhang Cong stopped him.
“Father! Are you crazy! What are you going to say if you go back now! What reason do you have to ask her for things.” Zhang Cong then continued muttering, “What an old pervert, only thinking about getting a wife.”
Hearing this, Zhang Qian stepped forward and wanted to kick him. “Screw you! How dare you say that about your old man!”
Concerned about Zhang Cong’s injured leg, Old Madam Zhang hurriedly stopped Zhang Qian. “Haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough! Hurry up and go back! We’ll find another chance to ask them for money in the future! Let’s go!”
The three of them returned to the city in a sorry state. In the end, they went and bought Zhang Cong’s betrothal gifts first.
There was no reason for any family to harass Qiao Mei’s family anymore and they managed to have a few peaceful days. Every day, Qiao Mei brought the children up the mountain to pick mushrooms and she told Zhang Wei and Zhang Chao the same things she previously said to Zhang Qin and Zhang Miao. She told them that they would get a share of the money from selling the mushrooms.
This was so that In the future, the children would be able to use their own money for pocket money and tuition fees and Qiao Mei need not fork out any more money. No one had any objections to that and they were all very happy. Other children could not even get any money, but they would all have their own money, which truly belonged to them, and they did not have to give it to others. This was a status that everyone else did not have, not even the children in the city.
Qiao Mei was more than willing to take care of these children. Although they had lived with Old Madam Zhang for a few years, the children were still capable, sensible, grateful and not lazy. They were all good children and she was fond of them.
After they had been here for a while, Qiao Mei felt that it was time to teach them how to read. However, it was not good to expose too much of her capability, so what she did was to ask her grandfather to teach her something at night and she would then teach the children the next day.
They had to go through all the subjects together. Zhang Wei and Zhang Chao had thought that they knew a lot, but they slowly realized that this elder sister, who had only studied with them for a few months, was much better than them in every way. Therefore, they settled down obediently to learn from Qiao Mei.
After she counted the days, she felt that even if they went to the elementary school in the neighboring village this semester, they would not be able to keep up. They should just wait until the next semester to start school and she would teach the children at home during the next few months so that they would not fall behind.
“I think you should not go to school this semester but to start next semester. Zhang Qin and Zhang Miao, you two have to go too,” Qiao Mei said.
“Are we able to study too! Can we go to school too!” Zhang Qin and Zhang Miao said to Qiao Mei in surprise.
In the past, families could not really afford to provide for their children’s education, and would therefore only let boys go to school. Girls stayed at home to do housework and were not allowed to go to school. Zhang Qin and Zhang Miao had thought that they would never be able to go to school.
“Of course you can. There’s no difference between boys and girls when it comes to studying,” Qiao Mei said.
There were many girls studying in school now, which was a good thing. The girls would be well-educated enough for the coming future.
The sound of bicycle bells could suddenly be heard from outside. Qiao Mei craned her neck to look outside the door. She counted the days and realized that today should be the day that the postman came by the village!
As expected, a figure wearing dark green clothes appeared at Qiao Mei’s door.
Qiao Mei hurriedly walked over. Before she reached the postman, she could already hear him talking.
“Is Qiao Qiang at home? It’s a letter for Qiao Qiang!”
A letter for her grandfather? Who would send a letter to her grandfather? Qiao Mei felt puzzled.
“I’m Qiao Mei and Qiao Qiang is my grandfather. He’s now sleeping in the house. Give it to me and I’ll pass it to him later when he wakes up,” Qiao Mei said to the postman.
Qiao Mei held the letter and looked at it in disappointment. It was indeed addressed to Qiao Qiang. She could not help but feel a little down as she had thought that it would be a letter from Xia Zhe.
Seeing the sad look on such a beautiful face, the postman could not help but say, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back again in a few days. Perhaps I’ll even be here tomorrow. By then, I’ll have your letter!”
Qiao Mei knew that the postman was trying to cheer her up, but after thinking about it, she felt that it made sense and agreed with him.
“I’m leaving! See you next time! Don’t be unhappy!” the postman shouted as he rode off on his bicycle.
When Qiao Mei saw that the letter was sent from the capital, she knew that it was from her grandfather’s children. Previously, Uncle Chen Hu told her that her grandfather’s children wanted her grandfather to return to the capital. Perhaps they had now written a letter to discuss it with him.
Qiao Qiang was woken up by the postman’s voice. When he saw the letter in Qiao Mei’s hand, he thought that Xia Zhe had sent another letter. He grinned at Qiao Mei and said, “Why? Did that Xia brat write to you again? What did he say? Has he chosen a name for the child?”
Qiao Mei had previously written to Xia Zhe to ask him to think about the child’s name. Xia Zhe had replied to say that he had not thought about it yet, and that he needed to be more cautious about such an important matter.
“No, it’s not. Stop teasing me, grandfather. This is a letter for you, it’s from the capital,” Qiao Mei said.
Qiao Qiang’s smile instantly disappeared and he frowned as if he thought of something.
“Throw it out and burn it. What an eyesore.” Qiao Qiang turned around and walked into the house.
Qiao Mei looked at her grandfather’s back and knew that he did not want to talk about these things, but she did not know any details at all. Qiao Mei followed him and said, “Grandfather, can I take a look on your behalf?”
Her big bright eyes made it impossible for anyone to refuse her request. Qiao Qiang looked at Qiao Mei’s expression and found it hard to reject her. He nodded and agreed.
Time had passed so quickly. Previously, when Xia Zhe came, Mei Mei was still dark and fat like a black bear spirit. Now, she looked as pitiful as a little kitten. He had seen the hardship she had to go through during this period of time.