NOVEL NEXT Chapter 197: Waking Up
Jia Shu put down the phone, covered her face, and started crying at the table.
Jiang Xiaoxiao isn't good at comforting people; she's good at retorting.
Comforting others isn't her forte.
But this is Jia Shu.
She can understand, Jia Shu is hurt and disappointed with her family; no one knows what happened after she returned in her past life, but based on what was said, one can guess that Jia Shu not only lent money to her family but may have suffered even greater blows after going back.
This time, under Jiang Xiaoxiao's influence, at least Jia Shu now retorts to people.
This is the first step of being brave.
"Stop crying. I know you're upset inside, but now that you're grown, you should know what actions to take and not take. You can't keep backing down and accommodating your family all the time. Spoiling them excessively allows bad habits to form, and they'll start taking your efforts for granted.
That's not good for your family. You're family, so you might always back down and accommodate, but how could outsiders treat them the same way? Once they come across someone tough, wouldn't they end up having to endure resentment or grievances, maybe even offend someone and cause trouble?
Your mom too, frankly speaking, isn't she picking on you because she sees you as weak? Taking care of family is one thing, but about what extent to go, you need to have a sense of it yourself. Like sending money.
You sent back 15 yuan all of a sudden, and your mom thinks you can send 15 yuan every month, naturally considering this as granted. Didn't you see how others send money? He Aiguo and the others only sent back two, three, the most five yuan.
This way, families won't force them to send money, and they know life here isn't easy, earning money isn't easy.
But you sent all your money back, so of course, your mom would think you're living comfortably here, with so much money, more than what workers earn, thinking you're enjoying life here.
Now asking for more like a lion's share, you're feeling wronged, but you also bear responsibility."
Jiang Xiaoxiao retorts without a doubt, and Jia Shu indeed is at fault too.
Backing down repeatedly to family and moreover, providing them with an opportunity to take advantage of her; frankly, the reason her mom's heart is so big is partly due to Jia Shu's way of handling things.
Whether smart or not is one thing, but even those who aren't smart know to observe how others handle matters.
There are so many educated youths here, can't she even learn how to send money back home?
Not saying she should be selfish, but for family, a sense of proportion is needed.
Can't just send all her money back at once.
Jia Shu couldn't continue crying, how could she, after Jiang Xiaoxiao said this much, crying further would seem a bit pretentious.
"I know I have problems myself, but I just think that mom and dad have it hard at home, with so many brothers and sisters. If I don't help them at all, life at home would be even harder. When I couldn't get enough to eat at home, I thought once I got out, I'd find a way for my siblings to have enough to eat.
But I didn't expect that sending money back would lead them to come up with these schemes, forcing me to borrow money. And it was my own brother who wrote this letter, my own mom and dad who thought of this idea.
Thinking about this makes me feel like I might as well not be living."
Jia Shu was moved to tears, truly hurt.
Jiang Xiaoxiao handed her a handkerchief.
"I know you're hurt by your family, but in the future, you need to think more for yourself. You want your family to be better, to have a bit better life, but you can't handle matters like this so excessively.
You exposed all your bottom line, so of course, your parents' desires grew. You've done so much farm work; it's not like you don't know how hard it is to earn these work credits. Your parents never seem to plan for you.
In the future, just send a normal amount back, like what the other educated youths send. This way, you won't stand out, and your parents will plan properly.
Especially your second brother; does he not know the family's situation? Asking for those big three items for marriage, which are hardly affordable for ordinary families, and this is because your parents think of you as their reliance.
You're the one who gave them this notion; in the future, think more carefully."
In the previous life, because of the scar on her face, Jia Shu didn't dare to see people and was ridiculed.
She became more introverted and withdrawn, and her family didn't like her; she never returned home after the first time going back.
Apart from sending money home, it seemed she didn't exist at all.
The family only ever asked for money, and it seemed no one tried to contact her.
In this lifetime, Jiang Xiaoxiao hopes Jia Shu can escape the vampire-like entanglement from her family.
In her previous life, Jia Shu never married, ending tragically.
In this lifetime, Jia Shu needs to be different from the last! And meet someone who truly cares for her.
Jiang Xiaoxiao is determined to wake her friend up.
Jia Shu stared blankly at Jiang Xiaoxiao, thinking about what she said, feeling unsettled.
Jiang Xiaoxiao sighed; it takes time to come to one's senses, making a person see clearly in an instant isn't realistic.
Hopefully, Jia Shu can wake up this time.
Don't rely on the warmth from family ties.
If you can't get what you hope for, you'll end up deeply hurt.
The two returned to work one after the other.
The work in the fields can't stop.
This year's harvest depends on their hard work.
Back at the dormitory, Jia Shu was absent-minded, sitting on the bed in a daze, almost speechless.
Seeing her like that, Jiang Xiaoxiao couldn't bear it and ended up cooking by herself.
Song Moting followed her to the kitchen, noticing Jia Shu seemed off too.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
The thirteen of them had a good relationship; if they encountered difficulties, they would think of solutions together.
Jiang Xiaoxiao shook her head; this matter wasn't suitable to share with others.
Even though Song Moting was close, it still wasn't appropriate.
"She has some family issues and is feeling down. She should be fine after some rest. Don't worry."
Song Moting didn't ask further and started washing vegetables.
Jiang Xiaoxiao cooked rice and prepared a grand stew, which was satisfying.
It's just the beginning of spring; there aren't any fresh vegetables yet.
"Why don't we plant some veggies in the field outside the courtyard wall? I've seen the land is pretty big, at least seven or eight acres, and the sides of the road downhill are also wasteland. If we clean it up, we should be able to grow quite a bit of vegetables."
Song Moting felt the monotonous meals were truly worrying.
After all, everyone would live here for several years, who knows when they could leave.
Before leaving, planning for the future is necessary.
He's long realized that Jiang Xiaoxiao likes to eat fresh vegetables; hasn't he seen how she tried sprouting mung beans when the director gave them some green beans recently?
And indeed, stir-fried bean sprouts with meat taste really nice.
Not seeing fresh vegetables all winter, now seeing green bean sprouts makes everyone look like wolves.
Also, the trees Jiang Xiaoxiao asked them to pluck for toon sprouts to fry with eggs recently, that was a superb dish.
He noticed Jiang Xiaoxiao has a certain requirement for eating.
Thus, he's always trying to create conditions.