Ninth Grandma watched the lively scene next door and listened to the discussions and occasional exclamations from the people who had come over to join in the excitement. She was extremely irritated, and her expression was ugly.
“What’s so great about it? Didn’t she just marry someone in the provincial capital? Anyone who didn’t know better would think their family had produced an empress! Hmph!”
Just then, Sixteenth Grandma also came over to join in the excitement. Seeing that the gate of Ninth Household was open and Ninth Grandma was muttering to herself in the courtyard, her eyes shifted as she walked over and grabbed Ninth Grandma by the arm.
“Ninth Sister-in-law, come on, come on. Let’s go take a look at Tenth Sister-in-law’s house.”
Ninth Grandma was furious and immediately shook off her hand.
“I’m not going! Go if you want. Why should I?”
She had gotten into a fight with Tenth Household’s wife before, and the two families still hadn’t made up. They hadn’t spoken to each other since then.
If Ninth Grandma went over now, it would be the same as admitting defeat to Grandma Lu. How could she possibly be willing to do that?
Sixteenth Grandma smiled.
“Oh my, Ninth Sister-in-law, don’t tell me you’re jealous of Tenth Sister-in-law?”
Ninth Grandma sneered.
“Jealous of her? You’ve got to be kidding. Why would I need to be jealous of her?”
Sixteenth Grandma shook her head and clicked her tongue.
“Ninth Sister-in-law, don’t get me wrong, but although your family and Tenth Sister-in-law’s family are in similar circumstances, back in the earlier years, your family was actually doing better than theirs…”
After all, every child in Tenth Household had studied all the way through high school, while most of the children in Ninth Household had only gone as far as junior high.
Just in terms of educational expenses, Ninth Household had been able to save quite a lot. Their grandchildren could also go down to the fields and start working at a younger age.
As a result, several of the grandchildren from Ninth Household were now working at the forestry farm or livestock farm.
Don’t look down on them just because most of the jobs were hard labor. At least most of those children were earning wages!
Compared with those circumstances, Ninth Household really had been considerably better off than Tenth Household in the past.
But things were different now.
Just Lu Yuqing marrying into the provincial capital was already enough to put Tenth Household well ahead of Ninth Household.
On top of that, Tenth Household now had two more family members who had found temporary jobs at factories in the city. In the future, their lives would definitely be better than Ninth Household’s!
Everyone in the brigade could see it clearly.
Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been such a lively scene next door today, right?
Sixteenth Grandma smiled.
“If you ask me, Ninth Sister-in-law, you should go over now and build a good relationship with Tenth Sister-in-law. Who knows? In the future, maybe Tenth Sister-in-law could give you a hand. Isn’t that right?”
Ninth Grandma immediately blew up.
“Bah! Do I need Fang Chengyue to give me a hand? Even if I starve to death, I would never go begging at her house!”
Sixteenth Grandma was speechless.
“Ninth Sister-in-law, even if you don’t think about yourself, you should think about your children. We’re all relatives from the same ancestors. Do you really have to make things this difficult?”
Ninth Grandma pushed her toward the door.
“Go, go, go! I don’t want to listen to you. If you want to curry favor with her, then go ahead. I’m not asking her for anything!”
What a joke!
Even if Tenth Household really managed to make something of themselves in the future, as the older sister-in-law, she would never lower her head to them!
Sixteenth Grandma found it amusing but didn’t take offense.
Usually, Ninth Grandma always used the fact that Sixteenth Household had more daughters and fewer sons to make snide remarks about her family.
Sometimes, she would even lecture her to her face, putting on the airs of an elder sister-in-law who was like a mother to her!
Hmph.
Today, she had finally gotten the chance to give some of it back!
Sixteenth Grandma felt as refreshed as if she had eaten a huge, ice-cold watermelon on a scorching June day.
“Fine, fine, I won’t say anything more. You’re really like a dog biting Lü Dongbin—you can’t recognize a good person’s intentions…”
Sixteenth Grandma muttered as she walked into Tenth Household’s courtyard.
Ninth Grandma watched her with a dark expression. She spat again before turning around and going back inside to shut the gate.
These people! They were far too concerned with who was doing well!
Just wait!
One day, she would get even!
Just then, the Fortune Child woke up. Rubbing her eyes, she walked out.
Ninth Grandma rushed over, picked her up, and looked seriously at the Fortune Child.
“Bao’er, in the future, you must marry someone from the provincial capital! Understand?”
Fortune Child: ???
She didn’t understand what Ninth Grandma was talking about at all.
Meanwhile, after the excitement at Lu Yuning’s house had died down, everyone’s lives returned to normal.
Lu Yuwei’s house was built very quickly. Years ago, Great-Uncle Lu had already saved up quite a few certificates for blue bricks in the brigade.
—The blue bricks produced by the brigade were allocated according to quotas for each household. Each person was entitled to a quota of one thousand bricks a year. Every year, they had to go to the brigade and ask the brigade leader to issue a certificate, then register it at the blue-brick factory. Only after that could they reserve bricks with the factory in advance.
That was how Great-Uncle Lu had accumulated his certificates for blue bricks.
Of course, under normal circumstances, his quota over the years wouldn’t have been enough to build houses for several children. It was because everyone in the Lu family had pooled their quotas together for him that they had finally accumulated enough.
Even Lu Yuqing and Lu Yuning had their own quotas of blue bricks for building houses.
As for the stone bricks, clay, and other materials needed to build the house, the Lu family had been saving them up themselves for many years.
They would collect a little each day and store it in a pit they had dug in their private plot of land, covering it with wooden boards and then oilcloth. Whenever they needed it, they could simply dig it out and use it.
Lu Yuning had even gone to watch Grandpa Lu take the clay out.
Seeing that she was curious, Grandpa Lu explained it to her.
They used glutinous rice, clay, and a little lime powder, mixed them into a thick mud, and then left it there to ferment. Once it was ready, they could dig it out and use it to build houses.
A house built this way could last for at least eighty or ninety years!
Lu Yuning was deeply impressed.
This was the wisdom of the working people!
Once the house was built, they simply brushed the walls with lime until they were white, then applied a layer of clear varnish, and it was done!
Lu Yuning looked at the brand-new little courtyard, her face practically blooming with happiness.
Their family’s life was truly getting better and better!
After Lu Yuwei’s new house was completed and he moved in, Lu Yuning also began her life as an elementary school student!
September 1st.
School started!
Lu Yuning was dragged out of bed by Lu Mother early in the morning. Even her face was washed by Lu Mother.
The only problem was that she scrubbed so hard that Lu Yuning felt as though an entire layer of skin had nearly been rubbed off her face.
But Lu Mother had a perfectly good reason.
“Today is your first day of school. Of course you have to be clean and tidy. Hurry up and put on the checked dress your brother-in-law bought you, along with the little leather shoes!”
These were specially bought for her by her brother-in-law, Mu Haijun, when Lu Yuqing returned home for the traditional third-day visit after her wedding. He had specifically bought them to match the dress.
Lu Yuning felt that her brother-in-law had done it on purpose!
Otherwise, why hadn’t he bought the matching shoes and dress together on the day he brought the betrothal gifts?
Wasn’t it just because he wanted Lu Mother and the others to understand even more clearly how much he cared about Lu Yuqing?
Grandma Lu had been right.
This brother-in-law really had quite a lot of schemes up his sleeve!
Lu Yuning changed into the checked dress that had been washed once, and Lu Mother tied her hair into a braid. Then she hung the new little checked schoolbag that had been made for her earlier over her shoulder.
And that was it!
Lu Yuning stood in front of the large mirror at Grandma Lu’s house and looked at herself.
Hmm.
Not bad. She really did look quite pretty.
Grandma Lu laughed.
“All right, hurry up and eat. Once you’re done, hurry to school.”
Lu Yuting had also gotten dressed and was carrying his schoolbag. He smiled.
“Today, my little sister is finally going to school with me!”
Grandma Lu smiled and said to Lu Mother,
“Later, you accompany Yuning to school to register.”
“Got it, Mom.”
After breakfast, everyone went off to school or work.
Lu Mother took the children in the family to school.
Because Hong’an Brigade had a large population and covered a considerable area, with several neighboring brigades nearby, the commune had built an elementary school here in Hong’an Brigade.
There was also a junior high school here, but there weren’t many students. Most students who were capable of passing the entrance examination would basically go to the junior high school in town.
The junior high school students who graduated from Hong’an Middle School were generally considered to have merely muddled their way through. There weren’t many who were genuinely good at studying.
The situation at Hong’an Elementary School was different. There were actually quite a few students who performed well academically.
And this was largely thanks to Lu Hongjun, who had graduated from a secondary specialized school.
When Lu Hongjun was young, Great-Granduncle had sent him to study at a private school. Later, after Great-Granduncle went off to fight in the war, Lu Hongjun went to the city on his own and attended a secondary specialized school.
He had also taken part in some activities during the War of Resistance, but he had never told anyone about them. The others had only heard bits and pieces through rumors and had no idea what had actually happened.
But no matter what, Lu Hongjun truly cared a great deal about the children’s studies in the brigade, and he was also very upright and fair.
For children who were determined to study but had no means to do so, he would do his best to help them find a path of their own, trying his best to give these children a decent future.
Lu Yuning’s older brothers and sisters had all been his students. From the first grade of primary school until each of them graduated, they had all grown up under this principal’s guidance.
And now, Lu Yuning had also become his student.
Lu Hongjun met Lu Yuning and her mother in his office, along with the other new students and their parents who had come from the brigade to register.
Lu Hongjun treated everyone equally, but he still smiled and said one extra sentence to Lu Yuning.
“Study hard.”
Lu Yuning nodded. “Mm-hmm! Don’t worry, Principal. I’ll study hard.”
Lu Hongjun smiled. “Good.”
When the other children stepped forward, although he was smiling kindly, they were still too nervous to say anything. This made Lu Yuning stand out even more.
Hong’an Primary School had six first-grade classes. Because of Great-Granduncle’s arrangements as the brigade leader, there were no children from Hong’an Brigade who had dropped out of school. There were also children sent over from other brigades, so the classes were basically all full, with fifty students each.
Lu Yuning was randomly assigned to Grade One, Class Four. Her mother went over to familiarize herself with the classroom location and meet the homeroom teacher, then reminded Lu Yuning to study hard before heading home.
Lu Yuning walked into the classroom and casually chose a seat toward the back.
Not long after, Lu Yuchun and Lu Yuping arrived too!
“Yuning!”
Lu Yuchun and Lu Yuping were both very happy. The three of them had been assigned to the same class, so the three little girls sat together and immediately began chatting away.
But not long after that, Fortune Child arrived too!
Lu Yuning looked at Fortune Child being carried into the classroom by Ninth Grandma, and her heart sank.
No, seriously. Was the power of the plot really this strong?
Why did the female lead have to be in the same class as her?
Sigh…
Fortunately, this time, Fortune Child had also come to school wearing a little floral dress. It was obvious that Ninth Grandma had specially bought the fabric and made it for her.
She had probably also heard that Lu Yuning’s brother-in-law had bought her a dress. Ninth Grandma was unwilling to let her own granddaughter be outdone, so she had bought fabric and made Fortune Child a dress too, and had even specially bought her a pair of little leather shoes!
Lu Yuning sighed inwardly.
Ninth Grandma really was very good to the female lead!
Still, she needed to stay as far away from the female lead as possible, so she wouldn’t get dragged into trouble because of her.
Lu Yuning thought that way, and she acted accordingly. After the class meeting, when the teacher rearranged the seats, Lu Yuning immediately chose to sit with Lu Yuping.
Lu Yuchun also pulled another girl over to sit with her. Seeing this, Fortune Child merely snorted and went to sit with Lu Yuxia.
Lu Yuxia was Second Grandma’s granddaughter. She was about the same age as them, but she was the youngest daughter of Second Grandma’s eldest daughter-in-law, born when the latter was already older. She was also very doted on at home.
Still, compared with Fortune Child, she was nowhere near as spoiled.
At the very least, Fortune Child currently had broken biscuits tucked into her pocket. These little snacks were rare treats to the children in the brigade, so Lu Yuxia really liked playing with Fortune Child.
—It was simple. There was food to eat.
There were no classes on the first day. They only held a class meeting and an opening ceremony, handed out the textbooks, and talked about classroom rules and such.
When it was almost noon, they were dismissed and went home. They didn’t need to come back in the afternoon. Formal classes would only begin the next day.
After returning home, Lu Yuning excitedly took out all her brand-new textbooks to look at them. She even rummaged through the cabinets looking for old newspapers to wrap the books.
Seeing this, Lu Yuting couldn’t help complaining.
“Little sister, do you really have to go this far? Once you’ve used the book for long enough, won’t it still end up with creases?”
Lu Yuning glared at him.
“What do you know? If you wrap them like this, the books will stay looking new for a long time.”
Lu Yuting: “…”
Wasn’t it only the covers that would stay new?
Once they wrote notes inside, the pages would get dirty anyway.
He really couldn’t understand what went on in these little girls’ minds.
Lu Yuning couldn’t care less about what he thought. She happily wrapped covers around all her new textbooks.
However, when she looked at the plain black-and-white newspapers, Lu Yuning still wasn’t very satisfied.
It would have been nice if she could have had floral-patterned paper. Unfortunately, that kind of thing really didn’t exist at this time.
Perhaps there was some somewhere, but there was no way anyone would use it to “waste” on a child like this.
Having old newspapers was already something to be grateful for.
Later, Great-Uncle Lu happened to see the books Lu Yuning had wrapped and smiled as he asked, “Yuning, you like wrapping your books too?”
Lu Yuning nodded. “Great-Uncle, they look cleaner this way. It’s just that newspaper isn’t very pretty. Otherwise, they could be both pretty and clean.”
Great-Uncle Lu thought for a moment before saying, “That’s easy. I’ll find you some coarse hemp paper, then draw some little flowers on it for you. How about that?”
Lu Yuning was delighted.
“Really? Can you?”
Great-Uncle Lu smiled and nodded. “Of course.”
Lu Yuning nodded repeatedly. “That would be great! Thank you, Great-Uncle!”
Great-Uncle Lu burst out laughing and rubbed her head.
“All right. Wait until I’ve finished making them, then you can see whether you like them.”
Two days later, Great-Uncle Lu really did bring back a large stack of coarse hemp paper. Every sheet had already been decorated with beautiful floral patterns in all kinds of designs!
Lu Yuning’s eyes lit up when she saw them.
Great-Uncle Lu’s skills were incredible!
It was only then that Lu Yuning learned that Great-Uncle Lu had been drawing carving designs for the furniture factory for many years.
Oh!
So Great-Uncle Lu was a hidden expert too!
No wonder he could earn so much money every month!
Lu Yuning replaced the old newspaper covers on her books with the beautiful coarse hemp paper. When she brought them back to school, they immediately attracted the envy of all her classmates.
Even Fortune Child looked at her enviously, though she couldn’t bring herself to ask Lu Yuning for one.
Lu Yuning wasn’t stupid. Looking was fine, but asking her for one?
There was definitely nothing to give.
She wasn’t going to take advantage of Great-Uncle Lu’s kindness toward her and recklessly waste someone else’s hard work just to satisfy her vanity, making Great-Uncle Lu spend his time endlessly drawing these beautiful sheets of paper for the other students in the class.
In short, it was enough for her to use them herself.
There was no need to give them to others.
But she never expected that even this would attract the jealousy of her classmates, causing her beloved textbooks to suffer.