The only consolation now is that San Ya is a girl, otherwise all the stuff that my in-laws hold might have all gone to the eldest son’s family.
This is really a stroke of luck amid misfortune!
Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but glance at Jiang Mianmian, noticing that she could remain so composed and unflustered when praised in front of so many people, once again feeling relieved that the other wasn’t a boy.
If it were her own sons, they would have been grinning from ear to ear, their tails wiggling up to the sky in delight.
Jiang Dashan and the village elders, who were respected for their integrity and virtue, nodded in approval upon seeing Jiang Mianmian’s unaffected demeanor.
They thought to themselves that although the child was young, her character was very stable. Achieving such good results and facing such praise, she still remained modest and self-controlled, certainly the makings of someone who could accomplish great things.
And the other children all thought she was very impressive, not showing even a hint of pride or complacency for getting first place. If it had been them, they would probably have been so happy they couldn’t find their bearings.
Only Zhaodi thought Jiang Mianmian’s calmness and composure was a sign of arrogance, feeling entitled to the praise she received.
Looking at her grandmother, smiling with her teeth but not her eyes, her grandfather brimming with pride and joy, and her parents and sisters equally elated, Zhaodi felt as though ants were biting at her heart.
She knew that even if she had gotten first place in the exam, it wouldn’t have drawn much attention from her grandparents, nor brought significant embarrassment to the Third Branch.
Because compared to San Ya’s first place in the entrance exam, her own first place in the second grade didn’t count for much at all!
What frustrated Zhaodi the most was that even though she was the one who had reincarnated, San Ya was even smarter and better at studying than in her previous life.
The village people enjoyed their time at Jiang Family’s place for a while, until the village chief finally spoke up to remind everyone, "Alright, alright, it’s getting late, everyone should head back home to cook. We still have work to do in the afternoon."
After the villagers had left, the Jiang family also began to prepare lunch.
This time without Jiang Changhai even asking, the old lady took the initiative to cook Jiang Mianmian white rice and fried a plate of her prized cured meat.
During the meal, she made a special effort to place the cured meat and fried eggs in front of Jiang Mianmian.
With a face full of affection, she said, "Eat more meat and eggs, Grandma made these especially for you."
"Thank you, Grandma, you too should eat," Jiang Mianmian replied, picking up a pair of chopsticks for Zhang Guihua, and also a pair for Jiang Dashan.
She had both old folks beaming with delight.
After lunch, the Jiang family members needed to go to work, and Jiang Changhai had to go to his job tomorrow.
"Mom, Mianmian and I need to go to school to collect exam papers later, and I have to work tomorrow, so we won’t sleep at home tonight," he said.
"Okay, go ahead, take these things with you. San Ya loves these, so you’ll also save some money on groceries," Zhang Guihua handed a basket of eggs and her pickled crunchy bamboo shoots to Jiang Changhai.
Sun Lixia watched the old lady give so many eggs to the eldest branch and began to feel bitter again. They had taken all of them; what would her own son eat?
Such blatant favoritism.
The next day, Jiang Mianmian went to school with her mother to collect her exam papers, but only received her math paper.
Teacher Liu said cheerfully, "I’m so sorry, Jiang Mianmian, but your papers have been borrowed by primary and secondary school teachers in the town for their enjoyment. I’ll bring them to your house in a few days once they’re returned."
Jiang Mianmian, puzzled, asked, "Teacher, why would the secondary school teachers need to borrow them too?"
She could understand the primary school teachers borrowing them.
But why would secondary school teachers want to borrow a primary school student’s essay?
"Because this time, the teachers who prepared the exams for the transition from primary to secondary and from secondary to high school both chose ’Future’ as an essay topic."