"Yes, Er Ya, your Uncle has already helped our family so much, and we haven’t even finished paying back the money for Zhaodi’s trip to the hospital. Now to borrow more money, this..." Zhao Xiaojuan felt somewhat embarrassed, feeling like her family owed the main house too many favors.
Er Ya knew that, but she truly wanted to study, "Mom, Dad, San Ya doesn’t need you to repay her. I’ll earn the money myself and pay her back. I’ll also remember this favor and will repay San Ya doubly in the future."
Zhaodi, seeing her older sister say this, felt even more reluctant.
She wanted Er Ya to wait, wanted to say she would handle the money and that they would soon have a large sum.
But now, she had not even fifty cents in her pocket; even if she made such bold claims, no one would believe her, which left her extremely frustrated.
Jiang Changhe and Zhao Xiaojuan, seeing their daughter persist so firmly, and with San Ya willing to lend the money, also felt somewhat wavering.
Zhao Xiaojuan hesitated, "Er Ya, even if your father and I agree, your grandparents won’t approve."
"It’s okay, mom, San Ya said our country’s laws have stipulated that no one can arbitrarily restrict someone else’s personal freedom. She will also speak up for me by then. The grandparents are very fond of San Ya, and they will definitely agree if she speaks. Mom, Dad, please say yes. I don’t want to be a peasant for my whole life."
When Er Ya spoke these words, the light and passion in her eyes scorched the hearts of her parents.
Seeing their daughter so determined, they still felt sympathy for her. Their lives were already set in stone, so why not take a chance and give their children an opportunity?
Jiang Changhe thought about these things and finally relented, "Er Ya, about studying, don’t rush to tell your grandparents yet. We have many relatives visiting these few days because of the event at home. Wait until all the relatives have gone and the birthday feast is over, when it’s just our own family, then bring up this matter."
When Er Ya heard her father’s suggestion, she knew he had agreed and quickly nodded, "Okay, Dad, I’ll listen to you. Whenever you say to talk about it, that’s when I’ll discuss it."
Zhaodi bit her lip, deciding that once her brother was born, she would ask her dad to go to the mountains to dig ginseng to sell for money, absolutely refusing Jiang Mianmian’s charity!
The developments in the second household were unknown to Jiang Mianmian. When her parents got back home, the family talked for a while. Thinking of the many tasks for tomorrow, they went to bed early.
Because the previous day, Jiang Changhai had talked about collecting fish and shrimp, the next day, everyone in the village got up bright and early, with both adults and children equipped with fishing nets and homemade tools to catch fish and shrimp in the river.
Jiang Changhe and Jiang Changtao also set out early in the morning, while the women at home were bustling about preparing the Birthday Peach and other dishes for the feast.
Jiang Mianmian was awakened by the hustle and bustle outside. Rubbing her eyes, her voice still soft and groggy from sleep, she complained, "It’s so noisy. What’s going on outside?"
"There are people catching fish and shrimp in the river, others are cooking," replied Yu Cheng, who had already finished his morning run outside.
"Catching fish and shrimp? I want to go too. Brother Yu, let’s go catch them too," Jiang Mianmian said, suddenly wide awake, her big moist eyes sparkling as she looked at Yu Cheng.
"Alright, then get up and wash up, and we’ll head there right now."
When the two reached the riverbank, the sun had just risen, and the weather was still not too hot.
In the village, regardless of gender or age, everyone was joyfully splashing in the river trying to catch fish.
Jiang Mianmian stood on the riverside watching for a while and then, feeling an itch to join in, took off her shoes. She tugged on Yu Cheng’s arm, "Brother Yu, let’s go down and try to catch some fish too."