Chapter 117: Chapter 117 Install Telephone_1
She couldn’t believe that her father, whom she held in such high regard, had behind her mother’s back fathered an illegitimate daughter.
Even more so, the daughter was born before her.
He Sha Sha pondered over this all night, to the point her eyes turned red from exhaustion. Born into such a family, she was no stranger to cunning and divisive people.
Lost in her thoughts and feeling hungry, He Sha Sha walked pass the study room on her way to find food when she heard someone talking inside. Driven by curiosity, she caught every single word.
She clenched her fists tight, her sharply trimmed nails digging into her soft palms. Tiny beads of bright red blood started to ooze out between her fingers.
If she won’t come over, then I will go see her.
On this day, the bustling visits from the local telecommunications bureau stirred Xiao Wang Village early in the morning. Jiang Zhuanzhuan, after finishing her laundry, saw her younger brother sprinting towards her.
“What happened?” She immediately grabbed Jiang Yang, keeping him from running off with the notorious group of boys, “Remember what I told you before I left, don’t run around recklessly.”
Jiang Yang wiped the sweat off his face. His fair complexion, coupled with the morning sunlight and running, resembled a ripe apple.
“Who was it? Did they come to our house?”
“Yes!”, Jiang Yang nodded.
It was still early, but their father had already set off to sell tofu in the neighboring villages. Their mother had since gone to work in their small farm, where weeds had started to take over because of the hot weather.
So, it all came down to Zhuanzhuan to manage the house.
Quickening their steps towards home, they found a crowd of neighbors gathering by the time they reached. As the villagers saw them coming, they exclaimed in envy: “Wow, who would have thought that your family will become the second one in our village to have a telephone!”
“Indeed, it was unexpected!”
“You guys hid this so well.”
“So true, ‘the dog that bites doesn’t bark.'”
The crowd chattered, some envious, some jealous, and even more full of suspicion. The poverty of the Jiang family was well known to the villagers. It wasn’t due to their lack of effort but their struggle to afford the education of their three children.
Most families in the village allow their daughters only a primary school education. Once they learned to read and write, it’s deemed enough.
The Jiang family was different, sending both their daughters to high school. It wasn’t surprising that this circumstance stirred feelings of resentment among a few in the village. Now with the installation of the telephone, the gossip intensified.
Jiang Yang looked confused at the people streaming in and out of their house. He clearly remembered that when he went to get Zhuanzhuan, no one had been home. How did they manage to get in so quickly?
“What’s going on?” Zhuanzhuan squeezed through the crowd, identifying the telecommunications bureau worker, asked, “Why are you in my house?”
“Hello.” The person was a middle-aged man, exuding the modest demeanor of a rural villager. He saw that she was a girl and took the initiative to explain: “Your family requested the installation of a telephone. That’s why we’re here to install it!”
“We did?” said Zhuanzhuan in surprise. “No, we didn’t!” She was certain that they couldn’t afford a telephone.
The village’s store owner had told her that telephone installation costs thousands. It would definitely be out of their affordable range.
“Could you confirm if this is Jiang Nan Fei’s house?”
“Yes, that’s my elder sister’s name.”
“Then there’s no mistake!” The middle-aged man confirmed, and ordered his crew to speed up, “Hurry up, everyone!”
“Wait…” Zhuanzhuan became frantic, “We can’t afford to pay you.”
“The payment has already been settled. We wouldn’t have come to install the line otherwise. Your village only had one line before, and it’s not enough. So we’re bringing another one over. Don’t worry, it will be done soon.”
Zhuanzhuan remembered how the man had earlier asked her if this was Jiang Nan Fei’s house. She couldn’t help but feel confused.
Did her sister have something to do with this?
But her sister also didn’t have any money. Who could it be then?
A thought suddenly crossed her mind, blanketing her in an indescribable sense of heaviness.