Later, Chiang Yuequn seemed to have truly stayed in the provincial city to find a job, and Ho Laidi was so proud she almost went to borrow the village loudspeaker to announce this news to everyone, as if their whole family was about to become city dwellers.
Once she had left Siyang Village, Deng Qingjiang deliberately kept her from mentioning or reminiscing about the people and things in the village, so she had no idea about Chiang Yuequn’s situation either.
But being a high school student who sent home a few dozen yuan a month and still found it hardly enough to spend, Chiang Xiao didn’t think he could be doing all that well.
"However, they’ve gone into the house to talk about it, Grandpa, do you feel like going over to hear what they’re saying about my second uncle?" Chiang Xiao asked.
She bet he wouldn’t dare to go, even if he really wanted to know about Chiang Yuequn’s recent situation.
Chiang Songhai gave a wry smile, "Little, you always like making fun of Grandpa, I won’t go."
He truly didn’t dare to go; there was one time he tried to go and check on Chiang Baohe’s injury, but as soon as he walked in, Chiang Baohe started cursing Chiang Qingzhu terribly, claiming that in the end, it was all Chiang Qingzhu’s doing that caused his misfortune.
After cursing Chiang Qingzhu, he then started on her, Chiang Songhai simply couldn’t bear to listen and was unable to argue with Chiang Baihe, ultimately leaving with a belly full of frustration and ending up with a headache the next day.
That time, Chiang Xiao was fuming for a solid three days.
How could Chiang Songhai dare to subject himself to that again afterward?
Chiang Xiao walked over, wrapped her arm around his, and said, "Grandpa, that’s the spirit. Why should we go looking for trouble? You and Grandma just need to take care of yourselves. There are plenty of good days ahead of us, and besides," she paused, then added, "maybe in the future, we might even find my mom, right?"
Whether her mom was alive or dead was unknown, but Chiang Xiao knew they always missed their daughter. Giving them a bit of hope and expectation was a good thing, too.
Indeed, Chiang Songhai’s eyes brightened upon hearing Chiang Xiao’s words.
"Your mom... I don’t know if she’s still alive."
"I think there’s at least a fifty percent chance," Chiang Xiao said with a smile, recalling the past life. In her previous life, because someone came back to the village and shared the miserable circumstances of Chiang Qingzhu’s death, it had greatly upset Ge Liutao, leading to her demise from a heart attack towards the end of April.
But in this life, not only had she kept Ge Liutao away from the village during those few days, thereby avoiding the person who had returned to the village shortly after, but thanks to regular consumption of Ganoderma water and Ginseng Water from the "Space," Ge Liutao’s health had visibly improved, and she hadn’t complained about feeling chest discomfort anymore.
Chiang Songhai and Ge Liutao both looked much healthier than before and had gained some weight as well.
However, Chiang Xiao still didn’t dare to let them drink the Spring Water from the "Space," because she didn’t know if they could handle it. After all, she herself had the "Space," and her constitution had already been enhanced and transformed by the medicinal properties of the "Space," but Chiang Songhai and Ge Liutao had not.
So she opted to let them continue drinking the Ganoderma water and Ginseng Water intermittently, to nourish their bodies for the time being.
Fifty percent hope was still something to be happy about.
Chiang Songhai silently sighed.
Chiang Xiao said, "Grandpa, I’m going to the middle school to take an exam in three days. I want to go to the bookstore to buy another set of materials. Do you and Grandma want to come with me?"
"Sure, your Grandma and I will both go with you. Let’s have a meal at Peace Restaurant in the evening to wish our Little success on her exam!"
Outside the door, Chiang Caijiao was holding a handful of candy and quietly turned back.
Two days later, Chiang Xiao finished her final exams for elementary school and officially graduated!
As she left the school, she looked back at the modest village elementary school and exhaled.
Having to pretend to be an elementary school student with the soul of a thirty-year-old for these months had been nearly suffocating!