Chapter seven: making friends with Wang Li
When she opened her hazy eyes, the blinding sunlight had already shone through the wooden window. She jumped up in excitement and muttered as she made the bed, "It's over. Today is friday. We still have to go to school."
She rushed to fetch water, wash her face and brush her teeth, then picked up her schoolbag and ran all the way to town. Clocks and watches in this era were very expensive. The li family had one. Deng wenfang had asked her family to buy a clock that had changed hands a few times. At that time, it also cost forty yuan. It happened to be Li Jianguo's monthly salary. The family was very precious.
Now that she left the li family, she was completely confused about the concept of time. When she arrived in town, drenched in sweat, she saw many students buying breakfast at the shop in the town. She knew in her heart that she was finally not late today. She also bought two buns at a roadside stall and walked to school while eating.
As soon as she reached the school gate, she met her deskmate, Wang Li. Wang Li was from Wang jia village, next door. Her family ran a small pig farm, and the conditions were good. She was a cheerful girl who knew a lot about the Li Haitang family and took good care of her.
Haitang, don't you usually come early? Why did you step on it today?" Wang Li was wearing a beige jacket with a pair of blue pants, and her hair was cut into a clean and refreshing student head. Her round face revealed two small tiger teeth when she smiled, which made her look especially cute and interesting.
Li Haitang swallowed the last mouthful of breakfast and chuckled, "I overslept today, so I'm a little late."
Wang Li sat at her table for almost a year and was familiar with her all the time. But today, she felt that Li Haitang was a little different, but she couldn't tell what was different. She looked her up and down and asked curiously, "Haitang, why haven't you seen her all day? I always feel like you've changed."
Li Haitang's heart skipped a beat. She did not expect the other party to be so sensitive. Her face remained unchanged as she explained, "Wang Li, I went home yesterday and broke up with the li family. I moved into grandma wu's house last night."
"What?" Wang Li was shocked. Her big round eyes and round face made her look especially happy.
Li Haitang pursed his lips and said, "You know how unhappy I am in the li family. You've heard of my foster mother's temperament. If I stay in that family any longer, I'll starve to death sooner or later. Now that you've left that house, you suddenly feel relaxed, so you think I've changed."
When Wang Li heard the explosive news early in the morning, he was so shocked that he felt dizzy. It took him a long time to ask, "Did you live in that house alone last night? Aren't you afraid?"
"Yes, I moved out yesterday afternoon and stayed there at night." Li Haitang naturally knew what she was worried about. Her deskmate was a very timid person. She smiled and said, "There's nothing to be afraid of. Grandma wu was a very kind and kind elder when she was alive. She treated me very well. I often went to her room. I know her very well."
Wang Li gripped the strap of his schoolbag tightly with both hands and said with some admiration, "You're really good. To be honest, I don't have the guts of you." Then he asked with concern, "Now that you have severed ties with the li family, did they give you food and money?"
Li Haitang shook his head and told her everything about yesterday. In the end, he teased, "I still owe more than a hundred dollars, and I have to prepare for the living expenses of high school. It's very stressful. If you can't find a good way to make money, you'll have to cut the grass and sell it to your pig farm."
Seeing that her deskmate was having such a hard time, Wang Li felt very sad. He patted her on the shoulder and said, "Haitang, don't worry. The hard life will come after a while. My family gave me some pocket money. I've saved it up. It should be about thirty yuan. I'll lend it to you for emergencies."
Li Haitang said gratefully, "Not for the time being. I still have more than 20 yuan on me, enough for the exam. When I really can't find a good way, I'll ask you for help."
"Okay."
This middle school was the only junior high school in Ping shan town. After entering from the school gate, there was a large playground. On both sides of the playground, there was a two-story teaching building made of red bricks, and behind it was a teacher's office building and a large cafeteria.
The classroom of class one, grade three, was in the innermost part of the second floor of the east teaching building. Li Haitang followed Wang Li through the front door of the classroom. She looked up slightly and saw that more than 60 students in the class had basically arrived. At this time, they all looked at her with a very complicated look.
Li Haitang thought for a moment and guessed that they must have known about her feat yesterday. After all, several students in the class were from Lee ka tsuen. She sighed in her heart. It seemed that she was just a newcomer and was about to become a popular figure in the school.
Wang Li knew that Li Haitang was a quiet and sensitive person. She looked back at her and saw that her face was normal, as if she didn't care about other people's eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Haitang naturally saw the whispers between her classmates, but she didn't care. Her mouth was on others. They could say whatever they wanted.
Sitting on the desk and chair, she looked up at the schedule on the right side of the blackboard. The first class was teacher Tang Hui's chinese class. She just took out the chinese class book, and the class teacher came over.
Mr. Tang Hui was less than forty years old and was an amiable teacher who was responsible for every student. She was very helpful to Li Haitang. She was of medium height, slightly chubby, with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and meticulously dressed. When she walked into the classroom with her chinese textbook, her eyes fell on Li Haitang, and her voice was very calm, "Li Haitang, come out for a while."
"Yes." Li Haitang was already ready to talk to her and immediately got up and walked out.
They walked one after another to the innermost part of the corridor. Standing still, Mr. Tang said bluntly, "Li Haitang, I met your captain from Lee ka tsuen on the road this morning. He told me everything about your severance from the li family yesterday. Did you suddenly make such a decision, or did you have a plan?"
Li Haitang pursed her lips, her face not red, her heart not beating, "I never thought of doing this before. It was only after the last family visit that I had this idea." After a short pause, a bitter smile appeared on the corner of her mouth and she continued, "I want to continue my studies, but my foster mother disagrees, scolds me every day, and deliberately finds fault with me. She forbids me to eat, just to force me to drop out of school. I know it's not easy for my foster father to earn money alone. I'm just an adopted daughter. I can't ask for too much. In order not to let him continue to be in trouble, I had the guts to make the decision yesterday."
Mr. Tang sighed. As a teacher, it was impossible for her to interfere in the affairs of her students' families, "You are a sensible child. Since you have made such a decision in order to continue studying, you have to work harder."
Li Haitang replied, "Yes, I know."
"Master wu, who is in charge of cleaning up the school, has something happened to his son in the city. He took a month off. The school is going to hire someone to take over the class. Would you like to do it?" Mr. Tang knew that Li Haitang didn't have any money and didn't want to hurt her face, so he helped her in this way.
Li Haitang's eyes lit up, and she pursed her lips and smiled, "Yes, thank you, Mr. Tang."
"You're welcome. After school is over today, you can go to the office building and find the dean, Mr. Yang. It's only a month until the middle school entrance examination. You have to focus on your studies, and everything else should be settled." Teacher yang warned.
Li Haitang nodded earnestly. From the memory of the original owner, she knew that miss yang was indeed a very good teacher. Without the help of the other party, she would have dropped out of school and did housework and farm work every day at home.
The kindness of a drop of water must be reciprocated by a gush of spring water. The kindness of miss yang, she remembered in her heart, will be repaid when she grows up.
Before it was time for class, Mr. Yang immediately went to the office building to confirm the matter.
Wang li saw Li Haitang walk in with a rare relaxed smile and immediately went up to gossip and asked, "Haitang, what did the class teacher want to talk to you about?"
The students in front and behind also looked curiously as they put their heads together. Li Haitang was a little embarrassed, but he still told them this "Good thing."
They had thought that Mr. Tang wanted to talk to her to reprimand her, but they did not expect to help her indirectly, and the expressions on everyone's faces changed slightly.
Wang Li did not pay attention to other people's faces and was simply happy for Li Haitang, "Haitang, that's great. With this job, you can earn living expenses. Then you can safely prepare for the exam this month."
Li Haitang smiled lightly, his smile as pure as snow.
She didn't smile much in the past, but it dazzled the eyes of the students around her. Only then did they realize that Li Haitang was actually quite pretty. When she smiled, there were two small pear dimples at the corner of her mouth. And that pair of iconic big eyes were also particularly attractive. Their eyelashes were long and dark, and if they were a little whiter, they would probably look even more beautiful than the school flower.
There were people who were naturally right and wrong. A female classmate who often spoke sourly to Li Haitang in her class heard them, perhaps out of jealousy, and said in a small voice, "Some people just have no conscience. Although they are not biological, my aunt worked hard to pull her up. Oh, now, she said to break off the relationship, and my aunt was right. It is indeed an unfamiliar wolf."
Li Haitang glanced sideways. This classmate was Deng Wenfang's niece, Deng Rui. Maybe it was inherited from the Deng family. Her mouth was just as annoying as Deng Wenfang's, and very few students in the class liked her.
She didn't want to talk to such people, but Wang Li, her deskmate, didn't want her to be bullied. She shouted back, "Deng Rui, we're all in the same town. Who doesn't know about the Li Haitang family? Who's the real heartless person? Everyone knows."
Deng Rui and Wang Li had always been difficult to deal with, especially after seeing that she always stood up for Li Haitang. She was even angrier and said sharply, "She was thrown away by her own mother when she was born. If it weren't for my aunt's kindness to adopt her, would she live to this day? After raising her for 15 years, it was time for her to return the favor, but she broke up with her family. Didn't she just want to earn money and be filial to my aunt? Isn't she a heartless person?"