CH 11

“Is that money? That’s a lot. Isn’t she very poor? How could she have that much money? She must have stolen it.”

“I lost twenty cents before, she must be the one who stole it.”

“How come there are so many plastic bottles in her school bag?”

“I know, I saw Jiang Zhaodi go to the garbage pile to pick up plastic bottles before.”

“No wonder she smells so bad, she actually went to the garbage dump to pick up garbage.” A male student covered his nose and mouth with his hand, looking like he really smelled a stench in the air.

Other students who were watching the show also took a step back one after another, their eyes looking at Jiang Zhaodi with disgust.

Jiang Zhaodi didn’t pay any attention to them. She squatted down to pick up the money and put it back inside her broken school bag. After that, she picked up the plastic bottles.

A foot appeared in her sight, and with a bang, it kicked the bottle that Jiang Zhaodi was going to pick up into the corner of the room.

Lin Rourou’s eyes were filled with bad intentions, “Aren’t you picking up garbage? Go pick it up. For your poor sake, I’ll let you pick up the bottles I drank in the future. You thief, speak, who did you steal your money from?”

Jiang Zhaodi unhurriedly straightened her feet, with her arms holding her broken school bag tightly. A tint of red could be seen in her eyes, but she still maintained her stubborn stance, looking like a wolf cub. She retorted, “I’m not a thief. I don’t want your bottle either. What’s wrong with me picking up bottles? Is there a rule in the school saying that students can’t pick up bottles?”

Jiang Zhaodi ignored the eyes watching her and walked to the corner to pick up the bottle kicked by her. She slid the bottle inside a plastic bag before putting it in her school bag.

“Good, Jiang Zhaodi, you have the nerve to talk back to me. I’ll tell the teacher right now that you are a thief who stole other people’s money. I lost fifty yuan, it must be you who stole it.” Lin Rourou turned around and left the classroom, running quickly to the direction of the teacher’s office.

“Teacher Yin, just now, Ms. Lin from the Danyang Elementary School called and asked if you had time to visit the school, saying that something happened to your daughter Zhaodi.”

Yin Yin had just finished her class when the teacher in the same office as her stopped her and delivered a message.

Nowadays, mobile phones are still uncommon. Adding to the fact that there’s also no phone installed at home, Yin Yin gave Teacher Lin her office phone number for easy contact.

This is the first time Ms. Lin called, did something happen to Zhaodi?

“Alright, I happen to have no classes now. Thank you.”

Yin Yin didn’t wait for anyone and directly rode a bicycle to Danyang Elementary School.

As soon as she took a foot inside the Danyang Elementary School, the sound of students reading aloud floated in her ears. Yin Yin went straight to the teacher’s office of the sixth grade.

Inside the office, Teacher Lin, who was dressed in a pure white dress, was correcting homework. Upon hearing the sound of the door knocking, she lifted up her head, revealing her gentle face.

“Mother of Zhaodi, you’re here.”

“Ms. Lin, I got the news that something happened to my daughter?” Because she was in a hurry, a layer of thin sweat could be seen on Yin Yin’s forehead.

“Don’t worry, the problem is not that big.” Teacher Lin poured Yin Yin a cup of water and recounted to her what happened this morning.

“That’s impossible, my Zhaodi will not take other people’s money.” Right after Teacher Lin finished her words, Yin Yin quickly denied it.

“Mother of Zhaodi, don’t be anxious. I didn’t say that Zhaodi was a thief. She is a very well-mannered child, and I have faith in her. However, she indeed brought a lot of money in her school bag. I asked her where she got that money from, and she wouldn’t say the answer.” Teacher Lin said.

She added, “That’s also why I invited you here. May I ask if you know the reason? Of course, this is not the main purpose why I invited you here. The other purpose is to talk with you about Zhaodi’s continuing her studies into middle school. Do you have plans on letting Jiang Zhaodi go to a middle school?”

Before Yin Yin could open her mouth, the sound of the door being knocked rang again. Looking at the door, a thin girl was standing there. When the girl saw Yin Yin, her eyes turned red and with a soft voice, she said pitifully, “Mom.”