Chapter 162 Zhao Maiya from Next Door

Even though she knew her grandmother meant well, Xiao Jiu still refused to go to school, insisting that she would wait until after the famine years were over.

As for Grandma, if she really doesn't go, there's nothing they can do. Besides, she probably doesn't need the connections she has at the elementary school.

"Grandma, there are quite a few girls in our village who don't go to school. I can learn a lot from them. There's no field work they can't do. Even if they get injured, they can find readily available herbs to treat themselves. I think that's great. As for my studies, I'm confident. Don't you believe me? Don't worry, I'll definitely make sure you get the top score in the exam."

The old lady saw that this girl was single-mindedly focused on spending time in the fields, and what she said made perfect sense. Moreover, she wasn't lying. Judging from the way the boys tutored her, this girl was indeed smart. She understood arithmetic and writing very well, far better than her academically challenged brother.

The third child in their family wasn't as studious as the eldest and second eldest. Otherwise, he wouldn't have only gotten into a junior high school in the township. I heard that Cui Mei had already skipped to the third year of junior high, while this kid was still stuck in the second year. He started school much earlier than Cui Mei. So, studying really does depend on talent.

Alright, this little girl has her own ideas. She's old, so let's not worry about her too much!

"Hey Xiao Jiu, Xiao Jiu, have you eaten yet? If you have, come out and have some fun!"

Sure enough, right after dinner, some children came to call her from outside. Grandma watched as she slurped down the rest of her soup and patted her shoulder with a smile.

"Go quickly, be careful, don't go near the ditch, watch out for mosquitoes, these autumn mosquitoes are huge and poisonous!"

"Okay, milk. I'll be back in a bit. You can go find your friends to spray some air!"

"You silly girl, come back soon."

Grandma watched her leave with a smile and a scolding tone, then began to clear the dishes. That's how a typical day for a farmer came to an end.

While I could still see shadows, I quickly tidied up the house and the outside again. After dark, I didn't turn on the lights, but went out for a walk in the dark, fanning myself with a palm leaf fan.

Her little granddaughter loves rural life so much that even when she's working hard and sweating profusely, she doesn't want to go back to town.

"Grandma, shall we stay in the village forever? There's no one in town we can hang out with. Those little brats bully us all the time. When I fight back, they cry. It's so annoying. The girls and kids in the village are much more resilient and less troublesome. I like playing with them."

Although the town and the village are not far apart, the children on both sides are quite different.

In the town, families with decent means would send their children to school, although most of them were boys and few were girls. But in this village, there was absolutely no way a daughter would be sent to school, even if the family was relatively well-off.

When she talked to these old friends about her schooling, everyone advised her, "Why should a young girl go to school? There has to be someone at home to do the work, right? She got married in her teens and belongs to someone else's family now. You've already done a good job raising her!"

The old lady had read books when she was young, and she knew how much a lack of education could affect a person. She didn't mind that these people had long hair but short minds, but for her family, Xiaojiu, it was a must to go to school; it was just a matter of time.

Moreover, this girl is really sensible. She does study at home and practice writing, and her writing is quite decent. If it weren't for that, she probably would have forcibly sent her to school long ago.

Her grandsons, some of whom were admitted to the township middle school, and some of whom were admitted to the city's top high school, went from the village to the town, then to the county and city. If they did well in the college entrance examination, they might even go to the provincial capital, leave the province, and go to all parts of the country. With more experience, how bad could their future be?

What's wrong with my daughter?

If we raise our daughter well, and she lives a good life in the future, how could we old folks not benefit from it?

Focusing solely on short-term gains while neglecting the cultivation of a child's talents is the greatest loss.

Fortunately, the old lady wasn't a gossip. She let the villagers say whatever they wanted, and all she had to do was stay true to herself.

In September, the sun was glaringly bright. Suddenly, a child screamed from the neighbor's house, startling Xiao Jiu, who was playing shuttlecock in the yard. Grandma reacted quickly, dropping what she was doing and running to the neighbor's house. Xiao Jiu also realized what was happening and ran over as well.

It turned out that her little sister, Maiya, had gotten into trouble.

She and her grandfather were picking walnuts in the yard. Her grandfather was picking them from the tree, and she was playing under the tree while helping to pick them up.

As Maiya looked up at her grandfather in the tree, the sunlight filtering through the layers of leaves dazzled her eyes. Just then, her grandfather broke a heavy branch laden with walnuts, and the walnuts fell with the branch. She was just looking up when danger suddenly struck.

The branch pierced her right eye socket, causing blood to flow immediately. Her grandfather quickly climbed down the tree.

When Xiao Jiu ran over, she saw the old man trying to pull the broken branch out of her eye. In her panic, she shouted loudly.

"Don't pull them out! Don't pull out the branches!"

Xiao Jiu ran up to them, panting, and saw that the old man was being incredibly stubborn and insisted on pulling it out, so she got anxious.

"Grandpa Zhao, what are you doing? Didn't I already say that you can't pull out this branch? You can't pull it out. You can't pull out any foreign object that has pierced your skin immediately. You should fix it in place and take your child to the hospital right away. You're not a professional. Pulling it out might increase the bleeding and cause secondary damage. Don't you understand?"

Xiao Jiu got angry and started yelling, which completely bewildered the old man. Luckily, Grandma reacted in time.

"Quick, find a car and take him to the hospital, take him to the hospital."

Grandma ran out to call for help while going home to get money. In the end, she went to the hospital with Grandpa Zhao and Grandma Zhao.

Xiao Jiu explained very clearly: don't go to the township health center, this is a serious illness, they can't treat it, don't delay, go to the county hospital immediately.

"Grandma, it's okay, you go ahead. I can take care of myself at home. I'll wait for you to come back. Just don't pull out any branches, and hold my sister Malt down so she doesn't move around!"

After waving goodbye to them, Xiao Jiu looked at the remaining bloodstains in Grandma Zhao's yard and sighed softly.

"I hope God will protect my sister Maiya's eyeball."

Whether it was Xiao Jiu's prayers that worked or not, as dusk approached, Old Zhao drove his cart back with Grandma.

"Grandma, how are you? Is my sister Maiya alright?"

As a result, Old Man Zhao grabbed Xiao Jiu's shoulder and said, "Jiu'er, you are my savior. If it weren't for your reminder, I might have destroyed one of your eyes. Although your eyeball has been saved, your vision will be affected in the future. This is already a stroke of luck amidst misfortune. Thank you, Grandpa Zhao, thank you so much!"

Hearing this, Xiao Jiu breathed a sigh of relief. Indeed, it was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune. She had been worried that her eyeball would rupture, but now that her eye had been preserved, she was happy.

Grandma was also very pleased and declined Grandpa Zhao's offer to come home for dinner.

"Hurry up and pack the kids' things. We need to bring them food and drinks first thing tomorrow morning. If you have any difficulties, just let us know."

Just then, some villagers came over to ask what was going on, and Grandma took her little hand and led her home.

Then, curiously, he turned to look at her: "Did you see this at the hospital too?"

Grandma's words were clearly meant to be sarcastic, but Xiao Jiu pretended not to understand and said with a grin.

"Of course! What kind of place is a hospital? They can see all kinds of patients. For example, when my brother choked on a peanut, if the emergency treatment was done well, the damage could be minimized. Grandma, what do you think about me studying medicine in the future?"

"My little Jiu is so capable! She's so observant, helpful, and a quick learner. You're born to serve the people! Of course you can! Grandma supports Xiao Jiu studying medicine!"

More than a week later, Sister Maiya returned, her eyes still covered with gauze, but she was in good spirits.

These past few days, her parents have also returned from their odd jobs and gone to the hospital to take care of each other. Old Zhao felt extremely guilty, but kind-hearted Maiya comforted her grandfather.

"Grandpa, I'm all better now. Besides, I was standing in the wrong place, it has nothing to do with you."

The old lady always believed that any family with grandsons and granddaughters who treated their granddaughters well proved that the old couple were of good character.

Why was she able to get close to the Zhao family?

It's because the old couple is kind and the young couple is hardworking that they have two sons and a daughter. They treat this little girl very well. Apart from not letting her go to school, you can't find any fault with her. At eight years old, she is already sensible and is so kind that she comforts her grandfather. Maiya is a good child, and Xiaojiu plays well with her, so she is at ease.

"Does it hurt, sister?"

Seeing Maiya with her wounds bandaged but still maintaining an optimistic attitude, Xiaojiu felt a little sorry for her.

"Yeah, it hurts a little bit. Stay home for a few days, then go back to change the dressing and see how it goes. We don't know how well it will recover yet, but it's okay. At least your eyeball is still there, right? You saw it yourself, this is a lesson for me. Little Jiu, don't stand under the tree and look up in the future. You might accidentally cause an accident. I only found out when I got to the hospital that there was someone in our ward with the exact same condition as me, but he was in worse shape. His family pulled the branch out of his eye, causing severe congestion, which made the later surgery too complicated, and they had to remove his eyeball."

As she finished speaking, she took Xiao Jiu's hands in both of hers, her face full of gratitude.

"Thank you, Xiaojiu. Without your reminder, I might have ended up like him, which would have been terrible."

When asked why, she said, as always, that she had seen it and overheard the conversation between the doctor and the patient during her last visit to the hospital, and that's why she remembered it.

Maiya was filled with emotion and immense gratitude, saying that she had met a lucky star, otherwise her life might have been ruined.