Chapter 336 Award for Righteous and Courageous Acts

Xiao Jiu never expected that Aunt Mei would be caught in just one month. When she went to the police station to give a statement and identify the photos, she learned from the police that the baby from last time was not an ordinary person. The Ni family had given the police a death order to catch this woman, which was why they caught her so quickly.

"Thanks to your previous sketches, which provided us with a lot of help, especially the names of the gang members. Without your clues, we wouldn't have solved the case so quickly. So, to commend you, we plan to send you to your school to present you with a bravery award. What do you think?"

Xiao Jiu refused without even thinking.

"No need, Uncle. I feel fine now and don't want any so-called reward. Besides, I didn't do anything heroic this time; I just did what I was supposed to do."

Despite this, the police station still awarded her an enamel mug, a kettle, an enamel plate, a Hero brand fountain pen, and a certificate.

All the prizes were stamped with a large red medal, and the enamel basin even had a custom mark that read "Award" from the Los Angeles Public Security Bureau. She really had some ambition. Of course, she didn't dare take these prizes to school and hid them in her personal space.

She can take it out occasionally in the future and look at it, to see what her most meaningful award was in this era.

In April, Xiao Jiu was called to the teacher's office, who wanted her to represent the school in a science competition, but she refused.

It's not that she's afraid or lacks the ability, it's just that she's already decided to take the college entrance exam instead of relying on a guaranteed admission.

Furthermore, she didn't want to be so high-profile. She was already too old for the age limit, and getting into a better university, or even getting in through a special admission program, would cause a sensation. There was no need for that.

Instead of doing that, it would be better to leave the opportunity to those who need it more, such as Zheng Yuan's family situation.

He not only secured a good university admission spot, but also received financial assistance for his parents. With his grades, he could have chosen an even better university, but he didn't go. Instead, he went to Tongji University, probably because he was moved by their sincerity.

Since Yuan Yuan joined their dormitory, the study atmosphere has become stronger. Xiao Jiu often sends the test papers that her roommates have copied to Zhu Hongqi and Zhou Shengnan, and even gives them a copy of the correct answers that they have written and studied together.

Originally, Yuan Yuan planned to take the college entrance examination this year, but after receiving Xiao Jiu's help, she felt that if she followed the plan step by step, she would be more confident in taking the exam next year.

Therefore, he decisively gave up, and in order to please Xiaojiu and Cuiju, he would tutor Cuiju whenever he had free time.

And so, naturally, she stayed at the Weng family's rented house during her time outside of school.

Since she had both food and money in her space, she gave up selling things outside. Now she only does good deeds to help the old lady of the Weng family and their friends get through their difficulties, and in return, she exchanges some antique jewelry.

If you can't get used to eating grains with husks, then Xiaojiu will find a place to husk and mill the rice, only about fifty catties of raw grain at a time.

Based on the proportions, one pound of paddy rice can yield 85-100g of rice husk, 35-55g of rice bran, and about 350g of rice, including broken rice.

So even with broken rice added, fifty catties of raw grain can only yield 35 catties of rice, the rest is either husk or bran.

The processing fee wasn't high; fifty catties only cost a little over ten cents. Even the leftover rice husks and bran were in high demand.

However, she didn't sell it. Who knows if these people would buy it at a low price and then resell it at a high price?

There are plenty of people trying to profit from this national crisis, otherwise why would they crack down on speculation so much?

Back home, use a sieve to shake out the broken rice to cook porridge, while keeping the whole rice for steaming.

Yuan Yuan's 27 jin of grain a month was naturally not enough to eat, especially since they used their brains excessively every day and needed more nutrition. Even though she didn't ask for refined grains and only asked for coarse grains, she could only barely get enough to drink.

It was only with the Tang sisters that she could have a full meal, and every time she ate her fill, she felt like she had gotten a great deal. Every week, she would try her best to explain as many knowledge points as possible to Tang Cuiju, which was much more efficient than when she was tutoring Xiaojiu.

Nowadays, whether it's school or workplace, it's a six-day work week with one day off. Basically, we're never free on our days off, studying from morning till night.

Yuanyuan reinforced her junior high school knowledge, while Tang Cuiju learned new knowledge. This mutually beneficial arrangement was destined to produce an extraordinary result.

After the start of the semester, the older students from all over the country continued to send Xiaojiu exam papers. Under Xiaojiu's influence, the students in her dormitory saw their grades rise in a step-by-step manner. Even Zhu Hongqi and Zhou Shengnan, who studied at home, achieved surprising results when they returned to school to take the major exams.

"You've really worked hard to study so well at home. Keep it up and strive to get into your dream universities next year."

With the motivation to learn, everyone cherished this opportunity and eagerly absorbed the new knowledge.

The last diagnostic test for the first year of high school was a city-wide standardized test, and Xiao Jiu achieved an excellent result, ranking third in the city.

After the college entrance examination in early June, the senior students in the second year of high school all moved their things and left the school. Regardless of whether they passed the exam or not, just thinking about not having to suffer so much from reviewing and taking exams from now on made them feel happy and envious.

June is already very hot, but they have to study even though they have gone from the first year of high school to the second year and are now in their graduating year.

After the college entrance examination, they had endless test papers to do and countless types of questions to answer every day. In this hot weather, they were dizzy and had to do those tedious problems. Even with a bottle of wine that provided them with good nutrition, they lost their appetite for food.

The school didn't have a supply and marketing cooperative, and students weren't allowed to leave campus on weekdays. Whenever she went out, Xiaojiu would buy a dozen or so popsicles or iced drinks and store them in her warehouse. When she couldn't stand the heat, she would secretly pour the soda into her own cup and drink it.

That refreshing coolness not only dispels the gloom and fatigue of the day, but also allows the body to quickly return to its best condition.

It's much better than everyone scrambling to drink unboiled well water.

Even now, she doesn't have the courage to try the cold well water. Although she knows that this generation of children grew up like this, it's a habit. She only feels at ease drinking water that has been boiled. Besides, there's only one well water ladle, and after one is used, another is used, which isn't hygienic.

Gao Mingxia and the others thought she and Pang Weiwei were being pretentious, but the two of them insisted on their own habits and refused to drink no matter what.

It's amazing how good the kids of this generation are not only their teeth, but also their digestive systems!

Drinking like this every day, and no one gets sick. In contrast, she once drank her beverage too quickly because it was too hot, and had diarrhea for half the night and for two whole days. It was only after drinking hot water that her stomach gradually recovered. I really don't have the energy to investigate the root cause of this.

However, she also realized that the saying "a little dirt won't hurt you" was definitely not unfounded.

Sometimes, taking yourself too seriously makes you seem more delicate. Going with the flow and being a little rough around the edges actually keeps you from getting sick, which is really amazing.