I became the Counterpart of the Winner in a Period Novel-Chapter 208 - 205: Riverbank Black Pine

The five little friends seemed like grasshoppers bound together, often playing together.

However, Zhu Zhu shook her head.

"Sister, that’s not it! Xiao Cheng found a tree on the mountain where pine cones were growing, climbed up, and twisted down many pine cones for us. Look, we’ve turned them into pine nuts. We wanted to... we wanted to..."

They’re pine nuts! See how Xiao Cheng is still holding the branch, this is a fallen black pine. She didn’t notice it, but even if she did, she wouldn’t compete with the villagers for this resource.

Jiang Mingyue gave an encouraging smile, "It’s okay, speak boldly, sister isn’t a tiger, she’s not going to eat you."

Jiang Mingyue’s smiling eyes were very effective for the little ones. They had received attention they never had before and also gained her trust, giving them the desire to express themselves.

"Sister, I brought pine nuts, a lot! For you."

"Yes, sister, Xiao Cheng wants to give them to you. Thank you for teaching us to read. My brother says you are our teacher, and we should respect and appreciate our teacher."

"Teacher, but the pine nuts are small and not easy to crack, please don’t dislike them."

So it turns out they were afraid she would dislike them!

"Sister accepts your kindness, but this is also Xiao Cheng’s labor achievement." Jiang Mingyue checked his hand, there were several broken skin spots, some places even covered in difficult-to-wash pine oil.

But the little fellow insisted, "Sister, as long as you like it. I can’t take money, my brother would scold me."

Jiang Mingyue thought for a bit, did not mention money again but instead divided five White Rabbit candies to each, and gave Xiao Cheng a phonetic version of the Three Hundred Tang Poems, which could not be found in bookstores; Yan Jinzhi had somehow got it for her.

Xiao Cheng flipped a few pages, eyes sparkling. Although he didn’t recognize many characters inside, sister had taught them pinyin, he could read them. There were also illustrations alongside, wow! He really liked this book, he would definitely take good care of it, then learn all the characters inside. First, he would read them fluently, memorize them, then learn to write like Xiao Ran, practicing well. He’s learning slower, unlike Xiao Ran who already started practicing writing, he must hurry and work hard.

The book was being passed among the little ones, happiness mirrored on their faces. Jiang Mingyue liked their eagerness for knowledge, thinking to continue asking Yan Jinzhi for books, and she would reward them with knowledge that might become a guiding stone for their future.

Before leaving, the little ones boldly expressed their ideas.

"Sister, if we can get more pine nuts, could we also get this kind of illustrated book as a reward?"

"Do you all like books?"

Xiao Cheng, Xiao Meng, Zhu Zhu: "Yes, we love them very much!"

"Of course, not just pine nuts, anything else will do. I’ll see what you bring; if it’s useful, that’s fine." After all, her aim is their labor input; she leads them into the ocean of knowledge, hoping the days in Qingshan Village will get better, and adults stop relying on children to earn money.

After the other three little ones left, Jiang Mingyue realized Gouwa hadn’t followed them, and seemed to not be involved in the pine nut discussion.

"Gouwa, do you have something to tell sister?"

Gouwa shook his head and then ran outside. Jiang Mingyue followed to find Gouwa bringing a big wooden bucket over. Jiang Mingyue reached out to take it.

"Wow! Are these small fishes and loaches! Gouwa is getting better at catching fish, but you’re still young, this bucket is too big. It’ll hurt your back if you’re not careful. Remember, don’t be greedy, use a smaller bucket next time."

Turns out he couldn’t carry it, seeing Xiao Cheng and the others coming, he joined them. Jiang Mingyue thought it was her mistake; she saw Gouwa with the others and assumed they were all involved in the same thing.

"Uh, I know, sister. I’ve been picking rice ears for days, then today, while catching fish, it seemed there were unexpectedly many, so I couldn’t hold back and..."

"You wait here."

Jiang Mingyue pretended to go to the kitchen, then came back with a big bowl of mushroom chicken stew from her space, plus two steaming big buns and, of course, she scooped out some apple jam in a small bowl for him.

"Sit down and eat first."

Tears fell from Gouwa’s eyes, and he wiped them with his sleeve as he quietly sat down to eat.

Jiang Mingyue liked this sort of straightforwardness.

But Gouwa’s future still caused some concern.

Shu Wenquan had compiled the villagers’ list, Jiang Mingyue had specifically checked Gouwa’s.

Gouwa’s father is Li Guoqing, and his stepmother is Wang Baozhu, who came with a pair of twin daughters, Wang Dahua and Wang Xiaohua. They don’t carry Wang Baozhu’s surname, but their biological father’s surname, Wang, who also passed away. Wang Dahua and Wang Xiaohua are ten years old, three years older than Gouwa. Since the stepmother came to that household, Gouwa’s father doesn’t treat him as anything.

No, he does care, like when there’s work to be done, all chores at home are left to Gouwa alone. But when it comes time to eat, it’s different — until the sisters eat first, Gouwa doesn’t get a turn. At this time, which family has leftovers? Gouwa often went hungry, neighbors knew what kind of life he had, frequently gave him half a cake or half a bun, so he didn’t starve. Recently, he has exchanged work at her place for regular meals, fetching things from the river, fields, and mountains for her, she feeds him.

The main issue is, those two people squeeze him out of time, for instance now, it’s been three days since she last saw him. He refuses money, openly saying it’s troublesome, and to use a coupon to buy from the supply and marketing cooperative. Moreover, the stepmother would search him, he couldn’t keep it secure. She considered giving him food but there was no place for him to hide it, otherwise, she could give him more buns so he could eat when hungry, but the problem lies in a place to stash them!

Another issue is the schooling problem, given Gouwa’s family position; those two would definitely not let Gouwa go to school.

Jiang Mingyue felt a bit of concern.

"Sister, I’m finished eating."

Jiang Mingyue snapped back from her thoughts, glanced at the table, and saw the bowl was licked clean, it didn’t even need washing.

"Are you full? If not, there’s more, I can go get you some."

"I’m full, sister, I am really full."

"Alright then!" She guessed he was full, no matter how much he could eat, he was still just a child’s stomach.

"Sister, my uncle came yesterday, he wants to take me away."

Jiang Mingyue paused, was the sun finally shining after the rain?

"What kind of person is your uncle?" Although she believed his mother was a good person, and his uncle growing up with her should also be decent, she still wanted to ask.

Gouwa shook his head, not sure if he meant he didn’t know or something else.

With a sigh at such a young age, "Sister, I don’t really want to go."

Jiang Mingyue raised her eyebrow again; if the uncle treated him well, wouldn’t a child normally choose to go, unless...

"My uncle is very good, but my aunt doesn’t like me."

Aha, so that’s the case!

Alas! A child without a mother indeed feels like a useless weed.